the actions of the deceased, after they have been weighed in the balance of Thmei, goddess of Truth. Horus, always represented as a child, is sometimes seated on a Lotus before the throne, sometimes on the crook of Osiris. He was the symbol of resuscitation, or new birth; and was placed there to express the Egyptian idea that nothing is ever annihilated; that to die was only to pass into a new

As Judge of the Dead, who assigned to souls new bodies, celestial or terrestrial, Osiris was the dispenser of Immortal Life, and this was probably the reason why a Serpent was always one of his appendages.

Though he belonged to the third series of gods, he was more revered than even the eight highest deities. Amun Ra is represented in the sculptures as making offerings to him. It was deemed irreverent to utter his name. Herodotus mentions him as "one whose name I am not at liberty to disclose." The most sacred form of oath was, "I swear by him who was buried at Philoe." This peculiar sacredness appears to indicate that he was the only god in their mythology represented as incarnated in a human form, and dwelling among men. Every human soul was considered as an emanation from the Divine Soul, and eternally a portion of it. But that was quite different from the idea of a Deity voluntarily descending from blest abodes, performing a benevolent mission among men, suffering death, and rising again to the higher regions, thence to dispense blessings on his faithful worshippers. This history of the incarnation was one of the most important of their religious mysteries; and so carefully was it guarded by the priests, that little can now be learned of its purport. It may be that some wise and beneficent ruler, perhaps a High Priest of Osiris, was believed to be the Deity himself descended on earth for the benefit of mankind, as Hindoos believed concerning their princes Rama and Crishna. Wilkinson, in his valuable work on the Ancient Egyptians, pronounces the whole story purely allegorical. Herodotus says that when the priests of Amun showed him the three hundred and forty-one

statues, they assured him that every one of them was a man and the son of a man; and "they asserted that during all that time no Deity had appeared in a human form; but they did not say the same of the time anterior. to that account, or that of the kings who reigned afterward."

The worship of Osiris must have been of extremely ancient date; for he is represented as Judge of the Dead, in sculptures cotemporary with the building of the Pyramids, centuries before Abraham was born. Among the many hieroglyphic titles which accompany his figure in those sculptures, and in many other places on the walls of temples and tombs, are "Lord of Life," "The Eternal Ruler," "Manifester of Good," "Revealer of Truth," "Full of Goodness and Truth."

Ra, the son of Phtha, represented the visible Sun, and presided over the physical universe. Heliopolis, which means the City of the Sun, was consecrated to him. His worship was performed there with great splendour, and his priests were renowned for learning.

The Moon was a masculine deity in Egypt, as in Hindostan. Thoth, whom Greeks call Hermes, is supposed to have represented its beneficent qualities. He also presided over learning, was supposed to impart all mental gifts, and to be the medium of communication between gods and human beings. He is represented as the secretary of Osiris, standing before him with a pen or stylus, in his hand, writing on a tablet. To him are attributed the invention of the alphabet, astronomy, arithmetic, music, dancing, writing, and laws.

Instead of one deity who alternately destroyed and reproduced, like the Hindoo Siva, Egyptians represented the Destroyer as twin brother with Osiris, and named him Typh was god of Darkness and Eclipse. All attributed to him, such as drought, nflagration. The sea was considered n account of its being such a danelement. He is represented in the

bad in

sculptures as a frightful monster, with the ravaging hippopotamus for a symbol.

Among the goddesses, the highest was Neith, who reigned inseparably with Amun in the upper sphere. She was called "Mother of the Gods;" "Mother of the Sun." She was the feminine origin of all things, as Amun was the male origin. She presided over wisdom, philosophy, military tactics, and the moral attributes of the mind. Her symbol was a vulture, by which the Egyptians, for some unknown reason, represented maternity. She held the same rank at Sais that Amun did at Thebes. Her temples there are said to have exceeded in colossal grandeur anything ever before seen. On one of these was the celebrated inscription thus deciphered by Champollion: "I am all that has been, all that is, and all that will be. No mortal has ever raised the veil that conceals me. My offspring is the Sun."

