the Book of the Dead ( PDF )

The Doctrine Of Eternal Life.
for Unas and hath driven them unto him; and the cord-master hath bound them for slaughter. Khonsu the
slayer of [his] lords hath cut their throats (511) and drawn out their inward parts, for it was he whom
Unas sent to drive them in; and Shesem hath cut them in pieces and boiled their members in his blazing
caldrons. (512) Unas hath eaten their magical powers, and he hath swallowed their spirits; the great ones
among them serve for his meal at daybreak, the lesser serve for his meal at eventide, and the least among
them serve for his meal in the night. (513) The old gods and the old goddesses become fuel for his
furnace. The mighty ones in heaven shoot out fire under the caldrons which are heaped up with the
haunches of the firstborn; and he that maketh those who live (514) in heaven to revolve round Unas hath
shot into the caldrons the haunches of their women; he hath gone round about the two heavens in their
entirety, and he hath gone round about the two banks of the celestial Nile. Unas is the great Form, the
Form (515) of forms, and Unas is the chief of the gods in visible forms. Whatever he hath found upon his
path he hath eaten forthwith, and the magical might of Unas is before that of all the (516) sahu who
dwell in the horizon. Unas is the firstborn of the first born. Unas hath gone round thousands and he hath
offered oblations unto hundreds; he hath manifested his might as the Great Form through Sah (Orion)
[who is greater] than (517) the gods. Unas repeateth his rising in heaven and he is the crown of the lord
of the horizon. He hath reckoned up the bandlets and the arm-rings, he hath taken possession of the
hearts of the gods (518). Unas hath eaten the red crown, and he hath swallowed the white crown; the
food of Unas is the inward parts, and his meat is those who live upon (519) magical charms in their
hearts. Behold, Unas eateth of that which the red crown sendeth forth, he increaseth, and the magical
charms of the gods are in his belly; (520) that which belongeth to him is not turned back from him. Unas
hath eaten the whole of the knowledge of every god, and the period of his life is eternity, and the duration
of his existence is (521) everlastingness, in whatsoever he wisheth to take; whatsoever form he hateth he
shall not labour in in the horizon for ever and ever and ever. The soul of the gods is in Unas, their spirits
are with (522) Unas, and the offerings made unto him are more than those made unto the gods. The fire
of Unas (523) is in their bones, for their soul is with Unas, and their shades are with those who belong
unto them. (524) Unas hath been with the two hidden (?) Kha (?) gods who are without power (?) . . . . . .
. . (525); the seat of the heart of Unas is among those who live upon this earth for ever and ever and
ever."
{p. lxxxi}
The notion that, by eating the flesh, or particularly by drinking the blood, of another living being, a man
absorbs his nature or life into his own, is one which appears among primitive peoples in many forms. It
lies at the root of the widespread practice of drinking the fresh blood of enemies--a practice which was
familiar to certain tribes of the Arabs before Muhammad, and which tradition still ascribes to the wild
race of Cahtâm-and also of the habit practised by many savage huntsmen of eating some part (e.g., the
liver) of dangerous carnivora, in order that the courage of the animal may pass into them.[1] The flesh
and blood of brave men also are, among semi-savage or savage tribes, eaten and drunk to inspire
courage.[2] But the idea of hunting, killing, roasting and eating the gods as described above is not
apparently common among ancient nations; the main object of the dead king in doing this was to secure
the eternal life which was the peculiar attribute of the gods.
[1. Robertson Smith, The Religion of the Semites, p. 295; Fraser, Golden Bough, vol. ii., p. 86.
2. The Australian blacks kill a man, cut out his caul-fat, and rub themselves with it, "the belief being that all the
qualifications, both physical and mental of the previous owner of the fat, were communicated to him who used it"; see
Fraser, Golden Bough, vol. ii., p. 88.]
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