The mystery of the Great pyramid : traditions concerning it and its connection with the Egyptian Book of the dead : with numerous illustrations

CHAPTER IV “THE BOOK OF THE DEAD ”

Sir Gaston Maspero, as noted in our Introduction, not only endorsed the thesis of Marsham Adams concerning the correspondence between the Great Pyramid’s allegory and that contained in the Egyptian Book of the Dead, but confirmed it by citing a tradition amongst the priests of Memphis that the Great Pyramid, as the “ Secret House ”’ of Osiris, was the scene where the neophyte was initiated into the Mysteries of Egypt.1

Before pointing out these remarkable resemblances, which not only explain the allegory enshrined in the Great Pyramid, but even make clear certain peculiar features which constructionally are difficult to account for, it will be convenient first to explain what the Book of the Dead signified and how it came into existence.

To begin with the title by which it is known to-day, and which was originally given to it by Champollion and Lepsius in the early part of last century, this is an unsatisfactory one for two reasons. Firstly, it is not a book in the usual sense of the term, but a collection of texts and prayers which were continually being changed or added to. Secondly, it conveys the idea that the holy departed were regarded as dead, whereas the whole conception of the doctrine held by the Egyptians concerning death was that it signified the entrance of the soul to light and life.

“No race conferred so much importance and dignity upon the cult of the dead as the Egyptian. It is no exaggeration to say that the life of the Egyptian of the

1 See Note P.

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