B RIT IS H M US EUM .

Th e B ook 0 th e D e ad

WITH TWENT" FIVE I LLUSTRATIONS

-
.

P R I N T E D B " O R DE R O F T H E T R U S T E ES .

1 92 0.

PR I C E O NE S H I LL I N GGN D SI XP FI I CE

"
A ll Righ ts R e se r v ed ]
 T H E B O O K O F T H E D EA D .

THE T ITLE .

B OO K OF TH E D E AD is t h e t itle now commonl y giv e n to t h e

g reat co ll ection of f unerary t e x t s w h ic h th e ancient E gy p t i an
sc ri be s compo sed for the be ne t o f the dea d The se consist o f .

spe ll s and incantations hymns and l itanies ma g ica l formu l ae , ,

a nd names word s o f power an d prayers and t hey ar e foun d

, ,

cu t or pain te d on wa ll s o f p y ram id s and tom b s an d pa i nte d ,

on co fns an d sarco ph ag i and ro ll s o f pa p yri T h e t i t l e Boo k .

o f t h e Dea d is somew h at u nsatisfactory an d m i sl ea di ng for ,

t h e te x t s neit h er form a co nnected wor k nor be l ong to one

per io d the y are mi sce ll aneous in ch ar acter an d tell u s not hi ng ,

a bou t the lives and wor k s o f t h e d ea d wit h w h om the y were

b urie d Moreove r the Eg yp tians posse ssed many funera r y
.
,

wor ks t h a t m i ght ri g htl y be call e d Boo k s o f the D ea d b ut ,

n one o f t h em bore a name that cou ld be transl ate d by t h e tit l e

Boo k of the Dea d This tit l e was g i ven to the great colle c
.

tion o f f u nerary te x ts i n the rst quarter o f the nineteenth

c entu r y by t h e p i onee r Egyp to l ogist s who posse ssed no e x act ,

knowl ed ge o f their contents Th e y we r e fam il iar wi th the ro ll s .

of papyru s inscri be d in the hi e r og l yph ic and t h e hieratic

1
character f or co p ies o f severa l ha d been p u bli s h e d
,
b ut t h e ,

t e x ts in them were sh ort and fragmentary T h e p u bl ication o f .

'

t he F acsim il e o f t h e Pap yr us o f Peta f\ me n ne b nest taui by

2 3 - - - -

Se e j ou r n a l dc Tr v ou x , " u ne , 1 0
7 4 ; C a yl u s , A n ti Egypt , q .

t om . 1 , p la te 2 1 D e non Tr a ve ls , ,
pl a tes 1 36 a nd 1 37 a n d D e scr iption

gypze tom
'
. dc z , . 1 1 , p l a te 6 4 a .

C opie F igu r /e d u n Rou le a u dc P a py r u s fr om) " d Thebes d a ns

'
un

"am be a u d e s R oi s i
w T hi s p p y s is n ar l y 3 f e t
Par s X I I I 1 80 5
. . a ru e 0 e

w
,

in l n gth nd s b o gh t to S t a ssb r g b y a p y m a st in N a p ol on s
'
e a a r u r u a er e

A r m y in E gyp t c a ll d P o ssi l g h o sold i t to M C a d t

wi m
e u e ue, e

w
. .

Ma .

272
2 TH E B OOK O F TH E D EAD .

M Cadet in 1 805 made a long hierog l yphic text and numerou s

.

coloured vign ettes available for study and the French Egypto ,

logists described it as a copy of the Ritue l Fun raire of the

ancient Egyptians Among these was Cham poll ion le Jeu ne
.
,

but later on his re turn from Egypt he and others called it

, ,

Le Livre des Morts The B ook of the D ead
,
D a s Tod te n ,

buch e tc These titles are merely translations of the name

,
.

given by the Egyptian tomb robbers to every roll of inscribed -

papyru s which they found with mummies namely Kit ab , ,

al Mayyit
-
Book of the dead man or Kit ab a l M a yyitu n
, ,
-

Book of the dead ( pla n ) These men knew nothing of th e .

contents of such a ro ll and a ll they meant to say was that it

,

was a dead man s book and that it was found in his co f n ,

with h im .

II .

TH E P RE S E R V AT ION O F TH E M UMM IFI E D B O D Y I N TH E TOM B

B" T H OTH .

The o bj ects found in the graves of the predynastic Egyptians ,

i a vessels of food int kni ves and other weapons etc prov e
. .
, , ,
.
,

that these early dwellers in the Nile Val l ey be l ie ved in some

kind of a future e xistence B ut as the art of writing a s
unknown to them their graves contain no inscri ptions and we
. w
,

can onl y infer fr om texts of the dynastic pe riod what their idea s
about the Other Worl d were It is clear that they did not .

consider it of great importance to pre serve the dead body in as

comp l ete and perfect state as possible for in many of their ,

gra ves the heads hands and feet have been found severed from
,

the trunks and lying at some distance from them On the other .

hand the dynastic E gyptians either as the result of a difference

, ,

in religious belief or u nder the inuence of in vaders who h ad

,

settled in their country attached supreme im portance to the

,

preservation and integrity of the dead body and they adopted ,

every means known to them to prevent its dismemberment and

decay They clea nse d it and embalmed it with drugs spices and
.
,

balsams ; they anointed it with aromatic oil s and preservati v e

uids they swathed it in hundreds of yards of linen bandages
and then they sealed it up in a coffin or sarcophagu s which they ,

laid in a chamber hewn in the bowels of the mountain Al l .

 THE B OO K O F TH E DEA D . 3

these things were done to protect the physical body against

dam p d ry rot and decay and against the attacks o f moth
, , ,

beet l es worm s and wil d animals B u t these were not the onl y
, .

enemies of the dead aga inst which precautions had to be taken ,

for both the mumm ied body and the Spiritual e l ement s which
had inhabited it upon earth had to be protected from a multitude
of de vils and ends and from the powers of darkness general l y
, .

Th ese powers of e vil had hideous and terrif yi ng S hapes and form s ,

and their haunts were wel l k nown for they infe sted the region ,

throu gh which the road o f the dead lay when pa ssing from

t h is worl d to the Ki ngdom o f Osi ri s The great god s were .

afraid of them and were obliged to protect them selves by the

,

w
use of Spel l s an d magica l na mes a nd words of power which were
com po sed and r itten down by Thoth
,

.
,

I n fact it was be li e ved in very e a r ly

times in Egy pt that R a the Sun god -

owed his continued e xistence to the

po ssession of a secret nam e wit h wh ich
Th oth had provided him And eac h

w
.

mo r ning the ri si ng sun was me naced

by a fearfu l monster call ed Aa pe p ,

it
h, wh ic h la y h idd e n u nd er t h e .

D D
p l ace o f sunri se wait ing to swa ll ow u p
the so l ar di s k I t was im po ssibl e
.
,

w
even for the Su n god to destro y this

w
-

D
G reat evil but by reciting each Th s p e i ng of
m qm g na
e
,

w
m om ing t h e powerf u l S pe ll wi th w h ich mm Am ) ": -
.

Thot h had provi ded h im he a s a ble to para l yse a ll A a pe p s

limbs and to rise upo n t h is worl d S i nce then the great gods
.
,

even t h oug h benevo l entl y di spo sed toward s them were not a bl e ,

to deli ver the dead from the dev il s that li ved u pon t h e bodies ,

souls Spirits sh adows and heart s of t h e d ead the Egy ptians

, , ,

decided to invo k e t h e ai d o f Th ot h on be h a l f o f their dead and

to pla ce them u nder the p rotection of his a l mighty spel l s .

w
Inspired by Thoth the theo l og ia ns o f ancient Egypt composed
a large num ber o f fu nerary te x t s w hich were certainl y in
,

general use u nder the I Vth d yna sty ( about 3 7 00 and

ere pro ba bly we ll known under th e I st d ynasty and throug h ,

out t h e w h o le pe r io d o f d ynastic history Th oth was regarde d

a s t h e au t h or o f t h e B ook o f the Dead "
.
4 TH E B OOK O F TH E D EAD .

TH E B OO K PER T E M H RU O R "
-
TH E C H A PTE RS OF ] C O M IN G
,

FO RTH B " ( O R I NTO ) THE D A " CO MM ON L Y CA L L E D

, ,

TH E B OO K OF TH E D E A D .

The spells and other texts which were written by Thot h for
the be ne t of the dead and ar e dir e ctl y connected with him

, ,

were cal l ed according to documents written under the K I th

,

and X V I I I th dynasties Chapters of the Coming Forth by
,

o
k E
i S
it] 9 On
e r ubric
( or,
nto ) the D a y ,
nm m o
0 l
.

i n the Papyrus of Nu ( B rit Mus N o 1 047 7 ) S tates that the text

. . .

of the work ca ll e d PER T EM H KU 1 3 e Com i ng Forth ( or

-

,
. .
, ,

into ) the D a y was discovered by a hi gh o f c ia l I n the tounda
,

tions of a shr i ne o f the god He nnu during the re i gn o f Semti ,

or He se pti a ki ng of the Ist dynasty Another rubric in the

,
. .

same p apyr us says that the te x t was cut u pon th e alabaster

'

p li nth of a statue of Me nk a u r a ( Myce ri nus ) a ki ng o f t h e ,

I V th dynasty and that the letters were i nl aid with lapis l az u li

, .

The p l inth was found by Pri nce He r u ta ta f ,

E Q
son of King Khufu ( Cheops ) who carried it o ff to his king an d
,

e xh ibited it as a most wonderfu l thing This composition .

was greatly reverenced for it wou l d make a man victo r ious

,

u pon earth and in the Other Wor l d it wou l d ensure h im a

safe and free passage through the Tuat ( Under World ) ; i t
wou l d a ll ow him to go in and to go out and to ta ke at any ,

time any form he pleased it woul d make his sou l to ourish ,

and would pre vent him from dying the "second ] death For .

the deceased to receive the fu ll benet of t his te x t it had to be

recited by a man who was ceremoniall y pure and who had ,

not eaten sh or m e at and h ad not consorted with women

, .

