Description:

240 BC

THE PAPYRUS OF ANI

THE EGYPTIAN BOOK OF THE DEAD

Translated by E.A. Wallis Budge

 

Part 47

  THE CHAPTER OF THE NEW MOON

  THE FOLLOWING IS TO BE RECITED ON THE DAY OF THE MONTH (NEW MOON

DAY). The Osiris the scribe Ani, whose word is truth, in peace,

whose word is truth, saith:- Ra ascendeth his throne on his horizon,

and the Company of his Gods follow in his train. The God cometh

forth from his hidden place, [and] tchefau food falleth from the

eastern horizon of heaven at the word of Nut. They (the gods)

rejoice over the paths of Ra, the Great Ancestor [as] he journeyeth

round about. Therefore art thou exalted, O Ra, the dweller in thy

Shrine. Thou swallowest the winds, thou drawest into thyself the north

wind, thou eatest up the flesh of thy seat on the day when thou

breathest truth. Thou dividest [it among] the gods who are [thy]

followers. [Thy] Boat saileth on travelling among the Great Gods at

thy word. Thou countest thy bones, thou gatherest together thy

members, thou settest thy face towards Beautiful Amentet, and thou

comest there, being made new every day. Behold, thou art that Image of

Gold, thou hast the unitings of the disks of the sky, thou hast

quakings, thou goest round about, and art made new each day. Hail!

There is rejoicing in the horizon! The gods who dwell in the sky

descend the ropes [of thy Boat] when they see the Osiris Ani, whose

word is truth, they ascribe praise unto him as unto Ra. The Osiris Ani

is a Great Chief. [He] seeketh the Urrt Crown. His provisions are

apportioned to him- the Osiris Ani, whose word is truth. [His] fate is

strong from the exalted body of the Aamu gods, who are in the presence

of Ra. The Osiris Ani, whose word is truth, is strong on the earth and

in Khert-Neter. O Osiris Ani, whose word is truth, wake up, and be

strong like unto Ra every day. The Osiris Ani, whose word is truth,

shall not tarry, he shall not remain motionless in this land for ever.

Right well shall he see with his two eyes, right well shall he hear

with his two ears, the things which are true, the things which are

true. The Osiris Ani, whose word is truth, is in Anu, the Osiris

Ani, whose word is truth, is as Ra, and he is exalted by reason of

[his] oars among the Followers of Nu. The Osiris Ani, whose word is

truth, cannot tell what he hath seen [or] narrate [what he hath heard]

in the House of the God of Mysteries. Hail! Let there be shouts of

acclamation of the Osiris Ani, whose word is truth, the divine body of

Ra in the Boat of Nu, who beareth propitiatory offerings for the KA of

the god of that which he loveth. The Osiris Ani, whose word is

truth, in peace, whose word is truth, is like Horus, the mighty one of

transformations.

  RUBRIC: This Chapter is to be recited over a boat seven cubits long,

made of green stone of the Tchatchau. Make a heaven of stars, and

purify it and cleanse it with natron and incense. Make then a figure

of Ra upon a tablet of new stone in paint, and set it in the bows of

the boat. Then make a figure of the deceased whom thou wilt make

perfect, [and place it] in the boat. Make it to sail in the Boat of

Ra, and Ra himself shall look upon it. Do not these things in the

presence of any one except thyself, or thy father, or thy son. Then

let them keep guard over their faces, and they shall see the

deceased in Khert-Neter in the form of a messenger of Ra.