_Egyptians_ more distinctly and clearly, and with some very remarkable
Circumstances. _When any one among the_ Egyptians _dies_, says he, _all
his Relations and Friends, putting Dirt upon their Heads, go lamenting
about the City, till such time as the Body shall be bury’d. In the mean
time they abstain from Baths and Wine, and all kinds of delicate Meats,
neither do they during that time wear any costly Apparel. The manner of
their Burials is threefold; one very costly, a second sort less
chargable, and a third very mean. In the first_, they say, _there is
spent a Talent of Silver, in the second 20_ Minæ, _but in the last there
is very little Expence. Those who have the care of ordering the Body,
are such as have been taught that Art by their Ancestors. These shewing
to the Kindred of the Deceas’d a Bill of Expences of each kind of
Burial, ask them after what manner they will have the Body prepar’d;
when they have agreed upon the matter, they deliver the Body to such as
are usually appointed for this Office. First he who has the name of
Scribe, laying it upon the Ground, marks about the Flank on the left
side, how much is to be cut away. Then he who is call’d the Cutter or
Dissector, with an_ Æthiopic _Stone, cuts away as much of the Flesh as
the Law commands, and presently runs away as fast as he can: Those who
are present persuing him, cast Stones at him, and curse him, hereby
turning all the Execrations, which they imagin due to his Office, upon
him. For whosoever offers violence, wounds or does any kind of injury to
a Body of the same nature with himself they think him worthy of Hatred;
but those who are call’d the_ Embalmers, _they esteem worthy of Honour
and Respect: For they are familiar with their Priests, and go into the
Temples as Holy Men, without any prohibition. So soon as they come to_
Embalm _the dissected Body, one of them thrusts his Hand thro’ the Wound
into the_ Abdomen, _and draws forth all the Bowels but the Heart and
Kidnies, which another washes and cleanses with Wine made of Palms and
aromatic Odours. Lastly, having wash’d the Body, they anoint it with Oil
of Cedar and other Things for above 30 Days, and afterwards with Myrrh,
Cinamon and other such like Matters; which have not only a power to
preserve it for a long Time, but also give it a sweet Smell; after which
they deliver it to the Kindred, in such manner that every Member remains
whole and entire, and no part of it chang’d, but the beauty and shape of
the Face seems just as it was before, and may be known, even the Hairs
of the Eye-Lids and Eye-Brows remaining as they were at first. 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. Moreover, the Friends and nearest Relations of
the Deceas’d, for the greater Pomp of the Solemnity, acquaint the Judges
and the rest of their Friends with the Time prefix’d for the Funeral or
Day of Sepulture, declaring that such a one (calling the Dead by his
Name) is such a Day to pass the Lake, at which Time above 40 Judges
appear, and sit together in a Semicircle, in a place prepar’d on the
hither side of the Lake, where a Ship, provided before-hand by such as
have the care of the Business, is hal’d up to the Shoar, and steer’d by
a Pilot, whom the_ Egyptians _in their Language call_ Charon. _Hence,
they say_, Orpheus _upon seeing this Ceremony while he was in_ Egypt,
_invented the Fable of Hell, partly imitating therein the People of_
Egypt, _and partly adding somewhat of his own. The Ship being thus
brought to the Lake-side, before the Coffin is put on board, every one
is at liberty by the Law to accuse the Dead of what he thinks him
guilty. Now if any one proves he was an ill Liver, the Judges give
Sentence the Body shall be depriv’d of Sepulture; but in case the
Informer be convicted of false Accusation, then is he severely punish’d.
If no Accuser appear, or the Information prove false, then all the
Kindred of the Deceas’d leave off Mourning, and begin to set forth his
Praises, yet say nothing of his Birth (as the Custom is among the_
Greeks) _because the_ Egyptians _all think themselves equally Noble: But
then they recount how the Deceas’d was educated from his Youth, and
brought up to Man’s Estate, exalting his Piety towards the Gods and
Justice towards Men, his Chastity and other Virtues, wherein he
excell’d; and lastly, pray and call upon the Infernal Deities to receive
him into the Society of the Just. The common People take this from the
others, and consequently approve all is said in his Praise by a loud
shout, setting likewise forth his Virtues in the highest strains of
Commendation, as one that is to live for ever with the Infernal Gods.
