Chapter Of Knowledge

[From the Papyrus of Nu (British Museum No. 10,477, sheet 13).]

THE CHAPTER OF KNOWING THE “CHAPTERS OF COMING FORTH BY DAY” IN A SINGLE
CHAPTER. The overseer of the palace, the chancellor-in-chief, Osiris Nu,
triumphant, begotten of the overseer of the palace, Amen-hetep,
triumphant, saith:

“I am Yesterday and To-morrow; and I have the power to be born a second
time. [I am] the divine hidden Soul, who createth the gods, and who giveth
sepulchral meals to the divine hidden beings [in the Tuat (underworld)],
in Amenti, and in heaven. [I am] the rudder of the east, the possessor of
two divine faces wherein his beams are seen. I am the lord of those who
are raised up, [the lord] who cometh forth from out of the darkness.
[Hail,] ye two divine Hawks who are perched upon your resting-places, and
who hearken unto the things which are said by him, the thigh [of the
sacrifice] is tied to the neck, and the buttocks [are laid] upon the head
of Amentet. May the Ur-urti goddesses (_i.e._, Isis and Nephthys) grant
such gifts unto me when my tears start from me as I look on. ‘I know the
abysses’ is thy name. [I] work for [you], O ye _Khu_s, who are in number
[four] millions, [six] hundred, and 1,000, and 200, and they are [in
height] twelve cubits. [Ye] travel on joining the hands, each to each, but
the sixth [hour], which belongeth at the head of the Tuat (underworld), is
the hour of the overthrow of the Fiend. [I] have come there in triumph,
and [I am] he who is in the hall (or courtyard) of the Tuat; and the
seven(?) come in his manifestations. The strength which protecteth me is
that which hath my _Khu_ under its protection, [that is] the blood, and
the cool water, and the slaughterings which abound(?). I open [a way
among] the horns of all those who would do harm unto me, who keep
themselves hidden, who make themselves adversaries unto me, and those who
are upon their bellies. The Eye shall not eat (or absorb) the tears of the
goddess Aukert. Hail, goddess Aukert, open thou unto me the enclosed
place, and grant thou unto me pleasant roads whereupon I may travel. Who
art thou, then, who consumest in the hidden places? I am the Chief in
Re-stau, and [I] go in and come forth in my name of ‘Hehi, the lord of
millions of years [and of] the earth’; [I am] the maker of my name. The
pregnant one hath deposited [upon the earth] her load. The door by the
wall is shut fast, and the things of terror are overturned and thrown down
upon the backbone(?) of the _Bennu_ bird by the two _Samait_ goddesses. To
the Mighty One hath his Eye been given, and his face emitteth light when
[he] illumineth the earth, [my name is his name].(41) I shall not become
corrupt, but I shall come into being in the form of the Lion-god; the
blossoms of Shu shall be in me. I am he who is never overwhelmed in the
waters. Happy, yea happy, is the funeral couch of the Still-heart; he
maketh himself to alight upon the pool(?), and verily he cometh forth
[therefrom]. I am the lord of my life. I have come to this [place], and I
have come forth from Re-āa-urt the city of Osiris. Verily the things which
are thine are with the _Sariu_ deities. I have clasped the sycamore tree
and I have divided(?) it; I have opened a way for myself [among] the
_Sekhiu_ gods of the Tuat. I have come to see him that dwelleth in his
divine uræus, face to face and eye to eye, and [I] draw to myself the
winds [which rise] when he cometh forth. My two eyes(?) are weak in my
face, O Lion[-god], Babe, who dwellest in Utent. Thou art in me and I am
in thee; and thy attributes are my attributes. I am the god of the
Inundation (_Bāh_), and ‘Qem-ur-she’ is my name. My forms are the forms of
the god Khepera, the hair of the earth of Tem, the hair of the earth of
Tem. I have entered in as a man of no understanding, and I shall come
forth in the form of a strong _Khu_, and I shall look upon my form which
shall be that of men and women forever and forever.”

