THE BOOK OF THE DEAD
"Book of the Dead" is the name that is now generally given to the large
collection of "Chapters," or compositions, both short and long, which
the ancient Egyptians cut upon the walls of the corridors and chambers
in pyramids and rock-hewn tombs, and cut or painted upon the insides and
outsides of coffins and sarcophagi, and wrote upon papyri, etc., which
were buried with the dead in their tombs. The first modern scholar to
study these Chapters was the eminent Frenchman, J. François Champollion;
he rightly concluded that all of them were of a religious character, but
he was wrong in calling the collection as a whole "Funerary Ritual." The
name "Book of the Dead" is a translation of the title "Todtenbuch,"
given by Dr. R. Lepsius to his edition of a papyrus at Turin, containing
a very long selection of the Chapters,[1] which he published in 1842.
"Book of the Dead" is on the whole a very satisfactory general
description of these Chapters, for they deal almost entirely with the
dead, and they were written entirely for the dead. They have nothing to
do with the worship of the gods by those who live on the earth, and such
prayers and hymns as are incorporated with them were supposed to be said
and sung by the dead for their own benefit. The author of the Chapters
of the Book of the Dead was the god Thoth, whose greatness has already
been described in Chapter I of this book. Thus they were considered to
be of divine origin, and were held in the greatest reverence by the
Egyptians at all periods of their long history. They do not all belong
to the same period, for many of them allude to the dismemberment and
burning of the dead, customs that, though common enough in very
primitive times, were abandoned soon after royal dynasties became
established in Egypt.
[Footnote 1: The actual number of Chapters in this papyrus is 165.]
It is probable that in one form or another many of the Chapters were in
existence in the predynastic period,[1] but no copies of such primitive
versions, if they ever existed, have come down to us. One Egyptian
tradition, which is at least as old as the early part of the eighteenth
dynasty (1600 B.C.), states that Chapters XXXB and LXIV were
"discovered" during the reign of Semti, a king of the first dynasty, and
another tradition assigns their discovery to the reign of Menkaurā (the
Mycerinus of classical writers), a king of the fourth dynasty. It is
certain, however, that the Egyptians possessed a Book of the Dead which
was used for kings and royal personages, at least, early under the first
dynasty, and that, in a form more or less complete, it was in use down
to the time of the coming of Christianity into Egypt. The tombs of the
officials of the third and fourth dynasties prove that the Book of
Opening the Mouth and the Liturgy of Funerary Offerings (see pp. 13-18)
were in use when they were made, and this being so it follows as a
matter of course that at this period the Egyptians believed in the
resurrection of the dead and in their immortality, that the religion of
Osiris was generally accepted, that the efficacy of funerary offerings
was unquestioned by the religious, and that men died believing that
those who were righteous on earth would be rewarded in heaven, and that
the evil-doer would be punished. The Pyramid Texts also prove that a
Book of the Dead divided into chapters was in existence when they were
written, for they mention the "Chapter of those who come forth (_i.e._
appear in heaven)," and the "Chapter of those who rise up" (Pepi I, l.
463), and the "Chapter of the _betu_ incense," and the "Chapter of the
natron incense" (Pepi I, 469). Whether these Chapters formed parts of
the Pyramid Texts, or whether both they and the Pyramid Texts belonged
to the Book of the Dead cannot be said, but it seems clear that the four
Chapters mentioned above formed part of a work belonging to a Book of
the Dead that was older than the Pyramid Texts. This Book of the Dead
was no doubt based upon the beliefs of the followers of the religion of
Osiris, which began in the Delta and spread southwards into Upper Egypt.
Its doctrines must have differed in many important particulars from
those of the worshippers of the Sun-god of Heliopolis, whose priests
preached the existence of a heaven of a solar character, and taught
their followers to believe in the Sun-god Rā, and not in Temu, the
ancient native god of Heliopolis, and not in the divine man Osiris. The
exposition of the Heliopolitan creed is found in the Pyramid Texts,
which also contain the proofs that before the close of the sixth dynasty
the cult of Osiris had vanquished the cult of Rā, and that the religion
of Osiris had triumphed.
[Footnote 1: _i.e._ before Menes became king of both Upper and Lower
Egypt.]
Certain of the Chapters of the Book of the Dead (_e.g._ XXXB and LXIV)
were written in the city of Thoth, or Khemenu, others were written in
Anu, or Heliopolis, and others in Busiris and other towns of the Delta.