Then those that have Tombs of their own, interr the Corps in places
appointed for that purpose, and they that have none, rear up the Body in
its Coffin against some strong Wall of their House. But such as are
deny’d Sepulture on account of some Crime or Debt, are laid up at home
without Coffins: Yet when it shall afterwards happen that any of their
Posterity grows Rich, he commonly pays off the deceas’d Persons Debts,
and gets his Crimes absolv’d, and so buries him honourably, for the_
Egyptians _are wont to boast of their Parents and Ancestors that were
magnificently bury’d. ’Tis a Custom likewise among them to pawn the dead
Bodies of their Parents to their Creditors, but then those that do not
redeem them fall under the greatest Disgrace imaginable, and are deny’d
Burial themselves at their Deaths._
[Sidenote: Reflections on the _Egyptian Embalming_.]
Thus far _Herodotus_ and _Diodorus Siculus_ have given the largest and
clearest Accounts of any of the Ancients of the Funeral Ceremonies and
_Embalmings_ of the _Egyptians_, but there are still remaining some
dubious and difficult Points necessary to be known, for the better
understanding this _Art_: We shall make some Quere’s and Reflexions
thereon, and endeavour to reconcile them by the Opinions of the more
refin’d Artists, the modern Physicians.
[Sidenote: The _Mourning_ of the _Egyptians_.]
First then of the Mourning of the _Egyptians_, by them very strictly
observ’d for a long time, and perform’d after the following manner: When
any of their Kings dy’d they lamented his Death with a general Mourning,
making sad Lamentations, putting Dirt upon their Heads, rending their
Cloaths and beating their Breasts; they shut up their Temples and
Markets, and prohibited all Festivals and Rejoycings; they abstain’d
from all delicate Meats and costly Apparel, from Baths, Perfumes and
Ointments, and neither made their Beds nor accompany’d with their Wives,
but express’d all the signs of an extraordinary Affliction, that they
could have done for their own Child. This their Mourning continu’d till
the Body was bury’d, which was no less than 72 Days, during which, both
Men and Women, and those about 2 or 300 in number, went about the City
twice a Day without any thing on but a Linnen-Cloath girt about their
Bodies, from beneath their Breasts downwards, renewing their Grief, and
intermixing the Virtues and Praises of the deceas’d Prince with their
Sighs and Outcries. Much the same Ceremonies were observ’d in their
private Funerals, some of which we shall insert from the Writings of the
famous _Don Antonio de Guevara_, Historiographer to the Emperor
_Charles_ V. who in his 10th Letter, English’d by Mr. _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. Likewise the lesser Priests, at
the Funerals of the greater, were accustom’d to mark their Flesh with
red hot Irons, either on their Hands, Arms or Breasts, to the end that
when ever they beheld those Scars they might immediately be dispos’d to
lament their loss. In like manner they had a Custom, that when ever a
King or Prince dy’d, all his Officers were instantly oblig’d to slash
themselves with Knives in some visible part of their Bodies; insomuch,
that he who was observ’d to have most Wounds, was always look’d upon to
be the greatest Mourner. All which Ceremonies being in themselves
superstitious, and no doubt invented by the Devil, forasmuch as the
_Egyptians_ were all naturally Necromancers, Magicians, Wizzards and
Astrologers, and for that they were not only a damage to the Living, but
also no Advantage to the Dead; GOD forbad the Children of _Israel_ (who
living so long in _Egypt_, had contracted many ill Customs from those
People) both marking and cutting their Flesh, as appears from
_Leviticus_ 19. 27, 28. where he Commands the _Israelites_ neither to
_round the Corners of their Heads, nor mar the Points of their Beards:
To make any Cuttings in their Flesh, or print any Marks upon it on
account of their Dead_.’
[Sidenote: How the _Egyptians Embalm’d Bodies_.]