On co f ns of the K I th d y nasty and on p ap yri o f th e X V I I I th

dynasty we nd two versi ons of the PER T EM H EU one l ong

and one short As the tit l e of the shorter version states that
.

it isthe Chapters of the PER T EM H RU in a sing l e c h apter i t -

is cl ear that this work even under the I V th dynasty conta i ne d

, ,

many Chapters and that a much ab bre viated fo r m of t h e
,

work was also current at the same peri od The ru bric that .

attribute sthe ndi ng of the Chapter to Her u ta ta f associates

 -
THE B OO K O F TH E D EA D . 5

it with Kh e m e nu i a Hermo po l is and indicates that T h oth

,
. .
, , ,

the go d of this city was it s au thor

, .

The work PER T EM H RU rece ived many additions in t h e

-

course of centu ri es and at l eng

, th u nder t h e X V I I I th dynasty
, ,

it contained about 1 90 distinct com positions or Chapt e rs, .

Th e ori g ina l fo r ms of many of these a r e to b found in the e

6 TH E B OOK O F

TH E D EAD .

Pyramid Texts th e funerary compositions o u t on th e

walls of the chambers a nd cor r id or s of the pyramids of Kings ,

Un a s Tet a Pepi I Meri R M e r e nr a and Pepi II at S a k k ar a h )

, ,
-

, ,

which were written under the V th and V I th dynasties The .

forms which many oth e r ch ap te r s had under the K I th and

'

X I I th dynasties are well represented by the tex ts paint ed on

the co f ns of A m a m u Sen and Gu a te p in the B ritish Museum
, ,

( Nos 6654 3 083 9

.
,
but it is po ssible that both these and
,

the so call ed Pyramid Texts a ll belonge d to the work PER T

- -

E M H R U and are extracts from it
,
The Pyramid Texts h ave .

no illustrations but a few of the texts on the co f ns of th e

,

K I th and X I I th dynasties have coloured vignettes e g those ,

. .
,

which refer to the region to be traversed by the deceased on

hi s way to the Other World and the Islands of the Ble ssed or ,

the Elysian Fields On the upper margins of the insides of suc h

.

co f ns there are frequently given two or more rows o f coloure d

drawings of the offerings which under the V th dynasty were
presented to the deceased or his statue duri ng the celebration
of the service of Ope ni ng the Mouth and the performance

of the ceremonies of The Liturgy of Funerary Offerings .

Under the X V I I I th dynasty w hen the u se of large rectangular ,

c o f ns and sarcophagi fell somewhat into disuse the scribes ,

began to write collections of Chapters from the PE R T EM H R U -

o n roll s of papyri instead of on cof ns At rst the texts were .

written in hieroglyphs the greater number of them being i n ,

w
black ink and an attempt was made to ill ustrate e ach text by a
,

vignette drawn in bla ck outline The nest kno w n example o f .

such a codex is the Papyru s of Ne bse ni ( Brit Mu s NO . . .

which is 7 7 feet 7 3 in c hes in length and I foot T inches in

breadth Early in the X V I I I th dynasty scribes began to write
.

the titles of the Chapters the rubrics and the c atchwords in , ,

red ink and the text in black and it became c ustomary to ,

decorate the vignettes with colours and to incre ase their Siz e ,
'

and number The oldest codex of this class is the Papyrus of

.

Nu ( Brit Mus No 1 04 7 7 ) which is 65 feet 3 % inches in length

. . .
,

and I foot 1 5 inches in breadth This and many other rolls

were written by their owners for their own tombs and in eac h ,

roll both text and vignettes were usuall y the work of the sam e
hand Later however the scribe wr ote the te x t only and a
.
, , ,

skilled artist was employed to add the coloured vignettes fo r ,

 THE B OOK O F TH E D EAD . 7

which Spaces were mar ked out and left blank by the scri be .

The nest examp l e o f this c l ass of rol l is the Papyru s

.

V igne t t
e a nd t of th Th
te x e e ba n
Book of the V ig ne tt
e a nd t t of
ex the Th e ba n
B ook of the
D ea d fr om the Pa pyr u s of N u . D e ad fr om the Pa pyr u s of A n i .

"B r it . M us , N o . t
X V I I I th dy nas y "B r it
. M u s , No 1 04 7 0 ] X V I I I th dy na s y
. . t .

( B rit Mu s N o
.
,
. wh ich is 7 8 feet in l eng th and 1 foot
3 i nches in brea d th . I n all papyri of thi s cl a ss the te x t is
8 TH E B OOK O F TH E D EAD .

written in hieroglyphs bu t under the X I X th and following ,

:

dynastie s many p a pyii are written throughout in the hieratic

character these usually lack .

vignettes bu t have coloured

frontispi eces .

Under the rule of the High ,

Priests of A men many changes

were introduced into the contents
of the papyr i and the arrangement ,

of the texts and vignettes of the

PE R T E M H R U a s altered

great confraternity of A men R

The -
w .

the King of t h e Gods felt it to ,

be necessary to emphasi z e the

supremacy of their god eve n in ,

the Kingdom of Osiris and they ,

added many prayers litanies and ,

hymns to the Sun god to every -

selection of the texts from the .

PE R T E M H R U that was copied -

on a roll of p apyru s for funerary

purpo ses The greater number of .

the rolls of this period are short

and contain only a few Chapters ,

e g the Papyrus of the Royal . .

,

Mother Ne tch e m e t ( Brit Mus . .

No 1 054 1 ) and the Papyrus of .

Q ueen N e tch e m e t ( B rit Mus . .

No In some the text .

is very defective and carelessly

wr itten but the coloured vignettes ,

are remarkable for their S iz e and

beauty ; of this c lass of roll the
nest example is the Papyru s of

w
V ig tt ne d Ch pt
e of th B ook
an
A nh a l
a ( Ber
l t NI U
e
S N O I O47 )
2 f .

of th D d itt n in h i tic The most interesting Of all the rolls

e ea r e era

fo H r m h b eru e - -
e

that were wr itten duri ng the rule

.

"B i t M
r . No us , .

X X V I th d y sty o l t na r a e
of the Priest K ings over Upper

w
Egypt is the Papyr us of Princess N e sita ne bta sh r u ( Brit Mu s . .

No no c ommonly kno w n as the Green eld Papyru s

. .
TH E B OOK O F TH E D EAD .
10 TH E B OOK O F TH E D EAD .

l
It is the longest and widest funerary papyrus known for ,

it measures 1 2 3 feet by 1 foot 65 inches and it contains ,

more Chapters Hymns Litanies Adorations and Homages

, , ,

to the gods than any other roll The 87 Chap ters from the

.

PE R T E M H R U which it contains prove the princess s devo

-

tion to the cult of Osiri s and the Hymns to A men R sho w ,

-

that she was able to regard this god and Osiris not as rivals
but as two aspects of the same god She believed that the .

hidden creative power which was materiali z ed in A men was

only another form of the power of procreation rene w ed birth
and resurrection which a s typi ed by Osiris The oldest ww ,

w
copies of the PE R T E M H R U hi c h we have on papyru s contain
-

a few extracts from other ancient funerary orks such as the ,

Book of Opening the Mouth the Liturgy of Funerary ,

Offerings and the Book of the T w o Ways
,
But under the .

rule of the P riest K ings the scribes incorporated with the

-

Chapters of the PER T E M H R U extracts from the Book of Ami-

Tuat and the Book of Gates and several oi the vignettes ,

and te xts that are fou nd on the wa ll s of the royal tombs of

The bes .

One of the most remarkable texts written at this period is

found in the Papyru s of Nesi K h e nsu which is now in the -

Egyp tian Museum in Ca iro This is really the copy of a con .

tract which is declared to have been made bet w een Nesi Kh e nsu -

and A men R the holy god the lord of all the gods
-

, As a ,
.

reward for the great piet y of the queen and her de votion to ,

the interests of A men R upon earth the god undertakes to -

make her a godde ss in his kingdom to provide her w ith an ,

estate there in pe rpetuity and a never failing supply of offerings -

and happiness of heart soul and body and the "daily ] recital , ,

upo n earth of the Se venty Songs of R a for the bene t of her

soul in the K hert Neter or Under World The contract was
-

, .

drawn up in a series of paragr aphs in legal phraseology by the

priests of A men who belie ved they had the power of ma king
,

their god do as they pleased when they p l eased .

Little is k nown of the his tory of the PER T EM B R U after the -

downfall of the priests of A men an d during the period of the ,

ru l e of the Nubians but under the kings of the X X V I th dynasty

,

1
Th e l on g est p py a r us in th e w o ld is P a p yr s H ar r i s N o
r u . 1 ( i
B r t .

M u s N O 9 99 9 )
. . it m e a su r e s 1 33 f e e t by 1 f oot 4 i n c he s .
12 TH E B OOK O F TH E D EAD .

the Book enj oyed a great vogue Many funerary rolls were
.

written both in hieroglyphs and hierati c and w ere decorated

,

with vignettes dra w n in black outline and about this time the

w
scribes began to rite funerary texts in the demotic character .

But men no longer copied long selections fro m the P R T EM

E

H R U as they had done under the X V I I I th X I X th and X X th

,
 TH E B O OK O F TH E D EAD . 13

d ynasties part l y because th e religiou s views of t h e Egyptians

,

had undergone a grea t change and part l y becau se a num ber ,

of Books of the D ead of a more popu l ar character h ad ap peared .

The cult of Osiri s was triumphant everywhere and men pre

f e rr ed the hym ns and l ita nies which dea l t it h his su fferi ngs
dea th and resu rr ection to the com positions in which the abso l ute
w ,

supremacy of R a and
his so l ar cyc l e o f gods
and godde sse s was as
sumed or p roc l aime d .

