CHAPTER CXLIX.

The first domain. O this domain of the Amenta, where they live upon
bread of the plant _tep seru_. Take off your head dress in my presence,
for I am the great one among you, he who joins his bones and establishes
firmly his limbs. Ahi, the lord of hearts, came to me, he joined my
bones, and as he fixed the diadem of Tmu, he fastened on me the head of
Nehebkau, and established my balance. I am lord among the gods, I am
Amsi the builder.

The second domain.(1.) I am the great proprietor in the garden of Aarru.
O this garden of Aarru, the walls of which are of steel; the height of
its wheat is seven cubits, the ears are two cubits, and the stalks five
cubits. The glorified ones, each of whom is seven cubits in height, reap
them in presence of Harmachis.

I know the inner gate of the garden of Aarru, out of which cometh Rā, in
the East of the sky; the South of it is by the lake of Cha-ru, and the
North of it by the stream of Reu; thence Rā saileth with favouring
gales.

I am the Teller in the divine ship; I am the unresting navigator in the
Bark of Rā.

I know those two sycamores of emerald, between which Rā cometh forth, as
he advanceth over what Tmu hath lifted up (the firmament) to the Eastern
gates of the sky, through which he proceedeth.

I know this garden of Aarru of Rā, the height of its wheat is seven
cubits, the ears are two cubits, the stalks five cubits; the barley is
seven cubits. It is the glorified ones, each of whom is nine cubits in
height, who reap them in presence of the powers of the East.

The third domain.(2.) O this domain of the glorious ones through which
nobody can sail, which contains glorious ones, and the flame of which is
a consuming fire. O this domain of the glorious ones, your faces are
looking down; make straight your ways, and purify your abodes as it was
ordered to you by Osiris the eternal one.

I am the lord of the red crown which is on the head of the shining
one,(3.) he who gives life to mankind from the heat of his mouth, and
who delivers Rā from Apepi.

The fourth domain. O this great and lofty mountain of the Netherworld,
on the highest point of which ends the sky. It is three hundred measures
in length, and ten in width. There is a snake on it, he with sharp
knives is his name, he is seventy cubits in his windings, he lives by
slaughtering the glorious ones and the damned in the Netherworld.

I stand on thy wall,(4.) directing my navigation. I see the way towards
thee. I gather myself together. I am the man who puts a veil on thy
head, and I am uninjured. I am the great magician; thy eyes have been
given me, and I am glorified through them. Who is he who goeth on his
belly? Thy strength is on thy mountain; behold, I march towards it, and
thy strength is in my hand. I am he who lifts the strength. I have come
and I have taken away the serpents(5.) of Rā, when he rests with me at
eventide.

I go round the sky, thou art in thy valley, as was ordered to thee
before.

The fifth domain. O this domain of the glorious ones, which is open to
no one. The glorious ones who are in it have thighs of seven cubits, and
they live on the shades of the motionless.

Open to me the ways, that I may appear before you, that I may reach the
good Amenta, as was ordered me by Osiris, the glorious one, the lord of
all the glorified.

I live of your glory, I observe the first day of the month, and the
half-month on the fifteenth day.

I have gone round with the eye of Horus in my power, following Thoth.

Any god, or damned, who opens his devouring mouth against me on this
day, is struck down on the block.

The sixth domain. O thou Amemhet who art sacred more than the hidden
gods and the glorious ones, and who art dreadful to the gods. The god in
it is called Sechez-at.(6.)

Hail to thee, Amemhet. I have come to see the gods within thee.

Show your faces, and take away your head-dresses in my presence, I have
come to make your bread.

Sechez-at will not be stronger than I; the slaughterers will not come
behind me, the impure ones will not come behind me.

I live upon your offerings.

The seventh domain. O this Ases, too remote to be seen; the heat of
which is that of blazing fire. There is a serpent in it whose name is
Rerek. His backbone is seven cubits, he lives on glorious ones,
destroying their glory.

Get thee behind me, Rerek, who is in Ases, who bites with his mouth; and
who paralyses with his eyes.

Thy teeth are torn away, thy venom is powerless.

Thou shalt not come towards me, thy venom will not penetrate into me.
Thy poison is fallen and thrown down, and thy lips are in a hole.

The white serpent has struck his _ka_, and his _ka_ has struck the white
serpent.(7.)

