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SPIRITISM 
 
 AND THE CULT OF THE DEAD 
 
 IN ANTIQUITY 
 
THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 
 
 NEW YORK • BOSTON • CHICAGO • DALLAS 
 ATLANTA • SAN FRANCISCO 
 
 MACMILLAN & CO., Limited 
 
 LONDON • BOMBAY • CALCUTTA 
 MELBOURNE 
 
 THE MACMILLAN CO. OP CANADA, Ltd. 
 
 TORONTO 
 
SPIRITISM 
 
 AND THE CULT OF THE DEAD 
 
 IN ANTIQUITY 
 
 BY 
 
 LEWIS BAYLES PATON, Ph.D., D.D. 
 
 NETTLETON PROFESSOR OP OLD TESTAMENT EXEGESIS AND CRITICISM 
 HARTPORD THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY 
 
 I3eto gork 
 
 THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 
 1921 
 
 All rights reserved 
 
PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 
 
 
 Copyright, 1921, 
 By THE MACMILLAN COMPANY. 
 
 Set up and printed. Published October, 192 1. 
 
 NOV -2 1921 
 
 Press of 
 J. J. Little & Ives Company- 
 New York, U. S. A. 
 
 §)C!.A6301^5 
 
TO 
 
 MY COLLEAGUES IN THE FACULTY OF 
 
 HARTFORD SEMINARY FOUNDATION 
 
 IN MEMORY OF THE YEARS OF 
 
 WORK AND FELLOWSHIP TOGETHER 
 
 THIS BOOK IS GRATEFULLY 
 DEDICATED BY THE AUTHOR 
 
PREFACE 
 
 During the last quarter of a century interest in the 
 phenomena of Spiritism, or Spiritualism as it is popu- 
 larly called, has been growing steadily throughout the 
 Western world. The Societies of Psychical Research 
 in England, Germany, France, and America have gath- 
 ered a vast body of data, and have subjected these to 
 searching criticism. The results of these investigations 
 have been published in the journals of the various socie- 
 ties, and have been popularized in the writings of such 
 authors as Mr. Andrew Lang, Mr. F. W. H. Myers, 
 Professor James Hyslop, Professor William James. 
 Whereas formerly an attitude of Sadducean scepticism 
 toward all the alleged facts of Spiritism was maintained 
 by religion and by rationalism alike, at the present time 
 no doubt is felt concerning the existence of hypnosis, 
 somnambulism, automatic action, ecstasy, significant 
 dreams, visions, auditions, telepathy, telesthesia, mind- 
 reading, foreboding of the future, and all the other 
 abnormal phenomena of the psychical life. The only 
 difference of opinion is in regard to the interpretation of 
 these phenomena. Many scientific investigators think 
 that they can be explained completely by the influence of 
 living minds upon themselves and upon other minds; 
 other equally scientific investigators hold that this expla- 
 nation is unsatisfactory, and that the ancient theory of 
 the activity of disembodied spirits alone accounts for all 
 the facts. 
 
 The events of the recent world-war have awakened 
 widespread popular interest in the discussion of this 
 question. Millions of choice young men of all civilized 
 
 vii 
 
viii PREFACE 
 
 lands have died in the conflict ; and their mourning fami- 
 lies and friends have had to> face anew the ancient ques- 
 tion, "If a man dieth, shall he live again?" Many who 
 are destitute of religious faith, or who have found their 
 faith unequal to the strain, have sought eagerly for 
 psychical evidence of the continued existence of their 
 beloved after death. Accordingly, the last five years 
 have witnessed a wave of popular enthusiasm for the 
 study of Spiritism. The lectures and the writings of such 
 literary men as Sir Oliver Lodge, Sir A. Conan Doyle, 
 and Mr. Maurice Maeterlinck, have been received with 
 enthusiasm on both sides of the Atlantic. The planchette, 
 the gazing-crystal, and the seance have been cultivated 
 by multitudes with extraordinary assiduity, in the hope 
 of obtaining through them scientific proof of immortality. 
 
 Under these circumstances it has seemed to the present 
 writer that it would be both interesting and timely to pre- 
 sent a study of similar psychical manifestations in 
 antiquity. All the occurrences that are associated with 
 modern Spiritism have been known from the earliest 
 times, and have been interpreted as due to the influence 
 of discarnate spirits. The great historic religions of 
 China, India, Babylonia, Assyria, Egypt, Israel, Greece, 
 and Rome are full of so-called "spiritistic" phenomena, 
 of beliefs based upon these facts, and of rites of worship 
 based upon these beliefs. No scientific study of the sub- 
 ject can be complete without taking into consideration the 
 ancient as well as the modern evidence. The aim of the 
 present work is to present in outline the main elements of 
 the ancient evidence. 
 
 In the fields of Semitic religion and of the religions of 
 Israel, Greece, and Rome, the author has been able to 
 work at first hand from the sources ; in the cases of the 
 religions of China, India, Egypt, and some of the Indo- 
 European races, he has been obliged to depend upon the 
 researches of others. He has endeavoured to follow the 
 best authorities, whose works are cited in the footnotes; 
 
PREFACE ix 
 
 and he has submitted his results to the criticism of special- 
 ists. In the chapter on Spiritism in China he gratefully 
 acknowledges the assistance of Rev. Lewis Hodous, B.D., 
 Professor of Chinese in the Kennedy School of Missions 
 of the Hartford Seminary Foundation, and of Edward 
 K. Thurlow, B.D., missionary of the Protestant Episco- 
 pal Church in Wuhu, China. In the chapters on the Indo- 
 Europeans he has had the expert aid of Leroy Carr 
 Barrett, Ph.D., Professor of Sanskrit in Trinity College, 
 Hartford, Connecticut. The chapter on Spiritism in 
 Egypt would have been impossible without constant use 
 of the Ancient Records of Egypt, and the Development 
 of Religion and Thought in Ancient Egypt, by James 
 Henry Breasted, Ph.D., Professor of Egyptology in the 
 University of Chicago. Dr. Breasted has also kindly 
 given the author the benefit of his criticism of this chap- 
 ter before publication. Thanks also are due the editors 
 of the Biblical World for permission to use certain mate- 
 rial on the Hebrew conception of the future life, by the 
 author of the present book, that appeared in successive 
 numbers of this journal from January to May, 19 10. 
 
 In matters connected with Armenian religion and 
 Armenian equivalents of Indo-European words much 
 help has been received from Professor Mardiros 
 Harootioon Ananikian, S.T.M., of the Kennedy School 
 of Missions. The chapters on "Immortality in Judaism" 
 and "Immortality in the Teaching of Jesus" have received 
 the valuable criticism of Professor Edward Everett 
 Nourse, D.D., and of Professor Melanchthon Williams 
 Jacobus, D.D., of Hartford Theological Seminary. In 
 all stages of the work the author has been assisted by his 
 wife, and without her aid this book could never have 
 been completed. 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTER PAGE 
 
 I. Spiritism in Primitive Religion .... i 
 
 II. Spiritism in China 16 
 
 III. Spiritism among the Indo-Europeans 60 
 
 IV. The Cult of the Dead among the Indo- 
 
 Europeans 114 
 
 V. Spiritism in Egypt 152 
 
 VI. Spiritism among the Early Semites . . . 200 
 VII. Spiritism in Babylonia and Assyria . . . 211 
 
 VIII. Earliest Hebrew Conception of the Dead . 232 
 
 IX. Babylonian Influence on Hebrew Concep- 
 tions of the Dead 240 
 
 X. Worship of the Dead by Israel .... 248 
 
 XL Early Opposition to the Worship of the 
 
 Dead by Israel 257 
 
 XII. Prophetic and Legal Denial of the Vitality 
 
 of Spirits 268 
 
 XIII. New Theories of Immortality in Post-Exilic 
 
 Judaism 280 
 
 XIV. The Teaching of Jesus in Regard to Im- 
 mortality 290 
 
 Index 309 
 
SPIRITISM 
 
 AND THE CULT OF THE DEAD 
 
 IN ANTIQUITY 
 
SPIRITISM AND THE CULT OF 
 THE DEAD IN ANTIQUITY 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 SPIRITISM IN PRIMITIVE RELIGION 
 
 From the earliest period of human history no literary 
 records have come down to us. In lack of direct historical 
 evidence, accordingly, we are compelled to turn to the 
 indirect testimony of comparative religion. Beliefs and 
 rites that existed among all ancient peoples, and that 
 still exist among savages, may safely be regarded as 
 primitive. Applying this method to the study of the 
 earliest conception of the future life, we reach the follow- 
 ing conclusions : 
 
 a. The Distinction between Soul and Body. — Death 
 is the "king of terrors," yet it is the greatest teacher of 
 our race. Without it men could never have learned the 
 difference between body and spirit; and without the idea 
 of spirit, God could not have been conceived, and religion 
 would have been impossible. When men first began to 
 think, they were confronted with the fact of death. Their 
 companion, felled by a blow, or smitten by a disease, lay 
 prostrate before them. In outward appearance he was 
 the same, but he was unconscious of all that they did, and 
 he could not respond either by word or by motion. It 
 was evident even to the most rudimentary intelligence 
 that an invisible something had gone out of the man. 
 This intangible element the Zulus, some tribes of Ameri- 
 can Indians, and other savages identify with the shadow 
 cast by the body during life ; similarly the Greeks and the 
 
2 SPIRITISM I 
 
 Romans spoke of the "shades." Closely allied is the 
 Egyptian conception of the ka, or "double," that accom- 
 panied the body during life as its exact counterpart. The 
 Andaman Islanders and some other equally low races 
 identify the immaterial part of man with the reflection 
 seen in still water, or with the image formed in the pupil 
 of another person's eye. The Australian bushmen regard 
 it as a sort of fog or smoke. Most primitive peoples 
 observed the fact that breathing ceases at death, and 
 therefore identified the vital principle with the breath. 
 In many languages the words for "spirit" denote pri- 
 marily "breath," or "wind," e.g., Skr., prana; Gr., 
 pneuma, anemos; Lat., spiritus, anima; Germ, and Eng., 
 Geisty ghost, which are etymologically connected with 
 gust. 
 
 b. The Continued Existence of the Disembodied 
 Soul. — Primitive man believed not only in the distinction 
 between soul and body but also in the ability of the soul 
 to survive the catastrophe of death. The Paleolithic 
 cave-dwellers of the Quarternary period in Belgium and 
 France were contemporary with the mammoth, the cave- 
 lion, and the cave-bear. Their skulls show that they were 
 nearer the apes than any existing race of man. They 
 were dressed in skins, and armed only with the rudest 
 undressed stone implements; yet they placed with their 
 dead ornaments, tools, arms, and food for use in the 
 other life, and celebrated funeral feasts in their honour. 
 
 The same was true of the cave-dwellers of the 
 Neolithic age. 1 They buried their dead in caves ; or when 
 these were lacking, made dolmens, or box-like structures 
 of stone slabs to receive them. In the stone that covered 
 the entrance a small hole was drilled to allow the spirit 
 access to the tomb and egress from it. The corpse was 
 placed in the contracted position of an unborn child, with 
 its head resting upon its knees, thus perhaps expressing 
 the belief that death is birth into another life. In the 
 
 1 D'Alviella, Hibbert Lectures, pp. 14-19. 
 
i SPIRITISM IN PRIMITIVE RELIGION 3 
 
 caves of Mentone the bones are painted red with oligist 
 or cinnabar, probably as a substitute for blood, the idea 
 being widespread that blood infuses new energy into the 
 dead. In the Neolithic caves of France the skulls of the 
 dead are trepanned. Whether this was intended to 
 facilitate the entrance and egress of the spirit, or to make 
 an amulet for the survivors, it bears witness to some 
 sort cf cult of the dead. In the Neolithic caves of 
 Palestine, that were inhabited by a pre-Semitic race, 
 offerings of food and drink were deposited with the dead 
 and their bones were used as amulets. 2 Anthropologists 
 are agreed that no savage race exists which does not 
 believe in some sort of immortality and practise some 
 rites in honour of the dead. 3 In view of these facts, it is 
 evident that immortality was one of the original beliefs 
 of our race. 
 
 In the creation of this belief the phenomena of sleep 
 and of dreams must have played a large part. In sleep, 
 as in death, the soul apparently leaves the body; yet it 
 presently returns, and consequently must have continued 
 to live during the interval of unconsciousness. In dreams 
 one seems to visit distant regions. The universal savage 
 interpretation of this experience is that the soul actually 
 leaves the, body and journeys to these places, for to the 
 savage dreams are just as real as waking experiences. It 
 is dangerous to waken one suddenly, for the absent spirit 
 may not have time to get back to the body. In swoons 
 also, or unconsciousness resulting from disease, the soul 
 apparently leaves the body; yet it returns, if the man 
 recovers. If the soul can survive such temporary separa- 
 tions from the body, why may it not survive a permanent . ^^ 
 separation? The savage believes that it does. When * 
 death occurs, he at first refuses to recognise anything 
 different from sleep or a swoon. He tries to coax the 
 
 7 Palestine Exploration Fund, Quarterly Statement, 1902, pp. 347ff. 
 *Brinton, Religions of Primitive Peoples, p. 69; Hastings, Encyclopedia of 
 Religion and Ethics, art. "Ancestor Worship." 
 
4 SPIRITISM i 
 
 soul back; and only when dissolution begins, does he at 
 last admit that death has occurred. From this point of 
 view death differs from sleep or swoon only in the fact 
 that the soul has lost the power, or the wish, to return to 
 its body. It does not perish through death any more than 
 through transient states of unconsciousness. Primitive 
 man was unable to think of himself as ceasing to exist; 
 and, strictly speaking, it is impossible even for us of to- 
 day. In many languages there is no word for "die," only 
 for "be killed." In dreams also one saw the forms of 
 those who had died, and the inference was natural that 
 their spirits survived and returned to visit friends. All 
 the phenomena of apparitions, levitation, hypnotism, 
 clairvoyance, etc., that are known to modern psychical 
 research, and that are given a spiritistic interpretation by 
 many today, were known to primitive man, and doubtless 
 helped also to give support to the belief in the continued 
 existence of the disembodied spirit. 4 
 
 c. Powers Retained by the Soul in Death. — Although, 
 according to the antique conception, the dead lost their 
 physical powers, they lost none of their higher spiritual 
 powers of knowledge, feeling, and will. Ancestors re- 
 tained a keen interest in their posterity and actively inter- 
 vened in their affairs. Enemies preserved their original 
 hostility to their foes. The dead were conscious of events 
 that occurred on earth. Those who had met an untimely 
 fate remembered that fact and were unhappy in the other 
 world. The spirits of murdered men, of those that had 
 died in youth, of women that had died in childbirth, and 
 of those that had left no descendants, could not rest. 
 
 The belief was universal that, under certain conditions, 
 the dead had the power of appearing to the living. 5 
 When thus appearing, the spirits were believed to retain 
 the semblance of their bodies at the time of death. In 
 
 4 Lubbock, Prehistoric Times,* pp. 144ff. ; Tylor, Primitive Culture, ch. xi-xvii; 
 Jevons, Introduction to the History of Religion, p. 43ff. ; Frazer, Golden Bough, 2 
 i. p. 225 ff. 
 
 6 Lang, The Making of Religion, p. 138. 
 
I SPIRITISM IN PRIMITIVE RELIGION 5 
 
 the Odyssey (xi. 40) those who have fallen in battle ap- 
 pear to Ulysses "mangled by the spear and clad in bloody 
 armour." The same belief lingers in the ghost-lore of 
 modern Europe, and even the most enlightened Christian 
 finds it impossible to think of his beloved dead otherwise 
 than as they last appeared in life. Returning spirits could 
 speak in audible tones, though with weak and trembling 
 voices that corresponded to their ethereal nature. Thus 
 in the Odyssey (xi. 43) the ghosts approach Ulysses 
 "with gibbering cries." 
 
 d. Powers Gained by the Soul in Death. — Spirits, al- 
 though haunting their bodies, were not restricted to them. 
 They could move at will with lightning-like rapidity to 
 any place where they wished to manifest themselves. 
 They also possessed the extraordinary power of entering 
 new bodies. 
 
 1. They Could Occupy Inanimate Objects. — Accord- 
 ing to primitive theology, spirits could use as their in- 
 struments material things, such as sticks and stones, caus- 
 ing in them motion, or endowing them with magical 
 powers. In this case a talisman was produced. They 
 could also animate an object by taking up their abode in 
 it. In this case the result was a fetish. The idea was 
 widespread that they preferred to occupy images made in 
 the likeness of their former bodies. Thus in Egypt 
 statues of the deceased were multiplied in tombs that his 
 ka, or "double," might find abundant opportunity to take 
 up its abode. 
 
 2. Spirits Could Take Possession of Animals. — So 
 widespread was this belief among primitive peoples that 
 Wilken, Tylor, and other anthropologists have con- 
 jectured that it is the explanation of totemism, or the 
 worship of animals as the ancestors of tribes. 6 
 
 3. Spirits Could Occupy the Bodies of Living Men. — 
 This might take the form either of obsession, resulting 
 
 6 Crooke, in Hastings, Encyclopaedia of Religion and Ethics, art. "Ancestor 
 Worship," p. 430. 
 
6 SPIRITISM i 
 
 in disease or insanity, or of possession, resulting in the 
 imparting of the higher knowledge, skill or power of the 
 spirit. Among all ancient peoples, it was believed that 
 spirits of the dead not only retained the knowledge 
 possessed by them in life, but also acquired new and 
 greater knowledge. The abnormal powers of the sub- 
 conscious soul, such as crystal-gazing, motor-automatism, 
 thought-transference, telepathy, telesthesia, and fore- 
 boding of the future, were ascribed to their influence. 7 
 They were therefore believed to be far wiser than mor- 
 tals, and they were consulted for guidance in the affairs 
 of life and for oracles concerning the future. 
 
 e. Powers Lost by the Soul in Death. — The identifi- 
 cation of the soul with the breath, shadow,, reflection, or 
 echo of the living man, led naturally to the conception 
 that it was vague and unsubstantial. Early races and 
 savages have uniformly regarded the soul as a small, 
 feeble being, ordinarily invisible, inaudible, and intangi- 
 ble, that is unable to take care of itself, and that needs 
 to be sheltered and guarded until, so to speak, it "finds 
 itself" in the spirit-world. The sorcerers of Greenland 
 describe the soul as a pale, soft thing, without nerves, 
 without bones, without flesh; when one would seize it, 
 one feels nothing. 8 When Achilles would embrace the 
 shade of Patroclus, it passes through his hands like 
 smoke. 
 
 " 'Dost thou command me thus? I shall fulfil 
 Obediently thy wish; yet draw thou near, 
 And let us give at least a brief embrace, 
 And so indulge our grief.' He said, and stretched 
 His longing arms to clasp the shade. In vain; 
 Away like smoke it went with gibbering cry, 
 Down to the earth. Achilles sprang upright, 
 Astonished, clapped his hands, and sadly said, 
 'Surely there dwell within the realm below 
 Both soul and form, though bodiless.' " 9 
 
 7 See Lang, The Making of Religion, chaps, iv-v. 
 
 • D'Alviella, Hibbert Lectures, p. 78. 
 
 • Iliad, xxiii. 95-104 (Bryant's translation). 
 
I SPIRITISM IN PRIMITIVE RELIGION 7 
 
 In like manner Ulysses finds the shade of his mother 
 wholly unsubstantial. 
 
 "She spake; I longed to take into my arms 
 The soul of my dead mother. Thrice I tried, 
 Moved by a strong desire, and thrice the form 
 Passed through them like a shadow or a dream. 
 
 • •••••• 
 
 I spake, and then my reverend mother said: — 
 'Believe not that Jove's daughter Proserpine 
 Deceives thee. 'Tis the lot of all our race 
 When they are dead. No more the sinews bind 
 The bones and flesh, when once from the white bones 
 The life departs. Then like a dream the soul 
 Flies off, and flits about from place to place.' " 10 
 
 Even the souls of heroes are so feeble that they cannot 
 be roused to activity until they have drunk the fresh, hot 
 blood of victims poured into the sacrificial trench. 11 
 According to iElius Spartianus, 12 the Emperor Hadrian 
 shortly before his death described his soul as "a dear 
 little wandering being, the guest and companion of the 
 body." The belief that spirits are pale, unsubstantial 
 phantoms still lingers in the modern idea of ghosts. 
 
 /. Relation of the Disembodied Soul to Its Body. — 
 Another general belief of primitive peoples is that the 
 soul continues to maintain a relation to the dead body. 
 When the flesh has disappeared, the ghost clings to the 
 skull or the bones; and when these have vanished, it 
 haunts the grave where its ashes are buried. Survivals 
 of these ideas are seen in the veneration of relics of the 
 saints in Buddhist and Roman Catholic countries, and in 
 the belief that ghosts appear chiefly in graveyards, or in 
 places where murders have been committed. The idea 
 is wide-spread that an injury to a dead body is also an 
 injury to the departed spirit. Hence the universal cus- 
 
 10 Odyssey, xi. 204-221 (Bryant's translation). 
 
 11 Odyssey, xi. 95. 
 
 33 Hadrianus, Cap. 25, in Scriptores Historic Augusta. 
 
8 SPIRITISM i 
 
 torn among primitive peoples and savages of mutilating 
 the corpses of enemies. Thus every one of the Greeks 
 who passes the body of Hector inflicts a blow upon it, 13 
 and Achilles drags it in the dust at the tail of his 
 chariot. 14 
 
 This connection of the spirit with the corpse explains 
 the vast importance attached by primitive races to burial. 
 The Egyptians, the Greeks, the Romans, and all other 
 ancient peoples believed that the soul could not rest unless 
 its body was properly entombed. 15 Refusal of burial was 
 an injury that was inflicted only upon criminals, or upon 
 the most hated enemies. Violation of a tomb insured 
 the disquieting of the spirit that dwelt within. 16 
 
 Closely connected with the idea that the ghost haunts 
 the corpse is the idea that it still needs food, drink, and 
 other necessities of life, and that these must be placed 
 either in the grave or upon it. From the earliest times 
 such offerings were deposited with the dead, and the cus- 
 tom still lingers in civilised lands in modified forms such 
 as jewelry, lights, flowers and wreaths. 
 
 g. The General Estimate of Death. — From the fore- 
 going survey it appears that primitive man believed that 
 the soul survived death, and that it gained such super- 
 human powers that it was to be classed with the gods 
 rather than with men, and was entitled to receive divine 
 homage ; yet in spite of these facts, he did not look for- 
 ward with any satisfaction to death as an enlargement of 
 his powers. On the contrary, it was regarded by him as 
 an unmixed evil. So important was the body that exist- 
 ence without it seemed shadowy and worthless. Thus in 
 the Odyssey (xi. 487ft. ) Achilles says: "I would be a 
 labourer on earth, and serve for hire some man of mean 
 estate who makes scant cheer, rather than reign o'er all 
 who have gone down to death." Death was not a going 
 
 18 Iliad, xxii. 371. 
 
 "Ibid. 395ff. 
 
 18 Odyssey, xi. 72. 
 
 16 De la Saussaye, Manual of the Science of Religion, p. 1 14. 
 
i SPIRITISM IN PRIMITIVE RELIGION 9 
 
 to the gods whom one had loved and honoured in life, but 
 a passing out of the sphere of their care and interest. 
 Their rewards and punishments were distributed in this 
 world. In the other world moral distinctions vanished, 
 and all were reduced to one common level of misery. The 
 primitive belief in spirits, accordingly, was not a belief 
 in immortality in any true sense. It was a belief in* the 
 continued existence of the soul, but that existence was so 
 vague and shadowy that it was destitute of value. To 
 become a ghost could not be an object of desire for any 
 man. The conception of God needed to be deepened and 
 broadened immensely before an adequate idea of immor- 
 tality could be formed; nevertheless, these crude begin- 
 nings were the foundation on which the structure of a 
 better faith was destined to rise. 
 
 h. The Cult of the Dead. — Because of the powers that 
 have just been described the dead were regarded by all 
 ancient peoples as supernatural beings, to whom the same 
 sort of worship should be paid that was rendered to the 
 gods and to other classes of spirits. 17 Veneration of 
 spirits of the dead is seen in rites of mourning, in care 
 of the corpse, in bringing of sacrifice, and in offering of 
 prayers. 
 
 1. Removal of Garments. — The custom was wide- 
 spread in antiquity, and is still found among savages, of 
 removing the garments entirely, or in part, as a sign of 
 mourning. As to the meaning of this custom there is a 
 difference of opinion. Ewald, Leyrer and Kamphausen 
 regard it as a spontaneous expression of grief; but it is 
 hard to see any psychological connection between grief 
 and nakedness. Schwally thinks that it was the costume 
 of slaves and of captives, and hence was a token of 
 humility toward the spirits. Frey takes it as a sign of 
 submission to the gods who have sent death into the 
 
 17 See Spencer, Principles of Sociology, I. chaps, xx, xxv; Tylor, Primitive 
 Culture, chap, xiv; De la Saussaye, Manual of the Science of Religion, pp. 112 ff.; 
 Jevons, Introduction to the History of Religion, chap, xv; Hastings, Encyclo- 
 pedia of Religion and Ethics, arts. "Ancestor-Worship," "Animism." 
 
io SPIRITISM i 
 
 family. Frazer holds that it is< intended to disguise the 
 survivors from the ghost of the dead, or to awaken its 
 pity, so that it will do no harm. Far more likely is the 
 view of Stade, Benzinger and Jastrow that nakedness, or 
 a simple loin-cloth, was the primitive dress of man that 
 was retained in mourning because it was a religious exer- 
 cise. Religion is naturally conservative, and the sacred 
 costume of the present is the everyday dress of the past. 
 In Egypt the priests of the Middle Empire wore the 
 dress of the Old Empire, and those of the New Empire, 
 that of the Middle Empire. The vestments of the 
 Roman Catholic clergy of today are the common gar- 
 ments of the later Roman Empire. Modern savages per- 
 form their religious rites in less clothing than they wear 
 on ordinary occasions, the reason being that this was the 
 sacred dress of their forefathers. 
 
 2. Covering the Head. — In singular contrast to the 
 custom of stripping the body was the other custom of 
 covering the head or mouth, or laying the hand upon the 
 mouth. The theory that this was due to a desire to 
 conceal one's grief from bystanders presupposes a mod- 
 ern Occidental point of view. Others think that it was 
 intended to disguise one from the spirits, or to protect 
 one's mouth and nose so that they might not enter into 
 one's body; but this assumes less intelligence in the spirits 
 than primitive man believed them to possess. Still others 
 regard it as a conventional substitute for cutting the 
 hair. 18 The most natural interpretation of this cere- 
 mony is that it was designed originally to protect one 
 from inadvertently seeing the ghost that lingered near 
 
 / the corpse. Death might ensue if one saw a ghost just 
 as if one saw a god. 19 
 
 3. Cuttings in the Flesh. — As W. Robertson Smith 
 has shown 20 cuttings in the flesh, whether practised in the 
 
 18 See below, 4. 
 18 Cf. Ex. 33:20. 
 20 Religion of the Semites, pp. 322ff. 
 
i SPIRITISM IN PRIMITIVE RELIGION n 
 
 name of gods or of spirits, were designed to make a sacri- 
 fice of blood, and so to establish a covenant. In the case 
 of ghosts such offerings were peculiarly acceptable as 
 supplying strength to their feeble forms. 21 Tattooing, 
 which often accompanied the letting of blood, was 
 designed to mark one as a permanent worshipper of the 
 spirit to which the blood was offered. 
 
 4. Cutting the Hair. — This rite cannot be regarded 
 as a natural expression of grief, nor can it have been 
 designed to deceive the ghost so that it would not molest 
 one, nor can it have been, as Frazer and Jevons think, a 
 process of disinfection from taboo, since it occurred 
 before the funeral. It can only be interpreted as an act 
 of worship to the dead. 22 Hair-offerings to deities are 
 common throughout the world, and are analogous to 
 blood-offerings, the strength being supposed to reside 
 in the hair. 23 
 
 5. Covering with Dust or Ashes. — In this case also 
 the theories of natural emotion, of humiliation, and of 
 disguising one's self from the spirits, are all inadequate. 
 This can be only a symbolic act designed to express the 
 thought that one wishes to be buried with the dead and so 
 to maintain communion with them. Jastrow 24 thinks 
 that dust or earth put on the head is a survival of the 
 custom of carrying earth on the head in baskets in order 
 to cover the corpse with a mound, but this will not explain 
 the frequent practice of wallowing in the dust as an act 
 of mourning. 
 
 6. Fasting. — Fasting as part of the ritual of mourn- 
 ing is another primitive human custom. Its origin is 
 difficult to trace. A natural reluctance to take food when 
 one is sorrowing does not explain the fasting of people 
 
 21 Cf. Jevons, Introduction to the History of Religion, pp. 191ff. 
 
 22 Cf. Iliad, xxiii, ISOff., where Achilles shears his hair as an offering to 
 Patroclus. 
 
 23 Cf. Ju. 16:17. 
 
 24 "Dust and Ashes as Symbols of Mourning," Journ. Am. Orient. Soc, xx. 
 pp. 133ff. 
 
12 SPIRITISM i 
 
 who are in no way related to the deceased, nor does it 
 explain the feast which often follows the burial. Frey 
 thinks that it is an act of humility, like the ritual fasts, 
 designed to propitiate the wrath of the gods who have 
 sent death into the family; but among most peoples the 
 uncleanness of death prohibits the worship of the gods in 
 connection with funeral ceremonies. Others think that 
 it is designed to awaken the pity of the spirits so that they 
 will not harm the survivors, but fear of the spirits of 
 relatives is by no means universal. Frazer, Jevons and 
 Griineisen hold that death in a house rendered every- 
 thing taboo, so that food could not be eaten until the 
 corpse was removed. W. R. Smith suggests that fasting 
 was a ritual preparation for the sacrificial feast that fol- 
 lowed, like the Roman Catholic fasting before com- 
 munion. Spencer, Lubbock, Tylor, and Buhl regard it 
 as a means of inducing ecstasy, in which one held inter- 
 course with the spirits. 25 In any case it is unquestionable 
 that fasting was a ritual act. 
 
 7. Disposal of the Corpse. — The belief noted above 
 in the continued connection of the disembodied soul with 
 its dead body led all primitive peoples to care for the 
 corpse as an act of homage to the departed spirit. Inhu- 
 mation, mummification, and cremation were the chief 
 methods of disposal of the dead. The first protected the 
 body from being devoured by beasts or birds, the second 
 preserved it as a permanent dwelling for the spirit, the 
 third etherealized it so that it might become a more 
 fitting habitation for its former tenant. With the dead 
 were buried, or burned, his food, clothing, utensils, 
 weapons and ornaments that he might use them in the 
 other world. The graves of ancestors were regarded as 
 holy spots where their descendants met at stated times 
 to perform religious rites in their honour. 
 
 8. Sacrifice. — By all primitive peoples sacrifices were 
 
 28 Cf. Exod. 34:28; Dan. 9:3; 10:3. 
 
i SPIRITISM IN PRIMITIVE RELIGION 13 
 
 offered upon the grave in addition to the gifts of food, 
 drink, etc., that were buried with the corpse. Thus in 
 the Odyssey (xi. 28-46) Ulysses pours out to the shades 
 the blood of sheep, and makes libations of milk, honey, 
 wine, and water, on which white meal is sprinkled. 26 
 
 Intimately connected with sacrifices to the dead were 
 funeral feasts, in which one partook of the offerings, 
 and thus sealed one's communion with the spirits of the 
 departed. Such feasts have lasted down to modern times 
 in many countries where their original connection with 
 sacrifice has been forgotten. 
 
 Sacrifice to the dead explains the importance attached 
 by all ancient peoples to male descendants. Among the 
 Chinese, the Egyptians, the Greeks, the Romans, and 
 other patriarchally organised races, the duty of sacri- 
 ficing to a father devolved upon his oldest son. If there 
 were no son, there would be no offerings, and the ghost 
 could not rest. 
 
 9. Prayer to the Dead. — Here belong laments, which 
 were more than mere cries of grief, being often elaborate 
 compositions addressed to the departed, deploring his 
 loss, and begging him to be near and to bless his family. 
 At the time of sacrifice at the grave regular prayers were 
 offered to the spirits as to other deities. Necromancy 
 also, which was universal in antiquity, was a form of 
 prayer in which the spirits were invoked to come and help 
 one with their superior knowledge or skill. 
 
 i. Relation of Ancestor-worship to Religion in General. 
 — From the foregoing survey it appears that the cult of 
 the dead is one of the most ancient and most widely- 
 spread forms of human worship. Starting with this fact, 
 a number of ancient writers formulated the theory that 
 ancestor-worship was the origin of all human religion. 
 This theory appears as early as Genesis, chapters 4-5. 
 Here both in J's and in P's lists of the descendants of 
 
 28 See Jevons, Introduction, pp. Slff.; D'Alviella, Hibbert Lectures, p. 17; De la 
 Saussaye, Manual, pp. 114f. 
 
 ^ 
 
 -A 
 
i 4 SPIRITISM i 
 
 Adam Semitic gods are regarded as forefathers of man- 
 kind and as discoverers of the arts. The work De Syria 
 Dea, ascribed to Lucian, which certainly depends 
 throughout on Semitic sources, shows the same point of 
 view. The idea that the gods are all men who have been 
 deified after death for the services that they have ren- 
 dered to humanity was first given currency by Euhemerus, 
 a contemporary of Alexander the Great, and hence is 
 known as Euhemerism. It gained favour particularly 
 among the Romans at the beginning of the Christian era, 
 and found a fanatical advocate in Philo Byblius. This 
 theory has been revived by Herbert Spencer, 27 who is 
 followed by Grant Allen in his Evolution of the Idea of 
 God, but it has not won the approval of the majority of 
 students of comparative religion because in all early 
 and savage religions numerous nature-spirits are found 
 whose names and characteristics are entirely different 
 from those of spirits of the dead. 28 A truer view of the 
 relation of ancestor-worship to religion is that the con- 
 ception of spirit was first gained through the fact of 
 death, and was then extended to other beings than man. 
 The recognition of a distinction between soul and body 
 in man furnished a basis for the interpretation of nature 
 as a whole. Every striking physical object, everything 
 that could do something, or was believed to be able to 
 do something, was supposed to be animated by a spirit 
 that could leave it temporarily or permanently, just as the 
 soul left the body. Thus, besides spirits of the dead, 
 primitive man came to worship a multitude of other 
 spiritual beings that manifested themselves in all sorts 
 of phenomena. These nature-spirits were not conceived 
 as ghosts of the dead, but they were beings of a similar 
 character to disembodied spirits and might be called by 
 
 37 Principles of Sociology, i. p. 411. 
 
 28 See Hartland, Legend of Perseus, i. 203; A. Lang, Myth, Ritual, and Religion, 
 1899, i. 308ff. ; W. Crooke, art. "Ancestorworship" in Hastings, Encyclopedia of 
 Religion and Ethics, i. p. 427. 
 
I SPIRITISM IN PRIMITIVE RELIGION 15 
 
 the same general names. Thus arose what is often called 
 Animism, but which is preferably called Polydaemonism, 
 or the worship of a host of damons (dainoves) , or 
 minor divinities, in contrast to Polytheism, or the wor- 
 ship of a few great gods, and Monotheism, or the wor- 
 ship of one God. 
 
CHAPTER II 
 
 SPIRITISM IN CHINA 
 
 a. Sources of Knowledge in Regard to Chinese An- 
 cestor-worship. — Our earliest sources of information in 
 regard to the religion of China are the five Classics and 
 the four Canonical Books. The first of the Classics 
 is the Shu-king, 1 or Book of Historical Documents. 
 It is a collection of incidents, addresses, counsels and 
 decrees beginning with Yao (traditional date 2356 B.C.), 
 and extending down through the Hsia dynasty (2205- 
 1766), Shang dynasty (1 766-1 122), Chou dynasty 
 ( 1 122-249) • The Shi-king , or Book of Poetry, contains 
 poems that date from the same early period as the Shu~ 
 king. It is one of the most ancient and most precious 
 treasures of the world's literature. The Yih-king, or 
 Book of Permutations, is originally a collection of sixty- 
 four hexagrams, which in their turn are combinations of 
 eight trigrams, and of parallel lines partly whole and partly 
 broken. It was intended for purposes of divination; but 
 the manner of its use has been lost, although it has given 
 rise to much ingenious speculation. The Li-ki, or Rites 
 and Ceremonies, is a compilation of ritual texts, partly of 
 high antiquity, and partly of later origin, that was not 
 completed in its present form before the second century 
 of our era. K'ung Fu Tzu (Confucius) (551-478 B.C.) 
 is traditionally regarded as the compiler of three of 
 these works, and there is no reason to doubt the substan- 
 tial correctness of this belief. To Confucius h imse lf 
 is ascribed the writing of the fifth Classic^ tne 
 
 1 In the transliteration of Chinese words an effort has been made to con- 
 form to the usage of H. A. Giles' Chinese-English Dictionary, London, 1912. 
 
 16 
 
ii SPIRITISM IN CHINA 17 
 
 Ch'un-ch'iu, or Spring and Autumn, a brief history of 
 the state of Lu from 722 to 481 B.C. The Tso- 
 chuan is a commentary on the Ch'un-ch'iu. The Chou-li 
 is a record of the rites of the Chou dynasty. The I4i is 
 an ancient work on ceremonial and etiquette. 
 
 The four Books are the Lun-yii, or Sayings of Con- 
 fucius, a collection of questions, answers and discussions 
 between Confucius and his disciples, put together about 
 a century after Confucius, but containing a genuine tra- 
 dition; the Ta-hsioh, or Great Learning, a treatise on the 
 cultivation of wisdom in individuals as the sole means of 
 laying a secure foundation for the state; the Chung-yung, 
 or Doctrine of the Mean, a more philosophic treatise on 
 <rco(f>poavvr], or virtue as the balance between two vicious 
 extremes; and Meng-tzu, the Teaching of Mencius, a 
 disciple of Confucius. 2 
 
 Other sources for the religion of China are the com- 
 mentaries on the Classics, the later literature, and the 
 existing customs of the people. 3 
 
 b. Distinction between Soul and Body. — The distinc- 
 tion between soul and body is fundamental to Chinese 
 thought. In sleep the soul is believed to leave the body 
 temporarily, wander around, and see the things that are 
 experienced in dreams. It comes back immediately when 
 the sleeper is awakened. In swoons the soul wanders 
 farther from its body and has more difficulty in finding 
 its way back. The relatives then wave a garment on a 
 
 2 The Canonical Books and the Classics are translated by J. Legge, The Chinese 
 Classics, 1861; the Li-ki, in Sacred Books of the East, xxvii-xxviii, 1885. The 
 I-li, or Conventional Rites, is translated by J. Steele, 2 vols., London, 1917. The 
 references in the following pages are to Legge's translations. 
 
 3 The most elaborate work on the subject is J. J. M. de Groot, The Religious 
 System of China, vi vols., 1892-1910 (devoted almost exclusively to ancestor- 
 worship). Another elaborate work is H. Dore, Recherches sur les Superstitions en 
 Chine, iv. vols. 1911-1912. Other useful works of a more popular character 
 are J. Legge, The Religions of China, 1880; J. Ross, The Original Religion of 
 China, 1909; W. J. Clennell, The Historical Development of Religion in China, 
 1917; J. Edkins, Religion in China, 2 1878; W. Grube, Religion und Kultus der 
 Chinesen, 1910; H. A. Giles, Religions of Ancient China, 1918; J. J. M. de 
 Groot, The Religion of the Chinese, 1910; G. F. Moore, History of Religions, 
 i. chaps, i-v. ; E. W. Hopkins, The History of Religions, chaps, xiv-xv. 
 
1 8 SPIRITISM ii 
 
 bamboo pole on the housetop and beat a gong to attract 
 the attention of the errant soul and help it to get its 
 bearings. If the swoon persists, still more strenuous 
 efforts are made to call the spirit back; and in case of 
 death, the shouting is not given up until it is certain that 
 all efforts are useless. An absent spirit of a living, man 
 may appear as a phantom to another person, or even to 
 himself ! and such an apparition is regarded as an omen 
 of impending death. 4 
 
 c. Continued Existence of the Soul after Death. — 
 The soul which can survive a temporary separation from 
 its body can also survive the permanent separation of 
 death. This is asserted repeatedly in the Confucian 
 literature, and is implied in the activity of spirits of the 
 dead and in the worship of the dead of which we shall 
 see more presently. 
 
 Apparently the most ancient name for "soul" is kuei. 
 The ideograph which represents this is a radical which 
 goes back to the very invention of Chinese writing. The 
 etymology and primitive meaning of the term are uncer- 
 tain. Native lexicographers connect it with kuei meaning 
 "to return." Kuei would then be the same as the French 
 term for "ghost," revenant, that is, a spirit that comes 
 back to its body. Like our word "soul," kuei is limited 
 to spirits of human beings either living or dead. 
 
 Another name for the soul is shen. The sign for this 
 is composite, and therefore belongs to a later stage of the 
 written language. This is the generic term for "spirit" 
 of every sort whether in nature or in man. Its funda- 
 mental meaning is also obscure. Its phonetic (repre- 
 sented again by a different sign) means "stretch out." 
 
 Out of these two words the compound kuei-shen is 
 formed which is the most frequent name for spirits of the 
 dead in the Confucian literature. The reverse compound 
 shen-kuei is of rare occurrence. Still another word for 
 
 *De Groot, i. p. 243; iv. p. 96; Dore, iv. 323-331. 
 
ii SPIRITISM IN CHINA 19 
 
 "spirit" is ch'i, "breath," which corresponds to the termi- 
 nology of other primitive races (see pp. 69ft. ), repre- 
 sented also by a composite sign. Still other terms are hun 
 and p'o, whose signs are derivatives from the radical 
 kuei; also ming, "light." 
 
 d. Powers Retained by the Soul in Death. — No one in 
 China seems ever to have questioned the continued exist- 
 ence of the soul after its separation from its body, but 
 doubts were often expressed whether it retained the 
 powers of knowing, feeling, and doing that it possessed 
 during life. Confucius himself maintained an agnostic 
 attitude on this subject, and discouraged questions about 
 it from his disciples. In the Sayings of Confucius, VII. 
 xx, it is recorded that he avoided speaking on four sub- 
 jects : prodigies, feats of strength, rebellions, and spirits. 
 In XL xi we read: "Chi Lu asked about serving the 
 spirits (of the dead). The Master said: 'While you 
 are not able to serve men, how can you serve their 
 spirits?' Chi Lu added: 'I venture to ask about death.' 
 He was answered, 'While you do not know life, how can 
 you know death?' ' Another saying preserved by the 
 Chia Yu y or Talks of Confucius, II. Art. 1, was 
 called forth by the question of Tzu-k'ung, whether or not 
 the dead knew the services that were rendered them. 
 Confucius replied: "If I were to say the dead have such 
 knowledge, I am afraid that filial sons and dutiful grand- 
 sons would ruin themselves in paying the last offices to 
 the departed; and if I were to say that the dead have 
 not such knowledge, I am afraid that unfilial sons would 
 leave their parents unburied." A similar utterance in 
 the Li-ki, II. i. iii. 3, says: "If we were to deal with 
 our dead as if life were really extinct in them, we should 
 be inhumane; but if we were to treat them as if they were 
 quite alive, we should betray great ignorance ; and there- 
 fore neither may we do." 
 
 These utterances sound very sceptical, still Confucius 
 himself said, according to the Li-ki (VII. i. 7) : "They 
 
20 SPIRITISM n 
 
 look up to the sky, and bury the body in the earth. 
 The corporeal p'o goes downward, and the conscious 
 ch'i is on high." We are told of Confucius that "he sac- 
 rificed to the spirits as though the spirits were present," 
 and he consistently enjoined the cult of the dead upon his 
 disciples, Whatever doubts the learned may have cher- 
 ished, the mass of the people in all ages have firmly 
 believed that the dead retain all the powers that they 
 possessed in life, that they are comfortable or uncomfort- 
 able in the tomb, that they know when offerings are 
 brought to them, and miss them when they are neglected, 
 that they are interested in the affairs of their descendants, 
 assisting the filial and good, and punishing the unfilial 
 and wicked. In a lament of Hsu an Wang the king 
 exclaims: "From above there is no hope, no help from 
 around us. The host of dukes and officials of the past 
 afford me no assistance. My father ! My mother ! My 
 ancestors ! How can you endure to see this !" 5 The 
 whole ritual of ancestor-worship implies that the dead 
 have the same intellectual powers as the living. The 
 dead are thought to live much the same sort of life that 
 they have known on earth. They have the same social 
 and political organisation, and follow the same occupa- 
 tions. Emperors still rule, and are surrounded by their 
 officers and their courts, while men of low degree occupy 
 the same stations in the other world. 6 
 
 e. Powers Gained by the Soul in Death. — The belief 
 is universal in China that spirits of the dead enter upon 
 a higher form of existence and exert powers that they 
 did not possess during their earthly life. In the Doctrine 
 of the Mean, chap, xvi, Confucius says: "How abun- 
 dantly do spiritual beings display their powers! They 
 cause all men under heaven to fast and purify themselves, 
 and put on their richest dresses to engage in their sacri- 
 fices. Then like overflowing water they seem to be over 
 
 8 Shi-king, III. iii. Ode 4. 
 • See de Groot, v. chap. xv. 
 
II 
 
 SPIRITISM IN CHINA 21 
 
 their heads, and on the right and left (of their worship- 
 pers)." In the Shi-king, III. iii. Ode 2, we are told: 
 
 "The spirits come, but when and where 
 No one beforehand can declare. 
 Therefore we should not spirits slight, 
 But ever live as in their sight." 
 
 Of the good King Wen the Shi-king, III. i. Ode 6, says : 
 
 "Unseen by men, he still felt seen 
 By spirits always near. 
 Unweariedly did he maintain 
 His virtue pure and free from stain." 7 
 
 Another passage says: u The approach of the shen cannot 
 be calculated, they should therefore never be regarded 
 contemptuously or treated with neglect." In another ode 
 we are told: "Our ancestors descend in their majesty. 
 Their shen enjoy the offerings, and their filial descendant 
 obtains their blessing. Him will they reward with great 
 bounties and endless life." "The shen come noiselessly, 
 and repay their host with great happiness and with life 
 for a myriad years." "The shen go away noiselessly." 8 
 These passages assert omnipresence and omniscience of 
 the shen, or at least multipresence and multiscience. 
 Some of the more important ways in which spirits mani- 
 fest their superhuman powers are as follows: 
 
 1. Spirits Can Occupy and Control Inanimate Ob- 
 jects. — Immediately after death a tablet or banner is 
 prepared inscribed with the name of the deceased. This 
 is believed to be occupied by his spirit, and is carried with 
 the corpse to the grave, where it is buried in order to se- 
 cure the residence of the spirit in its tomb. The tomb- 
 stone bearing the name of the departed is also regarded 
 as in a peculiar sense the abode of the spirit, and there- 
 fore is the centre of the posthumous rites celebrated at 
 
 T Translation of J. Legge, Religions of China, pp. 94-95. 
 8 Shi-king, II. vi. Ode 5, vss. 3, 5. 
 
22 SPIRITISM ii 
 
 the grave. The ancestral tablet is another dwelling-place 
 of the spirit. This is mentioned as early as the Chou 
 dynasty, and probably existed long before that time. 
 The sign for ancestral tablet (shen-chu) is a combina- 
 tion of the radical for "stone" and the phonetic for 
 "lord" or "pillar." This suggests that it was originally a 
 miniature tombstone designed for ceremonies in the home 
 or in the ancestral hall instead of at the grave. The 
 modern form consists of a wooden base with a socket in 
 which is inserted an upright piece with a groove near the 
 top into which another upright piece is fitted. It bears 
 a close resemblance to the ordinary Chinese tombstone. 
 It has written upon it the words, "Seat of the Spirit," 
 "Seat of the Soul," "Lodging-place of the Spirit," or 
 "Spirit Throne," also the name and titles of the owner 
 and the date of his birth. The inscription is left incom- 
 plete until after the interment, and then some high liter- 
 ary official adds a dot that is necessary to complete one 
 of the characters, and the tablet is placed in the shrine 
 along with those of other ancestors. Before these tab- 
 lets offerings are presented and announcement is made 
 of all important events in the life of the family. 9 
 
 Through the control of inanimate objects spirits of the 
 dead can reveal their will to men. The most ancient 
 form of omen-giving of this sort was through the tor- 
 toise shell. The inner side of the upper shell of a tor- 
 toise was coated with ink, and it was held over a fire until 
 cracks in the form of lines appeared in the pigment. 
 These were controlled by the spirits in order to disclose 
 their wishes. The sign for this sort of divination, pu } 
 is one of the primitive Chinese radicals. In combination 
 with k'ou, "mouth," this forms the sign for the interpre- 
 tation of the shell-oracles. This sort of divination is 
 first mentioned in the reign of Shun (2224 B.C.). When 
 he wished to select a successor to the throne, he con- 
 
 •Dore, i. 97-106. 
 
ii SPIRITISM IN CHINA 23 
 
 suited with his ministers and with the people, and they 
 unanimously nominated Yii. He then submitted the 
 matter to the spirits through the tortoise-oracle and they 
 confirmed the choice. 10 P'an-keng (1400 B.C.) used the 
 same method in determining the site of a new capital. 11 
 The Duke of Chou (1100 B.C.) used the tortoise shell 
 to find out whether his brother Wu would live, and 
 received a favourable answer. 12 He also used it to deter- 
 mine the site of a new capital. 13 
 
 Another method of communication used by the spirits 
 was through stalks of the shih, or yarrow plant. Through 
 the falling of pieces of different length and the diagrams 
 that they formed omens were given. The interpretation 
 of these omens seems to have been the main purpose of 
 the Yih-king, or Book of Permutations. 1 * This form of 
 divination was used by Shun in connection with the tor- 
 toise shell mentioned above. Both of these oracular 
 media have long since gone out of use. 
 
 A favourite method of divination at the present time 
 is by the drawing of lots marked with answers out of an 
 urn. These lots are believed to be controlled by the 
 spirits. Another form of lot is the chiao which consists 
 of two pieces of stone or of wood shaped like the two 
 halves of a bean. These are thrown into the air in the 
 presence of the ancestral tablets. Two convex sides up 
 mean no answer. Two flat sides up mean a negative 
 answer. One flat and one convex side up mean an affirma- 
 tive answer. This method of divination was in existence 
 at least as early as 300 B.C. 
 
 Spirit-writing has been known in China at least since 
 the beginning of our era. The instrument which corre- 
 sponds to the planchette is called chi. It consists of a 
 bough with two long branches and one short branch. 
 
 10 Shu-king, II. ii. ch. ii. 18. 
 ™Ibid., VI. vii. Pt. iii, 7. 
 13 Ibid., V. vi. 9. 
 
 13 Ibid., V., xii. 2. 
 
 14 See p. 16. i 
 
24 SPIRITISM ii 
 
 The long branches are held as handles by two persons; 
 and the short branch writes on paper, or on sand spread 
 upon a table. It is thus an analogue to the divining rod 
 of western lands. It is commonly made of peach or of 
 willow wood, because these are distasteful to evil spirits, 
 in order to prevent its control by the wrong sort of 
 ghost. Like the pianchette it is a means of automatic 
 writing on the part of the persons who hold it. The 
 spirit is invoked to enter it. He is said to "descend into 
 the chi" "to go up into it," "to adhere to it," "to have 
 contact with it." When he comes, the chi falls upon the 
 table with a bang, and is apparently uncontrollable by 
 the persons who hold it. It begins to write furiously, and 
 in reply to questions will state the name of the spirit 
 that is using it, his birthplace, the time when he lived, and 
 other particulars. Occasionally the wrong sort of a 
 spirit gets on the line and "plays fast and loose with the 
 chi." This causes great confusion as long as it lasts, 
 which usually is not for a great length of time. Spirits 
 may even write letters without the use of the chi, and 
 drop them down from the sky for the guidance of men. 15 
 2. Spirits Can Take Possession of Animals and Con- 
 trol the Action of These Creatures. — Thus men who have 
 been devoured by wild beasts cannot escape from the 
 bodies of these animals until another victim has been 
 eaten. A man-eating tiger is always possessed by a kuei 
 which urges it to attack some person. "Real tigers," 
 says one authority, "devour no men; it is men transformed 
 into tigers who do so, for they are ashamed of their own 
 race and hate it." Kuan, the minister of the ancient King 
 Yao, in damming up the inundating waters "disarranged 
 the hvz elements." For this he was imprisoned for life, 
 and after his death his soul passed into an yellow bear. In 
 534 B.C. this same bear appeared in a dream to the 
 ruler of Tsin. In 693 B.C. a certain P'eng-sheng was put 
 
 "See de Groot, vi. p. 1295; Dore, ii. 354; cf. 2 Chr. 21:12, where a writing 
 comes to Jehoram from the dead Elijah. 
 
ii SPIRITISM IN CHINA 25 
 
 to death for the murder of Hsiian, the ruler of Lu. He 
 appeared in the form of a wild boar to Hsiang, the ruler 
 of Ts'i, and soon after the latter was assassinated. The 
 spirits of drowned men were likely to enter into the 
 bodies of aquatic animals. Yuen, king of Sung (530- 
 516 B.C.), dreamed that a man with dishevelled hair 
 appeared to him, saying, "A fisherman named Yii Tsii has 
 caught me." A diviner interpreted this to mean, "This 
 is a tortoise possessed by a shen." Next day the king 
 interrogated the fisherman, and he reported that he had 
 caught a white tortoise, as oval-shaped as a basket, and 
 five feet broad. 
 
