The Egyptian Book of the Dead 125

The Introduction to Maati [From the Papyrus of Ani (British Museum No. 10,470, sheet 30).]

The Chapter of entering into the Hall of double Maati; a hymn of praise to Osiris, the governor of Amentet. Osiris, the scribe Ani, triumphant, saith:

“I have come, and [I] have drawn nigh to see thy beauties; my hands [are raised] in adoration of thy name ‘Right and Truth’ I came and I drew nigh unto [the place where] the acacia-tree groweth not, where the tree thick with leaves existeth not, and where the ground yieldeth neither herb nor grass. Then I entered into the hidden place, and I spake with the god Set, and my protector(?) advanced to me, and his face was clothed (or covered), and [he] fell upon the hidden things. He entered into the Temple of Osiris, and he looked upon the hidden things which were therein; and the sovereign chiefs of the pylons [were] in the form of khus. And the god Anpu spake [to those who were on] both sides of him with the speech of a man [as he] came from Ta-mera; he knoweth our paths and our cities. I make offerings(?), and I smell the odor of him as if he were one among you, and I say unto him, I am Osiris, the scribe Ani, triumphant in peace, triumphant! I have come, and (I) have drawn nigh to see the great gods, and I feed upon the offerings which are among their food. I have been to the borders [of the territory of] Ba-neb-Tettet (i.e., the ‘Soul, the lord of Tattu,’ or Osiris), and he hath caused me to come forth like a Bennu bird, and to utter words. I have been in the water of the stream, and I have made offerings of incense. I have guided myself to the Shentet tree of the [divine] children. I have been in Abu (or Abu, i.e., Elephantine[?]) in the Temple of the goddess Satet. I have submerged the boat of mine enemies [while] I myself have sailed over the Lake in the Neshmet boat. I have seen the Sāhu (i.e., the spiritual bodies) [in] the city of Qem-ur. I have been in the city of Tattu, and I have brought myself to silence [therein]. I have caused the god to have the mastery over his two feet. I have been in the Temple of Tep-tu-f (i.e., ‘he that is on his hill,’ or Anubis), and I have seen him that is lord of the divine temple. I have entered into the Temple of Osiris, and I have arrayed myself in the apparel of him that is therein. I have entered into Re-stau, and I have seen the hidden things which are therein. I was shrouded [therein], but I found a way for myself. I have gone into the city of An-aarret-f (i.e., the place where nothing groweth), and I covered my nakedness with the garments which were therein. There was given unto me the ānti unguent [such as] women [use], along with the powder of human beings. Verily Sut(?) hath spoken unto me the things which concern himself, and I said, ‘Let thy weighing be in(?) us.’”

“The Majesty of the god Anpu saith, ‘Knowest thou the name of this door so as to declare it unto me?’ And Osiris, the scribe Ani, triumphant in peace, triumphant! saith, ‘Destroyer of the god Shu’ is the name of this door. The Majesty of the god Anpu saith, ‘Knowest thou the name of the upper leaf and of the lower leaf?’ ‘Lord of Maat upon his two feet’ is the name of the upper leaf, and ‘Lord of twofold strength, the subduer of cattle,’ [is the name of the lower leaf. The Majesty of the god Anpu saith], ‘Since thou knowest pass on, O Osiris the scribe, the teller of the divine offerings of all the gods of Thebes, Ani, triumphant, the lord of reverence.'"

The Introduction to Maati [From the Papyrus of Nu (British Museum No. 10,477, sheet 22).]