Thus _Herodotus_ and _Diodorus Siculus_ having first describ’d the
manner of _Mourning_ among the _Egyptians_, they next proceed to give an
Account of their _Embalmings_, telling us, That whilst the Ceremonies of
_Mourning_ were performing, they carry’d the Dead to be _Embalm’d_, as I
suppose, to a certain place appointed for that purpose, where Persons
resided who profess’d that Art, being well experienc’d therein, and
taught it by their Ancestors. These show’d the Relations or Persons that
brought the Body, and had commission for ordering the Funeral, certain
Models or Patterns of Wood, painted in the likeness of _Embalm’d_
Bodies, [Sidenote: Three different kinds of _Embalming_.] being of three
several kinds and Prizes, suitable to every one’s Condition and Quality;
some very Rich and Costly, others of a moderate Price, and a third sort
cheaper and of very little Value. Having agreed upon the Sort and Price,
they immediately go about _Embalming_ the Body, and as _Herodotus_ tells
us, first of all draw out the Brain, with a crooked Iron, thro’ the
Nostrils, infusing in its place, by the same way, several Medicaments,
which as it is contrary to our Custom of Dissection, that begins with
the _Abdomen_, seeing its Contents soonest putrifie and become offensive
even in our cold Country, and much more would do in so hot a Climate as
that of _Egypt_, if neglected; so the extraction of the Brain, after the
manner propos’d by him, is a very difficult and tedious piece of Work,
if possible to be perform’d at all; but his wrong beginning of this Work
of _Embalming_ is not so material a Mistake, as his amusing us with a
Story of drawing forth the Brain thro’ the Nostrils with a crooked Iron,
(by which I suppose he means some particular sort of Instrument) and not
farther explaining himself how or after what manner it was done; and
indeed I believe he could not, the thing being in it self impracticable
and ridiculous, which any one skill’d in _Anatomy_ will readily agree
to. But grant it could be done, the afore-said extraction of the Brain
thro’ the Nostrils, must nevertheless so dilacerate the cartilagineous
parts of the Nose, that the carnous and cutaneous parts would sink, and
thereby render the Face deform’d. More agreeable therefore to Reason is
what _Gryphius_ in _Tract. de Mum. Wratislav._ p. 45. asserts, That it
might be more commodiously extracted thro’ a large _Foramen_, made in
the hinder part of the Head, near the upper _Vertebræ_ of the Neck; but
that this was not the right way neither, I am thoroughly convinc’d from
the Skull of an _Embalm’d_ Body I have by me, which has no such
Apertion. [Sidenote: The _Brain_ how extracted.] To reconcile therefore
this seeming difficulty, I will shew a Method how ’tis possible to be
perform’d by a convenient Instrument which I have devis’d, and intend to
describe in another Place, contenting my self here to tell you, That by
injecting Oil of _Cedar_, or the like corrosive Medicine thro’ the
Nostrils, or thro’ the Ears, by a Passage privately made into the Skull,
the Brain may be consum’d and brought away, and the Skull, by injections
of spirituous and aromatic Wines, be thoroughly wash’d and cleans’d; and
lastly fill’d with melted _Bitumen_ or sweet Balsams, that acquire a
solid Consistence when cold. And altho’ _Greaves_ seems well satisfy’d
with _Herodotus_’s Account, yet is his Observation, _p._ 49. of his
_Pyramidographia_, more agreeable to this Opinion of mine, where he
tells us, That having caus’d the Head of one of the richer sort of
_Embalm’d_ Bodies to be open’d, he found in the hollow of the Skull the
quantity of two pounds of Medicament, which had the consistence,
blackness and smell of a kind of _Bitumen_ or Pitch, and by the heat of
the Sun was become soft.
_Diodorus Siculus_ begins more methodically with the _Scribe_ or
_Designer_, [Sidenote: The _Scribe_ or _Designer_.] an Officer so
call’d, who draws upon a piece of Paper, or marks on the Body it self,
the part that was to be open’d, _viz._ The Flank on the left side.
