 |
[FN#114] i.e., the North, especially the Delta.
[FN#115] i.e., the South.
As concerning Heru-Behutet, the great god, the lord of heaven, the president of the Ater of the South,[FN#116] he it is who is made to be on the right hand. This is Heru-Behutet on whom the goddess Nekhebit is placed in the form of a serpent (or, uraeus). As concerning Heru- Behutet, the great god, the lord of heaven, the lord of Mesent, the president of the Ater of the North,[FN#117] he it is who is made to be on the left hand. This Heru-Behutet on whom the goddess Uatchit is placed is in the form of a serpent.
[FN#116] i.e., the southern half of heaven.
[FN#117] i.e., the northern half of heaven.
As concerning Heru-Behutet, the great god, the lord of heaven, the lord of Mesent, the president of the two Aterti of the South and North, Ra Heru-khuti set it (i.e., the Winged Disk) in his every place, to overthrow the enemies in every place wherein they are. And he shall be called President of the two Aterti of the South and North because of this from this day onwards.[FN#118]
[FN#118] In the sculpture which illustrates this portion of the text at Edfu, two Winged Disks are represented. The first has # on each side of it. The disk has an uraeus on each side. The second winged symbol of the god consists of a beetle with outstretched wings, which holds between his forelegs the solar disk, and between his hind legs the symbol of the orbit of the sun.
A HYMN TO OSIRIS AND A LEGEND OF THE ORIGIN OF HORUS.
Homage to thee, Osiris, Lord of eternity, King of the gods, whose names are manifold, whose transformations are sublime, whose form is hidden in the temples whose Ka is holy, the Governor of Tetut,[FN#119] the mighty one of possessions (?)in the shrine,[FN#120] the Lord of praises[FN#121] in the nome of Anetch,[FN#122] President of the tchefa food in Anu,[FN#123] Lord who art commemorated in [the town of] Maati,[FN#124] the mysterious (or, hidden) Soul, the Lord of Qerret,[FN#125] the sublime one in White Wall,[FN#126] the Soul of Ra [and] his very body, who hast thy dwelling in Henensu,[FN#127] the beneficent one, who art praised in Nart,[FN#128] who makest to rise up thy Soul, Lord of the Great House in the city[FN#129] of the Eight Gods,[FN#130] [who inspirest] great terror in Shas-hetep,[FN#131] Lord of eternity, Governor of Abtu (Abydos).
[FN#119] More fully Pa-Asar-neb-Tetut, the Busiris of the Greeks; Busiris = Pa-Asar, "House of Osiris," par excellence. The variant Tataut also occurs.
[FN#120] An allusion, perhaps, to the town Sekhem, the capital of the second nome (Letopolites) of Lower Egypt.
[FN#121] i.e., lord whose praises are sung.
[FN#122] Letopolites.
[FN#123] Heliopolis.
[FN#124] i.e., a famous sanctuary in the Letopolite nome where Ptah was worshipped.
[FN#125] The region of the First Cataract, where the Nile was believed to rise.
[FN#126] Memphis.
[FN#127] Herakleopolis, the {hbw XaNeS} of Isaiah.
[FN#128] A name of Herakleopolis.
[FN#129] Khemenu or Hermopolis, the city of Thoth.
[FN#130] These gods were: Nu and Nut; Hehu and Hehut; Kekui and Kekuit; Kerh and Kerhet.
[FN#131] The capital of Set, the eleventh nome of Upper Egypt; the chief local deity was Khnemu.
Thy seat (or, domain) reacheth far into Ta-tchesert,[FN#132] and thy name is firmly stablished in the mouth[s] of men. Thou art the two- fold substance of the Two Lands[FN#133] everywhere (?), and the divine food (tchef) of the Kau,[FN#134] the Governor of the Companies[FN#135] of the Gods, and the beneficent (or, perfect) Spirit-soul[FN#136] among Spirit-souls. The god Nu draweth his waters from thee,[FN#137] and thou bringest forth the north wind at eventide, and wind from thy nostrils to the satisfaction of thy heart. Thy heart flourisheth, and thou bringest forth the splendour of tchef food.
[FN#132] A name of the Other World.
[FN#133] i.e., the two Egypts, Upper and Lower.
[FN#134] The Doubles of the beatified who are fed by Osiris in the Other World.
[FN#135] Three Companies are distinguished: the gods of Heaven, the gods of Earth, and the gods of the Other World.
[FN#136] The indestructible, immortal Spirit-soul as opposed to the Ba-soul or animal-soul.
[FN#137] Here and in other places I have changed the pronoun of the third person into that of the second to avoid the abrupt changes of the original.
The height of heaven and the stars [thereof] are obedient unto thee, and thou makest to be opened the great gates [of the sky]. Thou art the lord to whom praises are sung in the southern heaven, thou art he to whom thanks are given in the northern heaven. The stars which never diminish are under the place of thy face,[FN#138] and thy seats are the stars which never rest.[FN#139] Offerings appear before thee by the command of Keb. The Companies of the Gods ascribe praise unto thee, the Star-gods of the Tuat smell the earth before thee,[FN#140] the domains [make] bowings [before thee], and the ends of the earth make supplication to thee [when] they see thee.
[FN#138] i.e., they are under thy inspection and care.
[FN#139] i.e., the stars which never set. The allusion is probably to certain circumpolar stars.
[FN#140] i.e., do homage.
Those who are among the holy ones are in terror of him, and the Two Lands, all of them, make acclamations to him when they meet His Majesty. Thou art a shining Noble at the head of the nobles, permanent in [thy] high rank, stablished in [thy] sovereignty, the beneficent Power of the Company of the Gods. Well-pleasing [is thy] face, and thou art beloved by him that seeth thee. Thou settest the fear of thee in all lands, and because of their love for thee [men] hold thy name to be pre-eminent. Every man maketh offerings unto thee, and thou art the Lord who is commemorated in heaven and upon earth. Manifold are the cries of acclamation to thee in the Uak[FN#141] festival, and the Two Lands shout joyously to thee with one accord. Thou art the eldest, the first of thy brethren, the Prince of the Company of the Gods, and the stablisher of Truth throughout the Two Lands. Thou settest [thy] son upon the great throne of his father Keb. Thou art the beloved one of thy mother Nut, whose valour is most mighty [when] thou overthrowest the Seba Fiend. Thou hast slaughtered thy enemy, and hast put the fear of thee into thy Adversary.
[FN#141] One of the chief festivals of Osiris, during which the god made a periplus.
Thou art the bringer in of the remotest boundaries, and art stable of heart, and thy two feet are lifted up (?); thou art the heir of Keb and of the sovereignty of the Two Lands, and he (i.e., Keb) hath seen thy splendid qualities, and hath commanded thee to guide the lands (i.e., the world) by thy hand so long as times [and seasons] endure.
Thou hast made this earth with thy hand, the waters thereof, the winds thereof, the trees and herbs thereof, the cattle thereof of every kind, the birds thereof of every kind, the fish thereof of every kind, the creeping things thereof, and the four-footed beasts thereof. The land of the desert[FN#142] belongeth by right to the son of Nut, and the Two Lands have contentment in making him to rise[FN#143] upon the throne of his father like Ra.
[FN#142] This may also represent the mountainous districts of Egypt, or even foreign countries in general.
[FN#143] To make him rise like the sun, or to enthrone him.
Thou rollest up into the horizon, thou settest the light above the darkness, thou illuminest [the Two Lands] with the light from thy two plumes, thou floodest the Two Lands like the Disk at the beginning of the dawn. Thy White Crown pierceth the height of heaven saluting the stars,[FN#144] thou art the guide of every god. Thou art perfect[FN#145] in command and word. Thou art the favoured one of the Great Company of the Gods, and thou art the beloved one of the Little Company of the Gods.
[FN#144] Or, "becoming a brother to the stars," or the Star-gods.
[FN#145] Or, beneficent.
Thy sister [Isis] acted as a protectress to thee. She drove [thy] enemies away, she averted seasons [of calamity from thee], she recited the word (or, formula) with the magical power of her mouth, [being] skilled of tongue and never halting for a word, being perfect in command and word. Isis the magician avenged her brother. She went about seeking for him untiringly.
She flew round and round over this earth uttering wailing cries of grief, and she did not alight on the ground until she had found him. She made light [to come forth] from her feathers, she made air to come into being by means of her two wings, and she cried out the death cries for her brother. She made to rise up the helpless members of him whose heart was at rest, she drew from him his essence, and she made therefrom an heir. She suckled the child in solitariness and none knew where his place was, and he grew in strength. His hand is mighty (or, victorious) within the house of Keb, and the Company of the Gods rejoice greatly at the coming of Horus, the son of Osiris, whose heart is firmly stablished, the triumphant one, the son of Isis, the flesh and bone of Osiris. The Tchatcha[FN#146] of Truth, and the Company of the Gods, and Neb-er-tcher[FN#147] himself, and the Lords of Truth, gather together to him, and assemble therein.[FN#148] Verily those who defeat iniquity rejoice[FN#149] in the House of Keb to bestow the divine rank and dignity upon him to whom it belongeth, and the sovereignty upon him whose it is by right.
[FN#146] Literally, the "Heads," I.e., the divine sovereign Chiefs at the court of Osiris, who acted as administrators of the god, and even as task-masters.
[FN#147] "He who is the lord to the end (or, limit) of the world," a name of Osiris.
[FN#148] i.e., in the House of Keb.
[FN#149] Or perhaps "take their seats in the House of Keb."
A LEGEND OF PTAH NEFER-HETEP AND THE PRINCESS OF BEKHTEN.
The Horus: "Mighty Bull, the form(?) of risings[FN#150], stablished in sovereignty like Tem." The Golden Horus: "Mighty one of strength[FN#151], destroyer of the Nine Nations of the Bow."[FN#152] King of the South and North: "The Lord of the Two Lands, User-Maat-Ra- setep-en-Ra Son of Ra: Of his body, Ra-meses-meri-Amen, of Amen- Ra;[FN#153] the Lord of the thrones of the Two Lands, and of the Company of the Gods, the Lords of Thebes, the beloved one. The beneficent god, the son of Amen, born of Mut, begotten of Heru-khuti, the glorious offspring of Neb-tchert,[FN#154] begetting [as] the Bull of his Mother, [FN#155] king of Egypt, Governor of the deserts, the Sovereign who hath taken possession of the Nine Nations of the Bow; [who] on coming forth from the womb ordained mighty things, who gave commands whilst he was in the egg, the Bull, stable of heart, who hath sent forth his seed; the king who is a bull, [and] a god who cometh forth on the day of battle like Menthu,[FN#156] the mighty one of strength like the son of Nut."[FN#157]
[FN#150] i.e., the image who rises like the sun day by day, or the image of [many] crowns.
