vening 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.]

[Footnote 4: The associates of Set, the god of Evil.]

[Footnote 5: The Ass was a form of the Sun-god, and its eater was a
mythological monster-serpent.]

[Footnote 6: Another mythological serpent.]

[Footnote 7: The serpent that tried to swallow the sun each morning, but
the Sun-god cast a spell on it and rendered it powerless.]

[Footnote 8: The Abtu and the Ant were two fishes that swam before the
boat of the sun to warn the god of danger.]

[Footnote 9: _i.e._, Ani wishes to be sure of a seat in both boats.]

The prayers of the Book of the Dead consist usually of a string of
petitions for sepulchral offerings to be offered in the tombs of the
petitioners, and the fundamental idea underlying them is that by their
transmutation, which was effected by the words of the priests, the
spirits of the offerings became available as the food of the dead. Many
prayers contain requests for the things that tend to the comfort and
general well-being of the dead, but here and there we find a prayer for
forgiveness of sins committed in the body. The best example of such is
the prayer that forms Chapter CXXVI. It reads: "Hail, ye four Ape-gods
who sit in the bows of the Boat of Ra, who convey truth to Nebertchet,
who sit in judgment on my weakness and on my strength, who make the gods
to rest contented by means of the flame of your mouths, who offer holy
offerings to the gods, and sepulchral meals to the spirit-souls, who
live upon truth, who feed upon truth of heart, who are without deceit
and fraud, and to whom wickedness is an abomination, do ye away with my
evil deeds, and put ye away my sin, which deserved stripes upon earth,
and destroy ye every evil thing whatsoever that clingeth to me, and let
there be no bar whatsoever on m