CHAPTER I.
Project Gutenberg EPUB edition
Renouf, P. Le Page (Peter Le Page) and Naville, Edouard
(1)The Beginning of the Chapters of Coming forth by Day, of the (2)Words which bring about Resurrection and Glory, and of Coming out of and entering into Amenta. Said upon the Day of Burial of N, the Victorious,(3) who entereth after coming forth.(4) Here is N the Victorious. He saith—
O (5)Bull of Amenta, It is Thoth, the everlasting King, who is here.
I am the great god in the Bark, who have fought for thee.
I am one of those gods, the (6)Powers who effect the triumph of Osiris over his adversaries on the day of the Weighing of the Words: I am thy kinsman, Osiris.
I am one of those gods to whom Nut hath given birth, who slay the adversaries of Osiris and imprison the (7)Sebau, on his behalf: I am thy kinsman, Horus.
I have fought for thee, and have prevailed for thy name.
I am Thoth who effect the triumph of Osiris over his adversaries on that day of Weighing of the Words in the (8)House of the Prince, which is in Heliopolis.
I am (9)Tatti, the son of Tatti, conceived in Tattu and born in Tattu; and Tattu is my name.
I am with the mourners and weepers who wail over Osiris in (10)Rechit, and who effect the triumph of Osiris over his adversaries.
Rā issued the mandate to Thoth, that he should effect the triumph of Osiris against his adversaries, and the mandate is what Thoth hath executed.
I am with Horus on the day of covering (11)Teshtesh and of opening the fountains for the refreshment of (12)the god whose heart is motionless, and closing the entrance to the hidden things in (13)Restau.
I am with Horus, as the avenger of that left arm of Osiris which is in (14)Sechem.
I enter in, and I come forth from the (15)Tank of Flame on the day when the adversaries are annihilated at Sechem.
I am with Horus on the day when the festivals of Osiris are celebrated, and when offerings are made [to Rā], on the Feast of the Sixth day of the Month, and on the Feast of Tenait(16) in Heliopolis.
I am the Priest(17) in Tattu and exalt him who is on the Height.(18)
I am the Prophet in Abydos on the day when the earth is raised.
I am he who seeth what is shut up at Restau.(19)
I am he who reciteth the liturgies of the (20)Soul who is Lord of Tattu.
I am the Sem-priest in all that pertaineth to his office.
I am the Arch-Craftsman, on the day in which the Ship of Sokaru is laid upon its stocks.(21)
I am he who seizeth the mattock, on the day of the Feast of Hoeing in Suten-henen.(22)
O ye who bring beneficent souls into the house of Osiris, do ye bring the soul of N together with you into the house of Osiris; let him see as you see, let him hear as youyou hear, let him stand as you stand, and sit as you sit [in the house of Osiris].
O ye who give bread and beer to beneficent souls in the house of Osiris, do you give bread and beer at the two periods to the soul of N who is with you.
O ye who unclose the ways and open the roads to beneficent souls in the house of Osiris, unclose then the ways and open the roads to the soul of N who is with you, let him enter boldly and come forth in peace at the house of Osiris, without hindrance and without repulse. Let him enter at his pleasure and go forth at his will, triumphantly with you; and let that be executed which he shall order in the house of Osiris.
No lightness of his in the scale has been found and the Balance is (23)relieved of his case.
PLATE I.
PLATE II.
Notes.
The text taken for the basis of the translation of Chapter I is that of the papyrus of Huneferu; Ag of M. Naville’s edition.
1. The title here translated is that usual in all the papyri representing the third period of the text. It occurs however in the papyrus Ag of Huneferu, who lived in the days of Seti I, at the beginning of the XIXth dynasty. It is also found in the papyrus of Ani. The most common title of Chapter I in the older manuscripts is , “Chapter of coming to the divine Powers attached to Osiris.” These divine Powers are Amsta, Hapi, Tuamautef and Qebehsenuf, the children of Horus, who stand upon the lotus which springs from the water beneath the throne of Osiris, in pictures of the Psychostasia. Chapter 124 bears the same title in the older manuscripts, which sometimes begin with it.
2.. These are two very difficult words, and very different meanings have been assigned to them. But when the entire evidence is examined the result is plain enough. Each of the words has for determinative the sign, , expressive of some kind of utterance. It is a λόγος of some kind has for its first letter the causative . The question therefore is, what are the meanings of the simpler forms , tes, and , ḫu?
The most common, indeed the only true, meaning of is ‘rising,’ and even ‘raising.’ This is too well-known to require proof. is ‘causing to rise.’ The Pyramid text of Teta says (l. 270), “Horus hath given his children that they may raise thee up .” In the same religious text, l. 248, is the rising from the funereal couch after the , the recitations made over the dead.
The ‘raising up’ or ‘resurrection’ here spoken of is said not only of the soul but of the body of the deceased person. The papyrus of Nebseni has preserved two chapters, to which M. Naville has assigned the numbers 177 and 178.
177. .
Chapter of raising up the Chu, and giving life to the Soul in the Netherworld.
178. .
Chapter of raising up the body, of giving it eyes and the possession of ears, and establishing the head, made firm on its props.
, ḫat, is not simply the body; it is the dead body, that which has fallen, like the Latin cadaver, the Greek πτῶμα, the Hebrew מַפֶלֶח. (See Transactions Soc. Bib. Arch., Vol. VIII, p. 221, note 2.)
The true meaning of ḫu is not ‘luminous’ but ‘clear, distinct, glittering, ‘coruscans,’ and hence ‘bright, splendid, illustrious, glorious,’ and the like. Like the Greek λαμπρός, the Latin clarus, the Hebrew עהל, or the French éclat, it is applied to sound as well as to light. It is said of Thoth (in the wretched orthography[5] of a tablet of the XIXth dynasty) “he glorified them with the clear utterances of his mouth.” corresponds to the Greek λαμπροφωνία. As a verb is clareo, and is clarifico, glorifico.
There are, it is true, variants in the title of Chapter 17, giving the form . In spite of the excellent authority of these variants, they must be considered as giving an erroneous reading. The words ‘remember,’ and are different in origin and meaning. The latter signifies ‘confer glory,’ and the are religious formularies recited by priests, identifying the deceased person with Osiris and other divinities. There are numerous pictures in the tombs representing priests performing this office.[6]