,,the ,,book ,,of ,,the ,,dead4  by ,e4 
,a4 ,wallis ,budge4     ,,chapter ,i    
,the ,title4  ,book of the ,dead is the 
title now commonly given to the great   
collection of funerary texts which the  
ancient ,egyptian scribes composed for  
the benefit of the dead4 ,these consist 
of spells and incantations1 hymns and   
litanies1 magical formulae and names1   
words of power and prayers1 and they are
 found cut or painted on walls of       
pyramids and tombs1 and painted on      
coffins and sarcophagi and rolls of     
papyri4 ,the title ,book of the ,dead is
 somewhat unsatisfactory and misleading1
 for the texts neither form a connected 
work nor belong to one period2 they are 
miscellaneous in character1 and tell us 
nothing about the lives and works of the
 dead with whom they were buried4       
,moreover1 the ,egyptians possessed many
 funerary works that might rightly be   
called ,books of the ,dead1 but none of 
them bore a name that could be          
translated by the title ,book of the    

,dead4 ,this title was given to the     
great collection of funerary texts in   
the first quarter of the nineteenth     
century by the pioneer ,egyptologists1  
who possessed no exact knowledge of     
their contents4 ,they were familiar with
 the rolls of papyrus inscribed in the  
hieroglyphic and the hieratic character1
 for copies of several had been         
published1 #a but the texts in them were
 short and fragmentary4 ,the publication
 of the ,facsimile #b of the ,papyrus of
 ,peta-,amen-neb-nest-taui #c by ,m4    
,cadet in #ahje made a long hieroglyphic
 text and numerous coloured vignettes   
available for study1 and the ,french    
,egyptologists described it as a copy of
 the ,rituel ,funraire of the ancient   
,egyptians4 ,among these was            
,champollion le ,jeune1 but later1 on   
his return from ,egypt1 he and others   
called it ,le ,livre des ,morts1 ,the   
,book of the ,dead1 ,das ,todtenbuch1   
etc4 ,these titles are merely           
translations of the name given by the   

,egyptian tomb-robbers to every roll of 
inscribed papyrus which they found with 
mummies1 namely1 ,kitb-al-,mayyit1 ,book
 of the dead man1 or ,kitb al-,mayyitun1
 ,book of the dead 7plur474 ,these men  
knew nothing of the contents of such a  
roll1 and all they meant to say was that
 it was a dead man's book1 and that it  
was found in his coffin with him4       
,,chapter ,,ii  ,the ,preservation of   
the ,mummified ,body in the ,tomb by    
,thoth4  ,the objects found in the      
graves of the predynastic ,egyptians1   
i4e41 vessels of food1 flint knives and 
other weapons1 etc41 prove that these   
early dwellers in the ,nile ,valley     
believed in some kind of a future       
existence4 ,but as the art of writing   
was1 unknown to them their graves       
contain no inscriptions1 and we can only
 infer from texts of the dynastic period
 what their ideas about the ,other      
,world were4 ,it is clear that they did 
not consider it of great importance to  
preserve the dead body in as complete   

and perfect state as possible1 for in   
many of their graves the heads1 hands   
and feet have been found severed from   
the trunks and lying at some distance   
from them4 ,on the other hand1 the      
dynastic ,egyptians1 either as the      
result of a difference in religious     
belief1 or under the influence of       
invaders who had settled in their       
country1 attached supreme importance to 
the preservation and integrity of the   
dead body1 and they adopted every means 
known to them to prevent its            
dismemberment and decay4 ,they cleansed 
it and embalmed it with drugs1 spices   
and balsams2 they anointed it with      
aromatic oils and preservative fluids2  
they swathed it in hundreds of yards of 
linen bandages2 and then they sealed it 
up in a coffin or sarcophagus1 which    
they laid in a chamber hewn in the      
bowels of the mountain4 ,all these      
things were done to protect the physical
 body against damp1 dry rot and decay1  
and against the attacks of moth1        

beetles1 worms and wild animals4 ,but   
these were not the only enemies of the  
dead against which precautions had to be
 taken1 for both the mummified body and 
the spiritual elements which had        
inhabited it upon earth had to be       
protected from a multitude of devils and
 fiends1 and from the powers of darkness
 generally4 ,these powers of evil had   
hideous and terrifying shapes and forms1
 and their haunts were well known1 for  
they infested the region through which  
the road of the dead lay when passing   
from this world to the ,kingdom of      
,osiris4 ,the great gods were afraid of 
them1 and were obliged to protect       
themselves by the use of spells and     
magical names1 and words of power1 which
 were composed and written down by      
,thoth4 ,in fact it was believed in very
 early times in ,egypt that ,ra the     
,sun-god owed his continued existence to
 the possession of a secret name with   
which ,thoth had provided him4 ,and each
 morning the rising sun was menaced by a

 fearful monster called ,aapep1 which   
lay hidden under the place of sunrise   
waiting to swallow up the solar disk4   
,it was impossible1 even for the        
,sun-god1 to destroy this ,great ,devil1
 but by reciting each morning the       
powerful spell with which ,thoth had    
provided him he was able to paralyse all
 ,aapep's limbs and to rise upon this   
world4 ,since then the great gods1 even 
though benevolently disposed towards    
them1 were not able to deliver the dead 
from the devils that lived upon the     
bodies1 souls1 spirits1 shadows and     
hearts of the dead1 the ,egyptians      
decided to invoke the aid of ,thoth on  
behalf of their dead and to place them  
under the protection of his almighty    
spells4 ,inspired by ,thoth the         
theologians of ancient ,egypt composed a
 large number of funerary texts which   
were certainly in general use under the 
,i,vth dynasty 7about #cgjj ,b4,c471 and
 were probably well known under the ,ist
 dynasty1 and throughout the whole      

period of dynastic history ,thoth was   
regarded as the author of the ,book of  
the ,dead4   ,,chapter ,,iii  ,the ,book
 ,per-t em hru1 or ,the ,chapters of    
,coming forth by 7or1 into7 the ,day1   
commonly called the ,book of the ,dead4 
,the spells and other texts which were  
written by ,thoth for the benefit of the
 dead1 and are directly connected with  
him1 were called1 according to documents
 written under the ,x,ith and           
,x,v,i,i,ith dynasties1 ,chapters of the
 ,coming ,forth by 7or1 into7 the ,day4 
,one rubric in the ,papyrus of ,nu      
7,brit4 ,mus4 ,no4 #ajdgg7 states that  
the text of the work called ,,per-,t    
,,em ,,hru1 i4e41 ,coming ,forth 7or1   
into7 the ,day1 was discovered by a high
 official in the foundations of a shrine
 of the god ,hennu during the reign of  
,semti1 or ,hesepti1 a king of the ,ist 
dynasty4 ,another rubric in the same    
papyrus says that the text was cut upon 
the alabaster plinth of a statue of     
,menkaura 7,mycerinus71 a king of the   

,i,vth dynasty1 and that the letters    
were inlaid with lapis lazuli4 ,the     
plinth was found by ,prince ,herutataf1 
a son of ,king ,khufu 7,cheops71 who    
carried it off to his king and exhibited
 it as a most wonderful thing4 ,this    
composition was greatly reverenced1 for 
it would make a man victorious upon     
earth and in the ,other ,world2 it would
 ensure him a safe and free passage     
through the ,tuat 7,under ,world72 it   
would allow him to go in and to go out1 
and to take at any time any form he     
pleased2 it would make his soul to      
flourish1 and would prevent him from    
dying the second death4 ,for the        
deceased to receive the full benefit of 
this text it had to be recited by a man 
who was ceremonially pure1 and who had  
not eaten fish or meat1 and had not     
consorted with women4 ,on coffins of the
 ,x,ith dynasty and on papyri of the    
,x,v,i,i,ith dynasty we find two        
versions of the ,,per-,t ,,em ,,hru1 one
 long and one short4 ,as the title of   

the shorter version states that it is   
the ,chapters of the ,,per-,t ,,em ,,hru
 in a single chapter1 it is clear that  
this work1 even under the ,i,vth        
dynasty1 contained many ,chapters1 and  
that a much abbreviated form of the work
 was also current at the same period4   
,the rubric that attributes the finding 
of the ,chapter to ,herutataf associates
 it with ,khemenu1 i4e41 ,hermopolis1   
and indicates that ,thoth1 the god of   
this city1 was its author4  ,the work   
,,per-,t ,,em ,,hru received many       
additions in the course of centuries1   
and at length1 under the ,x,v,i,i,ith   
dynasty1 it contained about #aij        
distinct compositions1 or ,chapters4    
,the original forms of many of these are
 to be found in the ,pyramid ,texts     
7i4e41 the funerary compositions cut on 
the walls of the chambers and corridors 
of the pyramids of ,kings ,unas1 ,teta1 
,pepi ,i ,meri-,ra1 ,merenra and ,pepi  
,,ii at ,sakkrah71 which were written   
under the ,vth and ,v,ith dynasties4    

