ARCHÆOLOGY AND BIBLICAL RESEARCH

THE BOOK OF THE DEAD.

ONE of the oldest, if not the oldest, books yet discovered is that known to the English reader as The Book of the Dead. It has been known for a long time to European scholars, if not by the above title, by some other of similar import. It has been published in English, French, German, and Italian by students of archæology in the countries where these languages are spoken. Champollion issued a very imperfect copy, or rather selections from it, under the title Rituel Funeraire. Then came a more perfect edition by De Rouge, also styled Rituel Funeraire. This was followed by Lepsius's great work, Das Todtenbuch der Egypter. Other editions, more or less complete, followed at long intervals. Of these, the works of Birch, Naville, Renouf, Pierret, and Budge deserve especial attention by all those interested in the fascinating study of comparative religions. Renouf was cut down before completing his critical edition of The Book of the Dead, but it is gratifying to know that the veteran Egyptologist, Naville, has undertaken to finish the work.

The last and best edition yet published in any language is that by Dr. Budge, well and favorably known to archæologists, and more especially to those devoted to Egyptology, not only by his numerous works, but also as the keeper of the Egyptian and Assyrian antiquities in the British Museum. The work is issued by the Open Court Publishing Company, Chicago, in three handy and pretty volumes, at a cost of less than four dollars for the complete set. This places it within reach of almost every pastor and Bible class teacher in the land. This edition consists of an English translation of the Theban recension, supplementary chapters, appendixes, abridged copies, or, rather, selections from the book at different periods in Egyptian history. There is, besides, an introduction of nearly one hundred pages and a very large number of footnotes, introducing the reader to the Egyptian Pantheon, explaining the offices and functions of the numerous gods. The introduction, concise and generally clear, in places apparently contradictory, is nevertheless a veritable mine of valuable information regarding the growth and development of religious beliefs in all periods of Egypt's history. The information contained in the introduction and notes is of inestimable value to every student of the Bible who cares to become acquainted with the religious ideas prevailing in the valley of the Nile centuries before Abraham left his native Ur-ideas which must have been well known to Moses and Aaron before a single line of the Pentateuch was penned by the great Hebrew legislator. Another very valuable

feature of this edition is the copious use of illustrations. Of these there are four hundred and twenty vignettes taken from the best papyri and monuments, depicting various funeral rites and scenes, and thus throwing often more light upon the religious faith of the people than the texts themselves, which are sometimes very obscure and defy any rendering. Dr. Budge does not profess to give an absolutely correct translation. This, owing to the mutilated state of some texts, is impossible. Some of them are so corrupt as to defy deciphering, to say nothing of translating. Nevertheless, the excellence of this edition is vouched for by the fact that it is the work of Dr. Budge, who is one of the few great scholars, and the peer of any in this department of learning. No man living has greater facilities than he for studying, deciphering, and interpreting the ancient monuments of Egypt. It is a well-known fact that the "collection of objects from the tombs of Egypt which has been gradually brought together during the nineteenth century in the British Museum is the largest and most varied collection in Europe. It comprises mummied bodies, mummy cases and coffins, and furniture for the funeral and the tomb; articles of dress and food, and of occupation and amusement, deposited by the living for the use or solace of the beloved dead in the last long journey or in the new life; figures of the protecting gods, and amulets prescribed by the religious belief of the people; and a multitude of miscellaneous objects which for one reason or another found their way into the sepulchral chambers and have thus come down to us so marvelously well preserved." The Book of the Dead, though a sacred book, is not to be compared to the Hebrew or Christian Scriptures. It is in no sense, as some have ignorantly claimed, "the Bible of the ancient Egyptians." Indeed, the very title, Book of the Dead, is somewhat misleading. Nevertheless, it is now too late to attempt a change of name. The Egyptians themselves styled this collection of texts, at least as early as B. C. 2000, REU NU PERT EM HRU, which may be translated "Book of Going Out in Daytime," or "Chapters of Coming Forth by Day." As already stated, these chapters contain mostly hymns of praise to the gods, prayers for the safety of the deceased on his dangerous journeys in the realms beyond the grave, and magic formulas to aid the dead to conquer his enemies, serpents, and ferocious beasts, to obtain food and comfort, to preserve his mummy from decay and mishap in the nether world. The texts here collected are from the walls of pyramids and tombs, from sarcophagi, coffins, mummy cases, amulets and papyri found in coffins or tombs, as well as on the bandages around mummies or deposited in some way on the body itself. The object of these texts was to secure the well-being of the soul on the way to the Sekhethetepet, or Elysian fields. The way thither, though beset with untold dangers, could yet be avoided and overcome by a faithful recital of the texts committed to memory during life, or, in case that had been neglected, read from the papyri with which the dead

