CHAPTER IV
Section I
1 Thou art what he is, Rā, thou givest birth to the royal Osiris, thou makest him exist like thyself, god of the two horizons; the birth of Osiris is the birth of Rā in the Ament, and reciprocally; the birth of Osiris in the heavens is the birth of the soul of Rā in the heavens, and reciprocally; the life of Osiris is the life of Rā, and reciprocally; the development of his body is the development of Rā's body. Rā conceived, Tum gave birth to Osiris; it is the young Chepra; Nut brings Osiris into the world, she nourishes Osiris, like Rā's soul which issued from her.
2 O, Rā who art in the Ament ...[636] who art in the empyrean, deliver Osiris from thy conductors who separate souls from their bodies, the agile beings who move quickly in thy places of torment. May they never seize Osiris, may they never take him, may they never quicken their steps toward him, may they never put him in their places of torture, may they never cast their toils round him, may they never place him upon their altars, may he never tremble in the land of the condemned, may he never be lost in the [pg 379] Ament. He walks as the god of the horizon walks, he takes Rā's steps, he worships the god who is on the earth, he honors the mysterious bodies ...[637] they say to Osiris: Hu and Sa; they call him this, because he is like the spirit of Hu and Sa[638] in his creations; he makes the sacred tree grow he is not ignorant of it. There are cries of joy in the mysterious region, for Rā sets under the form of Osiris, and reciprocally. Rejoice, you the dead, render praises to Rā, and Rā renders praises to you. Rā comes forth from the cow Mehur,[639] he sets in Netur;[640] Osiris comes forth from Nehur like the sun, he sets in Netur like Temt. The name of the King is the name of Rā, Ammehur,[641] the setting of Osiris, it is his setting, Amnetur.[642]
3 The gods of the empyrean bless him, the hidden gods rejoice over him; they say to him: thy person is the god of the country of the dead, thy form is Teb Temt. The hidden gods speak to the royal Osiris, they rejoice on seeing him; (they say to him:) Hail, blessed and perfect one, who comest forth from Tonen, the god who destroys the forms; it is great, thy essence, spirit, shadow that no one destroys, that lives where you live. He knows the essences of the primitive beings, he knows the mysterious flames of the empyrean, for he attains to holy and mysterious things.
4 The two gods speak to the royal Osiris, they rejoice on seeing him, this blessed, perfect spirit; (they say to him:) This is one of us. The gods speak to the royal Osiris, they rejoice when they see him, him, the splendor of Rā, the splendor of the two goddesses that appears in Heset,[643] the supplicant Heset addresses the guardians who watch over the doors, who devour souls and who swallow the shades of the dead; when they approach them, they are led by them to the place of destruction: O guardians who watch over your doors, who swallow souls and devour the shades of the dead; when they approach you, you lead them to the place of destruction; Oh! allow this blessed this most holy spirit, to be in the dwelling of the Akher;[644] it is a spirit like [pg 380] Rā glorious like Osiris. This is what Heset the supplicant says before the royal Osiris.
5 O Heset, make him come, O Heset, guide the royal Osiris, O Heset open to him the empyrean, give him the lot of the god of the empyrean; he puts the veil nems[645] upon his head at the bottom of the dwelling of the Ament. Hail to thee, he has reached thee; Heset, guide him on the good way, he speaks to thee, he glorifies thee by his invocations, and thou rejoicest on seeing his spirit; Heset, the supplicant, open the doors which are in the empyrean, open his spheres to him, for the club is in the hand of Osiris, and he grasps his lance; his club strikes the enemies, and his lance destroys the rebels; his dwelling is that of the god of the two horizons; his throne is Rā's throne; for he is the Horus of the two horizons.[646] He is beautiful, this spirit, he is perfect, he is powerful in both his hands.
6 The two great gods speak to the royal Osiris; they rejoice on his account; they celebrate his victorious strength, they give him their protection, they send him their spirit of life; (they say to him:) He is brilliant like the spirit of the horizon that is the dwelling of Rā in the heavens;[647] they communicate their words to him, they give him the power by their authority. He opens the door of heaven and earth like his father Rā; a spirit shining in the place where they burn the offerings, in the arms of Osiris. The royal Osiris rests in the mysterious dwelling, he shines like the god of the luminary, the dwelling of Rā of the horizon.[648] The royal Osiris is Rā; and reciprocally, he is the spirit of Osiris, he rests (in him).
7 He reaches the gods of the pyramid; these latter praise him on seeing the happy arrival of Osiris; they address him as Rā of the horizon; praise be to Rā! cheers for the spirit of the horizon, praises to the spirit of Rā! Praise his spirit that inhabits the empyrean, invoke him who is in his disk, bear him to him who created you, carry him unto the pyramid, since you are the gods who accompany Rā Osiris. Here is Osiris, carry him into the hidden sanctuary of Osiris, the lord of years[649] who is under the care of the two [pg 381] Rehti. Carry him into the hidden dwelling where Osiris resides, carry him into the funeral monument which is in the Ament, the mysterious sanctuary of the god who is at rest; bear him, open your arms to him, stretch out your hands to him, take off your veils before him, for he is the great essence whom the dead spirits do not know; it is Rā, the god of the two horizons, and Osiris, the King of the Ament, who send him.
8 The royal Osiris is one of you, for his diadem is a vulture; his face is a sparrow-hawk, his head is Rā; his eyes are the Rehti, the two sisters; his nose is Horus of the empyrean; his mouth is the King of the Ament; his lungs are Nun; his two hands are the god Secheni;[650] his fingers are the gods who seize him; his body is Chepra; his heart is Horus, the creator; his chest is the goddess of life; his spleen is the god Fenti;[651] his lungs are the goddess Heti; his stomach is Apu; his intestines, the god with the mysterious names;[652] his back is the corpse-god; his elbows are Makati; the nape of his neck, Horus Thoth; his lips Mehur; his phallus is Tonen;[653] ...[654] the goddess of Cher; ...[655] the two hidden gods; his sitting posture the two goddesses; his legs, he who traverses the hidden places; his shin-bones are uræus. His members are gods, he is throughout a god, no one of his members is without a god, the gods are of his substance. The royal Osiris is an intelligent essence, his members guide him, his flesh opens the way to him, those who are born of him create him, they rest when they have given birth to him. The royal Osiris is he who gives them birth, it is he who begets them, it is he who makes them exist; his birth is that of Rā in the Ament, Rā gives birth to the royal Osiris, he causes his own birth.