 Animals which inhabit graves are naturally regarded 
 as possessed by spirits of the dead. Such are wolves, 
 hyenas, jackals, foxes, rats, bats, owls and serpents. All 
 of these are demonic animals that have the powers of 
 speech and of helping or hurting men. Birds also are 
 frequently possessed by spirits of the dead. A certain 
 Wei was about to kill a cock that belonged to him, when 
 to his amazement the bird cried out, "I am Wang, your 
 old chum in the army." The prefect, hearing of this, 
 summoned Wei and the bird before him. The cock 
 repeated its statements before the magistrate, and con- 
 cluded with the words: "Now, since I, a domestic fowl, 
 have divulged matters of the World of Darkness without 
 authorization, I must die." It stretched out its neck and 
 expired. The prefect ordered it to be buried in a tomb 
 that bore the inscription "Tomb of the Man-cock." 
 Friends and lovers are specially likely to turn into birds 
 after death. Wen-hsiu and Lo Tzu-chung were great 
 friends. They died the same night, and were buried 
 seven miles apart. "Wen-hsiu's soul changed into a cock, 
 and that of Tzu-chung into a pheasant; and the melan- 
 choly tones of their shrill voices resound there to and fro 
 continually." The heir-apparent of Ts'i died, and his 
 bride grieved so that she soon followed him to the grave. 
 Her bridal matron drummed on the tomb with the lute 
 
26 SPIRITISM ii 
 
 that the girl had been accustomed to play, and two 
 pheasants came forth out of it. Mandarin ducks are 
 famous in China for their conjugal affection. It is said 
 that a duck will even follow a drake into the cooking 
 pot. It is not surprising, therefore, that loving couples 
 after death enter into the bodies of these birds. 16 
 
 3. Spirits Can Enter into Dead Bodies. — They may 
 re-animate their own bodies long after death. De Groot 
 reports one hundred and twenty-seven cases in literature 
 before the tenth century of our era. At other times the 
 spirits may re-animate the corpses of other persons. 
 This happens when their own bodies have decayed, or 
 have been destroyed so as to be no longer usable. After 
 spending a dozen years in the other world, a certain 
 Chuh Chi-ching returned to earth in the body of his 
 recently deceased neighbour, Chao Tzii-huo, and lived 
 happily with his own family for a number of years. An 
 unknown kuei animated the body of a dead girl, and she 
 lived for a long time as the wife of a man. Such tales 
 are almost as numerous as those of resurrection. 17 
 
 4. Spirits Can Be Reborn in New Bodies. — Still an- 
 other method of returning to life is to enter into the womb 
 of a mother and become the soul of an unborn babe. 
 When such persons are born and begin to grow up, they 
 remember their former existence. A certain learned man 
 named Pao Ching who lived under the Tsin dynasty re- 
 membered that in his previous existence he had been 
 drowned in a well at the age of nine. Search in the well 
 confirmed the correctness of his statements. Yang Hu, 
 when he was five years old, asked for a ring with which he 
 used to play. When he was told that he never had one, he 
 went to a mulberry tree in a neighbour's yard, and pulled 
 out a ring that had been lost by a dead child of that fam- 
 ily. Rebirths were also recognised by scars, or other 
 marks on the body of a child, that corresponded to similar 
 
 18 See de Groot, iv. pp. 156-252; v. 542-651; Dore, ii. 380 sq. 
 « See de Groot, iv. 123. 
 
ii SPIRITISM IN CHINA 27 
 
 marks on the body of the deceased. In taking a second 
 body a spirit might change its sex. A girl named Ts'ai- 
 niang was reborn as a son of her own mother. As soon 
 as the boy began to talk he demanded the concealed play- 
 things that had belonged to his sister. 18 
 
 5. Spirits Can Obsess the Bodies of Living Men. — 
 The belief has been universal in China since the earliest 
 times that diseases are caused by spirits which enter into 
 the bodies of living men. These malignant spirits are of 
 different classes and bear many names, but among them 
 spirits of the dead play an important part. Ghosts of 
 the unburied, or of those improperly buried (see below 
 under /), are wont to vent their spite by obsessing the 
 living. Weapons buried with the dead may become dan- 
 gerous to the living. The wife and the daughters of the 
 prefect of Hsin-tu suffered from violent headaches and 
 palpitations of the heart. Inquiry of the famous sooth- 
 sayer Kuan Lu elicited the response: "On the west side 
 of the hall two dead men lie, one with a spear, and the 
 other with a bow and an arrow; their heads lie inside the 
 wall and their feet outside ; the one with the spear pierces 
 the heads of your family, and this is why their heads ache 
 so that they cannot raise them; the other aims at their 
 breasts, whereby their hearts feel so anxious and pained 
 that they cannot eat or drink; in the daytime these beings 
 soar about, but at night they come and make people ill, 
 striking them with fright and anxiety." On hearing this, 
 the prefect had the skeletons exhumed and buried else- 
 where, and the women promptly recovered. Chinese 
 beliefs on this subject are identical with those of the 
 ancient Sumerians in Babylonia which are discussed on 
 page 212. 19 
 
 6. Spirits Can Possess the Souls of Living Men. — 
 Not merely the bodies of men, but also their souls can be 
 occupied by spirits of the dead, who then control their 
 
 18 See de Groot, iv. 143. 
 
 19 Ibid., v. 675. 
 
28 SPIRITISM ii 
 
 thoughts and actions. Insanity is caused by spirits, and 
 is therefore akin to inspiration. Ghosts of the murdered, 
 or of those who have been injured in their lifetimes, enter 
 into their oppressors, compelling them to divulge their 
 crimes, or driving them to madness. Candidates for 
 literary honours are often given by kindly spirits super- 
 human intelligence in their examinations, while others 
 are so bewildered by malicious ghosts that they make 
 utter failures. Sometimes instead of his examination 
 paper a candidate is constrained to write out a confession 
 of a crime that he has committed. Dreams are believed 
 to be caused by spirits, and spirits frequently appear to 
 people in dreams. Somnambulism, trance, and hypnosis 
 are also caused by their activity. 
 
 A curious form of the belief in spirit-possession 
 appeared in the Chou dynasty (noo B.C.) in the "per- 
 sonators" of the dead at the funeral feasts. Descendants 
 of the ancestors were chosen, and were arrayed in cere- 
 monial garments. The ancestors were invoked to be 
 present in them, they sat solemnly in state, ate of the 
 food, drank of the liquors, received the prayers of the 
 family through a "prayer-officer," revealed the will of 
 the ancestors, and pronounced their blessing upon the 
 "filial descendant" because of his generous sacrifice. One 
 of the odes of this period says: "We invite the 'imper- 
 sonator' of the dead to be seated that we may secure great 
 happiness. . . . The full ceremonial is carefully ob- 
 served, and every word and smile is as it ought to be. . . . 
 When the service is finished, all the actors are exhausted, 
 having carried out the ceremonial without mistake. The 
 'prayer-officer' announces to the 'filial descendant' that 
 his filial sacrifice has been fragrant. . . . The ceremo- 
 nial being thus finished, the bells and drums strike up, and 
 the 'filial descendant' returns to his own seat. The 
 'prayer-officer' declares that the shen have drunk to 
 satiety. The august 'personator' of the dead then arises, 
 
ii SPIRITISM IN CHINA 29 
 
 and is escorted away to the sound of bells and drums. 
 The shen go away noiselessly." 20 
 
 This strange institution of the "personator" has not 
 existed since the Chou dynasty, but "mediums" of other 
 sorts have lasted down to the present time. People in an 
 hypnotic or ecstatic condition are regarded as possessed 
 by spirits. Such persons are called wu. They are akin 
 to the shamans and medicine-men of other races. Wang 
 Ch'ung, the sceptical philosopher who lived at the close 
 of the first century of our era, says: "Among men the 
 dead speak through living persons whom they throw into 
 a trance; and the wu, thrumming their black chords, call 
 down souls of the dead, which then speak through the 
 mouths of the wu" Individuals thus possessed indicated 
 the fact by convulsive motions of the face and limbs, 
 shivering, groaning and sobbing, or by uncontrollable 
 running or jumping. Sometimes they manifested such 
 power that the strongest men could not hold them. In 
 order to induce the prophetic ecstasy they made use of 
 dancing and singing, like the Sons of the Prophets in 
 1 Samuel 10:5, and the priests of the ba'al in 1 Kings 
 18 '.26. This practice is mentioned as early as the Shang 
 dynasty in the eighteenth century B.C. So infectious was 
 this enthusiasm that bystanders were caught, by it and 
 prophesied with the wu. Young boys were often associ- 
 ated with them that they might participate in their inspira- 
 tion. We are reminded of the way in which the youthful 
 Saul prophesied with the Sons of the Prophets ( 1 Samuel 
 10:10-12; 19:20-24). The wu might belong to either 
 sex; but, as among other races, they were chiefly women. 
 A male wu was known also as chi. 
 
 When controlled by the spirits, the wu uttered oracles 
 in their name. The Emperor Wu of the Han dynasty 
 frequently consulted a female wu who was inspired by the 
 
 20 Shi-king, II. vi. 5 ; Cf . the Roman custom, pp. 75, 80. 
 
30 SPIRITISM ii 
 
 deceased princess Shen. Of her the chronicler records: 
 "Whatever she said he ordered to be written down. Her 
 orders were called written law, but merely told things 
 which even ordinary people knew, and they contained 
 nothing extraordinary; nevertheless, the Son of Heaven 
 extended an exclusive preference to them. They were 
 kept secret, and the world at that time knew nothing of 
 them." Under Emperor Chao, son of Wu of the Han 
 dynasty, his brother Hsu aspired to the throne, and con- 
 sulted a female wu named Li Nii-hsu. "He ordered her 
 to bring down a shen and make incantations. Nu-hsii 
 burst into tears as she said, 'The Emperor Hsiao Wu 
 descends into me' ; and while all the bystanders prostrated 
 themselves, she exclaimed, 'It is my strict order that Hsu 
 shall become the Son of Heaven.' " This ability of the 
 wu to bring messages from revered ancestors, or from 
 beloved relatives or friends, gave them great influence 
 over the credulous. 
 
 The wu possessed also clairvoyant powers which 
 enabled them to discover lost articles, or to tell where 
 things were hidden. In the reign of King Kuei-ming 
 (264 A.D.) two wu identified the grave of a princess by 
 describing the clothes in which she was buried. The grave 
 was opened, and the garments were found as described. 
 Ch'en Kuah of the eleventh century says of a female wu: 
 "She proved able to reveal anything that my uncle wished 
 to know from her about things in this human world, even 
 though they were more than a thousand miles off." 
 
 The wu were able also to read the minds of other peo- 
 ple. Of the same female wu just mentioned Ch'en Kuah 
 says: "She even knew the thoughts arising in others. 
 Guests who were just then playing draughts held in their 
 hands some black or white draughtsmen which they had 
 previously counted, and asked her how many there were, 
 and she gave the answer correctly every time; but then 
 they took handfuls without counting them, and she could 
 not mention their numbers. It was thus evident that she 
 
ii SPIRITISM IN CHINA 31 
 
 could know what others knew, but not what others did 
 not bear in their minds." Because of these powers 
 emperors and princes were accustomed to make use of 
 the wu in order to discover sorcerers, or rebels who were 
 conspiring against their authority. The wu were able to 
 tell people what they had dreamed, even when they them- 
 selves had forgotten it. In 580 B.C. the ruler of Chin 
 dreamed that he saw a tall demon with dishevelled hair 
 reaching to the ground, which beat its breast and stamped 
 on the ground, saying, "You have killed my grandsons 
 unjustly, but I have had my request granted by the Celes- 
 tial Emperor." A female wu repeated this dream to the 
 king and told him that it meant his impending death. 21 
 
 When possessed by the spirits, the wu could predict 
 the future. Of one of these mediums Chuang-tzu says: 
 u In Ching there was a wu animated by a shen, whose 
 name was Chi-hsien. He knew everything about the 
 birth and death of men, the continuation and cessation 
 of their lives, their misfortunes and happiness, and 
 whether they would die at a great age or prematurely." 
 In the year 888 a wu said to Lo Hung-hsin: u An old 
 grey-haired man sends me to you with the expression of 
 his gratitude; you are destined to become the owner of 
 this earth." Hung-hsin subsequently became emperor. 
 About 1000 A.D. a wu predicted to Chau Tsu, the ances- 
 tor of the House of Kin, the birth of four children, and 
 described accurately their characteristics. 
 
 Under the influence of the spirits the wu possessed not 
 only supernatural knowledge but also the power of work- 
 ing miracles. The life of Hsia T'ung during the Tsin 
 dynasty gives the following account of two beautiful 
 female wu in his day: "They chanted and danced excel- 
 lently, and they could render themselves invisible. The 
 first evening was opened by them with bells and drums, 
 the noise of which they alternated with music of stringed 
 
 81 Compare the cases of Joseph, Gen. 40-41; and of Daniel, Dan. 2. 
 
32 SPIRITISM ii 
 
 instruments and bamboo pipes. Then Tan and Chu drew 
 knives or swords, cut their tongues therewith, swallowed 
 the swords, and spat fire, a cloud hiding them from 
 view, from which streams of light flashed like lightning. 
 . . . Dancing with light steps, and whirling round and 
 round, they uttered a language of spirits and laughed like 
 spectres, causing basins to spin and fly against each other, 
 and with gestures as though flying invited one another to 
 drink. Hsia T'ung stood horror-stricken; off he ran, not 
 through the gate, but right through the fence, and went 
 home." When the witch Nu-hsu, who has been men- 
 tioned before, made her incantations, "the red leaves on 
 some ten branches of a jujube tree in the palace-park 
 turned as white as silk, and in the pond the water became 
 red and the fish died, and rats hopped about in full day- 
 light in erect attitude in the queen's courtyard." 
 
 Other mediums under the influence of the spirits pro- 
 duced wonderful literary compositions. About 1035 A.D. 
 a spirit descended into a girl in the family of Wang Lun, 
 Doctor in the Court of Sacrificial Worship. "That girl 
 thereupon was able to write literary compositions of 
 exquisite beauty, which even now are circulating in the 
 world under the title of Collected Works of the Female 
 Immortal. She wrote in several styles, and manifested 
 the greatest artistic skill in the use of the pencil; but 
 never did she write the seal characters or square charac- 
 ters that are used in this world." 22 
 
 7. Spirits Can Appear to Men. — Such apparitions 
 are not limited to professional seers, but may happen to 
 anyone. Ghosts that thus reveal themselves retain the 
 form of their bodies at the time of death. Ghosts of chil- 
 dren return as children; ghosts of the aged, as aged. 
 Ghosts of those who have been beheaded show themselves 
 headless; and after an execution fire-crackers are set off to 
 drive the ghost away from the place, and the mandarin 
 
 "See de Groot, vi. pp. 1187-1341; Dore, i. 139-142. 
 
ii SPIRITISM IN CHINA 33 
 
 who superintends the execution passes through a smoke at 
 the door of his house to prevent the headless spectre from 
 entering with him. As in other lands, ghosts are most 
 likely to appear at the time of their death, or soon after. 
 Many families have had experience of the return of 
 deceased relatives to their homes. In the Classics men- 
 tion is made of the custom of fasting and meditating for 
 three days before celebrating the worship of an ancestor. 
 The "filial descendant" was required to recall the looks 
 of the person whom he wished to honour, how he had 
 stood and sat, how he had smiled and spoken, what had 
 been his favourite thoughts and occupations. On the 
 third day, through self-hypnotisation, the ancestor 
 appeared to the worshipper and spoke to him. Whether 
 a ghost could appear in person or had to depend upon a 
 medium depended upon the degree of energy that it pos- 
 sessed. In the year 825 a female wu said to Li Hsiang, 
 prefect of Meng Chou: "I am a spectre-seer who can 
 summon spirits by calling them hither. There are two 
 kinds of spirits, those which enjoy happiness and blessing, 
 and others which are poor and mean ; the former have a 
 vital spirit which is so vigorous and healthy that it enables 
 them to speak with men from time to time, while the 
 latter have a breath which is so weak and a sken which 
 is so exhausted that they are obliged to employ me as 
 their mouthpiece." 
 
 Ghosts appeared more frequently to professional wu 
 than to ordinary men; in fact, they could often be seen 
 by the wu when they were invisible to others. An inter- 
 esting account has come down of a seance of Li Hsiang 
 with the wu just mentioned. She said to the prefect, 
 "Under a tree in front of this hall I see a man in a red 
 robe. He says he is Lu Tsung-shi, late Second Superin- 
 tendent of the Boards. Go to welcome him." Li Hsiang 
 went accordingly, and politely invited the spirit to enter. 
 "The Superintendent is coming in," said the medium. A 
 voice was then heard in the air saying, "Lu Tsung-shi 
 
34 SPIRITISM ii 
 
 was strangled with a bow-string in this very hall. He 
 hates such strings, therefore please remove the bow that 
 hangs above your divan." Li Hsiang did so and sat 
 down. The medium then cried, "You have shown a 
 great discourtesy to the Superintendent who is of higher 
 rank than you in sitting down first, and he is going away 
 in anger. Run after him and stop him." Li Hsiang 
 hastened to make apologies, and heard a voice up in the 
 air saying, "So gross a mistake, you presumed to sit down 
 in my presence !" After repeated entreaties the wu 
 announced that the Superintendent had at last consented 
 to return. "What has the gentleman to ask?" said a 
 voice in the air. "He most humbly begs to be favoured 
 with a word telling him whether glory or distress shall 
 be in store for him," said the wu. The voice in the air 
 answered, "He shall be welcomed at the capital by many 
 people ; in a month after his arrival in the city he shall be 
 prefect of Wu-chou." The voice in the air was evidently 
 the product of ventriloquism, and this is a common 
 accomplishment of Chinese mediums. 
 
 Mediums had the power of "materialisation" of 
 spirits, that is, of making them visible to other people. 
 The so-called History of the South records that under 
 the Emperor Hsiao Wu (A.D. 454-465) "there was a 
 wu who could see spirits, and who assured the Emperor 
 that it would be possible to make his deceased secondary 
 consort appear. The Emperor was very glad of it, and 
 bade him evoke her. In a few minutes she was actually 
 seen on a curtain in the shape which she had had when 
 alive. The Emperor desired to speak with her, but she 
 remained silent; and just as he would fain have grasped 
 her hand, she vanished." The same girl-medium men- 
 tioned above, who wrote such beautiful literary compo- 
 sitions, also possessed powers of "materialising" spirits. 
 "In that house the spirit occasionally showed its shape, 
 and then it was perceived that above the loins it was like 
 an attractive woman; but below the loins it was always 
 
ii SPIRITISM IN CHINA 35 
 
 veiled as if by a cloud. She could play beautifully on the 
 lute ; and when her voice chimed in, it was so sweet and 
 pleasant that all who listened forgot their cares." 23 
 
 /. The Abode of Disembodied Spirits. — Like all 
 other ancient peoples, the Chinese believed that spirits of 
 the dead maintained a close connection with the bodies 
 that they had formerly occupied. Just as they returned to 
 these from sleep or from swoons so they returned to them 
 from death. Consequently, it was necessary that the 
 body should be preserved intact in order to serve as a 
 habitation for the soul. Injuries to the body inflicted 
 corresponding injuries on the soul. Criminals who had 
 been beheaded wandered about as headless ghosts; and 
 when the heads had disappeared, wooden substitutes were 
 buried with the corpses in the hope that this would lay 
 the spectres. The dynasty of Chou excluded from the 
 tombs of the kings all members of the family who had 
 died a violent death. Teeth that had come out during 
 life and nail parings were carefully preserved in order 
 that they might be buried with the dead. Mutilation of 
 the corpse was the worst penalty that could be inflicted 
 upon criminals. An ancient law reads : "Whoever mur- 
 ders three members of one family, shall be slowly cut up 
 with knives till death ensues. His corpse shall be chopped 
 to pieces, and his head exhibited on a stake as a warning 
 to the public." Bodies of offenders were often exhumed 
 in order that punishment might be inflicted on them. 
 Shih Lih, a pretender to the throne, burned the body of 
 the general who had fought against him and who had 
 died in 311 A.D. In a chronicle of the Hsiao-chuang 
 period (525-528 A.D.) it is narrated: "Liu Thing had 
 already expired; but the Empress, remembering his 
 crimes, had his grave opened and his body destroyed, 
 that his ghost might be deprived of everything in which 
 to take refuge." So dreadful a disaster to the dead is 
 
 88 See de Groot, vi. pp. 1212-1341; Dore, i. 132-138. 
 
36 SPIRITISM ii 
 
 mutilation of their corpses that it is prohibited under 
 heavy penalties by the Legal Code : "Whoever mangles 
 or destroys the corpse of a member of another family, or 
 casts it into the water, shall be punished with one hundred 
 blows with the long stick, and shall be transported for life 
 to a country three thousand miles distant." 
 
 The grave is the dwelling-place of the dead, and with- 
 out a grave they have no home. The unburied dead are 
 ghosts who roam the earth and haunt the living. Such 
 are those who have been drowned, lost in the mountains 
 or deserts, devoured by wild beasts, or who have no 
 relatives to provide for their interment so that their 
 bodies are cast out like carrion, or the spirits of infants 
 that have been exposed by their parents. It is considered 
 a pious deed to care for bodies of the unburied, and 
 benevolent societies exist which provide coffins and small 
 sums for funeral expenses for the worthy poor. It is 
 also one of the functions of the Government to see that 
 no dead remain unburied. 
 
 Improper burial is almost as bad as no burial, for the 
 dead cannot rest. Officers who offended the Emperor 
 were punished in ancient times by being condemned to a 
 poor and mean burial. When tombs became ruinous, the 
 shades became restless and haunted the living until 
 repairs were made. A certain governor named Wen 
 Ying had a dream in which a man appeared to him who 
 said: "Ere now my parents buried me hereabouts, but 
 when the tide rises it flows over my grave; the coffin 
 being submerged, it becomes half full of water, so that I 
 possess nothing wherein to keep myself warm." There- 
 upon the spectre lifted up its clothes to show Wen Ying 
 that they were wet through. "Where is your coffin?" 
 asked Ying. "Ten pu to the north," said the ghost, 
 "under a withered willow tree on the bank of the river." 
 The next day Ying looked for the place, found the con- 
 ditions to be as the ghost had described them and 
 removed the coffin to a dry spot. 
 
ii SPIRITISM IN CHINA 37 
 
 This association of the spirit with the corpse is the 
 reason why members of the same family are buried 
 together. It is felt that occupancy of the same tomb 
 secures reunion in the other world. The earliest records 
 bear testimony to the conveying of bodies from a distance 
 to be interred in the family grave, and down to the pres- 
 ent time the bones of Chinese who have died in America, 
 or in other remote lands, are sent home for burial. In 
 cases where, for one reason or another, bodies could not 
 be brought back, provision was made in ancient times for 
 the burial of their souls with their ancestors. Graves 
 were prepared, the spirits were invoked to return, and 
 soul-tablets bearing the name of the deceased, and gar- 
 ments that had belonged to them were interred with the 
 usual ceremonies. The placing of gifts in the grave and 
 the offering of sacrifices at the grave, on which more 
 will be said later, also bear witness to the belief that 
 spirits of the dead inhabit the grave. 24 
 
 In sharp contrast to this is the idea which is found 
 already in the Canonical Books and Classics that spirits 
 of the dead are "in the sky" or "on high." Thus one of 
 the ancient odes of the Shi-king says: 
 
 "Kings die in Chou, and others rise, 
 And in their footsteps tread. 
 Three there had been, and all were wise, 
 And still they ruled, though dead. 
 Tai, Chi, and Wen were all in heaven, 
 When Wu to follow them was given." 25 
 
 When Wu, the first king of the Chou dynasty, was sick, 
 his brother invoked the spirits of the three nearest ances- 
 tors as follows: "Your principal descendant is suffering 
 from a grievous illness. If you three kings in the sky 
 have charge of him, take me as a substitute for his per- 
 son." 26 Of King Wen of the Chou dynasty it is said in 
 
 2 *See de Groot, i. 342-355; ii. 378-381; iii. 829-934. 
 
 20 Ski-king, III. i. Ode 9 ; translated by Legge, Religions of China, p. 77. 
 
 28 Shu-king, V. vi. 5. 
 
38 SPIRITISM ii 
 
 the odes : "After death he went to rest on high, enshrined 
 in light." "The spirit of Wen could rest in peace in the 
 sky." 27 This conception of the abode of the soul arises 
 apparently from the idea that it is breath, wind, or light, 
 and hence is allied to the celestial powers. It may also 
 be due to the fact that the same word shen is applied to 
 spirits of the dead and to heavenly spirits so that confu- 
 sion between the two is possible. The same confusion of 
 thought is found in many other early religions. 28 
 
 At a very early date the Chinese philosophers tried to 
 explain this inconsistency by the theory of two souls in 
 man. The universe was regarded as the result of a union 
 of two opposite principles Yang and Yin. Yang showed 
 itself in heaven, light, day, south, summer, male, etc.; 
 and Yin in earth, darkness, night, north, winter, female, 
 etc. Human nature was composed of the same two ele- 
 ments. Thus the Li-ki (VII. iii. i) says: "Thus it is 
 that man consists of the beneficial substances that com- 
 pose the Heavens and the Earth, of the co-operation of 
 the Yin and the Yang, and of the union of a kuei with a 
 shen." In XXI. ii. i of the same work we read: u Tsai 
 Ngo spoke: 'I have heard the terms kuei and shen, but I 
 do not know what they mean' ; on which Confucius said 
 to him : 'The ch'i is the full manifestation of the shen } 
 and the p'o is the full manifestation of the kuei; the 
 union of the kuei with the shen is the highest among all 
 tenets. Living beings are all sure to die, and as they 
 certainly return {kuei) to the Earth after their death, the 
 soul (which accompanies them thither) is called kuei. 
 But while the bones and flesh moulder in the ground and 
 mysteriously become earth of the fields, the ch ( i issues 
 forth and manifests itself on high as a shining ming 
 (light).'" These statements are mere philosophical 
 speculations that have nothing to do with the actual popu- 
 lar beliefs. As a matter of fact, in ordinary linguistic 
 
 27 Ski-king, III. i. Ode 1. 
 
 28 See pp. 107, 128, 172. 
 
ii SPIRITISM IN CHINA 39 
 
 usage the shen and the mlng are connected with the grave 
 quite as often as the kuei. The gravestone, or the ances- 
 tral tablet, is occupied by the shen; the pagoda which 
 shelters the tombstone is called "tower of the ming" ; 
 objects buried in tombs are called "implements for the 
 ming" and grave-clothes are called "coats and petticoats 
 for the ming." All this shows that originally no distinc- 
 tion of two spirits in man was made, and that this refine- 
 ment has left no impression upon popular thought or 
 language. The double abode of the dead remains, there- 
 fore, an unexplained mystery. 29 
 
 g. Deification of the Dead. — In view of the mysteri- 
 ous powers that spirits of the dead possess it is not 
 surprising that they are regarded by the Chinese as 
 belonging to the class of gods rather than of men. They 
 are a species of the genus shen, which embraces a multi- 
 tude of spirits of all kinds. At the head of the hierarchy 
 stands T'ien, "the Sky," commonly translated "Heaven." 
 A synonymous term is Shang-ti, "High Ruler." This is 
 the nearest that the Chinese religion comes to the idea 
 of God. Next in importance to the Sky-spirit are the 
 other celestial spirits who preside over astronomical and 
 atmospheric phenomena. They are called by the generic 
 name shen, or "spirits." Beneath them stand spirits of 
 the earth called ch l i. The compound shen-ch'i expresses 
 the totality of spirits in heaven and earth, like the 
 Sumerian AN-KI. The great mountains and rivers also 
 have their tutelary spirits, which are known as the kuei- 
 shen of these places. Spirits of the soil are called she, 
 and spirits of the crops chi. The compound she-chi 
 designates the collective gods of agriculture. There is 
 no difference of kind between these spirits and spirits of 
 the dead. They differ only in rank and in functions. 
 
 h. Worship of the Dead. — At the very beginning of 
 authentic history the right to worship the spirits of 
 
 88 See de Groot, iv. pp. 1-9. 
 
40 SPIRITISM ii 
 
 Heaven and of Earth was taken from the common people 
 and made a function of the Government. The ordinary 
 citizen was allowed to worship only his own ancestors 
 and the numen of the threshold or of the oven. Repre- 
 sentatives of the clan were allowed to worship the pre- 
 siding genius of its fields; and representatives of the 
 families in a village, to worship the local guardian of the 
 soil. The magistrate worshipped the spirits of his dis- 
 trict; the prefect, those of his department; the governor, 
 those of his province. The great feudal princes sacri- 
 ficed to the presiding spirits of their states, to the rivers 
 and mountains within their territories, and to the gods of 
 fertility within the same boundaries. The Emperor 
 alone had the right to sacrifice to Heaven and Earth, the 
 great rivers and mountains of the empire, and to the 
 spirits of agriculture of the entire realm. For any other 
 man to perform these functions was an act of rebellion. 
 Confucius himself said: "For a man to sacrifice to a kuet 
 not his own ancestor is presumptuous flattery." 30 
 
 Being debarred from the worship of nature-spirits, 
 people in general knew no other religion than ancestor- 
 worship. Thus it came about that this particular cult 
 attained a development in China that is without a parallel 
 in other parts of the world. Other races have practised 
 ancestor-worship as a subsidiary rite alongside of the 
 worship of gods and nature-spirits; but the Chinese have 
 exalted it to the first place, and have made all other forms 
 of religion secondary. As early as the classical books 
 ancestor-worship had become the chief religion of the 
 nation; and in spite of the spread of Taoism and 
 Buddhism, it holds its own down to the present time. 
 The ideograph for "filial piety," hsiao, is one of the 
 oldest signs in the language. It is composed out of the 
 combined signs for "old man" and "son." In regard 
 to this piety Confucius says: "The services of love and 
 
 80 Sayings of Confucius, II. xxiv. 
 
ii SPIRITISM IN CHINA 41 
 
 reverence to parents when alive, and those of grief and 
 sorrow for them when dead: — these completely discharge 
 the fundamental duty of living men." 31 "The service 
 which a filial son does to his parents is as follows : — In his 
 general conduct to them he manifests the utmost rever- 
 ence; in his nourishing of them his endeavour is to give 
 them the utmost pleasure ; when they are ill, he feels the 
 greatest anxiety; in mourning for them when dead, he 
 exhibits every demonstration of grief; in sacrificing to 
 them, he displays the greatest solemnity. When a son 
 is complete in these five things, (he may be pronounced) 
 able to serve his parents." 32 
 
 Ordinarily only the three immediate ancestors of the 
 head of the family are worshipped, the great-grand- 
 father, grandfather, and father. Remoter forefathers 
 receive only a collective homage once a year. 
 
 Higher officers of the government and emperors, who 
 have the privilege of worshipping other spirits besides 
 those of the dead, nevertheless agree with the common 
 people in regarding ancestor-worship as the chief duty in 
 religion. The Shu-king, II. i. iii. 6, says of Shun (2254 
 B.C.) : "Thereafter, he sacrificed specially, but with 
 the ordinary forms, to Heaven; sacrificed purely to the 
 six Honoured Ones (i.e., ancestors) ; offered their ap- 
 propriate sacrifices to the hills and rivers; and extended 
 his worship to the host of spirits," Here the ancestors 
 of the reigning dynasty rank next after Heaven, and 
 before the sun, moon and all other spirits. The Chou 
 dynasty added Earth after Heaven; and, with this modi- 
 fication, this order of imperial sacrifices lasted down to 
 the fall of the late Manchu dynasty. The sacrifices to 
 Heaven and Earth were celebrated only at the summer 
 and winter solstices and on a few other special occa- 
 sions, while ancestor-worship went on at all times. This 
 explains why it is mentioned in the imperial chronicles 
 
 81 Hsiao-king, chap, xviii. 
 32 Ibid., chap. x. 
 
42 SPIRITISM ii 
 
 and odes far more frequently than any other royal cult. 
 Under the Chou dynasty the emperor had seven an- 
 cestral shrines: one for the "great ancestor," or founder 
 of the family; another for Wen, Duke of Chou, the 
 father of Wu; another for Wu, the founder of the dy- 
 nasty; and the rest for the four immediate ancestors of 
 the emperor. When an emperor died, the spirit-tablet 
 of his great-great-grandfather was removed to the hall 
 of the remote ancestors, the tablets of his three imme- 
 diate ancestors were moved up one space, and his own 
 tablet was set up in the last shrine. The tablets of 
 the consorts of the emperors were placed beside those 
 of their husbands. The moral character of a deceased 
 ruler made no difference in the homage that was paid 
 him. The prosperity of the empire depended upon the 
 proper celebration of the ancestral rites. Confucius 
 says: "By their ceremonies in the ancestral temple 
 they worshipped the forefathers. He who should un- 
 derstand the great sacrificial ceremonies, and the mean- 
 ing of the ceremonies in the ancestral temple, would find 
 it as easy to govern the empire as to look upon the 
 palm of his hand." 
 
 The feudal dukes had five ancestral shrines: that 
 of the "great ancestor" and those of the four imme- 
 diate forefathers. High officials had three shrines : that 
 of the "great ancestor," grandfather, and father. When 
 a man was ennobled, his ancestors also were ennobled by 
 imperial decree so that they might become suitable ob- 
 jects of worship for the new dignitary; and if he were de- 
 graded, his ancestors were degraded also. Lower offi- 
 cials were allowed only one shrine, that of the imme- 
 diate forefather. 
 
 Besides the ancestors of the reigning house the state 
 religion paid homage to the discoverers of arts or sci- 
 ences, to sages, statesmen, deliverers from calamities, 
 and other public benefactors of the past. Thus the 
 Li-ki in the last section of the book on sacrifice says: 
 
 
 
ii SPIRITISM IN CHINA 43 
 
 u The rule observed by the sage kings in instituting sac- 
 rifices was this: — that those who had legislated for the 
 people should be sacrificed to, also those who had died 
 in the diligent discharge of their duties, those whose 
 toils had established states, and those who had warded 
 off, or given succour in great calamities." Such persons 
 were known as "Assistants of Heaven." Among these 
 were Shen-nung, a prehistoric emperor who taught his 
 people to till the ground and to cultivate grain; Hou-tsi, 
 the original ancestor of the dynasty of Chou, born of a 
 virgin who became pregnant by "treading in a footprint 
 of the Lord (Ti)," the conqueror of the nine provinces. 
 
 Confucius himself belonged to this class. It is said 
 that the Prince of Lu, Confucius' native state, built a 
 shrine in his honour after his death where sacrifices 
 were offered four times in the year. The first emperor 
 of the Han dynasty in 194 B.C. visited the grave of 
 Confucius in Shan-tung and sacrificed a pig, a sheep, 
 and a bullock. Fifty years later a temple was built to 
 Confucius in his native city of Ch'ufu, and in A.D. 59 
 Emperor Ming-ti ordered that offerings be made to 
 Confucius in all state schools. In A.D. 72 the same 
 Emperor ordered the tablets of the seventy-two disciples 
 to be set up and offerings to be made to them. In 
 286 it was decreed that sacrifices should be offered to 
 him four times in the year on the imperial altar and on 
 the altar of his own temple. In 55 it was ordered that 
 a temple should be built to him in the capital of every 
 district. At the present time temples of Confucius are 
 found in all the larger cities, and he has become the object 
 of an extensive national cult. 
 
 i. Rites Preparatory to Burial. — Immediately be- 
 fore death a person is removed from his bed and placed 
 on a sort of bier consisting of three boards, where he 
 is washed and his head shaved in order that he may 
 make a good appearance on entering the world of spirits. 
 As soon as death occurs the whole family break out 
 
44 SPIRITISM ii 
 
 in loud howlings and laments, begging the dead to re- 
 turn and expostulating with him for leaving them. Then 
 follows the curious custom of the "recall of the soul" 
 referred to on p. 1 8. The relatives now unbraid their 
 cues, and let their hair fly loose (cf. Leviticus, 21 :io), 
 and put on garments of coarse brown sackcloth which 
 they wear whenever any funeral rites are being cele- 
 brated. The eyes of the corpse are then closed, and the 
 body is washed with water brought from a well into 
 which coins have been thrown as an offering to the 
 indwelling numen. Certain jewels that give life are 
 placed in the mouth. A light is kept burning near the 
 body at night, and dishes of food and cups of drink 
 are placed near it, so that if the soul returns, it may at 
 once find nourishment. 
 
 The next day the deceased is dressed in an undergar- 
 ment of cotton or linen, lined with an expensive sort 
 of silk velvet designed to give comfort in the grave, and 
 in new outer garments such as were worn on official occa- 
 sions during life. A lunch is set out on a table, and a 
 temporary soul-tablet is brought to be occupied by the 
 spirit after the body is placed in the coffin. At the bot- 
 tom of the coffin a quantity of rice paper is strewn, over 
 this a loose board with seven holes, then a mattress, 
 then a mat, and a small pillow for the head. The body 
 is laid in the coffin, and with it are put a few personal 
 articles such as a pipe, fan, or pen, or in the case of a 
 child, a toy. The remaining space in the coffin is stuffed 
 with "spirit" paper money for use in the other world, 
 the cover is put on and is hermetically sealed. 33 
 
 ;. Graves, Tombs, and Mausolea. — In the very 
 earliest times, apparently, the Chinese lived in caverns 
 excavated in the clay cliffs along the banks of their 
 rivers. When a member of the famly died, his body 
 was left in the cave that he had inhabited during life, 
 and it was abandoned by the rest of the household. In 
 
 88 See de Groot, i. pp. 1-240; Dore, i. 41-46. 
 
ii SPIRITISM IN CHINA 45 
 
 a slightly more advanced stage of civilisation huts of 
 branches were constructed and plastered with clay, and 
 these also were given up if a death occurred. Out of 
 these two primitive forms of houses all later types of 
 Chinese tombs have developed. They are either sub- 
 terranean excavations (mu) , or tumuli (fen) that simu- 
 late the shape of the ancient huts. When expensive 
 and comfortable houses began to be built, they were 
 no longer surrendered to the dead, but these were pro- 
 vided with abodes of the prehistoric type. In the south 
 of China graves predominate at the present time. In 
 the central and northern provinces hemispherical mounds 
 are more common. These frequently have a stone slab 
 carved to represent a closed door inserted in the front. 
 This is an architectural survival of the primitive hut 
 door. Graves are commonly constructed by digging 
 and packing in earth mixed with lime which forms a 
 solid vault. Tumuli are built up over the coffin which 
 is placed at or near the surface of the ground. 
 
 The more elaborate tombs of the wealthy tend to 
 imitate houses. The tumulus corresponds to the central 
 back room of the house. In front of this is a wall 
 bearing the gravestone, which corresponds to the an- 
 cestral tablets in the home. In front of this is the 
 "grave hall" which corresponds to the main hall of the 
 house. This contains an altar for offerings to the shades 
 which corresponds to the table in the house on which 
 offerings are placed before the ancestral tablets. In 
 front of the hall is the "grave court" which corresponds 
 to the court in front of the house. These fundamental 
 architectural elements are capable of indefinite elabora- 
 tion in proportion to the wealth or the rank of the 
 deceased. The most splendid sepulchral monuments of 
 Chinese antiquity that have come down to us are the 
 tombs of the emperors of the Ming dynasty (1368- 
 1643 A.D.). Here the tumulus has become a costly 
 mausoleum, the "soul-tower." The "spirit hall" has 
 
46 SPIRITISM ii 
 
 been developed into a temple, and the court into a mag- 
 nificent avenue of approach flanked with colossal stone 
 images of animals. 
 
 k. Rites of Burial. — The poor usually bury their 
 dead on the day after decease. More prosperous people 
 wait until the third day. The wealthy wait sometimes 
 weeks or months in order to determine an auspicious 
 day or an auspicious place for the burial. The art of 
 determining such matters is known as Feng-shui. It is 
 in the hands of experts who demand high fees for their 
 services. It is so difficult to secure proper places for 
 burial that coffins are often stored for years in receiving 
 vaults where they pay rent until a grave can be found. 
 The coffin is carried to the grave on a catafalque borne 
 on the shoulders of fellow-villagers or clansmen. A cop^ 
 per coin is placed in each corner of the grave, and ^ve 
 kinds of cereals and some iron nails are strewn over the 
 bottom. The professor of Feng-shui performs certain 
 rites calculated to render the spiritual climate salubrious, 
 and the coffin is lowered into the grave, amid firing of 
 guns, beating of drums, gongs and cymbals, and howls 
 of lamentation. The permanent soul-tablet is laid upon 
 the coffin, and the sons exclaim, "Father (or Mother), 
 arise I" The spirit thereupon enters into the tablet as its 
 perpetual abiding place. The tablet is removed from 
 the grave, and the temporary tablet, or spirit-banner is 
 put in its place, also slate tablets engraved with a biogra- 
 phy of the deceased, and the censer and candlesticks that 
 were used during the funeral services. All these rites 
 which are practised in modern China can be traced back 
 to a high antiquity. 34 
 
 In ancient times all sorts of gifts were placed with the 
 dead in the graves. The Li-ki, XIX. ii. 36, says that 
 parched grain, fish, and dried meat were deposited with 
 the dead in the period of the Chou dynasty. The /-/*, 
 speaking of the same period, enumerates the following 
 
 »* Dore, i. 53-57. 
 
ii SPIRITISM IN CHINA 47 
 
 articles that were buried with ordinary officials: "Two 
 baskets of meat, three hampers of millet, panicled millet 
 and wheat, three earthen pots with pickled meat, pre- 
 served meat, and sliced food, two earthen jars with must 
 and spirits." In the case of princely or imperial burials 
 enormous quantities of food were placed in the graves. 
 Other articles deposited in the grave during the Chou 
 dynasty were pieces of silk, costly garments, armour, 
 weapons, jewelry, tools, and vessels of various sorts. 
 Huge treasures were interred in the tombs of emperors 
 and feudal princes, and this often led to their rifling in 
 later ages. To prevent this stringent laws were passed 
 and garrisons of troops were stationed to guard the tombs 
 against marauders. Favourite animals were also killed 
 and buried with their owners so that they might be used 
 in the other world. 
 
 Human sacrifice was not infrequent in ancient times. 
 The earliest recorded case is in 619 B.C. when one hun- 
 dred and seventy persons were buried with the prince of 
 Ts'in. About 600 B.C. a certain Wei Wu-tzu gave orders 
 before his death that a favourite concubine should be 
 buried alive with him. In 587 B.C. several living persons 
 were interred with Wen, the ruler of Sung. A certain man 
 gave two of his daughters to be buried with the emperor 
 as a sign of gratitude for favours conferred upon his 
 father. In 210 B.C. all childless wives of the emperor 
 were buried with him. Cases of this sort are reported 
 as late as the Ming dynasty (1300 A.D.), and it is said 
 to have happened at the funeral of a Manchu emperor 
 in 1 66 1. This custom is unquestionably a survival of a 
 primitive rite that was practised by all ancient peoples, 
 and that still lingers among savages. Closely akin is the 
 custom of suicide of wives or betrothed maidens, which 
 existed until within a few years. 
 
 The waste of property and of life which these sacrifices 
 involved early called forth protests and efforts to substi- 
 tute less valuable articles. Even under the Chou dynasty 
 
48 SPIRITISM ii 
 
 the bows and arrows placed with the dead were unfit 
 for real use. About 650 B.C. Huan, king of Ts'i, com- 
 plained that all woven stuffs were made up into grave- 
 clothes and shrouds, and all timber into coffins and grave- 
 vaults. He forbade expensive funerals under penalty 
 that the dead should be mangled and the mourners 
 beaten. According to the Li-ki, II. i. iii. 22, the phi- 
 losopher K'ang Tzu-kao said: "I have never been 
 of any use to others during my life, and may I do them 
 no harm by my death. When I die select a plot of 
 ground that does not produce any food and bury me 
 there." 
 
 Confucius discouraged the burial of costly articles 
 with the dead. "When his disciples wished to give Yen 
 Yuen a costly burial at his death, the Master advised 
 them not to do any such thing, nevertheless they buried 
 him in rich style. 35 In the Li-ki, II. i. iii. 3, we read: 
 "If we were to treat the dead as if they were quite alive, 
 we should betray great ignorance. For this reason the 
 bamboo instruments are not quite fit to use, those of 
 earthenware cannot well be washed, nor can those of 
 wood be carved. The citherns and lutes are strung, but 
 not tuned; the mouth-organs and Pandean pipes are in 
 good order, but not attuned to the same key; there are 
 also bells and sonorous stones, but no stands to suspend 
 them from. These things are called instruments for the 
 manes, because they are for the use of human souls. " 
 According to the Li-ki, II. ii. i. 44, "Confucius also 
 said: 'Those who make such implements for the manes of 
 the dead show that they are acquainted with the right 
 method of conducting funeral rites ; for those implements, 
 although ready at hand, are unfit for actual use. The 
 carts of clay and straw images of men and horses, which 
 have been in vogue since ancient times, are founded on 
 the same principle as the implements for the manes/ " 
 
 88 Lun-yii, xi. 10. 
 
ii SPIRITISM IN CHINA 49 
 
 This shows that long before the time of Confucius the 
 custom had appeared of placing imitations instead of real 
 persons and things with the dead. Little by little this 
 custom displaced that of burying wives, slaves, and ani- 
 mals with their master. Images of stone, wood, clay, or 
 even of straw were substituted in their stead. In course 
 of time paper imitations of all the articles formerly buried 
 with the dead were prepared, and instead of being placed 
 in the grave they were burned at the home during the 
 funeral ceremonies, and the ashes were carried to the 
 grave and deposited there. The custom of placing food 
 and other offerings in the tomb has entirely disappeared 
 from modern China. Under the Chou dynasty, when 
 the burial was completed, an "impersonator" was ap- 
 pointed who, as the representative of the dead partook 
 of food that was set before him. With this "sacrifice 
 of repose," we are told, "the service of him as living 
 ceases, and that for him in his ghostly state begins." 36 
 
 /. Ancestral Shrines and Temples. — The grave is not 
 the only sanctuary of the dead. Besides this there is the 
 place in which the soul-tablets of the ancestors are depos- 
 ited. In poorer families this consists of a shelf in the 
 main hall of the house directly opposite the front door 
 on which the tablets are placed immediately after the 
 funeral. Wealthier families have special shrines or tem- 
 ples designed for the housing of these tablets. These 
 were the first temples in China. The nature-spirits had 
 only open-air sanctuaries, but spirits of the dead had 
 houses. When a new capital was to be built, the first 
 care was to erect a temple for the ancestors of the reign- 
 ing house. The new building was consecrated with the 
 blood of victims slain in a dedication sacrifice. In 2258 
 B.C. 37 Yao resigned the throne to Shun in the temple of 
 the Accomplished Ancestor. At the beginning of his 
 reign Shun sacrificed a bullock in the temple of the Culti- 
 
 38 See de Groot, ii. pp. 361-473; 659-827; Dore, i. 109-113. 
 87 Shu-king, II. i. 4. 
 
50 SPIRITISM ii 
 
 vated Ancestor. 38 Shun invested Yii as his successor in 
 the temple of the Spiritual Ancestor. 39 Under Shun a 
 special officer had charge of the rites in the ancestral 
 temple. 40 In regard to the arrangement of the shrines 
 in the ancestral temple see p. 42. When a dynasty 
 came to an end its ancestral temple was closed and sacri- 
 fices were suspended. The reigning monarch proved his 
 right to the throne by erecting a new temple in which 
 his forefathers who had given him the sovereignty en- 
 joyed supreme homage. Frequent mention is made of 
 virtuous descendants who repaired the temples of their 
 ancestors. 
 
 m. Rites of Mourning for the Dead. — In the earliest 
 period known to history the Chinese were accustomed to 
 mourn for the dead by leaving their houses and dwelling 
 in sheds, wearing scanty and coarse garments, and 
 fasting. All three of these customs are alluded to in 
 the Li-ki, XXXII. 3 : "The shabby coat with its 
 edges roughly cut off, and the mourning staff; dwelling 
 in a shed reared against the wall; eating rice gruel there, 
 and sleeping on straw or matting with a clod of earth 
 for a pillow — these things are the outward signs of the 
 deepest grief." De Groot thinks that these rites have 
 grown out of the surrender of property to the dead men- 
 tioned above. When the house was abandoned to the 
 corpse, temporary shelters had to be erected for the rela- 
 tives. When garments and food were buried in the 
 grave, nothing but rags and remnants were left for the 
 survivors. Later, when cheap substitutes were placed in 
 the grave, the ancient forms of poverty were retained 
 through religious conservatism. For other explanations 
 of these ceremonies, which are found among all primi- 
 tive peoples, see p. 9L The requirements of mourning 
 were graded according to the nearness of relationship 
 
 88 Shu-king, II. i. 8. 
 m Ibid., II. ii. 19. 
 *»lbid., II. i. 23. 
 
ii SPIRITISM IN CHINA 51 
 
 to the deceased. In some cases it lasted as long as 
 twenty-seven months, the rigours being slowly abated as 
 time went on. 
 
 n. Sacrifices to the Dead. — In addition to the offer- 
 ings that were placed in the grave at the time of burial, 
 offerings were also placed upon the grave at stated times 
 subsequently. In proportion as the burial sacrifices de- 
 clined the other sorts of sacrifice gained in importance. 
 According to the Li-ki, chap. V. ii. 19, Confucius, when 
 asked what the son of a concubine ought to do if the son 
 of the principal wife were away, said: "He shall erect 
 an altar in front of the grave, and sacrifice there at each 
 of the four seasons," Mencius speaks of people who 
 lived by picking up the remnants of sacrifices to the dead. 
 
 Other sacrifices were offered at the ancestral shrines 
 or temples where the soul-tablets were preserved. These 
 are mentioned with great frequency in the Canonical 
 Books. The Emperor Shun (2255-2205 B.C.), when- 
 ever he returned from his tours through the provinces, 
 sacrificed a bullock at the temple of the Cultivated An- 
 cestor. 41 I-Yin, chief minister of T'ang, founder of the 
 Shang dynasty, "in the twelfth month of the first year 
 sacrificed to the former king, and presented the heir to 
 the throne reverently before his ancestor." 42 Wu, the 
 founder of the Chou dynasty, gave as a reason for over- 
 throwing Shou, the last king of the Shang dynasty: "He 
 neglects the temple of his ancestors and does not sacri- 
 fice in it. The victims and the vessels of millet all be- 
 come the prey of wicked robbers." 43 Of King Wen, 
 the ancestor of the house of Chou, it is said: "He never 
 offended against the laws enacted by his ancestors, and 
 he offered to them the red bull in sacrifice. 44 Sacrifices 
 were offered to Wen himself by his successors. "To the 
 virtuous King Wen, worthy of glory and honour, princes 
 
 41 Shu-king, II. i. 8. 
 
 42 Ibid., IV. iv. 1. 
 
 43 Ibid., V. i. Pt. i. 6. 
 "■Shi-king, III. i. Odes 5 and 6. 
 
52 SPIRITISM ii 
 
 and officials offer the red bull with great devotion." 45 
 Concerning Wu, the founder of the Chou dynasty, we 
 read : "On the day ting-wei he sacrificed in the ancestral 
 temple of Chou, when the chiefs of the imperial domain, 
 and of the tien, hou, and wei domains all hurried about 
 carrying the dishes." 40 The Odes also narrate: "King 
 Wu offered sacrifices to his meritorious father and accom- 
 plished mother. A bull was offered, and the praises of 
 Wen were sung, whose wisdom in peace and might in 
 war gave repose even in high heaven." 47 King Ch'eng, 
 the successor of Wu, "led his brilliant assembly of min- 
 isters and princes to the shrine of his father, to whom 
 he made his offerings and accomplished his filial duty." 48 
 
 Deceased emperors were also worshipped at the time 
 of the annual sacrifice on the altar of Heaven. On the 
 top of the altar on the north side the tablet of Heaven 
 was placed. On the east and west sides stood the tablets 
 of the imperial ancestors. Before each tablet offerings 
 of food were spread, the emperor burned sticks of in- 
 cense, laid before each a piece of jade and a roll of silk, 
 presented a bowl of broth, and poured out a libation of 
 rice wine. This sacrifice was in existence in the time of 
 the Emperor Shun, and it lasted down to the fall of the 
 late Manchu dynasty. The sacrifice offered to Heaven 
 was known as chiao, that to the ancestors as yin. 
 
 The materials of sacrifice included every sort of food 
 that was acceptable to men. These are enumerated in 
 the odes of the Shi-king and in the ceremonial directions 
 of the Li-ki. Bullocks, sheep and swine were the animals 
 commonly offered. They were slain inside the gate of 
 the ancestral temple, the fat was burned in a furnace for 
 a sweet savour, and the meat was cooked and presented 
 on platters before the ancestral tablets. Meat broth was 
 also served, or poured out to the spirits as libations. One 
 
 "Shi-king, IV. i. Odes 1-10. 
 *" Shu-king, V. iii. 3. 
 "Shi-king, IV. i. ii. Ode 7. 
 48 Ibid., Ode 8. 
 
ii SPIRITISM IN CHINA 53 
 
 of the odes of the Chou period says : "Oxen and sheep 
 without blemish are brought in an orderly and reverent 
 manner for the sacrifices in autumn and winter. Some 
 men are deputed to cut up the flesh, others to boil it; 
 some divide the meat, others set it out in order. Inside 
 of the gate of the ancestral temple the officiating person 
 presents his sacrifice. In its variety the service is com- 
 plete and splendid in its general effect." 49 Fish of all 
 sorts were presented to the deified emperors in the an- 
 cestral temple at the time of the winter sacrifices. Fruits 
 and vegetables also were offered. Cooked dishes in end- 
 less variety were prepared by the ladies of the imperial 
 harem to add to the sacrificial meats. In the earliest 
 times water was the only liquid offered to the shades in 
 libations (as in ancient Babylonia), and it retained its 
 place in the ritual down to late times; but after the dis- 
 covery of distillation it was thought that strong drink 
 was more acceptable to the spirits. "Morning and eve- 
 ning King Wen never wearied in teaching that strong 
 drink must be used in sacrifice." This liquor was dis- 
 tilled from various kinds of millet and rice, and was 
 flavoured with different sorts of herbs and spices. Be- 
 sides food and drink precious objects of any sort might 
 be offered to the ancestors, such as gems, jade stones, 
 precious metals and pieces of silk. To sum it all up, 
 there was nothing valued by man that was not suitable 
 in sacrifice to the dead. 
 
