Behold, the heart of her who had not opened her door to me was

grievously sad, for she knew not whether he (i.e., her son) would live

[or not], and although she went round about through her town uttering

cries [for help], there was none who came at [the sound of] her voice.

Now mine own heart was grievously sad for the sake of the child, and [I

wished] to make to live [again] him that was free from fault.

[Thereupon] I cried out to the noble lady, "Come to me. Come to me.

Verily my mouth (?) possesseth life. I am a daughter [well] known in

her town, [and I] can destroy the demon of death by the spell (or,

utterance) which my father taught me to know. I am his daughter, the

beloved [offspring] of his body."

Then Isis placed her two hands on the child in order to make to live him

whose throat was stopped, [and she said], "O poison of the scorpion

Tefent, come forth and appear on the ground! Thou shalt neither enter

nor penetrate [further into the body of the child]. O poison of the

scorpion Befent, come forth and appear on the ground! I am Isis, the

goddess, the lady (or, mistress) of words of power, and I am the maker

of words of power (i.e., spells), and I know how to utter words with

magical effect.[FN#214] Hearken ye unto me, O every reptile which

possesseth the power to bite (i.e., to sting), and fall headlong to the

ground! O poison of the scorpion Mestet, make no advance [into his

body]. O poison of the scorpion Mestetef, rise not up [in his body]. O

poison of the scorpions Petet and Thetet, penetrate not [into his body].

[O poison of] the scorpion Maatet (or, Martet), fall down on the

ground."

[FN#214] By uttering spells Isis restored life to her husband Osiris

for a season, and so became with child by him. She made a magical

figure of a reptile, and having endowed it with life, it stung Ra as he

passed through the sky, and the great god almost died. In Greek times

it was believed that she discovered a medicine which would raise the

dead, and she was reputed to be a great expert in the art of healing

men's sicknesses. As a goddess she appeared to the sick, and cured

them.

[Here follows the] "Chapter of the stinging [of scorpions]."

And Isis, the goddess, the great mistress of spells (or, words of

power), she who is at the head of the gods, unto whom the god Keb gave

his own magical spells for the driving away of poison at noon-day (?),

and for making poison to go back, and retreat, and withdraw, and go

backward, spake, saying, "Ascend not into heaven, through the command

of the beloved one of Ra, the egg of the Smen goose which cometh forth

from the sycamore. Verily my words are made to command the uttermost

limit of the night. I speak unto you, [O scorpions] I am alone and in

sorrow because our names will suffer disgrace throughout the nomes. Do

not make love, do not cry out to the Tesheru fiends, and cast no

glances upon the noble ladies in their houses. Turn your faces towards

the earth and [find out] the road, so that we may arrive at the hidden

places in the town of Khebt.[FN#215] Oh the child shall live and the

poison die! Ra liveth and the poison dieth! Verily Horus shall be in

good case (or, healthy) for his mother Isis. Verily he who is stricken

shall be in good case likewise."

[FN#215] The island of Chemmis of classical writers.

And the fire [which was in the house of Usert] was extinguished, and

heaven was satisfied with the utterance of Isis, the goddess.

Then the lady Usert came, and she brought unto me her possessions, and

she filled the house of the woman Tah (?), for the Ka of Tah

(?) because [she] had opened to me her door. Now the lady Usert

suffered pain and anguish the whole night, and her mouth tasted (i.e.,

felt) the sting [which] her son [had suffered]. And she brought her

possessions as the penalty for not having opened the door to me. Oh

the child shall live and the poison die! Verily Horus shall be in good

case for his mother Isis. Verily everyone who is stricken shall be in

good case likewise.

Lo, a bread-cake [made] of barley meal shall drive out (or, destroy)

the poison, and natron shall make it to withdraw, and the fire [made]

of hetchet-plant shall drive out (or, destroy) fever-heat from the

limbs.

"O Isis, O Isis, come thou to thy Horus, O thou woman of the wise

mouth! Come to thy son"--thus cried the gods who dwelt in her quarter

of the town--"for he is as one whom a scorpion hath stung, and like

one whom the scorpion Uhat, which the animal Antesh drove away, hath

wounded."

[Then] Isis ran out like one who had a knife [stuck] in her body, and

she opened her arms wide, [saying] "Behold me, behold me, my son Horus,

have no fear, have no fear, O son my glory! No evil thing of any kind

whatsoever shall happen unto thee, [for] there is in thee the essence

(or, fluid) which made the things which exist. Thou art the son from

the country of Mesqet,[FN#216] [thou hast] come forth from the

celestial waters Nu, and thou shalt not die by the heat of the poison.

Thou wast the Great Bennu,[FN#217] who art born (or, produced) or; the

top of the balsam-trees[FN#218] which are in the House of the Aged One

in Anu (Heliopolis). Thou art the brother of the Abtu Fish,[FN#219]

who orderest what is to be, and art the nursling of the Cat[FN#220] who

dwelleth in the House of Neith. The goddess Reret,[FN#221] the goddess

Hat, and the god Bes protect thy members. Thy head shall not fall to

the Tchat fiend that attacketh thee. Thy members shall not receive the

fire of that which is thy poison. Thou shalt not go backwards on the

land, and thou shalt not be brought low on the water. No reptile which

biteth (or, stingeth) shall gain the mastery over thee, and no lion

shall subdue thee or have dominion over thee. Thou art the son of the

sublime god 82 who proceeded from Keb. Thou art Horus, and the poison

shall not gain the mastery over thy members. Thou art the son of the

sublime god who proceeded from Keb, and thus likewise shall it be with

those who are under the knife. And the four august goddesses shall

protect thy members."

[FN#216] Mesqet was originally the name of the bull's skin in which

the deceased was wrapped in order to secure for him the now life; later

the name was applied to the Other World generally. {See Book of the

Dead, Chap. xvii. 121.}

[FN#217] The Bennu who kept the book of destiny. See Book of the Dead,

Chap. xvii. 25.

[FN#218] These are the balsam-trees for which Heliopolis has been

always famous. They are described by Wansleben, L'Histoire de

l'Eglise, pp. 88-93, and by 'Abd al-Latif (ed. de Sacy), p. 88.

[FN#219] The Abtu and Ant Fishes swam before the Boat of Ra and guided

it.

[FN#220] This is the Cat who lived by the Persea tree in Heliopolis.

See Book of the Dead, Chap. xvii. 18.

[FN#221] A hippopotamus goddess.

[Here the narrative is interrupted by the following texts:]

[I am] he who rolleth up into the sky, and who goeth down (i.e.,

setteth) in the Tuat, whose form is in the House of height, through

whom when he openeth his Eye the light cometh into being, and when he

closeth his Eye it becometh night. [I am] the Water-god Het when he

giveth commands, whose name is unknown to the gods. I illumine the Two

Lands, night betaketh itself to flight, and I shine by day and by

night.[FN#222] I am the Bull of Bakha[FN#223], and the Lion of

Manu[FN#224]. I am he who traverseth the heavens by day and by night

without being repulsed. I have come 85 by reason of the voice (or,

cry) of the son of Isis. Verily the blind serpent Na hath bitten the

Bull. O thou poison which floweth through every member of him that is

under the knife, come forth, I charge thee, upon the ground. Behold,

he that is under the knife shall not be bitten. Thou art Menu, the

Lord of Coptos, the child of the White Shat[FN#225] which is in Anu

(Heliopolis), which was bitten [by a reptile]. O Menu, Lord of Coptos,

give thou air unto him that is under the knife; and air shall be given

to thee. Hail, divine father and minister of the god Nebun, [called]

Mer-Tem, son of the divine father and minister of the god Nebun, scribe

of the Water-god Het, [called] Ankh-Semptek (sic), son of the lady of

the house Tent-Het-nub! He restored this inscription after he had

found it in a ruined state in the Temple of Osiris-Mnevis, because he

wished to make to live her name . . . . . . . . . . and to give air

unto him that is under [the knife], and to give life unto the ancestors

of all the gods. And his Lord Osiris-Mnevis shall make long his life

with happiness of heart, [and shall give him] a beautiful burial after

[attaining to] an old age, because of what he hath done for the Temple

of Osiris-Mnevis.

[FN#222] i.e., always.

[FN#223] The land of the sunrise, the East.

[FN#224] The land of the sunset, the West.

[FN#225] Perhaps an animal of the Lynx class.

89. Horus was bitten (i.e., stung) in Sekhet-An, to the north of Hetep-

hemt, whilst his mother Isis was in the celestial houses making a

libation for her brother Osiris. And Horus sent forth his cry into the

horizon, and it was heard by those who were in . . . . . . Thereupon

the keepers of the doors who were in the [temple of] the holy Acacia

Tree started up at the voice of Horus. And one sent forth a cry of

lamentation, and Heaven gave the order that Horus was to be healed.

And [the gods] took counsel [together] concerning the life [of Horus,

saying,] "O goddess Pai(?), O god Asten, who dwellest in Aat-Khus(?)

. . . . .[FN#226] thy . . . . . . enter in . . . . . lord of sleep . .

. . . . the child Horus. Oh, Oh, bring thou the things which are thine

to cut off the poison which is in every member of Horus, the son of

Isis, and which is in every member of him that is under the knife

likewise."

[FN#226] The text appears to be corrupt in this passage.

101. A HYMN OF PRAISE TO HORUS TO GLORIFY HIM, WHICH IS TO BE SAID 102

OVER THE WATERS AND OVER THE LAND.

Thoth speaketh and this god reciteth [the following]:--

"Homage to thee, god, son of a god. Homage to thee, heir, son of an

heir. Homage to thee, bull, son of a bull, who wast brought forth by a

holy goddess. Homage to thee, Horus, who comest forth from Osiris, and

wast brought forth by the goddess Isis. I recite thy words of power, I

speak with thy magical utterance. I pronounce a spell in thine own

words, which thy heart hath created, and all the spells and

incantations which have come forth from thy mouth, which thy father Keb

commanded thee [to recite], and thy mother Nut gave to thee, and the

majesty of the Governor of Sekhem taught thee to make use of for thy

protection, in order to double (or, repeat) thy protective formulae, to

shut the mouth of every reptile which is in heaven, and on the earth,

and in the waters, to make men and women to live, to make the gods to

be at peace [with thee], and to make Ra to employ his magical spells

through thy chants of praise. Come to me this day, quickly, quickly,

as thou workest the paddle of the Boat of the god. Drive thou away

from me every lion on the plain, and every crocodile in the waters, and

all mouths which bite (or, sting) in their holes. Make thou them

before me like the stone of the mountain, like a broken pot lying about

in a quarter of the town. Dig thou out from me the poison which riseth

and is in every member of him that is under the knife. Keep thou watch

over him . . . . . . by means of thy words. Verily let thy name be

invoked this day. Let thy power (qefau) come into being in him. Exalt

thou thy magical powers. Make me to live and him whose throat is

closed up. Then shall mankind give thee praise, and the righteous (?)

shall give thanks unto thy forms. And all the gods likewise shall

invoke thee, and in truth thy name shall be invoked this day. I am

Horus [of] Shet[enu] (?).

