ians cut upon the walls of the corridors and chambers in pyramids and rock-hewn tombs, and cut or painted upon the insides and outsides of coffins and sarcopha

general description of these Chapters, for they deal almost entirely with the dead, and they were written entirely for the dead. They have nothing to do with the worship of the gods by those who live on the earth, and such prayers and hymns as are incorporated with them were supposed to be said and sung by the dead for their own benefit. The author of the Chapters of the Book of the Dead was the god Thoth, whose greatness has alre

er of Chapters in t

gy of Funerary Offerings (see pp. 13-18) were in use when they were made, and this being so it follows as a matter of course that at this period the Egyptians believed in the resurrection of the dead and in their immortality, that the religion of Osiris was generally accepted, that the efficacy of funerary offerings was unquestioned by the religious, and that men died believing that those who were righteous on earth would be rewarded in heaven, and that the evil-doer would be punished. The Pyramid Texts also prove that a Book of the Dead divided into chapters was in existence when they were written, for they mention the "Chapter of those who come forth (i.e. appear in heaven)," and the "Chapter of those who rise up" (Pepi I, l. 463), and the "Chapter of the betu incense," and the "Chapter of the natron incense" (Pepi I, 469). Whether these Chapters formed parts of the Pyramid Texts, or whether both they and the Pyramid Texts belo

became king of both

e eighteenth to the twenty-first dynasty (1600-900 B.C.) is commonly called the Theban Recension. This Recension, in its earliest form, is usually written with black ink in vertical columns of hieroglyphs, which are separated by black lines; the titles of the Chapters, the opening words of each section, and the Rubrics are written with red ink. About the middle of the eighteenth dynasty pictures painted in bright colours, "vignettes," were added to the Chapters; these are very valuable, because they sometimes explain or give a clue to the meaning of parts of the texts that are obscure. Under the twentieth and twenty-first dynasties the writing of copies of the Book of the Dead in hieroglyphs went out of fashion, and copies written in the hieratic, or cursive, character took their place. These were ornamented with vignettes drawn in outline with black ink, and although the

2) in the coffin by the side of the deceased, or laid between the thighs or just above the ankles; (3) in hollow

the presence of Osiris. The Tuat was like the African "bush," and had no roads through it. In primitive times the Egyptians thought that only those souls that were provided with spells, incantations, prayers, charms, words of power, and amulets could ever hope to reach the Kingdom of Osiris. The spells and incantations were needed for the bewitchment of hostile

rs, but they never attempted to alter the Chapters of the Book of the Dead so as to bring them, if we may use the expression, "up to date." The religion of the eighteenth dynasty was far higher in its spiritual character generally than that of the twelfth dynasty, but the Chapters that were used under the twelfth dynasty were used under the eighteenth, and even under the twenty-sixth dynasty. In religion the Egyptian forg

Part of the X

ook of t

Soul are leav

of the Ani in t

the gods, and of the heavens and the earth, and states the different opinions which Egyptian theologians held about many divine and mythological beings. The reason for including it in the Book of the Dead is not quite clear, but that it was a most important Chapter is beyond all doubt. Chaps. 21 and 22 restored his mouth to the deceased, and Chap. 23 enabled him to open it. Chap. 24 supplied him with words of power, and Chap. 25 restored to him his memory. Chaps. 26-30B gave to the deceased his heart, and supplied the spells that prevented the stealers of hearts from carrying it off, or from injuring it in any way. Two of these Chapters (29 and 30B) were cut upon amulets made in the form of a human heart. Chaps. 31 and 32 are spells for driving away crocodiles, and Chaps. 33-38, and 40 are spells against snakes and serpents. Chaps. 41 and 42 preserved a man from slaughter in the Other World, Chap. 43 enabled him to avoid decapitation, and Chap. 44 preserved him from the second death. Chaps. 45, 46, and 154 protected the body from rot or decay and worms in the tomb. Chap. 50 saved the deceased from the headsman in the Tuat, and Chap. 51 enabled him to avoid stumbling. Chaps. 38, 52-60, and 62 ensured for him a supply of air and water in the Tuat, and Chap. 63 protected him from drinking boiling water there. Chaps. 64-74 gave him the power to leave the tomb, to overthrow enemies, and to "come forth by day." Chaps. 76-89 enabled a man to transform himself into the Light-god, the primeval soul of God, the gods Ptah and Osiris, a golden hawk, a divine hawk, a lotus, a benu bird, a heron, a swallow, a serpent, a crocodile, and into any being or thing he pleased. Chap. 89 enabled the soul of the deceased to rejoin its bod

