By the process of embalmment, they could for ages suspend the decomposition
of the body; while by means of prayer and offerings, they saved the Double,
the Soul, and the "Luminous" from the second death, and secured to them all
that was necessary for the prolongation of their existence. The Double
never left the place where the mummy reposed: but the Soul and the "_Khû_"
went forth to follow the gods. They, however, kept perpetually returning,
like travellers who come home after an absence. The tomb was therefore a
dwelling-house, the "Eternal House" of the dead, compared with which the
houses of the living were but wayside inns; and these Eternal Houses were
built after a plan which exactly corresponded to the Egyptian idea of the
after-life. The Eternal House must always include the private rooms of the
Soul, which were closed on the day of burial, and which no living being
could enter without being guilty of sacrilege. It must also contain the
reception rooms of the Double, where priests and friends brought their
wishes or their offerings; the two being connected by a passage of more or
less length. The arrangement of these three parts[26] varied according to
the period, the place, the nature of the ground, and the caprice of each
person. The rooms accessible to the living were frequently built above
ground, and formed a separate edifice. Sometimes they were excavated in the
mountain side, as well as the tomb itself. Sometimes, again, the vault
where the mummy lay hidden, and the passages leading to that vault, were in
one place, while the place of prayer and offering stood far off in the
plain. But whatever variety there may be found as to detail and
arrangement, the principle is always the same. The tomb is a dwelling, and
it is constructed in such wise as may best promote the well-being, and
ensure the preservation, of the dead.


[26] These three parts are (l) the chapel, (2) the passage, or shaft, (3)
the sepulchral vault. If the latter was below the level of the chapel,