 The sacrifices were accompanied with music, singing, 
 and dancing. As one of the odes says: "The flute play- 
 ers dance to the organ and the drum, the instruments all 
 playing in harmony. This is done to gratify the merito- 
 rious ancestors." 50 These dances were solemn panto- 
 mimes exhibiting scenes in the lives of the famous fore- 
 fathers. During the Chou period a favourite subject 
 was Wu's victory over Shou, the last king of the Shang 
 
 "Shi-king, II. vi. Ode 5, 
 "Ibid., vii. Ode 6, 2. 
 
V 
 
 54 SPIRITISM ii 
 
 dynasty. Target practice was another ceremony "to 
 give pleasure to the august personators of the dead." 
 "The great target is set up, the bows and arrows are 
 ready for the archers, who are matched in classes. 'Show 
 your skill,' shouts one. 'I shall hit the mark,' responds 
 the other, 'and then you will have to drink the cup.' 
 
 The purpose of all these offerings is to provide the 
 dead with the same things that they have enjoyed on 
 earth. They need these things, and if they have no 
 descendants to supply them, they suffer from the lack. 
 When these offerings are presented, they draw near to 
 enjoy them, they are pleased with the filial piety that is 
 shown, and they bless the sacrificer. 
 
 Sacrifices were at the same time feasts in which the 
 living shared the viands with the dead and thus held 
 communion with them. They were great family re- 
 unions to which all the descendants and friends of the 
 honoured dead were invited. One of these memorial 
 feasts is described in the odes as follows: "When the 
 guests first go to sit on their mats, they take their seats 
 orderly on the left and the right. The dishes of bamboo 
 and of wood are set out containing sauces and kernels. 
 The liquors are blended and good. The guests drink 
 with reverence. . . . The company is happy and full 
 of joy, each exerting himself to the full extent of his 
 ability. A guest draws the liquor, which an attendant 
 takes in a cup. The full cup is handed to the guests — 
 the cup of requiem (cf. Jeremiah, 16:7). . . . When 
 the guests first take their seats on the mats they are har- 
 monious and reverent. In manner they are dignified be- 
 fore they have drunk too much; but after they have 
 drunk too much their dignity disappears and their man- 
 ners become frivolous. They leave their seats and dance 
 and caper around. . . . Had they gone out before 
 drinking so deeply, both host and guest would have been 
 happier." At the conclusion of the feast the assembled 
 guests praised the king who had invited them, saying: 
 
ii SPIRITISM IN CHINA 55 
 
 "On account of your filial piety in offering sacrifices to 
 the spirits of your ancestors, Heaven will protect and 
 establish you, making you very strong and conferring 
 upon you all happiness." 51 
 
 These sacrificial feasts for the dead were celebrated 
 regularly at the summer and winter solstices and at the 
 vernal and autumnal equinoxes. "Once every season 
 worship was performed. . . . They repaired and r 
 beautified the temple of their ancestors, set forth the 
 vessels that had belonged to them, displayed their vari- 
 ous robes, and presented the offerings of the several 
 seasons." 52 Ch'eng-I, a famous scholar of the eleventh 
 century of our era, had a temple connected with his 
 house and furnished with the spirit-tablets of his an- 
 cestors. "Before these on the first day of each month 
 he set forth fresh offerings. He observed the seasonal 
 services in the second month of each season. At the 
 winter solstice he sacrificed to his remotest ancestor; in 
 the beginning of the spring, to his grandfather; and in 
 the third month of autumn, to his father. On the anni- 
 versary of a death, he removed the tablet of the in- 
 dividual to the principal adytum of the temple, and there 
 performed a special service; for the rites of the service 
 of the dead ought to be observed more liberally than 
 the duty of nourishing the living." 53 In the temple of 
 the imperial ancestors there were also sacrifices on special 
 occasions such as a time of drought or a time of war. 
 The so-called Ti sacrifice was offered every fifth year to 
 the remote ancestors of the emperor. On the fifteenth 
 day of the seventh moon a sort of All Soul's Day was 
 observed for the benefit of "hungry ghosts" who had no 
 relatives to provide for them. On this day people gen- 
 erally made offerings to these "orphan spirits" to ap- 
 pease them and to keep them from troubling the living. 54 
 
 61 Shi-king, II. vii. Ode 6. 
 
 62 Doctrine of the Mean, Chap. xix. 
 
 63 Legge, The Religions of China, p. 86. 
 •* See p. 141f. 
 
56 SPIRITISM ii 
 
 The value of the sacrifice depended largely upon the 
 minute and punctilious performance of the traditional 
 ceremonial, there was therefore a Minister of Ritual 
 who had charge of all the services at the temple of the 
 imperial ancestors. I-Yin, the minister of T'ang, said: 
 "It is difficult to serve the spirits by sacrifice. The offer- 
 ing must be made orderly and with reverence. If pre- 
 sented in a disorderly and irregular fashion, it indicates 
 a spirit of irreverence. If the ceremonial connected with 
 it is troublesome or irritating, it causes disorder." At 
 the same time with all this ritualism we find utterances 
 concerning the nature of true worship that remind us of 
 the Hebrew prophets. The same I-Yin just mentioned 
 said also: "The ancestral spirits accept the sacrifices 
 only of the sincere in heart." Another classical passage 
 says: "The incense of good conduct is more acceptable 
 to them than the most costly spices burnt in a censer." 
 "The fragrant incense which moves the shen and the 
 bright ones arises from perfect government and not from 
 the sacrifice of millet"; with which may be compared I 
 Samuel 15:22, "Behold to obey is better than sacrifice, 
 and to hearken than the fat of rams." In the Li-ki it is 
 said that sacrifice, being a fixed custom handed down from 
 past ages and to be carried out in definite forms, should 
 not be accompanied with prayer, or be offered in the hope 
 of deriving any personal benefit therefrom. Confucius 
 quoted this opinion with approval, but it is contrary to 
 the spirit of the ancient Chronicles and of the Odes, 
 where the rule is do ut des, and the expectation is that 
 the sacrificer will receive a rich reward for his filial 
 service. 
 
 o. Prayer to the Dead. — All important events, such 
 as births, marriage engagements, deaths, business under- 
 takings, journeys and returns, are solemnly announced at 
 the "family altar" before the ancestral tablets. In the 
 Li-ki, V. i. 1, we are told: "Tseng-tzu asked: 'When 
 a successor to the throne is born after the demise of 
 
ii SPIRITISM IN CHINA 57 
 
 the ruler of the state, how is one to act?' Confucius 
 said: 'The highest nobles, great officers and ordinary 
 officers shall take a position behind the minister who 
 administers the empire ad interim, at the south side 
 of the western steps, turning their faces to the north. 
 The Great Invoker, in his court robes and cap, bearing 
 rolls of silk in his hands, shall then go up to the top of 
 the western steps; and there, without entering the hall, 
 he shall, when the wailers have been ordered to stop their 
 cries, call three times (to the soul) and make announce- 
 ment to it, saying: "The son of such-and-such a lady has 
 been born; I presume to inform thee of this event." ' " 
 At all sacrifices the ancestors are invoked to be present, 
 and the hymns that are sung are largely praises of their 
 virtues. The quality most celebrated in the forefathers is 
 their filial piety toward their own ancestors. Petitions 
 for blessing were presented to the shades in connection 
 with all sacrifices; and in times of war, famine, pestilence, 
 or other distress special litanies were addressed to them. 
 The most famous instance of prayer to the dead in 
 the ancient literature is the supplication of the Duke of 
 Chou in behalf of his brother, King Wu. "He made 
 three altars of earth on the same cleared space; and 
 having made another altar on the south, facing the north, 
 he there took his own position. The convex symbols 
 were put on their altars, and he himself held his mace, 
 while he addressed the kings T'ai, Chi and Wen. The 
 historian wrote on tablets his prayer as follows : 'Wu, 
 your chief descendant, is suffering from a severe and 
 dangerous sickness. If you three kings have in heaven 
 the charge of watching over him, the great son, let me, 
 Tan, be a substitute for his person. I have been lovingly 
 obedient to my father. I am possessed of many abilities 
 and arts which fit me to serve spiritual beings. Your 
 chief descendant, on the other hand, has not so many 
 abilities and arts as I, and is not so capable of serving 
 spiritual beings. Moreover, he was appointed in the 
 
58 SPIRITISM ii 
 
 celestial hall to extend his aid to the four quarters of the 
 empire so that he might establish your descendants in 
 this lower world. The people of the four quarters stand 
 in reverent awe of him. Oh! do not let that precious 
 Heaven-conferred appointment fall to the ground, and 
 our former kings will also have a perpetual reliance and 
 resort.' " 55 One of the finest poems of the Shi-king 56 is a 
 prayer of King Hsiian to his ancestors in time of drought. 
 
 The spirits were believed to be specially attentive to 
 prayers of an unselfish character. "The prayers of the 
 men who strive after friendship will be heard by the 
 shen, who will bestow upon them peace and harmony." 
 Kings prayed therefore that their minds might be en- 
 lightened so that they might follow the good example of 
 their forefathers and bring peace and prosperity to their 
 people. 
 
 p. Exorcism of Spirits of the Dead. — This discussion 
 would not be complete without some mention of the 
 methods of driving away hostile spirits. As early as the 
 Classics mention is made of the no or yang sacrifice to 
 ward off evil spirits. This was performed three times 
 in the year: in the last month of spring, in mid-autumn, 
 and in the last month of winter. Victims were cut in 
 pieces and placed in the city gates in order to ward off 
 unpropitious influences. These sacrifices were occasions 
 of noisy demonstration to frighten away the restless 
 ghosts. In the Li-ki (IX. i. 16) it is recorded of 
 Confucius, "When his fellow-citizens celebrated the 
 yang, he put on his court robes and took position on the 
 eastern steps, in order to shield his household gods." 
 Evidently Confucius was afraid that the din of the yang 
 might frighten away his ancestral spirits as well as the 
 demons for which it was intended. 
 
 The chief methods of exorcising evil spirits are offer- 
 ings such as are presented to friendly spirits, and in addi- 
 
 65 Shu-king, V. vi. 6-7. 
 68 Shi-king, III. iii. Ode 4. 
 
ii SPIRITISM IN CHINA 59 
 
 tion prophylactic rites such as are not needed in the case 
 of good ghosts. Among the latter noises of every sort 
 occupy a conspicuous place. Fire-crackers are exploded, 
 gongs and drums are beaten, and trumpets are blown in 
 order to terrify the spectres. Since evil demons belong 
 to the Yin, or realm of darkness, they are successfully 
 combatted with light, fire, and fire-works, which belong 
 to the Yang principle of the universe. Devils are driven 
 out of sick men by cauterizing them, or by giving them 
 nasty drugs to drink. Peach wood has extraordinary 
 virtue in warding off demons, hence twigs of this tree, 
 or amulets made of its wood, are extensively used as 
 charms. Pictures or images of tigers or of cocks are 
 also efficacious. Weapons of various sorts when dis- 
 played in conspicuous ways frighten the spirits away 
 from houses. Written charms, especially passages from 
 the Classical Books, are suspended at the doors of houses, 
 or are worn on the person to avert evil influences. The 
 wu, whom we have met already as mediums possessed 
 by the spirits, act also as exorcists to drive away hostile 
 ghosts. This is also the main function of the Taoist and 
 Buddhist priests. In general it may be said that fear 
 of evil spirits occupies quite as large a place in the 
 Chinese mind as reverence for good spirits. 
 
CHAPTER III 
 
 SPIRITISM AMONG THE INDO-EUROPEANS 
 
 a. Distribution and Characteristics of the Indo-Euro- 
 peans. — By Indo-Europeans we mean a group of races 
 extending from Northern India to the Atlantic, which 
 speaks kindred languages and possesses similar religions 
 and social institutions. To this group belong: — 
 
 i. The Aryans of Northern India. — In the second 
 millennium B.C. this race began to push through the 
 passes of the Himalayas and to settle in the Punjab. It 
 drove the older Dravidian population before it, until 
 they were expelled from Hindustan and were concen- 
 trated in the Deccan, with the exception of slaves and 
 low castes that were assimilated by the invaders. The 
 language of the Aryans was Sanskrit, and in the Rig 
 Veda we have a collection of their earliest hymns dating 
 from about 1000-800 B.C. Later Sanskrit literature 
 includes the remaining Vedas, the two great epics, the 
 Mahabhdrata and Ramayana, the philosophic writings 
 of the Brahmanas and Upanishads, the Laws of Manu, 
 and many other works. 
 
 2. The Iranians of Media and Persia. — The Irani- 
 ans and the related nomadic tribes which the Assyrians 
 called Gagu (Heb. Gog) and Umman Manda, and the 
 Classical writers grouped under the general name of 
 Scythians must have entered the ancient kingdom of 
 Elam about the same time that the Aryans entered India. 
 Their language Iranian, or Zend, appears in the inscrip- 
 tions of the Achaemenian kings of the sixth century B.C. 
 and in the Avesta, the sacred book of the Zoroastrian 
 religion. Zoroaster, the prophet-reformer of Iran, who 
 
 60 
 
in SPIRITISM AMONG INDO-EUROPEANS 61 
 
 is believed to have flourished in the seventh century 
 B.C., has left his teaching in the Gathas, the oldest por- 
 tion of the Avesta. The other parts of the Avesta con- 
 tain the later traditional development of his teaching. 
 The Avesta has been preserved by the Parsees of the 
 Bombay Presidency in India, who are the sole-remaining 
 adherents of the ancient Zoroastrian religion. The lan- 
 guage of the Achaemenian inscriptions and of the Avesta 
 is as nearly related to Sanskrit as Spanish is to Italian. 
 
 3. The Phrygians and Armenians of Asia Minor and 
 Armenia. — Here the dominant class that gave its lan- 
 guage and its institutions to the nation was akin to the 
 Aryans of Persia and India, while the lower classes that 
 eventually mixed with the conquerors were the aboriginal 
 populations of the land. No ancient literature has come 
 down from these peoples, but survivals of folk-lore 
 among the Armenians throw light upon their primitive 
 religious conceptions. 
 
 4. The Hittite-Mitanni Group. — The Hittites are 
 first mentioned in a Babylonian chronicle as invading 
 Babylonia during the reign of Samsuditana, the last king 
 of the first dynasty of Babylon ( 195 6-1 926 B.C.). From 
 that time onward they play an important part in the 
 history of Western Asia until their destruction by the 
 Assyrian Empire after 1000 B.C. The excavation by 
 Winckler of Boghazkeui, the ancient Hittite capital, dis- 
 closed a large number of tablets written in Babylonian 
 cuneiform characters but in the Hittite language. Since 
 the death of Winckler these have been studied by F. 
 Hrozn^r, 1 who maintains that their dialect belongs to 
 the so-called centum, or western group of Indo-Germanic 
 languages, which includes Greek, Italic, Germanic, and 
 Celtic, in which the word for 'hundred' is centum (pro- 
 nounced kentum) or a cognate; in distinction from the 
 satem, or eastern group, in which the word for 'hun- 
 
 1 Mittheilungen der Deutschen Orient-Gesellschaft, lvi, 1915; xxx, 1920; 
 Boghazkbi-Studien, 1920. 
 
62 SPIRITISM m 
 
 dred' is satem or a cognate. Its nearest affiliations are 
 with Latin. 
 
 The Mitanni people of Northern Syria, who first 
 appear in the Tell el-Amarna letters, written to the 
 Egyptian Pharaohs Amenhotep III and Amenhotep IV 
 about 1400 B.C., were closely connected with the Hit- 
 tites. Documents discovered at Boghazkeui show that 
 the ruling dynasty in Mitanni worshipped the Aryan 
 gods Varuna and Mithra. They called themselves Hard, 
 which perhaps is identical with "Aryans." 2 
 
 5. The Slaws. — The eastern branch of this race in- 
 cludes the Great Russians of Russia proper, the White 
 Russians of Western Russia who live along the upper 
 waters of the Dnieper River, the Little Russians of the 
 Ukraine and of Austria-Hungary where they are called 
 Ruthenians, and the Cossacks of the Crimea and east- 
 ward. The northern branch includes the Letts who in- 
 habit the Russian provinces of Vitebsk, Livonia and 
 Courland on the eastern side of the Baltic; the Lithu- 
 anians south of the Letts; and the Prussians, who until 
 the tenth century inhabited the lowlands at the mouths 
 of the Niemen, Vistula and Oder. Later they were con- 
 quered and Germanized by the Teutonic Knights. The 
 western branch includes the Poles, whose kingdom was 
 partitioned during the eighteenth century between Rus- 
 sia, Austria, and Prussia, but which has been reconstituted 
 as a result of the recent World-War; the Wends who 
 dwell in the Spreewald on the upper waters of the River 
 Spree in Saxony and Prussia ; the Czechs, or Bohemians, 
 together with the Slovaks to the east and the Moravians 
 to the south, who speak practically the same language, 
 and are now united in the Republic of Czecho-Slovakia. 
 The southern branch, or Jugo-Slavs, includes the Slo- 
 venes, Slavonians, Dalmatians, Montenegrins, Serbians 
 
 2 See H. Winckler, Mittheilungen der deutschen Orient-Gesellschaft, xxxv, 1908; 
 E. Meyer, "Das erste Auftreten der Arier in der Geschichte," Sitzungsbericht 
 d. konig. preuss. Akademie, Berlin, 1908, pp. 14ff. 
 
in SPIRITISM AMONG INDO-EUROPEANS 63 
 
 and Bulgarians, who occupy a broad belt running from 
 west to east, south of Austria-Hungary and Roumania. 
 The Slavs have left no ancient literary records, but 
 they have retained old ideas and institutions more per- 
 fectly than any other branch of the Indo-European race. 
 The White Russians have preserved ancestor-worship of 
 a most primitive type in full force down to the present 
 time. The North Slavic languages, Lettish, Lithuanian, 
 and old Prussian, disclose some very early features of 
 Indo-European speech. On one side they are closely 
 related to Sanskrit, on another side to the West Slavic 
 dialects; and they are nearer to Latin than they are to 
 Celtic or Teutonic. They occupy a unique place in Indo- 
 European philology. Among the North Slavs heathen- 
 ism lasted longer than in any other part of Europe, so 
 that their early institutions have remained unchanged 
 almost down to the present. As late as 1550 the Lutheran 
 pastor Jan Maleki (Meletius, or Menecius) reported in 
 regard to the heathenism that still existed among the 
 Prussian peasants, and about 1660 another Lutheran 
 pastor, Matthaeus Praetorius, found the conditions un- 
 changed. The Northern Slavs occupy much the same place 
 among the Indo-Europeans that the Arabs do among the 
 Semites. They have best preserved the primitive culture 
 of their race. Consequently, students of comparative re- 
 ligion go to them to find the earliest forms of rites that 
 have been elaborated in India, Persia, Greece, and Italy. 
 6. The Greeks. — As early perhaps as 1500 B.C. the 
 Achaeans and Ionians had begun to settle in Northern 
 Greece, and in the following centuries they gradually 
 pressed southward, dispossessing or assimilating the older 
 non-Aryan, Mediterranean race which was akin to the 
 Berbers and Egyptians of North Africa. These abori- 
 gines were called Pelasgians by the invaders. They were 
 the originators of the splendid iEgean civilisation in 
 Crete and at Troy, Mycenae and Tiryns that reached its 
 culmination about 1500 B.C. The earliest Greek civili- 
 
64 SPIRITISM in 
 
 sation is known to us only from archaeological remains, 
 but the period from iooo B.C. onward is represented by 
 the Homeric epics, which originally were transmitted 
 orally, but which subsequently were committed to writ- 
 ing about 700 B.C. From this time onward an un- 
 broken stream of literature testifies to the beliefs of the 
 ancient Greeks in regard to spirits of the dead. The 
 Greek language and some elements of the Greek race 
 survive among the modern Greeks and the Albanians. 
 
 7. The Latins. — As early as the Achaean migration 
 into Greece other Indo-European tribes penetrated Italy, 
 driving before them the aboriginal Alpine and Mediter- 
 ranean inhabitants of the peninsula. These tribes were 
 eventually united under the rule of Rome, and Latin 
 became the speech of the entire peninsula. It is nearly 
 related to Greek on the one side and to Celtic on the 
 other. 
 
 8. The Celts. — In Classical times the Celts occupied 
 the northern part of Italy, the Alps, and the regions west 
 of the Alps, where they had dispossessed more or less 
 completely the Picts, Ligurians, Iberians and other non- 
 Aryan peoples. They were conquered by the Romans, 
 and adopted the Latin language; so that the funda- 
 mentally Celtic Walloons of Belgium and the Gauls 
 speak French, and the Celto-Iberians of the Spanish 
 peninsula speak Spanish and Portuguese, all of which are 
 descendants of Latin. In the British Isles the Celts were 
 conquered by Teutons, and here their languages have 
 given place to English, a Teutonic tongue. Only in 
 isolated corners of the old Celtic world have Celtic dia- 
 lects survived. The Goidelic group includes the Gaels of 
 northern Scotland, the Manx of the Island of Man, and 
 the Irish. The Brythonic group includes the Welsh, the 
 last survivors of the ancient Britons; the Cornish of 
 Cornwall, which has become extinct within the last cen- 
 tury; and the Bretons of Brittany in the northwest 
 corner of France. The Celtic languages bear a much 
 
in SPIRITISM AMONG INDO-EUROPEANS 6s 
 
 closer affinity to Latin than they do to any other Indo- 
 European dialects. These languages possess no ancient 
 literatures; still, in all the regions where they survive, 
 exceedingly primitive beliefs and institutions have been 
 preserved. 
 
 9. The Teutons. — The original seat of this branch 
 of the Indo-European race was in the Scandinavian pen- 
 insula. Before the beginning of the Christian era they 
 had forced their way in between the Celts and the Slavs, 
 dispossessing or absorbing tribes of both races, and 
 occupying the whole region north of the Alps between 
 the Rhine and the Oder rivers. They menaced the Celts 
 west of the Rhine, and Julius Caesar had to make a cam- 
 paign against them in order to prevent their invasion of 
 the Roman province of Gaul. In the fourth century 
 under pressure of the Huns the Teutons again began to 
 push westward and southward. After the downfall of 
 the Huns under Attila in 451, the Teutons entered into 
 their heritage. In 476 Odoacer, chief of the Heruli, 
 sacked Rome and forced the last emperor to abdicate. 
 In the course of the following century all the former 
 provinces of the Roman Empire fell into the hands of 
 the Vandals, Goths, Lombards, Burgundians, Franks and 
 Saxons, branches of the Teutonic race, and it looked as 
 though the Teutonizing of Europe would be complete; 
 but the Celto-Roman civilisation of the Empire eventu- 
 ally absorbed the conquerors, and the Teutonic lan- 
 guages and institutions remained limited to the areas that 
 had been occupied at the beginning of the Christian era. 
 The present Teutonic peoples are the Icelanders, Nor- 
 wegians, Swedes, Danes, Frisians, Dutch, Flemings, Brit- 
 ish, and Germans. 
 
 These then are the main branches of the Indo-Euro- 
 pean race. It is frequently called the Aryan race, though 
 less correctly, since this name belongs properly to the 
 Indo-Iranians. No other race in history has spread so 
 widely and has preserved its language and its institu- 
 
66 SPIRITISM m 
 
 tions so tenaciously. No other race has played so large 
 a part in the development of civilisation. It began its 
 career later than the Hamites or the Semites, but it 
 absorbed all that was best in their attainments and far 
 outstripped them. Aryan civilisation now dominates the 
 world; and the Arabic, Chinese, and other ancient Ori- 
 ental cultures are rapidly disappearing before it. It is 
 the most gifted race that humanity has produced, and it 
 has lived in the most favourable environment. 
 
 b. Civilisation of the Primitive Indo-Europeans. — 
 The close resemblances of all the languages of the 
 branches of this race prove that it must once have been 
 a single people dwelling within a more contracted area. 
 Its original home was probably the steppes of Eastern 
 Russia and Western Asia. This region lies at the centre 
 of the present Indo-European world, and is the natural 
 cradle for a race of wanderers and conquerors. These 
 steppes support only a nomadic population and yield 
 only a scanty sustenance. When pasture and water be- 
 come scarce, some tribes have to move out and seek new 
 homes. The physical characteristics of this region are 
 thus similar to those of Central Arabia, the cradle of 
 the Semitic races, and to Central Asia, the cradle of the 
 Turanian races. Here as early as 3000 B.C. there wan- 
 dered over a vast area a group of tribes speaking similar 
 dialects and possessing a similar degree of culture. Com- 
 parative philology and archaeology reveal much of their 
 primitive language and institutions. They knew the 
 use of copper (or bronze), for the word for this metal 
 is found in widely separated Indo-European languages; 
 on the other hand, they did not know gold, silver, or 
 iron, for these metals have different names in the differ- 
 ent languages. Stone was still used for most of the 
 weapons. They had clubs, axes, daggers, spears and 
 lances, bows and arrows, but no swords or armour. They 
 had cattle, sheep and goats, and also horses, which they 
 used both for riding and for drawing carts and chariots. 
 
in SPIRITISM AMONG INDO-EUROPEANS 67 
 
 Swine, geese, and other domestic fowl were as yet un- 
 known to them. Agriculture was known to them, for 
 the words for field, plough, sow, reap, grind, are common 
 to most of the languages. They possessed the arts of 
 spinning and weaving, they used boats, and they had huts 
 and houses, and built folds for their cattle. They were 
 patriarchally organised, and the house-father was both 
 ruler and priest of his household. Groups of kindred 
 families united under the leadership of an elected chief- 
 tain called vls-pati, or 'lord of the settlers,' a name that 
 still survives in the Lithuanian wiez-pati, or 'governor.' 
 The most prominent feature in the religion of the 
 primitive Indo-Europeans was the worship of the bright 
 powers of nature. The most general name for 'god' • 
 was deivos, 'heavenly,' from which comes Skr. devd, 
 Lat. deuSy Ir. dia, Lith. diewas, and Old Nor. tivar. 
 Chief among the heavenly ones was dyeus, 'the sky,' 
 from which comes Skr. Dydus, Gr. Zeus, Lat. Jup-piter 
 (i. e., 'sky-father'), Old Nor. Tyr, Old High Germ. 
 Ziu, A. Sax. Tiu (from which comes Tues-day) . In Skr. 
 Dydus has retained its primitive appellative meaning 
 'sky,' in the other languages its etymology has been 
 forgotten and it has become the personal name of the 
 chief god of the pantheon. On the contrary, ouranos has 
 retained in Greek its primitive meaning 'sky,' while in 
 Sanskrit Varuna has become a great god. Other objects 
 of worship were the sun, Skr. surya, Iran, hvar, Ar. 
 arev, Gr. helios, Lat. sol, Celt, heul, Lith. sdule, Goth. 
 sau'il; the moon, Skr. mas, Iran, mah, Armen. lilsin, Gr. 
 mene, Lat. luna, Lith. menu, Goth, mena; the dawn, Skr. 
 ushds, Iran, usah, Gr. eos, Lat. aurora, Lith. auszra. 
 The thunder-god was worshipped by all the Aryans, but > 
 under different appellations. In India and Mitanni he 
 was known as Indra; among the Celts as Torannos, Irish 
 Torann, Welsh Tarann, Cornish Taran; among the Teu- 
 tons as Tonar, O. Nor. Thorr, O. H. Germ. Donar, 
 Germ. Donner, Eng. Thunder. These Celtic and Teu- 
 
68 SPIRITISM in 
 
 tonic names are all connected with Skr. standyati, Lat. 
 tonat, 'it thunders.' Among the Lithuanians he was 
 called Perkunas, which is the same as Slavic Perun and 
 Sanskrit Parjanya, and probably also Armenian Erkin. 
 There was also a lightning (fire) -god, Skr. Agni, 
 Lat. ignis, Lith. ugriis, Slav, ogrii. In Latin and 
 in Slavic the name retained its primitive meaning, but in 
 Sanskrit the original signification was obscured, and 
 therefore Agni developed into a great god. Besides 
 these there was a vast number of so-called "departmental 
 gods" who presided over different realms of nature or 
 sections of human life. Comparative philology shows 
 that the great gods are all later developments of par- 
 ticular Aryan religions, and that the primitive faith had 
 not risen above the level of so-called Animism or Poly- 
 daemonism. 
 
 A' second main feature of Indo-European religion was 
 the worship of spirits of the dead. Over against the 
 "heavenly ones," the bright powers of the upper world, 
 stood a host of subterranean divinities, among whom 
 spirits of the dead occupied the most conspicuous place. 
 These two classes of divinities, nature-spirits and spirits 
 of the dead, were distinct in their origin, in their func- 
 tions, and in their manner of worship. The second of 
 these must now receive our more detailed consideration. 3 
 
 8 On ancestor-worship among the Indo-Europeans in general see H. Usener, 
 Gotternamen, 1896; E. Meyer, Geschichte des Altertums, 2 1909, vol. i, part 2, 
 pp. 754-838; O. Schrader, art. "Aryan Religion" in Hastings, Encyclopedia of 
 Religion and Ethics, ii, 1910, pp. 11-57, and the literature given in both of these 
 works; G. F. Moore, History of Religions, i, 1913; E. W. Hopkins, The History 
 of Religions, 1918. 
 
 On India, see Rig Veda, translated in Sacred Books of the East, xxxii, and xlvi, 
 1891, 1897; Atharva Veda, translated by Whitney and Lanman, 1905; A. 
 Barth, The Religions of India, translated by J. Wood, 1882; E. W. Hopkins, The 
 Religions of India, 1895; W. Crooke, The Popular Religion and Folk-lore of 
 Northern India, 1896; M. Bloomfield, The Religion of the Veda, 1908; W. 
 Crooke, art. "Ancestor- worship (Indian)" in Hastings, Enc, Rel. and Eth., i, pp. 
 450-454. 
 
 On Persia, see The Avesta, translated by Darmesteter and Mills in Sacred Books 
 of the East, iv, xxiii, xxxi, 1880-1897; A. V. W. Jackson, Zoroaster, the Prophet of 
 Ancient Iran; E. Lehmann, art. "Ancestor-worship (Iranian)" in Hastings, Enc. 
 Rel. and Eth., i. pp. 454f. ; J. H. Moulton, Early Zoroastrianism, 1913. 
 
 On Armenia see M. Abeghian, Der Armenische Volksglaube, 1899. 
 
 On the Greeks, see L. R. Farnell, The Cults of the Greek States, 1896-1909; 
 
in SPIRITISM AMONG INDO-EUROPEANS 69 
 
 c. Indo-European Names for Spirits. — The early 
 Aryans, like other ancient peoples, conceived of the soul 
 as breath, wind, vapour, smoke, shadow, power; and 
 these meanings underlie all the later words for soul or 
 spirit. Thus Skr. at man, 'soul' = Germ, athem and Ir. 
 athach, 'breath.' Skr. mdnas, 'soul' =Gr. menos, 'force,' 
 which reappears in Lat. Minerva from Menes-ova. In 
 the Vedas the collective term for spirits of the dead is 
 pitdraSy 'forefathers' = Lat. patres. In the Avesta 
 spirits of the dead are called fravashis. The word fro- 
 vashi means 'expression,' or 'confession,' and is so used 
 because the soul is the inner nature of a man. This is 
 probably a theological development of Zoroastrianism 
 which has displaced a simpler terminology. In Armen- 
 ian the word for 'soul' and 'spirit' is ogi = Skr. dtmdn 
 and Germ, athem, 'breath.' 
 
 In Gr. pneuma means primarily 'breath,' and then 
 'soul'; psuche likewise means 'breath, spirit,' and in 
 Homer is used exclusively of the discarnate spirit. 
 
 Miss J. E. Harrison, Prolegomena to the Study of Greek Religion, 1903; E. Rohde, 
 Psyche, Seelencult und Unsterblichkeitsglaube der Griechen, 4 1907; E. G. Sihier, 
 Testimonium Animce, 1908; A. Fairbanks, Handbook of Greek Religion, 1910; 
 W. Ridgeway, Origin of Tragedy, 1910; H. M. Chadwick, The Heroic Age, 1912; G. 
 Murray., Four Stages of Greek Religion, 1912; Miss J. E. Harrison, Themis, A 
 Study of the Social Origins of Greek Religion; L. R. Farnell, art. "Greek Re- 
 ligion" in Hastings, Enc. Rel. and Eth., vi, 1914, pp. 392-425; C. H. Moore, 
 The Religious Thought of the Greeks, 1916. 
 
 On the Romans, see F. Granger, The Worship of the Romans, 1895; W. W. 
 Fowler, The Roman Festivals of the Period of the Republic, 1899; J. B. Carter, 
 The Religion of Numa, 1906; J. B. Carter, art. "Ancestor-worship (Roman)" in 
 Hastings, Enc. Rel. and Eth., i, 1908, pp. 461-466; W. W. Fowler, The Religious 
 Experience of the Roman People, 1911. 
 
 On the Celts, see J. Rhys, Celtic Heathendom, 1888; J. A. Macculloch, The 
 Religion of the Ancient Celts, 1911; G. Henderson, Survivals in Belief among 
 the Celts, 1911; A. Macbain, Celtic Mythology and Religion, 1917. 
 
 On the Slavs, see Peter of Dusburg in Scriptores Rerum Prussicarum, vol. i; 
 Joannes Menecius, de sacrificiis et idolatria veterum Borussorum, Livonum, aliarum~ 
 que vicinarum gentium, in Scriptores Rerum Livonicarum, ii; M. Praetorius, Deli- 
 ci<£ Prussicce, oder preussische Schaubuhne, ed. W. Pierson, 1871; F. S. Krauss, 
 Sitte und Branch der Sudslaven, 1885; J. W. E. Mannhardt, Antike Wald-und 
 Feldkulte aus nordeurop'dische Ueberlieferung erldutert, 1875-7, 2d ed. 1905; H. 
 Usener, Gotternamen, 1896, pp. 79-122; L. Leger, La Mythologie Slave, 1901; 
 art. "Ancestor-worship (Slavonic)" in Hastings, Enc. Rel. and Eth. i, 1908, pp. 466. 
 
 On the Teutons, see E. H. Meyer, Germanische Mythologie, 1891; P. D. 
 Chantepie de la Saussaye, The Religion of the Teutons, 1902; F. B. Gummere, 
 Germanic Origins, 1892; W. Golther, Handbuch der germanischen Mythologie, 
 1895. 
 
7 o SPIRITISM m 
 
 Thumos, which is used by Homer as a synonym of psuche, 
 is the same as Skr. dhumd, Lat. fumus, 'smoke.' Another 
 ancient Greek term for 'spirit' is ker f which is the same 
 as ker, 'heart.' This is used because the heart, as the 
 chief receptacle of blood in the body, is regarded as the 
 seat of the soul. 4 In Homer the collective body of the 
 departed is known as nekues, 'the dead,' or en(f)eroi 
 =. Lat. inferi, 'those beneath' ; but instead of these ex- 
 plicit terms later writers preferred euphemisms such as 
 aoroi, 'the untimely,' or chrestoi, 'the beneficent.' 
 
 In Latin anlma means 'breeze, breath, life,' and anima 
 is used of spirits of the dead. Animus is 'soul' and is 
 identical with Greek anemos, 'wind.' The Latin concep- 
 tion of the genius is peculiar. Genius is derived from 
 gigno, 'beget,' and the marriage -bed is known as lectus 
 geniaiis. Every man has his genius and every woman 
 her juno. On the birthday rites of worship were paid to 
 one's genius or juno as the case might be. The celebrant 
 clad in white, with a garland on his head, offered incense, 
 cakes and wine and prayed for protection during the 
 coming year. Buildings, regions, towns, cities, trades, 
 and other groups of men, were thought to have their 
 genii. The genius, accordingly, seems to have been a 
 guardian-spirit, who was born with a man, and who 
 shared his experiences in life and in death. The concep- 
 tion was thus similar to the Egyptian ka, and may have 
 been derived from the pre-Latin inhabitants of Italy, 
 who probably belonged to the same Mediterranean race 
 as the Egyptians. 5 Spirits of the dead were grouped 
 under the collective name of di manes, 'kind gods,' a 
 euphemism designed to avoid actual mention of their 
 names. They were also known as inferi, 'those beneath' 
 and umbra, 'shadows, shades.' Apparently the lares 
 were guardian-spirits of the hearth and of the home, who 
 were honoured with domestic rites, and were originally 
 
 *See p. 201. 
 •See p. 155. 
 
in SPIRITISM AMONG INDO-EUROPEANS 71 
 
 the ancestors of the family who watched over its in- 
 terests. Etymologically the word is connected with larva, 
 'ghost,' and with larentalia, the festival of the dead. 
 
 The Celts of Gaul, according to Augustine, 6 and Isi- 
 dore, 7 called spirits of the dead dusii. The word is con- 
 nected with Lith. dwdse, 'breath' 'spirit,' and dusas, 
 'vapour,' and with Old Slav, duchu, 'breath,' 'spirit,' 
 and dusa, 'soul.' In the same series probably belongs Gr. 
 theos, 'god,' from an original th(f)esos. 
 
 Among the Slavs the peasants of Great Russia speak 
 of the dead as roditeli, 'parents,' and those of White 
 Russia as dzjady, 'grandfather.' These terms are ap- 
 plied to deceased relatives of both sexes and even to 
 children. They correspond to the Sanskrit pitdras. 
 
 The Goths, according to Jordanis (chap. 13), called 
 their deified ancestors arises. This is probably connected 
 with Skr. dsu, 'breath,' life,' and with Skr. dsura and 
 Avest. ahura, 'god,' 'lord,' which appears in Ahura- 
 mazda, the supreme God of the Avesta. The Norse 
 equivalent asen denoted the highest gods of the pantheon. 
 On the other hand, in Ang. Sax. the word ese was de- 
 graded to mean 'elves.' The Norse word for 'soul' is 
 fylgja, 'follower.' It is evidently developed out of the 
 shadow which follows a man, and it corresponds to the 
 Latin umbra. Our word sold, German Seele, probably 
 means 'lively,' 'active,' like the Skr. mdnas. Our word 
 ghost, German Geist, 'spirit,' as in Old English and in 
 the combination Holy Ghost, is etymologically connected 
 with gust. 
 
 These names show that the primitive Indo-Europeans 
 did not conceive the spirits of the dead as immaterial, 
 but as having an ethereal substance like the living body. 
 This view is confirmed by narratives of the appearances 
 of ghosts. In all cases they have shadowv or vaporous 
 
 a Civ, Dei, xv. 23. 
 
 1 Lib. Etytnol. viii. 11, 103. 
 
72 SPIRITISM in 
 
 forms that resemble those in which they appeared on 
 earth. 
 
 d. Powers Retained by the Dead. — The future life 
 was conceived by the Indo-Europeans as essentially sim- 
 ilar to the present life. The dead dwelt in communities 
 and carried on the same occupations that they had fol- 
 lowed on earth. They still needed food, clothing and 
 shelter; and, strange to say, they were unable to provide 
 these for themselves, but depended on the generosity of 
 the living. Hence everywhere the need was felt for sons 
 to keep up the ancestral cult ; and if there were no sons, 
 others were adopted to perform their functions. 
 
 In the Rig Veda the dead still require food, and come 
 back to their former homes to demand it. If they are 
 not fed, they will vent their wrath upon their families. 
 In the Ramayana sons are considered necessary in order 
 that they may make the proper offerings to the shades of 
 their fathers. In the modern cremation ritual the Brah- 
 man says: "Unwillingly do the manes of the deceased 
 taste the tears and rheum shed by their kinsmen ; then do 
 not wail, but diligently perform the obsequies of the 
 dead." 8 
 
 In the Avesta 9 we read: "We invoke the good, the 
 mighty, the holy fravashis of the righteous, who descend 
 to the villages at the time of the Hamaspathmaedaya, and 
 return thither every night for ten nights to ask for help. 
 Will anybody praise us? Will anybody pay homage to 
 us? Who will accept us among his own? Who will 
 bless us? Who will receive us with a handful of meat, 
 and a garment, and sacred reverence?" The passage 
 goes on to say that the person who will fulfil these obli- 
 gations shall be richly blessed during the coming year. 
 In Greece food was placed in graves and upon them, and 
 in some parts of the land tubes were inserted in graves 
 through which the blood of sacrifices could flow down 
 
 8 Colebrooke, Asiatic Researches, p. 245. 
 • Yasht, xiii. 49-52. 
 
in SPIRITISM AMONG INDO-EUROPEANS 73 
 
 to the dead. In the Odyssey 10 the shades eagerly lap 
 the blood that Odysseus has poured into the sacrificial 
 trench, and he has to drive away with his sword those 
 whom he does not wish to consult. 
 
 On Roman tombstones the dead beg for offerings. 
 "Travellers who crown me and offer me flowers," says 
 Victor Fabianus, "may ye find the gods propitious." A 
 little child asks its playmates to come to its grave, bring- 
 ing cups of wine, and to pray that the earth may lie light 
 upon her. The jus manium, or dues of the dead, formed 
 an important topic in early Roman law. The funda- 
 mental principle was that the offerings to ancestors should 
 not be remitted: perpetua sacra sunto. Cicero 11 cites 
 an ancient law: "Let private sacrifices continue forever," 
 "Keep sacred the laws concerning the divine dead." The 
 first duty of an heir was to care for these offerings, and 
 their expense constituted a first lien on the estate. The 
 adoption of an heir always involved abjuring of the 
 ancestral obligations of his own clan. This required the 
 consent of the Comitia Curiata, and was not permitted 
 unless there were other persons capable of carrying on 
 the ancestral cult in the family which was abandoned. 
 
 e. Powers Gained by the Dead. — 1. Spirits of the 
 Dead Possess Superhuman Powers of Motion. — They 
 are capable of moving at will with great rapidity from 
 place to place. In the Avesta 12 it is said that when the 
 fravashis are summoned, "they come flying like a well- 
 winged bird." Odysseus says to the ghost of Elpenor: — 
 
 "How earnest thou 
 Elpenor, hither into these abodes 
 
 Of night and darkness? Thou hast made more speed, 
 Although on foot, than I in my good ship." 13 
 
 10 xi, 34ff. 
 
 u De Legibus, ii. 22. 
 *Yasht, xiii. 70. 
 18 Odyssey, xi. 57ff. 
 
74 SPIRITISM m 
 
 The assumption among all the Indo-Europeans that 
 spirits of the dead can come when called to receive the 
 offerings that are made by the living presupposes ex- 
 traordinary powers of locomotion. 
 
 2. Spirits Show Themselves in Winds. — Since they 
 were themselves "breath" and "wind," it was natural 
 that they should reveal themselves in atmospheric phen- 
 omena. In India and in Persia "good" and "bad" winds 
 were distinguished. "Good" winds were the souls of 
 the friendly dead, while "bad" winds were the restless 
 ghosts of those for whom the proper funeral rites had 
 not been performed. Similarly in Greece the winds were 
 sometimes favourable spirits to whom white sheep were 
 sacrificed, and sometimes hostile spirits to whom black 
 sheep were offered. The Harpies were destructive wind- 
 spirits who wrecked ships and snatched away men's souls 
 to Hades. They were represented in art as human- 
 headed birds, precisely like the representations of souls. 
 Deadly winds were habitually called by euphemistic 
 names such as Euraquilo or Euroclydon. Penelope prays: 
 
 "I would that thou wouldst send into my heart 
 A shaft to take my life, or that a storm 
 Would seize and hurl me through the paths of air, 
 And cast me into Ocean's restless stream, 
 As once a storm, descending, swept away 
 The daughters born to Pandarus." 14 
 
 A Harpy was the mother by Zephyros of the horses 
 of Achilles, Stormy winds were regarded as troops of 
 restless ghosts coursing through the air with Hekate, 
 a goddess of the Underworld. 15 Similar conceptions in 
 Teutonic mythology are Woden, "the Wind," the wild 
 huntsman who rushes through the sky with the host of 
 spirits of the dead; the Valkyries, who correspond to the 
 Greek Harpies, the snatchers of souls; and the "Wind- 
 
 14 Odyssey, xx. 6 Iff. 
 
 16 Iliad, xvi. 150; see Rohde, Psyche* i, 72; ii, 83f., 264. 
 
in SPIRITISM AMONG INDO-EUROPEANS 75 
 
 bride" of Germanic folk-lore who steals away the souls 
 of men. 
 
 3. Spirits Occupy Inanimate Objects. — Among the 
 low caste tribes of India small images are prepared to 
 receive spirits of the dead. The Roman noble kept in 
 his atrium the imagines, or portraits of his forefathers, 
 which were originally portrait-masks that covered the 
 faces of the dead. These were probably fitted on to 
 statues or busts, and at funerals were worn by actors 
 who impersonated the dead. These masks were perhaps 
 a development out of primitive statues that were in- 
 habited by the spirits. Among the Celts standing stones 
 were the dwelling-places not only of gods but also of the 
 manes, 1Q and among all the Indo-Europeans the tomb- 
 stone was felt to stand in a peculiarly intimate relation 
 to the soul of the dead so that offerings were placed upon 
 it. 
 
 Lots were controlled by ghosts as well as by gods, so 
 that they were consulted for information in regard to the 
 present and the future. Traces of this custom are found 
 among all the Aryan peoples, but in Italy the institution 
 attained its greatest development. The sortes, or 'lots' 
 (from severe, 'string'), were small plates bearing in- 
 scriptions that were strung together on a cord. One of 
 these tablets was drawn, and the inscription upon it was 
 interpreted as an answer to the inquiry. Such lots were 
 found at various sanctuaries, but the most famous were 
 those at Praeneste, which are described in detail by 
 Cicero. 17 The lots, which were discovered in dim an- 
 tiquity, were inscribed on oak tablets, and were kept in a 
 chest of olive wood. They were drawn by a boy. Cicero 
 carefully distinguishes between lots of this sort "which are 
 endued with a divine instinct and afflatus," and ordinary 
 lots which are used in playing games. The Roman state- 
 religion made no official use of the lots, which probably 
 
 18 Henderson, Survivals in Belief among the Celts, pp. 198ff. 
 17 De Divinatione, ii, 41ff. 
 
76 SPIRITISM m 
 
 indicates that they were not associated with the great 
 gods of the state, but with lesser spirits of the dead. 
 
 4. Spirits Occupy Plants or Animals. — Among the 
 Greeks and the Romans it was customary to plant trees 
 upon graves, and it was thought that the souls of the 
 dead inhabited these trees. Mountain nymphs planted 
 elms upon the mound of Eetion. 18 When iEneas up- 
 rooted a myrtle on the grave of Polydorus, the tree bled 
 and he heard a voice from the mound saying: "Why, O 
 iEneas, do you hurt wretched me? Spare now the 
 buried. Refrain thy reverent hands from guilt." 19 Vergil 
 tells us that in the open space at the entrance to Orcus a 
 mighty elm tree stands. It spreads its aged branches 
 with their deep shadows over a vast space. Men say 
 that deceitful dreams take up their abode here, and 
 cling to all the leaves, 20 Here souls of the dead are con- 
 ceived both as dreams and as birds, and they inhabit the 
 elm. This is evidently a fragment of old Italic folk-lore. 
 
 The re-incarnation of spirits in the bodies of animals 
 or of men we shall consider later in connection with 
 the doctrine of metempsychosis. 21 
 
 5. Spirits Obsess Living Men. — In India even the Rig 
 Veda contains a strong infusion of demonology, and the 
 Atharva Veda is full of it. In viii. 6 it gives a lengthy 
 enumeration of ghosts and goblins of every sort, among 
 whom are restless spirits of the dead. There are also 
 a number of exorcisms of evil spirits that have entered 
 into men, for instance, in ix. 8 the bhuts, or 'spooks,' lurk 
 everywhere, ready to jump into men on the slightest op- 
 portunity; and when they have entered they afflict their 
 victims with all sorts of diseases. In the Mahabharata, 
 iii. 96, we are told of a particular demon called daiteya 
 that had the habit of cooking its younger brother and 
 serving him up as meat to saints, After the saint had 
 
 18 Iliad, vi. 419f. 
 "Mneid, iii. 19-68. 
 20 Ibid., vi. 282ff. 
 31 See p. 98. 
 
in SPIRITISM AMONG INDO-EUROPEANS 77 
 
 partaken of the tempting dish, the demon called his 
 brother who came out bursting the saint asunder. 
 
 In the Persian religion of the Avesta\ all diseases are 
 evil spirits of one sort or another that have entered into 
 men. They stand in the service of Ahriman, and are 
 opposed by Ahura Mazda and the good spirits who seek 
 to deliver men from their wiles. 
 
 In Greece the host of Hekate as it courses through 
 the air brings to men uncleanness, mischief, distressing 
 dreams, nightmares, frightful visions, epilepsy, and in- 
 sanity. The keres, or 'ghosts,' are often described as 
 bringing diseases to men. Hesiod tells of a golden age 
 when 
 
 "Of old the tribes of mortal men on earth 
 Lived without ills, aloof from grievous toil, 
 And catching plagues which keres give to men. 
 
 The woman with her hands took the great lid 
 From off the cask and scattered them, and thus 
 Devised sad cares for mortals. 
 
 • ••••• 
 
 For other myriad evils wandered forth 
 To man, the earth was full, and full the sea. 
 Diseases, that all round by day and night 
 Bring ills to mortals, hovered, self-impelled, 
 Silent, for Zeus, the Counsellor, their voice 
 Had taken away." 22 
 
 Pandora is the earth-goddess, and the cask which she 
 opens is the pithos, or jar, in which the ancient Greeks 
 were buried, from which spirits of the dead emerge. In 
 a vase-painting Hermes, leader of souls, is represented 
 as opening such a pitho.s, from which the keres emerge as 
 little winged figures. Plato says, 23 "There are many 
 fair things in the life of mortals, but in most of them 
 there are as it were adherent keres which pollute and 
 disfigure them." As prophylactic measures against the 
 
 "Hesiod, Works and Days, 90S. 
 23 Laws, xi. 937. 
 
78 SPIRITISM m 
 
 keres, pitch was spread on doors to catch them as they 
 tried to flutter in, and buckthorn was chewed so as to 
 expel them by its cathartic qualities. The gods were 
 invoked for protection against their ravages. Thus in 
 an Orphic hymn to Herakles we read: — 
 
 "Come, blessed hero, come and bring allayments 
 Of all diseases. Brandishing thy club, 
 Drive forth the baleful fates; with poisoned shafts 
 Banish the noisome keres far away." 24 
 
 In general the dead are regarded as hostile to the 
 living, jealous of their health and well-being, and anxious 
 to bring others into the same condition as themselves. 
 In the Vedic period in India the dead are more feared 
 than loved, and are believed to be constantly seeking 
 new recruits for the kingdom of Yama. In Homer the 
 costly ceremonies of cremation are designed to secure 
 that spirits of the dead may descend to Hades where 
 they will no more trouble the living. The ghost of 
 Patroclus says to Achilles: "Nevermore shall I return 
 to earth when once the fire shall have consumed me." 25 
 
 The Romans believed that spirits of the dead wan- 
 dered by night seeking to smite the living with fatal 
 diseases. The grave-inscriptions frequently speak of the 
 manes as having come to fetch the living. Thus an 
 inscription from Corduba says: "The manes have taken 
 Abullia." 26 At the festival of the Compitalia dolls in 
 human form were hung up for the lares, "that they 
 might spare the living and be satisfied with trifles and 
 images." 27 The chief motive for sacrifice to the dead 
 was the fear that they would avenge themselves if they 
 were neglected. Ovid tells how "once upon a time the 
 great feast of the dead was not observed, and the manes 
 failed to receive the customary gifts, the fruit, the salt, 
 
 24 See J. E. Harrison, Prolegomena, pp. 165-175. 
 
 26 Iliad, xxiii. 75. 
 
 28 Corpus Inscriptionum hat. ii. 2255. 
 
 27 Festus, s. v. pile, ed. Dacerius, p. 346. 
 
in SPIRITISM AMONG INDO-EUROPEANS 79 
 
 the grain steeped in unmixed wine, the violets. The 
 injured spirits avenged themselves on the living, and 
 the city was surrounded with the funeral fires of their 
 victims." 28 So fearful were men that they had not per- 
 formed the rites of the dead properly that every year 
 before the reaping of harvest a sow (porca pracidanea) 
 was sacrificed to the subterranean deities "by him who 
 had not given the dead his due," lest they should cause 
 the failure of crops. The manes punished with special 
 rigour any crimes that impaired the vigour of the family 
 because these interfered with the regular performance 
 of the ancestral rites. A law ascribed to- Romulus 
 enacted that a man who sold his wife should be dis 
 manibus sacer f "devoted to the divine shades." The 
 reason for this was that he would have no children to 
 keep up the ancestral rites. A child who struck his 
 parent, or the violator of a grave, was also given over 
 to the dead. 29 The manes punished with death all 
 breaches of the mos maiorum, "the tradition of the 
 elders." When the Potitii, who had charge of an ances- 
 tral cult at the Great Altar, shifted their responsibility 
 to the public slaves, "the whole family of the Potitii 
 was blotted out within a short time, and the vengeance 
 of heaven was visited upon the censor Appius, upon 
 whose advice they had acted, for a few years after 
 he lost his sight." 30 
 
 In similar manner the modern peasants of White 
 Russia are filled with dread "lest at the commemora- 
 tion festival any mistake should be made. Then, to 
 speak in the language of the peasants, the feast would 
 be no feast. It would mean that they did not respect 
 the memory of the person in whose honour the feast 
 was instituted. As a punishment for disrespect for the 
 dead there would follow at once family discord, death 
 
 28 Fasti, ii. 549-554. 
 
 "Plutarch, Romulus, 22; Festus, s. v. parici, CIL. x. 4355. 
 
