Chapter LXXVIII

C1hapter whereby one assumeth the form of the Sacred Hawk.

2Oh Horus! come thou to Tattu, make clear to me the paths, and help me to make the round of my dwelling places.

3Look thou upon me and exalt me, impart to me Terror, and rouse in me Might, so that the gods of the Tuat may fear me, that their battlements war in my behalf there; and that he may not assail and slay me in the house of darkness, who enwrappeth the dead; the god who hideth his name; or that the like be done by them.

4Oh ye gods who give ear to the words; ye foremost ones, ye who are in the train of Osiris; hush ye up, gods, that which a god speaketh with a god who is giving ear to a case of Divine Law!

5And that which I have said to him say thou, Osiris.

6Grant to me that change of existence which hath issued from thy mouth on my behalf, that I may see thine own attributes and survey thy Powers.

7Grant that I may come forth and have the mastery of my two feet, and that I may be there like the Inviolate One on high; that the gods of the Tuat may fear me and their battlements war on my behalf.

8Grant that I may run together with thy Runners, but remain firm upon my pedestal like the Lord of Life; let me be united with Isis the Mighty; may they protect me against slaughter, from him who looked upon death.

9Let me advance to the goal of Heaven. I claim words from Seb, and I pray for sustenance from the Inviolate one on high, so that the gods of the Tuat may fear me, and that their battlements may war on my behalf, when they see thy supplies for me.

10I am one of those Bright ones in Glory: may my attributes be fashioned like the attributes of him who cometh forth to Tattu; may I be invested with the Soul of him who telleth thee what concerneth me.

11Oh impart to me Terror and rouse in me Might that the gods of the Tuat may fear me and their battlements war on my behalf.

12I am the Bright one in Glory, whom Tmu himself hath called into being, and my origin is from the apple of his eye, who hath made and glorified and honoured those who are to be with him. For he is the Unique in Heaven, whom they extol as he cometh forth from the Horizon, and the gods and glorified ones who are with him fear him.

13I am one of the worms which the eye of the Lord of Oneness hath brought into being.

14Verily, before Isis was, who gave birth to Horus, I grew up and waxed old, and was honoured beyond those in Glory, who were with me.

15And I arose as the Sacred Hawk, whom Horus had invested with his own Soul for the seisin of his inheritance from Osiris at the Tuat.

16And the god in Lion form, who presideth over those who are at the House of the Nemmes which is in its caverns, said to me:—

17“Go back to the confines of Heaven, for thou art invested with the attributes of Horus: for thee the Nemmes is not, but free utterance is thine, even to the confines of Heaven.”

18And I took possession of the inheritance of Horus from Osiris at the Tuat, and Horus repeated to me that which his father Osiris had said to him in the early time, on the Burial Day of Osiris.

19“The Nemmes hath been given to me by the god in Lion form, that thou mayest advance and go upon the path of Heaven, so that those who are on the confines of the Horizon may see thee and that the gods of the Tuat may fear thee, and that their battlements may war on thy behalf.”

20At the divine words all they who are at the funereal shrine of the Lord of Oneness bend low.

21Oh thou who art raised above thy coffin and bereft of the Nemmes, the god in Lion form hath reached the Nemmes to me, and wings are given to me.

22He hath given me strength through his back, through his back, and through his most powerful might, that I fall not upon Shu.

23I propitiate my fair brother, the Master of the two Uræi.

24I, even I, am he who knoweth the paths of Heaven; its breezes are upon me, the raging Bull stoppeth me not as I advance whithersoever there lieth a wreck in the Field of Eternity, and I pilot myself towards the darkness and the suffering of the deceased ones of Osiris.

25I come daily through the house of the god in Lion form, and I pass forth from it to the house of Isis the Mighty, that I may see glorious, mysterious and hidden matters, even as she hath caused me to see the divine offspring of the Great One.

26I am invested with the soul of Horus, so that I see what is in it, and when I speak hard by the Doors of Shu they respond to the moment.

27It is I who have charge of the seisin of the inheritance of Horus from Osiris at the Tuat.

28It is I, even I, who am Horus in Glory. I am master of his diadem, I am master of his Light, and I advance to the Goal of Heaven. Horus is on his seat, Horus is upon his throne.

29My face is that of the Sacred Hawk, my back that of the Sacred Hawk: I am equipped as his master.

30I come forth to Tattu, that I may see Osiris.

31I incline myself before him, I incline myself to Nut: they behold me, and the gods behold me; the Eye of Horus and the Flame which is in the Two Eyes. They stretch out their arms to me. And I stand erect and prevail in opposition to evil.

32They open to me the bright paths; they open to me the bright paths; they see my attributes, they listen to my words.

33Hail to you, ye gods of the Tuat, ye of repellent face and aggressive front, who tow along the Stars which set, and make the bright paths of the Hematit for the Lord of the Soul Most Mighty: Horus hath ordained that ye should lift up your faces and look upon me.

34And I display myself as the Sacred Hawk whom Horus hath invested with his soul for taking the possession of his inheritance from Osiris at the Tuat.

35I set aside the long-haired gods and passed on through those who had charge of their dens in my sight: I made my way and passed on and reached those who presided over their caverns, and those who had charge of the House of Osiris; and I speak to them, and make them recognize the god of Mighty Terrors, who is armed with horns against Sutu. I make them recognize who it is that hath seized for himself the divine provisions and hath equipped himself with the powers of Tmu.

36A gracious pass grant they to me, the gods of the Tuat, as many as there are who preside over their caverns and have charge of the House of Osiris.

37Behold me, I am come to you and have carried off and put together my forms....

38I make bright the paths which are in the Horizon and the Hematit in Heaven. I make firm the battlements on behalf of Osiris, and I make the paths bright in his behalf.

39I have done according to the command that I should come forth to Tattu to see Osiris, and tell him of the fortunes of that great Son of his whom he loveth, and who hath pierced the heart of Sutu. I have seen the death.

40Yea, I tell them the divine plans which Horus carried out in the absence of his father Osiris.

41O Lord of the Soul Most Mighty, behold me; I come, raise thou me up that I may see the Tuat.

42May all the paths which are in Heaven and upon earth be open to me, and let there be no repulse for me.

43Thou art exalted upon thy throne, Osiris; thine hearing is good, Osiris; thy back is strong, Osiris; thy head, Osiris, is firmly fastened, thy throat is made fast, thine heart is glad, thou art confident in the strength and courage of those around thee. Thou art established in strength as the Bull of Amenta.

44Thy son Horus is seated upon thy throne, and all that liveth is subject to him. Endless generations are at his service, endless generations are in fear of him; the cycle of the gods is in fear of him, the cycle of the gods is at his service. So saith Tmu, the Sole Force of the gods; not to be altered is that which he hath spoken.

45Horus is the offering and the altar of offering; twofold of aspect; it is Horus who hath reconstituted his father and restored him. Horus is the father, Horus is the mother, Horus is the brother, Horus is the kinsman. Horus proceedeth from the essence of his father and the corruption which befell him.

46He ruleth over Egypt, and the gods are in his service. He hath carried off endless generations, and given life to endless generations with his Eye; the sole one of its Lord, the Inviolate one.