[FN#151] Or, mighty one of the thigh, i.e., he of the mighty thigh.
[FN#152] The nations of Nubia who fought with bows and arrows.
[FN#153] In this version of the protocol of Rameses II. the second "strong name" of the king is omitted.
[FN#154] i.e., Neb-er-tcher.
[FN#155] Ka-mut-f, the {greek kamh^fic} of the Greeks.
[FN#156] The War-god of Thebes.
[FN#157] i.e., Osiris.
Behold, His Majesty was in the country of Neheru[FN#158] according to his custom every year, and the chiefs of every land, even as far as the swamps, came [to pay] homage, bearing offerings to the Souls of His Majesty; and they brought their gifts, gold, lapis-lazuli, turquoise, bars of wood of every kind of the Land of the God,[FN#159] on their backs, and each one surpassed his neighbour.
[FN#158] The "country of the rivers," the {hbw AaRam NaHaRaYim} of Gen. xxiv. 10, the # of Syrian writers.
[FN#159] A name including Western Asia and a portion of the East Coast of Africa.
And the Prince of Bekhten [also] caused his gifts to be brought, and he set his eldest daughter at the head of them all, and he addressed words of praise to His Majesty, and prayed to him for his life. And the maiden was beautiful, and His Majesty considered her to be the most lovely [woman] in the world, and he wrote down as her title, "Great Royal Wife, Ra-neferu"; and when His Majesty arrived in Egypt, he did for her whatsoever was done for the Royal Wife.
On the twenty-second day of the second month of the season of Shemu,[FN#160] in the fifteenth year [of his reign], behold, His Majesty was in Thebes, the Mighty [city], the Mistress of cities, performing the praises of Father Amen, the Lord of the thrones of the Two Lands, in his beautiful Festival of the Southern Apt,[FN#161] which was the seat of his heart (i.e., the chosen spot) from primaeval time, [when] one came to say to His Majesty, "An ambassador of the Prince of Bekhten hath arrived bearing many gifts for the Royal Wife."
[FN#160] The summer. The Copts called the second month of this season Paoni.
[FN#161] The modern Temple of Luxor.
And having been brought into the presence of His Majesty with his gifts, he spake words of adoration to His Majesty, saying, "Praise be unto thee, O thou Sun (Ra) of the Nine Nations of the Bow, permit us to live before thee!" And when he had spoken, and had smelt the earth before His Majesty, he continued his speech before His Majesty, saying, "I have come unto thee, my King and Lord, on behalf of Bent-Resht, the younger sister of the Royal Wife Ra-neferu. [Some] disease hath penetrated into her members, and I beseech Thy Majesty to send a man of learning to see her."
And His Majesty said, "Bring to me the magicians (or, scribes) of the House of Life, and the nobles of the palace." And having been brought into his presence straightway, His Majesty said unto them, "Behold, I have caused you to be summoned [hither] in order that ye may hear this matter. Now bring to me [one] of your company whose heart is wise[FN#162], and whose fingers are deft." And the royal scribe Tehuti-em-heb came into the presence of His Majesty, and His Majesty commanded him to depart to Bekhten with that ambassador.
[FN#162] Or, a skilled craftsman.
And when the man of learning had arrived in Bekhten, he found Bent- Resht in the condition of a woman who is possessed by a spirit, and he found 12 this spirit to be an evil one, and to be hostile in his disposition towards him.
And the Prince of Bekhten sent a messenger a second time into the presence of His Majesty, saying, "O King, my Lord, I pray His (i.e., Thy) Majesty to command that a god be brought hither to contend against the spirit."
Now when the messenger came to His Majesty in the first month[FN#163] of the season of Shemu, in the twenty-sixth year [of his reign], on the day which coincided with that of the Festival of Amen, His Majesty was in the palace (or, temple?) of Thebes. And His Majesty spake a second time[FN#164] in the presence of Khensu in Thebes, [called] "Nefer- Hetep," saying, "O my fair Lord, I present myself before thee a second time on behalf of the daughter of the Prince of Bekhten." Then Khensu, in Thebes, [called] "Nefer-Hetep", was carried to Khensu, [called] "Pa- ari-sekher," the great god who driveth away the spirits which attack. And His Majesty spake before Khensu in Thebes, [called] "Nefer-Hetep," saying, "O my fair Lord, if thou wilt give (i.e., turn) thy face to Khensu, [called] 'Pa-ari-sekher,' the great god who driveth away the spirits which attack, permit thou that he may depart to Bekhten;" [and the god] inclined his head with a deep inclination twice. And His Majesty said, "Let, I pray, thy protective (or, magical) power [go] with him, so that I may make His Majesty to go to Bekhten to deliver the daughter of the Prince of Bekhten [from the spirit]."
[FN#163] The month Pakhon of the Copts.
[FN#164] The text makes no mention of the first application to Khensu.
And Khensu in Thebes, [called] "Nefer-Hetep," inclined his head with a deep inclination twice. And he made [his] protective power to pass into Khensu, [called] "Pa-ari-sekher-em-Uast," in a fourfold measure. Then His Majesty commanded that Khensu, [called] "Pa-ari-sekher-em- Uast," should set out on his journey in a great boat, [accompanied by] five smaller boats, and chariots, and a large number of horses [which marched] on the right side and on the left.
And when this god arrived in Bekhten at the end of a period of one year and five months, the Prince of Bekhten came forth with his soldiers and his chief[s] before Khensu, [called] "Pa-ari-sekher," and he cast himself down upon his belly, saying, "Thou hast come to us, and thou art welcomed by us, by the commands of the King of the South and North, User-Maat-Ra-setep-en-Ra!"
And when this god had passed over to the place where Bent-Resht was, he worked upon the daughter of the Prince of Bekhten with his magical power, and she became better (i.e., was healed) straightway. And this spirit which had been with her said, in the presence of Khensu, [called] "Pa-ari-sekher-em-Uast," "Come in peace (i.e., Welcome!), O great god, who dost drive away the spirits which attack! Bekhten is thy city, the people thereof, both men and women, are thy (servants, and I myself am thy servant. I will [now] depart unto the place whence I came, so that I may cause thy heart to be content about the matter concerning which thou hast come. I pray that Thy Majesty will command that a happy day (i.e., a festival, or day of rejoicing) be made with me, and with the Prince of Bekhten." And this god inclined his head [in approval] to his priest, saying, "Let the Prince of Bekhten make a great offering in the (presence of this spirit."
Now whilst Khensu, [called] "Pa-ari-sekher-em-Uast," was arranging these [things] with the spirit, the Prince of Bekhten and his soldiers were standing there, and they feared with an exceedingly great fear. And the Prince of Bekhten made a great offering in the presence of Khensu, [called] "Pa-ari-sekher-em-Uast," and the spirit of the Prince of Bekhten, and he made a happy day (i.e., festival) on their behalf, and [then] the spirit departed in peace unto the place which he loved, by the command of Khensu, [called] "Pa-ari-sekher-em-Uast." And the Prince of Bekhten, and every person who was in the country of Bekhten, rejoiced very greatly, and he took counsel with his heart, saying, "It hath happened that this god hath been given as a gift to Bekhten, and I will not permit him to depart to Egypt."
And [when] this god had tarried for three years and nine months in Bekhten, the Prince of Bekhten, who was lying down asleep on his bed, saw this god come forth outside his shrine (now he was in the form of a golden hawk), and he flew up into the heavens and departed to Egypt; and when the Prince woke up he was trembling. And he said unto the prophet of Khensu, [called] "Pa-ari-sekher-em-Uast," "This god who tarried with us hath departed to Egypt; let his chariot also depart to Egypt."
And the Prince of Bekhten permitted [the image of] the god to set out for Egypt, and he gave him many great gifts of beautiful things of all kinds, and a large number of soldiers and horses [went with him]. And when they had arrived in peace in Thebes, Khensu, [called] "Pa-ari- sekher-em-Uast," went into the Temple of Khensu in Thebes, [called] "Nefer-Hetep," and he placed the offerings which the Prince of Bekhten had given unto him, beautiful things of all kinds, before Khensu in Thebes, [called] "Nefer-Hetep," and he gave nothing thereof whatsoever to his [own] temple.
Thus Khensu, [called] "Pa-ari-sekher-em-Uast," arrived in his temple in peace, on the nineteenth day of the second month[FN#165] of the season Pert, in the thirty-third year of the [reign of the] King of the South and North, User-Maat-en-Ra-setep-en-Ra, the giver of life, like Ra, for ever.
[FN#165] The month Mekhir of the Copts; the season Pert is the Egyptian spring.
A LEGEND OF THE GOD KHNEMU AND OF A SEVEN YEARS' FAMINE.
In the eighteenth year of the Horus, Neter-Khat, of the King of the South and North, Neter-Khat, of the Lord of the Shrines of Uatchit and Nekhebit, Neter-Khat, of the Golden Horus Tcheser,[FN#166] when Matar was Ha Prince, and Erpa, and Governor of the temple-cities in the Land of the South, and director of the Khenti[FN#167] folk in Abtu,[FN#168] there was brought unto him the following royal despatch: "This is to inform thee that misery hath laid hold upon me [as I sit] upon the great throne by reason of those who dwell in the Great House.[FN#169] My heart is grievously afflicted by reason of the exceedingly great evil [which hath happened] because Hapi (i.e., the Nile) hath not come forth[FN#170] in my time to the [proper] height for seven years. Grain is very scarce, vegetables are lacking altogether, every kind of thing which men eat for their food hath ceased, and every man [now] plundereth "his neighbour. Men wish to walk, but are unable to move, the child waileth, the young man draggeth his limbs along, and the hearts of the aged folk are crushed with despair; their legs give way under them, and they sink down to the ground, and their hands are laid upon their bodies [in pain]. The shennu[FN#171] nobles are destitute of counsel, and [when] the storehouses which should contain supplies are opened, there cometh forth therefrom nothing but wind. Everything is in a state of ruin. My mind hath remembered, going back to former time, when I had an advocate, to the time of the gods, and of the Ibis-god, and of the chief Kher-heb priest I-em-hetep,[FN#172] the son of Ptah of his Southern Wall."
[FN#166] Tcheser was a king of the IIIrd Dynasty, and is famous as the builder of the Step Pyramid at Sakkarah. His tomb was discovered by Mr. J. Garstang at Bet Khallaf in Upper Egypt in 1901.
