Chapter XV

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The later recensions add an interpolation (not without very different readings) to the effect that the Sun made his first appearance when Shu raised the Sky from the height of Chemennu, where he destroyed the ‘Children of Failure’ ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂.

The raising of the Sky by Shu is very frequently represented in pictures. Seb (the Earth) and Nut (the Sky) have been sleeping in each other’s arms during the night; Shu (Daylight at sunrise) parts them, and the sky is seen to be raised high above the earth.

⁂⁂⁂, Shu, who is of course the son of Râ, is in consequence of this act called ⁂⁂ _Ȧn-ḥeru_, ‘The Lifter up of the Heaven.’

_Chemennu_ is the geographical name of the town called by the Greeks Hermopolis. The mystical Chemennu, however, is alone referred to in this place. The word itself means Eight, and Lepsius sees here a reference to eight elementary deities. (We must remember that the passage itself is an interpolation, of which there is no trace in the older texts.)

The ‘children of _Failure_’ (⁂⁂⁂⁂, ⁂⁂⁂ _deficere_, _dissolvi_, _deliquium_[28]) are the elements of darkness which melt away and vanish at the appearance of Day. This mythological expression here found in an interpolated passage is met later on in a genuine portion of the older text.

2. It would be impossible to find a more emphatic assertion of the doctrine of _Nomina Numina_; and that more than 3000 years before Christ.

The _Names_ of Râ, the Sun-god, are said, when taken together, to compose ‘the cycle of the gods.’ ⁂⁂. Or the names which he has created, to which he has given rise, that is the names of all the solar phenomena, recurring as they do, day after day, to the eyes of all beholders, compose “the cycle of the gods,” who are also called the limbs or members of Râ.

The scholia contained in the papyri of the XVIIIth and later dynasties explain the text as follows:—

“It is Râ as he creates the _names_ of his _limbs_ (⁂) which _become_ the gods who accompany him.”

And the present chapter later on says of Chepera, the rising Sun, that the “cycle of the gods is his body.”

The god who has hitherto been spoken of is Râ. In glaring contradiction to the whole text, a later note states that the resistless god is “the Water, which is _Nu_”; that is Heaven.[29] ⁂⁂⁂ _Nu_ is not alluded to at all in the primitive text, but the papyrus of Nebseni already exhibits the corruption of the fine passage, “I am he who closeth and he who openeth, and I am but One.” This is itself an addition, the true meaning of which was afterwards destroyed by the interpolation of the words ⁂⁂⁂⁂. These are ambiguous. They might mean that the god was alone ‘in heaven,’ or that he was alone ‘_as_ Heaven.’ The papyrus of Ani has ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂, “I was born from Nu.” These attempted improvements do not give a favourable impression of the exegetical acumen of Egyptian theologians.

But the mention of ‘Water’ in the scholion has nothing whatever to do with the doctrine of Thales, and to suppose that it has implies a confusion between two very different realms of human thought.

3. ‘The kinsman of the Morrow,’ literally ‘I know the Morrow.’ The word ⁂ signifies _can_, _ken_, and _kin_.

The papyrus of Nebseni and all the subsequent texts give the explanation that Yesterday means Osiris, and the Morrow means Râ. And the vignette in the papyrus of Ani gives the name of Yesterday to one of the Lions and of Morrow to the other.

4. The earliest texts have either ⁂ ‘speak,’ or ⁂⁂ ‘command.’ The meaning is the same in both readings. Strife arose among the gods at the bidding of Râ: that is every force in nature began its appropriate career of activity, necessarily coming into contact and conflict with the other forces. And of all this collision the first cause, the origin of all activity and motion, is the Sun.

This mythological cosmology reminds one of the saying of Heraclitos that “Strife is the father and the king of all things,” and the doctrine that all becoming must be conceived as the product of warring opposites—παν´ντα κατ’ ἔριν γίνεσθαι.