 "Livy, ix. 29. 
 
80 SPIRITISM m 
 
 of cattle, failure of crops; in short, mountains and hills 
 would fall upon the living." 
 
 6. Spirits Possess Living Men. — In India the feed- 
 ing of Brahmans at funeral feasts and other rites of 
 ancestor-worship is regarded as identical with feeding 
 the pitaras. Throughout Northern India large numbers 
 of Brahmans live exclusively from the funeral offerings. 
 In White Russia beggars take the place of the Brahmans. 
 They repeat their songs and prayers, and are bountifully 
 fed in return. At Roman funerals impersonators were 
 chosen to represent the ancestors. They wore their 
 death-masks that were preserved in the family atrium, 
 were dressed in their garments, wore their insignia of 
 office, and sat in state in their ivory chairs of office. 
 They received the new-comer into their company, and 
 partook of the funeral meats that were laid before 
 them. When the ceremony was over, the masks were 
 returned to their boxes in the atrium and continued to 
 share in the life of the family. 31 They bore a strong 
 resemblance to the impersonators of the dead in China, 
 and can be explained only on the supposition that they 
 were possessed by ancestral spirits. 32 
 
 Dreams were widely regarded as due to possession 
 by the dead. In various parts of Greece there were 
 chasms which were believed to communicate with the 
 Underworld, through which the shades could arise. 
 Here there were sanctuaries at which dream-oracles were 
 given. The inquirer offered a sacrifice and slept within 
 the sacred enclosure, the dead then appeared to him. A 
 famous sanctuary of this sort was at Thesprotia. Here 
 Herodotus records that Periander, tyrant of Corinth, 
 "consulted the oracle of the dead upon the Acheron con- 
 cerning a pledge which had been given him by a stranger; 
 and Melissa appeared, but refused to speak or to tell 
 where the pledge was — she was chill, she said, having no 
 
 81 Polybius, vi. 53. 
 
 82 See p. 28. 
 
in SPIRITISM AMONG INDO-EUROPEANS 8 1 
 
 clothes; the garments buried with her were of no man- 
 ner of use, since they had not been burnt." Periander 
 then stripped the women of Corinth of their finest 
 apparel and burnt the clothes in a pit. "This done, he 
 sent a second time to the oracle, and Melissa's ghost told 
 him where he would find the stranger's pledge." 33 There 
 was a similar oracle at Phigalia in Arcadia. 34 
 
 The soul of Patroclus appears to Achilles in a dream. 35 
 Penelope says: — 
 
 "Of dreams, O stranger, some are meaningless 
 And idle, and can never be fulfilled. 
 Two portals are there for their shadowy shapes, 
 Of ivory one, and one of horn. The dreams 
 That come through the carved ivory deceive 
 With promises that never are made good; 
 But those that pass the doors of polished horn, 
 And are beheld of men, are ever true." 36 
 
 This is imitated by Vergil 37 at the end of his descrip- 
 tion of Hades: "There are twin gates of Sleep, whereof 
 the one is said to be of horn. By this an easy exit is 
 afforded to the true shades. Another gleams with the 
 polish of dazzling ivory. By it the manes send false 
 dreams to heaven." The meaning is that dreams which 
 come through the gate of ivory (the teeth), that is, 
 which one hears, are less reliable than those which come 
 through the gate of horn (the cornea of the eye), that 
 is, which one sees. Both passages connect dreams with 
 spirits of the dead. In this connection mention should 
 be made of the passage in Vergil cited above in which 
 dreams are compared to birds that roost in the elm 
 tree at the gate of Hades. 38 
 
 Tertullian records that among the Celts those who 
 
 83 Herodotus, v. 92; Pausanias, ix. 30, 3. 
 3 * Pausanias, iii. 17, 8f. 
 85 Iliad, xxiii, 65ff. 
 36 Odyssey, xix, 559ff. 
 
 87 Mneid, vi. 893ff. 
 
 88 See p. 76. 
 
82 SPIRITISM m 
 
 sought hidden knowledge slept on graves, hoping to be 
 inspired by the spirits of the dead. 39 
 
 A higher form of spirit-possession is that in which a 
 man's mind is controlled by the indwelling spirit so that 
 he becomes a medium through whom the thought and 
 the will of the spirit are communicated. This is akin 
 to the inspiration of prophets by the gods. The phe- 
 nomena of telepathy and telesthesia, of mind-reading 
 and foreboding, of hypnotism and divided personality, 
 were explained by all the Indo-Europeans as due partly 
 to possession by gods and partly to possession by spirits 
 of the dead. 
 
 The following instances of mediumship in India are 
 given by W. Crooke : 40 "A man enters with his legs 
 girt with bells, the music of which is supposed to scare 
 away the malevolent spirits which are present at 
 the time of a death. He advances with short steps, 
 rolling his eyes and staggering to and fro, sawing 
 the air with two short sticks which he holds in his 
 hands, and thus works himself into a frenzied state 
 of inspiration, while the mourners wail and ask why 
 the dead has been taken from them. Presently a con- 
 vulsive shiver attacks the medium, who staggers more 
 violently, and at last falls to the ground. He tries to 
 support himself by holding one of the poles of the funeral 
 shed, when he gasps out disjointed sentences which are 
 taken to be the voice of the god." "A girl becomes pos- 
 sessed by the spirit, and talks and acts, it is said, just 
 like the person who has lately died, calling the children, 
 relatives, and friends by name, and giving commands for 
 the future conduct of the surviving members of the 
 family. After this the spirit is severed from earthly 
 trammels and attains heavenly bliss." 
 
 In Greece we have a case of spirit-possession in the 
 second-sight of Theoklymenos : — 
 
 89 De Anima, 57. 
 
 40 Hastings, Encyclopaedia of Religion and Ethics, x. 130. 
 
in SPIRITISM AMONG INDO-EUROPEANS 83 
 
 "Then spake the godlike Theoklymenos : — 
 'Unhappy men ! what may this evil be 
 That overtakes you? Every brow and face 
 And each one's lower limbs are wrapped in night, 
 And moans arise, and tears are on your cheeks. 
 The walls and all the graceful cornices 
 Between the pillars are bedropped with blood, 
 The portico is full, these halls are full 
 Of shadows, hastening down to Erebus 
 Amid the gloom. The sun is blotted out 
 From heaven, and fearful darkness covers all.' " 41 
 
 The Pythia at Delphi received her inspiration in his- 
 toric times from Apollo ; but Apollo had dispossessed an 
 earlier serpent-god, and the Pythia became ecstatic by 
 inhaling a vapour that rose through a fissure in the earth. 
 Evidently she was originally possessed by a chthonic 
 deity. Lucan 42 tells how the god penetrated her body 
 and forced her to yield to his guidance, how she shook 
 the sacred garlands from her head and overturned the 
 vessels of the temple in her efforts to escape the divine 
 afflatus, how finally she succumbed and uttered words 
 that were not her own but those of the god who con- 
 trolled her. 
 
 The Sibyls of Italy seem to have been similar mediums 
 through whom the dead communicated with the living. 
 In the iEneid Vergil represents the Cumaean Sibyl as 
 conducting iEneas into the Underworld. She lives in a 
 cave, and near by is Lake Avernus, the entrance to 
 Hades. Vergil describes her ecstasy: "Even as she 
 spoke neither her features nor her complexion remained 
 the same, nor was her hair confined within its braid; her 
 bosom heaved, and her wild heart was swollen with 
 frenzy; her stature was larger to the sight, her voice no 
 longer human : so soon was she inspired by the breath of 
 the god as it came ever nearer. ... At length, no longer 
 submitting herself to Phoebus, the prophetess rages 
 
 41 Odyssey, xx. 351ff. 
 «V. 161ff. 
 
84 SPIRITISM in 
 
 furiously in her cavern, if so be that she may succeed 
 in flinging off the mighty god from her bosom. All the 
 more he plies her frenzied mouth, subduing her wild 
 heart, and fashions her to his will by constraint." Here, 
 in imitation of the Pythia, the Sibyl receives her inspira- 
 tion from Apollo, but it is evident that originally she 
 was conceived as a spirit-medium. 43 
 
 This Cumaean Sibyl was the reputed author of the 
 famous Sibylline Books in which her ecstatic predictive 
 utterances were collected. According to the legend, she 
 offered nine books for sale to King Tarquinius Priscus. 
 When the King refused her price, she burnt three of 
 the books, and still asked the same price for the re- 
 mainder. When he refused once more, she burnt three 
 more books, and continued to demand the same price. 
 The King now became alarmed, and bought the remain- 
 ing three at the full price. These books were kept in 
 the temple on the Capitoline Hill, and were consulted 
 in all times of national crisis. 
 
 Among the Celts mediums possessing the power of 
 second-sight have existed from the earliest times down 
 to the present. "A great obnubilation was conjured 
 up for the bard so that he slept a heavy sleep, and things 
 magic-begotten were shown him to enunciate, apparently 
 in his sleep. This was called "illumination by rhymes," 
 and a similar method was used in Wales. When con- 
 sulted, the seer roared violently until he was beside him- 
 self, and out of his ravings the desired information was 
 gathered. When aroused from this ecstatic condition, 
 he had no remembrance of what he had uttered. Giral- 
 dus reports this, and thinks, with the modern spiritualist, 
 that the utterance was caused by spirits. The resem- 
 blance to modern trance-utterance and to similar methods 
 used by savages is remarkable, and psychological science 
 
 48 JEneid, vi. 45ff. 
 
in SPIRITISM AMONG INDO-EUROPEANS 85 
 
 sees in it the promptings of the subliminal self in 
 sleep." 44 
 
 Among the Teutons we find trolls, witches and wise 
 women, all of whom were mediums controlled by spirits. 
 They worked themselves up into the hypnotic trance by 
 incantations, and then either fared forth on the wings 
 of the storm to visit distant places, or were inspired 
 to reveal hidden things and to predict the future. The 
 Norse Volves were professional mediums who enjoyed 
 high esteem. They had magic chairs, magic wands, and 
 a company of boys and girls who chanted the songs that 
 induced the prophetic trance. In the winter season when 
 the spirits were abroad they journeyed from farm to 
 farm in pursuit of their art, and were everywhere hos- 
 pitably received. 
 
 7. Spirits Appear to Men in Bodily Form. — Appari- 
 tions of the dead to the living are well known in all 
 parts of the Indo-European world. This happens fre- 
 quently, though not necessarily, in the presence of a 
 medium who has the power of "materialising" spirits. 
 Such ghosts belong as a rule to three main classes : first, 
 those who have died untimely deaths, namely miscar- 
 riages, children that have died in infancy, youths and 
 maidens who have died unmarried, married persons who 
 have died without children, and women who have died 
 in childbirth; second, those who have died violent deaths, 
 namely the murdered, suicides, and those who have fallen 
 in battle ; third, those who have not received funeral rites, 
 or have not received the proper rites. All these troubled 
 spirits fail to enter the Underworld in peace, are envious 
 of the living, and are likely to appear and make demands 
 upon them. 45 
 
 In India these three classes are known as preta, from 
 the root pre, 'depart,' ; bhuta, 'demon' ; and pisdcha, 'flesh- 
 
 44 Macculoch, Religion of the Ancient Celts, p. 249. 
 
 45 On the unburied see above, pp. 8, 36. 
 
86 SPIRITISM in 
 
 eater.' They appear in the forms that they wore on 
 earth, or with small, thick, red bodies and horrible 
 faces with lions' teeth. They come to blows with men, 
 and carry them off to remote places. They assault 
 women, and women are reported to have become with 
 child by them. They operate chiefly at night, but noon 
 is also a dangerous time, when women especially should 
 not go about unprotected. They speak a "goblin speech," 
 which is a sort of gibberish uttered in a high nasal tone. 46 
 
 In Persia such unhappy spirits are classed under the 
 general name daeva, which includes evil spirits of all 
 sorts that are in the service of Ahriman. Etymologically 
 the word is identical with Sanskrit deva, 'god,' and Latin 
 dtvus, 'divine' ; but in the Zoroastrian religion it is ap- 
 plied only to evil spirits, just as in Judaism and Chris- 
 tianity the gods of the ancient world have been degraded 
 to the position of devils. Among the daevas must be 
 included spirits of the dead, since they love foulness and 
 decay and are specially numerous in the vicinity of the 
 dakhmas, or towers of silence, where corpses are exposed. 
 They appear in human form, they come at night, and 
 they vanish at the rising of the sun. 47 
 
 In Greece the three main classes of appearing ghosts 
 were known as doroi, 'the untimely,' that is, those who 
 had met untimely deaths; biothdnatoi, those who had 
 met violent deaths; and dtaphoi, 'the unburied.' In the 
 eleventh book of the Odyssey all the ghosts who appear 
 to Odysseus have met untimely or unhappy ends. 
 
 "Souls of the dead from Erebus — young wives 
 And maids unwedded, men worn out with years 
 And toil, and virgins of a tender age 
 In their new grief, and many a warrior slain 
 In battle, mangled by the spear, and clad 
 In bloody armour, who about the trench 
 Flitted on every side, now here, now there, 
 With gibbering cries, and I grew pale with fear." 
 
 46 E. Thurston, Castes and Tribes of Southern India, vi. p. 230. 
 * T Yasna, ix. 15; Yasht, vi. 3f. 
 
in SPIRITISM AMONG INDO-EUROPEANS 87 
 
 These ghosts appeared in the same forms in which 
 Odysseus had known them on earth, and spoke with 
 audible voices, but they were inaccessible to the sense of 
 touch. 
 
 The Erinyes were originally the souls of the murdered 
 who demanded vengeance. Althaea summons the Erinyes 
 out of Hades to avenge the death of her brothers. 48 In 
 iEschylus 49 we read: "GEdipus' holy shade, black 
 Erinys, verily mighty art thou." Io, maddened by the 
 apparition of earth-born Argus, cries : 
 
 "O horror! he is coming, coming nigh, 
 Dead, with his wandering eye. 
 Uprising from the dead, 
 He drives me famished 
 Along the shingled main." 50 
 
 In the Eumenides } 46ft., the priestess describes these 
 spectres of the slain that she has seen in the temple : — 
 
 "Fronting the man I saw a wondrous band 
 Of women, sleeping on the seats. But no! 
 No women these, but Gorgons — yet methinks 
 I may not liken them to Gorgon-shapes. 
 Once on a time I saw those pictured things 
 That snatch at Phineus' feast, but these, but these 
 Are wingless — black, foul utterly. They snore, 
 Breathing out noisome breath. From out their eyes 
 They ooze a loathy rheum." 51 
 
 A more horrible conception of the ghosts of the mur- 
 dered, worse than Gorgons, and worse than Harpies, 
 which are themselves spirits of the dead, could hardly be 
 imagined. 
 
 There are many allusions in Greek literature to ap- 
 pearances of ghosts, particularly in connection with 
 
 48 Iliad, ix. 571ff. 
 
 48 Seven against Thebes, 988. 
 
 •° Prometheus Bound, 566ff. 
 
 81 See J. E. Harrison, Prolegomena, pp. 213-232. 
 
88 SPIRITISM m 
 
 necromancy, or the calling up of the dead. 52 Lucian in 
 his Philopseudes, or 'Liar,' gives a rich collection of 
 stories of this sort. It is satire, of course, still it reflects 
 popular beliefs on the subject. Pliny 53 tells perhaps the 
 best Greek ghost-story that has come down to us. In 
 Athens there was a haunted house, where rattling of 
 chains was heard, and where the ghost of an old man 
 appeared with chains on his wrists which he kept shaking. 
 People who tried to live in the house died from fright, 
 and nobody was willing to hire the place. Finally the 
 philosopher Athenodorus, attracted by the cheapness of 
 the rent, and by a love of psychical research, took the 
 place and settled down in his study to await develop- 
 ments. He heard the rattling of the chains, and finally 
 the ghost appeared to him and beckoned him to follow. 
 The philosopher, with extraordinary presence of mind 
 under the circumstances, followed the phantom into the 
 yard where it suddenly vanished. He made a heap of 
 leaves at the spot where it had disappeared, and the 
 next day reported the matter to the magistrates and had 
 the place dug up. A skeleton was discovered bound in 
 chains; and when this had been freed and properly 
 buried, the ghost no more appeared in the house. 
 
 Roman ideas about ghosts were similar to those of 
 the Greeks. Souls of the unhappy dead were apt to 
 appear to the living. After the murder of the mad 
 Emperor Gaius his corpse was only half-burned and half- 
 buried. The Lamian villa where the tragedy had oc- 
 curred was haunted by his ghost, and every night there 
 were dreadful sights and sounds until the house was 
 burned. 54 Nero, after the assassination of his mother 
 Agrippina, could not sleep because of her phantom that 
 appeared to him. From the surrounding hills the sound 
 of a trumpet was heard and wailings from Agrippina's 
 
 52 See p. 151. 
 
 88 Epistles, vii. 27. 
 
 M Suetonius, Gaius, 59. 
 
in SPIRITISM AMONG INDO-EUROPEANS 89 
 
 grave. 55 On the night when Galba was assassinated, 
 Otho started up from his bed with groans, and was found 
 lying in a swoon on the ground. 56 Ovid 57 threatens to 
 haunt his enemy after death: "However death may 
 come to me, I will strive to break from the borders of 
 the river of Hades, and in vengeance I will lay my cold 
 hands on your brow. Waking, you shall look upon me ; 
 in the still shadow of night I will seem to come and 
 shatter your slumbers. Whatever you do, I will fly 
 before you in your sight. I will raise my lament. You 
 shall not find rest anywhere. Knotted lashes shall sound 
 in your ears. Torches entwined with snakes shall always 
 smoke before your guilty countenance. You shall be 
 driven on by the furies in life and in death, for life is 
 too short for your chastisement." 
 
 Roman ghosts appeared mostly at night. Propertius 
 represents them as saying: "At night we wander far 
 and wide, for night frees the shades from their prison. 
 Our laws compel us to return to the Lake of Forgetful- 
 ness by daybreak." They also appeared occasionally at 
 noon-time when the intense summer heat drove men off 
 of the streets to take their siestas in their homes. Thus 
 the phantom of a woman appeared at noon in an African 
 town to Curtius Rufus informing him that he should 
 return to the province as pro-consul. 58 It was dangerous 
 to see ghosts, as this often foreboded death, but fortu- 
 nately the spirits avoided being seen by men quite as 
 much as men avoided looking upon them. 
 
 Among the Celts the realistic conception of a bodily 
 existence in the other world made it easy to believe that 
 the dead could manifest themselves to the living. Such 
 apparitions could hardly be called ghosts since they were 
 clothed in flesh and blood and looked the same as when 
 
 65 Tacitus, Annals, xiv. 10. 
 88 Suetonius, Otho, 7. 
 "Ibis, I51ff. 
 88 Tacitus, Annals, xi. 21. 
 
9 o SPIRITISM m 
 
 they were alive on earth. 59 Celtic literature is full of 
 accounts of manifestations in which the living are un- 
 conscious that they are talking with the dead. The 
 Classical writers mention a class of Celtic spirits of the 
 dead called dusii (cf. Gr. &e6s) who were so corporeal 
 that they entered into marital relations with men and 
 women as incubi and succubi. Q0 
 
 Teutonic conceptions of ghosts are so familiar to us 
 from our English folk-lore that they require no special 
 elaboration in this connection. 
 
 8. Spirits of the Dead Possess Superhuman Knowl- 
 edge. — They are far wiser than mortals. They know 
 what is taking place on earth among their relatives. 
 They know when offerings are prepared for them and 
 when they are invoked to be present. They know the 
 prayers that are addressed to them by their descendants. 
 They also know the future. In Homer all the ghosts 
 who appear to the living deliver prophetic oracles. The 
 entire eleventh book of the Odyssey is devoted to the 
 predictions which the shades make to Odysseus. In all 
 parts of the Indo-European world the dead exercise the 
 same oracular functions. 
 
 9. Spirits of the Dead Are Able to Bless the Living. 
 — Although the dead are dangerous when angry, yet 
 when properly appeased, they reward their filial descend- 
 ants. The Vedas frequently speak of the "fathers" as 
 blessing their posterity. In connection with the offering 
 of food to ancestors in India the sacrificer prays: 
 "Honour, pitaras, for your comfort, honour for your 
 living sap, honour for your living power, honour for your 
 gentleness, honour for your life, honour for your vigour, 
 Svahd to you, honour to you, pitaras, honour! This 
 water is yours, pitaras, this is our and your life-bringing 
 element; may we who are here be quickened." The 
 husband then gives the sacrificial cake to his wife to 
 
 68 See pp. 4f., 32f. 
 
 80 Augustine, de Civ. Dei, xv, 23; Isidore Lib. Etymol. viii., 11, 103. 
 
in SPIRITISM AMONG INDO-EUROPEANS 91 
 
 eat, saying, "Give me a male child, pit or as" and the wife 
 replies, "Insert fruit in me, pitdras, a lotus-wreathed boy, 
 that he may be uninjured." 
 
 In Persia the fravashis took such a keen interest in 
 the welfare of their descendants that in time of drought 
 they hurried to the heavenly lake Vourukasha and fought 
 with one another for water, "each for his own family, 
 his own village, his own tribe, his own country." 61 
 
 In Greece the bride before leaving her home sacri- 
 ficed to her ancestors in order to secure fertility and a 
 blessing upon her home. 62 
 
 /. Powers Lost by the Dead. — Notwithstanding the 
 resemblance of the other world to the present world, 
 and notwithstanding the superhuman powers that were 
 gained through death which raised one to the rank of 
 a god, the future life was regarded by most of the Indo- 
 Europeans as a dim, shadowy existence that was most 
 undesirable. The loss of the body involved the loss 
 of all the active powers and all the pleasures that made 
 life worth living. The disembodied soul was only a 
 feeble reflection of its former self. In all the Indo- 
 European languages the soul is described as breath, 
 wind, vapour, smoke, shadow. These names emphasize 
 its unsubstantial character. Accordingly, with the loss 
 of the body one lost all that made existence worth while. 
 One did not enter upon immortality in any true sense 
 of the word, but only upon a ghost-existence, which is a 
 very different matter. In Homer the psuche, or 'breath,' 
 is only an eidolon, or 'image,' of its former self. It is 
 a 'smoke,' 63 or a 'shadow,' 64 and it passes like air 
 through the hands of those who try to seize it. For this 
 reason the dead are unhappy, and regard the humblest 
 lot on earth as superior to the highest rank among the 
 
 81 Avesta, Yasha, xiii, 64ff.' 
 
 82 See below, p. 1371 
 88 Iliad, xxiii. 100. 
 
 "Odyssey, x. 495; xi. 207; see p. 7. 
 
92 SPIRITISM m 
 
 shades. 65 Greek and Latin grave-inscriptions take the 
 same pessimistic attitude toward the future life; and 
 however much higher conceptions may have prevailed 
 in mystic brotherhoods and philosophic circles, these did 
 not affect the primitive beliefs of the multitude. 
 
 Among the Celts alone a more cheerful conception 
 prevailed. Like the ancient Egyptians, they seem to have 
 conceived of the dead as re-animating their bodies in 
 the other life, and therefore as not leading a ghost- 
 existence. 66 Lucan, 67 says of the Druids: "From you 
 we learn that the bourne of man's existence is not the 
 silent halls of Erebus; in another world the spirit ani- 
 mates the members. Death, if your lore be true, is but 
 the centre of a long life." For this reason, he adds, the 
 Celtic warriors had no fear of death. Valerius Maxi- 
 mus 68 records that they lent money on the promise to 
 pay it back in the next world. This certainly implies a 
 vivid conception of its reality and of its physical char- 
 acter. In Celtic folk-lore the dead do not appear as 
 ghosts but as living men of flesh and blood. 69 In the 
 Welsh tale of Pwyll mentioned later, Arawn, King of 
 Hades, is able to take Pwyll's place for a year among 
 the living. Marriages of the living with the dead are a 
 frequent theme of Celtic legends. The Celtic other 
 world was a place of eating, drinking, fighting, and mak- 
 ing love, like the present world at its best, so that it is 
 not surprising that suicide was frequent in order to enter 
 more speedily into its joys. Diodorus Siculus 70 records 
 that letters were thrown upon funeral pyres in the belief 
 that thus they were carried to departed friends. 
 
 g. The Abode of the Dead. — Indo-European concep- 
 tions of the dwelling-place of departed spirits corres- 
 
 65 See p. 8f. 
 
 66 See p. 163. 
 
 67 Pharsalia, i. 455ff. 
 88 II. 6, 10. 
 
 69 See p. 106. 
 
 70 V. 28. 
 
in SPIRITISM AMONG INDO-EUROPEANS 93 
 
 pond to the three methods of disposal of the dead that 
 were practised by them, namely, exposure, burial and 
 cremation. 
 
 1. Spirits Roam Without Any Fixed Habitation. — 
 This corresponds to the primitive custom of exposure of 
 corpses." When the flesh was devoured by beasts and 
 birds and the bones were scattered, the body no longer 
 served as a seat of the soul's activity. The discarnate 
 spirit had no abode to which it could return, but "passed 
 through waterless places, seeking rest and finding 
 none." 71 Like the living, the primitive Aryan ghosts 
 were nomads. This conception lasted among all the 
 Indo-Europeans in the belief that the unburied or un- 
 cremated dead could not rest but haunted the living. In 
 India and in Persia spirits for whom the last rites had 
 not been performed roamed about and formed a dan- 
 gerous class of evil demons. In the Iliad, 72 the ghost of 
 the unburied Patroclus says to Achilles: 
 
 "Thou dost neglect me dead. O, bury me 
 Quickly, and give me entrance through the gates 
 Of Hades; for the souls, the forms of those 
 Who live no more, repulse me, suffering not 
 That I should join their company beyond 
 The river, and I now must wander round 
 The spacious portals of the House of Death. 
 Give me thy hand, I pray; for never more 
 Shall I return to earth when once the fire 
 Shall have consumed me." 
 
 Smiliar conceptions meet us in Euripides, 73 Sopho- 
 cles, 74 and iEschylus. 75 In Homer burial is refused to 
 fallen enemies, but in later times it was considered a 
 sacred duty to perform the last rites even for foes. The 
 laws of Solon enacted that, if a father had hired his 
 
 "Matt. 12:43; Luke 11:24. 
 
 72 Iliad, xxiii. 7lff., Bryant's translation. 
 
 78 Hecuba, 31-50; Troades, 1081. 
 
 74 Antigone, 1070. 
 
 75 Eumenides, 269S. 
 
94 SPIRITISM m 
 
 son out for vicious purposes, the son was absolved from 
 the obligation to feed and shelter him, yet was required 
 to perform the funeral rites for him. If a man had no 
 relatives, or if they failed to perform their duty, the 
 head of his deme attended to the interment. Only ex- 
 ceptional sinners, such as traitors, temple-robbers, and 
 suicides, were refused burial. 
 
 Similar ideas existed at Rome. The shades of those 
 who had been drowned, or carried off by beasts, or who 
 had not received proper burial or cremation, wandered 
 about without fixed abode and were a menace to the 
 living. Tertullian 76 says: "It was believed that the 
 unburied did not descend to the world below before they 
 had received their due." Consequently, it was an im- 
 perative duty of relatives to care for their dead; and if 
 they failed, the state assumed the responsibility. As 
 Quintilian remarks: 77 "Even upon unknown dead we 
 heap earth, and no one is ever in too great a hurry to 
 honour an unburied body by putting earth, be it ever so 
 little, upon it." Burial was refused only to exceptional 
 criminals, to suicides, and to those who had been struck 
 by lightning. 
 
 Among the pagan Slavs it was believed that souls of 
 the unburied wandered in forests, but that souls of the 
 buried travelled by the beaten road to the realm of the 
 dead. 
 
 2. Spirits Occupy the Bodies of Animals. — Closely 
 connected with exposure of the dead is the idea that their 
 spirits enter into the bodies of various animals. When 
 the dead were devoured by beasts and by birds, it was 
 natural to think that their souls might inhabit these 
 creatures; thus, alongside of the idea that ghosts of the 
 unburied roam the earth, we find at an early date the 
 conception of re-incarnation in lower forms of life. The 
 most widely spread conception among the Indo-Euro- 
 
 78 De Anima, 56. 
 
 " Declamationes, v. 6. 
 
in SPIRITISM AMONG INDO-EUROPEANS 95 
 
 peans was that souls entered into birds. This seems to 
 be connected with the devouring of corpses by vultures. 
 In early Greek art the soul is depicted as a human-headed 
 bird, like the ba in Egyptian art. 78 This is evidently a 
 conventionalised form that has grown out of an earlier 
 representation of a simple bird. The human-headed 
 birds lingered in art as Harpies, Sirens and Erinyes, 
 whose functions show that they were developed out of 
 spirits of the dead; but the anthropomorphic tendency 
 of later Greek art caused spirits in general to be repre- 
 sented as winged human figures. 79 
 
 In Italy the belief appears in bird-omens and augury. 
 In Plautus 80 a slave rejoices when he sees a woodpecker 
 and a crow on his left, and a raven and a screech owl on 
 his right. When the woodpecker begins to drill, he takes 
 this as a sign of a beating that is in store for him. When 
 the raven is seen on the left, and when it taps the earth 
 once with its claws, it makes the heart of the spectator 
 leap within his breast. Bird-divination was a function 
 of the state, and the art was in the hands of augurs who 
 belonged to the patrician order. Birds were divided 
 into the classes of the 'singers,' oscines, which included 
 the owl, the crow, and the raven; and the 'flyers,' 
 prapetes, which included the larger birds of prey. Aus- 
 pices were drawn from the number and the positions 
 in which these birds appeared and from their cries. As 
 a rule it was favourable to have a bird appear on the left 
 of the observer. Birds of prey were considered most 
 important, as was natural, considering their primitive 
 connection with the dead. 81 
 
 In Celtic folk-lore spirits of the dead are frequently 
 represented as birds. Thus in the Voyage of Maelduin, 
 an Irish monkish tale, the terrestrial paradise is described 
 
 78 See p. 155. 
 
 79 The most elaborate discussion of this subject is that of G. Weicker, Der 
 Seelenvogel in der alten Litteratur und Kunst, 1907. 
 
 •• Asinaria, ii. sc. 1. 
 
 "For similar Greek ideas see Iliad, xii. 200ff.; x. 274ff. 
 
96 SPIRITISM m 
 
 as a place where the first forefather lives, surrounded by 
 the souls of his descendants who have the form of song- 
 birds. In the legend of Saint Maelsuthain his pupils 
 appeared to him after death as birds. In Cornwall King 
 Arthur is thought to live in the form of a raven, and in 
 Wales the souls of the wicked become ravens. In 
 Brittany souls of unbaptised infants flit about as birds, 
 and in all Celtic countries the souls of drowned sailors 
 or fishermen become sea-gulls. By an association of 
 ideas butterflies, moths, and bats are also regarded as 
 spirits of the dead. 82 
 
 Next to birds snakes are most frequently associated 
 with spirits of the dead in Indo-European religions. 
 The serpent-cult of modern India is distinctly connected 
 with ancestor-worship. On Greek tombs snakes are con- 
 stantly represented as the embodiment of the spirit of 
 the dead. In the so-called "hero reliefs" a large bearded 
 serpent appears behind the seated hero. In "banquet 
 reliefs" a serpent appears twisted about a tree, or drinks 
 from a cup in the hero's hand. In vase pictures serpents 
 are often depicted at the foot of burial mounds. The 
 meaning of these representations is clear from a pas- 
 sage in Plutarch 83 who states that when Cleomenes, King 
 of Sparta, had been executed by Ptolemy, King of Egypt, 
 and impaled in public, "a huge snake wound about the 
 head and hid the face so that no bird of prey should light 
 on it. Thereupon a superstitious fear fell upon the 
 King, and such a dread that it started the women on 
 purification ceremonies." Cecrops, the oldest Athenian 
 hero, was worshipped originally as a snake, subsequently 
 as a half-human, half-serpentine being. Erechtheus, his 
 son, was also a snake. Herodotus, viii. 41, describing 
 the Persian invasion, says: "The Athenians say that 
 they have in their acropolis a huge serpent, which lives 
 in the temple, and is the guardian of the whole place. 
 
 82 See Macculloch, o. c, pp. 360; Henderson, o. c, pp. 76S. 
 88 Life of Cleomenes, xxxix. 
 
in SPIRITISM AMONG INDO-EUROPEANS 97 
 
 Nor do they only say this, but, as if the serpent really 
 dwelt there, every month they lay out its food, which 
 consists of a honey-cake. Up to this time the honey-cake 
 had always been consumed; but now it remained un- 
 touched. So the priestess told the people what had 
 happened; whereupon they left Athens the more readily, 
 since they believed that the goddess had already aban- 
 doned the citadel." In like manner the hero Trophonius 
 dwelt as a snake in a cave at Lebadea, and Asklepeios 
 also was originally a snake, and later was represented 
 with a snake twining about his staff. 84 
 
 In Italy serpents were regarded as the embodiments 
 of the spirits of ancestors and as the guardian-heroes of 
 places. Pliny 85 says that snakes were protected and fed 
 in Roman houses. They became so numerous that they 
 would have become an unbearable nuisance, but for the 
 fires which frequently consumed parts of the city. On 
 tomb-reliefs snakes are represented, as in Greece, as 
 embodiments of the dead. A fresco in Herculaneum 
 represents a snake twisted around an altar and eating 
 cakes from the top. The accompanying inscription 
 reads, genius huius loci montis. In the JEneid, v. 84ft., t/ 
 Vergil tells how iEneas, having arrived in Sicily, prepared 
 to celebrate the anniversary of his father's death with 
 sacrifices and games. A magnificent serpent appeared 
 which tasted of the sacrificial viands and silently disap- 
 peared beneath a mound. iEneas is "uncertain whether 
 to think it the genius of the place or the familiar spirit 
 of his father." 86 
 
 The cult of ancestors under the form of serpents 
 among the pagan Lithuanians is well attested. Menecius, 
 the authority on these matters, says: "Moreover the 
 Lithuanians and the Samagitae keep snakes in their 
 
 8 *See Rohde, Psyche* pp. 120, 133, 136, 142, 196, 242, 244; J. E. Harrison, 
 Themis, chap, viii; Lippert, Die Religionen der europaischen Kulturvolker, p. 42ff. 
 
 86 Nat. Hist, xxix. 72. 
 
 88 See W. Wissowa, Religion und Cultus der Romer, p. 155; F. Granger, The 
 Worship of the Romans, pp. 56-59. 
 
98 SPIRITISM in 
 
 houses under the hearth, or in a corner of the oven 
 where a table stands. Reverencing these as manifesta- 
 tions of spirits, they call them forth at a certain time 
 of the year with prayers to the sacrificial table. They 
 come forth through a hole, and climbing up by a cloth, 
 they lie on the table; where, having tasted the dishes 
 one by one, they descend and hide themselves in their 
 caves. When the snakes have gone, the men eat with joy 
 all the dishes that they have tasted, and hope that in 
 that year all sorts of good things will happen to them. 
 If, however, the snakes do not come forth at their 
 prayers to partake of the sacrifices, or do not taste 
 of the dishes that are placed on the table, they believe 
 that they will meet with great misfortune in the ensuing 
 year." Lascowski (Lasicius) also records: u They 
 cherish also as household gods certain fat snakes of a 
 black colour which they call Giuoitos (i.e., Lith. gyvate, 
 'serpents'). iEneas Sylvius, Pope Pius II (1458-64), 
 says of the Lithuanians: "They used to reverence 
 snakes: each head of a family had a snake in the corner 
 of his house to which he offered food and sacrifice." 87 
 
 Other animals, such as dogs, wolves, hares, etc., appear 
 as the embodiments of spirits in Indo-European folk-lore, 
 but much less frequently and universally than birds and 
 serpents. 
 
 Out of this belief in re-incarnation of souls in animal 
 forms there arose in a few parts of the Indo-European 
 world the doctrine of metempsychosis, or transmigration. 
 This is not yet found in the Vedas, but in the Ramayana 
 it is stated that the wicked are punished by being reborn 
 in lower stages of existence. In later Brahmanism and 
 in Buddhism the doctrine is fully developed that men 
 are reborn in accordance with the law of Karma, or retri- 
 bution for the deeds done in a previous existence. All 
 the philosophic systems and Buddhism are efforts to free 
 the soul from this dread necessity of rebirth through 
 
 • T See F. Solmsen, in Usener, Gotternamen, p. 91, s.v. Gyvati. 
 
in SPIRITISM AMONG INDO-EUROPEANS 99 
 
 absorption of the individual soul into the universal as 
 "the dew-drop slides into the shining sea." 
 
 A similar movement of Greek thought begins with 
 Orphism, a development of Thracian Dionysiac cults, 
 which first appears in the sixth century B.C. It is known 
 to us chiefly from eight inscribed gold tablets, six of 
 which were found near Sybaris, one at Rome, and one in 
 Crete, which were deposited in the tombs of members 
 of Orphic brotherhoods; 88 also from the later descrip- 
 tions of Empedocles and Plato. From these sources we 
 learn that the fundamental doctrine of Orphism was the 
 heavenly origin of the soul. Each individual soul once 
 dwelt in the celestial regions and partook of the divine 
 nature. Because of sin in this first existence it is con- 
 demned to mortal life on earth. The body is the 
 "prison," or even the "grave" of the soul, according to 
 Orphic authorities. For ten thousand years it is con- 
 demned to the "circle" or "wheel of generation." That 
 is, it must be born and reborn in lower or higher forms 
 of life according as it has done ill or well in its previous 
 existence. One Orphic poet says: "Hitherto I have 
 been a boy, a girl, a bush, a bird, and a scaly fish in the 
 sea." 89 The aim of Orphism is redemption from the 
 "circle of necessity," that is, the compulsion to be reborn. 
 This is accomplished by "purity" both moral and cere- 
 monial. Sin must be avoided, and at the same time one 
 must abstain from animal food, and must practise a 
 large number of cleansing rites. Adherence to this rule 
 of life secures rebirth in continually higher forms, until 
 at last the soul is ready to leave the "circle of genera- 
 tion" and return to the heavenly abode from which it 
 fell. During the intervals between the various rebirths 
 the soul is confined in Hades. Here the good are happy, 
 while the wicked are punished with all sorts of tortures. 
 
 Orphism bears so many points of resemblance to 
 
 88 See J. E. Harrison, Prolegomena, pp. 573-600; 660-674. 
 88 Abel, Orphica, 1885, fr. 117. 
 
ioo SPIRITISM m 
 
 Buddhism in its doctrines of metempsychosis, asceticism, 
 abstinence from animal food, purgatory, and redemption, 
 that it seems highly probable that it drew its original 
 inspiration from Indian sources; but it has received a 
 characteristically Greek development, and its belief in 
 individual immortality is very different from the Buddhis- 
 tic Nirvana. The one is the product of Greek individual- 
 ism and optimism; the other, of Indian pantheism and 
 pessimism. 
 
 A similar phenomenon to Orphism is seen in the 
 Eleusinian mysteries that were celebrated at Eleusis near 
 Athens. Here, by means of purificatory rites, initiation, 
 and the drinking of some sort of sacramental cup, the 
 recipients were made partakers of the very nature of 
 the goddess, so that they were privileged to see and 
 hear sacred mysteries of the other world, and were 
 assured deliverance from rebirth and a happy immor- 
 tality. The antiquity of these rites is proved by the 
 "Homeric" Hymn to Demeter, composed as early as 
 600 B.C., in which the whole Greek world is invited to 
 come to Eleusis for initiation. The promise of immor- 
 tality which these ceremonies gave attracted all the 
 Greeks who could afford it, and subsequently many of 
 the Romans, to accept the invitation of the poet. 
 
 Pythagoras (ca. 582-500 B.C.) held the Orphic doc- 
 trines of the divine origin of the soul, of its incarnation 
 through sin, of transmigration, ultimate redemption 
 from the necessity of rebirth, and reunion with the divine. 
 He founded a brotherhood with a rigid "way of life" 
 which spread into all parts of the Greek world and 
 exerted a powerful influence upon Greek thought. 
 
 Heraclitus (ca. 535-475 B.C.) seems also to have 
 come under Orphic influence, if we may judge from a 
 fragment 90 which says, "The living and the dead, the 
 waking and the sleeping, the young and the old are the 
 same; for the latter when they have changed are the 
 
 90 Bywater, Heraclite Ephesii Reliquice, LXXVIII. 
 
in SPIRITISM AMONG INDO-EUROPEANS 101 
 
 former, and the former when they have changed are the 
 latter." 
 
 iEschylus (525-456 B.C.) teaches in the main the 
 Homeric doctrine of Hades, but with the important 
 difference that for him there are rewards and punish- 
 ments in Hades. In this respect apparently he shows 
 Orphic influence. 91 
 
 Pindar (522-443 B.C.) adopts all the main features 
 of the Orphic theology. He teaches re-incarnation, ret- 
 ribution in Hades, and ultimate deliverance from the 
 "wheel of rebirth." 
 
 Empedocles (ca. 490-430 B.C.) also accepted the 
 Orphic beliefs. In one of his fragments he teaches that 
 in the last rebirth before attaining its redemption the 
 soul becomes a prophet, poet, physician, ruler, or some 
 other benefactor of mankind. Then at death it becomes 
 a god, and rises to the fellowship of the gods. 
 
 Sophocles (495-406 B.C.) and Euripedes (480-406 
 B.C.) take a sceptical attitude toward all theories of 
 immortality; when they speak of death, they use or- 
 dinarily the old Homeric language; but Socrates (470- 
 399 B.C.) and his disciple Plato (429-347 B.C.) carry 
 the doctrine of the future life to the highest development 
 attained in the Classical world. They teach that the soul 
 is an eternal, uncreated substance. In consequence of a 
 fall from the life of pure reason in an earlier state of 
 existence, it has been confined in the body as a prison, 
 where it is subjected to the temptations of the flesh. If 
 it resists these, it passes at death to the fellowship of 
 the gods. If it succumbs, it is born again upon earth. 
 If after repeated rebirths it does not reform, it is cast 
 into Tartarus. 
 
 Classical writers assert also that the doctrine of met- 
 empsychosis existed among the Celts. Caesar 92 states : 
 "The Druids in particular wish to impress this on them 
 
 91 See ^Eschylus, Eumenides, 269ff. ; cf. Supplices, 226ff. ; 416-435. 
 93 De Bello Gallico, vi. 14. 
 
102 SPIRITISM m 
 
 that souls do not perish, but pass from one to another 
 (ab aliis . . . ad alios) after death, and by this 
 chiefly they think to incite men to valour, the fear of 
 death being overlooked." Diodorus Siculus 93 says: 
 "Among them the doctrine of Pythagoras prevailed that 
 the souls of men were immortal, and after completing 
 their term of existence, they live again, the soul passing 
 into another body." Valerius Maximus 94 adds: "They 
 would fain make us believe that the souls of men are 
 immortal. I would be tempted to call these breeches- 
 wearing folk fools, if their doctrine were not the same 
 as that of the mantle-clad Pythagoras." Similarly 
 Lucan. 95 All these statements probably go back to one 
 original, and it is doubtful whether the authority that 
 they followed was correct. So far as native sources in- 
 dicate, the Celts believed that spirits entered into the 
 bodies of animals, but had no developed doctrine of the 
 transmigration of souls such as Pythagoras taught. Some 
 historian has been misled by a superficial resemblance of 
 the far more primitive Celtic beliefs to the ideas of 
 Greek philosophy. 
 
 3. Spirits of the Dead Dwell in Graves. — Out of the 
 second main method of disposing of the dead among the 
 Aryans, namely burial, arose the widespread idea that 
 souls haunted the places where their bodies were buried. 
 According to this conception, the ghosts were no longer 
 nomadic, like the earliest Aryans, but had become seden- 
 tary, like the later Aryans. 
 
 Among the Greeks the members of a family were 
 buried together outside the city walls in order that they 
 might be near to one another and to their living rela- 
 tives. In earliest times there are traces also of burial 
 within houses. Innumerable graves of heroes were the 
 seats of cults in all parts of Greece. At graves periodic 
 
 18 V. 28. i 
 
 "II. 6, 10. 
 "Pharsalia, L 454-458. 
 
in SPIRITISM AMONG INDO-EUROPEANS 103 
 
 offerings were made to the shades. Over the royal 
 graves in the citadel at Mycenae an altar was placed for 
 the reception of sacrifices. The bones of heroes received 
 the greatest reverence, and were frequently transported 
 from one place to another in order to secure the pres- 
 ence of their owner. In 476 B.C. the Athenians brought 
 the reputed bones of Theseus from Scyrus and deposited 
 them in the Theseum at Athens. From that time on- 
 ward the spirit of Theseus dwelt in the Theseum. Sim- 
 ilarly in 437 B.C. the Athenians under Hagnon brought 
 the bones of Rhesus from the Troad to Amphipolis. 96 
 
 Among the Romans identical beliefs prevailed. In the 
 JEnead? 1 iEneas at the grave of Polydorus says: "We 
 lay the spirit in the grave"; and Horace 98 says to Tor- 
 quatus : "We, when we have descended whither righteous 
 iEneas, whither Tullus and Ancus have gone, are but 
 dust and shadow." Gifts were placed upon the graves, 
 and the bones of a victorious general were scattered in 
 the city in order to secure the presence and aid of his 
 spirit. The skull was regarded as particularly the 
 seat of the spirit, hence apparently in earliest times 
 it was preserved in the home as a means of com- 
 municating with an ancestor. This is the origin of the 
 os resectum, or bone cut off before cremation. Originally 
 the head was removed for preservation, later a finger, or 
 some other part of the body was substituted. The wax 
 masks of ancestors preserved in the atrium of Roman 
 nobles were probably conventional substitutes for the 
 primitive skull." 
 
 Among the Celts also spirits of the dead were thought 
 to live in the grave and to issue from it as ghosts. Hence 
 offerings of food were placed on tombs, and national 
 assemblies were held at them. The tomb of King Cottius 
 in the Alps was holy, Irish kings were crowned at an- 
 
 "Rohde, Psyche* p. 161. 
 
 87 III. 67. 
 
 88 Odes, IV. vii. IS. 
 
 89 Granger, Worship of the Romans, pp. 53ff. 
 
io 4 SPIRITISM in 
 
 cestral tumuli, and Irish gods were frequently associated 
 with burial barrows. Tertullian 10 ° narrates that the 
 Celts went by night to the tombs of great men to obtain 
 oracles, so much did they believe that they were still 
 living there. In many parts of the Celtic world the open- 
 ings that are left into cairns or barrows are intended 
 to give the spirit means of egress and ingress. In Ireland 
 it is still believed that the spirit of the one last buried 
 has to watch in the graveyard until another is placed 
 there. 101 In the churches of Brittany "at the east end 
 are the heavy, brightly-painted images; in other parts 
 of the church and in the porch, set up on shelves, each 
 in a small black box pierced and surmounted by the cross, 
 are the skulls of those who have worshipped there, taken 
 out of their graves when their flesh has perished, and 
 placed on high with their names — Cy est le Chef de N. — 
 in the sight of their children when they come to pray. 
 They are churches of the dead as well as of the liv- 
 ing." 102 
 
 Identical conceptions are found among the Slavs and 
 the Teutons. In one Russian dialect the cemetery is 
 called roditelhkoje mesto, i.e., "place of the ancestors," 
 and in Norse the family burial-mound is known as atthau- 
 gar, "hill of the tribe." In all Teutonic folk-lore ghosts 
 are associated with graves. In this respect the belief of 
 the Indo-Europeans was the same as that of all other 
 primitive races. 
 
 4. Spirits of the Dead Dwell in an Underworld. — 
 Out of the individual graves some of the Indo-Europeans 
 developed the idea of a Nether World that was a sort of 
 generalised concept of the grave. The same process is 
 seen in the Egyptian Dewat and the Semitic Sheol and is 
 found also among African and American tribes. 103 The 
 names for the realm of the dead differ in the various 
 
 100 De Anima, 21. 
 
 101 Lady Wilde, Ancient Legends of Ireland, pp. 82f. 
 
 102 Granger, o. c, p. 54. 
 108 See pp. 169, 215, 240f. 
 
in SPIRITISM AMONG INDO-EUROPEANS 105 
 
 Indo-European languages, so that it is probable that 
 the conception was developed by them independently 
 after their separation from the parent stem. In India 
 and Persia the idea of Hades seems to have existed 
 in early times, and in Greece the doctrine of Hades is 
 already fully developed in Homer. The name adrjs, 
 in Homer aL8r)s, is derived from a-fiba u un-seen," i.e., "the 
 invisible world." It is also personified as the ruler of 
 the Underworld. Homer speaks frequently of this dark 
 abode beneath the earth to which all spirits of the dead 
 descend, and from which they come forth to appear to 
 the living in dreams and in visions. In the eleventh book 
 of the Odyssey he gives an elaborate account of Ulysses* 
 visit to this region and his interviews with its inhabitants. 
 It is probable that this is not an original part of the Epic; 
 nevertheless, it gives an admirable picture of early Greek 
 thought on this subject. Ulysses sails westward to the 
 extreme limit of the Ocean, the land of the Cimmerians 
 who dwell in eternal cloud and darkness. Here he finds 
 the entrance to Hades. The souls of the unburied meet 
 him first because they are unable to join their relatives 
 in the Underworld. Then he encounters the great mul- 
 titude of the buried dead, great and small, good and bad, 
 who throng the vast cavern. The punishments of Tityos, 
 Tantalos, and Sisyphos are late Orphic additions. This 
 remained the orthodox Greek conception of the other 
 world down to Christian times. 
 
 The corresponding conception among the Romans was 
 Orcus, which etymologically is connected with Gothic 
 aurahi, 'tomb.' The entrance to Orcus was through a 
 mundus, i.e., 'earth,' or 'pit.' In the center of every 
 newly founded town such a pit was dug and was covered 
 with a stone slab. Through this spirits of the dead de- 
 scended into the nether world, and through it they 
 ascended. Into it offerings to the dead were cast at 
 stated seasons. Macrobius 104 says : "When the mundus 
 
 10 « Saturnalia, I. xvi. 16-18. 
 
106 SPIRITISM m 
 
 is open, the door of the sad gods of the Underworld is 
 open." The oldest mundus at Rome was that on the 
 Palatine hill. Other similar trenches that were estab- 
 lished later were in the Forum, the Lacus Curtius, and 
 the "grave of Tarpeia." All Latin accounts of Orcus 
 are so strongly coloured with features derived from the 
 Greek conception of Hades that it is impossible to deter- 
 mine the primitive Italic idea. Vergil's narrative of 
 iEneas's descent to the Lower World in the sixth book 
 of the JEneid is an imitation of Ulysses' descent in the 
 eleventh book of the Odyssey, nevertheless, it doubtless 
 contains many elements of old Latin folk-lore. 
 
 The Classical writers assume that Celtic conceptions 
 of the Underworld are identical with their own. Lu- 
 can 105 calls it orbis alius; Valerius Maximus 106 speaks 
 of the dead Celts as inferi; Pomponius Mela 107 speaks 
 of them as going ad manes; and Plutarch 108 represents 
 Camma as descending to her dead husband. There are 
 numerous tales in Welsh and Irish folk-lore of living 
 men who descended to this region and returned, just as 
 Odysseus descended to Hades. According to the Welsh 
 story, Pwyll, Prince of Dyved, one day met a strange 
 huntsman with a pack of curiously spotted hounds. He 
 proved to be Arawn, one of the kings of Annwn, or 
 Hades. He offered to change places with Pwyll for a 
 year in order that Pwyll might smite his rival Havgan, 
 another king of Hades, whom he as a spirit could not 
 injure. Pwyll accepted the offer, spent a year in Hades, 
 conquered Havgan, and returned to his own kingdom, 
 which he found had been governed excellently by Arawn 
 during his absence, who had exactly simulated his ap- 
 pearance, so as to deceive even his wife. 109 
 
 The Slavs called the subterranean abode of the dead 
 
 105 Pharsalia, i. 457 S. 
 106 II. vi. 10. 
 
 107 III. 2, 19. 
 
 108 Virt. Mul. 20. 
 
 109 Rhys, Celtic Heathendom, pp. 337-360. 
 
in SPIRITISM AMONG INDO-EUROPEANS 107 
 
 Nav, which is connected with Lettic nave, 'dead,' Greek 
 nekus, 'dead person,' Gothic nans, 'corpse.' The Polish 
 chronicler Dlugosz says that the pagan Slavs call Pluto 
 "Nya," and pray him after death to grant them better 
 places in Hades. 
 
 The general Teutonic name for the Underworld was 
 Hell; Gothic, Halya; Norse, Hel; Anglo-Saxon, Hell; 
 Old High German, Hella; German, Holle; which is con- 
 nected with Gothic and Old High German helan, Anglo 
 Saxon helan, German hehlen, and Old English heal, 'to 
 hide.' It had thus exactly the same original meaning as 
 Hades, 'the invisible world.' Only in Norse did the 
 term come to be used also for the goddess of the Under- 
 world. Hell was originally not the place of punishment 
 that it has become in Christian theology as a result of its 
 use in Biblical versions to translate the Jewish-New 
 Testament word Gehenna. It was the underground 
 abode of the dead, good and bad alike, like the Greek 
 Hades and the Hebrew Sheol. The translation of 
 Sheol by Hell in the Old Testament was originally cor- 
 rect, but has become misleading for the modern mind 
 through the confusion of Gehenna and Sheol. 110 
 
 5. Spirits of the Dead Dwell in Paradise. — If the the- 
 ory be correct that cremation was originally performed 
 only in the case of kings, chieftains, or heroes, and that 
 the purpose was to restore their spirits to the gods from 
 whom they had sprung; then there must have been from 
 the beginning a House of Lords among the dead. In 
 nearly all branches of the Indo-Germanic race traces are 
 found of a Paradise to which aristocratic souls go in- 
 stead of to the plebeian abode of Hades. The later ten- 
 dency everywhere is to democratize this Paradise and to 
 extend its privileges to an ever increasing number. This 
 development keeps pace with the granting of the priv- 
 ilege of cremation to the plebeians. 
 
