The Egyptian Book of the Dead quotes

Straightway he rose up from his bier and became the Lord of the Dead and King of the Under World.

Osiris became the type and symbol of resurrection among the Egyptians of all periods, because he was a god who had been originally a mortal and had risen from the dead.

But before Osiris became King of the Under World he suffered further persecution from Set.

… early times, certainly page 20in the Neolithic Period, the Egyptians believed in some kind of a future life, and they dimly conceived that the attainment of that life might possibly depend upon the manner of life which those who hoped to enjoy it led here.

The Egyptians "hated death and loved life,"

and when the belief gained ground among them that Osiris, the God of the Dead, had himself risen from the dead, and had been acquitted by the gods of heaven after a searching trial, and had the power to "make men and women to be …

The Tuat was not a place of happiness, judging from the description of it in the PER-T EM HRU, or Book of the Dead. When Ani the scribe arrived there he said, "

What is this to which I have come? There is neither water nor air here, its depth is unfathomable, it is as dark as the darkest night, and men wander about here helplessly.

A man cannot live here and be satisfied, and he cannot gratify the cravings of affection" (Chapter CLXXV). In the Tuat there was neither tree nor plant, for it was the "land where nothing grew";

I have not diminished from the bushel. I did not take from or add to the acre-measure. I did not encroach on the fields [of others]. I have not added to the weights of the scales. I have not misread the pointer of the scales.

I have not taken milk from the mouths of children.

I have not driven cattle from their pastures. I have not snared the birds of the gods. I have not caught fish with fish of their kind. I have not stopped water [when it should flow]. I have not cut the dam of a canal.

I have not done an [evil] thing. I live upon truth and I feed upon truth. I have performed the behests of men, and the things that satisfy the gods.5 I have propitiated the God [by doing] His will.

I have given bread to the hungry, water to the thirsty, raiment to the naked, and a boat to him that needed one.

I have made holy offerings to the gods, and sepulchral offerings to the beautified dead. Be ye then my saviours, be ye my protectors, and make no accusation against me before the Great God. I am pure of mouth, and clean of hands;

I have made holy offerings to the gods, and sepulchral offerings to the beautified dead. Be ye then my saviours, be ye my protectors, and make no accusation against me before the Great God.

I am pure of mouth, and clean of hands; therefore it hath been said by those who saw me, 'Come in peace, come in peace.'

"

Whilst his heart was in the Balance Ani, repeating the words of Chapter XXXB* of the Book of the Dead, addressed it, saying, "

My heart of my mother! My heart of my mother! My heart of my being! Make no stand against me when testifying

, thrust me not back before the Tchatchaut (i.e., the overseers of Osiris), and make no failure in respect of me before the Master of the page 27 page 28Balance. Thou art my Ka, the dweller in my body, uniting (?) and strengthening my members.

As thou risest thou growest greater: thy rays are upon all faces.

Thou art unknowable, and no tongue can describe thy similitude; thou existest alone.

Millions of years have passed over the world, I cannot tell the number of those through which thou hast passed.

As thou risest thou growest greater: thy rays are upon all faces. Thou art unknowable, and no tongue can describe thy similitude; thou existest alone.

Millions of years have passed over the world, I cannot tell the number of those through which thou hast passed.

Thou journeyest through spaces [requiring] millions of years [to pass over] in one little moment of time, and then thou settest and dost make an end of the hours."

Their eyes follow thee, they press forward to see thee, and their hearts rejoice at the sight of thy face. Thou hearkenest to the petitions of those who are in their tombs, thou dispellest their helplessness and drivest away evil from them.

Thou givest breath to their nostrils.

Thou art greatly feared, thy form is majestic, and very greatly art thou beloved by those who dwell in the Other World." page 35 The Introductory HYMN TO RĀ is followed by a HYMN TO OSIRIS, in which the deceased says:—

In Chapter XLII every member of the deceased is put under the protection of, or identified with, a god or goddess, e.g., the hair with Nu, the face with Aten (i.e., the solar disk), the eyes with Hathor, and the deceased exclaims triumphantly, "

There is no member of my body which is not the member of a god.

" Chapter XLIII. A spell to prevent the decapitation of the deceased, who assumes in it the character of Osiris the Lord of Eternity. Chapter XLIV. An ancient and mighty spell, the recital of which prevented the deceased from dying a second time.

Chapter CLII provided a house for the deceased in the Celestial Anu, and Chapter *CLIII-A and *CLIII-B enabled his soul to avoid capture in the net of the snarer of souls. Chapter CLIV is an address to Osiris in which the deceased says, "

I shall not decay, nor rot, nor putrefy, nor become worms, nor see corruption.

I shall have my being, I shall live, I shall flourish, I shall rise up in peace."

The most interesting is, perhaps, Chapter CLXXV, which describes the Tuat as airless, waterless, and lightless. In this chapter the deceased is assured of immortality in the words, "

Thou shalt live for millions of millions of years, a life of millions of years.

"