Scaife ATLAS

CTS Library / Of Mourning

Of Mourning (21-24)

urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0062.tlg036.perseus-eng4:21-24
Refs {'start': {'reference': '21', 'human_reference': 'None 21'}, 'end': {'reference': '24', 'human_reference': 'None 24'}}
Ancestors []
Children []
prev
plain text • XML
next

So far, all men are fools alike: but at this point national peculiarities make their appearance. The Greeks burn their dead, the Persians bury them; the Indian glazes the body, the Scythian eats it, the Egyptian embalms it. In Egypt, indeed, the corpse, duly dried, is actually placed at table,— I have seen it done; and it is quite a common thing for an Egyptian to relieve himself from pecuniary embarrassment by a timely visit to the pawnbroker, with his brother or father deceased.

The childish futility of pyramids and mounds and columns, with their short-lived inscriptions, is obvious.

But

v.3.p.218
some people go further, and attempt to plead the cause of the deceased with his infernal judges, or testify to his merits, by means of funeral games and laudatory epitaphs.

The final absurdity is the funeral feast, at which the assembled relatives strive to console the parents, and to prevail upon them to take food; and, Heaven knows, they are willing enough to be persuaded, being almost prostrated by a three days’ fast. ‘How long is this to go on?’ some one expostulates. ‘Suffer the spirit of your departed saint to rest in peace. Or if mourn you will, then for that very reason you must eat, that your strength may be proportioned to your grief.’ At this point, a couple of lines of Homer go the round of the company:

Ev’n fair-haired Niobe forgat not food,
and
Not fasting mourn th’ Achaeans for their dead.

The parents are persuaded, though they go to work at first in a somewhat shamefaced manner; they do not want it to be thought that after their bereavement they are still subject to the infirmities of the flesh.

Such are some of the absurdities that may be observed in mourners; for I have by no means exhausted the list. And all springs from the vulgar error, that Death is the worst thing that can befall a man.

