to Mankind, that they may live without that continual Terror of Death,
[Sidenote: Frees from the _Terror_ of _Death_.] which is occasion’d by
seeing such miserable Emblems of Mortality. If you do but consider, when
Men at first liv’d dispers’d, the very Abhorrence and Detestation of
meeting Dead Bodies, made them to remove such unpleasant Objects out of
their sight: Afterwards, when they assembl’d together and built Cities
to dwell in, they used Burial for this Reason says _Lilius Gyraldus_,
Lib. _De var. Sepult. Ritu._ pag. 4. _That the Living might not be
infected by the most noisom stench of the Dead_. The before-going
Arguments for Interment have been deduc’d from Natural and Political
Reasons, but the latter likewise relating to Physic, and particularly
conducing to the Health and long Life of Man (since _The Art of
Embalming_ was not known in those Days) we will a little more accurately
enquire into the pernicious Effects of _Putrefaction_, and the fatal
Consequences that from thence ensue; for this being the most potent
Enemy to Life, [Sidenote: From _Putrefaction_ the _Enemy_ of _Life_.]
Nature is very careful to expel it so soon as ever she perceives, by its
odious Scents, its invisible Approaches: Nor can she endure the lesser
ill Scents of Sweat or Urine, or those Excrements of the Belly, which
are necessarily produc’d from the Aliments of the Body, but the Body it
self as well as Spirits reject them; for this is to be observ’d, that
the Excrements and Putrefactions of all Creatures smell worst and are
most offensive to their own _Species_, which we may see by Cats, which
voiding a more than ordinary fetid Dung, always take care to bury it.
And such cleanliness of Living renders all Creatures the more Healthful,
as we daily find by Birds, Pigeons, Horses, Dogs, _&c._ which thrive
best when their Houses, Stables and Kennels are kept sweetest. There is
not only an unhealthy, but oftentimes a secret poysoning Quality in the
fetid Odours of a putrid Air, which are made so malignant by Bodies
corrupt and exposed therein; and thus, in several Countries, [Sidenote:
From the _Plague_.] great Plagues have been occasion’d only by the
Putrefaction of prodigious swarms of dead Grasshoppers and Locusts cast
up on heaps. Thus, the _Scripture_ testifies, the Land of _Egypt_ was
corrupted with Lice, Flies, Frogs and Locusts as a Punishment to
_Pharaoh_: The Fish of the Rivers died, and the Waters stank; also there
was a Murrain among the Beasts, and a Plague of Boils and Blains among
the Inhabitants, _Exod._ chap. 7, 8, 9, 10.
The infectious Atoms of a putrid Air are so very subtile and invisible,
that they meet with an easie reception into the Brain and Lungs, as
often as we breath, and thereby immediately occasion in the Brain either
an Apoplexy or _Delirium_, a _Syncope_ to the Spirits, a general
Convulsion of the Nerves, or else more slowly corrupt the Blood, by
mixing with it in its passage thro’ the Lungs, where they either produce
Imposthumes, Ulcers, Consumptions or _Hectic_-Fevers which prey upon the
Spirits and Vitals, or bring Gangrenes to the extreamest Parts, or the
Small-Pox, Purple Fevers, and other malignant Distempers to the whole
Body; nay, they too frequently prove the very principal Ingredient of
the Plague it self, that inexorable Spirit which so swiftly dispatches
many thousands of Souls to the other World.
[Sidenote: The _Art_ of _Poisoning_ the _Air_.]
Thus Poison’d _Air_, or _The Art of Empoisoning by Odours_, is more
dangerous than Poison’d Water, forasmuch as it is impossible Man should
live without Breathing, or subsist in an infectious Air, without a
proper Antidote. This _Art_ has been effectually practis’d by the
_Indians_ in their Trafficks, and the _Turks_ in their Wars, and was
particularly us’d by _Emanuel Comnenus_ towards the _Christians_, when
they pass’d thro’ his Country, in their way to the _Holy-Land_. This the
Lord _Bacon_ relates in the 10th Century of his _Natural History_, p.
