Note 19 — Chapter XIX · Rival Deities of Life and Death, Sunshine and Storm
Reading edition
In Ancient Egypt the deities wept vitalizing tears (see Index). Ra’s tears gave life to gods and men, the tears of the god Shu and the goddess Tefnut became incense-bearing trees. The tears of Osiris and Isis caused life-giving herbs, &c., to grow, but the tears shed on the world by the evil Set and his partisans produced poisonous plants. When deities were enraged, their saliva, sweat, and blood on touching the earth germinated and produced poisonous plants, scorpions, serpents, &c.19