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CONFLUENCE OF OPPOSITES
249 restored ; (b) by unction with oils and paint and by the agency of the adze of Anubis mouth, eyes and ears in the body of Osiris are opened'; (c) the members are put into motion, and each organ recalled to life; (d) other methods are employed to revive Osiris" body : it is buried in the earth ; (e) Osiris is also revived by simulating an animal rebirth; the priest who plays Anubis lies in a recumbent position-which is that of the foetus in the mother's womb-under the skin of some sacrificial animal. He symbolises Osiris being conceived anew, being reborn in the hide, and issuing, as if, from the matrix, after assimilating to himself the life of his sacrificed adversary, Seth. As the result of all these rites Osiris is brought back to life. Offerings are then offered to bim and he is adorned and crowned. He also recovers the privilege of 'creative voice' whereby he is able to baffle all dangers, and to create instantly whatever in any emergency necessity demands
(ERE. vol. ix p. 75). In addition to these rites, there is reason to believe, there were other rites complementary to these which related to the purification of Osiris, and which were probably only known to the initiates. These ceremonies were performed that they might serve as a piety and consolation for the men and women who should suffer the
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