Now Ahura was the wife of Nefer-ka-ptah, and their child was Merab;
this was the name by which he was registered by the scribes in the
House of Life. And Nefer-ka-ptah, though he was the son of the King,
cared for naught on earth but to read the ancient records, written on
papyrus in the House of Life or engraved on stone in the temples; all
day and every day he studied the writings of the ancestors.
One day he went into the temple to pray to the Gods, but when he saw
the inscriptions on the walls he began to read them; and he forgot to
pray, he forgot the Gods, he forgot the priests, he forgot all that
was around him until he heard laughter behind him. He looked round
and a priest stood there, and from him came the laughter.
"Why laughest thou at me?" said Nefer-ka-ptah.
"Because thou readest these worthless writings," answered the priest.
"If thou wouldest read writings that are worth the reading I can tell
thee where the Book of Thoth lies hidden."
Then Nefer-ka-ptah was eager in his questions, and the priest
replied, "Thoth wrote the Book with his own hand, and in it is all
the magic in the world. If thou readest the first page, thou wilt
enchant the sky, the earth, the abyss, the mountains, and the sea;
thou wilt understand the language of the birds of the air, and thou
wilt know what the creeping things of earth are saying, and thou wilt
see the fishes from the darkest depths of the sea. And if thou
readest the other page, even though thou wert dead and in the world
of ghosts, thou couldest come back to earth in the form thou once
hadst. And besides this, thou wilt see the sun shining in the sky
with the full moon and the stars, and thou wilt behold the great
shapes of the Gods."
Then said Nefer-ka-ptah, "By the life of Pharaoh, that Book shall be
mine. Tell me whatsoever it is that thou desirest, and I will do it
for thee."
"Provide for my funeral," said the priest. "See that I am buried as
a rich man, with priests and mourning women, offerings, libations,
and incense. Then shall my soul rest in peace in the Fields of Aalu.
One hundred pieces of silver must be spent upon my burying."
Then Nefer-ka-ptah sent a fleet messenger to fetch the money, and he
paid one hundred pieces of silver into the priest's hands. When the
priest had taken the silver, he said to Nefer-ka-ptah:
"The Book is at Koptos in the middle of the river.
In the middle of the river is an iron box,
In the iron box is a bronze box,
In the bronze box is a keté-wood box,
In the keté-wood box is an ivory-and-ebony box,
In the ivory-and-ebony box is a silver box,
In the silver box is a gold box,
And in the gold box is the Book of Thoth.
Round about the great iron box are snakes and scorpions and all
manner of crawling things, and above all there is a snake which no
man can kill. These are set to guard the Book of Thoth."
When the priest had finished speaking, Nefer-ka-ptah ran out of the
temple, for his joy was so great that he knew not where he was. He
ran quickly to find Ahura to tell her about the Book and that he
would go to Koptos and find it.
But Ahura was very sorrowful, and said, "Go not on this journey, for
trouble and grief await thee in the Southern Land."
She laid her hand upon Nefer-ka-ptah as though she would hold him
back from the sorrow that awaited him. But he would not be
restrained, and broke away from her and went to the King his father.
He told the King all that he had learned, and said, "Give me the
royal barge, O my father, that I may go to the Southern Land with my
wife Ahura and my son Merab. For the Book of Thoth I must and will
have."
So the King gave orders and the royal barge was prepared, and in it
Nefer-ka-ptah, Ahura, and Merab sailed up the river to the Southern
Land as far as Koptos. When they arrived at Koptos, the high priest
and all the priests of Isis of Koptos came down to the river to
welcome Nefer-ka-ptah, Ahura, and Merab. And they went in a great
procession to the temple of the Goddess, and Nefer-ka-ptah sacrificed
an ox and a goose and poured a libation of wine to Isis of Koptos and
her son Harpocrates. After this, the priests of Isis and their wives
made a great feast for four days in honour of Nefer-ka-ptah and Ahura.
On the morning of the fifth day, Nefer-ka-ptah called to him a priest
of Isis, a great magician learned in all the mysteries of the Gods.
And together they made a little magic box, like the cabin of a boat,
and they made men and a great store of tackle, and put the men and
the tackle in the magic cabin. Then they uttered a spell over the
cabin, and the men breathed and were alive, and began to use the
tackle. And Nefer-ka-ptah sank the magic cabin in the river, saying,
"Workmen, workmen! Work for me!" And he filled the royal barge with
sand and sailed away alone, while Ahura sat on the bank of the river
at Koptos, and watched and waited, for she knew that sorrow must come
of this journey to the Southern Land.