[FN#167] i.e., the people who were in front of, that is, to the South of Egypt, or the population of the country which lies between Dakkah and Aswan.
[FN#168] The ancient Egyptian name for Elephantine Island, which appears to have gained this name because it resembled an elephant in shape.
[FN#169] i.e., the palace.
[FN#170] i.e., risen.
[FN#171] i.e., the high court officials and administrators.
[FN#172] The famous priest and magician, who was subsequently deified and became one of the chief gods of Memphis.
"Where is the place of birth of Hapi (the Nile)? What god, or what goddess, presideth (?) over it? What manner of form hath he? It is he who stablisheth revenue for me, and a full store of grain. I would go to the Chief of Het-Sekhet[FN#173] whose beneficence strengtheneth all men in their works. I would enter into the House of Life,[FN#174] I would unfold the written rolls [therein], and I would lay my hand upon them."
[FN#173] Hermopolis.
[FN#174] Per-ankh, or Pa-ankh, was a name given to one of the temple- colleges of priests and scribes.
Then [Matar] set out on his journey, and he returned to me straightway. He gave me instruction concerning the increase of Hapi,[FN#175] and told me all things which men had written concerning it, and he revealed to me the secret doors (?) whereto my ancestors had betaken themselves quickly, the like of which has never been, to [any] king since the time of Ra, (?). And he said unto me: "There is a city in the middle of the stream wherefrom Hapi maketh his appearance; "'Abu'[FN#176] was its name in the beginning; it is the City of the Beginning, and it is the Nome of the City of the Beginning. [It reacheth] to Uaua,[FN#177] which is the beginning of the land. There is too a flight of steps,[FN#178] which reareth itself to a great height, and is the support of Ra, when he maketh his calculation to prolong life to everyone; 'Netchemtchem Ankh'[FN#179] is the name of its abode. 'The two Qerti'[FN#180] is the name of the water, and they are the two breasts from which every good thing cometh forth (?).
[FN#175] i.e., the Inundation, or Nile Flood.
[FN#176] The Elephant City, i.e., Elephantine.
[FN#177] A portion of Northern Nubia.
[FN#178] This is probably an allusion to the famous Nilometer on the Island of Philae.
[FN#179] i.e., "Sweet, sweet life."
[FN#180] The Qerti were the two openings through which the Nile entered this world from the great celestial ocean.
"Here is the bed of Hapi (the Nile), wherein he reneweth his youth [in his season], wherein he causeth the flooding of the land. He cometh and hath union as he journeyeth, as a man hath union with a woman. And again he playeth the part of a husband and satisfieth his desire. He riseth to the height of twenty-eight cubits [at Abu], and he droppeth at Sma-Behutet[FN#181] to seven cubits. The union(?) there is that of the god Khnemu in [Abu. He smiteth the ground] with his sandals, and [its] fulness becometh abundant; he openeth the bolt of the door with his hand, and he throweth open the double door of the opening through which the water cometh."
[FN#181] Diospolis of Lower Egypt, or "Thebes of the North."
"Moreover, he dwelleth there in the form of the god Shu,[FN#182] as one who is lord over his own territory, and his homestead, the name of which is 'Aa' (i.e., the 'Island'). There he keepeth an account of the products of the Land of the South and of the Land of the North, "in order to give unto every god his proper share, and he leadeth to each [the metals], and the [precious stones, and the four-footed beasts], and the feathered fowl, and the fish, and every thing whereon they live. And the cord [for the measuring of the land] and the tablet whereon the register is kept are there.
[FN#182] The god who separated the Sky-goddess Nut from the embrace of her husband, the Earth-god Keb, and who holds her above him each day.
"And there is an edifice of wood there, with the portals thereof formed of reeds, wherein he dwelleth as one who is over his own territory, and he maketh the foliage of the trees (?) to serve as a roof.
"His God-house hath an opening towards the south-east, and Ra (or, the Sun) standeth immediately opposite thereto every day. The stream which floweth along the south side thereof hath danger [for him that attacketh it], and it hath as a defence a wall which entereth into the region of the men of Kens[FN#183] on the South. Huge mountains [filled with] masses of stone are round about its domain on the east side, and shut it in. Thither come the quarrymen with things (tools?) of every kind, [when] they "seek to build a House for any god in the Land of the South, or in the Land of the North, or [shrines] as abodes for sacred animals, or royal pyramids, and statues of all kinds. They stand up in front of the House of the God and in the sanctuary chamber, and their sweet smelling offerings are presented before the face of the god Khnemu during his circuit, even as [when they bring] "garden herbs and flowers of every kind. The fore parts thereof are in Abu (Elephantine), and the hind parts are in the city of Sunt (?).[FN#184] One portion thereof is on the east side[FN#185] of the river, and another portion is on the west side[FN#186] of the river, and another portion is in the middle[FN#187] of the river. The stream decketh the region with its waters during a certain season of the year, and it is a place of delight for every man. And works are carried on among these quarries [which are] on the edges [of the river?], "for the stream immediately faceth this city of Abu itself, and there existeth the granite, the substance whereof is hard (?); 'Stone of Abu' it is called.
[FN#183] Kens extended south from Philae as far as Korosko.
[FN#184] Perhaps Sunut, = the Syene of the Greeks, and the {hbw SuWeNeH} of the Hebrews.
[FN#185] i.e., Syene.
[FN#186] i.e., Contra Syene.
[FN#187] i.e., the Island of Elephantine.
"[Here is] a list of the names of the gods who dwell in the Divine House of Khnemu. The goddess of the star Sept (Sothis), the goddess Anqet, Hap (the Nile-god), Shu, Keb, Nut, Osiris, Horus, Isis, and Nephthys.
"[Here are] "the names of the stones which lie in the heart of the mountains, some on the east side, some on the west side, and some in [the midst of] the stream of Abu. They exist in the heart of Abu, they exist in the country on the east bank, and in the country on the west bank, and in the midst of the stream, namely, "Bekhen-stone, Meri (or Meli)-stone, Atbekhab (?)-stone, Rakes-stone, and white Utshi-stone; these are found on the east bank. Per-tchani-stone is found on the west bank, and the Teshi-stone in the river.
"[Here are] the names of the hard (or, hidden) precious stones, which are found in the upper side, among them being the . . . . . stone, the name[FN#188] of which hath spread abroad through [a space of] four atru measures: Gold, Silver, Copper, Iron, Lapis-lazuli, Emerald, Thehen (Crystal?), Khenem (Ruby), Kai, Mennu, Betka (?), Temi, Na (?). The following come forth from the fore part[FN#189] of the land: Mehi- stone, [He]maki-stone, Abheti-stone, iron ore, alabaster for statues, mother-of-emerald, antimony, seeds (or, gum) of the sehi plant, seeds (or, gum) of the amem plant, and seeds (or, gum) of the incense plant; these are found in the fore parts of its double city." These were the things which I learned therefrom (i.e., from Matar).
[FN#188] i.e., the stone was very famous.
[FN#189] The "fore part," or "front," of the land means the country lying to the south of Nubia, and probably some part of the modern Egyptian Sudan.
Now my heart was very happy when I heard these things, and I entered into [the temple of Khnemu]. The overseers unrolled the documents which were fastened up, the water of purification was sprinkled [upon me], a progress was made [through] the secret places, and a great offering [consisting] of bread-cakes, beer, geese, oxen (or, bulls), and beautiful things of all kinds were offered to the gods and goddesses who dwell in Abu, whose names are proclaimed at the place [which is called], "Couch of the heart in life and power."
And I found the God standing in front of me, and I made him to be at peace with me by means of the thank-offering which I offered unto him, and I made prayer and supplication before him. Then he opened his eyes, and his heart was inclined [to hear] me, and his words were strong [when he said], "I am Khnemu,[FN#190] who fashioned thee. My two hands were about thee and knitted together thy body, and "made healthy thy members; and it is I who gave thee thy heart. Yet the minerals (or, precious stones) [lie] under each other, [and they have done so] from olden time, and no man hath worked them in order to build the houses of the god, or to restore those which have fallen into ruin, or to hew out shrines for the gods of the South and of the North, or to do what he ought to do for his lord, notwithstanding that I am the Lord and the Creator.
[FN#190] He was the "builder of men, maker of the gods, the Father who was from the beginning, the maker of things which are, the creator of things which shall be, the source of things which exist, Father of fathers, Mother of mothers, Father of the fathers of the gods and goddesses, lord of created things, maker of heaven, earth, Tuat, water and mountains" (Lanzone, Dizionario, p. 957).
"I am [he] who created himself, Nu, the Great [God], who came into being at the beginning, [and] Hapi, who riseth according to his will, in order to give health to him that laboureth for me. I am the Director and Guide of all men at their seasons, the Most Great, the Father of the Gods, Shu, the Great One, the Chief of the Earth. The two halves of the sky (i.e., the East and the West) are as a habitation below me. A lake of water hath been poured out for me, [namely,] Hap (i.e., the Nile), which embraceth the field-land, and his embrace provideth the [means of] life for "21 every nose (i.e., every one), according to the extent of his embrace of the field-land. With old age [cometh] the condition of weakness. I will make Hap (i.e., the Nile) rise for thee, and [in] no year shall [he] fail, and he shall spread himself out in rest upon every land. Green plants and herbs and trees shall bow beneath [the weight of] their produce. The goddess Renenet[FN#191] shall be at the head of everything, and every product shall increase by hundreds of thousands, according to the cubit of the year. The people shall be filled, verily to their hearts' desire, "and everyone. Misery shall pass away, and the emptiness of their store-houses of grain shall come to an end. The land of Ta-Mert (i.e., Egypt) shall come to be a region of cultivated land, the districts [thereof] shall be yellow with grain crops, and the grain [thereof] shall be goodly. And fertility shall come according to the desire [of the people], more than there hath ever been before."
[FN#191] The goddess of the harvest.
Then I woke up at [the mention of] crops, my heart (or, courage) came [back], and was equal to my [former] despair, and I made the following decree in the temple of my father Khnemu:—
The king giveth an offering to Khnemu[FN#192] the Lord of the city of Qebhet,[FN#193] the Governor of Ta-Sti,[FN#194] in return for those things which thou hast done for me. There shall be given unto thee on thy right hand [the river bank] of Manu,[FN#195] and on thy left hand the river bank of Abu, together with the land about the city, for a space of twenty measures,[FN#196] on the east side and on the west side, with the gardens, and the river front "everywhere throughout the region included in these measures. From every husbandman who tilleth the ground, and maketh to live again the slain, and placeth water upon the river banks and all the islands which are in front of the region of these measures, shall be demanded a further contribution from the growing crops and from every storehouse, as "thy share.
