ABSTRACT
Ritual of the Dead are accompanied by formulre relating to their spiritual efficacy in the sudden changes of the life beyond the tomb, and by directions regarding their use as talismans, which give them at once the character of magical incantations. Such an one follows the chapter which was engraved on all the scarabei wrought in hard stone which were laid upon the breasts of the mummies :'
At the end of another chapter, one of the most obscure and mysterious of the whole book, we read:-
Weseefromtheseexamples,towhichwemight addmanymore,thatsomeofthemostimportant chaptersoftheRitualoftheDead,whenwrittenupon certainobjectsplacedonthemummy,convertedthem intotalismanswhichprotectedthedeceasedwitha sovereignefficacyduringtheperilswhichawaited himintheotherworld,beforeheattainedthe resurrectionoftheblest.Othersweredestinedto theconsecrationofcertainsymbolsmadeof substancesprescribedintheliturgies,andsuspended roundtheneckofthemummy;rubricswereadded tothemorderingthemanufactureoftheseprotecting amulets,anddefiningthenatureoftheirinfluence. Lastly,manychaptersoftheRitualarein themselvesregularmagicalexorcismsforrepulsing themonstrousbeings•inwhomthepowerofSet wasmanifested,andwhostrovetoruinanddevour thesoulofthedeceased.
