← The Egyptian Book of the dead

Opening the book…

Transcriber’s Note

This version of the text cannot represent certain typographical effects. Italics are delimited with the ‘_’ character as italic. Superscripted characters are noted using a carat as ‘XV^e’, or for multiple characters, e.g., ‘I^{er}’. Bold font is delimited with ‘=’.

Most importantly, the notes for each chapter contain hieroglyphic images, which cannot be represented here. Each is denoted by ‘⁂’.

Footnotes have been moved to follow the paragraphs in which they are referenced.

Minor errors, attributable to the printer, have been corrected. Please see the transcriber’s note at the end of this text for details regarding the handling of any textual issues encountered during its preparation.

THE EGYPTIAN
BOOK OF THE DEAD.
TRANSLATION AND COMMENTARY,

BY THE LATE
SIR P. LE PAGE RENOUF, KNT.

CONTINUED AND COMPLETED BY
PROF. E. NAVILLE, D.C.L., &c., &c.,
Professor of Egyptology at the University of Geneva.

WITH VIGNETTES AND OTHER ILLUSTRATIONS.

PRIVATELY PRINTED FOR
THE SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCHÆOLOGY,
37, GREAT RUSSELL STREET, BLOOMSBURY,
LONDON, 1904.

LONDON:
HARRISON AND SONS, PRINTERS IN ORDINARY TO HIS MAJESTY,
ST. MARTIN’S LANE.

TO

LADY RENOUF

THIS WORK IS DEDICATED

IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE EXPRESSED WISH OF

HER LATE HUSBAND

SIR PETER LE PAGE RENOUF.

INDEX
TO THE
CHAPTERS
AND REFERENCES
TO THE
VIGNETTES.

CHAPTERS. │ VIGNETTES.

