Description:

240 BC

THE PAPYRUS OF ANI

THE EGYPTIAN BOOK OF THE DEAD

Translated by E.A. Wallis Budge

 

Part 63

  THE CHAPTER OF NOT DYING A SECOND TIME. The Osiris Ani, whose word

is truth, saith:- Hail, Thoth! What is it that hath happened to the

children of Nut? They have waged war, 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

strong have worked against the weak. Grant, O might of Thoth, that

that which the god Tem 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 in to disturb their

months. For in all that they have done unto thee they have worked

iniquity in secret. I am they 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.

  The Osiris, the scribe Ani, whose word is truth, saith:- Hail, Temu!

What manner of land is this unto which I have come? It hath not water,

it hath not air; it is depth unfathomable, it is black as the blackest

night, and men wander helplessly therein. In it a man cannot live in

quietness of heart; nor may the longings of love be satisfied therein.

But let the state of the Spirit-souls be given unto me instead of

water and air, and the satisfying of the longings of love, and let

quietness of heart be given unto me instead of cakes and ale. The

god Tem hath decreed that I shall see thy face, and that I shall not

suffer from the things which pain thee. May every god transmit unto

thee his throne for millions of years. Thy throne hath descended

unto thy son Horus, and the god Tem hath decreed that thy course shall

be among the holy princes. In truth he shall rule from thy throne, and

he shall be heir to the throne of the Dweller in the fiery Lake

[Neserser]. In truth it hath been decreed that in me he shall see

his likeness, and that my face shall look upon the face of the Lord

Tem. How long then have I to live? It is decreed that thou shalt

live for millions of years, a life of millions of years. Let it be

granted to me to pass on to the holy princes, for indeed, I have

done away all the evil which I committed, from the time when this

earth came into being from Nu, when it sprang from the watery abyss

even as it was in the days of old. I am Fate and Osiris, I have made

my transformations into the likeness of divers serpents. Man knoweth

not, and the gods cannot behold the two-fold beauty which I have

made for Osiris, the greatest of the gods. I have given unto him the

region of the dead. And, verily, his son Horus is seated upon the

throne of the Dweller in the fiery Lake [of Neserser], as his heir.

I have made him to have his throne in the Boat of Millions of Years.

Horus is stablished upon his throne [among his] kinsmen, and he hath

all that is with him. Verily, the Soul of Set, which is greater than

all the gods, hath departed. Let it be granted to me to bind his

soul in fetter in the Boat of the God, when I please, and let him hold

the Body of the God in fear. O my father Osiris, thou hast done for me

that which thy father Ra did for thee. Let me abide upon the earth

permanently. Let me keep possession of my throne. Let my heir be

strong. Let my tomb, and my friends who are upon the earth,

flourish. Let my enemies be given over to destruction, and to the

shackles of the goddess Serq. I am thy son. Ra is my father. On me

likewise thou hast conferred life, strength, and health. Horus is

established upon his tomb. Grant thou that the days of my life may

come unto worship and honour.

  (From the Leyden Papyrus of Ra)

  RUBRIC: This Chapter shall be recited over a figure of Horus, made

of lapis-lazuli, which shall be placed on the neck of the deceased. It

is a protection upon earth, and it will secure for the deceased the

affection of men, gods, and the Spirit-souls which are perfect.

Moreover it acteth as a spell in Khert-Neter, but it must be recited

by thee on behalf of the Osiris Ra, regularly and continually millions

of times.