368 
decisive sentence is to be pronounced, either admitting the de- 
ceased to happiness, or excluding him for ever (chap. cxxv.). 
33. On a raised throne before the Osman sits the 
awful deity Osiris, upon whose head are the double crowns 
of the united kingdoms of Upper and Lower Egypt, 
circled with the solar asp or urseus. In his hands are the 
cross of life, the Cucufa staff of dominion, the curved htuus 
denoting sacerdotal authority, and the scourge of Khem 
Behind his throne are the avenging Caberen, children ot 
Typhon or Set, and his consort the hippopotamus-headed 
goddess (Thoeris) of hell; lastly, underneath his feet, fettered 
and tortured, lie the souls of the condemned.f Lest the Osman 
should quail and be unable to stand before the solemn assembly, 
the goddesses Isis and Nepthys, deities of the upper and 
lower firmament respectively, support his trembling footsteps, 
while Amset, Tautmutf, Kabhsenuf, and Hapi, the guardian 
deities of the dead, intercede for his protection. On an ai « 
before them, flowers and incense burn in fragrant propitiation, 
and between it and the judge, in a massive and yet ddicate 
balance the heart of the deceased is weighed against tJie 
feather of Thmei, the goddess of Truth. Thoth, the introducer 
of spirits, writes down the preponderance of the weigh, 
good or evil, while an ape (the emblem of justice because all ms 
extremities are even), sitting on the summit of the cross- 
beam, prevents either fraud or favour. Now is tLe Osnaa 
to give an account of his whole former life, and whne each of 
the forty-two assessors accuses him of some fla g ra f J® 
has in return to reveal to the questioner his own secret name and 
to profess his innocence of tfie fault alleged . This »s cafled the 
apology, or the negative confession, and it is one of the most 
sublime and singular ethical formularies in toe whole of 
ancient mythology. The first part of this address is negative; 
but as heaven to the Egyptians was not ' acce ^® 
sinlessness, but was the reward only of aotlve vl ^ u > V 
Osirian, from the evils he has not done, proceeds to the 
enumeration of the good which he has • performed and en- 
treats not the clemency, but the equity of th ^ Judge. 
Extending then bis arms towards tbe deity, thus be address 
tbe adjudicator Osiris and bis coadjutor divinities : 
“ O ye Lords of truth, 0 thou Great God, Lord of truth, I have come to 
thee, my Lord, I have brought myself to see thy blessmgs ; J I have known 
* Is this the origin both of the Druidical lituus an p P , s 
f Not always represented on the funeral Papyri. 
X For “ blessings ” read “ splendid glories. — Kenout. 
