Appendix
(From the Papyrus of Nekht, Brit. Mus. No. 10471, Sheet 21)
NEKHT, THE CAPTAIN OF SOLDIERS, THE ROYAL SCRIBE, SINGETH A HYMN OF PRAISE TO RA, and saith:- Homage to thee, O thou glorious Being, thou who art dowered [with all sovereignty]. O Tem-Heru-Khuti (Tem-Harmakhis), when thou risest in the horizon of heaven a cry of joy goeth forth to thee from all people. O thou beautiful Being, thou dost renew thyself in thy season in the form of the Disk, within thy mother Hathor. Therefore in every place every heart swelleth with joy at thy rising for ever. The regions of the South and the North come to thee with homage, and send forth acclamations at thy rising on the horizon of heaven, and thou illuminest the Two Lands with rays of turquoise-[coloured] light. O Ra, who art Heru-Khuti, the divine man-child, the heir of eternity, self-begotten and self-born, king of the earth, prince of the Tuat (the Other World), governor of Aukert, thou didst come from the Water-god, thou didst spring from the Sky-god Nu, who doth cherish thee and order thy members. O thou god of life, thou lord of love, all men live when thou shinest; thou art crowned king of the gods. The goddess Nut embraceth thee, and the goddess Mut enfoldeth thee at all seasons. Those who are in thy following sing unto thee with joy, and they bow down their foreheads to the earth when they meet thee, the lord of heaven, the lord of the earth, the King of Truth, the lord of eternity, the prince of everlastingness, thou sovereign of all the gods, thou god of life, thou creator of eternity, thou maker of heaven wherin thou art firmly stablished.
The Company of the
Gods rejoice at thy rising, the earth is glad when it beholdeth
thy rays; the people who have been long dead come forth with
cries of joy to behold thy beauties every day. Thou goest forth
each day over heaven and earth, and thou art made strong each day
be thy mother Nut. Thou passest over the heights of heaven, thy
heart swelleth with joy; and the Lake of Testes (the Great Oasis)
is content thereat. The Serpent-fiend hath fallen, his arms are
hewn off, the Knife hath severed his joints. Ra liveth by Maat
(Law), the beautiful! The Sektet Boat advanceth and cometh into
port. The South and the North, and the West and East, turn to
praise thee. O thou First, Great God (PAUTA), who didst come into
being of thine own accord, Isis and Nephthys salute thee, they
sing unto thee songs of joy at thy rising in the boat, they
stretch out their hands unto thee. The Souls of the East follow
thee, and the Souls of the West praise thee. Thou art the Ruler
of all the gods. Thou in thy shrine hast joy, for the
Serpent-fiend Nak hath been judged by the fire, and thy heart
shall rejoice for ever. Thy mother Nut is esteemed by thy father
Nu.
© 1999 Rita Carla Francesca Monticelli