body and maketh them to rot, who worketh
destruction upon many dead bodies, whilst he himself remaineth hidden
and liveth by slaughter; let me live and perform his message, and let
me do that which is commanded by him. Gave me not over unto his
fingers, and let him not gain, the mastery over me, for I am under thy
command, O lord of the gods.

"Homage to thee; O my divine father Osiris, thou hast thy being with
thy members. Thou didst not decay, thou didst not become worms, thou
didst not diminish, thou didst not become corruption, thou didst not
putrefy, and thou didst not turn into worms."

The deceased then identifying himself with Khepera, the god who created
Osiris and his company of gods, says:--

"I am the god Khepera, and my members shall have an everlasting
existence. I shall not decay, I shall not rot, I shall not putrefy, I
shall not turn into worms, and I shall not see corruption under the
eye of the god Shu. I shall have my being, I shall have my being; I
shall live, I shall live; I shall germinate, I shall germinate, I
shall germinate; I shall wake up in peace. I shall not putrefy; my
bowels shall not perish; I shall not suffer injury; mine eye shall not
decay; the form of my countenance shall not disappear; mine ear shall
not become deaf; my head shall not be separated from my neck; my
tongue shall not be carried away; my hair shall not be cut off; mine
eyebrows shall not be shaved off, and no baleful injury shall come
upon me. My body shall be stablished, and it shall neither fall into
ruin, nor be destroyed on this earth."

Judging from such passages as those given above we might think that
certain of the Egyptians expected a resurrection of the physical body,
and the mention of the various members of the body seems to make this
view certain. But the body of which the incorruption and immortality are
so strongly declared is the S[=A]HU; or spiritual body, that sprang into
existence out of the physical body, which had become transformed by
means of the prayers that had been recited and the ceremonies that had
been performed on the day of the funeral, or on that wherein it was laid
in the tomb. It is interesting to notice that no mention is made of meat
or drink in the CLIVth Chapter, and the only thing which the deceased
refers to as necessary for his existence is air, which he obtains
through, the god Temu, the god who is always depicted in human form; the