The Egyptian Book of the Dead

E.A. Wallis Budge (translator)

197 passages indexed from The Egyptian Book of the Dead (E.A. Wallis Budge (translator)) — Page 3 of 4

License: Public Domain

The Egyptian Book of the Dead, passage 107
At all events, after questioning him about the performance of certain ceremonies, they invited him to enter the Hall of Maati, but when he was about to do so the porter, and the door-bolts, and the various parts of the door and its frame, and the floor, refused to permit him to enter until he had repeated their magical names. When he had pronounced these correctly the porter took him in and presented him to Maau (?)-Taui, who was Thoth himself.
The Egyptian Book of the Dead, passage 10
On the other hand, the dynastic Egyptians, either as the result of a difference in religious belief, or under the influence of invaders who had settled in their country, attached supreme importance to the preservation and integrity of the dead body, and they adopted every means known to them to prevent its dismemberment and decay.
The Egyptian Book of the Dead, passage 24
The work PER-T EM HRU received many additions in the course of centuries, and at length, under the XVIIIth dynasty, it contained about 190 distinct compositions, or "Chapters." The original forms of many of these are to be found in the "Pyramid Texts" (i.e., the funerary compositions cut on the walls of the chambers and corridors of the pyramids of Kings Unas, Teta, Pepi I Meri-Ra, Merenra and Pepi II at Sakkârah), which were written under the Vth and VIth dynasties.
The Egyptian Book of the Dead, passage 34
10541) and the Papyrus of Queen Netchemet (Brit. Mus. No. 10478). In some the text is very defective and carelessly written, but the coloured vignettes are remarkable for their size and beauty; of this class of roll the finest example is the Papyrus of Anhai (Brit. Mus. No. 10472). The most interesting of all the rolls that were written during the rule of the Priest-Kings over Upper Egypt is the Papyrus of Princess Nesitanebtashru (Brit. Mus. No.
The Egyptian Book of the Dead, passage 187
1. Coloured facsimile of the Papyrus of Hunefer, XIXth dynasty, with hieroglyphic transcript and translation. 11 plates, large folio.
The Egyptian Book of the Dead, passage 116
Then Thoth, the Judge of Truth, of the Great Company of the Gods who are in the presence of Osiris, saith to the gods, "Hearken ye to this word: In very truth the heart of Osiris hath been weighed, and his soul hath borne testimony concerning him; according to the Great Balance his case is truth (i.e., just). No wickedness hath been found in him. He did not filch offerings from the temples. He did not act crookedly, and he did not vilify folk when he was on earth."
The Egyptian Book of the Dead, passage 37
The oldest copies of the PER-T EM HRU which we have on papyrus contain a few extracts from other ancient funerary works, such as the "Book of Opening the Mouth," the "Liturgy of Funerary Offerings," and the "Book of the Two Ways." But under the rule of the Priest-Kings the scribes incorporated with the Chapters of the PER-T EM HRU extracts from the "Book of Ami-Tuat" and the "Book of Gates," and several of the vignettes and texts that are found on the walls of the royal tombs of Thebes.
The Egyptian Book of the Dead, passage 193
[1] See Journal de Trévoux, June, 1704; Caylus, Antiq. Egypt., tom. I, plate 21; Denon, Travels, plates 136 and 137; and Description de l'Égypte, tom. II, plate 64 ff.
The Egyptian Book of the Dead, passage 57
A tradition which is found in the Pyramid Texts states that before Osiris was laid in his tomb, his wife Isis, by means of her magical powers, succeeded in restoring him to life temporarily, and made him beget of her an heir, who was called Horus. After the burial of Osiris, Isis retreated to the marshes in the Delta, and there she brought forth Horus.
The Egyptian Book of the Dead, passage 14
In fact it was believed in very early times in Egypt that Ra the Sun-god owed his continued existence to the possession of a secret name with which Thoth had provided him. And each morning the rising sun was menaced by a fearful monster called Aapep, which lay hidden under the place of sunrise waiting to swallow up the solar disk.
The Egyptian Book of the Dead, passage 125
When the soul in its beautified or spirit body arrived there, the ministers of Osiris took it to the homestead or place of abode which had been allotted to it by the command of Osiris, and there it began its new existence. The large vignette to the CXth Chapter shows us exactly what manner of place the abode of the blessed was. The country was flat and the fields were intersected by canals of running water in which there were "no fish and no worms" (i.e., water snakes).
