Beating Back The Crocodile

[From the Papyrus of Nu (British Museum No. 10,477, sheet 5).]

THE CHAPTER OF BEATING BACK THE CROCODILE THAT COMETH TO CARRY AWAY THE
CHARM FROM NU, THE OVERSEER OF THE PALACE, THE CHANCELLOR-IN-CHIEF,
TRIUMPHANT, THE SON OF THE OVERSEER OF THE PALACE, AMEN-HETEP, TRIUMPHANT,
IN THE UNDERWORLD. He saith:

“Get thee back, return, get thee back, thou crocodile-fiend Sui; thou
shalt not advance to me, for I live by reason of the magical words which I
have by me. I do not utter that name of thine to the great god who will
cause thee to come to the two divine envoys; the name of the one is
Betti,(28) and the name of the other is ‘Hra-k-en-Maāt.’(29) Heaven hath
power over its seasons, and the magical word hath power over that which is
in its possession, let therefore my mouth have power over the magical word
which is therein. My front teeth are like unto flint knives, and my
jaw-teeth are like unto the Nome of Tutef.(30) Hail thou that sittest with
thine eyeball upon these my magical words! Thou shalt not carry them away,
O thou crocodile that livest by means of magical words!”

[In the Turin Papyrus (Lepsius, op. cit., Bl. 16) the following lines are
added to this chapter:]

“I am the Prince in the field. I, even I, am Osiris, who hath shut in his
father Seb together with his mother Nut on the day of the great slaughter.
My father is Seb and my mother is Nut. I am Horus, the first-born of Rā,
who is crowned. I am Anpu (Anubis) on the day of reckoning. I, even I, am
Osiris the prince who goeth in and declareth the offerings which are
written down. I am the guardian of the door of Osiris, even I. I have
come, I have become glorious (or a _Khu_), I have been reckoned up, I am
strong, I have come and I avenge mine own self. I have sat in the
birth-chamber of Osiris, and I was born with him, and I renew my youth
along with him. I have laid hold upon the Thigh which was by Osiris, and I
have opened the mouth of the gods therewith, I sit upon the place where he
sitteth, and I write down the number [of the things] which make strong(?)
the heart, thousands of loaves of bread, thousands of vases of beer, which
are upon the altars of his father Osiris, [numbers of] jackals, wolves,
oxen, red fowl, geese and ducks. Horus hath done away with the sacrifices
of Thoth. I fill the office of priest in the regions above, and I write
down there [the things] which make strong the heart. I make offerings (or
offerings are made to me) at the altars of the Prince of Tattu, and I have
my being through the oblations [made to] him. I snuff the wind of the East
by his head, and I lay hold upon the breezes of the West thereby.... I go
round about heaven in the four quarters thereof, I stretch out my hand and
grasp the breezes of the south [which] are upon its hair. Grant unto me
air among the venerable beings and among those who eat bread.”

IF THIS CHAPTER BE KNOWN BY [THE DECEASED] HE SHALL COME FORTH BY DAY, HE
SHALL RISE UP TO WALK UPON THE EARTH AMONG THE LIVING, AND HE SHALL NEVER
FAIL AND COME TO AN END, NEVER, NEVER, NEVER.




Beating Back The Crocodile


[From Lepsius, “Todtenbuch,” Bll. 16 and 17.]

THE CHAPTER OF BEATING BACK THE CROCODILE THAT COMETH TO CARRY AWAY THE
MAGICAL WORDS FROM THE KHU IN THE UNDERWORLD. Osiris Auf-ānkh, triumphant,
saith:

“The Mighty One fell down upon the place where he is, or (as others say),
upon his belly, but the company of the gods caught him and set him up
again. [My] soul cometh and it speaketh with its father, and the Mighty
One delivereth it from these eight(31) crocodiles. I know them by their
names and [what] they live upon, and I am he who hath delivered his father
from them.”

“Get thee back, O Crocodile that dwellest in the West, thou that livest
upon the stars which never rest, for that which is an abomination unto
thee is in my belly, O thou that hast eaten the forehead of Osiris. I am
Set.”

“Get thee back, O Crocodile that dwellest in the West, for the
serpent-fiend Nāau is in my belly, and I will give him unto thee; let not
thy flame be against me.”

“Get thee back, O Crocodile that dwellest in the East, who feedest upon
those who eat their own filth, for that which is an abomination unto thee
is in my belly; I advance, I am Osiris.”

“Get thee back, O Crocodile that dwellest in the East, the serpent-fiend
Nāau is in my belly, and I will give [him] unto thee; let not thy flame be
against me.”

“Get thee back, O Crocodile that dwellest in the South, who feedest upon
filth, and waste, and dirt, for that which is an abomination unto thee is
in my belly; shall not the flame be on thy hand? I am Sept.”

“Get thee back, O Crocodile that dwellest in the South, for I am safe by
reason of my charm; my fist is among the flowers and I will not give it
unto thee.”

“Get thee back, O Crocodile that dwellest in the North, who feedest upon
what is offered(?) within the hours, for that which thou abominatest is in
my belly; let [not] thy venom be upon my head, for I am Tem.”

“Get thee back, O Crocodile that dwellest in the North, for the goddess
Serqet is in my belly and I have not yet brought her forth. I am
Uatch-Maati (or Merti).”

“The things which are created are in the hollow of my hand, and those
which have not yet come into being are in my body. I am clothed and wholly
provided with thy magical words, O Rā, the which are in heaven above me
and in the earth beneath me. I have gained power, and exaltation, and a
full-breathing throat in the abode of my father Ur (_i.e._, the Mighty
One), and he hath delivered unto me the beautiful Amentet which destroyeth
living men and women; but strong is its divine lord, who suffereth from
weakness,” or (as others say) “exhaustion twofold, therein day by day. My
face is open, my heart is upon its seat, and the crown with the serpent is
upon me day by day. I am Rā, who is his own protector, and nothing shall
ever cast me to the ground.”