Thus in the L ame nta

,

tions of I sis and the

Festiva l So ngs o f I sis
"

and N e phth ys and the ,

L itanie s of Se ker ,

and the Boo k o f

Honouring Osiris etc ,
.
,

the cent r al g ur e is
Osiris a nd h e a l one i s
,

regard e d a s t h e g iver
'

of e verl asting l i fe The

dead were no l onger

burie d wit h l arge r oll s
o f papy r us l l e d wit h
Chapters o f the PER T -

EM H RU l aid in t h eir
co f ns bu t wit h sma ll
,

sheet s or st r ips of pa

pyrus on wh ic h were
,

inscribe d the above

compositions or t h e ,

shorter te x ts of the
"
u
Boo k O f B rea thing s ,

A copy of Book of th D a d titl d M y m y

n a e e e e a

or the 8 00 k f Tm t N o

R oma n P iod
( B i r . .
er .

versing Eterni t y or ,

the Boo k o f May my name ouri sh or a p art o f t h e Cha p ter ,

o f t h e Last Judgment .

Ancient Egyptian tradition asserts t h at the Boo k PER T -

EM H RU was used earl y in the I st dy nasty an d the p apy ri and ,

cof ns of the Roman Perio d a fford evidence that the native

14 TH E B OOK O F TH E D EAD .

Egyptians still acce p ted all the essential beliefs and doc trine s
contained in it D uring the four thou sand years of its existence
.

many additions were made to it but nothing of importan c e ,

seems to ha ve been taken away from it In the Space here .

available it is im po ssible to describe in detail the variou s Recen

sions of this work v iz ( 1 ) the H eli0polita n ( 2 ) the Theban and
,
.
, ,

its variou s forms and ( 3 ) the Sai te ; but it is proposed to

,

sketch briey the main facts of the Egyp tian Religion which
may be deduced from them generally and especially from the ,

Theban Recension and to indicate the contents of the princ ipal

,

Cha p ters N o one papyr us can be cited as a nal authority

.
,

for no payp r u s contains all the Chap ters 1 90 in number of the , ,

The ban Recension and in no two papyri are the selectio n and
,

sequence of the Chapters identical or is the treatment of the ,

vign ettes the same .

T H O TH ,
TH E A UT H O R OF TH E B OO K OF TH E D EA D .

Thoth i n ,
Egyptian Tch e h u ti or Te h u ti ,
Q :
i f:
g i who has al r eady been mentioned as the aut hor

w
of the texts that form the PE R T E M H R U or Book of the D ead -

, ,

w
a s believed by the Egyptians to have been the heart and mind

of the Creator ho was in very early times in ,

Egypt called by the natives Pantti and by ,

foreigners R a Thoth was al so the tongue .

of the Creator and he at a ll t imes voiced the will

,

of the great god and Spoke the words which com ,

m a nd e d e v e r y be ing a nd thing in heaven and in

earth to come int o existence His words were .
,

al mighty and once uttered never remained without

T h ti ( Th oth ) effe c
e u t He framed the la w s by which heaven earth
,
.
,

and all the heavenly bodies are maintained ; he

ordered the courses of the sun moon and stars ; he invented , ,

dr awing and design and the art s th e letters of the alphabe t and ,

the art of writing and the science of mathemat ics At a very

,
.
16 TH E B OOK O F TH E D EAD

w
.

and the nation a s happy and prosperous Set marked this .

and became very j ealous of his brother and wished to slay him ,

so that he might seiz e his throne and take possession of Isis ,

whose reputation as a de voted and lo ving wife and able manager

lled the cou ntry B y some means or other Set did contri v e to
.

kill Osiris : according to one story he killed him by the Side

M M M
o
of a canal at Ne t a t , "
j near Abydos and accord i ng
,

to another he cau se d him to be drowned Isis accompanied .

,

by her sister Nephthys went to Ne ta t and rescued the body o f ,

her lord and the t w o sisters w ith the hel p of A npu a Son of
, , ,

R a th e Sun god embalmed it They then laid the body in a

-

,
.

tomb and a sycamore tree grew round it and ourished over

,

the gra ve A tradition which is found in the Pyramid Text s

.

states that before Osiris w as laid in h is tomb h is wife Isis , ,

by means of her magical powers su c ,

ce e d e d in restoring him to life temporarily ,

and made him beget o f her an heir who ,

was called Horus After the burial of .

Osiris Isis retreated to the marshes in ,

the D elta an d there sh e brought f orth ,

Horus In order to avoid the persecution .

of Set who on one occasion succeede d ,

in k illing Horus by the sting o f a scorpion ,

she ed f rom place to place in the D elta ,

and lived a very unhappy li f e for some

years B ut Thoth helpe d her in all her .

di f culties an d provide d her with the

wor d s of power which restored Horus to
life and enable d her to pass unharmed ,

among the croco d il es and other evil

beasts that infested the waters of the
H o s of Ed f sp
ru i ng th
u D elta
ear at t h a t t i
e
me
5 "
When Horus arrived at years of
3

maturity he set ou t to n d Set and to wage war against

,

his father s murderer At length they met and a e r ce ght

.

ensued and though Set was defeated before he was nally

,

hurled to the ground he succeeded in tearing ou t the right eye

,

of H or n s and keeping it E v en after this ght Set was able .

to persecute Isi s an d Horu s was powerless to pre vent it

,
 TH E B OO K O F TH E D EAD . 17

unt il Thoth made Set give him the right e ye of Horus which
h e had carried off Thoth then brough t the eye to Horu s
.
,

and replaced it in h is face and restored S igh t to it by

,

spitting u pon it Horus then sought ou t the body of Osiris

.

I n order to raise it up to life and when he found it he ,

untied the bandages so that Osiri s might mo ve his limbs ,

and rise up Under the direction of Thoth H orus recite d

.

a series of formulas as he presented o fferings to Osiris and ,

TH E F OUR SON S or H o w s .

M e sta . T u a m u te f .
e h se nn u f .

he and his so ns a nd Anubis performed the cerem onies which

ope ned t he mouth and n ostrils and the e ves and the ears of
, ,

A nubis sta ndi ng by th e bie r of th e d ead .

I) 2
18 TH E B OOK O F TH E D EAD -

Osiris He embraced Osiris a n d so transferred to him h is ka

.
,

i e h is own li v ing personality a n d virility and gave him his

. .
, ,

eye which Thoth had rescued from Set and had replaced
in h is face A S soon a s Osiris h a d e a te n the eye of Horus he

be c ame endowed with a soul a n d v ital power and re co v ered ,

thereby the Complete u se of all h is mental fa c ulties which death ,

had suspended Straightway he rose up from h is bier and

.

became the Lor d of the D ead and K ing of the Under World .

Osiris became the type and symbol of resurrection among

the Egyptians of all period s becau se he was a god who had ,

been ori ginally a mortal and had risen from the dead .

But befor e Osiris became K ing of the Under W orld he su ffered

further persecution from Set Piecing together a number of .

disconn ected hints and brief statements in the texts it seem s ,

pretty c lear either that O siris a p pealed to the Great Gods

to take notice that Set had murdered him or that Set brought a ,

series of charges against O siris At all e vents the Great God s .

determined to in vestigate the matter The Greater and the .

Lesser Companies of the Gods a ssembled in the celestial A nu or ,

Heliopolis and ordered Osiris to stand up and defend himself

,

against the c harges brought against him by Set Isis and .

Nephthys brought him before the gods and Horu s the , ,

a venger of his father came to watch the case on be half of ,

his father Os iri s Thoth appeared in the Hall of Judgment in

,
.

his o f cial capacity as scribe i e se c r etary to the gods and ,
. .
, ,

the hearing of the e v idence began Set seems to have pleaded .

his o w n cau se and to ha ve repeated the charges which he had

,

made against Osiris The defence of O siris was undertaken by

.

Thoth w ho pro ved to the gods that the charges brought against
,

O siris by Set w ere u nfounded that the statement s of Set were ,

lies and that therefore Set was a liar

,
The gods ac c ep ted .

w
Thoth s proof of the innocence of Osiris and the guilt of Set a nd ,

w
ordered that Osiris a s to be considered a Great God and to ha v e
rule o ver the K ingdom of the Under World and that Set a s to ,

be punished Thoth con vinced them that Osiris was M A A

.

i i 3E

K HE RU ,
true of word ,
i . a .
,
that he had
Spoken the truth w hen he ga ve his evidence and in texts of all ,

periods Thoth isfrequently described as S M A A K H E RU A S AR

'

,
 TH E B OOK O F TH E D EAD . 19

Q
l
" ?
g
% i he who proved Osiris to be true
a-
j . a
.
,

of w o r d As for Se t the L iar he was seiz ed by the ministers

.
,

of the G reat Gods who threw him down on his hands and face

w
,

and made Osiris mount upon his back as a mark of his victory
and su pe riority After this Se t was bound ith cords like a
.

beast for sa cri ce and in the pre sence of Thoth was hacked in
,

pieces .

O srRI s As J U DG E 0 1: TH E D EA D A ND K IN G OF TH E U N D ER
\V0 RLD .

When Se t was destro y ed Osiris depa rte d from this wor l d to

the k ingdom w h ich the god s had given him and began to reign

the Sun god w

over the d ea d He was absolute king of t h is r ealm j ust a s R a
.

a s absolute ki n g of t h e s ky
-
T h is region o f the .
"
,

d ead or ,
Dead -
l a nd is ca l led
, Tat ,
c: >
g , or Tuat ,

w
, bu t w h ere the Egyptia ns thoug h t it was situated
3
is not quite c l ear The or i gina l h ome o f the cu l t o f Osiris a s
.

in the De l ta in a cit y which in hist oric times wa s cal l ed Te t u by

,

the Egyptians and Busiris by the G ree k s and it is reasonab l e ,

to a ssume that the Tua t over which Osiris ruled was situated

w
, ,

near this place Wherever it was it was not u nd erg r ound a nd

.
,

it a s not origina ll y in the s ky or even on its connes ; bu t it

was loca ted on the bord ers o f the visible worl d in t h e Outer ,

Darkne ss The Tuat was not a pla ce of happine ss j udging from

.
,

the d esc ription of it in the PER T EM H RU or Book of the D ead -

,
.