The Egyptian Book of the Dead, passage 80
A life passed in the Boat of Ra with the gods, being arrayed in light and fed upon light, made no appeal to the ordinary folk since Osiris offered them as a reward a life in the Field of Reeds, and the Field of Offerings of Food, and the Field of the Grasshoppers, and everlasting existence in a transmuted and beautified body among the resurrected bodies of father and mother, wife and children, kinsfolk and friends.
The Egyptian Book of the Dead, passage 13
These powers of evil had hideous and terrifying shapes and forms, and their haunts were well known, for they infested the region through which the road of the dead lay when passing from this world to the Kingdom of Osiris. The "great gods" were afraid of them, and were obliged to protect themselves by the use of spells and magical names, and words of power, which were composed and written down by Thoth.
The Egyptian Book of the Dead, passage 27
On the upper margins of the insides of such coffins there are frequently given two or more rows of coloured drawings of the offerings which under the Vth dynasty were presented to the deceased or his statue during the celebration of the service of "Opening the Mouth" and the performance of the ceremonies of "The Liturgy of Funerary Offerings." Under the XVIIIth dynasty, when the use of large rectangular coffins and sarcophagi fell somewhat into disuse, the scribes began to write collections of Chapters from the PER-T EM HRU on rolls of papyri instead of on coffins.
The Egyptian Book of the Dead, passage 92
"O Neha-hau, comer forth from Re-stau, I have not killed men.
The Egyptian Book of the Dead, passage 197
[9] He was according to one legend the firstborn son of Osiris.
The Egyptian Book of the Dead, passage 110
In great papyri of the Book of the Dead such as those of Nebseni, Nu, Ani, Hunefer, etc., the Last Judgment, or the "Great Reckoning," is made the most prominent scene in the whole work, and the vignette in which it is depicted is several feet long. The most complete form of it is given in the Papyrus of Ani, and may be thus described: At one end of the Hall of Maati Osiris is seated on a throne within a shrine made in the form of a funerary coffer; behind him stand Isis and Nephthys.
The Egyptian Book of the Dead, passage 66
The gods accepted Thoth's proof of the innocence of Osiris and the guilt of Set, and ordered that Osiris was to be considered a Great God and to have rule over the Kingdom of the Under World, and that Set was to be punished.
The Egyptian Book of the Dead, passage 129
Near this spot were moored two boats that were always ready for the use of the denizens of that region; they appear to have been "spirit boats," i.e., boats which moved of themselves and carried the beautified wheresoever they wanted to go without any trouble or fatigue on their part.
The Egyptian Book of the Dead, passage 160
He existed on the height of the Dweller in Khemenu (i.e., Thoth of Hermopolis) before the pillars that support the sky were made." Chapter XVIII contains the Addresses to Thoth, who is entreated to make the deceased to be declared innocent before the gods of Heliopolis, Busiris, Latopolis, Mendes, Abydos, etc. These addresses formed a very powerful spell which was used by Horus, and when he recited it four times all his enemies were overthrown and cut to pieces.
The Egyptian Book of the Dead, passage 60
Thoth then brought the eye to Horus, and replaced it in his face, and restored sight to it by spitting upon it. Horus then sought out the body of Osiris in order to raise it up to life, and when he found it he untied the bandages so that Osiris might move his limbs, and rise up.
The Egyptian Book of the Dead, passage 140
O thou Only One, O thou Perfect One, O thou who art eternal, who art never weak, whom no mighty one can abase; none hath dominion over the things which appertain to thee. Homage to thee in thy characters of Horus, Tem, and Khepera, thou Great Hawk, who makest man to rejoice by thy beautiful face. When thou risest men and women live. Thou renewest thy youth, and dost set thyself in the place where thou wast yesterday. O Divine Youth, who art self-created, I cannot comprehend thee.
The Egyptian Book of the Dead, passage 32
Under the rule of the High Priests of Amen many changes were introduced into the contents of the papyri, and the arrangement cf the texts and vignettes of the PER-T EM HRU was altered.
The Egyptian Book of the Dead, passage 33
The great confraternity of Amen-Ra, the "King of the Gods," felt it to be necessary to emphasize the supremacy of their god, even in the Kingdom of Osiris, and they added many prayers, litanies and hymns to the Sun-god to every selection of the texts from the PER-T EM HRU that was copied on a roll of papyrus for funerary purposes. The greater number of the rolls of this period are short and contain only a few Chapters, e.g., the Papyrus of the Royal Mother Netchemet (Brit. Mus. No.