[Sidenote: _Dissector._] Then the _Dissector_ made the Incision
(_without cutting off any of the Flesh, or running away so soon as he
had done_) and thrusting his Hand into the Belly, drew out all the Guts,
which, as _Plutarch_ writes, were cast into the River _Nile_, _Tanquam
inquinamenta Corporis_, as defiling the Body: But _Diodorus_ tells us,
The Body was embowell’d by one of the _Embalmers_, which altho’ it
appears to me a more filthy and detestable Work than making the
Incision, [Sidenote: _Embalmers_ much honour’d.] yet he says the
_Embalmers_ were highly honour’d and respected, being familiar with the
Priests, and entring into the Temples as Holy Men, whereas he excludes
the _Dissectors_ from out of that number, as performing an odious
Operation hateful to all Men. In this distinction however I am apt to
think he’s either intirely out, or has mistaken it for just the
contrary; for, as we have already shown, _p._ 181. _Anatomy_ was not
only generally approv’d, but likewise often perform’d by Holy and Great
Men, such as the _Egyptian_ Priests and Kings, who would either have
practis’d or taught better, in case it had been so heinous a Crime as
this Author makes it; whence, without doubt, those that did this pious
and necessary Office towards preserving the Dead, must needs have been
equally honour’d with the _Embalmers_, and what seems yet clearly to
confirm this, is that sometimes the _Art of Embalming_ has been call’d
_Honesta Anatomia_.
Now the Instrument with which this Incision was made was an _Ethiopic_
Stone call’d _Basaltes_, [Sidenote: _Basaltes_ an _Ethiopic_ Stone.] and
nam’d from its hardness and colour like to Iron, that word in the
_Ethiopic_ Language signifying Iron, and this Stone being much harder
than that Metal, it might very probably be whet to a keen edge or point,
and so be ceremonially us’d instead of an Incision-Knife, like as the
antient _Jews_ were wont to use Knives made of Flints in their
Circumcision, _Joshua_ 5. 2.
[Sidenote: The _Embowelling_ a Corps.]
As to the Exenteration or Embowelling the Body, we are not to imagine
they drew out only the Brain and Guts, but likewise the Lungs, Stomach,
Liver, Spleen, and other _Viscera_, except the Heart and Kidnies, which
being carnous and fleshy might very likely be left, as being easier to
be preserv’d than the moist parts. The former they might probably leave
to be _Embalm’d_, as being the principal Bowel of the whole Body, and
source of vital Heat (wherefore it has been frequently preserv’d apart
by several People) but for what Reason, or out of what Superstition they
left the latter I cannot readily conjecture.
Then having empty’d the Head, Breast and Belly of their Contents, they
first wash’d and cleans’d them with Phænician or Palm-Wine, compounded
of aromatic Spices and sweet Odours, [Sidenote: The _Body_ stuff’d with
medicinal Ingredients.] and afterwards stuff’d them with a mixture of
sweet scented Drugs, Spices and Balsams, such as _Myrrh_, _Aloes_,
_Saffron_, _Cassia_ or _Cinamon_, _Opobalsamum_ and the like,
_Frankincense_ only being excepted, because that was by them consecrated
to their Gods. These Ingredients had not only a power to preserve the
Body for a long Time, but also gave it a sweet and agreeable Smell. This
done, they sew’d up the Incision or Passage thro’ which they drew forth
the Bowels; but _Antonius Santorellus_ in his _Post-Praxis Medica_, p.
136. not without Reason observes, That tho’ Aromatics are of a drying
quality, yet as they are likewise heating, they may occasion a
Fermentation in the Body; therefore I am apt to think _Myrrh_ and
_Aloes_ were the basis of the Composition, and that Aromatics were us’d
only in small quantities, and that rather to conciliate a grateful Odour
to the Body than preserve it from Putrifaction. Yet I am not ignorant at
the same time of what some alledge of Aromatics, that by their innate
balsamic Virtue, by their bitterness and oleaginous Sulphur, or
penetrability of their volatil Salts, they resist Putrifaction. Neither
am I ignorant of what _Bellonius_ affirms, Lib. 2. _De Medicato Funere_,
p. 27. that neither _Myrrh_, _Aloes_ nor _Saffron_ have so much Virtue
as to consume the Humidity of a dead Body, nor being hard Bodies can
penetrate so far as to enter the Bones and replete their Cavities.
