majesty of the king of the north and of the south, men-kau-ra,[1] triumphant, by the royal son heru-ta-ta-f, who discovered it while he was on his journey to make an inspection of the temples and of their estates.
BEATING BACK THE CROCODILE
[From the Papyrus of Nu (British Museum No. 10,477, sheet 5).]
The Chapter of beating back the Crocodile that cometh to carry away the Charm from Nu, the overseer of the palace, the chancellor-in-chief, triumphant, the son of the overseer of the palace, Amen-hetep, triumphant, in the underworld. He Saith:
“Get thee back, return, get thee back, thou crocodile-fiend Sui; thou shalt not advance to me, for I live by reason of the magical words which I have by me. I do not utter that name of thine to the great god who will cause thee to come to the two divine envoys; the name of the one is Betti,[2] and the name of the other is ‘Hra-k-en-Maāt.’[3] Heaven hath power over its seasons, and the magical word hath power over that which is in its possession, let therefore my mouth have power over the magical word which is therein. My front teeth are like unto flint knives, and my jaw-teeth are like unto the Nome of Tutef.[4] Hail thou that sittest with thine eyeball upon these my magical words! Thou shalt not carry them away, O thou crocodile that livest by means of magical words!”
[In the Turin Papyrus (Lepsius, op. cit., Bl. 16) the following lines are added to this chapter:]
“I am the Prince in the field. I, even I, am Osiris, who hath shut in his father Seb together with his mother Nut on the day of the great slaughter. My father is Seb and my mother is Nut. I am Horus, the first-born of Rā, who is crowned. I am Anpu (Anubis) on the day of reckoning. I, even I, am Osiris the prince who goeth in and declareth the offerings which are written down. I am the guardian of the door of Osiris,
- ↑ I.e., Mycerinus, a king of the fourth dynasty.
- ↑ I.e. “He of two teeth” (or two horns); the Saite Recension (Lepsius, op. cit. Bl. 16) reads “Bent,” i.e., “ape.”
- ↑ I.e., “Thy face is of right and truth.”
- ↑ We should probably add the word “tep” and read “Tep tu-f,” “He that is upon his hill,” i.e., Anubis.
