The Book of Thoth
Rameses
the Great, Pharaoh of Egypt, had a son called Setna who was learned in
all the ancient writings, and a magician of note. While the other
princes spent their days in hunting or in leading their father's armies
to guard the distant parts of his empire, Setna was never so happy as
when left alone to study. Not only could he read even the most
ancient hieroglyphic writings on the temple walls, but he was a scribe
who could write quickly and easily all the many hundreds of signs that
go to make up the ancient Egyptian language. Also, he was a magician
whom none could surpass: for he had learned his art from the most secret
of the ancient writings which even the priests of Amen-Re, of Ptah and
Thoth, could not read.
One day, as he pored over the ancient
books written on the two sides of long rolls of papyrus, he came upon
the story of another Pharaoh's son several hundred years earlier who had
been as great a scribe and as wise a magician as he greater and wiser,
indeed, for Nefrekeptah had read the Book of Thoth by which a man might
enchant both heaven and earth, and know the language of the birds and
beasts.
When Setna read further that the Book of Thoth had been
buried with Nefrekeptah in his royal tomb at Memphis, nothing would
content him until he had found it and learned all his wisdom.
So
he sought out his brother Anherru and said to him, 'Help me to find the
Book of Thoth. For without it life has no longer any meaning for me.'
'I will go with you and stand by your side through all dangers,' answered Anherru.
The
two brothers set out for Memphis, and it was not hard for them to find
the tomb of Nefrekeptah the son of Amen-hotep, the first great Pharaoh
of that name, who had reigned three hundred years before their day.
When
Setna had made his way into the tomb, to the central chamber where
Nefrekeptah was laid to rest, he found the body of the prince lying
wrapped in its linen bands, still and awful in death. But beside it on
the stone sarcophagus sat two ghostly figures, the Kas, or doubles, of a
beautiful young woman and a boy - and between them, on the dead breast
of Nefrekeptah lay the Book of Thoth.
Setna bowed reverently to
the two Kas, and said, 'May Osiris have you in his keeping, dead son of a
dead Pharaoh, Nefrekeptah the great scribe; and you also, who ever you
be, whose Kas sit here beside him. Know that I am Setna, the priest of
Ptah, son of Rameses the greatest Pharaoh of all - and I come for the
Book of Thoth which was yours in your days on earth. I beg you to let me
take it in peace - for if not I have the power to take it by force or
magic.'
Then said the Ka of the woman, 'Do not take the Book of
Thoth, Setna, son of today's Pharaoh. It will bring you trouble even as
it brought trouble upon Nefrekeptah who lies here, and upon me, Ahura
his wife, whose body lies at Koptos on the edge of Eastern Thebes
together with that of Merab our son - whose Kas you see before you,
dwelling with the husband and father whom we loved so dearly. Listen to
my tale, and beware!:
'Nefrekeptah and I were the children of
the Pharaoh Amen-hotep and, according to the custom, we became husband
and wife, and this son Merab was born to us. Nefrekeptah cared above all
things for the wisdom of the ancients and for the magic that is to be
learned from all that is carved on the temple walls, and within the
tombs and pyramids of long-dead kings and priests in Saqqara, the city
of the dead that is all about us here on the edge of Memphis.
'One
day as he was studying what is carved on the walls in one of the most
ancient shrines of the gods, he heard a priest laugh mockingly and say,
"All that you read there is but worthless. I could tell you where lies
the Book of Thoth, which the god of wisdom wrote with his own hand. When
you have read its first page you will be able to enchant the heaven and
the earth, the abyss, the mountains and the sea; and you shall know
what the birds and the beasts and the reptiles are saying. And when you
have read the second page your eyes will behold all the secrets of the
gods themselves, and read all that is hidden in the stars."
'Then
said Nefrekeptah to the priest, "By the life of Pharaoh, tell me what
you would have me do for you, and I will do it - if only you will tell
me where the Book of Thoth is."
'And the priest answered, "If
you would learn where it lies, you must first give me a hundred bars of
silver for my funeral, and issue orders that when I die my body shall be
buried like that of a great king."
'Nefrekeptah did all that
the priest asked; and when he had received the bars of silver, he said,
"The Book of Thoth lies beneath the middle of the Nile at Koptos, in an
iron box. In the iron box is a box of bronze; in the bronze box is a
sycamore box; in the sycamore box is an ivory and ebony box; in the
ivory and ebony box is a silver box; in the silver box is a golden box -
and in that lies the Book of Thoth. All around the iron box are twisted
snakes and scorpions, and it is guarded by a serpent who cannot be
slain."