"O thou who art in the cavern,[FN#227] O thou who art in the cavern. O

thou who art at the mouth of the cavern. O thou who art on the way, O

thou who art on the way. O thou who art at the mouth of the way. He

is Urmer (Mnevis) who approacheth every man and every beast. He is

like the god Sep who is in Anu (Heliopolis). He is the Scorpion-[god]

who is in the Great House (Het-ur). Bite him not, for he is Ra. Sting

him not, for he is Thoth. Shoot ye not your poison over him, for he is

Nefer-Tem. O every male serpent, O every female serpent, O every

antesh (scorpion?) which bite with your mouths, and sting with your

tails, bite ye him not with your mouths, and sting ye him not with your

tails. Get ye afar off from him, make ye not your fire to be against

him, for he is the son of Osiris. Vomit ye. [Say] four times:--

"I am Thoth, I have come from heaven to make protection of Horus, and

to drive away the poison of the scorpion which is in every member of

Horus. Thy head is to thee, Horus; it shall be stable under the Urert

Crown. Thine eye is to thee, Horus, [for] thou art Horus, the son of

Keb, the Lord of the Two Eyes, in the midst of the Company [of the

gods]. Thy nose is to thee, Horus, [for] thou art Horus the Elder, the

son of Ra, and thou shalt not inhale the fiery wind. Thine arm is to

thee, Horus, great is thy strength to slaughter the enemies of thy

father. Thy two thighs[FN#228] are to thee, Horus. Receive thou the

rank and dignity of thy father Osiris. Ptah hath balanced for thee thy

mouth on the day of thy birth. Thy heart (or, breast) is to thee,

Horus, and the Disk maketh thy protection. Thine eye is to thee,

Horus; thy right eye is like Shu, and thy left eye like Tefnut, who are

the children of Ra. Thy belly is to thee, Horus, and the Children are

the gods who are therein, and they shall not receive the essence (or,

fluid) of the scorpion. Thy strength is to thee, Horus, and the

strength of Set shall not exist against thee. Thy phallus is to thee,

Horus, and thou art Kamutef, the protector of his father, who maketh an

answer for his children in the course of every day. Thy thighs are to

thee, Horus, and thy strength shall slaughter the enemies of thy

father. Thy calves are to thee, Horus; the god Khnemu hath builded

[them], and the goddess Isis hath covered them with flesh. The soles

of thy feet are to thee, Horus, and the nations who fight with the bow

(Peti) fall under thy feet. Thou rulest the South, North, West, and

East, and thou seest like Ra. [Say] four times. And likewise him that

is under the knife."

[FN#227] Or, den or hole.

[FN#228] We ought, perhaps, to translate this as "forearms."

Beautiful god, Senetchem-ab-Ra-setep-[en]-Amen, son of Ra, Nekht-Heru-

Hebit, thou art protected, and the gods and goddesses are protected,

and conversely. Beautiful god, Senetchem-ab-Ra-setep-[en]-Ra, son of

Ra, Nekht-Heru-Hebit, thou art protected, and Heru-Shet[enu], the great

god, is protected, and conversely.

ANOTHER CHAPTER LIKE UNTO IT. "Fear not, fear not, O Bast, the strong

of heart, at the head of the holy field, the mighty one among all the

gods, nothing shall gain the mastery over thee. Come thou outside,

following my speech (or, mouth), O evil poison which is in all the

members of the lion (or, cat) which is under the knife."

[The narrative of the stinging of Horus by a scorpion is continued

thus]:

"I am Isis, who conceived a child by her husband, and she became heavy

with Horus, the divine [child]. I gave birth to Horus, the son of

Osiris, in a nest of papyrus plants.[FN#229] I rejoiced exceedingly

over this, because I saw [in him one] who would make answer for his

father. I hid him, and I concealed him through fear of that [fiend

(?)].[FN#230] I went away to the city of Am, [where] the people gave

thanks [for me] through [their] fear of my making trouble [for them].

I passed the day in seeking to provide food for the child, [and] on

returning to take Horus into my arms I found him, Horus, the beautiful

one of gold, the boy, the child, without [life]. He had bedewed the

ground with the water of his eye, and with foam from his lips. His

body was motionless, his heart was powerless to move, and the sinews

(or, muscles) of his members were [helpless]. I sent forth a cry,

[saying]:

[FN#229] Or, Ateh, the papyrus swamp.

[FN#230] i.e., Set.

"'I, even I, lack a son to make answer [for me].[FN#231] [My] two

breasts are full to overflowing, [but] my body is empty. [My] mouth

wished for that which concerned him.[FN#232] A cistern of water and a

stream of the inundation was I. The child was the desire of my heart,

and I longed to protect him (?). I carried him in my womb, I gave birth

to him, I endured the agony of the birth pangs, I was all alone, and

the great ones were afraid of disaster and to come out at the sound of

my voice. My father is in the Tuat,[FN#233] my mother is in

Aqert,[FN#234] and my elder brother is in the sarcophagus. Think of

the enemy and of how prolonged was the wrath of his heart against me,

[when] I, the great lady, was in his house.'

[FN#231] i.e., to be my advocate.

[FN#232] Literally "his thing."

[FN#233] Tuat is a very ancient name of the Other World, which was

situated either parallel with Egypt or across the celestial ocean which

surrounded the world.

[FN#234] The "perfect place," i.e., the Other World.

"I cried then, [saying,] 'Who among the people will indeed let their

hearts come round to me?' I cried then to those who dwelt in the

papyrus swamps (or, Ateh), and they inclined to me straightway. And

the people came forth to me from their houses, and they thronged about

me at [the sound of] my voice, and they loudly bewailed with me the

greatness of my affliction. There was no man there who set restraint

(?) on his mouth, every person among them lamented with great

lamentation. There was none there who knew how to make [my child] to

live.

"And there came forth unto me a woman who was [well] known in her city,

a lady who was mistress of her [own] estate.[FN#235] She came forth to

me. Her mouth possessed life, and her heart was filled with the matter

which was therein, [and she said,] 'Fear not, fear not, O son Horus!

Be not cast down, be not cast down, O mother of the god. The child of

the Olive-tree is by the mountain of his brother, the bush is hidden,

and no enemy shall enter therein. The word of power of Tem, the Father

of the gods, who is in heaven, maketh to live. Set shall not enter

into this region, he shall not go round about it. The marsh of Horus

of the Olive-tree is by the mountain of his brother; those who are in

his following shall not at any time . . . . . . it. This shall happen

to him: Horus shall live for his mother, and shall salute (?) [her]

with his mouth. A scorpion hath smitten (i.e., stung) him, and the

reptile Aun-ab hath wounded him.'"

[FN#235] Or perhaps, "a lady who was at the head of her district."

Then Isis placed her nose in his mouth[FN#236] so that she might know

whether he who was in his coffin breathed, and she examined the

wound[FN#237] of the heir of the god, and she found that there was

poison in it. She threw her arms round him, and then quickly she

leaped about with him like fish when they are laid upon the hot coals,

[saying]:

[FN#236] i.e., the mouth of Horus.

[FN#237] Literally, "pain" or "disease."

"Horus is bitten, O Ra. Thy son is bitten, [O Osiris]. Horus is

bitten, the flesh and blood of the Heir, the Lord of the diadems (?) of

the kingdoms of Shu. Horus is bitten, the Boy of the marsh city of

Ateh, the Child in the House of the Prince. The beautiful Child of

gold is bitten, the Babe hath suffered pain and is not.[FN#238] Horus

is bitten, he the son of Un-Nefer, who was born of Auh-mu (?). Horus

is bitten, he in whom there was nothing abominable, the son, the youth

among the gods. Horus is bitten, he for whose wants I prepared in

abundance, for I saw that he would make answer[FN#239] for his father.

Horus is bitten, he for whom [I] had care [when he was] in the hidden

woman [and for whom I was afraid when he was] in the womb of his

mother. Horus is bitten, he whom I guarded to look upon. I have

wished for the life of his heart. Calamity hath befallen the child on

the water, and the child hath perished."

[FN#238] He is nothing, i.e., he is dead.

[FN#239] i.e., become an advocate for.

Then came Nephthys shedding tears and uttering cries of lamentation, and

going round about through the papyrus swamps. And Serq [came also and

they said]: "Behold, behold, what hath happened to Horus, son of Isis,

and who [hath done it]? Pray then to heaven, and let the mariners of Ra

cease their labours for a space, for the Boat of Ra cannot travel

onwards [whilst] son Horus [lieth dead] on his place."

And Isis sent forth her voice into heaven, and made supplication to the

Boat of Millions of Years, and the Disk stopped[FN#240] in its

journeying, and moved not from the place whereon it rested. Then came

forth Thoth, who is equipped with his spells (or, words of power), and

possesseth the great word of command of maa-kheru,[FN#241] [and said:]

"What [aileth thee], what [aileth thee], O Isis, thou goddess who hast

magical spells, whose mouth hath understanding? Assuredly no evil

thing hath befallen [thy] son Horus, [for] the Boat of Ra hath him

under its protection. I have come this day in the Divine Boat of the

Disk from the place where it was yesterday,--now darkness came and the

light was destroyed--in order to heal Horus for his mother Isis and

every person who is under the knife likewise."

[FN#240] Literally, "alighted."

[FN#241] When a god or a man was declared to be maa-kheru, "true of

voice," or "true of word," his power became illimitable. It gave him

rule and authority, and every command uttered by him was immediately

followed by the effect required.

And Isis, the goddess, said: "O Thoth, great things [are in] thy heart,

[but] delay belongeth to thy plan. Hast thou come equipped with thy

spells and incantations, and having the great formula of maa-kheru, and

one [spell] after the other, the numbers whereof are not known? Verily

Horus is in the cradle(?) of the poison. Evil, evil is his case,

death, [and] misery to the fullest [extent]. The cry of his mouth is

towards his mother(?). I cannot [bear] to see these things in his

train. My heart [hath not] rested because of them since the

beginning(?) [when] I made haste to make answer [for] Horus-Ra (?),

placing [myself] on the earth, [and] since the day [when] I was taken

possession of by him. I desired Neheb-ka . . . . . . ."

[And Thoth said:] "Fear not, fear not, O goddess Isis, fear not, fear

not, O Nephthys, and let not anxiety [be to you]. I have come from

heaven having life to heal(?) the child for his mother, Horus is . . .

Let thy heart be firm;[FN#242] he shall not sink under the flame.

Horus is protected as the Dweller in his Disk,[FN#243] who lighteth up

the Two Lands by the splendour of his two Eyes;[FN#244] and he who is

under the knife is likewise protected. Horus is protected as the

First-born son in heaven,[FN#245] who is ordained to be the guide of

the things which exist and of the things which are not yet created; and

he who under the knife is protected likewise. Horus is protected as

that great Dwarf (nemu)[FN#246] who goeth round about the Two Lands in

the darkness; and he who is under the knife is protected likewise.

Horus is protected as the Lord (?) in the night, who revolveth at the

head of the Land of the Sunset (Manu); and he who is under the knife is

protected likewise. Horus is protected as the Mighty Ram[FN#247] who

is hidden, and who goeth round about in front of his Eyes; and he who

is under the knife is protected likewise. Horus is protected as the

Great Hawk[FN#248] which flieth through heaven, earth, and the Other

World (Tuat); and he who is under the knife is protected likewise.

Horus is protected as the Holy Beetle, the mighty (?) wings of which

are at the head of the sky;[FN#249] and he who is under the knife is

protected likewise. Horus is protected as the Hidden Body,[FN#250] and

as he whose mummy is in his sarcophagus; and he who is under the knife

is protected likewise. Horus is protected [as the Dweller] in the

Other World [and in the] Two Lands, who goeth round about 'Those who

are over Hidden Things'; and he who is under the knife is protected

likewise. Horus is protected as the Divine Bennu[FN#251] who alighteth

in front of his two Eyes; and he who is under the knife is protected

likewise. Horus is protected 230 in his own body, and the spells which

his mother Isis hath woven protect him. Horus is protected by the

names of his father [Osiris] in his forms in the nomes;[FN#252] and he

who is under the knife is protected likewise. Horus is protected by

the weeping of his mother, and by the cries of grief of his brethren;

and he who is under the knife is protected likewise. Horus is

protected by his own name and heart, and the gods go round about him to

make his funeral bed; and he who is under the knife is protected

likewise."

