The Pharaoh And The Priest Part 124

"Where is my brother? Where is my divine consort?"

Thereupon thunder roared, trumpets and bronze plates sounded; the dissector disguised as Typhon burst into laughter, and cried,--

"O beautiful Isis, who in company with the stars delightest the night, thy consort exists not. Never again will the radiant Osiris sit in the golden boat, never again will that sun appear on the firmament. I have done this, I, Set, and I have hidden him so deeply that none of the G.o.ds, nor all the G.o.ds together will find him."

At these words the G.o.ddess rent her garments, she groaned and tore her hair. Again sounded trumpets, thunder, and plates; among the priests and priestesses an uproar began, then shouting and curses. Suddenly all rushed at Typhon crying,--

"Cursed spirit of darkness! Thou rousest the whirlwinds of the desert, thou rousest the sea, darkenest the light of day! Mayst thou fall into the pit from which the father of the G.o.ds himself could not free thee.

Cursed! Cursed Set! May thy name be a disgust and a terror!"

While cursing in this way they all attacked Typhon with fists and clubs; the red-haired G.o.d fled, and rushed at last out of the building.

Again the bronze plates sounded thrice, and the solemnity was ended.

"Well, that is enough!" cried the senior priest to the a.s.sembly which had begun to fight in earnest. "Thou, Isis, mayest return to the city, but the rest of us must go to other departed ones who are waiting for our services. We must not neglect the ordinary dead, for it is unknown how much they will pay us for this one."

"Not much indeed!" interrupted the embalmer. "People say that there is nothing in the treasury, while the Phnicians threaten to cease lending unless new rights are given them."

"May death destroy all those Phnicians! Soon a man will be forced to beg a barley cake of them; even now they have s.n.a.t.c.hed away everything."

"But unless they lend the pharaoh money we shall get nothing for the funeral."

Conversation ceased gradually, and those present left the heavenly hall. Only at the vat where the body of the pharaoh lay steeping was a guard left.

All this solemnity, representing the legend of the slaying of Osiris (the sun) by Typhon (the G.o.d of night and crime), served to open and clean the body of the pharaoh, and in this way prepare it for the embalming proper.

During seventy days the departed must lie in a solution of soda, in memory, it seems, of this, that the wicked Typhon had sunk the body of his brother in the Soda Lakes. During all these days a priestess, dressed as Isis, came to the heavenly hall, morning and evening.

There, groaning and tearing her hair, she inquired of all present whether any one had seen her divine consort and brother.

At the expiration of that time of mourning, Horus, the son and heir of Osiris, with his suite appeared in the hall, and they were the first to see the vat with the solution.

"Might we look here for the remains of my father and brother?" asked Horus.

So they searched and found; amid the immense delight of the priests, with sounds of music, they removed the body of the pharaoh from the strengthening bath.

The body was put into a stone cylinder through which pa.s.sed a hot breeze for a number of days, and, when the body was dried they gave it to the embalmers.

Now began the most important ceremonies, which were performed by the supreme priests of the court of the dead:

The body of the departed, turned head southward, they washed with consecrated water and the interior with palm wine. On the pavement, which was sprinkled with ashes, sat wailing women who tore their hair and scratched their faces; they bewailed the late pharaoh. Around the couch where the body lay were a.s.sembled priests dressed as G.o.ds. These were Isis naked with a crown of the pharaohs, the youthful Horus, Anubis with a jackal head, bird-headed Tot with tablets in his hands, and many others.

Under the inspection of this worthy a.s.sembly, specialists began to fill the body with strongly odorous plants and sawdust, they even poured in odorous resin, all amid prayers. Then in his eye-sockets they inserted gla.s.s eyes set in bronze. After that the whole body was sprinkled with powdered soda.

Another priest appeared now who explained to those present that the body of the departed was the body of Osiris, that his qualities were the qualities of Osiris. "The magic qualities of his left temple are the qualities of the G.o.d Tum and his right eye is the eye of the G.o.d Tum, whose rays pierce through darkness. His left eye is the eye of Horus, which dazzles every living creature; the upper lip that of Isis, and the lower that of Nefthys. The neck of the departed is the G.o.ddess, his hands are divine spirits, his fingers the heavenly serpents, sons of the G.o.ddess Setkit. His sides are the two feathers of Amon, his back the backbone of Sib, his belly is the good Nue."[31]

[31] Maspero.

Another priest spoke,--

"A mouth was given me for speaking, feet for walking, hands to overturn my enemies. I rise from the dead, I exist, I open heaven; I do what has been commanded me in Memphis."[32]

[32] Authentic.

