[Footnote 8:  A district of Hensu.]

[Footnote 9:  Herakleopolis in Upper Egypt.]

[Footnote 10:  Eileithyiaspolis in Upper Egypt.]

The following passage illustrates the general character of a funerary hymn to Ra:  “Homage to thee, O thou who art in the form of Khepera, Khepera the creator of the gods.  Thou risest, thou shinest, thou illuminest thy mother [the sky].  Thou art crowned King of the Gods.  Mother Nut[1] welcometh thee with bowings.  The Land of Sunset (Manu) receiveth thee with satisfaction, and the goddess Maat[2] embraceth thee at morn and at eve.  Hail, ye gods of the Temple of the Soul (i.e. heaven), who weigh heaven and earth in a balance, who provide celestial food!  And hail, Tatunen,[3] One, Creator of man, Maker of the gods of the south and of the north, of the west and of the east!  Come ye and acclaim Ra, the Lord of heaven, the Prince—­life, health, strength be to him!—­the Creator of the gods, and adore ye him in his beautiful form as he riseth in his Morning Boat (Antchet).

“Those who dwell in the heights and those who dwell in the depths worship thee.  Thoth and the goddess Maat have laid down thy course for thee daily for ever.  Thine Enemy the Serpent hath been cast into the fire, the fiend hath fallen down into it headlong.  His arms have been bound in chains, and Ra hath hacked off his legs; the Mesu Betshet[4] shall never more rise up.  The Temple of the Aged God [in Anu] keepeth festival, and the sound of those who rejoice is in the Great House.  The gods shout for joy when they see Ra rising, and when his beams are filling the world with light.  The Majesty of the Holy God goeth forth and advanceth even unto the Land of Sunset (Manu).  He maketh bright the earth at his birth daily, he journeyeth to the place where he was yesterday.  O be thou at peace with me, and let me behold thy beauties!  Let me appear on the earth.  Let me smite [the Eater of] the Ass.[5] Let me crush the Serpent Seba.[6] Let me destroy Aapep[7] when he is most strong.  Let me see the Abtu Fish in its season and the Ant Fish[8] in its lake.  Let me see Horus steering thy boat, with Thoth and Maat standing one on each side of him.  Let me have hold of the bows of [thy] Evening Boat and the stern of thy Morning Boat.[9] Grant thou unto the Ka of me, the Osiris the scribe Ani, to behold the disk of the Sun, and to see the Moon-god regularly and daily.  Let my soul come forth and walk hither and thither and whithersoever it pleaseth.  Let my name be read from the list of those who are to receive offerings, and may offerings be set before me, even as they are set before the Followers of Horus.  Let there be prepared for me a seat in the Boat of Ra on the day when the god goeth forth.  Let me be received into the presence of Osiris, in the Land where Truth is spoken.”

[Footnote 1:  The Sky-goddess.]

[Footnote 2:  Goddess of Law.]

[Footnote 3:  An ancient Earth-god.]