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]
PLATES XXIX. AND XXX.
Vignette (PLATE XXIX.): Ani and his wife standing with hands raised in adoration before the god Thoth, who has ankh, "life," upon his knees, and is seated on a pylon-shaped throne.
Text [CHAPTER CLXXV.]: THE CHAPTER OF NOT DYING A SECOND TIME. Saith Osiris Ani, triumphant: " Hail, Thoth! What is it that hath happened unto the holy children of Nut? They have done battle, they have upheld strife, they have done evil, they have created the fiends, they have made slaughter, they have caused trouble; in truth, in all their doings the mighty have worked against the weak. Grant, O might of Thoth, that that which the god Tmu hath decreed [may be done]! And thou regardest not evil, nor art thou provoked to anger when they bring their years to confusion and throng in and push to disturb their months; for in all that they have done unto thee they have worked iniquity in secret. I am thy writing palette, O Thoth, and I have brought unto thee thine ink jar. I am not of those who work iniquity in their secret places; let not evil happen unto me."
Saith Osiris, the scribe Ani: "Hail, Tmu! What manner [of land] is this into which I have come? It hath not water, it hath not air; it is deep 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 longings of love be satisfied therein. But let the state of the shining ones be given unto me for water and for air and for the satisfying of the longings of love, and let quietness of heart be given unto me for bread and for ale. The god Tmu hath decreed that I shall see his face, and that I shall not suffer from the things which pain him. May the gods hand on their thrones for millions of years. Thy throne hath descended unto thy son Horus. The god Tmu hath decreed that his course shall be among the holy princes. In truth, he shall rule over thy throne, and he shall be heir of the throne of the dweller in the Lake of Fire. It hath been decreed that in me he shall see his likeness, and that my face shall look upon the lord Tmu. How long then have I to live? It is decreed that thou shalt live for millions of millions of years, a life of millions of years. May it be granted that I pass on unto the holy princes, for I am doing away with all that I did when this earth came into being from Nu, and when it sprang from the watery abyss even as it was in the days of old. I am Fate (?) and Osiris, and I have changed my form into the likeness of divers serpents. Man knoweth not, and the gods cannot see, the two-fold beauty which I have made for Osiris, who is greater than all the gods. I have granted that he [shall rule] in the mount of the dead. Verily his son Horus is seated upon the throne of the dweller in the double Lake of Fire, as his heir. I have set his throne in the boat of millions of years. Horus is established upon his throne, amid the friends [of Osiris] and all that belonged unto him. Verily the soul of Sut, which is greater than all the gods, hath departed to [Amenta]. May it be granted that I bind his soul in the divine boat at my will . . . . . . . . . O my Osiris, thou hast done for me that which thy father Ra did for thee. May I abide upon the earth lastingly; may I keep possession of my throne; may my heir be strong; may my tomb and my friends who are upon earth flourish; may my enemies be given over to destruction and to the shackles of the goddess Serq! I am thy son, and Ra is my father. For me likewise hast thou made life, strength and health. Horus is established upon his throne. Grant that the days of my life may come unto worship and honour."
Appendix
From the fragmentary copy of this chapter which M. Naville has published in his Todtenbuch, Bd. L, Bll. 198, 199, it is clear that the text given in the papyrus of Ani forms only about one-half of it, and that its contents refer to the glorious state of the deceased, who lives again in the form of Horus. He enters among the revered dead; shouts of joy ascend in Suten-henen, and gladness reigns in Naarutef he hath inherited the throne of Osiris, and ruleth the whole earth, and the company of the gods are content thereat; the god Sut feareth him; all sorts and conditions of men both dead and living come before him, and bow down in homage when they behold him; the god hath made all to fear him; Sut cometh unto him with head bent low to the earth; the deceased breaketh and turneth up the earth in blood in Suten-henen; (compare Chap. XVIII., §G); his name shall endure for millions of millions of years; his name shall abide in Suten-henen, and he shall wear the mighty atef crown upon his head for millions, and hundreds of thousands, and tens of thousands, and thousands, and hundreds, and tens of years; bread, ale, oxen, wild fowl, all good and pure things and fresh water from the river shall in abundance be offered unto him, etc. From the concluding lines we find that the chapter was to be recited over a figure of the god Horus made of lapis-lazuli, which was to be placed near the neck of the deceased, and which was supposed to give him power upon earth with men, gods, and the shining spirits; the effect upon him would, moreover, be exceedingly beneficial if it were recited in the underworld.