Furthermore asserting, That if _Aloes_ were us’d in _Embalming_ they
would give the Body a bitter taste, whereas no Mummies have been ever
found to have such a taste; and this is also taken notice of, says the
aforesaid Author, by _Valerius Cordus_, one who wrote more truly of the
_Mummies_ than all the Physicians of his Time had done: But I suppose
both these Learned Men spoke rather from their experience of common
Bodies, _Embalm’d_ with _Cedar_, _Asphalt_ or _Pissasphalt_, than from
the Bodies of Princes and rich Men, which being _Embalm’d_ after the
best manner, with odoriferous and aromatic Gums and Spices, had in that
Composition a mixture of fine _Aloes_, and this any one will the readier
grant, who considers the manner of the [Sidenote: _Myrrh_, _Aloes_ and
_Cinnamon_.] antient _Jews_ or _Hebrews_ _Embalming_ with _Myrrh_,
_Aloes_ and _Cinamon_, which they learn’d of the _Egyptians_ by living
so long among them, chiefly differing in this, That the _Hebrews_
Anointed or _Embalm’d_ their Dead without Exenteration, thereby
intending only to render the Body sweet and free from Putrifaction for a
short Time, or ’till its Burial, whereas the _Egyptians_ Embowell’d and
_Embalm’d_ theirs for Eternity. But here still arises another
Controversie, _viz._ What is to be understood by the Word _Aloes_ in
Balsamation? Whether _Agalochum_ or _Lignum Aloes_, a Wood of a very
pleasant smell, or _Aloes_, an express’d Juice from the Leaves of a
Plant, a Gum of a strong Odour? Most Annotators on the word _Aloes_,
mention’d in the Holy Scripture, as in _Prov._ 7. 17. _Cant._ 4. 14.
_John_ 19. 39. interpret it the _Wood Aloes_, being an excellent sweet
scented and aromatic Perfume; and since it is also of a bitterish Taste,
and indu’d with some balsamic Qualities, ’tis not absur’d to think it
was us’d together with other Ingredients in _Embalming_, yet according
to a physical Judgment in this _Art_, we nevertheless believe that
_Aloes_, the Gum or inspissate Juice of a Plant, so manifest for its
extraordinary and incomparable bitterness and efficacy to resist
Putrifaction, was one of the chief Ingredients in their Composition, for
otherwise the Scripture would have given a more peculiar signification
of the Word, to distinguish the _Wood_ from the _Gum_: So that he who
determines that both might have been apply’d, one to correct the ill
Savour of the other, may commit no great Mistake, or at least if he
thinks, that the _Wood_ was chiefly us’d in their perfuming Ointments,
and the _Gum_ in their _Embalmings_.
The Body being stuff’d full of aromatic and sweet Odours, they sew’d it
up again, and then salted it with _Nitre_ for the space of 70 Days, as
_Herodotus_ relates; yet _Diodorus Siculus_ speaks nothing of this
Salting, but in its stead substitutes the manner of Anointing: Both
which Terms of _Salting_ and _Anointing_ Authors confound one with
another, and under the same denomination express two different
Operations or Works, and yet seem to make them perform’d by the same
Persons: For those who are said to be the _Embalmers_, [Sidenote: The
_Salters_ or _Pollinctors_.] are call’d by some _Taricheutæ_ or
_Salitores_, _a verbo_ ταριχεύειν, _Salire_ or _Sale durare_, and by
others _Pollinctors_, _ab unguendis Cadaveribus quasi polluti, vel a
verbo pollingere, quod est, polliendo ungere, vel Pellem ungere_, &c.
whose Office and Business was to exenterate or embowel the Body, to wash
and cleanse it, and to salt and anoint it. These again, some say, were
much honour’d and respected, and others on the contrary, That they were
so abominated that they would not suffer them to live in the City; which
latter I am most apt to believe, as performing a very vile and servile
Work, therefore might well be look’d upon as polluted Persons. Who then
were the true _Embalmers_, properly so call’d, and had in most esteem, I
shall anon show; but must first proceed to speak of their _Salination_,
and the Virtues and Qualities of _Nitre_ and other Salts.