[FN#242] i.e., "Be of good courage."

[FN#243] The Sun-god.

[FN#244] The Sun and Moon.

[FN#245] Osiris (?).

[FN#246] Bes (?).

[FN#247] Probably the Ram, Lord of Tattu, or the Ram of Mendes.

[FN#248] Heru-Behutet.

[FN#249] The beetle of Khepera, a form of the Sun-god when he is about

to rise on this earth.

[FN#250] The Hidden Body is Osiris, who lay in his sarcophagus, with

Isis and Nephthys weeping over it.

[FN#251] The Bennu was the soul of Ra and the incarnation of Osiris.

[FN#252] See the names of Osiris and his sanctuaries in Chapter CXLII.

of the Book of the Dead.

[And Thoth said:]

"Wake up, Horus! Thy protection is established. Make thou happy the

heart of thy mother Isis. The words of Horus shall bind up hearts, he

shall cause to be at peace him who is in affliction. Let your hearts

be happy, O ye who dwell in the heavens (Nut). Horus, he who hath

avenged (or, protected) his father shall cause the poison to retreat.

Verily that which is in the mouth of Ra shall go round about (i.e.,

circulate), and the tongue of the Great God shall repulse

[opposition]. The Boat [of Ra] standeth still, and travelleth not

onwards. The Disk is in the [same] place where it was yesterday to

heal Horus for his mother Isis, and to heal him that is under the knife

of his mother[FN#253] likewise. Come to the earth, draw nigh, O Boat

of Ra, make the boat to travel, O mariners of heaven, transport

provisions (?) of . . . . . . Sekhem[FN#254] to heal Horus for his

mother Isis, and to heal him that is under the knife of his mother

likewise. Hasten away, O pain which is in the region round about, and

let it (i.e., the Boat) descend upon the place where it was yesterday

to heal Horus for his mother Isis, and to heal him that is under the

knife of his mother likewise. Get thee round and round, O bald (?)

fiend, without horns at the seasons (?), not seeing the forms through

the shadow of the two Eyes, to heal Horus for his mother Isis, and to

heal him that is under the knife likewise. Be filled, O two halves of

heaven, be empty, O papyrus roll, return, O life, into the living to

heal Horus for his it mother Isis, and to heal him that is under the

knife likewise. Come thou to earth, O poison. Let hearts be glad, and

let radiance (or, light) go round about.

[FN#253] We should probably strike out the words "of his mother."

[FN#254] The city in the Delta called by the Greeks Letopolis.

"I am Thoth,[FN#255] the firstborn son, the son of Ra, and Tem and the

Company of the gods have commanded me to heal Horus for his mother

Isis, and to heal him that is under the knife likewise. O Horus, O

Horus, thy Ka protecteth thee, and thy Image worketh protection for

thee. The poison is as the daughter of its [own] flame; [it is]

destroyed [because] it smote the strong son. Your temples are in good

condition for you, [for] Horus liveth for his mother, and he who is

under the knife likewise."

[FN#255] Thoth stood by during the fight between Horus and Set, and

healed the wounds which they inflicted on each other.

And the goddess Isis said:

"Set thou his face towards those who dwell in the North Land (Ateh),

the nurses who dwell in the city Pe-Tept (Buto), for they have offered

very large offerings in order to cause the child to be made strong for

his mother, and to make strong him that is under the knife likewise.

Do not allow them to recognize the divine Ka in the Swamp Land, in the

city (?) of Nemhettu (?) [and] in her city."

Then spake Thoth unto the great gods who dwell in the Swamp-Land

[saying]: "O ye nurses who dwell in the city of Pe, who smite [fiends]

with your hands, and overthrow [them] with your arms on behalf of that

Great One who appeareth in front of you [in] the Sektet Boat,[FN#256]

let the Matet[FN#257] (Mantchet) Boat travel on. Horus is to you, he

is counted up for life, and he is declared for the life of his father

[Osiris]. I have given gladness unto those who are in the Sektet Boat,

and the mariners [of Ra] make it to journey on. Horus liveth for his

mother Isis and he who is under the knife liveth for his mother

likewise. As for the poison, the strength thereof has been made

powerless. Verily I am a favoured one, and I will join myself to his

hour[FN#258] to hurl back the report of evil to him that sent it forth.

The heart of Ra-Heru-Khuti rejoiceth. Thy son Horus is counted up for

life [which is] on this child to make him to smite, and to retreat (?)

from those who are above, and to turn back the paths of the Sebiu

fiends from him, so that he may take possession of the throne of the

Two Lands. Ra is in heaven to make answer on 251 behalf of him and his

father. The words of power of his mother have lifted up his face, and

they protect him and enable him to go round about wheresoever he

pleaseth, and to set the terror of him in celestial beings. I have

made haste . . . . . ."

[FN#256] The boat in which Ra travelled from noon to sunset, or

perhaps until midnight.

[FN#257] The boat in which Ra travelled from dawn, or perhaps from

midnight, to noon.

[FN#258] i.e., I will be with him at the moment of his need.

THE HISTORY OF ISIS AND OSIRIS,

WITH EXPLANATIONS OF THE SAME, COLLECTED BY PLUTARCH, AND SUPPLEMENTED

BY HIS OWN VIEWS.

I. Though it be the wise man's duty, O Clea,[FN#259] to apply to the

gods for every good thing which he hopes to enjoy, yet ought he more

especially to pray to them for their assistance in his search after

that knowledge which more immediately regards themselves, as far as

such knowledge may be attained, inasmuch as there is nothing which they

can bestow more truly beneficial to mankind, or more worthy themselves,

than truth. For whatever other good things are indulged to the wants

of men, they have all, properly speaking, no relation to, and are of a

nature quite different from, that of their divine donors. For 'tis not

the abundance of their gold and silver, nor the command of the thunder,

but wisdom and knowledge which constitute the power and happiness of

those heavenly beings. It is therefore well observed by Homer (Iliad,

xiii. 354), and indeed with more propriety than be usually talks of the

gods, when, speaking of Zeus and Poseidon, he tells us that both were

descended from the same parents, and born in the same region, but that

Zeus was the elder and knew most; plainly intimating thereby that the

empire of the former was more august and honourable than that of his

brother, as by means of his age he was his superior, and more advanced

in wisdom and science. Nay, 'tis my opinion, I own, that even the

blessedness of that eternity which is the portion of the Deity himself

consists in that universal knowledge of all nature which accompanies

it; for setting this aside, eternity might be more properly styled an

endless duration than an enjoyment of existence.

[FN#259] She is said to have been a priestess of Isis and of Apollo

Delphicus.

II. To desire, therefore, and covet after truth, those truths more

especially which concern the divine nature, is to aspire to be

partakers of that nature itself, and to profess that all our studies

and inquiries are devoted to the acquisition of holiness. This

occupation is surely more truly religious than any external

purifications or mere service of the temple can be. But more

especially must such a disposition of mind be highly acceptable to that

goddess to whose service you are dedicated, for her especial

characteristics are wisdom and foresight, and her very name seems to

express the peculiar relation which she bears to knowledge. For

"Isis"[FN#260] is a Greek word, and means "knowledge," and

"Typhon,"[FN#261] the name of her professed adversary, is also a Greek

word, and means "pride and insolence." This latter name is well

adapted to one who, full of ignorance and error, tears in pieces and

conceals that holy doctrine which the goddess collects, compiles, and

delivers to those who aspire after the most perfect participation in

the divine nature. This doctrine inculcates a steady perseverance in

one uniform and temperate course of life, and an abstinence from

particular kinds of foods, as well as from all indulgence of the carnal

appetite, and it restrains the intemperate and voluptuous part within

due bounds, and at the same time habituates her votaries to undergo

those austere and rigid ceremonies which their religion obliges them to

observe. The end and aim of all these toils and labours is the

attainment of the knowledge of the First and Chief Being, who alone is

the object of the understanding of the mind; and this knowledge the

goddess invites us to seek after, as being near and dwelling

continually with her. And this also is what the very name of her

temple promiseth to us, that is to say, the knowledge and understanding

of the eternal and self-existent Being (tou ontas)-now, it is called

"Iseion," which suggests that if we approach the temple of the goddess

rightly, and with purity, we shall obtain the knowledge of that eternal

and self-existent Being (to on).

[FN#260] The Egyptian form of the name is As-T, ####, ####, or ####.

Plutarch wishes to derive the name from some form of {greek oida}.

[FN#261] In Egyptian, Tebh.

III. The goddess Isis is said by some authors to be the

daughter[FN#262] of Hermes, [FN#263] and by others of Prometheus, both

of them famous for their philosophic turn of mind. The latter is

supposed to have first taught mankind wisdom and foresight, as the

former is reputed to have invented letters and music.

[FN#262] According to the Egyptian Heliopolitan doctrine, Isis was the

daughter of Keb, the Earth-god, and Nut, the Sky-goddess; she was the

wife of Osiris, mother of Horus, and sister of Set and Nephthys.

[FN#263] The Egyptian. Tehuti, or Thoth, who invented letters,

mathematics, &c. He was the "heart of Ra," the scribe of the gods, and

he uttered the words which created the world; he composed the "words of

power," or magical formulae which were beneficial for the dead, and the

religious works which were used by souls in their journey from this

world to the next.

They likewise call the former of the two Muses at Hermopolis[FN#264]

Isis as well as Dikaiosune,[FN#265] she being none other, it is said,

than Wisdom pointing out the knowledge of divine truths to her

votaries, the true Hierophori and Hierostoli. Now, by the former of

these are meant such who carry about them looked up in their souls, as

in a chest, the sacred doctrine concerning the gods, purified from all

such superfluities as superstition may have added thereto. And the

holy apparel with which the Hierostoli adorn the statues of these

deities, which is partly of a dark and gloomy and partly of a more

bright and shining colour, seems aptly enough to represent the notions

which this doctrine teaches us to entertain of the divine nature

itself, partly clear and partly obscure. And inasmuch as the devotees

of Isis after their decease are wrapped up in these sacred vestments,

is not this intended to signify that this holy doctrine still abides

with them, and that this alone accompanies them in another life? For

as 'tis not the length of the beard or the coarseness of the habit

which makes a philosopher, so neither will these frequent shavings, or

the mere wearing of a linen vestment, constitute a votary of Isis. He

alone is a true servant or follower of this goddess who, after he has

heard, and has been made acquainted in a proper manner with the history

of the actions of these gods, searches into the hidden truths which lie

concealed under them, and examines the whole by the dictates of reason

and philosophy.

[FN#264] The Hermopolis here referred to is the city of Khemenu in

Upper Egypt, wherein was the great sanctuary of Thoth.

[FN#265] i.e., Righteousness, or Justice. The goddess referred to is

probably Maat.