───────────────────────────────────────────────────────┬─────────────── I. _The Beginning of the Chapters of pages│ Plates I, II. Coming forth by Day, of the Words 1, 2│ which bring about Resurrection and │ Glory, and of Coming out of and │ entering into Amenta. Said upon the │ Day of Burial of_ N, the │ Victorious, who entereth after │ coming forth. Here is N the │ victorious. He saith— │ ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────┼─────────────── II. Chapter for Coming forth by day and 11, 12│ No Vignettes. Living after death. │ III. Another Chapter like it. 12│ ” IV. Another Chapter, for travelling on 13│ ” the road which is above the earth. │ V. Chapter whereby work may not be 13│ ” imposed [upon a person] in the │ Netherworld. │ VI. Chapter whereby the funereal 15, 16│ ” Statuettes may be made to do work │ for a person in the Netherworld. │ VII. Chapter of passing through the chine 16│ ” of Apepi which is void. │ VIII. Chapter of opening the Tuat by day. 17│ ” IX. Chapter for opening the Tuat. 18│ ” X. Chapter for coming forth 19│ ” victoriously. │ XI. Chapter for coming out against the 19│ ” adversary in the Netherworld. │ XII. Chapter for entering and for coming 20│ ” forth out of the Netherworld. │ XIII. Chapter for entering after coming 20│ ” out from Amenta. │ XIV. Chapter for removing displeasure 21│ ” from the heart of the god against │ the deceased person. │ ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────┼─────────────── XV. HYMN I.—A Hymn to Râ at his rising. 22–25│ III, X, XV. [LITANY].—Adored be Râ as he setteth 25, 26│ in the Land of Life. │ HYMN II.—A Hymn to Râ at his 26, 27│ setting. │ HYMN III.—A Hymn to Tmu at his 27, 28│ setting. │ XVI. . . . . . . . . . . 34│ IV, V. XVII. Chapter whereby one cometh forth by 35 40│ VI, VII. day out of the Netherworld. Let the │ words be said: │ XVIII. A Litany to Thoth. 50–53│ VIII, IX. XIX. Chapter of the Crown of Triumph. 57, 58│ IX. ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────┼─────────────── XX. Another Chapter of the Crown of 59│ No Vignettes. Triumph. │ XXI. Chapter whereby the Mouth of a 60│ ” person is given to him in the │ Netherworld. │ ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────┼─────────────── XXII. Another Chapter whereby the Mouth of 61│ X, XI. a person is given to him in the │ Netherworld. │ XXIII. Chapter whereby the Mouth of a 62│ X, XI. person is opened for him in the │ Netherworld. │ XXIV. Chapter whereby the Words of Power 63, 64│ X. are brought to a person in the │ Netherworld. │ XXV. _Chapter whereby a person remembereth 66│_No Vignettes._ his name in the Netherworld._ │ XXVI. Chapter whereby the Heart is given 66│ XII. to a person in the Netherworld. │ XXVII. Chapter whereby the Heart of a 69│ XI. person is not taken from him in the │ Netherworld. │ XXVIII. Chapter whereby the Heart of a 70, 71│ XII. person is not taken from him in the │ Netherworld. │ XXIX. Chapter whereby the Heart of a 72│ XII. person may not be taken from him in │ the Netherworld. │ XXIXB. _Another Chapter of the Heart; upon 73│_No Vignettes._ Carnelian._ │ XXXA. Chapter whereby the Heart of a 74│ XII. person is not kept back from him in │ the Netherworld. │ XXXB. 75│_No Vignettes._ XXXI. Chapter whereby the Crocodiles are 77│ XII. repulsed who come to carry off the │ Words of Power from a person in the │ Netherworld. │ XXXII. _Chapter whereby the Crocodiles are 78, 79│_No Vignettes._ repulsed who come to carry off the │ Words of Power from the glorified │ in the Netherworld._ │ XXXIII. Chapter whereby all Serpents are 81│ XII. kept back. │ ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────┼─────────────── XXXIV. Chapter whereby a person is not 82│ No Vignettes. devoured by the dweller in the │ shrine. │ XXXV. Chapter whereby the person is not 83│ ” devoured by a Serpent in the │ Netherworld. │ ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────┼─────────────── XXXVI. Chapter whereby the Āpshait is kept 85│ XII, XIII. back. │ XXXVII. Chapter whereby the Merta Goddesses 85│ XIII. are kept back. │ XXXVIII. Chapter whereby one liveth by the 86│ XIII breath of air in the Netherworld, │ and keepeth back Merta. │ XXXIX. Chapter whereby the Serpent Rekrek 87-89│ XIII, XIV. is repulsed in the Netherworld. │ XL. Chapter whereby the Eater of the Ass 91, 92│ XIV. is kept back. │ XLI. Chapter whereby one avoideth the 94│ XV. Slaughter which is carried out in │ the Netherworld. │ XLII. Chapter whereby one hindereth the 95–98│ XVI. Slaughter which is wrought at │ Sutenhenen. │ ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────┼─────────────── XLIII. Chapter whereby the head of a person 101│ No Vignettes. is not severed from him in the │ Netherworld. │ XLIV. Chapter whereby one dieth not a 101│ ” second time. │ XLV. Chapter whereby one escapeth 102│ ” corruption in the Netherworld. │ XLVI. Chapter whereby he that is living is 102│ ” not destroyed in the Netherworld. │ ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────┼─────────────── XLVII. Chapter whereby the seat of a person 102,│ XV, XVII. is not taken from him in the 103│ Netherworld. │ XLVIII (same as X). │ XLIX (same as XI). │ L. Chapter whereby one cometh not to 103│ XVII. the divine Block of Execution. │ ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────┼─────────────── LI. Chapter whereby one goeth not 104│ No Vignettes. headlong in the Netherworld. │ LII. Chapter whereby one eateth not dirt 105│ ” in the Netherworld. │ LIIIA. Chapter whereby one is not made to 107│ ” eat dirt, or to drink lye. │ LIIIB. Whereby one eateth not dirt. 107,│ ” 108│ LIV. Chapter whereby air is given in the 108│ ” Netherworld. │ LV. Another Chapter whereby air is 109│ ” given. │ LVI. Another Chapter of breathing. 