,the forms which many other chapters had
 under the ,x,ith and ,x,i,ith dynasties
 are well represented by the texts      
painted on the coffins of ,amamu1 ,sen1 
and ,guatep in the ,british ,museum     
7,nos4 #ffed1 #cjhci1 #cjhda71 but it is
 possible that both these and the       
so-called ,pyramid ,texts all belonged  
to the work ,,per-,t ,,em ,,hru1 and are
 extracts from it4 ,the ,pyramid ,texts 
have no illustrations1 but a few of the 
texts on the coffins of the ,x,ith and  
,x,i,ith dynasties have coloured        
vignettes1 e4g41 those which refer to   
the region to be traversed by the       
deceased on his way to the ,other       
,world1 and the ,islands of the ,blessed
 or the ,elysian ,fields4 ,on the upper 
margins of the insides of such coffins  
there are frequently given two or more  
rows of coloured drawings of the        
offerings which under the ,vth dynasty  
were presented to the deceased or his   
statue during the celebration of the    
service of ,opening the ,mouth and the  

performance of the ceremonies of ,the   
,liturgy of ,funerary ,offerings4 ,under
 the ,x,v,i,i,ith dynasty1 when the use 
of large rectangular coffins and        
sarcophagi fell somewhat into disuse1   
the scribes began to write collections  
of ,chapters from the ,,per-,t ,,em     
,,hru on rolls of papyri instead of on  
coffins4 ,at first the texts were       
written in hieroglyphs1 the greater     
number of them being in black ink1 and  
an attempt was made to illustrate each  
text by a vignette drawn in black       
outline4 ,the finest known example of   
such a codex is the ,papyrus of ,nebseni
 7,brit4 ,mus4 ,no4 #iijj71 which is #gg
 feet #g #a_/b inches in length and ,i  
foot ,i#a_/b inches in breadth4 ,early  
in the ,x,v,i,i,ith dynasty scribes     
began to write the titles of the        
,chapters1 the rubrics1 and the         
catchwords in red ink and the text in   
black1 and it became customary to       
decorate the vignettes with colours1 and
 to increase their size and number4 ,the

 oldest codex of this class is the      
,papyrus of ,nu 7,brit4 ,mus4 ,no4      
#ajdgg7 which is #fe feet #c #a_/b      
inches in length1 and #a foot #a #a_/b  
inches in breadth4 ,this and many other 
rolls were written by their owners for  
their own tombs1 and in each roll both  
text and vignettes were usually1 the    
work of the same hand4 ,later1 however1 
the scribe wrote the text only1 and a   
skilled artist was employed to add the  
coloured vignettes1 for which spaces    
were marked out and left blank by the   
scribe4 ,the finest example of this     
class of roll is the ,papyrus of ,ani   
7,brit4 ,mus41 ,no4 #ajdgj74 which is   
#gh feet in length and #a foot #c inches
 in breadth4 ,in all papyri of this     
class the text is written in            
hieroglyphs1 but under the ,x,i,xth and 
following dynasties many papyri are     
written throughout in the hieratic      
character2 these usually lack vignettes1
 but have coloured frontispieces4       
,under the rule of the ,high ,priests of

 ,amen many changes were introduced into
 the contents of the papyri1 and the    
arrangement cf the texts and vignettes  
of the ,,per-,t ,,em ,,hru was altered4 
,the great confraternity of ,amen-,ra1  
the ,king of the ,gods1 felt it to be   
necessary to emphasize the supremacy of 
their god1 even in the ,kingdom of      
,osiris1 and they added many prayers1   
litanies and hymns to the ,sun-god to   
every selection of the texts from the   
,,per-,t ,,em ,,hru that was copied on a
 roll of papyrus for funerary purposes4 
,the greater number of the rolls of this
 period are short and contain only a few
 ,chapters1 e4g41 the ,papyrus of the   
,royal ,mother ,netchemet 7,brit4 ,mus4 
,no4 #ajeda7 and the ,papyrus of ,queen 
,netchemet 7,brit4 ,mus4 ,no4 #ajdgh74  
,in some the text is very defective and 
carelessly written1 but the coloured    
vignettes are remarkable for their size 
and beauty2 of this class of roll the   
finest example is the ,papyrus of ,anhai
 7,brit4 ,mus4 ,no4 #ajdgb74 ,the most  

interesting of all the rolls that were  
written during the rule of the          
,priest-,kings over ,upper ,egypt is the
 ,papyrus of ,princess ,nesitanebtashru 
7,brit4 ,mus4 ,no4 #ajeed71 now commonly
 known as the ,greenfield ,papyrus4 ,it 
is the longest and widest funerary      
papyrus #d known1 for it measures #abc  
feet by #a foot #f #a_/b inches1 and it 
contains more ,chapters1 ,hymns1        
,litanies1 ,adorations and ,homages to  
the gods than any other roll4 ,the #hg  
,chapters from the ,,per-,t ,,em ,,hru  
which it contains prove the princess's  
devotion to the cult of ,osiris1 and the
 ,hymns to ,amen-,ra show that she was  
able to regard this god and ,osiris not 
as rivals but as two aspects of the same
 god4 ,she believed that the hidden     
creative power which was materialized in
 ,amen was only another form of the     
power of procreation1 renewed birth and 
resurrection which was typified by      
,osiris4 ,the oldest copies of the      
,,per-,t ,,em ,,hru which we have on    

papyrus contain a few extracts from     
other ancient funerary works1 such as   
the ,book of ,opening the ,mouth1 the   
,liturgy of ,funerary ,offerings1 and   
the ,book of the ,two ,ways4 ,but under 
the rule of the ,priest-,kings the      
scribes incorporated with the ,chapters 
of the ,,per-,t ,,em ,,hru extracts from
 the ,book of ,ami-,tuat and the ,book  
of ,gates1 and several of the vignettes 
and texts that are found on the walls of
 the royal tombs of ,thebes4  ,one of   
the most remarkable texts written at    
this period is found in the ,papyrus of 
,nesi-,khensu1 which is now in the      
,egyptian ,museum in ,cairo4 ,this is   
really the copy of a contract which is  
declared to have been made between      
,nesi-,khensu and ,amen-,ra1 the holy   
god1 the lord of all the gods4 ,as a    
reward for the great piety of the queen1
 and her devotion to the interests of   
,amen-,ra upon earth1 the god undertakes
 to make her a goddess in his kingdom1  
to provide her with an estate there in  

perpetuity and a never-failing supply of
 offerings1 and happiness of heart1 soul
 and body1 and the daily recital upon   
earth of the ,seventy ,songs of ,ra for 
the benefit of her soul in the          
,khert-,neter1 or ,under ,world4 ,the   
contract was drawn up in a series of    
paragraphs in legal phraseology by the  
priests of ,amen1 who believed they had 
the power of making their god do as they
 pleased when they pleased4  ,little is 
known of the history of the ,,per-,t    
,,em ,,hru after the downfall of the    
priests of ,amen1 and during the period 
of the rule of the ,nubians1 but under  
the kings of the ,x,x,v,ith dynasty the 
,book enjoyed a great vogue4 ,many      
funerary rolls were written both in     
hieroglyphs and hieratic1 and were      
decorated with vignettes drawn in black 
outline2 and about this time the scribes
 began to write funerary texts in the   
demotic character4 ,but men no longer   
copied long selections from the ,,per-,t
 ,,em ,,hru as they had done under the  

,x,v,i,i,ith1 ,x,i,xth and ,x,xth       
dynasties1 partly because the religious 
views of the ,egyptians had undergone a 
great change1 and partly because a      
number of ,books of the ,dead of a more 
popular character had appeared4 ,the    
cult of ,osiris was triumphant          
everywhere1 and men preferred the hymns 
and litanies which dealt with his       
sufferings1 death and resurrection to   
the compositions in which the absolute  
supremacy of ,ra and his solar cycle of 
gods and goddesses was assumed or       
proclaimed4 ,thus1 in the ,lamentations 
of ,isis and the ,festival ,songs of    
,isis and ,nephthys1 and the ,litanies  
of ,seker1 and the ,book of ,honouring  
,osiris1 etc41 the central figure is    
,osiris1 and he alone is regarded as the
 giver of everlasting life4 ,the dead   
were no longer buried with large rolls  
of papyrus filled with ,chapters of the 
,,per-,t ,,em ,,hru laid in their       
coffins1 but with small sheets or strips
 of papyrus1 on which were inscribed the

 above compositions1 or the shorter     
texts of the ,book of ,breathings1 or   
the ,book of ,traversing ,eternity1 or  
the ,book of ,may my name flourish1 or a
 part of the ,chapter of the ,last      
,judgment4  ,ancient ,egyptian tradition
 asserts that the ,book ,,per-,t ,,em   
,,hru was used early in the ,ist        
dynasty1 and the papyri and coffins of  
the ,roman ,period afford evidence that 
the native ,egyptians still accepted all
 the essential beliefs and doctrines    
contained in it4 ,during the four       
thousand years of its existence many    
additions were made to it1 but nothing  
of importance seems to have been taken  
away from it4 ,in the space here        
available it is impossible to describe  
in detail the various ,recensions of    
this work1 viz41 7#a7 the ,heliopolitan1
 7#b7 the ,theban and its various forms1
 and 7#c7 the ,sate2 but it is proposed 
to sketch briefly the main facts of the 
,egyptian ,religion which may be deduced
 from them generally1 and especially    

from the ,theban ,recension1 and to     
indicate the contents of the principal  
,chapters4 ,no one papyrus can be cited 
as a final authority1 for no payprus    
contains all the ,chapters1 #aij in     
number1 of the ,theban ,recension1 and  
in no two papyri are the selection and  
sequence of the ,chapters identical1 or 
is the treatment of the vignettes the   
same4   ,,chapter ,,iv  ,thoth1 the     
,author of the ,book of the ,dead4      
,thoth1 in ,egyptian ,tchehuti or       
,tehuti1 who has already been mentioned 
as the author of the texts that form the
 ,,per-,t ,,em ,,hru1 or ,book of the   
,dead1 was believed by the ,egyptians to
 have been the heart and mind of the    
,creator1 who was in very early times in
 ,egypt called by the natives ,pautti1  
and by foreigners ,ra4 ,thoth was also  
the tongue of the ,creator1 and he at   
all times voiced the will of the great  
god1 and spoke the words which commanded
 every being and thing in heaven and in 
earth to come into existence4 ,his words

 were almighty and once uttered never   
remained without effect4 ,he framed the 
laws by which heaven1 earth and all the 
heavenly bodies are maintained2 he      
ordered the courses of the sun1 moon1   
and stars2 he invented drawing and      
design and the arts1 the letters of the 
alphabet and the art of writing1 and the
 science of mathematics4 ,at a very     
early period he was called the scribe   
7or secretary7 of the ,great ,company of
 the ,gods1 and as he kept the celestial
 register of the words and deeds of men1
 he was regarded by many generations of 
,egyptians as the ,recording ,angel4 ,he
 was the inventor of physical and moral 
,law and became the personification of  
,,justice2 and as the ,companies of the 
,gods of ,heaven1 and ,earth1 and the   
,other ,world appointed him to weigh the
 words and deeds of men1 and his        
verdicts were unalterable1 he became    
more powerful in the ,other ,world than 
,osiris himself4 ,osiris owed his       
triumph over ,set in the ,great         

