Page:Books on Egypt and Chaldaea, Vol. 32--Legends of the Gods.pdf/48

 mentioned, and it is impossible to explain its appearance in the Āpep Ritual unless we assume that the whole "Book" was regarded as a spell of the most potent character, the mere recital of which was fraught with deadly effect for Āpep and his friends.

The story of the Creation is supposed to be told by the god Neb-er-tcher,. This name means the "Lord to the uttermost limit," and the character of the god suggests that the word "limit" refers to time and space, and that he was, in fact, the Everlasting God of the Universe. This god's name occurs in Coptic texts, and then he appears as one who possesses all the attributes which are associated by modern nations with God Almighty. Where and how Neb-er-tcher existed is not said, but it seems as if he was believed to have been an almighty and invisible power which filled all space. It seems also that a desire arose in him to create the world, and in order to do this he took upon himself the form of the god Kheperȧ,, who from first to last was regarded as the Creator, par excellence, among all the gods known to the Egyptians. When this transformation of Neb-er-tcher into Kheperȧ took place the heavens and the earth had not been created, but there seems to have existed a vast mass of water, or world-ocean, called Nu,, and it must have been in this that the transformation took place. In this celestial ocean  b