 In India the Vedas know of the realm of Yama, be- 
 
 110 See pp. 287ff. 
 
108 SPIRITISM m 
 
 yond the western mountains. Yama, the son of Vivas- 
 vant, was the first man (although he had a father), who 
 reigned on earth in the Golden Age. "He might have 
 lived as immortal, but he chose to die, or rather he in- 
 curred the penalty of death, for under this choice a fall 
 is disguised. He was the first to traverse the road from 
 which there is no return, tracing it for future genera- 
 tions. It is there, at the remotest extremities of the 
 heavens, the abode of light and of the eternal waters, 
 that he reigns henceforth in peace and in union with 
 Varuna. There by the sound of his flute, under the 
 branches of the mystic tree, he assembles around him the 
 dead who have lived nobly. They reach him in a crowd, 
 conveyed by Agni, guided by Pushan, and grimly scanned 
 as they pass by the two monstrous dogs who are the 
 guardians of the road. Clothed in a glorious body, and 
 made to drink of the celestial soma, which renders them 
 immortal, they enjoy henceforward by his side an end- 
 less felicity, seated at the same tables with the gods, gods 
 themselves, and adored here below under the name of 
 Pitris, or fathers. At their head are, of course, the first 
 sacrificers, the minstrels of other days, Atharvan, the 
 Angiras, the Kavyas, the Pitris by pre-eminence, equal 
 to the greatest of the gods, who by their sacrifice de- 
 livered the world from chaos, gave birth to the sun, and 
 kindled the stars." 1X1 In the Rig Veda 112 the prayer is 
 offered: "Where all pleasures and bliss, where enjoy- 
 ment and gratification, where all wishes are attained, 
 there let me be immortal." 
 
 In Persia, in the A'vesta, Yama appears as Yima (in 
 later Persian legend Jemshid), the son of Vivanhant; and 
 his sister Yimi, as Yimek, or Yime. At first he ruled 
 over men in a paradise on earth. "There a year is as a 
 day, and there are lights created and uncreated. And 
 
 111 Barth, The Religions of India, pp. 22£. 
 
 112 IX. 113, 7ff. 
 
in SPIRITISM AMONG INDO-EUROPEANS 109 
 
 once in forty years are born a male and a female to every 
 couple; and there men live the happiest life; and there is 
 neither cold nor heat nor death." Yima was unfaithful 
 to his trust and died, and in the oldest form of the pre- 
 Zoroastrian Iranian tradition his paradise became the 
 abode of the noble dead. 
 
 The Greeks knew of a similar abode of the distin- 
 guished dead which they called Elysium. In the Odyssey 
 Proteus, the prophetic sea-god, says to Menelaus : 
 
 11 'Tis not decreed that thou shalt meet thy fate 
 And die, most noble Menelaus, where 
 The steeds of Argus in her pastures graze. 
 The gods will send thee to the Elysian plain, 
 And to the end of earth, the dwelling-place 
 Of fair-haired Rhadamanthus. There do men 
 Lead easiest lives. No snow, no bitter cold, 
 No beating rains, are there; the ocean-deeps 
 With murmuring breezes from the West refresh 
 The dwellers. Thither shalt thou go: for thou 
 Art Helen's spouse, and son-in-law of Jove." 113 
 
 The common derivation of 'HAvo-iov, Elysium, from the 
 root eleuth, 'come, arrive,' is unsatisfactory. Others 
 have suggested that it is connected with Earu (Aalu), 
 the Egyptian paradise, and that Rhadamanthus equals 
 Ra-Amenti, or Ra (the sun-god) of the Egyptian 
 Hades. 114 Both of these etymologies are most unlikely. 
 A more probable explanation is that of A. N. Veselov- 
 skij, followed by O. Schrader, that elusion is for f elusion, 
 and U connected with Lithuanian weles, 'spirits of the 
 dead,' and the Lithuanian goddess of the dead Vielona; 
 Norse valr, 'slain,' and val-holl, Valhalla, 'hall of the 
 slain' ; Anglo-Saxon wal f 'the dead on the battlefield' ; Old 
 High German wal, wuol, 'slaughter.' According to this, 
 Elysium was identical with Valhalla, and was originally 
 
 118 Odyssey, iv. 560ff., Bryant's translation, iv. 717S. 
 "« See p. 170. 
 
no SPIRITISM m 
 
 the dwelling-place of the souls of heroes who fell in 
 battle. Thither also living men might be translated 
 without tasting death. 
 
 Pindar 115 (522-443 B.C.) gives a beautiful descrip- 
 tion of the joys of Elysium. "Ever through nights, and 
 ever through days the same, the good receive an un- 
 laborious life beneath the sunshine. They vex not with 
 might of hand the earth or the waters of the sea for food 
 that satisfieth not, but among the honoured gods, such 
 as had pleasure in keeping of oaths enjoy a tearless life; 
 but the others have pain too fearful to behold. Howbeit, 
 they who thrice on either side of death have stood fast 
 and wholly refrained their souls from deeds unjust, 
 journey on the road to Zeus to the tower of Cronus, 
 where the ocean-breezes blow around the islands of the 
 blest, and flowers gleam bright with gold, some on trees 
 of glory on the land, while others the water feeds; with 
 wreaths thereof they entwine their arms and crown their 
 heads." 116 
 
 In Italy there is nothing to correspond to Elysium, 
 except in writers who borrow directly from Greek 
 sources. Among the Celts, however, the idea is highly 
 developed. Welsh legends tell of the land of Avallon 
 beyond the western seas whither heroes are transported, 
 and where they lead a life of perfect bliss. Tennyson has 
 caught the true spirit of the Welsh bards when in the 
 Passing of Arthur he describes this land : — 
 
 "But now farewell. I am going a long way 
 With these thou seest — if indeed I go 
 (For all my mind is clouded with a doubt) — 
 To the island-valley of Avilion; 
 Where falls not rain, or hail, or any snow, 
 Nor ever wind blows loudly; but it lies 
 Deep-meadow'd, happy, fair with orchard lawns 
 And bowery hollows crown'd with summer sea, 
 Where I will heal me of my grievous wound." 
 
 u8 Olympian, ii. 61ff. 
 
 119 Translation of James Adam, in Religious Teachers of Greece, p. 132. 
 
in SPIRITISM AMONG INDO-EUROPEANS 1 1 1 
 
 Here Arthur still lives on, destined one day to return 
 and deliver his people from the rule of the Saxons. 
 
 The Irish stories of Elysium are of three sorts. In 
 one a fairy from this land tempts a mortal to leave this 
 world and join her in the Islands of the Blessed. After 
 a blissful stay of hundreds of years homesickness leads 
 him to return to Erin. He is allowed to go, but is bidden 
 not to set foot on the shore. Breaking this command, he 
 turns instantly to ashes. In another form of the story 
 the hero, like Odysseus, visits the Islands in quest of in- 
 formation, or to recover a lost wife. He is ferried over 
 in a bronze skiff, the counterpart of Charon's boat over 
 the Styx, and of the ferryman in Egyptian mythology. In 
 a third type of narrative voyagers to the West accident- 
 ally discover the Blessed Isles, and bring back reports of 
 what they saw and heard there. 117 
 
 The Teutonic counterpart of these ideas is Valhalla, 
 'the Hall of the Slain,' which, as we saw above, is per- 
 haps etymologically connected with Elysium. 118 This is 
 Gladhsheimr, 'the home of joy.' Its walls and roof are 
 built of shields and spears. Before its door a wolf-skin 
 hangs, and over it hovers an eagle. Within sits Odhin, 
 who welcomes most cordially the one who has slain the 
 greatest number of enemies. Thither go the souls of 
 those heroes who are able to shout, "Laughing I die," 
 escorted by the Valkyries, who there wait upon and serve 
 them with beer "immer noch ein's." It is a thoroughly 
 Germanic, militaristic, and aristocratic paradise. This 
 region also lay beyond the sea, so that in Scandinavia it 
 was customary to ship the Viking to it in the bark with 
 which in life he had sailed the main. 
 
 6. Spirits of the Dead Dwell in Tartarus. — In ancient 
 Indo-European thought only two realms of the dead were 
 known, Hades for the commoners, and Elysium for the 
 nobles; but subsequently logical consistency created in 
 
 117 See p. 170. 
 ** See p. 109. 
 
ii2 SPIRITISM m 
 
 some parts of the Aryan world a place of punishment 
 for the conspicuously wicked. The Rig Veda prays al- 
 ready: "Indra and Soma, hurl the evil-doer into the 
 prison, into fathomless darkness, whence none shall come 
 out again ! So shall your stern might constrain them" ; 
 i 'Beneath the earth shall all they dwell who by day and 
 night contrive deceit against us"; "Those who roam like 
 brotherless maidens, who lead an evil life like wives that 
 deceive their husbands, who are wicked, faithless, false — 
 such have prepared for themselves that deep place." 119 
 In later Brahmanism and in Buddhism the doctrine of 
 Hell had a great development. 
 
 Zoroastrian dualism also developed a Hell as the 
 abode of Ahriman, the Prince of Darkness, and of all 
 evil spirits, over against the Heaven of Ahura Mazda 
 and the good spirits; and the later parts of the Ayesta 
 contain elaborate descriptions of the tortures of this In- 
 ferno, but this formed no part of early Iranian belief. 
 
 Homer knows a place called Tartarus, far beneath the 
 lowest depths of Hades, to which conspicuous sinners 
 are condemned. Thus Zeus says of the god who shall 
 presume to break his command : — 
 
 "Back to Olympus, scourged and in disgrace, 
 Shall he be brought, or I will seize and hurl 
 The offender down to rayless Tartarus, 
 Deep, deep in the great gulf below the earth, 
 With iron gates and threshold forged of brass, 
 As far beneath the shades as earth from heaven." 120 
 
 The closing lines of the eleventh book of the Odyssey 
 which describe the tortures of Tityus, Tantalus, and 
 Sisyphus are, as remarked above, probably an Orphic 
 interpolation. Hesiod, like Homer, knows Elysium for 
 a few great heroes of antiquity, Tartarus for a few speci- 
 ally heinous sinners, and Hades for the vast majority 
 
 119 Moore, Religions, p. 268. 
 
 120 Iliad, viii. US. 
 
in SPIRITISM AMONG INDO-EUROPEANS 1 13 
 
 of men. Orphism, probably in dependence upon Ori- 
 ental thought, greatly developed the idea of rewards 
 and punishments in the other world in the intervals be- 
 tween re-incarnations, but the idea of a place of punish- 
 ment is not found elsewhere in the Indo-European world, 
 and is evidently a relatively late and sporadic develop- 
 ment. 
 
CHAPTER IV 
 
 THE CULT OF THE DEAD AMONG THE INDO-EUROPEANS 
 
 a. Deification of Spirits of the Dead. — Because of 
 their superhuman powers the dead were regarded by all 
 the Indo-European peoples as belonging to the class of 
 gods. They were not confused with the bright powers 
 of nature, and there is no evidence that gods were de- 
 veloped out of ghosts, nevertheless, spirits of the dead 
 formed a distinct class of superhuman beings alongside 
 of nature-spirits. In the Vedas the devas, or 'gods,' and 
 the pitaras, or 'ancestors,' are carefully distinguished, 
 but both are divine, both are invited to the sacrifices, and 
 both partake of the offerings. In Greece they are the 
 deol irarpyoi, 'the ancestral gods.' In Rome they are the 
 di parentes, 'the parental gods,' the di manes, or divi 
 manes, 'the good gods.' Among the peasants of White 
 Russia they are the svjaty dzjady, 'the sacred grandfath- 
 ers.' The sacrifices offered to the dead, which were 
 similar to those offered to the gods, prove that they be- 
 longed to the same general class of superhuman beings. 
 
 b. The Cult of the Dead. — In the ordinary Aryan 
 family individual worship of the dead did not extend be- 
 yond three generations of ascendants. The great-grand- 
 father, grandfather, and father were the only ancestors 
 that one knew, and these alone were honoured by name 
 after death. In India "to three ancestors is the water 
 offered, to three is the pinda given; the fourth {i.e., the 
 worshipping descendant) gives it to the three; the fifth 
 
 (i.e., the great-great-grandson) has nothing to do with 
 it." * Similarly the Greek goneis, or 'begetters,' include 
 
 1 Laws of Manu, ix. 186. 
 
 114 
 
iv INDO-EUROPEAN CULT OF DEAD 115 
 
 the three generations that precede a man. "The beget- 
 ters are the mother and father, the grandfather and 
 grandmother, and their mother and father, for these are 
 the origin of the family." 2 The same holds true of the 
 Latin parentes. "In common language parens means 
 father and mother, but in legal terminology the grand- 
 father and great-grandfather, the grandmother and 
 great-grandmother are also called parentes." 3 In sim- 
 ilar manner the peasants of Great Russia use the term 
 roditeli, 'parents,' and the peasants of White Russia, the 
 term dzjady, 'grandfathers,' as including three genera- 
 tions of ascendants. 
 
 Beyond these immediate relatives whom one had 
 known in life there was no individual cult of the dead. 
 Remoter ancestors faded away into the indiscriminate 
 mass of discarnate spirits. In India these were known 
 by the general term pitaras, or 'forefathers.' They were 
 invited collectively to be present at the sacrifices, but 
 they were not invoked by name. They were identical 
 with the Greek &eol 7rarp§ot, 'the ancestral gods,' and 
 with the Roman di manes. Only occasionally was the need 
 felt for preserving the memory of a remote ancestor as 
 a basis of unity for a tribe or a community; or an in- 
 dividual was honoured because of some distinguished 
 service that he had rendered in war or in peace. Thus 
 arose hero-worship, through which individual forefathers 
 escaped the oblivion that befell most of the ancients. 
 This is found in India, Persia and among the Celts. It 
 had a great development in Greece, but it was unknown 
 in Italy before the intrusion of Greek influence. 
 
 The cult of the dead was thus primarily a family af- 
 fair (sacra prlvata) as opposed to public worship (sacra 
 publico) of the great gods of the State. Only when a 
 tribe or community was united in the worship of a com- 
 mon ancestor or hero did worship of the dead take on 
 
 2 Isaeus, viii. 32. 
 
 • Featus, s. v. parens. 
 
n6 SPIRITISM iv 
 
 a national character. It was the duty of the State also 
 to provide offerings for spirits of the dead who had left 
 no descendants, and to this extent offerings to the di 
 manes became sacra publica. 
 
 c. Preparation for Burial. — Among all the Aryans it 
 is customary to remove a sick person from his bed and 
 place him on the ground when death is expected. In 
 India u a dying man, when no hopes of his surviving re- 
 main, should be laid upon a bed of kusa grass, either in 
 the house or out of it, if he be a Sudra, but in the open 
 air if he belong to another tribe." In Europe from Ire- 
 land to the Caspian Sea it is usual to lay a dying man 
 upon the earth or upon straw. The probable reason for 
 this is to prevent pollution of the bed through contact 
 with the corpse which is tabu. When the dying man is 
 taken out of the house, the purpose is the same, to pro- 
 tect it from the infection of uncleanness. A similar mo- 
 tive leads to the pouring out of water and other liquids 
 that are contained in vessels at the time of a death in 
 the house. The liquids can absorb tabu, and thus render 
 the vessels unfit for use. 
 
 In many parts of the Indo-European world religious 
 rites are performed to assist the soul in leaving the body 
 and to facilitate its entrance into the other world. In 
 India the dying man is sprinkled with water from the 
 Ganges, and his body is smeared with clay from the same 
 sacred stream. In Persia the haoma, which is identical 
 with the Indian soma, the fermented juice of a sacred 
 plant, is given to the dying like the Eucharist in extremis. 
 
 In all parts of Europe the peasants are accustomed 
 at the moment of death to open a door or window, or to 
 remove a tile from the roof, in order to allow the spirit 
 an easy means of escape from the house. The opening 
 is left for only a moment, and then is closed to prevent 
 the return of the spirit to haunt the house. A still more 
 primitive custom, which is attested among the Greeks 
 and Romans, is for a near relative to receive the last 
 
iv INDO-EUROPEAN CULT OF DEAD 117 
 
 breath of the dying into his mouth, and thus become 
 possessed by the discarnate spirit. 
 
 The moment that death occurs the relatives break out 
 into loud lamentation, and this lasts until the funeral 
 ceremonies are complete. The laments comprise calls to 
 the dead to return, expostulations with him for forsaking 
 those who love him and are dependent upon him, praises 
 of his virtues, and promises to avenge him if he has been 
 killed in battle or by sorcery. They develop into elabo- 
 rate dirges that are handed down traditionally with 
 variable collects that are suitable for all sorts of cases. 
 They are usually recited or chanted by the women of the 
 family; but, as among the Semites, professional mourn- 
 ers are often hired for the occasion. When the news of 
 Patroclus' death was brought to Achilles, 
 
 "Grasping in both hands 
 The ashes of the hearth, he showered them o'er 
 His head, and soiled with them his noble face. 
 They hung in dark lumps to his comely vest. 
 Prone in the dust of earth, at his full length, 
 And tearing his disordered hair, he lay. 
 Then wailed aloud the maidens whom in war 
 He and Patroclus captured. Forth they came, 
 And thronging round him smote their breasts and swooned." * 
 
 Similarly at the funeral of Patroclus, 
 
 "When the maid 
 Briseis, beautiful as Venus, saw 
 Patroclus lying gashed with wounds, she sprang 
 And threw herself upon the dead, and tore 
 Her bosom, her fair cheeks and delicate neck; 
 And thus the graceful maiden weeping said: 
 'Patroclus, dear to my unhappy heart! 
 I left thee in full life, when from this tent 
 They led me; I return and find thee dead, 
 O chieftain of the people! Thus it is 
 That sorrow upon sorrow is my lot.' " 5 
 
 * Iliad, xviii. 22ff. 
 
 • Iliad, xix. 282ff. 
 
n8 SPIRITISM iv 
 
 When Priam brings the body of Hector back to Troy, 
 
 "On a fair couch they laid the corse, and placed 
 Singers beside it, leaders of the dirge, 
 Who sang a sorrowful, lamenting strain, 
 And all the women answered it with sobs. 
 White-armed Andromache in both her hands 
 Took warlike Hector's head, and over it 
 Began the lamentation midst them all: 
 'Thou hast died young, my husband, leaving me 
 In this thy home a widow, and one son, 
 An infant yet.' " 6 
 
 So violent were the expressions of grief that early 
 lawgivers found it necessary to check them by legislative 
 enactment. Solon directed that only the women nearest 
 of kin to the deceased should take part in the mourning, 
 that they should abstain from violent outbursts and from 
 mutilating themselves, and that they should not use set 
 forms of dirges. 7 
 
 Precisely similar customs exist among the Russian 
 peasantry at the present time. "The room of the peas- 
 ant's house in which the dead body lies re-echoes with the 
 weeping mourning of relatives, neighbours and acquaint- 
 ances. In such a case the women naturally distinguish 
 themselves by special ecstasies of feeling, their wailing 
 and moaning and their despair at times reaching such 
 a pitch that, on looking at them, one involuntarily begins 
 to be apprehensive not only for the health, but even for 
 the life of some of them." 8 
 
 Among all the Aryans great care was bestowed upon 
 the last toilet of the dead. The eyes were closed, and 
 weights were placed upon the lids to keep them down. 
 The probable reason was the desire to keep the spirit 
 which still haunted its body from casting an evil eye upon 
 the living. The body was washed, sometimes before 
 
 "Iliad, xxiv. 719ff. 
 
 1 Plutarch, Solon, 21. 
 
 8 P. V. Sejn, Materials for a Knowledge of the Life and Language of the 
 Russian Population of the North-West, quoted in Hastings, Enc. Rel. and Eth., 
 ii. p. 19 b. 
 
iv INDO-EUROPEAN CULT OF DEAD 119 
 
 death occurred, so as to avoid the tabu of contact with 
 the corpse, and was dressed in its best clothes, sometimes 
 in garments specially prepared for the purpose. Sandals 
 or shoes were provided for the long journey to the other 
 world. In earliest times all the ornaments and jewelry 
 that had belonged to the living were put upon him, and 
 all his implements, weapons and other personal property 
 were laid beside him. In later times motives of economy 
 led to the substitution of a single typical ornament and 
 the placing of a small coin (Charon's penny) in the 
 hand, or in the mouth of the deceased. Originally the 
 body was tied up in the so-called "embryonic" position 
 with the knees under the chin, as among savage peoples 
 in all parts of the world. Some anthropologists explain 
 this as a symbolic expression of the thought that death 
 is birth into another life; others, as merely an imitation 
 of the squatting position in which men rested before 
 stools or chairs were invented. In later times the body 
 was extended at full length, the position in which men 
 were accustomed to sleep upon beds or couches. 
 
 After the corpse was prepared for burial it lay in 
 state, usually until the third day after death. Among the 
 Greeks it was placed on a bier in the middle of the house 
 or tent with its feet toward the door. 9 The same custom 
 survives today among the peasants of White Russia. 
 "The lying in state takes place in the 'corner' (kutu), 
 which in this case does not mean the 'corner' under the 
 sacred images, but the bench opposite the entrance door." 
 "They lay the dead body on a long broad bench, or on a 
 frame specially prepared for it in the middle of the room, 
 with the head towards the sacred images." "The White 
 Russian peasant wishes to lie on his own 'bench' after his 
 death; he has not died 'decently' if he has lain in the 
 'corner' in a stranger's house." 10 In some places the 
 lying in state was extended over a second night, or even 
 
 • Iliad, xix. 2 12. 
 
 10 P. V. Sejn, in Hastings, Erie. Rel. and Eth., ii. p. 19 a. 
 
120 SPIRITISM iv 
 
 longer. Thus among the Romans in the case of high 
 dignitaries it lasted for seven days. 
 
 The custom was wide-spread of keeping lights burning 
 at night during the laying out of the corpse. In India 
 this was kept up for ten days after death, and was said 
 to be done in order to light the spirit on its journey to 
 the other world. This custom survives in all parts of 
 modern Europe in the lighting of candles at the head and 
 the feet of the dead. 
 
 During the night, or nights, in which the body was 
 lying in state it was expected that the relatives and friends 
 would sit up with it. This was the "wake" which was 
 once universal in Europe, is still familiar in Ireland, and 
 has not yet entirely disappeared from England and Scot- 
 land. The explanation commonly given of this world- 
 wide custom is that the spirit remains with its body until 
 burial; and that if one falls asleep, it may enter into 
 him, causing sickness or death. Among the Slavic Wends 
 of the Spreewald, not only the family, but even the cattle 
 are kept awake, and seed-grain is stirred so long as the 
 corpse remains in the house. Food and drink were pro- 
 vided for the relatives and friends who sat up with the 
 dead, and games were played to while away the time. 
 Thus "wakes" easily degenerated into drunkenness and 
 brawling. Food was also set out for the dead in order 
 that he might share in the festivities with the living. 
 These food-offerings still survive in many parts of Eu- 
 rope. In Russia a piece of bread is laid upon the head 
 of the deceased, and a bowl of water is placed beside 
 him. In the department of Loir-et-Cher, France, all the 
 food that is found in the house is thrown into the room 
 in which the dead is laid out. In Greece both bread and 
 water are placed upon the bier. In India a dish of rice 
 and a bowl of water are set out in the house for ten days 
 after death. In many parts of Europe all that survives 
 of the feast is a dish of water. 11 
 
 11 E. S. Hartland, in Hastings, Enc. Rel. and Eth., iv. pp. 415, 418. 
 
iv INDO-EUROPEAN CULT OF DEAD 121 
 
 Coffins were unknown during the Stone Age, and are 
 not found in any of the oldest cemeteries of Greece, 
 Italy, or of northern Europe. Even in the Mycenaean 
 period of the Bronze Age in Greece they did not yet 
 appear. In the time of Lycurgus the Spartans were 
 wrapped in a purple shroud, and buried upon branches 
 of palm and olive. 12 Subsequently in "dipylon-graves" 
 of the "geometric" period the dead are buried in huge 
 pithoi, or water-jars. Still later coffins and sarcophagi 
 were introduced from Egypt and from the Orient. The 
 earliest race that has left records in the Campagna in 
 Italy enclosed its dead in hollow trunks of trees. The 
 same custom appeared in northern Europe during the 
 later Bronze Age. It still survives among some Slavonic 
 tribes and religious sects. The modern coffin, a box 
 constructed out of boards, is of Christian origin, and 
 spread throughout Europe with the diffusion of Christi- 
 anity. 
 
 The funeral procession was an important feature in 
 the obsequies of all the Indo-Europeans. In India "the 
 corpse is carried out by^ the southern gate of the town, 
 if the deceased were a Sudra; by the western, if he were 
 a Brdhmdna ; by the northern, if he belonged to the mili- 
 tary class; and by the eastern portal, if he sprang from 
 the mercantile tribe. Should the road pass through any 
 inhabited place, a circuit must be made to avoid it; and 
 when the procession has reached its destination, after 
 once halting by the way, the corpse must be gently laid 
 with the head towards the south on a bed of kusa, the tips 
 of which are pointed southward." 13 In Persia the Avesta 
 prescribes that the funeral procession must take place in 
 the day time and in dry weather. The body is carried on 
 an iron bier (iron has special prophylactic powers against 
 tabu) by professional bearers who guard against de- 
 filement of themselves or others. In Greece the ekphord, 
 
 12 Rohde, Psyche, 4 i. p. 226, notes 2. 3. 
 
 13 Colebrooke, Asiatic Researches, vii. p. 241. 
 
122 SPIRITISM IV 
 
 or carrying from the house to the grave or pyre, as de- 
 scribed in Homer, was an elaborate ritual. It is often 
 depicted upon ancient dipylon-vases. The body is car- 
 ried upon an open bier or upon a waggon drawn by two 
 horses, while men with drawn swords march at the side, 
 and a host of mourning women beating their heads with 
 their hands. 14 In Rome the dead man was carried out 
 of the house feet first in order that he might not see 
 which way he was going and be able to find his way back. 
 The masks of the ancestors were brought out, and were 
 worn by impersonators, and the procession moved to 
 the Forum, where the dead man was made to stand erect 
 on the tribunal visible to all. The relatives and citizens 
 gathered round him, and the nearest relative pronounced 
 a eulogy in his honour, if he were a noble. 15 
 
 d. Disposal of the Dead Among the Indo-Europeans. 
 — i. Exposure. — The earliest Indo-European custom 
 seems to have been exposure of the dead to be devoured 
 by beasts and birds. Herodotus, i. 140, says: "The 
 body of a male Persian is never buried, until it has been 
 torn either by a dog or bird of prey. That the Magi 
 have this custom is beyond a doubt, for they practise it 
 without any concealment." Strabo also relates, xi. 11, 3, 
 that exposure of the dead was the rule in East Iran. This 
 has been usual among nomadic tribes in all parts of the 
 world. The practice has survived in orthodox Zoroas- 
 trianism, which requires that bodies shall not be buried 
 for fear of polluting the earth, or burned for fear of 
 polluting the sacred fire. In antiquity the dead were laid 
 on dry ground far from the dwellings of men, but subse- 
 quently towers called dakhmas were constructed to re- 
 ceive them. Such towers were common in Persia before 
 the triumph of Islam, and they are still used by the 
 Parsees in India. The bodies are laid upon iron bars, 
 and the flesh is devoured by vultures. The bones then 
 
 "Rohde, Psyche* i. p. 222, 224, 226. 
 
 " Granger, Worship of the Romans, p. 65. 
 
iv INDO-EUROPEAN CULT OF DEAD 123 
 
 fall through between the bars into a pit in the centre. 
 In India, even in Vedic times, exposure of the dead was 
 known, although burial and cremation were more com- 
 mon; and in the Ramayana, i. 90, 17, it is said, u When a 
 man dies he is buried, or burned, or exposed." Down to 
 the present time it is customary to cast bodies into the 
 Ganges. These survivals prove that once exposure was 
 the habit of the Aryans in India as well as of the closely 
 related Iranians. 
 
 The same thing is proved by the connection of dogs 
 with the dead in Indo-European mythology and ritual. 
 In the Rig Veda mention is made of the dogs of Yama, 
 the King of the Underworld. In x. 14 they are called 
 "thy guardian dogs, O Yama, the four-eyed ones who 
 guard the path, who look on men . . . broad-nosed, 
 dark messengers of Yama, who run among the people." 
 In vii. $5, 2, they are described as spotted and as barking. 
 In the Avestan religion a dog with "four eyes," that is 
 with white spots over the eyes, must be brought in to 
 gaze upon the corpse when it is laid out; a dog also 
 meets the soul on the bridge over which it must pass to the 
 other world. Homer (II. viii. 368 ; Od. xi. 623) knows a 
 dog that guards the entrance to Hades, but does not name 
 him. Hesiod (Theog. 311) calls him Kerberos; and 
 says that he greets new-comers with wagging tail, but 
 devours those who try to escape from Hades. The name 
 Kerberos has been compared with Sanskrit Qarvara, 
 'spotted.' Even Hermes, the conductor of souls in Greek 
 mythology, seems to be etymologically identical with 
 Sarameyas, the son of Sarama, the bitch of the gods in 
 the Veda. Hekate, a goddess of Hades, was repre- 
 sented originally with a bitch's head, 16 and was attended 
 with a pack of hounds. Dogs were also frequently de- 
 picted on Greek tombstones. 17 Among the Celts Hades 
 was conceived as a monstrous dog that devoured the 
 
 16 Usener, Gotternamen, p. 325. 
 "Rohde, Psyche* i. 242; ii. 83 n. 
 
i2 4 SPIRITISM iv 
 
 dead, and the King of the Underworld hunted with a 
 pack of spotted dogs. 18 Among the Slavs, as among the 
 Persians, a dog was necessary to catch the soul of the 
 dying; or, according to later conceptions, to accompany 
 it into the other world. 19 All these widely scattered 
 conceptions point to a time when corpses were exposed 
 to be devoured by dogs. 
 
 2. Burial. — When the Aryans abandoned the noma- 
 dic life and began to become agriculturalists, exposure of 
 the dead gave place to burial. Comparative philology 
 shows that this custom goes back to a time prior to the 
 separation of the branches of this race. 
 
 In India cremation was the rule in Vedic times, but 
 burial also was known. In the Rig Veda, x. 15, 14, the 
 pitaras are divided into "those who have been burned 
 with fire and those who have not been burned with fire." 
 Also in the Atharva Veda, xvii. 2, 34, "buried and cre- 
 mated" are distinguished among the pitaras. The Ma- 
 habharata also knows the burial of adults. In modern 
 India infants are buried, and the bones of adults who 
 have been cremated are buried for a few days and are 
 then thrown into the Ganges — a curious mixture of three 
 methods of disposal. 
 
 The Iranian Scythians practised burial only, according 
 to Herodotus, iv. 71 ff. In i. 140 he narrates that, while 
 the Magi exposed their dead, the rest of the Persians 
 buried them in a covering of wax. Archaeology shows 
 that the Achasmenian Persian kings were buried in their 
 tombs at Persepolis. Apparently the prohibition of 
 burial in the Vendidad was not yet known; the Gathas, 
 the earliest part of the Avesta, do not contain it. 
 
 In Greek thapto (root taph) means both 'bury' and 
 'burn,' and taphos means both 'grave' and 'funeral cere- 
 mony' ; but the original meaning is 'bury,' as is shown by 
 the Armenian parallel damban, 'grave,' and old High 
 
 18 Hopkins, Religions, p. 132; Macbain, Celtic Religion, p. 138. 
 
 19 Hopkins, Religions, p. 145. 
 
iv INDO-EUROPEAN CULT OF DEAD 125 
 
 German tunc, 'pit.' In the Mycenaean age in Greece 
 burial alone was the custom, but it is possible that the 
 Mycenaeans belonged to an earlier pre-Greek race. Un- 
 questionably Greek cemeteries, however, disclose a pre- 
 ponderance of burials over cremations. Out of nineteen 
 "dipylon-graves" of the "geometric" period discovered 
 in the earliest Athenian cemetery only one contained an 
 urn with ashes and burnt bones. Even when the body 
 was cremated, it was usual to bury the bones. Burial, 
 accordingly, seems to have been the primitive custom. 
 
 In Latin the original meaning of sepelio is unques- 
 tionably not 'burn' but 'bury.' It is connected with Sans- 
 krit sapary, 'honour,' and indicates the primitive ritual 
 significance of burial. Latin orcus, 'underworld,' is also 
 probably the equivalent of Gothic aurahi, 'sepulchre.' 
 Excavations in Italy show that the oldest cemeteries con- 
 tain burials only, in higher levels urns of ashes begin to 
 appear along with burial, and these become more fre- 
 quent until Christian times, when burial again becomes 
 the only method. Roman tradition recorded a law of 
 the regal period which forbade that a pregnant woman 
 should be buried until the unborn child had been cut out 
 of her. This implies burial as the only method of dis- 
 posing of the dead. The Law of the Twelve Tables, x. 
 1, reads, "Let no one bury or burn a dead man in the 
 city"; and x. 8, 9, "Nor let one bestow gold on one who 
 eats with teeth joined with gold, either let one bury or 
 burn him with it." Cicero 20 says: "To me that kind of 
 burial seems most ancient which Cyrus employed, ac- 
 cording to Xenophon. In it the body is returned to 
 earth. We are told also that King Numa was buried by 
 the same rite in that tomb which is near the Altar of 
 the Fountain, and it is well known that the clan of the 
 Cornelii have used this mode of sepulture down to our 
 time." According to Pliny, 21 "Cremation was not an 
 
 20 De Legibus, ii. 22. 
 
 21 Hist. Nat., vii. 187. 
 
126 SPIRITISM iv 
 
 ancient custom among the Romans ; they deposited in the 
 ground. . . . Nevertheless,, many families have pre- 
 served the ancient rites, as, for instance, the Cornelian 
 clan, where it is handed down that no one was cremated 
 before the Dictator Sulla." Even when cremation became 
 common, the ashes were always buried; and the custom 
 of the os resectum, in accordance with which a finger, or 
 some other part of the body was buried, even when the 
 rest was burned, indicates burial as the more primitive 
 usage. 
 
 Among the Celts, Teutons, and Slavs archaeology 
 shows that the primitive method of disposal of the dead 
 was inhumation, and this conclusion is confirmed by com- 
 parative philology which shows that the words for 'bury' 
 and 'grave' in the languages of these peoples are found 
 in all the other Indo-European dialects. Classical writ- 
 ers mention only cremation among them, but this is to 
 be regarded as an innovation, as in Greece and Italy. 
 
 3. Cremation. — Alongside of burial cremation is 
 found at a very early date in all Indo-European lands. 
 In the Vedas it is regarded as the usual method, and it 
 is the only one for which ritual forms are provided. This 
 custom has lasted down to modern times in India. The 
 sons of the deceased prepare a pyre in a ceremonially 
 clean spot, preferably near a sacred river, and the body 
 is laid upon it. The pyre is lighted with "clean" fire, 
 and burns until the skull cracks, when it is believed that 
 the spirit escapes from the body. If this does not take 
 place at the proper time, the skull is fractured with a 
 club in order to facilitate the egress of the soul. When 
 a person has died away from home, or when for any 
 reason the body has disappeared, an effigy is prepared 
 which is cremated in the place of the real corpse. 22 
 
 In Persia cremation was common among the non-Zoro- 
 astrian tribes, as is evident from the prohibitions of the 
 Avesta. Even the name dakhma, which is applied to the 
 
 22 See H. T. Colebrcoke, Asiatic Researches, vii. 1803, pp. 241ff. 
 
iv INDO-EUROPEAN CULT OF DEAD 127 
 
 towers on which the dead are exposed, means originally 
 'burning-place.' 
 
 In Greece cremation was the rule in the Homeric age 
 as appears from Iliad, xxiii. H4ff., where the Greeks go 
 to the mountains to obtain logs for the funeral-pyre of 
 Patroclus. Later Greek writers show that cremation 
 was the usual, although by no means the exclusive prac- 
 tice, among the upper classes, and this testimony is borne 
 out by archaeology. 
 
 In Rome, in cemeteries of the Iron Age, cremations 
 and inhumations appear side by side. The Laws of the 
 Twelve Tables, as noted above, sanction both burning 
 and burial. Latin writers are full of allusions to cre- 
 mation. 
 
 Among the Celts cremation is known from the testi- 
 mony of Caesar, 23 and Pomponius Mela, 24 and also from 
 the discoveries of archaeology. In the Hallstatt ceme- 
 tery, which is probably of Celtic origin, four hundred 
 and fifty-five ash graves are found with five hundred and 
 twenty-five burial graves. 
 
 Cremation among the Slavs of the lower Danube is 
 attested by the Arab historians Mas'udi, Ibn Dustah and 
 Ibn Fadhlan. The last of these represents a Russian as 
 saying: "You Arabs are indeed a stupid people : you take 
 him who is the best beloved and the most highly honoured 
 among men and cast him into the earth, where the creep- 
 ing beasts and worms feed on him. We, on the other 
 hand, burn him in an instant, so that he goes directly, 
 without delay, into Paradise." 25 Early Church Fathers 
 and canons inveigh against this practice. In a treaty 
 between the pagan Prussians and Lithuanians and the 
 Teutonic Knights from the year 1249 it is stipulated that 
 the former shall no longer continue the heathenish cus- 
 tom of burning the dead. Peter of Dusburg also gives 
 
 38 De Bello Gallico, vi. 19. 
 
 3 * Chorographia, iii. 19. 
 
 "Ibn Fadhlan, ed. and trans, by C. E. Frahn, St. Petersburg, 1828. 
 
128 SPIRITISM iv 
 
 detailed accounts of cremations of people of rank among 
 the North Slavs. 
 
 Teutonic cremation is recorded by Tacitus, 26 and is 
 presupposed by the Edda, Nibelungenlied, and Beowulf. 
 As late as A.D. 785 Charlemagne issued a decree against 
 the Saxons: "If any one, in accordance with the custom 
 of the Pagans, shall commit the body of a dead man to 
 the flame to be burned, or shall reduce his bones to ashes, 
 he shall suffer capital punishment." In Scandinavia cre- 
 mations were common alongside of burials during the 
 Iron Age. In Northern Norway the corpse was some- 
 times burned in the ship in which during life its owner 
 had sailed. 27 
 
 From the foregoing facts it is clear that, while burial 
 was probably the older custom among the Indo-Euro- 
 peans, cremation was found in all branches of the race, 
 and was of high antiquity. To explain the origin of this 
 new method of disposing of the dead several theories 
 have been proposed. E. Rohde, 28 S. Miiller, 29 and R. 
 Much 30 think that it arose out of a desire to free the 
 soul from its connection with the body. According to 
 ancient belief it clung to its dead body and continued to 
 haunt the tomb in which this was buried. The purpose 
 of burial was to preserve the body as long as possible as 
 a habitation for the discarnate spirit. On the contrary, 
 the aim of cremation was to destroy the body as rapidly 
 as possible so that the soul might be free to enter upon 
 a celestial existence. According to these scholars, the 
 dogma of cremation arose in one branch of the Indo- 
 European race, and spread to other branches of the race. 
 The chief difficulty with this theory is the antiquity of 
 cremation — it goes back to the Bronze Age — which sug- 
 gests that it was practised by the Aryans before their sepa- 
 
 29 Germania, 27. 
 
 27 See Hastings, End. Rel. and Eth., ii., p. 17. 
 
 28 Psyche* pp. 27-36. 
 
 29 Nordische Altertumskunde, i. pp. 363ff. 
 
 80 Anzeiger fur deutsches Altertum, xlviii. pp. 315ff. 
 
iv INDO-EUROPEAN CULT OF DEAD 129 
 
 ration; it is also improbable that a dogma of this sort 
 should spread from race to race, when there is no evi- 
 dence that other dogmas have spread in a similar way. 
 
 W. Ridgeway 31 modifies the theory by the claim that 
 cremation originated among the Celts, and was spread 
 by them through conquest to Italy, Greece, and even as 
 far as Persia and India; but of such a conquest we have 
 no evidence apart from the appearance of cremation in 
 all Indo-European lands. 
 
 E. Meyer 32 holds that cremation was a primitive 
 Aryan custom alongside of inhumation, but that it was 
 performed originally only in the case of heroes, chief- 
 tains, or kings, who were believed to partake of the 
 divine nature and therefore were returned by fire to the 
 celestial regions. Subsequently the rite was extended to 
 ordinary persons, just as in Egypt royal funeral rites 
 eventually became the property of private citizens. 33 
 This theory seems best to explain the facts. In India 
 young children are not burned. In Homer only heroes 
 are laid on the pyre; there is no evidence that common 
 people or slaves were cremated, except when they ac- 
 companied their lord. The cremations among the Celts 
 and Teutons which Caesar and Tacitus describe were 
 evidently of nobles on account of the costly offerings that 
 accompanied them. This distinction among the dead is 
 found among widely scattered savage peoples. The Al- 
 gonkins, for instance, burn the great, but bury ordinary 
 people. 34 
 
 e. Rites of Burial. — 1. The Place of Burial. — The 
 oldest usage apparently was to bury the dead in the 
 houses in which they had lived. The houses were then 
 abandoned by the other members of the family. The 
 memory of this custom still lingered among the Greeks 
 in the Classical period. When the body of Phocion was 
 
 81 The Early Age of Greece, i, chap. vii. 
 
 82 Geschichte des Altertums, 2 ii. p. 771. 
 
 83 See p. 174. 
 
 84 Hopkins, Religions, p. 89. 
 
130 SPIRITISM iv 
 
 burned in a foreign land, his wife placed the bones that 
 remained in her bosom, carried them home, brought them 
 in by night into his house, and buried them alongside of 
 the hearth. 35 Servius 36 says that the original Roman 
 custom was to bury in the house. As late as the Laws of 
 the Twelve Tables people were still buried in the court- 
 yard, and in the Classical period infants less than forty 
 days old were buried in niches in the wall under the over- 
 hanging eaves. The early sepulchral urns from Latium 
 found at Alba and on the Esquiline are imitations of the 
 huts in which the primitive inhabitants of the region 
 dwelt. The Roman cult of the lares is closely connected 
 with the interment of ancestors in the family dwelling. 
 The earliest Celts also apparently buried beside the fam- 
 ily hearth, and this custom lasted among the iEdui down 
 to a late date. 
 
 In the earliest times, when the house was a mere wig- 
 wam, it was possible to abandon it to the dead; but with 
 advancing civilisation this became impracticable, and it 
 was necessary either for the living to share the abode 
 with the dead, or to remove the dead from the house. 
 Both methods were in use, but the latter prevailed. The 
 dead were then laid in graves beside roads, or paths, 
 or at cross-ways. Roads served as boundaries between 
 families and clans, and where the departed were placed 
 on the edge of the estate they protected it from intrusion 
 by outsiders. This custom is attested in India, Greece, 
 Italy, and among the Slavs; and the monuments of the 
 Roman nobles still line the main thoroughfares leading 
 to the Eternal City. 
 
 The primitive Aryan grave was merely a shallow 
 trench over which after burial a tumulus, or mound, was 
 heaped, varying in size according to the importance of 
 the individual. In the Homeric poems tumuli are reared 
 
 85 Plutarch, Phocion, 37; cf. [Plato], Minos, 315 D. 
 88 Ad Mn., v. 64; vi. 162. 
 
iv INDO-EUROPEAN CULT OF DEAD 131 
 
 over the ashes of heroes, and similar "barrows" are 
 found among the Celts and the Teutons. The elaborate 
 "bee-hive" tombs of the Mycenaean period are probably 
 pre-Aryan, and the dolmens, cromlechs, and other mega- 
 lithic sepulchral monuments of northern Europe are also 
 pre-Aryan. Down to the latest times the common people 
 continued to be interred in simple graves. The rock- 
 hewn tombs and mausolea of the Greek and the Roman 
 aristocracy were imitations of Egyptian and Oriental 
 fashions. 
 
 2. Offerings Placed in the Grave. — Archaeology 
 shows that from the beginning of the Neolithic age on- 
 ward food and drink, weapons and ornaments, and even 
 favourite animals, slaves, and wives, were buried with 
 the dead in all parts of Europe. The original idea seems 
 to have been that all the personal property of the de- 
 ceased must go with him into the other world, and that 
 he must be abundantly supplied with provisions for the 
 journey. When inhumation gave place to cremation, the 
 gifts were either buried with the ashes or were consumed 
 on the funeral pyre. 
 
 According to the Rig-Veda, x. 18, the ancient Aryans 
 in India laid his bow in the hands of the dead warrior on 
 the pyre, and then took it away from him. They also 
 laid his wife upon the pyre, and then lifted her off. This 
 is evidently a commutation of an original burning of the 
 bow and of the widow. In modern India offerings of 
 food and of water are made in connection with the cre- 
 mation ceremonies, and the sati of widows has lasted 
 down to modern times. 
 
 The tombs at Mycenae, Tiryns, and other ancient cen- 
 tres in Greece, which are perhaps pre-Aryan, were filled 
 with food, treasures and weapons. At the cremation of 
 Patroclus Achilles and his friends cut off their hair and 
 laid it upon the bier. 
 
132 SPIRITISM iv 
 
 "With sorrowful hearts they raised and laid the corse 
 Upon the pyre. Then they flayed and dressed 
 Before it many fatlings of the flock, 
 And oxen with curved feet and crooked horns. 
 From these magnanimous Achilles took 
 The fat, and covered with it carefully 
 The dead from head to foot. Beside the bier, 
 And leaning toward it, jars of honey and oil 
 He placed, and flung, with many a deep-drawn sigh, 
 Twelve high-necked steeds upon the pile, nine hounds 
 There were, which from the table of the prince 
 Were daily fed; of these Achilles struck 
 The heads from two, and laid them on the wood, 
 And after these, and last, twelve gallant sons 
 Of the brave Trojans, butchered by the sword." 37 
 
 Pausanias, ii. 21, 7, preserves tradition of a time when 
 it was customary for Greek wives to die with their hus- 
 bands. So costly were the offerings that were deposited 
 with the dead by the ancient Greeks that the living were 
 impoverished, and early legislators found it necessary 
 to check the practice by prohibitions. Early Roman 
 codes also forbade the burial of gold with the dead. 
 
 The primitive lavishness of gifts to the dead lasted 
 among the Celts down to a late date. Caesar narrates: 
 "Their funerals are magnificent and costly, considering 
 their civilisation; and all that they think was dear to 
 them when alive they put into the fire, even animals ; and 
 shortly before this generation the slaves and dependents 
 that they were considered to have loved, were burned 
 along with them in the regular performance of funeral 
 rites." 38 Pomponius Mela confirms this testimony: 
 "They burn and bury along with the dead whatever is 
 of use to them when alive : business accounts and pay- 
 ments of debts were passed on to the next world, and 
 there were some who of their own free will, cast them- 
 selves on the funeral piles of their relatives, expecting 
 
 87 Iliad, xxiii. 166ff. 
 
 88 De Bello Gallico, vi. 19. 
 
iv INDO-EUROPEAN CULT OF DEAD 133 
 
 to live along with them." 39 These customs lasted well 
 down into Christian times, and are often mentioned in 
 Welsh and Irish chronicles. The literary evidence is 
 confirmed by archaeology. "Over the whole Celtic area 
 a rich profusion of grave-goods has been found, con- 
 sisting of weapons, armour, chariots, utensils, ornaments, 
 and coins. Some of the interments undoubtedly point to 
 sacrifice of wife, children, or slaves at the grave. Male 
 and female skeletons are often in close proximity, in one 
 case the arm of the male encircling the neck of the fe- 
 male. In other cases the remains of children are found 
 with them. Or, while the lower interment is richly pro- 
 vided with grave-goods, above it lie irregularly several 
 skeletons, without grave-goods, and often with head sep- 
 arated from the body, pointing to decapitation, while in 
 one case the arms had been tied behind the back." 40 In 
 the ancient Celtic cemetery of Hallstatt 525 graves con- 
 tained skeletons; and 455, ashes of the cremated. The 
 same sorts of gifts were found in both, namely, orna- 
 ments, implements, weapons, and vessels for food and 
 drink. 
 
 Slavic graves of the pagan period disclose the same 
 sorts of offerings, and among the modern Slavs they have 
 lasted with singular tenacity. Among the peasants of 
 Lithuania and of Great Russia and White Russia, it is 
 customary to bury with a man his pipe and tobacco, 
 flint and steel, snuff-box and purse, pocket-knife and a 
 little bag of copper buttons; also, if he were specially 
 addicted to it, a bottle of vodka. It is not unusual for 
 grave-diggers to find such bottles by accident when they 
 dig in the vicinity of old graves, and they consume the 
 contents with avidity. Women receive needles and 
 thread, thimbles, scissors, mirrors, and toilet articles; 
 and both sexes are provided with a clean handkerchief 
 tucked into a pocket in the shroud. Among the Wends 
 
 39 Chorographia, iii. 19. 
 
 40 Macculloch, Religion of the Ancient Celts, p. 337. 
 
i 3 4 SPIRITISM iv 
 
 and Kashubs, Slavic tribes of Northern Germany, fruit 
 and eggs are placed in the hands of the dead, and tobacco 
 and liquor are deposited with the men. As late as 745 
 A.D. a Wendish wife was burned with her husband. The 
 Arab historians Mas'udi and Ibn Fadhlan record the old 
 Slavic custom of killing wives at their husbands' graves. 
 As late as 931 A.D. there is record of a girl being buried 
 with a man to accompany him into the other world. 
 
 Among the Teutons also human sacrifice at the graves 
 of chieftains was frequent. So Brynhild says: "Make a 
 pyre for the Hun, my husband, and for them dying with 
 him; cover it with human blood and burn me there." 
 Among the Norse it was customary to burn the Vikings 
 in their ships with their horses and their slaves. 
 
 When men died unmarried, it was a primitive Aryan 
 custom to provide them with wives for the other world. 
 Thus the Trojan maiden Polyxene was slain at the grave 
 of Achilles. In later times in Attica the loutrophoros, or 
 bridal pitcher, was placed on the grave of the unmarried 
 as a symbolic representation of a death-marriage. Such 
 marriages were still prevalent among the Slavs in the 
 time of the Arabic historians Mas'udi and Ibn Fadhlan. 
 Among the modern Slavs imitation marriages are cele- 
 brated in which a bride or a bridegroom is assigned to 
 one who has died unmarried; but these persons are, of 
 course, no longer put to death, although it may be ex- 
 pected that the dead will soon claim them and they will 
 follow their spouses. A survival of this custom is still 
 found in Hesse in Germany, where "wreathed girls" 
 accompany the coffins of unmarried men to the grave 
 and wear mourning for them for four weeks. 41 
 
 The same tendency which led to the modification of 
 human sacrifice into symbolic rites led also to the com- 
 mutation of costly gifts into inexpensive substitutes. In 
 old Attic graves of the "dipylon period" the same offer- 
 ings are found that are mentioned in Homer: jars of 
 
 41 See O. Schrader, Totenhochzeit, Jena, 1904. 
 
iv INDO-EUROPEAN CULT OF DEAD 135 
 
 food and drink, bones of sacrificed bullocks, pottery, 
 weapons, ornaments, and implements. In later graves 
 the offerings decline steadily in extent and in value. In 
 the sixth and the fifth centuries B.C. hardly anything but 
 decorated vases (lekythoi) are found; and still later the 
 men receive only a few vessels of small value ; the women, 
 a few ornaments; and the children, their toys. Still 
 later wreaths of myrtle or of asphodel took the place of 
 all other gifts. The same development took place in 
 Rome, where the primitive costly grave-goods slowly de- 
 clined until only flowers remained. This custom passed 
 over to the Christian Church, and is the origin of the 
 modern flowers at funerals. 
 
 3. The Funeral-feast. — Sacrifice to the dead neces- 
 sarily involved a sacrificial meal in which the living par- 
 took of the food and so communed with the departed. 
 Originally the feast took place at the grave, subsequently 
 it was transferred to the house after the return of the 
 mourners. Neolithic graves frequently show traces of 
 such feasts in burnt coals and broken bones. In Homer 
 a feast follows the cremation ceremonies. In later 
 Greece, "having returned from the funeral, the members 
 of the family undergo a religious purification, and then, 
 crowned with wreaths, attend the funeral feast (before 
 this they have abstained from wreaths). This also was 
 a part of the cult of souls. The soul of the deceased 
 was regarded as present, as their host; and dread of the 
 invisible companion gave rise to the custom of alluding 
 to him only eulogistically during the feast. The funeral 
 feast was a repast for the living relatives given at the 
 house of the dead person." 42 At Argentiere, Depart- 
 ment des Hautes Alpes, France, it was recently the cus- 
 tom to place a table upon the grave, at which the cure and 
 the family dined after the funeral. In most parts of 
 France the feast is now held at the house of the deceased. 
 In Ille et Vilaine neither wine, cider, nor liqueur is served 
 
 "Rohde, Psyche* i. 231f. 
 
