The Egyptian Book of the Dead (Papyrus of Ani) · 219 of 357 · tr. E.A. Wallis Budge
Chapter 37 (part 1)
PLATES XXXI.
AND XXXII.
Vignettes: The Hall of Double Right and Truth, wherein Ani has to address severally the forty-two gods, who are seated in a row in the middle of the, hall.
At each end is a door that on the right is called "Neb-Maat-heri-tep-retui-f" and that on the left "Neb-pehti-thesu-menment." On the centre of the roof, which is crowned with a series of uræi and feathers emblematic of Maat, is a seated deity with hands extended, the right over the eye of Horus and the left over a pool (see the Vignette of Plate VIII.
above, p.
278). On the right, at the end of the hall (Plate XXXII.), are four small vignettes, in which are depicted: (1) Two seated figures of the goddess Maat, with emblematic of Right and Truth, on the head, and sceptres and emblems of life in the right and left hands.
(2) Osiris, seated, wearing the atef crown, and holding in his hands the crook and flail.
Before him, by the side of an altar of offerings, stands Ani, with both hands raised in adoration.
(3) A balance with the heart, symbolizing the conscience of Ani, in one scale, and emblematic of Right and Truth, in the other.
Beside the balance is the tri-formed monster Amemit.
(4) Thoth, ibis-headed, seated on a pylon-shaped pedestal, painting a large feather of Maat.
Text: [THE NEGATIVE CONFESSION.] (1) Ani saith: "Hail, thou whose strides are long, who comest forth from Annu, I have not done iniquity." (2) "Hail, thou who art embraced by flame, who comest forth from Kheraba, I have not robbed with violence." (3) "Hail, Fentiu, who comest forth from Khemennu, I have not stolen." (4) "Hail, Devourer of the Shade, who comest forth from Qernet, I have done no murder; I have done no harm." (5) "Hail, Nehau, who comest forth from Re-stau, I have not defrauded offerings." (6) "Hail, god in the form of two lions, who comest forth from heaven, I have not minished oblations." (7) "Hail, thou whose eyes are of fire, who comest forth from Saut, I have not plundered the god." (8) "Hail, thou Flame, which comest and goest, I have spoken no lies." (9) "Hail, Crusher of bones, who comest forth from Suten-henen, I have not snatched away food." (10) "Hail, thou who shootest forth the Flame, who comest forth from Het-Ptah-ka, I have not caused pain." [1.
Final, collective cosmic judgment as an event in which the wicked are sentenced and the cosmos restored; distinct from psychopomp_journey (individual passage at death) and emphasising verdict where Zoroastrian frashokereti emphasises restoration.
The text describes the setting of the 'Hall of Double Right and Truth' where the deceased faces judgment based on their conduct.
The Zoroastrian triad of right thought, right speech, and right action as the foundation of ethical life; truth-in-living.
The Negative Confession enumerates right speech (no lies), right action (no theft, murder, fraud), and implicitly right thought, forming a triad of ethical conformity to cosmic order.
The Egyptian principle of truth, balance, and right order underlying both the cosmos and human conduct; the parallel to Zoroastrian asha and Greek dike.
[auto] The passage centers on adherence to truth and balance ('Hall of Double Right and Truth') through negative confessions aligning with the Egyptian principle of Maat.
The maintenance of a state of cleanliness—physical, moral, or spiritual—required for encounter with the divine.
[auto] The passage repeatedly declares 'I am pure' and lists moral and ritual transgressions avoided to establish a state of cleanliness required for divine encounter.
Iamblichean ritual practice that engages the gods directly through consecrated material symbols and actions, on the premise that divine power descends into properly prepared matter — distinct from philosophical contemplation alone.
The recitation of specific texts and knowledge of names is used to engage divine power for safe passage in the afterlife.
The doctrine and practice that spoken or sung word carries causal-magical force — that uttering names, formulas, songs, or incantations alters reality directly rather than merely communicating about it. Vainamoinen's runo-songs that move mountains and command iron, Norse galdr, Vedic mantra, Shinto kotodama, the magician's barbarous names in the Greek Magical Papyri, Iamblichean arcane signatures and inexplicable symbols, biblical creation-by-word. Distinct from sacred_names (the ontological power of names themselves) and prayer (address to the divine); word_power_incantation is the magical-causal efficacy of the spoken word as such.
The Negative Confession is a ritual incantation whose spoken utterance carries causal-magical force in the judgment — the words themselves effect the soul's passage through the afterlife.