I shall be protected. His head was cut off by the lynx.(8.)

The eighth domain. O this Hahotep, the very great, the stream of which
nobody takes the water for fear of its roaring.

The god whose name is the lofty one, keeps watch over it, in order that
nobody may come near it.

I(9.) am the vulture which is on the stream without end. I brought the
things of the world to Tmu, at the time when the sailors (of Rā) are
abundantly provided.

I have given my strength to the lords of the shrines, and the awe I
inspire to the lord of all things.

I shall not be taken to the block. The pleasure they take in me will not
be destroyed. I am the guide on the northern horizon.

The ninth domain.(10.) O this Akset which art hidden to the gods, the
name of which the glorious ones are afraid to know. No one goes out who
goes into it, except this venerable god, who inspires fear to the gods
and terror to the glorious ones. Its opening is of fire, its wind
destroys the nostrils. He made it such(11.) for his followers in order
that they may not breathe its wind, except this venerable god who comes
out of his egg.

He made it such, being in it, in order that nobody may come near it,
except Rā who is supreme in his attributes.

Hail to thee, venerable god, who comes out of his egg. I have come to
thee to be in thy following. I go out of, and I come into Akset. Open to
me the doors, that I may inhale its wind, and that I may take the
offerings within it.

The tenth domain.(12.) O this city of the Kahu gods who take hold of the
glorious ones, and who gain mastery over the shades(13.).... Who they
see with their eyes; who have no connection with the earth.

O ye who are in your domain, throw yourselves on your bellies, that I
may pass near you. My glorious nature will not be taken from me. No one
will give mastery over my shade, for I am the divine hawk who has been
rubbed with _anti_ and anointed with incense; libations have been
offered to me; Isis is before me; Nephthys is behind me.

The way has been pointed to me by Nau, the bull of Nut and Nehebkau. I
have come to you, ye gods; deliver me and glorify me of an eternal
glory.

The eleventh domain. O this city in the Netherworld, this cavity which
masters the glorious ones.

No one goes out, of those who went into it, from the dread of the
appearance of him who is in it.

He who sees the god who is in it, face to face, he who sees him dies
there from his blows, except the gods who are there, and who are hidden
to the glorious ones.

O this Atu, in the Netherworld. Grant that I may reach them; I am the
great magician, with his knife; I am issued of Set, (I stand on) my feet
for ever.

I rise, and I am mighty through this eye of Horus; my heart is raised,
after it has fallen low.

I am glorious in heaven, and I am mighty on earth.

I fly like Horus, I cackle like the divine goose.

It was given me to alight near the stream of the lake; I stand near it,
I sit near it, I eat of the food in Sechit Hotepit, I go down to the
islands of the wandering stars.

The doors of the Maāti are open to me; and the gates of the upper waters
are unbolted to me.

I raise my ladder up to the sky to see the gods.

I am one of them, I speak like the divine goose, and I listen to the
gods.

I talk aloud, I repeat the words of Sothis.

The twelfth domain. O this domain of Unt, within Restau, the heat of
which is that of fire. No god goes down into it, and the glorious ones
do not gather into it, for the four snakes would destroy their
names.(14.)

O this domain of Unt! I am the great among the glorious ones within. I
am among the wandering stars. I am not destroyed; my name is not
destroyed.

Come, thou divine scent, say the gods who are in the domain of Unt.

I am with you, I live with you, ye gods who are within the domain of
Unt.

You love me more than your gods. I am with you for ever, in the presence
of the followers of the great god.

The thirteenth domain. O this domain of the water, which none of the
glorious ones can possess, for its water is of fire, its stream is
burning, and its heat is of blazing flame, so that they may not drink
its water in order to quench the thirst which is within them, for their
mighty fear, and their great terror.

The gods and the glorious ones look at its water from afar, they do not
quench their thirst, and their heart is not set at rest, because they
may not go near it.

When the river is full and green like the flowing sap which comes out of
Osiris, I take its water, I draw from its flood like the great god who
is in the domain of the water, and who keeps watch over it for fear that
the gods may drink from its water, and who inspires dread to the
glorious ones.

Hail to thee, thou great god, who art in the domain of the water. I have
come to thee. Grant me to take of thy water, to take of thy stream, as
thou doest to this great god.

When the Nile will come, when he will give birth to the plants, and
cause the herbs to grow; as it is given to the gods, when he appears in
peace, grant that the Nile may come to me, and that I may take his
plants; for I am thy own son for ever.

