Egyptian Ideas of the Future LifeBudge, E. A. Wallis (Ernest Alfred Wallis), Sir
ReligionComparative
Egyptian Ideas of the Future Life
Budge, E. A. Wallis (Ernest Alfred Wallis), Sir
Egypt -- Religion; Eschatology, Egyptian; Future life
"O divine nome of wheat and barley, I have come unto thee, I have come
forward to thee, and I have taken up that which followeth me, namely,
the best of the libations of the company of the gods. I have tied my
boat in the celestial lakes, I have lifted up the post at which to
anchor, I have recited the prescribed words with my voice, and I have
ascribed praises unto the gods who dwell in Sekhet-hetep."
Other joys, however, than those described above, await the man who has
passed satisfactorily through the judgment and has made his way into the
realm of the gods. For, in answer to a long petition in the Papyrus of
Ani, which has been given above (see p. 33 f.), the god R[=a] promises
to the deceased the following: "Thou shalt come forth into heaven, thou
shalt pass over the sky, thou shalt be joined unto the starry deities.
Praises shall be offered unto thee in thy boat, thou shalt be hymned in
the [=A]tet boat, thou shalt behold R[=a] within his shrine, thou shalt
set together with his Disk day by day, thou shalt see the ANT [Footnote
1: The name of a mythological fish which swam at the bow of the boat of
R[=a].] fish when it springeth into being in the waters of turquoise,
and thou shalt see the ABTU [Footnote: The name of a mythological fish
which swam at the bow of the boat of R[=a].] fish in his hour. It shall
come to pass that the Evil One shall fall when he layeth a snare to
destroy thee, and the joints of his neck and of his back shall be hacked
asunder. R[=a] [saileth] with a fair wind, and the Sektet boat draweth
on and cometh into port. The mariners of R[=a] rejoice, and the heart
of Nebt-[=a]nkh (_i.e._, Isis) is glad, for the enemy of R[=a] hath
fallen to the ground. Thou shalt behold Horus on the standing-place of
the pilot of the boat, and Thoth and Ma[=a]t shall stand one upon each
side of him. All the gods shall rejoice when they behold R[=a] coming
in peace to make the hearts of the shining ones to live, and Osiris Ani,
triumphant, the scribe of the divine offspring of the lords of Thebes,
shall be along with them."
But, not content with sailing in the boat of R[=a] daily as one of many
beatified beings, the deceased hoped to transform each of his limbs into
a god, and when this was effected to become R[=a] himself. Thus in
Chapter XLII. of the Book of the Dead [Footnote: See _The Chapters of
Coming Forth by Day_, p. 93.] the deceased says--
"My hair is the hair of Nu.
"My face is the face of the Disk.
"My eyes are the eyes of Hathor.
"My ears are the ears of Ap-uat.
"My nose is the nose of Khenti-Khas.
"My lips are the lips of Anpu.
"My teeth are the teeth of Serqet.
"My neck is the neck of the divine goddess Isis.
"My hands are the hands of Ba-neb-Tattu.
"My fore-arms are the fore-arms of Neith, the Lady of Saïs.
"My backbone is the backbone of Suti.
"My phallus is the phallus of Osiris.
"My reins are the reins of the Lords of Kher-[=a]ba.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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