words and deeds" of men, and his verdicts were unalterable, he became
more powerful in the Other World than Osiris himself. Osiris owed his
triumph over Set in the Great Judgment Hall of the Gods entirely to the
skill of Thoth of the "wise mouth" as an Advocate, and to his influence
with the gods in heaven. And every follower of Osiris relied upon the
advocacy of Thoth to secure his acquittal on the Day of Judgment, and
to procure for him an everlasting habitation in the Kingdom of Osiris.


CHAPTER V

Thoth and Osiris.

The Egyptians were not satisfied with the mere possession of the
texts of Thoth, when their souls were being weighed in the Great
Scales in the Judgment Hall of Osiris, but they also wished Thoth
to act as their Advocate on this dread occasion and to prove their
innocence as he had proved that of Osiris before the great gods in
prehistoric times. According to a very ancient Egyptian tradition,
the god Osiris, who was originally the god of the principle of the
fertility of the Nile, became incarnate on earth as the son of Geb,
the Earth-god, and Nut, the Sky-goddess. He had two sisters, Isis
and Nephthys, and one brother, Set; he married Isis and Set married
Nephthys. Geb set Osiris on the throne of Egypt, and his rule was
beneficent and the nation was happy and prosperous. Set marked this
and became very jealous of his brother, and wished to slay him so
that he might seize his throne and take possession of Isis, whose
reputation as a devoted and loving wife and able manager filled the
country. By some means or other Set did contrive to kill Osiris:
according to one story he killed him by the side of a canal at