110│ ” ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────┼─────────────── LVII. Chapter for breathing air, and 110,│ XVII. command of water, in the 111│ Netherworld. │ LVIII. Chapter for breathing air and 112│ XVII. command of water. │ ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────┼─────────────── LIX. Chapter for breathing air and 113│ No Vignettes. command of water. │ LX. Another Chapter. 113,│ ” 114│ ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────┼─────────────── LXI. Another Chapter. 114│ XVII. ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────┼─────────────── LXII. Chapter whereby water is drunk in 114,│ No Vignettes. the Netherworld. 115│ LXIIIA. Chapter whereby one is not burnt 115,│ ” with fire, but drinketh water, in 116│ the Netherworld. │ LXIIIB. Chapter whereby one is not boiled in 116│ ” water. │ ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────┼─────────────── LXIV. Chapter whereby one cometh forth by 117–121│ XVII. day from the Netherworld. │ LXV. Chapter whereby one cometh forth by 127│ XIX. day and prevaileth over the │ adversaries. │ ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────┼─────────────── LXVI. Chapter whereby one cometh forth by 128│ No Vignettes. day. │ LXVII. Chapter whereby the doors of the 128│ ” Tuat are opened and one cometh │ forth by day. │ ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────┼─────────────── LXVIII. Chapter whereby one cometh forth by 129,│ XVIII, XIX. day. 130│ ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────┼─────────────── LXIX. Otherwise said. 130,│ No Vignettes. 131│ LXX. Another Chapter. 131,│ ” 132│ ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────┼─────────────── LXXI. Chapter whereby one cometh forth by 132–134│ XIX. day. │ LXXII. Chapter whereby one cometh forth by 136,│ XIX, XX. day and passes through the 137│ Ammehit. │ LXXIII (same as IX). │ XIX, XX. LXXIV. Chapter whereby the legs are set in 138│ XIX, XX. motion upon earth. │ LXXV. Chapter whereby one cometh to 139,│ XXI, numbered Heliopolis and receiveth a seat 140│ LXXVIII in there. │ error. LXXVI. Chapter whereby all forms are 140│ XX. same as assumed which one pleaseth. │ LXXIII. LXXVII. Chapter whereby one assumeth the 141│ XXI. form of the Golden Hawk. │ LXXVIII. Chapter whereby one assumeth the 142–146│ XXI. form of the Sacred Hawk. │ LXXIX. Chapter whereby one assumeth the 147,│ XXI. form of the Chief god of the Divine 148│ Cycle. │ LXXX. _Chapter whereby one assumeth the 149│_No Vignettes._ form of the god who giveth Light to │ the Darkness._ │ LXXXI. Chapter whereby one assumeth the 150│ XXI, XXII. form of the Lotus. │ LXXXII. Chapter whereby one assumeth the 150,│ XXII. form of Ptah, eateth bread, 151│ drinketh beer, and sitteth in the │ midst of the great gods. │ LXXXIII. Chapter whereby one assumeth the 151,│ XXII. form of the Bennu bird. 152│ LXXXIV. Chapter whereby one assumeth the 152,│ XXII. form of the Hernshaw. 153│ LXXXV. Chapter whereby one assumeth the 153,│ XXII. form of a Soul, that one may not 154│ come to the dungeon. Imperishable │ is he who knoweth it. │ LXXXVI. Chapter whereby one assumeth the 155│ XXII. form of the Swallow. │ LXXXVII. Chapter whereby one assumeth the 157│ XXII, XXIII. form of Se-ta. │ LXXXVIII. Chapter whereby one assumeth the 157│ XXIII. form of the Crocodile god [Sebak]. │ LXXXIX. Chapter whereby the Soul is united 157,│ XXIII. to the dead Body. 158│ XC. Chapter whereby Memory is restored 159│ XXIII. to a person. │ XCI. _Chapter whereby the Soul is secured 160│_No Vignettes._ from imprisonment in the │ Netherworld._ │ XCII. Chapter whereby the Tomb is opened 160,│ XXIII, XXIV. to the Soul and to the Shade of the 161│ person, that he may come forth by │ day and may have mastery of his │ feet. │ XCIII. Chapter whereby one avoideth being 162│ XXIV. conveyed to the East in the │ Netherworld. │ XCIV. Chapter whereby one prayeth for a 163│ XXIV. Palette and an Inkstand. │ XCV. Chapter whereby is opened the place 163,│ XXIV. wherein Thoth resteth. 164│ XCVI. _Chapter whereby is opened [the 164│_No Vignettes._ place] where Thoth [resteth]._ │ XCVII. 165│ XXV. XCVIII. Chapter whereby one saileth a ship 165,│ XXV. in the Netherworld. 166│ XCIX. Chapter whereby one saileth a ship 167–169│ XXV, XXVI. in the Netherworld. │ C. The Book whereby the glorified one 171│ XXVII. is made strong, and is made to │ embark in the boat of Rā, together │ with those who are with the god. │ CI. _Chapter of the safeguards of the 172,│_No Vignettes._ Bark of Rā_. 