201. where he is of Opinion, That foul Smells, rais’d by _Art_ for
Poisoning the _Air_, consist chiefly of _Man’s Flesh_ or _Sweat
putrefied_, since those Stinks, which the Nostrils immediately abhor and
expel, are not the most pernicious, but such as have some similitude
with _Man’s Body_, which thereby the easier insinuate themselves and
betray the Spirits. Thus in _Agues_, Spirits coming from _Putrefaction_
of _Humours_ bred within the Body, extinguish and suffocate the _Natural
Heat_, p. 74. The same effect is likewise to be observ’d in
_Pestilences_, in that the malignity of the infecting Vapour, daunts the
_principal Spirits_, and makes them to fly and leave their _Regiment_,
whereby the _Humours_, _Flesh_ and _Secundary Spirits_ dissolve and
break as it were in an _Anarchy_, Exper. 333. p. 74.
Also because the _Canibals_, in the _West-Indies_, eat _Man’s Flesh_,
the same Author thought it not improbable, but that the _Lues Venerea_
might owe its Origin to that foul and high Nourishment, since those
People were found full of the _Pox_ at their first Discovery, and at
this Day the most _Mortal Poisons_, practis’d by them, [Sidenote:
Consists partly of _Man’s Flesh_, &c.] have a mixture of _Man’s Flesh_,
_Fat_ or _Blood_. Likewise the Ointments that _Witches_ have us’d, are
reported to have been made of the _Fat_ of _Children_ dug out of their
Graves; and diverse _Sorceresses_, as well among the Heathens as
Christians, have fed upon _Man’s Flesh_, to help, as they thought, their
wicked Imaginations with high and foul Vapours, _Exper._ 26. and 859.
The most pernicious Infection, next the _Plague_ or _Air Poison’d by
Art_, is the Smell of a _Goal_ where Prisoners have been long, close and
nastily kept, whereof, says the Lord _Bacon_, we have in our Time had
Experience twice or thrice, when both the Judges that sat on the Trials,
and numbers of those that assisted, sickn’d on the spot and Died,
_Exper._ 914. The like would frequently befall those that visit
_Hospitals_, and other such Places, where either the _Leprosie_, _French
Pox_ or _Malignant Fevers_ rage, were not the Attendants dayly
accustom’d to it, or did they not use proper _Antidotes_ to keep them
from it. If therefore the morbid State of the Living only be so
pernicious to healthful Bodies, [Sidenote: _Air_ most _Infected_ by a
_putrid Carcass_.] what Destruction must that _Air_ produce, which is
replete with the volatile Steams and Spirits, that issue from a dead and
putrid Carcass?
——_Sicut Grex totus in Agris
Unius Scabie cadit & Porrigine Porci,
Uvaq; conspecta Livorem ducit ab Uva._ says _Juvenal_.
From one infected Hog, Experience shows, }
Thro’ the whole Herd the dire Contagion goes; }
Thus from one tainted Grape the Bunch corrupted grows. }
For every Thing in Nature easiest Corrupts that of its own kind. The
Reason of this is because it is _Homogeneal_, as is commonly seen in
_Church-Yards_, where they bury much; for a Corps will consume in a far
shorter Time there, than it would have done in another place where few
have been buried.
It therefore necessarily follows, that if the Dead were not inhum’d,
whole Cities would Corrupt and be fill’d with the _Plague_; and after
great Battels, if the Dead should lie unbury’d, whole Countries would be
destroy’d; [Sidenote: _Sepulture_ defends from the _Plague_,] all which
Mischiefs are prevented by a timely _Sepulture_: For the Earth by its
weight and closeness not only suppresses and dissipates the Vapours that
arise from a _putrid Carcass_, but also imbibes and sucks up the
_stinking Gore_; and being a _Medium_ between that and the _Sun_,
prevents the Beams of that Planet from suddenly exhaling such fetid
Odours. [Sidenote: Likewise _preserves Bodies_.] Nay the Lord _Bacon_
farther assures us, That _Burying_ in the _Earth_, which is _cold_ and
_dry_, serves for _Preservation_, _Condensation_ and _Induration_ of
_Bodies_, as you may find in his 4th Century of his _Natural History_,
Exper. 376, 377. But this needs no farther Confirmation, since Bodies
are dug up in every Age perfect and uncorrupt, which perhaps had been
buried above 40 or 50 Years, and some have been found petrified to a
perfect Stone, of which we shall discourse more hereafter, therefore
will at present proceed to acquaint you with other _final Causes_ or
_Ends of Burial_.