was provided. Many of the chapters are very crude and nonsensical; others again breathe the spirit of true piety and lofty morality. Nothing surpassing them, excepting the Bible, has come down to us from any ancient people. The evident contradictions, the many repetitions, and the variety of styles can be explained by the fact that The Book of the Dead is not the product of one age, but contains the ideas and beliefs proclaimed by various schools and priests at different centers of worship and throughout many centuries.

The Book of the Dead contains but few directions for holy living in this world; it is almost exclusively concerned with the next. We must not, however, conclude that the ancient Egyptians were indifferent to a life of purity and benevolence here below. The so-called "Negative Confessions" are wonderful for their comprehensiveness. All the dead had to appear in the judgment hall of Osiris. The vignettes representing this scene are among the most interesting of any on the Egyptian monuments. The Book of the Dead knows nothing of a general judgment; on the other hand, every soul was judged separately, soon after death, by Osiris and forty-two other gods, who acted as jurors. The heart of the deceased was carefully weighed in a large balance, or scales of the oldfashioned type. The heart was placed in one pan, and a feather, emblem of truth and right, was placed in the other. The weighing was superintended by Thoth, the scribe of the gods. Now if the heart stood the test the soul was declared pure and was permitted to begin at once the long journey toward the abode of the blessed; if, on the other hand, the deceased was found wanting, he was at once devoured by Ammit, a huge and ungainly-looking monster, which stood in readiness at the scales. Ammit is described in the papyrus of Hu-nefer as having the head of a crocodile, the body of a lion, while the lower extremities were those of a hippopotamus. With this corresponds the representation in the vignettes. The term Ammit means devourer of the dead. The question asked of the deceased at the judgment, as well as his confessions made by him, were many and far-reaching, showing clearly that conscience played a very prominent part in the earliest civilization of the world. This is seen by the following taken at random from the chapter in question: The deceased declares: "I was not perfidious. I did not make my relatives unhappy. I did not abuse my slave. I did not cause hunger or weeping. I did not tamper with scales. I did not steal. I did not lie. I did not kill. I did not cause others to kill. I did not commit adultery nor self-pollution. I did not rob the gods of their offerings. I did not injure or kill the sacred cattle. I did not plunder the temples," etc., etc. Then the presiding judge (Osiris) says: "There is no evil or pollution in him, there is no accusation against him, he lives on truth, he feeds on truth, he gave bread to the hungry, water to the thirsty, garments to the naked, and a boat to him who needed one." The other forty-two gods, being next satisfied, chime in with Osiris in the following

chorus: "He has not sinned, neither hath he done evil against us. It shall not be allowed Ammit to prevail over him. Meat offerings and entrance into the presence of the god (Osiris) shall be granted him together with a homestead forever in the Fields of Peace." The Egyptian's idea of heaven was crude. The blessed soul was to be occupied in the next world, much as the happy man here on earth, with congenial labors, similar to those in the present life. Material pleasures and enjoyments of a carnal nature were to continue. His home was to be in a land of incomparable fertility. Even the amusements of earth were to continue. He was to meet his father, mother, wife, children, and near relatives.

It does not appear that the ancient Egyptians had a profound conviction of the exceeding sinfulness of sin. Thus like our modern rationalists he had no place in his creed for the doctrines of repentance, regeneration, redemption from sin, or a Saviour.

