CHAPTER XXXB.

Heart mine which is that of my Mother,

Whole Heart mine which is that of my birth,

Let there be no estoppel against me through evidence, let no hindrance be made to me by the divine Circle; fall thou not against me in presence of him who is at the Balance.

Thou art my Genius, who art by me, the Artist([6]) who givest soundness to my limbs.

Come forth([7]) to the bliss [^[47]] towards which we are bound;

Let not those Ministrants([8]) who deal with a man according to the course of his life([9]) give a bad odour to my name.

Pleasant for us, pleasant for the listener, is the joy of the Weighing of the Words.

Let not lies be uttered in presence of the great god, Lord of the Amenta.

Lo! how great art thou [as the Triumphant one.([10])

Notes.

This chapter is found not only on papyri but upon innumerable scarabs. The differences of text are very great, but the principal ones may be considered as represented by M. Naville’s 30A and 30B. They branch off from each other after the mention of the Balance.

The oldest copy known on a scarab is that of King Sebak-em-saf of the XIIIth dynasty. It is in the British Museum (No. 7876) and has been described by Dr. Birch in his study [^[48]] of the “Formulas relating to the heart.” “This amulet,” he says, “is of unusual shape; the body of the insect is made of a remarkably fine green jasper carved in shape of the body and head of the insect. This is inserted into a base of gold in shape of a tablet.... The legs of the insect are ... of gold and carved in relief.... The hieroglyphs are incised in outline, are coarse, and not very legible.”

[1.] The Divine Circle,

. This word on the scarab of Sebak-em-saf is written

, which shows that

(a wall of enclosure) is ideographic of the whole word. And this sign in hieratic, when placed upright

, has given rise to the

, which takes its place in the later texts.

[2.] Fall of the scale,

= the Coptic ⲣⲓⲕⲓ ⲛ̀ⲟⲩⲙⲁϣⲓ or the Greek ῥοπὴ τοῦ ζυγοῦ.

[3.] Liver; This seems to be the real meaning of

[4.] These gods are mentioned in the Pyramid Texts in a passage closely resembling this one of the Book of the Dead. “They bring to Unas (line 479) the four Glorious ones who are on the side lock of Horus; who stand upon the Eastern side of Heaven, and who are conspicuous through their sceptres

. They announce to Râ the glorious name of Unas, and proclaim (

, cf. ⲟⲩⲱ, ⲉⲣⲟⲩⲱ) Unas to Neheb-kau.” The text of Teta is very imperfect in this place.

The word

appears to have the sense of insignire, designare. This sense is a key to every passage in which the word occurs.

[5.] The few early copies of this paragraph are too fragmentary and too contradictory to furnish a restoration of the text, which must have meant something like what is expressed in this translation.

[6.] The Artist,

, which is here a common noun rather than a proper name.

[7.] The deceased addresses his heart, and thereupon speaks in the first person plural, we; that is you and I.

[8.] The Ministrants. The

were high officials in the Egyptian court, but here they minister to Osiris in the Netherworld. They are apparently the same gods who are addressed in the 27th Chapter as fashioning the heart of a person according to his deeds when living.

[9.] The determinative

shows that

is here to be taken in the sense of the duration of human life, and the pronominal suffixes

show whose life is spoken of. The latter suffix has reference to

, which is accordingly to be translated in the singular. The plural sign merely indicates a common or collective noun.

[10.] As the Triumphant one. So Aa, the papyrus of Nebseni. Another authority (B.M. 7865) quoted by Dr. Birch has

like Râ, the Triumphant One.

The formula “How great art thou!” occurs in other primitive texts; cf. Aelteste Texte, Pl. 5, lines 7 and 8. In line 8 it occurs twice.

[47].

[48]. Zeitschr., 1870. p. 32.