Proper Sepulchres were such particular Places as any one reserv’d for himself, where none had ever been laid before, and from whence he could by his Will exclude any of his Heirs. To this purpose they inscrib’d on their Tombs these Letters: H. M. H. N. S. that is, Hoc Monumentum Heredes non sequitur. Or these, H. M. ad H. N. TRANS. Hoc Monumentum ad Heredes non transit. Which Inscriptions are still to be met with in abundance of Places, and shew the Heir has no Right or Claim to Burial there.

Common Sepulchres were such as the Puticulæ for the poorer Sort, the Campus Martius for Men of Quality, Honour or Merit, the Ceramnicus for such as were slain in War, and other the like Places to bury Strangers in, call’d Poluandria. So we read the chief Priests of the Jews bought the Potters Field for this Purpose, with Thirty pieces of Silver, which Judas had taken to betray Christ, Matth. 27. 7.

Family-Sepulchres were such as were only common to Heirs and Posterity, who had a right to be bury’d therein: Some again were only for the Husband and Wife, having this Inscription, Sibi & Conjugi; others for the Children likewise, inscrib’d Sibi, Conjugi & Liberis.

Hereditary-Sepulchres were such as the Testator appointed for himself and his Heirs, or acquir’d by Right of Inheritance. These sometimes belong’d to the whole Family, as to Children and Relations: Now for the better understanding how these Sepulchres were made, which were capable of holding such a number of Persons, we must observe they were certain Caves, Grots or Vaults dug under Ground, and divided into several Partitions, in which each Body being put up in a Coffin of Stone, Lead, Wood, &c. these Coffins were laid each in its own Apartment; for such Burial-Places were wont to have as many Divisions as they design’d Persons to be bury’d in them: Thus some became unlimited, possessing several Miles of Ground; such were the Cryptæ Kiovienses, which Herbinius has wrote a Book of, and the Catacombs of Rome and Naples, of which you have an exact Account in Bosio’s Roma Subterranea, and Bishop Burnet’s Travels. The Greeks call’d such a Burial-Place, ὙΠΌΓΕΙΟΝ, ὑπὸ τὴν γῆν, sub Terra, Hypogeum, and the Latins Crypta, deriving the Word from the Greek κρύπτη, a κρύπτω, abdo; quia abdita est. These serving not only for Sepultures to the Primitive Christians, but during the Time of Persecution, for hiding Places, where they held Synods and administred the Sacraments, as Panvinus in Lib. De Cæmiteriis, cap. 11 relates. These Subterranean Caves were at first dug only out of the Earth, but afterwards they were hew’d out of solid Rocks, or else curiously wrought and pay’d with Stone, being arch’d above, and adorn’d with no less Art and Care than the Houses of the Living; insomuch that it was customary to place Lamps in these Subterranean-Vaults, whither such Mourners as had a mind to express an extraordinary Concern for the Deceas’d, retir’d, cloistering themselves up for many Days and Nights, whereof we have an Example in Petronius’s Story of the Ephesian Matron. Thus the Egyptians and Persians bury’d in Caves dug out of solid Rocks, or at the bottoms of such stony Mountains, as Diodorus Siculus and other Writers inform us. There was also at Nismes in Languedoc a Crypta found, with a rich inlaid Pavement and Niches round about the Wall, in each of which gilded Glass-Urns full of Ashes were set in order. The Jews likewise hew’d their Sepulchres out of Rocks, into which they descended thro’ a narrow Passage, which was shut up with a Stone, as appears by that of Lazarus, John 11. 38. and that of Joseph of Arimathæa, wherein our Saviour’s Body was laid, Matth. 27. 60.

