E A Wallis Budge, Books on Egypt and Chaldea

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BOOKS ON

EGYPT AND CHALDEA

E. A. WALLIS BUDGE, M. A., LITT D., D. LIT.

_Keeper of the Egyptian and Assyrian

Antiquities in the British Museum_

AND

L. W. KING, M. A.

_Assistant in the Department of

Egyptian and Assyrian Antiquities

in the British Museum_

Crown 8vo, 3S, 6d, net each

Vol I--EGYPTIAN RELIGION.

Egyptian Ideas of the Future Life By E. A. WALLIS BUDGE

Vol II--EGYPTIAN MAGIC.

By E. A. WALLIS BUDGE

Vol. III--EGYPTIAN LANGUAGE.

Easy Lessons in Egyptian Hieroglyphics By E. A. WALLIS BUDGE

Vol IV--BABYLONIAN RELIGION.

Babylonian Religion and Mythology. By L. W. King

Vol V--ASSYRIAN LANGUAGE.

Easy Lessons in the Cuneiform Texts By L. W. KING, M. A.

Vols VI, VII, VIII--THE BOOK OF THE DEAD.

an English Translation of the Chapters, Hymns, &c., of the Theban

Recension With Introduction, Notes, and numerous Illustrations By E. A.

WALLIS BUDGE, Litt. D.

Vols IX-XVI--A HISTORY OF EGYPT.

from the end of the Neolithic Period to the Death of Cleopatra VII, B.C.

30 By E. A. WALLIS BUDGE, Litt. D. 8 vols. Illustrated.

* * * * *

VOL. I.

EGYPTIAN IDEAS OF THE FUTURE LIFE

PUBLISHERS' NOTE.

In the year 1894, Dr. Wallis Budge prepared for Messrs. Kegan Paul,

Trench, Truebner & Co. an elementary work on the Egyptian language,

entitled "First Steps in Egyptian," and two years later the companion

volume, "An Egyptian Reading Book," with transliterations of all the

texts printed in it, and a full vocabulary. The success of these works

proved that they had helped to satisfy a want long felt by students of

the Egyptian language, and as a similar want existed among students of

the languages written in the cuneiform character, Mr. L.W. King, of the

British Museum, prepared, on the same lines as the two books mentioned

above, an elementary work on the Assyrian and Babylonian languages

("First Steps in Assyrian"), which appeared in 1898. These works,

however, dealt mainly with the philological branch of Egyptology and

Assyriology, and it was impossible in the space allowed to explain much

that needed explanation in the other branches of those subjects--that is

to say, matters relating to the archaeology, history, religion, etc., of

the Egyptians, Assyrians, and Babylonians. In answer to the numerous

requests which have been made, a series of short, popular handbooks on

the most important branches of Egyptology and Assyriology have been

prepared, and it is hoped that these will serve as introductions to the

larger works on these subjects. The present is the first volume of the

series, and the succeeding volumes will be published at short intervals,

and at moderate prices.

EGYPTIAN IDEAS

OF THE

FUTURE LIFE

E.A. WALLIS BUDGE, M. A., LITT. D., D. LIT.

KEEPER Of THE EGYPTIAN AND ASSYRIAN ANTIQUITIES

OF THE BRITISH MUSEUM

WITH EIGHT ILLUSTRATIONS

_THIRD EDITION_

1908

To SIR JOHN EVANS, K. C. B., D. C. L., F. R. S., ETC., ETC., ETC. IN

GRATEFUL REMEMBRANCE OF MUCH FRIENDLY HELP AND ENCOURAGEMENT

PREFACE.

