eyes of the Osiris. Horus openeth the mouth of the Osiris even
as he opened the mouth of his father. As he opened the mouth of the god
Osiris so shall he open the mouth of my father with the iron that cometh
forth from Set, with the Meskha instrument of iron wherewith he opened
the mouth of the gods shall the mouth of the Osiris be opened. And the
Osiris shall walk and shall talk, and his body shall be with the Great
Company of the Gods who dwell in the Great House of the Aged One (_i.e._
the Sun-god) who dwelleth in Anu.[3] And he shall take possession of the
Urrt Crown therein before Horus, the Lord of mankind. Hail, Osiris!
Horus hath opened thy mouth and thine eyes with the instruments Sebur
and An, wherewith the mouths of the gods of the South were opened....
All the gods bring words of power. They recite them for thee. They make
thee to live by them. Thou becomest the possessor of twofold strength.
Thou makest the passes that give thee the fluid of life, and their life
fluid is about thee. Thou art protected, and thou shalt not die. Thou
shalt change thy form [at pleasure] among the Doubles[4] of the gods.
Thou shalt rise up as a king of the South. Thou shalt rise up as a king
of the North. Thou art endowed with strength like all the gods and their
Doubles. Shu[5] hath equipped thee. He hath exalted thee to the height
of heaven. He hath made thee to be a wonder. He hath endowed thee with
strength."

[Footnote 1: It was assumed that the king after death became a being
with the nature of Osiris, and he was therefore addressed as "Osiris."]

[Footnote 2: Or Anubis, a very ancient god who presided over embalming;
he appears in the form of a man with the head of a dog or jackal.]

[Footnote 3: The On of the Bible, the Heliopolis of the Greeks. This
city lay a few miles to the east of the modern city of Cairo.]

[Footnote 4: Every living thing possessed a KA or "double," which was
the vital power of the heart and could live after the death of the
body.]

[Footnote 5: The Air-god, the son of Keb and Nut.]

The ceremonies that followed concerned the dressing of the statue of the
king and his food. Various kinds of bandlets and a collar were
presented, and the gift of each endowed the king in the Other World with
special qualities. The words recited by the priest as he offered these
and other gifts were highly symbolic, and were believed to possess great
power, for they brought the Double of the king back to this ear