Thus far we have treated of Sepulchres properly so call’d, now we will speak of such as were erected to preserve the Memories of those that were bury’d else-where, whence they came to be call’d ΚΕΝΟΤΆΦΙΟΝ, i. e. κενὸς τάφος, inanis Tumulus, Tumulus sine Corpore, a Sepulchre rais’d in Honour of some Person, and wherein his Body had never been laid. Of these there were two sorts, one erected to such as had been honour’d with Funeral-Rites in another Place, and the other for those who had never obtain’d any. First, They built these Sepulchres for Religions sake, by reason they thought the Souls of those that had been depriv’d of the Rites and Honours of Sepulture wander’d about, and could never pass the Stygian Lake: See page 21. Secondly, They esteem’d it the next Felicity to Sepulture to lye in their own Country, wherefore when any one died in a forreign Land, they thrice invok’d his Ghost or Soul, which thereby, as they thought, speedily hastening to them, they erected a Tomb or Monument for it. This without doubt afforded no small Joy and Comfort, by reason they believ’d in doing thus, their Bodies were driven under Ground to their own Country, and the Jews even at this Day believe, that immediately after their Deaths their Souls pass into the Land of Canaan. Nicolaius, Lib. De Luctu Græcorum, p. 17. It was also customary, among the nearest Friends and Relations, to build various Tombs for one and the same Person, and that in various Places, which they did to do the Deceas’d the more Honour, as Dionysius Halicarnasseus, Lib. 1. Antiqu. Roman. observes. We may also gather from Prudentius, Lib. περί στεφάνων that the Christians built Cenotaphs in Honour of their Martyrs, and Gretserius de Funer. Christi, Lib. 3. cap. 6. says, they were erected in Commemoration of the Deceas’d. Hence may be likewise gather’d the Use and Benefit of Tombs, |Use and Benefit of Tombs.| as First, That they were erected in Honour to the Deceas’d. Secondly, Often Built at the public Cost, as a Reward to Virtue and Valour. And, Lastly, they were moreover thought to be a Comfort to the Living; for as Theodoric gravely said, Bodies bury’d in Coffins and Tombs were esteem’d no small Consolation to Mourners, inasmuch as the Souls of the Deceas’d departed only from the Conversation of the World, whereas their Bodies did not for some time leave their surviving Friends: If therefore such Things could afford so great satisfaction to the Living, how much more would it delight them to see the Bodies of their dead Ancestors, with a long Lineage of their Family, so perfect as to distinguish their Persons and Sex by the preserv’d Features, and this without any offensive Smell or deform’d Aspect, as we are well assur’d both the Egyptians and the Inhabitants of Teneriff us’d to do, which is not even impossible to perform at this Day? The Ancients were so exceedingly carefull of every particular Ceremony in Funeral-Rites, that they made it the chief Point of their Religion to perform them, as an indispensible Duty their Gods requir’d of them, and their Laws strictly maintain’d; so that to neglect them was the greatest Cruelty, and to violate them a capital Crime and Sacriledge. They added every thing to their Sepulchres that could make them Sacred, Honourable and Respected, or which could transmit their Names to Posterity, their Fame to Eternity, and their Ashes to Perpetual Repose.

The Christians us’d to call Sepulchres Dormitories or Sleeping Places, where the Bodies of the Faithful rested in their Graves as in their Beds, vide p. 17. The Pagans also gave them the like Synonymous Names, such as Quietorium, Requietorium, &c. |Resting-Places.| Scilicet ubi quiescant condita Corpora. Places of Rest and Quiet for the Dead. |Seats.| They were likewise antiently call’d Seats, as appears by this old Inscription, Hanc Sedem sibi Vivi posuerunt, and that of Virgil in his 6th Æneid.

