Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1883-06-24
THE EGYPTIAN IDEA OF IMMOR-
T4LITY

pG1aiOn.
THE EGYPTIAN IDEA OF MINOR
TALITY.
In Egypt, from the very earliest time,
the tomb was Of the greatest significance
for sculpture. Of temple ruins on the
Nile, from that hoariest past between
the First and Eleventh Dynasties, there
is scarcely trace. How vivid the wit
ness borne to the sepulchral art on the
plains of Memphis, the capital Of oldest
Egypt! Along the margin of the desert
stretches the vast Metropolis, with
hidden population of statues, sentineled
by those stupendous royal tombs, the
Pyramids. Where else have such pre-
parations been made for the final rest of
the dead as in this great campo sa1ato Of
the ancient empire?
Though mingled with much that was
naive and material, how vivid were the
conceptions Of that ancient people con-
corning the future world They be-
heved 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 contented exist
ence 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 floods, were
in strong contrast to the abodes Of the
living, built within reach of the swelling
Nile, and of which scarcely vestige re-
mains.
The massive chamber of this tomb
where lies the mummy is pictureless,
and its entrance is closed by solid
masonry. From it a shaft leads up,
which was at many places thirty meters
deep, and was filed with dense mass
of earth and stone, making more invio-
late the mummy's rest. Over the con-
cealed entrance of this shaft there rises
that other essential part of the tomb,
the sacred chapel (naastoJ) of equally
solid construction.
In a dark recess (sOrda6), aside from
this chapel, are found many statues
walled up. There are usually twenty or
more in number, and represent the de-
ceased with great diversity. To what
purpose are they here? Singular beliefs,
prevalent among the Egyptians and read
from the hieroglyphics by Maspero, fur
nish US the key to this problem.
An immortal second-seIf, ko, some
what resembling the "eidolon'' of
the Greeks and the shade of the Romans.
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 la to mans proper being, that it
was of the greatest Importance to pro-
vide it with material and imperishable
body which it should occupy after death,
sharing with the mummy the security
of the "eternal dwelling" It was be-
lieved that the shade la could 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 inscrip-
ton stating his name and qualities. But
a single statue might perish, and future
happiness be thus forfeited. Hence that
mostunique feature ofEgyptian statuary,
the multiplication of the portraits of the
: deceased in his tomb.-ZHe Century.