Egyptian Book of the Dead
Chapter CLXII
Hail to thee, thou lion, thou mighty one, with high plumes, the lord of the double crown, who wavest the flail, thou art the lord of the phallus, thou art vigorous when ariseth the morning light, to the rays of which there is no limit
Thou art the lord of forms, with numerous colours, who conceals himself within his eye to his children
Thou art the mighty enchanter among the cycle of the gods, thou swift runner, with quick strides. Thou art the mighty god who cometh to him who calleth for him, who delivereth the oppressed from his tortures. Come to my voice. I am the cow. Thy name is in my mouth. I am going to utter it. Hakahaka is thy name. Furaa is thy name. Aakarsa is thy name. Ankrobata is thy name. Khermauserau is thy name. Kharosata is thy name
I adore thy name. I am the cow. Listen to my voice, on the day when thou puttest a flame under the head of Rā. Behold he is in the Tuat, and he is mighty in Heliopolis. Grant that he may be like one who is on earth. He is thy son, who loves thee. Do not ignore his name. Come to Osiris N. Grant that a flame may arise under his head, for he is the soul of the great body which rests in Heliopolis; the shining one, the form of the firstborn is his name. Barokatat’aua is his name
Said on the image of a cow, made of pure gold, to be put on the neck of the deceased. Also if it is painted on new papyrus, and put under his head, there will be a quantity of flames all around him like those that are on earth. This is a very great protection, which the cow granted to her son Rā, after he had gone to rest. His abode is surrounded by warriors of blazing fire
If thou puttest this goddess on the neck of the Ring who is on earth, he is like fire in pursuing his enemies, his horses cannot stop
If thou puttest it on the neck of a man after his death, he is mighty in the Netherworld. Nobody will drive him away from the gates of the Tuat undeviatingly
And thou shalt say when thou puttest this goddess on the neck of the deceased: O Amon of Amons, thou who art in the sky, turn thy face towards the body of thy son, make him sound in the Netherworld
This book is most secret. Do not let it be seen by any man, for it is forbidden to know it. Let it be hidden. It is called the book of the mistress of the hidden abode. This is the end
-165 are of a very date date. They are of a different character from the other chapters of the Book of the Dead. They belong rather to the magic books of the old Egyptians. When they were written there was a decay in the religion, which drifted more and more into magic, for which the Egyptians were famous under the Roman Empire. We find there a great number of barbarous words unintelligible to us, and probably also to the old scribes, since they differ widely according to the papyri. They remind us of those which are found in the magical texts (Chabas, Pap. Magique Harris , p. 151
It is probable that Chapter 162 is older than the following; several papyri end with it, and it has the rubric this is the end , which is found in the older texts after Chapter 149
The late Dr. Pleyte, of Leyden, made a special study of these chapters, and of several others of late date ( Chapitres supplémentaires du Livre des Morts, Texte, Traduction et Commentaire , Leide). The collation which he published of various documents is the text on which this translation has been made
The vignette generally consists of a cow, having between her horns a solar disk, with two plumes. Occasionally behind her there is a goddess with a cow’s head having the same attribute. This cow I consider to be the goddess Nut, the mother of Rā. An image of the cow, made of pure gold, is to be put on the neck of the deceased; or, what would be much easier and cheaper, it is to be painted on a hypocephalus of new papyrus, and put under the deceased’s head. Part of this chapter is the usual text found on the hypocephali
The result of the gift of one of these amulets will be that in the Netherworld the deceased will be surrounded by flames. This is the effect of the presence of the amulets here described. It does not take place in this world, but in the other, where Rā himself enjoys a similar protection, being surrounded by “warriors of blazing fire.” This image seems to point to the magnificent sunsets often seen in Egypt