173│ CII. Chapter whereby one entereth into 173│ XXVII. the Bark of Rā. │ CIII. Chapter whereby one openeth the 174│ XXV. place where Hathor abideth. │ CIV. Chapter whereby one sitteth in the 174│ XXV. midst of the great gods. │ CV. Chapter whereby one propitiateth the 175│ XXV. Ka. │ ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────┼─────────────── CVI. Chapter whereby a largess is 176,│ No Vignettes. presented at Hat-ka-Ptah. 177│ CVII. 178│ ” ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────┼─────────────── CVIII. Chapter whereby one knoweth the 178,│ XXV, XXVII. Powers of the West. 179│ │ CIX. Chapter whereby one knoweth the 181,│ XXVII. Powers of the East. 182│ CX. _The Beginning of the Chapters of the 193–195│ XXVIII, XXIX. Garden of Hotepit, and of the │ Chapters of coming forth by day; │ and of entering and coming forth in │ the Netherworld, and of arriving at │ the Garden of Aarru, at the Rise in │ Hotepit and at the Grand Domain, │ blest with the breezes: that I may │ take possession there and be in │ Glory there: that there I may │ plough and mow: that there I may │ eat and drink and love: doing │ whatsoever things are done upon │ earth._ │ CXI (same as CVIII). │ CXII. Chapter whereby one knoweth the 184,│ XXIX, XXX. Powers of Pu. 185│ CXIII. Chapter whereby one knoweth the 186,│ XXX. Powers of Nechen. 187│ CXIV. Chapter whereby one knoweth the 188,│ XXXI. Powers of Hermopolis. 189│ CXV. _Chapter whereby one cometh forth 190,│_No Vignettes._ into Heaven, and openeth the 191│ Ammehit: and whereby the Powers of │ Heliopolis are known._ │ CXVI. Chapter whereby one knoweth the 192│ XXXI. Power of Hermopolis. │ CXVII. Chapter whereby one taketh the 203│ XXXI (one blissful path at Restau. │ Vignette is │ numbered CVII │ in error). CXVIII. _Chapter whereby one arriveth at 206│_No Vignettes._ Restau._ │ CXIX. Chapter whereby one entereth or 206│ XXXI. goeth forth from Restau. │ CXX (same as XII). │ CXXI (same as XIII). │ CXXII (same as LVIII). │ CXXIII. Chapter whereby one entereth into 208│ XXXI. the Great House. │ CXXIV. Chapter whereby one cometh to the 210,│ XXXII. Divine Circle of Osiris. 211│ ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────┼─────────────── CXXV. PART I.—_Said on arriving at the Hall 212–214│ XXXII, of Righteousness, that N may be │ XXXIII, loosed from all the sins which he │ XXXIV, hath committed and that he may look │ XXXV, upon the divine countenances._ │ XXXVI, │ XXXVIII, │ XXXVIII, │ XXXIX. PART II.—The Negative Confession. 214–216│ ” PART III.—Said upon approaching to 216–220│ ” the gods who are in the Tuat. │ ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────┼─────────────── CXXVI. . . . . . . . . . . 244,│ XL. 245│ ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────┼─────────────── CXXVII. The Book for invoking the gods of 249│ No Vignettes. the Bounds, which the person │ reciteth when he approacheth them, │ that he may enter and see the │ Strong one in the Great Abode of │ the Tuat. │ CXXVIII. Invocation of Osiris 251,│ ” 252│ ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────┼─────────────── CXXIX (same as C). │ XL. CXXX. A Book whereby the Soul is made to 256–259│ XL. live for ever, on the day of │ entering into the Bark of Rā, and │ to pass the Sheniu of the Tuat. │ Made on the Birthday of Osiris. │ CXXXI. Chapter whereby one proceedeth into 261│ XLI. Heaven by the side of Rā. │ CXXXII. Chapter whereby a person is enabled 263│ XLI. to go round, to visit his dwelling │ in the Netherworld. │ CXXXIII. Book whereby the deceased acquireth 264,│ XLI, XLII. might in the Netherworld, in 265│ presence of the great cycle of the │ gods. │ CXXXIV. Chapter whereby the deceased 267,│ XLI. acquireth might. 268│ CXXXV. _Another chapter recited when the 269,│_No Vignettes._ Moon renews itself on the first day 270│ of the month._ │ CXXXVIA. Chapter whereby one is conveyed in 270│ XLII. the Bark of Rā. │ ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────┼─────────────── CXXXVIB. Chapter whereby one is conveyed in 271,│ No Vignettes. the Great Bark of Rā to pass 272│ through the orbit of flame. │ CXXXVIIA. Chapter whereby a Light is kindled 275│ ” for a person. │ ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────┼─────────────── CXXXVIIB. Chapter whereby a Light is kindled 275│ XLII. for a person. │ CXXXVIII. Chapter whereby one is enabled to 277│ XLIII. enter into Abydos. │ │ CXXXIX (same as CXXIII). │ │ CXL. The book read on the last day of 280,│ XLIII, XLIV. Mechir, when the Eye is full on the 281│ last day of Mechir. │ │ CXLI. to _The Book said by a man or his father 282–285│ XLIV, XLV, CXLIII. or his son in the festival of the │ XLVI. Amenta, and wherewith he acquires │ might with Rā, and with the gods │ when he is with them. Said on the │ day of the new Moon, when offerings │ are made of bread, beer, oxen, │ geese, and burnt incense to—_ │ CXLIV. The Chapter of the Arrival. 287–289│ XLVI, XLVII, │ XLIX, L. CXLV and The knowing of the pylons of the 292–294│ XLIV, XLVIII, CXLVI. house of Osiris, in the Garden of │ LIII. Aarru. │ CXLVII. 