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Ma'at and Egyptian Morality
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An important section of the Egyptian
Book of the Dead written on papyrus shows the Weighing of the Heart in the
Duat using the feather of Ma'at as the measure in balance.
Ani
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Ma'at
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heart
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feather
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Thoth
One aspect of ancient Egyptian funerary literature which often is
mistaken for a codified ethic of Ma'at is Spell (Chapter) 125 of the
Book of the Dead or Papyrus of Ani.
([This papyrus scroll is now recognized to be] known to the Ancient Egyptians
as The Book of Going Forth by Day).
The lines of this spell are often collectively called the "Forty-Two
Declarations of Purity" or, simply, 'The Negative Confessions.'
These declarations
varied somewhat from tomb to tomb and so cannot be considered a
canonical definition of Ma'at. Rather, they appear to express each tomb
owner's individual conception of Ma'at, as well as working as a magical
absolution - misdeeds or mistakes made by the tomb owner in life could
be declared as not having been done, and through the power of the
written word, wipe that particular misdeed from the after-life record of
the deceased.
Many of the lines are similar, however, and they can help to give
the student a "flavor" for the sorts of things which Ma'at governed —
essentially everything, from the most formal to the most mundane
aspects of life.
Many versions are given on-line. Unfortunately, seldom do they note
the tomb from which they came or whether they are a collection from
various different tombs. Generally, they are each addressed to a
specific deity, described in his or her most fearsome aspect.
The doctrine of Ma'at is represented in the declarations to
[one of the mani- festions of Ma'at:]
Rekhti-merti-f-ent-Ma'at and [is exemplified within]
the 42 Negative Confessions listed in the Papyrus of Ani.
The following are taken from public domain translations made by
E. A. Wallis Budge in the early part of the 20th century, more recent translations will
differ in the light of modern scholarship.
42 Negative Confessions (Papyrus of Ani)
I have not committed sin.
I have not committed robbery with violence.
I have not stolen.
I have not slain men and women.
I have not stolen grain.
I have not purloined offerings.
I have not stolen the property of the god.
I have not uttered lies.
I have not carried away food.
I have not uttered curses.
I have not committed adultery.
I have not lain with men.
I have made none to weep.
I have not eaten the heart [i.e I have not
... grieved uselessly, or felt remorse].
I have not attacked any man.
I am not a man of deceit.
I have not stolen cultivated land.
I have not been an eavesdropper.
I have slandered [no man].
I have not been angry without just cause(?).
I have not debauched the wife of any man.
x
~
I have not polluted myself.
~
x
I have terrorised none.
I have not transgressed [the Law].
I have not been wroth.
I have not shut my ears to the words of truth.
I have not blasphemed.
I am not a man of violence.
I am not a stirrer up of strife (or a disturber of the peace).
I have not acted (or judged) with undue haste.
I have not pried into matters.
I have not multiplied my words in speaking.
I have wronged none, I have done no evil.
I have not worked witchcraft against the King
... (or blasphemed against the King).
I have never stopped [the flow of] water.
I have never raised my voice (spoken arrogantly, or in anger?).
I have not cursed (or blasphemed) God.
I have not acted with arrogance(?).
I have not stolen the bread of the gods.
I have not carried away the khenfu cakes from the Spirits of the dead.
I have not snatched away the bread of the child,
... nor treated with contempt the god of my city.
I have not slain the cattle belonging to the god.
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