I.(42) [IF THIS CHAPTER BE KNOWN] BY A MAN HE SHALL COME FORTH BY DAY, AND
HE SHALL NOT BE REPULSED AT ANY GATE OF THE TUAT (UNDERWORLD), EITHER IN
GOING IN OR IN COMING OUT. HE SHALL PERFORM [ALL] THE TRANSFORMATIONS
WHICH HIS HEART SHALL DESIRE FOR HIM AND HE SHALL NOT DIE; BEHOLD, THE
SOUL OF [THIS] MAN SHALL FLOURISH. AND MOREOVER, IF [HE] KNOW THIS CHAPTER
HE SHALL BE VICTORIOUS UPON EARTH AND IN THE UNDERWORLD, AND HE SHALL
PERFORM EVERY ACT OF A LIVING HUMAN BEING. NOW IT IS A GREAT PROTECTION
WHICH [HATH BEEN GIVEN] BY THE GOD. THIS CHAPTER WAS FOUND IN THE
FOUNDATIONS OF THE SHRINE OF HENNU BY THE CHIEF MASON DURING THE REIGN OF
HIS MAJESTY THE KING OF THE NORTH AND OF THE SOUTH, HESEPTI, TRIUMPHANT,
WHO CARRIED [IT] AWAY AS A MYSTERIOUS OBJECT WHICH HAD NEVER [BEFORE] BEEN
SEEN OR LOOKED UPON. THIS CHAPTER SHALL BE RECITED BY A MAN WHO IS
CEREMONIALLY CLEAN AND PURE, WHO HATH NOT EATEN THE FLESH OF ANIMALS OR
FISH, AND WHO HATH NOT HAD INTERCOURSE WITH WOMEN.

II.(43) IF THIS CHAPTER BE KNOWN [BY THE DECEASED] HE SHALL BE VICTORIOUS
BOTH UPON EARTH AND IN THE UNDERWORLD, AND HE SHALL PERFORM EVERY ACT OF A
LIVING HUMAN BEING. NOW IT IS A GREAT PROTECTION WHICH [HATH BEEN GIVEN]
BY THE GOD.

THIS CHAPTER WAS FOUND IN THE CITY OF KHEMENNU, UPON A BLOCK OF IRON OF
THE SOUTH, WHICH HAD BEEN INLAID [WITH LETTERS] OF REAL LAPIS-LAZULI,
UNDER THE FEET OF THE GOD DURING THE REIGN OF HIS MAJESTY, THE KING OF THE
NORTH AND OF THE SOUTH, MEN-KAU-RA (MYCERINUS) TRIUMPHANT, BY THE ROYAL
SON HERU-TA-TA-F,(44) TRIUMPHANT; HE FOUND IT WHEN HE WAS JOURNEYING ABOUT
TO MAKE AN INSPECTION OF THE TEMPLES. ONE NEKHT(?) WAS WITH HIM WHO WAS
DILIGENT IN MAKING HIM TO UNDERSTAND(?) IT, AND HE BROUGHT IT TO THE KING
AS A WONDERFUL OBJECT WHEN HE SAW THAT IT WAS A THING OF GREAT MYSTERY,
WHICH HAD NEVER [BEFORE] BEEN SEEN OR LOOKED UPON.

THIS CHAPTER SHALL BE RECITED BY A MAN WHO IS CEREMONIALLY CLEAN AND PURE,
WHO HATH NOT EATEN THE FLESH OF ANIMALS OR FISH, AND WHO HATH NOT HAD
INTERCOURSE WITH WOMEN. AND BEHOLD, THOU SHALT MAKE A SCARAB OF GREEN
STONE, WITH A RIM PLATED(?) WITH GOLD, WHICH SHALL BE PLACED IN THE HEART
OF A MAN, AND IT SHALL PERFORM FOR HIM THE “OPENING OF THE MOUTH.” AND
THOU SHALT ANOINT IT WITH _ANTI_ UNGUENT, AND THOU SHALT RECITE OVER IT
[THESE] ENCHANTMENTS:(45)