'Nefrekeptah was beside himself with joy. He hastened
home from the shrine and told me all that he had learned. But I feared
lest evil should come of it, and said to him, "Do not go to Koptos to
seek this book, for I know that it will bring great sorrow to you and to
those you love."
I tried in vain to hold Nefrekeptah back, but
he shook me off and went to Pharaoh, our royal father, and told him what
he had learned from the priest.
'Then said Pharaoh, "What is it
that you desire?" And Nefrekeptah answered, "Bid your servants make
ready the Royal Boat, for I would sail south to Koptos with Ahura my
wife and our son Merab to seek this book without delay."
'All
was done as he wished, and we sailed up the Nile until we came to
Koptos. And there the priests and priestesses of Isis came to welcome us
and led us up to the Temple of Isis and Horus. Nefrekeptah made a great
sacrifice of an ox, a goose and some wine, and we feasted with the
priests and their wives in a fine house looking out upon the river.
'But
on the morning of the fifth day, leaving me and Merab to watch from the
window of the house, Nefrekeptah went down to the river and made a
great enchantment.
'First he created a magic cabin that was full
of men and tackle. He cast a spell on it, giving life and breath to the
men, and he sank the magic cabin into the river. Then he filled the
Royal Boat with sand and put out into the middle of the Nile until he
came to the place below which the magic cabin lay. And he spoke words of
power, and cried, "Workmen, workmen, work for me even where lies the
Book of Thoth!" They toiled without ceasing by day and by night, and on
the third day they reached the place where the Book lay.
Then Nefrekeptah cast out the sand and they raised the Book on it until it stood upon a shoal above the level of the river.
'And
behold all about the iron box, below it and above it, snakes and
scorpions twined. And the serpent that could not die was twined about
the box itself. Nefrekeptah cried to the snakes and scorpions a loud and
terrible cry - and at his words of magic they became still, nor could
one of them move.
'Then Nefrekeptah walked unharmed among the
snakes and scorpions until he came to where the serpent that could not
die lay curled around the box of iron. The serpent reared itself up for
battle, since no charm could work on it, and Nefrekeptah drew his sword
and rushing upon it, smote off its head at a single blow. But at once
the head and the body sprang together, and the serpent that could not
die was whole again and ready for the fray. Once more Nefrekeptah smote
off its head, and this time he cast it far away into the river. But at
once the head returned to the body, and was joined to the neck, and the
serpent that could not die was ready for its next battle.
'Nefrekeptah
saw that the serpent could not be slain, but must be overcome by
cunning. So once more he struck off its head. But before head and body
could come together he put sand on each part so that when they tried to
join they could not do so as there was sand between them - and the
serpent that could not die lay helpless in two pieces.
'Then
Nefrekeptah went to where the iron box lay on the shoal in the river;
and the snakes and scorpions watched him; and the head of the serpent
that could not die watched him also: but none of them could harm him.
'He
opened the iron box and found in it a bronze box; he opened the bronze
box and found in it a box of sycamore wood; he opened that and found a
box of ivory and ebony, and in that a box of silver, and at the last a
box of gold. And when he had opened the golden box he found in it the
Book of Thoth. He opened the Book and read the first page- and at once
he had power over the heavens and the earth, the abyss, the mountains
and the sea; he knew what the birds and the beasts and the fishes were
saying. He read the next page of spells, and saw the sun shining in the
sky, the moon and the stars, and knew their secrets - and he saw also
the gods themselves who are hidden from mortal sight.
'Then,
rejoicing that the priest's words had proved true, and the Book of Thoth
was his, he cast a spell upon the magic men, saying, "Workmen, workmen,
work for me and take me back to the place from which I came!" They
brought him back to Koptos where I sat waiting for him, taking neither
food nor drink in my anxiety, but sitting stark and still like one who
is gone to the grave.
'When Nefrekeptah came to me, he held out
the Book of Thoth and I took it in my hands. And when I read the first
page I also had power over the heavens and the earth, the abyss, the
mountains and the sea; and I also knew what the birds, the beasts and
the fishes were saying. And when I read the second page I saw the sun,
the moon and the stars with all the gods, and knew their secrets even as
he did.
