Pages - Menu

Chap . LXXVIII. THE CHAPTER OF MAKING THE TRANSFORMATION INTO A DIVINE HAWK . From the Papyrus of Nu

Vignette : A hawk, painted green, holding a flail, and standing upon a
pylon-shaped pedestal (see Papyrus of Ani, sheet 25) .


Text : (I) THE CHAPTER OF MAKING THE TRANSFORMATION
INTO A DIVINE HAWK. The chancellor-in-chief, Nu, triumphant,
saith :-

"Hail, Great God, come now (2) to Tattu ! Make thou smooth
"for me the ways and let me go round about [to visit] my
"thrones ; I have renewed(?) myself, and I have raised myself up .
"O grant thou that I may be feared, (3) and make thou me to
"be a terror . Let the gods of the underworld be afraid of me,
"and may they fight for me in their habitations which are therein .
"(4) Let not him that would do me harm draw nigh unto me,
"or injure(?) me, in the House of Darkness, that is, he that
"clotheth and covereth the feeble one, and whose [name] is
"hidden ; (5) and let not the gods act likewise towards me .
"[Hail], ye gods, who hearken unto [my] speech! Hail, ye rulers,
"who are among the followers of Osiris ! Be ye therefore silent,
"O ye gods, (6) when one god speaketh unto another, for he
"hearkeneth unto right and truth ; and what I speak unto [him]
"do thou also speak for me then, O Osiris . Grant thou that I
"may journey round about [according to] that which cometh
"forth from thy mouth concerning me, (7) and grant that I may
"see thine own Form (or forms), and the dispositions of thy
"Souls . Grant thou that I may come forth, and that I may have
"power over my legs, and that I may have my existence there
"like (8) unto that of Neb-er-tcher who is over [all] . May the
"gods of the underworld fear me, and may they fight for me in
"their habitations . Grant thou that I may move along therein
"(9) together with the divine beings who journey onwards, and
"may I be stablished upon my resting-place like the Lord of
"Life . May I be joined unto Isis the divine lady, and may she
"protect me (1o) from him that would do an injury unto me ;
"and let not any one come to see the divine one naked and
"helpless . May I journey on, may I come into the uttermost
"(ii) parts of heaven . I exchange speech with the god Seb, I
"make supplication for divine food from Neb-er-tcher ; the gods
"of the underworld have fear of me, and they (12) fight for me
"in their habitations when they see that thou hast provided me
"with food, both of the fowl of the air and of the fish of the
"sea . I am one of those Khus who dwell with (13) the divine
'Whit, and I have made my form like unto his divine Form,
"when he cometh forth and maketh himself manifest in Tattu .
"[I am] a spiritual body (sah) (14) and possess my soul, and
"will speak unto thee the things which concern me . O grant
"thou that I may be feared, and make thou me to be a terror ;
"let the gods of the underworld be afraid of me, (15) and may
"they fight for me in their habitations . I, even I, am the Khu
"who dwelleth with the divine Khu, whom the god Tern him-
"self hath created, (16) and who hath come into being from
"the blossom (i . e ., the eyelashes) of his eye ; he hath made to
"have existence, and he hath made to be glorious (i . e ., to be
"Khus), and he hath made mighty thereby those who have their
"existence along with him . Behold, he is the only One in Nu,
"(17) and they sing praises (or do homage) unto him [when]
"he cometh forth from the horizon, and the gods and the Khus
"who have come into being along with him ascribe [the lord-
"ship of] terror unto him ."