W hen Ani the scri be a r r ive d th e r e he said What is t h is to which ,

I ha ve come There is neither water nor air h ere itsdepth

w
,

is u nfathomable it is as dar k as the darkest night and men

, ,

ander abou t here help l essly A man cannot live here and .

be sati sed and he ca nnot gratify the cravings of a ffection

,

( Chapte r C LX XV In the Tuat there was neit h er tree nor p l ant ,

for it wa s the land where nothing grew and in p ri mitive
times it was a region of destruction and death a p l ace where ,

the dead rotted and deca ye d a place o f abomination and horror , ,

and terror and annihilatio n B ut in very earl y times certainly

, .
,
20 TH E B OOK O F TH E D EAD .

in the Neolithic Period the Egyptians believed in some kind of

,

a future life and they dimly concei ved that the attainment of
,

that life might possibly depend upon the manner of life which
those who hoped to enj oy it le d here The Egyptians hated .

death and lo ved life and when the be lief gained ground among
,

them that Osiri s the God of the De ad had himself risen from
, ,

the dead and had been acquit ted by the gods of heaven after
,

a searching trial and had the power to make men and women
,

to be born again and to renew life because of his truth
,

and righteousness they came to regard him as the Judge a s

,

well as the God of the D ead As time went on and moral and .
,

r eligiou s ideas de veloped among the Egyptians it became ,

certain to them that only those who had satis ed Osiris as to

their tru th speaking ah d honest dealing u pon earth could hOpe
-

for admission into his kingdom .

When the po w er of Osiris became predominant in the Under

World and his fame as a j ust and righteous j udge became we l l
,

established among th e nati ves of Lower and Upper Egypt it ,

was u niversally be lieved that after death all men would ap pear
before him in his dread Hall of Judgment to recei v e their
reward or their sentence of doom The writers of the Pyramid .

Texts more than fty v e centuries ago dreamed of a time

,
-

when heaven and ea rth and men did not exist when the gods ,

had not yet been born when death had not been created , ,

sa as: sa
c
A

g pmT
s
Q K
O
w
w
E a a nd hen a n ge r
g
speech ( cursing and rebellion were unkno n B ut that .

time was very remote and long before the great ght took
,

place between Horu s and Set when the former lost his eye and ,

the latter w as wounded in a vital part of his body Meanwhile .

death had come into the world and since the religion of Osiris ,

ga ve man a hope of escape from death and the promise of ever ,

lasting l ife of the peculiar k ind that appealed to the great m ass
of the Egyptian people the Spread of the cult of Osiri s and its
,

ultimate triumph o ver all forms of rel igion in Egypt were assured .

Under the early dynasties the priesthood of A nu ( the On o f

1
P yr a m i d of P pi
e I , 11 . 6 64 and 662 .
 TH E B OOK O F THE D EAD . 21

the B ible ) stro ve to make their Sun god R a pre eminent in - -

Egypt but the cult of this god ne v er appealed to the people a s

a who l e It was embraced by the Pharaohs and their high

.
,

of cials and some of the nobles and the

, ,

of cial priesthood but the reward which

its doctrine offered w as not popular ith
,

w
the materia listic Egyptians A life passed
in the Boat of Ra i th the gods being w .

arrayed in light and fed upon light made ,

no appeal to the ordinary folk since Osiris

o ffered them as a reward a life in the Fie l d
of Reeds and the F ield of Offerings of
,

Foo d and the Fie l d of t he Grasshoppers

, ,

and everlasti ng e xistence in a transmuted

and be a tie d body among the r esu rrected
bod ies of fat h er and mother ife and ,
w
chi l dren k insfolk and friends
,
.

w But as according to the cult of R a the

,

icked the re be l s and the blasphemers of

, ,
,

the Sun god suffered swift a nd na l punish

-

w
ment so al so all t h ose w ho ha d sinned
against the stern mora l La o f Os iri s a nd a s th S n god , e u -
.

w
wh o ha d fail ed to sa tisfy it s demands ,

w
pai d t h e pena l ty i thout de l a y The Judgment of R a was held
at sunrise and t h e wicked e re thrown into deep pits lled
,
.

wit h re and their bod ies souls shadows and hearts were con

w
, , ,

sumed forthwith The Judgment of Osiris took place near

.

A bydos probably at midnig h t a nd za decree of swift ann ih il ation

, ,

a s p ssed by him on the damned

a Their heads were cut o ff bv .

the headsman of Osiris who was called She smu , ,

and t h eir bodies dismem bered and destroyed in pits of r e .

Th ere was no eternal pu nishment for men for the wic ked were ,

annih il ated quickly and completely but ina smuch as Osiris sat
in j udgment and doomed the wicked to destruction daily the ,

in iction of pu nishment never ceased .

22 TH E B OOK O F TH E D EAD .

TH E J UD GM E N T or O S I R I S .

The oldest religious texts suggest that the Egyptians al w ays

associated the Last Judgment with the weighing of the heart
in a pair of scales and in the illu strated papyri of the B ook of
,

the D ead grea t prominence is always gi ven to the vignettes in

?
t
w hich this weighing is being carried out . The heart ,
db
'

was ta k e n a sthe symbol of all the emotions desires and passio n s , , ,

both good and evil and ou t of it proceeded the issues of life ,

.

It was inti mately connected with the ka ,

Lj i e , . .
,
the double
l
of
p ersonality of a man and se v eral short spells in the Book ,

PER T E M B R U w ere composed to ensure its preser v ati on ( Ch a pter s

-

XXVI X X X B ) The great Chapter of the Judgment of Osiris

w

.
,

the CX X V th is divided into three parts whi c h are sometime s

,

( a s in the Papyru s of Ani ) prefaced by a Hymn to Osiris Th e .

r st part c ontains the follo ing whi c h was said by the deceased ,

w hen he entered the Ha ll of Ma a ti in whi c h O siris sat in ,

judgm ent
Homage to thee 0 Great God Lord of M a ati I have com e
l
, , ,

to thee O my Lord that I may behold thy be ne ce nce I

, ,
.

know thee and I kno w thy name and the na mes of the For ty
, ,

T w o who li ve with thee in the Hall of Ma a ti who keep ward ,

o ver sinn er s and feed upo n their blood on the day of estimatin g
,

c haracters before Um Ne fe r Behold I ha ve come to

3 -

thee and I ha ve brought m a d t

,
t r uth integrity ) to thee ,
.

I ha ve destroyed sin for thee I ha ve not sinned against men

w
. .

I ha v e not O ppressed " my ] kinsfolk I ha ve done no rong in .

the place of tru th I ha v e not kno w n worthless folk I ha ve

. .

not w rought e vil I have not defrauded the O ppre ssed one .

of his goods I ha v e not done the things that the god s

,
.

abominate I ha v e not v il i ed a serv ant to his master I

. .

ha v e not c au se d pain I ha v e not let any man hunger I . .

ha ve made no one to weep I ha ve not committed murder . .

I ha ve not c ommanded any to commit murder for me I ha ve .

inicted pain on no man I ha ve not defrauded the temple s

w
.

1
I . e .
, Tr u th , or L a ,
in a d ou bl e as e p ct .

2
A nam e of O si r i s .
24 TH E B OOK O F TH E D EAD .

O Maa anu f comer forth from Per Menu I have not d e le d

-

,
-

myself .

0 Tem Sep comer forth from Te t u I have not cursed the king
-

, ,
.

0 N e fe r Tem comer forth from He tk a Ptah I have not acted

-

,
-

deceitfully I have not committed wickedness

q
.
_

O N e kh e n comer forth from He at I ha v e not turned a deaf

, ,

ear to the words of the Law ( or Tru th )
The names of most of the Forty Two gods are not ancient -

but w ere invented by the priests probably about th e same time

a s the names in the Book of Him that is in the Tuat and

th e Book of Gates i a between the X I I th and the X V I I I th ,

. .
,

d ynasties Their arti cial character is shown by their mean

.

ings Thus Use kh ne m m it means He of the long strides
.
-

Fen t i means He of the Nose Neha h a u means Stinking -

members Se t e su means Breaker of bones etc The-

q ,
.

e arly Egyptologists calle d the second part of the CX X V th

Chapter the Negati v e Confession and it is generally known ,

by this somewhat in exact title to this day .

In the third part of the CX X V th Chapter comes the address

w hich the deceased made to the gods after he had declared his
innocence of the sins enumerated before the Forty Two gods
ww
-
.

He says Homage to you O ye gods h o d e ll in your Hall ,

~

of Ma a ti I know you and I know your names Let me not

. .

fall under your slaughtering knives Bring not my wickedness .

to the notice of the god whose followers ye are Let not the .

affair " of my j udgment ] come under your j urisdiction Spe ak .

1
ye the Law ( or tru th ) concerning me before Neb e r te h e r
-

for I performed the Law ( or tru th ) in Ta mer a Egyp t ) ,

-
.

I ha v e not blasphemed the God No affair of mine came under .

the notice of the king in his day Homage to you O ye who .

,

are in your Hall of Ma a ti who ha ve no lies in your bodies , ,

who li v e on truth who eat tru th before Horu s the dweller , ,

2
in his disk deliver ye me from Babai who liveth upon the
,

entrails of the mighty ones on the day of the Great Reckoning

Qi k
a
( A PT A A T , Behold me " I ha ve come

q
q
1
I th e L o d to th tt e r m ost l i m i t of ve r yt hi n g or God

w cc
. e .
,
r e u e , .

