We have an interesting proof of the identification of Osiris with R[=a] in Chapter XVII. of the Book of the Dead. It will be remembered that this Chapter consists of a series of what might almost be called articles of faith, each of which is followed by one or more explanations which represent one or more quite different opinions; the Chapter also is accompanied by a series of Vignettes. In line 110 it is said, "I am the soul which dwelleth in the two _tchafi_, [Footnote: _i.e._, the souls of Osiris and R[=a].] What is this then? It is Osiris when he goeth into Tattu (_i.e._, Busiris) and findeth there the soul of R[=a]; there the one god embraceth the other, and souls spring into being within the two _tchafi_." In the Vignette which illustrates this passage the souls of R[=a] and Osiris are seen in the forms of hawks standing on a pylon, and facing each other in Tattu; the former has upon his head a disk, and the latter, who is human-headed, the white crown. It is a noticeable fact that even at his meeting with R[=a] the soul of Osiris preserves the human face, the sign of his kinship with man. Now Osiris became not only the equal of R[=a], but, in many respects, a greater god than he. It is said, that from the nostrils of the head of Osiris, which was buried at Abydos, came forth the scarabaeus [Footnote: See von Berginaun in _Aeg Zeitschrift_, 1880, p. 88 ff.] which was at once the emblem and type of the god Khepera, who caused all things to come into being, and of the resurrection. In this manner Osiris became the source and origin of gods, men, and things, and [Illustration: The soul of R[=a] (1) meeting the soul of Osiris (2) in Tattu. The cat (_i.e._, R[=a]) by the Persea tree (3) cutting off the head of the serpent which typified night.] the manhood of the god was forgotten. The next step was to ascribe to him the attributes of God, and in the XVIIIth and XIXth dynasties he seems to have disputed the sovereignty of the three companies of gods, that is to say of the trinity of trinities of trinities, [Footnote: Each company of the gods contained three trinities or triads.] with Amen-R[=a], who by this time was usually called the "king of the gods." The ideas held concerning Osiris at this period will best be judged by the following extracts from contemporary hymns:--