CHAPTER CLXII.

_Chapter of causing a flame(1.) to arise under the head of the
deceased._


Hail to thee, thou lion,(2.) thou mighty one, with high plumes, the lord
of the double crown, who wavest the flail, thou art the lord of the
phallus,(3.) thou art vigorous when ariseth the morning light, to the
rays of which there is no limit.

Thou art the lord of forms, with numerous colours, who conceals himself
within his eye to his children.

Thou art the mighty enchanter among the cycle of the gods, thou swift
runner, with quick strides. Thou art the mighty god who cometh to him
who calleth for him, who delivereth the oppressed from his tortures.
Come to my voice. I am the cow. Thy name is in my mouth. I am going to
utter it. Hakahaka(4.) is thy name. Furaa is thy name. Aakarsa is thy
name. Ankrobata is thy name. Khermauserau is thy name. Kharosata is thy
name.

I adore thy name. I am the cow. Listen to my voice, on the day when thou
puttest a flame under the head of Rā. Behold he is in the Tuat, and he
is mighty in Heliopolis.(5.) Grant that he may be like one who is on
earth. He is thy son, who loves thee. Do not ignore his name. Come to
Osiris _N._ Grant that a flame may arise under his head, for he is the
soul of the great body which rests in Heliopolis; the shining one, the
form of the firstborn is his name. Barokatat’aua is his name.

Come, grant him to be like one of thy followers, for he is even as thou
art.

_Said on the image of a cow, made of pure gold, to be put on the neck of
the deceased. Also if it is painted on new papyrus, and put under his
head, there will be a quantity of flames all around him like those that
are on earth. This is a very great protection, which the cow granted to
her son Rā, after he had gone to rest. His abode is surrounded by
warriors of blazing fire._(6.)

_If thou puttest this goddess on the neck of the Ring who is on earth,
he is like fire in pursuing his enemies, his horses cannot stop._

_If thou puttest it on the neck of a man after his death, he is mighty
in the Netherworld. Nobody will drive him away from the gates of the
Tuat undeviatingly._

_And thou shalt say when thou puttest this goddess on the neck of the
deceased: O Amon of Amons, thou who art in the sky, turn thy face
towards the body of thy son, make him sound in the Netherworld._

_This book is most secret. Do not let it be seen by any man, for it is
forbidden to know it. Let it be hidden. It is called the book of the
mistress of the hidden abode. This is the end._

NOTES.

Chapters 162-165 are of a very date date. They are of a different
character from the other chapters of the Book of the Dead. They belong
rather to the magic books of the old Egyptians. When they were written
there was a decay in the religion, which drifted more and more into
magic, for which the Egyptians were famous under the Roman Empire. We
find there a great number of barbarous words unintelligible to us, and
probably also to the old scribes, since they differ widely according to
the papyri. They remind us of those which are found in the magical texts
(Chabas, _Pap. Magique Harris_, p. 151)

It is probable that Chapter 162 is older than the following; several
papyri end with it, and it has the rubric ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ _this is
the end_, which is found in the older texts after Chapter 149.

The late Dr. Pleyte, of Leyden, made a special study of these chapters,
and of several others of late date (_Chapitres supplémentaires du Livre
des Morts, Texte, Traduction et Commentaire_, Leide). The collation
which he published of various documents is the text on which this
translation has been made.

The vignette generally consists of a cow, having between her horns a
solar disk, with two plumes. Occasionally behind her there is a goddess
with a cow’s head having the same attribute. This cow I consider to be
the goddess Nut, the mother of Rā. An image of the cow, made of pure
gold, is to be put on the neck of the deceased; or, what would be much
easier and cheaper, it is to be painted on a hypocephalus of new
papyrus, and put under the deceased’s head. Part of this chapter is the
usual text found on the hypocephali.

The result of the gift of one of these amulets will be that in the
Netherworld the deceased will be surrounded by flames. This is the
effect of the presence of the amulets here described. It does not take
place in this world, but in the other, where Rā himself enjoys a similar
protection, being surrounded by “warriors of blazing fire.” This image
seems to point to the magnificent sunsets often seen in Egypt.

1. All the translators have interpreted ⁂⁂⁂ by “heat,” the
vital heat of the body. But this is not the true sense of the word,
which means “flame,” ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ “flame of fire.” The root
⁂⁂ implies the idea of darting, springing forth like a flame or a
spark, and not of latent heat. ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ cannot mean
anything except a great quantity of flames. These flames will be the
protection of the deceased.

2. The lion addressed by the cow, a god of light and fire, is probably
Rā himself.

3. For the connection between generation and light, see Kuhn,
“Herabkunft des Feuers,” p. 70 and ff.

4. These barbarous names, as well as those of the following chapters,
have not yet been explained. Their interpretation is to be looked for in
the African languages, for Chapter 164 connects them with the speech of
the negroes, and the Anti of Nubia.

5. I have kept for ⁂⁂ Renouf’s translation: Heliopolis. But it
must not be understood as referring to the well-known city at the head
of the Delta. ⁂⁂ is here a city in the other world. It is a name
belonging to the mythological and not to the terrestrial geography.

6. I consider the word ⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ of the Turin
text, or according to other papyri,
⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂ as connected with
⁂⁂ _fire_, _burning_.

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