The Chapter of knowing the Souls of Nekhen. The overseer of the palace, the chancellor-in-chief, Nu, triumphant, saith:
“I know the hidden things of the city of Nekhen, that is to [pg 093] say, the things which the mother of Horus did for him, and how she [made her voice to go forth] over the waters, saying, ‘Speak ye unto me concerning the judgment which is upon me, [and shew me] the path behind you, and let me discover [it];’ and how Rā said, ‘This son of Isis hath perished;’ and what the mother of Horus did for him [when] she cried out, saying, ‘Sebek, the lord of the papyrus swamp, shall be brought to us.’ [And Sebek] fished for them and he found them, and the mother of Horus made them to grow in the places to which they belonged. Then Sebek, the lord of his papyrus swamp, said, ‘I went and I found the place where they had passed with my fingers on the edge of the waters, and I enclosed them in [my] net: and strong was that net.’ And Rā said, ‘So then, there are fish with the god Sebek, and [he] hath found the hands and arms of Horus for him in the land of fish;’ and [that] land became the land of the city of Remu (i.e., Fish). And Rā said, ‘A land of the pool, a land of the pool to this net.’ Then were the hands of Horus brought to him at the uncovering of his face at the festivals of the month and half month in the Land of Remu. And Rā said, ‘I give the city of Nekhen to Horus for the habitation of his two arms and hands, and his face shall be uncovered before his two hands and arms in the city of Nekhen; and I give into his power the slaughtered beings who are in them at the festivals of the month and half month.’ Then Horus said, ‘Let me carry off Tuamāutef and Qebhsennuf, and let them watch over my body; and if they are allowed to be there, then shall they be subservient to the god of the city of Nekhen.’ And Rā said, ‘It shall be granted unto thee there and in the city, of Senket (i.e., Sati), and there shall be done for them what hath been done for those who dwell in the city of Nekhen, and verily they shall be with thee.’ And Horus said, ‘They have been with thee and [now] they shall be with me, and shall hearken unto the god Suti when he calleth upon the Souls of Nekhen.’ Grant to me [that I, even I, may pass on to the Souls of Nekhen, and that I may unloose the bonds of Horus]. I, even I, know the Souls of Nekhen, namely, Horus, Tuamāutef, and Qebhsennuf.”
Of Knowing The Souls Of Khemennu
[From the Papyrus of Nebseni (British Museum No. 9,900, sheet 7).]
The Chapter of knowing the Souls of Khemennu (Hermopolis).
“The goddess Maāt is carried by the arm at the shining of the goddess Neith in the city of Mentchat, and at the shining of the Eye when it is weighed. I am carried over by it and I know what it bringeth from the city of Kesi,[76] and I will neither declare it unto men nor tell it unto the gods. I have come, being the envoy of Rā, to stablish Maāt upon the arm at the shining of Neith in the city of Mentchat and to adjudge the eye to him that shall scrutinize it. I have come as a power through the knowledge of the Souls of Khemennu (Hermopolis) who love to know what ye love. I know Maāt, which hath germinated, and hath become strong, and hath been judged, and I have joy in passing judgment upon the things which are to be judged. Homage to you, O ye Souls of Khemennu, I, even I, know the things which are unknown on the festivals of the month and half month. Rā knoweth the hidden things of the night, and know ye that it is Thoth who hath made me to have knowledge. Homage to you, O ye Souls of Khemennu, since I know you each day.”
Of Coming Forth From Heaven
[From the Papyrus of Nu (British Museum No. 10,477, sheet 18).]