* * * * *

The following pages are intended to place before the reader in a handy

form an account of the principal ideas and beliefs held by the ancient

Egyptians concerning the resurrection and the future life, which is

derived wholly from native religious works. The literature of Egypt

which deals with these subjects is large and, as was to be expected, the

product of different periods which, taken together, cover several

thousands of years; and it is exceedingly difficult at times to

reconcile the statements and beliefs of a writer of one period with

those of a writer of another. Up to the present no systematic account of

the doctrine of the resurrection and of the future life has been

discovered, and there is no reason for hoping that such a thing will

ever be found, for the Egyptians do not appear to have thought that it

was necessary to write a work of the kind. The inherent difficulty of

the subject, and the natural impossibility that different men living in

different places and at different times should think alike on matters

which must, after all, belong always to the region of faith, render it

more than probable that no college of priests, however powerful, was

able to formulate a system of beliefs which would be received throughout

Egypt by the clergy and the laity alike, and would be copied by the

scribes as a final and authoritative work on Egyptian eschatology.

Besides this, the genius and structure of the Egyptian language are such

as to preclude the possibility of composing in it works of a

philosophical or metaphysical character in the true sense of the words.

In spite of these difficulties, however, it is possible to collect a

great deal of important information on the subject from the funereal and

religious works which have come down to us, especially concerning the

great central idea of immortality, which existed unchanged for thousands

of years, and formed the pivot upon which the religious and social life

of the ancient Egyptians actually turned. From the beginning to the end

of his life the Egyptian's chief thought was of the life beyond the

grave, and the hewing of his tomb in the rock, and the providing of its

furniture, every detail of which was prescribed by the custom of the

country, absorbed the best thoughts of his mind and a large share of his

worldly goods, and kept him ever mindful of the time when his mummified

body would be borne to his "everlasting house" in the limestone plateau

or hill.

The chief source of our information concerning the doctrine of the

resurrection and of the future life as held by the Egyptians is, of

course, the great collection of religious texts generally known by the

name of "Book of the Dead." The various recensions of these wonderful

compositions cover a period of more than five thousand years, and they

reflect faithfully not only the sublime beliefs, and the high ideals,

and the noble aspirations of the educated Egyptians, but also the

various superstitions and childish reverence for amulets, and magical

rites, and charms, which they probably inherited from their pre-dynastic

ancestors, and regarded as essentials for their salvation. It must be

distinctly understood that many passages and allusions in the Book of

the Dead still remain obscure, and that in some places any translator

will be at a difficulty in attempting to render certain, important words

into any modern European language. But it is absurd to talk of almost

the whole text of the Book of the Dead as being utterly corrupt, for

royal personages, and priests, and scribes, to say nothing of the

ordinary educated folk, would not have caused costly copies of a very

lengthy work to be multiplied, and illustrated by artists possessing the

highest skill, unless it had some meaning to them, and was necessary for

the attainment by them of the life which is beyond the grave. The

"finds" of recent years in Egypt have resulted in the recovery of

valuable texts whereby numerous difficulties have been cleared away; and

we must hope that the faults made in translating to-day may be corrected

by the discoveries of to-morrow. In spite of all difficulties, both

textual and grammatical, sufficient is now known of the Egyptian

religion to prove, with certainty, that the Egyptians possessed, some

six thousand years ago, a religion and a system of morality which, when

stripped of all corrupt accretions, stand second to none among those

which have been developed by the greatest nations of the world.

E. A. WALLIS BUDGE.

LONDON,

_August 21st_, 1899.

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER

I. THE BELIEF IN GOD ALMIGHTY

II. OSIRIS THE GOD OF THE RESURRECTION

III. THE "GODS" OF THE EGYPTIANS

IV. THE JUDGMENT OF THE DEAD

V. THE RESURRECTION AND IMMORTALITY

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

CHAPTER

I. THE CREATION

II. ISIS SUCKLING HORUS IN THE PAPYRUS SWAMP

III. THE SOUL OF OSIRIS AND THE SOUL OF R[=A] MEETING IN TATTU. R[=A],

IN THE FORM OF A CAT, CUTTING OFF THE HEAD OF THE SERPENT OF

DARKNESS

IV. THE JUDGMENT OF THE DEAD IN THE HALL OF MA[=A]TI

V. THE DECEASED BEING LED INTO THE PRESENCE OF OSIRIS

VI. THE SEKHET-AARU OR "ELYSIAN FIELDS"--

(1) FROM THE PAPYRUS OF NEBSENI

(2) FROM THE PAPYRUS OF ANI

(3) FROM THE PAPYRUS OF ANILAI

CHAPTER I.

