THE BOOK OF THE DEAD
The Papyrus of Ani
by
E. A. WALLIS BUDGE
Late keeper of Assyrian and Egyptian Antiquities
in the British Museum
[1895]
PLATE XXVI.
underworld fear me, and they fight for me [in their habitations]. I, in very truth I am a shining one and a dweller in light, who hath been created and who hath come into being from the body of the god. I am one of the shining ones who dwell in light, whom Tmu himself hath created, and who have.(come into being from the eyelashes of his eye. He doth create and glorify and make noble the faces of those who live with him. Behold, the only One in Nu! They do homage unto him as he cometh forth from the horizon, and they strike fear of him into the gods and into the shining ones who have come into being with him.
"I am the One among the worms which the eye of the Lord, the only One, hath created. And lo! before Isis was, and when Horus was not yet, I had waxed strong, and flourished. I had grown old, and I had become greater than they who were among the shining ones who had come into being with him, and I, even I, arose in the form of a sacred hawk, and Horus made me worthy in the form of his own soul, to take possession of all that belongeth unto Osiris in the underworld. The double Lion-god, the warder of the things that belong to the house of the nemmes crown which is in his hiding place, saith unto me: 'Get thee back to the heights of heaven, seeing that through Horus thou hast become glorified in thy form; the nemmes crown is not for thee; thou hast speech even unto the ends of heaven.' I, the guardian, take possession of the things which belong to Horus and Osiris in the underworld. Horus telleth aloud unto me that which his father had said concerning me in years [gone by], on the day of the burial [of Osiris]. I have given unto thee the nemmes of the double Lion-god which I possess, that thou mayest pass onward and mayest travel over the path of heaven, and that they who dwell on the confines of the horizon may see thee, and that the gods of the underworld may fear thee and may fight for thee in their habitations. The god Auhet is of them. The gods, the lords of the boundaries of heaven, they who are the warders of the shrine of the lord, the only One, have fallen before my words, have fallen down before [my] words. Hail! He that is exalted upon his tomb is on my side, and he hath bound upon my head the nemmes crown. The double Lion-god hath decreed it, the god Auhet hath made a way for me. I, even I, am exalted, and the double Lion-god hath bound the nemmes crown on me, and my head covering hath been given unto me. He hath stablished my heart through his strength and through his great might, and I shall not fall through Shu. I am Hetep, the lord of the two urĉi, the being who is adored. I know the shining god, and his breath is in my body. I shall not be driven back by the Bull which causeth men to tremble, but I shall come daily into the house of the double Lion-god, and I shall come forth therefrom into the house of Isis. I shall behold sacred things which are hidden, there shall be done unto me holy hidden rites, I shall see what is there; my words shall make full the majesty of Shu, and they shall drive away evil hap. I, even I, am Horus who dwell in splendours. I have gained power over his crown, I have gained power over his radiance, and I have travelled over the remotest parts of heaven. Horus is upon his throne, Horus is upon his seat. My face is like unto that of a divine hawk. I am one who hath been armed by his lord. I have come forth from Tattu. I have seen Osiris, I have risen up on either side of him. Nut [hath shrouded me]. The gods behold me, and I have beheld the gods. The eye of Horus hath consumed me, who dwell in darkness. The gods stretch forth their arms unto me. I rise up, I get the mastery, and I drive back evil which opposeth me. The gods open unto me the holy way, they see my form, and they hear my words which I utter in their presence. O ye gods of the underworld, who set yourselves up against me, and who resist the mighty ones, the stars which never set have led me on my way. I have passed along the holy paths of the hemtet chamber unto your lord, the exceedingly mighty and terrible Soul. Horus hath commanded that ye lift up your faces to look upon me. I have risen up in the likeness of a divine hawk, and Horus hath set me apart in the likeness of his own soul, to take possession of that which belongeth unto Osiris in the underworld. I have passed along the way, I have travelled on and I have come even among those who live in their hiding places and who guard the house of Osiris. I speak unto them of his power and I make them to know the terrible power of him that is provided with two horns [to fight] against Sut; and they know who hath carried off the sacred food which the power (?) of Tmu had brought for him. The gods of the underworld have proclaimed a happy coming for me. O Ye who live in your hiding places and who guard the house of Osiris, and who have magnified your names, grant ye that I may come unto you. I bind together and I gather up your powers, and I order the strength of the paths of those who guard the horizon of the hemtet of heaven. I have stablished their habitations for Osiris, I have ordered his ways, I have done what hath been bidden. I have come forth from Tattu, I have beheld Osiris, I have spoken unto him concerning the things of his son, the divine Prince whom he loveth. There is a wound in the heart of Set, and I have seen him who is without