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.