Egyptian Literature/The Book of the Dead/On the Four Apes
OF THE FOUR APES[1]
[From the Papyrus of Nu (British Museum No. 10,477, sheet 24).]
The overseer of the palace, the chancellor-in-chief, Nu, triumphant, the son of the overseer of the palace, the chancellor-in-chief, Amen-hetep, triumphant, saith:
“Hail, ye four apes who sit in the bows of the boat of Rā, who convey right and truth to Neb-er-tcher, who sit in judgment on my misery and on my strength, who make the gods to rest contented by means of the flame of your mouths, who offer holy offerings to the gods and sepulchral meals to the khus, who live upon right and truth, and who feed upon right and truth of heart, who are without deceit and fraud, and to whom wickedness is an abomination, do ye away with my evil deeds, and put ye away my sin [which deserved stripes upon earth, and destroy ye any evil whatsoever that belongeth unto me],[2] and let there be no obstacle whatsoever on my part toward you. Oh, grant ye that I may make my way through the underworld (ammehet), let me enter into Re-stau, let me pass through the hidden pylons of Amentet. Oh, grant that there may be given to me cakes, and ale, and sweetmeats(?), even as [they are given] to the living khus, and grant that I may enter in and come forth from Re-stau.”
"[The four apes make answer, saying], ‘Come, then, for we have done away with thy wickedness, and we have put away thy sin, along with the [sin deserving of] stripes which thou [didst commit] upon earth, and we have destroyed [all] the evil which belonged to thee upon the earth. Enter, therefore, into Re-stau, and pass thou through the hidden pylons of Amentet, and there shall be given unto thee cakes, and ale, and sweetmeats(?), and thou shalt come forth and thou shalt enter in at thy desire, even as do those khus who are favored [of the god], and thou shalt be proclaimed (or called) each day in the horizon.”