Address To The Gods Of The Tuat
(From the Papyrus of Nu, Brit. Mus. No. 10477, Sheet 24)
THE FOLLOWING ARE THE WORDS WHICH THE HEART OF TRUTH THAT IS SINLESS SHALL SAY WHEN HE COMETH WITH THE WORD OF TRUTH INTO THE HALL OF MAATI; THEY SHALL BE SAID WHEN HE COMETH TO THE GODS WHO DWELL IN THE TUAT; AND THEY ARE THE WORDS WHICH ARE [TO BE SAID] AFTER [HE COMETH FORTH FROM] THE HALL OF MAATI.
Nu, the steward of the keeper of the seal, whose word is truth, saith:- Homage to you, O ye gods who dwell in your Hall of Maati! I know you, I know your names. Let me not fall under your knives of slaughter, and bring ye not forward my wickedness to this god in whose following ye are. Let not evil hap come upon me through you. Speak ye the truth concerning me in the presence of Neb-er-tcher, for I have done what is right and just in Ta-Mera. I have not cursed the god, and my evil hap did not come upon him that was king in his day.
Homage to you, O ye who dwell in your Hall of Maati, who have nothing false in your bodies, who live upon Truth, who feed yourselves upon Truth in the presence of Horus who dwelleth in his Disk, deliver ye me from Beba, who feedeth upon the livers of the great ones on the day of the Great Judgment. Grant ye that I may come before you, for I have not committed sin, I have done no act of deceit, I have done no evil thing, and I have not borne [false] witness; therefore let nothing [evil] be done to me. I have lived upon truth, I have fed upon truth, I have performed the ordinances of men, and the things which gratify the gods. I have propitiated the god by doing his will, I have given bread to the hungry man, and water to him that was athirst, and apparel to the naked man, and a ferry-boat to him that had no boat. I have made propitiatory offerings and given cakes to the gods, and the "things which appear at the word" to the Spirits. Deliver then ye me, protect then ye me, and make ye no report against me in the presence [of the Great God]. I am pure in respect of my mouth, and I am clean in respect of my hands, therefore let it be said unto me by those who shall behold me: "Come in peace, Come in peace." For I have heard that great word which the Sahu spake to the CAT, in the House of Hapt-ra. I have borne witness to Her-f-ha-f, and he hath given a decision [concerning me]. I have seen the things over which the Persea tree which is in Rasta, spreadeth its branches. I have made petitions to the gods, [and I] know the things [which appertain to] their bodies. I have come, travelling a long road, to bear righteous testimony, and to set the Balance upon its supports within Aukert.
Hail, thou who art exalted high upon thy standard, thou Lord of the Atef Crown, who dost make thy name to be "Lord of the Winds," deliver thou me from thy divine Envoys who punish and afflict according to [thy] decrees, and who make calamities to arise, and whose faces are without coverings, for I have done what is right and true for the Lord of Truth. I am pure. My breast is purified by libations, and my hinder parts are made clean with the things which make clean, and my inner parts have been dipped in the Lake of Truth. There is no single member of mine which lacketh truth. I have washed myself clean in the Lake of the South. I have rested myself in the City of the North, which is in Sekhet Sanhemu (the Field of the Grasshoppers), where the mariners of Ra wash themselves clean at the second hour of the night, and at the third hour of the day. The hearts of the gods are gratified when they have passed over it, whether it be by night or whether it be by day, and they say unto me, "Let thyself advance."
They say unto me,
"Who art thou?"
And they say unto me,
"What is thy name?"
[And I reply],
"Sept-kheri-nehait-ammi-beq-f" is my name.
Then they say unto me,
"Advance straightway on the city which is to the North of the Olive Tree. What dost thou see there?"