Isis, supposed to be the same as the Hindoo Isa or Isi, was universally worshipped, and held in peculiar reverence, though she belonged to the inferior series of deities. She was the daughter of Time, twin sister and wife of Osiris, with whom she is everywhere inseparably united. It was formerly supposed she signified the Moon; but her office, like that of Osiris, was much more extensive than the benefits of any one luminary. She was the universal Passive Principle of Generation, as he was the Active Principle. She was the recipient, or mould, of the Life he imparted. To her was ascribed the form of all good in the universe, as to Osiris was ascribed the soul of all good. She was Nature, the fruitful mother and nurse, containing within herself germs of the reproduction of all forms of life. Hence her symbol was the egg. Both she and Osiris are frequently represented holding the Egyptian Cross, Emblem of Life. This universal benefactress is said to have had ten thousand titles; the most common was the Potent Mother Goddess. She presided over agriculture, and men no longer butchered each other after she had revealed to them the valuable qualities of wheat and barley, which had till then grown

wild; therefore they presented to her the first sheaves of their harvests as an offering. The dew that refreshed the earth was venerated as the tears of Isis, in memory of her lost Osiris. A ship was carried in the celebration of her festivals; perhaps to indicate that her worship was imported into Egypt. As goddess of health, she was believed to heal human diseases. Many medicines continued to be called by her name, even as late as the time of Galen, a famous Greek physician, who lived a hundred and thirtyone years after Christ. She was particularly worshipped at Memphis, where her Mysteries were celebrated with much pomp and ceremony. The festival continued eight days, during which some of her votaries scourged themselves severely at her altars. The sculptures represent this favourite goddess in a great variety of forms and offices. Sometimes she has a human head with horns, sometimes a cow's head. Sometimes she wears an Egyp tian hood, sometimes she is crowned with Lotus blossoms; often she is shrouded in a dark blue veil. She holds in her hand a staff like a crosier, or a Lotus stem, or the sacred musical instrument called sistrum. Sometimes she is nursing her infant Horus, son of Osiris; sometimes she has the babe seated on her knee, receiving worship from those around her, with a guardian hawk over her head, encircled by radii of water-plants. This holy family of Egypt seems to have been a favourite subject with those old artists. Sometimes they represent Isis protecting the body of Osiris with her outstretched wings. She is always by his side in Amenti, where he presides as Judge of the Dead. She reigned with him while he was on earth, and when she died, they believed her soul was transferred to Sirius, which they call Sothis. Divine honours were paid to this resplendent star, which was consecrated to Isis, and deemed the Birth Star of our world. At the season when it rose before the sun, and could therefore be visible in its own light, commenced the inundation of the Nile, which spread fertility all over the land. One of the titles of Isis was, "She who rises in the Dog Star." Prayers addressed

to her were believed to have great efficacy. Plutarch relates that Garmathone, Queen of Egypt, having lost her son, prayed fervently to Isis, at whose intercession Osiris descended to the region of departed souls, and restored the prince to life.

Egyptians believed in a host of subordinate deities, with attendant genii in each department. The twelve months were governed by the Spirits of the twelve signs of the zodiac. Each day was under the guardianship of the planet to which it was consecrated. The stars were animated with Souls, supposed to take an active interest in the affairs of this world. In hieroglyphic writing, a Star signifies a Ministering Spirit. Canopus, God of Waters, was an object of grateful worship; so was old Nilus, the deity of their fertilizing river, who was always represented by a black image. Kham, with the goddess Ranno, presided over the fruitfulness of Gardens and Vineyards. Her symbol was a small serpent, which they, as well as the Hindoos, supposed to protect such places. Anouké, guardian of purity and household ties, is represented with a Lotus in one hand, and the Emblem of Life in the other. Every human being had an attendant Spirit, from birth to death. Beneficent Spirits preserved health; evil ones entered into men, and produced fits and other diseases. Air, earth, water, stones, plants, and animals, were all supposed to be under the influence of genii, good or bad.

Reverence for the mystery of organized life led to the recognition of a masculine and feminine principle in all things, spiritual or material. Every elemental force was divided into two, the parents of other forces. The active wind was masculine, the passive mist, or inert atmosphere, was feminine. Rocks were masculine, the productive earth feminine. The presiding deity of every district was represented as a Triad, or Trinity. At Thebes, it was Amun, the creative Wisdom; Neith, the spiritual Mother; and a third, supposed to represent the Universe. At Philo, it was Osiris, the Generating Cause; Isis, the Receptive Mould; and Horus, the result. The sexual emblems VOL. I.-14