Page:The Pharaohs and their people; scenes of old Egyptian life and history (IA pharaohstheirpeo00berkiala).pdf/21

• —none hath loved thee more than I. . . .

Heaven and earth are mourning after thee. O mighty one, our lord,^[1] speak, and dispel the anguish of our souls! To behold thy face is life, and the joy of our spirits is to gaze on thee!'

Nevertheless in bodily form Osiris appeared not on earth again; but Isis ceased not from her search until she had found the remains, all torn and mangled as they were by the malice of Set. 'She made light with her feathers,' says the old hymn, 'and wind with her wings; at his burial she poured forth her prayers.'

'She gave birth to a child; secretly and alone she nursed the infant—no man knows where that was done.

'Now has the arm of that child become strong within the ancient dwelling of Seb.'^[2]

The child of Isis, the beautiful and radiant Horus, was the avenger of Osiris; he cast down the terrible Set, and destroyed his power; then, on appearing resplendent from his triumph, he was hailed with acclamation by gods and

1. Isis is joined in her lamentations by her sister Nephthys, who was wife of Set, but never shared his evil repute.
2. i.e. The Earth. Seb, the Earth-god, was father of Osiris; Nut, the Heaven above, was his mother in Egyptian mythology.