Part 7 (2/2)

Into the S[=A]HU pa.s.sed the soul which had lived in the body of a man upon earth, and it seems as if the new, incorruptible body formed the dwelling-place of the soul in heaven just as the physical body had been its earthly abode. The reasons why the Egyptians continued to mummify their dead is thus apparent; they did not do so believing that their physical bodies would rise again, but because they wished the spiritual body to ”sprout” or ”germinate” from them, and if possible--at least it seems so--to be in the form of the physical body. In this way did the dead rise according to the Egyptians, and in this body did they come.

From what has been said above, it will be seen that there is no reason for doubting the antiquity of the Egyptian belief in the resurrection of the dead and in immortality, and the general evidence derived both from archaeological and religious considerations supports this view. As old, however, as this belief in general is the specific belief in a spiritual body (S[=A]H or S[=A]HU); for we find it in texts of the Vth dynasty incorporated with ideas which belong to the prehistoric Egyptian in his savage or semi-savage state. One remarkable extract will prove this point. In the funeral chapters which are inscribed on the walls of the chambers and pa.s.sages inside the pyramid of King Unas, who flourished at the end of the Vth dynasty, about B.C. 3300, is a pa.s.sage in which the deceased king terrifies all the powers of heaven and earth because he ”riseth as a soul (BA) in the form of the G.o.d who liveth upon his fathers and who maketh food of his mothers. Unas is the lord of wisdom and his mother knoweth not his name. He hath become mighty like unto the G.o.d Temu, the father who gave him birth, and after Temu gave him birth he became stronger than his father.” The king is likened unto a Bull, and he feedeth upon every G.o.d, whatever may be the form in which he appeareth; ”he hath weighed words with the G.o.d whose name is hidden,”

and he devoureth men and liveth upon G.o.ds. The dead king is then said to set out to limit the G.o.ds in their meadows, and when he has caught them with nooses, he causes them to be slain. They are next cooked in blazing cauldrons, the greatest for his morning meal, the lesser for his evening meal, and the least for his midnight meal; the old G.o.ds and G.o.ddesses serve as fuel for his cooking pots. In this way, having swallowed the magical powers and spirits of the G.o.ds, he becomes the Great Power of Powers among the G.o.ds, and the greatest of the G.o.ds who appear in visible forms. ”Whatever he hath found upon his path he hath consumed, and his strength is greater than that of any spiritual body (S[=A]HU) in the horizon; he is the firstborn of all the firstborn, and ... he hath carried off the hearts of the G.o.ds.... He hath eaten the wisdom of every G.o.d, and his period of existence is everlasting, and his life shall be unto all eternity, ... for the souls and the spirits of the G.o.ds are in him.”

We have, it is clear, in this pa.s.sage an allusion to the custom of savages of all nations and periods, of eating portions of the bodies of valiant foes whom they have vanquished in war in order to absorb their virtues and strength; the same habit has also obtained in some places in respect of animals. In the case of the G.o.ds the deceased is made to covet their one peculiar attribute, that is to say, everlasting life; and when he has absorbed their souls and spirits he is declared to have obtained all that makes him superior to every other spiritual body in strength and in length of life. The ”magical powers” (_heka_) which the king is also said to have ”eaten,” are the words and formulae, the utterance of which by him, in whatever circ.u.mstances he may be placed, will cause every being, friendly or unfriendly, to do his will. But apart from any question of the slaughter of the G.o.ds the Egyptians declared of this same king, ”Behold, thou hast not gone as one dead, but as one living, to sit upon the throne of Osiris.” [Footnote: _Recuell de Travaux_, tom. v. p. 167 (l. 65).] and in a papyrus written nearly two thousand years later the deceased himself says, ”My soul is G.o.d, my soul is eternity,” [Footnote: Papyrus of Ani, Plate 28, l. 15 (Chapter lx.x.xiv.).] a clear proof that the ideas of the existence of G.o.d and of eternity were identical. Yet one other example is worth quoting, if only to show the care that the writers of religious texts took to impress the immortality of the soul upon their readers. According to Chapter CLXXV.

of the Book of the Dead the deceased finds himself in a place where there is neither water nor air, and where ”it is depth unfathomable, it is black as the blackest night, and men wander helplessly therein. In it a man may not live in quietness of heart, nor may the longings of love be satisfied therein. But,” says the deceased to the G.o.d Thoth, ”let the state of the spirits be given unto me instead of water, and air, and the satisfying of the longings of love, and let quietness of heart be given unto me instead of cakes and ale. The G.o.d Temu hath decreed that I shall see thy face, and that I shall not suffer from the things which pained thee; may every G.o.d transmit unto thee [O Osiris] his throne for millions of years! Thy throne hath descended unto thy son Horus, and the G.o.d Temu hath decreed that his course shall be among the holy princes.

