Legends of the Gods: The Egyptian Texts, edited with TranslationsBudge, E. A. Wallis (Ernest Alfred Wallis), Sir
General
Legends of the Gods: The Egyptian Texts, edited with Translations
Budge, E. A. Wallis (Ernest Alfred Wallis), Sir
Egyptian literature -- Translations into English; Mythology, Egyptian
V. Whosoever shall recite the words of this composition over himself
shall anoint himself with olive oil and with thick unguent, and he
shall have propitiatory offerings on both his hands of incense, and
behind his two ears shall be pure natron, and sweet-smelling salve
shall be on his lips. He shall be arrayed in a new double tunic, and
his body shall be purified with the water of the nile-flood, and he
shall have upon his feet a pair of sandals made of white [leather], and
a figure of the goddess Maat shall be drawn upon his tongue with green-
coloured ochre. Whensoever Thoth shall wish to recite this composition
on behalf of Ra, he must perform a sevenfold (?) purification for three
days, and priests and [ordinary] men shall do likewise. Whosoever
shall recite the above words shall perform the ceremonies which are to
be performed when this book is being read. And he shall make his place
of standing (?) in a circle (or, at an angle) . . . . . which is beyond
[him], and his two eyes shall be fixed upon himself, all his members
shall be [composed], and his steps shall not carry him away [from the
place]. Whosoever among men shall recite [these] words shall be like
Ra on the day of his birth; and his possessions shall not become fewer,
and his house shall never fall into decay, but shall endure for a
million eternities.
Then the Aged One himself (i.e., Ra) embraced (?) the god Nu, and spake
unto the gods who came forth in the east of the sky, "Ascribe ye praise
to the god, the Aged One, from whom I have come into being. I am he
who made the heavens, and I (set in order [the earth, and created the
gods, and] I was with them for an exceedingly long period; then was
born the year and . . . . . . but my soul is older than it (i.e.,
time). It is the Soul of Shu, it is the Soul of Khnemu (?),[FN#65] it
is the Soul of Heh, it is the Soul of Kek and Kerh (i.e., Night and
Darkness), it is the Soul of Nu and of Ra, it is the Soul of Osiris,
the lord of Tettu, it is the Soul of the Sebak Crocodile-gods and of
the Crocodiles, it is the Soul of every god [who dwelleth] in the
divine Snakes, it is the Soul of Apep in Mount Bakhau (i.e., the Mount
of Sunrise), and it is the Soul of Ra which pervadeth the whole world."
[FN#65] There are mistakes in the text here.
Whosoever sayeth [these words] worketh his own protection by means of
the words of power, "I am the god Hekau (i.e., the divine Word of
power), and [I am] pure in my mouth, and [in] my belly; [I am] Ra from
whom the gods proceeded. I am Ra, the Light-god (Khu)." When thou
sayest [this], stop forth in the evening and in the morning on thine
own behalf if thou wouldst make to fall the enemies of Ra. I am his
Soul, and I am Heka.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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