An essay on the danger of interments in cities / translated by Vicq Dazyr.

  • Scipione Piattoli
Date:
1824
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: An essay on the danger of interments in cities / translated by Vicq Dazyr. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the National Library of Medicine (U.S.), through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the National Library of Medicine (U.S.)

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    drawn from these examples to check the too extended custom of embalming, and they succeeded so much the better, as they were in no wise contrary to the prevailing opinion. Some time after the whole face of things was changed, and fire filled the tombs and urns with ashes. The custom of burning bodies, spread even among people who had first practised simple inhu mation. It was observed that long wars, frequent transmi- gration, the ruin and re-building of cities, must, in the revolu- tion of time, entirely change the face of a country, and the bones confided many ages to the bosom of the earth, must be then in- evitably exposed above ground. The fear of such a profana- tion produced a general determination to reduce the dead to ashes. From this time their repose was considered better se- cured. They went still farther ; they wished to exclude from the walls and precincts of the city, these ashes, which, however, they continued to look upon with respect, and the places which had been consecrated to the ordinary interments were destined to receive the urns. The highways had been for a long time bordered with tombs and funeral stones covered with inscrip- tions. Thus the traveller easily learned the glorious actions of his ancestors, and every one there found examples and subjects of emulation. The remains of great men presented to view, seemed to reproach the passenger with his own weakness. On the other hand they preserved cities from carnage, conflagra- tion, and destruction, for the people were obliged to leave their walls to defend these sacred deposits. It would have been a crime to let them become a prey to the enemy. Religion introduced new dogmas which favoured this usage. Philosophy adopted different opinions upon the nature of Spirit, aud upon the activity of flames. It was believed that bodies were thus promptly restored to their constituent principles ; the ^m ei,\dead- ?Tf re]*tes> as also Strabo, that the kings of Persia Sm'I T WC! their treasures should be enclosed with then, in their tombs. Tins custom was also very frequent among the Romans ■ it mounts up to the highest antiquity. The ancient Pagans never forot to put a piece of money in the mouth of the defunct, which they de*ienaterf under the name of Obolum or of trhnttm. From thence Vinrilin sofakhS of the dead, often calls them inopem turbam. Sro.ro. p. 59, 61, 70 and in