Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1882-02-02
The Egyptian Ieea of Immortality.

The following curious theory Of life
after death, which influenced the an
cient Egyptians in the construction of
their tombs, is taken from On illustrat-
ed paper on Oriental and Early Greek
Sculpture" by Mrs. Lucy NJ. Mitchell,
in the January Century:
ain Egypt, from the very earliest
time, the tomb was of the greatest sig
niicance, for sculpture. OF temple ruins
on the Nile, from that hoariest past
between the First and Eleventh Dynas-
ties, there is scarcely a trace. How
vivid the witness borne to the sepul.
chral art on the plains of Memphis, the
capital of ancient Egypt. Along the
margin of the desert stretches the vast
Metropolis, with hidden population
Of statues, sentineled by those stupen.
dous royal tombs, the Pyramids. Where
else have such preparations been made
for the final rest of the dead as in the
great campo santo of the ancient en-
pire?
Though mingled with much that
was naive and material, how vivid
were the conceptions of the ancient
people concerning the future world I
They believed this life but an episode
in an eternal existence. Death to them
was the real life, only evil spirits being
spoken of as dead. The coffin was
called the chest of the living. But to
the ancient Egyptian the immortal
part, even after death, was in some
mysterious way dependent for its con-
tented existence upon the preservation
of the body; hence the importance of
embalming, the care taken to keep the
body as life-like as possible and secure
from harm during the long period of
the souls probation. The eternal
dwellings, hewn in the solid rock, high
above the foods, were in strong con-
trast to the abodes of the living, built
within reach of the swelling Nile, and
of which scarcely a vestige remains.
"The massive chamber of this tomb
where lies the mummy is pictureless,
and its entrance is closed with solid
masonry. From it shaft leads up,
which was at many places thirty meters
deep, and was filled with dense mass
of earth and stone, making more in
violate the mummy's rest. Over the
concealed entrance of this shaft there
rises that other essential part of the
tomb the sacred chapel (mastaba) of
equally solid construction.
"In dark recess (serdab) aside from
this chapel are found many statues
walled up. These are usually twelve
in number, and represent the deceased
with great diversity. To what pur-
pose are they herep Singular beliefs,
prevalent among the Egyptians, and
read from the ehieroglyphics by Maspero,
furnish us the key to this problem.
"An immortal secohd self, 'ka,'
somewhat resembling the 'cidolon' of
the Greeks and :he shade of the Rom
ans, was believed to spring into being
with every mortal, grow with his
growth, and accompany him after death.
So close was the relationship of this
strange double, 'ka,' to mans proper
being, that it was of the greatest i'm
portance to provide it with material
and imperishable body which it should
occupy after death, sharing with the
mummy the security of the eternal
dwelling 1t was believed that the
shade, 'ka,' come out of this statue and
perambulate among men in true ghostly
fashion, returning to it at will. This
stony body for the dead mans 'ka' was
naturally made in his exact likeness
and also bore an inscription stating his
name and qualities. But single stat.
ue might perish, and future happiness
be thus forfeited. Hence that most
unique feature of Egyptian statuary
the multiplication of the portraits OF
| the deceased in his tomb"