'Then Nefrekeptah took a clean piece of papyrus and
wrote on it all the spells from the Book of Thoth. He took a cup of beer
and washed off the words into it and drank it so that the knowledge of
the spells entered into his being. But I, who cannot write, do not
remember all that is written in the Book of Thoth - for the spells which
I had read in it were many and hard.
'After this we entered the
Royal Boat and set sail for Memphis. But scarcely had we begun to move,
when a sudden power seemed to seize our little boy Merab so that he was
drawn into the river and sank out of sight. Seizing the Book of Thoth,
Nefrekeptah read from it the necessary spell, and at once the body of
Merab rose to the surface of the river and we lifted it on board. But
not all the magic in the Book, not that of any magician in Egypt, could
bring Merab back to life. Nonetheless Nefrekeptah was able to make his
Ka speak to us and tell us what had caused his death. And the Ka of
Merab said, "Thoth the great god found that his Book had been taken, and
he hastened before Amen-Re, saying, 'Nefrekeptah, son of Pharaoh
Amen-hotep, has found my magic box and slain its guards and taken my
Book with all the magic that is in it.' And Re replied to him, 'Deal
with Nefrekeptah and all that is his as it seems good to you: I send out
my power to work sorrow and bring a punishment upon him and upon his
wife and child.' And that power from Re, passing through the will of
Thoth, drew me into the river and drowned me."
'Then we made
great lamentation, for our hearts were well nigh broken at the death of
Merab. We put back to shore at Koptos, and there his body was embalmed
and laid in a tomb as befitted him.
'When the rites of burial
and the lamentations for the dead were ended, Nefrekeptah said to me,
"Let us now sail with all haste down to Memphis to tell our father the
Pharaoh what has chanced. For his heart will be heavy at the death of
Merab. Yet he will rejoice that I have the Book of Thoth."
'So
we set sail once more in the Royal Boat. But when it came to the place
where Merab had fallen into the water, the power of Re came upon me also
and I walked out of the cabin and fell into the river and was drowned.
And when Nefrekeptah by his magic arts had raised my body out of the
river, and my Ka had told him all, he turned back to Koptos and had my
body embalmed and laid in the tomb beside Merab.
'Then he set
out once more in bitter sorrow for Memphis. But when it reached that
city, and Pharaoh came aboard the Royal Boat, it was to find Nefrekeptah
lying dead in the cabin with the Book of Thoth bound upon his breast.
So there was mourning throughout all the land of Egypt, and Nefrekeptah
was buried with all the rites and honors due to the son of Pharaoh in
this tomb where he now lies, and where my Ka and the Ka of Merab come to
watch over him.
'And now I have told you all the woe that has
befallen us because we took and read the Book of Thoth - the book which
you ask us to give up. It is not yours, you have no claim to it, indeed
for the sake of it we gave up our lives on earth.'
When Setna
had listened to all the tale told by the Ka of Ahura, he was filled with
awe. But nevertheless the desire to have the Book of Thoth was so
strong upon him that he said, 'Give me that which lies upon the dead
breast of Nefrekeptah, or I will take it by force.'
Then the Kas
of Ahura and Merab drew away as if in fear of Setna the great magician.
But the Ka of Nefrekeptah arose from out of his body and stepped
towards him, saying, 'Setna, if after hearing all the tale which Ahura
my wife has told you, yet you will take no warning, then the Book of
Thoth must be yours. But first you must win it from me, if your skill is
great enough, by playing a game of draughts with me - a game of
fifty-two points. Dare you do this?'
And Setna answered, 'I am ready to play.'
So
the board was set between them, and the game began. And Nefrekeptah won
the first game from Setna, and put his spell upon him so that he sank
into the ground to above the ankles. And when he won the second game,
Setna sank to his waist in the ground. Once more they played and when
Nefrekeptah won Setna sank in the ground until only his head was
visible. But he cried out to his brother who stood outside the tomb:
'Anherru! Make haste! Run to Pharaoh and beg of him the great Amulet of
Ptah, for by it only can I be saved, if you set it upon my head before
the last game is played and lost.'
So Anherru sped down the
steep road from Saqqara to where Pharaoh sat in his palace at Memphis.
And when he heard all, he fastened into the Temple of Ptah, took the
great Amulet from its place in the sanctuary, and gave it to Anherru,
saying: 'Go with all speed, my son, and rescue your brother Setna from
this evil contest with the dead.'
Back to the tomb sped Anherru,
and down through the passages to the tomb-chamber where the Ka of
Nefrekeptah still played at draughts with Setna. And as he entered,
Setna made his last move, and Nefrekeptah reached out his hand with a
cry of triumph to make the final move that should win the game and sink
Setna out of sight beneath the ground for ever.