[The following] shall be said when the overseer of the palace, the chancellor-in-chief, Nu, triumphant, cometh forth into the Hall of double Maati so that he may be separated from every sin which he hath done and may behold the faces of the gods. The Osiris Nu, triumphant, saith:

“Homage to thee, O Great God, thou Lord of Double Maāti, I have come to thee, O my Lord, and I have brought myself hither that I may behold thy beauties. I know thee, and I know thy name, and I know the name[s] of the two and forty gods who exist with thee in this Hall of double Maāti, who live as warders of sinners and who feed upon their blood on the day when the lives of men are taken into account in the presence of the god Un-nefer; in truth ‘Rekhti-merti-neb-Maāti’ (i.e., ‘twin-sisters with two eyes, ladies of double Maāti') is thy name. In truth I have come to thee, and I have brought Maāt (i.e., right and truth) to thee, and I have destroyed wickedness for thee. [I have not done evil to] mankind. I have not oppressed the members of my family, I have not wrought evil in the place of right and truth. I have had no knowledge of worthless men. I have not wrought evil. I have not made to be the first [consideration] of each day that excessive labor should be performed for me. [I have] not brought forward my name for [exaltation] to honors. I have not ill-treated servants. [I have not thought scorn of God.] I have not defrauded the oppressed one of his property. I have not done that which is an abomination unto the gods. I have not caused harm to be done to the servant by his chief. I have not caused pain. I have made no man to suffer hunger. I have made no one to weep. I have done no murder. I have not given the order for murder to be done for me. I have not inflicted pain upon mankind. I have not defrauded the temples of their oblations. I have not purloined the cakes of the gods. I have not carried off the cakes offered to the khus. I have not committed fornication. I have not polluted myself [in the holy places of the god of my city], nor diminished from the bushel. I have neither added to nor filched away land. I have not encroached upon the fields [of others]. I have not added to the weights of the scales [to cheat the seller]. I have not misread the pointer of the scales [to cheat the buyer]. I have not. carried away the milk from the mouths of children. I have not driven away the cattle which were upon their pastures. I have not snared the feathered fowl of the preserves of the gods. I have not caught fish [with bait made of] fish of their kind. I have not turned back the water at the time [when it should flow]. I have not cut a cutting in a canal of running water. I have not extinguished a fire (or light) when it should burn. I have not violated the times [of offering] the chosen meat-offerings. I have not driven off the cattle from the property of the gods. I have not repulsed God in his manifestations. I am pure. I am pure. I am pure. I am pure. My purity is the purity of that great Bennu which is in the city of Suten-henen (Heracleopolis), for, behold, I am the nose of the God of the winds, who maketh all mankind to live on the day when the Eye (Utchat) of Rā is full in Annu (Heliopolis) at the end of the second month of the season Pert (i.e., the season of growing) [in the presence of the divine lord of this earth]. I have seen the Eye of Rā when it was full in Annu, therefore let not evil befall me in this land and in this Hall of double Maāti, because I, even I, know the name[s] of these gods who are therein [and who are the followers of the great god]"

The Negative Confession [From the Papyrus of Nebseni (British Museum No. 9,900, sheet 30).]

The scribe Nebseni, triumphant, saith:

1. “Hail, thou whose strides are long, who comest forth from Annu (Heliopolis), I have not done iniquity.

2. “Hail, thou who art embraced by flame, who comest forth from Kher-āba, I have not robbed with violence.

3. “Hail, thou divine Nose (Fenti), who comest forth from Khemennu (Hermopolis), I have not done violence [to any man].

4. “Hail, thou who eatest shades, who comest forth from the place where the Nile riseth, I have not committed theft.

5. “Hail, Neha-hau, who comest forth from Re-stau, I have not slain man or woman.

6. “Hail, thou double Lion-god, who comest forth from heaven, I have not made light the bushel.

7. “Hail, thou whose two eyes are like flint, who comest forth from Sekhem (Letopolis), I have not acted deceitfully.

8. “Hail, thou Flame, who comest forth as [thou] goest back, I have not purloined the things which belong unto God.

9. “Hail, thou Crusher of bones, who comest forth from Suten-henen (Heracleopolis), I have not uttered falsehood.

10. “Hail, thou who makest the flame to wax strong, who comest forth from Het-ka-Ptah (Memphis), I have not carried away food.

11. “Hail, Qerti, (i.e., the two sources of the Nile), who come forth from Amentet, I have not uttered evil words.