There are three recensions of The Book of the Dead: (1) The Heliopolitan, (2) the Theban, and (3) the Saïte. The Heliopolitan is the shortest and oldest, and exists in two styles of writing: the hieroglyphic proper and the cursive hieroglyphic. This recension is copied from the tombs of Sakkara and dates back to the fifth and six dynasties, though the cursive belongs to the eleventh and twelfth dynasties. The Theban recension takes its name from Thebes, the principal seat of the Amen-Ra worship. In substance this is the same, only greatly expanded or developed, as the Heliopolitan. It covers the period from the eighteenth to the twenty-second dynasties. It is written on coffins and on papyri. The Saïte takes its name from Saïs. This is the recension used during the Ptolemaic period, and is the last and completest form of The Book of the Dead. It is written in three styles of writing: Hieroglyphic, hieratic, and demotic, or popular, characters. The most beautiful copies are those of the Theban period. Some of them are very beautifully executed on fine papyri, reaching the enormous length of ninety feet or more, with a width of from twelve to eighteen inches. They are written in black ink, with titles, initial letters, and emphasized passages in red. They are further decorated with vignettes; of these, many are in bright colors, which, strange to say, have maintained their brightness and freshness to this day. The origin of this wonderful book is not clear. It may be of composite origin, partly Egyptian and partly Asiatic. It is probable that some portions of the chapters are of predynastic times, composed even before the art of writing was invented. There is evidence that parts of the book were unintelligible to copyists as early as B. C. 3500. The oldest copy on papyrus yet discovered is that of Hu-nefer, about B. C. 1600. This copy assigns parts of the book to the first dynasty. Like all sacred books it had a gradual growth, and exhibits additions and emendations everywhere. Complete copies commenced to become plentiful in the Saïte period, or about B. C. 700.

FOREIGN OUTLOOK.

SOME LEADERS OF THOUGHT.

Ludwig Ihmels. It is but recently that he has risen to prominence as a writer and thinker; but to-day he holds an acknowledged place. In a work published in 1901, entitled Die christliche Wahrheitsgewissheit, ihr letzter Grund und ihre Entstehung (The Assurance of the Truth of Christianity, Its Ground and Origin), he proves himself a man of real critical power and constructive ability. He maintains that whatever certainty attaches to Christian teaching must be primarily the certainty of experience and of faith in regard to an historical revelation. It is not founded on an aggregate of doctrinal statements, but upon the fact of our communion with God. This makes the certainty of Christian truth and the assurance of personal salvation inseparable facts. The assurance of communion with God can be attained only through the action of God upon the soul in such a way as to compel its acceptance as of divine origin. But while it is the certainty of experience it is also the assurance of faith, since the impression upon which the experience rests can, in the nature of the case, be received only in faith. The presupposition is that God himself awakens our faith by a revelatory act. The taking up into present experience of the past act or series of acts by which God revealed himself can be accomplished only by the aid of the testimony of the receivers of that past revelation, as this testimony is given in the Scriptures. But the Scripture writings have this peculiarity, that they are the product of the Holy Spirit and by the Holy Spirit are so impressed on the individual as to become to him the word of God. The order is not that the Christian is assured of the word of God as authoritative and then deduces the assurance of the truth of its contents. Rather must the contents of the Scripture be given to us in experience as the word of God by creative power. And this creative power is felt first of all in the sense of sin which the Scripture produces upon its readers. These may indeed have from the first a natural consciousness of sinfulness, but only the combination of holiness and love revealed in the Gospel can produce the experience of sin's awfulness as known to the Christian. This is followed by the impression of the saving love of God. The double experience of God as Judge and God as Saviour is a miracle, and by it the Christian is assured that the Scripture is the word of God. Ihmels is of the opinion that this proof of the truth of the contents of the Scripture is at the same time the proof to the Christian that in the Holy Scriptures we have the divinely wrought, original, and for all time valid testimony concerning the historical