"I am one of those worms(?) which the eye of the Lord, the
"only One, (18) hath created . And behold, when as yet Isis
"had not given birth to Horus, I had germinated, and had
"flourished, and I had become aged, (ig) and I had become
"greater than those who dwelt with the divine Khu, and who
"had come into being along with him . And I had risen up like
"the divine hawk, and Horus made for me a spiritual body (20)
"containing his own soul, so that I might take possession of all
"that belonged unto Osiris in the underworld . The double Lion-
"god, the governor of the things which belong to the Temple
"of the nemmes crown, (21) who dwelleth in his secret abode,
"saith [unto me] :- `Get thee back to the uttermost parts of
"heaven, for behold, inasmuch as through thy form of Horus
"thou hast become a spiritual body, (sah) the nemmes crown is
"not for thee ; but (22) behold, thou hast the power of speech
"even to the uttermost parts of heaven .' And I, the guardian,
"took possession of the things of Horus [which belonged] unto
"Osiris in the underworld, and Horus told aloud unto me (23)
"the things which his divine father Osiris spake unto him in
"years [gone by] on the day of his own burial . I have given
"unto thee i the nemmes crown through the double Lion-god
"that thou mayest pass onward (24) and mayest come to the
"heavenly path, and that those who dwell in the uttermost parts
"of the horizon may see thee, and that the gods of the under-
"world may see thee and may fight for thee (25) in their habita-
tions . And of them is the Auhet . 2 The gods, each and all of
"them, who are the warders of the shrine of the Lord, the only
"One, have fallen before my words . Hail! (26) He that is exalted
"upon his tomb is on my side, and he hath bound [upon my
"head] the nemmes crown, by the decree of the double Lion-
"god on my behalf, and the god Auhet hath prepared a way
"for me . I, even I, am exalted (27) in my tomb, and the double
"Lion-god hath bound the nemmes crown upon my [head], and
"he hath also given unto me the double hairy covering of my
"head . He hath stablished my heart through his own backbone,
"he hath stablished my heart through his own (28) great and
"exceeding strength, and I shall not fall through Shu . I make
"my peace with the beautiful divine Brother, the lord of the
"two uraei, adored be he! I, even I am he who knoweth the
"roads through the sky (29), and the wind thereof is in my body .
"The bull which striketh terror [into men] shall not drive me
"back, and I shall pass on to the place where lieth the ship-
"wrecked mariner on the border of the Sekhet-nel}eh (i . e ., Field
"of illimitable time), (3o) and I shall journey on to the night and
"sorrow of the regions of Amenti . O Osiris, I shall come each
"day into the House of the double Lion-god, and I shall come
"forth therefrom into the House of (31) Isis, the divine lady .
"I shall behold sacred things which are hidden, and I shall be
"led on to the secret and holy things, even as they have granted
"unto me (32) to see the birth of the Great God . Horns hath
"made me to be a spiritual body through his soul, [and I see
"what is therein . If I speak near the mighty ones of Shu they
"repulse my opportunity . I am the guardian and I] take possession
"of the things which Horns had from Osiris in the underworld .
"I, even I, (33) am Horus who dwelleth in the divine Khu. [I]
"have gained power over his crown, I have gained power over
"his radiance, and I have travelled over the remote, illimitable
"parts of (34) heaven . Horns is upon his throne, Horns is upon
"his royal seat . My face is like unto that of the divine hawk,
"my strength is like unto that of the divine hawk, and I am
`one who hath been fully equipped by his divine Lord . I shall
"come forth to Tattu, (35) I shall see Osiris, I shall pay homage
"to him on the right hand and on the left, I shall pay homage
"unto Nut, and she shall look upon me, and the gods shall look
"upon me, together with the Eye of Horns who (36) is without
"sight(?) . They (i . e ., the gods) shall make their arms to come
"forth unto me . I rise up [as] a divine Power, and [I] repulse
"him that would subject me to restraint . They open unto me
"the holy paths, they see (37) my form, and they hear that
"which I speak . [Down] upon your faces, ye gods of the Tuat
"(underworld), who would resist me with your faces and oppose
"me with your powers, who lead along the stars which never
"(38) rest, and who make the holy paths unto the Hemati abode
"[where is] the Lord of the exceedingly mighty and terrible Soul .
"Horns hath commanded that ye lift up your faces so that I
"may (39) look upon you . I have risen up like the divine hawk,
"and Horus bath made for me a spiritual body, through his
"own soul, to take possession of that which belongeth to Osiris
"(4o) in the Tuat (underworld) . I have bound up the gods with
"divine tresses, and I have travelled on to those who ward their
"Chambers, and who were on both sides of me . I have made
"my roads and I have (41) journeyed on and have reached those
"divine beings who inhabit their secret dwellings, and who arc
"warders of the Temple of Osiris . I have spoken unto them with
"strength, and have made them to know (42) the most might%
"power of him that is provided with two horns [to fight] against
"Suti ; and I make them to know concerning him that hath
"taken possession of the divine food, and who is provided with
"the Might of Tem . (43) May the gods of the underworld [order]
"a prosperous journey for me! O ye gods who inhabit your
"secret dwellings, and who are warders of the Temple of Osiris,
"and whose numbers are great and multitudinous, grant ye (44)
"that I may come unto you . I have bound up and I have gathered
"together the powers of Kesemu-enenet," or (as others say),
"Kesemiu-enenet ; and I have made holy (45) the Powers of the
"paths of those who watch and ward the roads of the horizon,
"and who are the guardians of the horizon of Hemati which is
"in heaven . I have stablished habitations for Osiris, I have made
"the ways holy (46) for him, I have done that which bath been
"commanded, I have come forth to Tattu, I have seen Osiris,
"I have spoken unto him concerning the matters of his first-
"born son whom (47) he loveth and concerning the wounding
"of the heart of Suti, and I have seen the divine one who is
"without life . Yea, I have made them to know concerning the
"counsels of the gods which Horus carried out (48) while his
"father Osiris was not [with him] . Hail, Lord, thou most mighty
"and terrible Soul! Verily, I, even I, have come, look thou upon
"me, (49) and do thou make me to be exalted . I have made
"my way through thy Tuat (underworld), and I have opened
"up the paths which belong to heaven and also those which
"belong to earth, and I have suffered no opposition therein . (50)
"Exalted [be thou] upon thy throne, O Osiris ! Thou hast heard
"fair things, O Osiris ! Thy strength is vigorous, O Osiris . Thy
"head is fastened unto thee, O Osiris . Thy brow is stablished,
"(51) O Osiris. Thy heart is glad, [O Osiris] . Thy speech(?)
"is stablished, [O Osiris], and thy princes rejoice . Thou art
"stablished like the Bull of Amentet . (52) Thy son Horus hath
"risen like the sun upon thy throne, and all life is with him .
"Millions of years minister unto him, and millions of years hold
"him in fear ; the company of the gods are his servants, and
"the company of the gods hold him in fear . The god Tem,
"(53) the Governor and only One of the gods, bath spoken
"[these things], and his word passeth not away . Horus is both
"the divine food and the sacrifice . [He] bath passed on(?) to
"gather together [the members of] his divine father (54) ; Horus
"is [his] deliverer, Horus is [his] deliverer. Horus bath sprung
"from the water of his divine father and [from his] decay . He
"bath become the Governor of Egypt . The gods labour for him,
"and they toil for him for (55) millions of years ; and he bath
"made to live millions of years through his Eye, the only One
"of its Lord (or Neb-s), Nebt-er-tcher ."
The Source: The Book oDead, the Chapters of Coming Forth by Day
Translated into English by E. A. Wallis Budge, Litt.D., D.Lit
London, 1898.
Related Posts:








Chap. LXXVII . THE CHAPTER OF MAKING THE TRANSFORMATION INTO A HAWK OF GOLD . From the Papyrus of Nu.