,judgment ,hall of the ,gods entirely to
 the skill of ,thoth of the wise mouth  
as an ,advocate1 and to his influence   
with the gods in heaven4 ,and every     
follower of ,osiris relied upon the     
advocacy of ,thoth to secure his        
acquittal on the ,day of ,judgment1 and 
to procure for him an everlasting       
habitation in the ,kingdom of ,osiris4  
,,chapter ,v  ,thoth and ,osiris4  ,the 
,egyptians were not satisfied with the  
mere possession of the texts of ,thoth1 
when their souls were being weighed in  
the ,great ,scales in the ,judgment     
,hall of ,osiris1 but they also wished  
,thoth to act as their ,advocate on this
 dread occasion and to prove their      
innocence as he had proved that of      
,osiris before the great gods in        
prehistoric times4 ,according to a very 
ancient ,egyptian tradition1 the god    
,osiris1 who was originally the god of  
the principle of the fertility of the   
,nile1 became incarnate on earth as the 
son of ,geb1 the ,earth-god1 and ,nut1  

the ,sky-goddess4 ,he had two sisters1  
,isis and ,nephthys1 and one brother1   
,set2 he married ,isis and ,set married 
,nephthys4 ,geb set ,osiris on the      
throne of ,egypt1 and his rule was      
beneficent and the nation was happy and 
prosperous4 ,set marked this and became 
very jealous of his brother1 and wished 
to slay him so that he might seize his  
throne and take possession of ,isis1    
whose reputation as a devoted and loving
 wife and able manager filled the       
country4 ,by some means or other ,set   
did contrive to kill ,osiris3 according 
to one story he killed him by the side  
of a canal at ,netat1 near ,abydos1 and 
according to another he caused him to be
 drowned4 ,isis1 accompanied by her     
sister ,nephthys1 went to ,netat and    
rescued the body of her lord1 and the   
two sisters1 with the help of ,anpu1 a  
son of ,ra the ,sun-god1 embalmed it4   
,they then laid the body in a tomb1 and 
a sycamore tree grew round it and       
flourished over the grave4 ,a tradition 

which is found in the ,pyramid ,texts   
states that before ,osiris was laid in  
his tomb1 his wife ,isis1 by means of   
her magical powers1 succeeded in        
restoring him to life temporarily1 and  
made him beget of her an heir1 who was  
called ,horus4 ,after the burial of     
,osiris1 ,isis retreated to the marshes 
in the ,delta1 and there she brought    
forth ,horus4 ,in order to avoid the    
persecution of ,set1 who on one occasion
 succeeded in killing ,horus by the     
sting of a scorpion1 she fled from place
 to place in the ,delta1 and lived a    
very unhappy life for some years4 ,but  
,thoth helped her in all her            
difficulties and provided her with the  
words of power which restored ,horus to 
life1 and enabled her to pass unharmed  
among the crocodiles and other evil     
beasts that infested the waters of the  
,delta at that time4  ,when ,horus      
arrived at years of maturity1 he set out
 to find ,set and to wage war against   
his father's murderer4 ,at length they  

met and a fierce fight ensued1 and      
though ,set was defeated before he was  
finally hurled to the ground1 he        
succeeded in tearing out the right eye  
of ,horus and keeping it4 ,even after   
this fight ,set was able to persecute   
,isis1 and ,horus was powerless to      
prevent it until ,thoth made ,set give  
him the right eye of ,horus which he had
 carried off4 ,thoth then brought the   
eye to ,horus1 and replaced it in his   
face1 and restored sight to it by       
spitting upon it4 ,horus then sought out
 the body of ,osiris in order to raise  
it up to life1 and when he found it he  
untied the bandages so that ,osiris     
might move his limbs1 and rise up4      
,under the direction of ,thoth ,horus   
recited a series of formulas as he      
presented offerings to ,osiris1 and he  
and his sons and ,anubis performed the  
ceremonies which opened the mouth1 and  
nostrils1 and the eyes and the ears of  
,osiris4 ,he embraced ,osiris and so    
transferred to him his ka1 i4e41 his own

 living personality and virility1 and   
gave him his eye which ,thoth had       
rescued from ,set and had replaced in   
his face4 ,as soon as ,osiris had eaten 
the eye of ,horus he became endowed with
 a soul and vital power1 and recovered  
thereby the complete use of all his     
mental faculties1 which death had       
suspended4 ,straightway he rose up from 
his bier and became the ,lord of the    
,dead and ,king of the ,under ,world4   
,osiris became the type and symbol of   
resurrection among the ,egyptians of all
 periods1 because he was a god who had  
been originally a mortal and had risen  
from the dead4  ,but before ,osiris     
became ,king of the ,under ,world he    
suffered further persecution from ,set4 
,piecing together a number of           
disconnected hints and brief statements 
in the texts1 it seems pretty clear     
either that ,osiris appealed to the     
,great ,gods to take notice that ,set   
had murdered him1 or that ,set brought a
 series of charges against ,osiris4 ,at 

all events the ,great ,gods determined  
to investigate the matter4 ,the ,greater
 and the ,lesser ,companies of the ,gods
 assembled in the celestial ,anu1 or    
,heliopolis1 and ordered ,osiris to     
stand up and defend himself against the 
charges brought against him by ,set4    
,isis and ,nephthys brought him before  
the gods1 and ,horus1 the avenger of his
 father1 came to watch the case on      
behalf of his father1 ,osiris4 ,thoth   
appeared in the ,hall of ,judgment in   
his official capacity as scribe1 i4e41  
secretary to the gods1 and the hearing  
of the evidence began4 ,set seems to    
have pleaded his own cause1 and to have 
repeated the charges which he had made  
against ,osiris4 ,the defence of ,osiris
 was undertaken by ,thoth1 who proved to
 the gods that the charges brought      
against ,osiris by ,set were unfounded1 
that the statements of ,set were lies1  
and that therefore ,set was a liar4 ,the
 gods accepted ,thoth's proof of the    
innocence of ,osiris and the guilt of   

,set1 and ordered that ,osiris was to be
 considered a ,great ,god and to have   
rule over the ,kingdom of the ,under    
,world1 and that ,set was to be         
punished4 ,thoth convinced them that    
,osiris was ,,maa ,,kheru1 true of word1
 i4e41 that he had spoken the truth when
 he gave his evidence1 and in texts of  
all periods ,thoth is frequently        
described as ,s-,,maa ,,kheru ,,asar1   
i4e41 he who proved ,osiris to be true  
of word4 ,as for ,set the ,liar1 he was 
seized by the ministers of the ,great   
,gods1 who threw him down on his hands  
and face and made ,osiris mount upon his
 back as a mark of his victory and      
superiority4 ,after this ,set was bound 
with cords like a beast for sacrifice1  
and in the presence of ,thoth was hacked
 in pieces4   ,,chapter ,,vi  ,osiris as
 ,judge of the ,dead and ,king of the   
,under ,world4  ,when ,set was destroyed
 ,osiris departed from this world to the
 kingdom which the gods had given him   
and began to reign over the dead4 ,he   

was absolute king of this realm1 just as
 ,ra the ,sun-god was absolute king of  
the sky4 ,this region of the dead1 or   
,dead-land1 is called ,tat1 or ,tuat1   
but where the ,egyptians thought it was 
situated is not quite clear4 ,the       
original home of the cult of ,osiris was
 in the ,delta1 in a city which in      
historic times was called ,tetu by the  
,egyptians and ,busiris by the ,greeks1 
and it is reasonable to assume that the 
,tuat1 over which ,osiris ruled1 was    
situated near this place4 ,wherever it  
was it was not underground1 and it was  
not originally in the sky or even on its
 confines2 but it was located on the    
borders of the visible world1 in the    
,outer ,darkness4 ,the ,tuat was not a  
place of happiness1 judging from the    
description of it in the ,,per-,t ,,em  
,,hru1 or ,book of the ,dead4 ,when ,ani
 the scribe arrived there he said1 ,what
 is this to which ,i have come8 ,there  
is neither water nor air here1 its depth
 is unfathomable1 it is as dark as the  

darkest night1 and men wander about here
 helplessly4 ,a man cannot live here and
 be satisfied1 and he cannot gratify the
 cravings of affection 7,chapter        
,,clxxv74 ,in the ,tuat there was       
neither tree nor plant1 for it was the  
land where nothing grew2 and in         
primitive times it was a region of      
destruction and death1 a place where the
 dead rotted and decayed1 a place of    
abomination1 and horror and terror1 and 
annihilation4 ,but in very early times1 
certainly in the ,neolithic ,period1 the
 ,egyptians believed in some kind of a  
future life1 and they dimly conceived   
that the attainment of that life might  
possibly depend upon the manner of life 
which those who hoped to enjoy it led   
here4 ,the ,egyptians hated death and   
loved life1 and when the belief gained  
ground among them that ,osiris1 the ,god
 of the ,dead1 had himself risen from   
the dead1 and had been acquitted by the 
gods of heaven after a searching trial1 
and had the power to make men and women 

to be born again1 and to renew life     
because of his truth and righteousness1 
they came to regard him as the ,judge as
 well as the ,god of the ,dead4 ,as time
 went on1 and moral and religious ideas 
developed among the ,egyptians1 it      
became certain to them that only those  
who had satisfied ,osiris as to their   
truth-speaking and honest dealing upon  
earth could hope for admission into his 
kingdom4  ,when the power of ,osiris    
became predominant in the ,under ,world1
 and his fame as a just and righteous   
judge became well established among the 
natives of ,lower and ,upper ,egypt1 it 
was universally believed that after     
death all men would appear before him in
 his dread ,hall of ,judgment to receive
 their reward or their sentence of doom4
 ,the writers of the ,pyramid ,texts1   
more than fifty-five centuries ago1     
dreamed of a time when heaven and earth 
and men did not exist1 when the gods had
 not yet been born1 when death had not  
been created1 and when anger1 speech    