296–298│ XLIX, L. CXLVIII. Giving sustenance to the deceased in 300–301│ XLVI, XLVII, the Netherworld, and delivering him │ LI. from all evil things. │ CXLIX. 302–307│ LII. CL. 309│ LIII. CLI. 309│ LIV, LVI. CLIA. 313│_No Vignettes._ bis │ CLIA. Chapter of the mysterious head. │ LIV. ter │ CLII. Chapter of building a house on 314│ LIV. earth. │ CLIIIA. Chapter of coming out of the net. 315,│ LV. 316│ CLIIIB. Chapter of escaping from the 320,│ LVI. catchers of fish. 321│ CLIV. Chapter of not letting the body 322,│ LVI. decay in the Netherworld. 323│ CLV. Chapter of the Tat of gold. 325│ LVI, LVII. CLVI. Chapter of the buckle of carnelian, 326│ LVI, LVII. which is put on the neck of the │ deceased. │ CLVII. Chapter of the vulture of gold, put 326,│ LVII. on the neck of the deceased. 327│ CLVIII. Chapter of the collar of gold, put 327│ LVII. on the neck of the deceased. │ CLIX. Chapter of the column of green 327,│ LVII. Felspar, put on the neck of the 328│ deceased. │ CLX. Giving the column of green Felspar. 328│ LVII. CLXI. Chapter of unfastening the opening 329,│ LV. in the sky. Thoth does it so that 330│ it may be finished when he opens │ (the sky) with Aten. │ CLXII. Chapter of causing a flame to arise 330,│ LVIII. under the head of the deceased. 321│ CLXIII. _Chapters brought from another book, 333,│ LVIII. in addition to the “coming forth by 334│ day.” Chapter of not letting the │ body of a man decay in the │ Netherworld, of rescuing him from │ the devourers of souls who imprison │ men in the Tuat, and of not raising │ his sins on earth against him, but │ of saving his flesh and his bones │ from the worms and from every │ evil-doing god in the Netherworld, │ so that he may go in and out as he │ likes, and do everything he desires │ without restraint._ │ CLXIV. Another Chapter. 336,│ LVIII. 337│ CLXV. Chapter of landing and not being 338,│ LVIII. obscured, so that the body may 339│ prosper in drinking water. │ CLXVI. Chapter of the Pillow. 340│ LVIII. CLXVII. Chapter of bringing an Eye. 341│ LVIII. ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────┼─────────────── CLXVIII. 341│ No Vignettes. CLXIX. Chapter of raising the funereal 342–344│ ” Bed. │ CLXX. Chapter of arranging the funereal 345–347│ ” Bed. │ CLXXI. Chapter of wrapping up (the 347│ ” deceased) in a pure garment. │ CLXXII. Beginning of the Chapter of reciting 348–351│ ” the ceremonies made in the │ Netherworld. │ ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────┼─────────────── CLXXIII. _The addresses of Horus to his father 352,│ LIX. when he goes in to see his father, 353│ and when he comes out of his great │ sanctuary to see him Rā Unneferu, │ the master of Ta-tser, and then │ they embrace one another; therefore │ he is glorious in the Netherworld._ │ CLXXIV. Chapter of causing the Chu to come 354,│ LX. out of the great door in the sky. 355│ CLXXV. Chapter of not dying a second death 356,│ LX. in the Netherworld. 357│ ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────┼─────────────── CLXXVI. Chapter of not dying a second time 358│ No Vignettes. in the Netherworld. │ CLXXVII. Chapter of raising the Chu, of 359│ ” vivifying his soul in the │ Netherworld. │ CLXXVIII. Chapter of raising the body, of 360–363│ ” giving it eyes, of making it │ possess ears, of fixing its head, │ of putting it on its base. │ CLXXIX. Chapter of coming forth when going 363,│ ” out of yesterday and coming in the 364│ (present) day, being equipped by │ one’s own hands. │ ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────┼─────────────── CLXXX. _Chapter of coming forth by day, of 365–367│ LX. giving praise to Rā in the Amenta, │ of paying homage to the inhabitants │ of the Tuat, of opening the way to │ the mighty soul in the Netherworld, │ of letting him walk, lengthen his │ strides, and go in and out in the │ Netherworld; and take the form of a │ living soul._ │ CLXXXI. _Chapter of arriving before the 368,│ LXI. Divine circle of Osiris and before 369│ the gods, the guides in the Tuat, │ before the guards of their halls, │ the heralds of their gates and the │ doorkeepers of their pylons in the │ Amenta, and of taking the form of a │ living soul and praising Osiris the │ lord of his circle of gods._ │ CLXXXII. _Book of vivifying Osiris, of giving 370–372│ LXI. air to him whose heart is │ motionless, through the action of │ Thoth, who repels the enemies of │ Osiris who comes there in his │ form ... as protector, saviour, │ defender in the Netherworld._ │ It is said by Thoth himself, so that │ the morning light may shine on him │ (Osiris) every day. │ CLXXXIII. Adoration to Osiris, giving him 372–374│ LX. praise, bowing down before │ Unneferu, falling on one’s face │ before the lord of Ta-tsert, and │ exalting him who is on his sand. │ CLXXXIV. Chapter of being near Osiris. 375│ LX. CLXXXV. Giving praise to Osiris, falling on 375│ LX. the earth before the lord of │ eternity; propitiating the god with │ what he loves, speaking the truth, │ the lord of which is not known. │ CLXXXVI. Adoration to Hathor, the lady of the 376│ LX, LXII. West, falling down before Mehurit. │

