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REPULSING SERPENTS
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REPULSING SERPENTS

[From the Papyrus of Nu (British Museum No. 10,477, sheet 6).]

The Chapter of repulsing serpents (or worms). Nu, the overseer of the palace, the chancellor-in-chief, triumphant, saith:

“Hail, thou serpent Rerek, advance not hither. Behold Seb and Shu. Stand still now, and thou shalt eat the rat which is an abominable thing unto Rā, and thou shalt crunch the bones of the filthy cat.”


AGAINST SNAKES

[From the Papyrus of Nu (British Museum No. 10477, sheet 6).]

The Chapter of not [letting] Oisris Nu, triumphant, be bitten by snakes (or worms ) in the underworld. He saith:

“O Serpent! I am the flame which shineth upon the Opener(?) of hundreds of thousands of years, and the standard of the god Tenpu,” or (as others say) “the standard of young plants and flowers. Depart ye from me, for I am the divine Māftet.”[1]


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

  1. So far back as 1867 the late Dr. Birch identified the animal “maftet” with the lynx.