7871 cursing and rebellion were unknown4
 #e ,but that time was very remote1 and 
long before the great fight took place  
between ,horus and ,set1 when the former
 lost his eye and the latter was wounded
 in a vital part of his body4 ,meanwhile
 death had come into the world1 and     
since the religion of ,osiris gave man a
 hope of escape from death1 and the     
promise of everlasting life of the      
peculiar kind that appealed to the great
 mass of the ,egyptian people1 the      
spread of the cult of ,osiris and its   
ultimate triumph over all forms of      
religion in ,egypt were assured4 ,under 
the early dynasties the priesthood of   
,anu 7the ,on of the ,bible7 strove to  
make their ,sun-god ,ra pre-eminent in  
,egypt1 but the cult of this god never  
appealed to the people as a whole4 ,it  
was embraced by the ,pharaohs1 and their
 high officials1 and some of the nobles1
 and the official priesthood1 but the   
reward which its doctrine offered was   
not popular with the materialistic      

,egyptians4 ,a life passed in the ,boat 
of ,ra with the gods1 being arrayed in  
light and fed upon light1 made no appeal
 to the ordinary folk since ,osiris     
offered them as a reward a life in the  
,field of ,reeds1 and the ,field of     
,offerings of ,food1 and the ,field of  
the ,grasshoppers1 and everlasting      
existence in a transmuted and beautified
 body among the resurrected bodies of   
father and mother1 wife and children1   
kinsfolk and friends4  ,but1 as         
according to the cult of ,ra1 the       
wicked1 the rebels1 and the blasphemers 
of the ,sun-god suffered swift and final
 punishment1 so also all those who had  
sinned against the stern moral ,law of  
,osiris1 and who had failed to satisfy  
its demands1 paid the penalty without   
delay4 ,the ,judgment of ,ra was held at
 sunrise1 and the wicked were thrown    
into deep pits filled with fire1 and    
their bodies1 souls1 shadows and hearts 
were consumed forthwith4 ,the ,judgment 
of ,osiris took place near ,abydos1     

probably at midnight1 and a decree of   
swift annihilation was passed by him on 
the damned4 ,their heads were cut off by
 the headsman of ,osiris1 who was called
 ,shesmu1 and their bodies dismembered  
and destroyed in pits of fire4 ,there   
was no eternal punishment for men1 for  
the wicked were annihilated quickly and 
completely2 but inasmuch as ,osiris sat 
in judgment and doomed the wicked to    
destruction daily1 the infliction of    
punishment never ceased4    ,,chapter   
,,vii  ,the ,judgment of ,osiris4  ,the 
oldest religious texts suggest that the 
,egyptians always associated the ,last  
,judgment with the weighing of the heart
 in a pair of scales1 and in the        
illustrated papyri of the ,book of the  
,dead great prominence is always given  
to the vignettes in which this weighing 
is being carried out4 ,the heart1 ab1   
was taken as the symbol of all the      
emotions1 desires1 and passions1 both   
good and evil1 and out of it proceeded  
the issues of life4 ,it was intimately  

connected with the ka1 i4e41 the double 
or personality of a man1 and several    
short spells in the ,book ,,per-,t ,,em 
,,hru were composed to ensure its       
preservation 7,chapters                 
,,xxvi-,,xxxb9974 ,the great ,chapter of
 the ,judgment of ,osiris1 the          
,c,x,x,vth1 is divided into three parts1
 which are sometimes 7as in the ,papyrus
 of ,ani7 prefaced by a ,hymn to        
,osiris4 ,the first part contains the   
following1 which was said by the        
deceased when he entered the ,hall of   
,maati1 in which ,osiris sat in         
judgment3  ,homage to thee1 ,o ,great   
,god1 ,lord of ,maati1 #f ,i have come  
to thee1 ,o my ,lord1 that ,i may behold
 thy beneficence4 ,i know thee1 and ,i  
know thy name1 and the names of the     
,forty-,two who live with thee in the   
,hall of ,maati1 who keep ward over     
sinners1 and feed upon their blood on   
the day of estimating characters before 
,un-,nefer #g 444 ,behold1 ,i have come 
to thee1 and ,i have brought maat 7i4e41

 truth1 integrity7 to thee4 ,i have     
destroyed sin for thee4 ,i have not     
sinned against men4 ,i have not         
oppressed my kinsfolk4 ,i have done no  
wrong in the place of truth4 ,i have not
 known worthless folk4 ,i have not      
wrought evil4 ,i have not defrauded the 
oppressed one of his goods4 ,i have not 
done the things that the gods abominate4
 ,i have not vilified a servant to his  
master4 ,i have not caused pain4 ,i have
 not let any man hunger4 ,i have made no
 one to weep4 ,i have not committed     
murder4 ,i have not commanded any to    
commit murder for me4 ,i have inflicted 
pain on no man4 ,i have not defrauded   
the temples of their oblations4 ,i have 
not purloined the cakes of the gods4 ,i 
have not stolen the offerings to the    
spirits 7i4e41 the dead74 ,i have not   
committed fornication4 ,i have not      
polluted myself in the holy places of   
the god of my city4 ,i have not         
diminished from the bushel4 ,i did not  
take from or add to the acre-measure4 ,i

 did not encroach on the fields of      
others4 ,i have not added to the weights
 of the scales4 ,i have not misread the 
pointer of the scales4 ,i have not taken
 milk from the mouths of children4 ,i   
have not driven cattle from their       
pastures4 ,i have not snared the birds  
of the gods4 ,i have not caught fish    
with fish of their kind4 ,i have not    
stopped water when it should flow4 ,i   
have not cut the dam of a canal4 ,i have
 not extinguished a fire when it should 
burn4 ,i have not altered the times of  
the chosen meat offerings4 ,i have not  
turned away the cattle intended for     
offerings4 ,i have not repulsed the god 
at his appearances4 ,i am pure4 ,i am   
pure4 ,i am pure4 ,i am pure4444  ,in   
the second part of ,chapter ,,cxxv      
,osiris is seen seated at one end of the
 ,hall of ,maati accompanied by the two 
goddesses of ,law and ,truth1 and the   
,forty-,two gods who are there to assist
 him4 ,each of the ,forty-,two gods     
represents one of the nomes of ,egypt   

and has a symbolic name4 ,when the      
deceased had repeated the magical names 
of the doors of the ,hall1 he entered it
 and saw these gods arranged in two     
rows1 twenty-one on each side of the    
,hall4 ,at the end1 near ,osiris1 were  
the ,great ,scales1 under the charge of 
,anpu 7,anubis71 and the monster        
,amemit1 the ,eater of the ,dead1 i4e41 
of the hearts of the wicked who were    
condemned in the ,judgment of ,osiris4  
,the deceased advanced along the ,hall  
and1 addressing each of the ,forty-,two 
gods by his name1 declared that he had  
not committed a certain sin1 thus3  ,o  
,usekh-nemmit1 comer forth from ,anu1 ,i
 have not committed sin4  ,o ,fenti1    
comer forth from ,khemenu1 ,i have not  
robbed4  ,o ,neha-hau1 comer forth from 
,re-stau1 ,i have not killed men4  ,o   
,neba1 comer forth in retreating1 ,i    
have not plundered the property of ,god4
  ,o ,set-qesu1 comer forth from ,hensu1
 ,i have not lied4  ,o ,uammti1 comer   
forth from ,khebt1 ,i have not defiled  

any man's wife4  ,o ,maa-anuf1 comer    
forth from ,per-,menu1 ,i have not      
defiled myself4  ,o ,tem-,sep1 comer    
forth from ,tetu1 ,i have not cursed the
 king4  ,o ,nefer-,tem1 comer forth from
 ,het-ka-,ptah1 ,i have not acted       
deceitfully2 ,i have not committed      
wickedness4  ,o ,nekhen1 comer forth    
from ,heqat1 ,i have not turned a deaf  
ear to the words of the ,law 7or        
,truth74  ,the names of most of the     
,forty-,two gods are not ancient1 but   
were invented by the priests probably   
about the same time as the names in the 
,book of ,him that is in the ,tuat and  
the ,book of ,gates1 i4e41 between the  
,x,i,ith and the ,x,v,i,i,ith dynasties4
 ,their artificial character is shown by
 their meanings4 ,thus ,usekh-nemmit    
means ,he of the long strides2 ,fenti   
means ,he of the ,nose2 ,neha-hau means 
,stinking-members2 ,set-qesu means      
,breaker of bones1 etc4 ,the early      
,egyptologists called the second part of
 the ,c,x,x,vth ,chapter the ,negative  

,confession1 and it is generally known  
by this somewhat inexact title to this  
day4  ,in the third part of the         
,c,x,x,vth ,chapter comes the address   
which the deceased made to the gods     
after he had declared his innocence of  
the sins enumerated before the          
,forty-,two gods4 ,he says3 ,homage to  
you1 ,o ye gods who dwell in your ,hall 
of ,maati4 ,i know you and ,i know your 
names4 ,let me not fall under your      
slaughtering knives4 ,bring not my      
wickedness to the notice of the god     
whose followers ye are4 ,let not the    
affair of my judgment come under your   
jurisdiction4 ,speak ye the ,law 7or    
truth7 concerning me before             
,neb-er-tcher1 #h for ,i performed the  
,law 7or1 truth7 in ,ta-mera 7i4e41     
,egypt74 ,i have not blasphemed the     
,god4 ,no affair of mine came under the 
notice of the king in his day4 ,homage  
to you1 ,o ye who are in your ,hall of  
,maati1 who have no lies in your bodies1
 who live on truth1 who eat truth before