Sometimes they were call’d Houses, in that there is no House so much and truly our own as our Grave, whence Job rightly express’d himself, Chap. 30. ver. 23. I know thou wilt bring me to Death, and to the House appointed for all Men Living. Likewise Chap. 4. 9. he terms them Houses of Clay, but Isaiah Chap. 14. 18. describes them more elegantly in these Words, All the Kings of the Nations lye in Glory, every one in his own House. Others gave them still more pompous Titles, such as Domus Æterna, Domus Æternitatis, &c. for as Diodorus Siculus, Lib. 1. Bibl. Histor. relates, The Egyptians accounted the Houses they liv’d in but as Inns, by reason their stay was so short in them, whereas they deem’d their Sepulchres more durable and eternal, and this because they believ’d the Dead were always to abide and continue in them, so that they took more Care of, and were at far greater Charge about them than their Houses: Also that these might be the more lasting and permanent, the Ancients spared no Cost nor Trouble, but with prodigious Labour and Expence rais’d them out of Marble, Stone, Brass or the like. The Æthiopians made some of their Monuments of Glass, as Herodotus, Lib. 3. cap. 6. relates in these Words: Deinde Cippum ei cavum e Vitro, quod apud illos multum est, & facile effoditur, circumdant: In ejus medio Mortuus interlucet, ut ab Hominibus conspici queat, &c. Afterwards they enclose him in a Coffin of Glass, which is plentiful with them and easily dug: In the midst of it the dead Body so shines, that he may be seen of all. Alexander ab Alexandro, Lib. 6. Gen. Dier., cap. 14. says, The Egyptians had three sorts of Sepulchres, one of great Expence, which cost a Talent of Silver, another of 20 Minæ, and a third kind of smaller Cost and Value; but the Æthiopians were more famous for their Monuments, those of the richer Sort being made of Gold, the middle kind of Silver, and the poorer ones of Earth.