INTRODUCTION.

When, in the year 1892, Sir Peter Le Page Renouf began the publication of his translation of the Book of the Dead, his intention was that the work, once completed, should be preceded by an elaborate Introduction, giving, besides all the information concerning the form and the history of the book, his views as to its sense and its religious value.

As with the unfinished part of the translation,[1] so here, we are left without any notes or any clue whatever as to the form which this introduction was to have taken, and we are obliged to resort to the fifth of the Hibbert lectures, given by Renouf in 1879, in order to know his views about the book.[2]

Before speaking of its contents, we have to state briefly under what form the book has come down to us. It is hardly necessary to repeat that it is no book at all in the ordinary sense of the word. It is neither a unity nor a whole, it is a collection which has grown by degrees, at various epochs. Undoubtedly part of it goes back as far as the Old Empire; the texts of the Middle Empire show already that there were various editions, and we are forced to admit that its origin is not much later than the beginning of Egyptian civilization, as we see that some of the rubrics attribute certain chapters to a king of the 1st dynasty. In the course of centuries the original text was modified and enlarged, new chapters were added, revisions were made, without casting these detached fragments into a whole. The various parts of the book were always independent, like the Hebrew Psalms; the acceptance of a chapter does not necessarily imply the acceptance of the next chapter, and it seems as if the relatives of the deceased chose in the collection which was at their disposal what they liked best, and the number of chapters which corresponded to the price they wished to pay for a papyrus.

This description applies chiefly to the texts of the Book of the Dead of the period prior to the XXVIth dynasty. Under the Saïte kings it seems that a complete revision of the text was made; a definite order was adopted, which was not rigidly binding on the writers, but to which they generally adhered; various chapters were added, especially the last ones, 162-165, which are never found in the older copies. It seems also that something like what we should call an authorized version was adopted; and this was done by men to whom the book was hardly intelligible. A great many glosses were introduced, which were copied afterwards in all the hieroglyphic and hieratic texts. Although we do not find the strict accuracy of Hebrew manuscripts, the number of variants in the Saïte, Ptolemaïc or Roman texts is considerably smaller than in the manuscripts of the Theban period, and a collation of the hundreds of papyri of late epoch which fill our museums would lead to no great result.

However, it is from a text generally considered as Saïtic, but which I believe to be of the Ptolemaïc epoch, that the Book of the Dead has been first made known in all its extent. In 1842 Lepsius published the long papyrus in the Turin Museum, a document which he called “the largest piece of Egyptian literature which has been preserved.”

Before him Champollion had seen it, and had noticed that a great number of repetitions of the same text existed in various museums. He made use of it in his grammar, quoted here and there a sentence taken from it, but he did not make a special study of the document. Lepsius understood at once the importance of the book, which was the vade-mecum of the deceased, and seeing how much more extensive the Turin Papyrus was than the short copies which had been published before, he traced the whole document and published it two years afterwards.

Lepsius gave to this work the name of Todtenbuch, “Book of the Dead,” in opposition to the name of “Ritual” adopted by Champollion, which is certainly incorrect. It is no Ritual; a few chapters with a ritualistic character have been introduced into it; for instance, the chapter connected with the ceremony of “opening the mouth of the deceased,” which is occasionally met with, or Chapter 171, “chapter of wrapping up (the deceased) in a pure garment;” but these are rare exceptions. On the whole the Book of the Dead differs widely from a Ritual. It is not the priest who speaks, there are no minute prescriptions as to how a ceremony is to be performed; all the prayers and hymns are put in the deceased’s mouth, it is he whose speech is supposed to be heard in the other world.

Todtenbuch, Book of the Dead, is not a translation of the Egyptian title, which is: book of ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ pert m hru. As Renouf says, “Three simple words, perfectly unambiguous when taken singly, but by no means easy of explanation when taken together without a context;” and in fact at the present day no final translation has been given of these three words. Renouf translates, “coming forth by day,” as will be seen in the numerous examples which occur in this volume; but several objections may be raised against this interpretation, to which we should prefer, “coming out of the day,” the day being the period of a man’s life, having its morning and its evening.

The book is divided into fragments called ⁂, to each of which Lepsius has given a number, following the order of the great Turin Papyrus, and which he calls chapters. Although his numbering is not quite correct, it has been adhered to in all the subsequent editions.