The Leg and the Thigh. What dost thou say unto them? Let me see rejoicings in these lands of the Fenkhu. What do they give unto thee? A flame of fire and a sceptre-amulet [made] of crystal. What dost thou do with them? I bury them on the furrow of M'naat, as things for the night. What dost thou find on the furrow of Maat? A sceptre of flint, the name of which is "Giver of winds." What now didst thou do with the flame of fire and the sceptre-amulet [made] of crystal, after thou didst bury them? I said a spell over them, and I dug them up. I quenched the flame of fire and I broke the sceptre-amulet, and I made a lake of water.
[Then shall the Two and forty gods say unto me]:
"Come now, pass in over the threshold of this door of the Hall of Maati, for thou hast knowledge of us." "We will not allow thee to enter in over us," say the bars of this door, "unless thou tellest us our names."
[And I reply],
"Tekh-bu-maa" is your name.
The right lintel of this door saith:
"I will not allow thee to pass over me unless thou tellest me my name."
[And I reply], "Henku-en-fat-maat" is thy name.
The left lintel of this door saith:
"I will not allow thee to pass over me unless thou tellest me my name."
[And I reply],
"Henku-en-arp" is thy name.
The ground of this door saith:
"I will not allow thee to pass over me unless thou tellest me my name."
[And I reply],
"Aua-en-Keb" is thy name.
And the bolt of this door saith:
"I will not open the door to thee unless thou tellest me my name."
[And I reply],
"Saah-en-mut-f" is thy name.
The socket of the fastening of this door saith:
"I will not open unto thee unless thou tellest my name."
[And I reply],
"The Living Eye of Sebek, the Lord of Bakhau," is thy name.
The Doorkeeper of this door saith:
"I will not open to thee, and I will not let thee enter by me unless thou tellest my name."
[And I reply],
"Elbow of the god Shu who placeth himself to protect Osiris" is thy name.
The posts of this door say:
"We will not let thee pass in by us unless thou tellest our name."
[And I reply],
"Children of the uraei-goddesses" is your name.
The Doorkeeper of this door saith:
"I will not open to thee, and I will not let thee enter in by me unless thou tellest my name.
[And I reply],
"Ox of Keb" is thy name.
[And they reply],
"Thou knowest us, pass in therefore by us."
The ground of this Hall of Maati saith:
"I will not let thee tread upon me [unless thou tellest me my name], for I am silent. I am holy because I know the names of two feet wherewith thou wouldst walk upon me. Declare, then, them to me."
[And I reply], "Besu-Ahu" is the name of my right foot, and "Unpet-ent-Het-Heru" is the name of my left foot.
[The ground replieth]:
"Thou knowest us, enter in therefore over us."
The Doorkeeper of this Hall of Maati saith:
"I will not announce thee unless thou tellest my name."
[And I reply],
"Discerner of hearts, searcher of bellies" is thy name.
[The Doorkeeper saith]:
"Thou shalt be announced."
[He saith]:
"Who is the god who dwelleth in his hour? Speak it"
[And I reply],
"Au-taui."
[He saith]:
"Explain who he is."
[And I reply],
"Au-taui" is Thoth. "Come now," saith Thoth, "for what purpose hast thou come?"
[And I reply]:
"I have come, and have journeyed hither that my name may be announced [to the god]."
[Thoth saith]:
"In what condition art thou?"
[And I reply],
"I, even I, am purified from evil defects, and I am wholly free from the curses of those who live in their days, and I am not one of their number."
[Thoth saith]:
"Therefore shall [thy name] be announced to the god."
[Thoth saith]:
"Tell me, who is he whose heaven is of fire, whose walls are living serpents, and whose ground is a stream of water? Who is he?"
[And I reply],
"He is Osiris."
[Thoth saith]:
"Advance now, [thy name] shall be announced to him. Thy cakes shall come from the Utchat (Eye of Horus or Ra), thy ale shall come from the Utchat, and the offerings which shall appear to thee at the word upon earth [shall proceed] from the Utchat." This is what Osiris hath decreed for the steward of the overseer of the seal, Nu, whose word is truth."
Actually, I don't think I know a single man that would survive that one.
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