[Sidenote: Third Cause of _Burial_.]
A _Third Cause of Burial_ is, That _Man’s Body_ may not be torn to
pieces and devour’d by savage Beasts, and Birds of Prey, which would be
a sight wholly unbecoming the Dignity of _Human Nature_, as _Seneca_
observes _Lib._ 6. De Beneficiis: _Inter maxima Rerum suarum_, says he,
_nihil habet Natura, quo magis glorietur_. _Nature has nothing in the
whole Creation of which she may boast more than of Man_: So that it must
needs be a grievous Trouble and Concern to her to see the _Master-Piece_
and _Perfection_ of all _Creatures_ become thus a Prey to the vilest of
Animals; and that he who whilst living had all of them under Subjection,
so soon as ever his Spirit is separated from his Body, they should
forget all Allegiance to their late Sovereign, and rebelliously Tear him
to Pieces: Therefore we who are his Fellow-Creatures, and endu’d with
Humanity, take care to bury him out of the way of such Harpies; and
ought to perform all his Funeral Obsequies with the same Respect we were
wont to show him whilst alive. Hence _Hugo Grotius_ is of Opinion, That
_Burial_ was invented in respect to the Excellency of _Man’s Body_.
[Sidenote: Taken from the Excellency of _Man’s Body_.] _Cum Homo cæteris
Animalibus præstet, indignum visum, si ejus Corpore alia Animantia
pascerentur, quare inventam Sepulturam, ut id quantum posset,
caveretur._ _Since Man excells all other Creatures, it was thought
unworthy they should feed upon his Body; for which reason Sepulture was
found out, that this Mischief might be prevented as far as possible._
Likewise _Lactantius_, Lib. 6. _Institut._ cap. 12. says, _Non patiemur
Figuram & Figmentum DEI, Feris & Volucribus in Prædam jacere, sed
reddamus id Terræ, unde ortum est_. _Let us not suffer the Image and
Workmanship of GOD to lie expos’d as a Prey to the Beasts and Birds, but
let us return it back to the Earth from whence it had its Origin._
[Sidenote: Accounted by us the Fourth _Cause_.]
So that we will account the _Fourth Reason for Burial_, to be the
_Excellency of Man’s Body_, to which we ought to show the greater Honour
and Respect, in that it is the Receptacle of the _Immortal Soul_. Hence
_Origen_, Lib. 8. _Contra Celsum_ says, _Rationalem Animam honorare
didicimus, & hujus Organa Sepulchro honorifice demandare_. _We have
learn’d to Honour the Rational Soul, and respectfully to convey its
Organs to the Grave._ And thus St. _Austin_ very elegantly expresses
himself, _Lib._ 1. De Civit. DEI, _cap._ 13. _Si Paterna Vestis &
Annulus, vel si quid hujusmodi, tanto carius Posteris, quanto erga
Parentes Affectus major, nullo modo ipsa spernenda sunt Corpora, quæ
utiq; multo familiarius, atq; conjunctius, quam quælibet Indumenta
gestamus._ _If we take so much the more care to preserve our Fathers
Apparel, Ring, and other Remainders of the like nature, as we bore an
Affection to them, ’tis plain their Bodies are by no means to be
neglected, which we wear closer and nearer to us than any Cloaths
whatever._
[Sidenote: Fifth _Cause_ of _Burial_.]
But the _Fifth Cause_ and _ultimate End of Burial_ is in order to a
future _Resurrection_, and as B. _Gerhard_ asserts, agreeable to that
Companion of _Christ_ and St. _Paul_ his Apostle, _John_ 12. 24. 1
_Corinth._ 15. 37, 38. That Bodies are piously to be laid up in the
Earth, like to Corn sowed, to confirm the assured Hope of the
_Resurrection_: And therefore the _place_ of _Burial_ was call’d by St.