[FN#192] Or perhaps, Khnemu-Ra.
[FN#193] Qebhet is the name given to the whole region of the First Cataract.
[FN#194] The "Land of the Bow," i.e., the Northern Sudan.
[FN#195] The Land of the setting sun, the West.
[FN#196] Schoinos.
"Whatsoever is caught in the nets by every fisherman and by every fowler, and whatsoever is taken by the catchers of fish, and by the snarers of birds, and by every hunter of wild animals, and by every man who snareth lions in the mountains, when these things enter [the city] one tenth of them shall be demanded.
"And of all the calves which are cast throughout the regions which are included in these measures, one tenth of their number "shall be set apart as animals which are sealed for all the burnt offerings which are offered up daily.
"And, moreover, the gift of one tenth shall be levied upon the gold, ivory, ebony, spices, carnelians (?), sa wood, seshes spice, dum palm fruit (?), nef wood, and upon woods and products of every kind whatsoever, which the Khentiu, [FN#197] and the Khentiu of Hen- Resu,[FN#198] and the Egyptians, and every person whatsoever [shall bring in].
[FN#197] The inhabitants of the Northern Sudan, probably as far to the south as Napata.
[FN#198] The people of the Island of Meroe, and probably those living on the Blue and White Niles.
"And [every] hand shall pass them by, and no officer of the revenue whatsoever shall utter a word beyond these places to demand (or, levy on) things from them, or to take things over and above [those which are intended for] thy capital city.
"And I will give unto thee the land belonging to the city, which beareth stones, and good land for cultivation. Nothing thereof shall be [diminished] or withheld, "of all these things in order to deceive the scribes, and the revenue officers, and the inspectors of the king, on whom it shall be incumbent to certify everything.
"And further, I will cause the masons, and the hewers of ore (?), and the workers in metal, and the smelters (?) of gold, and the sculptors in stone, "and the ore-crushers, and the furnace-men (?), and handicraftsmen of every kind whatsoever, who work in hewing, and cutting, and polishing these stones, and in gold, and silver, and copper, and lead, and every worker in wood who shall cut down any tree, or carry on a trade of any kind, or work which is connected with the wood trade, to "pay tithe upon all the natural products (?), and also upon the hard stones which are brought from their beds above, and quarried stones of all kinds.
"And there shall be an inspector over the weighing of the gold, and silver, and copper, and real (i.e., precious) stones, and the [other] things, which the metal-workers require for the House of Gold, "and the sculptors of the images of the gods need in the making and repairing of them, and [these things] shall be exempted from tithing, and the workmen also. And everything shall be delivered (or, given) in front of the storehouse to their children, a second time, for the protection of everything. And whatsoever is before thy God-house shall be in abundance, just as it hath ever been from the earliest time.
"And a copy of this decree shall be inscribed upon a stele, [which shall be set up] in the holy place, according to the writing of the [original] document which is cut upon wood, and [figures of] this god and the overseers of the temple shall be [cut] thereon. Whosoever shall spit upon that which is on it shall be admonished by the rope. And the overseers of the priests, and every overseer of the people of the House of the God, shall ensure the perpetuation of my name in the House of the god Khnemu-Ra, the lord of Abu (Elephantine), for ever."
THE LEGEND OF THE DEATH OF HORUS THROUGH THE STING OF A SCORPION AND OF HIS RESURRECTION THROUGH THOTH, AND OTHER MAGICAL TEXTS.
I.—INCANTATIONS AGAINST REPTILES AND NOXIOUS CREATURES IN GENERAL.
Get thee back, Apep, thou enemy of Ra, thou winding serpent in the form of an intestine, without arms [and] without legs. Thy body cannot stand upright so that thou mayest have therein being, long is thy[FN#199] tail in front of thy den, thou enemy; retreat before Ra. Thy head shall be cut off, and the slaughter of thee shall be carried out. Thou shalt not lift up thy face, for his (i.e., Ra's) flame is in thy accursed soul. The odour which is in his chamber of slaughter is in thy members, and thy form shall be overthrown by the slaughtering knife of the great god. The spell of the Scorpion-goddess Serq driveth back thy might. Stand still, stand still, and retreat through her spell.
[FN#199] Literally, "his."
Be vomited, O poison, I adjure thee to come forth on the earth. Horus uttereth a spell over thee, Horus hacketh thee in pieces, he spitteth upon thee; thou shalt not rise up towards heaven, but shalt totter downwards, O feeble one, without strength, cowardly, unable to fight, blind, without eyes, and with thine head turned upside down. Lift not up thy face. Get thee back quickly, and find not the way. Lie down in despair, rejoice not, retreat speedily, and show not thy face because of the speech of Horus, who is perfect in words of power. The poison rejoiced, [but] the heart[s] of many were very sad thereat. Horus hath smitten it with his magical spells, and he who was in sorrow is [now] in joy. Stand still then, O thou who art in sorrow, [for] Horus hath been endowed with life. He coineth charged, appearing himself to overthrow the Sebiu fiends which bite. All men when they see Ra praise the son of Osiris. Get thee back, Worm, and draw out thy poison which is in all the members of him that is under the knife. Verily the might of the word of power of Horus is against thee. Vomit thou, O Enemy, get thee back, O poison.
9. THE CHAPTER OF CASTING A SPELL ON THE CAT.
Recite [the following formula]:—
"Hail, Ra, come to thy daughter! A scorpion hath stung her on a lonely road. Her cry hath penetrated the heights of heaven, and is heard along the paths. The poison hath entered into her body, and circulateth through her flesh. She hath set her mouth against it;[FN#200] verily the poison is in her members.
[FN#200] i.e., she hath directed her words against it.
"Come then with thy strength, with thy fierce attack, and with thy red powers, and force it to be hidden before thee. Behold, the poison hath entered into all the members of this Cat which is under my fingers. Be not afraid, be not afraid, my daughter, my splendour, [for] I have set myself near (or, behind) thee. I have overthrown the poison which is in all the limbs of this Cat. O thou Cat, thy head is the head of Ra, the Lord of the Two Lands, the smiter of the rebellious peoples. Thy[FN#201] fear is in all lands, O Lord of the living, Lord of eternity. O thou Cat, thy two eyes are the Eye of the Lord of the Khut uraeus, who illumineth the Two Lands with his Eye, and illumineth the face on the path of darkness. O thou Cat, thy nose is the nose of Thoth, the Twice Great, Lord of Khemenu (Hermopolis), the Chief of the Two Lands of Ra, who putteth breath into the nostrils of every person. O thou Cat, thine ears are the ears of Nebertcher, who hearkeneth unto the voice of all persons when they appeal to him, and weigheth words (i.e., judgeth) in all the earth. O thou Cat, thy mouth is the mouth of Tem, the Lord of life, the uniter (?) of creation, who hath caused the union (?) of creation; he shall deliver thee from every poison. O thou Cat, thy neck (nehebt) is the neck of Neheb-ka, President of the Great House, vivifier of men and women by means of the mouth of his two arms. O thou Cat, thy breast is the breast of Thoth, the Lord of Truth, who hath given to thee breath to refresh (?) thy throat, and hath given breath to that which is therein. O thou Cat, thy heart is the heart of the god Ptah, who healeth thy heart of the evil poison which is in all thy limbs. O thou Cat, thy hands 25 are the hands of the Great Company of the gods and the Little Company of the gods, and they shall deliver thy hand from the poison from the mouth of every serpent. O thou Cat, thy belly is the belly of Osiris, Lord of Busiris, the poison shall not work any of its wishes in thy belly. O thou Cat, thy thighs are the thighs of the god Menthu, who shall make thy thighs to stand up, and shall bring the poison to the ground. O thou Cat, thy leg-bones are the leg-bones of Khensu,[FN#202] who travelleth over all the Two Lands by day and by night, and shall lead the poison to the ground. O thou Cat, thy legs (or, feet) are the legs of Amen the Great, Horus, Lord of Thebes, who shall stablish thy feet on the earth, and shall overthrow the poison. O thou Cat, thy haunches are the haunches of Horus, the avenger (or, advocate) of his father Osiris, and they shall place Set in the evil which he hath wrought. O thou Cat, thy soles are the soles of Ra, who shall make the poison to return to the earth. O thou Cat, thy bowels are the bowels of the Cow- goddess Meh-urt, who shall overthrow and cut in pieces the poison which is in thy belly and in all the members in thee, and in [all] the members of the gods in heaven, and in [all] the members of the gods on earth, and shall overthrow every poison in thee. There is no member in thee without the goddess who shall overthrow and cut in pieces the poison of every male serpent, and every female serpent, and every scorpion, and every reptile, which may be in any member of this Cat which is under the knife. Verily Isis weaveth and Nephthys spinneth against the poison. This woven garment strengtheneth this [being, i.e., Horus], who is perfect in words of power, through the speech of Ra Heru-khuti, the great god, President of the South and North: 'O evil poison which is in any member of this Cat which is under the knife, come, issue forth upon the earth.'"
[FN#201] Literally "his."
[FN#202] He was the messenger of the gods, and travelled across the sky under the form of the Moon; he sometimes appears as a form of Thoth.
ANOTHER CHAPTER.
Say the [following] words:—
"O Ra-[Khuti], come to thy daughter. O Shu, come to thy wife. O Isis, come to thy sister, and deliver her from the evil poison which is in all her members. Hail, O ye gods, come ye and overthrow ye the evil poison which is in all the members of the Cat which is under the knife.
"Hail, O aged one, who renewest thy youth in thy season, thou old man who makest thyself to be a boy, grant thou that Thoth may come to me at [the sound of] my voice, and behold, let him turn back from me Netater. Osiris is on the water, the Eye of Horus is with him. A great Beetle spreadeth himself over him, great by reason of his grasp, produced by the gods from a child. He who is over the water appeareth in a healthy form. If he who is over the water shall be approached (or, attacked), the Eye of Horus, which weepeth, shall be approached.
"Get ye back, O ye who dwell in the water, crocodiles, fish, that Enemy, male dead person and female dead person, male fiend and female fiend, of every kind whatsoever, lift not up your faces, O ye who dwell in the waters, ye crocodiles and fish. When Osiris journeyeth over you, permit ye him to go to Busiris. Let your nostrils [be closed], your throats stopped up.
"Get ye back, Seba fiends! Lift ye not up your faces against him that is on the water . . . . . Osiris-Ra, riseth up in his Boat to look at the gods of Kher-ahat, and the Lords of the Tuat stand up to slay thee when [thou] comest, O Neha-her, against Osiris. [When] he is on the water the Eye of Horus is over him to turn your faces upside down and to set you on your backs.
