Thomas Greenhill

“ We may perhaps vainly please our selves with having the Picture of our deceas’d Friend, which nevertheless consists but of a few Lights and Shadows, or it may be we have his Statue, which however wants the natural Complection and Air of his Person: ’Tis true Pictures or Statues may preserve in our Minds our Friends Memories, and so in some measure redeem them from the Injuries of Oblivion, yet will they still but very faintly and imperfectly represent that Body, to which Embalming gives a real Presence, and which may at any Time be essay’d by our Senses. ”

“ By reason the Event of what we are going about is doubtfull, let us mutually engage to shew Humanity to each other, nor so far indulge our Passions as to neglect the last Duties. We have Malice in our Hearts, let there be likewise such a Piety as may opportunely succeed our Rigour; for tho’ a difference in our Minds happens to divide us, the Law of Nature will reunite us. Tho’ we are never so far seperated by Envy, this will bring us together again. Let it therefore be the Condition of our Piety, that the Conqueror follow the Herse of the Conquer’d. ”

“ What tho’ other Ceremonies be perform’d with the greatest Splendor and Exactness, they can give no other Satisfaction than the Decency of Burial, or performing perhaps the Will of the Dead; for the Body will nevertheless stink, corrupt, and it may be startle the nearest Friend to see it a while after? Then shall his Bones not be known, nor his Ashes be distinguish’d from another Mans, nay even from common Earth, so that the parcimonious Heir may well reflect, how vain and needless it would have been to have bestow’d more than a decent Expence on his Funeral. ”

“ Savage, thus writes: ‘Of all Nations, none we read of made so much adoe about their Dead as the Egyptians, who, when ever a Friend dy’d, always shew’d him far more Respect than while he liv’d; insomuch that if a Father lost a Son, a Son a Father, or one Friend was depriv’d of another, they us’d to shave off half their Hair as a Hieroglyphic to demonstrate they had parted with half of themselves. Also the Egyptian Women, when their Husbands, Children or Relations dy’d, were wont to tear their Flesh, and scratch their Faces with their Nails. ”

“ It is both agreeable to Truth and Observation, and not to be doubted by Wise Men, that there are in us some innate Seeds of Immortality, which we so desirously seek, as to take Care both of our Sepulture, and that our Carcass be not ill treated. Human Understanding, which is the Force of the Soul, knowing it self Immortal, desires also the Body, which is its Companion and Habitation, may enjoy as much as may be the same Felicity she her self has. ”

“ I value not a Tomb, Nature provides that for me. But this these spoke only in respect to the Soul, which could receive no Hurt nor Damage from the Bodies being cast out unbury’d; therefore they seemingly ridicul’d and despis’d it, the better to fortifie Men against any fear of the want of Burial, yet they firmly believ’d that all those who were depriv’d thereof, were the most miserable and wretched of Creatures, and that their Souls continually wander’d, as Virgil elegantly expresses, Æneid. ”

“ Thus far have I shown how the infection of Air and Water may occasion many Diseases, which therefore are carefully to be avoided as pernicious to Embalming: I shall now only observe, that as the even Temper and good Humour of Man tends much to his Health and long Life, so that healthy State and Constitution, either affords a Natural Embalming, or at least such Bodies are easiest to be preserv’d. ”

“ Surgery the Chief of Art If the Excellency of any Art consist only in its Usefulness, or if it derive its Preeminence from the Object, with which it converses, it necessarily must follow, That the Profession of Surgery is the Chief of Arts, since it is employ’d about so noble a Subject as Man; and therefore the Greeks have thought fit to call such manual Operations The Art of Surgery, which otherwise might as well have been apply’d to any Mechanick Trade. ”

“ And hence it is no Nation in the World has been so curious as the Egyptians in their Funeral Ceremonies, Preserving the Dead, and magnificence of Sepulchres, which, besides abundance of private Structures, those Obelisks at Rome and the Pyramids of Egypt, do not only testifie, but will for ever be numbred among the Wonders of the World. ”

“ Man the Master-Piece of the Omniscient Architect, is but little inferiour to the Angels themselves, being made after GOD’s own Image; for his Use all other Creatures were made and put in Subjection to him: He alone was endu’d with a Rational and Immortal Soul, a beautiful Symmetry of Body, an Angelic Form, and a Countenance erect to Admire and Worship his Creator. The inquisitive Anatomist can never sufficiently investigate the noble Contrivance of his Organs; the profoundest Naturalist give Reasons for, or the most exquisite Mathematician pretend to imitate so Divine a Mechanism. ”

“ Here Alexander built himself a large and stately Palace of admirable Workmanship, and all the succeeding Kings of Egypt so enlarg’d and beautify’d this City, some with Ports and Arsenals, and others with magnificent Temples, and such like rich Donations, that it was then judg’d by many to be second, if not the first City of the World; being exceeding Populous, and plentifully provided with all sorts of Provisions and other Necessaries. ”

