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 fi 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 ffins 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 first 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 év 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

é 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

wfii m
e u e ue, e

w
. .

’ ’
”
Ma . fl fi

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 é 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 ffi 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 flint 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 influence 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

fluids 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 ified 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 fi 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 fi 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 ffi 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 flourish ,

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

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

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

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

, .

On co ffi 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 fi 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 findi 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 é 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 ffi 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 ffi 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 ffi 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 ffi 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 coffi ns At fi 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 fi 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 Té 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 finest 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 é

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
fi 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 Greenfi 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 é 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 fi 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 é 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 é 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 fi 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 fi 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 fil l e d wit h
Chapters o f the PER T -

EM H RU l aid in t h eir
co ffi 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 flouri 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 ,

coffi 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 briefly 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 fi 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 ,
Qfi : fi
i f:
gfi 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

fi 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 flourished 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 fled 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 ffi 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 fi n d Set and to wage war against

’
,

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

.

ensued and though Set was defeated before he was fi 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 fi 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 ffi 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 fice 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 confines ; 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 sfied 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 satisfi 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 fi fty fi 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 pmTfi
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 fi 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

.
,

offi cials and some of the nobles and the

, ,

offi 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 tifie 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 fina 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 filled
,
.

wit h fire 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 fir 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 fliction 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 ,

L—j 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 .

fir 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 fi 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 ifi 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 .

inflicted 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 fi 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 t—k 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 fi 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 fl 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 tifie 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 rified 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 fina 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 floor 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 purified 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 fi 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 fi 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 nfirmed ( P) The Osiris ,

the scri be Ani true of voice h ath testified 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 satisfied i f it exact l y counterbalanced
,

Trut h They demanded the fu l fi 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 Mé ,

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 tifi 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 fi elds were intersec te d by c anals

w .

I . e .
, th e B e n e fi 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 fi 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 ffi 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 fi 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 fi 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 ofi 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 tifi 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 fi 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 fi 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 fi 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 fi gu res made of stone wood , ,

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

deceased recited it these fi gures became a live and did everything

m g "?
’
he wished . The sha btz fi gu re , took the p l ace
of the human funerary sacrifi 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 fi 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 sonifi 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 identifi 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 identifi 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 ffi 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 CXV—CXXII 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 first
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 fl 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 .