Such fantastical reconstructions of the other world, however,
never found general favor and are confined to a few royal tombs.
The priests and other prominent people have rolls of papyrus
buried with them, bearing copies of books of the dead. These
books of the dead are made up of a series of chapters, each
complete in itself and each dealing with some phase of the future
life. There is no set order of chapters. There is no fixed number
of chapters. Each scribe seems to have selected the chapters
which he considered useful. The general title is: Chapters of the
going forth by day. The general character may be given by a
paragraph attached to one of the chapters in the Book of Ani the
Scribe [Edited by E. A. W. Budge, p. 26]: "If this book be known
on earth and written on the coffin, it is my mouth. He shall come
forth by day in any form he desires and he shall go into his
place without being prevented. There shall be given to him bread
and beer and meat upon the altar of Osiris. He shall enter in, in
peace, to the field of Earu according to this decree of the one
who is in the City of Dedu. There shall be given to him wheat and
barley there. He shall flourish as he did upon earth. He shall do
his desires like these nine Gods who are in the underworld, as
found true millions of times. He is the Osiris: the Scribe Ani."

There are chapters to overcome all the evil which a soul may
encounter; there are words to greet all the gods whom the soul
desires to visit. The Scribe Ani had an exceptional position on
earth; he desires to do his desire in the other world; and in the
names of Osiris he recites the magic words that bring him the
power. He is Ani, but he calls himself Osiris; just as the
priestly doctor mixes his dose of medicine and calls it "the eye
of Horus tested and found true."