"Hail, ye who dwell in the water, crocodiles and fish, Ra shutteth up your mouths, Sekhet stoppeth up your throats, Thoth cutteth out your tongues, and {cont} Heka blindeth your eyes. These are the four great gods who protect Osiris by their magical power, and they effect the protection of him that is on the water, of men and women of every kind, and of beasts and animals of every kind which are on the water by day. Protected are those who dwell in the waters, protected is the sky wherein is Ra, protected is the great god who is in the sarcophagus, protected is he who is on the water.
"A voice [which] crieth loudly is in the House of Net (Neith), a loud voice is in the Great House, a great outcry from the mouth of the Cat. The gods and the goddesses say, 'What is it? What is it?' [It] concerneth the Abtu Fish which is born. Make to retreat from me thy footsteps, O Sebau fiend. I am Khnemu, the Lord of Her-urt. Guard thyself again from the attack which is repeated, besides this which thou hast done in the presence of the Great Company of the gods. Get thee back, retreat thou from me. I am the god. Oh, Oh, O [Ra], hast thou not heard the voice which cried out loudly until the evening on the bank of Netit, the voice of all the gods and goddesses which cried out loudly, the outcry concerning the wickedness which thou hast done, O wicked Sebau fiend? Verily the lord Ra thundered and growled thereat, and he ordered thy slaughter to be carried out. Get thee back, Seba fiend! Hail! Hail!"
II.—THE NARRATIVE OF ISIS.
I am Isis, [and] I have come forth from the dwelling (or, prison) wherein my brother Set placed me. Behold the god Thoth, the great god, the Chief of Maat[FN#203] [both] in heaven and on the earth, said unto me, "Come now, O Isis, thou goddess, moreover it is a good thing to hearken,[FN#204] [for there is] life to one who shall be guided [by the advice] of another. Hide thou thyself with [thy] son the child, and there shall come unto him these things. His members shall grow,[FN#205] and two-fold strength of every kind shall spring up [in him]. [And he] shall be made to take his seat upon the throne of his father, [whom] he shall avenge,[FN#206] [and he shall take possession of] the exalted position of Heq[FN#207] of the Two Lands."[FN#208]
[FN#203] i.e., Law, or Truth.
[FN#204] Or, obey.
[FN#205] i.e., flourish.
[FN#206] He avenged his father Osiris by vanquishing Set.
[FN#207] i.e., tribal chief.
[FN#208] i.e., Upper and Lower Egypt.
I came forth [from the dwelling] at the time of evening, and there came forth the Seven Scorpions which were to accompany me and to strike(?) for me with [their] stings. Two scorpions, Tefen and Befen, were behind me, two scorpions, Mestet and Mestetef, were by my side, and three scorpions, Petet, Thetet, and Maatet (or, Martet), were for preparing the road for me. I charged them very strictly (or, in a loud voice), and my words penetrated into their ears: "Have no knowledge of [any], make no cry to the Tesheru beings, and pay no attention to the 'son of a man' (i.e., anyone) who belongeth to a man of no account," [and I said,] "Let your faces be turned towards the ground [that ye may show me] the way." So the guardian of the company brought me to the boundaries of the city of Pa-Sui,[FN#209] the city of the goddesses of the Divine Sandals, [which was situated] in front of the Papyrus Swamps.[FN#210]
[FN#209] "The House of the Crocodile," perhaps the same town as Pa- Sebekt, a district in the VIIth nome of Lower Egypt (Metelites).
[FN#210] Perhaps a district in the Metelite nome.
When I had arrived at the place where the people lived[FN#211] I came to the houses wherein dwelt the wives [and] husbands. And a certain woman of quality spied me as I was journeying along the road, and she shut her doors on me. Now she was sick at heart by reason of those [scorpions] which were with me. Then [the Seven Scorpions] took counsel concerning her, and they all at one time shot out their venom on the tail of the scorpion Tefen; as for me, the woman Taha[FN#212] opened her door, and I entered into the house of the miserable lady.
[FN#211] In Egyptian Teb, which may be the Tebut in the Metelite nome.
[FN#212] Taha may be the name of a woman, or goddess, or the word may mean a "dweller in the swamps," as Golenischeff thinks.
Then the scorpion Tefen entered in under the leaves of the door and smote (i.e., stung) the son of Usert, and a fire broke out in the house of Usert, and there was no water there to extinguish it; [but] the sky rained upon the house of Usert, though it was not the season for rain.[FN#213]
[FN#213] i.e., it was not the season of the inundation.
Behold, the heart of her who had not opened her door to me was grievously sad, for she knew not whether he (i.e., her son) would live [or not], and although she went round about through her town uttering cries [for help], there was none who came at [the sound of] her voice. Now mine own heart was grievously sad for the sake of the child, and [I wished] to make to live [again] him that was free from fault. [Thereupon] I cried out to the noble lady, "Come to me. Come to me. Verily my mouth (?) possesseth life. I am a daughter [well] known in her town, [and I] can destroy the demon of death by the spell (or, utterance) which my father taught me to know. I am his daughter, the beloved [offspring] of his body."
Then Isis placed her two hands on the child in order to make to live him whose throat was stopped, [and she said], "O poison of the scorpion Tefent, come forth and appear on the ground! Thou shalt neither enter nor penetrate [further into the body of the child]. O poison of the scorpion Befent, come forth and appear on the ground! I am Isis, the goddess, the lady (or, mistress) of words of power, and I am the maker of words of power (i.e., spells), and I know how to utter words with magical effect.[FN#214] Hearken ye unto me, O every reptile which possesseth the power to bite (i.e., to sting), and fall headlong to the ground! O poison of the scorpion Mestet, make no advance [into his body]. O poison of the scorpion Mestetef, rise not up [in his body]. O poison of the scorpions Petet and Thetet, penetrate not [into his body]. [O poison of] the scorpion Maatet (or, Martet), fall down on the ground."
[FN#214] By uttering spells Isis restored life to her husband Osiris for a season, and so became with child by him. She made a magical figure of a reptile, and having endowed it with life, it stung Ra as he passed through the sky, and the great god almost died. In Greek times it was believed that she discovered a medicine which would raise the dead, and she was reputed to be a great expert in the art of healing men's sicknesses. As a goddess she appeared to the sick, and cured them.
[Here follows the] "Chapter of the stinging [of scorpions]."
And Isis, the goddess, the great mistress of spells (or, words of power), she who is at the head of the gods, unto whom the god Keb gave his own magical spells for the driving away of poison at noon-day (?), and for making poison to go back, and retreat, and withdraw, and go backward, spake, saying, "Ascend not into heaven, through the command of the beloved one of Ra, the egg of the Smen goose which cometh forth from the sycamore. Verily my words are made to command the uttermost limit of the night. I speak unto you, [O scorpions] I am alone and in sorrow because our names will suffer disgrace throughout the nomes. Do not make love, do not cry out to the Tesheru fiends, and cast no glances upon the noble ladies in their houses. Turn your faces towards the earth and [find out] the road, so that we may arrive at the hidden places in the town of Khebt.[FN#215] Oh the child shall live and the poison die! Ra liveth and the poison dieth! Verily Horus shall be in good case (or, healthy) for his mother Isis. Verily he who is stricken shall be in good case likewise."
[FN#215] The island of Chemmis of classical writers.
And the fire [which was in the house of Usert] was extinguished, and heaven was satisfied with the utterance of Isis, the goddess.
Then the lady Usert came, and she brought unto me her possessions, and she filled the house of the woman Tah (?), for the Ka of Tah (?) because [she] had opened to me her door. Now the lady Usert suffered pain and anguish the whole night, and her mouth tasted (i.e., felt) the sting [which] her son [had suffered]. And she brought her possessions as the penalty for not having opened the door to me. Oh the child shall live and the poison die! Verily Horus shall be in good case for his mother Isis. Verily everyone who is stricken shall be in good case likewise.
Lo, a bread-cake [made] of barley meal shall drive out (or, destroy) the poison, and natron shall make it to withdraw, and the fire [made] of hetchet-plant shall drive out (or, destroy) fever-heat from the limbs.
"O Isis, O Isis, come thou to thy Horus, O thou woman of the wise mouth! Come to thy son"—thus cried the gods who dwelt in her quarter of the town—"for he is as one whom a scorpion hath stung, and like one whom the scorpion Uhat, which the animal Antesh drove away, hath wounded."
[Then] Isis ran out like one who had a knife [stuck] in her body, and she opened her arms wide, [saying] "Behold me, behold me, my son Horus, have no fear, have no fear, O son my glory! No evil thing of any kind whatsoever shall happen unto thee, [for] there is in thee the essence (or, fluid) which made the things which exist. Thou art the son from the country of Mesqet,[FN#216] [thou hast] come forth from the celestial waters Nu, and thou shalt not die by the heat of the poison. Thou wast the Great Bennu,[FN#217] who art born (or, produced) or; the top of the balsam-trees[FN#218] which are in the House of the Aged One in Anu (Heliopolis). Thou art the brother of the Abtu Fish,[FN#219] who orderest what is to be, and art the nursling of the Cat[FN#220] who dwelleth in the House of Neith. The goddess Reret,[FN#221] the goddess Hat, and the god Bes protect thy members. Thy head shall not fall to the Tchat fiend that attacketh thee. Thy members shall not receive the fire of that which is thy poison. Thou shalt not go backwards on the land, and thou shalt not be brought low on the water. No reptile which biteth (or, stingeth) shall gain the mastery over thee, and no lion shall subdue thee or have dominion over thee. Thou art the son of the sublime god 82 who proceeded from Keb. Thou art Horus, and the poison shall not gain the mastery over thy members. Thou art the son of the sublime god who proceeded from Keb, and thus likewise shall it be with those who are under the knife. And the four august goddesses shall protect thy members."
[FN#216] Mesqet was originally the name of the bull's skin in which the deceased was wrapped in order to secure for him the now life; later the name was applied to the Other World generally. {See Book of the Dead, Chap. xvii. 121.}
[FN#217] The Bennu who kept the book of destiny. See Book of the Dead, Chap. xvii. 25.
[FN#218] These are the balsam-trees for which Heliopolis has been always famous. They are described by Wansleben, L'Histoire de l'Eglise, pp. 88-93, and by 'Abd al-Latif (ed. de Sacy), p. 88.
[FN#219] The Abtu and Ant Fishes swam before the Boat of Ra and guided it.
[FN#220] This is the Cat who lived by the Persea tree in Heliopolis. See Book of the Dead, Chap. xvii. 18.
[FN#221] A hippopotamus goddess.
