37 
derived directly from the sun itself; the life of the gods by 
emanation, the life of men by creation, and the life of plants 
by germination. The whole cosmos, active or passive, lived only 
by the actual presence of the sun ; and hence, in some places, 
the solar deity, or Horus Ra, is assumed to be equivalent to 
Nature itself. The life of man, being the positive gift of the 
sun,* * * § was symbolized by that great luminary’s course in the 
heavens, whether in his intangible essence as eternal light, or in 
his personification as ITorus; each manifestation of the sun was 
considered as a separate deity, not intrinsically but officially 
distinct. As the rising sun, Horus was the child of Isis, the 
material heavens, and also of Nu, the goddess of the mysterious 
ocean, out of which the sun arose, and into which he descended 
on his way to illuminate the under world, or Hades. f As the 
sun in its horizon, Idorus was called Harmakbu, and was 
symbolized by the mysterious human-headed couchant lion, 
which is generally called a sphinx. The very fact of that 
colossal rock-cut statue, which now exists in Egypt under that 
name, having been wrought in honour of Harmakhu before 
the time of the IYth Dynasty, attests the great antiquity of 
the solar identification of the Horus myth. J As the setting sun, 
Horus was called Turn, or Atum, in which characteristic he was 
identified with the great source of life to the souls of the under 
world. As the deity of the actual solar disk, pure and simple, 
Horus was regarded as Aten Ra, and in all these, and a variety 
of other minor manifestations, Horus was termed in the Ritual 
and Litanies, “the Lord of Life, the God creating himself,” and 
“ the Eternal One,” epithets which were further applied to him 
in his other offices and personifications also.§ 
The Ritual of the Dead, that most ancient and most mysterious 
* See Deveria, Cat. des Manuscrits Ugyptiens du Music du Louvre. 
f See Pierret, Dictionnaire d’Arclieologu Egyptienne, art. Horus. 
J “ Completed, if not commenced, under the reign of Shafra (Chephren), 
of the second Pyramid.” — Lenormant, Manual of the Ancient History of the 
East, i. p. 331. 
§ “ Le personnage d’Horus se rattache sous des noms differents a deux 
generations divines. Sous le nom d’Hariieris on Horus l’Aine, il est, nous dit 
une inscription d’Ombos, ne de Seb et de Nout, et par consequent frere 
d’Osiris, dont il est le fils sous un autre nom : Haroeris represente ainsi la 
pre-existence divine. 
“ Sous le nom d’Harpocrate, ne d’lsis et d’Osiris, il est le successeur de ce 
dernier et symbolise l’eternel renouvellement de la divinitd Osiris est le 
Dieu Supreme dont la manifestation materielle est le soleil et dont la mani- 
festation morale est le bien. Le soleil meurt, mais il renait sous la forme 
d’Horus, fils d’Osiris et soleil levant. Le bien succombe sous les corps du 
mal dont Set est l’incarnation, mais il renait sous la forme d’Horus, fils et 
vengeur d’Osiris Unnefer, l’Etre bon.” —Pierret, Salle Historique Musk du 
Louvre . — See also final note. 