136 SPIRITISM iv 
 
 at the meal. The conversation is carried on in a low 
 voice, and as the guests finish they retire. Among the 
 Slavic and the Teutonic peasants of Northern Europe 
 these feasts are still kept up with great strictness. Of 
 these feasts among the Russians Sejn says: U A11 the 
 rest of the company return (after the funeral) to the 
 peasant's house, with the priest at their head, in order 
 to celebrate the funeral feast. By this is meant a com- 
 memoration meal for the dead person which lasts from 
 two to four hours." "To this day I cherish the greatest 
 respect for this burial feast, at which rude speaking, 
 slander, dispute, disagreement, strife, wanton jests, and 
 everything that usually accompanies gatherings of peas- 
 ants, had no place. The large gathering spoke with re- 
 straint, not raising their voices, and the conversation, 
 whether of individuals or of the whole company, confined 
 itself to the deceased, his actions, and the most trivial 
 details of his life. They recalled the talk and instruc- 
 tions of the dead man, especially those in which the good- 
 ness of his heart shone forth." 43 
 
 4. Funeral Games. — Among all the Aryans it was 
 usual to close the funeral feast with athletic sports in 
 honour of the dead. Thus at the funeral of Patroclus 
 Achilles instituted chariot races, boxing, foot races and 
 gladiatorial contests, and iEneas instituted similar games 
 at the tumulus of Polydorus. 44 Gladiatorial games were 
 celebrated at the funerals of distinguished Romans, and 
 the funeral of Attila was accompanied with a spectaculum 
 admirandum. It has been suggested that these contests 
 are commutations of original human sacrifice at the grave, 
 but this explanation hardly seems to cover all the sports 
 or the dances that occur at the same time. A more prob- 
 able view is that, like the feast, they are designed, as the 
 Chinese say, "to give pleasure to the meritorious ances- 
 tors." 45 In modern Europe these games have degener- 
 
 43 Hastings, Enc. Rel. and Eth., ii. 20; iv. 434f. 
 "Iliad, xxiii. 257ff.; JEneid, iii. 62ff. 
 ** See p. S3. 
 
iv INDO-EUROPEAN CULT OF DEAD 137 
 
 ated into fights with cabbage heads, songs, dances, mas- 
 querades, or games of cards. 
 
 /. Cult of the Dead after Burial, — 1. Sacrifices of 
 Food. — It was not sufficient merely to place food in the 
 grave, supplies must be provided regularly at later times 
 in order that the spirits might consume them. In India 
 the Institutes of Manu, iii. 267-271, declare: "The an- 
 cestors of men are satisfied a whole month with sesamum, 
 rice, barley, black lentils or vetches, water, roots, and 
 fruit, given with prescribed ceremonies; two months with 
 fish, three months with venison, four with mutton, five 
 with the flesh of such birds as the twice-born may eat, six 
 months with the flesh of kids, seven with that of spotted 
 deer, eight with that of the deer or antelope called Ena, 
 nine with that of the Ruru deer; ten months are they 
 satisfied with the flesh of wild boars and wild buffaloes, 
 eleven with that of hares and tortoises, a whole year 
 with the milk of cows and food made of that milk; from 
 the flesh of the long-eared white goat their satisfaction 
 endures twelve years. The pot herb Oc'imum sanctum, 
 the prawn, the flesh of a rhinoceros or of the iron-col- 
 oured kid, honey and all such forest grains as are eaten 
 by hermits, are formed for their satisfaction without 
 end." According to this, while the ancestors require 
 regular feeding, a little food goes a long way with them. 
 This is the general view of all the Aryans. Food must 
 not be remitted, but it may be given in small quantities 
 at long intervals. The Avesta prescribes regular offer- 
 ings of food to the fravashis, and the custom lasted in 
 Persia well down into the Middle Ages. Odysseus sacri- 
 fices to the shades black cattle and sheep, milk and honey, 
 wine, water and meal. 46 Black animals were regarded 
 by the Greeks and Romans as belonging to the dark pow- 
 ers of the Underworld. Swine also that rooted in the 
 ground were regarded as proper sacrifices to the chthonic 
 deities. In later times animal sacrifices to the dead were 
 
 "Odyssey, xi. 23ff.; cf. x. 517-520. 
 
i 3 8 SPIRITISM iv 
 
 discontinued, and only libations of milk, honey, wine, and 
 water were made to them. 
 
 Honey appears in all parts of the Aryan world as a 
 food sacred to the dead. It was either offered pure, or 
 was mixed with rice or barley water to form mead. In 
 India the pitaras, "tormented with hunger and making 
 known their own sins, demand rice-soup mixed with honey 
 from their sons and grandsons." This corresponds with 
 the kanunUj a mead of barley water and honey, that is 
 served to the ancestors by the peasants of White Russia. 
 In both the Greek and the Roman cults of the dead honey 
 appears as an essential ingredient. 
 
 Another universal article of food for the dead is little 
 cakes or wafers. In India these appear as the pinda, 
 or rice balls, that are offered to the ancestors. The term 
 sapinda, 'cake companion,' has come to be the technical 
 term for one upon whom devolves the duty of ancestor- 
 worship. In Greece the melitoutta, or honey cakes, were 
 given to the dead, and were popularly believed to appease 
 the ferocity of Kerberos, the watch-dog of Hades. 47 
 These cakes still survive among the Lithuanian and 
 Russian peasants as the klecki, or 'wafers,' that form an 
 essential part of every funeral feast or commemorative 
 banquet. "To eat wafers" is the technical expression 
 for "celebrate funeral rites," and of a person who is so 
 sick that his recovery is not expected they say: "He 
 will very soon have to enjoy cakes." 
 
 Beans also were sacred to the dead in all parts of the 
 Aryan world. This is the reason for their prohibition 
 as ordinary food in the Vedas. They were a favourite 
 offering to the dead in ancient Greece, and for this reason 
 were forbidden to his followers by Pythagoras. Pliny 
 says that beans are used in sacrificing to the dead because 
 the souls of the dead are in them, and Ovid says that 
 the witch put beans into her mouth when she tried to 
 call up spirits. At the feast of the Lemuria the Roman 
 
 * 7 Rohde, Psyche* i. p. 305. 
 
iv INDO-EUROPEAN CULT OF DEAD 139 
 
 householder cast black beans behind him as an offering 
 to the manes, and the Flamen Dialis was forbidden to 
 eat, or even to mention beans, because of their connection 
 with the shades. In modern Polish Russia we are told: 
 "The foods at the commemoration feasts consist of beans 
 and peas which are cooked in honey-water." 
 
 As libations for the dead we find water and milk among 
 all the Indo-Europeans. Fermented liquors also were 
 in universal use, the material varying according to the 
 region. In India the soma was used, in Persia the cor- 
 responding haoma, in Greece and Italy wine, and among 
 the Slavs and the Teutons beer, mead, and, later, distilled 
 spirits. 
 
 Human sacrifice to the dead at other times than at 
 burial or cremation appears among the Romans in the 
 devotio, or ban, which bears a close resemblance to the 
 Semitic herem. 48 In this a person is surrendered to the 
 di manes in order that a victory may be won over enemies. 
 Thus in 340 B.C., at the battle of Vesuvius, Decius the 
 elder devoted himself to the di manes for death in order 
 that the Roman army might be victorious. The same 
 thing was done by his son Decius in 295 B.C. at the battle 
 of Sentinum, and by his grandson Decius in 279 B.C. 
 at the battle of Asculum. 49 Of the Celts also Caesar 
 records 50 that those afflicted with disease, or engaged in 
 battle or danger, offer human victims, or vow to do so, 
 because unless man's life be given for man's life, the 
 divinity of the gods cannot be appeased. After a defeat, 
 which showed the gods to be hostile, the wounded or 
 feeble were slain, or warriors committed suicide as a 
 voluntary sacrifice, or a general devoted himself after 
 the manner of Decius. 51 There is little doubt that the 
 gods to whom these sacrifices were offered were the same 
 as the di manes to whom the Roman devotio was offered. 
 
 48 Cf. Judges, xi. 30ff. 
 
 ^Livy, viii. 6, 8-16; 9, 1-11. 
 
 ™De Bello Gallic o, vi. 16. 
 
 61 Diodorus Siculus, xxii, 9; C. Jullian, Hist, de la Ganle, ii. 158. 
 
140 SPIRITISM iv 
 
 Among the Celts it was also customary to bring prisoners 
 of war to the graves of ancient chieftains, and there 
 behead them and suspend the heads on poles round about 
 the tumulus. 52 
 
 2. Places of Sacrifice to the Dead. — The original 
 and most natural place of sacrifice was at the grave where 
 the bodies or the ashes of the dead were buried. Among 
 the Greeks and the Romans a regular cult was kept up 
 at graves, and sacrifices and libations were offered upon 
 them. At Tronis in Phocis a channel led down into the 
 grave of the hero, and daily offerings of sacrificial blood 
 and other libations were poured down it. 53 Many Greek 
 and Roman tombs have been found containing similar 
 tubes through which liquids may be sent down to the 
 dead. These posthumous offerings on the grave have 
 lasted in one form or another in all parts of Europe down 
 to the present time. Sometimes there is nothing more 
 than flowers or wreaths, at other times offerings of food 
 continue to be made. The Celts of Brittany put cakes 
 and sweetmeats on graves, and even in the great ceme- 
 teries of modern Paris one may see cakes on the graves 
 on All Saints day. Amelineau, the Egyptologist, relates 
 that he knew a widow at Chateaudun who placed a cup 
 of chocolate on her husband's grave every day for over 
 a year after his death. In Bulgaria wine and water are 
 poured on the grave for three days after the interment. 
 On the fortieth day a woman goes with a priest, carrying 
 cakes and wine, and the priest digs a hole in the grave 
 and buries the food and pours the wine upon it. On all 
 anniversaries wine and water are poured out as libations, 
 and widows have been known to pour libations of coffee 
 daily into a hole in the mound when their husbands were 
 particularly fond of this beverage. In Croatia bread, 
 eggs, and apples are laid on the grave for a number of 
 
 days after burial. Of the peasants of White Russia 
 
 I 
 
 62 Macculloch, Religion of the Ancient Celts, pp. 165, 234f. 
 03 Pausanias, x. 4, 7. 
 
iv INDO-EUROPEAN CULT OF DEAD 141 
 
 Sejn says: "At the close of the banquet they all repair 
 to the burying-ground, taking with them vodka, "bliny," 
 and barley. There each family prays at the graves of its 
 relatives for the peace of their souls. Then they eat and 
 drink, pouring out a little vodka on the grave and throw- 
 ing some morsels from each dish on it." 
 
 A ritual substitute for the grave as a place of sacrifice 
 was the trench. In ancient India three trenches were 
 dug, one for each of the three immediate forefathers; 
 on these grass was scattered, and cakes were spread as an 
 offering. In Greece sacrifices to the dead were cast into 
 the bothros, or pit. Thus in the Odyssey f xi. 25, et al., 
 Odysseus digs such a trench before sacrificing to the 
 shades. This method of sacrifice which was used only 
 for chthonic deities was sharply distinguished from the 
 ritual of sacrifice to Olympian gods. A similar institution 
 among the Romans was the mundus, or sacrificial trench, 
 which was located in the centre of every city. It bore 
 the same relation to the inferi as the altar bore to the 
 superi. 5 * 
 
 A third seat of the cult of the dead was at the family 
 hearth. This may have been a survival of primitive 
 burial in the house, or it may have been due to the feeling 
 that the spirits would naturally return to the scenes 
 familiar to them in life. At family meals the custom 
 was universal to scatter food and drink on the table for 
 the ancestors, and to place the fragments that were left 
 in jars to be consumed by them later. Bits that fell to 
 the floor were left for the ghosts of those who had no 
 relatives. This practice is attested in Greece by Diog. 
 Laert. viii. 34: "Aristophanes declares that the things 
 that drop from the table belong to the heroes, saying 
 that the heroes get nothing except what falls from the 
 tables"; and by Athenasus, x. 427 e, "For the departed 
 their friends set aside the fragments of food that fall 
 from the tables." The Celts of Brittany to the present 
 
 84 See above p. 105. 
 
i 4 2 SPIRITISM iv 
 
 day build up the fire and leave the fragments of their 
 supper on the table for the souls of their relatives who 
 come to visit them during the night. Of the Lithuanians 
 and Prussians Menecius says : "If by chance anything 
 falls from the table to the ground, they do not pick this 
 up but leave it, as they say, as food for the forsaken souls 
 who have neither relatives nor friends from whom they 
 can receive entertainment." Similarly of the White Rus- 
 sians Sejn says: "If at the time of the banquet any part 
 of the food falls on the seat or on the floor, they dare 
 not lift it up. 'That/ they say, 'someone will eat.' " 
 "After they have prayed at the grave, they all separate 
 and go to their homes, where they seat themselves once 
 more at the table, on which the wives place pancakes 
 and mead. They throw morsels of the pancakes into 
 the mead. Each member of the family (with the excep- 
 tion of the children) must invariably sup three spoonfuls 
 of this dish. Some of this mixture they leave intention- 
 ally in a soup-bowl for the 'grandfathers.' After the 
 pancakes they eat the other prepared courses. When 
 they have supped and prayed to God, they lie down to 
 sleep, placing the remains of the mixture on the window 
 sills. The remains of the other foods they divide out 
 into small dishes, which in the same way are placed here 
 and there beside the window. Bread and spoons are left 
 on the table the whole night. The doors in the peasants' 
 rooms are not locked during this night, but are left a 
 little ajar, so that the dead may come in." 55 
 
 3. Times of Sacrifice to the Dead. — Among all the 
 Aryans special importance is attached to the third, sixth, 
 and ninth days after interment. The three-days interval 
 between these commemorations corresponds to the three 
 days that usually elapse between death and burial. 
 Menecius records that the heathen Prussians and Lith- 
 uanians celebrated feasts for the dead on the third, sixth, 
 and ninth day after the funeral. Sejn says of the peasants 
 
 86 Hastings, Enc. Rel. and Eth„ ii. p. 27. 
 
iv INDO-EUROPEAN CULT OF DEAD 143 
 
 of White Russia : "Special feasts are celebrated, in the 
 circle of the family and near relatives, for each individual 
 who has died in the course of the year; and they take 
 place at stated intervals, though not on the same days 
 or in the same months, but on the third, sixth, ninth, 
 twentieth, and fortieth days, reckoning from the day of 
 the burial, during a period of six months, and periodically 
 thereafter in the course of the year till the date of the 
 death. These commemoration feasts take place without 
 the co-operation or the blessing of the Church. They 
 are a relic of primitive pre-Christian customs." These 
 reappear in Greece as the rpWa and evara the third and 
 ninth days after burial, on which a meal was spread upon 
 the grave. The belief was general among the Greeks 
 that the restless ghosts of the unburied, those who had 
 died untimely deaths, and the unmarried, appeared to 
 the living on the ninth day after death, i.e., the sixth 
 after the funeral, if this had occurred. 56 In Rome also 
 we find a celebration on the third day, and a specially 
 important one on the ninth day, the novendialis. 57 The 
 attendance of members of the family during these nine 
 days of mourning was considered so important that mili- 
 tary conscripts were exempted from service, and even 
 high officials were excused from their duties. The rites 
 ceased on the ninth day with offerings of food to the 
 dead and a banquet, the cena ncrvendialis; and in the case 
 of the wealthy, with funeral games, the ludl novendiales. 
 When these ceremonies were over the manes were re- 
 garded as safely domiciled in Orcus, and not likely to 
 trouble the living by their return. 
 
 In India the nine-day celebration for the dead has been 
 rounded off into a ten-day feast, the so-called Ekoddishta 
 Sraddha, which immediately follows the cremation. At 
 the time of the cremation libations of water are poured 
 out to alleviate the heat and extreme thirst of the spirits 
 
 "Rohde, Psyche* i. p. 232; ii. p. 392. 
 M Vergil, Mneid, v. 46f., 105. 
 
i 4 4 SPIRITISM iv 
 
 whose bodies, are being consumed. The first night after 
 the cremation the nearest relatives make a cake of three 
 handfuls of boiled rice, mixed with fruits of various 
 sorts, honey, milk, butter, and present this to the de- 
 ceased, saying, "May this first funeral cake, which shall 
 restore thy head, be acceptable unto thee." "During ten 
 days funeral cakes, together with libations of water and 
 tila, must be offered, as on the first day, augmenting, 
 however, the number each time, so that ten cakes, and 
 as many libations of water and tila be offered on the tenth 
 day, with this further difference, that the address varies 
 each time. On the second day the prayer is, 'May this 
 second cake, which shall restore thy ears, eyes, and nose, 
 be acceptable.' On the third day, 'this third cake, which 
 shall restore thy throat, arms, and breast.' On the fourth, 
 'thy navel and organs of excretion' ; on the fifth, 'thy 
 knees, legs, and feet' ; on the sixth, 'all thy vitals' ; on 
 the seventh, 'all thy veins' ; on the eighth, 'thy teeth, 
 nails, and hair' ; on the ninth, 'thy manly strength' ; on 
 the tenth, 'may this tenth cake, which shall fully satisfy 
 the hunger and thirst of thy renewed body, be acceptable 
 to thee.' " 58 During this ten-day period lights are kept 
 burning to light the spirit on its journey to the other 
 world. The purpose of these rites is to provide the soul 
 with a new body that shall fit it to enter the realm of the 
 pitaras. Without this it will continue to haunt its former 
 home as an unhappy preta. 59 This doctrine of the "ele- 
 vation of the fathers" appears as early as the Atharva 
 Veda. By these masses for the repose of their souls the 
 dead secure admission to the heaven of Yama that they 
 could not gain in any other way. 
 
 The Iranian equivalent of these ceremonies is the 
 dfringdn, or 'homage,' which is rendered the dead after 
 exposure. Cakes of meat and of flour are presented and 
 priests perform ceremonies for the repose of their souls. 
 
 68 Colebrooke, Asiatic Researches, vii. p. 247. 
 
 69 For similar ideas among the Egyptians see p. 166, 
 
iv INDO-EUROPEAN CULT OF DEAD 145 
 
 Friends and the poor are invited to share in the feast. 
 This celebration has lasted among the Armenians down 
 to the present time. Among the Teutons there are traces 
 of sacrifice to the dead on the third and seventh days 
 after burial. 
 
 Besides the nine-day offerings that immediately fol- 
 lowed interment or cremation later offerings were made 
 on fixed dates. Among the Indians, Greeks, Romans, 
 and Teutons the thirtieth day after burial was such a 
 time of sacrifice to the manes. Among the Lithuanians 
 the thirtieth day marks the conclusion of the widow's 
 period of mourning. Among the White Russians, Lith- 
 uanians and Prussians the twentieth and fortieth days 
 take the place of the thirtieth as days of commemoration. 
 Perhaps we may suppose that the primitive Aryan custom 
 was to follow the nine days of making a new body for 
 the deceased with a feast on the tenth day, and then 
 every succeeding tenth day until the end of the month. 
 After this the commemoration occurred monthly until the 
 end of the year. The anniversary of burial (or of death) 
 was a great occasion among all the Aryans, that was 
 celebrated each year with offerings to the dead and a 
 funeral feast. The observance of the birthday of the 
 deceased was a Greek innovation. 
 
 In addition to these private family celebrations there 
 were public, national sacred seasons of the dead. In 
 Rome the nine dies parentales were observed from the 
 thirteenth to the twenty-first of February. During these 
 days tombs were repaired and ornamented, food was 
 spread out for the dead, the temples of the celestial gods 
 were closed, marriages might not be contracted, and 
 officials laid aside their insignia of office. The ninth 
 day was known as Ferdlia (from Dhuesdlia, 'feast of 
 ghosts') and was the holiest of all. The Greek equiva- 
 lent was the Anthesteria festival, which also occurred in 
 February. The name is plausibly connected etymolog- 
 ically with Latin Inferi, 'subterranean deities' ; and the 
 
146 SPIRITISM iv 
 
 primitive meaning of the feast is shown by the Greek 
 proverb, "Out of doors! ye keres (shades); it is no 
 longer A nthe steria." This shows that the Anthesteria, 
 like the Feralia, was originally a season of public placa- 
 tion of ancestors. 60 The Hindu general Sraddha in 
 honour of the manes is of similar origin. The Iranian 
 counterpart of this celebration is the Hamaspathmaedaya 
 feast which lasts from March tenth to the twentieth. 
 
 The Roman Lemuria was observed on May ninth, 
 eleventh, and thirteenth. Lemures equal larva, 'ghosts/ 
 and the Lemuria are the days when the ghosts walk forth 
 and need to be appeased. On these days, according to 
 Ovid, 61 the house-father passed through the house bare- 
 footed at midnight, casting black beans behind him, and 
 saying nine times, "These I give, and with these I redeem 
 myself and my family." Then he clashed cymbals, and 
 said nine times, "Manes exite paterni, Go forth ye spirits 
 of my forefathers." The similarity of the formula to 
 that used by the Greeks at the Anthesteria is noteworthy. 
 
 The Roman Larentalia was observed on the twenty- 
 third of December. The lares were ancestors regarded 
 as protecting spirits. The name is connected etymolog- 
 ically with larva, 'ghost.' The festival was a sort of 
 All Souls' Day in which offerings were made to all the 
 dead, particularly to those who had no relatives to pro- 
 vide for them. This corresponds to a general autumnal 
 propitiation of the manes in India known as the Astaka 
 festival. The Iranian equivalent was Farvardigan, a 
 propitiation of all the dead, that was kept on the last 
 ten days of the year, and included the five intercalary 
 days that were necessary to equalise the civil year of 360 
 days with the solar year. In the opinion of several Old 
 Testament scholars this is the origin of the Jewish feast 
 of Purim. 62 
 
 60 See Harrison, Prolegomena to the Study of Greek Religion, chap. ii. 
 
 61 Fasti, v. 419ff. 
 
 62 See L. B. Paton, Esther, International Critical Commentary, pp. 85-87, 91. 
 
iv INDO-EUROPEAN CULT OF DEAD 147 
 
 The Celtic Samhain feast was also held at the winter 
 solstice. The time when vegetation lay in the sleep of 
 death seemed most appropriate for the commemoration 
 of spirits of the dead. Food was laid out for all the 
 hungry spirits, and bonfires were kindled to warm them. 
 These customs still survive in Ireland and in Brittany. 
 The yule-log is probably a survival of the ancient fire 
 kindled on the hearth in honour of the ancestral spirits. 63 
 
 This All Souls' festival has survived in a peculiarly 
 primitive form among the Slavs. It is observed in No- 
 vember. "At this feast the dead are invited to come 
 forth from their mounds to a bath and a banquet. Chairs, 
 napkins, and garments are provided for all that are 
 summoned in a cottage that is selected for the purpose. 
 The table is loaded with food and drink. Returning 
 to their own houses, they celebrate a three-day banquet, 
 after which they leave all the relics of the food and the 
 drink at the tombs, and bid the shades farewell." "The 
 feast is a banquet to which they invite the god Ezagulis, 
 saying, 'Come with the dead to eat our dainties.' " 
 "Vielona, god of the dead, to whom an oblation is then 
 offered, they entertain with the dead. They are accus- 
 tomed to give them fried cakes cut a little in four places 
 opposite to one another. These they call 'wafers of 
 which Vielona is very fond.' " 64 It is probable that the 
 ancient Teutons also had a general feast of the dead at 
 Yule-tide. These various forms of the Larentalia have 
 been transformed by the Church into All Saints' and All 
 Souls' Days, which fall on November first and second. 
 They have been removed from the winter solstice in 
 order to avoid conflict with Christmas. Popular super- 
 stitions about the ghosts coming forth on Halloween are 
 survivals of ancient pagan ideas in regard to the placating 
 of the spirits at the winter festival. 
 
 g. Prayer to the Dead. — Invocation of the ancestors 
 
 68 Macculloch, Religion of the Ancient Celts, pp. 169 i, 
 64 Lasicius, De Diis Samagitarum, pp. 48-5 J, 
 
148 SPIRITISM iv 
 
 accompanied every act of homage done to them. The 
 lament addressed to the dead is such an invocation, and 
 formed a regular part of the mortuary ritual. 65 During 
 the funeral ceremonies the dead man was continually 
 addressed, and his descendants explained what they were 
 doing for him. Thus while the body was being cremated, 
 and the libation of water was being made, the Hindu said, 
 "May this oblation reach thee." With each offering that 
 was presented during the ten days that followed crema- 
 tion he said, "May this be acceptable unto thee." 66 
 
 Among all the Aryans it was customary to give the 
 ancestors a solemn invitation to be present at the com- 
 memorative feasts in their honour. In India, after 
 offering the pinda, or cake, the descendant said: "May 
 our progenitors, who eat the moon plant, who are sancti- 
 fied by holy fires, come by paths which gods travel. 
 Satisfied with ancestral food at this solemn sacrifice, 
 may they applaud and guard us." "Ye pitaras, may this 
 be savoury to your taste, may each one enjoy his share." 
 Similarly in the Iranian cult the fravashis are invited to 
 attend the feasts that are celebrated in their honour: 
 "We invoke the souls of the dead, the fravashis of the 
 righteous, the fravashis of all our kinsmen that have died 
 in this house, the fravashis of men and women, of both 
 sexes we invoke." 67 The same invocation existed among 
 the pagan Lithuanians. Menecius records: "They in- 
 vite the spirit of the dead man to these feasts by praying 
 before the door." The peasants of White Russia still 
 entreat the forefathers to be present at the memorial 
 feasts, saying, 
 
 "Ye sacred grandfathers, we call you; 
 Ye sacred grandfathers, come to us! 
 Here is all that God has given. 
 Ye sacred grandfathers, we implore you, 
 Come, fly to us." 
 
 •» See p. 13. 
 
 •• See p. 144. 
 
 87 Avesta, Yasna, xxvi. 7. 
 
iv INDO-EUROPEAN CULT OF DEAD 149 
 
 While present at the feast, the ancestors were en- 
 treated to grant all sorts of material blessings to their 
 descendants. Thus in the Rig Veda the manes are in- 
 voked: u O fathers, may the sky-people grant us life; 
 may we follow the course of the living!" "Come hither 
 with blessings, O fathers, may they come hither, hear us, 
 address us and bless us. . . . Do not injure us for what- 
 ever impiety we may as men have committed!" "Hom- 
 age to you, O fathers; give us a house, ye fathers!" 
 "May we have, ye fathers, wherewith to offer you!" 
 In the Yashts of the later Avesta there is a voluminous 
 collection of prayers to the fravashis for all sorts of 
 blessings. In Attica people prayed to the ancestors at 
 the time of a marriage for blessings upon the young 
 couple and the gift of children. Of the White Russians 
 Sejn says: "On every possible occasion the peasant ex- 
 presses his worshipful remembrance of his 'grand- 
 fathers. ' He does so in his daily prayer, in conversation 
 in the family and in company, as well as on the different 
 festive occasions. There are, too, weighty considerations 
 which compel him to regard this as his duty. He is per- 
 suaded that all good fortune on the farm and in life is 
 produced by the continuous exertions of his ancestors, 
 and is sustained by means of their blessings and their 
 prayers to the Supreme Being (the latter is a modern 
 idea)." 68 
 
 Still another form of prayer found among all the 
 Aryans is the request to the ancestors to depart after 
 they have partaken of the funeral feast. In India after 
 the presentation of the cakes the descendant says: 
 "Depart, ye lovely pitaras, to your old mysterious ways, 
 give us riches and good fortune, grant us abundant pos- 
 session in men." In Greece the ancient formula was 
 "Gupafo KTJpesy ovk <et, 'Av&earripLa" "Be off, ye spirits, the 
 feast of the dead is over." In Italy at the conclusion 
 of the Lemuria the householder said: "Manes exite 
 
 a See above p. 141. 
 
150 SPIRITISM iv 
 
 paterni, Depart, ye ancestral shades." Of the pagan 
 Lithuanians Menecius records: "After the feast is over 
 the ministrant rises from the table and sweeps the house 
 with a broom, the souls of the dead he drives out like 
 chickens with the dust, and he intreats them, saying, 
 'Beloved spirits, you have eaten and drunk, now go out 
 of doors, go out of doors.' Similarly the modern 
 White Russians, at the close of the memorial banquets, 
 politely dismiss their forefathers, saying: 
 
 "Ye sacred grandfathers, ye have flown hither, 
 Ye have eaten and drunk, 
 Now fly away home again! 
 Tell us, do you wish anything more? 
 But better is it that you fly heavenwards. 
 Jkysiij AkysuT 
 
 The last is a noise made by the peasants to drive away 
 fowls. This curious entreaty to depart is a survival from 
 very ancient times when the dead were more feared than 
 loved, and when the feasts in their honour were intended 
 rather to placate them than to cultivate fellowship with 
 them. 
 
 Necromancy, or the calling up of the dead by magical 
 arts in order to obtain their advice or aid or to learn the 
 future from them, does not seem to have been a primitive 
 Aryan institution. The early Aryans were too afraid of 
 the dead to wish to encounter them more than was neces- 
 sary. In Classical times, however, necromancy invaded 
 the Graeco-Roman world from the Semitic Orient. 69 
 The eleventh book of the Odyssey } which is commonly 
 regarded as a late addition to the Homeric cycle, gives 
 an elaborate account of the methods by which Odysseus 
 called up the ghosts of Elpenor, of his mother, Anticleia, 
 of Tiresias, the Theban seer, of Agamemnon, Achilles, 
 and numerous other illustrious dead, who foretold the 
 future and advised him in regard to his voyage. At all 
 
 69 See pp. 210, 231, 256. 
 
iv INDO-EUROPEAN CULT OF DEAD 151 
 
 of the supposed entrances to the Underworld in Greek 
 lands psychomancy, or evocation of the dead, was prac- 
 tised alongside of the cultivation of dream oracles. 
 There were psychagogues also who professed to be able 
 to call up the spirits in other places besides these sanctu- 
 aries. Euripides, Alcestis, H3of., alludes to such arts. 
 Lucian in the Philopseudes gives a long list of stories of 
 necromancy. 70 These narratives bear the closest resem- 
 blance to the Babylonian evocation of the ghost of 
 Enkidu by Gilgamesh, and to the raising of the ghost of 
 Samuel by the Witch of Endor. 
 
 That psychomancy was not a primitive Roman insti- 
 tution is shown by the fact that it was regarded with 
 strong disapproval by the Government as a menace to 
 the well-being of the State. The worst thing that Cicero 
 could say of Vatinius was that he practised strange for- 
 eign rites, sacrificing boys to the shades in order that he 
 might call them up and inquire of them. Piso was accused 
 of having buried human bodies under his house which he 
 had sacrificed in order to bring back the dead. Others 
 were accused of evoking the spirits by the sacrifice of a 
 cock, or by the chanting of hymns. Horace has left a 
 vivid description of the way in which two witches prac- 
 tised necromancy in a cemetery on the Esquiline. At the 
 new moon they crept in barefoot with their robes tucked 
 up and their hair flowing. They gathered bones and 
 poisonous plants. They scooped a sacrificial trench in 
 the ground with their nails, rent a black lamb in pieces 
 with their teeth, and let the blood fall into the trench. 
 Their cries of invocation frightened the neighbours. The 
 ghosts then came to drink the blood and were interro- 
 gated by the witches. It is clear that we are dealing 
 here with foreign arts of Oriental origin that found their 
 way into Rome in the days of her decline. 
 
 70 See Rohde, Psyche* i. 37, 213; ii. 87, 363ff. See above p. 88. 
 
CHAPTER V 
 
 SPIRITISM IN EGYPT 
 
 a. Sources of Information. — Our knowledge of the 
 beliefs of the ancient Egyptians in regard to the dead is 
 derived chiefly from archaeological remains, such as 
 tombs and temples, inscriptions and papyri. Excavations 
 have disclosed the fact, that as early as 5000 B.C. Egypt 
 was already inhabited by the same race that occupied it 
 in later times, and that the main features of its civilization 
 were already established. The Sothic astronomical cycle, 
 marked by the heliacal rising of Sirius, was probably al- 
 ready instituted in the year 4241 B. C. This was eight 
 centuries before Menes, the first king of Manetho's 
 first dynasty. Since 1894 many remains of the pre- 
 dynastic period have been found in Upper Egypt, that 
 carry us back certainly into the fifth millennium B.C. 
 
 The Thinite kings of Manetho's first and second 
 dynasties (3400-2980 B.C.), which were formerly sup- 
 posed to be mythical, are now known to be historical. 
 Objects bearing their names have been found in various 
 parts of Upper Egypt, their inscriptions are carved on 
 the rocks of the traditional Sinai, and the tombs of most 
 of them have been discovered at Abydos. The tomb of 
 Menes, the founder of the first dynasty, was excavated 
 by De Morgan at Naqada in 1897. 1 
 
 The kings of dynasties III-VI (2980-2475 B.C.) have 
 left the great pyramids, and inscriptions at the copper- 
 mines of Mount Sinai. In the pyramids of the Vth 
 
 1 See Petrie, Naqada and Ballas, 1896; Diospolis Parva, 1900; Abydos, 1902-4; 
 De Morgan, Ethnographie prehistorique, pp. 142-202; Maciver and Mace, El 
 Amrah and Abydos, 1902; Quibel, Elkab, 1898; Hierakonoplis, 1900ff.; Garstang, 
 Makasna and Bet Khallaf, 1903. 
 
 I5 2 
 
v SPIRITISM IN EGYPT 153 
 
 and Vlth dynasties are inscribed the so-called Pyramid 
 Texts. These were discovered by Mariette in 1880, and 
 were published by Maspero in 1894. A critical edition 
 of the text by K. Sethe appeared in 191 1, and a Ger- 
 man translation by the same author has been promised. 
 
 Translations of parts of these texts by Sethe, Erman, 
 Schafer, and others, have appeared in the Zeitschrift fur 
 Agyptologie, and by Breasted in his Religion and 
 Thought in Ancient Egypt. These are the oldest re- 
 ligious texts in the world; and have come down to us, 
 not in copies made by generations of later scribes, but in 
 the originals, just as they were carved nearly five thou- 
 sand years ago on the walls of the royal sepulchres. 
 They deal entirely with ceremonies performed for the 
 benefit of the dead. 
 
 From the Middle Empire of dynasties XI-XII (2160- 
 1788 B.C.) we have the memorial stelae at Abydos, the 
 biographies in the tombs of Benihassan, and the royal 
 inscriptions in Nubia, at Sinai, and in the quarries. In 
 this period literary papyri and private documents begin 
 to become fairly plentiful. The tombs are sumptuously 
 constructed, and elaborately adorned with reliefs. The 
 coffins are covered with the so-called Coffin Texts, which 
 are similar to the Pyramid Texts. They also deal en- 
 tirely with funerary ceremonies. 
 
 Under the New Empire of dynasties XVIII-XX (1580- 
 1 150 B.C.) the historical sources become more abundant. 
 There are now extensive temple and tomb inscriptions 
 with accompanying reliefs. Officers of the king construct 
 elaborate tombs with reliefs, frescos and inscriptions. 
 Papyri and private documents of all sorts are numerous. 
 In this period it becomes customary to inscribe the walls 
 of tombs with religious texts preparing the deceased for 
 entrance into the other world. These compose the so- 
 called Book of Him Who Is in the Nether World. 2 Be- 
 sides this, papyrus rolls containing various selections of 
 
 2 See G. Jequier, Le livre de ce qu'il y a dans I'Hades, Paris, 1894. 
 
i 5 4 SPIRITISM v 
 
 funerary ritual were deposited with the dead. These 
 form the so-called Book of the Dead. 
 
 From the period of Egyptian decline ( 1 150-663 B.C.) 
 monuments are rarer; still, they do not fail us entirely, 
 and they are supplemented by Classical sources. 
 
 In 1822 Champollion began the decipherment of the 
 Egyptian writing on the basis of the "Rosetta Stone," 
 an inscription in Hieroglyphic and Demotic Egyptian and 
 in Greek. In the century that has elapsed since that time 
 the science of Egyptology has been so perfected that to- 
 day an ordinary Egyptian text can be read with ease and 
 certainty. An admirable English translation of the most 
 important historical documents is given by J. H. Breasted, 
 Ancient Records of Egypt (5 vols., Chicago, 1906-7). 
 The Book of the Dead has been published by E. A. W. 
 Budge, London, 1895; C. H. S. Davis, New York, 
 1894; and by P. Le Page Renouf, continued by E. 
 Naville. 3 
 
 h. Egyptian Conceptions of the Soul. — The ancient 
 Egyptians, like so many other primitive peoples, regarded 
 the 'breath/ du, as the vital principle in man. Its chief 
 seat was the heart, or the entrails. At death this sepa- 
 rated itself from the body, and became a ba, or 'spirit.' 
 The distinction between du and ba, accordingly, is similar 
 to that which we make between 'soul' and 'spirit.' The 
 ba is not said to exist until after death; in fact, the de- 
 ceased is said to be made a ba by the ceremonies that are 
 performed at his funeral by the officiating priests. In 
 art the ba was represented by a human-headed bird with 
 
 3 The most important modern works based upon these ancient sources are: 
 J. G. Wilkinson, The Manners and Customs of the Ancient Egyptians, 2 1883; 
 J. H. Breasted, A History of Egypt (1908); E. Meyer, Geschichte des 
 Altertums" (1909); A. Wiedemann, Religion of the Ancient Egyptians (Lon- 
 don, 1897); A. Erman, A Handbook of Egyptian Religion (London, 1907); 
 E. Naville, The Old Egyptian Faith (London, 1906); G. Steindorff, The 
 Religion of the Ancient Egyptians (New York, 1905); J. H. Breasted, Develop- 
 ment of Religion and Thought in Ancient Egypt (New York, 1912); W. M. 
 Flinders Petrie, article "Egyptian Religion" in Hastings, Encyclopedia of Religion 
 and Ethics (Edinburgh, 1912); G. F. Moore, History of Religions, Chapters viii., 
 ix. (New York, 1913); E. W. Hopkins, The History of Religions, Chapter xvii. 
 (New York, 1918). 
 
v SPIRITISM IN EGYPT 15$ 
 
 arms, holding in one hand a sail, the ideograph for 'wind,' 
 or 'spirit,' and in the other hand the ( ankh, or emblem of 
 'life.' This spirit-bird is often depicted in tombs, and on 
 coffins and mummies, as hovering over the dead, or as 
 perching in a tree and interestedly watching its own 
 funeral. This conception of the ba has evidently close 
 affinities with Hamitic and Semitic ideas of the disem- 
 bodied spirit. 4 
 
 Another Egyptian conception that has given rise to 
 much discussion is the ka, or 'double.' Formerly this 
 was regarded as a second ethereal soul that rose at death 
 to the celestial regions, while the animal ba remained 
 with the corpse in the grave. 5 The Egyption anthro- 
 pology would then hold to a trichotomy of human nature 
 into body, soul and spirit. More recent investigators 
 reject this view, and hold that the ka was a tutelary spirit, 
 like the Roman genius, who accompanied and guarded a 
 man from birth through life and into the hereafter. 6 
 It was thus roughly a counterpart of the "guardian angel" 
 of later Jewish and Christian theology. Originally ap- 
 parently only kings had such guardians, but later the idea 
 was extended to private citizens. In the temple of Luxor 
 the infant Amenhotep III is represented accompanied by 
 his ka, which is the exact counterpart of himself. The 
 ka, accordingly, was conceived as the invisible, spiritual 
 duplicate of a man that was born with him and shared 
 his fortunes from that time onward. When he died he 
 was said to "go to his ka," or to "be with his ka." The 
 ka protects the dead man from enemies in the other 
 world, introduces him to the gods, provides food for 
 him; and in the Pyramid Texts, § 1357, he and his ka 
 are represented as dining together at the same table. 
 In ancient texts the pair of uplifted arms that form the 
 hieroglyph for ka are frequently combined with the stand- 
 ard that bears the names of gods. This conception must 
 
 * See p. 201. 
 
 6 Compare the Chinese idea, p. 88. 
 
 6 See p. 70. 
 
156 SPIRITISM v 
 
 have an entirely different origin from that of the ba, or 
 'breath.' It seems to have been developed out of the 
 'shadow', which plays an important part in other early 
 religions, and is possibly of aboriginal African rather 
 than Hamitic or Semitic origin. A synonymous term 
 for ka was y'hw (often vocalised as khu) , that is 'glori- 
 ous one.' 7 It appears, accordingly, that the Egyptians 
 did not believe in a plurality of souls, but only in one 
 soul, ba, that went by a variety of other names; and in 
 one companion spirit, ka, that also had a number of 
 synonymous names. 
 
 c. Survival of the Soul After Death. — The possible 
 existence of the soul after death was a fundamental 
 article of Egyptian belief in all ages. Only occasionally 
 do we find some philosopher taking a sceptical attitude 
 toward the question. Thus during the Middle Kingdom 
 a song was composed, which must have been popular in 
 later times, since two recensions have come down to us, 
 one on the wall of the tomb of Neferhotep at Thebes, 
 the other in a papyrus manuscript bearing the title : 
 "Song which is in the house (tomb) of King Intef, the 
 justified, which is in front of the singer with the harp." 
 From this title the song is often called "the Song of the 
 Harper." Parts of this read as follows : 
 
 "No one cometh from yonder 
 That he may describe their existence; 
 That he may tell their affairs, 
 That he may satisfy our heart; 
 Before we also depart 
 To the place whither they have gone. 
 
 ....... 
 
 Increase still more thy pleasure, 
 
 Let not thy heart grow weary. 
 
 Manage thine affairs on earth 
 
 According to the wishes of thy heart, 
 
 For the day of mourning is coming for thee, 
 
 When he whose heart is still hears not the laments, 
 
 'Compare the Hebrew use of "glory" for "spirit," Gen. 49:6; Psa. 7:5; 16:9; 
 108:1. 
 
v SPIRITISM IN EGYPT 157 
 
 Nor he who is in the tomb perceives the weeping. 
 
 Celebrate the glad day, 
 
 Do not cease therein. 
 
 Behold, no one taketh anything with him, 
 
 And no one returneth that hath gone thither." 8 
 
 In similar vein an epitaph of the Greek period says: 
 "O father, husband, relative, priest, cease not to drink, 
 to eat, to drain the cup of pleasure and of love, and to 
 hold joyous festival; follow thy heart day and night 
 through all the years thou shalt spend on earth. For the 
 West is a land of sleep and darkness, an oppressive abode 
 for those who dwell in it. They sleep, they are motionless 
 forms, they never wake again to look on their brethren; 
 they know not their father or their mother; their heart 
 yearns not for their spouses or their children." 9 
 
 Such thoughts made no impression upon the mass of 
 the Egyptian people. They continued to embalm their 
 mummies, build their tombs, and make their offerings to 
 the dead, in the confidence that the spirits still lived, and 
 were benefited by these things. 
 
 d. Powers Retained by the Dead. — The future life, 
 whether in the tomb, in Hades, or in Heaven, was con- 
 ceived as essentially identical with the present life. The 
 king remained a king, dwelling in his palace, ruling over 
 his subjects, waited upon by his officials and his slaves. 
 The noble continued to be a noble, with his broad estates, 
 his large family, and his retinue of serfs. The head of 
 the house still maintained his authority over his wives, 
 children, and slaves. In the Pyramid Texts the king is 
 assured that he shall not lack wives in the other world. 
 His royal revenues shall also be paid to him promptly. 
 His table shall lack none of the dainties to which he 
 has been accustomed on earth. "Thy thousand of young 
 antelopes from the highland, they come to thee with 
 bowed head, thy thousand of bread, thy thousand of 
 beer, thy thousand of incense that came forth from the 
 
 8 W. M. Muller, Liebespoesie der alten Agypter, pp. 29-37. 
 9 E. Naville, The Old Egyptian Faith, p. 205. 
 
i 5 8 SPIRITISM V 
 
 palace hall, thy thousand of everything pleasant, thy 
 thousand of cattle, thy thousand of everything thou 
 eatest, on which thy desire is set, bread which cannot dry 
 up, and beer which cannot grow stale." "Raise thee up ! 
 Arise ! Sit down to thy thousand of bread, thy thousand 
 of beer, thy thousand of oxen, thy thousand of geese, 
 thy thousand of everything on which the god lives." 10 
 
 In order to secure these good things in the other world 
 they were placed with the dead in the tomb, or were 
 sacrificed upon it, whence they were transported to 
 Heaven by the god Thoth, by the celestial ferryman, 
 or by Re himself in the solar barque. In later times 
 pictures of articles placed in tombs were believed by 
 sympathetic magic to cause their reproduction in the 
 abode of the departed. 
 
 Even prayer for the dead was regarded as efficacious 
 in keeping them from hunger. A form repeated on 
 countless tombs was : "An offering which the King gives ; 
 Horus of Edfu, Osiris and Isis, may they give bread, 
 beer, oxen, geese, everything good and pure for the ka 
 of the deceased." xl The passer-by is begged for "that 
 breath of the mouth (prayer) which is of use to the dead, 
 and also not difficult, even as thou desirest that thy gods 
 shall love and reward thee, and that thou shalt bequeath 
 thy offices to thy children, even as thou lovest life and 
 hatest death." 12 A mortuary prayer on the tomb of 
 Senmut, who lived under Thutmose III, reads: "The 
 oblations in the South for the ka of the magnate of the 
 South and North, Senmut. May she (Mut) give the 
 food-offerings in the Northland to the ka of the greatest 
 of the great, noblest of the noble, Senmut. May she 
 give all that comes forth from her table in Karnak, in 
 the temples of the gods of the South and North to the ka 
 of the master of secret things in the temple, Senmut. 
 May she give the mortuary offering of bread, beer, oxen, 
 
 10 Breasted, Religion, pp. 131-2. 
 
 11 Breasted, Records, ii. 111. 
 32 Erman, Religion, p. 125. 
 
v SPIRITISM IN EGYPT 159 
 
 geese; and to drink water at the living stream; to the ka 
 of the chief steward of Amon, Senmut." 13 
 
 To those who will make offerings the dead promise 
 that they will intercede with the gods on behalf of the 
 donors. Thus Ptahshepses, who lived under Nuserre 
 of the Vth dynasty, says : "I have made this tomb as a 
 just possession, and never have I taken a thing belonging 
 to any person. Whosoever shall make offerings to me 
 therein, I will do it for them; I will commend them to 
 the god for it very greatly; I will do this for them, for 
 bread, for beer, for clothing, for ointment, and for grain, 
 in great quantity." 14 Even for prayer in their behalf 
 the shades will show similar gratitude. Harkhuf, who 
 lived under Mernere of the Vlth dynasty, promises: 
 "O ye living, who are upon earth, who shall pass by this 
 tomb, whether going down-stream or going up-stream, 
 who shall say: 'A thousand loaves, a thousand jars of 
 beer for the owner of this tomb'; I will (intercede) for 
 their sakes in the Nether World. I am an excellent, 
 equipped spirit, a ritual priest, whose mouth knows." 15 
 
 e. Powers Gained by the Dead. — In spite of all these 
 materialistic features that have been described which 
 made the future life resemble the present life, the ancient 
 Egyptians, like all other early races, regarded the dead 
 as beings akin to the gods, and therefore possessed of 
 transcendent intelligence and might. At first the king, 
 and subsequently all the deceased, were identified with 
 Re and later with Osiris. They rode with him in the solar 
 barque through the sky, descended with him into Hades 
 during the night, and rose triumphant with him in the 
 morning. Like the gods, they were unrestricted by condi- 
 tions of space or time. Whether in the Grave, in Hades, 
 or in Heaven, they could come at the call of their wor- 
 shippers to enjoy the sacrifices that had been prepared 
 for them. From the sepulchral chamber in the heart of 
 
 18 Breasted, Records, ii. 355-6. 
 "Ibid., i. 252. 
 "Ibid., i. 329. 
 
160 SPIRITISM v 
 
 the pyramid the spirit of the Pharaoh could pass through 
 hundreds of feet of solid masonry, through the massive 
 false door that adorned the fagade of the pyramid, and 
 appear in the mortuary chapel to receive the homage 
 and the offerings of the priests. In the New Empire the 
 tombs of kings and of nobles were hidden deep in caverns 
 in the rock, and their chapels were miles away; but this 
 did not prevent them from coming to enjoy their cult. 
 Even Hades and Heaven were not so remote that they 
 could not return to earth on frequent occasions. For 
 this reason they were spoken of as "those who go in and 
 go out of the Nether World." They were also called 
 the "glorious ones," the "imperishable ones," the 
 "mighty," the "triumphant," the "victorious." The 
 superhuman powers that they possessed were the same 
 that we have found already in primitive religion and in 
 the religion of China. 
 
 I. Control of Physical Objects. — Spirits of the dead 
 were believed to occupy statues, just as gods were believed 
 to occupy images. In tombs of nobles of the Old Empire 
 the mummy was placed in a rock-hewn chamber at the 
 bottom of a vertical shaft. The shaft was filled in with 
 stones, and above it was built a stone or brick truncated 
 pyramid known by the Arabic name of mastaba, or 
 'bench.' Within this was a small chapel for presenting 
 offerings ; and behind this, separated by the false door, a 
 walled-in chamber, known in Arabic as serddb, or 'cellar,' 
 containing a portrait-statue of the deceased. He was 
 thought to occupy the statue, and to receive through 
 the false door the gifts that were presented to him. 
 Occasionally a slit or hole was made in the masonry 
 to allow the spirit egress and ingress. When later the 
 mortuary chapel was separated from the tomb and was 
 elaborated into a temple, the statue of the deceased was 
 moved with it. The inscriptions contain frequent mention 
 of the setting up of such statues in tombs and in temples. 
 Many authors speak of these as "statues of the ka," 
 
v SPIRITISM IN EGYPT 161 
 
 but there is no foundation for this term either in the 
 tomb texts or in the inscriptions placed upon these 
 statues. 16 
 
 Spirits of the dead were able to control these statues 
 so as to reveal their will through them. An inscription 
 discovered at Sakkara in 1898 relates that in the reign 
 of Ahmose I (1580-1557 B.C.) a certain Nesha received 
 from the king an estate which he bequeathed to his 
 descendants, stipulating that it should not be divided. In 
 the reign of Ramses II, three hundred years later, the 
 courts permitted the division of the estate; but Pasar, 
 son of Mesmen, appealed the case to the statue of the 
 deified Ahmose as it was being carried in procession, 
 and the statue by nodding confirmed his claim to the 
 estate. 17 Similar accounts are given of gods controlling 
 their statues. Thus in the time of Ramses II the prince 
 of Bekhten in Mesopotamia had given his daughter in 
 marriage to the Pharaoh. When her sister fell ill, he 
 requested that the miracle-working statue of Khonsu-the- 
 Plan-Maker might be sent to heal her. The king sub- 
 mitted the matter to the decision of two images of 
 Khonsu. "Then they led Khonsu-in-Thebes-Beautiful- 
 Rest to Khonsu-the-Plan-Maker, the great god, smiting 
 the evil spirits. Then said his majesty before Khonsu-in- 
 Thebes-Beautiful-Rest : 'O thou good lord, if thou in- 
 clinest thy face to Khonsu-the-Plan-Maker, the great god, 
 smiting the evil sprits, he shall be conveyed to Bekhten.' 
 There was a violent nodding. Then said his majesty: 
 'Send thy protection with him, that I may cause his 
 majesty (the idol) to go to Bekhten, to save the daughter 
 of the prince of Bekhten.' " This nodding image of 
 Khonsu is mentioned again by Hrihor of the XXIst 
 dynasty. A nodding image of Amon is mentioned by 
 Merneptah of the XlXth dynasty, by Hrihor of the 
 XXIst dynasty, and by Menkheperre of the XXIst 
 
 18 See G. Steindorff, Zeitschrift fur agyptische Sprache, 48, 152-9. 
 
 "A. Moret, in Comptes Rendus de I'Academie des Inscriptions, 1917, pp. 157-165. 
 
1 62 SPIRITISM v 
 
 dynasty. 18 If spirits could do such things as this, it is 
 probable that they possessed in Egypt all the powers of 
 levitation and of control that they manifested elsewhere, 
 although we have no explicit records to this effect. 
 
 2. Control of Animals. — The ancient belief that 
 spirits of the dead entered into animals,, particularly 
 those that prowled about tombs, existed also in Egypt. 
 The Coffin Texts of the Middle Empire already contain 
 magical formulas by which the deceased may transform 
 himself into certain birds or animals. These charms are 
 greatly amplified in the texts of the New Empire which 
 constitute the so-called Book of the Dead. Thus in the 
 recension of the Book of the Dead found in the Papyrus 
 of Ani, edited by Budge, chapter lxvii treats of "changing 
 into a golden hawk"; lxxvii, "changing into a divine 
 hawk"; Ixxxi, "changing into a lotus"; lxxxiii, "changing 
 into a bennu bird"; lxxxiv, "changing into a heron"; 
 lxxxvi, "changing into a swallow"; lxxxviii, "changing 
 into a crocodile." In another recension the dead man 
 becomes a serpent by saying: "I am the serpent whose 
 years are long. I lie down and am born every day. I 
 am the serpent at the ends of the earth. I lie down, 
 then I am born, I am re-established, I grow young every 
 day." 
 
