[From the Papyrus of Nu (British Museum No. 10,477, sheets 13 and 14).]

The Chapter of making the transformation into a divine hawk. The chancellor-in-chief, Nu, triumphant, saith:

“Hail, Great God, come now to Tattu! Make thou smooth for me the ways and let me go round about [to visit] my thrones; I have renewed(?) myself, and I have raised myself up. O grant thou that I may be feared, and make thou me to be a terror. Let the gods of the underworld be afraid of me, and may they fight for me in their habitations which are therein. Let not him that would do me harm draw nigh unto me, or injure(?) me, in the House of Darkness, that is, he that clotheth and covereth the feeble one, and whose [name] is hidden; and let not the gods act likewise toward me. [Hail], ye gods, who hearken unto [my] speech! Hail, ye rulers, who are among the followers of Osiris! Be ye therefore silent, O ye gods, when one god speaketh unto another, for he hearkeneth unto right and truth; and what I speak unto [him] do thou also speak for me then, O Osiris. Grant thou that I may journey round about [according to] that which cometh forth from thy mouth concerning me, and grant that I may see thine own Form (or forms), and the dispositions of thy Souls. Grant thou that I may come forth, and that I may have power over my legs, and that I may have my existence there like unto that of Neb-er-tcher who is over [all]. May the gods of the underworld fear me, and may they fight for me in their habitations. Grant thou that I may move along therein together with the divine beings who journey onward, and may I be stablished upon my resting-place like the Lord of Life. May I be joined unto Isis the divine lady, and may she protect me from him that would do an injury unto me; and let not anyone come to see the divine one naked and helpless. May I journey on, may I come into the uttermost parts of heaven. I exchange speech with the god Seb, I make supplication for divine food from Neb-er-tcher; the gods of the underworld have fear of me, and they fight for me in their habitations when they see that thou hast provided me with [pg 061] food, both of the fowl of the air and of the fish of the sea. I am one of those Khus who dwell with the divine Khu, and I have made my form like unto his divine Form, when he cometh forth and maketh himself manifest in Tattu. [I am] a spiritual body (sah) and possess my soul, and will speak unto thee the things which concern me. O grant thou that I may be feared, and make thou me to be a terror; let the gods of the underworld be afraid of me, and may they fight for me in their habitations. I, even I, am the Khu who dwelleth with the divine Khu, whom the god Tem himself hath created, and who hath come into being from the blossom (i.e., the eyelashes) of his eye; he hath made to have existence, and he hath made to be glorious (i.e., to be Khus), and he hath made mighty thereby those who have their existence along with him. Behold, he is the only One in Nu, and they sing praises (or do homage) unto him [when] he cometh forth from the horizon, and the gods and the Khus who have come into being along with him ascribe [the lordship of] terror unto him.”

