Description:

240 BC

THE PAPYRUS OF ANI

THE EGYPTIAN BOOK OF THE DEAD

Translated by E.A. Wallis Budge

 

Part 84

  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.