He is the One, who cometh forth this day from the primeval womb of them
who were before Rā, and his coming forth taketh place upon earth and in
the Netherworld. His coming forth is like Rā daily.
Without haste, but unresting, is the Osiris _N_ on this Land of
Eternity.
Twice blessed is he that seeth with his eyes and heareth with his ears.
Right, right is the Osiris _N_: and his future, his future,(7.) is in
Annu.
His oars are lifted as in the service of Nu.
The Osiris _N_ hath not told what he hath seen; he hath not repeated
what he hath heard in the house of the god who hideth his face.
There are hailing and cries of welcome to the Osiris _N_, the divine
body of Rā, on traversing the Nu, and whilst the _ka_ of the god is
being propitiated, according to his pleasure.
The Osiris _N_ is the Hawk, rich in variety of Forms.
The Deceased acquireth might with Rā, and is enabled to possess power
among the gods, for the gods are made to regard him as one of
themselves, and when the Dead ones see him they fall upon their faces.
He is seen in the Netherworld even as the beams of Rā.
_Said over a Boat of four cubits in length, painted green. And let a
starry sky be made, clean and purified with natron and incense. And see
thou make an image of Rā upon a tablet of light green colour at the prow
of the Boat. And see thou make an image of the Deceased whom thou
lovest, that he may be made strong in this boat, and that his voyage be
made in the Bark of Rā, and that Rā himself may look upon him. Do not do
this for any one except for thine own self, thy father and thy son. And
let them be exceedingly cautious for themselves. The Deceased acquireth
might with Rā, and made to possess power among the gods, who regard him
as one of themselves, and when men or the Dead see him they fall upon
their faces. He is seen in the Netherworld as the image of Rā._(8.)
NOTES.
The earliest known text of this chapter is that of the Tomb of
Amenemhait at Thebes (_Ta_), of the time of Thothmes III. It is almost
as inaccurate as that of Nebseni (_Aa_), or the Brockelhurst _Ax_. Nor
is the text of Ani of any use towards clearing up any of the
difficulties.
1. _Acquireth Might._ ⁂⁂ does not signify _wise_, nor has it
anything to do with _instruction_ or _perfection_, as supposed by other
translators. As an adjective it is used to qualify not only animate but
inanimate things, such as an _egg_, _beer_, and _incense_. The
well-known expressions ⁂⁂⁂ and ⁂⁂⁂ exactly
correspond to the Hebrew עד מאד and מאד מאד. The notion implied, as in
the Hebrew אוד, is that of _strength_.
⁂⁂⁂, in the Prisse Papyrus, is not a _wise_ man, but a
_powerful_ one, _a man of rank or influence_, δυνάμενος, δυνατός.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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