f the children; as each child was born Meskhenet stepped up to
him and said, "A king who shall have dominion over the whole land," and
the god Khnemu bestowed health upon his limbs. [Footnote: See Erman,
_Westcar Papyrus_, Berlin, 1890, hieroglyphic transcript, plates 9 and
10.] Of these five gods, Isis, Nephthys, Meskhenet, Heqet, and Khnemu,
the first three are present at the judgment of Ani; Khnemu is mentioned
in Ani's address to his heart (see below), and only Heqet is
unrepresented.

As the weighing of his heart is about to take place Ani says, "My heart,
my mother! My heart, my mother! My heart whereby I came into being! May
naught stand up to oppose me in the judgment; may there be no opposition
to me in the presence of the sovereign princes; may there be no parting
of thee from me in the presence of him that keepeth the Balance! Thou
art my _ka_, the dweller in my body; the god Khnemu who knitteth and
strengtheneth my limbs. Mayest thou come forth into the place of
happiness whither we go. May the princes of the court of Osiris, who
order the circumstances of the lives of men, not cause my name to
stink." Some papyri add, "Let it be satisfactory unto us, and let the
listening be satisfactory unto us, and let there be joy of heart unto us
at the weighing of words. Let not that which is false be uttered against
me before the great god, the lord of Amentet! Verily how great shalt
thou be when thou risest in triumph!"

The tongue of the balance having been examined by Anubis, and the ape
having indicated to his associate Thoth that the beam is exactly
straight, and that the heart, therefore, counterbalances the feather
symbolic of Ma[=a]t _(_i.e._, right, truth, law, etc.), neither
outweighing nor underweighing it, Thoth writes down the result, and then
makes the following address to the gods:--

"Hear ye this judgment. The heart of Osiris hath in very truth been
weighed, and his soul hath stood as a witness for him; it hath been
found true by trial in the Great Balance. There hath not been found
any wickedness in him; he hath not wasted the offerings in the
temples; he hath not done harm by his deeds; and he spread abroad no
evil reports while he was upon earth."

In answer to this report the company of the gods, who are styled "the
great company of the gods," reply, "That which cometh forth from thy
mouth, O Thoth, who dwellest in Khemennu (Hermopolis), is confirmed.
Osiris, the scribe Ani, triump