is and that which is not yet, in his name of ‘Taherstanef.’  He toweth along the earth by Maat[8] in his name of ‘Seker’; he is exceedingly mighty and most terrible in his name of ‘Osiris’; he endureth for ever and ever in his name of ‘Un-Nefer.’  Homage to thee, O King of kings, Lord of lords, Prince of princes, who from the womb of Nut hast ruled the world and Akert.[9] Thy body is [like] bright and shining metal, thy head is of azure blue, and the brilliance of the turquoise encircleth thee.  O thou god An of millions of years, whose body pervadeth all things, whose face is beautiful in Ta-Tchesert,[10] grant thou to the Ka of the Osiris the scribe Ani splendour in heaven, power upon earth, and triumph in the Other World.  Grant that I may sail down to Tatu in the form of a living soul, and sail up to Abydos in the form of the Benu bird;[11] that I may go in and come out without being stopped at the pylons of the Lords of the Other World.  May there be given unto me bread-cakes in the house of coolness, and offerings of food in Anu (Heliopolis), and a homestead for ever in Sekhet Aru,[12] with wheat and barley therefor.”

[Footnote 1:  The Sky-goddess.]

[Footnote 2:  The Earth-god.]

[Footnote 3:  The hereditary chief of the gods.]

[Footnote 4:  The other world.]

[Footnote 5:  The town of Busiris on the Delta.]

[Footnote 6:  Abydos in Upper Egypt.]

[Footnote 7:  The Lord to the uttermost limit, i.e. Almighty God.]

[Footnote 8:  The goddess of physical and moral law, and the personification of the conscience.]

[Footnote 9:  A name of the Other World.]

[Footnote 10:  The Holy Land, i.e. the Kingdom of Osiris.]

[Footnote 11:  A bird which has been identified with the phoenix.  The soul of Ra was incarnate in it.]

[Footnote 12:  A name of the realm of Osiris, or the Elysian Fields.]

In another Hymn to Osiris, which is found in the Papyrus of Hunefer, we have the following:  “The gods come unto thee, bowing low before thee, and they hold thee in fear.  They withdraw and depart when they see thee endued with the terror of Ra, and the victory of Thy Majesty is over their hearts.  Life is with thee, and offerings of meat and drink follow thee, and that which is thy due is offered before thy face.  I have come unto thee holding in my hands truth, and my heart hath in it no cunning (or deceit).  I offer unto thee that which is thy due, and I know that whereon thou livest.  I have not committed any kind of sin in the land; I have defrauded no man of what is his.  I am Thoth, the perfect scribe, whose hands are pure.  I am the lord of purity, the destroyer of evil, the scribe of truth; what I abominate is sin.”

Here is an address, followed by a short Litany, which forms a kind of introduction to Chapter 15 in the Papyrus of Ani: