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Antiquity

of the

5

Egyptiens, appeared in Paris, in 1882; both these were, however, made from the text of the Turin papyrus.1 A German translation of the first fifteen chapters was published by Brugsch in Aeg. Zeitschrift, 1872, pp. 65-72, 129-134, and specially interesting chapters have been discussed by Birch, Maspero, Lefébure, Guieysse, Pierret, and others. A number of "supplementary" chapters were published by Pleyte (Chapitres supplémentaires du Livre des Morts, 162, 162*, 164–174) with translation and commentary, at Leyden in 1881, and Schiaparelli has translated and commented upon a large portion of one of the Books of the Dead in Il libro dei funerali degli antichi Egiziani

The age of the Book of the Dead is unknown, but it is certain that parts of it are as old as the beginning of Egyptian the Dead. civilization, and Theban tradition in Egypt asserted that the

Book of

130th chapter was as old as Hesep-ti, ES) the

fifth king of the Ist dynasty; the 64th chapter is variously stated to belong to the time of this king and to that of Men-kau-Ra (Mycerinus) of the IVth dynasty. The 178th chapter must also be at least as old as the time of this last king, because it is inscribed on the cover of his wooden coffin, which is now preserved in the British Museum (1st Egyptian Room, No. 6647). The oldest chapters appear to have been composed at Heliopolis, the great sanctuary and home of religious learning in Egypt, which was to the

1 A complete list of the words in this papyrus is to be found in Lieblein, Index Alphabétique, Paris, 1875.

2 The Chapter of the Pillow, Aeg. Zeit., 1868, p. 52; the Chapter of the Heart, ibid., 1880, p. 56; and the Chapter of the Tie, ibid.

3 Le Chapitre de la Boucle, in Mémoire sur quelques Papyrus du Louvre, Paris, 1875.

4 Les yeux d'Horus, Paris, 1874.

Rituel funéraire Egyptien, Paris, 1876.

6 Etudes Egyptologiques, p. 85.

Estratto dal Volume VIII delle Memorie della R. Accademia dei Lincei, Torino, 1882 and 1890.

8 Naville, Einleitung, p. 31.

9 I am aware that doubts have been thrown upon the age of this cover by a French writer, but it seems to me that the appearance and condition of the wood preclude any possibility of the theory that this cover was "restored" at a later period of Egyptian history being correct.

Egyptians what Jerusalem was to the Jews and Mecca is to the Mussulmans. The growth in the length of the chapters and the increase in their number was probably slow but sure; and that revisions should take place from time to time is only what was to be expected.

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name of

of the

The commonest name for the Book of the Dead in Egyptian Egyptian is pert em hru, which is gene- the Book rally translated by "coming forth, or going out, by day;" Dead. this was probably only a conventional name, and may account for the difficulty which scholars have had in agreeing as to its meaning. Another name is

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Re en seager xu, "The Chapter of making strong the beatified spirit." (Naville, Einleitung, p. 24.) The author of the Book of the Dead was said to be the god Thoth.

The Book of the Dead is composed of a series of chapters,1 each one of which formed a distinct composition, which could be added to or omitted from a papyrus according to the wish of those who were causing a copy to be made." Champollion divided the book into three parts:-chapters 1-15, 16-125, and 126 to the end; but had this scholar lived to devote more time and attention to the subject he would have seen that these divisions were purely arbitrary.

The object

of the

Book of

The Book of the Dead treats of the dead man's journey through Amenti, and in it he speaks to the incorporeal gods and beings who reside there, uttering the formula which will the Dead. deliver him from the foes who wish to impede his progress, reciting prayers, and chanting hymns to the great gods, with all of whom these compositions were supposed to enable him

1 A Theban papyrus never contains more than ninety chapters.

2 Es ist aber auch eine unrichtige Vorstellung, dass dieses Buch ein einziges Ganzes, eine in sich abgeschlossene von Anfang bis Ende fort schreitende Beschreibung der Seelenwanderung sei, welche von einem Verfasser so und in dieser Ausdehnung herrühre. Es ist vielmehr eine Sammlung verschiedener für sich bestehender Abschnitte, die sich auf die Zukunft der Seele beziehen, unter denen einzelne mehr oder minder wichtige Stellen einnehmen, auch im Allgemeinen nach einer gewissen Regel, die aber nicht immer unverbrüchlich ist, angeordnet sind. Lepsius.

3 This subject is discussed by Lepsius in the Vorwort (p. 5) to his edition of the Todtenbuch.

B. M.

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Materials of which

made.

to prevail. It contains texts which were ordered to be inscribed upon amulets and bandages for the benefit of the dead; it contains a plan of the mummy chamber and the arrangement of certain pieces of furniture in it; it contains the text of the confession of the deceased in the presence of the fortytwo assessors, and the scene of the weighing of the heart in the judgment hall of Osiris; it has a representation of the Elysian Fields, etc. In our limited space here it is impossible to give the briefest summary of the chapters of the Book of the Dead and their contents; the above notes are only intended to indicate the best books and chief authorities on a work which is so often referred to in these pages.

The pillows

PILLOWS.

which the Egyptians were accustomed to pillows are put under the heads of mummies were made of wood (sycamore generally), granite, alabaster and calcareous stone. They vary from six to ten inches in height, and are often made in three pieces, viz., the curved neck-piece, the column and base. The column is usually round or square, and the base is oblong. The neck-piece is sometimes supported by two columns or pillars, fluted (B.M. No. 17,102), but it may be joined to the base by six supports (B.M. No. 2543), or even by twenty-one (B.M. No. 18,155). Pillows are made also in the shape of animals, e.g., B.M. No. 20,753, which is in the shape of a stag, the horns being curved downwards to form the neck-piece. Neck-pieces and columns are sometimes ornamented with ivory studs (B.M. No. 2541). The base is frequently dispensed with, and the supports are made in the form of the necks of ducks, the ends terminating in their heads and beaks. Such examples have usually the ends of the neck-piece ornamented with carvings of figures of the god Bes (B.M. No. 18,156), and sometimes with grotesque figures (apes?) wearing plumes, and being led along by chains (B.M. No. 2256c). Such animals greatly resemble those represented on the Black Obelisk of Shalmaneser II. The column of a wooden pillow is ornamented in various ways, and the name of the deceased is often written upon it in hieratic or hieroglyphics. One example (B.M. No. 2529a) is inscribed with lion

Ornamen

tation of pillows.

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