Pe Tep,

eithyia

ermop

eliop

ng, and Queen Netchemet recit

sent the Spiri

out 1050 B.C.) in

pening hymn to Osiris

before the power of Nebertcher.[7] He leadeth on that which is and that which is not yet, in his name of 'Taherstanef.' He toweth along the earth by Maāt[8] in his name of 'Seker'; he is exceedingly mighty and most terrible in his name of 'Osiris'; he endureth for ever and ever in his name of 'Un-Nefer.' Homage to thee, O King of kings, Lord of lords, Prince of princes, who from the womb of Nut hast ruled the world and Akert.[9] Thy body is [like] bright and shining metal, thy head is of azure blue, and the brilliance of the turquoise encircleth thee. O thou god An of millions of years, who

e Sky-

e Eart

ditary chief

e othe

of Busiris

os in Up

e uttermost limit,

and moral law, and the perso

of the Ot

and, i.e. the K

ntified with the ph?nix. The s

realm of Osiris, or

s over their hearts. Life is with thee, and offerings of meat and drink follow thee, and that which is thy due is offered before thy face. I have come unto thee holding in my hands truth, and my heart hath in it no cunning (or deceit). I offer unto thee that which is thy due,

Litany, which forms a kind of introduc

ell therein, thou Guide of the Other World, whom the gods praise when thou settest in the sky. Isis embraceth thee contentedly, and she driveth away the fiends from the mouth of thy paths. Thou turnest thy face towards Amentet,[1] and thou makest the ear

land, the West,

ta

s and of the heavenly beings in Kherāha,[2] thou god Unti,

eace, for I am just and true; I have not spoken li

Heru-Khuti,[5] with long strides dost

ho dwellest in Tatu (Busiris), Un-Nefer,[

rown is fixed upon thy head. Thou art One, thou crea

on its sledge; thou turnest back the Fiend, the worker of evi

at and mighty, dweller in Anrutef,[8] lord of eternity,

art the Lord of Abydos; thy body is joined to Ta-Tches

adest the Nile from his source, the light shineth

of the North, Osiris, Conqueror, Governor of the world in thy gra

of thirty-si

stood on the s

as to be repeated a

Ligh

khis of t

orm of

was drawn round the sanct

strict o

opolis in U

yiaspolis in

eth thee with bowings. The Land of Sunset (Manu) receiveth thee with satisfaction, and the goddess Maāt[2] embraceth thee at morn and at eve. Hail, ye gods of the Temple of the Soul (i.e. heaven), who weigh heaven and earth in a balance, who provide celestial food! And hail, Tatunen,[3] One

y of the Holy God goeth forth and advanceth even unto the Land of Sunset (Manu). He maketh bright the earth at his birth daily, he journeyeth to the place where he was yesterday. O be thou at peace with me, and let me behold thy beauties! Let me appear on the earth. Let me smite [the Eater of] the Ass.[5] Let me crush the Serpent Seba.[6] Let me destroy āapep[7] when he is most strong. Let me see the Abtu Fish in its season and the Ant Fish[8] in its lake. Let me see Horus steering thy boat, with Thoth and Maāt standing one on each side of him. Let me have hold of the bows of [thy] Evenin

e Sky-

ddess

ncient E

ates of Set, t

Sun-god, and its eater was a

mythologic

e sun each morning, but the Sun-god cast

fishes that swam before the boat o

es to be sure of a

het, who sit in judgment on my weakness and on my strength, who make the gods to rest contented by means of the flame of your mouths, who offer holy offerings to the gods, and sepulchral meals to the spirit-souls, who live upon truth, who feed upon truth of heart, who are without deceit and fraud, and to whom wickedness is an abomination, do ye away with my evil deeds, and put ye away my sin, which deserved stripes upon earth, and destroy ye every evil thing whatsoever that clingeth to me, and let there be no bar whatsoever on my part towards you. Grant ye that I may make my way through the Amhet[1] chamber, let me enter into Rastau,[2] and let me pass through the secret places of Ament

ngdom of Seker in which

ors in the kin

at my judgment. May there be no opposition to me in the presence of the Tchatchau.[1] Mayest thou not be separated from me in the presence of the Keeper of the Balance. Thou art my Ka (i.e. Double, or vital power), that dwelleth in my body; the god Khnemu who knitteth together and strengthened my limbs. Mayest thou come forth into the place of happiness whither we go. May the Shenit officers who decide the de