[Here the narrative is interrupted by the following texts:]
[I am] he who rolleth up into the sky, and who goeth down (i.e., setteth) in the Tuat, whose form is in the House of height, through whom when he openeth his Eye the light cometh into being, and when he closeth his Eye it becometh night. [I am] the Water-god Het when he giveth commands, whose name is unknown to the gods. I illumine the Two Lands, night betaketh itself to flight, and I shine by day and by night.[FN#222] I am the Bull of Bakha[FN#223], and the Lion of Manu[FN#224]. I am he who traverseth the heavens by day and by night without being repulsed. I have come 85 by reason of the voice (or, cry) of the son of Isis. Verily the blind serpent Na hath bitten the Bull. O thou poison which floweth through every member of him that is under the knife, come forth, I charge thee, upon the ground. Behold, he that is under the knife shall not be bitten. Thou art Menu, the Lord of Coptos, the child of the White Shat[FN#225] which is in Anu (Heliopolis), which was bitten [by a reptile]. O Menu, Lord of Coptos, give thou air unto him that is under the knife; and air shall be given to thee. Hail, divine father and minister of the god Nebun, [called] Mer-Tem, son of the divine father and minister of the god Nebun, scribe of the Water-god Het, [called] Ankh-Semptek (sic), son of the lady of the house Tent-Het-nub! He restored this inscription after he had found it in a ruined state in the Temple of Osiris-Mnevis, because he wished to make to live her name . . . . . . . . . . and to give air unto him that is under [the knife], and to give life unto the ancestors of all the gods. And his Lord Osiris-Mnevis shall make long his life with happiness of heart, [and shall give him] a beautiful burial after [attaining to] an old age, because of what he hath done for the Temple of Osiris-Mnevis.
[FN#222] i.e., always.
[FN#223] The land of the sunrise, the East.
[FN#224] The land of the sunset, the West.
[FN#225] Perhaps an animal of the Lynx class.
89. Horus was bitten (i.e., stung) in Sekhet-An, to the north of Hetep- hemt, whilst his mother Isis was in the celestial houses making a libation for her brother Osiris. And Horus sent forth his cry into the horizon, and it was heard by those who were in . . . . . . Thereupon the keepers of the doors who were in the [temple of] the holy Acacia Tree started up at the voice of Horus. And one sent forth a cry of lamentation, and Heaven gave the order that Horus was to be healed. And [the gods] took counsel [together] concerning the life [of Horus, saying,] "O goddess Pai(?), O god Asten, who dwellest in Aat-Khus(?) . . . . .[FN#226] thy . . . . . . enter in . . . . . lord of sleep . . . . . . the child Horus. Oh, Oh, bring thou the things which are thine to cut off the poison which is in every member of Horus, the son of Isis, and which is in every member of him that is under the knife likewise."
[FN#226] The text appears to be corrupt in this passage.
101. A HYMN OF PRAISE TO HORUS TO GLORIFY HIM, WHICH IS TO BE SAID 102 OVER THE WATERS AND OVER THE LAND.
Thoth speaketh and this god reciteth [the following]:—
"Homage to thee, god, son of a god. Homage to thee, heir, son of an heir. Homage to thee, bull, son of a bull, who wast brought forth by a holy goddess. Homage to thee, Horus, who comest forth from Osiris, and wast brought forth by the goddess Isis. I recite thy words of power, I speak with thy magical utterance. I pronounce a spell in thine own words, which thy heart hath created, and all the spells and incantations which have come forth from thy mouth, which thy father Keb commanded thee [to recite], and thy mother Nut gave to thee, and the majesty of the Governor of Sekhem taught thee to make use of for thy protection, in order to double (or, repeat) thy protective formulae, to shut the mouth of every reptile which is in heaven, and on the earth, and in the waters, to make men and women to live, to make the gods to be at peace [with thee], and to make Ra to employ his magical spells through thy chants of praise. Come to me this day, quickly, quickly, as thou workest the paddle of the Boat of the god. Drive thou away from me every lion on the plain, and every crocodile in the waters, and all mouths which bite (or, sting) in their holes. Make thou them before me like the stone of the mountain, like a broken pot lying about in a quarter of the town. Dig thou out from me the poison which riseth and is in every member of him that is under the knife. Keep thou watch over him . . . . . . by means of thy words. Verily let thy name be invoked this day. Let thy power (qefau) come into being in him. Exalt thou thy magical powers. Make me to live and him whose throat is closed up. Then shall mankind give thee praise, and the righteous (?) shall give thanks unto thy forms. And all the gods likewise shall invoke thee, and in truth thy name shall be invoked this day. I am Horus [of] Shet[enu] (?).
"O thou who art in the cavern,[FN#227] O thou who art in the cavern. O thou who art at the mouth of the cavern. O thou who art on the way, O thou who art on the way. O thou who art at the mouth of the way. He is Urmer (Mnevis) who approacheth every man and every beast. He is like the god Sep who is in Anu (Heliopolis). He is the Scorpion-[god] who is in the Great House (Het-ur). Bite him not, for he is Ra. Sting him not, for he is Thoth. Shoot ye not your poison over him, for he is Nefer-Tem. O every male serpent, O every female serpent, O every antesh (scorpion?) which bite with your mouths, and sting with your tails, bite ye him not with your mouths, and sting ye him not with your tails. Get ye afar off from him, make ye not your fire to be against him, for he is the son of Osiris. Vomit ye. [Say] four times:—
"I am Thoth, I have come from heaven to make protection of Horus, and to drive away the poison of the scorpion which is in every member of Horus. Thy head is to thee, Horus; it shall be stable under the Urert Crown. Thine eye is to thee, Horus, [for] thou art Horus, the son of Keb, the Lord of the Two Eyes, in the midst of the Company [of the gods]. Thy nose is to thee, Horus, [for] thou art Horus the Elder, the son of Ra, and thou shalt not inhale the fiery wind. Thine arm is to thee, Horus, great is thy strength to slaughter the enemies of thy father. Thy two thighs[FN#228] are to thee, Horus. Receive thou the rank and dignity of thy father Osiris. Ptah hath balanced for thee thy mouth on the day of thy birth. Thy heart (or, breast) is to thee, Horus, and the Disk maketh thy protection. Thine eye is to thee, Horus; thy right eye is like Shu, and thy left eye like Tefnut, who are the children of Ra. Thy belly is to thee, Horus, and the Children are the gods who are therein, and they shall not receive the essence (or, fluid) of the scorpion. Thy strength is to thee, Horus, and the strength of Set shall not exist against thee. Thy phallus is to thee, Horus, and thou art Kamutef, the protector of his father, who maketh an answer for his children in the course of every day. Thy thighs are to thee, Horus, and thy strength shall slaughter the enemies of thy father. Thy calves are to thee, Horus; the god Khnemu hath builded [them], and the goddess Isis hath covered them with flesh. The soles of thy feet are to thee, Horus, and the nations who fight with the bow (Peti) fall under thy feet. Thou rulest the South, North, West, and East, and thou seest like Ra. [Say] four times. And likewise him that is under the knife."
[FN#227] Or, den or hole.
[FN#228] We ought, perhaps, to translate this as "forearms."
Beautiful god, Senetchem-ab-Ra-setep-[en]-Amen, son of Ra, Nekht-Heru- Hebit, thou art protected, and the gods and goddesses are protected, and conversely. Beautiful god, Senetchem-ab-Ra-setep-[en]-Ra, son of Ra, Nekht-Heru-Hebit, thou art protected, and Heru-Shet[enu], the great god, is protected, and conversely.
ANOTHER CHAPTER LIKE UNTO IT. "Fear not, fear not, O Bast, the strong of heart, at the head of the holy field, the mighty one among all the gods, nothing shall gain the mastery over thee. Come thou outside, following my speech (or, mouth), O evil poison which is in all the members of the lion (or, cat) which is under the knife."
[The narrative of the stinging of Horus by a scorpion is continued thus]:
"I am Isis, who conceived a child by her husband, and she became heavy with Horus, the divine [child]. I gave birth to Horus, the son of Osiris, in a nest of papyrus plants.[FN#229] I rejoiced exceedingly over this, because I saw [in him one] who would make answer for his father. I hid him, and I concealed him through fear of that [fiend (?)].[FN#230] I went away to the city of Am, [where] the people gave thanks [for me] through [their] fear of my making trouble [for them]. I passed the day in seeking to provide food for the child, [and] on returning to take Horus into my arms I found him, Horus, the beautiful one of gold, the boy, the child, without [life]. He had bedewed the ground with the water of his eye, and with foam from his lips. His body was motionless, his heart was powerless to move, and the sinews (or, muscles) of his members were [helpless]. I sent forth a cry, [saying]:
[FN#229] Or, Ateh, the papyrus swamp.
[FN#230] i.e., Set.
"'I, even I, lack a son to make answer [for me].[FN#231] [My] two breasts are full to overflowing, [but] my body is empty. [My] mouth wished for that which concerned him.[FN#232] A cistern of water and a stream of the inundation was I. The child was the desire of my heart, and I longed to protect him (?). I carried him in my womb, I gave birth to him, I endured the agony of the birth pangs, I was all alone, and the great ones were afraid of disaster and to come out at the sound of my voice. My father is in the Tuat,[FN#233] my mother is in Aqert,[FN#234] and my elder brother is in the sarcophagus. Think of the enemy and of how prolonged was the wrath of his heart against me, [when] I, the great lady, was in his house.'
[FN#231] i.e., to be my advocate.
[FN#232] Literally "his thing."
[FN#233] Tuat is a very ancient name of the Other World, which was situated either parallel with Egypt or across the celestial ocean which surrounded the world.
[FN#234] The "perfect place," i.e., the Other World.
"I cried then, [saying,] 'Who among the people will indeed let their hearts come round to me?' I cried then to those who dwelt in the papyrus swamps (or, Ateh), and they inclined to me straightway. And the people came forth to me from their houses, and they thronged about me at [the sound of] my voice, and they loudly bewailed with me the greatness of my affliction. There was no man there who set restraint (?) on his mouth, every person among them lamented with great lamentation. There was none there who knew how to make [my child] to live.
"And there came forth unto me a woman who was [well] known in her city, a lady who was mistress of her [own] estate.[FN#235] She came forth to me. Her mouth possessed life, and her heart was filled with the matter which was therein, [and she said,] 'Fear not, fear not, O son Horus! Be not cast down, be not cast down, O mother of the god. The child of the Olive-tree is by the mountain of his brother, the bush is hidden, and no enemy shall enter therein. The word of power of Tem, the Father of the gods, who is in heaven, maketh to live. Set shall not enter into this region, he shall not go round about it. The marsh of Horus of the Olive-tree is by the mountain of his brother; those who are in his following shall not at any time . . . . . . it. This shall happen to him: Horus shall live for his mother, and shall salute (?) [her] with his mouth. A scorpion hath smitten (i.e., stung) him, and the reptile Aun-ab hath wounded him.'"
