Lesley.] ^^q [1868. 



dynasty (that is a thousand years earlier than our Fairy Tale) 

 is painted the oldest copy of the text of the Ritual yet found ; 

 older than the famous Turin Papj^rus by more than two thou- 

 sand years. The ITth Chapter begins the inscription, and runs 

 thus : — (Lepsius. ^Elteste Texte). " To the ever gracious Ra 

 (the sun) Mentuhotep, Master of the Palace, reciteth this chap- 

 ter of the resurrection on the day of days in Hades. May the 

 word happen! I am Tum, a being who am one. I am Ra in his 

 first dominion. I am the great god self-existing, the creator of 

 his name, lord of gods, whom none of the gods can stop. I was 

 yesterdaj', and will be to-morrow, Osiris namely. A fighting- 

 place of the gods has been prepared, as I said. The fighting 

 place is the West land namelij. I know the name of that great 

 god who is there. Glory of Ra is his name. I am that great 

 Bennu (Phojnix) honored in On. It is the accomiDlishment of 

 what is. W/iat.is that? Osiris namehj. That ivhich is, is the 

 ever and eternal. I am /em in his a^^atar. My two feathers 

 have been set upon my liead. What is that? His two feathers 

 are those of Horus namely, the protector of his father ? His 

 two feathers are, the two Uro?/i on the forehead of His father 

 Turn. I am in m}^ land; I have arrived at my dwelling places. 

 What is that? It is the Sun Mowntain of his father Turn. I 

 am come to my home. I appear in my laud. I step into my 

 province. I dwell with my fatlier Tum to the end of days." 



Compared with the diffuse repetitions and numerous glosses 

 of the Turin Papyrus this sliort chapter u-ears a ver^- archaic 

 and original aspect. But glosses have already crept even 

 iuto this ancient text. They are marked by a change of color 

 on the coffin, and by italics in Lepsius's translation (given in 

 English above). They show that Tum was the Adam, the first 

 mythologic idea of Egypt. Ra the sun comes next. Osiris, 

 Horus and /em appear only in the glosses. And this agrees 

 with their absence from the monuments of the First Empire, 

 another thousand years still further back. 



The presence of Ra in this text is the important point.* The 



* Tut-Ka-Ra, one of the last kingsof the Vth dynasty, calls himself Son of the 

 Sun: a title rare indeed at that time, but afterwards common enough. The 

 first king of the Vlth dynasty (TeTA on the Seti I tablet of Abydos) is called 

 on the cenotaph of the priest Sabu Abeba, who was one of his subjects, SeKa- 

 TeTA "Son of the Sun Teta," the goose and disk being placed inside the Car- 

 touche as part of the king's proper name. I judge that it was done partly to 

 disthiguish him from the old TeTA, second king of the 1st dynasty, Avho, if he 

 worshipped anything, certainly knew nothing about Amun lia, or any other 

 sun-god. The sepulchral stele of Hapa sou of Seta, found at Abydos, repeats 

 this cartouche of SeKaTeTA. 