Verily he shall rule over thy throne, and he shall be heir of the throne of the Dweller in the Lake of the Two Fires. Verily it hath been decreed that in me he shall see his likeness, [Footnote: _i.e._, I shall be like Horus, the son of Osiris.] and that my face shall look upon the face of the lord Tem.” After reciting these words, the deceased asks Thoth, ”How long have I to live?” and the G.o.d replies, ”It is decreed that thou shalt live for millions of millions of years, a life of millions of years.” To give emphasis and additional effect to his words the G.o.d is made to speak tautologically so that the most unlettered man may not miss their meaning. A little later in the Chapter the deceased says, ”O my father Osiris, thou hast done for me that which thy father R[=a] did for thee. So shall I abide on the earth lastingly, I shall keep possession of my seat; my heir shall be strong; my tomb and my friends who are upon earth shall flourish; my enemies shall be given over to destruction and to the shackles of the G.o.ddess Serq. I am thy son, and R[=a] is my father; for me likewise thou shalt make life, and strength, and health!” It is interesting to note that the deceased first identifies Osiris with R[=a], and then he identifies himself with Osiris; thus he identifies himself with R[=a].

With the subjects of resurrection and immortality must be mentioned the frequent references in the religious texts of all periods to the meat and drink on which lived the beings who were believed to exist in the world beyond the grave. In prehistoric days if was natural enough for the dead man's friends to place food in his grave, because they thought that he would require it on his journey to the next world; this custom also presupposed that the deceased would have a body like unto that which he had left behind him in this world, and that it would need food and drink. In the Vth dynasty the Egyptians believed that the blessed dead lived upon celestial food, and that they suffered neither hunger nor thirst; they ate what the G.o.ds ate, they drank what they drank, they were what they were, and became in such matters as these the counterparts of the G.o.ds. In another pa.s.sage we read that they are apparelled in white linen, that they wear white sandals, and that they go to the great lake which is in the midst of the Field of Peace whereon the great G.o.ds sit, and that the G.o.ds give them to eat of the food (_or_ tree) of life of which they themselves eat that they also may live. It is certain, however, that other views than these were held concerning the food of the dead, for already in the Vth dynasty the existence of a region called Sekhet-Aaru, or Sekhet-Aanru had been formulated, and to this place the soul, or at least some part, of the pious Egyptian hoped to make its way. Where Sekhet-Aaru was situated we have no means of saying, and the texts afford us no clue as to its whereabouts; some scholars think that it lay away to the east of Egypt, but it is far more likely to represent some district of the Delta either in its northern or north-eastern portion. Fortunately we have a picture of it in the Papyrus of Nebseni, [Footnote: Brit. Mus., No. 9900; this doc.u.ment belongs to the XVIIIth dynasty.] the oldest probably on papyrus, and from this we may see that Sekhet-Aaru, _i.e._, the ”Field of Reeds,”

typified some very fertile region where farming operations could be carried on with ease and success. Ca.n.a.ls and watercourses abound, and in one section, we are told, the spirits of the blessed dwelt; the picture probably represents a traditional ”Paradise” or ”Elysian Fields,” and the general characteristics of this happy land are those of a large, well-kept, and well-stocked homestead, situated at no great distance from the Nile or one of its main branches. In the Papyrus of Nebseni the divisions of the Sekhet-Auru contain the following:--

[Ill.u.s.tration: The Elysian Fields of the Egyptians according to the Papyrus of Nebseni (XVIIIth dynasty).]

1. Nebseni, the scribe and artist of the Temple of Ptah, with his arms hanging by his sides, entering the Elysian Fields.

2. Nebseni making an offering of incense to the ”great company of the G.o.ds.”

3. Nebseni seated in a boat paddling; above the boat are three symbols for ”city.”

4. Nebseni addressing a bearded mummied figure.

5. Three Pools or Lakes called Urti, Hetep, and Qetqet.

6. Nebseni reaping in Sekhet-hetepet.

7. Nebseni grasping the Bennu bird, which is perched upon a stand; in front are three KAU and three KHU.

8. Nebseni seated and smelling a flower; the text reads: ”Thousands of all good and pure things to the KA of Nebseni.”

9. A table of offerings.

10. Four Pools or Lakes called Nebt-tani, Uakha, Kha(?), and Hetep.

11. Nebseni ploughing with oxen by the side of a stream which is one thousand [measures] in length, and the width of which cannot be said; in it there are neither fish nor worms.

12. Nebseni ploughing with oxen on an island ”the length of which is the length of heaven.”

13. A division shaped like a bowl, in which is inscribed: ”The birthplace(?) of the G.o.d of the city Qenqentet Nebt.”

14. An island whereon are four G.o.ds and a flight of steps; the legend reads: ”The great company of the G.o.ds who are in Sekhet-hetep.”

15. The boat Tchetetfet, with eight oars, four at the bows, and four at the stern, floating at the end of a ca.n.a.l; in it is a flight of steps. The place where it lies is called the ”Domain of Neth.”

16. Two Pools, the names of which are illegible. The scene as given in the Papyrus of Ani [Footnote: Brit. Mus., No. 10,470, Plate 35] gives some interesting variants and may be described thus:--

1. Ani making an offering before a hare-headed G.o.d, a snake-headed G.o.d, and a bull-headed G.o.d; behind him stand his wife Thuthu and Thoth holding his reed and palette. Ani paddling a boat. Ani addressing a hawk, before which are a table of offerings, a statue, three ovals, and the legend, ”Being at peace in the Field, and having air for the nostrils.”

2. Ani reaping corn, Ani driving the oxen which tread out the corn; Ani addressing (_or_ adoring) a Bennu bird perched on a stand; Ani seated holding the _kherp_ sceptre; a heap of red and a heap of white corn; three KAU and three KHU, which are perhaps to be read, ”the food of the spirits;” and three Pools.

<script>