Chapter 15

in the Papyrus of Ani:

"Praise be unto thee, O Osiris, lord of eternity, Un-Nefer, Heru-Khuti, whose forms are manifold, whose attributes are majesty, [thou who art] Ptah-Seker-Tem in Heliopolis, lord of the Sheta shrine, creator of Het-ka-Ptah (Memphis) and of the gods who dwell therein, thou Guide of the Other World, whom the gods praise when thou settest in the sky. Isis embraceth thee contentedly, and she driveth away the fiends from the mouth of thy paths. Thou turnest thy face towards Amentet,[1] and thou makest the earth to shine like refined copper. The dead rise up to look upon thee, they breathe the air, and they behold thy face when [thy] disk riseth on the horizon. Their hearts are at peace, inasmuch as they behold thee, O thou who art Eternity and Everlastingness.

[Footnote 1: The "hidden" land, the West, the Other World.]

LITANY

"1. Homage to thee, O [Lord of] the Dekans[1] in Heliopolis and of the heavenly beings in Kherāha,[2] thou god Unti, who art the most glorious of the gods hidden in Heliopolis.

"_Grant thou unto me a path whereon I may pass in peace, for I am just and true; I have not spoken lies wittingly, nor have I done aught with deceit_.[3]

"2. Homage to thee, O An[4] in Antes, Heru-Khuti,[5] with long strides dost thou stride over heaven, O Heru-Khuti.

"3. Homage to thee, O Everlasting Soul, who dwellest in Tatu (Busiris), Un-Nefer,[6] son of Nut, who art the Lord of Akert.

"4. Homage to thee in thy rule over Tatu. The Urrt Crown is fixed upon thy head. Thou art One, thou createst thy protection, thou dwellest in peace in Tatu.

"5. Homage to thee, O Lord of the Acacia. The Seker Boat[7] is on its sledge; thou turnest back the Fiend, the worker of evil; thou makest the Eye of the Sun-god to rest upon its throne.

"6. Homage to thee, mighty one in thine hour, Prince great and mighty, dweller in Anrutef,[8] lord of eternity, creator of everlastingness. Thou art the lord of Hensu.[9]

"7. Homage to thee, O thou who restest upon Truth. Thou art the Lord of Abydos; thy body is joined to Ta-Tchesert. Thou art he to whom fraud and deceit are abominable.

"8. Homage to thee, O dweller in thy boat. Thou leadest the Nile from his source, the light shineth upon thy body; thou art the dweller in Nekhen.[10]

"9. Homage to thee, O Creator of the gods, King of the South, King of the North, Osiris, Conqueror, Governor of the world in thy gracious seasons! Thou art the Lord of the heaven of Egypt (Atebui)."

[Footnote 1: A group of thirty-six Star-gods.]

[Footnote 2: A town that stood on the site of Old Cairo.]

[Footnote 3: This response was to be repeated after each petition.]

[Footnote 4: A Light-god.]

[Footnote 5: Harmakhis of the Greeks.]

[Footnote 6: A form of Osiris.]

[Footnote 7: The Henu Boat of Seker was drawn round the sanctuary of Seker each morning.]

[Footnote 8: A district of Hensu.]

[Footnote 9: Herakleopolis in Upper Egypt.]

[Footnote 10: Eileithyiaspolis in Upper Egypt.]

The following passage illustrates the general character of a funerary hymn to Rā: "Homage to thee, O thou who art in the form of Khepera, Khepera the creator of the gods. Thou risest, thou shinest, thou illuminest thy mother [the sky]. Thou art crowned King of the Gods. Mother Nut[1] welcometh thee with bowings. The Land of Sunset (Manu) receiveth thee with satisfaction, and the goddess Maāt[2] embraceth thee at morn and at eve. Hail, ye gods of the Temple of the Soul (_i.e._ heaven), who weigh heaven and earth in a balance, who provide celestial food! And hail, Tatunen,[3] One, Creator of man, Maker of the gods of the south and of the north, of the west and of the east! Come ye and acclaim Rā, the Lord of heaven, the Prince--life, health, strength be to him!--the Creator of the gods, and adore ye him in his beautiful form as he riseth in his Morning Boat (Āntchet).

"Those who dwell in the heights and those who dwell in the depths worship thee. Thoth and the goddess Maāt have laid down thy course for thee daily for ever. Thine Enemy the Serpent hath been cast into the fire, the fiend hath fallen down into it headlong. His arms have been bound in chains, and Rā hath hacked off his legs; the Mesu Betshet[4] shall never more rise up. The Temple of the Aged God [in Anu] keepeth festival, and the sound of those who rejoice is in the Great House. The gods shout for joy when they see Rā rising, and when his beams are filling the world with light. The Majesty of the Holy God goeth forth and advanceth even unto the Land of Sunset (Manu). He maketh bright the earth at his birth daily, he journeyeth to the place where he was yesterday. O be thou at peace with me, and let me behold thy beauties! Let me appear on the earth. Let me smite [the Eater of] the Ass.[5] Let me crush the Serpent Seba.[6] Let me destroy Āapep[7] when he is most strong. Let me see the Abtu Fish in its season and the Ant Fish[8] in its lake. Let me see Horus steering thy boat, with Thoth and Maāt standing one on each side of him. Let me have hold of the bows of [thy] Evening Boat and the stern of thy Morning Boat.[9] Grant thou unto the Ka of me, the Osiris the scribe Ani, to behold the disk of the Sun, and to see the Moon-god regularly and daily. Let my soul come forth and walk hither and thither and whithersoever it pleaseth. Let my name be read from the list of those who are to receive offerings, and may offerings be set before me, even as they are set before the Followers of Horus. Let there be prepared for me a seat in the Boat of Rā on the day when the god goeth forth. Let me be received into the presence of Osiris, in the Land where Truth is spoken."

[Footnote 1: The Sky-goddess.]

[Footnote 2: Goddess of Law.]

[Footnote 3: An ancient Earth-god.]

[Footnote 4: The associates of Set, the god of Evil.]

[Footnote 5: The Ass was a form of the Sun-god, and its eater was a mythological monster-serpent.]

[Footnote 6: Another mythological serpent.]

[Footnote 7: The serpent that tried to swallow the sun each morning, but the Sun-god cast a spell on it and rendered it powerless.]

[Footnote 8: The Abtu and the Ant were two fishes that swam before the boat of the sun to warn the god of danger.]

[Footnote 9: _i.e._, Ani wishes to be sure of a seat in both boats.]

The prayers of the Book of the Dead consist usually of a string of petitions for sepulchral offerings to be offered in the tombs of the petitioners, and the fundamental idea underlying them is that by their transmutation, which was effected by the words of the priests, the spirits of the offerings became available as the food of the dead. Many prayers contain requests for the things that tend to the comfort and general well-being of the dead, but here and there we find a prayer for forgiveness of sins committed in the body. The best example of such is the prayer that forms