IV. Nor, indeed, ought such an examination to be looked on as

unnecessary whilst there are so many ignorant of the true reason even

of the most ordinary rites observed by the Egyptian priests, such as

their shavings[FN#266] and wearing linen garments. Some, indeed, there

are who never trouble themselves to think at all about these matters,

whilst others rest satisfied with the most superficial accounts of

them: "They pay a peculiar veneration to the sheep,[FN#267] therefore

they think it their duty not only to abstain from eating its flesh, but

likewise from wearing its wool. They are continually mourning for

their gods, therefore they shave themselves. The light azure blossom

of the flax resembles the clear and bloomy colour of the ethereal sky,

therefore they wear linen"; whereas the true reason of the institution

and observation of these rites is but one, and that common to all of

them, namely, the extraordinary notions which they entertain of

cleanliness, persuaded as they are, according to the saying of Plato,

"none but the pure ought to approach the pure." Now, no superfluity of

our food, and no excrementitious substance, is looked upon by them as

pure and clean; such, however, are all kinds of wool and down, our hair

and our nails. It would be the highest absurdity, therefore, for those

who, whilst; they are in a course of purification, are at so much pains

to take off the hair from every part of their own bodies, at the same

time to clothe themselves with that of other animals. So when we are

told by Hesiod "not to pare our nails whilst we are present at the

festivals of the gods,"[FN#268] we ought to understand that he intended

hereby to inculcate that purity wherewith we ought to come prepared

before we enter upon any religious duty, that we have not to make

ourselves clean whilst we ought to be occupied in attending to the

solemnity itself. Now, with regard to flax, this springs out of the

immortal earth itself; and not only produces a fruit fit for food, but

moreover furnishes a light and neat sort of clothing, extremely

agreeable to the wearer, adapted to all the seasons of the year, and

not in the least subject, as is said, to produce or nourish vermin; but

more of this in another place.

[FN#266] A rubric in the papyrus of Nes-Menu in the British Museum

orders the priestesses of Isis and Nephthys to have "the hair of their

bodies shaved off" (No. 10,188, col. 1), but they are also ordered to

wear fillets of rams' wool on their heads.

[FN#267] Probably the ram of Amen. Animal sacrifices were invariably

bulls and cows.

[FN#268] This saying is by Pythagoras--{greek Para dusian

mh`onuxizou}. The saying of Hesiod (Works and Days, 740) is rendered

by Goodwin:--

"Not at a feast of Gods from five-branched tree,

With sharp-edged steel to part the green from dry."

V. Now, the priests are so scrupulous in endeavouring to avoid

everything which may tend to the increase of the above-mentioned

excrementitious substances, that, on this account, they abstain not

only from most sorts of pulse, and from the flesh of sheep and swine,

but likewise, in their more solemn purifications, they even exclude

salt from their meals. This they do for many reasons, but chiefly

because it whets their appetites, and incites them to eat more than

they otherwise would. Now, as to salt being accounted impure because,

as Aristagoras tells us, many little insects are caught in it whilst it

is hardening, and are thereby killed therein-this view is wholly

trifling and absurd. From these same motives also they give the Apis

Bull his water from a well specially set apart for the purpose,[FN#269]

and they prevent him altogether from drinking of the Nile, not indeed

that they regard the river as impure, and polluted because of the

crocodiles which are in it, as some pretend, for there is nothing which

the Egyptians hold in greater veneration than the Nile, but because its

waters are observed to be particularly nourishing[FN#270] and

fattening. And they strive to prevent fatness in Apis as well as in

themselves, for they are anxious that their bodies should sit as light

and easy about their souls as possible, and that their mortal part

should not oppress and weigh down the divine and immortal.

[FN#269] It is quite possible that Apis drank from a special well, but

the water in it certainly came from the Nile by infiltration. In all

the old wells at Memphis the water sinks as the Nile sinks, and rises

as it rises.

[FN#270] On account of the large amount of animal matter contained in

it.

VI. The priests of the Sun at Heliopolis[FN#271] never carry wine into

their temples, for they regard it as indecent for those who are devoted

to the service of any god to indulge in the drinking of wine whilst

they are under the immediate inspection of their Lord and King.[FN#272]

The priests of the other deities are not so scrupulous in this respect,

for they use it, though sparingly. During their more solemn

purifications they abstain from wine wholly, and they give themselves

up entirely to study and meditation, and to the hearing and teaching of

those divine truths which treat of the divine nature. Even the kings,

who are likewise priests, only partake of wine in the measure which is

prescribed for them in the sacred books, as we are told by Hecataeus.

This custom was only introduced during the reign of Psammetichus, and

before that time they drank no wine at all. If they used it at any

time in pouring out libations to the gods, it was not because they

looked upon it as being acceptable to them for its own sake, but they

poured it out over their altars as the blood of their enemies who had

in times past fought against them. For they believe the vine to have

first sprung out of the earth after it was fattened by the bodies of

those who fell in the wars against the gods. And this, they say, is

the reason why drinking its juice in great quantities makes men mad and

beside themselves, filling them, as it were, with the blood of their

own ancestors. These things are thus related by Eudoxus in the second

book of his Travels, as he had them from the priests themselves.

[FN#271] Called ANU in the Egyptian texts; it was the centre of the

great solar cult of Egypt. It is the "On" of the Bible.

[FN#272] The Sun-god was called Ra.

VII. As to sea-fish, the Egyptians in general do not abstain from all

kinds of them, but some from one sort and some from another. Thus, for

example, the inhabitants of Oxyrhynchus[FN#273] will not touch any that

have been taken with an angle; for as they pay especial reverence to

the Oxyrhynchus Fish,[FN#274] from whence they derive their name, they

are afraid lest perhaps the hook may be defiled by having been at some

time or other employed in catching their favourite fish. The people of

Syene[FN#275] in like manner abstain from the Phagrus Fish[FN#276]; for

as this fish is observed by them to make his first appearance upon

their coasts just as the Nile begins to overflow, they pay special

regard to these voluntary messengers as it were of that most joyful

news. The priests, indeed, entirely abstain from all sorts in

general.[FN#277] Therefore, upon the ninth day of the first month,

when all the rest of the Egyptians are obliged by their religion to eat

a fried fish before the door of their houses, they only burn them, not

tasting them at all. For this custom they give two reasons: the first

and most curious, as falling in with the sacred philosophy of Osiris

and Typhon, will be more properly explained in another place. The

second, that which is most obvious and manifest, is that fish is

neither a dainty nor even a necessary kind of food, a fact which seems

to be abundantly confirmed by the writings of Homer, who never makes

either the delicate Pheacians or the Ithacans (though both peoples were

islanders) to feed upon fish, nor even the companions of Ulysses during

their long and most tedious voyage, till they were reduced thereto by

extreme necessity. In short, they consider the sea to have been forced

out of the earth by the power of fire, and therefore to lie out of

nature's confines; and they regard it not as a part of the world, or

one of the elements, but as a preternatural and corrupt and morbid

excrement.

[FN#273] The Per-Matchet.

[FN#274] Probably the pike, or "fighting fish."

[FN#275] In Egyptian, SUNU, the Seweneh of the Bible, and the modern

Aswan.

[FN#276] A kind of bream, the an of the Egyptian texts.

[FN#277] Compare Chap. CXXXVIIA of the Book of the Dead. "And behold,

these things shall be performed by a man who is clean, and is

ceremonially pure, one who hath eaten neither meat nor fish, and who

hath not had intercourse with women" (ll. 52, 53).

VIII. This much may be depended upon: the, religious rites and

ceremonies of the Egyptians were never instituted upon irrational

grounds, never built upon mere fable and superstition, but founded with

a view to promote the morality and happiness of those who were to

observe them, or at least to preserve the memory of some valuable piece

of history, or to represent to us some of the phenomena of nature. As

concerning the abhorrence which is expressed for onions, it is wholly

improbable that this detestation is owing to the loss of Diktys, who,

whilst he was under the guardianship of Isis, is supposed to have

fallen into the river and to have been drowned as he was reaching after

a bunch of them. No, the true reason of their abstinence from onions

is because they are observed to flourish most and to be in the greatest

vigour at the wane of the moon, and also because they are entirely

useless to them either in their feasts[FN#278] or in their times of

abstinence and purification, for in the former case they make tears

come from those who use them, and in the latter they create thirst.

For much the same reason they likewise look upon the pig as an impure

animal, and to be avoided, observing it to be most apt to engender upon

the decrease of the moon, and they think that those who drink its milk

are more subject to leprosy and such-like cutaneous diseases than

others. The custom of abstaining from the flesh of the pig[FN#279] is

not always observed, for those who sacrifice a sow to Typhon once a

year, at the full moon, afterwards eat its flesh. The reason they give

for this practice is this: Typhon being in pursuit of this animal at

that season of the moon, accidentally found the wooden chest wherein

was deposited the body of Osiris, which he immediately pulled to

pieces. This story, however, is not generally admitted, there being

some who look upon it, as they do many other relations of the same

kind, as founded upon some mistake or misrepresentation. All agree,

however, in saying that so great was the abhorrence which the ancient

Egyptians expressed for whatever tended to promote luxury, expense, and

voluptuousness, that in order to expose it as much as possible they

erected a column in one of the temples of Thebes, full of curses

against their king Meinis, who first drew them off from their former

frugal and parsimonious course of life. The immediate cause for the

erection of the pillar is thus given: Technatis,[FN#280] the father of

Bocchoris, leading an army against the Arabians, and his baggage and

provisions not coming up to him as soon as he expected, was therefore

obliged to eat some of the very poor food which was obtainable, and

having eaten, he lay down on the bare ground and slept very soundly.

This gave him a great affection for a mean and frugal diet, and induced

him to curse the memory of Meinis, and with the permission of the

priests he made these curses public by cutting them upon a

pillar.[FN#281]

[FN#278] Bunches of onions were offered to the dead at all periods of

Egyptian history, and they were regarded as typical of the "white

teeth" of Horus. The onion was largely used in medicine.

[FN#279] The pig was associated with Set, or Typhon, and the black

variety was specially abominated because it was a black pig which

struck Horus in the eye, and damaged it severely. See Book of the

Dead, Chap. CXII.

[FN#280] In Egyptian, TAFNEKHT, the first king of the XXIVth Dynasty.

[FN#281] An unlikely story, for Tafnekht had no authority at Thebes.

IX. Now, the kings of Egypt were always chosen either out of the

soldiery or priesthood, the former order being honoured and respected

for its valour, and the latter for its wisdom. If the choice fell upon

a soldier, he was immediately initiated into the order of priests, and

by them instructed in their abstruse and hidden philosophy, a

philosophy for the most part involved in fable and allegory, and

exhibiting only dark hints and obscure resemblances of the truth. This

the priesthood hints to us in many instances, particularly by the

sphinxes, which they seem to have placed designedly before their

temples as types of the enigmatical nature of their theology. To this

purpose, likewise, is that inscription which they have engraved upon

the base of the statue of Athene[FN#282] at Sais, whom they identify

with Isis: "I am everything that has been, that is, and that shall be:

and my veil no man hath raised." In like manner the word "Amoun," or

as it is expressed in the Greek language, "Ammon," which is generally

looked upon as the proper name of the Egyptian Zeus, is interpreted by

Manetho[FN#283] the Sebennite[FN#284] to signify "concealment" or

"something which is hidden."[FN#285] Hecataeus of Abdera indeed tells

us that the Egyptians make use of this term when they call out to one

another. If this be so, then their invoking Amoun is the same thing as

calling upon the supreme being, whom they believe to be "hidden" and

"concealed" in the universal nature, to appear and manifest itself to

them. So cautious and reserved was the Egyptian wisdom in those things

which appertained to religion.

[FN#282] The Egyptian goddess Net, in Greek {greek Nhid}, the great

goddess of Sais, in the Western Delta. She was self-existent, and

produced her son, the Sun-god, without union with a god. In an address

to her, quoted by Mallet (Culte de Neit, p. 140), are found the words,

"thy garment hath not been unloosed," thus Plutarch's quotation is

correct.

[FN#283] He compiled a History of Egypt for Ptolemy II., and

flourished about B.C. 270; only the King-List from this work is

preserved.

[FN#284] He was a native of the town of Sebennytus.

[FN#285] Amen means "hidden," and AMEN is the "hidden god."