2
he as a or d i n g to on e l e ge n d th e

fi r st b or n son of O si r i s .
 TH E B OO K O F TH E D EAD 25

w
.

to you withou t sin i thou t deceit ( ) without evil withou t ,

P
, ,

fa l se testimony ( P) I have not done an "evi l ] thing I l ive u po n .

truth and I feed u pon truth I have performed the behests .

of men and the thi ngs that satisfy t h e gods

w
1
,
I have pro .

itia te d the God " by doing ] His i ll I have giv en b read to the
p .

hungry water to the thirsty raiment to the naked and a boat

, , ,

to him that needed one I have made holy o fferings to the .

gods and sepulchral o fferi ng

,
s to the be a tie d dead Be ye .

then my sa viours be ye my protectors and ma k e no accu sa

w
, ,

tion a gainst me before the Great God I am pure of mouth .

,

and c l ea n o f hand s therefore it hath been sai d by those h o

saw me Come in peace come in peace .
, ,

The decease d then add r esses Osiris and says Hail thou , , ,

who art e xa l ted u pon thy sta ndard thou L ord of the A te fu

,

C r own who se name is L ord of Winds save me from t h y

, ,

Messe ngers ( or Asse ssors ) with uncovered faces w h o bring ,

charges of e vi l and ma ke shortcomings p l ain because I have ,

performed the Law ( or Truth ) for the L ord o f the L aw ( or

w
Truth ) I h a ve pu ried myself i th wa shings in water my
.

bac k h ath bee n c l eanse d ith salt and my inner parts are in
t h e Poo l of Tr ut h There is not a member o f mine that .
w ,
,

l acket h t r u t h Fr om the l ines that follow the above in the
.

Pa py r us o f N u it seems as thoug h the j udgment of the deceased

by t h e Forty Two gods a s pre liminary to the na l judgment
-

of Osiri s At a ll events a f ter questioning him about the per

.
w
,

for m a nce of certain ceremonies the y in vited him to enter the ,

Ha ll of Ma a ti bu t wh e n he was about to do so the porter and

,
.
,

the door bo l ts and t h e variou s part s o f the door and its f rame
-
, ,

a nd t h e oor re fu se d to permit h im to e nter u nti l he had repeated

,

their magica l names Wh e n he had pronounced t h ese correctly.

the porter too k him in and presented him to Ma a u ( P) Taui who -

,

wa s Th oth him self When asked by him why he h ad come the

.

deceased answered I ha ve come that report may be made of
,

me . The n Tho th said Wh at is thy cond ition P And,

the deceased replie d I am puried from e v il things I am free

, ,

f rom t h e w ic ke d ne ss of those who lived in my days I am not

one of them On this Thoth said
. Thou shalt be re ported ,
.

" Tel l me Who is he whose roof is r e whose walls are l i ving ,

I . e .
, I ha v k p t e e th e Mo a l r a nd Di vi ne La w .
 T HE B OOK O F TH E D EAD . 27

serpe nts and whose floor is a stream o f water ? Wh o is

,

he P The decea sed havi ng re plied Osiri s T h ot h t h en ,

l ed h im forward to the god Osiri s who received him and p ro , ,

m ise d that su b sistence shou l d be provided for h i m f rom the

Eye o f R a .

I n great papyri of the Book o f the D ea d suc h as those o f

Ne bse ni N u Ani H u ne fe r e tc t h e Last Judgment or t h e
, , , , ,

G reat Recko ning is made the most prominent scene i n the

,

whole wor k and the vignette in hich it is depicte d is severa l

,

fee t long The most comp l ete form of it is given in the Papyru s
w
.

of Ani and may be t h u s descri bed At one e nd o f the Hal l o f

,

Ma a ti Osiris is seated o n a throne within a shrine made in th e

form of a fu nerary co ffer ; behin d him stand I si s an d N ephthys .

Al o ng one si de of the Hall are seated t h e gods Harmachis ,

Te rn S h u Te fnu t Ge b N ut I sis and N epht h y s H or us Hathor

, , , , , , , ,

H u and Saa who are to serve as the divine j u ry

, these formed

t h e G reat Com pa ny o f the God s o f A nu ( Hel iopo l is ) By .

the se stands t h e Great B a la nce a nd on i ts pi l lar sits the dog

'

hea d ed a pe A st es or A ste nu t h e a ssoc iate of Thot h The

, , .

po inter of the Ba l ance is in t h e c h arge o f A npu Be h ind A npu .

are Th oth t h e scribe of the gods a nd the monster A me m it with

t h e h ead o f a croco d il e the fore p a s a nd shoulders of a l ion
,
,

w ,

a nd the h indqua r ters o f a h i ppo potamu s ; the d uty o f the last

na med was to eat up the hearts tha t ere l ight in the ba l ance w .

w
On the ot h er sid e o f the Ba l ance Ani accom panied by h is wife
is see n standi ng it h h ead be nt l ow in ad oration and between
him and the Ba l ance stand the two godde sse s who nurse and
,

,
,

rear c h ildren Me skhe ne t a nd Renne t Ani s sou l in the form of

w
, , ,

a man hea d e d h aw k a portio n o f h is body and h is l uc k Shai

-
, , .

Since the heart was consid ered to be the seat of al l i l l emot i on

, ,

f ee ling reason and intel l igence A ni s heart 0 is seen in

, , , ,

o ne pa n o f the Balance and , in the ot h er is t h e feather ,

B ,

sym bo l ic of tru th and righteousness Whi l st h i s heart was in .

the Ba la nce Ani repeating the words of Chapter X X X B o f the

,

Boo k of the Dead addre ssed it sa ying My heart of my

, , ,

mot h er " My heart o f my mother My heart of my be i ng

Ma k e no stand against me w h en testifyi ng thrust me not ,

bac k before the Tch a tcha u t the overseers of O siris ) and ,

make no fa ilure in respec t o f me before the Master of the

 T HE B OOK O F TH E D EAD . 29

Ba l ance Thou art my K a the d weller in my bo d y u niting ( P)

.
, ,

and strengthening my members Thou sha l t come forth to .

the happiness to which we advan ce Make not my name to .

st ink with the officers " o f Osiri s ] who made men utter no lie ,

against me before the G reat God t h e L ord of A m e ntt ,
.

Th en Thoth the Judge of Truth of the G reat Company o f

, ,

w
the Gods who are in the presence o f Osi ri s saith to the gods
Hearken ye to this ord In very truth the heart o f Osiris
hath bee n weigh e d and his sou l hath borne testimony con
, ,

cerning him ; according to the G reat Balance his case is

tru th j u st ) No wickedness hath been found in him He
. .

did not lch o fferings from the temples He did not ac t .

croo ked ly and h e did not vi lify folk when he was on earth
, .

And the G r eat Com pa ny of the God s say to Thoth who ,

dwel l eth in Kh e m e nu ( He r mO pol is) : This that cometh

fort h from thy mouth of t ru th is co nrmed ( P) The Osiris ,

the scri be Ani true of voice h ath testied He hat h no t

, ,
.

sinned and " h is n a me ] d oth not stin k before u s ; A m e m it

the Ea ter of t h e De ad ) sha ll not have the mastery over
him L et there be gi ven unto h i m o fferings of foo d and an
.

a ppe a ra nce be fore Osiris a nd a n abiding homestea d in the

,

Field of Offerings as u nto the Followers o f H orus .

T hu s t h e gods h a v e dec l ared that Ani is true of voice ,

as was Osiri s and t h ey h ave ca ll e d Ani Os iri s becau se in his

, ,

pu r ity o f word an d deed h e rese m bled that god I n all the .

co p ies o f the Boo k o f the Dead the d eceased is a l ways ca ll ed

w w

Os iri s a nd as it was always assumed that those for whom

,

t h ey were r i tten ou l d be foun d i nnocent when weig hed in

the G reat Ba l ance t h e word s t rue of voice
, wh ich were ,

equi valent in mea ni ng to innocent and acquitted were a l ways ,

written after their na mes I t may be noted in passing tha t

.

when Ani s hea r t was weighed against Tru th t h e beam o f the ,

G reat Bala nce rema i ned pe rfect l y hori z ontal This suggests that .

the god s did not e xpect the heart o f the deceased to kic k the

beam bu t were quite satised i f it exact l y counterbalanced
,

Trut h They demanded the fu l l ment of the Law and nothing

.

more and were content to be sto w immortality u pon the man

,

on whom Th oth s verdict was he hath done no evil
,
30 TH E B OOK O F TH E D EAD

w
.

In a c cordance ith the c ommand of the gods Ani passes

from the Great Balance to the end of the Hall of Ma a ti where
O siris is seated and a s he approaches the god Horu s the son of
, ,

Isis takes him by the hand and leads him forward and standing
, ,

before his father O siris says I ha v e come to thee Um Ne fe r

,
l
,
-

I ha v e brought to thee the Osiris Ani His heart is righteou s .

and
" ] hath come forth from the Balance It hath no sin .

before any god or any goddess Thoth h a th se t down his .

'

j udgment in writing and the Company of the Gods ha v e

,

declared on his behalf that " his ] e v idence is very true Let .

there be gi ven u nto him of the bread a nd be e r which appear .

before Osiri s Let him be like the Followers of Horu s for

.

e ver Next w e se e Ani kneeling in adoration before Osiris ,

and he says ,
Behold I am in thy presence 0 Lord of A m e n tt
, ,
.

There is no sin in my body I ha ve no t u ttered a lie kno w .

ingly "I ha ve ] no duplicity ( ) Grant that I may be like

.
P

the fa voured (or re w arded ) ones w ho are in thy train Under .

j
fa vour of Osiris Ani then became a sd /z u or ,
Q M ,

spirit bod v ,
and in this form passed into the K ingdom of
Os iris .

TH E K I NGD O M or O sr a rs .

