THE BOOK OF THE DEAD The Papyrus of Ani by E. A. WALLIS BUDGE [1895] Introduction Translation

The file above, which appears at on the Internet at Sacred-Texts for the first time is a faithful e-text of the 1895 edition of the E.A. Wallace Budge translation of the Egyptian Book of the Dead.

In November of 2000 I inventoried my library and found that I was missing Budge's Book of the Dead. So when a copy of the Dover reprint came up at the local used bookstore, I purchased it. To my dismay, the version of the text widely posted on the Internet did not seem to match the Dover reprint of the 1895 version.

According to John Mark Ockerbloom, the proprietor of the excellent Online Books Page, the version circulating on the Internet is a highly edited version of Budge from a much later date (1913). He writes:

"I did a little legwork, and it appears that the "mystery text" is in fact from the Medici Society edition of 1913. According to a 1960 reprint by University Books, for this edition "The translation was rewritten... [and the] greater part of the Introduction was also rewritten by Sir Wallis, who concluded a preface to it with the pleased words, 'and the entire work thus becomes truly a "New Edition"'". It's unclear whether Budge himself did the rewrite of the translation, but it's clear that he at least claims responsibility for it,. and it does appear to draw fairly heavily on his earlier translation."

Thanks to Mr. Ockerbloom for clearing up this mystery.

In any case, the version now at sacred-texts is a completely new e-text, which I believe to be a much better version of this text.