Of the Book of the Dead that was in use under the fifth and sixth
dynasties we have no copies, but many Chapters of the Recension in use
under the eleventh and twelfth dynasties are found written in cursive
hieroglyphs upon wooden sarcophagi, many of which may be seen in the
British Museum. With the beginning of the eighteenth dynasty the Book of
the Dead enters a new phase of its existence, and it became the custom
to write it on rolls of papyrus, which were laid with the dead in their
coffins, instead of on the coffins themselves. As the greater number of
such rolls have been found in the tombs of priests and others at Thebes,
the Recension that was in use from the eighteenth to the twenty-first
dynasty (1600-900 B.C.) is commonly called the THEBAN RECENSION. This
Recension, in its earliest form, is usually written with black ink in
vertical columns of hieroglyphs, which are separated by black lines; the
titles of the Chapters, the opening words of each section, and the
Rubrics are written with red ink. About the middle of the eighteenth
dynasty pictures painted in bright colours, "vignettes," were added to
the Chapters; these are very valuable, because they sometimes explain or
give a clue to the meaning of parts of the texts that are obscure. Under
the twentieth and twenty-first dynasties the writing of copies of the
Book of the Dead in hieroglyphs went out of fashion, and copies written
in the hieratic, or cursive, character took their place. These were
ornamented with vignettes drawn in outline with black ink, and although
the scribes who made them wrote certain sections in hieroglyphs, it is
clear that they did not possess the skill of the great scribes who
flourished between 1600 and 1050 B.C. The last Recension of the Book of
the Dead known to us in a complete form is the SAĪTE RECENSION, which
came into existence about 600 B.C., and continued in use from that time
to the Roman Period. In the Ptolemaic and Roman Periods the priests
composed several small works such as the "Book of Breathings" and the
"Book of Traversing Eternity," which were based upon the Book of the
Dead, and were supposed to contain in a highly condensed form all the
texts that were necessary for salvation. At a still later period even
more abbreviated texts came into use, and the Book of the Dead ended its
existence in the form of a series of almost illegible scrawls traced
upon scraps of papyrus only a few inches square.
Rolls of papyrus containing the Book of the Dead were placed: (1) In a
niche in the wall of the mummy chamber; (2) in the coffin by the side of
the deceased, or laid between the thighs or just above the ankles; (3)
in hollow wooden figures of the god Osiris, or Ptah-Seker-Osiris, or in
the hollow pedestals on which such figures stood.
The Egyptians believed that the souls of the dead on leaving this world
had to traverse a vast and difficult region called the Tuat, which was
inhabited by gods, devils, fiends, demons, good spirits, bad spirits,
and the souls of the wicked, to say nothing of snakes, serpents, savage
animals, and monsters, before they could reach the Elysian Fields, and
appear in the presence of Osiris. The Tuat was like the African "bush,"
and had no roads through it. In primitive times the Egyptians thought
that only those souls that were provided with spells, incantations,
prayers, charms, words of power, and amulets could ever hope to reach
the Kingdom of Osiris. The spells and incantations were needed for the
bewitchment of hostile beings of every kind; the prayers, charms, and
words of power were necessary for making other kinds of beings that
possessed great powers to help the soul on its journey, and to deliver
it from foes; and the amulets gave the soul that was equipped with them
strength, power, will, and knowledge to employ successfully every means
of assistance that presented itself.
The OBJECT OF THE BOOK OF THE DEAD was to provide the dead man with all
these spells, prayers, amulets, &c., and to enable him to overcome all
the dangers and difficulties of the Tuat, and to reach Sekhet Aaru and
Sekhet Hetep (the Elysian Fields), and to take his place among the
subjects of Osiris in the Land of Everlasting Life. As time went on the
beliefs of the Egyptians changed considerably about many important
matters, but they never attempted to alter the Chapters of the Book of
the Dead so as to bring them, if we may use the expression, "up to
date." The religion of the eighteenth dynasty was far higher in its
spiritual character generally than that of the twelfth dynasty, but the
Chapters that were used under the twelfth dynasty were used under the
eighteenth, and even under the twenty-sixth dynasty. In religion the
Egyptian forgot nothing and abandoned nothing; what was good enough for
his ancestors was good enough for him, and he was content to go into the
next world relying for his salvation on the texts which he thought had
procured their salvation. Thus the Book of the Dead as a whole is a work
that reflects all the religious beliefs of the Egyptians from the time
when they were half savages to the period of the final downfall of their
power.