According to the Book of Gates and the other Guides to

the Egyptian Under World the Kingdom of Osiris formed the ,

Sixth D ivision of the Tuat in very early times it was situated

in the Western D elta but after the X I I th dynasty theologians
,

placed it near Abydos in Upper Egypt and before the cl o se ,

of the D ynastic Period the Tuat of Osir i s had absorbed the

Under World of e very nome of Egypt When the soul in its .

be a ti e d or Spiri t body arri ved there the ministers of Osi ris ,

.

took it to the homestead or place of abode whi c h had been

a llotted to it by the command of Osiris and there it began its ,

new existence The large v ignette to the CX th Chapter shows

.

w
u s exactly w hat manner of pla c e the abode of the blessed as

The c ountry a s flat and the elds were intersec te d by c anals

w .

I . e .
, th e B e n e ce n t B i
e n g, a ti tl e of O si r i s .
 TH E B OOK O F TH E D EAD .

Osiris says to them "e are truth of tru th rest in peace .

And of them he says , They were doers of truth whilst they were

u pon earth they did battle for their god and they shall be
, ,

called to the enj oyment of the Land of the House of L i fe with

 TH E B OOK O F TH E D EAD . 33

Truth The ir tru th shall be reckoned to them in the presence

.

of the Great God who destroyeth sin Then addressi ng them .

again Osiri s says " e are beings of Truth 0 ye Tru ths

, Take , .

ye your rest becau se of what ye have done becom i ng even ,

as those who ar e in my fo ll owi ng and who direct the Hou se ,

of Him whose Sou l i s ho l y " e sh a ll l ive there e ven as they .

l ive an d ye shal l have dom i ni on o ver the cool waters of your

,

l and I command that y e have your being to the li m i t "

. of

that l and ] wi th Truth an d withou t sin I n these p assages .

we h ave the two conceptions of Os iri s wel l i ll ustrate d As the .

Wheat god h e wou ld satis fy t h ose who wished for a purely

w
-

material agricu l tura l heaven here hu nger wou ld be u nknown

, ,

and whe re th e bl essed would be abl e to satisfy every ph y si ca l

desire and want da il y ; and as t h e God o f Tru th o f whom the ,

sp iri tua ll y m in d ed h o pe d to become th e cou nterp art h e wou l d ,

be t h eir h0pe and co nsol ation an d t h e image o f t h e Ete rnal

, ,

A S HO RT D ESC R I PT I O N or THE D ooa s on C HA PT ERS or

TH E B OO K or TH E D EA D .

A ll g the
reat p a p y r i o f t h e B oo k o f t h e D ea d be gi n with a
H "M N To RR who from the peri od o f t h e I V th d y nast y was the
,

K i ng o f t h e God s o f Eg yp t H i s cu l t was na l l y esta b .

lishe d un d er the V th d y na st y when t h e k ing o f Egypt be gan

to ca ll h im se lf in o f c ia l d ocume nts an d monuments So n o f t h e
Su n ,

g 5 a Rd . This H ymn is suppose d to be su ng by

t h e deceased who says ,

H om age to t hee
t hy be a u t e ou s r i si ng T hou r i se st
, O Ra , at .
,

t hou r i se st ; t hou shine st t hou shinest a t th e d a w n T hou a r t Ki ng

,
.

of th e Gods a nd th e M aa t i g odd esse s e m b r ace t he e

,
Th e C om p a n y of .

th e God s p r a i se t hee a t su nr ise a nd a t su nse t T hou sa il est ove r th e .

he ights of he a ve n a nd t hy he a r t is gl a d T hy M or n i ng B oa t m e e t e t h .

t hy Eve ni ng B oa t wi t h f a i r wi nd s T h y f a t h e r is th e Sky god a nd t hy

.
-

m oth e r is th e S k y g odd ess a n d t hou a r t H or u s of th e E ast e r n a n d

-

w w
,

W e ste r n ski es O t hou O nl y O ne 0 t h ou P e r f e ct O ne 0

.
, ,

t hou h o a r t e te r na l h o a r t ne ve r we a k w hom no m ighty one ca n

, ,

a b ase ; n on e ha t h d om i ni on o ve r th e t hi n gs w hi c h a pp e r ta i n to t he e .

w
H om a g e to t hee in t hy c ha r a ct e r s of H or u s T e rn a nd K he pe r a t hou
G r e a t H a w k h o m a k e st m a n to r e j oi ce by t hy be a u t if u l f a c e W he n
,

t hou r i sest m e n a nd w om e n li ve T hou r e ne w e st t hy you t h a nd d ost

.
, ,

,
.
,
34 TH E B OOK O F TH E D EAD .

w
se t

ho
t h yse l f
t s lf c ar
pl c w h t ho w st y st d y 0 D i vi n " o t h
in th e
t d I c n n ot c om p h n d t h
e -
r ea T ho a t th l o d
e
a e

a
er e u a

re e
e er

ee
a

.
.

u r
e

e
u

r
,

w
,

of h v n nd
ea a th n d d i d st c
e a t b i n gs c l sti l a n d b i n gs
e r , a r ea e e e e a e

t st i a l T ho
err e r t th God O n
. h o c a m st i n t o b i n g in th
u ar e e, e e e

b gi n n i n g of t i m
e T ho didst c t th a t h n d m n t ho di d st e . u r ea e e e r , a a , u

m k th a k y n d th c l sti l i v
e e S H p ; t h o did st m k th w t s
a e e e a r er e u a e e a er

a n d didst gi v li f n t o a ll t h t t h i n is T h o h st k n i t t og t h th
e e u a er e . u a e er e

m o n ta i ns th o h st m a d m n ki n d a n d th b asts of th l d to c om
u u a e a e e e e e

w
,

i n t o b i n g n d h ast m a d th h v ns n d th
e , a ar t h Th n d N k e e ea e a e e . e e a

is ov t h o n his a m s
er r c t o O t ho D i i n " o t h t h o h i
, r ar e u . u v e u , u e r

of v l sti n gn ss s lf b g ott n n d s lf b o n O n
e er a e Mi ght of m y i d
, e -
e e a e -
r , e, , r a

f o m s n d sp cts Pri n c of An
r a a O n ) L o d of E t ni ty E v l sti n g
e , e ,
r er , er a

R l
g
and
o
r st w
th
u er

g
n o t ong
Com p n y of th G od s
te
,

: t h y y s
e

p o
r e a ern
j oi c in t h
a

c n d sc ibe t hy si m i li t d
ll f
ue
a c s T h
A s t ho
o
t ho
a

a t n
i s st t ho
k
ist st
a
n ow bl
l on
ra

e
e

r
ar e u
re e

u
e .

e
ee .

u
r

ex
u

u
r

e
e

a
a

e
e
u

Mil li ons of y s h v p ss d ov th w o l d I c nn ot t ll th n m b
ear a e a e er e r , a e e u er

of t hos t h o gh w hi c h t h o h st p ass d
e r u T h o jo n y st t hr o gh u a e u ur e e u

sp a c s " q
.

e i i n g] m i llions of y s "to p ss ov ] in on li ttl m om n t

re u r e ar a er e e e

of t i m n d t h n t h o s tt st
e, a n d d ost m k en n d of th ho s u e e a a e a e e ur .

The su bj ect matter of the above extract is treated at greater

length i n Chapter X V which co ntains a l ong Hymn to R a at h is ,

ri sing or A men R a or R a u nited to other Solar gods e g Horu s

,
-

, ,
. .
,

and Kh epe r a and a short Hymn to R a at his setting In the ,

.

latter the welcome which R a receives from the dwellers in

A m e ntt the Hidden Place like the Greek Hades is ,

emphasi z ed thus

All d a d (Aa k h ) in th T t c i v hi m in th
th e be a ti e d e u e ua re e e e

ho i on of A m ntt T h y ho t p a i s s of hi m in h is f o m of T n
r z e . e S u r e r er

th s tt i n g s n ) T ho di dst i s n d p t on st n gt h a n d t ho
e e u . u r e a u re ,
u

s tt st
e a l i vi n g b i n g
e , n d t hy g l o i s in A m n tt Th g ods of
e , a r e ar e e . e

Am n tt j oi c in t hy b t i s ( o b n c n c ) Th hi dd n on s
e re e e au e r e e e e . e e e

w o ship t h th a g d on es b i n g t h off i n gs n d p ot ct t h e Th
r ee, e e r ee er a r e e . e

So l s of Am n tt c y o t
u nd wh n th y m e t t h y M a j sty ( Li f r u , a e e ee e e,

S t n gt h H
r e l t h b to t h ") t h y sh o t H il " H il " Th l o d s
, ea e ee e u a a e r

of th m n si o s of th T t st tc h o t t h i h n d s to t h
e a n f om t h i e ua re u e r a ee r e r

a b od s n d t h y c y to t h
e , a a n d t h y f ol l ow in t h y b i gh t tr a i n
e r nd ee, e r , a

th h e ts of th l o ds of th T t j oi c w h n t ho s n d est t hy li ght
e ar e r e ua re e e u e

i n t o Am n tt T h i y s foll ow th t h y p ss f o w d to s t h
e . e r e e ee , e re r ar ee ee ,

e
nd t h i h ts j oi c t th ight of t hy f c T ho h k n st to
th p t i t i ons of t h os
e

e
e
e r

ho
e ar

l ssn ss n d d i s t w y vil f om t h m T ho gi ves t b t h to t h i

a r ve
r e

in t h i t om b s t h o disp l l est t h i h lp e

a
w e

a
a

e
ar e
e S

r
e r

e .
,
a e

u
.

u e
u

r ea
e ar e

e r
e

e r

no st il s T ho r t g t l y f
r . d t hy f o m is m j sti c n d v y
u

g t l y r t t ho b l ov d b y t h os h o d w ll in th O t h W o ld
r ea a u
a

e
r ea

e
e ar e

e w ,

e
r

e
a e

er
, a

r .
er
 TH E B OOK O F TH E DEAD . 35

The I ntrod uctory HYM N To R a is f o ll owed by a HYM N TO

05 1 1 1 1 5 i n w h ich the deceased says

,

Gl or y be to thee o Osi i s U n N t t ho gr t god in Abt ,

r -
e er , u ea u

(Aby d os) K i n g of E t ni ty L o d of Ev l asti n gn ess God w hos

, er , r er , e

e x iste n ce is m il li ons of yea r s ldest son of N t b g ott n by Geb th , e u , e e , e

Ancest o Chi f Lo d of th C owns of th So t h an d th N o th L o d

r -
e ,
r e r e u e r , r

of th H igh \Vh it C own

e T ho a t th G ov n or of g od s a nd of m n
e r . u r e er e

a n d hast r e ce i ve d th e sce p tr th e w hip a n d th r a n k of th y D i vi n e, , e e

F a th r s L e t th y h a r t in Am n tt be c on t n t for t h y son H or u s
e e e e

w
.
,

is se a t d pon t hy t hr on e T ho ar t L o d of T tu ( B sir i s) a nd
e u . u r e u

Gover n o of Abt (Ab y d os) r T hou m a k est f e til th T o La n ds ( t o

u . r e e

all E g yp t ) b y " thy] tr e w o d b f o th e Lo d to th e U tt er m ost Li m i t u r e re r .

