The Book of the DeadBudge, E. A. Wallis (Ernest Alfred Wallis), Sir
Religion
The Book of the Dead
Budge, E. A. Wallis (Ernest Alfred Wallis), Sir
Book of the dead; Death; Egypt -- Religion; Future life
And the Great Company of the Gods say to Thoth, who dwelleth in
Khemenu (Hermopolis): "This that cometh forth from thy mouth of
truth is confirmed (?) The Osiris, the scribe Ani, true of voice,
hath testified. He hath not sinned and [his name] doth not stink
before us; Amemit (i.e., the Eater of the Dead) shall not have the
mastery over him. Let there be given unto him offerings of food and
an appearance before Osiris, and an abiding homestead in the Field
of Offerings as unto the Followers of Horus."
Thus the gods have declared that Ani is "true of voice," as was Osiris,
and they have called Ani "Osiris," because in his purity of word and
deed he resembled that god. In all the copies of the Book of the Dead
the deceased is always called "Osiris," and as it was always assumed
that those for whom they were written would be found innocent when
weighed in the Great Balance, the words "true of voice," which were
equivalent in meaning to "innocent and acquitted," were always written
after their names. It may be noted in passing that when Ani's heart
was weighed against Truth, the beam of the Great Balance remained
perfectly horizontal. This suggests that the gods did not expect the
heart of the deceased to "kick the beam," but were quite satisfied
if it exactly counterbalanced Truth. They demanded the fulfilment of
the Law and nothing more, and were content to bestow immortality upon
the man on whom Thoth's verdict was "he hath done no evil."
In accordance with the command of the gods Ani passes from the Great
Balance to the end of the Hall of Maati where Osiris is seated, and as
he approaches the god Horus, the son of Isis, takes him by the hand and
leads him forward, and standing before his father Osiris says, "I have
come to thee, Un-Nefer, [11] I have brought to thee the Osiris Ani. His
heart is righteous [and] hath come forth from the Balance. It hath no
sin before any god or any goddess. Thoth hath set down his judgment in
writing, and the Company of the Gods have declared on his behalf that
[his] evidence is very true. Let there be given unto him of the bread
and beer which appear before Osiris. Let him be like the Followers of
Horus for ever!" Next we see Ani kneeling in adoration before Osiris,
and he says, "Behold, I am in thy presence, O Lord of Amentt. There
is no sin in my body. I have not uttered a lie knowingly. [I have] no
duplicity (?) Grant that I may be like the favoured (or rewarded) ones
who are in thy train." Under favour of Osiris Ani then became a sahu,
or "spirit-body," and in this form passed into the Kingdom of Osiris.
CHAPTER VIII
The Kingdom of Osiris.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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