Meanwhile on the neck of the departed they hung a scarab made of a precious stone, on which was this inscription: "O my heart, heart which I received from my mother, which I had when I was on earth, O heart do not rise against me and do not give evil witness in the day of judgment."[33]

[33] Authentic.

Next priests wound around each arm and foot, each finger and toe of the dead, strips on which were written prayers and spells. Those strips they fastened with gum and balsam. On the breast and on the neck they placed complete ma.n.u.scripts of the _Book of the Dead_ with the following meditations which the priests read aloud over the body,--

"I am he before whom no G.o.d puts an obstacle.

"Who is that?

"He is Tum on his shield, he is Ra on his shield, which rises in the east of heaven.

"I am Yesterday and I know To-morrow.

"Who is he?

"Yesterday is Osiris, To-morrow is Ra on the day when he annihilates the enemies of the Lord who is above all and when he consecrates his son Horus. In other words, in the day when his father Ra meets the coffin of Osiris. He conquers the G.o.ds at command of Osiris, the lord of the mountain Amenti.

"What is that?

"Amenti is a creation of the soul of the G.o.ds, at command of Osiris, the lord of the mountain.

"In other words, Amenti is that impulse roused by Ra. Every G.o.d who arrives there carries on a battle. I know the great G.o.d who dwells there.

"I am from my country, I come from my city, I destroy evil, I set aside that which is not good, I remove uncleanness from myself, I betake myself to the country of dwellers in heaven, I enter through the mighty gate.

"O ye comrades, give me a hand, for I shall be one of you."[34]

[34] "Book of the Dead."

When every member of the departed was covered with prayer bandages, and furnished with amulets, when he had a sufficient supply of meditations to find the way in the region of the G.o.ds, it was proper to think of a doc.u.ment which would open the gate of that region. For between the tomb and heaven forty-two terrible judges were waiting for the dead man; these, under presidency of Osiris, examined his earthly life. Only when the heart of the departed, weighed in the scales of justice, appeared equal to the G.o.ddess of truth, when the G.o.d Dutes, who writes on his tablets the deeds of the dead, considered it just, only then did Horus take the soul by the hand and lead it before the throne of Osiris.

So that the dead might be able to justify himself before the court it was necessary to wrap the mummy in a papyrus on which was written a general confession. While they were winding him in this doc.u.ment the priest spoke clearly and with emphasis, so that the dead might not forget:

"Lords of truth, I bring thee truth itself. I have not done evil to any man treacherously. I have not made any one near me unfortunate. I have not permitted myself any lewdness or abusive word in the house of veracity. I have had no intimacy with evil. I have committed nothing bad. As a superior I have not commanded my subordinates to work beyond their strength. No one through my fault has become afraid, poor, suffering, or unhappy. I have done nothing of any kind which the G.o.ds would despise. I have not tormented a slave. I have not killed him with hunger. I have not forced tears from him. I have not slain. I have not commanded to kill a slave treacherously. I have not lied, I have not plundered the property of temples. I have not decreased incomes devoted to the G.o.ds. I have not taken away the bread or the bandages of mummies. I have not committed sin with the priest of my district. I have not taken from him or decreased his property. I have not used false weights. I have not s.n.a.t.c.hed away an infant from the breast of its nurse. I have never committed anything b.e.s.t.i.a.l. I have not caught in nets birds devoted to the G.o.ds. I have not hindered the inundation of water. I have not turned away the course of ca.n.a.ls. I have not quenched fire at a time that was improper, I have not stolen from the G.o.ds offerings which they had chosen. I am pure--I am pure--I am pure."[35]

[35] "Book of the Dead." This is one of the loftiest doc.u.ments left us by antiquity.

When the departed was able, thanks to the _Book of the Dead_ to help himself in the region of eternity, and above all when he knew how to justify himself before the court of the forty-two G.o.ds, the priests furnished him still further with an introduction to this book, and explained to him orally its immense importance. In view of this the embalmers who surrounded the fresh mummy of the pharaoh withdrew and a high priest of that quarter came and whispered into the ear of the departed:

"Know that through the possession of this book thou shalt belong to the living and attain to great significance among G.o.ds. Know that, thanks to it, no one will dare to oppose thee. The G.o.ds themselves will approach thee and embrace thee, for thou wilt belong to their company.

"Know that this book informs thee of what was at the beginning. No man has uttered it, no eye has seen it, no ear has heard it. This book is truth itself, but no one has ever known it. Let it be seen only through thee and through him who will behold thee in it. Add to it no commentary which thy memory or imagination might suggest to thee. It is written entirely in the hall where the departed are embalmed. It is a great secret which no common man knows, not one in the world.

"This book will be thy nourishment in the lower region of spirits, it will give thy soul means of sojourn on the earth, it will give it life eternal, and effect this, that no one will have power over thee."[36]