The FIFTH, like the FOURTH DIVISION of the BOOK OF GATES, in no way resembles that in the BOOK AM-TUAT, and it has nothing whatsoever to do with the kingdom of SEKER. The god AFU-RA, having passed through the Gate of the DIVISION or HOUR, which is called ARIT, and which has been opened by the monster serpent TEKA-HRA that guarded it, is towed along by four of the gods of this section of the

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[paragraph continues] Tuat. The ministers of the god consist of nine gods whose hands and arms are covered, and twelve gods who are under the direction of HERI-QENBET-F; the nine gods are called KHERU-ENNUTCHI, i.e., "those who hold the serpent ENNUTCHI," and the twelve gods BAIU RETH AMMIU TUAT, i.e., the "souls of men who dwell in the Tuat" (vol. ii., pp. 144, 145). The exact functions of Ennutchi are not known, but his presence is baleful, and AFU-RA straightway calls upon the group of gods to destroy him; the god would press on to the next Gate, NEBT-AHAU, but ENNUTCHI can travel to that point, and he must therefore be removed.

The next group of gods is of peculiar interest, for they represent the souls of those who have spoken "what is right and true upon earth, and who have magnified the forms of the god RA." In return for such moral rectitude and piety, AFU-RA orders HERI-QENBET-F to invite them to "sit at peace in their habitations in the corner of those who are with myself," where praises shall be sung to their souls, and where they shall have air in abundance to breathe; they shall, moreover, have joints of meat to eat in SEKHET-AARU. Besides this, offerings shall be made to them upon earth, even as they are to the god HETEPI, the lord of SEKHET-HETEPET (vol. ii., pp. 145, 146). Now from these statements some very interesting deductions may be made. In the first place, it is now certain that there was a place specially set apart for the souls of men in the Tuat, and that those who were allowed to enter it

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had lived a life of moral rectitude, and had followed after righteousness and integrity when they were upon earth. Secondly, they were allowed to live in the corner of the SEKHET-HETEPET with the great god himself, in the place where, as we know from the Papyrus of Ani (see above, p. 44), most wonderful grain grew. Thirdly, an everlasting supply of offerings made upon earth was assured them, and in this respect they were coequal with HETEPI, the chief god of the Field of Peace (or, Field of Offerings). Thus the religion of Osiris undoubtedly taught that those who were good on this earth were rewarded in the next world.

On the right of AFU-RA are the twelve gods called HENIU-AMMIU-TUAT, i.e., "those who sing praises in the Tuat," and the twelve gods called KHERU-ENNUHU-EM-UAT, i.e., "those who hold the cord in the Tuat," and the four HENBIU gods (vol. ii., pp. 148-150). The first company of gods are, as we learn from the text, engaged in praising AFU-RA, and they have been rewarded with the exalted office which they hold in Ament because they praised RA at sunrise and sunset when they lived upon earth, and because Ra was "satisfied" with what they did for him. They enjoy, moreover, a share of the offerings which are made to the god. A little beyond the HENIU are the "gods who hold the measuring cord," and by the orders of the great god they go over the fields of Amentet, and measure and mark out the plots of ground which are to be allotted to the KHU, or

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spirits of the righteous. Every spirit is judged by the god of law and righteousness, and only after a strict examination is he allowed to take possession of his allotment. As there seems to have been only one standard of moral and religious excellence all the allotments were probably of the same size. The food of the spirits who live in the homesteads which have been thus measured in SEKHET-AARU comes from the crops which grow in that region, and the four HENBIU gods, who superintended the, measuring of the fields, are ordered to provide sand, that is to say soil, for the replenishing of the ground.

The beings who are on the left of AFU-RA, in this Division are not less interesting than those on the right. Among these are four representatives of the four great classes into which the Egyptians divided mankind, namely, the RETH (for REMTH), the NEHESU, the THEMEHU, and the AAMU (vol. ii., p. 153). Of these the RETH, i.e., the "men" par excellence, were Egyptians, who came into being from the tears which fell from the Eye of RA. The THEMEHU, or Libyans, were also descended from the Eye of RA. The AAMU were the people of the deserts to the north and east of Egypt, Sinai, etc., and the NEHESU were the black tribes of Nubia and the Sudan. It is noteworthy that the members of each nation or people keep together. The representatives of the Four Nations are followed by twelve gods who are called KHERU-AHAU-AMENT, i.e., "The Holders of the Time of Life in Ament," and who

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hold the serpent METERUI. These remarkable beings have in their hands the power to determine the length of life which is to be meted out to the souls who have been doomed to destruction in Amenti, that is to say, they were able to defer the doom which had been decreed for souls, though in the end they were compelled to carry out the edict of destruction. In close connexion with these gods are the TCHATCHAU, or "Great Chiefs," who were believed to write the edicts of destruction against the damned (vol. ii., p. 156), and to record the duration of the lives of those who were in Amentet; in fact, they appear to have kept the registers of Osiris, and to have served in some respects as recording angels. From what has been said above it will be clear that all the scenes and texts which illustrate and describe the Kingdom of Seker have been omitted from the BOOK OF GATES, and that the first five sections of this work describe--1. The Antechamber of the Tuat. 2. The Divisions of the Kingdom of KHENTI-AMENTI, which extended from Abydos to a region a little to the north of Memphis. We may now proceed to consider the Kingdom of Osiris, the lord of Mendes and Busiris.