Egyptian Literature Part 48

7 Hail to the Osiris N!

Thy soul doth breathe in the place thou lovest.

Thou art in the dwelling of Osiris, who resideth in the West.

Thy person is most pure.

Thou dost arrive in Abydos.

He (Osiris) filleth thy dwelling Hotep with provisions.

8 Hail to the Osiris N!

The G.o.ds of all Egypt come to thee.

Thou art guided toward the end of centuries.

Thy soul liveth.

Thou dost follow Osiris.

Thou breathest in Rusta.

Secret care is taken of thee by the Lord of Sati(672) and by the great G.o.d.(673) Thy body liveth in Tattu (and in) Nifur.

Thy soul liveth in Heaven forever.

9 Hail to the Osiris N!

Sechet prevaileth against what is injurious to thee.

Har-aa-hetu taketh care of thee.

Har-shet doth form thy heart.

Har-maa doth guard thy body.

Thou continuest in life, health (and) strength.

Thou art established upon thy throne in Ta-ser.

Come, Osiris N!

Thou appearest in thy form.

Strengthened by thine ornaments(674) thou art prepared for life.

Thou remainest in a healthful state; thou walkest, thou breathest everywhere.(675) The Sun doth rise upon thine abode.

Like unto Osiris, thou breathest, thou livest by his rays.

Ammon-Ra giveth life to thee.

He doth enlighten thee by the Book of Respirations.

Thou dost follow Osiris and Horus, Lord of the sacred bark.

Thou art as the greatest of the G.o.ds among the G.o.ds.

Thy beautiful face liveth (in) thy children.

Thy name doth always prosper.

Come to the great temple in Tattu.

Thou wilt see him who resideth in the West, in the Ka-festival.

Delicious is thy perfume as that of the blessed; great thy name among the elect.

10 Hail to the Osiris N!

Thy soul liveth by the Book of Respirations.

Thou unitest thyself to the Book of Respirations.

Thou dost enter the Lower Heaven; thine enemies are not (there).

Thou art a divine soul in Tattu.(676) Thy heart is thine; it is (no longer) separated from thee.

Thine eyes are thine; they open each day.

11_a_ Words spoken by the G.o.ds who accompany Osiris, to the Osiris N: Thou dost follow Ra.

Thou dost follow Osiris.

Thy soul livest forever and ever.

11_b_ Words spoken by the G.o.ds who dwell in the Lower Heaven (like) Osiris of the West, to the Osiris N: Let them open to him at the gates of the Lower Heaven.

_He is received_(677) in the divine Nether-World, that his soul may live forever.

He buildeth a dwelling in the divine Nether-World.

He is rewarded.(678) He hath received the Book of Respirations, that he may breathe.

12 Royal offering to Osiris who resideth in the West, great G.o.d, Lord of Abydos, that he may give offerings of bread, of _hak_, of oxen, of geese, of wine, of the liquor _aket_, of bread _Hotep_, of good provisions of all kinds, to the Osiris N.

Thy soul liveth.

Thy body doth germinate, by order of Ra himself, without pain, without injury, like unto Ra forever and ever.

13 O Strider, coming out of An,(679) the Osiris N hath not committed any sin.

O Mighty of the Moment, coming out of Kerau, the Osiris N hath not done any evil.

O Nostril, coming out of Sesennu,(680) the Osiris N hath not been exacting.

O Devourer of the Eye, coming out of Kerti, the Osiris N hath not obtained anything by theft.

O Impure of visage, coming out of Rusta, the Osiris N hath not been angry.

O Lion-G.o.ds, coming forth from heaven, the Osiris N hath not committed any sin by reason of hardness of heart(?) O Fiery-Eyed, coming out of Sechem, the Osiris N hath not been weak.

14 O ye G.o.ds who dwell in the Lower Heaven, hearken unto the voice of Osiris N.

He is near unto you.

There is no fault in him.

No informer riseth up against him.

He liveth in the truth.

He doth nourish himself with truth.

The G.o.ds are satisfied with all that he hath done.

He hath given food to the hungry, drink to the thirsty, clothes to the naked.

He hath given the sacred food to the G.o.ds, The funeral repasts to the pure Spirits.

No complaint hath been made against him before any of the G.o.ds.

Let him enter (then) into the Lower Heaven without being repulsed.

Let him follow Osiris, with the G.o.ds of Kerti.

He is favored among the faithful,(681) (and) divinized among the perfected.

Let him live!

Let his soul live!

His soul is received wherever it willeth.

(He) hath received the Book of Respirations, that he may breathe with his soul, (with) that of the Lower Heaven, and that he may make any transformation at his will, like (the inhabitants) of the West;(682) that his soul may go wherever it desireth, living on the earth forever and ever.

He is towed (like) Osiris into the Great Pool of Khons.

When he has retaken possession of his heart(683) the Book of Respirations is concealed in (the coffin).

It is (covered) with writing upon Suten, both inside and outside (and) placed underneath his left arm, evenly with his heart;...

When the Book has been made for him then he breathes with the souls of the G.o.ds forever and ever.(684)

It is finished.

THE EPIC OF PENTA-OUR

Translated by C. W. Goodwin, M.A.

The commencement of the epic of Penta-our is wanting in the papyrus, and the end is also defective, but the date of the composition and the name of the writer have fortunately escaped. It appears to have been written in the ninth year of the King whose valor it celebrates. Champollion saw this papyrus, and had formed some notion of the nature of its contents, but to M. de Rouge belongs the honor of having first given a complete translation of it. This was published in the "_Revue Contemporaine_," 1856, p. 389.