_Paul_, _Seminatio_, as others term it _Templi Hortus_, the _Churches
Orchard_ or _Garden_. By the _Greeks_ it was call’d, Κοιμητήριον,
_Dormitorium_, a _Sleeping Place_. By the _Hebrews_, בית חיים,
_Beth-chajim_, i. e. _Domus Viventium_, the _House of the Living_, in
the same respect as the _Germans_ call _Church-Yards_, =Gotsacker=,
i. e. _DEI Ager, aut Fundus_, _GOD’s Field_, in which the Bodies of the
Pious are sowed like to Grain or Corn, in expectation of a future
Harvest. By these Appellations we are admonish’d of the Resurrection of
the Body, and of the Immortality which is given by GOD to the Soul. _For
as they that Sleep awake again, and as Christ who is the Head arose
again, so shall we who are his Members arise._ Hence _Calvin_
(Commenting on _Isaiah_ 14. 18.) says, _The Carcasses of Beasts are
thrown out, because they were Born to Putrefaction; but our Bodies are
interr’d in the Earth, and being there deposited, expect the last Day,
that they may arise from thence to lead a Blessed and Immortal Life with
the Soul_. Also _Aurelius Prudentius_, a Christian Poet, rightly asserts
_The Hope of the Resurrection to be the chief Cause why the greatest
Care is taken of Burial_, whereof he has most excellently describ’d
every particular Circumstance in a Latin Funeral Hymn, which being
Translated by Sir _John Beaumont_, Baronet, into 172 Verses, I will for
brevity sake refer you to _Weaver_’s _Funeral Monuments_, pag. 25. where
you will find them inserted, and worth your Perusal.
[Sidenote: Want of _Burial_ not prejudicial to the _Soul_.]
Nevertheless, we are not to think, tho’ _Burial_ was ordain’d by GOD as
a Work both pleasing and acceptable to him, and consequently approv’d
and practis’d by all Men, that therefore the want of it, or any
particular Ceremony thereof, can any ways be prejudicial to a Christian
Soul, as St. _Austin_ and _Ludovicus Vives_ his Commentator alledges,
_Lib._ 1. De Civit. DEI, _cap._ 11. And that Complaint which the _Royal
Prophet_ makes, _Psalm_ 79. 3. _That there was none to bury the dead
Bodies of GOD’s Servants_, was spoken rather to intimate their Villany
that neglected it, than any Misery to them that underwent it. ’Tis true
such Actions may appear heinous and tyranous in the Eye of Man, but
precious in the Sight of the Lord is the Death of his Saints: Neither is
our _Faith_ in his assured Promise so frail, as to think ravenous Beasts
or Birds of Prey can any ways make the Body want any part at the
_Resurrection_; but, on the contrary, we are well satisfied that in a
Moment there shall be given such a new Restitution, not only out of the
Earth, but out of the most minute Particles of all the other Elements,
wherein any Bodies can possibly be included, that not a Hair of our
Heads shall be missing. We read how the Bodies of the _Christians_
(after great Battels, and the Sacking and Subverting of Towns and
Cities) stood in want of the Rights and Ceremonies of _Burial_, which
neither is to be accounted any Omission in the living Christians, who
could not perform them, nor any Hurt to the Dead, who could not feel
them. We may, moreover, find in the History of Martyrs, and such like
Persecutions, how barbarous and cruel Tyrants have raged over the Bodies
of Christians, who, not content with tormenting them to Death several
thousands of ways, still persever’d with inhumanity to insult over their
mangled Corps, and at length to shew their utmost Contempt, bury’d them
in the Bowels of rapacious Creatures, or what other ignominious ways
their wickedness could invent. Nevertheless, we have all the reason to
believe their Souls were receiv’d into Heaven, and that their Bodies
will at the last Day be reunited intire to them again; after which,
Death will have no more Power over their Bodies than their Souls, but as
St. _Paul_ says, 1 _Cor._ 15. 44. _They will become Spiritual Bodies_.
