is enforced in the moral writings as well as in the theology of ancient Egypt.
"Give the water of the funereal sacrifice to thy father and mother who repose in the tomb; renew the water of the divine oblations. … Neglect not to do it, even when thou art away from thy dwelling. Thy son will do it for thee in like manner."
These words are taken from the Maxims of Ani.
We find the following among the good wishes made for a person: "Mayst thou receive the lustral water from the hands of thy son each tenth day. … May every heir who offers the libation to his own father, contribute his offering of water to thy ka; and as he propitiates his father or buries his mother, may thy name be uttered together with his own father."[1]
On the other hand, the wish that a man may not have a son after him is the most terrible of imprecations.
"Whoever shall preserve this inscription," we read, "in the temple of Amon Rā, the Lord of Senneferet, he shall be favoured by Amon Rā, and his son shall be established in his place; but whosoever shall remove this inscription from the temple of Amon Rā, Amon Rā will curse him, and his son shall not be established in his place."[2]
