' would have cried out in horror if the silence had not pressed upon him like a weight that held him paralyzed.'īut the Temple of Osiris was not dark. Then he spoke a spell and ended with a great name of power, a word at which the whole temple rocked and the flame on the altar leapt high, and then sank into darkness. Thrice he threw the powder, and as he threw it a ball of fire rose from the altar and floated away. Then he threw a certain powder into the flame upon the altar. When Setna had barred the doors, Se-Osiris drew a magic circle round them and round the statue of Osiris and round the altar on which a small fire of cedar wood was burning. So the prince and the small boy made their way into the sanctuary of the Temple of Osiris where, as members of the royal family, they had power to go. Setna had learnt to believe anything the wonderful child said without surprise, and now he agreed to accompany his son into the Duat, even though he knew that such an expedition would be dangerous: for once there they might not be able to return. Then you will discover how different are the fates of this rich man who has worked evil during his life, and this poor man who has done nothing but good.' I know the words of power that open all gates: I can release your Ba and mine - our souls, that can then fly into the Duat, the world of the dead, and see all that is happening there. I will prove it to you, if you will trust yourself to me. Setna was much hurt by his son's words, but Se-Osiris tried to explain them, saying, 'Whatever you may have seen here matters little compared with what will chance to these two in the Judgement Hall of Osiris.
'I pray that the poor man's fate may be yours.'
'On the contrary,' said Se-Osiris, 'I pray that the poor man's fate may be yours and not that of the rich man!' 'Well,' said Setna, watching the two funerals going down to where the boats were waiting to carry them across the Nile, 'I hope that my fate will be that of the rich noble and not of the poor laborer.' His two sons carried the simple wooden case: his widow and daughters-in-law were the only mourners. The second funeral was that of a poor laborer.
The first was that of a rich man: his mummy was enclosed in a wooden case inlaid with gold troops of servants and mourners carried him to burial and bore gifts for the tomb, while many priests walked in front and behind chanting hymns to the gods and reciting the great names and words of power which he would need on his journey through the Duat. They stood one day in the window of the palace at Thebes watching two funerals on their way to the West. The one visit to the Duat of which a record remains was paid by Se-Osiris, the wonderful child magician who read the sealed letter, and his father Setna, the son of Pharaoh Rameses the Great. Home :: the Myths :: The Book of Thoth The Land of the Dead