ed to the cult of Osiris, the first man who
had risen from the dead. One of the oldest of these later substitutes
for the Book of the Dead is the _Shai en Sensen_, or "Book of
Breathings." Several copies of this work are extant in the funerary
papyri, and the following sections, translated from a papyrus in the
British Museum, will give an idea of the character of the Book:

"Hail, Osiris[1] Kersher, son of Tashenatit! Thou art pure, thy heart is
pure. Thy fore parts are pure, thy hind parts are cleansed; thy interior
is cleansed with incense and natron, and no member of thine hath any
defect in it whatsoever. Kersher is washed in the waters of the Field of
Offerings, that lieth to the north of the Field of the Grasshoppers. The
goddesses Uatchet and Nekhebet purify thee at the eighth hour of the
night and at the eighth hour of the day. Come then, enter the Hall of
Truth, for thou art free from all offence and from every defect, and
'Stone of Truth' is thy name. Thou enterest the Tuat (Other World) as
one exceedingly pure. Thou art purified by the Goddesses of Truth in the
Great Hall. Holy water hath been poured over thee in the Hall of Keb
(_i.e._ the earth), and thy body hath been made pure in the Hall of Shu
(heaven). Thou lookest upon Ra when he setteth in the form of Tem at
eventide. Amen is nigh unto thee and giveth thee air, and Ptah likewise,
who fashioned thy members for thee; thou enterest the horizon with Ra.
Thy soul is received in the Neshem Boat of Osiris, thy soul is made
divine in the House of Keb, and thou art made to be triumphant for ever
and ever."

"Hail, Osiris Kersher! Thy name flourisheth, thy earthly body is
stablished, thy spirit body germinateth, and thou art not repulsed
either in heaven or on earth. Thy face shineth before Ra, thy soul
liveth before Amen, and thy earthly body is renewed before Osiris. Thou
breathest the breath of life for ever and ever. Thy soul maketh
offerings unto thee in the course of each day.... Thy flesh is collected
on thy bones, and thy form is even as it was upon earth. Thou takest
drink into thy body, thou eatest with thy mouth, and thou receivest thy
rations in company with the souls of the gods. Anubis protecteth thee;
he is thy protector, and thou art not turned away from the Gates of the
Tuat. Thoth, the most mighty god, the Lord of Khemenu (Hermopolis),
cometh to thee, and he writeth the 'Book of Breathings' with his own
fingers. Then doth thy soul breathe f