The Egyptian Book of the Dead, passage 23
As the title of the shorter version states that it is the "Chapters of the PER-T EM HRU in a single chapter," it is clear that this work, even under the IVth dynasty, contained many "Chapters," and that a much abbreviated form of the work was also current at the same period. The rubric that attributes the "finding" of the Chapter to Herutataf associates it with Khemenu, i.e., Hermopolis, and indicates that Thoth, the god of this city, was its author.
The Egyptian Book of the Dead, passage 70
The original home of the cult of Osiris was in the Delta, in a city which in historic times was called Tetu by the Egyptians and Busiris by the Greeks, and it is reasonable to assume that the Tuat, over which Osiris ruled, was situated near this place. Wherever it was it was not underground, and it was not originally in the sky or even on its confines; but it was located on the borders of the visible world, in the Outer Darkness.
The Egyptian Book of the Dead, passage 26
The "Pyramid Texts" have no illustrations, but a few of the texts on the coffins of the XIth and XIIth dynasties have coloured vignettes, e.g., those which refer to the region to be traversed by the deceased on his way to the Other World, and the Islands of the Blessed or the Elysian Fields.
The Egyptian Book of the Dead, passage 171
Chapters LXXIV and LXXV secured a passage for the deceased in the Henu Boat of Seker the Death-god, and Chapter LXXVI brought to his help the praying mantis which guided him through the "bush" to the House of Osiris.
The Egyptian Book of the Dead, passage 71
The Tuat was not a place of happiness, judging from the description of it in the PER-T EM HRU, or Book of the Dead. When Ani the scribe arrived there he said, "What is this to which I have come? There is neither water nor air here, its depth is unfathomable, it is as dark as the darkest night, and men wander about here helplessly. A man cannot live here and be satisfied, and he cannot gratify the cravings of affection" (Chapter CLXXV).
The Egyptian Book of the Dead, passage 147
Thou hearkenest to the petitions of those who are in their tombs, thou dispellest their helplessness and drivest away evil from them. Thou givest breath to their nostrils. Thou art greatly feared, thy form is majestic, and very greatly art thou beloved by those who dwell in the Other World."
The Egyptian Book of the Dead, passage 30
This and many other rolls were written by their owners for their own tombs, and in each roll both text and vignettes were usually, the work of the same hand. Later, however, the scribe wrote the text only, and a skilled artist was employed to add the coloured vignettes, for which spaces were marked out and left blank by the scribe. The finest example of this class of roll is the Papyrus of Ani (Brit. Mus., No. 10470). which is 78 feet in length and 1 foot 3 inches in breadth.
The Egyptian Book of the Dead, passage 126
In one part of it were several small islands, and on one of them Osiris was supposed to dwell with his saints.
The Egyptian Book of the Dead, passage 95
"O Maa-anuf, comer forth from Per-Menu, I have not defiled myself.
The Egyptian Book of the Dead, passage 31
In all papyri of this class the text is written in hieroglyphs, but under the XIXth and following dynasties many papyri are written throughout in the hieratic character; these usually lack vignettes, but have coloured frontispieces.
The Egyptian Book of the Dead, passage 156
Chapters VIII and IX secured a passage for the deceased through the Tuat, and Chapters X and XI gave him power over the enemies he met there. Chapters XII and XIII gave him great freedom of movement in the Kingdom of Osiris. Chapter XIV is a prayer in which Osiris is entreated to put away any feeling of dissatisfaction that he may have for the deceased, who says, "Wash away my sins, Lord of Truth; destroy my transgressions, wickedness and iniquity, O God of Truth.
The Egyptian Book of the Dead, passage 134
Their truth shall be reckoned to them in the presence of the Great God who destroyeth sin." Then addressing them again Osiris says, "Ye are beings of Truth, O ye Truths. Take ye your rest because of what ye have done, becoming even as those who are in my following, and who direct the House of Him whose Soul is holy. Ye shall live there even as they live, and ye shall have dominion over the cool waters of your land.
The Egyptian Book of the Dead, passage 184
I shall have my being, I shall live, I shall flourish, I shall rise up in peace." Chapters CLV-CLXVII are spells which were engraved on the amulets, giving the deceased the protection of Ra, Osiris, Isis, Horus, and other gods. The remaining Chapters (CLXVIII-CXC) are of a miscellaneous character, and few of them are found in more than one or two papyri of the Book of the Dead.