But I fear, Sir, you’ll think I have digress’d too much from my Subject of Embalming, yet what I have said, was in order to shew how far Funeral-Rites and Ceremonies are useful and allowable, when accompany’d with this Art, and on the contrary, how vain and ridiculous they are when us’d without it, especially if they do but in the least exceed the Bounds of Modesty and Frugality. 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. Nor does it signifie much which way the Body be dissolv’d, in regard it comes to the same End without Embalming, and that such Tombs, how splendid soever, are but in effect Cenotaphs or empty Sepulchres, except that they are full of Stench and Rottenness: |Funeral-Expences insignificant without Embalming.| We must therefore look upon it as the most extravagant Vanity to erect Pyramids, Obelisks, Tombs, &c. for preserving an empty airy Name and meer Shadow, while we neglect to keep any Remains of that noble Workmanship the Body, whereby to distinguish Man from Earth and Dust. That these Practices are not commendable is plainly prov’d in St. Matthew’s Gospel, Chap. 23. 27, 29. where our Saviour describing Hypocrites, compares them to such Tombs and Sepulchres, in these Words, Wo unto you Scribes and Pharisees, Hypocrites, for ye are like unto whited Sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful without, but within are full of dead Mens Bones and all Uncleanness. That is, the rigid Jews affected plaister’d and whited Sepulchres, in Cadaverous and corrupted Burials, garnishing their Tombs only outwardly, when within they were full of Stench and Rottenness: But we shall endeavour to prove, that of all Funeral-Ceremonies, Embalming is the chief and most useful, without which, all the rest are but vain, expensive and insignificant Customs. |Why the Body is to be taken Care of.| We are not ignorant some may object why the Body should be so much taken Care of, since by Death there is a separation made of the Soul, that more noble Part being fled, while the baser only is left. 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. The Soul, says Sandys, p. 105. knowing it self by Divine Instinct to be Immortal, does in a manner desire the Body, her belov’d Companion, may, as far as may be, enjoy the like Felicity with her, giving by lofty Monuments, and the Duties of Funerals, all possible Eternity with her. With this Hen. Salmuth, Comment. in Panciroll. Pars 1. pag. 336. agrees, saying, Consentaneum est Veritati & Observantiæ, imo indubitatum est Sapientibus, quædam nobis cognata esse Semina Immortalitatis; cujus adeo appetentes sumus, ut etiam Sepulturæ prospiciamus, & nolimus Cadaver nostrum male haberi. Humanum Ingenium quod Animæ nostræ vis est, cum se sciat Immortale, optat etiam ut Corpus ipsum quoq; & Comes & Domicilium suum quoad fieri potest eadem Fælicitate perfruatur. 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. |The Soul concern’d at the Usage of the Body.| For tho’ the Body be not sensible, yet the Soul which cannot die, mourns sadly when its Companion is either ill treated or neglected; but on the contrary rejoyces when it is Honour’d and taken Care of. This Lucretius hints at, where he shews how Man, who whilst living, knows what will happen after Death, as that his Body shall corrupt or be devour’d by Birds, Beasts, &c. or burn’d by Fire, commiserates himself for not having been created Immortal, and consequently departs out of this World regretfully, see p. 23. This is also farther confirm’d by Julius Cæsar Scaliger, Lib. 3. Poetices, cap. 20. who says, Altho’ the dead Body neither perceives what Condition it is in, nor is any longer with the Soul, yet Man when living has a Sense of all those things his Body must undergo after his Dissolution. Now if Death were only ceasing to be, act or breath, then were that State most desirable, inasmuch as Man would then only rest from his Labours, and be by this means freed from the Troubles and Afflictions of this Life. Whereas on the contrary to be dissolv’d or to become a Prey to ravenous Beasts, Birds and Fishes, or an Heritage to Serpents and Worms, is ungrateful to our Thoughts, miserable to our Sight, and unpleasant to all our Senses; such a State being not only disagreeable to our Nature, but also dishonouring and debasing of the Noble Image of GOD, pag. 9. and 10. ’Tis this occasions great sadness of Mind to Man whilst living, and makes him die the more regretfully: It grieves him exceedingly to think what a miserable Object of Mortality he is like to prove after Death, how ugly and deform’d, how offensive to his Friends, and only fit for the Conversation of such new born Insects and Reptiles as are bred out of, and live by Stench and Corruption. What a Metathesis is this! that he who perhaps was born of Royal Blood, and kept Company with Kings and Princes, shall now cry out with Job, 17. 14. To Corruption, thou art my Father; To the Worm, thou art my Mother and Sister. Whereas on the contrary, he who is assur’d of being Embalm’d, and having all other Funeral-Rites perform’d to him, closes his Eyes in full satisfaction of lying undisturb’d in his Grave, as in his Bed, and enjoying Eternal Rest. |Therefore the Body is to be taken Care of.| Besides, other Considerations may induce us to take Care of the Body; for would you not think it a strange Disgrace for a Prince to dwell in a Hutt, and his Jewels and other Riches to be laid up in a Sink of Filthiness? 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; Shall we despise therefore this Cover, because Death has separated it from the Soul? No, let us rather esteem it the more, and take the more Care to preserve it, inasmuch as it has once been the Casket of that noble Jewel, and is the only Way of representing that Divine Form which GOD Almighty was pleas’d to impress on it. 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. Aristotle adds farther, Corpore in Putredinem abeunte, nec Anima amare, nec reminisci potest. That the Soul neither remembers nor loves the Body when Putrify’d; which is agreeable to the Opinion of the Egyptians, |The Egyptians Belief of a dead Body.| who pleasantly conceited, that the Soul only left the Body when it was Corrupt and Putrify’d, as abhorring so loathsome an Habitation; whereas on the contrary, it never forsook it when it was preserv’d uncorrupt and entire. For this reason they, with extraordinary Art and Care, Embalm’d their Dead, that so the Body by the Cleanliness of its Mansion, by its being deliciously perfum’d and dighted with all the Aromatic and Odoriferous Spices and Gums of Arabia, and in a word, by its being dress’d in fine Linnen, might court and incline its best Companion, the Soul, to cohabit with it (Prov. 7. 16, 17.) Methinks so good an Example from Heathens might excite us to take more Care of our inanimate Part. We are apt enough to respect the Outsides of other Things, and set a Value on their Insides accordingly; 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.