 ,horus1 the dweller in his disk1       
deliver ye me from ,babai #i who liveth 
upon the entrails of the mighty ones on 
the day of the ,great ,reckoning 7,,apt 
,,aat74 ,behold me6 ,i have come to you 
without sin1 without deceit 7871 without
 evil1 without false testimony 787 ,i   
have not done an evil thing4 ,i live    
upon truth and ,i feed upon truth4 ,i   
have performed the behests of men1 and  
the things that satisfy the gods4 #aj ,i
 have propitiated the ,god by doing ,his
 will4 ,i have given bread to the       
hungry1 water to the thirsty1 raiment to
 the naked1 and a boat to him that      
needed one4 ,i have made holy offerings 
to the gods1 and sepulchral offerings to
 the beautified dead4 ,be ye then my    
saviours1 be ye my protectors1 and make 
no accusation against me before the     
,great ,god4 ,i am pure of mouth1 and   
clean of hands2 therefore it hath been  
said by those who saw me1 ',come in     
peace1 come in peace4'  ,the deceased   
then addresses ,osiris1 and says1 ,hail1

 thou who art exalted upon thy standard1
 thou ,lord of the ,atefu ,crown1 whose 
name is ',lord of ,winds1' save me from 
thy ,messengers 7or ,assessors7 with    
uncovered faces1 who bring charges of   
evil and make shortcomings plain1       
because ,i have performed the ,law 7or  
,truth7 for the ,lord of the ,law 7or   
,truth74 ,i have purified myself with   
washings in water1 my back hath been    
cleansed with salt1 and my inner parts  
are in the ,pool of ,truth4 ,there is   
not a member of mine that lacketh truth4
 ,from the lines that follow the above  
in the ,papyrus of ,nu it seems as      
though the judgment of the deceased by  
the ,forty-,two gods was preliminary to 
the final judgment of ,osiris4 ,at all  
events1 after questioning him about the 
performance of certain ceremonies1 they 
invited him to enter the ,hall of       
,maati1 but when he was about to do so  
the porter1 and the door-bolts1 and the 
various parts of the door and its frame1
 and the floor1 refused to permit him to

 enter until he had repeated their      
magical names4 ,when he had pronounced  
these correctly the porter took him in  
and presented him to ,maau 787-,taui1   
who was ,thoth himself4 ,when asked by  
him why he had come the deceased        
answered1 ,i have come that report may  
be made of me4 ,then ,thoth said1 ,what 
is thy condition8 ,and the deceased     
replied1 ,i am purified from evil       
things1 ,i am free from the wickedness  
of those who lived in my days2 ,i am not
 one of them4 ,on this ,thoth said1     
,thou shalt be reported4 ,tell me3 ,who 
is he whose roof is fire1 whose walls   
are living serpents1 and whose floor is 
a stream of water8 ,who is he8 ,the     
deceased having replied ,osiris1 ,thoth 
then led him forward to the god ,osiris1
 who received him1 and promised that    
subsistence should be provided for him  
from the ,eye of ,ra4  ,in great papyri 
of the ,book of the ,dead such as those 
of ,nebseni1 ,nu1 ,ani1 ,hunefer1 etc41 
the ,last ,judgment1 or the ,great      

,reckoning1 is made the most prominent  
scene in the whole work1 and the        
vignette in which it is depicted is     
several feet long4 ,the most complete   
form of it is given in the ,papyrus of  
,ani1 and may be thus described3 ,at one
 end of the ,hall of ,maati ,osiris is  
seated on a throne within a shrine made 
in the form of a funerary coffer2 behind
 him stand ,isis and ,nephthys4 ,along  
one side of the ,hall are seated the    
gods ,harmachis1 ,tem1 ,shu1 ,tefnut1   
,geb1 ,nut1 ,isis and ,nephthys1 ,horus1
 ,hathor1 ,hu and ,saa1 who are to serve
 as the divine jury2 these formed the   
,great ,company of the ,gods of ,anu    
7,heliopolis74 ,by these stands the     
,great ,balance1 and on its pillar sits 
the dog-headed ape ,astes1 or ,astenu1  
the associate of ,thoth4 ,the pointer of
 the ,balance is in the charge of ,anpu4
 ,behind ,anpu are ,thoth the scribe of 
the gods1 and the monster ,amemit1 with 
the head of a crocodile1 the forepaws   
and shoulders of a lion1 and the        

hindquarters of a hippopotamus2 the duty
 of the last-named was to eat up the    
hearts that were light in the balance4  
,on the other side of the ,balance ,ani1
 accompanied by his wife1 is seen       
standing with head bent low in          
adoration1 and between him and the      
,balance stand the two goddesses who    
nurse and rear children1 ,meskhenet and 
,rennet1 ,ani's soul1 in the form of a  
man-headed hawk1 a portion of his body1 
and his luck ,shai4 ,since the heart was
 considered to be the seat of all will1 
emotion1 feeling1 reason and            
intelligence1 ,ani's heart1 is seen in  
one pan of the ,balance1 and in the     
other is the feather1 symbolic of truth 
and righteousness4 ,whilst his heart was
 in the ,balance ,ani1 repeating the    
words of ,chapter ,,xxxb99 of the ,book 
of the ,dead1 addressed it1 saying1 ,my 
heart of my mother6 ,my heart of my     
mother6 ,my heart of my being6 ,make no 
stand against me when testifying1 thrust
 me not back before the ,tchatchaut     

7i4e41 the overseers of ,osiris71 and   
make no failure in respect of me before 
the ,master of the ,balance4 ,thou art  
my ,ka1 the dweller in my body1 uniting 
787 and strengthening my members4 ,thou 
shalt come forth to the happiness to    
which we advance4 ,make not my name to  
stink with the officers of ,osiris who  
made men1 utter no lie against me before
 the ,great ,god1 the ,lord of ,amentt4 
,then ,thoth1 the ,judge of ,truth1 of  
the ,great ,company of the ,gods who are
 in the presence of ,osiris1 saith to   
the gods1 ,hearken ye to this word3 ,in 
very truth the heart of ,osiris hath    
been weighed1 and his soul hath borne   
testimony concerning him2 according to  
the ,great ,balance his case is truth   
7i4e41 just74 ,no wickedness hath been  
found in him4 ,he did not filch         
offerings from the temples4 ,he did not 
act crookedly1 and he did not vilify    
folk when he was on earth4  ,and the    
,great ,company of the ,gods say to     
,thoth1 who dwelleth in ,khemenu        

7,hermopolis73 ,this that cometh forth  
from thy mouth of truth is confirmed 787
 ,the ,osiris1 the scribe ,ani1 true of 
voice1 hath testified4 ,he hath not     
sinned and his name doth not stink      
before us2 ,amemit 7i4e41 the ,eater of 
the ,dead7 shall not have the mastery   
over him4 ,let there be given unto him  
offerings of food and an appearance     
before ,osiris1 and an abiding homestead
 in the ,field of ,offerings as unto the
 ,followers of ,horus4  ,thus the gods  
have declared that ,ani is true of      
voice1 as was ,osiris1 and they have    
called ,ani ,osiris1 because in his     
purity of word and deed he resembled    
that god4 ,in all the copies of the     
,book of the ,dead the deceased is      
always called ,osiris1 and as it was    
always assumed that those for whom they 
were written would be found innocent    
when weighed in the ,great ,balance1 the
 words true of voice1 which were        
equivalent in meaning to innocent and   
acquitted1 were always written after    

their names4 ,it may be noted in passing
 that when ,ani's heart was weighed     
against ,truth1 the beam of the ,great  
,balance remained perfectly horizontal4 
,this suggests that the gods did not    
expect the heart of the deceased to kick
 the beam1 but were quite satisfied if  
it exactly counterbalanced ,truth4 ,they
 demanded the fulfilment of the ,law and
 nothing more1 and were content to      
bestow immortality upon the man on whom 
,thoth's verdict was he hath done no    
evil4  ,in accordance with the command  
of the gods ,ani passes from the ,great 
,balance to the end of the ,hall of     
,maati where ,osiris is seated1 and as  
he approaches the god ,horus1 the son of
 ,isis1 takes him by the hand and leads 
him forward1 and standing before his    
father ,osiris says1 ,i have come to    
thee1 ,un-,nefer1 #aa ,i have brought to
 thee the ,osiris ,ani4 ,his heart is   
righteous and hath come forth from the  
,balance4 ,it hath no sin before any god
 or any goddess4 ,thoth hath set down   

his judgment in writing1 and the        
,company of the ,gods have declared on  
his behalf that his evidence is very    
true4 ,let there be given unto him of   
the bread and beer which appear before  
,osiris4 ,let him be like the ,followers
 of ,horus for ever6 ,next we see ,ani  
kneeling in adoration before ,osiris1   
and he says1 ,behold1 ,i am in thy      
presence1 ,o ,lord of ,amentt4 ,there is
 no sin in my body4 ,i have not uttered 
a lie knowingly4 ,i have no duplicity   
787 ,grant that ,i may be like the      
favoured 7or rewarded7 ones who are in  
thy train4 ,under favour of ,osiris ,ani
 then became a sahu1 or spirit-body1 and
 in this form passed into the ,kingdom  
of ,osiris4    ,,chapter ,,viii  ,the   
,kingdom of ,osiris4  ,according to the 
,book of ,gates and the other ,guides to
 the ,egyptian ,under ,world1 the       
,kingdom of ,osiris formed the ,sixth   
,division of the ,tuat2 in very early   
times it was situated in the ,western   
,delta1 but after the ,x,i,ith dynasty  

theologians placed it near ,abydos in   
,upper ,egypt1 and before the close of  
the ,dynastic ,period the ,tuat of      
,osiris had absorbed the ,under ,world  
of every nome of ,egypt4 ,when the soul 
in its beautified or spirit body arrived
 there1 the ministers of ,osiris took it
 to the homestead or place of abode     
which had been allotted to it by the    
command of ,osiris1 and there it began  
its new existence4 ,the large vignette  
to the ,c,xth ,chapter shows us exactly 
what manner of place the abode of the   
blessed was4 ,the country was flat and  
the fields were intersected by canals of
 running water in which there were no   
fish and no worms 7i4e41 water snakes74 
,in one part of it were several small   
islands1 and on one of them ,osiris was 
supposed to dwell with his saints4 ,it  
was called the ,island of ,truth1 and   
the ferry-man of ,osiris would not      
convey to it any soul that had not been 
declared true of word by ,thoth1 ,osiris
 and the ,great ,gods at the ,great     

