Page:Poetical works of Mathilde Blind.djvu/479

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NOTES.


Page 371, line 25. "Neharak Said": "May thy day be happy."

Page 375. "Sphinx-Money": Small fossil shells or ammonites, frequently found in some parts of the desert.

Page 378, line 12. "Bab-el-Molouk": The Gate of the Kings. The entrance to the rocky tombs, most of which belong to the eighteenth and nineteenth Dynasties.

Page 378, line 21. "Tuat": The depth of the grave.

Page 380, line 14. "While Thoth holds the trembling balance, weighs the heart and seals its fate." Perhaps of all Egyptian beliefs, none is so widely known as "The Judgment of the Dead." It is frequently represented on tombs and temples, and there is a remarkable wall-painting of it in the beautiful little temple of Dêr-el-Medineh. After Osiris, Judge of the under world, Thoth plays the chief part in this impressive ceremony. He is the Moon-god, generally repi'esented as an Ibis or Baboon. "The soul first advanced to the foot of the throne, carrying on its outstretched hands the image of its heart or of its eyes, agents and accomplices of its vices and virtues. It humbly 'smelt the earth,' then arose, and with uplifted hands recited its profession of faith. In the middle of

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