“I am one of those worms(?) which the eye of the Lord, the only One, hath created. And behold, when as yet Isis had not given birth to Horus, I had germinated, and had flourished, and I had become aged, and I had become greater than those who dwelt with the divine Khu, and who had come into being along with him. And I had risen up like the divine hawk, and Horus made for me a spiritual body containing his own soul, so that I might take possession of all that belonged unto Osiris in the underworld. The double Lion-god, the governor of the things which belong to the Temple of the nemmes crown, who dwelleth in his secret abode, saith [unto me]: ‘Get thee back to the uttermost parts of heaven, for behold, inasmuch as through thy form of Horus thou hast become a spiritual body, (sah) the nemmes crown is not for thee; but behold, thou hast the power of speech even to the uttermost parts of heaven.’ And I, the guardian, took possession of the things of Horus [which belonged] unto Osiris in the underworld, and Horus told aloud unto me the things which his divine father Osiris spake unto him in years [gone by] on the day of his own burial. I have given unto thee50 the nemmes crown through the double Lion-god that thou mayest pass [pg 062] onward and mayest come to the heavenly path, and that those who dwell in the uttermost parts of the horizon may see thee, and that the gods of the underworld may see thee and may fight for thee in their habitations. And of them is the Auhet.51 The gods, each and all of them, who are the warders of the shrine of the Lord, the only One, have fallen before my words. Hail! He that is exalted upon his tomb is on my side, and he hath bound [upon my head] the nemmes crown, by the decree of the double Lion-god on my behalf, and the god Auhet hath prepared a way for me. I, even I, am exalted in my tomb, and the double Lion-god hath bound the nemmes crown upon my [head], and he hath also given unto me the double hairy covering of my head. He hath stablished my heart through his own backbone, he hath stablished my heart through his own great and exceeding strength, and I shall not fall through Shu. I make my peace with the beautiful divine Brother, the lord of the two urÆi, adored be he! I, even I, am he who knoweth the roads through the sky, and the wind thereof is in my body. The bull which striketh terror [into men] shall not drive me back, and I shall pass on to the place where lieth the shipwrecked mariner on the border of the Sekhet-neheh (i.e., Field of illimitable time), and I shall journey on to the night and sorrow of the regions of Amenti. O Osiris, I shall come each day into the House of the double Lion-god, and I shall come forth therefrom into the House of Isis, the divine lady. I shall behold sacred things which are hidden, and I shall be led on to the secret and holy things, even as they have granted unto me to see the birth of the Great God. Horus hath made me to be a spiritual body through his soul, [and I see what is therein. If I speak near the mighty ones of Shu they repulse my opportunity. I am the guardian and I] take possession of the things which Horus had from Osiris in the underworld. I, even I, am Horus who dwelleth in the divine Khu. [I] have gained power over his crown, I have gained power over his radiance, and I have travelled over the remote, illimitable parts of heaven. Horus is upon his throne, Horus is upon his royal seat. My face is like unto that of the divine hawk, my strength is like unto that of the divine hawk, [pg 063] and I am one who hath been fully equipped by his divine Lord. I shall come forth to Tattu, I shall see Osiris, I shall pay homage to him on the right hand and on the left, I shall pay homage unto Nut, and she shall look upon me, and the gods shall look upon me, together with the Eye of Horus who is without sight(?). They (i.e., the gods) shall make their arms to come forth unto me. I rise up [as] a divine Power, and [I] repulse him that would subject me to restraint. They open unto me the holy paths, they see my form, and they hear that which I speak. [Down] upon your faces, ye gods of the Tuat (underworld), who would resist me with your faces and oppose me with your powers, who lead along the stars which never rest, and who make the holy paths unto the Hemati abode [where is] the Lord of the exceedingly mighty and terrible Soul. Horus hath commanded that ye lift up your faces so that I may look upon you. I have risen up like the divine hawk, and Horus hath made for me a spiritual body, through his own soul, to take possession of that which belongeth to Osiris in the Tuat (underworld). I have bound up the gods with divine tresses, and I have travelled on to those who ward their Chambers, and who were on both sides of me. I have made my roads and I have journeyed on and have reached those divine beings who inhabit their secret dwellings, and who are warders of the Temple of Osiris. I have spoken unto them with strength, and have made them to know the most mighty power of him that is provided with two horns [to fight] against Suti; and I make them to know concerning him that hath taken possession of the divine food, and who is provided with the Might of Tem. May the gods of the underworld [order] a prosperous journey for me! O ye gods who inhabit your secret dwellings, and who are warders of the Temple of Osiris, and whose numbers are great and multitudinous, grant ye that I may come unto you. I have bound up and I have gathered together the powers of Kesemu-enenet,” or (as others say), “Kesemiu-enenet; and I have made holy the Powers of the paths of those who watch and ward the roads of the horizon, and who are the guardians of the horizon of Hemati which is in heaven. I have stablished habitations for Osiris, I have made the ways holy for him, I have done that which hath been commanded, I have come forth to Tattu, I [pg 064] have seen Osiris, I have spoken unto him concerning the matters of his first-born son whom he loveth and concerning the wounding of the heart of Suti, and I have seen the divine one who is without life. Yea, I have made them to know concerning the counsels of the gods which Horus carried out while his father Osiris was not [with him]. Hail, Lord, thou most mighty and terrible Soul! Verily, I, even I, have come, look thou upon me, and do thou make me to be exalted. I have made my way through the Tuat (underworld), and I have opened up the paths which belong to heaven and also those which belong to earth, and I have suffered no opposition therein. Exalted [be thou] upon thy throne, O Osiris! Thou hast heard fair things, O Osiris! Thy strength is vigorous, O Osiris. Thy head is fastened unto thee, O Osiris. Thy brow is stablished, O Osiris. Thy heart is glad, [O Osiris]. Thy speech(?) is stablished, [O Osiris], and thy princes rejoice. Thou art stablished like the Bull of Amentet. Thy son Horus hath risen like the sun upon thy throne, and all life is with him. Millions of years minister unto him, and millions of years hold him in fear; the company of the gods are his servants, and the company of the gods hold him in fear. The god Tem, the Governor and only One of the gods, hath spoken [these things], and his word passeth not away. Horus is both the divine food and the sacrifice. [He] hath passed on(?) to gather together [the members of] his divine father; Horus is [his] deliverer, Horus is [his] deliverer. Horus hath sprung from the water of his divine father and [from his] decay. He hath become the Governor of Egypt. The gods labor for him, and they toil for him for millions of years; and he hath made to live millions of years through his Eye, the only One of its Lord (or Neb-s), Nebt-er-tcher.”