The Egyptian Book of the
Dead
1240 BC
THE PAPYRUS OF ANI
Translated by E.A. Wallis Budge
BOOK 12
THE CHAPTER OF THE PRAISE OF HATHOR, LADY OF AMENTET
Hathor, Lady of Amentet, the Dweller in the Great Land, the Lady of Ta-Tchesert, the Eye of Ra, the Dweller in his breast, the Beautiful Face in the Boat of Millions of Years, the Seat of Peace of the doer of truth, Dweller in the Boat of the favoured ones.....
APPENDIX: THE CHAPTER OF THE FOUR TORCHES (From the Papyrus of Nu, Sheets 26 and 27)
THE CHAPTER OF THE FOUR LIGHTED LAMPS WHICH ARE MADE FOR THE SPIRIT- SOUL.
Behold, thou shalt make four rectangular troughs of clay wherein thou shalt scatter incense, and thou shalt fill them with the milk of a white cow, and by means of these thou shalt extinguish the lamps. The Osiris Nu, the steward of the overseer of the seal, whose word is truth, saith:- The fire cometh to thy KA, O Osiris Khenti-Amenti! The fire cometh to thy KA, O Osiris Nu, whose word is truth. The ordering of the night cometh after the day. [The fire cometh to thy KA, O Osiris, Governor of those who are in Amenti], and the two sisters of Ra come likewise. Behold it (the fire) riseth in Abtu, and it cometh; I cause it to come, the Eye of Horus. It is set in order upon thy brow, O Osiris Khenti-Amenti; it is set in thy shrine and riseth on thy brow; it is set on thy brow, O Osiris Nu, it is set on thy brow. The Eye of Horus protecteth thee, O Osiris Khenti-Amenti, and it keepeth thee in safety; it casteth down headlong all thine enemies for thee, and all thine enemies have fallen down headlong before thee. O Osiris Nu, the Eye of Horus protecteth thee, it keepeth thee in safety, and it casteth down headlong all thine enemies. Thine enemies have fallen down headlong before thy KA, O Osiris Khenti-Amenti. The Eye of Ra protecteth thee, it keepeth thee in safety, and it hath cast down headlong all thine enemies. Thine enemies have fallen down headlong before thy KA, O Osiris Nu, whose word is truth. The Eye of Horus protecteth thee, it keepeth thee in safety, it hath cast down headlong for thee all thine enemies, and thine enemies have fallen down headlong before thee. The Eye of Horus cometh. It is sound and well, it sendeth forth light even as doth Ra in the horizon. It covereth the powers of Suti with darkness, it mastereth him, and it bringeth its flame against him by its own command. The Eye of Horus is sound and well, thou eatest the flesh thereof, thy body possesseth it. Thou acclaimest it. The Four Fires enter into thy KA, O Osiris Khenti-Amenti, the Four Fires enter into thy KA, O Osiris Nu, the steward of the overseer of the seal, whose word is truth.
Hail, ye sons of Horus, Kesta, Hapi, Tuamutef, and Qebhsenuf, ye have given your protection to your divine Father Osiris Khenti-Amenti, give ye your protection to the Osiris Nu, whose word is truth. Now therefore, inasmuch as ye have destroyed the Opponent of Osiris Khenti-Amenti, who liveth with the gods, having smitten Suti with his right hand and arm when dawn came upon the earth, and Horus hath become master [of Suti], and hath avenged his divine Father himself; and inasmuch as your divine Father hath been made to flourish through the union of the KA of Osiris Khenti-Amenti, whch ye effected, and the Eye of Horus hath avenged him, and hath protected him, and hath cast down headlong for him all his enemies, and all his enemies have fallen down before him, even so do ye destroy the Opponent of the Osiris Nu, the steward of the overseer of the seal, whose word is truth. Let him live with the gods, let him smite his enemy, let him destroy him, when light dawneth on the earth. Let Horus be master and avenge the Osiris Nu, and let the Osiris Nu flourish through his union with his KA which ye have effected. O Osiris Nu, the Eye of Horus hath avenged thee. It hath cast down headlong all thine enemies for thee, and all thine enemies have been cast down headlong before thee.
Hail, Osiris Khenti-Amenti, grant thou light and fire to the perfect Heart-soul which is in Hensu. And [O ye Sons of Horus], grant ye power unto the living heart-soul of the Osiris Nu by means of his fire. Let him not be repulsed, and let him not be driven back at the doors of Amentet! Let his offerings of bread and of linen garments be brought unto him among the lords of funeral oblations. O offer ye praises, as unto a god to the Osiris Nu, the destroyer of his Opponent in his form of Truth, and in his attributes of a god of truth.
RUBRIC: [This Chapter] shall be recited over four torches of atma cloth, which hath been anointed with the finest Thehennu unguent, and the torches shall be placed in the hands of four men who shall have the names of the pillars of Horus written upon their shoulders, and they shall burn the torches in the beautiful light of Ra, and this shall confer power and might upon the Spirit-soul of the deceased among the stars which never set. If this Chapter be recited for him he shall never, never perish, and he shall become a living soul for ever. These torches shall make the Spirit-soul to flourish like Osiris Khenti- Amenti, regularly and continually for ever. It is a struggle. Thou shalt not perform this ceremony before any human being except thine own self, or thy father, or thy son, because it is an exceedingly great mystery of the Amentet, and it is a type of the hidden things of the Tuat. When this ceremony hath been performed for the deceased, the gods, and the Spirit-souls, and the dead shall see him in the form of Khenti-Amenti, and he shall have power and dominion like this god.