,reckoning4 ,the portion of the ,kingdom
 of ,osiris depicted in the large ,books
 of the ,dead represents in many        
respects a typical ,egyptian farm1 and  
we see the deceased engaged in ploughing
 and reaping and driving the oxen that  
are treading out the corn4 ,he was      
introduced into the ,sekhet ,heteput 7a 
section of the ,sekhet ,aaru1 i4e41     
,field of ,reeds1 or the ,elysian       
,fields7 by ,thoth1 and there he found  
the souls of his ancestors1 who were    
joined to the ,company of the ,gods4    
,one corner of this region was specially
 set apart for the dwelling place of the
 aakhu1 i4e41 beautified souls1 or      
spirit-souls1 who were said to be seven 
cubits in height1 and to reap wheat or  
barley which grew to a height of three  
cubits4 ,near this spot were moored two 
boats that were always ready for the use
 of the denizens of that region2 they   
appear to have been spirit boats1 i4e41 
boats which moved of themselves and     
carried the beautified wheresoever they 

wanted to go without any trouble or     
fatigue on their part4  ,how the        
beautified passed their time in the     
,kingdom of ,osiris may be seen from the
 pictures cut on the alabaster          
sarcophagus of ,seti ,i1 now preserved  
in ,sir ,john ,soane's ,museum in       
,lincoln's ,inn ,fields4 ,here we see   
them occupied in producing the celestial
 food on which they and the god lived4  
,some are tending the wheat plants as   
they grow1 and others are reaping the   
ripe grain4 ,in the texts that accompany
 these scenes the ears of wheat are said
 to be the members of ,osiris1 and the  
wheat plant is called the maat plant4   
,osiris was the ,wheat-god and also the 
personification of ,maat 7i4e41 ,truth71
 and the beautified lived upon the body 
of their god and ate him daily1 and the 
substance of him was the ,bread of      
,everlastingness1 which is mentioned in 
the ,pyramid ,texts4 ,the beautified are
 described as ,those who have offered up
 incense to the gods1 and whose kau     

7i4e41 doubles1 or persons7 have been   
washed clean4 ,they have been reckoned  
up and they are maat 7i4e41 ,truth7 in  
the presence of the ,great ,god who     
destroyeth sin4 ,osiris says to them1   
,ye are truth of truth2 rest in peace4  
,and of them he says1 ,they were doers  
of truth whilst they were upon earth1   
they did battle for their god1 and they 
shall be called to the enjoyment of the 
,land of the ,house of ,life with       
,truth4 ,their truth shall be reckoned  
to them in the presence of the ,great   
,god who destroyeth sin4 ,then          
addressing them again ,osiris says1 ,ye 
are beings of ,truth1 ,o ye ,truths4    
,take ye your rest because of what ye   
have done1 becoming even as those who   
are in my following1 and who direct the 
,house of ,him whose ,soul is holy4 ,ye 
shall live there even as they live1 and 
ye shall have dominion over the cool    
waters of your land4 ,i command that ye 
have your being to the limit of that    
land with ,truth and without sin4 ,in   

these passages we have the two          
conceptions of ,osiris well illustrated4
 ,as the ,wheat-god he would satisfy    
those who wished for a purely material1 
agricultural heaven1 where hunger would 
be unknown and where the blessed would  
be able to satisfy every physical desire
 and want daily2 and as the ,god of     
,truth1 of whom the spiritually minded  
hoped to become the counterpart1 he     
would be their hope1 and consolation1   
and the image of the ,eternal ,god4     
,,chapter ,,ix  ,a ,short ,description  
of the ,doors or ,chapters of the ,book 
of the ,dead4  ,all the great papyri of 
the ,book of the ,dead begin with a     
,,hymn ,,to ,,ra1 who from the period of
 the ,i,vth dynasty was the ,king of the
 ,gods of ,egypt4 ,his cult was finally 
established under the ,vth dynasty when 
the king of ,egypt began to call himself
 in official documents and monuments    
,son of the ,sun1 ,sa ,ra4 ,this ,hymn  
is supposed to be sung by the deceased1 
who says3--  ,homage to thee1 ,o ,ra1 at

 thy beauteous rising4 ,thou risest1    
thou risest2 thou shinest1 thou shinest 
at the dawn4 ,thou art ,king of the     
,gods1 and the ,maati goddesses embrace 
thee4 ,the ,company of the ,gods praise 
thee at sunrise and at sunset4 ,thou    
sailest over the heights of heaven and  
thy heart is glad4 ,thy ,morning ,boat  
meeteth thy ,evening ,boat with fair    
winds4 ,thy father is the ,sky-god and  
thy mother is the ,sky-goddess1 and thou
 art ,horus of the ,eastern and ,western
 skies4 444 ,o thou ,only ,one1 ,o thou 
,perfect ,one1 ,o thou who art eternal1 
who art never weak1 whom no mighty one  
can abase2 none hath dominion over the  
things which appertain to thee4 ,homage 
to thee in thy characters of ,horus1    
,tem1 and ,khepera1 thou ,great ,hawk1  
who makest man to rejoice by thy        
beautiful face4 ,when thou risest men   
and women live4 ,thou renewest thy      
youth1 and dost set thyself in the place
 where thou wast yesterday4 ,o ,divine  
,youth1 who art self-created1 ,i cannot 

comprehend thee4 ,thou art the lord of  
heaven and earth1 and didst create      
beings celestial and beings terrestrial4
 ,thou art the ,god ,one1 who camest    
into being in the beginning of time4    
,thou didst create the earth1 and man1  
thou didst make the sky and the         
celestial river ,hep2 thou didst make   
the waters and didst give life unto all 
that therein is4 ,thou hast knit        
together the mountains1 thou hast made  
mankind and the beasts of the field to  
come into being1 and hast made the      
heavens and the earth4 ,the fiend ,nak  
is overthrown1 his arms are cut off4 ,o 
thou ,divine ,youth1 thou heir of       
everlastingness1 self-begotten and      
self-born1 ,one1 ,might1 of myriad forms
 and aspects1 ,prince of ,an 7i4e41     
,on71 ,lord of ,eternity1 ,everlasting  
,ruler1 the ,company of the ,gods       
rejoice in thee4 ,as thou risest thou   
growest greater3 thy rays are upon all  
faces4 ,thou art unknowable1 and no     
tongue can describe thy similitude2 thou

 existest alone4 ,millions of years have
 passed over the world1 ,i cannot tell  
the number of those through which thou  
hast passed4 ,thou journeyest through   
spaces requiring millions of years to   
pass over in one little moment of time1 
and then thou settest and dost make an  
end of the hours4  ,the subject matter  
of the above extract is treated at      
greater length in ,chapter ,,xv1 which  
contains a long ,hymn to ,ra at his     
rising1 or ,amen-,ra1 or ,ra united to  
other solar gods1 e4g41 ,horus and      
,khepera1 and a short ,hymn to ,ra at   
his setting4 ,in the latter the welcome 
which ,ra receives from the dwellers in 
,amentt 7i4e41 the ,hidden ,place1 like 
the ,greek ,hades7 is emphasized thus3--
  ,all the beautified dead 7,aakhu7 in  
the ,tuat receive him in the horizon of 
,amentt4 ,they shout praises of him in  
his form of ,tem 7i4e41 the setting     
sun74 ,thou didst rise and put on       
strength1 and thou settest1 a living    
being1 and thy glories are in ,amentt4  

,the gods of ,amentt rejoice in thy     
beauties 7or beneficence74 ,the hidden  
ones worship thee1 the aged ones bring  
thee offerings and protect thee4 ,the   
,souls of ,amentt cry out1 and when they
 meet thy ,majesty 7,life1 ,strength1   
,health be to thee67 they shout ',hail6 
,hail6' ,the lords of the mansions of   
the ,tuat stretch out their hands to    
thee from their abodes1 and they cry to 
thee1 and they follow in thy bright     
train1 and the hearts of the lords of   
the ,tuat rejoice when thou sendest thy 
light into ,amentt4 ,their eyes follow  
thee1 they press forward to see thee1   
and their hearts rejoice at the sight of
 thy face4 ,thou hearkenest to the      
petitions of those who are in their     
tombs1 thou dispellest their            
helplessness and drivest away evil from 
them4 ,thou givest breath to their      
nostrils4 ,thou art greatly feared1 thy 
form is majestic1 and very greatly art  
thou beloved by those who dwell in the  
,other ,world4  ,the ,introductory      

,,hymn ,,to ,,ra is followed by a ,,hymn
 ,,to ,,osiris1 in which the deceased   
says3--  ,glory be to thee1 ,o ,osiris  
,un-,nefer1 thou great god in ,abtu     
7,abydos71 ,king of ,eternity1 ,lord of 
,everlastingness1 ,god whose existence  
is millions of years1 eldest son of     
,nut1 begotten by ,geb1 the             
,ancestor-,chief1 ,lord of the ,crowns  
of the ,south and the ,north1 ,lord of  
the ,high ,white ,crown4 ,thou art the  
,governor of gods and of men and hast   
received the sceptre1 the whip1 and the 
rank of thy ,divine ,fathers4 ,let thy  
heart in ,amentt be content1 for thy son
 ,horus is seated upon thy throne4 ,thou
 art ,lord of ,tetu 7,busiris7 and      
,governor of ,abtu 7,abydos74 ,thou     
makest fertile the ,two ,lands 7i4e41   
all ,egypt7 by thy true word before the 
,lord to the ,uttermost ,limit4444 ,thy 
power is widespread1 and great is the   
terror of thy name ',osiris4' ,thou     
endurest for all eternity in thy name of
 ',un-,nefer' 7i4e41 ,beneficent        