X. And this is still farther evinced from those voyages which have

been made into Egypt by the wisest men among the Greeks, namely, by

Solo, Thales Plato, Eudoxus, Pythagoras, and, as some say, even by

Lycurgus himself, on purpose to converse with the priests. And we are

also told that Eudoxus was a disciple of Chnouphis the Memphite, Solo

of Sonchis the Saite, and Pythagoras of Oinuphis the Heliopolite. But

none of these philosophers seems either to have been more admired and

in greater favour with the priests, or to have paid a more especial

regard to their method of philosophising, than this last named, who has

particularly imitated their mysterious and symbolical manner in his own

writings, and like them conveyed his doctrines to the world in a kind

of riddle. For many of the precepts of Pythagoras come nothing short

of the hieroglyphical representations themselves, such as, "eat not in

a chariot," "sit not on a measure (choenix)," "plant not a palm-tree,"

and "stir not the fire with a sword in the house." And I myself am of

the opinion that, when the Pythagoreans appropriated the names of

several of the gods to particular numbers, as that of Apollo to the

unit, of Artemis to the duad, of Athene to the seven, and of Poseidon

to the first cube, in this they allude to something which the founder

of their sect saw in the Egyptian temples, or to some ceremonies

performed in them, or to some symbols there exhibited. Thus, their

great king and lord Osiris is represented by the hieroglyphics for an

eye and a sceptre,[FN#286] the name itself signifying "many-eyed," as

we are told by some[FN#287] who would derive it from the words

os,[FN#288] "many," and iri,[FN#289] an "eye," which have this meaning

in the Egyptian language. Similarly, because the heavens are eternal

and are never consumed or wax old, they represent them by a heart with

a censer placed under it. Much in the same way are those statues of

the Judges at Thebes without hands, and their chief, or president, is

represented with his eyes turned downwards, which signifies that

justice ought not to be obtainable by bribes, nor guided by favour or

affection. Of a like nature is the Beetle which we see engraven upon

the seals of the soldiers, for there is no such thing as a female

beetle of this species; for they are all males, and they propagate

their kind by casting their seed into round balls of dirt, which afford

not only a proper place wherein the young may be hatched, but also

nourishment for them as soon as they are born.

[FN#286] The oldest form of the name is As-Ar, ####; the first sign,

####, is a throne, and the second, ####, is an eye, but the exact

meaning represented by the two signs is not known. In late times a

sceptre, #### took the place of the throne, but only because of its

phonetic value as or us. Thus we have the forms #### and ####.

[FN#287] This is a mistake.

[FN#288] In Egyptian, #### ash, "many."

[FN#289] In Egyptian, #### art, Coptic ####, "eye."

XI. When you hear, therefore, the mythological tales which the

Egyptians tell of their gods, their wanderings, their mutilations, and

many other disasters which befell them, remember what has just been

said, and be assured that nothing of what is thus told you is really

true, or ever happened in fact. For can it be imagined that it is the

dog[FN#290] itself which is reverenced by them under the name of

Hermes[FN#291]? It is the qualities of this animal, his constant

vigilance, and his acumen in distinguishing his friends from his foes,

which have rendered him, as Plato says, a meet emblem of that god who

is the chief patron of intelligence. Nor can we imagine that they

think that the sun, like a newly born babe, springs up every day out of

a lily. It is quite true that they represent the rising sun in this

manner,[FN#292] but the reason is because they wish to indicate thereby

that it is moisture to which we owe the first kindling of this

luminary. In like manner, the cruel and bloody king of Persia, Ochus,

who not only put to death great numbers of the people, but even slew

the Apis Bull himself, and afterwards served him up in a banquet to his

friends, is represented by them by a sword, and by this name he is

still to be found in the catalogue of their kings. This name,

therefore, does not represent his person, but indicates his base and

cruel qualities, which were best suggested by the picture of an

instrument of destruction. If, therefore, O Clea, you will hear and

entertain the story of these gods from those who know how to explain it

consistently with religion and philosophy, if you will steadily persist

in the observance of all these holy rites which the laws require of

you, and are moreover fully persuaded that to form true notions of the

divine nature is more acceptable to them than any sacrifice or mere

external act of worship can be, you will by this means be entirely

exempt from any danger of falling into superstition, an evil no less to

be avoided than atheism itself.

[FN#290] The animal here referred to must be the dog-headed ape, ####,

which we see in pictures of the Judgment assisting Thoth to weigh the

heart of the dead. This dog-headed ape is a wonderfully intelligent

creature, and its weird cleverness is astonishing.

[FN#291] The Egyptian Tehuti, or Thoth.

[FN#292] ####.

XII. Now, the story of Isis and Osiris, its most insignificant and

superfluous parts being omitted, runs thus:--

The goddess Rhea,[FN#293] they say, having accompanied with

Kronos[FN#294] by stealth, was discovered by Helios[FN#295] who

straightway cursed her, and declared that she should not be delivered

in any month or year. Hermes, however, 'being also in love with the

same goddess, in return for the favours which he had received from her,

went and played at dice with Selene,[FN#296] and won from her the

seventieth part of each day. These parts he joined together and made

from them five complete days, and he added them to the three hundred

and sixty days of which the year formerly consisted. These five days

are to this day called the "Epagomenae,"[FN#297] that is, the

superadded, and they are observed by them as the birthdays of their

gods.[FN#298] On the first of these, they say, Osiris was born, and as

he came into the world a voice was heard saying, "The Lord of

All[FN#299] is born." Some relate the matter in a different way, and

say that a certain person named Pamyles, as he was fetching water from

the temple of Dios at Thebes, heard a voice commanding him to proclaim

aloud that the good and great king Osiris was then born, and that for

this reason Kronos committed the education of the child to him, and

that in memory of this event the Pamylia were afterwards instituted,

which closely resemble the Phallephoria or Priapeia of the Greeks.

Upon the second of these days was born Aroueris,[FN#300] whom some call

Apollo, and others the Elder Horus. Upon the third day Typhon was

born, who came into the world neither at the proper time nor by the

right way, but he forced a passage through a wound which he made in his

mother's side. Upon the fourth day Isis was born, in the marshes of

Egypt,[FN#301] and upon the fifth day Nephthys, whom some call Teleute,

or Aphrodite, or Nike, was born. As regards the fathers of these

children, the first two are said to have been begotten by Helios, Isis

by Hermes, and Typhon and Nephthys by Kronos. Therefore, since the

third of the superadded days was the birthday of Typhon, the kings

considered it to be unlucky,[FN#302] and in consequence they neither

transacted any business in it, nor even suffered themselves to take any

refreshment until the evening. They further add that Typhon married

Nephthys,[FN#303] and that Isis and Osiris, having a mutual affection,

enjoyed each other in their mother's womb before they were born, and

that from this commerce sprang Aroueris, whom the Egyptians likewise

call Horus the Elder, and the Greeks Apollo.

[FN#293] i.e., Nut, the Sky-goddess.

[FN#294] i.e., Keb, the Earth-god.

[FN#295] i.e., Ra.

[FN#296] i.e., Aah.

[FN#297] In Egyptian, "the five days over the year,"

[FN#298] In Egyptian thus:--

I. Birthday of Osiris,

II. Birthday of Horus,

III. Birthday of Set,

IV. Birthday of Isis,

V. Birthday of Nephthys

[FN#299] One of the chief titles of Osiris was Neb er tcher, i.e.,

"lord to the uttermost limit of everything."

[FN#300] i.e., Heru-ur, "Horus the Elder."

[FN#301] It was Horus, son of Isis, who was born in the marshes of

Egypt.

[FN#302] This day is described as unlucky in the hieroglyphic texts.

[FN#303] Set and Nephthys are regarded as husband and wife in the

texts; their offspring was Anubis, Anpu.

XIII. Osiris having become king of Egypt, applied himself to

civilizing his countrymen by turning them from their former indigent

and barbarous course of life. He taught them how to cultivate and

improve the fruits of the earth, and he gave them a body of laws

whereby to regulate their conduct, and instructed them in the reverence

and worship which they were to pay to the gods. With the same good

disposition he afterwards travelled over the rest of the world,

inducing the people everywhere to submit to his discipline, not indeed

compelling them by force of arms, but persuading them to yield to the

strength of his reasons, which were conveyed to them in the most

agreeable manner, in hymns and songs, accompanied with instruments of

music. From this last circumstance the Greeks identified him with

their Dionysos, or Bacchus. During the absence of Osiris from his

kingdom, Typhon had no opportunity of making any innovations in the

state, Isis being extremely vigilant in the government, and always upon

her guard. After his return, however, having first persuaded seventy-

two other people to join with him in the conspiracy, together with a

certain queen of Ethiopia called Aso, who chanced to be in Egypt at

that time, he formed a crafty plot against him. For having privily

taken the measure of the body of Osiris, he caused a chest to be made

of exactly the same size, and it was very beautiful and highly

decorated. This chest he brought into a certain banqueting room, where

it was greatly admired by all who were present, and Typhon, as if in

jest, promised to give it to that man whose body when tried would be

found to fit it. Thereupon the whole company, one after the other,

went into it, but it did not fit any of them; last of all Osiris

himself lay down in it. Thereupon all the conspirators ran to the

chest, and clapped the cover upon it, and then they fastened it down

with nails on the outside, and poured melted lead over it. They next

took the chest to the river, which carried it to the sea through the

Tanaitic mouth of the Nile; and for this reason this mouth of the Nile

is still held in the utmost abomination by the Egyptians, and is never

mentioned by them except with marks of detestation. These things, some

say, took place on the seventeenth day of the month of Hathor, when the

sun was in Scorpio, in the twenty-eighth year of the reign of Osiris,

though others tell us that this was the year of his life and not of his

reign.

XIV. The first who had knowledge of the accident which had befallen

their king were the Pans and Satyrs, who inhabited the country round

about Chemmis,[FN#304] and they having informed the people about it,

gave the first occasion to the name of Panic Terrors, which has ever

since been made use of to signify any sudden fright or amazement of a

multitude. As soon as the report reached Isis, she immediately cut off

one of the locks of her hair, and put on mourning apparel in that very

place where she happened to be; for this reason the place has ever

since been called "Koptos," or the "city of mourning," though some are

of opinion that this word rather signifies "deprivation." After this

she wandered round about through the country, being full of disquietude

and perplexity, searching for the chest, and she inquired of every

person she met, including some children whom she saw, whether they knew

what was become of it. Now, it so happened that these children had

seen what Typhon's accomplices had done with the body, and they

accordingly told her by what mouth of the Nile it had been conveyed to

the sea. For this reason the Egyptians look upon children as endued

with a kind of faculty of divining, and in consequence of this notion

are very curious in observing the accidental prattle which they have

with one another whilst they are at play, especially if it be in a

sacred place, forming omens and presages from it. Isis meanwhile

having been informed that Osiris, deceived by her sister Nephthys, who

was in love with him, had unwittingly enjoyed her instead of herself,

as she concluded from the melilot-garland which he had left with her,

made it her business likewise to search out the child, the fruit of

this unlawful commerce (for her sister, dreading the anger of her

husband Typhon, had exposed it as soon as it was born). Accordingly,

after much pains and difficulty, by means of some dogs that conducted

her to the place where it was, she found it and bred it up; and in

process of time it became her constant guard and attendant, and

obtained the name of Anubis, and it is thought that it watches and

guards the gods as dogs do men.

[FN#304] In Egyptian, Khebt, in the VIIIth nome of Lower Egypt.

XV. At length Isis received more particular news that the chest had

been carried by the waves of the sea to the coast of Byblos, and there

gently lodged in the branches of a bush of tamarisk, which in a short

time had grown up into a large and beautiful tree, and had grown round

the chest and enclosed it on every side so completely that it was not

to be seen. Moreover, the king of the country, amazed at its unusual

size, had cut the tree down, and made that part of the trunk wherein

the chest was concealed into a pillar to support the roof of his house.