The Egyptian Book of the Dead, passage 104
I am pure of mouth, and clean of hands; therefore it hath been said by those who saw me, 'Come in peace, come in peace.'"
The Egyptian Book of the Dead, passage 11
They cleansed it and embalmed it with drugs, spices and balsams; they anointed it with aromatic oils and preservative fluids; they swathed it in hundreds of yards of linen bandages; and then they sealed it up in a coffin or sarcophagus, which they laid in a chamber hewn in the bowels of the mountain. All these things were done to protect the physical body against damp, dry rot and decay, and against the attacks of moth, beetles, worms and wild animals.
The Egyptian Book of the Dead, passage 41
Little is known of the history of the PER-T EM HRU after the downfall of the priests of Amen, and during the period of the rule of the Nubians, but under the kings of the XXVIth dynasty the Book enjoyed a great vogue. Many funerary rolls were written both in hieroglyphs and hieratic, and were decorated with vignettes drawn in black outline; and about this time the scribes began to write funerary texts in the demotic character.
The Egyptian Book of the Dead, passage 100
In the third part of the CXXVth Chapter comes the address which the deceased made to the gods after he had declared his innocence of the sins enumerated before the Forty-Two gods. He says: "Homage to you, O ye gods who dwell in your Hall of Maati. I know you and I know your names. Let me not fall under your slaughtering knives. Bring not my wickedness to the notice of the god whose followers ye are. Let not the affair [of my judgment] come under your jurisdiction.
The Egyptian Book of the Dead, passage 111
Along one side of the Hall are seated the gods Harmachis, Tem, Shu, Tefnut, Geb, Nut, Isis and Nephthys, Horus, Hathor, Hu and Saa, who are to serve as the divine jury; these formed the "Great Company of the Gods" of Anu (Heliopolis). By these stands the Great Balance, and on its pillar sits the dog-headed ape Astes, or Astenu, the associate of Thoth. The pointer of the Balance is in the charge of Anpu.
The Egyptian Book of the Dead, passage 93
"O Neba, comer forth in retreating, I have not plundered the property of God.
The Egyptian Book of the Dead, passage 148
The Introductory HYMN TO RA is followed by a HYMN TO OSIRIS, in which the deceased says:--
The Egyptian Book of the Dead, passage 139
"Homage to thee, O Ra, at thy beauteous rising. Thou risest, thou risest; thou shinest, thou shinest at the dawn. Thou art King of the Gods, and the Maati goddesses embrace thee. The Company of the Gods praise thee at sunrise and at sunset. Thou sailest over the heights of heaven and thy heart is glad. Thy Morning Boat meeteth thy Evening Boat with fair winds. Thy father is the Sky-god and thy mother is the Sky-goddess, and thou art Horus of the Eastern and Western skies. ...
The Egyptian Book of the Dead, passage 196
[8] I.e., the "Lord to the uttermost limit of everything," or God.
The Egyptian Book of the Dead, passage 192
6. Collotype reproduction of the Papyrus of Queen Nesi-ta-nebt-ashru, with full descriptions of the vignettes, translations, and introduction, containing several illustrations, and 116 plates of hieratic text. Large 4to. Price £2 10s.
The Egyptian Book of the Dead, passage 90
At the end, near Osiris, were the Great Scales, under the charge of Anpu (Anubis), and the monster Amemit, the Eater of the Dead, i.e., of the hearts of the wicked who were condemned in the Judgment of Osiris. The deceased advanced along the Hall and, addressing each of the Forty-Two gods by his name, declared that he had not committed a certain sin, thus:
The Egyptian Book of the Dead, passage 180
Chapter CXXXVIII refers to the ceremony of reconstituting Osiris, and Chapters CXL-CXLII deal with the setting up of twelve altars, and the making of offerings to all the gods and to the various forms of Osiris. Chapter CXLIII consists of a series of vignettes, in three of which solar boats are represented.
The Egyptian Book of the Dead, passage 85
"Homage to thee, O Great God, Lord of Maati, [6] I have come to thee, O my Lord, that I may behold thy beneficence. I know thee, and I know thy name, and the names of the Forty-Two who live with thee in the Hall of Maati, who keep ward over sinners, and feed upon their blood on the day of estimating characters before Un-Nefer [7] ... Behold, I have come to thee, and I have brought maat (i.e., truth, integrity) to thee. I have destroyed sin for thee. I have not sinned against men.