The fourteenth domain. O this domain of Cher-āba(15.), which drives the
Nile towards Tattu, and which causes the Nile to go and spend its corn
in his course from _Rokekmu_(16.); thou which presentest offerings to
the dead, and mortuary gifts to the glorious ones.

There is a serpent belonging to it, who comes from the two wells at
Elephantine, at the gate of the water. He goes with the water, and stops
at the stream of Cher-āba, near the powers of the high flood; he sees
his hour of the silent evening.

Ye gods who live in the water of Cher-āba, ye powers of the high flood,
open to me your ponds, open to me your lakes, that I may take of your
water, and that I may rest in your stream, that I may eat of your corn,
that I may be satisfied with your food.

I have risen, my heart is high, for I am the great god in Cher-āba.

Make me offerings. I have been filled with the vital sap coming out of
Osiris. I shall not be despoiled of it. The end.

NOTES.

This is one of the interesting chapters of the Book of the Dead. It is
more frequently met with than the other ones, and it generally
constitutes the end of the Theban papyri. It is the chapter of the
various domains which the deceased has to reach, and in which he enjoys
special privileges.

The vignettes generally give the plan of the domain, and very often the
colour with which it is painted; they are either green ⁂⁂⁂ or
light yellow ⁂⁂⁂. In most of the papyri there are only four
yellow—3, 9, 10, and 14.

Renouf translates ⁂⁂⁂ “domain” (p. 208). Dr. Budge keeps the
word _aat_, and considers them as the divisions of the Elysian fields.
Pierret translates _demeure_, Brugsch _siège_, _demeure_, _habitation_.
I shall adopt Renouf’s word, though _residence_ or _habitation_ seems to
me preferable. An ⁂⁂⁂ is an enclosed space which has
inhabitants described or mentioned in the text. The deceased calls first
on the domain, and often in the same breath goes over to the inhabitants
without any transition.

1. The second domain is the horizon. The text of the vignette says: the
god who is in it is Harmachis. The text to this domain being a
repetition of chapter 109, I adopt Renouf’s translation (p. 181.)

2. The third domain is called “that of the glorious ones.”

3. The moon. _Ab_ reads: ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂
“on the face of the sun, and on the face of the moon.”

4. The deceased speaks of himself as a magician who can cover the head
of the serpent without being hurt. The eyes of the serpent, which have
the power of paralyzing, of making impotent (see seventh domain), are
given him; the result is, that when he goes to the mountain on which the
serpent shows his strength, this strength collapses, as the deceased
says: thy strength is in my hand; I am he who lifts, who takes away the
strength.

5. Renouf generally translates ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ tunnels. See p. 126,
and Proc., 1893, p. 385; but here we must adopt the other sense, serpent
or worms. Copt. ⲁⲕⲟⲣⲓ.]

6. Or _Secher-remu_, he who knocks down the worm, or he who knocks down
the fishes.1

7. _Ka_ and serpent have killed each other.

8. The lynx (see note, p. 82, on chapter 34). It seems to be the cat who
is represented in the vignettes of chapter 17, cutting off the head of
the serpent.

9. This is a chapter found on the sarcophagus of Amam in the British
Museum; it has the title ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂, “taking the
form of a vulture” (see p. 139): I should rather say a goose.

10. The ninth domain, Akset or Aksi, has the form of a vase, which a
crocodile called Maatetf touches with his snout.

11. The words are obscure. I believe them to mean: Akset was made such
as it is, in order that, &c.

12. The tenth domain is called that which is at the mouth of the stream.

13. I cannot translate the following words.

14. The destruction of the name means absolute destruction of the
person.

15. I have kept the reading Cher-āba, which Renouf advocates, in
opposition to Cher-aha, adopted by most egyptologists.

16. I believe this name, which is spelt differently in each papyrus, to
be the origin of the Κρῶφι and Μῶφι, these two rocks mentioned by
Herodotus (II, 28), out of which issues the Niles.

There are hardly any variants in the vignettes which accompany the text
of the chapter of the domains.

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PLATE LIV.

BOOK OF THE DEAD.

[Illustration: CHAPTER 151. =Papyrus, British Museum, 10010.=]

[Illustration: CHAPTER 152. =Papyrus, Busca.=]

[Illustration: