New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1895-01-06

of Egypt was known to the ancient Inhabitants
OF the country, and Rawlnson insists that the
Egyptians were obliged TO import nearly all the
metals they used Of every description. H. az
NJ Maspero says. the greater number 81 ES!P-
tian sacred writings are earlier than inc reign
OF the first known king Of the country then
the number and especially the exaggeration Of
the references to iron in the Book Of the Dead
are worthy of careful consideration. In the
both chapter 1t is said of the Osiris N-tha;
Is the dead person who, If righteous. must be
invested with the attributes Of the god Osiris
'he makes the offerings of thousands of years
Crosses over the iron Enclosure" In the sixty
fourth chapter the dead person ia supposed TO
say, II go across heaven. | pass through its
iron wall end make light in it,
There does not appear to be any
evidence to show that these phrases are
later than the passages to which they
belong But they indicate familiarity
with iron which on would hardly credit
to the remote beginnings Of Egyptian civiliza-
ton Again. in the eighty-hfth chapter the
departed one boasts that he goes through the
iron Enclosure. which made on the northern
side" and in chapter 1903. the field OF Aarru'
the home of the blest. is surrounded with an
iron barrier. In a legend told in chapter loS'
with details quite unexpected amid the custom
airy brevities of the book. it is said that there
Is mountain on the eastern side OF the SKY
which dwells snake The dimensions Oh
both snake and mountain are given with the
utmost precision. The name Of the snake Is
He who is in his own fame. and the gods
use Set to circumvent 1t. they use him to throw
an iron chain around It's neck to make 1t WON'T
all that It swallowed This passage reminds
one Of that iron chain which Gargantua had
made for the purpose Of keeping Pantagruei
in his cradle, and which was attcrward carried
away by the devils to bind Lucifer who DToke
his chains in those days. BY reason OF a cohc
that did extraordinarily torment him. taken
with eating sergeant's soul fried for his break
fast" The iron chain does not seem thihs
SO wonderful in Radicals Men Of the Middle
Ages We're familiar enough with cnains ia'se
enough to close port against ships. But how
could such things be known to the earliest CIV
iizaton Of the Egyptians? 1t is remarked TOO
how rarely other metals are mentioned. The
armament is described as brazen. and among
the innumerable gates through which the dis
embodied soul has to pass its way TO Fly |
SUM only one is specifically said TO be or metai. ,
The very earliest inscriptions in Egypt. as Lep- |
sius proved show acquaintance with iron. but
the priority Of copper seems TO be indicated ny
the fact that the sign for this metal was used
as determinative OF the word for iron. Bu' !
Il is not q knowledge OF iron that surprises one
in the Book Of the Dead; 1t is rather the eXaS-
ge,ated uses to which it is supposed 10 be put
Those who are familiar with the Book Of the
Dead In any form. whether original or trans
lated will not need to be told that ii Is pracu-
cally impossible to make summary statement
OF it's contents Every sentence stands by Itself
as II possessed of certain magical efhcacy.
There Is almost no attempt at narrative any
where in the collection u chapters. nor any
effort to work out a consecutive logica system oi
Thought. Many phrases and sentences read as
ir they were the result of meditation But TN"
labor has all been cast aside and forgotten. A
whole course Of metaphysics may be prousht 10
an end in a single line. 1t IS the line. not the
course which has been preserved. This con-
straint unknown to Western races, can be Cd
served also at some points in the Scriptures Of
the ancient Hebrews. The careful avoidance OF
every speculative tendency is a stubborn fact
for those to deal with who attribute Egyptian
civilization and Egyptian sacred writings TO
Indian sources The dislike for narrative evinced
In the Book OF the DEAD is equally troublesome
for those who would trace Egyptian religious
ideas to Chadaea. the home Of the Epos ana
Of the dramatic legend Yet the Book Of the
Dead furnishes many particulars that nj into the
theory Of Babyonian origin for Egyptian cut
ure Just as in the Assyrian tale Istar went
through seven doors to reach the throne-room OF
Aral0 or Hades, 50 must the dlsembOdied soul
Of an Egyptian pass through seven houses OF
Usiri (Osiris) before coming to the blessed place
Ia alu The similarity in the names OF these
nIsces ~ the dead has also been dwet upon, and
IL is not difficult to imagine that the held OF
Aarru. where the righteous Egyptian soul con-
aOric
earthly fashion might have answered to the
Eunhratean word Aral1. Dr. Hommel not only
aludes to these points in discussing the relation
Of the Egyptian sacred writings to those Of the
earliest civilized race of Babylonia, the sumo
rians but also dwes upon the afilnities OF Osiris
who is truly the divine hero of the Book OF the
Dead He shows that Osiris, like Ra. an aspec;
OF the SUM- was the son Of The earth god Just
as among the Babylonians. Merodach was the
son OF Fa god Of earth md sea what was
more. both Babyonians and Egyptians attrib-
uted to the god OF the air and also TO ms SON.
the god of the earth. wives who were each an
impersonation OF the ocean supposed to rest
over the armament. With both races one sun
god was the son Of the earth god Thus Or
Hommel makes out genealogical parallel In
which the Babylonian Merodach and the Egyp-
tiar Osiris both traced their origin back to Num-
a god who on the Nile and The Euphrates allkc
represented the heaven ocean. Merodach was
the bright sun Of the morning: OF Osiris 1t was
said that Shining and warming. he rose Ike the
sun god Ra and believed the world like the sun
disk In the morning" Ra, or more accurately
Re'a. identified by the Egyptians with Osi-
ris and his name which originally seems to have
meant "herdsman." furnishes a new analogy
with Merodach. who was called in the Creation
E-pic Of Ra nv Inn 10 of
Merodach figures as mediator between the good
god and mankind and Osiris is the friend Of
humanity. the goldman OF Egyptian theology
As Istar (Astarte) Ia the sister and spouse Of
Merodach. Isis Egyptian Is-t or Ws-D is the
sister and snnuse OF OSIRIS. The bull LIS the