ers of Osiris, the

u, in the reign of Menkaurā, a king of the fourth dynasty. It was cut in hieroglyphs, inlaid with lapis-lazuli on a block of alabaster, which was set under the feet of Thoth, and was therefore believed to be a most powerful prayer. We know that this prayer was recited by the Egyptians in the Ptolemaic Period, and thus it is clear that it was in common use for a period of nearly four thousand years. It may well be the oldest prayer in the world. Under the Middle and New Empires this prayer was cut upon hard green stone scarabs, but the ve

or Hall of the Two Maāti goddesses, one for Upper Egypt and one for Lower Egypt, wherein Osiris and his Forty-two Judges judge the souls of the dead. Before judgment is given the deceased is allowed to make a declaration, which in form closely rese

ard my name for exalted positions. I have not entreated servants evilly. I have not defrauded the man who was in trouble. I have not done what is hateful (or taboo) to the gods. I have not caused a servant to be ill-treated by his master. I have not caused pain [to any man]. I have not permitted any man to go hungry. I have made none to weep. I have not committed murder. I have not ordered any man to commit murder for me. I have inflicted pain on no man. I have not robbed the temples of their offerings. I have not stolen the cakes of the gods. I have not carried off the cakes offered to the spirits. I have not committed fornication. I have not committed acts of impurity in the holy places of the god of my town. I have not diminished the bushel. I have not added to or filched awa

the forty-two nomes, or countie

t standing in the Hall of O

the Queen is being w

out 1050 B.C.) in

e above declarations of his innocence, but with each declaration

des, who comest forth from Heli

flame, who comest forth from Kherāh

rth from Hermopolis, I have n

, who comest forth from th

comest forth from Rastau, I

es, who comest forth fro

t they were local gods or spirits, each one representing a nome, whose names were adde

a far more personal character than those of the first and second parts. Thus, having declared h

pon the entrails of the mighty ones, on the day of the Great Judgment. Let me come to you, for I have not committed offences [against you]; I have not done evil, I have not borne false witness; therefore let nothing [evil] be done unto me. I live upon truth. I feed upon truth. I have performed the commandments of men, and the things which make the gods contented. I have made the god to be at peace [with me by doing] that which is his will. I have given bread to the hungry man, and water to the thirsty man, and apparel to the naked man, and a ferry boat to him that had none. I have made offerings to the gods, and given

e uttermost limit,

the Island of Osiris. None but the righteous could enter his boat, an

in which the h

rt of the Other Wo

n town in the Field of the Grasshoppers, wherein the sailors of Rā bathe at the second hour of the night and at the third hour of the day." One would think that the moral worth of the deceased was such that he might then pass without delay into the most holy part of the Hall of Truth where Osiris was enthroned. But this is not the case, for before he went further he was obliged to repeat the magical names of various parts of the Hall of Truth; thus we find that the priest thrust his magic into the most sacred of texts. At length Thoth, the great Recorder of Egypt, being satisfied as to the

ll have my being, I shall have my being. I shall live, I shall live. I shall flourish, I shall flourish. I shall wake up in peace. I shall not putrefy. My inward parts shall not perish. I shall not suffer injury. Mine eye shall not decay. The form of my visage shall not disappear. Mine ear shall not become deaf. My head shall not be separated from my neck. My tongue shall not be carried away. My hair shall not be cut off. Mine eyebrows shall not be shaved off. No baleful injury shall come upon me. My body shall be established, and it shall neither crumble away nor be destroyed on this earth." The passage that refers to everlasting life occurs in

, and placed on the neck of the deceased on the day of the funeral. If these things be done for him the powers of Isis shall protect his body, and Horus, the son of Isis, shall rejoice in him when he seeth him. And there shall be no places hidden from him as he journeyeth. And one hand of his shall be towards heaven and the other towards earth, regularly and continually. Thou shalt not let any person who is with thee see it [a few words broken away]." Of the spells written in the Book of the Dead to make crocodiles, serpents, and other reptiles powerless, the following are specimens: "Away with thee! Retreat! Get back

n the never-resting stars. That which is thy taboo is in

The serpent Nāu is inside me. I will set i

at feedest upon the eaters of filth. That whic

The serpent Nāu is inside me. I will set i

hat feedest upon waste, garbage, and filth. Th

th. I will fetter thee. My charm is among

on what is left by the hours. That which is thy taboo is in

th, for the Scorpion-goddess[3] is inside

e me. I am clothed in and supplied with thy spells, O Rā, which are above me and beneath me.

elta and a local form of t

a form of Pautti, th

as called

od, or goddess, equipped w

OF CO