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| 98. The
Nile voyage begins |
As we begin our voyage up the Nile and our steamer
moves away from the Cairo dock, we see, stretching far along the western
horizon, the long line of pyramids, reminding us again of the splendor
and progress of the Pyramid Age which we are now leaving behind. At length
they drop down and disappear behind the fringe of palm groves. Other great
monuments are before us. Along the palm-fringed shores far away to the
south we shall find the buildings, tombs, and monuments
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NOTE. At the left we see entering, in white robes, the deceased, a man named Ani, and his wife. Before them are the balances of judgment for weighing the human heart, to determine whether it is just or not. A Jackal-headed god adjusts the scales, while an Ibis-headed god stands behind him, pen in hand, ready to record the verdict of the balances. Behind him is a monster ready to devour the unjust soul, as his heart (symbolized by a tiny jar), in the left-hand scalepan, is weighed over against right and truth (symbolized by a feather) in the right-hand scalepan. The scene is painted in water colors on papyrus. Such a roll is sometimes as much as 90 feet long and filled from beginning to end with magical charms for the use of the dead in the next world. Hence the modern name for the whole roll, the “Book of the Dead.” |
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