[FN#235] Or perhaps, "a lady who was at the head of her district."
Then Isis placed her nose in his mouth[FN#236] so that she might know whether he who was in his coffin breathed, and she examined the wound[FN#237] of the heir of the god, and she found that there was poison in it. She threw her arms round him, and then quickly she leaped about with him like fish when they are laid upon the hot coals, [saying]:
[FN#236] i.e., the mouth of Horus.
[FN#237] Literally, "pain" or "disease."
"Horus is bitten, O Ra. Thy son is bitten, [O Osiris]. Horus is bitten, the flesh and blood of the Heir, the Lord of the diadems (?) of the kingdoms of Shu. Horus is bitten, the Boy of the marsh city of Ateh, the Child in the House of the Prince. The beautiful Child of gold is bitten, the Babe hath suffered pain and is not.[FN#238] Horus is bitten, he the son of Un-Nefer, who was born of Auh-mu (?). Horus is bitten, he in whom there was nothing abominable, the son, the youth among the gods. Horus is bitten, he for whose wants I prepared in abundance, for I saw that he would make answer[FN#239] for his father. Horus is bitten, he for whom [I] had care [when he was] in the hidden woman [and for whom I was afraid when he was] in the womb of his mother. Horus is bitten, he whom I guarded to look upon. I have wished for the life of his heart. Calamity hath befallen the child on the water, and the child hath perished."
[FN#238] He is nothing, i.e., he is dead.
[FN#239] i.e., become an advocate for.
Then came Nephthys shedding tears and uttering cries of lamentation, and going round about through the papyrus swamps. And Serq [came also and they said]: "Behold, behold, what hath happened to Horus, son of Isis, and who [hath done it]? Pray then to heaven, and let the mariners of Ra cease their labours for a space, for the Boat of Ra cannot travel onwards [whilst] son Horus [lieth dead] on his place."
And Isis sent forth her voice into heaven, and made supplication to the Boat of Millions of Years, and the Disk stopped[FN#240] in its journeying, and moved not from the place whereon it rested. Then came forth Thoth, who is equipped with his spells (or, words of power), and possesseth the great word of command of maa-kheru,[FN#241] [and said:] "What [aileth thee], what [aileth thee], O Isis, thou goddess who hast magical spells, whose mouth hath understanding? Assuredly no evil thing hath befallen [thy] son Horus, [for] the Boat of Ra hath him under its protection. I have come this day in the Divine Boat of the Disk from the place where it was yesterday,—now darkness came and the light was destroyed—in order to heal Horus for his mother Isis and every person who is under the knife likewise."
[FN#240] Literally, "alighted."
[FN#241] When a god or a man was declared to be maa-kheru, "true of voice," or "true of word," his power became illimitable. It gave him rule and authority, and every command uttered by him was immediately followed by the effect required.
And Isis, the goddess, said: "O Thoth, great things [are in] thy heart, [but] delay belongeth to thy plan. Hast thou come equipped with thy spells and incantations, and having the great formula of maa-kheru, and one [spell] after the other, the numbers whereof are not known? Verily Horus is in the cradle(?) of the poison. Evil, evil is his case, death, [and] misery to the fullest [extent]. The cry of his mouth is towards his mother(?). I cannot [bear] to see these things in his train. My heart [hath not] rested because of them since the beginning(?) [when] I made haste to make answer [for] Horus-Ra (?), placing [myself] on the earth, [and] since the day [when] I was taken possession of by him. I desired Neheb-ka . . . . . . ."
[And Thoth said:] "Fear not, fear not, O goddess Isis, fear not, fear not, O Nephthys, and let not anxiety [be to you]. I have come from heaven having life to heal(?) the child for his mother, Horus is . . . Let thy heart be firm;[FN#242] he shall not sink under the flame. Horus is protected as the Dweller in his Disk,[FN#243] who lighteth up the Two Lands by the splendour of his two Eyes;[FN#244] and he who is under the knife is likewise protected. Horus is protected as the First-born son in heaven,[FN#245] who is ordained to be the guide of the things which exist and of the things which are not yet created; and he who under the knife is protected likewise. Horus is protected as that great Dwarf (nemu)[FN#246] who goeth round about the Two Lands in the darkness; and he who is under the knife is protected likewise. Horus is protected as the Lord (?) in the night, who revolveth at the head of the Land of the Sunset (Manu); and he who is under the knife is protected likewise. Horus is protected as the Mighty Ram[FN#247] who is hidden, and who goeth round about in front of his Eyes; and he who is under the knife is protected likewise. Horus is protected as the Great Hawk[FN#248] which flieth through heaven, earth, and the Other World (Tuat); and he who is under the knife is protected likewise. Horus is protected as the Holy Beetle, the mighty (?) wings of which are at the head of the sky;[FN#249] and he who is under the knife is protected likewise. Horus is protected as the Hidden Body,[FN#250] and as he whose mummy is in his sarcophagus; and he who is under the knife is protected likewise. Horus is protected [as the Dweller] in the Other World [and in the] Two Lands, who goeth round about 'Those who are over Hidden Things'; and he who is under the knife is protected likewise. Horus is protected as the Divine Bennu[FN#251] who alighteth in front of his two Eyes; and he who is under the knife is protected likewise. Horus is protected 230 in his own body, and the spells which his mother Isis hath woven protect him. Horus is protected by the names of his father [Osiris] in his forms in the nomes;[FN#252] and he who is under the knife is protected likewise. Horus is protected by the weeping of his mother, and by the cries of grief of his brethren; and he who is under the knife is protected likewise. Horus is protected by his own name and heart, and the gods go round about him to make his funeral bed; and he who is under the knife is protected likewise."
[FN#242] i.e., "Be of good courage."
[FN#243] The Sun-god.
[FN#244] The Sun and Moon.
[FN#245] Osiris (?).
[FN#246] Bes (?).
[FN#247] Probably the Ram, Lord of Tattu, or the Ram of Mendes.
[FN#248] Heru-Behutet.
[FN#249] The beetle of Khepera, a form of the Sun-god when he is about to rise on this earth.
[FN#250] The Hidden Body is Osiris, who lay in his sarcophagus, with Isis and Nephthys weeping over it.
[FN#251] The Bennu was the soul of Ra and the incarnation of Osiris.
[FN#252] See the names of Osiris and his sanctuaries in Chapter CXLII. of the Book of the Dead.
[And Thoth said:]
"Wake up, Horus! Thy protection is established. Make thou happy the heart of thy mother Isis. The words of Horus shall bind up hearts, he shall cause to be at peace him who is in affliction. Let your hearts be happy, O ye who dwell in the heavens (Nut). Horus, he who hath avenged (or, protected) his father shall cause the poison to retreat. Verily that which is in the mouth of Ra shall go round about (i.e., circulate), and the tongue of the Great God shall repulse [opposition]. The Boat [of Ra] standeth still, and travelleth not onwards. The Disk is in the [same] place where it was yesterday to heal Horus for his mother Isis, and to heal him that is under the knife of his mother[FN#253] likewise. Come to the earth, draw nigh, O Boat of Ra, make the boat to travel, O mariners of heaven, transport provisions (?) of . . . . . . Sekhem[FN#254] to heal Horus for his mother Isis, and to heal him that is under the knife of his mother likewise. Hasten away, O pain which is in the region round about, and let it (i.e., the Boat) descend upon the place where it was yesterday to heal Horus for his mother Isis, and to heal him that is under the knife of his mother likewise. Get thee round and round, O bald (?) fiend, without horns at the seasons (?), not seeing the forms through the shadow of the two Eyes, to heal Horus for his mother Isis, and to heal him that is under the knife likewise. Be filled, O two halves of heaven, be empty, O papyrus roll, return, O life, into the living to heal Horus for his it mother Isis, and to heal him that is under the knife likewise. Come thou to earth, O poison. Let hearts be glad, and let radiance (or, light) go round about.
[FN#253] We should probably strike out the words "of his mother."
[FN#254] The city in the Delta called by the Greeks Letopolis.
"I am Thoth,[FN#255] the firstborn son, the son of Ra, and Tem and the Company of the gods have commanded me to heal Horus for his mother Isis, and to heal him that is under the knife likewise. O Horus, O Horus, thy Ka protecteth thee, and thy Image worketh protection for thee. The poison is as the daughter of its [own] flame; [it is] destroyed [because] it smote the strong son. Your temples are in good condition for you, [for] Horus liveth for his mother, and he who is under the knife likewise."
[FN#255] Thoth stood by during the fight between Horus and Set, and healed the wounds which they inflicted on each other.
And the goddess Isis said:
"Set thou his face towards those who dwell in the North Land (Ateh), the nurses who dwell in the city Pe-Tept (Buto), for they have offered very large offerings in order to cause the child to be made strong for his mother, and to make strong him that is under the knife likewise. Do not allow them to recognize the divine Ka in the Swamp Land, in the city (?) of Nemhettu (?) [and] in her city."
Then spake Thoth unto the great gods who dwell in the Swamp-Land [saying]: "O ye nurses who dwell in the city of Pe, who smite [fiends] with your hands, and overthrow [them] with your arms on behalf of that Great One who appeareth in front of you [in] the Sektet Boat,[FN#256] let the Matet[FN#257] (Mantchet) Boat travel on. Horus is to you, he is counted up for life, and he is declared for the life of his father [Osiris]. I have given gladness unto those who are in the Sektet Boat, and the mariners [of Ra] make it to journey on. Horus liveth for his mother Isis and he who is under the knife liveth for his mother likewise. As for the poison, the strength thereof has been made powerless. Verily I am a favoured one, and I will join myself to his hour[FN#258] to hurl back the report of evil to him that sent it forth. The heart of Ra-Heru-Khuti rejoiceth. Thy son Horus is counted up for life [which is] on this child to make him to smite, and to retreat (?) from those who are above, and to turn back the paths of the Sebiu fiends from him, so that he may take possession of the throne of the Two Lands. Ra is in heaven to make answer on 251 behalf of him and his father. The words of power of his mother have lifted up his face, and they protect him and enable him to go round about wheresoever he pleaseth, and to set the terror of him in celestial beings. I have made haste . . . . . ."
[FN#256] The boat in which Ra travelled from noon to sunset, or perhaps until midnight.