If thou shalt undertake to perform for the deceased that which is ordered in this "Chapter of the four blazing torches," each day, thou shalt cause the form of the deceased to come forth from every hall [in the Tuat], and from the Seven Halls of Osiris. And he shall live in the form of the God. He shall have power and dominion corresponding to those of the gods and the Spirit-souls for ever and ever. He shall enter in through the secret pylons and shall not be turned back in the presence of Osiris. And it shall come to pass, provided that the following things be done for him, that he shall enter in and come forth. He shall not be turned back. No boundary shall be set to his goings, and the sentence of the doom shall not be passed upon him on the Day of the Weighing of Words before Osiris- never, never.
And thou shalt perform whatsoever [is written in] this book on behalf of the deceased, who shall thereby become perfect and pure. And thou shalt "open his mouth" with the instrument of iron. And thou shalt write down these things in accordance with the instructions which are found in the books of Prince Herutataf, who discovered them in a secret coffer (now they were in the handwriting of the god [Thoth] himself and had been deposited in the Temple of the goddess Unnut, the Lady of Unu) during a journey which he was making in order to inspect the temples, and the temple-estates, and the sanctuaries of the gods. And thou shalt perform these ceremonies secretly in the Tuat-chamber of the tomb, for they are mysteries of the Tuat, and they are symbolic of the things which are done in Khert-Neter.
And thou shalt say: I have come, I have advanced hastily. I cast light upon his (the deceased's) footsteps. I am hidden, but I cast light upon his hidden place. I stand up close to the Tet. I stand up close to the Tet of Ra, I turn back the slaughter. I am protecting thee, O Osiris.
RUBRIC: This Chapter shall be recited over a Tet of crystal, which shall be set upon a brick made of crude mud, whereupon this Chapter hath been inscribed. Thou shalt make a cavity in the west wall [of the tomb], and having turned the front of the Tet towards the east, thou shalt wall up the cavity with mud which hath been mixed with extract of cedar. This Tet shall drive away the enemies of Osiris who would set themselves at the east wall [of the tomb].
And thou shalt say: I have driven back thy foes. I keep watch over thee. He that is upon his mountain (Anpu) keepeth watch over thee ready for the moment when thy foes shall attack thee, and he shall repulse them for thee. I will drive back the Crocodile at the moment when it attacketh thee, and I will protect thee, O Osiris Nu.
RUBRIC: This Chapter shall be recited over a figure of Anpu made of crude mud mixed with incense. And the figure shall be set upon a brick made of crude mud, whereupon this Chapter hath been inscribed. Thou shalt make a cavity in the east wall, and having turned the face of the figure of Anpu towards the west wall [therein] thou shalt wall up the cavity. This figure shall repulse the enemies of Osiris, who would set themselves at the south wall.
And thou shalt say; I am the belt of sand round about the hidden coffer. I turn back the force of the blazing fire of the funerary mountain. I traverse the roads, and I protect the Osiris Nu, the steward of the overseer of the seal, whose word is truth.
RUBRIC: This Chapter shall be recited over a brick made of crude mud whereon a copy of this Chapter hath been inscribed. And thou shalt place a reed in the middle thereof, and thou shalt smear it with pitch, and set light thereto. Then thou shalt make a cavity in the south wall, and, having turned the front of the brick towards the north, thou shalt wall the brick up inside it. [It shall repulse the enemies of the Osiris Nu] who would assemble at the north wall.
And thou shalt say: O thou who comest to set fire [to the tomb or mummy], I will not let thee do it. O thou who comest to cast fire [herein], I will not let thee do it. I will burn thee, and I will cast fire upon thee. I protect the Osiris Nu, the steward of the overseer of the seal, whose word is truth.
RUBRIC: This Chapter shall be recited over a brick of crude mud, whereon a copy of this Chapter hath been inscribed. [And thou shalt set upon it] a figure of the deceased made of palm wood, seven fingers in height. And thou shalt perform on it the ceremony of "Opening the Mouth." Then thou shalt make a cavity in the north wall, and having [placed the brick and the figure inside it], and turned the face of the figure towards the south, thou shalt wall up the cavity. [It shall repulse the enemies of the Osiris Nu], who would assemble at the south wall.
And behold, these things shall be done by a man who is washed clean, and is ceremonially pure, and who hath eaten neither meat nor fish, and who hath not [recently] had intercourse with women. And behold, thou shalt make offerings of cakes and ale to these gods, and shalt burn incense on their fires. Every Spirit-soul for whom these things shall be done shall become like a holy god in Khert-Neter, and he shall not be turned back at any gate in Amentet, and he shall be in the following of Osiris, whithersoever he goeth, regularly and continually.