[Illustration: Vignette and Part of the XCIInd Chapter of the Book of
the Dead. (Ani and his Soul are leaving the Tomb) _From the Papyrus of
the Ani in the British Museum._]
The Theban Recension of the Book of the Dead contains about one hundred
and ninety Chapters, many of which have Rubrics stating what effects
will be produced by their recital, and describing ceremonies that must
be performed whilst they are being recited. It is impossible to describe
the contents of all the Chapters in our limited space, but in the
following brief summary the most important are enumerated. Chap. 1
contains the formulas that were recited on the day of the funeral. Chap.
151 gives a picture of the arrangement of the mummy chamber, and the
texts to be said in it. Chap. 137 describes certain magical ceremonies
that were performed in the mummy chamber, and describes the objects of
magical power that were placed in niches in the four walls. Chap. 125
gives a picture of the Judgment Hall of Osiris, and supplies the
declarations of innocence that the deceased made before the Forty-two
Judges. Chaps. 144-147, 149, and 150 describe the Halls, Pylons, and
Divisions of the Kingdom of Osiris, and supply the name of the gods who
guard them, and the formulas to be said by the deceased as he comes to
each. Chap. 110 gives a picture of the Elysian Fields and a text
describing all the towns and places in them. Chap. 5 is a spell by the
use of which the deceased avoided doing work, and Chap. 6 is another,
the recital of which made a figure to work for him. Chap. 15 contains
hymns to the rising and to the setting sun, and a Litany of Osiris; and
Chap. 183 is a hymn to Osiris. Chaps. 2, 3, 12, 13, and others enabled a
man to move about freely in the Other World; Chap. 9 secured his free
passage in and out of the tomb; and Chap. 11 overthrew his enemies.
Chap. 17 deals with important beliefs as to the origin of God and the
gods, and of the heavens and the earth, and states the different
opinions which Egyptian theologians held about many divine and
mythological beings. The reason for including it in the Book of the Dead
is not quite clear, but that it was a most important Chapter is beyond
all doubt. Chaps. 21 and 22 restored his mouth to the deceased, and
Chap. 23 enabled him to open it. Chap. 24 supplied him with words of
power, and Chap. 25 restored to him his memory. Chaps. 26-30B gave to
the deceased his heart, and supplied the spells that prevented the
stealers of hearts from carrying it off, or from injuring it in any way.
Two of these Chapters (29 and 30B) were cut upon amulets made in the
form of a human heart. Chaps. 31 and 32 are spells for driving away
crocodiles, and Chaps. 33-38, and 40 are spells against snakes and
serpents. Chaps. 41 and 42 preserved a man from slaughter in the Other
World, Chap. 43 enabled him to avoid decapitation, and Chap. 44
preserved him from the second death. Chaps. 45, 46, and 154 protected
the body from rot or decay and worms in the tomb. Chap. 50 saved the
deceased from the headsman in the Tuat, and Chap. 51 enabled him to
avoid stumbling. Chaps. 38, 52-60, and 62 ensured for him a supply of
air and water in the Tuat, and Chap. 63 protected him from drinking
boiling water there. Chaps. 64-74 gave him the power to leave the tomb,
to overthrow enemies, and to "come forth by day." Chaps. 76-89 enabled a
man to transform himself into the Light-god, the primeval soul of God,
the gods Ptah and Osiris, a golden hawk, a divine hawk, a lotus, a
_benu_ bird, a heron, a swallow, a serpent, a crocodile, and into any
being or thing he pleased. Chap. 89 enabled the soul of the deceased to
rejoin its body at pleasure, and Chaps. 91 and 92 secured the egress of
his soul and spirit from the tomb. Chaps. 94-97 made the deceased an
associate of Thoth, and Chaps. 98 and 99 secured for him the use of the
magical boat, and the services of the celestial ferryman, who would
ferry him across the river in the Tuat to the Island of Fire, in which
Osiris lived. Chaps. 101 and 102 provided access for him to the Boat of
Rā. Chaps. 108, 109, 112, and 116 enabled him to know the Souls (_i.e._
gods) of the East and West, and of the towns of Pe,[1] Nekhen,[2]
Khemenu,[3] and Anu.[4] Chaps. 117-119 enabled him to find his way
through Rastau, a part of the kingdom of Seker, the god of Death. Chap.