12. “Hail, thou whose teeth shine, who comest forth from Ta-she (i.e., the Fayyûm), I have attacked no man.

13. “Hail, thou who dost consume blood, who comest forth from the house of slaughter, I have not killed the beasts [which are the property of God].

14. “Hail, thou who dost consume the entrails, who comest forth from the mābet chamber, I have not acted deceitfully.

15. “Hail, thou god of Right and Truth, who comest forth from the city of double Maāti, I have not laid waste the lands which have been ploughed(?).

16. “Hail, thou who goest backward, who comest forth from the city of Bast (Bubastis), I have never pried into matters [to make mischief].

17. “Hail, Aati, who comest forth from Annu (Heliopolis), I have not set my mouth in motion [against any man].

18. “Hail, thou who art doubly evil, who comest forth from the nome of Ati, I have not given way to wrath concerning myself without a cause.

19. “Hail, thou serpent Uamemti, who comest forth from the house of slaughter, I have not defiled the wife of a man.

20. “Hail, thou who lookest upon what is brought to him, who comest forth from the Temple of Amsu, I have not committed any sin against purity.

21. “Hail, Chief of the divine Princes, who comest forth from the city of Nehatu, I have not struck fear [into any man].

22. “Hail, Khemiu (i.e., Destroyer), who comest forth from the Lake of Kaui, I have not encroached upon [sacred times and seasons].

23. “Hail, thou who orderest speech, who comest forth from Urit, I have not been a man of anger.

24. “Hail, thou Child, who comest forth from the Lake of Heq-at, I have not made myself deaf to the words of right and truth.

25. “Hail, thou disposer of speech, who comest forth from the city of Unes, I have not stirred up strife.

26. “Hail, Basti, who comest forth from the Secret city, I have made [no man] to weep.

27. “Hail, thou whose face is [turned] backward, who comest forth from the Dwelling, I have not committed acts of impurity, neither have I lain with men.

28. “Hail, Leg of fire, who comest forth from Akhekhu, I have not eaten my heart.

29. “Hail, Kenemti, who comest forth from [the city of] Kenemet, I have abused [no man].

30. “Hail, thou who bringest thine offering, who comest forth from the city of Sau (Saïs), I have not acted with violence.

31. “Hail, thou god of faces, who comest forth from the city of Tchefet, I have not judged hastily.

32. “Hail, thou who givest knowledge, who comest forth from Unth, I have not … and I have not taken vengeance upon the god.

33. “Hail, thou lord of two horns, who comest forth from Satiu, I have not multiplied [my] speech overmuch.

34. “Hail, Nefer-Tem, who comest forth from Het-ka-Ptah (Memphis), I have not acted with deceit, and I have not worked wickedness.

35. “Hail, Tem-Sep, who comest forth from Tattu, I have not uttered curses [on the king] .

36. “Hail, thou whose heart doth labor, who comest forth from the city of Tebti, I have not fouled (?) water.

37. Hail, Ahi of the water, who comest forth from Nu, I have not made haughty my voice.

38. “Hail, thou who givest commands to mankind, who comest forth from [Sau(?)], I have not cursed the god.

39. “Hail, Neheb-nefert, who comest forth from the Lake of Nefer(?), I have not behaved with insolence.

40. Hail, Neheb-kau, who comest forth from [thy] city, I have not sought for distinctions.

41. “Hail, thou whose head is holy, who comest forth from [thy] habitations, I have not increased my wealth, except with such things as are [justly] mine own possessions.

42. “Hail, thou who bringest thine own arm, who comest forth from Aukert (underworld), I have not thought scorn of the god who is in my city.”

Address to the Gods of the Underworld [From the Papyrus of Nu (British Museum No. 10,477, sheet 24).]

