CHAPTER CVIII.

_Chapter whereby one knoweth the Powers of the West._


In respect of the Hill of Bachau(1.) upon which heaven resteth, it
presenteth itself(2.) three hundred cubits in length(3.) and two hundred
cubits in breadth.

Sebak, the Lord of Bachau, is at the east of the Hill, and his temple is
upon it.

There is a serpent on the brow of that hill, five hundred cubits in
length, three cubits of his forepart are pierced with swords.

I know the name of this serpent on his hill: “He who dwelleth in his own
flame” is his name.(4.)

Now, at the close of day(5.) he turneth down his eyes to Rā; for there
cometh a standing still in the Bark and a deep slumber within the ship.
And now he swalloweth three cubits of the Great Water.

Then Sutu is made to flee with a chain upon him of steel(6.) and he is
forced to vomit all that he hath swallowed. Then Sutu is put into his
prison.

_And then he saith with Words of Power_:—

Away with thee! Steel, which art made fast upon my hand. I remain in thy
prison, the Bark sails on and thou seest the path; but thine eyes close,
[thine eye is delivered to me], thy head is veiled,(7.) and I go on and
stay thy steps.

I am the Manful one, who veileth thy head and who cooleth the hollow of
thy hand: thy strength is my strength.

I am the Master of the Words of Power.

Who is this who hath been delivered to me?

This Bright One, who cometh on his belly, on his hind parts and on the
joints of his back.

Lo! then, I come, and thy might is in my hand. It is I who carry away
thy might, that I may come and seize upon the Tunnels of Rā who is
united to me at sunset as he goeth round heaven.(8.)

But thou art pierced with hooks, as was decreed against thee of old.

I know the powers of the West, they are Tmu, Sebak the Lord of Bachau,
and Hathor, Mistress of Sunset.

NOTES.

The chapters 108, 109, 112, 113, and 114 being so analogous to each
other, in form, matter, style, and composition, and each being concerned
with the divine _Powers_ ⁂ of some locality, it is interesting to
know that one at least of these chapters is found on a monument of the
Middle Empire. The others are probably not less ancient, and the text
published by Dr. Golenischef (_Zeitschr. f. Aegypt. Spr._, 1874, p. 84)
from the Sarcophagus at St. Petersburg already bears manifest signs of
antiquity.

Another sign of antiquity as regards the present chapter may be seen in
the numerous forms in which it has come down to us. These are so
different, and sometimes so irreconcileable, that it seems evident that
tradition has handed down very corrupt texts, and that the original
meaning of this chapter had been entirely lost at a very early date and
cannot be discovered now. The oldest text is the shortest of all, but it
is both imperfect and incorrect. The earliest papyri differ greatly from
the later ones. But both the earlier and the later papyri have the 149th
chapter which contains another recension of the 108th, and chapter 111
in the Turin and later papyri is another form of it.

1. The Hill of _Bachau_. ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ has for
determinative the sign ⁂ which connects the word with the Coptic
ⲃⲟⲩϩⲓ ‘eyelids.’ In the later texts the word has for determinative
either a _woman_ or a _cow_ in the act of parturition, as if it were
connected with ⁂⁂⁂ and its variants, with which
⁂⁂⁂⁂ another name of the Dawn is identified.

2. _Presenteth itself_, ⁂⁂. This Egyptian verb is always
expressive of activity, and perhaps ought never to be translated
_being_. ⁂ are ‘things which are,’ but ⁂⁂ are ‘things which
spring forth’ ‘come to light.’

3. The oldest text (which is here the best authority) does not give the
dimensions of the hill, but only of the serpent. The earliest papyri
give the dimensions of both, but make the hill so absurdly small that
the serpent could not rest upon it. Later papyri beginning with _Pf_
have corrected the texts so as to give the hill a length of 300 cubits,
or ⁂ (each of which is 100 cubits long). They omit the statement
that the cubit in question is of 7½ palms (the Royal cubit being of 7
palms), and also the interesting mention of the ⁂⁂⁂ “balance
(or measurement) of the earth.” The relation of this ‘balance’ to the
rest of the sentence is not clear, because the MSS. differ as to the
preposition which precedes.

The Papyrus of Nebseni gives the hill 300 cubits in breadth. The
_Todtenbuch_ of Turin reads 370 ⁂ in length, and 140 cubits in
breadth.

4. The serpent’s name is not mentioned in chapter 111, nor is it in
the earliest text. But in chapter 149 the usual name is
⁂⁂⁂, more fully written ⁂⁂ in the Papyrus of
Nebseni. The determinative ⁂ commonly attached to the name of
Âpepi, expresses the meaning ‘sword smitten,’ ‘shot with swords,’
ξιφόκτονος. We might otherwise have understood the term in the sense
of ξιφοκτόνος, ‘slayer with swords.’ The Papyrus of Sutimes _Pd_ calls
the serpent ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ ‘knife-wounded.’

The proper name ⁂⁂⁂⁂, also written ⁂⁂⁂,
_Māṭes_, an epithet of Âpepi, or of Sutu, also means “pierced with
swords.” But the expression itself seems sometimes to be found in the
active sense, “piercing like a sword.”

5. _Close of Day_, when daylight has come to ‘a _stand_’ ⁂⁂⁂.
This is the reading of the papyri. The oldest reading is
⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ ‘at the time of sunset.’

6. The earliest text says nothing of this, though it mentions the
“prison of Sutech,” in a passage corresponding to what the papyri
include in the ‘Words of Power’ which follow. The Turin _Todtenbuch_
says that, “Sutu is put into his prison, and that a chain of steel is
put upon his neck.” Pictures of the serpent with the chain upon him will
be found in Bonomi, _Sarcoph._, plates 10 and 11.[93] There is an
evident fusion in this chapter, in its later form at least, as in