THE BOOK OF THE DEAD
A HYMN TO THE SETTING SUN
A Hymn of Praise to Ra when he riseth upon the horizon, and when he setteth in the land of life. Osiris, the scribe Ani, saith:
“Homage to thee, O Rā, when thou risest [as] Tem-Herukhuti (Tem-Harmachis). Thou art adored [by me when] thy beauties are before mine eyes, and [when thy] radiance [falleth] upon [my] body. Thou goest forth to thy setting in the Sektet boat with [fair] winds, and thy heart is glad; the heart of the Mātet boat rejoiceth. Thou stridest over the heavens in peace, and all thy foes are cast down; the neverresting stars sing hymns of praise unto thee, and the stars which rest, and the stars which never fail glorify thee as thou sinkest to rest in the horizon of Manu,[1] O thou who art beautiful at morn and at eve, O thou lord who livest and art established, O my lord!
“Homage to thee, O thou who art Rā when thou risest, and Tem when thou settest [in] beauty. Thou risest and shinest on the back of thy mother [Nut], O thou who art crowned king of the gods! Nut doeth homage unto thee, and everlasting and never-changing order[2] embraceth thee at morn and at eve. Thou stridest over the heaven, being glad of heart, and the Lake of Testes is content [thereat]. The Sebau Fiend hath fallen to the ground; his arms and his hands have been hacked off, and the knife hath severed the joints of his body. Rā hath a fair wind; the Sektet boat goeth forth and sailing along it cometh into port. The gods of the south and of the north, of the west and of the east, praise thee, O thou divine substance, from whom all forms of life come into being. Thou sendest forth the word, and the earth
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