[Sidenote: _Nitre_ why us’d in _Embalming_.]
‘_Bellonius_, Lib. 3. cap. 8. _De Medicato Funere_, tells us, the
_Egyptians_ and other _Eastern_ Nations, attributed very great Virtues
to _Nitre_ for preserving the Carcasses of the Dead, and that
notwithstanding other Salts and Aromatics, endu’d with astringent and
exsiccating Qualities, might have the same Virtue, yet since none were
more efficacious, _Embalmers_ or Salters were wont chiefly to use
_Nitre_. Those both the _Greek_ Historians and Physicians have
sufficiently describ’d, but since they so disagree about this, I think
it not improper to treat more particularly of it. _First_, _Herodotus_
tells us, The _Egyptians_ salted the dead Body 70 Days, and afterwards
adds the use and reason of it, because, says he, Salt consumes the
Flesh, and leaves nothing behind it but Skin and Bones; whence it
appears _Nitre_ was in very great esteem among them for preserving the
Dead. But now, says _Bellonius_, there is so great scarcity of _Nitre_
in _Europe_, that no Physician can say he has ever seen the true, for
certainly a Man may be as well cheated in that Salt as in any Drugs now
commonly us’d. Some there are who promiscuously use many Things instead
of it, and others that as erroneously assert there are two sorts of it,
one factitious and another natural, and I very much wonder that several
excellent Physicians should not have taken notice, that the _Saltpetre_
we now-a-days use is not the true _Nitre_: Nor have any of the Ancients
distinguish’d _Nitre_ into artificial and natural, one made by Art, and
the other a concrete Body dug out of the Earth; for all _Nitre_ is
certainly made by Art, after the manner of other Salts, and not
conceal’d in the Earth, but found above it. Nor is there any native
_Nitre_ dug out of the Earth, altho’ it may be made from Water; for
Rain-Water being the purest, lightest and sweetest of all Waters, makes
the best _Nitre_; so likewise does the _Nile_-Water, which from the
force of its Mud, soon condenses the _Nitre_. Now to know where _Nitre_
may be found, read _Theophrastus_, Lib. 3. cap. 22. who gives this as a
very plain Argument, That where _Palm-Trees_ grow in plenty, as they do
in _Africa_, _Syria_, and the like Countries, there the Soil will always
be Nitrous; for tho’ these Trees require the circum-ambient Air to be
hot, that their Fruits may ripen, yet they nevertheless covet a salt
Soil to refrigerate their Roots; whence we may gather that a Virtue in
Earth to make _Nitre_ is more wanting than in Water: But in _Africa_
_Nitre_ was cheaper than Salt, for tho’ Salt was both artificially made
and dug out of the Rock, yet by reason of a Tax and Duty upon it, it was
not so easie to be got as _Nitre_, which naturally concreted in the
Vallies, and might be had without any Expence; wherefore the _Arabians_,
who liv’d not far from the Sea, and the _Egyptians_, who had _Nitre_ so
cheap among them, us’d it before Salt, which they were forc’d to seek
for and get in more remote Places; nay, they us’d to eat _Nitre_ with
their Radishes and Pot-Herbs, after the same manner as we now do Salt.
And thus, so soon as the Inhabitants had first made Trial of _Nitre_,
using it in their Bread, Pottage, Gruels, with their Flesh and other
Food, and finding it wholesom, sought for no other Salt, but us’d
_Nitre_ in its stead, and taught the neighbouring Countries to do the
like. But the _Macedonians_ made their Bread with a sort of _Nitre_
call’d, [Sidenote: _Chalastræum Nitrum._] _Chalastræum Nitrum_, _a
Chalastra Civitate_, Plin. 13. 10. a pure sort of _Saltpetre_, which,
for the most part, they rather chose to make use of than Salt. _Nitre_
took its rise in many parts of _Europe_, _Asia_ and _Africa_, but
Authors know that of one Country from another, by the goodness and
badness of it, tho’ _Nitre_ in general be commended by all, [Sidenote:
_Nitrum Berenicum._] and _Galen_ praises the _Nitre_ of _Berenice_ of
_Pentapolis_ in _Egypt_.