5. The Heron is the bird called ⁂⁂⁂ _bennu_, the numerous pictures of which enable us to identify it with the Common Heron or Heronshaw. The reason for connecting this bird with the Sun-god has to be sought in the etymology of its name. ⁂⁂ _ben_ is a verb of motion, and particularly of ‘going round.’ ⁂⁂ _benenu_ is a ring, also a ‘round pill.’ The Sun therefore is very naturally called _bennu_, an appellative like κυκλοέλικτος in the Orphic hymns.

⁂⁂, ‘of that which is, and of that which cometh into being.’ Here, as in many other places, ⁂, which is a verb of motion, and really signifies ‘rise up, spring forth,’ is pointedly distinguished from ⁂, that which (is). So far from signifying ‘being, that which is,’ it very much more nearly corresponds to ⁂ in the frequent expression ⁂⁂, ‘that which is and that which is not yet.’ The sense of ‘good being’ so commonly given to the divine name Unnefer is utterly erroneous.

6. The reading of the name ⁂ is proved by the numerous variants of this passage to be _Ȧmsu_. In M. Naville’s edition, II, pl. 41, the name, as written in _Ce_, would seem to be ⁂⁂⁂ _ȧm._ But I already in _Zeitschr._, 1877 (p. 98) pointed out, that in this manuscript the last sign ⁂ is at the top of a column, and that at the foot of the preceding column there is a space where the signs ⁂, following ⁂⁂ (_as they still do in the next passage_), have been obliterated. No one from merely looking at M. Naville’s copy would guess that there was any interval between ⁂ and ⁂.

The god’s name is written ⁂⁂⁂ on a tablet, Denkm. III, 114 i. And the name is also written ⁂ or ⁂, which are ligatures of ⁂ and ⁂.

7. Note that in this scholion Horus, ‘the avenger of his father,’ calls his father not Osiris but Tmu. In the more recent texts there are many interpretations of the two Feathers. One is “his two _Eyes_F are the Feathers.” But the favourite one is “Isis and Nephthys, who have risen up as two kites” ⁂⁂⁂⁂.

8. The ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ _reḫit_, by whom the oblation is made, the _present_ generation as contrasted with the ⁂⁂⁂ _pāit_, the _past_, and ⁂⁂⁂⁂ _hammemit_, the _coming_ generations.

9. ⁂⁂⁂⁂ _Māāāait_ is supposed to be nitre or salt, or some other substance used in the process of embalming.

The more recent recensions thus answer the question about the lakes. “_Eternity_ is the name of one, and the _Great green one_ that of the other, the lake of Natron and the lake of Māāt.”

10. See the picture of this gate on the Vignette, which shows the Sun-god passing through. One of the later explanations is that from this gate Shu raised up Heaven. Another is that it was the gate of the Tuat. _Haukar_, ⁂⁂⁂⁂, means “behind the Shrine.”

11. _Hu_ and _Sau_, sons of Tmu, and his companions in the Solar bark, are, like so many other gods, Solar appellatives. ⁂⁂⁂⁂ _Hu_ is the Nourisher, ⁂⁂⁂⁂ _Sau_, ‘the Knowing One.’ The god is also called ‘the Seer’ ⁂, ‘He who heareth’ ⁂⁂. These names are not personifications of the senses but, as in all cases, appellatives expressing attributes.

12. See Note 2 on Chapter 4.

13. The Eye (⁂⁂⁂⁂) being the Sun or Moon, the period of distress (⁂⁂) is that of obscuration or eclipse, and the hairy net (⁂⁂) which is removed is the shadow which passes for a time over the heavenly body.

The explanation which M. Maspero has recently given (P.S.B.A. XIV, 314) of the word ⁂⁂⁂⁂, as connected with ⁂⁂⁂⁂ ‘health,’ receives confirmation from the scholia in the papyri, according to which Thoth not only delivered the Eye from the veil of darkness which oppressed it, but carried it off ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ ‘in life, health and strength, without any damage.’

14. Mehurit is explained in the ancient scholion as ‘the Eye,’ but it is really the Sky, from which the Sun is born daily. The sign of plurality after Mehurit (if it means anything) only indicates the daily succession of the skies whence Râ is born.