[Then shall the heart which is righteous and sinless say:]

The overseer of the palace, the chancellor-in-chief, Nu, triumphant, saith:

“Homage to you, O ye gods who dwell in the Hall of double Maāti, I, even I, know you, and I know your names. Let me not fall under your knives of slaughter, and bring ye not forward my wickedness unto the god in whose train ye are; and let not evil hap come upon me by your means. Oh, declare ye me right and true in the presence of Neb-er-tcher, because I have done that which is right and true in Ta-mera (Egypt). I have not cursed God, and let not evil hap come upon me through the king who dwelleth in my day. Homage to you, O ye gods, who dwell in the Hall of double Maāti, who are without evil in your bodies, and who live upon right and truth, and who feed yourselves upon right and truth in the presence of the god Horus, who dwelleth in his divine Disk: deliver ye me from the god Baba who feedeth upon the entrails of the mighty ones upon the day of the great judgment. Oh, grant ye that I may come to you, for I have not committed faults, I have not sinned, I have not done evil, I have not borne false witness; therefore let nothing [evil] be done unto me. I live upon right and truth, and I feed upon right and truth. I have performed the commandments of men [as well as] the things whereat are gratified the gods, I have made the gods to be at peace [with me by doing] that which is his will. I have given bread to the hungry man, and water to the thirsty man, and apparel to the naked man, and a boat to the [shipwrecked] mariner. I have made holy offerings to the gods, and sepulchral meals to the Khus. Be ye then my deliverers, be ye then my protectors, and make ye not accusation against me in the presence of [the great god]. I am clean of mouth and clean of 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 mighty word which the spiritual bodies (sāhu) spake unto the Cat in the House of Hapt-re. I have been made to give evidence before the god Hra-f-ha-f (i.e., he whose face is behind him), and he hath given a decision [concerning me]. I have seen the things over which the persea tree spreadeth [its branches] within Re-stau. I am he who hath offered up prayers to the gods and who knoweth their persons. I have come and I have advanced to make the declaration of right and truth, and to set the balance upon what supporteth it within the region of Aukert. Hail, thou who art exalted upon thy standard, thou lord of the Atefu crown, whose name is proclaimed as ‘Lord of the winds,’ deliver thou me from thy divine messengers who cause dire deeds to happen, and who cause calamities to come into being, and who are without coverings for their faces, for I have done that which is right and true for the Lord of right and truth. I have purified myself and my breast with libations, and my hinder parts with the things which make clean, and my inner parts have been in the Pool of Right and Truth. There is no single member of mine which lacketh right and truth. I have been purified in the Pool of the South, and I have rested in the northern city which is in the Field of the Grasshoppers, wherein the divine sailors of Rā bathe at the second hour of the night and at the third hour of the day. And the hearts of the gods are gratified(?) after they have passed through it, whether it be by night, or whether it be by day, and they say unto me, ‘Let thyself come forward.’ And they say unto me, ‘Who, then, art thou?’ And they say unto me, ‘What is thy name?’ ‘I am he who is equipped under the flowers [and I am] the dweller in his olive tree,’ is my name. And they say unto me straightway, ‘Pass thou on’; and I passed on by thy city to the north of the olive tree. What, then, didst thou see there? The leg and the thigh. What, then, didst thou say unto them? Let me see rejoicings in those lands of the Tenkhu. And what did they give unto thee? A flame of fire and a tablet (or sceptre) of crystal. What, then, didst thou do therewith? I buried them by the Furrow of Mānāat as ‘things for the night.’ What, then, didst thou find by the furrow of Mānāat? A sceptre of flint, the name of which is ‘Giver of winds.’ What, then, didst thou do to the flame of fire and the tablet (or sceptre) of crystal after thou hadst buried them? I uttered words over them in the furrow, [and I dug them out therefrom]; I extinguished the fire, and I broke the tablet (or sceptre), and I created a pool of water. ‘Come, then,’ [they say,] ‘and enter in through the door of this Hall of double Maāti, for thou knowest us.’”