 This is the basis on which Herodotus 19 asserts : 
 "The Egyptians were the first to broach the opinion 
 that the soul of man is immortal, and that, when the 
 body dies, it enters into the form of an animal which is 
 born at the moment, thence passing on from one animal 
 into another, until it has circled through all the forms 
 of all the creatures which tenant the earth, the water, 
 and the air, after which it enters again into a human 
 frame, and is born anew. The whole period of the trans- 
 migration is, they say, three thousand years. There are 
 Greek writers, some of an earlier, some of a later date, 
 who have borrowed this doctrine from the Egyptians, 
 
 "Breasted, Records, iii. 440, 444, 580; iv. 615, 617, 655-6, 658. 
 "II. 123. 
 
v SPIRITISM IN EGYPT 163 
 
 and put it forward as their own." This opinion is not 
 sustained by the evidence of the Egyptian monuments. 
 These show something far simpler than the philosophic 
 doctrine of transmigration. The Egyptian idea is the 
 same that we find among all ancient races and among 
 modern savages, that the discarnate spirit can enter tem- 
 porarily into the bodies of animals. Out of this primitive 
 zoomorphism the doctrine of transmigration, as a means 
 of explaining the problem of evil and of securing retribu- 
 tion, was evolved in India, whence it travelled to Greek 
 thinkers such as Pythagoras and Plato. 20 
 
 3. Re-animation' of Dead Bodies. — The belief in a 
 possible resurrection of the flesh that we found in China 21 
 has not certainly been discovered in Egypt. The spirit 
 inhabits the mummy, and it is most important for the 
 welfare and peace of the soul that its body be preserved, 
 but it does not revive the body. The Egyptian doc- 
 trine of resurrection was apparently a resurrection of the 
 spirit from the sleep of death rather than a resurrection 
 of the flesh. It was akin to Paul's conception of resur- 
 rection in I Corinthians, 15:35 sq.: "It is sown a nat- 
 ural body; it is raised a spiritual body. . . . Flesh and 
 blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth 
 corruption inherit incorruption." 22 No case of physical 
 resurrection is recorded in any Egyptian text, nor is a 
 future resurrection of the body anticipated. Several 
 competent scholars, however, think differently on this 
 matter, and hold that such passages from the Pyramid 
 Texts as are quoted below under /, which call upon the 
 Pharaoh to arise and receive his food, refer to a literal 
 resurrection of the flesh. The idea of rebirth in a new 
 body, which is found in so many other parts of the world, 
 is also wanting in Egypt. 
 
 4. Obsession of Living Men. — The dead were be- 
 lieved to be envious of the living, and therefore to enter 
 
 30 See p. 99f. 
 
 31 See p. 26. 
 33 See p. 296. 
 
1 64 SPIRITISM v 
 
 into the bodies of men causing disease and death. In 
 the Book of the Dead (ed. Naville, 92, 10) the gods 
 are adjured to "shut up the shadows of the dead, and 
 the dead who work evil to us." An officer who had lost 
 his wife, and who had fallen ill soon afterwards, was 
 told by a soothsayer that his wife was lonely without 
 him, and that she was trying to kill him. Accordingly 
 he wrote a letter to her, which he deposited in her grave : 
 "What evil have I ever done thee that I am now in 
 such misery? What have I done to thee that now thou 
 layest hands upon me ? From the time that I became thy 
 husband, up to this day, have I ever done aught that I 
 would have hidden from thee? . . . When I was ap- 
 pointed to all manner of offices, I was still by thy side, I 
 left thee not, and brought no grief into thy heart. . . . 
 When thou didst sicken with the sickness which thou hast 
 suffered, I went to the chief physician; he prepared medi- 
 cines for thee, and did all that thou didst desire of him. 
 (After thy death) I besought Pharaoh and came hither 
 to thee and mourned thee greatly with my people before 
 my house." 23 The princess of Bekhten mentioned above, 
 who was cured by the image of Khonsu, was obsessed by 
 an evil spirit, probably of the dead, although this is not 
 expressly stated. A series of exorcisms used by mothers 
 to drive malignant ghosts away from their children has 
 come down to us. One of these reads as follows : 
 
 "Run out, thou who comest in darkness, who enterest in stealth, 
 His nose behind him, his face turned backward, who loseth that 
 
 for which he came. 
 Run out, thou who comest in darkness, who enterest in stealth, 
 Her nose behind her, her face turned backward, who loseth that 
 
 for which she came. 
 Comest thou to kiss this child? I will not let thee kiss him. 
 Comest thou to soothe him? I will not let thee soothe him. 
 Comest thou to harm him? I will not let thee harm him. 
 Comest thou to take him away? I will not let thee take him 
 
 away. 
 
 23 Erman, Life in Ancient Egypt, p. 151f. 
 
v SPIRITISM IN EGYPT 165 
 
 I have made his protection against thee out of efet-herb which 
 
 hurts, 
 Out of onions which harm thee; 
 Out of honey which is sweet to (living) men, and bitter to those 
 
 who are yonder; 
 Out of the evil (parts) of the ebdu-Rsh, out of the jaw of the 
 
 meret, 
 Out of the backbone of the perch." 24 
 
 The reference to honey as "bitter to those who are yon- 
 der" shows that the evil spirits who are dreaded are 
 those of the dead. 
 
 5. Possession of Living Men. — The same princess 
 of Bekhten who was obsessed by an evil spirit also spoke 
 under the influence of this spirit. "Then said this spirit 
 which was in her before Khonsu-the-Plan-Maker-in- 
 Thebes, 'Thou comest in peace, thou great god, smiting 
 the barbarians. Bekhten is thy city, its people are thy 
 servants, I am thy servant. I will go to the place whence 
 I came to satisfy thy heart concerning that on account 
 of which thou comest. Let thy majesty command to 
 celebrate a feast-day with me and with the chief of 
 Bekhten.' " This indicates that spirits of the dead con- 
 trolled mediums, just as the gods inspired prophets. Un- 
 fortunately our information on this subject is not so com- 
 plete as we could wish. 
 
 /. The Abode of the Dead. — 1. The Grave. — In 
 no land was the disembodied spirit associated more closely 
 with the corpse than in Egypt. It was believed that the 
 ha constantly returned to the body as its proper dwelling- 
 place; and that if the body perished, the soul would 
 eventually perish also. Hence the mummification of 
 corpses in order to preserve them, hence also pyramids 
 and secret tombs to guard them from molestation or 
 destruction. In case that any accident happened to the 
 mummy, statues of the deceased were placed in the tomb 
 in order that the soul might occupy one of these. The 
 inscriptions on tombs frequently contain curses upon 
 
 ** Erman, Zauberspriiche fur Mutter und Kind, Berlin, 1901, p. 12f. 
 
i.66 SPIRITISM v 
 
 anyone who shall violate them. Thus Harkhuf, who 
 flourished under Mernere of the VI th dynasty, says: 
 "As for any man who shall enter into this tomb as his 
 mortuary possession, I will seize him like a wild fowl; 
 he shall be judged for it by the great god." 25 The 
 restoration of mummies was a pious act that was fre- 
 quently undertaken by later generations. Thus under 
 Ramses XII of the XXth dynasty Hrihor, the high priest 
 of Amon, restored the mummies of Ramses II and of 
 Seti I that had been damaged by tomb-robbers, and left 
 a record of this fact on their coffins. Paynozen I of the 
 XXIst dynasty also accumulated much merit by repairing 
 the damaged mummies of his predecessors. 26 
 
 The soul was believed to share in the unconsciousness 
 of the body produced by death, and from this it must be 
 roused by magical ceremonies before it could enter upon 
 its new existence. The Pyramid Texts contain numerous 
 incantations, doubtless recited by the priests, that are 
 intended to rouse the spirit from the sleep of death. 
 "Ho, King Unis! Thou hast not departed dead, thou 
 hast departed living"; "Thou hast departed that thou 
 mightest live, thou hast not departed that thou mightest 
 die"; "Thy bones perish not, thy flesh sickens not, thy 
 members are not distant from thee"; "Raise thee up, 
 King Pepi, receive to thee thy water, gather to thee thy 
 bones, stand thou upon thy two feet, being a glorious 
 one before the glorious. Raise thee up for this thy bread 
 which cannot dry up, and thy beer which cannot become 
 stale." 27 Here we have a process of resurrection that 
 takes place immediately after death, and that is effected 
 through the sacramental activities of the survivors. This 
 is what is called "making a man a ba." If these cere- 
 monies are neglected, the presumption is that the soul will 
 not survive the catastrophe of death, and will not return 
 to occupy its mummy. These rites are apparently an 
 
 28 Breasted, Records, i. 330. 
 M Ibid., iv. 592-4; 634-47. 
 27 See Breasted, Religion, pp. 57, 58, 91. 
 
v SPIRITISM IN EGYPT 167 
 
 evolution out of ancient efforts to recall the soul at the 
 moment of death. 
 
 The most primitive belief in Egypt, as in other lands, 
 was that spirits of the dead inhabited their tombs. This 
 was an inevitable inference from the close connection be- 
 tween the ba and the mummy. For this reason tombs 
 of the wealthy were constructed like houses, and were 
 filled with all good things that the deceased had used in 
 life. Even the poor were not buried without food, drink, 
 clothing, ornaments and tools. The tomb was known as 
 the "eternal house," as in the Phoenician inscriptions and 
 in Ecclesiastes 12:5. A certain Zau, son of Zau, who 
 flourished under Pepi II of the Vlth dynasty, records 
 in his inscription: "Now, I caused that I should be 
 buried in the same tomb with this Zau, in order that I 
 might be with him in one place; not, however, because 
 I was not in a position to make a second tomb; but I 
 did this in order that I might see this Zau every day, in 
 order that I might be with him in one place." 28 The 
 prosperous saw to it that tombs were constructed for 
 themselves during their lifetimes; and if they failed to 
 complete the task, this was a solemn responsibility that 
 rested upon their sons. In order to secure maintenance 
 of their tombs and regular presentation of the necessary 
 offerings of food and drink, the rich were accustomed to 
 leave endowments in perpetuity. As early as the IVth 
 dynasty we find deeds recorded on the walls of tombs 
 conveying lands and whole villages of serfs to certain 
 guilds of priests on condition that they keep up the cult 
 of the donor on certain specified days. Such mortuary 
 endowments were often accompanied with curses upon 
 the person who should presume to violate the conditions 
 of the trust. Thus the deed of Amenhotep III of the 
 XVIIIth dynasty concludes with the words: "As for 
 the general and scribe of the army who shall follow 
 after me and shall find the ^-chapel beginning to decay, 
 
 M Records, i. 383. 
 
1 68 SPIRITISM v 
 
 together with the male and female slaves who are culti- 
 vating the field for my endowment, and shall take away 
 a man therefrom in order to put him to any business 
 of Pharaoh, L. P. H., or any commission, may his body 
 be accursed." To similar effect Seti I of the XlXth 
 dynasty says: "As for anyone who shall avert the face 
 from the command of Osiris, Osiris shall pursue him, Isis 
 shall pursue his wife, Horus shall pursue his children, 
 among all the princes of the necropolis, and they shall 
 execute their judgment with him." 29 
 
 The aim was to make these endowments perpetual, 
 and to care for the tomb, the mummy, and the mortuary 
 offerings, as long as the world should endure ; of course, 
 this hope was not realized. Endowments were usually 
 respected as long as the dynasty lasted under which they 
 were made, but when a new dynasty came to the throne 
 they were confiscated and the tombs were neglected. 
 There were, however, cases in which the trusts were kept. 
 The dark period of civil strife and decline that intervened 
 between the Old Kingdom and the Middle Kingdom ob- 
 literated ancient trusts. When Egypt once more rose to 
 glory under the Xlth dynasty (2160 B. C), the tombs of 
 the first kings at Abydos and the pyramids of the later 
 kings were already in ruins. The endowments had lapsed, 
 the priests had departed, and the offerings to the dead 
 had ceased. A thousand years had elapsed since the first 
 of the great pyramids had been built, and five hundred 
 years since the last one, and this had been sufficient to 
 reduce them to a desolation similar to that which they 
 present today. The futility of these efforts to secure a 
 physical immortality impressed itself even upon poets 
 who lived four thousand years ago. In the so-called 
 "Song of the Harper" the bard laments: 
 
 "The gods who were of old, 
 Who rest in their tombs, 
 The mummies and the shades together, 
 
 28 Records, ii. 925; iii. 194. 
 
V SPIRITISM IN EGYPT 169 
 
 Interred in their tombs, 
 
 Who built their sanctuaries, 
 
 Their place is no more. 
 
 What is it that has been done to them? 
 
 I have heard the words of Imhotep and of Hardedef, 
 
 Who were famous for their utterances. 
 
 What has becomes of their places? 
 
 Their walls are torn down, 
 
 Their place is no more, 
 
 As though they had never been." 30 
 
 Imhotep was the architect of the stepped pyramid of 
 Zoser of the Hid dynasty, and Hardedef was the son of 
 Khufu (Cheops), the builder of the Great Pyramid. 
 The tombs of these famous men had already disappeared 
 2000 B.C. 
 
 Numerous attempts were made by pious persons to 
 repair certain tombs. Thus a certain Intef, prince of 
 Hermonthis, during the Middle Kingdom boasts: "I 
 found the chamber of offerings of the prince Nekhti- 
 oker fallen down, its walls were old, all its statues were 
 broken, there was no one who heeded it. Thus it was re- 
 built, its site was enlarged, its statues were renewed, and 
 its door built of stone, so that his place surpassed that 
 of other noble princes." Such sporadic efforts were 
 useless, however, to check the ravages of time. 
 
 2. The Dead Dwell in an Underworld. — This was 
 the teaching of the religion of the god Osiris which 
 developed in pre-dynastic times in the Delta. Its origi- 
 nal seat was Dedu, in Greek times known as Busiris. 
 Before the union of Upper and Lower Egypt under the 
 rule of Menes (3400 B.C.) it had already spread into 
 the hostile southern kingdom, and had established itself 
 at Siut, and then at Abydos which subsequently became 
 its chief centre. 
 
 The Osirian religion taught that there was an Under- 
 world, into which the sun descended through the gate of 
 
 30 W. M. Muller, Die Liebespoesie der alien Agypter, Leipzig, 1899, p. 29. 
 
170 SPIRITISM v 
 
 the West, which he traversed during the night, and from 
 which he emerged in the East in the morning. This was 
 the abode of spirits of the dead. The belief is identical 
 with the Babylonian conception of Aralu (see chapter 
 vii) , and with the Hebrew conception of Sheol (see chap- 
 ter ix) , and it is possible that its appearance in Egypt may 
 be due to Semitic influence. Similar beliefs, however, 
 have arisen independently in other parts of the world, 
 so that it may be a purely Egyptian development. 
 
 This region was known as Earu, 'the Field of Rushes.' 
 It was a counterpart of the Delta with its numerous 
 canals and reedy swamps. Here the dead tilled the soil, 
 as in life, and the wheat grew higher than their heads. 
 Another name was Amenti, 'the West.' Its inhabitants 
 were known as "Westerners," or "Children of the West." 
 To "go West" was a euphemism for death, a phrase that 
 has had a strange revival during the recent World-War. 
 Still another name was Dewat, the 'Nether World.' It 
 was pictured as a subterranean counterpart to Egypt, with 
 the river Nile flowing through the midst, and cliffs on 
 either side in whose caverns the shades dwelt as they 
 dwelt in their tombs on either side of the terrestrial Nile. 
 In the daytime this is a land of darkness and desolation; 
 but at night, when the sun descends into this world, "the 
 departed, who are in their halls, in their caverns, praise 
 the sun, their eyes are opened, their heart is full of felicity 
 when they behold the sun; they shout for joy when his 
 body is over them." 
 
 In order to reach the gate of the West through which 
 the sun and the spirits of the dead entered the Nether 
 World it was necessary to cross the sea. In order to 
 pass this there was need of the ferryman "Look Behind," 
 or "Face Backward," so called because he poled his barge 
 facing backward like a Nile boatman. 31 With reference 
 
 31 Compare the Babylonian conception p. 217, and Charon's ferry across the 
 Styx. 
 
v SPIRITISM IN EGYPT 171 
 
 to this voyage "landing" and "mooring" were used as 
 euphemisms for death. 
 
 The ruler of the Underworld was Osiris, who bore the 
 title Khenti-Amentiu, "First of the Westerners." He 
 was a personification of the reproductive energy of nature 
 that snowed itself in the annual overflow of the Nile, in 
 the fertile soil that it deposited, and in the vegetation 
 that grew upon the soil. He died annually with the 
 ripening of the crops in summer, and came to life again 
 with the inundation of the autumn. The myth of Osiris has 
 come down to us completely only in the late Greek form 
 preserved by Plutarch in his treatise De hide et Osiride, 
 but nearly all the elements of this story can be traced 
 back as far as the Pyramid Texts. In ancient times he 
 reigned righteously and peacefully over the land of Egypt, 
 he taught the people agriculture, and gave them laws 
 and civilization. He was slain by his wicked brother Set, 
 and cast into the waters of the overflowing Nile, where 
 he drifted, according to Plutarch, as far as Byblos 
 (Gebal) in Phoenicia. His sister-wife Isis and his sister 
 Nephthys searched for him throughout the world, until 
 at last they found him, mourned over him, and embalmed 
 him. He was laid in a tomb in Abydos, and a sycamore 
 tree grew and enclosed his body. Then through inter- 
 course with his mummy, according to the oldest version 
 of the story in the Pyramid Texts, Isis conceived and 
 brought forth Horus, a personification of the Sun, who 
 through his radiance awakens the dead vegetation to new 
 life. When Horus grew up, he fought with Set to avenge 
 his father's death. He lost an eye in the conflict, but 
 finally overthrew his foe. By means of his torn-out eye 
 he roused the spirit of his father, and made him a ba. 
 Set was then tried before a tribunal of the gods, and 
 was convicted, while Osiris was vindicated. As a reward 
 •of his virtue he received the sovereignty of the Under- 
 world. "He entered the secret gates in the splendid 
 
[172 SPIRITISM v 
 
 precincts of the lords of eternity, at the going down of 
 him who rises in the horizon, upon the ways of Re in the 
 Great Seat." 32 
 
 Osiris was thus a prototype of the experience of every 
 mortal. He was the "first born from the dead." Fol- 
 lowing his example, men also might hope to attain to 
 the spirit-life that he enjoyed in Hades. If the same 
 rites were performed for them that were performed for 
 him, the same magic words uttered, the same funereal 
 ceremonies observed, they would be as efficacious as they 
 had been in his case. Osiris thus became pre-eminently 
 the god of the dead; and the human elements of his cult, 
 his death, the mourning of his wife and his sister, the 
 self-sacrifice and filial devotion of his son, and his resur- 
 rection, appealed so strongly to the imagination, that al- 
 ready in pre-dynastic times he became the favourite god 
 of the common people throughout the whole of Egypt. In 
 process of time the worshipper was identified so com- 
 pletely with the god that his disembodied spirit was 
 addressed as Osiris. Through the proper sacramental 
 rites he had become one with Osiris, and shared in all 
 his post-mortem experiences. This conception of the ex- 
 istence of the dead in the Nether World is irreconcilable 
 with the more ancient belief that they live in the tomb, 
 but both beliefs flourished side by side throughout the 
 whole course of Egyptian history. 
 
 3. The Dead Live in the Sky. — This was the doctrine 
 of the Solar theology that had its chief centre at Heli- 
 opolis. Here the sun-god Re was the supreme divinity. 
 As early as the IVth dynasty his name appears as an 
 element in the names of the kings Dedef-Re, Khaf-Re, 
 Menku-Re. The pyramid was his sacred emblem, and 
 the tombs of the kings of this dynasty were, therefore, 
 pyramidal in form. From the Vth dynasty onward the 
 Pharaohs assumed the title "Son of Re," and claimed 
 
 32 For the later forms of the myth of Osiris and for its Oriental parallels see 
 J. G. Frazer, Adonis, Attis, Osiris, London, 1907. 
 
v SPIRITISM IN EGYPT 173 
 
 to be physically descended from the sun-god. For per- 
 sons of this celestial origin an abode in the Underworld 
 was inappropriate, hence the priests of Heliopolis de- 
 veloped the doctrine that the deceased monarch did not 
 enter the gloomy realm of Osiris, but joined his father 
 Re in the sky. This is the message of the Pyramid Texts. 
 The pyramid is adjured not to admit Osiris or any of 
 his company when they come "with an evil coming." To 
 the dead king it is said : "Thou lookest down upon Osiris 
 commanding the glorious dead. There thou standest, 
 being far from him; for thou art not of them (the dead), 
 thou belongest not among them." "Re has freed King 
 Teti from Kherti, he has not given him to Osiris." In 
 this theology the basis of the hope of resurrection is 
 not the revival of vegetation, as in the Osirian system, 
 but is the daily rising again of the sun from the death 
 into which he sinks during the night. "This King Pepi 
 lives as lives Re, who has entered the west of the sky, 
 when he rises in the east of the sky." The home of the 
 soul is no longer in the west where the sun goes down, 
 as in the Osirian theology, but in the east where the 
 sun rises. 
 
 In order to reach the abode of Re the deceased mon- 
 arch has to be ferried across the "Lily Lake" eastward, 
 just as those who go down to Dewat have to be ferried 
 westward. In case that the ferryman is unwilling to 
 carry him over, the king is provided by the Pyramid 
 Texts with all sorts of arguments and charms to compel 
 him; or if these are unsuccessful, he may cross on a pre- 
 historic catamaran, or may fly over like a wild goose. 
 Arrived on the eastern side, he finds the ladder on which 
 the sun-god climbs up from the horizon to the zenith. 
 Up this he ascends, supported on the arms of assisting 
 gods. At the zenith he finds the palace of his father 
 Re, whose gates open wide before him. Heralds an- 
 nounce his coming, and he is admitted to the fellowship 
 of his heavenly father. He becomes mystically one 
 
174 SPIRITISM v 
 
 with Re, so that he himself is addressed as Re, and 
 shares in all the sun-god's experiences. 
 
 In the Pyramid Texts the solar hereafter is limited to 
 the king who has the blood of Re in his veins. The de- 
 scriptions of his beatification are found only in the royal 
 pyramids. The nobles of the Old Empire made no 
 use of these texts in their tombs. In the Middle Empire, 
 however, other persons besides the monarch began to 
 employ these liturgies, and the hope of a solar immor- 
 tality eventually became the possession of all Egyptians. 
 
 These three heterogeneous and irreconcilable concep- 
 tions of the future life, that it was spent in the Grave, in 
 the Underworld, and in the Sky, lasted side by side 
 down to the latest times, and mingled with one another 
 in the mortuary texts in the wildest confusion. Even 
 as early as the Pyramid Texts Osirian elements intruded 
 themselves into the Heliopolitan doctrine of the Solar 
 hereafter of the Pharaoh. The dead monarch is ad- 
 dressed as "Osiris, lord of Dewat." At the beginning of 
 sections he is called Osiris, King Unis, Osiris, King Pepi, 
 etc., although in the body of the utterances there is no 
 mention of Osiris or of his realm, but the contents are 
 entirely Solar. Some passages are found in the earliest 
 pyramids that are purely Solar, but in later pyramids 
 they have been Osirianised. Evidently the king wished 
 to take no chances in the future life. If any benefit 
 was to be derived from the Osirian ritual, he wished to 
 enjoy it in conjunction with that received from the Solar 
 ritual. The Pyramid Texts show as a whole the Solar 
 theology with a strong tincture of the Osirian. The 
 Coffin Texts of the Middle Empire, and the Book of the 
 Dead of the New Empire, on the contrary, show a 
 fundamentally Osirian doctrine with the intrusion of 
 numerous Solar elements. The one point of contact be- 
 tween the two systems is that the sun goes down into the 
 Underworld at night. On this small foundation rest all the 
 attempts that are made to combine theoretically the 
 
v SPIRITISM IN EGYPT 175 
 
 Solar and the Osirian eschatologies. The primitive doc- 
 trine that the soul remains with the body in the tomb 
 persists both in the Solar and in the Osirian faiths and 
 in all combinations of the two. The only attempts at 
 harmonization are the picturing of the future life, 
 whether in Heaven or in Hades, in terms of the existence 
 of the mummy in the tomb. Order is never introduced 
 into the confusion, but the picture of the future life re- 
 mains to the end a wild, unorganized phantasmagoria. 
 
 g. Deification of the Dead. — From the earliest times 
 the Egyptian kings were deified during their lifetimes. 
 In no country of the world did emperor-worship attain 
 such a magnificent and consistent development as in 
 Egypt. The cults of living kings in Babylonia, among 
 the Greeks in the Seleucid period, and in Rome, were 
 but feeble imitations of the Egyptian model. Already in 
 the Old Empire the King was regarded as the physical 
 off-spring of the sun-god. The only distinction between 
 him and the other gods was that they were called "great 
 god," while he was called "good god." The noble of 
 the period spoke of himself as "beloved of his god," 
 meaning the Pharaoh. The king was regarded as an 
 incarnation of the sun-god on earth. His palace was 
 called the "horizon," when he appeared in public he was 
 said to "rise," and when he died he was said to "set" ; 
 but he had no temples dedicated to him, and received no 
 sacrifices at the hands of priests, at least in the early 
 period. 
 
 In foreign countries, however, that were conquered by 
 Egypt, such as Nubia and Syria, temples were built to 
 him alongside of his father Re, and a regular sacrificial 
 cult was kept up. In the famous Tell el-Amarna letters, 
 that were written by kings in Canaan to the Egyptian 
 kings Amenhotep III and Amenhotep IV about 1400 
 B.C., we learn that the image of the Pharaoh was set 
 up in certain cities together with that of Amon-Re; and 
 that on stated occasions the Syrian princes were required 
 
176 SPIRITISM v 
 
 to pay homage to it. The writers of these letters address 
 the king as "my lord, the lord of the lands, my father, 
 my sun, the sun of heaven, the sun of the lands, my god, 
 the breath of my life." The worship of the king seems 
 to have consisted chiefly in the burning of incense ; hence 
 when a beleaguered town wished to surrender, it signi- 
 fied this by holding up a lighted censer on its battlements. 33 
 
 These deified monarchs naturally remained deities after 
 death, and even rose to the higher rank of "great god" 
 by becoming one with Re or Osiris. The cult of ancient 
 kings is mentioned repeatedly in the inscriptions of their 
 successors. A text of Sesostris III of the Xllth dynasty 
 at Mount Sinai reads: "Ameni, favourite of Hathor, 
 mistress of the malachite country, of Soped, lord of the 
 East, of Snefru, lord of the highlands, and of the gods 
 and goddesses who are in this land." Here King Snefru 
 of the Hid dynasty, one of the earliest monarchs to mine 
 copper at Sinai, is regarded as a god of the region on an 
 equal footing with Hathor and Soped. He appears in the 
 same capacity in an inscription of Amenemhet III of the 
 Xllth dynasty. 34 
 
 Besides the kings, ancient worthies who were distin- 
 guished for their wisdom or for their virtue were deified 
 by posterity. Among these was Imhotep, the architect 
 of King Zoser of the Hid dynasty, who was famous also 
 as a physician. His tomb near the step-pyramid of his 
 royal master at Sakkara was early visited by the sick 
 who sought healing from him. In Greek times a temple 
 was built on this site, and a complete cult was instituted 
 in honour of the sage. The priests regarded him as 
 a son of Ptah, and the Greeks identified him with 
 Asklepios, their god of healing. His worship spread over 
 all Egypt, even as far as the island of Philae on the 
 Nubian frontier. 35 Another deified hero was Amenhotep, 
 son of Hapi, who flourished under Amenhotep III of 
 
 83 See Breasted, Records, ii. 893-8; iii. 173, 502, 504. 
 
 "Ibid., i. 722. 
 
 es See K. Sethe, Imhotep der Asklepios der Aegypter, Leipzig, 1902. 
 
v SPIRITISM IN EGYPT 177 
 
 the XVIIIth dynasty. He was a descendant of the an- 
 cient nomarchs of Athribis, and held the office of chief 
 prophet of that district. He filled high positions under 
 the king and left a number of mortuary inscriptions. 
 He lived over eighty years, and became so famous for 
 his wisdom that an inscription on the temple of Der 
 el-Medineh at Thebes says of him: "His name shall 
 abide forever, his sayings shall not perish." In the time 
 of the Greek king Ptolemy Euergetes II he was wor- 
 shipped as a god, and the Egyptian historian Manetho, 
 as quoted by Josephus, 36 says of him: "He seemed 
 to partake of a divine nature, both as to wis- 
 dom and knowledge of the future." In the case of both 
 these heroes the first clear evidence of their worship 
 comes from the Greek period, still this was probably 
 only a survival of ancient custom. 37 
 
 Even ordinary mortals in course of time came to be 
 identified with Osiris or with Re at death, and therefore 
 were entitled to divine homage at least on the part of 
 their descendants. Children and children's children unto 
 the third and fourth generation felt it incumbent upon 
 them to care for the tombs and to keep up the offerings 
 to the forefathers. The princes of Hermopolis under 
 the Xllth dynasty restored the tombs of ancestors who 
 had lived six hundred years earlier, and recorded their 
 filial piety as follows: "He made it as a monument for 
 his fathers, who are in the necropolis, the lords of the 
 promontory; restoring what was found in ruin and re- 
 newing what was found decayed, the ancestors who were 
 before not having done it." 38 Ancestor-homage never 
 attained the proportions in Egypt that it did in China 
 because it was overshadowed by the cult of the great 
 gods, still it held its own as an important part of the 
 national religion down to the latest times. The rites 
 
 88 Against Apion, i. 26. 
 
 87 See Breasted, Records, ii. 911-927. 
 
 ™Ibid., i. 689. 
 
178 SPIRITISM v 
 
 that are described in the following paragraphs are evi- 
 dence of the deification of the dead. 
 
 h. Preparation of the Corpse for Burial. — Recent 
 excavations have shown that in the pre-dynastic period 
 the Egyptians took no such elaborate care of the bodies 
 of the dead as was the custom in later times. They were 
 usually buried without covering or coffin, rarely with 
 a skin or linen wrapping. They were placed in the so- 
 called "embryonic" position, with the knees drawn up 
 closely under the chin, lying on the right side, with 
 the head turned toward the north, and the face toward 
 the east, the region of the rising sun. 
 
 This lasted under the Thinite kings of the first two 
 dynasties, but under the pyramid-builders of the Old 
 Kingdom the practice of embalming came into general 
 use. The entrails were removed, and were placed in four 
 so-called "canopic" jars, whose covers were respectively 
 the head of a man, of an ape, of a jackal, and of a hawk, 
 representing four genii, the children of Horus, who 
 guarded the dead. The body was soaked in salt water, 
 and was dipped in bitumen. The abdominal cavity was 
 stuffed with cloths saturated with various preservative 
 substances. The body was then wrapped in numerous 
 bandages, and the process of mummification was com- 
 plete. Embalming varied all the way from the simplest 
 pickling in the case of the poor to the long and expensive 
 treatment that was bestowed upon kings and nobles. 
 Sebni, a noble who lived under Pepi II of the Vlth 
 dynasty (c. 2500 B.C.), records how his father, Mekhu, 
 perished in an expedition against Nubia; how he set out 
 with troops and with one hundred asses loaded with gifts 
 in order to secure his father's body for embalmment. He 
 succeeded in pacifying the country and in rescuing the 
 body. As he was coming down the river, he was met 
 by an official who brought "embalmers, the chief ritual 
 priest, . . . the mourners and all offerings of the 
 White House. He brought festival oil from the double 
 
V SPIRITISM IN EGYPT 179 
 
 White House, and secret things from the double w'bt 
 house, . . . from the 'h } house, clothing of the double 
 White House, and all the burial equipment which is 
 issued from the court, like the issuance for the hereditary 
 prince, Meru." 39 It was the custom of the kings to 
 make gifts for embalming to deserving subjects. A certain 
 Zau records that at the death of his father Pepi II "be- 
 stowed a coffin, clothing, and festival perfume for this 
 Zau. His majesty caused that the custodian of the royal 
 domain should bring a coffin of wood, festival perfume, 
 j//-oil, two hundred pieces of prime linen, and of fine 
 southern linen, taken from the double White House of 
 the court for this Zau." 40 
 
 From this time onward embalming continued to be 
 the custom until the triumph of Christianity in Egypt. 
 Mummies are frequently mentioned in the inscriptions, 
 and the Old Testament narrates how the bodies of Jacob 
 and of Joseph were embalmed in Egypt in order that 
 they might be carried to Canaan. 41 
 
 Thousands of mummies of kings, of nobles, and of 
 private citizens of all periods have lasted down to the 
 present time, and are preserved in the museums of Egypt, 
 Europe, and America. During the unsettled period of 
 the XXIst dynasty when the decline of Egypt had begun, 
 the authorities were no longer able to protect the tombs 
 of the ancient Pharaohs, and they were frequently rifled. 
 To prevent further desecration the mummies of the great 
 kings of the XVIIIth and XlXth dynasties were 
 removed from their resting places, and were secreted 
 in a rocky cleft near Der el-Bahri. Here they were 
 discovered in 1871 by modern tomb-robbers, who man- 
 aged to keep their secret from the Government until 
 1 88 1, when they were tracked, and the royal mummies 
 were discovered and placed in the museum at Cairo. 
 Here one may now look upon the face of Thutmose III, 
 
 39 Breasted, Records, i. 370 
 
 *° Ibid., i. 382. 
 
 "Genesis, 50:1-3, 13, 26; Ex. 13:19; Josh. 24:32. 
 
180 SPIRITISM v 
 
 the Asiatic conqueror (1500 B.C.); Thutmose IV, his 
 grandson; Seti I, of the XlXth dynasty; Ramses II, his 
 son, the Pharaoh who oppressed the children of Israel. 
 
 At the various times when these mummies were trans- 
 ferred from one hiding-place to another, inscriptions were 
 placed upon them by the later kings who attended to the 
 business. Thus the mummies of Ahmose I, Amenhotep 
 I, Thutmose II, Seti I, Ramses II, and Ramses III all 
 bear dockets of Paynozem I, Menkhepperre, or Payno- 
 zem II of the XXIst dynasty. 42 
 
 Enclosed in the wrappings of the mummies was the 
 most costly jewelry. Specimens that have been recov- 
 ered from the Middle Kingdom show an excellence 
 of workmanship that has scarcely been surpassed in 
 modern times. Among the treasures of the Cairo Museum 
 are the ornaments of the princess Sit-Hathor (Xllth 
 dynasty), princess Khnumet, and princess Ita. The 
 largest and most extraordinary collection was found with 
 the mummy of Queen Ahhotep, the mother of Ahmose 
 I. 43 The confession of a tomb-robber under the XXth 
 dynasty states: "We found the august mummy of this 
 
 king There was a numerous list of amulets and 
 
 ornaments of gold at its throat; its head had a mask 
 of gold upon it; the august mummy of this king was over- 
 laid with gold throughout. Its coverings were wrought 
 with gold and silver, within and without; inlaid with 
 every splendid costly stone. We stripped off the gold 
 which we found on the august mummy of this god, and 
 its amulets and ornaments which were at its throat, and 
 the coverings wherein it rested." 
 
 Herodotus, ii. 86-88, gives an elaborate account of 
 embalming as it was practised in Egypt in his day (484- 
 424 B.C.). He says that there was a professional 
 class of embalmers who prepared first, second, or third 
 class mummies according to the price paid. u The mode 
 
 a Breasted, Records, iv. 637-642, 644-647, 663-668. 
 43 Baedeker, Egypt," pp. 82-83. 
 
v SPIRITISM IN EGYPT 181 
 
 of embalming according to the most perfect process is 
 the following: — They take first a crooked piece of iron, 
 and with it draw out the brain through the nostrils, thus 
 getting rid of a portion, while the skull is cleared of the 
 rest by rinsing with drugs ; next they make a cut along the 
 flank with a sharp Ethiopian stone, and take out the whole 
 contents of the abdomen, which they then cleanse, wash- 
 ing it thoroughly with palm-wine, and again frequently 
 with an infusion of pounded aromatics. After this they 
 fill the cavity with the purest bruised myrrh, with cassia, 
 and every other sort of spicery except frankincense, and 
 sew up the opening. Then the body is placed in natrum 
 for seventy days and covered entirely over. After the 
 expiration of that space of time, which must not be ex- 
 ceeded, the body is washed, and wrapped round from 
 head to foot with bandages of fine linen cloth smeared 
 over with gum, which is used generally by the Egyptians 
 in the place of glue. . . . Such is the most costly way 
 of embalming the dead." He then goes on to describe 
 the second and the third class methods of embalmment. 
 In all probability this method had been transmitted with 
 punctilious exactness from high antiquity. The pro- 
 cesses of manufacturing and of transporting mummies as 
 depicted in the reliefs on the tombs may be seen in Wilkin- 
 son's Manners and Customs of the Ancient Egyptians, 
 vol. iii. chap. xvi. 
 
 The process of mummification was accompanied at 
 every point with recitation of ritual texts for the benefit 
 of the spirit of the deceased. Inscriptions of the Old 
 Kingdom mention along with the embalmers the chief 
 ritual priest and two subordinate classes of religious func- 
 tionaries whose duties are not clearly understood. The 
 ritual of embalming has come down to us only in a late 
 form. Apparently the priests impersonated the gods 
 who embalmed the body of Osiris, and the texts recited 
 affirmed the identity of the departed with Osiris. 
 
 In the Old Kingdom it was customary to enclose the 
 
1 82 SPIRITISM v 
 
 mummy in a wooden coffin within a stone sarcophagus. 
 This was generally a simple polished chest with a flat 
 cover; or else, probably in imitation of the coffin of Osiris, 
 it had four corner posts and a dome-shaped cover. Some- 
 times it was decorated to represent a tomb of the earliest 
 period with a number of doors. Opposite the face of the 
 mummy a pair of eyes was often painted so as to enable 
 it to behold the rising sun. The tomb inscription of 
 Weshptah, who flourished under Neferirkere of the Vth 
 dynasty, states that the king presented him with an ebony 
 coffin. Hotephiryakhet under the next monarch states 
 that the king honoured him with a stone sarcophagus. 
 Nezemib a little later also received a sarcophagus, and 
 a relief that accompanies the inscription shows the heavy 
 sarcophagus and its lid being transported across the river 
 on a barge. Uni, a servant of Mernere of the Vlth 
 dynasty, narrates: "His majesty sent me to Ibhet, to 
 bring the sarcophagus (named) 'Chest of the Living,' 
 together with its lid and the costly, splendid pyramidion 
 for the pyramid (called) 'Mernere Shines and is Beauti- 
 ful' of the Queen." 44 
 
 In the Middle Kingdom the coffins were elaborately 
 decorated with paint, and the insides were covered with 
 religious texts similar to the Pyramid Texts designed 
 to facilitate the entrance of the deceased into the other 
 world. Before the coffins were put together the boards 
 were hastily and carelessly covered by a scribe with a selec- 
 tion of passages furnished by the local priests. Chap- 
 ters were often repeated, and in one case the same chapter 
 is found five times in a single coffin. The chief thought 
 seems to have been to cover the surface with some sort 
 of a religious text. Among these are passages taken 
 from the Pyramid Texts which originally were intended 
 only for the king, but were now applied also to the aris- 
 tocracy. Other passages were taken from more popular 
 Osirian funerary rituals, and were the forerunners of the 
 
 "Breasted, Records, i. 247, 253, 275f., 321. 
 
v SPIRITISM IN EGYPT 183 
 
 material that subsequently made up the Book of the Dead. 
 No two coffins agree in the selections that are made and 
 new texts are constantly being discovered. 45 
 
 In the New Empire the fashion arose of shaping the 
 outer sarcophagus in the form of a mummy. The 
 face was shown, and was sometimes a portrait of the 
 deceased. It was decorated with imitation bandages in 
 the form of lattice work, and the intervening spaces were 
 filled with pictures of the gods, scenes from the other 
 world, and fragments of texts. Some of the earlier 
 mummy-cases look as if they were wrapped in wings. 
 The symbolism refers to the myth of Isis who enveloped 
 the dead Osiris with her wings. These mummy-cases 
 were manufactured by the wholesale, and spaces were 
 left on them to be filled in with the name of the deceased. 
 In a number of cases the undertakers have neglected to 
 fill up this space. 
 
 i. Graves and Tombs. — The graves of the common 
 people in the pre-dynastic period were simple shallow 
 trenches in which the body was placed in the "embryonic" 
 position, lying on its side with its face toward the east. 
 The trench was filled in with sand, and a small heap of 
 sand and stones was reared over it. Care was taken to 
 place graves above the annual inundation of the Nile, 
 and a preference was shown for the west bank of the 
 river, the region in which the sun went down into the 
 Underworld; hence the name "Westerners" for the dead. 
 Ancient cemeteries are found all along the edge of the 
 desert in Upper Egypt, and thousands of these prehis- 
 toric sepulchres have been excavated in recent years. 
 Slightly more elaborate forms of burial are to roof the 
 grave over with branches, to invert a large pottery bowl 
 over the body, to place it inside of a jar, or to line the 
 tomb with brick and place a flat stone slab over it. A 
 still finer method was to sink a short shaft in the rock, 
 
 46 A large collection of these so-called "Coffin Texts" has been published by 
 Lacau, Textes religieux, Recueil de travaux, vol. 26 sq. 
 
1 84 SPIRITISM v 
 
 excavate a small chamber in one side for the body, wall 
 up the opening, fill the shaft with rocks, and build a 
 tumulus over it. 
 
 Out of the tumulus the mastaba was developed. It 
 was a truncated pyramid of brick through which the 
 tomb-shaft ran up to the top. After the body had been 
 deposited in the burial chamber at the bottom this was 
 filled up with stones and sealed. On the eastern side 
 was a false door without any opening through which the 
 spirit passed out and in. In front of this was a shelf 
 or table for receiving offerings that were brought by the 
 descendants of the deceased. A further development 
 of the mastaba was the construction within of a doorless 
 chamber for the portrait-statue of the owner of the tomb, 
 and a chapel for the presentation of offerings instead of 
 the primitive shelf. The mastaba of Menes, the first 
 historic king, contained a central chamber for the body 
 of the king, surrounded by four other chambers. The 
 nobles of the Old Kingdom continued to enlarge the 
 mastabas until they became veritable houses with apart- 
 ments for every purpose. The tomb of one official of the 
 Vlth dynasty had as many as thirty-one rooms. The 
 evident idea was to provide the dead man with a palace 
 such as he had occupied during his life. 
 
 When the mastabas, which at first were only royal 
 tombs, began to become popular among the nobles, the 
 Pharaohs commenced constructing pyramids for them- 
 selves. The first known pyramid is the step-pyramid 
 of Zoser of the Hid dynasty (2980 B.C.) at Sakkara. 
 It marks the transition architecturally from the mastaba 
 to the true pyramid, and is the first royal tomb to be built 
 of stone. Beginning with a mastaba of the usual type, he 
 gradually enlarged this as his reign went on, until at the 
 end he had a structure like a ziggurat of ancient Babylonia 
 in six stages with a height of one hundred and ninety-five 
 feet. This is the first great architectural undertaking 
 in stone that is recorded by history. The later kings of 
 
v SPIRITISM IN EGYPT 185 
 
 the Hid dynasty probably constructed the stone pyramids 
 of Dahshur, which are the earliest specimens of this type 
 of architecture. They bear witness to the wealth and 
 power as well as the engineering skill of this dynasty. 
 Snefru, the last monarch of the Hid dynasty, probably 
 built the terraced pyramid at Medum, and also the pyra- 
 mid with a double slope at Dahshur. 
 
 Khufu, the founder of the IVth dynasty (c. 2800 
 B.C.), the Cheops of the Greeks, was the builder of the 
 Great Pyramid of Gizeh near Cairo, the largest struc- 
 ture ever reared by the hand of man. Originally this 
 covered an area of about thirteen acres. The length 
 of each side was about 755 feet. The height was about 
 481 feet. The altitude of each sloping side was about 
 619 feet. It contained originally about 3,277,000 cubic 
 yards of masonry. Professor Flinders Petrie estimates 
 that there are in it 2,300,000 separate blocks of stone, 
 each containing 40 cubic feet. These blocks, which rise 
 like giant steps, are about three feet in height. The whole 
 was covered with a casing of dressed stones fitted together 
 so closely that a knife-blade could not be inserted between 
 the joints. Herodotus, ii. I24f., describes the building 
 of this colossal edifice. "He closed the temples, and for- 
 bade the Egyptians to offer sacrifice, compelling them 
 instead to labour, one and all, in his service. Some were 
 required to drag blocks of stone down to the Nile, from 
 the quarries in the Arabian range of hills; others received 
 the blocks after they had been conveyed in boats across 
 the river, and drew them to the range of hills called 
 the Libyan. A hundred thousand men laboured con- 
 stantly, and were relieved every three months by a fresh 
 lot. It took ten years oppression of the people to make 
 the causeway for the conveyance of the stones, a work 
 not much inferior, in my judgment, to the pyramid itself. 
 This causeway is five furlongs in length, ten fathoms 
 wide," and in height, at the highest part, eight fathoms. 
 It is built of polished stone, and is covered with carvings 
 
1 86 SPIRITISM v 
 
 of animals. It took ten years to make the causeway, the 
 works on the mound where the pyramid stands, and the 
 underground chambers, which Cheops intended as vaults 
 for his own use. These last were built on a sort of island, 
 surrounded by water introduced from the Nile by a 
 canal. The Pyramid itself was twenty years in build- 
 ing." These traditions which Herodotus gathered from 
 the Egyptians bear witness to the awful cost of human 
 labour and suffering at which these "eternal habitations" 
 of the ancient Pharaohs were built. 
 
 The two other pyramids at Gizeh, which are smaller 
 than that of Khufu, were erected by Khafre and Men- 
 kure, later kings of the same dynasty. The kings of the Vth 
 and of the Vlth dynasties also reared pyramids, less mag- 
 nificent than those of their predecessors, but still extra- 
 ordinarily great. In spite of the five thousand years 
 that have elapsed since the first of these was built, and 
 all the depredations of succeeding generations, the 
 pyramids of the Old Kingdom still stand in a line sixty 
 miles long on the margin of the western desert as awe- 
 inspiring as when they were first erected, the monuments 
 of a titanic effort to conquer death by securing an eternal 
 preservation of the body. 
 
 This form of architecture was chosen by the kings 
 probably because the pyramid was the emblem of their 
 father Re, the sun-god. In his sanctuary at Heliopolis 
 the most sacred object was an ancient pyramidal fetish 
 stone called the ben. The pyramidal tops of obelisks 
 were also solar emblems. It was fitting that the dead 
 Pharaoh, who looked for a solar immortality, should lie 
 in a tomb that was itself a symbol of the sun-god, and 
 whose top stone was a pyramidion of special sanctity. 
 Architecturally the pyramid was nothing more than an 
 evolution of the primitive tumulus. It contained merely 
 the burial chamber hidden in its depths, access to which 
 was closed by huge blocks of stone as soon as the body 
 was placed within it, while false passages were constructed 
 
v SPIRITISM IN EGYPT 187 
 
 to lead astray would-be intruders. There was no mor- 
 tuary chapel in the pyramid itself. Instead of this a 
 temple was erected on the east side of the pyramid, where 
 there was a false door before which offerings were 
 presented, and through which the spirit of the royal 
 dead could pass. From this temple a long causeway 
 led to the Nile, with another temple at its eastern end. 
 
 The sepulchral chamber and passages of the older 
 pyramids were unadorned, but under the Vth and Vlth 
 dynasties they were inscribed with the so-called Pyramid 
 Texts. 46 These contain myths of the gods, hymns, and 
 other fragments of extremely ancient ritual, magical 
 charms to rouse the spirit of the dead and to give it 
 vitality in the other world, a ritual of mummification 
 and of burial, a ritual for the presentation of offerings 
 at the tomb pyramid, and collections of prayers to the 
 gods on behalf of the dead. The material is divided 
 into sections, each introduced with the formula, "Recite 
 the words." The pyramid of Unis contains two hun- 
 dred and twenty-eight of these utterances. The later 
 pyramids bring the number up to seven hundred and four- 
 teen. In the printed edition of Sethe they fill a thousand 
 and fifty-one quarto pages. Their purpose was to facili- 
 tate the attainment of solar immortality by the dead 
 Pharaoh. 
 
 The Old Kingdom ended in ruin and civil strife, in- 
 duced perhaps by the exactions of the monarchs for 
 building these costly tombs. When, three hundred years 
 later, the nation revived under the Xlth dynasty (2160 
 B.C.), no attempt was made to rival the efforts of the 
 past. The kings of this dynasty left small pyramids of 
 sun-dried bricks on the edge of the desert west of Thebes. 
 They were still in good condition in the time of Ramses 
 IX of the XXth dynasty when they were entered by tomb- 
 robbers, but they have disappeared at present. The 
 great kings of the Xllth dynasty contented themselves 
 
 " See p. 153. 
 
1 88 SPIRITISM v 
 
 also with modest brick pyramids, all of which show the 
 most elaborate devices of false passages and trap-doors 
 designed to frustrate the efforts of tomb-robbers. These 
 pyramids still extend from the entrance of the Fayum as 
 far as Memphis, but all are in a very ruinous condition. 
 
 Around the pyramid of the sovereign were grouped 
 the mastabas of his nobles and of the royal princes and 
 princesses. These lay in regular lines on streets, and 
 formed a veritable city of the dead. The necropolis was 
 in charge of an army of mortuary priests, custodians, and 
 workmen, the so-called "children of the cemetery." 
 
 During the Middle Kingdom the nobles began to aban- 
 don the mastaba tomb and to hew out sepulchres for 
 themselves in the cliffs that wall in the Nile valley. The 
 finest of these are at Benihasan in Middle Egypt. 47 
 The architectural features of these tombs are as follows: 
 first, a court open to the sky in front of the tomb, then 
 a vestibule cut out of the solid rock with pillars supporting 
 the roof, behind this a large hall, also excavated out of 
 the rock, and also having its ceiling supported by pillars, 
 and back of this a small chamber for the statue of the 
 owner. The sepulchral chamber was reached by a shaft 
 from the hall of columns. The walls of the tomb were 
 decorated with scenes from domestic life and with in- 
 scriptions recounting the life of the deceased. 48 
 
 During the New Empire the kings abandoned the 
 pyramids and adopted the rock-tombs of the nobles of 
 the Middle Kingdom. These hypogaea differed consider- 
 ably, however, from the older type. A long passage 
 through the rock led to a series of chambers, and beyond 
 these, or beneath them with a concealed entrance, was the 
 "gold house" in which the sarcophagus was placed that 
 contained the royal mummy. All the mighty rulers of 
 the XVIIIth, XlXth, and XXth dynasties were buried in 
 such rock-tombs excavated in a narrow mountain gorge 
 
 47 See Baedeker, Egypt, 5 p. 197. 
 
 48 Ste Newberry, Beni Hasan; Breasted, Records, i. 619 sq. 
 
v SPIRITISM IN EGYPT 189 
 
 west of Thebes now known as Biban el-Muluk. The walls 
 of the chambers were no longer covered exclusively with 
 domestic scenes, as in the earlier rock-tombs, but also 
 with religious ritual similar to the Coffin Texts.* 9 The 
 mortuary chapels were no longer connected with the 
 tombs but were developed into splendid temples on the 
 other side of the mountain at Der el-Bahri or in the plain. 
 Several private tombs have successfully eluded discovery 
 down to recent times, and have been found by archaeol- 
 ogists with all their treasures intact. 
 
 j. Deposits in Tombs. — In the pre-dynastic period 
 there were buried with the dead jars and bowls of food 
 and drink that he might not hunger in the other world, 
 flint knives and harpoons so that he might hunt and de- 
 fend himself, clothing and ornaments, slate palettes for 
 grinding green malachite face-paint, a bag for holding the 
 pieces of malachite, and even a draught-board for his 
 amusement. Already at this early period models were 
 deposited in graves instead of real articles, the idea 
 being that they were magically converted into the spiritual 
 counterparts needed by the deceased. Thus we find 
 models of boats, of cattle, of hippopotami, of servants, 
 and of steatopygous women gaily painted, presumably 
 the Houris of the other world. 50 
 
 The chambers of the royal mastabas of the 1st dynasty 
 were furnished with couches of ivory, inlaid and carved 
 tables and chairs of the most artistic workmanship, and 
 marvellous jars made of the hardest stone worked out 
 with stone tools until their walls were as thin and trans- 
 lucent as glass. There were also stores of food of all 
 sorts, and jars of beer and of wine sufficient to last the 
 spirit of the dead king for many days ; A large memorial 
 stone bearing in huge hieroglyphics the name of the king 
 was also set up in the tomb. In small chambers around 
 the monarch were buried the bodies of his wives, his 
 
 49 See Baedeker, Egypt, 5 pp. 262, sq. 
 
 50 See p. 48f. 
 
1 9 o SPIRITISM v 
 
 guards, his dwarfs, and even his dogs, with small tablets 
 bearing their names. The suspicion is strong that, as 
 among so many other primitive peoples, these were slain 
 in order to accompany their lord into the spirit-world. 
 
 The same intellectual processes which in China led to 
 the substitution of imitations instead of real gifts to the 
 dead, led also in Egypt to the gradual disappearance of 
 tomb-deposits. In the mastabas of nobles of the Old 
 Kingdom contemporary with the great pyramids of the 
 Hid to the Vlth dynasties the food-dishes were reduced to 
 tiny conventional substitutes; and in place of the costly 
 furniture and provisions, the walls were decorated with 
 pictures of the things that the deceased might need in 
 the future life. By "sympathetic magic" these pictures 
 produced the corresponding spiritual equivalents. They 
 showed the noble in a skiff with his wife, hunting wild 
 fowl with a boomerang, or spearing a hippopotamus with 
 a harpoon. Peasants tilled the fields with yokes of oxen, 
 reaped the grain and threshed it. Cattle were brought 
 in herds and were butchered. Women ground the wheat 
 into flour, made bread and baked it, and prepared all the 
 other dishes for the noble's table. All the scenes of a 
 busy agricultural and commercial civilization were rep- 
 resented, and these pictures form an inexhaustible mine 
 of information in regard to the life of the Old Kingdom. 
 By these means the noble hoped to secure the same crea- 
 ture-comforts in eternity that he had enjoyed in time. 
 He could take nothing out of the world, but by this simple 
 process he provided himself with a letter of credit that 
 was negotiable in the "land of no return." This same 
 custom continued in the mastabas and rock-tombs of the 
 Middle Kingdom. 
 