152 enabled him to build a house, and Chap. 132 gave him power to return
to the earth and see it. Chap. 153 provided for his escape from the
fiend who went about to take souls in a net. Chaps. 155-160, 166, and
167 formed the spells that were engraved on amulets, _i.e._ the Tet
(male), the Tet (female), the Vulture, the Collar, the Sceptre, the
Pillow, the Pectoral, &c., and gave to the deceased the power of Osiris
and Isis and other gods, and restored to him his heart, and lifted up
his head. Chap. 162 kept heat in the body until the day of the
resurrection. Chaps. 175 and 176 gave the deceased everlasting life and
enabled him to escape the second death. Chap. 177 raised up the dead
body, and Chap. 178 raised up the spirit-soul. The remaining Chapters
perfected the spirit-soul, and gave it celestial powers, and enabled it
to enjoy intercourse with the gods as an equal, and enabled it to
participate in all their occupations and pleasures. We may now give a
few extracts that will give an idea of the contents of some of the most
important passages.
[Footnote 1: _i.e._ Pe Tep, or Buto.]
[Footnote 2: Eileithyiaspolis.]
[Footnote 3: Hermopolis.]
[Footnote 4: Heliopolis.]
[Illustration: Her-Heru, the first Priest-King, and Queen Netchemet
reciting a Hymn to the Rising Sun. The Apes represent the Spirits of the
Dawn. _From a papyrus (about 1050 B.C.) in the British Museum._]
The following is the opening hymn to Osiris in the Papyrus of Ani:
"Glory be to Osiris Un-Nefer, the great god who dwelleth in Abydos, king
of eternity, lord of everlastingness, whose existence endureth for
millions of years. Eldest son of the womb of Nut,[1] begotten by Keb,[2]
the Erpāt,[3] lord of the crowns of the South and North, lord of the
lofty white crown, prince of gods and men: he hath received the sceptre,
and the whip, and the rank of his divine fathers. Let thy heart in
Semt-Ament[4] be content, for thy son Horus is established on thy
throne. Thou art crowned lord of Tatu[5] and ruler in Abydos.[6] Through
thee the world flourisheth in triumph before the power of Nebertcher.[7]
He leadeth on that which is and that which is not yet, in his name of
'Taherstanef.' He toweth along the earth by Maāt[8] in his name of
'Seker'; he is exceedingly mighty and most terrible in his name of
'Osiris'; he endureth for ever and ever in his name of 'Un-Nefer.'
Homage to thee, O King of kings, Lord of lords, Prince of princes, who
from the womb of Nut hast ruled the world and Akert.[9] Thy body is
[like] bright and shining metal, thy head is of azure blue, and the
brilliance of the turquoise encircleth thee. O thou god An of millions
of years, whose body pervadeth all things, whose face is beautiful in
Ta-Tchesert,[10] grant thou to the Ka of the Osiris the scribe Ani
splendour in heaven, power upon earth, and triumph in the Other World.
Grant that I may sail down to Tatu in the form of a living soul, and
sail up to Abydos in the form of the Benu bird;[11] that I may go in and
come out without being stopped at the pylons of the Lords of the Other
World. May there be given unto me bread-cakes in the house of coolness,
and offerings of food in Anu (Heliopolis), and a homestead for ever in
Sekhet Aru,[12] with wheat and barley therefor."
[Footnote 1: The Sky-goddess.]
[Footnote 2: The Earth-god.]
[Footnote 3: The hereditary chief of the gods.]
[Footnote 4: The other world.]
[Footnote 5: The town of Busiris on the Delta.]
[Footnote 6: Abydos in Upper Egypt.]
[Footnote 7: The Lord to the uttermost limit, _i.e._ Almighty God.]
[Footnote 8: The goddess of physical and moral law, and the
personification of the conscience.]
[Footnote 9: A name of the Other World.]
[Footnote 10: The Holy Land, _i.e._ the Kingdom of Osiris.]
[Footnote 11: A bird which has been identified with the phœnix. The soul
of Rā was incarnate in it.]
[Footnote 12: A name of the realm of Osiris, or the Elysian Fields.]
In another Hymn to Osiris, which is found in the Papyrus of Hunefer, we
have the following: "The gods come unto thee, bowing low before thee,
and they hold thee in fear. They withdraw and depart when they see thee
endued with the terror of Rā, and the victory of Thy Majesty is over
their hearts. Life is with thee, and offerings of meat and drink follow
thee, and that which is thy due is offered before thy face. I have come
unto thee holding in my hands truth, and my heart hath in it no cunning
(or deceit). I offer unto thee that which is thy due, and I know that
whereon thou livest. I have not committed any kind of sin in the land; I
have defrauded no man of what is his. I am Thoth, the perfect scribe,
whose hands are pure. I am the lord of purity, the destroyer of evil,
the scribe of truth; what I abominate is sin."
