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 XIX.

Vignette: Ani standing, with both hands raised in adoration, before Ra, hawk-headed and seated in a boat floating upon the sky. On the bows sits Heru-pa-khrat (Harpocrates) or, "Horus the child"; and the side is ornamented with feathers of Maat, and the utchat. The handles of the oars and the tops of the rowlocks are shaped as hawks' heads, and on the blades of the oars are ###.

Text [CHAPTER XV.]: A HYMN OF PRAISE TO RA WHEN HE RISETH UPON THE HORIZON, AND WHEN HE SETTETH IN THE [LAND OF] LIFE. Saith Osiris, the scribe Ani: "Homage to thee, O Ra, when thou risest [as] Tmu-Heru-khuti (Harmachis), Thou art adored [by me] when thy beauties are before mine eyes, and when thy shining rays [fall] upon my body. Thou goest forth in peace in the Sektet boat with [fair] winds, and thy heart is glad; [thou goest forth] in the Atet boat, and its heart is glad. Thou stridest over the heavens in peace, and thy foes are cast down; the never-resting stars sing hymns of praise unto thee, and the stars which never set glorify thee as thou sinkest in the horizon of Manu, O thou who art beautiful in the two parts of heaven, thou lord who livest and art established, O my lord! Homage to thee, O thou who art Ra when thou risest, and Tmu when thou settest in beauty. Thou risest and shinest upon the back of thy mother [the sky], O thou who art crowned king of the gods. Nut doth homage unto thee, and everlasting and never-changing order embraceth thee at morn and at eve. Thou stridest over the heaven, being glad of heart, and the Lake Testes is at peace. The Fiend hath fallen to the ground; his arms and his hands have been hewn off, and the knife hath severed the joints of his body. Ra hath a fair wind; the Sektet boat goeth forth and sailing along it cometh into port. The gods of the south and of the north, of the west and of the east praise thee, from whom all forms of life came into being. Thou sendest forth the word, and the earth is flooded with silence, O thou only One, who livedst in heaven before ever the earth and the mountains were made. O Runner, Lord, only One, thou maker of things which are, thou hast moulded the tongue of the company of the gods, thou hast drawn forth whatsoever cometh from the waters, and thou springest up from them over the flooded land of the Lake of Horus. Make me to sniff the air which cometh forth from thy nostrils, and the north wind which cometh forth from thy mother [the Sky]. Make thou glorious my shining form, O Osiris, make thou strong my soul. Thou art worshipped in peace, O lord of the gods, thou art exalted by reason of thy wondrous works. Shine with thy rays of light upon my body day by day, upon me, Osiris, the scribe, the teller of the divine offerings it of all the gods, the overseer of the granary of the lords of Abydos, the royal it scribe in truth, who loveth him (i.e., Ra); Ani, triumphant in peace."

Vignette: Ani, standing with both hands raised in adoration. Behind him is his wife:

Ausar nebt per qematet en Amen Thuthu.
Osiris, the lady of the house, priestess of Amen, Thuthu.

Text [CHAPTER XV.]: A HYMN OF PRAISE. "O OSIRIS, lord of eternity, Un-nefer, Horus of the two horizons, whose forms are manifold, whose creations are without number, Ptah-Seker-Tem in Annu, the lord of the tomb, and the creator of Memphis and of the gods, the guide of the underworld, whom [the gods] glorify when thou settest in Nut. Isis embraceth thee in peace, and she driveth away the fiends from the mouth of thy paths. Thou turnest thy face upon Amenta, thou makest the world to shine as with smu metal. The dead rise up to behold thee, they breathe the air and they look upon thy face when the disk shineth on its horizon; their hearts are at peace for that they behold thee, O thou who art eternity and everlastingness."

[Litany]: "Homage to thee, [O lord of] starry deities in An, and of heavenly beings in Kher-aba; thou god Unti, who art more glorious than the gods who are hidden in Annu.

"Homage to thee, O An in Antes (?), Horus, thou dweller in both horizons, with long strides thou stridest over heaven, O thou who dwellest in both horizons.

"Homage to thee, O soul of everlastingness, thou Soul who dwellest in Tattu, Un-nefer, son of Nut; thou art lord of Akert.

"Homage to thee in thy dominion over Tattu; the urerit crown is established upon thy head; thou art the One whose strength is in himself, and thou dwellest in peace in Tattu.

"Homage to thee, O lord of the acacia tree, the Seker boat is set upon its sledge; thou turnest back the Fiend, the worker of evil, and thou causest the utchat to rest upon its seat.

"Homage to thee, O thou who art mighty in thine hour, thou great and mighty god, dweller in An-rut-f, lord of eternity and creator of everlastingness; thou art the lord of Suten-henen.

"Homage to thee, O thou who restest upon Right and Truth, thou art the lord of Abtu, and thy limbs are joined unto Ta-sertet; thou art he to whom fraud and guile are hateful.

"Homage to thee, O thou who art within thy boat, thou bringest Hapi (i.e., the Nile) forth from his source; the light shineth upon thy body, and thou art the dweller in Nekhen.

"Homage to thee, O creator of the gods, thou King of the North and of the South; O Osiris, victorious, ruler of the world in thy gracious seasons; thou art the lord of the world.

"O 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."

Return