EGYPTIAN IDEAS OF THE FUTURE LIFE ***
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BOOKS ON EGYPT AND CHALDEA BY E. A. WALLIS BUDGE, M. A., LITT D., D. LIT. _Keeper of the Egyptian and Assyrian Antiquities in the British Museum_ AND L. W. KING, M. A. _Assistant in the Department of Egyptian and Assyrian Antiquities in the British Museum_
Crown 8vo, 3S, 6d, net each
Vol I--EGYPTIAN RELIGION. Egyptian Ideas of the Future Life By E. A. WALLIS BUDGE
Vol II--EGYPTIAN MAGIC. By E. A. WALLIS BUDGE
Vol. III--EGYPTIAN LANGUAGE. Easy Lessons in Egyptian Hieroglyphics By E. A. WALLIS BUDGE
Vol IV--BABYLONIAN RELIGION. Babylonian Religion and Mythology. By L. W. King
Vol V--ASSYRIAN LANGUAGE. Easy Lessons in the Cuneiform Texts By L. W. KING, M. A.
Vols VI, VII, VIII--THE BOOK OF THE DEAD. an English Translation of the Chapters, Hymns, &c., of the Theban Recension With Introduction, Notes, and numerous Illustrations By E. A. WALLIS BUDGE, Litt. D.
Vols IX-XVI--A HISTORY OF EGYPT. from the end of the Neolithic Period to the Death of Cleopatra VII, B.C. 30 By E. A. WALLIS BUDGE, Litt. D. 8 vols. Illustrated.
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VOL. I.
EGYPTIAN IDEAS OF THE FUTURE LIFE
PUBLISHERS' NOTE.
In the year 1894, Dr. Wallis Budge prepared for Messrs. Kegan Paul, Trench, Trübner & Co. an elementary work on the Egyptian language, entitled "First Steps in Egyptian," and two years later the companion volume, "An Egyptian Reading Book," with transliterations of all the texts printed in it, and a full vocabulary. The success of these works proved that they had helped to satisfy a want long felt by students of the Egyptian language, and as a similar want existed among students of the languages written in the cuneiform character, Mr. L.W. King, of the British Museum, prepared, on the same lines as the two books mentioned above, an elementary work on the Assyrian and Babylonian languages ("First Steps in Assyrian"), which appeared in 1898. These works, however, dealt mainly with the philological branch of Egyptology and Assyriology, and it was impossible in the space allowed to explain much that needed explanation in the other branches of those subjects--that is to say, matters relating to the archaeology, history, religion, etc., of the Egyptians, Assyrians, and Babylonians. In answer to the numerous requests which have been made, a series of short, popular handbooks on the most important branches of Egyptology and Assyriology have been prepared, and it is hoped that these will serve as introductions to the larger works on these subjects. The present is the first volume of the series, and the succeeding volumes will be published at short intervals, and at moderate prices.
EGYPTIAN IDEAS OF THE FUTURE LIFE BY E.A. WALLIS BUDGE, M. A., LITT. D., D. LIT. KEEPER Of THE EGYPTIAN AND ASSYRIAN ANTIQUITIES OF THE BRITISH MUSEUM
WITH EIGHT ILLUSTRATIONS
_THIRD EDITION_
1908
To SIR JOHN EVANS, K. C. B., D. C. L., F. R. S., ETC., ETC., ETC. IN GRATEFUL REMEMBRANCE OF MUCH FRIENDLY HELP AND ENCOURAGEMENT
PREFACE.
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The following pages are intended to place before the reader in a handy form an account of the principal ideas and beliefs held by the ancient Egyptians concerning the resurrection and the future life, which is derived wholly from native religious works. The literature of Egypt which deals with these subjects is large and, as was to be expected, the product of different periods which, taken together, cover several thousands of years; and it is exceedingly difficult at times to reconcile the statements and beliefs of a writer of one period with those of a writer of another. Up to the present no systematic account of the doctrine of the resurrection and of the future life has been discovered, and there is no reason for hoping that such a thing will ever be found, for the Egyptians do not appear to have thought that it was necessary to write a work of the kind. The inherent difficulty of the subject, and the natural impossibility that different men living in different places and at different times should think alike on matters which must, after all, belong always to the region of faith, render it more than probable that no college of priests, however powerful, was able to formulate a system of beliefs which would be received throughout Egypt by the clergy and the laity alike, and would be copied by the scribes as a final and authoritative work on Egyptian eschatology. Besides this, the genius and structure of the Egyptian language are such as to preclude the possibility of composing in it works of a philosophical or metaphysical character in the true sense of the words. In spite of these difficulties, however, it is possible to collect a great deal of important information on the subject from the funereal and religious works which have come down to us, especially concerning the great central idea of immortality, which existed unchanged for thousands of years, and formed the pivot upon which the religious and social life of the ancient Egyptians actually turned. From the beginning to the end of his life the Egyptian's chief thought was of the life beyond the grave, and the hewing of his tomb in the rock, and the providing of its furniture, every detail of which was prescribed by the custom of the country, absorbed the best thoughts of his mind and a large share of his worldly goods, and kept him ever mindful of the time when his mummified body would be borne to his "everlasting house" in the limestone plateau or hill.