T h y pow is wid s p ea d a nd gr a t is th t e o of t hy n am e
er e r e e rr r

,

O sir i s T ho nd u st fo a ll t er n i ty in t hy n am e of U n N fe r
u e re r e -
e

w
.

B ne ce n t B e i n g)
e H om age to t h e K i n g of ki ngs L o d of . e , , r

l or ds Go er noi of gove r nor s h o f om th w om b of th e Sky godd ess

,
v
'

,
r e -

ha st l d th e W o l d nd th U nd er W o ld T hy li m bs a r as Silv
ru e

r a e r . e er

gold t hy ha nd is bl li k l a pi s l a ul i a nd th sp a ce on i th sid e of ue e z e e er

thee is of th c olou r of t q
~

, ,

oise ( o e m e a ld ) T hou god A n of ur u r e r .

m illi ons of y ea r s t hy bod y is a ll pe vad i ng O d w e ll in th e La n d of -

r er

w
, ,

H oli n s s t hy f ce is bea tif u l

e , Th e g ods c om e be f o
a t he e u . re

bowi ng l o T h y hold th ee in f ar T h y w i t hdr w and tr e a t

. e e . e a re

w he n t h y se e th e a wf l ness of R a u pon t h ee ; th e "t hou ght] of th e

e u

c onq es ts of t h y M j sty is in t he i r hea ts

u

Le t m e f oll ow t h y M j esty as w he n I
su m m one d a nd l t i t be fo nd n ar th Lor ds of T r u th
.
Life is wi t h t hee
e
a e

as on e ar th l t m y so l be

I ha v c om e
a

u e
r

e
.

w ,

.
e
.

e
u

to th C i ty of God th e r gi on t ha t is t e n a ll y ol d wi t h m y sou l ( ba )
e , e e r , ,

d o bl ( h ) a nd spi r i t sou l
u e a to b d w e ll in this l an d I ts
-
e a er .

God is th Lo d of T u t h e h gi v t h old age to him t ha t

r r e e

w or k e t h T r t h a nd hono to his foll ow rs a nd a t th e l ast a b nd a n t

u ur e u

q
, ,

e ipum n t fo t h t o
em b a n d b u r i a l in th e L a nd of H oli n ess
r e I h a v e , .

c om n t o t h m y ha nds hold T t h a nd t he is no f l s hood in m y

e u ee , ru , re a e

hat e r . T hou hast s t T r u t h be fo t he ; I k now on w h a t e re e

th o li v st I ha v com m i tt d no sin in t hi s l nd a nd I h av d fr a d d
u e . e e a , e e u e

no m a n of his possessi ons ( Ch p t CL X X X III )

w
a e r . .

C h a p ter I as rec i te d by the p riest w h o accom p anie d t h e

mumm y to t h e tomb an d performe d the buri a l ceremoni e s
t h ere I n it th e p riest ( kher (tab) assu me d the character o f
.

Thot h a nd prom i se d t h e decease d to do for him a ll that h e ha d

done for Os iri s i n d a y s o f o l d Chap ter 1 3 gave the l m or .
,

Sp iri t bo d y power to e nter t h e Tuat imme di ate l y after the
-
.

b u ri a l o f the mate ri a l body and d eli vere d it from the N ine ,

Worm s that l ive d on the d ea d C ha pters I I IV ar e short spe ll s

.

wri tten to gi ve t h e d eceased power to revisit the eart h to j oin the ,

go d s a nd to trave l a bou t t h e sky Chapters V and V I p rovided

,
.
36 TH E B OOK O F TH E D EAD .

for the performance of agricultural labours in the Other World .

The text of Chapter VI was cut on gu res made of stone wood , ,

e tc . which were placed in the tomb and wh en the ,

deceased recited it these gures became a live and did everything

m g "?

he wished . The sha btz gu re , took the p l ace
of the human funerary sacri ce which was common all over
Egypt before the general ade ption of the cult of Osiri s under the

X I I th dynasty Abou t 7 00 u sha bti u gures were found in the
.

tomb of Seti I and many of the m are in the B ritish Museum

,
.

Chapter VI I is a spell to destroy the G reat Serpent A a pe p ,

E
] D
m , the Arch enemy of Horus the
-
Elder ,
R a Osiri s
, ,

Horu s son of Isis and of every fo llower of Osiris Chapters VII I

, .

and IX secured a passage for the deceased through the Tuat ,

and Chapters X and XI ga v e him power over the enemies he

met there Chapters XI I and XII I gave him great freedom
.

of movement in the K ingdom of Osiris Chapter XIV is a .

prayer in which Osiri s is entreated to pu t away a ny feeling of

w
dissatisfa c tion t h at he may have for the deceased who says , ,

w
Wash a ay my sins Lord of Tru th destroy my transgressions
, ,

ickedness a nd iniquity O God of Truth May this god be at ,

.

p eace with me D estroy the t hings that are obstac l es be tween

.

us Give m e peace and remove all dissatisfaction from thy

.
,

heart in respect of me .

Chapter XV has se veral form s and each of them contains ,

Hym ns to R a which were sung daily in the morning and

,

Th e h oly A pe g od s si n gi n g h y m n s
-

of p r a i se to R a a t su n r i se .
Th e j
ac ak l
-
g od s a n d th e H a k wg od-
s
si n gi n g h y m n s of p r a i se to R a a t su n se t.
 TH E B OOK O F TH E D EAD . 37

evening ; Specimen par agraphs are gi ven above ( pp 3 3 .

,

C h a p ter XV I is only a vignette that ill u strates Ch a p ter XV ,

Chapter X V I I is a very irn por ta nt chapter for it contains state ,

ments of divine doct r ine as u nderstood by the priests of He l iopo li s .

Th e o pening words are I am Tem in ri sing I am the O nl y One
, . .

I came into being i n Nu ( the Sky ) I am R a who ro se in .

,

primeval t ime ruler of what he had made

, Fo ll owing this .

comes the question Wh o is this and the answer is

, I t is ,

R a w h o ro se in the city o f H e nsu in primeval time crowned as

, ,

The Su ng od R5 . in the for m of the

t
Gr e a Ca t, si tti ng by the sid e of he Pe r se a t
T
re e of A r m a n d cu tting of
f th e he a d of A a pe p, the god of d a r k ne ss a nd e v il

w
. .

k ing He e x isted on t h e h eig h t of the D eller in Khe m e nu

.

Thot h of He r mopol is ) before the pill ars that supp ort the

, w
sky were made Chapter XV I I I contains t h e Addresses to
.

Thoth ho is entreated to ma k e t h e d ecea se d to be dec l ared

innocent before t h e gods o f Heliopo l is Busiris L atopo l is Mendes, , , ,

w
Abydos etc These addresse s forme d a very p owerfu l spell
,
.

w h ich a s u sed by Horu s and when he recited it four times a ll

,

hi s enemie s were overth rown and cu t to pieces Chapters X I X .

and X X are var iant form s of Chapter X V II I Ch apters X X I .

X X I I I secured the he l p of Thot h in Openi ng the mou t h o f

t h e decea sed whereby he o b tained the power to breat h e and
,

think and drink and eat Thoth recited spe ll s over th e god s
.

w
whilst P tah untie d t h e bandages and S h u forced o pen their
mouths ith an iron k ni fe Chapter XX I V gave to the
.

deceased a k nowl e d ge of the words of power

(gu gi ,

" mu )
r e/ which were u sed by the great god Tem Khepera and -
,

Chapter X X V restore d to him his memory Five chapters .

,

X X V I X X X contain pra yers and spe ll s whereby the deceased

-e -
,
38 TH E B OOK O F TH E D EAD .

obt ai ned power over his heart and gained absolute posse ssion
of it The most popu lar prayer is that of Chapter X X X B
.

( see above p 4 ) which according to its rubric was fou nd
,
.
, , ,

t e edited by He r u ta ta f th e son of the great Cheops abo u t

. .
, , , ,

3 600 B C This prayer was still in use in the early years of the
.

Christian Er a In the Papyru s of Nu it is associated with

.

Chapter LXIV and the earliest form of it was probably in

,

existence under the Ist dynasty .

Chapters XXXI XLI I were written to deliver the deceased

from the Great Crocodile Sui and the Serpents Rer e k and ,

Se kse k and the Lynx with its deadly claws and the Beetle
, ,

A p sh a it and the terri ble Merti snake goddesses and a group of

,
-

three particularly venomous serpents and A a pep a pe r soni ca ,

tion of Set the god of evil and the Eater of the Ass and a serie s , ,

of beings who li ved by slaughtering the souls of the dead In .

Chap ter XLI I e very member of the decea sed is put under the
protection of or identi ed with a god or goddess e g the hair
, , ,
. .
,

w ith Nu the face with A te n ,

the solar disk ) the eyes with ,

Hathor and the deceased e xcla irn s triumphantly

,
There is no ,

member of my body which is not the member of a god .

