Egyptian Literature/The Book of the Dead/Of Giving a Heart to Osiris

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THE CHAPTER OF GIVING A HEART TO OSIRIS

[From the Papyrus of Ani (British Museum No. 10,470, sheet 15).]

The Chapter of giving a heart to Osiris Ani in the underworld. He saith:

“May my heart (ab)^[1] be with me in the House of Hearts! May my heart (hat) be with me in the House of Hearts! May my heart be with me, and may it rest there, [or] I shall not eat of the cakes of Osiris on the eastern side of the Lake of Flowers, neither shall I have a boat wherein to go down the Nile, nor another wherein to go up, nor shall I be able to sail down the Nile with thee. May my mouth [be given] to me that I may speak therewith, and my two legs to walk therewith, and my two hands and arms to overthrow my foe. May the doors of heaven be opened unto me; may Seb, the Prince^[2] of the gods, open wide his two jaws unto me; may he open my two eyes which are blindfolded; may he cause me to stretch apart my two legs which are bound together; and may Anpu (Anubis) make my thighs firm so that I may stand upon them. May the goddess Sekhet make me to rise so that I may ascend unto heaven, and may that be done which I command in the House of the ka (double) of Ptah (i.e., Memphis). I understand with my heart. I have gained the mastery over my heart, I have gained the mastery over my two hands, I have gained the mastery over my legs, I have gained the power to do whatsoever my ka (double) pleaseth. My soul shall not be fettered to my body at the gates of the underworld; but I shall enter in peace and I shall come forth in peace.”

1. “Ab” is undoubtedly the “heart,” and “hat” is the region wherein is the heart; the word may be fairly well rendered by “breast,” though the pericardium is probably intended.
2. “Erpat,” i.e., “tribal chief.”