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THE LEGEND OF THE DESTRUCTION OF MANKIND

CHAPTER V.

V. WHOSOEVER SHALL RECITE the words of this composition over himself shall anoint himself with olive oil and with thick unguent, and he shall have propitiatory offerings on both his hands of incense, and behind his two ears shall be pure natron, and sweet-smelling salve shall be on his lips.

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[paragraph continues] He shall be arrayed in a new double tunic, and his body shall be purified with the water of the nile-flood, and he shall have upon his feet a pair of sandals made of white [leather], and a figure of the goddess Maat shall be drawn upon his tongue with green-coloured ochre. Whensoever Thoth shall wish to recite this composition on behalf of Ra, he must perform a sevenfold (?) purification for three days, and priests and [ordinary] men shall do likewise. Whosoever shall recite the above words shall perform the ceremonies which are to be performed when this book is being read. And he shall make his place of standing (?) in a circle (or, at an angle) . . . . . which is beyond [him], and his two eyes shall be fixed upon himself, all his members shall be [composed], and his steps shall not carry him away [from the place]. Whosoever among men shall recite [these] words shall be like Ra on the day of his birth; and his possessions shall not become fewer, and his house shall never fall into decay, but shall endure for a million eternities.

Then the Aged One himself (i.e., Ra) embraced (?) the god Nu, and spake unto the gods who came forth in the east of the sky, "Ascribe ye praise to the god, the Aged One, from whom I have come into being. I am he who made the heavens, and I (set in order [the earth, and created the gods, and] I was with them for an exceedingly long period; then was born the year and . . . . . . but my soul is older than it (i.e., time). It is the Soul of

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[paragraph continues] Shu, it is the Soul of Khnemu (?), 1 it is the Soul of Heh, it is the Soul of Kek and Kerh (i.e., Night and Darkness), it is the Soul of Nu and of Ra, it is the Soul of Osiris, the lord of Tettu, it is the Soul of the Sebak Crocodile-gods and of the Crocodiles, it is the Soul of every god [who dwelleth] in the divine Snakes, it is the Soul of Apep in Mount Bakhau (i.e., the Mount of Sunrise), and it is the Soul of Ra which pervadeth the whole world."

Whosoever sayeth [these words] worketh his own protection by means of the words of power, "I am the god Hekau (i.e., the divine Word of power), and [I am] pure in my mouth, and [in] my belly; [I am] Ra from whom the gods proceeded. I am Ra, the Light-god (Khu)." When thou sayest [this], stop forth in the evening and in the morning on thine own behalf if thou wouldst make to fall the enemies of Ra. I am his Soul, and I am Heka.

Hail, thou lord of eternity, thou creator of everlastingness, who bringest to nought the gods who came forth from Ra, thou lord of thy god, thou prince who didst make what made thee, who art beloved by the fathers of the gods, on whose head are the pure words of power, who didst create the woman (erpit) that standeth on the south side of thee, who didst create the goddess who hath her face on her breast, and the serpent which standeth

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on his tail, with her eye on his belly, and with his tail on the earth, to whom Thoth giveth praises, and upon whom the heavens rest, and to whom Shu stretcheth out his two hands, deliver thou me from those two great gods who sit in the east of the sky, who act as wardens of heaven and as wardens of earth, and who make firm the secret places, and who are called "Aaiu-su," and "Per-f-er-maa-Nu." Moreover [there shall be) a purifying on the . . . . . day of the month . . . . . . .. even according to the performance of the ceremonies in the oldest time.

Whosoever shall recite this Chapter shall have life in Neter-kher (i.e., Underworld), and the fear of him shall be much greater than it was formerly [upon earth] . . . . . . . and they shall say, "Thy names are 'Eternity' and 'Everlastingness.'" They are called, they are called, "Au-peh-nef-n-aa-em-ta-uat-apu," and "Rekh-kua-[tut]-en-neter-pui-. . . . . . en en-hra-f-Her-shefu." I am he who hath strengthened the boat with the company of the gods, and his Shenit, and his Gods, by means of words of power.

Footnotes

39:1 There are mistakes in the text here.