Here is an address, followed by a short Litany, which forms a kind of
introduction to 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 Chapter CXXVI. It reads: "Hail, ye four Ape-gods
who sit in the bows of the Boat of Rā, who convey truth to Nebertchet,
who sit in judgment on my weakness and on my strength, who make the gods
to rest contented by means of the flame of your mouths, who offer holy
offerings to the gods, and sepulchral meals to the spirit-souls, who
live upon truth, who feed upon truth of heart, who are without deceit
and fraud, and to whom wickedness is an abomination, do ye away with my
evil deeds, and put ye away my sin, which deserved stripes upon earth,
and destroy ye every evil thing whatsoever that clingeth to me, and let
there be no bar whatsoever on my part towards you. Grant ye that I may
make my way through the Amhet[1] chamber, let me enter into Rastau,[2]
and let me pass through the secret places of Amentet. Grant that cakes,
and ale, and sweetmeats may be given to me as they are given to the
spirit-souls, and grant that I may enter in and come forth from Rastau."
The four Ape-gods reply: "Come, for we have done away with thy
wickedness, and we have put away thy sin, which deserved stripes, which
thou didst commit upon earth, and we have destroyed all the evil that
clung to thee. Enter, therefore, into Rastau, and pass in through the
secret gates of Amentet, and cakes, and ale, and sweetmeats shall be
given unto thee, and thou shalt go in and come out at thy desire, even
as do those whose spirit-souls are praised [by the god], and [thy name]
shall be proclaimed each day in the horizon."
[Footnote 1: A chamber in the kingdom of Seker in which the dead were
examined.]
[Footnote 2: The corridors in the kingdom of Seker.]
Another prayer of special interest is that which forms Chapter XXXB.
This is put into the mouth of the deceased when he is standing in the
Hall of Judgment watching the weighing of his heart in the Great Scales
by Anubis and Thoth, in the presence of the Great Company of the gods
and Osiris. He says: "My heart, my mother. My heart, my mother. My heart
whereby I came into being. Let none stand up to oppose me at my
judgment. May there be no opposition to me in the presence of the
Tchatchau.[1] Mayest thou not be separated from me in the presence of
the Keeper of the Balance. Thou art my Ka (_i.e._ Double, or vital
power), that dwelleth in my body; the god Khnemu who knitteth together
and strengthened my limbs. Mayest thou come forth into the place of
happiness whither we go. May the Shenit officers who decide the
destinies of the lives of men not cause my name to stink [before
Osiris]. Let it (_i.e._ the weighing) be satisfactory unto us, and let
there be joy of heart to us at the weighing of words (_i.e._ the Great
Judgment). Let not that which is false be uttered against me before the
Great God, the Lord of Amentet (_i.e._ Osiris). Verily thou shalt be
great when thou risest up [having been declared] a speaker of the
truth."
[Footnote 1: The chief officers of Osiris, the divine Taskmasters.]
In many papyri this prayer is followed by a Rubric, which orders that it
is to be said over a green stone scarab set in a band of _tchamu_ metal
(_i.e._ silver-gold), which is to be hung by a ring from the neck of the
deceased. Some Rubrics order it to be placed in the breast of a mummy,
where it is to take the place of the heart, and say that it will "open
the mouth" of the deceased. A tradition which is as old as the twelfth
dynasty says that the Chapter was discovered in the town of Khemenu
(Hermopolis Magna) by Herutataf, the son of Khufu, in the reign of
Menkaurā, a king of the fourth dynasty. It was cut in hieroglyphs,
inlaid with lapis-lazuli on a block of alabaster, which was set under
the feet of Thoth, and was therefore believed to be a most powerful
prayer. We know that this prayer was recited by the Egyptians in the
Ptolemaic Period, and thus it is clear that it was in common use for a
period of nearly four thousand years. It may well be the oldest prayer
in the world. Under the Middle and New Empires this prayer was cut upon
hard green stone scarabs, but the versions of it found on scarabs are
often incomplete and full of mistakes. It is quite clear that the prayer
was turned into a spell, and that it was used merely as a "word of
power," and that the hard stone scarabs were regarded merely as amulets.