These things, they say, having been made known to Isis in an

extraordinary manner by the report of demons, she immediately went to

Byblos, where, setting herself down by the side of a fountain, she

refused to speak to anybody except the queen's women who chanced to be

there. These, however, she saluted and caressed in the kindest manner

possible, plaiting their hair for them, and transmitting into them part

of that wonderful odour which issued from her own body. This raised a

great desire in the queen their mistress to see the stranger who had

this admirable faculty of transfusing so fragrant a smell from herself

into the hair and skin of other people. She therefore sent for her to

court, and, after a further acquaintance with her, made her nurse to

one of her sons. Now, the name of the king who reigned at this time at

Byblos was Melkander (Melkarth?), and that of his wife was Astarte, or,

according to others, Saôsis, though some call her Nemanoun, which

answers to the Greek name Athenais.

XVI. Isis nursed the child by giving it her finger to suck instead of

the breast. She likewise put him each night into the fire in order to

consume his mortal part, whilst, having transformed herself into a

swallow, she circled round the pillar and bemoaned her sad fate. This

she continued to do for some time, till the queen, who stood watching

her, observing the child to be all of a flame, cried out, and thereby

deprived him of some of that immortality which would otherwise have

been conferred upon him. The goddess then made herself known, and

asked that the pillar which supported the roof might be given to her.

Having taken the pillar down, she cut it open easily, and having taken

out what she wanted, she wrapped up the remainder of the trunk in fine

linen, and having poured perfumed oil over it, she delivered it again

into the hands of the king and queen. Now, this piece of wood is to

this day preserved in the temple, and worshipped by the people of

Byblos. When this was done, Isis threw herself upon the chest, and

made at the same time such loud and terrible cries of lamentation over

it, that the younger of the king's sons who heard her was frightened

out of his life. But the elder of them she took with her, and set sail

with the chest for Egypt. Now, it being morning the river Phaedrus

sent forth a keen and chill air, and becoming angry she dried up its

current.

XVII. At the first place where she stopped, and when she believed that

she was alone, she opened the chest, and laying her face upon that of

her dead husband, she embraced him and wept bitterly. Then, seeing

that the little boy had silently stolen up behind her, and had found

out the reason of her grief, she turned upon him suddenly, and, in her

anger, gave him so fierce and terrible a look that he died of fright

immediately. Others say that his death did not happen in this manner,

but, as already hinted, that he fell into the sea. Afterwards he

received the greatest honour on account of the goddess, for this

Maneros, whom the Egyptians so frequently call upon at their banquets,

is none other than he. This story is contradicted by those who tell us

that the true name of this child was Palaestinus, or Pelusius, and that

the city of this name was built by the goddess in memory of him. And

they further add that this Maneros is thus honoured by the Egyptians at

their feasts because he was the first who invented music. Others again

state that Maneros is not the name of any particular person, but a were

customary form of complimentary greeting which the Egyptians use

towards each other at their more solemn feasts and banquets, meaning no

more by it than to wish "that what they were then about might prove

fortunate and happy to them." This is the true import of the word. In

like manner they say that the human skeleton which is carried about in

a box on festal occasions, and shown to the guests, is not designed, as

some imagine, to represent the particular misfortunes of Osiris, but

rather to remind them of their mortality, and thereby to excite them

freely to make use of and to enjoy the good things which are set before

them, seeing that they must quickly become such as they there saw.

This is the true reason for introducing the skeleton at their banquets.

But to proceed with the narrative.

XVIII. When Isis had come to her son Horus, who was being reared at

Buto,[FN#305] she deposited the chest in a remote and unfrequented

place. One night, however, when Typhon was hunting by the light of the

moon, he came upon it by chance, and recognizing the body which was

enclosed in it, he tore it into several pieces, fourteen[FN#306] in

all, and scattered them in different places up and down the country.

When Isis knew what had been done, she set out in search of the

scattered portions of her husband's body; and in order to pass more

easily through the lower, marshy parts of the country, she made use of

a boat made of the papyrus plant. For this reason, they say, either

fearing the anger of the goddess, or else venerating the papyrus, the

crocodile never injures anyone who travels in this sort of

vessel.[FN#307] And this, they say, hath given rise to the report that

there are very many different sepulchres of Osiris in Egypt, for

wherever Isis found one of the scattered portions of her husband's

body, there she buried it. Others, however, contradict this story, and

tell us that the variety of sepulchres of Osiris was due rather to the

policy of the queen, who, instead of the real body, as she pretended,

presented to these cities only an image of her husband. This she did

in order to increase the honours which would by these means be paid to

his memory, and also to defeat Typhon, who, if he were victorious in

his fight against Horus in which he was about to engage, would search

for the body of Osiris, and being distracted by the number of

sepulchres would despair of ever being able to find the true one. We

are told, moreover, that notwithstanding all her efforts, Isis was

never able to discover the phallus of Osiris, which, having been thrown

into the Nile immediately upon its separation from the rest of the

body,[FN#308] had been devoured by the Lepidotus, the Phagrus, and the

Oxyrhynchus, fish which above all others, for this reason, the

Egyptians have in more especial avoidance. In order, however, to make

some amends for the loss, Isis consecrated the phallus made in

imitation of it, and instituted a solemn festival to its memory, which

is even to this day observed by the Egyptians.

[FN#305] In Egyptian, the double city Pe-Tep. See the texts from the

Metternich Stele printed in this volume.

[FN#306] The fourteen members are: head, feet, bones, arms, heart,

interior, tongue, eyes, fists, fingers, back, ears, loins, and body.

Some of the lists in Egyptian add the face of a ram and the hair. The

cities in which Isis buried the portions of his body are: Koptos,

Philae in Elephantine, Herakleopolis Magna, Kusae, Heliopolis,

Diospolis of Lower Egypt, Letopolis, Sais, Hermopolis of Lower Egypt,

Athribis, Aq (Schedia), Ab in the Libyan nome, Netert, Apis.

[FN#307] Moses was laid in an ark of bulrushes, i.e., papyrus, and was

found uninjured.

[FN#308] We meet with a similar statement in the Tale of the Two

Brothers, where we are told that the younger brother, having declared

his innocence to the elder brother, out off his phallus and threw it

into the river, where it was devoured by the naru fish.

XIX. After these things Osiris returned from the other world, and

appeared to his son Horus, and encouraged him to fight, and at the same

time instructed him in the exercise of arms. He then asked him what he

thought was the most glorious action a man could perform, to which

Horus replied, "To revenge the injuries offered to his father[FN#309]

and mother." Osiris then asked him what animal he thought most

serviceable to a soldier, and Horus replied, "A horse." On this Osiris

wondered, and he questioned him further, asking him why he preferred a

horse to a lion, and Horus replied, "Though the lion is the more

serviceable creature to one who stands in need of help, yet is the

horse more useful in overtaking and cutting off a flying

enemy."[FN#310] These replies caused Osiris to rejoice greatly, for

they showed him that his son was sufficiently prepared for his enemy.

We are, moreover, told that amongst the great numbers who were

continually deserting from Typhon's party was his concubine

Thoueris,[FN#311] and that a serpent which pursued her as she was

coming over to Horus was slain by his soldiers. The memory of this

action is, they say, still preserved in that cord which is thrown into

the midst of their assemblies, and then chopped in pieces. Afterwards

a battle took place between Horus and Typhon, which lasted many days,

but Horus was at length victorious, and Typhon was taken prisoner. He

was delivered over into the custody of Isis, who, instead of putting

him to death, loosed his fetters and set him free. This action of his

mother incensed Horus to such a degree that he seized her, and pulled

the royal crown off her head; but Hermes came forward, and set upon her

head the head of an ox instead of a helmet.[FN#312] After this Typhon

accused Horus of illegitimacy, but, by the assistance of Hermes, his

legitimacy was fully established by a decree of the gods

themselves.[FN#313] After this two other battles were fought between

Horus and Typhon, and in both Typhon was defeated. Moreover, Isis is

said to have had union with Osiris after his death,[FN#314] and she

brought forth Harpokrates,[FN#315] who came into the world before his

time, and was lame in his lower limbs.

[FN#309] The texts give as a very common title of Horus, "Horus, the

avenger of his father."

[FN#310] There is no evidence that the Egyptians employed the horse in

war before the XVIIIth Dynasty, a fact which proves that the dialogue

here given is an invention of a much later date than the original

legend of Osiris.

[FN#311] In Egyptian, TA-URT, the hippopotamus goddess.

[FN#312] According to the legend given in the Fourth Sallier Papyrus,

the fight between Horus and Set began on the 26th day of the month of

Thoth, and lasted three days and three nights. It was fought in or

near the hall of the lords of Kher-aha, i.e., near Heliopolis, and in

the presence of Isis, who seems to have tried to spare both her brother

Set and her son Horus. For some reason Horus became enraged with his

mother, and attacking her like a "leopard of the south," he cut off the

head of Isis. Thereupon Thoth came forward, and using words of power,

created a substitute in the form of a cow's head, and placed it on her

body (Sallier, iv., p. 2; see Select Papyri, pl. cxlv.).

[FN#313] Horus inherited the throne by his father's will, a fact which

is so often emphasized in the texts that it seems there may be some

ground for Plutarch's view.

[FN#314] This view is confirmed by the words in the hymn to Osiris,

"she moved the inactivity of the Still-Heart (Osiris), she drew from

him his essence, she made an heir."

[FN#315] In Egyptian, HERU-PA-KHART, "Horus the Child."

XX. Such then are the principal circumstances of this famous story,

the more harsh and shocking parts of it, such as the cutting up of

Horus and the beheading of Isis, being omitted. Now, if such could be

supposed to be the real sentiments of the Egyptians concerning those

divine Beings whose most distinguishing characteristics are happiness

and immortality, or could it be imagined that they actually believed

what they thus tell us ever to have actually taken place, I should not

need to warn you, O Clea, you who are already sufficiently averse to

such impious and absurd notions of the God, I should not, I say, have

need to caution you, to testify your abhorrence of them, and, as

Aeschylus expresses it, "to spit and wash your mouth" after the recital

of them. In the present case, however, it is not so. And I doubt not

that you yourself are conscious of the difference between this history

and those light and idle fictions which the poets and other writers of

fables, like spiders, weave and spin out of their own imaginations,

without having any substantial ground or firm foundation to work upon.

There must have been some real distress, some actual calamity, at the

bottom as the ground-work of the narration; for, as mathematicians

assure us, the rainbow is nothing else but a variegated image of the

sun, thrown upon the sight by the reflection of his beams from the

clouds; and thus ought we to look upon the present story as the

representation, or rather reflection, of something real as its true

cause. And this notion is still farther suggested to us as well by

that solemn air of grief and sadness which appears in their sacrifices,

as by the very form and arrangement of their temples, which extend into

long avenues and open aisles in some portions,[FN#316] and in others

retreating into dark and gloomy chapels which resembled the underground

vaults which are allotted to the dead. That the history has a

substantial foundation is proved by the opinion which obtains generally

concerning the sepulchres of Osiris. There are many places wherein his

body is said to have been deposited, and among these are Abydos and

Memphis, both of which are said to contain his body. It is for this

reason, they say, that the richer and more prosperous citizens wish to

be buried in the former of these cities, being ambitious of lying, as

it were, in the grave with Osiris.[FN#317] The title of Memphis to be

regarded as the grave of Osiris seems to rest upon the fact that the

Apis Bull, who is considered to be the image of the soul of Osiris, is

kept in that city for the express purpose that it may be as near his

body as possible.[FN#318] Others again tell us that the interpretation

of the name Memphis[FN#319] is "the haven of good men," and that the

true sepulchre of Osiris lies in that little island which the Nile

makes at Philae.[FN#320] This island is, they say, inaccessible, and

neither bird can alight on it, nor fish swim near it, except at the

times when the priests go over to it from the mainland to solemnize

their customary rites to the dead, and to crown his tomb with flowers,

which, they say, is overshadowed by the branches of a tamarisk-tree,

the size of which exceeds that of an olive-tree.

