The following beautiful composition, part hymn and part prayer, is of exceptional interest.

“Hail, thou Disk, thou lord of rays, who risest on the horizon day by day!  Shine thou with thy beams of light upon the face of Osiris Ani, who is true of voice; for he singeth hymns of praise unto thee at dawn, and he maketh thee to set at eventide with words of adoration, May the soul of Ani come forth with thee into heaven, may he go forth in the M[=a]tet boat, may he come into port in the Sektet boat, and may he cleave his path among the never-resting stars in the heavens.

“Osiris Ani, being in peace and triumph, adoreth his lord, the lord of eternity, saying, ’Homage to thee, O Heru-Khuti (Harmachis), who art the god Khepera, the self-created one; when thou risest on the horizon and sheddest thy beams of light upon the lands of the North and of the South, thou art beautiful, yea beautiful, and all the gods rejoice when they behold thee, the king of heaven.  The goddess Nebt-Unnut is stablished upon thy head; and her uraei of the South and of the North are upon thy brow; she taketh up her place before thee.  The god.  Thoth is stablished in the bows of thy boat to destroy utterly all thy foes.  Those who are in the Tuat (underworld) come forth to meet thee, and they bow low in homage as they come towards thee, to behold thy beautiful form.  And I have come before thee that I may be with thee to behold thy Disk each day.  May I not be shut up [in the tomb], may I not be turned back, may the limbs of my body be made new again when I view thy beauties, even as [are those of] all thy favoured ones, because I am one of those who worshipped thee upon earth.  May I come unto the land of eternity, may I come even unto the everlasting land, for behold, O my lord, this hast thou ordained for me.’

“’Homage to thee, O thou who risest in thy horizon as R[=a], thou restest upon Ma[=a]t, [Footnote:  i.e., unchanging and unalterable law.] Thou passest over the sky, and every face watcheth thee and thy course, for thou hast been hidden from their gaze.  Thou dost show thyself at dawn and at eventide day by day.  The Sektet boat, wherein, is thy Majesty, goeth forth with might; thy beams are upon [all] faces; thy rays of red and yellow cannot be known, and thy bright beams cannot be told.  The lands of the gods and the eastern lands of Punt [Footnote:  i.e., the east and west coasts of the Red Sea, and the north-east coast of Africa.] must be seen ere that which, is hidden [in thee] may be measured. [Footnote:  I am doubtful about the meaning of this passage.] Alone and by thyself thou, dost manifest thyself [when] thou comest into being above Nu.  May I advance, even as thou dost advance; may I never cease [to go forward], even as thy Majesty ceaseth not [to go forward], even though it be for a moment; for with strides dost thou in one brief moment pass over spaces which [man] would need hundreds