Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Historical Enquiry Into The Funereal Ceremonies Of The Various Nations Of The World*
the corpse on the ground , the brahmin utters in a gr . iA-e tone the words following , " Oh earth , who during his life nourished this man made of earth , we restore him to thee after his death . " The corpse is then covered with combustible materials , to Avhich fire is applied , and the brahmin exclaims , " Oh fire , whose beneficent Avarmth maintained the life of this man , Ave restore his body to thee in order that thou mayest purifit . "
y The corpse being entirely consumed the ashes are thrown into the air , the brahmin crying " Oh air , by Avhose means this man breathed , Ave restore to thee after death that by ivhich thou supported it in life . " The ashes cast into the air fall into the ivater , the fourth element being in conclusion thus apostrophised by the brahmin , '' Oh earth , thy moisture ivas the principle of this man ' s life , we restore him to thee after his death . "
At Madagascar they thus interrogate the deceased , " Why say they art thou dead ? What grief has impelled thee to yield up thy breath ? Wert thou not rich enough ? Hadst thou not sufficient gold and iron , flocks , and slaves ? " After the ceremony they construct upon his grave a small wooden haven , which they are careful to supply with rice , tobacco , and other provisions . The children repair from time to time to the nlace of senulture . and when thev are in anv difficulty thcv
seriously eonsultHhe deceased ! thereon , saying to him , " Thou , ivho art noiv present Avith God , advise us AA'hat must be done in such an affair . " The negroes in the kingdom of Juida , on the Slave Coast , never inhabit the divelling of the departed for the space of twelve moons . The ancient inhabitants of the Canaries , were accustomed to place their deceased king in a cellar . They armed him ivith a great stick , in order that he might make use of itas a defence against malevolent spirits .
, All the nations , and all the religions which have preserved the inward , and almost universal feeling of the immortality of the soul , have also been desirous of describing the fate of mortals in another life . The Greeks , following the Egyptians , who themselves derived their views from the Phoenicians , imagined that there was upon earth a vast abyss , Avhich they called Tartarus ; this idea was a reminiscence of the mysteries established in Egypt , and to ivhich Freemasonry makes
sensible approaches . They also supposed that three Fates ( Parques ) presided over men ' s destiny , and three judges , rulers of the empire below , disposed of his eternal existence ; Pluto , Minos , and Rhademanthus , composed the infernal tribunal . These interrogated the soul of the deceased , bestowing the joys of the Elysian Fields upon all those , whose life had been virtuous and irreproachable , ivbile the wicked were delivered over to the Furies , charged to torment them , and with whom was to be found the purification by water , by fire—punishments and trials of all kinds .
They pretended to have received these particulars from those , who had formerly returned from hell , and it would be difficult to require perfect sincerity from men so situated . It is now certain that in the mysteries of Isis , Eleusis anil Ceres , occasion might be afforded for these reports , by the ceremonies observed in initiation . The Neophyte had only the poAver of AvithdraAving , and re-entering the world again , up to a certain point , at which he had seen and heard nothing . * He who at a later
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Historical Enquiry Into The Funereal Ceremonies Of The Various Nations Of The World*
the corpse on the ground , the brahmin utters in a gr . iA-e tone the words following , " Oh earth , who during his life nourished this man made of earth , we restore him to thee after his death . " The corpse is then covered with combustible materials , to Avhich fire is applied , and the brahmin exclaims , " Oh fire , whose beneficent Avarmth maintained the life of this man , Ave restore his body to thee in order that thou mayest purifit . "
y The corpse being entirely consumed the ashes are thrown into the air , the brahmin crying " Oh air , by Avhose means this man breathed , Ave restore to thee after death that by ivhich thou supported it in life . " The ashes cast into the air fall into the ivater , the fourth element being in conclusion thus apostrophised by the brahmin , '' Oh earth , thy moisture ivas the principle of this man ' s life , we restore him to thee after his death . "
At Madagascar they thus interrogate the deceased , " Why say they art thou dead ? What grief has impelled thee to yield up thy breath ? Wert thou not rich enough ? Hadst thou not sufficient gold and iron , flocks , and slaves ? " After the ceremony they construct upon his grave a small wooden haven , which they are careful to supply with rice , tobacco , and other provisions . The children repair from time to time to the nlace of senulture . and when thev are in anv difficulty thcv
seriously eonsultHhe deceased ! thereon , saying to him , " Thou , ivho art noiv present Avith God , advise us AA'hat must be done in such an affair . " The negroes in the kingdom of Juida , on the Slave Coast , never inhabit the divelling of the departed for the space of twelve moons . The ancient inhabitants of the Canaries , were accustomed to place their deceased king in a cellar . They armed him ivith a great stick , in order that he might make use of itas a defence against malevolent spirits .
, All the nations , and all the religions which have preserved the inward , and almost universal feeling of the immortality of the soul , have also been desirous of describing the fate of mortals in another life . The Greeks , following the Egyptians , who themselves derived their views from the Phoenicians , imagined that there was upon earth a vast abyss , Avhich they called Tartarus ; this idea was a reminiscence of the mysteries established in Egypt , and to ivhich Freemasonry makes
sensible approaches . They also supposed that three Fates ( Parques ) presided over men ' s destiny , and three judges , rulers of the empire below , disposed of his eternal existence ; Pluto , Minos , and Rhademanthus , composed the infernal tribunal . These interrogated the soul of the deceased , bestowing the joys of the Elysian Fields upon all those , whose life had been virtuous and irreproachable , ivbile the wicked were delivered over to the Furies , charged to torment them , and with whom was to be found the purification by water , by fire—punishments and trials of all kinds .
They pretended to have received these particulars from those , who had formerly returned from hell , and it would be difficult to require perfect sincerity from men so situated . It is now certain that in the mysteries of Isis , Eleusis anil Ceres , occasion might be afforded for these reports , by the ceremonies observed in initiation . The Neophyte had only the poAver of AvithdraAving , and re-entering the world again , up to a certain point , at which he had seen and heard nothing . * He who at a later