[FN#316] Plutarch refers to the long colonnaded courts which extend in

a straight line to the sanctuary, which often contains more than one

shrine, and to the chambers wherein temple properties, vestments, &c.,

were kept.

[FN#317] In what city the cult of Osiris originated is not known, but

it is quite certain that before the end of the VIth Dynasty Abydos

became the centre of his worship, and that he dispossessed the local

god An-Her in the affections of the people. Tradition affirmed that

the head of Osiris was preserved at Abydos in a box, and a picture of

it, #### became the symbol of the city. At Abydos a sort of miracle

play, in which all the sufferings and resurrection of Osiris were

commemorated, was performed annually, and the raising up of a model of

his body, and the placing of his head upon it, were the culminating

ceremonies. At Abydos was the famous shaft into which offerings were

cast for transmission to the dead in the Other World, and through the

Gap in the hills close by souls were believed to set out on their

journey thither. One tradition places the Elysian Fields in the

neighbourhood of Abydos. A fine stone bier, a restoration probably of

the XXVIth Dynasty, which represented the original bier of Osiris, was

discovered there by M. Amelineau. It is now in the Egyptian Museum at

Cairo.

[FN#318] Apis is called the "life of Osiris," ####, and on the death

of the Bull, its soul went to heaven and joined itself to that of

Osiris, and it formed with him the dual-god Asar-Hep, i.e., Osiris-

Apis, or Sarapis. The famous Serapeum at Memphis was called ####.

[FN#319] In Egyptian, Men-Nefer, i.e., "fair haven."

[FN#320] Osiris and Isis were worshipped at Philae until the reign of

Justinian, when his general, Narses, closed the temple and carried off

the statues of the gods to Constantinople, where they were probably

melted down.

XXI. Eudoxus indeed asserts that, although there are many pretended

sepulchres of Osiris in Egypt, the, place where his body actually lies

is Busiris,[FN#321] where likewise he was born.[FN#322] As to

Taphosiris, there is no need to mention it particularly, for its very

name indicates its claim to be the tomb of Osiris. There are likewise

other circumstances in the Egyptian ritual which hint to us the reality

upon which this history is grounded, such as their cleaving the trunk

of a tree, their wrapping it up in linen which they tear in pieces for

that purpose, and the libations of oil which they afterwards pour upon

it; but these I do not insist on, because they are intermixed with such

of their mysteries as may not be revealed.

[FN#321] In Egyptian, Pa-Asar-neb-Tetu, "the house of Osiris, the lord

of Tetu." In the temple of Neb-Sekert, the backbone of the god was

preserved, according to one text, but another says it was his jaws(?)

and interior.

[FN#322] This view represents a late tradition, or at all events one

which sprang up after the decay of Abydos.

[FIRST EXPLANATION OF THE STORY.]

XXII. Now as to those who, from many things of this kind, some of

which are proclaimed openly, and others are darkly hinted at in their

religious institutions, would conclude that the whole story is no other

than a mere commemoration of the various actions of their kings and

other great men, who, by reason of their excellent virtue and the

mightiness of their power, added to their other titles the honour of

divinity, though they afterwards fell into many and grievous

calamities, those, I say, who would in this manner account for the

various scenes above-mentioned, must be owned indeed to make use of a

very plausible method of eluding such difficulties as may arise about

this subject, and ingeniously enough to transfer the most shocking

parts of it from the divine to the human nature. Moreover, it must be

admitted that such a solution is not entirely destitute of any

appearance of historical evidence for its support. For when the

Egyptians themselves tell us that Hermes had one hand shorter than

another, that Typhon was of red complexion, Horus fair, and Osiris

black, does not this show that they were of the human species, and

subject to the same accidents as all other men?[FN#323] Nay, they go

farther, and even declare the particular work in which each was engaged

whilst alive. Thus they say that Osiris was a general, that Canopus,

from whom the star took its name, was a pilot, and that the ship which

the Greeks call Argo, being made in imitation of the ship of Osiris,

was, in honour of him, turned into a constellation and placed near

Orion and the Dog-star, the former being sacred to Horus and the latter

to Isis.

[FN#323] Red is the colour attributed to all fiends in the Egyptian

texts. One of the forms of Horus is described as being "blue-eyed,"

and the colour of the face of Osiris is often green, and sometimes

black.

XXIII. But I am much afraid that to give in to this explanation of the

story will be to move things which ought not to be moved; and not only,

as Simonides says, "to declare war against all antiquity," but likewise

against whole families and nations who are fully possessed with the

belief in the divinity of these beings. And it would be no less than

dispossessing those great names of their heaven, and bringing them down

to the earth. It would be to shake and loosen a worship and faith

which have been firmly settled in nearly all mankind from their

infancy. It would be to open a wide door for atheism to enter in at,

and to encourage the attempts of those who would humanize the divine

nature. More particularly it would give a clear sanction and authority

to the impostures of Euhemerus the Messenian, who from mere

imagination, and without the least appearance of truth to support it,

has invented a new mythology of his own, asserting that "all those in

general who are called and declared to be gods are none other than so

many ancient generals and sea-captains and kings." Now, he says that

he found this statement written in the Panchaean dialect in letters of

gold, though in what part of the globe his Panchaeans dwell, any more

than the Tryphillians, whom he mentions at the same time with them, he

does not inform us. Nor can I learn that any other person, whether

Greek or Barbarian, except himself, has ever yet been so fortunate as

to meet with these imaginary countries.

[In Sec. XXIV. Plutarch goes on to say that the Assyrians commemorate

Semiramis, the Egyptians Sesostris, the Phrygians Manis or Masdis, the

Persians Cyrus, and the Macedonians Alexander, yet these heroes are not

regarded as gods by their peoples. The kings who have accepted the

title of gods have afterwards had to suffer the reproach of vanity and

presumption, and impiety and injustice.]

[SECOND EXPLANATION OF THE STORY.]

XXV. There is another and a better method which some employ in

explaining this story. They assert that what is related of Typhon,

Osiris, and Isis is not to be regarded as the afflictions of gods, or

of mere mortals, but rather as the adventures of certain great Daemons.

These beings, they say, are supposed by some of the wisest of the Greek

philosophers, that is to say, Plato, Pythagoras, Xenocrates, and

Chrysippus, in accordance with what they had learned from ancient

theologians, to be stronger and more powerful than men, and of a nature

superior to them. They are, at the same time, inferior to the pure and

unmixed nature of the gods, as partaking of the sensations of the body,

as well as of the perceptions of the soul, and consequently liable to

pain as well as pleasure, and to such other appetites and affections,

as flow from their various combinations. Such affections, however,

have a greater power and influence over some of them than over others,

just as there are different degrees of virtue and vice found in these

Daemons as well as in mankind. In like manner, the wars of the Giants

and the Titans which are so much spoken of by the Greeks, the

detestable actions of Kronos, the combats between Apollo and the

Python, the flights of Dionysos, and the wanderings of Demeter, are

exactly of the same nature as the adventures of Osiris and Typhon.

Therefore, they all are to be accounted for in the same manner, and

every treatise of mythology will readily furnish us with an abundance

of other similar instances. The same thing may also be affirmed of

those other things which are so carefully concealed under the cover of

mysteries and imitations.

[In Sec. XXVI. Plutarch points out that Homer calls great and good men

"god-like" and "God's compeers," but the word Daemon is applied to the

good and bad indifferently (see Odyssey, vi. 12; Iliad, xiii. 810, v.

438, iv. 31, &c.). Plato assigns to the Olympian Gods good things and

the odd numbers, and the opposite to the Daemons. Xenocrates believed

in the existence of a series of strong and powerful beings which take

pleasure in scourgings and fastings, &c. Hesiod speaks of "holy

daemons" (Works and Days, 126) and "guardians of mankind," and

"bestowers of wealth," and these are regarded by Plato as a "middle

order of beings between the gods and men, interpreters of the wills of

the gods to men, and ministering to their wants, carrying the prayers

and supplications of mortals to heaven, and bringing down thence in

return oracles and all other blessings of life." Empedocles thought

that the Daemons underwent punishment, and that when chastened and

purified they were restored to their original state.]

[Sec. XXVII. To this class belonged Typhon, who was punished by Isis. In

memory of all she had done and suffered, she established certain rites

and mysteries which were to be types and images of her deeds, and

intended these to incite people to piety, and, to afford them

consolation. Isis and Osiris were translated from good Daemons into

gods, and the honours due to them are rightly of a mixed kind, being

those due to gods and Daemons. Osiris is none other than Pluto, and

Isis is not different from Proserpine.]

[Sec. XXX. Typhon is held by the Egyptians in the greatest contempt, and

they do all they can to vilify him. The colour red being associated

with him, they treat with contumely all those who have a ruddy

complexion; the ass[FN#324] being usually of a reddish colour, the men

of Koptos are in the habit of sacrificing asses by casting them down

precipices. The inhabitants of Busiris and Lycopolis never use

trumpets, because their sounds resemble the braying of an ass. The

cakes which are offered at the festivals during Paoni and Paopi are

stamped with the figure of a fettered ass. The Pythagoreans regarded

Typhon as a daemon, and according to them he was produced in the even

number fifty-six; and Eudoxus says that a figure of fifty-six angles

typifies the nature of Typhon.]

[FN#324] The ass is associated with Set, or Typhon, in the texts, but

on account of his virility he also typifies a form of the Sun-god. In

a hymn the deceased prays, "May I smite the Ass, may I crush the

serpent-fiend Sebau," but the XLth Chapter of the Book of the Dead is

entitled, "Chapter of driving back the Eater of the Ass." The vignette

shows us the deceased in the act of spearing a monster serpent which

has fastened its jaws in the back of an ass. In Chapter CXXV. there is

a dialogue between the Cat and the Ass.

[Sec. XXXI. The Egyptians only sacrifice red-coloured bulls, and a single

black or white hair in the animal's head disqualifies it for sacrifice.

They sacrifice creatures wherein the souls of the wicked have been

confined, and through this view arose the custom of cursing the animal

to be sacrificed, and cutting off its bead and throwing it into the

Nile. No bullock is sacrificed which has not on it the seal of the

priests who were called "Sealers." The impression from this seal

represents a man upon his knees, with his hands tied behind him, and a

sword pointed at his throat. The ass is identified with Typhon not

only because of his colour, but also because of his stupidity and the

sensuality of his disposition. The Persian king Ochus was nicknamed

the "Ass," which made him to say, "This ass shall dine upon your ox,"

and accordingly he slew Apis. Typhon is said to have escaped from

Horus by a flight of seven days on an ass.]

[THIRD EXPLANATION OF THE STORY.]

XXXII. Such then are the arguments of those who endeavour to account

for the above-mentioned history of Isis and Osiris upon a supposition

that they were of the order of Daemons; but there are others who

pretend to explain it upon other principles, and in more philosophical

manner. To begin, then, with those whose reasoning is the most simple

and obvious. As the Greeks allegorize their Kronos into Time, and

their Hera into Air, and tell us that the birth of Hephaistos is no

other but the change of air into fire, so these philosophers say that

by Osiris the Egyptians mean the Nile, by Isis that part of the country

which Osiris, or the Nile, overflows, and by Typhon the sea, which, by

receiving the Nile as it runs into it, does, as it were, tear it into

many pieces, and indeed entirely destroys it, excepting only so much of

it as is admitted into the bosom of the earth in its passage over it,

which is thereby rendered fertile. The truth of this explanation is

confirmed, they say, by that sacred dirge which they make over Osiris

when they bewail "him who was born on the right side of the world and

who perished on the left."[FN#325] For it must be observed that the

Egyptians look upon the east as the front or face of the world,[FN#326]

upon the north as its right side,[FN#327] and upon the south as its

left.[FN#328] As, therefore, the Nile rises in the south, and running

directly northwards is at last swallowed up by the sea, it may rightly

enough be said to be born on the right and to perish on the left side.

