Egyptian Book of the Dead
Chapter XV
O thou radiant Orb, who arisest each day from the Horizon, shine thou upon the face of the Osiris N who adoreth thee at dawn, and propitiateth thee at the gloaming
Let the soul of N come forth with thee into heaven, let him journey in the Mââtit boat and finish his course in the Sektit boat till he reach in heaven unto the Stars which set
Hail to thee, Horus of the Two Horizons, who art Chepera Self-originating; Beautiful is thy rising up from the horizon, enlightening the two Earths with thy rays. All the gods are in exultation when they see thee the King of Heaven, with the Nebt Unnut [11] established upon thy head (and the diadem of the South and the diadem of the North upon thy brow) which maketh her abode in front of thee
They who dwell in the Tuat are coming forth to meet thy Majesty, and to gaze upon that beautiful semblance of thine
And I too come to thee that I may be with thee to see thine Orb each day; let me not be detained, let me not be repulsed
Let my limbs be renewed by the contemplation of thy glories, like all thy servants, for I am one of those who honoured thee upon earth
Let me reach the Land of Ages, let me gain the Land of Eternity; for thou, my Lord, hast destined them for me
Hail to thee who risest up from the Horizon as Râ in union with Maāt; thou dost traverse heaven in peace and all men see thee as thou goest forward. And after being concealed from them thou presentest thyself at the dawn of each day
Thy rays are upon men’s faces; the golden glories they cannot be told: not to be described are thy beams
The Lands of the gods, the colours of Punit are seen in them; that men may form an estimate of that which is hidden from their faces
Alone art thou when thy form riseth up upon the Sky; let me advance as thou advancest, like thy Majesty, without a pause, O Râ, whom none can outstrip
A mighty march is thine; Leagues by millions, and hundreds of thousands, in a small moment thou hast travelled them, and thou goest to rest
Thou completest the hours of the Night, according as thou hast measured them out. And when thou hast completed them according to thy rule, day dawneth
The Osiris N , he saith, as he adoreth thee when thou shinest; He saith to thee when thou risest up at dawn, as he exalteth thine appearance
Thou comest forth, most glorious one, fashioning and forming thy limbs, giving birth to them without any labour, as Râ rising in heaven
Grant that I may attain to the Heaven of eternity and the abode of thy servants; let me be united with the venerable and mighty Chu [12] of the Netherworld; let me come forth with them to see thy glories, as thou shinest at the gloaming, when thy mother Nut enfoldeth thee
And when thou turnest thy face to the West, mine hands are in adoration to thy setting as one who liveth; [13] for it is thou who hast created Eternity
Adoration to thee, who arisest out of the Golden, and givest light to the earth on the day of thy birth. Thy mother bringeth thee forth upon her hands, that thou mayest give light to the whole circumference which the Solar Orb enlighteneth
Mighty Enlightener, who risest up in the Sky and raisest up the tribes of men by thy Stream, and givest holiday to all districts, towns and temples; and raising food, nourishment and dainties
Most Mighty one, master of masters, who defendest every abode of thine against wrong, Most Glorious one in thine Evening Bark, Most Illustrious in thy Morning Bark
Glorify thou the Osiris N in the Netherworld, grant that he may come into Amenta without defect and free from wrong, and set him among the faithful and venerable ones
Let him be united with the souls in the Netherworld, let him sail about in the country of Aarru [14] after a joyful journey
Come forth into Heaven, sail across the firmament and enter into brotherhood with the Stars, let salutation be made to thee in the Bark, let invocation be made to thee in the Morning Bark. Contemplate Râ within his Ark and do thou propitiate his Orb daily. See the Ant fish in its birth from the emerald stream, and see the Abtu fish and its rotations
And let the offender [15] fall prostrate, when he meditates destruction for me, by blows upon his back-bone
Râ springs forth with a fair wind; the Evening Bark speeds on and reaches the Haven; the crew of Râ are in exultation when they look upon him; the Mistress of Life, her heart is delighted at the overthrow of the adversary of her Lord
See thou Horus at the Look-out of the ship, and at his sides Thoth and Maāt. All the gods are in exultation when they behold Râ coming in peace to give new life to the hearts of the Chu, and here is the Osiris N along with them
Horus openeth; the Great, the Mighty, who divideth the earths, the great one who resteth in the Mountain of the West, and lighteneth up the Tuat with his glories and the Souls in their hidden abode, by shining into their sepulchres
The Osiris N ; he saith when he adoreth Râ, the Horus of the Two Horizons, when setting in the Land of Life
Adoration to thee, O Râ; Adoration to thee, O Tmu, at thy coming in thy beauty, in thy manifestation, in thy mastery
Thou sailest over the Heaven, thou travellest over earth and in splendour thou reachest the zenith; the two divisions of Heaven are in obeisance to thee, and yield adoration to thee
All the gods of Amenta are in exultation at thy glory. They whose abodes are hidden adore thee, and the Great Ones make offerings to thee, who for thee have created the soil of earth
They who are on the Horizon convey thee, and they who are in the Evening Bark transport thee, and they say—Adoration at the approach of thy Majesty, Come, Come, approach in peace, Oh to thee, Welcome, Lord of Heaven, King of Akerta
Thy mother Isis embraceth thee, seeing in thee her son, as the Lord of Terror, the All-Powerful, as he setteth in the Land of Life at night
Thy father Tatunen carrieth thee, and his arms are stretched out behind thee, and that which hath taken place is made last upon earth
Come, O Râ, Tmu, be thou adored. Do thy will daily. Grant success in presence of the cycle of the mighty gods
Beautiful art thou, O Râ, in thine Horizon of the West; O Lord of Law, in the midst of the Horizon
Very terrible art thou, rich art thou in attributes, and great is thy love to those who dwell in the Tuat
The Osiris N ; he saith, adoring Tmu, when setting in the Land of Life and shedding his rays on the Tuat
Hail to thee setting in the Land of Life, O Father of the gods, thou art united to thy mother in Manu. Her two hands receive thee daily. Thy Majesty hath part in the house of Sokaru. Exult thou because the doors are opened of the Horizon, at thy setting in the Mountain of the West
Thy rays, they run over the earth to enlighten the dwellers in Amenta. Those who are in the Tuat worship thee with loud acclaim, and cherish hope when they see thee daily
Thou grantest to the gods to sit upon the earth; to those, namely, who follow thee and come in thy train
O august Soul, who begettest the gods, and dost invest them with thine attributes; the Unknowable, the Ancient One, the Mighty in thy mystery
Let there be given me armfuls of bread and drink, and let me be accompanied by this Book after my life
The fifteenth chapter as it stands in the later recension (represented by the Turin Todtenbuch ) is of very recent origin. It is in fact a collection of texts originally independent of each other; (1) a hymn to Râ at his rising, (2) a litany, (3) a hymn to Râ at his setting, (4) a hymn to Tmu at his setting, followed by a statement respecting the spiritual importance of the document
Of the last hymn there are no copies of ancient date, but the other three compositions are found more or less perfect as far back as the XIXth dynasty. The discrepancies, however, between the ancient texts furnish so much evidence of free composition on the part of the scribes, that it is impossible to suppose that they had before them documents recognised as sacred and canonical. M. Naville has found it necessary to publish four different forms of the hymn to the rising, and three of the hymn to the setting sun. The ideas and expressions throughout these hymns are current in the religious texts of the XVIIIth and XIXth dynasties