The magic men in the magic cabin toiled all night and all day for
three nights and three days along the bottom of the river; and when
they stopped the royal barge stopped also, and Nefer-ka-ptah knew
that he had arrived where the Book lay hidden.
He took the sand out of the royal barge and threw it into the water,
and it made a gap in the river, a gap of a schoenus long and a
schoenus wide; in the middle of the gap lay the iron box, and beside
the box was coiled the great snake that no man can kill, and all
around the box on every side to the edge of the walls of water were
snakes and scorpions and all manner of crawling things.
Then Nefer-ka-ptah stood up in the royal barge, and across the water
he cried to the snakes and scorpions and crawling things; a loud and
terrible cry, and the words were words of magic. As soon as his
voice was still, the snakes and scorpions and crawling things were
still also, for they were enchanted by means of the magical words of
Nefer-ka-ptah, and they could not move. Nefer-ka-ptah brought the
royal barge to the edge of the gap, and he walked through the snakes
and scorpions and crawling things, and they looked at him, but could
not move because of the spell that was on them.
And now Nefer-ka-ptah was face to face with the snake that no man
could kill, and it reared itself up ready for battle. Nefer-ka-ptah
rushed upon it and cut off its head, and at once the head and body
came together, each to each, and the snake that no man could kill was
alive again, and ready for the fray. Again Nefer-ka-ptah rushed upon
it, and so hard did he strike that the head was flung far from the
body, but at once the head and body came together again, each to
each, and again the snake that no man could kill was alive and ready
to fight. Then Nefer-ka-ptah saw that the snake was immortal and
could not be slain, but must be overcome by subtle means. Again he
rushed upon it and cut it in two, and very quickly he put sand on
each part, so that when the head and body came together there was
sand between them and they could not join, and the snake that no man
could kill lay helpless before him.
Then Nefer-ka-ptah went to the great box where it stood in the gap in
the middle of the river, and the snakes and scorpions and crawling
things watched, but they could not stop him.
He opened the iron box and found a bronze box,
He opened the bronze box and found a keté-wood box,
He opened the keté-wood box and found an
ivory-and-ebony box,
He opened the ivory-and-ebony box and found
a silver box,
He opened the silver box and found a gold box,
He opened the gold box and found the Book of Thoth.
He opened the Book and read a page, and at once he had enchanted the
sky, the earth, the abyss, the mountains, and the sea, and he
understood the language of birds, fish, and beasts. He read the
second page and he saw the sun shining in the sky, with the full moon
and the stars, and he saw the great shapes of the Gods themselves;
and so strong was the magic that the fishes came up from the darkest
depths of the sea. So he knew that what the priest had told him was
true.
Then he thought of Ahura waiting for him at Koptos, and he cast a
magic spell upon the men that he had made, saying "Workmen, workmen!
Work for me! and take me back to the place from which I came." They
toiled day and night till they came to Koptos, and there was Ahura
sitting by the river, having eaten nothing and drunk nothing since
Nefer-ka-ptah went away. For she sat waiting and watching for the
sorrow that was to come upon them.
But when she saw Nefer-ka-ptah returning in the royal barge, her
heart was glad and she rejoiced exceedingly. Nefer-ka-ptah came to
her and put the Book of Thoth into her hands and bade her read it.
When she read the first page, she enchanted the sky, the earth, the
abyss, the mountains, and the sea, and she understood the language of
birds, fish, and beasts; and when she read the second page, she saw
the sun shining in the sky, with the full moon and the stars, and she
saw the great shapes of the Gods themselves; and so strong was the
magic that the fishes came up from the darkest depths of the sea.
Nefer-ka-ptah now called for a piece of new papyrus and for a cup of
beer; and on the papyrus he wrote all the spells that were in the
Book of Thoth. Then he took the cup of beer and washed the papyrus
in the beer, so that all the ink was washed off and the papyrus
became as though it had never been written on. And Nefer-ka-ptah
drank the beer, and at once he knew all the spells that had been
written on the papyrus, for this is the method of the great magicians.
Then Nefer-ka-ptah and Ahura went to the temple of Isis and gave
offerings to Isis and Harpocrates, and made a great feast, and the
next day they went on board the royal barge and sailed joyfully away
down the river towards the Northern Land.