Chapter XL II I A spell to prevent the decapitation of the

.

deceased who assumes in it the character of Osiri s the Lord o f

,

Eter ni ty Chapter XLIV An ancient and mighty spe ll the

. .
,

recit al of which pre vented the de ceased from d ying a second

tim e Chapters XLV and XLVI preserved the mummy of th e
.

deceased from decay and Chapter XLVI I prevented the remova l ,

of his seat or t h rone Chapter L enabled the deceased to avoid .

the block of execution of the god Sh e sm u Chapters LI LII I .

provided the deceased with pure food and clean water from the

w
table of the gods he li ved upon what the y lived upon and so
became one i th them Chapters LIV LXI I gave the deceased
power to obtain coo l water from the Celestial Nile and the springs
.
,

of waters of heaven and bei ng identi ed with Shu the god of , ,

light and air he was en abled to p ass o ver a ll the earth at wil l
,
.

His life was that of the Egg of the Great C ackler and the ,

goddess Se sh e ta built a house for him in th e C e le stia l A nu or ,

Heliopolis .

The recital of Chapter LXIII enabled th e d ece a se d to avoid

w
'

drinking boi l ing water in the Tuat The a te fi n some of its .

poo ls was cool and refreshi ng to those who were speakers of the
40 TH E B OOK O F TH E DEAD .

of the deceased to his body in the Tuat and Chapter XC pre ,

served him fr om m u til a tion and attacks o f the go d who cut

off heads and sl i t foreheads Cha p ters XCI and XC I I pre .

vented th e soul of t h e deceased from being shut i n the tomb .

Chapter XCIII is a spell very di f cult to understand Chapters .

XCIV and XCV provided the deceased wi th the books of Thot h

and the power of this god and enabled him to take his p l ace as ,

the scribe of Osiri s Chap ters XCVI and X CVII a l so placed

.

him under the protection of Thoth The reci ta l of Chapter .

XCVII I provided the deceased with a boat in which to sail over

th e northern heavens and a ladder by which to ascend to heaven
,
.

Chapters XCIX CIII gave him the u se of t h e magica l boat the

,

mystic name of each part of which he was o bl iged to know and ,

helped him to enter the Boat of R a and to be with Hathor .

The Bebait or mantis led him to the great gods ( Chapter CIV )
, , ,

and the Ua tch amulet from the neck of R a provided his double
( ka ) and his heart soul ( ba ) with offeri ngs ( Chapters CV CV I )

,
.

Chapters CVI I CI X made him favoura bly k nown to the sp iri ts

of the East and West and the gods o f the Mountain of Sunr i se
,
.

In this region lived the terrible Serpent god A mi hem f he was - - -

3 0 cubits ( 50 feet ) long In the East the deceased saw the .

Morn ing Star and the Two Sycamores from between which the
, ,

Sun god appeared daily and found the entrance to the Se kh et

-

A aru 0r Elysia n Fields Chapter CX and i ts vignette of

'

the Elysian F ields have already been described ( see p .

Chapter s CXI and CXI I describe how Horus lost the sight of his
eye tempora rily through loo k ing at Set u nder the form of a b l ac k
pig and Chapter CXI I I refers to the legend of the drowning of
,

Horus and the reco very of his body by Se b e k the Crocodil e god -
.

Chapter CXIV enabled the deceased to a b sorb the wisdom of

Thoth and his Eight gods Chapters CXVCXXII made him .

lord of the Tu a ts of Memphis and Heliopolis and supplied him ,

with food and Chapter CXXI I I enabled him to id e ntifyf h im se lf

,

with Thoth Chapters CXXIV and CXXV which treat of the

.
.

Judgment have already been described Chapter CXXV I con

, .

t ai ns a prayer to the Four Holy Apes Chapter CXXVII a ,

hymn to the gods of the Circles in the Tuat and Chapter ,

CXXVIII a hymn to Osiri s Chap ters CXXX and C X XX I .

secured for the deceased the u se of the Boats of Su nrise and

Sunset and Chapter CXXXI I enabled him to return to earth
,
 THE B OO K O F TH E D EAD . 41

and v i si t the h ou se he had li ved in C h apters CXXX I I I ( or .

CXX XI X )C XX X V I re sembl e in contents Chapter C X X XI .

Chap ter C X X XVI I describe s a seri es of ma gi cal ceremonies

th at wer e to be performed for the deceased dail y in order to ma ke

him to become a li ving sou l for ever The formu l ae are said .

to h a v e bee n com pose d u nder the I V th d y nasty Chapter .

C X X XVI I I re fers to t h e ceremony of reconstituti ng Osiris and ,

Chapters C XL C XL II d ea l wi th the sett i ng up of twelve alta rs

-

an d the ma ki ng o f offer i ngs to a ll t h e gods and to the various

forms o f Os iri s C h a p ter C XL I I I consi sts o f a seri es o f vignettes
.
,

i n t h ree o f w hi c h so l ar boat s are repr esented .

C ha pters C XL I V and C XL V I I de a l with the Seven Great

w
Ha ll s ( "n?) o f th e King d om o f O si ri s The gate of each Ha ll
as gu arde d by a po r ter a watc h man an d a messe nger
, ,
t h e rst
ke p t t h e door the second l ooke d ou t for the arr i va l o f vi si tors
,
.

and t h e third too k t h e ir names to Osiri s N o one cou l d enter a .

Ha ll wi t h ou t re peat ing t h e name o f it o f the porter of the , ,

watc hman and o f t h e me sse nger Accordi ng to a l ate tradi tion

,
.

th e Gates o f t h e Kingdom o f Os i ri s were twent y one in num ber -

( C h a p ters CXL V and C XL VI ) an d eac h h a d a magi ca l name and

, ,

ea c h was guard ed by one or two go d s whose names had to ,

be r e pea ted by t h e decea sed be fore he cou l d pa ss Chapter .

C XL VI I I su pplied th e deceased wi th t h e nam es o f the Seven

Cows and t h eir Bu ll on whic h t h e god s were su pposed to
feed Ch apters C X LI X and C L gi ve th e names of th e Fourteen
.

A a ts or dis tri cts of the Kingdom o f Osiris C hapter C LI A an d

, ,
.

CL I B gi ve a p icture o f the mummy cham ber and the m a gica l

te x t s that we r e necessary for t h e p rotection of both the c h am ber
and the mumm y in it Cha p ter C LI I provi de d a hou se for th e
.

decease d i n t h e Ce l est ia l A nn a nd C h apter CLI I I A and CLI I I B

,

e na bl ed h i s sou l to a v oi d capture in t h e ne t of the snarer o f

sou ls . Chapter C LI V is an addre ss to Osi ris in which the
decease d sa ys I sha ll no t decay nor rot nor p utre fy nor
.
, , , ,

be come worm s nor see corr uption I sha ll h ave my being

,
.
,

I shal l li ve I sha ll ouri sh I shal l rise up i n pea ce

, , Chapters .

C L V C LX V I I are Spell s w hi c h were e graved on t h e amu l ets

n
-

the
3a 0
I .
X etc giving
.
, d eceased the prote o
tion o f Ra Osi ri s I sis Horu s an d o
, , , th er go d s Th e remaini ng
, .

Cha p ters ( CLX V I I I C X C ) are o f a misce lla neou s character and

,
42 TH E B OOK O F TH E D EAD .

few of them are found in more than one or two papyri of the
Book of the D ead A few contain hymns that are not older
.

than the X V I I I th dynasty and one is an extract from the text

,

on the Pyramid of Un as ( lines 3 7 9 The most interesting

is perhaps Chapter CLXXV w hich de scribes the Tuat as
, , ,

a irless waterless and l ightless In this chapter the deceased is

, ,
.

assured of im m or ta il ty in the words Thou shal t live for ,

mill ions of mill ions of years a life of millions of years

,
.

E . A W A L LI S B UD GE
. .

D E PA RTM E N T or EGY PT I A N A ND A SS YR I A N
A N TIQ U I TI E S B R I TI S H
,
M U S E UM .

A pr il 1 5 ,
1 02 0 .
 N O TE .

Th e Tr u stees o f t h e B ri tis h Mus eum h ave p u bl is h e d

I . Co l oure d f acsimi l e o f t h e P a py ru s o f H u ne fer X I X th ,

dy nast y w i t h hi erogly ph ic t ransc rip t an d t rans l ation

, .

1 1 pl ates l arge f o l io , .

2 . C o l oure d f ac sim il e o f t h e Pa p y ru s o f A n h a i X X l st ,

d y nast y wit h h ie r o gl yp hic t ranscri p t an d t ra nslat i on

, .

8 pl ates l arg e f o l io , .

3 . Co ll o t ype re p ro d uction o f t h e P a py rus o f Q ueen

Ne tch em e t X X l st d y nast y wi t h h iero gl yphi c tran
, ,

scr i p t an d t ra ns l at i on 1 2 p lat es la rg e fo l i o . , .

4 . Co lou re d re p ro d uction o f t h e h ierat i c te x t o f t h e B oo k

o f B reat hings wi t h hiero gl yph ic t r anscrip t an d t rans
,

la t i on Wi t h 2 co l lo t yp es o f t h e vi gn ett e s l arg e
.
,

f o l io .

5 . H i e rog l y phi c t ransc rip t o f t h e Pa py rus o f N u w i t h one ,

co ll ot y pe pl ate .

N os
. 1 -

5 are bou nd in one volu me, p

r ice 2 1 05 .

6 . C o ll ot yp e r e pro d uct ion o f t h e Pa p y rus o f Q ueen N esi

ta ne bt ashru wi t h f u l l descri p tions o f t h e vi gnettes
- -

, ,

trans l at i ons an d i nt rod uct i on co ntai ni n g severa l

, ,

i ll ustrations an d 1 1 6 p lates o f h i eratic te x t La rg e

,
.

4 t o P.ri ce 2 r os .