[Sidenote: Nor any kind thereof hurtful.] So that in this respect it
matters not after what manner the Body be destroy’d, dissolv’d or
bury’d, as _Tatian_ in his Book _Contra Gentes_ says, _Quamvis Caro tota
Incendio absumatur tamen Materiam evaporatam Mundus excipit, quanquam
aut in Fluviis, aut in Mari contabescam, aut Feriis dilanior, condor
tamen in Penu locupletis Domini_. _Altho’ the Flesh be wholly consum’d
by Fire, yet the World receives the evaporated Matter, nay, altho’ I am
wash’d to nothing in Rivers or Seas, or am devour’d by wild Beasts, yet
shall I be reposited in the Store-House of a most wealthy Lord._
Likewise _Minutius Fælix_ in _Octavio_ has these Words: _Corpus omne
sive arescit in Pulverem, sive in Humorem solvitur, vel in Cinerem
comprimitur, vel in Nidorem tenuatur, subducitur Bonis, sed DEO
Elementorum custodio reservatur_. _The Body whether it be dry’d into
Powder, resolv’d into Moisture, reduc’d to Ashes, or evaporated into
Air, is indeed taken away from Good Men, but still the custody of the
Elements is reserv’d to GOD._ Some have been accounted a rigid sort of
_Stoicks_, and void of all Humanity, for this Reason only, because they
averr’d it profited nothing, whether the Body corrupted above or beneath
the Earth. Thus _Lucan_, Lib. 7.
————_Tabesne Cadavera solvat
An Rogus haud refert: Placido Natura receptat
Cuncta Sinu, Finemq; sui sibi Corpora debent.
——Cælo tegitur qui non habet Urnam._
——————For ’tis all one
Whether the Fire or Putrefaction
Dissolve ’em; all to Natures Bosom go,
Since to themselves their Ends the Bodies owe.
The Skie shall cover him who wants a Grave.
And that Favorite-Courtier _Mecænas_ was wont to say:
_Non Tumulum curo, sepelit Natura Relictos._
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._ 6. _v._ 325. where _Æneas_ asking the
_Cybil_ why such a number of Souls stood crowding near the Stygian Lake,
and were refus’d a Passage, he receiv’d this Answer:
_Hæc Omnis, quam cernis, inops inhumataq; Turba est:
Portitor ille, Charon: Hi, quos vehit unda, Sepulti.
Nec Ripa datur horrendas, nec rauca Fluenta [Sidenote: Some have fear’d
the want of it.]
Transportare prius, quam Sedibus ossa quierunt.
Centum errant Annos volitantq; hæc Littora circum,
Tum demum admissi Stagna exoptata revisunt.
Constitit Anchisa Satus, & Vestigia pressit,
Multa putans, Sortemq; Animo miseratus iniquam
Cernit ibi mæstos, & Mortis Honore carentes_, &c.
These Ghosts rejected, are the unhappy Crew
Depriv’d of Sepulchers and Funeral due.
The Boat-Man, _Charon_; those the buried Host,
He Ferries over to the farther Coast.
Nor dares his Transport Vessel cross the Waves
With such whose Bones are not compos’d in Graves.
A Hundred Years they wander on the Shore,
At length, their Pennance done, are wafted o’er.
The _Trojan_ Chief his forward Pace repress’d,
Revolving Anxious Thoughts within his Breast;
He saw his Friends, who whelm’d beneath the Waves,
Their Funeral Honours claim’d, and ask’d their quiet Graves.
_Dryden._
Some again are induc’d perhaps to think the care of Burial needless,
because there is no Sense in a Dead Body, as the Proverb has it, _Mortui
non dolent_; and others reject it for this Reason, _Quia sentienti Onus
est Terra, nihil sentienti, supervacaneum_. _For the Earth’s a Burthen
to him that is sensible of it, but none to him that is not._
[Sidenote: Others have Despis’d it.]
_Diogenes_ the Cynic Philosopher, among the rest of his Whimsies,
despis’d Sepulture, and when he was told he must thereby become a Prey
to the Beasts and Birds, he gave them this jocose Advice, _Si id metues,
ponite juxta me Bacillum, quo abigam eos_. _If you fear that, place my
Staff by me that I may drive them away._ _Quid poteris nihil sentiens?_
_What can you do if you are sensible of nothing?_ Reply’d his Friend. To
which he answer’d, _Quid igitur Ferarum laniatus oberit nihil
sentienti?_ _If I am not sensible, how can their Teeth affect me?_ At
other times he was wont to say on the like Occasion, _Si Canes meum
lacerabunt Cadaver, Hyrcanorum nactus fuero Sepulturam, Si Vultures,
Iberiorum; quod si nullum Animal accederet, ipsum Tempus: Pulcherimam
fore Sepulturam, Corpore pretiosissimis Rebus, Sole, inquam & Imbribus
absumpto_. _If the Dogs eat my Carcass, I shall have the Sepulture of
the_ Hyrcanians, _if Vultures, of the_ Iberians; _but if no Animal come
near me, then shall I be consum’d by Time, and, What a fine sort of
Burial must that needs be, to have my Body reduc’d to Dust by two of the
most precious Things in Nature, the Sun and Showers?_ Likewise
_Demonactes_ being told, if he were flung out unbury’d, as he desir’d,
the Dogs would tear him to pieces, he wittily answer’d, _Quid incommodi,
si mortuus alicui sim usui?_ _What hurt can it do me, if after I am Dead
I do somebody Good?_
[Sidenote: In what Sense the _Philosophers_ slighted it.]