On many of them spaces are found that have been left blank to receive
the names of those with whom they were to be buried; this proves that
such scarabs once formed part of some undertaker's stock-in-trade, and
that they were kept ready for those who were obliged to buy "heart
scarabs" in a hurry.
Another remarkable composition in the Book of the Dead is the first part
of Chapter CXXV, which well illustrates the lofty moral conceptions of
the Egyptians of the eighteenth dynasty. The deceased is supposed to be
standing in the "Usekht Maāti," or Hall of the Two Maāti goddesses, one
for Upper Egypt and one for Lower Egypt, wherein Osiris and his
Forty-two Judges judge the souls of the dead. Before judgment is given
the deceased is allowed to make a declaration, which in form closely
resembles that made in many parts of Africa at the present day by a man
who is condemned to undergo the ordeal of drinking "red water," and in
it he states that he has not committed offences against the moral and
religious laws of his country. He says:
"Homage to thee, O Great God, thou Lord of Maāti. I have come to thee, O
my Lord, and I have brought myself hither that I may behold thy
beauties. I know thee. I know thy name. I know the names of the
Forty-two[1] gods who live with thee in this Hall of Truth, who keep
ward over sinners, and who feed upon their blood on the day when the
lives of men are taken into account in the presence of Un-Nefer (_i.e._
the Good Being or Osiris).... Verily, I have come unto thee, I have
brought truth unto thee. I have destroyed wickedness for thee. I have
not done evil to men. I have not oppressed (or wronged) my family. I
have not done wrong instead of right. I have not been a friend of
worthless men. I have not wrought evil. I have not tried to make myself
over-righteous. I have not put forward my name for exalted positions. I
have not entreated servants evilly. I have not defrauded the man who was
in trouble. I have not done what is hateful (or taboo) to the gods. I
have not caused a servant to be ill-treated by his master. I have not
caused pain [to any man]. I have not permitted any man to go hungry. I
have made none to weep. I have not committed murder. I have not ordered
any man to commit murder for me. I have inflicted pain on no man. I have
not robbed the temples of their offerings. I have not stolen the cakes
of the gods. I have not carried off the cakes offered to the spirits. I
have not committed fornication. I have not committed acts of impurity in
the holy places of the god of my town. I have not diminished the bushel.
I have not added to or filched away land. I have not encroached upon the
fields [of my neighbours]. I have not added to the weights of the
scales. I have not falsified the pointer of the scales. I have not taken
milk from the mouths of children. I have not driven away the cattle that
were upon their pastures. I have not snared the feathered fowl in the
preserves of the gods. I have not caught fish [with bait made of] fish
of their kind. I have not stopped water at the time [when it should
flow]. I have not breached a canal of running water. I have not
extinguished a fire when it should burn. I have not violated the times
[of offering] chosen meat-offerings. I have not driven off the cattle
from the property of the gods. I have not repulsed the god in his
manifestations. I am pure. I am pure. I am pure. I am pure."
[Footnote 1: The Forty-two gods represent the forty-two nomes, or
counties, into which Egypt was divided.]
[Illustration: Her-Heru and Queen Netchemet standing in the Hall of
Osiris and praying to the God, whilst the Heart of the Queen is being
weighed in the Balance. _From a papyrus (about 1050 B.C.) in the British
Museum._]
In the second part of the Chapter the deceased repeats many of the above
declarations of his innocence, but with each declaration the name of one
of the Forty-two Judges is coupled. Thus we have:
1. "Hail, thou of the long strides, who comest forth from
Heliopolis, I have not committed sin.
2. "Hail, thou who art embraced by flame, who comest forth from
Kherāha, I have not robbed with violence.
3. "Hail, Nose, who comest forth from Hermopolis, I have not done
violence [to any man].
4. "Hail, Eater of shadows, who comest forth from the Qerti, I have
not thieved.
5. "Hail, Stinking Face, who comest forth from Rastau, I have not
slain man or woman.
9. "Hail, Crusher of bones, who comest forth from Hensu, I have not
lied."
Nothing is known of the greater number of these Forty-two gods, but it
is probable that they were local gods or spirits, each one representing
a nome, whose names were added to the declarations with the view of
making the Forty-two Judges represent all Egypt.