[FN#257] The boat in which Ra travelled from dawn, or perhaps from midnight, to noon.
[FN#258] i.e., I will be with him at the moment of his need.
THE HISTORY OF ISIS AND OSIRIS,
WITH EXPLANATIONS OF THE SAME, COLLECTED BY PLUTARCH, AND SUPPLEMENTED BY HIS OWN VIEWS.
I. Though it be the wise man's duty, O Clea,[FN#259] to apply to the gods for every good thing which he hopes to enjoy, yet ought he more especially to pray to them for their assistance in his search after that knowledge which more immediately regards themselves, as far as such knowledge may be attained, inasmuch as there is nothing which they can bestow more truly beneficial to mankind, or more worthy themselves, than truth. For whatever other good things are indulged to the wants of men, they have all, properly speaking, no relation to, and are of a nature quite different from, that of their divine donors. For 'tis not the abundance of their gold and silver, nor the command of the thunder, but wisdom and knowledge which constitute the power and happiness of those heavenly beings. It is therefore well observed by Homer (Iliad, xiii. 354), and indeed with more propriety than be usually talks of the gods, when, speaking of Zeus and Poseidon, he tells us that both were descended from the same parents, and born in the same region, but that Zeus was the elder and knew most; plainly intimating thereby that the empire of the former was more august and honourable than that of his brother, as by means of his age he was his superior, and more advanced in wisdom and science. Nay, 'tis my opinion, I own, that even the blessedness of that eternity which is the portion of the Deity himself consists in that universal knowledge of all nature which accompanies it; for setting this aside, eternity might be more properly styled an endless duration than an enjoyment of existence.
[FN#259] She is said to have been a priestess of Isis and of Apollo Delphicus.
II. To desire, therefore, and covet after truth, those truths more especially which concern the divine nature, is to aspire to be partakers of that nature itself, and to profess that all our studies and inquiries are devoted to the acquisition of holiness. This occupation is surely more truly religious than any external purifications or mere service of the temple can be. But more especially must such a disposition of mind be highly acceptable to that goddess to whose service you are dedicated, for her especial characteristics are wisdom and foresight, and her very name seems to express the peculiar relation which she bears to knowledge. For "Isis"[FN#260] is a Greek word, and means "knowledge," and "Typhon,"[FN#261] the name of her professed adversary, is also a Greek word, and means "pride and insolence." This latter name is well adapted to one who, full of ignorance and error, tears in pieces and conceals that holy doctrine which the goddess collects, compiles, and delivers to those who aspire after the most perfect participation in the divine nature. This doctrine inculcates a steady perseverance in one uniform and temperate course of life, and an abstinence from particular kinds of foods, as well as from all indulgence of the carnal appetite, and it restrains the intemperate and voluptuous part within due bounds, and at the same time habituates her votaries to undergo those austere and rigid ceremonies which their religion obliges them to observe. The end and aim of all these toils and labours is the attainment of the knowledge of the First and Chief Being, who alone is the object of the understanding of the mind; and this knowledge the goddess invites us to seek after, as being near and dwelling continually with her. And this also is what the very name of her temple promiseth to us, that is to say, the knowledge and understanding of the eternal and self-existent Being (tou ontas)-now, it is called "Iseion," which suggests that if we approach the temple of the goddess rightly, and with purity, we shall obtain the knowledge of that eternal and self-existent Being (to on).
[FN#260] The Egyptian form of the name is As-T, #, #, or #. Plutarch wishes to derive the name from some form of {greek oida}.
[FN#261] In Egyptian, Tebh.
III. The goddess Isis is said by some authors to be the daughter[FN#262] of Hermes, [FN#263] and by others of Prometheus, both of them famous for their philosophic turn of mind. The latter is supposed to have first taught mankind wisdom and foresight, as the former is reputed to have invented letters and music.
[FN#262] According to the Egyptian Heliopolitan doctrine, Isis was the daughter of Keb, the Earth-god, and Nut, the Sky-goddess; she was the wife of Osiris, mother of Horus, and sister of Set and Nephthys.
[FN#263] The Egyptian. Tehuti, or Thoth, who invented letters, mathematics, &c. He was the "heart of Ra," the scribe of the gods, and he uttered the words which created the world; he composed the "words of power," or magical formulae which were beneficial for the dead, and the religious works which were used by souls in their journey from this world to the next.
They likewise call the former of the two Muses at Hermopolis[FN#264] Isis as well as Dikaiosune,[FN#265] she being none other, it is said, than Wisdom pointing out the knowledge of divine truths to her votaries, the true Hierophori and Hierostoli. Now, by the former of these are meant such who carry about them looked up in their souls, as in a chest, the sacred doctrine concerning the gods, purified from all such superfluities as superstition may have added thereto. And the holy apparel with which the Hierostoli adorn the statues of these deities, which is partly of a dark and gloomy and partly of a more bright and shining colour, seems aptly enough to represent the notions which this doctrine teaches us to entertain of the divine nature itself, partly clear and partly obscure. And inasmuch as the devotees of Isis after their decease are wrapped up in these sacred vestments, is not this intended to signify that this holy doctrine still abides with them, and that this alone accompanies them in another life? For as 'tis not the length of the beard or the coarseness of the habit which makes a philosopher, so neither will these frequent shavings, or the mere wearing of a linen vestment, constitute a votary of Isis. He alone is a true servant or follower of this goddess who, after he has heard, and has been made acquainted in a proper manner with the history of the actions of these gods, searches into the hidden truths which lie concealed under them, and examines the whole by the dictates of reason and philosophy.
[FN#264] The Hermopolis here referred to is the city of Khemenu in Upper Egypt, wherein was the great sanctuary of Thoth.
[FN#265] i.e., Righteousness, or Justice. The goddess referred to is probably Maat.
IV. Nor, indeed, ought such an examination to be looked on as unnecessary whilst there are so many ignorant of the true reason even of the most ordinary rites observed by the Egyptian priests, such as their shavings[FN#266] and wearing linen garments. Some, indeed, there are who never trouble themselves to think at all about these matters, whilst others rest satisfied with the most superficial accounts of them: "They pay a peculiar veneration to the sheep,[FN#267] therefore they think it their duty not only to abstain from eating its flesh, but likewise from wearing its wool. They are continually mourning for their gods, therefore they shave themselves. The light azure blossom of the flax resembles the clear and bloomy colour of the ethereal sky, therefore they wear linen"; whereas the true reason of the institution and observation of these rites is but one, and that common to all of them, namely, the extraordinary notions which they entertain of cleanliness, persuaded as they are, according to the saying of Plato, "none but the pure ought to approach the pure." Now, no superfluity of our food, and no excrementitious substance, is looked upon by them as pure and clean; such, however, are all kinds of wool and down, our hair and our nails. It would be the highest absurdity, therefore, for those who, whilst; they are in a course of purification, are at so much pains to take off the hair from every part of their own bodies, at the same time to clothe themselves with that of other animals. So when we are told by Hesiod "not to pare our nails whilst we are present at the festivals of the gods,"[FN#268] we ought to understand that he intended hereby to inculcate that purity wherewith we ought to come prepared before we enter upon any religious duty, that we have not to make ourselves clean whilst we ought to be occupied in attending to the solemnity itself. Now, with regard to flax, this springs out of the immortal earth itself; and not only produces a fruit fit for food, but moreover furnishes a light and neat sort of clothing, extremely agreeable to the wearer, adapted to all the seasons of the year, and not in the least subject, as is said, to produce or nourish vermin; but more of this in another place.
[FN#266] A rubric in the papyrus of Nes-Menu in the British Museum orders the priestesses of Isis and Nephthys to have "the hair of their bodies shaved off" (No. 10,188, col. 1), but they are also ordered to wear fillets of rams' wool on their heads.
[FN#267] Probably the ram of Amen. Animal sacrifices were invariably bulls and cows.
[FN#268] This saying is by Pythagoras—{greek Para dusian mh'onuxizou}. The saying of Hesiod (Works and Days, 740) is rendered by Goodwin:—
"Not at a feast of Gods from five-branched tree, With sharp-edged steel to part the green from dry."
V. Now, the priests are so scrupulous in endeavouring to avoid everything which may tend to the increase of the above-mentioned excrementitious substances, that, on this account, they abstain not only from most sorts of pulse, and from the flesh of sheep and swine, but likewise, in their more solemn purifications, they even exclude salt from their meals. This they do for many reasons, but chiefly because it whets their appetites, and incites them to eat more than they otherwise would. Now, as to salt being accounted impure because, as Aristagoras tells us, many little insects are caught in it whilst it is hardening, and are thereby killed therein-this view is wholly trifling and absurd. From these same motives also they give the Apis Bull his water from a well specially set apart for the purpose,[FN#269] and they prevent him altogether from drinking of the Nile, not indeed that they regard the river as impure, and polluted because of the crocodiles which are in it, as some pretend, for there is nothing which the Egyptians hold in greater veneration than the Nile, but because its waters are observed to be particularly nourishing[FN#270] and fattening. And they strive to prevent fatness in Apis as well as in themselves, for they are anxious that their bodies should sit as light and easy about their souls as possible, and that their mortal part should not oppress and weigh down the divine and immortal.
[FN#269] It is quite possible that Apis drank from a special well, but the water in it certainly came from the Nile by infiltration. In all the old wells at Memphis the water sinks as the Nile sinks, and rises as it rises.
[FN#270] On account of the large amount of animal matter contained in it.
VI. The priests of the Sun at Heliopolis[FN#271] never carry wine into their temples, for they regard it as indecent for those who are devoted to the service of any god to indulge in the drinking of wine whilst they are under the immediate inspection of their Lord and King.[FN#272] The priests of the other deities are not so scrupulous in this respect, for they use it, though sparingly. During their more solemn purifications they abstain from wine wholly, and they give themselves up entirely to study and meditation, and to the hearing and teaching of those divine truths which treat of the divine nature. Even the kings, who are likewise priests, only partake of wine in the measure which is prescribed for them in the sacred books, as we are told by Hecataeus. This custom was only introduced during the reign of Psammetichus, and before that time they drank no wine at all. If they used it at any time in pouring out libations to the gods, it was not because they looked upon it as being acceptable to them for its own sake, but they poured it out over their altars as the blood of their enemies who had in times past fought against them. For they believe the vine to have first sprung out of the earth after it was fattened by the bodies of those who fell in the wars against the gods. And this, they say, is the reason why drinking its juice in great quantities makes men mad and beside themselves, filling them, as it were, with the blood of their own ancestors. These things are thus related by Eudoxus in the second book of his Travels, as he had them from the priests themselves. |
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