In his lecture[3] on the Book of the Dead, Renouf insists on the difficulty of translating it: “Nothing can exceed the simplicity and the brevity of the sentences; and yet the difficulties which a translator has to overcome are very great. In the first place, the text is extremely corrupt. The unsatisfactory condition of the text is owing to different causes. The reasons which writers on Hebrew, Greek or Latin palæography have enumerated for the purpose of accounting for mistakes in manuscripts, apply with much greater force to the funereal manuscripts of the Egyptians; for as these were not intended to be seen by any mortal eye, but to remain for ever undisturbed in the tomb, the unconscientious scribe had no such check upon his carelessness as if his work were liable to be subjected to the constant inspection of the living. But the most conscientious scribe might easily commit numerous errors. Many of them are to be traced to a confusion between signs which resemble each other in the cursive, or as it is called, the hieratic character, but not in hieroglyphic writing.

“Besides the errors of copyists, there are different readings, the origin of which is to be traced to the period during which the chapters were handed down by word of mouth only. There are copies which bear evidence that a critical choice has been made between the different readings of a passage, but the common practice was to admit the inconsistent readings into the text itself....

“Some of the variants have unquestionably arisen from the difficulty of understanding the ancient texts. I have no doubt whatever that some of the chapters of the Book of the Dead were as obscure to Egyptians living under the eleventh dynasty as they are to ourselves.... The most accurate knowledge of the Egyptian vocabulary and grammar will however not suffice to pierce the obscurity arising from what M. de Rougé called symbols or allegories, which are in fact simple mythological allusions. The difficulty is not in literally translating the text, but in understanding the meaning which lies concealed beneath familiar words.”

These words of Renouf have still a very great force, although in the last twenty years some progress has been made towards a better understanding of the text. When Renouf gave the above description of the difficulties of the translation, the main source from which he could derive his information was what he called “the corrupt Turin text.” Since then a critical edition has been made.[4] It is based on texts of the XVIIIth and XIXth dynasties, written at a time when the intelligence of the book was not lost to the same extent as under the Saïtes or the Ptolemies, as may be ascertained from the considerable number of glosses introduced into the Turin text which are absent from the older versions. This edition has been compiled from various papyri, as the older ones are much shorter than the later ones; it is not a single document like Lepsius’s Todtenbuch; most of the chapters have been found in their old form; a few are missing, but a good number have been added to the list which have fallen out of the late versions. Generally it is from this critical text that Renouf made his translation. Occasionally he may choose an older version from a tomb, or perhaps a papyrus of the British Museum, but he hardly ever reverts to the Turin Todtenbuch unless he has no other resource at his disposal.

Nevertheless the difficulties which Renouf enumerates are only partly removed. We are still very far from being able to give a final translation of the Book of the Dead, and I have no doubt that Renouf would repeat about his own work what he says of Dr. Birch’s translation, “Many parts of it, where most faithful to the original, must in consequence of that very fidelity be utterly unintelligible to an English reader.”

No doubt Renouf’s translation is a great step towards making the book more intelligible; still the reader may often stumble over sentences out of which it is hardly possible to make a reasonable sense, in spite of their grammatical correctness, and which at first sight will seem childish, not to say, with Renouf, “outrageous nonsense.” But we may say with certainty that they were not so to the old Egyptians. Under this extraordinary or even ridiculous garment may be hidden some very simple, or even elementary truths. Let us remember that we have not yet unravelled all the intricacies of the Egyptian mythology, which plays such an important part in the book. Moreover, we only begin now to understand how the Egyptians expressed abstract ideas. When we speak of passion, shame, remorse, hope, we have so thoroughly lost sight of the concrete element in these words, that we are apt to forget that originally they must have been metaphors, and that they must have expressed something striking the senses, and connected with the material world. An instance will illustrate the difficulty in this translation.

Chapter 112 relates how, owing to an imprudent request, Horus was the victim of Sutu, who inflicted a wound on his eye, which caused him great suffering, and the text adds: ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂, lo! he ate his heart. Renouf translates, “and wrath devoured his heart.” I should prefer, “he regretted sorely (his foolish request).” I believe to eat one’s heart to mean, “to feel regret, repentance, or remorse.” There the abstract meaning is not difficult to find out; but in other cases, as long as we have not discovered the key to the metaphor, we may go far astray, or if we do not go beyond the literal explanation, we miss the abstract sense, which is the true one.

However, because the work will not bear the character of finality, because some obscurities will not be removed, and some difficulties remain unsolved, there is no reason why a scholar like Renouf should have shrunk from attempting the translation of the Book of the Dead, a work which he had before his eyes for years, and which he considered as the crown of his Egyptological labours.

The lecture quoted above gives us Renouf’s ideas as to the purpose and the sense of the book: it is the beatification of the dead considered in three aspects:

The renewed existence “as upon earth.” The deceased enjoys an existence similar to that which he has led upon earth; he has the use of his limbs, he eats and drinks and satisfies every one of his physical wants exactly as in his former life. The gods themselves minister to him occasionally, and contribute to his welfare and to his pleasures. The bliss of the future state consists chiefly in the pleasures of agricultural life.