But before
Nefrekeptah could move the piece, Anherru leapt forward and placed the
Amulet of Ptah on Setna's head. And at its touch Setna sprang out of the
ground, snatched the Book of Thoth from Nefrekeptah's body and fled
with Anherru from the tomb.
As they went they heard the Ka of Ahura cry, 'Alas, all power is gone from him who lies in this tomb.'
But
the Ka of Nefrekeptah answered, 'Be not sad: I will make Setna bring
back the Book of Thoth, and come as a suppliant to my tomb with a forked
stick in his hand and a fire-pan on his head.'
Then Setna and Anherru were outside, and at once the tomb closed behind them and seemed as if it had never been opened.
When
Setna stood before his father the great Pharaoh and told him all that
had happened, and gave him the Amulet of Ptah, Rameses said, 'My son, I
counsel you to take back the Book of Thoth to the tomb of Nefrekeptah
like a wise and prudent man. For otherwise be sure that he will bring
sorrow and evil upon you, and at the last you will be forced to carry it
back as "a suppliant with a forked stick in your hand and a fire-pan on
your head."
But Setna would not listen to such advice. Instead,
he returned to his own dwelling and spent all his time reading the Book
of Thoth and studying all the spells contained in it. And often he
would carry it into the Temple of Ptah and read from it to those who
sought his wisdom.
One day as he sat in a shady colonnade of the
temple he saw a maiden, more beautiful than any he had ever seen,
entering the temple with fifty-two girls in attendance on her. Setna
gazed fascinated at this lovely creature with her golden girdle and
head-dress of gold and colored jewels, who knelt to make her offerings
before the statue of Ptah. Soon he learned that she was called Tabubua,
and was the daughter of the high priest of the cat goddess Bastet from
the city of Bubastis to the north of Memphis - Bastet who was the bride
of the god Ptah of Memphis.
As soon as Setna beheld Tabubua it
seemed as if Hathor the goddess of love had cast a spell over him. He
forgot all else, even the Book of Thoth, and desired only to win her.
And it did not seem as if his suit would be in vain, for when he sent a
message to her, she replied that if he wished to seek her he was free to
do so - provided he came secretly to her palace in the desert outside
Bubastis.
Setna made his way thither in haste, and found a pylon
tower in a great garden with a high wall round about it. There Tabubua
welcomed him with sweet words and looks, led him to her chamber in the
pylon and served him with wine in a golden cup.
When he spoke to
her of his love, she answered, 'Be joyful, my sweet lord, for I am
destined to be your bride. But remember that I am no common woman but
the child of Bastet the Beautiful - and I cannot endure a rival. So
before we are wed write me a scroll of divorcement against your present
wife; and write also that you give your children to me to be slain and
thrown down to the cats of Bastet - for I cannot endure that they shall
live and perhaps plot evil against our children.'
'Be it as you
wish!' cried Setna. And straightway he took his brush and wrote that
Tabubua might cast his wife out to starve and slay his children to feed
the sacred cats of Bastet. And when he had done this, she handed him the
cup once more and stood before him in all her loveliness, singing a
bridal hymn. Presently terrible cries came floating up to the high
window of the pylon - the dying cries of his children, for he recognized
each voice as it called to him in agony and then was still.
But
Setna drained the golden cup and turned to Tabubua, saying, 'My wife is
a beggar and my children lie dead at the pylon foot, I have nothing
left in the world but you - and I would give all again for you. Come to
me, my love!'
Then Tabubua came towards him with outstretched
arms, more lovely and desirable than Hathor herself. With a cry of
ecstasy Setna caught her to him - and as he did so, on a sudden she
changed and faded until his arms held a hideous, withered corpse. Setna
cried aloud in terror, and as he did so the darkness swirled around him,
the pylon seemed to crumble away, and when he regained his senses he
found himself lying naked in the desert beside the road that led from
Bubastis to Memphis.
The passersby on the road mocked at Setna.
But one kinder than the rest threw him an old cloak, and with this about
him he came back to Memphis like a beggar.
When he reached his
own dwelling place and found his wife and children there alive and well,
he had but one thought and that was to return the Book of Thoth to
Nefrekeptah.
'If Tabubua and all her sorceries were but a
dream,' he exclaimed, 'they show me in what terrible danger I stand. For
if such another spell is cast upon me, next time it will prove to be no
dream.'
