The Religion of Ancient Egypt

“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.”