Chapter LXIV

C1hapter whereby one cometh forth by day from the Netherworld.

2I am Yesterday, To-day, and To-morrow, for I am born again and again; mine is the unseen Force, which createth the gods and giveth food to those in the Tuat at the West of Heaven; I am the Eastern Rudder, the Lord of Two Faces, who seeth by his own light; the Lord of Resurrections, who cometh forth from the dusk and whose birth is from the House of Death.

3Ye two divine Hawks upon your gables, who are giving attentive heed to the matter; ye who accompany the bier to the tomb, and who conduct the ship of Râ, advancing onwards from the highest place of the Ark in heaven—the Lord of the Shrine which standeth in the centre of the Earth;

4He is I, and I am He.

5Mine is the radiance in which Ptah floateth over his firmament.

6Oh Râ, who smileth cheerfully, and whose heart is delighted with the perfect order of this day as thou enterest into Heaven and comest forth in the East: the Ancients and those who are gone before acclaim thee.

7Let thy paths be made pleasant for me; let thy ways be made wide for me to traverse the earth and the expanse of Heaven.

8Shine thou upon me, oh gracious Power; as I draw nigh to the divine words which my ears shall hear in the Tuat; let no pollution of my mother be upon me; deliver me, protect me from him who closeth his eyes at twilight and bringeth to an end in darkness.

9I am the Overflower, and Kam-ura is my name: I bring to its fulness the Force which is hidden within me.

10Oh thou Great One, who art Shoreless, and callest upon the Powers of the South, at the moment when the god is carried forth, saying:—

11“Behold the Lord of his Flood; see, the Shoulder is fastened upon his neck and the Haunch upon the head of the West” offerings which the two goddesses of the West present to me when the weeping bursteth forth from me at what I witness, as I am borne round on the Tenait in Abydos, and the bolts made fast on the gateways above your images are in the reach of thine hand and from within thee.

12Thy face is as that of a hound whose nostril sniffeth at the covert to which my feet convey me.

13Anubis is my bearer, for he who lulleth me to rest is the god in Lion form.

14Do thou save me!

15I am He who cometh forth as one who breaketh through the door; and everlasting is the Daylight which his will hath created.

16“I know the deep waters” is my name.

17I satisfy the desires of the Glorified, who are by millions and hundreds of thousands.... I am the guardian of their interests, actively working at the hours of the day and adjusting the arms of Sahu; twelve in circling round, uniting hands, each of them with another. But the sixth of them in the Tuat is the ‘Hour of the overthrow of the Sebau,’ which cometh here in triumph; the same which maketh way into the Tuat; the same which is yoked with Shu.

18I shine forth as the Lord of Life and the glorious order of this day: the blood which purifieth and the vigorous sword-strokes by which the Earth is made one.

19I sever the horns from those who unite in resistance to me; the hidden ones who rise up in opposition against me; those who go upon their bellies.

20I come as the ambassador of the Lord of lords to avenge the cause of Osiris in this place. Let not the Eye consume its tears.

21I am the Guide of the house of Him who dwelleth in his treasures.

22I am come from Sechem to Heliopolis to inform the Bennu of the matters of the Tuat.

23Oh goddess Aucherit, who concealest that is within thee, but raisest up forms, like Chepera, grant that I may come forth and see the orb of the sun, and walk forth in the presence of the great god, who is Shu and abideth for eternity.

24I travel on high, I tread upon the firmament, I raise a flame with the daylight which mine eye hath made, and I fly forward towards the splendours of the Glorified in presence of Râ daily, giving life to every man who treadeth on the lands which are upon the earth.

25Oh thou who leapest forth, conductor of the Shades and Glorified ones from the Earth, let the fair path to the Tuat be granted to me, which is made in behalf of those who are in faint condition and for the restoration of those who are in pain.

26Who art thou, who devourest in Amenta?

27I am He who presideth in Restau. “He who entereth in his own name, and cometh forth in quest; the Lord of the Eternity of the Earth” is my name.

28She who hath conceived hath set down her burden; which turneth round before descending; the door is shut at the wall which is reversed....

29His Eye hath been given to Horus and his face brighteneth at the dawning of the day.

30I am not exhausted: I become the Lion god and the palm flowers of Shu are upon me.

31I am not one who drowneth.

32Blessed are they who see the Bourne: beautiful is the god of the motionless heart who causeth the stay of the Overflowing.

33Behold! there cometh forth the Lord of Life, Osiris thy support, who abideth day after day.

34I embrace the Sycomore, I am united to the Sycomore.

35I part the two deities of morning that I may come to hold the Eye, and cause it to rest in its place.

36I am come to see Râ at his setting, and I unite with the breeze at his coming forth: my two hands are pure for adoring him.

37May I be restored! May I be restored!

38I fly up to heaven and I alight upon the earth; and mine eye turneth back there towards the traces of my footsteps.

39I am the offspring of Yesterday; the tunnels of the earth have given me birth, and I am revealed at my appointed time.

40May I be under shelter from the warlike handed god who cometh behind me, may my flesh be sound and may my glories be a protection to the limbs of one who waiteth for the purpose of taking counsel. May the Cycle of the gods listen to what I say.

41To be said on coming forth by day; that one may not be kept back on the path of the Tuat, whether on entering or on coming forth; for taking all the forms which one desireth; and that the soul of the person die not a second time.

42If then this chapter be known the person is made triumphant upon earth [and in the Netherworld] and he performeth all things which are done by the living.

43This chapter was discovered on a plinth of the god of the Hennu Bark by a master builder of the wall in the time of King Septa, the Victorious.

44This composition is a secret; not to be seen or looked at.

45Recite the chapter when sanctified and pure; not approaching women, not eating goat’s flesh or fish.