CHAPTER CXIV.

_Chapter whereby one knoweth the Powers of Hermopolis._


Maāt is borne(1.) over the Arm,(2.) and Neith dawneth at Ment’ait,(3.)
and the Eye is illumined(4.) by the one who adjusteth its level.

I am led in by her, and I know what she bringeth from Kasu.(5.) I tell
it not to men; I repeat it not to gods.

I am come as a messenger of Rā, to make fast Maāt upon the Arm, for the
dawning of Neith at Ment’ait, and for restoring the Eye to him who
taketh the reckoning thereof.

I am come as omnipotent through the knowledge of the Powers of
Hermopolis, who love the Powers which you love.

I am one acquainted with Maāt made firm and permanent and reckoned out,
and I take delight in reckoning out that which is reckoned.

Hail ye Powers of Hermopolis, small at the beginning of the month and
great upon the Fifteenth Day; Rā teacheth the mysteries of Night, and be
it known to you that he who teacheth me is Thoth.

Hail ye Powers of Hermopolis as I know you.

NOTES.

There are two chapters (114 and 116) of “the Powers of Hermopolis,” and
they have been preserved separately both in the older and in the more
recent papyri. They are very similar in thought but differently worded,
and each throws a certain light upon the other, without however
dispelling the obscurity of this very ancient religious composition.
Some farther help, however insufficient, is afforded by the pictures of
the Book which records the passage of the Sun-god through the twelve
hours of the night.

1. _Maāt is borne._ ⁂⁂ is the same word as ⁂⁂⁂, the
reduplicated form of ⁂⁂ _to gush_, _spring forth_. But in certain
cases it acquires the sense of _being borne_, or _conveyed_, and is
written ⁂⁂⁂ in Ptolemaic inscriptions. The corresponding word
in chapter 116 is ⁂⁂⁂⁂, which has the same meanings. One
of the pictures above alluded to (Lefébure, _Hypogées, Tombeau de Seti_,