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They understood that it is not good for man to think only of his immediate advantage in this world and they drew his attention to the days of the future
他們懂得，人不能只考慮眼前的利益，這是大有害處的。他們將人們關注的目光引向來世。
when his soul would dwell beyond the mountains of the west and must give an account of his deeds to Osiris,
人的靈魂要住在西方高山的那邊，他的生前一切行為要在烏悉利斯神前受審判。
the mighty God who was the Ruler of the Living and the Dead and who judged the acts of men according to their merits.
到那時，人的靈魂將居住在西部的群山之外，并將向威力無窮、掌管生死的大神奧賽西斯匯報自己前世的作為，神則根據他們的德行做出裁決。
Indeed, the priests made so much of that future day in the realm of Isis and Osiris
事實上，祭司們過分強調在大神奧賽西斯與艾西斯國土里的來世生活了，
that the Egyptians began to regard life merely as a short preparation for the Hereafter and turned the teeming valley of the Nile into a land devoted to the Dead.
這使得古埃及人將此生僅僅當作是為來世所做的短暫準備，把富繞而生機勃勃的尼羅河谷變成了一塊奉獻給死者的國土。
In a strange way, the Egyptians had come to believe that no soul could enter the realm of Osiris without the possession of the body which had been its place of residence in this world.
很奇怪的是，古埃及人漸漸相信：一個人如果失去了今世的寄身之軀，他的靈魂也就不可能進入奧賽西斯的國土。
Therefore as soon as a man was dead his relatives took his corpse and had it embalmed.
因此當人一死，他的親屬們馬上便對其尸體進行處理，涂上香料和藥物防腐。
For weeks it was soaked in a solution of natron and then it was filled with pitch.
然后，放在氧化鈉溶液里浸泡數星期，再填以樹脂。
The Persian word for pitch was "Mumiai" and the embalmed body was called a "Mummy."
在波斯文里，樹脂讀作“木米乃”（mumiai），因此經過防腐處理的尸體便被稱為“木乃伊”（mummy）。
It was wrapped in yards and yards of specially prepared linen and it was placed in a specially prepared coffin ready to be removed to its final home.
木乃伊用特制的亞麻布層層包裹起來，放在事先準備好的特制棺材中，運往死者最后的安居之所。
But an Egyptian grave was a real home
不過，埃及人的墳墓倒是像一個真正的家，
where the body was surrounded by pieces of furniture and musical instruments (to while away the dreary hours of waiting)and by little statues of cooks and bakers and barbers
墓室里擺放著家具和樂器（以打發等待進入奧賽西斯國土的沉悶歲月），還有廚師、面包師和理發師的小雕像環立四周
(that the occupant of this dark home might be decently provided with food and need not go about unshaven).
（這樣墓室的主人就能體面地梳洗、進食，不至于胡子拉茬的四處亂走）。