In the third part of the Chapter we find that the religious ideas
expressed by the deceased have a far more personal character than those
of the first and second parts. Thus, having declared his innocence of
the forty-two sins or offences, "the heart which is righteous and
sinless" says:
"Homage to you, O ye gods who dwell in your Hall of Maāti! I know you
and I know your names. Let me not fall under your knives, and bring ye
not before the god whom ye follow my wickedness, and let not evil come
upon me through you. Declare ye me innocent in the presence of
Nebertcher,[1] because I have done that which is right in Tamera
(Egypt), neither blaspheming God, nor imputing evil (?) to the king in
his day. Homage to you, O ye gods, who live in your Hall of Maāti, who
have no taint of sin in you, who live upon truth, who feed upon truth
before Horus, the dweller in his disk. Deliver me from Baba, who liveth
upon the entrails of the mighty ones, on the day of the Great Judgment.
Let me come to you, for I have not committed offences [against you]; I
have not done evil, I have not borne false witness; therefore let
nothing [evil] be done unto me. I live upon truth. I feed upon truth. I
have performed the commandments of men, and the things which make the
gods contented. I have made the god to be at peace [with me by doing]
that which is his will. I have given bread to the hungry man, and water
to the thirsty man, and apparel to the naked man, and a ferry boat to
him that had none. I have made offerings to the gods, and given funerary
meals to the spirits. Therefore be ye my deliverers, be ye my
protectors; make ye no accusations against me in the presence [of the
Great God]. I am clean of mouth and clean of hands; therefore let be
said unto me by those who shall see me: 'Come in peace, come in peace'
(_i.e._ Welcome! Welcome!).... I have testified before Herfhaf,[2] and
he hath approved me. I have seen the things over which the Persea tree
spreadeth [its branches] in Rastau. I offer up my prayers to the gods,
and I know their persons. I have come and have advanced to declare the
truth and to set up the Balance[3] on its stand in Aukert."[4]
[Footnote 1: The Lord to the uttermost limit, _i.e._ Almighty God.]
[Footnote 2: The celestial ferryman who ferried the souls of the
righteous to the Island of Osiris. None but the righteous could enter
his boat, and none but the righteous was allowed to land on the Island
of Osiris.]
[Footnote 3: The balance in which the heart was weighed.]
[Footnote 4: A name of a part of the Other World near Heliopolis.]
Then addressing the god Osiris the deceased says: "Hail, thou who art
exalted upon thy standard, thou lord of the Atef crown, whose name is
'Lord of the Winds,' deliver me from thine envoys who inflict evils, who
do harm, whose faces are uncovered, for I have done the right for the
Lord of Truth. I have purified myself and my fore parts with holy water,
and my hinder parts with the things that make clean, and my inward parts
have been [immersed] in the Lake of Truth. There is not one member of
mine wherein truth is lacking. I purified myself in the Pool of the
South. I rested in the northern town in the Field of the Grasshoppers,
wherein the sailors of Rā bathe at the second hour of the night and at
the third hour of the day." One would think that the moral worth of the
deceased was such that he might then pass without delay into the most
holy part of the Hall of Truth where Osiris was enthroned. But this is
not the case, for before he went further he was obliged to repeat the
magical names of various parts of the Hall of Truth; thus we find that
the priest thrust his magic into the most sacred of texts. At length
Thoth, the great Recorder of Egypt, being satisfied as to the good faith
and veracity of the deceased, came to him and asked why he had come to
the Hall of Truth, and the deceased replied that he had come in order to
be "mentioned" to the god. Thoth then asked him, "Who is he whose heaven
is fire, whose walls are serpents, and the floor of whose house is a
stream of water?" The deceased replied, "Osiris"; and he was then bidden
to advance so that he might be introduced to Osiris. As a reward for his
righteous life sacred food, which proceeded from the Eye of Rā, was
allotted to him, and, living on the food of the god, he became a
counterpart of the god.
From first to last the Book of the Dead is filled with spells and
prayers for the preservation of the mummy and for everlasting life. As
instances of these the following passages are quoted from Chapters 154
and 175. "Homage to thee, O my divine father Osiris, thou livest with
thy members. Thou didst not decay. Thou didst not turn into worms. Thou
didst not waste away. Thou didst not suffer corruption. Thou didst not
putrefy. I am the god Khepera, and my members shall have an everlasting
existence. I shall not decay. I shall not rot. I shall not putrefy. I
shall not turn into worms. I shall not see corruption before the eye of
the god Shu. I shall have my being, I shall have my being. I shall live,
I shall live. I shall flourish, I shall flourish. I shall wake up in
peace. I shall not putrefy. My inward parts shall not perish. I shall
not suffer injury. Mine eye shall not decay. The form of my visage shall
not disappear. Mine ear shall not become deaf. My head shall not be
separated from my neck. My tongue shall not be carried away. My hair
shall not be cut off. Mine eyebrows shall not be shaved off. No baleful
injury shall come upon me. My body shall be established, and it shall
neither crumble away nor be destroyed on this earth." The passage that
refers to everlasting life occurs in Chapter 175, wherein the scribe
Ani is made to converse with Thoth and Temu in the Tuat, or Other World.