The desire of Living is as natural as the necessity of Dying inevitable, and some have spared no means to render themselves Immortal, if Human Nature could possibly have arriv’d at that State, but finding Death inexorable and irresistable, they alter’d their Measures by inventing a thousand ways to perpetuate their Memories after their Dissolution; as by erecting Pyramids, Obelisks and Monuments of surprizing Magnificence, on which they engrav’d Inscriptions capable as they thought to resist Time, and to endure to Eternity. Yet of all Methods us’d to preserve and perpetuate the Memories of the Dead, |Embalming the best way of preserving the Memory of the Dead.| it may justly be said of Embalming, that that Art has ever been most approv’d by the Polite Nations, as being undeniably the most considerable and efficacious Means to answer their Intention. For the utmost Care in erecting Monuments, &c. yields but an obscure and imperfect Idea of the Person deceas’d, whereas by Embalming, that very Person is known to be preserv’d: Besides, if I may use the Words of Sir Thomas Brown in his Hydriotaphia, Who knows the Fate of his Bones, or how often he is to be bury’d? Who has the Oracle of his Ashes, or where they are to be scatter’d? To be dug out of our Graves, have our Skulls made Drinking-Cups, and our Bones turn’d into Pipes or Dice to delight and sport our Enemies, shew Juglers Tricks, or divert Gamesters: To have Drums made of our Skins, to please Children or terrifie in Battel, &c. These are tragical Abominations to dying Persons, the Consideration whereof methinks should occasion us to take more care of our Interment. Now Embalming prevents all these Things, not the common sort, for that is equally terrible to some People, but such as is perform’d without cutting, slashing or Embowelling, which I shall hereafter shew. There are some indeed who object against all kinds of Embalming, and this because they think them contrary to Scripture and the Fate pronounc’d to Man, |Embalming not contrary to the Scriptures.| Gen. 3. 19. but this and all other such like Scruples we shall fully clear, by examining what Man is, that GOD should be so mindful of him (Psalm 8. 4.) and that notwithstanding his Transgression, he should so love him, as to be careful of preserving him both in Life and Death.

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’s a Subject of Contemplation for a Divine, or of a Psalm for the Royal Prophet, to shew how wonderfully Man is form’d and crown’d with Glory and Honour, to live for ever and not see Corruption: |His Transgression| But alass! of how short duration was this happy State? He was no sooner plac’d in Paradise, than, being puff’d up with Pride, he grew disobedient and transgress’d; so that his Happiness was immediately chang’d into a Curse, That all his Days should be but Trouble and Sorrow, and he at length return to the Dust from whence he was taken. Thus the latter part of Adam’s Curse was, that he should die and moulder away, whereas, had he not transgress’d, his Body had probably never been destroy’d, but translated. He would not then have undergon either Death or Corruption, nor would his Body have suffer’d so long a Separation from his Soul; for in that State the Body was no less pure than the Soul, it was every way to be admir’d, honour’d and esteem’d. It was, in a word, nam’d The Temple of GOD, but thro’ Sin Man was curst with Sickness and Infirmities whilst alive, and lastly, with Death, the shamefullest Reproach, thereby to suffer the Corruption of the Grave, and be Food to the vilest Reptiles of the Earth. Now as the Body was once pure as well as the Soul, so is the Soul by Sin contaminated and defil’d as well as the Body, both being made liable to Corrupt and Putrifie thro’ the Curse of Death, and to be like the Beasts of the Field which perish Eternally.

But GOD, out of his infinite Love and Mercy to Mankind, sent his blessed Son as a Redeemer, to make Atonement for Man’s Original Sin, whereby the Curse of his Transgression was wip’d away, and Victory over Death and the Grave obtain’d. Again, As GOD has appointed as a Blessing, Physicians for curing Diseases, that Man might enjoy a tolerable state of Health, till remov’d from this Life, so has he in Death likewise given them a Knowledge to preserve them Incorruptible, which is the promis’d Blessing, 1 Cor. 15. that tho’ our Flesh be Corruptible, yet shall it put on Incorruption (by Embalming) and tho’ we are Mortal and die, yet shall we become Immortal, and so both Death and Sin be conquer’d by Life Eternal. Now this may as well be understood in a Literal Sense, agreeable to our Subject, as in a Spiritual one; |Embalm’d Bodies Sleep ’till the Resurrection.| for Bodies Embalm’d as aforesaid, seem not to be dead, but only asleep, waiting for the Resurrection. For this Reason the Hebrews call’d their Burying-Places Houses of the Living, and the Christians nam’d theirs Dormitories or Sleeping-Places, p. 17. where Bodies rest in their Tombs as in their Beds. Non Mortua, sed data Somno, says Prudentius. Their Bodies are not dead, but asleep; for Death to Christians is but Sleeping, and Sleeping Rest, out of which they hope and expect to be awak’d at the joyful Day of Resurrection, well knowing it is no more difficult with GOD to raise them from Death than Sleep; so that to them Death is but as it were a mute Interludium to the Resurrection, a Cessation of Labour and Action, and differs from Life only in Motion and Speech: |Death compar’d to Sleep.| For this Reason Death is rightly compar’d to Sleep, as being a Refreshment during the Night of this World, till the Morning of the next. Thus Jesus told the By-Standers, Matth. 9. 24. The Maid is not dead, but sleepeth. And that Lazarus (who was Embalm’d and restor’d to Life again) slept, John 11. 11. which the better to explain he afterwards told them he was dead, ver. 14. It is also written of the Martyr St. Stephen that he fell asleep, Acts 7. 60. See also Dan. 12. 2. and 1 Thess. 4. 13. and this way of speaking was more especially us’d in the Old Testament, as I have already observ’d, p. 36. Prudentius’s Hymn Ad Galli Cantum, p. 30. and that Ante Somnum, p. 46. excellently well compare Death to Sleep, Sleep to Death, and Waking to the Resurrection. Sleep, says Sir Thomas Brown in his Religio Medici, p. 43. is so like Death, that I dare not trust it without my Prayers, and an half Adieu to the World, taking my Farewel in this Colloquy with GOD:

This is the Dormitive I take to Bedward, says my Author, I need no better Hypnotic to make me sleep; after which I close mine Eyes in Security, content to take my leave of the Sun, and to sleep ’till the Resurrection.

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. Besides, this Benefit accrues from seeing Bodies thus preserv’d, that Men are thereby put in mind of that most desirable and delectable Mystery of the Resurrection. |Embalming an Emblem of the Resurrection.| So we also that employ our Time and Labour in Embalming, says Gabriel Clauder in Methodo Balsamandi, p. 11. have before our Eyes, as it were in a Looking-Glass, a Præludium and Argument of the Resurrection, a Symbol of our Future Integrity, and Testimony of our Faith of the hoped for Incorruptibility and Everlasting Eternity. The Pagans themselves were not without some Hopes of this nature, as appears from the extraordinary Care they bestow’d on their Sepulchres and Embalmings. Very remarkable is the civiliz’d Sepulture of the antient Inhabitants of Teneriffe, who Embalm’d their Dead with singular Art, and afterwards plac’d them in deep Caves in several Postures, such as standing, lying, sitting, &c. These Burying-Places they look on only as Dormitories, and rarely admit any one without leave to go into them, seeming as tho’ they would not have them disturb’d.

The Inhabitants of a Country call’d Zeilan, as Aria Montanus relates, do not bury their Dead, but Embalm them with various Aromatics, which done, they dress them in fine Cloaths, and afterwards set them on Benches, according to their distinct Families and Quality, whereby they appear as if alive, and any one may there know his Father, Grandfather, Great Grandfather, or any other of his Predecessors or Family to a long extent of Time. Much the same is reported of some of the Chineses, Laplanders, West-Indians, Egyptians and others, of whom we shall give a full account in their proper Places. Now if the Heathens, who either did not believe, or would not own the Resurrection of the Flesh, were so careful in Embalming their Dead, much less are we to neglect it, who wait the Resurrection of our frail Bodies, and expect when they shall become Incorruptible, Spiritual and Immortal, eternally enjoying the most perfect state of Bliss and Happiness: Besides, we Christians ought to esteem Embalming a pious Work, |Acceptable to GOD.| acceptable to GOD, because it frees us from that Corruption which he so much detests, and has so often pronounc’d and threatn’d as his severest Judgment, p. 38, 39. GOD Almighty has many Times permitted Mankind as well as Brutes and Vegetables, so to petrifie without any Human Help or Assistance, as to remain for ever free from Putrefaction or Corruption, and sometimes has effected the same preservation of the Bodies of the Faithful, without any manifest alteration, but only a little attenuation or dryness, and that without any ill Savour. Thus the Bodies of several Martyrs and Holy Men have been found in most Ages, especially those in the Kiovian Cryptæ or Vaults, which Herbinius describes, and looks on as an Instance of GOD’s Love, and Reward of their Piety and Virtues; 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. 16. 10. Now as Christ was bury’d to shew he was really dead, so was he embalm’d in order to his Resurrection; and as his Holy Body was no ways defil’d with Original Sin, so also thro’ the special Privilege bestow’d on it by GOD, was it exempt from the Laws of Corruption. Now this is moreover remarkable, that before our Saviour was born for the Redemption of Mankind, lost by Adam’s Transgression, GOD shew’d a more than ordinary Instance of his Love to Man, by the preservation of Holy Enoch and Elijah, both who, had they been bury’d, |Enoch and Elijah neither dy’d nor corrupted.| must of consequence corrupted under that Curse, Gen. 3. 19. wherefore that they might not undergo those Alterations there threatn’d, viz. Death and Corruption, GOD Almighty translated them: These two with our Saviour are the only Instances of a visible Ascention, and who suffer’d no Corruption.