Transformation. The deceased has the range of the entire universe in every shape and form he desires. He can assume any appearance he likes. But these transformations are not forced upon him; he has no definite series to go through; they depend simply on his pleasure.

Identification with Osiris and other gods. The identification with Osiris, which is already mentioned in the earliest parts of the book, is taken for granted later on, since the name of the deceased is always preceded by “Osiris.” He may be assimilated to other gods; for instance, in the 42nd chapter every limb is assimilated to a different deity. This Osirian nature gives the deceased the power to triumph over the numerous enemies whom he has to face.

To these three benefits which the book confers on the deceased we should add a fourth: viz., complete preservation from dismemberment and decay. There is evidently in some of the prayers a remembrance of a time when the deceased were dismembered at their burial; and this way of treating the corpse is for the deceased an object of horror. The frequent mention of reconstituting the body, the promises that no part of it shall be taken away, all this shows of what supreme importance it was for him that his body should remain intact. Without a well preserved body there could be no life in the other world; its destruction implies the destruction of the whole individual. This belief is the origin of mummification, for decay is the strongest agent of dismemberment and the certain ruin of the body.

These are the outlines of the principal tenets of the Book of the Dead. If we inquire where they originated, there is no doubt that the bulk of the book came from Heliopolis. It is the doctrine of that ancient city and of its priests. Some of the chapters may be attributed to the priests at Abydos, as M. Maspero suggests; but it seems certain that, except for a small part, the birthplace of the Book of the Dead is the city of Ra Tmu, the place connected with the oldest religious traditions of the country, and which may rightly be called the religious capital of Egypt.

January, 1904.

EDOUARD NAVILLE.

-----

Footnote 1:

See Introductory Note to Chapter CXL.

Footnote 2:

The Hibbert Lectures, 1879, p. 172.

Footnote 3:

See also Life Work, t. III, p. 51, “The title of the Book of the Dead,” and p. 59, “The Egyptian Book of the Dead.”

Footnote 4:

Das Aegyptische Todtenbuch der XVIII bis XX Dynastie, zusammengestellt und herausgegeben von Edouard Naville, Berlin, 1886.

BOOK OF THE DEAD.

CHAPTER I.

(1.)_The Beginning of the Chapters of Coming forth by Day, of the_ (2.)_Words which bring about Resurrection and Glory, and of Coming out of and entering into Amenta. Said upon the Day of Burial of_ N, _the Victorious,_(3.) who entereth after coming forth.(4.) Here is N the Victorious. He saith—

O (5.)Bull of Amenta, It is Thoth, the everlasting King, who is here.

I am the great god in the Bark, who have fought for thee.

I am one of those gods, the (6.)Powers who effect the triumph of Osiris over his adversaries on the day of the Weighing of the Words: I am thy kinsman, Osiris.

I am one of those gods to whom Nut hath given birth, who slay the adversaries of Osiris and imprison the (7.)Sebau, on his behalf: I am thy kinsman, Horus.

I have fought for thee, and have prevailed for thy name.

I am Thoth who effect the triumph of Osiris over his adversaries on that day of Weighing of the Words in the (8.)House of the Prince, which is in Heliopolis.

I am (9.)Tatti, the son of Tatti, conceived in Tattu and born in Tattu; and Tattu is my name.

I am with the mourners and weepers who wail over Osiris in (10.)Rechit, and who effect the triumph of Osiris over his adversaries.

Rā issued the mandate to Thoth, that he should effect the triumph of Osiris against his adversaries, and the mandate is what Thoth hath executed.

I am with Horus on the day of covering (11.)Teshtesh and of opening the fountains for the refreshment of (12.)the god whose heart is motionless, and closing the entrance to the hidden things in (13.)Restau.

I am with Horus, as the avenger of that left arm of Osiris which is in (14.)Sechem.

I enter in, and I come forth from the (15.)Tank of Flame on the day when the adversaries are annihilated at Sechem.

I am with Horus on the day when the festivals of Osiris are celebrated, and when offerings are made [to Rā], on the Feast of the Sixth day of the Month, and on the Feast of Tenait(16.) in Heliopolis.

I am the Priest(17.) in Tattu and exalt him who is on the Height.(18.)

I am the Prophet in Abydos on the day when the earth is raised.

I am he who seeth what is shut up at Restau.(19.)

I am he who reciteth the liturgies of the (20.)Soul who is Lord of Tattu.

I am the Sem-priest in all that pertaineth to his office.

I am the Arch-Craftsman, on the day in which the Ship of Sokaru is laid upon its stocks.(21.)

I am he who seizeth the mattock, on the day of the Feast of Hoeing in Suten-henen.(22.)