,being74 ,homage to thee1 ,king of      
kings1 ,lord of lords1 ,governor of     
governors1 who from the womb of the     
,sky-goddess hast ruled the ,world and  
the ,under ,world4 ,thy limbs are as    
silver-gold1 thy hand is blue like      
lapis-lazuli1 and the space on either   
side of thee is of the colour of        
turquoise 7or emerald74 ,thou god ,an of
 millions of years1 thy body is         
all-pervading1 ,o dweller in the ,land  
of ,holiness1 thy face is beautiful 444 
,the gods come before thee bowing low4  
,they hold thee in fear4 ,they withdraw 
and retreat when they see the awfulness 
of ,ra upon thee2 the thought of the    
conquests of thy ,majesty is in their   
hearts4 ,life is with thee4  ,let me    
follow thy ,majesty as when ,i was on   
earth1 let my soul be summoned1 and let 
it be found near the ,lords of ,truth4  
,i have come to the ,city of ,god1 the  
region that is eternally old1 with my   
soul 7ba71 double 7ka7 and spirit-soul  
7aakhu71 to be a dweller in this land4  

,its ,god is the ,lord of ,truth 444 he 
giveth old age to him that worketh      
,truth1 and honour to his followers1 and
 at the last abundant equipment for the 
tomb1 and burial in the ,land of        
,holiness4 ,i have come unto thee1 my   
hands hold ,truth1 and there is no      
falsehood in my heart 444 ,thou hast set
 ,truth before thee3 ,i know on what    
thou livest4 ,i have committed no sin in
 this land1 and ,i have defrauded no man
 of his possessions4 7,chapter          
,,clxxxiii47  ,chapter ,i was recited by
 the priest who accompanied the mummy to
 the tomb and performed the burial      
ceremonies there4 ,in it the priest     
7kher heb7 assumed the character of     
,thoth and promised the deceased to do  
for him all that he had done for ,osiris
 in days of old4 ,chapter ,,ib gave the 
sahu1 or spirit-body1 power to enter the
 ,tuat immediately after the burial of  
the material body1 and delivered it from
 the ,nine ,worms that lived on the     
dead4 ,chapters ,,ii-,,iv are short     

spells written to give the deceased     
power to revisit the earth1 to join the 
gods1 and to travel about the sky4      
,chapters ,v and ,,vi provided for the  
performance of agricultural labours in  
the ,other ,world4 ,the text of ,chapter
 ,,vi was cut on figures made of stone1 
wood1 etc4 7ushabtiu71 which were placed
 in the tomb1 and when the deceased     
recited it these figures became alive   
and did everything he wished4 ,the      
shabti figure1 took the place of the    
human funerary sacrifice which was      
common all over ,egypt before the       
general adoption of the cult of ,osiris 
under the ,x,i,ith dynasty4 ,about #gjj 
ushabtiu figures were found in the tomb 
of ,seti ,i1 and many of them are in the
 ,british ,museum4 ,chapter ,,vii is a  
spell to destroy the ,great ,serpent    
,aapep1 the ,arch-enemy of ,horus the   
,elder1 ,ra1 ,osiris1 ,horus son of     
,isis1 and of every follower of ,osiris4
 ,chapters ,,viii and ,,ix secured a    
passage for the deceased through the    

,tuat1 and ,chapters ,x and ,,xi gave   
him power over the enemies he met there4
 ,chapters ,,xii and ,,xiii gave him    
great freedom of movement in the        
,kingdom of ,osiris4 ,chapter ,,xiv is a
 prayer in which ,osiris is entreated to
 put away any feeling of dissatisfaction
 that he may have for the deceased1 who 
says1 ,wash away my sins1 ,lord of      
,truth2 destroy my transgressions1      
wickedness and iniquity1 ,o ,god of     
,truth4 ,may this god be at peace with  
me4 ,destroy the things that are        
obstacles between us4 ,give me peace1   
and remove all dissatisfaction from thy 
heart in respect of me4  ,chapter ,,xv  
has several forms1 and each of them     
contains ,hymns to ,ra1 which were sung 
daily in the morning and evening2       
specimen paragraphs are given above 7pp4
 #cc1 #cd74 ,chapter ,,xvi is only a    
vignette that illustrates ,chapter ,,xv1
 ,chapter ,,xvii is a very important    
chapter1 for it contains statements of  
divine doctrine as understood by the    

priests of ,heliopolis4 ,the opening    
words are1 ,i am ,tem in rising4 ,i am  
the ,only ,one4 ,i came into being in   
,nu 7the ,sky74 ,i am ,ra1 who rose in  
primeval time1 ruler of what he had     
made4 ,following this comes the         
question1 ,who is this8 and the answer  
is1 ,it is ,ra who rose in the city of  
,hensu1 in primeval time1 crowned as    
king4 ,he existed on the height of the  
,dweller in ,khemenu 7i4e41 ,thoth of   
,hermopolis7 before the pillars that    
support the sky were made4 ,chapter     
,,xviii contains the ,addresses to      
,thoth1 who is entreated to make the    
deceased to be declared innocent before 
the gods of ,heliopolis1 ,busiris1      
,latopolis1 ,mendes1 ,abydos1 etc4      
,these addresses formed a very powerful 
spell which was used by ,horus1 and when
 he recited it four times all his       
enemies were overthrown and cut to      
pieces4 ,chapters ,,xix and ,,xx are    
variant forms of ,chapter ,,xviii4      
,chapters ,,xxi-,,xxiii secured the help

 of ,thoth in opening the mouth of the  
deceased1 whereby he obtained the power 
to breathe and think and drink and eat4 
,thoth recited spells over the gods     
whilst ,ptah untied the bandages and    
,shu forced open their mouths with an   
iron 787 knife4 ,chapter ,,xxiv gave to 
the deceased a knowledge of the words of
 power 7hekau7 which were used by the   
great god ,tem-,khepera1 and ,chapter   
,,xxv restored to him his memory4 ,five 
chapters1 ,,xxvi-,,xxx1 contain prayers 
and spells whereby the deceased obtained
 power over his heart and gained        
absolute possession of it4 ,the most    
popular prayer is that of ,chapter      
,,xxxb 7see above1 p4 #d7 which1        
according to its rubric1 was found1     
i4e41 edited1 by ,herutataf1 the son of 
the great ,cheops1 about #cfjj ,b4,c4   
,this prayer was still in use in the    
early years of the ,christian ,era4 ,in 
the ,papyrus of ,nu it is associated    
with ,chapter ,,lxiv1 and the earliest  
form of it was probably in existence    

under the ,ist dynasty4  ,chapters      
,,xxxi-,,xlii were written to deliver   
the deceased from the ,great ,crocodile 
,sui1 and the ,serpents ,rerek and      
,seksek1 and the ,lynx with its deadly  
claws1 and the ,beetle ,apshait1 and the
 terrible ,merti snake-goddesses1 and a 
group of three particularly venomous    
serpents1 and ,aapep a personification  
of ,set the god of evil1 and the ,eater 
of the ,ass1 and a series of beings who 
lived by slaughtering the souls of the  
dead4 ,in ,chapter ,,xlii every member  
of the deceased is put under the        
protection of1 or identified with1 a god
 or goddess1 e4g41 the hair with ,nu1   
the face with ,aten 7i4e41 the solar    
disk71 the eyes with ,hathor1 and the   
deceased exclaims triumphantly1 ,there  
is no member of my body which is not the
 member of a god4 ,chapter ,,xliii4 ,a  
spell to prevent the decapitation of the
 deceased1 who assumes in it the        
character of ,osiris the ,lord of       
,eternity4 ,chapter ,,xliv4 ,an ancient 

and mighty spell1 the recital of which  
prevented the deceased from dying a     
second time4 ,chapters ,,xlv and ,,xlvi 
preserved the mummy of the deceased from
 decay1 and ,chapter ,,xlvii prevented  
the removal of his seat or throne4      
,chapter ,l enabled the deceased to     
avoid the block of execution of the god 
,shesmu4 ,chapters ,,li-,,liii provided 
the deceased with pure food and clean   
water from the table of the gods2 he    
lived upon what they lived upon1 and so 
became one with them4 ,chapters         
,,liv-,,lxii gave the deceased power to 
obtain cool water from the ,celestial   
,nile and the springs of waters of      
heaven1 and being identified with ,shu1 
the god of light and air1 he was enabled
 to pass over all the earth at will4    
,his life was that of the ,egg of the   
,great ,cackler1 and the goddess        
,sesheta built a house for him in the   
,celestial ,anu1 or ,heliopolis4  ,the  
recital of ,chapter ,,lxiii enabled the 
deceased to avoid drinking boiling water

 in the ,tuat4 ,the water in some of its
 pools was cool and refreshing to those 
who were speakers of the truth1 but it  
turned into boiling water and scalded   
the wicked when they tried to drink of  
it4 ,chapter ,,lxiv is an epitome of the
 whole ,book of the ,dead1 and it formed
 a great and divine protection for the  
deceased4 ,the text is of a mystical    
character and suggests that the deceased
 could1 through its recital1 either     
absorb the gods into his being1 or      
become himself absorbed by them4 ,its   
rubric orders abstention from meats1    
fish and women on the part of those who 
were to recite it4 ,chapter ,,lxv gave  
the deceased victory over all his       
enemies1 and ,chapters ,,lxvi and       
,,lxvii gave him access to the ,boat of 
,ra4 ,chapters ,,lxviii-,,lxx procured  
him complete freedom of motion in heaven
 and on earth4 ,chapter ,,lxxi is a     
series of addresses to the ,seven       
,spirits who punished the wicked in the 
,kingdom of ,osiris1 and ,chapter       

,,lxxii aided the deceased to be reborn 
in the ,mesqet ,chamber4 ,the ,mesqet   
was originally a bull's skin in which   
the deceased was wrapped4 ,chapter      
,,lxxiii is the same as ,chapter ,,ix4  
,chapters ,,lxxiv and ,,lxxv secured a  
passage for the deceased in the ,henu   
,boat of ,seker the ,death-god1 and     
,chapter ,,lxxvi brought to his help the
 praying mantis which guided him through
 the bush to the ,house of ,osiris4 ,by 
the recital of ,chapters                
,,lxxvii-,,lxxxviii1 i4e41 the ,chapters
 of ,transformations1 the deceased was  
enabled to assume at will the forms of  
7#a7 the ,golden ,hawk1 7#b7 the ,divine
 ,hawk1 7#c7 the ,great ,self-created   
,god1 7#d7 the ,light-god or the ,robe  
of ,nu1 7#e7 the ,pure ,lily1 7#f7 the  
,son of ,ptah1 7#g7 the ,benu ,bird1    
7#h7 the ,heron1 7#i7 the ,soul of ,ra1 
7#aj7 the ,swallow1 7#aa7 the ,sata or  
,earth-serpent1 7#ab7 the ,crocodile4   
,chapter ,,lxxxix brought the soul 7ba7 
of the deceased to his body in the      