15. The ‘coffined One’ ⁂⁂⁂ is of course Osiris, as it is plainly stated in the later scholia, which further add that the ‘Seven glorious ones’ who follow the coffin, or, as they read it, “their Lord,” are to be sought in the constellation of ‘the Thigh in the northern sky,’ that is in the seven stars of the Great Bear.

These stars never set, but are perpetually revolving round the Pole. It is therefore evidently with the Polar Star that we must identify the coffin of Osiris. The names of the Seven Glorious ones vary according to the different authorities. And these Stars themselves receive other mythical forms; that of the Seven Cows and their Bull is recorded in the 148th chapter. Names like ‘the Red-eyed’ ⁂⁂⁂ or the ‘Red-haired’ cow ⁂⁂ seem to imply _double_ stars. The ‘Red-eyed’ is said to abide in ⁂⁂⁂ ‘house of gauze’ (perhaps a cobweb).

The papyri add the important note that the “day of Come thou hither”! represents the moment “when Osiris says to Râ, Come thou hither”! or, as some read, “Come thou to me.” The speaker adds that he sees the meeting of the two gods in Amenta.

16. ⁂⁂⁂ possessor of completeness, integrity, hence ‘inviolate.’ This name is given to Osiris when restored to his first condition after having been dismembered and cut into pieces. The god is called _Râ-Tmu-Nebert’er_ in the great Harris papyrus, 15, 3.

17. It is most probable that the Cat became the representative of the Sun because of the homonymy between the Egyptian name ⁂⁂⁂⁂ _mȧȧu_ of the animal and the attributive ⁂⁂⁂ _mau_, ‘shining’ said of the Sun. But the Egyptian scribe gives a different etymological explanation. Sau said of Râ “he is ⁂⁂ _maȧu_ of what he hath made.” ⁂⁂ may, like the Latin _exemplar_, be either the type or the prototype, the copy or the original. The creatures of Râ were made after his likeness. Sanskrit literature, from the Çatapatha Brahmana down to the Vishnu Purâna, is full of similar etymologies. The Egyptians from the very first delighted in this play upon words.

18. Neḥebu-kau, ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ or ⁂⁂⁂⁂ is the son of Seb and Renenut. The etymology of the name is indicated in the Pyramid texts. ⁂⁂⁂⁂ _neḥbu_ is to ‘carry, sustain, support’ (whence ⁂⁂⁂⁂ _neḥbet_ a neck, and ⁂⁂⁂⁂ _neḥb_ a yoke), and the rest of the word is the plural of _ka_, which is susceptible of more than one meaning. It might signify the divine or human _ka_, but the word is sometimes (_e.g._, Todt., 125, 32) written ⁂ ‘victuals.’ The god is one of the forty-two judges of the dead, and in some copies of the Book of the Dead he is described as coming forth from his ⁂⁂⁂, a word most frequently used for the source of the Nile. The serpent ⁂ which is a most frequent determinative of the name, is an additional reason for identifying this god with the Nile: a conclusion which seems fully justified by the Pyramid texts, which speak of him as Water ⁂, and describe him as ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂, “of many windings.” (See Pepi I, 341 and 487.)

19. This Devourer has the same functions as the strange animal called ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ _Âmemit_ in the pictures of the Psychostasia. The later scholia add that the Devourer comes from the ‘basin of Punit,’ the Red sea. They add other names, ⁂⁂⁂⁂ _Mâtes_ ‘Flint,’ “stationed at the gate of Amenta,” and ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ or ⁂ _Baba_, who, in ch. 63, 2, is described as the first born of Osiris. He is a terrible god from whom the deceased prays in ch. 125, 36, to be delivered. His name implies ‘one who searches or probes thoroughly,’ as a digger or miner. And such are his functions at the judgment of the dead.

Instead of ⁂⁂ _tesem_, a ‘hound,’ _La_ reads ⁂⁂⁂⁂ _sȧu_, a sheep.