So 1 w 2
far 1 w 5
all 1 w 9
men 1 w 12
are 1 w 15
fools 1 w 20
alike 1 w 25
but 1 w 29
at 1 w 31
this 1 w 35
point 1 w 40
national 1 w 48
peculiarities 1 w 61
make 1 w 65
their 1 w 70
appearance 1 w 80
The 1 w 84
Greeks 1 w 90
burn 1 w 94
their 2 w 99
dead 1 w 103
the 3 w 107
Persians 1 w 115
bury 1 w 119
them 1 w 123
the 5 w 127
Indian 1 w 133
glazes 1 w 139
the 6 w 142
body 1 w 146
the 7 w 150
Scythian 1 w 158
eats 1 w 162
it 2 w 164
the 8 w 168
Egyptian 1 w 176
embalms 1 w 183
it 3 w 185
In 2 w 188
Egypt 2 w 193
indeed 1 w 200
the 9 w 204
corpse 1 w 210
duly 1 w 215
dried 1 w 220
is 2 w 223
actually 1 w 231
placed 1 w 237
at 4 w 239
table 1 w 244
I 3 w 247
have 1 w 251
seen 1 w 255
it 4 w 257
done 1 w 261
and 1 w 265
it 5 w 267
is 3 w 269
quite 1 w 274
a 28 w 275
common 1 w 281
thing 1 w 286
for 1 w 289
an 7 w 291
Egyptian 2 w 299
to 1 w 301
relieve 1 w 308
himself 1 w 315
from 1 w 319
pecuniary 1 w 328
embarrassment 1 w 341
by 1 w 343
a 34 w 344
timely 1 w 350
visit 1 w 355
to 2 w 357
the 10 w 360
pawnbroker 1 w 370
with 1 w 375
his 2 w 378
brother 1 w 385
or 3 w 387
father 1 w 393
deceased 1 w 401
The 2 w 405
childish 1 w 413
futility 1 w 421
of 1 w 423
pyramids 1 w 431
and 2 w 434
mounds 1 w 440
and 3 w 443
columns 1 w 450
with 2 w 455
their 3 w 460
short-lived 1 w 471
inscriptions 1 w 483
is 7 w 486
obvious 1 w 493
But 1 w 497
some 1 w 501
people 1 w 507
go 1 w 509
further 1 w 516
and 4 w 520
attempt 1 w 527
to 3 w 529
plead 1 w 534
the 15 w 537
cause 1 w 542
of 2 w 544
the 16 w 547
deceased 2 w 555
with 3 w 559
his 3 w 562
infernal 1 w 570
judges 1 w 576
or 5 w 579
testify 1 w 586
to 4 w 588
his 4 w 591
merits 1 w 597
by 2 w 600
means 1 w 605
of 3 w 607
funeral 1 w 614
games 1 w 619
and 5 w 622
laudatory 1 w 631
epitaphs 1 w 639
The 3 w 643
final 1 w 648
absurdity 1 w 657
is 10 w 659
the 17 w 662
funeral 2 w 669
feast 1 w 674
at 8 w 677
which 1 w 682
the 18 w 685
assembled 1 w 694
relatives 1 w 703
strive 1 w 709
to 6 w 711
console 1 w 718
the 19 w 721
parents 1 w 728
and 6 w 732
to 7 w 734
prevail 1 w 741
upon 1 w 745
them 2 w 749
to 8 w 751
take 1 w 755
food 1 w 759
and 7 w 763
Heaven 1 w 770
knows 1 w 775
they 1 w 780
are 3 w 783
willing 1 w 790
enough 1 w 796
to 9 w 798
be 1 w 800
persuaded 1 w 809
being 1 w 815
almost 1 w 821
prostrated 1 w 831
by 3 w 833
a 71 w 834
three 1 w 839
days 1 w 843
fast 1 w 848
How 1 w 853
long 1 w 857
is 11 w 859
this 2 w 863
to 10 w 865
go 2 w 867
on 8 w 869
some 2 w 875
one 2 w 878
expostulates 1 w 890
Suffer 1 w 898
the 22 w 901
spirit 1 w 907
of 4 w 909
your 1 w 913
departed 1 w 921
saint 1 w 926
to 11 w 928
rest 1 w 932
in 10 w 934
peace 1 w 939
Or 1 w 942
if 2 w 944
mourn 1 w 949
you 2 w 952
will 2 w 956
then 1 w 961
for 2 w 964
that 1 w 968
very 1 w 972
reason 1 w 978
you 3 w 981
must 1 w 985
eat 2 w 988
that 2 w 993
your 2 w 997
strength 1 w 1005
may 1 w 1008
be 3 w 1010
proportioned 1 w 1022
to 12 w 1024
your 3 w 1028
grief 1 w 1033
At 1 w 1037
this 3 w 1041
point 2 w 1046
a 83 w 1048
couple 1 w 1054
of 5 w 1056
lines 1 w 1061
of 6 w 1063
Homer 1 w 1068
go 3 w 1070
the 24 w 1073
round 1 w 1078
of 7 w 1080
the 25 w 1083
company 1 w 1090
Ev 1 w 1093
n 62 w 1095
fair-haired 1 w 1106
Niobe 1 w 1111
forgat 1 w 1117
not 1 w 1120
food 2 w 1124
and 8 w 1128
Not 1 w 1131
fasting 1 w 1138
mourn 2 w 1143
th 38 w 1145
Achaeans 1 w 1154
for 4 w 1157
their 4 w 1162
dead 2 w 1166
The 4 w 1170
parents 2 w 1177
are 5 w 1180
persuaded 2 w 1189
though 1 w 1196
they 2 w 1200
go 4 w 1202
to 13 w 1204
work 1 w 1208
at 16 w 1210
first 1 w 1215
in 14 w 1217
a 97 w 1218
somewhat 1 w 1226
shamefaced 1 w 1236
manner 1 w 1242
they 3 w 1247
do 2 w 1249
not 2 w 1252
want 1 w 1256
it 16 w 1258
to 14 w 1260
be 5 w 1262
thought 1 w 1269
that 3 w 1273
after 1 w 1278
their 5 w 1283
bereavement 1 w 1294
they 4 w 1298
are 6 w 1301
still 1 w 1306
subject 1 w 1313
to 15 w 1315
the 31 w 1318
infirmities 1 w 1329
of 8 w 1331
the 32 w 1334
flesh 1 w 1339
Such 1 w 1344
are 7 w 1347
some 4 w 1351
of 9 w 1353
the 33 w 1356
absurdities 1 w 1367
that 4 w 1371
may 2 w 1374
be 7 w 1376
observed 1 w 1384
in 16 w 1386
mourners 1 w 1394
for 5 w 1398
I 4 w 1399
have 2 w 1403
by 4 w 1405
no 5 w 1407
means 2 w 1412
exhausted 1 w 1421
the 34 w 1424
list 1 w 1428
And 1 w 1432
all 3 w 1435
springs 1 w 1442
from 2 w 1446
the 35 w 1449
vulgar 1 w 1455
error 1 w 1460
that 5 w 1465
Death 1 w 1470
is 15 w 1472
the 36 w 1475
worst 1 w 1480
thing 2 w 1485
that 6 w 1489
can 1 w 1492
befall 1 w 1498
a 121 w 1499
man 2 w 1502