XVIII. 1. And [they say] that when Isis had gone a

journey to her son Horus, who was being reared at Boutos,^ and had put away ' the chest,' Typhon, taking his dogs ^ out by night towards the moon, came upon it; and recognising the body, tore it into fourteen pieoei, and scattered them abroad.
2. And Isis [they say] on learning this, searched for them in a papyrus skiff (baris) sailing away throu^ the marshes ; ^ whence those who sail in papyrus hulls are not injured by the crocodiles, either because thej * fear or rather revere the Goddess.^
1 Generally supposed to stand for the city Bntd, bat may bt some word-play. Can it be connected with Bootes^ the Ploogb- man — the constellation Arcturus — the voyage being oelertial; that is, a movement of the world -soul or change of state in the individual soiil ? Budge (p. 192) gives its Egyptian equivalent as Per-Uatchit, ie. '' House of the Eye."
* Lit, from her feet.
' Lit., vessel ; may also mean " celL"
♦ Vulg,, "hunting."
^ lAif — a probable play on the 8i-cXf
• Sc. the crocodiles.
7 It is remarkable how that every now and then Plutardi in* serts apparently the most naive superstitions without a word of
THE MYSTERIES OF ISIS AND OSIRIS 289
3. And it is because of this [they say] that many tombs of Osiris are spoken of in Egjpt ^ — through her performing burial rites on meeting with each pieca
4 Some, however, say no ; but that making herself images [of them] she distributed these to each city,' as though she were giving it the [whole] body, in order that it might have honours from the multitude, and that even if Typhon should get the better of Horus, he might renounce his search for the true tomb when many were spoken of and pointed out.
5. Now, the only one of the parts of Osiris which Isis did not find was that which causes awe ; for that it was cast straightway into the Biver, and the scaly- coat,' and the devourer,^ and the sharp-snout^ ate it up — which [they say] among fishes ai*e considered specially expiate;^ and that Isis, making herself a counterfeit instead of it, consecrated the phallus; in honour of which the i^;yptiaiis keep festival even to this day.^