Egyptian Literature/The Book of the Dead/Against Serpents
AGAINST SERPENTS
[From the Papyrus of Nu (British Museum No. 10,477, sheet 6).]
The Chapter of not [letting] Nu, the chancellor-in-chief, triumphant, be devoured by serpents in the underworld. He saith:
“Hail, thou god Shu! Behold Tattu! Behold Shu! Hail Tattu! [Shu] hath the head-dress of the goddess Hathor. They nurse Osiris. Behold the twofold being who is about to eat me! Alighting from the boat I depart(?), and the serpent-fiend Seksek passeth me by. Behold sām and aaqet flowers are kept under guard(?). This being is Osiris, and he maketh entreaty for his tomb. The eyes of the divine prince are dropped, and he performeth the reparation which is to be done for thee; [he] giveth [unto thee thy] portion of right and truth according to the decision concerning the states and conditions [of men].”