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THE BOOK OF THE DEAD

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,[1] 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 Maat, 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).]

The Chapter of coming forth from Heaven, and of making a way through the Ammehet, and of knowing the Souls of Annu (Heliopolis). The chancellor-in-chief, Nu, triumphant, saith:

“I have passed the day since yesterday among the great divine beings, and I have come into being along with the god Khepera. [My] face is uncovered before the Eye, the only One, and the orbit of the night hath been opened. I am a divine being among you. I know the Souls of Annu.

  1. I.e., Cusae, the metropolis of the fourteenth nome of Upper Egypt.