The Religion of Ancient Egypt William Matthew Flinders Petrie Platanus Publishing

The Religion of Ancient Egypt William Matthew Flinders Petrie Platanus Publishing

“Before dealing with the special varieties of the Egyptians’ be­lief in gods, it is best to tr y to avoid a misunderstanding of their whole conception of the supernatural. The term god has come to tacitly imply to our minds such a highly specialised group of att­ributes, that we can hardly throw our ideas back into the more remote conceptions to which we also attach the same name. It is unfortunate that ever y other word for supernatural intelligences has become debased, so that we cannot well speak of demons, de­vils, ghosts, or fairies without implying a noxious or a trifling meaning, quite unsuited to the ancient deities that were so bene­ficent and powerful. If then we use the word god for such con­ceptions, it must always be with the reser vation that the word has now a ver y different meaning from what it had to ancient minds.”