So, with the Book of Thoth in his hands, he went before
Pharaoh his father and told him what had happened. And Rameses the
Great said to him, 'Setna, what I warned you of has come to pass. You
would have done better to obey my wishes sooner. Nefrekeptah will
certainly kill you if you do not take back the Book of Thoth to where
you found it. Therefore go to the tomb as a suppliant, carrying a forked
stick in your hand and a fire-pan on your head.'
Setna did as
Pharaoh advised. When he came to the tomb and spoke the spell, it opened
to him as before, and he went down to the tomb-chamber and found
Nefrekeptah lying in his sarcophagus with the Kas of Ahura and Merab
sitting on either side. And the Ka of Ahura said, 'Truly it is Ptah, the
great god, who has saved you and made it possible for you to return
here as a suppliant.'
Then the Ka of Nefrekeptah rose from the
body and laughed, saying, 'I told you that you would return as a
suppliant, bringing the Book of Thoth. Place it now upon my body where
it lay these many years. But do not think that you are yet free of my
vengeance. Unless you perform that which I bid you, the dream of Tabubua
will be turned into reality.'
Then said Setna, bowing low,
'Nefrekeptah, master of magic, tell me what I may do to turn away your
just vengeance. If it be such as a man may perform, I will do it for
you.'
'I ask only a little thing,' answered the Ka of
Nefrekeptah. 'You know that while my body lies here for you to see, the
bodies of Ahura and Merab rest in their tomb at Koptos.
Bring
their bodies here to rest with mine until the Day of Awakening when
Osiris returns to earth - for we love one another and would not be
parted.'
Then Setna went in haste to Pharaoh and begged for the
use of the Royal Boat. And Pharaoh was pleased to give command that it
should sail with Setna where he would. So Setna voyaged up the Nile to
Koptos. And there he made a great sacrifice to Isis and Horus, and
begged the priests of the temple to tell him where Ahura and Merab lay
buried. But, though they searched the ancient writings in the temple,
they could find no record.
Setna was in despair. But he offered a
great reward to any who could help him, and presently a very old man
came tottering up to the temple and said, 'If you are Setna the great
scribe, come with me. For when I was a little child my grandfather's
father who was as old as I am now told me that when he was even as I was
then his grandfather's father had shown him where Ahura and Merab lay
buried - for as a young man in the days of Pharaoh Amen-hotep the First
he had helped to lay them in the tomb.'
Setna followed eagerly where the old man led him, and came to a house on the edge of Koptos.
'You
must pull down this house and dig beneath it,' said the old man. And
when Setna had bought the house for a great sum from the scribe who
lived in it, he bade the soldiers whom Pharaoh had sent with him level
the house with the ground and dig beneath where it had stood.
They
did as he bade them, and presently came to a tomb buried beneath the
sand and cut from the rock. And in it lay the bodies of Ahura and Merab.
When he saw them, the old man raised his arms and cried aloud; and as
he cried he faded from sight and Setna knew that it was the Ka of
Nefrekeptah which had taken on that shape to lead him to the tomb.
So
he took up the mummies of Ahura and Merab and conveyed them with all
honor, as if they had been the bodies of a queen and prince of Egypt,
down the Nile in the Royal Boat to Memphis.
And there Pharaoh
himself led the funeral procession to Saqqara, and Setna placed the
bodies of Ahura and Merab beside that of Nefrekeptah in the secret tomb
where lay the Book of Thoth.
When the funeral procession had
left the tomb, Setna spoke a charm and the wall closed behind him
leaving no trace of a door. Then at Pharaoh's command they heaped sand
over the low stone shrine where the entrance to the tomb was hidden; and
before long a sandstorm turned it into a great mound, and then leveled
it out so that never again could anyone find a trace of the tomb where
Nefrekeptah lay with Ahura and Merab and the Book of Thoth, waiting for
the Day of Awakening when Osiris shall return to rule over the earth.
other mythos.....by snowcat....and the egyptian link
(image from: http://www.europa.com/edge/pyramid.html)
| The Golden Lotus | The Greek Princess | The Book of Thoth |
 | | |
Isis and the 7 Scorpions |
The Girl w/ the Rose Red Slippers |
The Myth of Isis & Osiris |
| | |
The 7 Yr Famine |
The Prince & the Sphinx |
The Story of Re |
| | |
The Land of the Dead |
|
Appalachian