,tuat1 and ,chapter ,,xc preserved him  
from mutilation and attacks of the god  
who cut off heads and slit foreheads4   
,chapters ,,xci and ,,xcii prevented the
 soul of the deceased from being shut in
 the tomb4 ,chapter ,,xciii is a spell  
very difficult to understand4 ,chapters 
,,xciv and ,,xcv provided the deceased  
with the books of ,thoth and the power  
of this god1 and enabled him to take his
 place as the scribe of ,osiris4        
,chapters ,,xcvi and ,,xcvii also placed
 him under the protection of ,thoth4    
,the recital of ,chapter ,,xcviii       
provided the deceased with a boat in    
which to sail over the northern heavens1
 and a ladder by which to ascend to     
heaven4 ,chapters ,,xcix-,,ciii gave him
 the use of the magical boat1 the mystic
 name of each part of which he was      
obliged to know1 and helped him to enter
 the ,boat of ,ra and to be with        
,hathor4 ,the ,bebait1 or mantis1 led   
him to the great gods 7,chapter ,,civ71 
and the ,uatch amulet from the neck of  

,ra provided his double 7ka7 and his    
heart-soul 7ba7 with offerings          
7,chapters ,,cv1 ,,cvi74 ,chapters      
,,cvii-,,cix made him favourably known  
to the spirits of the ,east and ,west1  
and the gods of the ,mountain of        
,sunrise4 ,in this region lived the     
terrible ,serpent-god ,ami-hem-f2 he was
 #cj cubits 7#ej feet7 long4 ,in the    
,east the deceased saw the ,morning     
,star1 and the ,two ,sycamores1 from    
between which the ,sun-god appeared     
daily1 and found the entrance to the    
,sekhet ,aaru or ,elysian ,fields4      
,chapter ,,cx and its vignette of the   
,elysian ,fields have already been      
described 7see p4 #ca74 ,chapters ,,cxi 
and ,,cxii describe how ,horus lost the 
sight of his eye temporarily through    
looking at ,set under the form of a     
black pig1 and ,chapter ,,cxiii refers  
to the legend of the drowning of ,horus 
and the recovery of his body by ,sebek  
the ,crocodile-god4 ,chapter ,,cxiv     
enabled the deceased to absorb the      

wisdom of ,thoth and his ,eight gods4   
,chapters ,,cxv-,,cxxii made him lord of
 the ,tuats of ,memphis and ,heliopolis1
 and supplied him with food1 and        
,chapter ,,cxxiii enabled him to        
identify himself with ,thoth4 ,chapters 
,,cxxiv and ,,cxxv1 which treat of the  
,judgment1 have already been described4 
,chapter ,,cxxvi contains a prayer to   
the ,four ,holy ,apes1 ,chapter ,,cxxvii
 a hymn to the gods of the ,circles in  
the ,tuat1 and ,chapter ,,cxxviii a hymn
 to ,osiris4 ,chapters ,,cxxx and       
,,cxxxi secured for the deceased the use
 of the ,boats of ,sunrise and ,sunset1 
and ,chapter ,,cxxxii enabled him to    
return to earth and visit the house he  
had lived in4 ,chapters ,,cxxxiii 7or   
,,cxxxix7-,,cxxxvi resemble in contents 
,chapter ,,cxxxi4 ,chapter ,,cxxxvii    
describes a series of magical ceremonies
 that were to be performed for the      
deceased daily in order to make him to  
become a living soul for ever4 ,the     
formulae are said to have been composed 

under the ,i,vth dynasty4 ,chapter      
,,cxxxviii refers to the ceremony of    
reconstituting ,osiris1 and ,chapters   
,,cxl-,,cxlii deal with the setting up  
of twelve altars1 and the making of     
offerings to all the gods and to the    
various forms of ,osiris4 ,chapter      
,,cxliii consists of a series of        
vignettes1 in three of which solar boats
 are represented4  ,chapters ,,cxliv and
 ,,cxlvii deal with the ,seven ,great   
,halls 7,arit7 of the ,kingdom of       
,osiris4 ,the gate of each ,hall was    
guarded by a porter1 a watchman1 and a  
messenger2 the first kept the door1 the 
second looked out for the arrival of    
visitors1 and the third took their names
 to ,osiris4 ,no one could enter a ,hall
 without repeating the name of it1 of   
the porter1 of the watchman1 and of the 
messenger4 ,according to a late         
tradition the ,gates of the ,kingdom of 
,osiris were twenty-one in number       
7,chapters ,,cxlv and ,,cxlvi71 and each
 had a magical name1 and each was       

guarded by one or two gods1 whose names 
had to be repeated by the deceased      
before he could pass4 ,chapter ,,cxlviii
 supplied the deceased with the names of
 the ,seven ,cows and their ,bull on    
which the gods were supposed to feed4   
,chapters ,,cxlix and ,,cl give the     
names of the ,fourteen ,aats1 or        
districts1 of the ,kingdom of ,osiris4  
,chapter 99,,cli-,a and 99,,cli-,b give 
a picture of the mummy chamber and the  
magical texts that were necessary for   
the protection of both the chamber and  
the mummy in it4 ,chapter ,,clii        
provided a house for the deceased in the
 ,celestial ,anu1 and ,chapter          
99,,cliii-,a and 99,,cliii-,b enabled   
his soul to avoid capture in the net of 
the snarer of souls4 ,chapter ,,cliv is 
an address to ,osiris in which the      
deceased says1 ,i shall not decay1 nor  
rot1 nor putrefy1 nor become worms1 nor 
see corruption4 ,i shall have my being1 
,i shall live1 ,i shall flourish1 ,i    
shall rise up in peace4 ,chapters       

,,clv-,,clxvii are spells which were    
engraved on the amulets1 giving the     
deceased the protection of ,ra1 ,osiris1
 ,isis1 ,horus1 and other gods4 ,the    
remaining ,chapters 7,,clxviii-,,cxc7   
are of a miscellaneous character1 and   
few of them are found in more than one  
or two papyri of the ,book of the ,dead4
 ,a few contain hymns that are not older
 than the ,x,v,i,i,ith dynasty1 and one 
is an extract from the text on the      
,pyramid of ,unas 7lines #cgi-cii74 ,the
 most interesting is1 perhaps1 ,chapter 
,,clxxv1 which describes the ,tuat as   
airless1 waterless1 and lightless4 ,in  
this chapter the deceased is assured of 
immortality in the words1 ,thou shalt   
live for millions of millions of years1 
a life of millions of years4   ,e4 ,a4  
,wallis ,budge4  ,department of         
,egyptian and ,assyrian ,antiquities1   
,british ,museum4  ,april #ae1 #aibj4   
,note4  ,the ,trustees of the ,british  
,museum have published3--  #a4 ,coloured
 facsimile of the ,papyrus of ,hunefer1 

,x,i,xth dynasty1 with hieroglyphic     
transcript and translation4 #aa plates1 
large folio4  #b4 ,coloured facsimile of
 the ,papyrus of ,anhai1 ,x,x,ist       
dynasty1 with hieroglyphic transcript   
and translation4 #h plates1 large folio4
  #c4 ,collotype reproduction of the    
,papyrus of ,queen ,netchemet1 ,x,x,ist 
dynasty1 with hieroglyphic transcript   
and translation4 #ab plates1 large      
folio4  #d4 ,coloured reproduction of   
the hieratic text of the ,book of       
,breathings1 with hieroglyphic          
transcript and translation4 ,with #b    
collotypes of the vignettes1 large      
folio4  #e4 ,hieroglyphic transcript of 
the ,papyrus of ,nu1 with one collotype 
plate4  ,nos4 #a-e are bound in one     
volume1 price #b #ajs4  #f4 ,collotype  
reproduction of the ,papyrus of ,queen  
,nesi-ta-nebt-ashru1 with full          
descriptions of the vignettes1          
translations1 and introduction1         
containing several illustrations1 and   
#aaf plates of hieratic text4 ,large    

#dto4 ,price #b #ajs4   ,,footnotes  #a 
,see ,journal de ,trvoux1 ,june1 #agjd2 
,caylus1 ,antiq4 ,egypt41 tom4 ,i1 plate
 #ba2 ,denon1 ,travels1 plates #acf and 
#acg2 and ,description de l'gypte1 tom4 
,,ii1 plate #fd ff4  #b ,copie ,figure  
d'un ,rouleau de ,papyrus trouv  ,thbes 
dans un tombeau des ,rois4 ,paris1      
,,xiii-#ahje4 ,this papyrus is nearly   
#cj feet in length and was brought to   
,strassburg by a paymaster in           
,napoleon's ,army in ,egypt called      
,poussielgue1 who sold it to ,m4 ,cadet4
  #c ,hieroglyphs4  #d ,the longest     
papyrus in the world is ,papyrus ,harris
 ,no4 #a 7,brit4 ,mus4 ,no4 #iiii72 it  
measures #acc feet by #a foot #d #a_/b  
inches4  #e ,pyramid of ,pepi ,i1 ll4   
#ffd and #ffb4  #f ,i4e41 ,truth1 or    
,law1 in a double aspect4  #g ,a name of
 ,osiris4  #h ,i4e41 the ,lord to the   
uttermost limit of everything1 or ,god4 
#i ,he was according to one legend the  
firstborn son of ,osiris4  #aj ,i4e41 ,i
 have kept the ,moral and ,divine ,law4 

#aa ,i4e41 the ,beneficent ,being1 a    
title of ,osiris4