This conclusion, they say, is still farther strengthened from that

abhorrence which the priests express towards the sea, as well as salt,

which they call "Typhon's foam." And amongst their prohibitions is one

which forbids salt being laid on their tables. And do they not also

carefully avoid speaking to pilots, because this class of men have much

to do with the sea and get their living by it? And this is not the

least of their reasons for the great dislike which they have for fish,

and they even make the fish a symbol of "hatred," as is proved by the

pictures which are to be seen on the porch of the temple of Neith at

Sais. The first of these is a child, the second is an old man, the

third is a hawk, and then follow a fish and a hippopotamus. The

meaning of all these is evidently, "O you who are coming into the

world, and you who are going out of it (i.e., both young and old), God

hateth impudence." For by the child is indicated "all those who are

coming into life"; by the old man, "those who are going out of it"; by

the hawk, "God"; by the fish, "hatred," on account of the sea, as has

been before stated; and by the hippopotamus, "impudence," this creature

being said first to slay his sire, and afterwards to force his

dam.[FN#329] The Pythagoreans likewise may be thought perhaps by some

to have looked upon the sea as impure, and quite different from all the

rest of nature, and that thus much is intended by them when they call

it the "tears of Kronos."

[FN#325] Plutarch here refers to Osiris as the Moon, which rises in

the West.

[FN#326] According to the texts the front of the world was the south,

khent, #### and from this word is formed the verb #### #### "to sail to

the south."

[FN#327] In the texts the west is the right side, unemi, #### in

Coptic, ####.

[FN#328] In the texts the east is the left side, abti.

[FN#329] Each of these signs, ####, except the last, does mean what

Plutarch says it means, but his method of reading them together is

wrong, and it proves that he did not understand that hieroglyphics were

used alphabetically as well as ideographically.

[Secs. XXXIII., XXXIV. Some of the more philosophical priests assert that

Osiris does not symbolize the Nile only, nor Typhon the sea only, but

that Osiris represents the principle and power of moisture in general,

and that Typhon represents everything which is scorching, burning, and

fiery, and whatever destroys moisture. Osiris they believe to have

been of a black[FN#330] colour, because water gives a black tinge to

everything with which it is mixed. The Mnevis Bull[FN#331] kept at

Heliopolis is, like Osiris, black in colour, "and even Egypt[FN#332]

itself, by reason of the extreme blackness of the soil, is called by

them 'Chemia,' the very name which is given to the black part or pupil

of the eye.[FN#333] It is, moreover, represented by them under the

figure of a human heart." The Sun and Moon are not represented as

being drawn about in chariots, but as sailing round the world in ships,

which shows that they owe their motion, support, and nourishment to the

power of humidity.[FN#334] Homer and Thales both learned from Egypt

that "water was the first principle of all things, and the cause of

generation."[FN#335]]

[FN#330] Experiments recently conducted by Lord Rayleigh indicate that

the true colour of water is blue.

[FN#331] In Egyptian, Nem-ur, or Men-ur, and he was "called the life

of Ra."

[FN#332] The commonest name of Egypt is Kemt, "black land," as opposed

to the reddish-yellow sandy deserts on each side of the "valley of

black mud." The word for "black" is kam.

[FN#333] Plutarch seems to have erred here. The early texts call the

pupil of the eye "the child in the eye," as did the Semitic peoples

(see my Liturgy of Funerary Offerings, p. 136). The Copts spoke of the

"black of the eye," derived from the hieroglyphic "darkness,"

"blackness."

[FN#334] There is no support for this view in the texts.

[FN#335] It was a very common belief in Egypt that all things arose

from the great celestial ocean called Nu, whence came the Nile.

[Sec. XXXVI. The Nile and all kinds of moisture are called the "efflux of

Osiris." Therefore a water-pitcher[FN#336] is always carried first in

his processions, and the leaf of a fir-tree represents both Osiris and

Egypt.[FN#337] Osiris is the great principle of fecundity, which is

proved by the Pamylia festivals, in which a statue of the god with a

triple phallus is carried about.[FN#338] The three-fold phallus merely

signifies any great and indefinite number.]

[FN#336] Plutarch refers to the vessel of water, with which the priest

sprinkles the ground to purify it.

[FN#337] He seems to refer here to the olive-tree: Beqet, "olive

land," was one of the names of Egypt.

[FN#338] Plutarch seems to be confounding Osiris with Menu, the god of

generation, who is generally represented in an ithyphallic form. The

festival of the phallus survived in Egypt until quite recently.

[Sec. XXXVIII. The Sun is consecrated to Osiris, and the lion is

worshipped, and temples are ornamented with figures of this animal,

because the Nile rises when the sun is in the constellation of the

Lion. Horus, the offspring of Osiris, the Nile, and Isis, the Earth,

was born in the marshes of Buto, because the vapour of damp land

destroys drought. Nephthys, or Teleute, represents the extreme limits

of the country and the sea-shore, that is, barren land. Osiris (i.e.,

the Nile) overflowed this barren land, and Anubis[FN#339] was the

result.[FN#340]]

[FN#339] The Egyptian Anpu. The texts make one form of him to be the

son of Set and Nephthys.

[FN#340] Plutarch's explanations in this chapter are unsupported by

the texts.

[Sec. XXXIX. In the first part of this chapter Plutarch continues his

identification of Typhon with drought, and his ally Aso, Queen of

Ethiopia, he considers to be the Etesian or north winds, which blow for

a long period when the Nile is falling. He goes on to say:--]

As to what they relate of the shutting up of Osiris in a box, this

appears to mean the withdrawal of the Nile to its own bed. This is the

more probable as this misfortune is said to have happened to Osiris in

the month of Hathor, precisely at that season of the year when, upon

the cessation of the Etesian or north winds the Nile returns to its own

bed, and leaves the country everywhere bare and naked. At this time

also the length of the nights increases, darkness prevails, whilst

light is diminished and overcome. At this time the priests celebrate

doleful rites, and they exhibit as a suitable representation of the

grief of Isis a gilded ox covered with a fine black linen cloth. Now,

the ox is regarded as the living image of Osiris. This ceremony is

performed on the seventeenth and three following days,[FN#341] and they

mourn: 1. The falling of the Nile; 2. The cessation of the north

winds; 3. The decrease in the length of the days; 4. The desolate

condition of the land. On the nineteenth of the month Pachons they

march in procession to the sea, whither the priests and other officials

carry the sacred chest, wherein is enclosed a small boat of gold; into

this they first pour some water, and then all present cry out with a

loud voice, "Osiris is found." This done, they throw some earth,

scent, and spices into the water, and mix it well together, and work it

up into the image of a crescent, which they afterwards dress in

clothes. This shows that they regard the gods as the essence and power

of water and earth.

[FN#341] The 17th day is very unlucky; the 18th is very lucky; the

19th and 20th are very unlucky. On the 17th day Isis and Nephthys made

great lamentation for their brother Un-nefer at Sais; on the 19th no

man should leave the house; and the man born on the 20th would die of

the plague.

[Sec. XL. Though Typhon was conquered by Horus, Isis would not allow him

to be destroyed. Typhon was once master of all Egypt, i.e., Egypt was

once covered by the sea, which is proved by the sea-shells which are

dug out of the mines, and are found on the tops of the hills. The Nile

year by year creates new land, and thus drives away the sea further and

further, i.e., Osiris triumphs over Typhon.]

[FOURTH EXPLANATION OF THE STORY.]

[Sec. XLI. Osiris is the Moon, and Typhon is the Sun; Typhon is therefore

called Seth,[FN#342] a word meaning "violence," "force," &c. Herakles

accompanies the Sun, and Hermes the Moon. In Sec. XLII. Plutarch connects

the death-day of Osiris, the seventeenth of Hathor, with the

seventeenth day of the Moon's revolution, when she begins to wane. The

age of Osiris, twenty-eight years, suggests the comparison with the

twenty-eight days of the Moon's revolution. The tree-trunk which is

made into the shape of a crescent at the funeral of Osiris refers to

the crescent moon when she wanes. The fourteen pieces into which

Osiris was broken refer to the fourteen days in which the moon wanes.]

[FN#342] In Egyptian, ####, or #### which Plutarch seems to connect

with set, ####.

[Sec. XLIII. The height of the Nile in flood at Elephantine is twenty-

eight cubits, at Mendes and Xois low Nile is seven cubits, and at

Memphis middle Nile is fourteen cubits; these figures are to be

compared with the twenty-eight days of the Moon's revolution, the

seven-day phase of the Moon, and the fourteen days' Moon, or full moon.

Apis was begotten by a ray of light from the Moon, and on the

fourteenth day of the month Phamenoth[FN#343] Osiris entered the Moon.

Osiris is the power of the Moon, Isis the productive faculty in it.]

[FN#343] Marked in the papyrus Sallier IV. as a particularly unlucky

day.

[FIFTH EXPLANATION OF THE STORY.]

[Sec. XLIV. The philosophers say that the story is nothing but an

enigmatical description of the phenomena of Eclipses. In Sec. XLV.

Plutarch discusses the five explanations which he has described, and

begins to state his own views about them. It must be concluded, he

says, that none of these explanations taken by itself contains the true

explanation of the foregoing history, though all of them together do.

Typhon means every phase of Nature which is hurtful and destructive,

not only drought, darkness, the sea, &c. It is impossible that any one

cause, be it bad or even good, should be the common principle of all

things. There must be two opposite and quite different and distinct

Principles. In Sec. XLVI., Plutarch compares this view with the Magian

belief in Ormazd and Ahriman, the former springing from light (Sec.

XLVII.), and the latter from darkness. Ormazd made six good gods, and

Ahriman six of a quite contrary nature. Ormazd increased his own bulk

three times, and adorned the heaven with stars, making the Sun to be

the guard of the other stars. He then created twenty-four other gods,

and placed them in an egg, and Ahriman also created twenty-four gods;

the latter bored a hole in the shell of the egg and effected an

entrance into it, and thus good and evil became mixed together. In Sec.

XLVIII. Plutarch quotes Empedocles, Anaxagoras, Aristotle, and Plato in

support of his hypothesis of the Two Principles, and refers to Plato's

Third Principle. Sec. XLIX. Osiris represents the good qualities of the

universal Soul, and Typhon the bad; Bebo[FN#344] is a malignant being

like Typhon, with whom Manetho identifies him. Sec. L. The ass,

crocodile, and hippopotamus are all associated with Typhon; in the form

of a crocodile Typhon escaped from Horus.[FN#345]

[FN#344] In Egyptian, Bebi, or Baba, or Babai, he was the first-born

Son of Osiris.

[FN#345] See the Legend of Heru-Behutet, {pr. 67}.

The cakes offered on the seventh day of the month Tybi have a

hippopotamus stamped on them. Sec. LI. Osiris symbolizes wisdom and

power, and Typhon all that is malignant and bad.]

The remaining sections contain a long series of fanciful statements by

Plutarch concerning the religion and manners and customs of the

Egyptians, of which the Egyptian texts now available give no proofs.

End of Project Gutenberg's Legends Of The Gods, by E. A. Wallis Budge