their theories of the soul's journey and goal on some analogy familiar to them all.
I begin with the Egyptian theory. It appears in its most complete form in the sepulchral records of the New Kingdom, after the long period of anarchy of the Shepherd Kings had passed, and when under the 18th, 19th and 20th dynasties, Egypt may be said to have risen to the very pinnacle of her greatness.
The collection of the sacred funerary texts into the famous ritual known as "The Book of the Dead," dates from this time. Many of its chapters are, indeed, very much older; but Egyptian religion, which was not stationary, but constantly progressive toward higher intellectual forms and purer ethical standards, can best be judged as it was in this period, that of the Theban dynasties of the New Kingdom. To assign a date, we may say in round numbers, two thousand years before the Christian era.
From that invaluable document, therefore, the "Book of the Dead," we learn what this ancient people expected to happen to the soul when it left the body. Of the millions of mummies which were zealously prepared in those ages, none was complete unless it had folded with it one or a number of chapters of this holy book, the formulas in which were safeguards and passwords to the spirit on its perilous journey.
The general statement is that the soul on leaving the corpse passes toward the West where it descends into the divine inferior region called Amenti, over which presides Osiris, "chief of chiefs divine," who represents the sun god in his absence, in other words the sun at night, the sun which has sunk in the west and stays somewhere all night.
In this place of darkness the soul undergoes its various tests. The deeds done in the flesh, the words spoken in life, the thoughts of the heart are brought it up against it by different accusers, who appear in the form of monsters of the deep. As the sun has to combat the darkness of the night and to overcome it before it can again rise, so the soul has to combat the record of its sins, and conquer the frightful images which represent them. This was to be done in the Egyptian as in almost all religions by the power of magic formulas, in other words by prayers, and invocation of holy names.
Having succeeded, the soul saw the nightly constellations and the heavenly stars, and reached the great celestial river, whose name was Nun. This was the self-created, primordial element. From its green depths all created things, even the gods themselves, took their origin. It is called in the texts, "father of all gods." From it rose Ra, the Sun god, in his brightness. In its dark depths lies bound in chains of iron, the serpent Refref, the symbol of evil, otherwise called Apap. But, though bound, this monster endeavors to seize each soul that crosses the river. The fortunate soul repels the serpent by blows and by incantations which destroy its power, but the unfortunate one is swallowed up and annihilated.
This danger passed, the soul reaches the farther strand and rises from the waters, as Horus, who represents the sun at dawn, rises from the eastern waves. This is the purpose of all the rites and prayers, to have the soul, as the expression is, "rise at day" or "rise in the daytime." In other words, to rise as the sun and with the sun, or, to use again the constant formula of the "Book of the Dead," to "enter the boat of the Sun;" for the Sun was supposed to sail through celestial and translucent waters on its grand journey from horizon to zenith and zenith to horizon. Starting at dawn as the child Horus, son of the slain and lost Osiris, the orb of light became at midday the mighty Ra, and as evening approached, was transformed to Khep-Ra or Harmachis, once again to become Osiris when it had sunk beneath the western verge.
So strict and absolute was the analogy supposed by the Egyptians to exist between the course of the sun and the destiny of the soul, that every soul was said to become Osiris at the moment of death, and in the copies of the "Book of the Dead," enclosed in a mummy, the proper name of the defunct is always preceded by the name "Osiris," as we might say "Osiris Rameses" or "Osiris Sesostris."
To illustrate further what I have said, I will translate a few passages from the most recent and correct version of the "Book of the Dead," that published at Paris a few months ago, and
Please email us if you are interested
in a PDF of any of the posted books.