“‘We will not let thee enter in through us,’ say the bolts of the door, ‘unless thou tellest [us] our names;’ ‘Tongue [of the Balance] of the place of right and truth’ is your name. ‘I will not let thee enter in by me,’ saith the [right] lintel of the door, ‘unless thou tellest [me] my name;’ ‘Balance of the support of right and truth’ is thy name. ‘I will not let thee enter in by me,’ saith the [left] lintel of the door,’ unless thou tellest [me] my name;’ ['Balance of] wine’ is thy name. ‘I will not let thee pass over me,’ saith the threshold of this door, ‘unless thou tellest [me] my name;’ ‘Ox of the god Seb’ is thy name. ‘I will not open unto thee,’ saith the fastening of this door, ‘unless thou tellest [me] my name;’ ‘Flesh of his mother’ is thy name. ‘I will not open unto thee,’ saith the socket of the fastening of the door, ‘unless thou tellest me my name;’ ‘Living eye of the god Sebek, the lord of Bakhau,’ is thy name. ‘I will not open unto thee [and I will not let thee enter in by me,’ saith the guardian of the leaf of] this door, ‘unless thou tellest [me] my name;’ ‘Elbow of the god Shu when he placeth himself to protect Osiris’ is thy name. ‘We will not let thee enter in by us,’ say the posts of this door, ‘unless thou tellest us our names;’ ‘Children of the uræi-goddesses’ is your name. ‘Thou knowest us,’ [they say,] ‘pass on, therefore, by us.’

“‘I will not let thee tread upon me,’ saith the floor of the Hall of double Maāti, ‘because I am silent and I am holy, and because I do not know the name[s] of thy two feet wherewith thou wouldst walk upon me; therefore tell them to me.’ ‘Traveller(?) of the god Khas’ is the name of my right foot, and ‘Staff of the goddess Hathor’ is the name of my left foot. ‘Thou knowest me,’ [it saith,] ‘pass on therefore over me.'"

“‘I will not make mention of thee,’ saith the guardian of the door of this Hall of double Maāti, unless thou tellest [me] my name; ‘Discerner of hearts and searcher of the reins’ is thy name. ‘Now will I make mention of thee [to the god]. But who is the god that dwelleth in his hour? Speak thou it’ (i.e., his name). Māau-Taui (i.e., he who keepeth the record of the two lands) [is his name]. ‘Who then is Māau-Taui?’ He is Thoth. ‘Come,’ saith Thoth. ‘But why hast thou come?’ I have come, and I press forward that I may be mentioned. What now is thy condition? I, even I, am purified from evil things, and I am protected from the baleful deeds of those who live in their days; and I am not among them. ‘Now will I make mention of thee [to the god].' ‘[Tell me now,] who is he whose heaven is of fire, whose walls [are surmounted by] living uræi, and the floor of whose house is a stream of water? Who is he? I say.’ It is Osiris. ‘Come forward, then: verily thou shalt be mentioned [to him]. Thy cakes [shall come] from the Eye of Rā, and thine ale [shall come] from the Eye of Rā, and the sepulchral meals [which shall be brought to thee] upon earth [shall come] from the Eye of Rā. This hath been decreed for the Osiris the overseer of the palace, the chancellor-in-chief, Nu, triumphant.'"

(The making of the representation of what shall happen in this hall of double Maati.) This chapter shall be said [by the deceased] after he hath been cleansed and purified, and when he is arrayed in apparel, and is shod with white leather sandals, and his eyes have been painted with antimony, and [his body] hath been anointed with unguent of anti, and when he offereth oxen, and feathered fowl, and incense, and cakes, and ale, and garden herbs. And, behold, thou shalt draw a representation of this in color upon a new tile moulded from earth upon which neither a pig nor other animals have trodden. And if [thou] doest this book upon it [in writing, the deceased] shall flourish, and his children shall flourish, and [his name] shall never fall into oblivion, and he shall be as one who filleth (i.e., satisfieth) the heart of the king and of his princes, and bread, and cakes, and sweetmeats, and wine, and pieces of flesh shall be given unto him upon the altar of the great god; and he shall not be turned back at any door in Amentet, and he shall be brought in along with the kings of upper and lower Egypt, and he shall be in the train of Osiris continually and forever.