“ It must be granted, the Dead have no sense of any Change or Dissolution they undergo, and that it is a ridiculous Opinion of Tyrants, to think to punish the Body by mangling it, and delivering it to be torn to pieces and devour’d; neither do Bodies suffer any Hurt or Damage in respect to the Soul, after what manner soever they are bury’d: Yet you must grant these sufficient Reasons why the Dead should be taken care of, and not be despis’d and cast away ”

“ There is nothing done by Man worthy of Commendation, but GOD has imprinted some Imitation of it even in Brutes.
A Corps lying unbury’d and Putrifying, is not only a dismal Aspect to our Eyes, offensive to our Nose, and ungrateful to all our External Senses, but even horrid in our very private Apprehensions and secret Conceptions; nay to hear it but only nam’d, is so very unnatural and unpleasant to us, that we care not to entertain the least Thought of Death, even to the deferr’d Time of our Expiration. ”

“ Surely such as the Prince is, such ought to be the Palace wherein he dwells, and such as are the Jewels, such ought to be the Cabbinet that contains them. The Soul is the most precious Thing in this World, and accordingly GOD has enclos’d it with a Cover, the Body, the most beautifully compos’d next to it that can be ”

“ Now did every one keep to his own Province, as they did formerly in Egypt, there would be none of these Divisions among us, but every Art would flourish and stand upon its own Basis, and yet, I assure you, it would be found more difficult to understand, and perform one Art rightly, than to acquire a superficial Knowledge of many Things, in other Businesses, which relate little to the Purpose. ”

“ Why therefore should we not with our utmost Care support our earthly Tabernacle from the fatal Ruins of Death, that it may thereby continue in one State, like the Israelites Cloaths, without Wearing or Corrupting, and be Tenantable at any Time, whenever the Soul shall return to inhabit it again? Now as we are all desirous of Immortality, so ought we likewise to be of Eternity. ”

“ In like manner are we to believe the preservation of dead Bodies was not effected by those Charms or Idols, found about them, but purely perform’d by an extraordinary Skill in Medicine and Anatomy, and particularly in that exquisite Art of Embalming. ”

“ By this means many of the Egyptians, keeping the dead Bodies of their Ancestors in magnificent Houses, so perfectly see the true Visage and Countenance of those that dy’d many Ages before they themselves were born, that in viewing the Proportions of every one of them, and the Lineaments of their Faces, they take as much delight as if they were still living among them. ”

“ Now the Earth, which had been so long scorch’d by the violent heat of the Sun, is plentifully refresh’d with abundant Waters, and the very Cattel seem to rejoyce at the approaching verdant Season: Boats are row’d where not long before Men trod, and the Waters fill up the dusty Channels and long empty’d Cisterns, covering in many Places the whole superficies of 133the Land, making it appear as a troubl’d Lake. Nor is this an unpleasant sight to the Natives, who think the less they see of their Country, the more their Comfort will be. ”

“ We may as well expect one, that has never seen a Campaign, should understand Military Discipline; or one that has never been at Sea, Command and Steer a Ship rightly, as that an Upholsterer, a Taylor, Joyner, or the like Undertaker, should be well skill’d in the misterious Art of Embalming. These are the present Grievances, as well in Sciences as Trade, and ’till such Time as Quacks and Undertakers, Hawkers, Pedlers and Interlopers, and all such Persons, as were not brought up in the Emploiment they profess, be remov’d ”

“ Those that dwell in Cairo and other Cities are gross, corpulent and sanguine, whereas the wandring Arabians and Husbandmen are meagre and slender, very active and nimble, yet withal hairy, sweaty, and almost scorcht and burnt up with the Sun. The People in general are of a mean Stature, tawny Complexion, and spare Bodies, and this is remarkable of them, that tho’ their Country be in the same Climate with Barbary, yet are they not black, but tawny or olive-colour’d. ”

“ Why therefore should we think Embalming, or the artificial Preserving of Bodies, either displeasing to GOD or unbecoming a Christian, since we have so many Instances and Examples to the contrary? The Scriptures testifie that GOD’s antient People the Hebrews embalm’d their Dead, and that the Patriarchs Jacob and Joseph were both embalm’d; so also Joseph of Arimathæa and Nicodemus, following the Footsteps of their Ancestors, honour’d the Body of our Saviour with Embalming. This GOD Almighty was pleas’d to permit, because, as David says, He would not suffer his Holy One to see Corruption, Psal. ”

“ The Sepulchre of King Osymandua, the Cities of Memphis, Cairo, Babylon and Alexandria, the Tower of Pharos, the long Wall built by Sesostris, the Labyrinth, their Pyramids, Obelisks, Columns, Colossus’s, Statues, Sphinx’s, Monuments, Subterranean Vaults and Lamps, and other like admirable Works, testifie their extraordinary Skill and Ingenuity in all kinds of Arts to be such, as neither the Greeks, Romans, nor any other Nation were afterwards capable of. ”

“ Burial the Care of the Gods. And to shew how Religious an Act it is to bury the Dead; the Gentiles assign’d the Care of all Funerals and Sepulture to certain Gods they term’d Manes, whose chief was Pluto, call’d also Summanus, whence all Tombs and Monuments came to be dedicated, Diis Manibus. Homer, Euripedes, Aristotle and others have accounted Sepulture an Honour and Reward to Mens Actions; and on the contrary look’d on all such as miserable and unhappy whose Bodies lying unbury’d, wanted that last Happiness. ”