But behold, Thoth had discovered the loss of his Book, and Thoth
raged like a panther of the South, and he hastened before Ra and told
him all, saying, "Nefer-ka-ptah has found my magic box and opened it,
and has stolen my Book, even the Book of Thoth; he slew the guards
that surrounded it, and the snake that no man can kill lay helpless
before him. Avenge me, O Ra, upon Nefer-ka-ptah, son of the King of
Egypt."
The Majesty of Ra answered and said, "Take him and his wife and his
child, and do with them as thou wilt." And now the sorrow for which
Ahura watched and waited was about to come upon them, for Thoth took
with him a Power from Ra to give him his desire upon the stealer of
his Book.
As the royal barge sailed smoothly down the river, the little boy
Merab ran out from the shade of the awning and leaned over the side
watching the water. And the Power of Ra drew him, so that he fell
into the river and was drowned. When he fell, all the sailors on the
royal barge and all the people walking on the river-bank raised a
great cry, but they could not save him. Nefer-ka-ptah came out of
the cabin and read a magical spell over the water, and the body of
Merab came to the surface and they brought it on board the royal
barge. Then Nefer-ka-ptah read another spell, and so great was its
power that the dead child spoke and told Nefer-ka-ptah all that had
happened among the Gods, that Thoth was seeking vengeance, and that
Ra had granted him his desire upon the stealer of his Book.
Nefer-ka-ptah gave command, and the royal barge returned to Koptos,
that Merab might be buried there with the honour due to the son of a
prince. When the funeral ceremonies were over, the royal barge
sailed down the river towards the Northern Land. A joyful journey
was it no longer, for Merab was dead, and Ahura's heart was heavy on
account of the sorrow that was still to come, for the vengeance of
Thoth was not yet fulfilled.
They reached the place where Merab had fallen into the water, and
Ahura came out from under the shade of the awning, and she leaned
over the side of the barge, and the Power of Ra drew her so that she
fell into the river and was drowned. When she fell, all the sailors
in the royal barge and all the people walking on the river-bank
raised a great cry, but they could not save her. Nefer-ka-ptah came
out of the cabin and read a magical spell over the water, and the
body of Ahura came to the surface, and they brought it on board the
royal barge. Then Nefer-ka-ptah read another spell, and so great was
its power that the dead woman spoke and told Nefer-ka-ptah all that
had happened among the Gods, that Thoth was still seeking vengeance,
and that Ra had granted him his desire upon the stealer of his Book.
Nefer-ka-ptah gave command and the royal barge returned to Koptos,
that Ahura might be buried there with the honour due to the daughter
of a king. When the funeral ceremonies were over, the royal barge
sailed down the river towards the Northern Land. A sorrowful journey
was it now, for Ahura and Merab were dead, and the vengeance of Thoth
was not yet fulfilled.
They reached the place where Ahura and Merab had fallen into the
water, and Nefer-ka-ptah felt the Power of Ra drawing him. Though he
struggled against it he knew that it would conquer him. He took a
piece of royal linen, fine and strong, and made it into a girdle, and
with it he bound the Book of Thoth firmly to his breast, for he was
resolved that Thoth should never have his Book again.
Then the Power drew him yet more strongly, and he came from under the
shade of the awning and threw himself into the river and was drowned.
When he fell, all the sailors of the royal barge and all the people
walking on the river-bank raised a great cry, but they could not save
him. And when they looked for his body they could not find it. So
the royal barge sailed down the river till they reached the Northern
Land and came to Memphis, and the chiefs of the royal barge went to
the King and told him all that had happened.
The King put on mourning raiment; he and his courtiers, the high
priest and all the priests of Memphis, the King's army and the King's
household, were clothed in mourning apparel, and they walked in
procession to the haven of Memphis to the royal barge. When they
came to the haven, they saw the body of Nefer-ka-ptah floating in the
water beside the barge, close to the great steering-oars. And this
marvel came to pass because of the magical powers of Nefer-ka-ptah;
even in death he was a great magician by reason of the spells he had
washed off the papyrus and drunk in the beer.
Then they drew him out of the water, and they saw the Book of Thoth
bound to his breast with the girdle of royal linen. And the King
gave command that they should bury Nefer-ka-ptah with the honour due
to the son of a king, and that the Book of Thoth should be buried
with him.
Thus was the vengeance of Thoth fulfilled, but the Book remained with
Nefer-ka-ptah.
V