Ani, who is supposed to have recently arrived there, says: "What manner
of country is this to which I have come? There is no water in it. There
is no air. It is depth unfathomable, it is black as the blackest night,
and men wander helplessly therein. In it a man may not live in quietness
of heart; nor may the affections be gratified therein." After a short
address to Osiris, the deceased asks the god, "How long shall I live?"
And the god says, "It is decreed that thou shalt live for millions of
millions of years, a life of millions of years."
As a specimen of a spell that was used in connection with an amulet may
be quoted Chapter 156. The amulet was the _tet_, which represented a
portion of the body of Isis. The spell reads: "The blood of Isis, the
power of Isis, the words of power of Isis shall be strong to protect
this mighty one (_i.e._ the mummy), and to guard him from him that would
do unto him anything which he abominateth (or, is taboo to him)." The
object of the spell is explained in the Rubric, which reads: "[This
spell] shall be said over a _tet_ made of carnelian, which hath been
steeped in water of _ankham_ flowers, and set in a frame of sycamore
wood, and placed on the neck of the deceased on the day of the funeral.
If these things be done for him the powers of Isis shall protect his
body, and Horus, the son of Isis, shall rejoice in him when he seeth
him. And there shall be no places hidden from him as he journeyeth. And
one hand of his shall be towards heaven and the other towards earth,
regularly and continually. Thou shalt not let any person who is with
thee see it [a few words broken away]." Of the spells written in the
Book of the Dead to make crocodiles, serpents, and other reptiles
powerless, the following are specimens: "Away with thee! Retreat! Get
back, O thou accursed Crocodile Sui. Thou shalt not come nigh me, for I
have life through the words of power that are in me. If I utter thy name
to the Great God he will make thee to come before the two divine
messengers Betti and Herkemmaāt. Heaven ruleth its seasons, and the
spell hath power over what it mastereth, and my mouth ruleth the spell
that is inside it. My teeth which bite are like flint knives, and my
teeth which grind are like unto those of the Wolf-god. O thou who
sittest spellbound with thine eyes fixed through my spell, thou shalt
not carry off my spell, thou Crocodile that livest on spells" (Chap.
XXXI).
"Get thee back, thou Crocodile of the West, that livest on the
never-resting stars. That which is thy taboo is in me. I have eaten
the brow (or, skull) of Osiris. I am set.
"Get thee back, thou Crocodile of the West. The serpent Nāu is
inside me. I will set it on thee, thy flame shall not approach me.
"Get thee back, thou Crocodile of the East, that feedest upon the
eaters of filth. That which is thy taboo is in me. I advance. I am
Osiris.
"Get thee back, thou Crocodile of the East. The serpent Nāu is
inside me. I will set it on thee; thy flame shall not approach me.
"Get thee back, thou Crocodile of the South, that feedest upon
waste, garbage, and filth. That which is thy taboo is in me.... I
am Sept.[1]
"Get thee back, thou Crocodile of the South. I will fetter thee. My
charm is among the reeds (?). I will not yield unto thee.
"Get thee back, thou Crocodile of the North, that feedest upon what
is left by the hours. That which is thy taboo is in me. The
emissions shall [not] fall upon my head. I am Tem.[2]
"Get thee back, thou Crocodile of the North, for the
Scorpion-goddess[3] is inside me, unborn (?). I am Uatch-Merti
(?).[4]
"Created things are in the hollow of my hand, and the things that
are not yet made are inside me. I am clothed in and supplied with
thy spells, O Rā, which are above me and beneath me.... I am Rā,
the self-protected, no evil thing whatsoever shall overthrow me"
(Chap. XXXII).
[Footnote 1: A god of the Eastern Delta and a local form of the Sun-god
early in the day.]
[Footnote 2: The primeval god, a form of Pautti, the oldest Egyptian
god.]
[Footnote 3: She was called "Serqet."]
[Footnote 4: A green-eyed serpent-god, or goddess, equipped with great
power to destroy.]