20. The ⁂⁂⁂ _Mesqȧt_ is a ⁂⁂⁂ ‘a place of scourging.’ The word ⁂⁂⁂ is known as signifying violent treatment by beating, and has been illustrated by Chabas and Goodwin. See _Zeitschr._, 1874, p. 62. In the 72nd chapter the deceased prays that he may not perish at the _Mesqȧt_. A kindred word ⁂⁂⁂⁂ _Mesqa_ signifies ‘a hide.’ We can understand the connection between δέρω ‘flay, cudgel, thrash’ and δέρμα ‘a hide.’ And we ourselves have the familiar phrase of ‘giving a _hiding_.’ But purification as well as punishment was found at the heavenly _mesqȧt_. It is mentioned in the Harris Magical papyrus[6, 3] simply as a heavenly thing. In the more recent scholia the purifier is said to be Anubis, who is behind the chest containing the remains of Osiris.

After the scholion which has just been translated the early texts pass on to the 18th chapter.

For the rest of the chapter we are compelled to follow the texts of the papyri. The character of this portion differs considerably from the former part, and is clearly an addition. The speakers rapidly succeed each other. “I am Tmu,” “I am Isis,” “I was conceived by Isis,” “Isis destroyeth what in me is wrong,” and finally “I am Uat’it.”

21. Cher-âbat and Heliopolis like all the localities here mentioned are in heaven not upon earth.

22. Uat’it is literally ‘the pale one,’ a name of the Dawn. But here the fiery dawn is spoken of, ἠώς φλογερά, πυρίβρομος.

23. Hemen ⁂⁂⁂ is a divinity seldom, if ever, mentioned after the “Middle Empire.” In the Pyramid texts he has a Snake (the River) in his hand.

24. The last line of the chapter has suffered in all the best papyri. See M. Naville’s collation. In the papyrus of Ani the chapter is unfinished. The later papyri end the chapter by saying that “it has been granted to the speaker by those who are in Tattu to destroy by fire the souls of his adversaries.” This consummation is already found in _La_.

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Footnote 20:

⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂, ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂, _praeconium_,
_praeco_.

Footnote 21:

The god who lifteth up his arm is ⁂ Amsu.

Footnote 22:

⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ _ȧnem_ ‘skin,’ according to Horhotep and
the first coffin of Mentuhotep at Berlin. But the second coffin of
Mentuhotep has already ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ _ȧnḥu_ ‘eyebrows,’
which afterwards becomes the received reading. It is that of Queen
Mentuhotep.

Footnote 23:

An interpolation in the text of Horhotep.

Footnote 24:

_Mission archéologique Française au Caire_, II.

Footnote 25:

Ovid, _Fast_, I, 129, 130.

Footnote 26:

Apocalypse i, 8.

Footnote 27:

The _last_ form of the chapter (as found in the hieratic papyrus T. 16
of Leyden, and others in the British Museum) changes the opening as
follows—“I am Atmu, who made the Sky and created all that hath come
into being.”

Footnote 28:

⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ in the historical inscriptions is just like
the Greek γυῖα λέλυντο, λύτο γούνατα καὶ φίλον ἡτορ.

Footnote 29:

It is certain that from the earliest times Heaven as
⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ ‘the Great Weeper,’ was considered as the
source of life to gods and men. But myths must not be mixed. One must
not be considered as the explanation of another.

PLATE VIII.

BOOK OF THE DEAD.

Papyrus of Ani.
INTRODUCTION TO CHAPTER XVIII.
]

Leyden Papyrus.
]

CHAPTER XVIII. =Papyrus Busca.=
NAVILLE, “Book of the Dead.”
]

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PLATE IX

BOOK OF THE DEAD.

CHAPTER XIX. =Papyrus du Louvre, 440.=
E. DE ROUGÉ, “Études sur le Rituel Funéraire,” p. 14.
]

CHAPTER XIX. =Papyrus du Louvre, 3079.=
E. DE ROUGÉ, “Études sur le Rituel Funéraire,” p. 13
]

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