It may farther be ask’d, Why _Plato_, _Aristotle_, and other
Philosophers, famous for Learning and Piety, despis’d the Rites and
Ceremonies of Sepulture? To which I answer, They did not really Despise
them, nor durst they say they were not to be at all: They said only, if
by chance they were neglected, it could do no hurt. Nor lastly did
_Lucretius_ contemn Sepulture, he only laughed at those who procur’d it
for this Reason, because they thought there still remain’d a Sense in
the Dead, as you will perceive by these Lines of his, _Lib._ 3.
_Proin’ cum videas, Hominem indignarier ipsum,
Post Mortem fore, ut aut putrescat Corpore posto;
Aut Flammis interfiat, Malisve Ferarum_, &c.
Now when you hear a Man complain and moan,
And mourn his Fate, because when Life is gone
His Limbs must waste, or rot i’th’ Earth, or feast
The greedy Flames, or some devouring Beast;
All is not well; He, by strong Fancy led,
Imagines Sense remains amongst the Dead;
Nor can I think, tho’ He Himself denies,
And openly declares the whole Man Dies;
But that from strong Conceits he still believes,
Fond Fool, that He Himself, Himself survives:
For now e’en whilst He breaths, e’en whilst He lives,
And thinks He must be Torn or Burnt, He grieves;
Thinks still the Carcass must be He, and thence
His wanton Fears infer there must be Sense.
And hence He grieves that He was Born to Die,
Subject to treacherous Mortality:
But never thinks, fond Fool, that when kind Death
Shall close His Eyes in Night, and stop His Breath;
Then nothing of this thinking Thing remains
To mourn His Fate, and feel sharp Grief and Pains.
_Creech._
Hereby ’tis plain _Lucretius_ only blames and chides those who are of a
doubtful and wavering Mind, and that openly confess there can be no
future Sense remaining after Death, yet privately hope within themselves
that some Parts will remain, and therefore mightily dread the want of
Burial, nay, violently abhor being a Prey to wild Beasts and Birds. This
I take to be a natural hint of the Resurrection of the Body and
Immortality of the Soul, tho’ outwardly these _Pagans_ disown’d both:
_Eripe me his invicte Malis; aut tu mihi Terram
Injice, sic saltem placidis in Morte quiescam
Sedibus_, &c. as _Palinurus_’s Ghost said to _Æneas_, Æne. 6.
From lasting Miseries my wandring Soul relieve,
That she in pleasant Shades and perfect Rest may live.
We cannot believe there were ever any Philosophers in the World, of such
obdurate Hearts, as strictly to deny Burial, tho’ out of a seeming
Arrogance they despis’d it; but that they only pretended so lest their
Antagonists should think the want of Burial an inflicted Punishment,
therefore they were the easier mov’d, as much as in them lay, to expose
them. [Sidenote: Why the _French_deny’d it.] Thus _Pausanias_ in
_Phocic._ gives an Instance of some _French_ who deny’d Burial to the
slain in Battel, alledging it was a Ceremony nothing to be esteem’d of;
but the true Reason they did it was, That they might bring the greater
Terror on their Enemies, and make them to have the worse Opinion of
their Cruelty. 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; for as we esteem the Body
the Temple of GOD, and Receptacle of the Soul, so ought we honourably to
Interr it with those Funeral Obsequies as are becoming its Quality and
Dignity.
[Sidenote: Right of _Burial_ grounded on the Law of GOD and Nature.]