“ The Nature of the Soil is what breeds Nitre, as is apparent, in that where it is wanting, neither Salts nor Showers avail any thing. This is also very wonderful, that tho’ the Spring be always seen to flow, yet neither does it increase the Lake nor run over; but if it Rains in those Days in which it is bred, the Nitre will become more Salt, and worse if the North-Winds happen to blow, for they violently stir up the Mud: In this place indeed ’tis produc’d, but more plentifully in Egypt, |Egyptian Nitre.| tho’ a worser sort, for ’tis of a dark colour and stony. ”

“ Isocrates commending the Athenians for the great Care they took to bury their Dead, says, It was a mark and token of their Piety towards the Gods, since it was they and not Men that had establish’d that Law. Also Servius observes Virgil call’d Æneas by the name of Pious, because of the Funeral Honours, he, with so much Care and Application, had always paid to his Relations and Friends. Plato speaking of the several kinds of Justice, has not omitted what belongs to the Dead; nay Aristotle thought it more just to help those that were depriv’d of Life, than to assist the Living. ”

“ To this we must assent, that the Body is depriv’d much of its Dignity and Worth by such a Separation, inasmuch as it is but an ignoble Lump in respect of the Soul, yet are we not to neglect and despise it, but rather to esteem it the more for the Souls sake, in that it has once been in a happy State of conjunction with it, and that it shall again come to be reunited therewith. ”

“ But more commonly the Ancients us’d warm Water, both that they might thereby cherish and comfort the benumb’d and lifeless Limbs, and invite the natural Heat again into the Body, by doing which they better satisfy’d themselves whether the Body were really dead or not, and also that if it were past recovery, they might by thus cleansing the Body from all Filth and Purgings at the Nose, Mouth or lower Belly, render the Corps more decorous, and sightly, as ’tis a Custom among many at this Day, to comb the Hair, shave the Beard, and perfume the Corps with sweet Odours. ”

“ But this is however remarkable, that the fresh Waters of the Nile, keeping themselves united in a Body, and falling into the salt Water or Sea, change the Colour of the Mediterranean farther than any part thereof can be seen from the Shore. |Its Inundation.| Yet amongst all the Misteries of Nature, none is more wonderful than the Overflowing of this River, nor any Thing more Beneficial; since to this alone the Inhabitants owe not only their Riches but their Health, the most malignant Diseases immediately ceasing at the Approach of it, and Famine and Dearth are as quickly expell’d. ”

“ For Air or a gentle gale of Wind is not commonly found prejudicial to the flame of Oil, but only violent Blasts or Storms, which if absent, the Flame or Light will continue so long as the Aliment lasts. But how then came the Lamps of Minerva, Pallas and others not to be extinguish’d by the rushing in of Wind or sprinkling of Dust, and only by breaking the Lamp? Surely there must needs have been two kinds of inconsumable Oil, one which fear’d any admission of Air, and another which defy’d the most violent storms of Rain or Wind ”

“ The most temperate Season, has still somewhat of Spring or Autumn in it, which two last cannot well be distinguish’d in Egypt. Now the mild Weather commences 154in September, then they begin to breath the fresh Air, but, as about this Time, the Fields are all so cover’d with Water, one cannot Walk nor Travel by Land; an Abode there is not pleasant till the middle of November, for then the Country’s dry, the Ways free, the Waters run into their Channels, the Air pleasant, the heat of the Sun supportable, the Fields green and sweet, and refreshing Gales blow every-where. ”

“ But before I affirm The Art of Embalming to be a particular part of that Duty, which obliges all Mankind to take care of their Dead, |The Right of Burial and Funeral Ceremonies.| I shall give some cogent Reasons to prove the Right of Burial, what Things are necessary thereto, whether Ceremonies are needless and superstitious, or Monuments vain-glorious, &c. and this shall be as Nature dictates, the Law of GOD appoints, and the Law of Nations directs and obliges.
Sepulture a Debt to Nature. ”

“ What these Arts and Sciences were, suppos’d by Authors to have been found out by the Egyptians, I have already shown else-where, so shall here only add, that Hermes or Mercury is reported by Diodorus Siculus and other Writers, to have been the chief Inventor of them; but as no Art was ever invented and compleated at one Time, so neither was it ever invented and perfected by one Person so far, but another could add somewhat more commodious or advantagious to it. ”

“ Now what this Learn’d Author says of Sleep, the same may be said of Embalming; for this Art prevents the Corruption of the Grave, so that the Body will remain entire, and as it were asleep in its Bed, ’till awak’d by the last Trumpet to a joyful Resurrection, where in its Flesh it shall see GOD, Job 19. 26. and become Spiritual and Immortal. Hereby Death has no more Power over us than a long Sleep, which refreshes us from our Labours, and makes us arise in that Everlasting Morning unweary’d and undefil’d to enjoy a perfect State of Bliss for ever. ”