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The original document 3,27 m long, is kept in framed pieces in the british
Museum in London. Sir Peter Le Page Renouf produced a colour copy of it in
1890 and E.A. wallis Budge shortly later corrected this version bringing
this beautiful and coloured document to the pubblic’s attention. The papyrus
goes back to the second middle period and includes about two-hundred
formulas of the first text of the Pyramids and of the texts of the
sarcophagus, apparently written by Thoth for Osiride’s order, who judges the
dead and decides the destination of the dead person’s soul. Only he could
give life other death because he himself had obtained it through
resurrection. The chapter 125 of the book follows the scribe Ani’s proof in
his journey in afterlife, beginning from the day of judgement. Ani asks
Tem-Ra, chief of the gods of Eliopoli: “How long must I live?” and Team-Ra
answers: “You will exist for milions and milions of years, a period of
milions of years”.
The book has been defined “Osiride’s Gospel”, because it gives the esoteric
teachings that would allow man to reach the eternal life after death. This
can be obtained only if the dead person had lived a pure and good life
during his stay on earth. The souls judged good, at his death reaches
Osiride in the skies, fro the eternal life, while others went toward the
destruction.
The scribe Ani, is led in the room of judgement before 42 gods who ask him a
negative confession of 42 earthly sins. The dead person has to proclaim his
innocence about each one of his sins. The, going forward, across the room of
judgement, Anubis, god of dead, weighs Ani’s dead heart on the plate of
scale while on the other one there is a feather. The scribe that records the
result. If the heart is heavier than the feather, the dead person is
sentenced to death and is heart is eaten by the demon Ammut. Thos who passed
the test, whose heart is lighter than the feather procede hand in hand with
Horus to meet Osiride you gives him the eternal life.Ani passes the test and
is taken before Osiride. During the funerals, the living sung prayers for
the dead person, with version taken from the book of the dead. The chapter
and verses were often put with the dead person or painted in the sarcophagus
or in the urns, this would have sent him to Osiride, Orione in the sky for
the resurrection and eternal life.
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