only "the sons of Râ," the Horus, dwelling upon earth, who, during his
sojourn here below, renews the blessings of Horus, son of Isis. Their
complex nature was revealed at the outset in the form and arrangement of
their names. Among the Egyptians the choice of a name was not a matter
of indifference; not only did men and beasts, but even inanimate
objects, require one or more names, and it may be said that no person or
thing in the world could attain to complete existence until the name
had been conferred. The most ancient names were often only a short word,
which denoted some moral or physical quality, as Titi the Runner, Mini
the Lasting, Qonqeni the Crusher, Sondi the Formidable, Uznasît the
Flowery-tongued. They consisted also of short sentences, by which
the royal child confessed his faith in the power of the gods, and his
participation in the acts of the Sun's life--"Khâfrî," his rising is
Râ; "Men-kaûhorû," the doubles of Horus last for ever; "Usirkerî," the
double of Râ is omnipotent. Sometimes the sentence is shortened, and the
name of the god is understood: as for instance, "Ûsirkaf," his double is
omnipotent; "Snofmi," he has made me good; "Khûfïïi," he has protected
me, are put for the names "Usirkerî," "Ptahsnofrûi," "Khnûmkhûfûi," with
the suppression of Râ, Phtah, and Khnûrnû.

[Illustration: 023.jpg PAGE IMAGE]

The name having once, as it were, taken possession of a man on his
entrance into life, never leaves him either in this world or the next;
the prince who had been called Unas or Assi at the moment of his birth,
retained this name even after death, so long as his mummy existed, and
his double was not annihilated.

{Hieroglyphics indicated by [--], see the page images in
the HTML file}