THE BELIEF IN GOD ALMIGHTY.

A study of ancient Egyptian religious texts will convince the reader

that the Egyptians believed in One God, who was self-existent, immortal,

invisible, eternal, omniscient, almighty, and inscrutable; the maker of

the heavens, earth, and underworld; the creator of the sky and the sea,

men and women, animals and birds, fish and creeping things, trees and

plants, and the incorporeal beings who were the messengers that

fulfilled his wish and word. It is necessary to place this definition of

the first part of the belief of the Egyptian at the beginning of the

first chapter of this brief account of the principal religious ideas

which he held, for the whole of his theology and religion was based upon

it; and it is also necessary to add that, however far back we follow his

literature, we never seem to approach a time when he was without this

remarkable belief. It is true that he also developed polytheistic ideas

and beliefs, and that he cultivated them at certain periods of his

history with diligence, and to such a degree that the nations around,

and even the stranger in his country, were misled by his actions, and

described him as a polytheistic idolater. But notwithstanding all such

departures from observances, the keeping of which befitted those who

believed in God and his unity, this sublime idea was never lost sight

of; on the contrary, it is reproduced in the religious literature of all

periods. Whence came this remarkable characteristic of the Egyptian

religion no man can say, and there is no evidence whatsoever to guide us

in formulating the theory that it was brought into Egypt by immigrants

from the East, as some have said, or that it was a natural product of

the indigenous peoples who formed the population of the valley of the

Nile some ten thousand years ago, according to the opinion of others.

All that is known is that it existed there at a period so remote that it

is useless to attempt to measure by years the interval of time which has

elapsed since it grew up and established itself in the minds of men, and

that it is exceedingly doubtful if we shall ever have any very definite

knowledge on this interesting point.

But though we know nothing about the period of the origin in Egypt of

the belief in the existence of an almighty God who was One, the

inscriptions show us that this Being was called by a name which was

something like _Neter_, [Footnote: There is no _e_ in Egyptian, and this

vowel is added merely to make the word pronounceable.] the picture sign

for which was an axe-head, made probably of stone, let into a long

wooden handle. The coloured picture character shews that the axe-head

was fastened into the handle by thongs of leather or string, and judging

by the general look of the object it must have been a formidable weapon

in strong, skilled hands. A theory has recently been put forward to the

effect that the picture character represents a stick with a bit of

coloured rag tied to the, but it will hardly commend itself to any

archaeologist. The lines which cross the side of the axe-head represent

string or strips of leather, and indicate that it was made of stone

which, being brittle, was liable to crack; the picture characters which

delineate the object in the latter dynasties shew that metal took the

place of the stone axe-head, and being tough the new substance needed no

support. The mightiest man in the prehistoric days was he who had the

best weapon, and knew how to wield it with the greatest effect; when the

prehistoric hero of many fights and victories passed to his rest, his

own or a similar weapon was buried with him to enable him to wage war

successfully in the next world. The mightiest man had the largest axe,

and the axe thus became the symbol of the mightiest man. As he, by

reason of the oft-told narrative of his doughty deeds at the prehistoric

camp fire at eventide, in course of time passed from the rank of a hero

to that of a god, the axe likewise passed from being the symbol of a

hero to that of a god. Far away back in the early dawn of civilization

in Egypt, the object which I identify as an axe may have had some other

signification, but if it had, it was lost long before the period of the

rule of the dynasties in that country.

Passing now to the consideration of the meaning of the name for God,

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