To these Reasons we may add what Christ himself witnesses, that he was so far from being displeas’d at the Embalming his Body, that he chid those about him, when they were angry at the Womans pouring such precious Nard Ointment on his Head, which, as they alledg’d, might have better been sold for more than Three Hundred Pence (about 10 l. of our Mony) and given to the Poor, Mark 14. 6, 8, 9. Jesus said, let her alone, why trouble ye her? She hath wrought a good Work on me, she is come aforehand to anoint my Body to the Burial. Verily I say unto you, wheresoever this Gospel shall be preach’d throughout the whole World, this also that she hath done shall be spoken of, for a Memorial of her. In a word, this Art of Embalming is sufficiently warranted both by the Old and New Testament, and equally celebrated by Jewish, Christian and Heathen Writers.

Having now done with my Theological Arguments, I shall next proceed to vindicate the Art of Embalming by some Physical and Political Reasons. First then, |Embalming, in a general Sense, very Extensive.| If we take this Art in a general Sense of preserving the Memory of Man, as well as his Body, we shall find it very Extensive and Infinite, since both the Industry and Ingenuity of the Ancients have not only sought after the surest Means of effecting this, but likewise invented and contriv’d whatever else might preserve the Body, transmit its Name to Posterity, and Fame to Eternity. Some have for this end erected Pyramids, Obelisks, Columns, Temples, Statues and a thousand other Things, whereby they imagin’d they might secure their Names from Oblivion; whereas others thought Poems, Epigrams, Epitaphs and such like Writings were the best and securest Monuments. |Writings thought the best Monuments.| Of this Opinion was Horace, who, at the end of his Third Book, thus boasts of his Works:

In like manner Ovid gives an endless date to himself, and his Metamorphosis in these Words:

Both these Poetical Flourishes may be esteem’d a kind of Embalming their Authors Actions and Names; for as the aforesaid historical Structures preserve and record our Actions, so are our Thoughts and Sayings embalm’d as it were by Writings. |Fame the Goddess of Embalming.| In this respect Fame may not improperly be call’d the Goddess and Patroness of Embalming, and Mercury her chief Minister to proclaim to the World the Heroic Acts of Memorable and Famous Men: Thus all Things intended to preserve a Name, whether Pictures, Statues, Medals, Buildings or Writings, may be comprehended under this general Sense of Embalming; nevertheless, experience teaches us the preservation of a Body by the Balsamic Art is not only the best way of reviving Mens Memories, and bringing their Merits fresh in our Minds, but also the most durable, |Embalming the most durable Thing.| for not only Tombs and Statues have decay’d in a few Years, but also whole Towns and Cities have been ruin’d and demolish’d within the Revolution of an Age, and that so, as hardly to have one Stone left to witness what they have been; whereas Embalm’d Bodies have been found entire after Thousands of Years. Neither is Embalming to be commended only for its Duration, |Useful in Philosophy and Physic.| but likewise for its great Use in Phisiology, Natural Philosophy and Physic, as we have hinted before, p. 2, 3, 4. In that we thereby know how to conserve all sorts of Herbs, Juices, &c. keep all kinds of Flesh and Fish, and preserve all sorts of Plants, rare Exotics, and such like Curiosities.