Vignette I. (PLATE XXX.): The god Osiris, bearded and wearing the id white crown, stands in a shrine the roof of which is surmounted by a hawk's head and urĉi; at the back of his neck hangs the menat (see above p. 245), and in his hands he holds the crook, sceptre, and flail, emblems of royalty, power, and dominion. Behind him stands the goddess Isis, who rests her right hand upon his right shoulder; in her left hand she holds the sign of life. Before Osiris, upon a lotus flower, stand the four children of Horus, the gods of the cardinal points, Mestha, Hapi, Tuamautef, and Qebhsennuf.
Vignette II. (PLATE XXIX.): Ani and his wife Thuthu standing, with hands raised in adoration to Osiris, before a table of offerings.
Text [CHAPTER CXXV.]: THE CHAPTER OF ENTERING INTO THE HALL OF DOUBLE RIGHT AND TRUTH: A HYMN OF PRAISE TO OSIRIS, THE DWELLER IN AMENTET. Osiris, the scribe Ani, triumphant, saith: "I have come and I have drawn nigh to see thy beauties; my two hands are raised in adoration of thy name Right and Truth. I have drawn nigh unto the place where the acacia tree groweth not, where the tree thick with leaves existeth not, and where the ground yieldeth neither herb nor grass. And I have entered in unto the place of secret and hidden things, 1 have held converse with the god Sut . . . . . . . Osiris, the scribe Ani, hath entered into the House of Osiris, and he hath seen the hidden and secret things which are therein. The holy rulers of the pylons are in the form of shining ones. Anubis spake unto him with the speech of man when he came from Ta-mera, saying, 'He knoweth our paths and our cities, I have been pacified, and the smell of him is to me even as the smell of one of you.'"
Ani saith unto him: "I am Osiris, the scribe Ani, triumphant in peace, triumphant! I have drawn nigh to behold the great gods, and I feed upon the meals of sacrifice whereon their kas feed. I have been to the boundaries [of the lands] of the Ram, the lord of Tattu, and he hath granted that I may come forth as a bennu bird and that I may have the power of speech. I have passed through the river-flood. I have made offerings with incense. I have made my way by the side of the thick-leaved tree of the children (?). I have been in Abtu in the House of Satet. I have flooded and I have sunk the boat of my enemies. I have sailed forth upon the Lake in the neshem boat. I have seen the noble ones of Kam-ur. I have been in Tattu, and I have constrained myself to silence. I have set the divine Form upon his two feet. I have been with the god Pa-tep-tu-f, and I have seen the dweller in the Holy Temple. I have entered into the House Of Osiris, and I have arrayed myself in the apparel of him who is therein. I have entered into Re-stau, and I have beheld the hidden things which are therein. I have been swathed, but I found for myself a thoroughfare. I have entered into An-aarut-f, and I have clothed my body with the apparel which is therein. The antu unguent of women hath been given unto me . . . . . . . . Verily, Sut spake unto me the things which concern himself, and I said, I Let the thought of the trial of the balance by thee be even within our hearts.'"
The majesty of the god Anubis saith: "Dost thou know the name of this door to declare it unto me?" Osiris, the scribe Ani, triumphant, triumphant in peace, saith: "'Driven away of Shu' is the name of this door." Saith the majesty of the god Anubis: "Dost thou know the name of the upper leaf and of the lower leaf thereof?" [Osiris, the scribe Ani, triumphant in peace saith]:"' Lord of right and truth, [standing] upon his 'two feet' is the name of the upper leaf, and 'Lord of might and power, dispenser of cattle' [is the name of the lower leaf]." [The majesty of the god Anubis saith]: "Pass thou, for thou knowest [the names], O Osiris, the scribe, teller of the divine offerings of all the gods of Thebes, Ani, triumphant, lord to be revered."
Appendix: The usual introduction to the CXXVth Chapter reads (see Naville, Todtenbuch, Bd. I., Bl. 133) as follows:--
I. THE FOLLOWING SHALL BE SAID BY A MAN WHEN HE COMETH UNTO THE HALL OF DOUBLE RIGHT AND TRUTH, WHEREIN HE IS PURGED OF ALL THE SINS WHICH HE HATH DONE, AND WHEREIN HE SEETH THE FACES OF ALL THE GODS: Hail to thee, great god, the lord of Right and Truth! I have come unto thee, O my lord, and I have drawn nigh that I may look upon thy beauties. I know thee, and I know the names of the forty-two gods who dwell with thee in this Hall of Double Right and Truth, and that they may set the sinners in the gives, who live and who feed upon their blood on the day when the natures of men are accounted before Un-neferu.