 In tombs of the New Empire, as we have seen, these 
 pictures of daily life are replaced by religious texts and 
 scenes from the Underworld. These form the so-called 
 "Book of Him Who is in the Nether World." This 
 describes the journey of the sun-god through twelve cav- 
 
v SPIRITISM IN EGYPT 191 
 
 erns of Hades which correspond to the twelve hours 
 of the night. It tells of the monsters and perils that 
 are there to be encountered, and how they may be escaped 
 by the judicious use of magical formulas so that one may 
 complete the journey with the sun-god and rise with him 
 in newness of life in the East. The material is similar 
 to that of the Coffin Texts and to that found in the 
 papyrus rolls containing the Book of the Dead. 51 
 
 Even under the New Empire the burial of food and 
 furniture with the dead did not cease. The tombs of 
 Yuya and Thuya, the parents of Tiy, the queen of Amen- 
 hotep III, which were discovered untouched by Mr. 
 Theodore M. Davis of Newport, R. I., in 1905, con- 
 tained sumptuous furniture of all sorts. The same was 
 true of the untouched tomb of Amenhotep II. The ac- 
 counts of tomb-robberies under the XXth dynasty also 
 report that the thieves u had stolen their articles of house- 
 furniture which had been given them." 
 
 A curious survival of the ancient custom of burying 
 models of persons and things with the dead is seen in 
 the so-called ushebtis, little glazed pottery figures that 
 have been found in vast numbers in tombs of the New 
 Empire. These are mostly in mummy form, and carry 
 sacks and hoes, or other tools, over their shoulders. The 
 inscription on them reads: "O, thou ushebti, when I am 
 called, and when I am required to do any kind of work 
 which is done in Hades . . . and when I am required 
 at any time to cause the fields to flourish, to irrigate the 
 banks, to convey sand from the east to the west, thou 
 shalt say, Here am I." These figures are mentioned in 
 the Book of the Dead in the chapter entitled "Causing 
 that the Ushebti Do the Work of a Man in Dewat. ,} The 
 idea evidently was that King Osiris might call upon his 
 subjects to work in the Elysian Fields. The aristocrat, 
 who had no taste for this sort of labour, provided for the 
 emergency by having great numbers of ushebtis on hand 
 
 " See G. Jequier, Le livre de ce qu'il y a dans I'Hades, Paris, 1894. 
 
192 SPIRITISM v 
 
 who through the power of the magic formula inscribed 
 upon them would take his place when they were sum- 
 moned. 
 
 Another peculiarity of the mortuary customs of the 
 New Empire was the burial of numerous amulets and 
 other magical objects with the deceased. One of these 
 was the "Horus-eye," an imitation in blue or green enamel 
 or in precious stone of the plucked-out eye of Horus with 
 which he had resuscitated his father Osiris. Another was 
 the so-called heart-scarab, which was designed to take 
 the place of the heart of the dead man when it was 
 weighed in the judgment before Osiris. These scarabs 
 were inscribed with the words : "O heart that I have 
 from my mother! O heart that belongs to my spirit! 
 Do not appear against me as a witness, do not oppose me 
 before the judges, do not contradict me before him who 
 governs the balance." Still another magical object was 
 the small stone pyramid that was frequently placed in 
 tombs of the New Empire. It was made with two doors 
 on opposite sides, in which the deceased was represented 
 adoring the rising and the setting sun. Through this 
 solar emblem it was hoped that the soul would be united 
 with the sun-god in his rising as well as in his setting. 
 Besides these there were pectorals placed on the breast 
 of the mummy, sceptres, crowns, head-dresses of the gods, 
 head-rests, squares, levels, staircases, etc. A late text 
 enumerates one hundred and four articles of this sort 
 that are necessary for the repose of the soul. 52 
 
 Of similar character were the papyrus rolls containing 
 magical texts that during this period were deposited with 
 the dead. The rolls contained a few fragments of the 
 Pyramid Texts, large selections from the Coffin Texts, 
 and additional material from other sources. There was 
 no standard edition in this period, but the scribes made 
 at pleasure excerpts from the sources at their disposal. 
 Some rolls were eighty feet long, and contained one 
 
 82 See Erman, Religion, pp. 140-147. 
 
v SPIRITISM IN EGYPT 193 
 
 hundred and thirty chapters ; others were small, and con- 
 tained only the most important chapters. These con- 
 stituted the so-called Book of the Dead. It was a sort 
 of guide-book to the Underworld, and contained the 
 charms that were necessary to bring one safely through 
 the perils of that realm. The finer rolls were magnifi- 
 cently illustrated with coloured vignettes depicting scenes 
 in Hades. These help to explain the obscure text, and 
 are a rich mine of information in regard to the mythologi- 
 cal conceptions of the ancient Egyptians. 
 
 The wealth that was buried with the dead in all periods 
 was a constant temptation to rob graves, in spite of the 
 heavy legal penalties and the terrors of religion. Most 
 of the tombs of the Old Kingdom were violated during 
 the period of disorder that followed the Vlth dynasty; 
 those of the Middle Kingdom, during the period of the 
 Hyksos ; and those of the New Kingdom, during the de- 
 cline that followed the XXth dynasty. Sporadic robbery 
 went on all the time, so that it is a rare event when an 
 unviolated tomb is discovered by an archaeologist. Even 
 the Pharaohs Ramses II and Merneptah did not scruple 
 to steal the mortuary furniture of their predecessors. 
 
 Under Ramses IX of the XXth dynasty there was an 
 epidemic of robberies at the royal tombs in the necrop- 
 olis of Thebes, in which even officials of the Government 
 were involved. The Papyrus Abbott contains a record 
 of the royal investigations and legal proceedings at this 
 time. After a detailed report of individual tombs ex- 
 amined, there follows this summary: "These are the 
 tombs and sepulchres in which the nobles, the . . ., the 
 Theban women, and the people of the land rest, on the 
 west of the city; it was found that the thieves had broken 
 into them all, that they had pulled out their occupants 
 from their coverings and coffins, they (the occupants) be- 
 ing thrown upon the ground; and that they had stolen 
 their articles of house-furniture, which had been given 
 them, together with the gold, the silver, and the orna- 
 
i 9 4 SPIRITISM V 
 
 ments which were in their coverings." 53 The culprits were 
 found and were punished at this time, but the tomb-rob- 
 beries continued, and the Government was powerless to 
 prevent them. It was this miserable state of affairs that 
 led to the removal of the royal mummies from their tombs 
 and concealment in the rock cleft near Der el-Bahri, where 
 they were found in 1 8 8 1 . 
 
 k. Shrines for the Cult of the Dead. — The earliest 
 holy place was the grave itself on which offerings were 
 laid and ceremonies were performed. The next stage 
 of development was a shelf in front of the false door 
 of the mastaha on which gifts for the occupant of the 
 tomb were placed. A further evolution carried the false 
 door back into the interior of the tomb so as to leave 
 a small mortuary chapel in front of it. Still later the 
 chapel was separated from the tomb in the form of an 
 independent edifice built against the east side, as was the 
 case in the royal pyramids. The final stage of the de- 
 velopment was the erection of a mortuary temple at 
 some distance from the tomb, as was the practice of the 
 Pharaohs of the New Kingdom. The temples in front 
 of the great pyramids of Gizeh were no less remarkable 
 than the pyramids themselves, if we may judge from the 
 scanty remains that excavation has disclosed. The 
 kings of the Middle Empire, in proportion as they de- 
 creased the size of their pyramids, increased the magnifi- 
 cence of their mortuary temples. The nobles of the same 
 period, who constructed the rock-tombs, had, besides the 
 chapels in these tombs, also mortuary chapels in their 
 native towns for the easier celebration of the rites of their 
 worship. 
 
 Amenhotep I of the XVIIIth dynasty was the last king 
 to construct a mortuary chapel in front of his tomb. His 
 successors, in order to escape desecration of their graves, 
 concealed them in the Biban el-Muluk near Thebes on 
 the west side of the cliffs that enclose the Nile valley, 
 
 83 Breasted, Records, iv. 499-556. 
 
v SPIRITISM IN EGYPT 195 
 
 at a distance of two miles from the river, and accessible 
 only by a circuitous path. The temples for their worship 
 were erected in the plain on the east side of the mountain. 
 Thus the orientation of the ancient tombs was preserved, 
 although a long distance separated the grave from the 
 sanctuary. The magnificent unfinished temple of Queen 
 Hatshepsut at Der el-Bahri opposite Thebes, the finest 
 of all the cliff-temples of Egypt, was built for the post- 
 humous cult of the Queen and of her father. The walls 
 were decorated with scenes from the life and the expedi- 
 tions of the only female Pharaoh. 54 All the temples 
 that cover the plain on the west side of the river opposite 
 Thebes (Luxor) were designed for the worship of de- 
 ceased monarchs of the XVIIIth, XlXth, and XXth 
 dynasties. They are as splendid as any of the temples 
 that were erected for the gods. 
 
 /. Mourning for the Dead. — The rites of embalm- 
 ment and of burial were attended with an elaborate ritual 
 of mourning. Thus the Tale of Sinuhe, a noble who 
 flourished under Amenemhat I of the Xllth dynasty, 
 narrates: 
 
 "In year thirty, second month of first season, seventh day, 
 Departed the god (Pharaoh) into his horizon, 
 The King of Upper and Lower Egypt, Sehetepibre. 
 He ascended to heaven, joined with the sun; 
 The divine limbs were mingled with him that begat him. 
 In the court silence. . . . 
 The great double doors were closed, 
 The court sat in mourning, 
 The people bowed down in silence." 
 
 in the case of Kheti, a noble under the Xth dynasty, 
 it is recorded after his death: "Then mourned the king 
 himself, all Middle Egypt, and the Northland." 56 Gen. 
 50:3, 10 narrate that the Egyptians mourned seventy 
 
 54 See Baedeker, Egypt, 5 pp. 278-283. 
 65 Breasted, Records, i. 491, 
 68 Ibid., i. 414. 
 
196 SPIRITISM v 
 
 days for Jacob after his death, and seven days at the time 
 of his burial. 
 
 An important part of the mourning was the recitation 
 of formal laments. The model for these was the la- 
 ment of Isis over Osiris, a late form of which has come 
 down to us. Part of this reads as follows: "Come to 
 thy house, come to thy house, O god On ! Come to thy 
 house, thou who hast no enemies! O beautiful stripling, 
 come to thy house that thou mayest see me ! I am thy 
 sister whom thou lovest; thou shalt not abandon me. O 
 beauteous youth, come to thy house. ... I see thee not 
 and my heart fears for thee, mine eyes long for thee. . . . 
 Come to her who loves thee, who loves thee, Wennofre, 
 thou blessed one ! Come to thy sister, come to thy wife, 
 thy wife, thou whose heart is still ! Come to her who is 
 mistress of thy house ! I am thy sister, born of the same 
 mother, thou shalt not be far from me. Gods and men 
 turn their faces toward thee, and together they bewail 
 thee. ... I call to thee and weep, so that it is heard 
 even to heaven, but thou dost not hear my voice, and 
 yet I am thy sister whom thou lovedst upon earth ! Thou 
 lovedst none besides me, my brother, my brother!" 57 
 
 A lament sung by the Theban women as the boat 
 floated across the Nile bearing the mummy to its last rest- 
 ing-place in the great necropolis called "Place of Beauty" 
 ran as follows : 
 
 "Turn to the West, to the Land of the Righteous! 
 The wives in the boat weep bitterly, bitterly. 
 In peace, in peace to the West, 
 O praised one, come in peace! 
 When the day shall dawn to Eternity, 
 Then shall we see thee again." 58 
 
 As in other Oriental lands, the family was assisted in 
 these laments by professional mourning men and mourn- 
 ing women. 59 
 
 57 Erman, Religion, p. 33. 
 
 58 Erman, Life in Ancient Egypt, p. 320. 
 "Breasted, Records, i. 370. 
 
v SPIRITISM IN EGYPT 197 
 
 m. Sacrifice to the Dead. — The gifts of food placed 
 in the grave could not be expected to last the dead man 
 forever, consequently, his descendants were expected to 
 bring additional offerings regularly. The tomb-inscrip- 
 tions frequently pray that the deceased may not be left 
 without the necessities of life. Thus Nezemib of the 
 period of the Vth dynasty intreats: u O ye living who 
 are still upon earth, who pass by this tomb; let water be 
 poured out for me, for I was a master of secret things. 
 Let a mortuary offering of that which is with you come 
 forth for me, for I was one beloved of the people. Never 
 was I beaten in the presence of any official since my birth; 
 never did I take the property of any man by violence ; but 
 I was a doer of that which pleased all men." 60 
 
 Pious descendants record that they fulfilled these filial 
 obligations. Thus the son of a royal favourite of the 
 IVth dynasty says : "Her eldest son, the field-judge, 
 built (this chapel) for her to make mortuary offerings to 
 her therein." 61 Ahmose, the founder of the XVIIIth 
 dynasty, is represented as saying: "It is I who have 
 remembered the mother of my mother, and the mother 
 of my father, great king's-wife and king's-mother, 
 Tetisheri, triumphant. Although she has already a tomb 
 and a mortuary chapel on the soil of Thebes and Abydos, 
 I have said this to thee, that my majesty has desired to 
 have made for her also a pyramid and a house in Tazeser, 
 as a monumental donation of my majesty. Its lake shall 
 be dug, its trees shall be planted, its offerings shall be 
 founded, equipped with people, endowed with land, 
 presented with herds, mortuary priests and ritual priests 
 having their duties, every man knowing his stipula- 
 tion. . . . Never did former kings the like of it for 
 their mothers." 62 
 
 As a rule, however, the Egyptians could not be trusted 
 to show the filial piety that was displayed by the Chinese 
 
 80 Breasted, Records, i. 279. 
 
 81 Ibid., i. 185. 
 
 93 Ibid., ii. 36-37. 
 
198 SPIRITISM v 
 
 in keeping up the regular sacrifices to the dead; accord- 
 ingly, the wealthy were in the habit of leaving endow- 
 ments for the maintenance of their mortuary offerings 
 as well as for the upkeep of their tombs. This practice 
 began in the Old Kingdom, and lasted down to the latest 
 times. 63 One of the most interesting cases is that of 
 Hepzefi, Count of Siut, under Sesostris I of the Xllth 
 tercalary days"; according to the second contract, "white 
 the priests of Siut to provide offerings to his departed 
 spirit. According to the first contract, he is to receive 
 "a white loaf per individual priest for his statue which 
 is in the temple of Anubis, on the first of the five in- 
 tercalary days" according to the second contract, "white 
 bread from each of them for his statue which is in charge 
 of the mortuary priest, on New Year's Day"; according 
 to the third contract, "there shall be given to him bread 
 and beer in the first month of the first season, on the 
 eighteenth day, the day of the Wag-feast, namely, twenty- 
 two jars of beer, two thousand two hundred flat loaves, 
 and fifty-five white loaves" ; according to the fourth con- 
 tract, "a white loaf per each individual among them for 
 his statue which is in the temple, in the first month of 
 the first season, on the eighteenth day, the day of the 
 Wag-feast"; according to the fifth contract, "three wicks 
 with which the fire is kindled for the god"; according to 
 the sixth contract, "the roast of meat which is due upon 
 the altar, which is placed upon the oblation-table, for 
 every bull which is slaughtered in the temple; and one jar 
 for every jar of beer, every day of a procession, which 
 shall be due every future superior prophet"; according to 
 the seventh contract, "three wicks due to him, with which 
 the fire is kindled in the temple of Anubis, on New Year's 
 Eve, New Year's Day, and the night of the Wag-feast." 
 The remaining contracts are similar in contents. 64 
 
 Among the articles of food offered to the dead the 
 
 83 See above, p. 167f. 
 
 •* Breasted, Records, i. 535 sq. 
 
v SPIRITISM IN EGYPT 199 
 
 inscriptions mention: grain, bread and cakes of various 
 materials and sizes, fruit of all sorts, honey, wild, and 
 domestic cattle, sheep, goats, and game of wild animals, 
 geese and other birds and fish. As libations we find 
 water, milk, beer and wine. Incense also was offered to 
 the dead, as to the gods. The reliefs that accompany the 
 inscriptions often depict the dead enjoying the dainties 
 that are set before them. Thus the tomb of Nekonekh 
 under the Vth dynasty represents him seated at a table, 
 while eight mortuary priests serve him with viands. Evi- 
 dently the ancient Egyptians had no intention of going 
 hungry in the other world. 
 
 The foregoing survey makes it evident that in all es- 
 sential particulars the beliefs of the Egyptians in regard 
 to disembodied spirits were identical with those of the 
 Chinese and of other early races. 
 
CHAPTER VI 
 
 SPIRITISM AMONG THE EARLY SEMITES 
 
 In the Book of Genesis the Hebrews first appear as a 
 nomadic race entering Canaan from the east. From the 
 period prior to this migration no records or traditions 
 have come down to us; nevertheless by means of the sci- 
 ences of comparative philology and comparative religion 
 it is possible to gain considerable information concerning 
 the theology of that remote age. In language, customs 
 and beliefs the Hebrews were closely akin to the Canaan- 
 ites, Aramaeans, Assyrians, Babylonians, Arabs, Ethiop- 
 ians and other races that are grouped by ethnologists 
 under the general name of "Semitic." 1 Ideas and in- 
 stitutions that are found among all these races must have 
 been possessed by their forefathers in the primitive home 
 in the Arabian desert, where they dwelt together before 
 their dispersion. Applying this comparative method of 
 research, we may sketch in outline the main features of 
 early Semitic belief concerning the future life. 
 
 a. The Conception of Spirits. — The primitive Semitic 
 conception of spirits was in all its main features similar 
 to that of other primitive races throughout the world. 
 Man was believed to consist of two elements, 'flesh,' 
 (Heb. basar) and 'breath' (Heb. Phoen. nefesh, Arab, 
 nafs, Eth. nafas, Syr. nafsha, Bab. Ass. napishtu) . The 
 'breath' was the seat of knowledge, appetite, emotion, 
 and activity; accordingly it was identical with the person. 
 In all the Semitic dialects nafshi, 'my breath,' means 
 'myself.' The 'breath' was supposed to inhere in the 
 
 1 From Sem, the Greek and Latin form of Shem, the assumed ancestor of these 
 peoples in Gen. 10:21-31. 
 
 200 
 
vi SPIRITISM AMONG EARLY SEMITES 201 
 
 blood, because it was observed that when the blood was 
 shed life went out of a man. The ancient Arabs spoke 
 of the nafs as flowing out of a man who was dying of 
 wounds, and all the Semites were afraid to eat the blood 
 of slaughtered animals for fear that they might be pos- 
 sessed by the spirits of these animals. The heart, as the 
 chief receptacle of blood in the body, was also regarded 
 as the abode of the 'breath' and as the centre of its 
 intellectual faculties. At death the 'breath' with all its 
 powers went out of a man. 
 
 Another word for 'spirit' found in several of the 
 Semitic languages is ruh (Heb. ruah, Aram, ruha) 
 'wind.' In Arabic this word has only the meaning 
 'wind,' except in late usage borrowed from the Syriac, 
 and it is not found in Assyro-Babylonian ; accordingly, 
 it is probably not such a primitive word for 'spirit' as 
 nefesh, although it must have been in use before the 
 separation of the Hebraeo-Canaanite and the Aramaean 
 branches from the parent Semitic stock. It is practically 
 a synonym of nefesh, but it emphasizes more the energy 
 of the soul. 
 
 b. Existence of Spirits After Death. — Among the 
 Semites belief in the continued existence of the disem- 
 bodied nefesh or ruah existed from the earliest times. 
 The ancient tombs at Nippur and Tello in Babylonia 
 contain the usual offerings to the dead. 2 In the oldest 
 tombs of Palestine 3 the dead were commonly depos- 
 ited in the contracted position of an unborn child, in 
 witness to the faith that death was birth into another 
 life; and with them were placed offerings of food and of 
 other useful articles. In Babylonian the napishtu, or 
 'breath' is said to "go out" of a man, but the disem- 
 bodied spirit is not called napishtu, as in the other 
 Semitic dialects, but etimmu (not ekimmu as the name 
 
 2 Peters, Nippur, II. 173; Maspero, The Dawn of Civilisation, p. 686; Jastrow, 
 Religion of Babylonia and Assyria, pp. 598f. 
 
 3 Palestine Exploration Fund, Quarterly Statement, 1902, pp. 35 Iff.; 1903, 
 
 pp. 14ff. 
 
202 SPIRITISM vi 
 
 was formerly read) , or its Sumerian equivalent utukku. 4 
 In Rabbinical writings the Hebrew equivalent of etimmu 
 is ruah. 
 
 The statement of the Qur'an (Sura xxxix. 43) "Allah 
 takes the souls to himself when they die, and those who 
 have not died (He takes) in their sleep," shows that the 
 ancient Arabs believed that the soul left the body in 
 sleep, and that death differed from sleep only in the fact 
 that the soul failed to return to its former residence. 
 In some passages of the Qur y an Muhammad speaks as 
 if the heathen Arabs believed that the soul perished with 
 the body, but this is exaggeration due to the contrast 
 between the lower ideas of the heathen and his own 
 higher doctrine of immortality. By all the Arabs the 
 nafs or 'breath' was supposed to live on; and nafs, or 
 in later usage ruh, 'wind,' was the common name for 
 'ghost.' According to Wellhausen 5 the Jinn, or 'hidden 
 beings' of the Arabs, who were for the most part nature- 
 spirits, also included spirits of the dead. Like other 
 primitive peoples, the pre-Muhammadan Arabs buried 
 the dead with care, provided for their needs in the other 
 world, invoked their assistance, and even swore by their 
 life. 6 
 
 c. Powers Retained by Spirits of the Dead. — Spirits 
 of the dead were believed to retain in large measure their 
 former intellectual powers. Those who had led unhappy 
 lives on earth or who had come to untimely ends grieved 
 over their misfortunes in the other world and returned 
 to take their revenge upon the living. 
 
 d. Powers Gained by Spirits of the Dead. — The 
 Semites also believed in the acquisition of new and super- 
 human powers by disembodied spirits. They could move 
 at will from place to place. As a Babylonian exorcism 
 says: 
 
 4 Thompson, The Devils and Evil Spirits of Babylonia, i. p. xxiv. 
 8 Reste arabischen Heidentums, 2 pp. 148ff. 
 
 6 Wellhausen, op. cit., p. 185; Noldeke, in Hastings, Encyclopedia of Religion, 
 art. "Arabs," p. 672. 
 
vi SPIRITISM AMONG EARLY SEMITES 203 
 
 "The highest walls, the thickest walls, like a flood they pass 
 From house to house they break through. 
 No door can shut them out, no bolt can turn them back. 
 Through the door like a snake they glide, 
 Through the hinge like the wind they blow." 7 
 
 They could take possession of inanimate objects and 
 use these as they would their own bodies. Among the 
 Arabs a heap of stones, or a standing stone (nusb = Heb. 
 massebd), was placed upon the grave, and was believed 
 to be occupied by the dead just as really as similar stones 
 in sanctuaries were occupied by the gods. 8 In Nabataean, 
 Palmyrene, and Aramaic nefesh, 'soul,' means also 
 'tombstone. ' The Babylonians provided statues at the 
 entrances to temples and houses as residences for the 
 ghosts. 9 Among the Arabs ghosts and Jinn frequently 
 appeared in the forms of beasts and birds, particularly 
 of serpents and owls. 10 The same was true in Baby- 
 lonia. 11 
 
 Spirits could also take possession of living men. The 
 Arabs believed that while the soul was absent in sleep 
 the Jinn could easily occupy its body. They caused all 
 manner of diseases and insanity. The name for 'insane' 
 was majntln, i. e., 'possessed by Jinn.' They were also 
 the cause of remarkable ability and prophetic inspira- 
 tion. 12 The spirit that revealed himself to a medium was 
 known as rdi y the same word as the Hebrew ro'eh, 
 'seer.' The Babylonians believed that the troubled 
 ghost of the unburied, or of one who had died an un- 
 natural death, might enter the body of any person with 
 whom it had established chance relations in life, and 
 might then cause disease and pain. 13 It could be driven 
 out only by powerful incantations in the name of the 
 
 7 Thompson, Devils and Evil Spirits, 1. 53. 
 "Wellhausen, Reste, pp. 180, 184. 
 
 9 Jastrow, Die Religion Bab., p. 281; see al9o the representations in Thompson, 
 Devils, I, frontispiece, PL II; and Rogers, The Religion of Babylonia, p. 147. 
 
 10 Wellhausen, Reste, pp. 152, 157, 185. 
 
 11 Thompson, Devils, i. pp. L, 51; Jastrow, Die Rel. Bab., p. 281. 
 
 12 Wellhausen, Reste* pp. 155-168. 
 
 13 Thompson, Devils, I, xxxiv. 
 
2o 4 SPIRITISM vi 
 
 great gods, and by threats that it should be deprived of 
 food and drink. 
 
 A Babylonian exorcism mentions the following classes 
 of troubled ghosts : — 
 
 "Whether thou art a ghost that hath gone forth from the earth, 
 Or a phantom of night that hath no couch, 
 Or a woman (that hath died) a virgin, 
 Or a man (that hath died) unmarried, 
 Or one that lieth dead in the desert. 
 
 • •••••• 
 
 Or one that hath been torn from a date-palm, 
 
 Or one that cometh through the waters in a boat, 
 
 • •••••• 
 
 Or a harlot (that hath died) whose body is sick, 
 
 Or a woman (that hath died) in travail, 
 Or a woman (that hath died) with a babe at the breast, 
 Or a weeping woman (that hath died) with a babe at the 
 breast." 14 
 
 Among the Arabs the soul of a murdered man was 
 believed to thirst for the blood of his slayer. If his 
 clansmen did not speedily avenge him, he appeared in 
 the form of an owl, crying, "Give me to drink." 15 
 
 Among the Babylonians ghosts frequently appeared 
 in houses and omens were drawn from these manifesta- 
 tions. 16 In the Gilgamesh Epic (tablet xii) the ghost 
 of Enkidu comes to Gilgamesh, talks with him, and 
 answers his questions. Among the Arabs ghosts were 
 more easily perceived by animals than by men (a wide- 
 spread belief; cf. Balaam's ass, Num. 22:23), but they 
 were also seen by men under favourable conditions. They 
 spoke in whispers or in mysterious murmurs in the desert. 
 Their voice was known as sada, 'echo.' When they 
 were addressed by the living, they replied out of their 
 graves. When a woman named Laila doubted whether 
 her dead lover could answer her, as he had promised he 
 
 14 Thompson, Devils and Evil Spirits, I. 39ff. 
 
 15 Noldeke, in Hastings, Encyclopaedia of Religion, art. "Arabs," p. 672. 
 
 16 Thompson, Devils and Evil Spirits, I. xxxv. 
 
vi SPIRITISM AMONG EARLY SEMITES 205 
 
 would do, an owl flew out of his grave and struck her 
 in the face. 17 
 
 e. Powers Lost by Spirits of the Dead. — The ancient 
 Semites agreed with other primitive peoples in thinking 
 that with the loss of the body the soul lost many of its 
 powers. Disembodied spirits were conceived as feeble, 
 intangible beings, bereft of the sense-perceptions that 
 belong to the physical organism. The names "breath," 
 "wind," "shadow," "echo," that were applied to ghosts 
 suggested their ethereal nature. In Babylonian incanta- 
 tions they are described as "wind-gusts that come forth 
 from the grave." "In heaven they are unknown, on 
 earth they are not understood; they neither stand or sit, 
 nor eat nor drink." "They are the roaming wind-blasts; 
 no wife have they, no son do they beget. Sense they 
 know not. They are as horses reared among the hills." 18 
 In the Gilgamesh Epic the ghost of Enkidu issues "like 
 a wind out of the follow in the earth." 19 
 
 /. The Dwelling-Place of the Dead. — The ancient 
 Semites believed that the disembodied spirit continued to 
 maintain a relation with its dead body, so that the corpse, 
 or the grave, continued to be the chief seat of its activity. 
 In Babylonia the etimmn, or 'ghost,' is constantly 
 spoken of as coming forth from the grave. Thus in an 
 incantation we read: — 
 
 "The gods which seize upon man have gone forth from the grave, 
 The evil wind-blasts have gone forth from the grave, 
 To demand the paying of rites and the pouring of libations, 
 They have gone forth from the grave. 
 All that is evil in their hosts like a whirlwind 
 Hath gone forth from the grave." 20 
 
 In Arabia the name hamd, 'skull,' applied to the 
 departed indicates that they were associated with their 
 mortal remains. Many of the Jinn live in graveyards 
 
 17 Wellhausen, Reste, pp. 150f., 183. 
 
 18 Thompson, Devils and Evil Spirits, I. xxix, 75. 
 
 19 Gilgamesh Epic, tablet xii, col. iii; = Keilinschriftliche Bibliothek, VI, 263. 
 
 20 Thompson, Devils and Evil Spirits, II, 131. 
 
206 SPIRITISM vi 
 
 or in regions where all the inhabitants have died. They 
 love decay and foul smells. 21 
 
 Without burial the spirits of the dead could not rest. 
 In the Babylonian Gilgamesh Epic (tablet xii, col. 6) 
 the ghost of Enkidu says to Gilgamesh: "He whose 
 corpse has been thrown out into the desert — thou hast 
 seen, I have seen it — his spirit resteth not in the earth." 
 Among the numerous classes of evil spirits in Babylonia 
 none were more dreaded than ghosts of the unburied: — 
 
 "He that lieth in a ditch ... he that is covered by no grave . . . 
 He that lieth uncovered, whose head is uncovered with dust, 
 The king's son that lieth in the desert, or in the ruins, 
 The hero whom they have slain with the sword." 22 
 
 By both Babylonians and Assyrians burial was refused 
 to enemies, and their bodies were cast out to be devoured 
 by beasts and birds. The graves of dead enemies also 
 were often violated. In the stele of Eannatum (c. 2700 
 B.C.) the corpses of enemies are depicted as being de- 
 voured by vultures. Of the Babylonians who supported 
 his brother Shamashshumukin in a revolt Ashurbanipal 
 says: "I slew there those people. Their cut-up flesh I 
 gave as food to dogs, swine, vultures, eagles, birds of 
 heaven and fish of the sea." 23 After his conquest of 
 Elam Ashurbanipal records: "The tombs of their kings, 
 the former and the latter, who had not feared Ashur 
 and Ishtar, my lords, and who had opposed the kings 
 my fathers, I destroyed and wasted and let the sun behold 
 them. Their bones I carried to Assyria. I allowed their 
 spirits no rest. I deprived them of their food and their 
 libations of water." 24 
 
 Among the Arabs burial was a necessity, without 
 which the soul could not rest. Cremation was regarded 
 as no less dreadful than the burning of the living body. 
 
 21 Wellhausen, Reste, pp. ISOf.; Doughty, Arabia Deserta I, 259, 448. 
 
 22 Haupt, Akkadische und Sumerische Keilschrifttexte, p. 86. 
 23 Annals of Ashurbanipal, IV, 738.; VII, 45. 
 
 2 * Ibid., VI, 7 Off.; see Jeremias, Die babylonisch-assyrischen Vorstellungen von 
 Leben nach dem Tode, pp. 46ff. 
 
vi SPIRITISM AMONG EARLY SEMITES 207 
 
 Only the corpses of enemies were cast out to be de- 
 voured. 25 Graves of friends were carefully covered with 
 heavy stones so that they might not be entered by hyenas. 
 
 In marked contrast to this conception of the connection 
 of the disembodied spirit with its corpse is the belief 
 found among the Babylonians and expressed in many 
 parts of the Old Testament that the dead live together 
 in a subterranean abode known as She 61. This idea is 
 not found among the Arabs, nor among several other 
 races allied to the Hebrews; it cannot therefore be primi- 
 tive Semitic. Other races think of the soul either as 
 remaining with the body, or as going to a realm beneath 
 the earth, on a mountain top, beyond the ocean, or in 
 the sky. This variety shows that the conception of a 
 spirit-world is secondary, and that the primitive belief 
 was that the soul remained in the neighbourhood of the 
 body. This also was doubtless the original Semitic idea, 
 and the doctrine of Sheol is a later development. 
 
 g. General Conception of Death. — In their estimate 
 of the worth of spirit-life the Semites did not rise above 
 the general level of other primitive races. In pre- 
 Muhammadan Arab poetry the thought is continually 
 repeated that death is the end of happiness, therefore 
 "Let us eat and drink for to-morrow we die." No 
 consolation is derived from the belief that the soul con- 
 tinues to exist and possesses superhuman powers. The 
 only comfort offered is that death is the universal lot of 
 men. In Babylonia long life was regarded as an evidence 
 of the favour of the gods, and death as a sign that they 
 had forsaken a man. It was dreaded as a fearful and 
 inevitable disaster, and was known as "the day of dis- 
 tress," or "the day that lets no one go." The lot of the 
 dead was most unhappy. "Dust is their food, mud their 
 victuals. They see not the light, they dwell in darkness 
 They are clothed like birds with a covering of wings." 26 
 
 31 Wellhausen, Reste, p. 177; Noldeke, Hastings, Encyclopedia of Religion, I, 672. 
 "Descent of Ishtar, line 8. 
 
208 SPIRITISM vi 
 
 When Gilgamesh appeals to the ghost of Enkidu to tell 
 him what the other world is like, Enkidu at first refuses 
 for fear that his friend cannot bear the terrible descrip- 
 tion; and when at last he consents, he bids Gilgamesh 
 prepare to weep over the things that he will hear. 27 
 
 The great gods whom men loved and adored were 
 gods of the upper world and of the living; their sway- 
 did not extend into the dark abodes of the dead. They 
 aided men against the ghosts and evil demons who sought 
 to destroy them. When death came it was a sign that 
 their favour was withdrawn, or that they were unable 
 to help against the powers of darkness. The disembodied 
 spirit passed out of their jurisdiction into that of divini- 
 ties with whom in life it had established no friendly 
 relations. Such a conception of immortality was quite as 
 devoid of religious or ethical value as were the spiritistic 
 beliefs of other primitive races. 
 
 h. The Cult of the Dead. — The rites of mourning 
 among the Semites were similar to those among other 
 primitive peoples and bear witness to a similar cult of 
 the dead. Among the ancient Arabs it was customary 
 to strip one's self when mourning. Women exposed not 
 only their faces and breasts, but sometimes their entire 
 bodies. Messengers that brought tidings of death ap- 
 peared naked or half-naked. 28 The custom had a re- 
 ligious origin, since the Arabs used to make the circuit of 
 the Ka'ba naked, and even today perform it without 
 shoes and in a simple loincloth. In Babylonian monu- 
 ments of the earliest period the worshippers are depicted 
 naked; in later times they wear a kilt. 29 Cutting one's 
 flesh as a means of establishing a blood-covenant with 
 the dead was common among the ancients. 30 Women 
 also cut off their hair, and men sheared the head and the 
 beard. The casting of dust upon the head or the body 
 
 27 Gilgamesh Epic, tablet xii, col. 4. 
 
 28 Wellhausen, Reste arabischen Heidentums, 2 pp. 177, 195. 
 
 29 Jastrow, Religion of Babylonia and Assyria, p. 666. 
 80 Wellhausen, Reste, p. 181. 
 
vi SPIRITISM AMONG EARLY SEMITES 209 
 
 was another mourning custom. 31 Analogous was the 
 habit of drinking water mixed with dust from the 
 grave. 32 Fasting on the day of death, or for a longer 
 period, was also a common practice. 
 
 Burial was the universal Semitic custom; indeed, the 
 word kabar, 'bury,' is common to all the Semitic lan- 
 guages. By the ancient Arabs graves were surrounded 
 with a hima f or sacred inclosure, and were provided with 
 ansdb, or standing stones, like the sanctuaries of the gods. 
 They were also asylums where criminals found refuge. 
 At them all the rites of sacrifice went on that were usual 
 in the worship of the gods. 33 
 
 Among the Arabs the cooking-pot and dishes of the 
 deceased were broken, and his camel was lamed and 
 tethered near the grave to die of starvation. About 
 1 100 A.D. certain Arabs of Northern Yemen honoured 
 a dead chief by breaking a thousand swords and three 
 hundred bows and by laming seventy horses. Not merely 
 at the time of burial, but also subsequently camels were 
 slain. An early poet laments that he cannot sacrifice his 
 camel to his friend because it is the only one he possesses. 
 Besides blood, libations of water and of milk were poured 
 upon graves, and the wish was expressed that much rain 
 might fall upon them. In some parts of Arabia fragrant 
 wood was burned as incense. These customs have lasted 
 down to the present day both among the Bedawin and 
 among the Arabs of Syria. 34 
 
 Prayer to the dead is well attested among the ancient 
 Semites. Among the Arabs the women broke out in a 
 shrill wail when any member of the family died, and 
 continued this until the period of mourning was over. 
 This was accompanied with frequent ejaculation of the 
 
 31 Wellhausen, Reste, 2 p. 177. 
 
 32 Ibid., p. 163; Jastrow, "Dust and Ashes as Symbols of Mourning," Jour. Am. 
 Orient. Soc, XX, 133f. 
 
 83 Wellhausen, Reste, 2 p. 184. 
 
 34 Ibid., pp. 177-84; Noldeke, Hastings, Encyclopedia of Religion and 
 
 Ethics, I, 672; Burckhardt, Beduinen und Wahaby, pp. 84f. ; Doughty, Arabia 
 
 Deserta, I, 240, 354, 442, 450 ff. ; Curtiss, Ursemitische Religion, chap. xix. 
 
210 SPIRITISM vi 
 
 name of the deceased, and with the entreaty, u Be not 
 far away!" Poets also composed extended laments ad- 
 dressed to the dead. The belief that spirits of the dead 
 could be called up by magic arts to assist the living, or 
 to reveal the future, was held by the Semites in common 
 with other ancient peoples. The Arab magician had his 
 tdbVy or 'follower,' i.e., his familiar spirit. In Baby- 
 lonia "raiser of the departed spirit" was the standing 
 title of the necromancer. In the Gilgamesh Epic (tablet 
 xii, col. 3) we have an account of how Gilgamesh raised 
 the ghost of Enkidu and held converse with him. 
 
CHAPTER VII 
 
 SPIRITISM IN BABYLONIA AND ASSYRIA 
 
 About 5000 B.C. a race appeared in Babylonia whose 
 remains survived in consequence of the fact that it built 
 its towns on artificial mounds raised above the level of 
 the river floods. This race is called Sumerian because 
 its earliest monuments have been found in Sumer, the 
 ancient name for Southern Babylonia. In the lowest 
 levels of the mounds inscriptions have been discovered 
 in an extremely primitive character that approximates 
 picture-writing. In these characters we see the beginning 
 of the Babylonian and Assyrian cuneiform, or wedge- 
 writing, that remained in use almost down to the begin- 
 ning of the Christian era. About 3500 B.C. the invasion 
 of Babylonia by the Semites began. In process of time 
 the Sumerians were conquered, and their language gave 
 place to a dialect akin to Hebrew, but their civilization 
 left an indelible impression upon the conquering Semites. 
 Sumerian remained the sacred language of Babylonia, 
 just as Latin remained the sacred language of the Roman 
 Church; and an immense body of Sumerian literature was 
 transmitted by the priests down almost to the beginning 
 of our era. It is certain that none of this material was 
 invented by the Semites, but that it was merely inherited 
 from their Sumerian predecessors. From this literature, 
 contained chiefly in tablets discovered in the library of 
 the Assyrian king Ashurbanipal (626 B.C.), it is possible 
 to derive a full and accurate conception of Sumerian 
 beliefs in regard to the future life. 
 
 a. Activity of the Dead. — Unlike China, where an- 
 cestors were believed to bless their descendants and re- 
 
 211 
 
212 SPIRITISM vii 
 
 ward their filial piety, in Babylonia and Assyria the 
 activity of spirits of the dead was entirely maleficent. 
 Nowhere are they said to bless and help men, nowhere 
 are they invoked for aid. They come forth from the 
 grave to kill and to destroy. The best that can be hoped 
 of them is that they will be placated by the offerings made 
 at their tombs, will remain at rest, and will refrain from 
 harm. Positive good is never expected from them. Good 
 things come from the gods, who are the protectors of men 
 against the depredations of the ghosts. Prayers, there- 
 fore, are addressed only to the gods, ghosts are appeased 
 or are exorcised. 1 
 
 The Sumerians, or primitive Babylonians, believed that 
 all disease was caused by the obsession of malignant 
 spirits that entered into the bodies of men. Three classes 
 of evil spirits were recognized, first, ghosts of those who 
 had died unnatural deaths, or had remained unburied; 
 second, vampires that were half-human and half-demon; 
 third, fiends who were of the same nature as the gods. 
 These are all enumerated at the beginning of a hymn to 
 the sun-god: 
 
 "He on whom an evil Spirit hath rushed, 
 He whom an evil Demon hath enveloped in his bed, 
 He whom an evil Ghost hath cast down in the night, 
 He whom a great Devil hath smitten, 
 He whose limbs an evil God hath racked ( ?), 
 He — the hair of whose body an evil Fiend hath set on end, 
 He whom ... a Hag-demon hath seized, 
 He whom a Ghoul hath cast down, 
 He whom a Robber-sprite hath afflicted, 
 
 He whom the Handmaid of the Night-Phantom hath wedded, 
 The man with whom the Handmaid of the Night-Phantom 
 hath had union." 2 
 
 1 See L. W. King, Babylonian Magic and Sorcery, 1896; R. C. Thompson, The 
 Devils and Evil Spirits of Babylonia, 1913; S. Langdon, Babylonian Magic, 1914; 
 
 E. Kuchler, Beitrage zur Kentniss der Assyrisch-Babylonischen Medizin, 1904; 
 
 F. von Oefele, numerous articles on Keilschriftmedizin; M. Jastrow, "The Medi- 
 cine of the Babylonians and Assyrians," Proceedings of the Royal Society of 
 Medicine, March, 1914. 
 
 a Thompson, I. p. xxvii. 
 
vii IN BABYLONIA AND ASSYRIA 213 
 
 Of these various demons an incantation says : 
 
 ' 'Through the gloomy street by night they roam, 
 Smiting sheepfold and cattle-pen; 
 Shutting up the land as with door and bolt. 
 Rending in pieces on high, bringing destruction below, 
 They are the Children of the Underworld. 
 Loudly roaring above, gibbering below, 
 They are the bitter venom of the gods. 
 They are the great storms directed from Heaven, 
 They are the owls which hoot over a city. 
 Knowing no care, they grind the land like corn, 
 Knowing no mercy, they rage against mankind, 
 They spill their blood like rain, 
 Devouring their flesh and sucking their veins. 
 
 • ••••• 
 
 They are demons full of violence, 
 Ceaselessly devouring blood." 3 
 
 Different demons were the causes of different diseases. 
 Ahhazu caused liver troubles; Ashakku, tuberculosis; 
 Ti'u, headache; Labartu, the death of women or children 
 in child-birth. One of the most curious tablets that has 
 come down to us is the description of the way in which 
 a devil known as "the toothache worm" obtained from 
 the Creator permission to live in the teeth of men. It 
 reads as follows: — 
 
 "After Anu had created the Heavens, 
 The Heavens created the Earth, 
 The Earth created the Rivers, 
 The Rivers created the Canals, 
 The Canals created the Marshes, 
 The Marshes created the Worm. 
 Came the Worm (and) wept before Shamash, 
 Before Ea came her tears: — 
 'What wilt thou give me for food, 
 What wilt thou give me for my devouring?' 
 'I will give thee dried bones, 
 (And) scented . . . -wood.' 
 'What are these dried bones to me, 
 And scented . . . -wood! 
 
 8 Thompson, I. p. xlvi. 
 
2i 4 SPIRITISM vn 
 
 Let me drink among the teeth, 
 
 And set me on the gums; 
 
 That I may devour the blood of the teeth 
 
 And of their gums destroy the strength; 
 
 Then shall I hold the bolt of the door.' " 4 
 
 When, as here, disease is caused by a specific being that 
 takes up its abode in a particular tissue of the human 
 body, we do not seem to be far away from the modern 
 germ-theory of disease. 
 
 The ancient Sumerians believed that at certain times, 
 or in certain places, one was peculiarly in danger of being 
 entered by the demons. Contact with a dead body, or 
 wearing the clothes of the dead, or intimate association 
 with a man during the days that preceded his death, 
 rendered one liable to obsession by his ghost. 
 
 "Whether thou art a ghost that hath come from the earth, 
 Or a phantom of night that hath no couch, 
 Or whether thou be one with whom on a day [I have eaten], 
 Or with whom on a day [I have drunk], 
 Or with whom on a day I have anointed myself, 
 Or with whom on a day I have clothed myself, 
 Or whether thou be one with whom I have entered and drunk, 
 Or with whom I have entered and anointed myself, 
 Or with whom I have entered and clothed myself, 
 Or whether thou be one with whom I have eaten food when I 
 
 was hungry, 
 Or with whom I have drunk water when I was thirsty." 5 
 
 Here there seems to be knowledge of the danger of con- 
 tagious diseases. It was also observed that devils dwelt 
 most frequently in places that had been abandoned by 
 men: 
 
 "O evil Spirit, get thee forth to distant places, 
 O evil Demon, hie thee unto the ruins, 
 Where thou standest is forbidden ground, 
 A ruined, desolate house is thy home." 6 
 
 * Thompson, II. p. 161. 
 5 Ibid., I. pp. 39, 43. 
 •Ibid., p. 139. 
 
vii IN BABYLONIA AND ASSYRIA 215 
 
 Such spots were doubtless the seats of malaria, or of 
 other germ diseases, and this was the reason why they 
 had been forsaken by their original inhabitants. 
 
 b. The Abode of the Dead. — The Sumerian popu- 
 lation of Babylonia had already reached a high stage of 
 civilization before the Semites arrived on the scene. 
 Primitive conceptions of the dead as resting with their 
 kinsmen in the family grave the Sumerians had outgrown. 
 They conceived of the shades as dwelling together in a 
 mighty realm, and as socially organized after the manner 
 of an ancient Babylonian kingdom. 7 
 
 For this realm the usual Sumerian name is Aralu, of 
 which the etymology is unknown. Its common Hebrew 
 name is Sheol, of which also the meaning is uncertain. 
 Jeremias and Jastrow think that Sheol appears in Baby- 
 lonian as Shu'dlu, but this is denied by Jensen and 
 Zimmern. Another Sumerian name is "Land of the 
 Dead," or "Death." Still another name is "Earth." 
 Thus in the epic fragment known as Ishtars Descent to 
 Hades (rev. line 5) we read, "Ishtar has gone down to 
 the Earth, and has not come up." 8 In the Gilgamesh 
 Epic (XII, iv, 1) Gilgamesh asks Enkidu after "the law 
 of the Earth," meaning as the sequel shows, the nature of 
 the other world. 9 Closely similar in meaning is the 
 Sumerian word Kigal, 'Great Beneath,' or 'Under- 
 world,' which passes over into Semitic as Kigallu. Since 
 this region is regarded as a vast cavern, it is called Nakbu, 
 'the Hollow,' 10 or 'the Hole of the Earth.' " 
 
 From these names it is evident that the ancient 
 Babylonians regarded Sheol as situated in the depths of 
 
 7 On the Babylonion conception of Hades see Jeremias, Die babylonisch- 
 assyrischen Vorstellungen vom Leben nach dern Tode (1887); Jensen, Die Kos- 
 mologie der Babylonier (1890); Jeremias, "Holle und Paradies bei den Baby- 
 loniern," in Das Alte Orient, 1900, Part 3; Zimmern, in Schrader's Keilinschriften 
 und das Alte Testament* (1903); Warren, The Earliest Cosmogonies (1909). 
 
 8 Keilinschriftliche Bibliothek, VI. 87. 
 Ibid., 263. 
 
 10 S. A. Smith, Miscellaneous Texts, 16. 
 
 11 Keilinschriftliche Bibliothek, VI. 262. 
 
216 SPIRITISM vii 
 
 the earth. One is said to "go down" to Aralu, or to 
 "come up" from it. The gods of Aralu are also the gods 
 who cause vegetation to spring out of the ground. When 
 the Babylonian kings wish to describe the depth to which 
 they carried the substructures of their mighty edifices, 
 they say that they laid the foundations "on the breast 
 of Aralu" or "of Kigallu." The tower-temples of an- 
 cient Babylonia were regarded as counterparts of E-kur, 
 'the mountain house' or inhabited earth, and beneath 
 these the dead were buried, to correspond with the way 
 in which the shades dwelt beneath the abode of the 
 living. 12 In the inscriptions the tops of these tower- 
 temples are said to be as high as the mountains, and their 
 bases as low as the Underworld. From these expressions 
 it appears that the Babylonians regarded Sheol as a vast 
 cavern under the ground, the subterranean counterpart 
 of the space included between the earth and the celestial 
 dome of the "firmament." 
 
 Sheol could be entered directly through a gap in the 
 earth, but such a route was unusual. Ordinarily it was 
 entered through a gate in the western horizon. The 
 myths of the descent of Ishtar (Venus) and other astral 
 deities indicate that the road to the Underworld was 
 that followed by the celestial bodies. The west was the 
 region of darkness and death, as the east was the region 
 of light and life. A man haunted by a ghost prays, "Unto 
 the setting of the sun may he go." 13 
 
 The habitable earth was regarded as an island lying 
 in the midst of the ocean; consequently, in order to reach 
 the entrance of Sheol at the setting of the sun, it was 
 necessary to cross the sea. In the Gilgamesh Epic, 
 Gilgamesh, who has set out to seek his ancestor 
 Ut(Pir Sit?)-napishtim, after crossing the Syrian desert 
 and passing the mountains of Lebanon, reaches the shore 
 of the Mediterranean, and inquires of a goddess how he 
 
 12 Hilprecht, Explorations in Bible Lands, 465. 
 
 13 King, Babylonian Magic and Sorcery, p. 119, line 19. 
 
vii IN BABYLONIA AND ASSYRIA 217 
 
 may cross the sea. She replies : "There has never been 
 any ford, Gilgamesh, and no one who since the days of 
 yore has arrived here has ever crossed over the sea. The 
 sun, the hero, has crossed over the sea, but except the 
 sun, who has crossed? Hard is the passage, difficult the 
 way, and deep are the Waters of Death that lie before it. 
 Where, Gilgamesh, wilt thou go over the sea? When 
 thou comest to the Waters of Death, what wilt thou do?" 
 Presently, however, she shows Gilgamesh where he may 
 find a ferryman who will carry him over the waters. 
 Together they make a forty-five days' journey to the 
 western end of the Mediterranean. Then they enter 
 upon the "Waters of Death," or the ocean beyond the 
 straits of Gibraltar. After terrible perils they succeed 
 in passing this, and land in the farthest west on the shore 
 where Ut-napishtim dwells. 14 This ferry over the Baby- 
 lonian Styx is alluded to also in an incantation, where 
 the priest says, "I have stopped the ferry and barricaded 
 the dock, and have thus prevented the bewitching of the 
 whole world," i.e., I have prevented the spirits of the 
 dead from coming back across the ocean to molest men. 15 
 Because of this necessity of crossing the "Waters of 
 Death" the Babylonian Sheol received the epithets mat- 
 nabalkattu, 'land of crossing over,' and irsitu ruktu, 
 'distant land.' In order to reach this land spirits of the 
 dead assumed the form of birds and flew to their desti- 
 nation. In Ishtar's Descent (obv. 10) we read of the 
 shades, "They are clothed like a bird in a garment of 
 feathers." 16 
 
 For the ancient Babylonians there were seven heavens 
 presided over by the sun, moon, and the five planets. 
 There were also seven stages of the tower-temple of the 
 earth. In like manner Aralu was conceived as containing 
 seven divisions separated by walls. These walls were 
 pierced by seven gates, which had to be passed in suc- 
 
 14 Keilinschriftliche Bibliothek, VI. 217-23; Jensen, Gilgamesch Epos, 28-33. 
 
 15 Jeremias, H'olle und Parodies, 15. 
 
 16 See p. 95; Weicker, Der Seelenvogel in der alien Litteratur und Kunst (1907). 
 
218 , SPIRITISM i vii 
 
 cession by the goddess Ishtar before she reached the 
 lowest depth (Ishtar's Descent, obv. 37-62). These 
 gates were fastened with bars, and there was a porter 
 who opened them to newcomers. 
 
 Sheol was primarily a cosmological conception, and 
 had nothing to do with the grave as the abode of de- 
 parted spirits, but the Babylonians were unable to keep 
 the two ideas apart. The result was that Sheol was 
 pictured as a vast tomb in which all individual tombs 
 were included. The same ideogram was used both for 
 grave and for Aralu. In the incantations the ghosts are 
 said interchangeably to come forth out of the grave and 
 out of Aralu. Everything that the heart delights in on 
 earth is eaten by worms in the Underworld. 17 Hence the 
 conception that Sheol is dark (in spite of the fact that 
 the sun goes down into it). Thus in Babylonian one of 
 its epithets is "dark dwelling." In Ishtar' s Descent (obv. 
 7) it is called "the house where he who enters is deprived 
 of light," and in line 10 it is said, "they see not the 
 light, they dwell in darkness." 18 For the same reason 
 Sheol is conceived as a place of dust. In Ishtar's De- 
 scent 19 it is said, "Dust is their food, clay their nourish- 
 ment. . . . Over door and bar dust is strewn." 20 
 
 The Babylonian Sheol is under the rule of the god 
 Nergal or Irkalla (a personification of Irkallu, 'great 
 city,' one of the names of Aralu), and his wife Eresh- 
 kigal, 'mistress of the Underworld.' In their service 
 stand Namtaru, the death-demon, and a host of evil 
 spirits who roam over the earth, afflicting men with all 
 sorts of diseases and seeking to win new subjects for 
 their masters. To the attacks of these demons man 
 sooner or later succumbs. "He who at eventide is alive, 
 at daybreak is dead." "The day of death is unknown," 
 
 17 Gilgamesh Epic, XII. iv. 7£. 
 
 18 Cf. Gilgamesh Epic, VII. iv. 35. 
 
 19 Obv. 9, 11. 
 
 80 Cf. Gilgamesh Epic, XII. iv. 10. 
 
vil IN BABYLONIA AND ASSYRIA 219 
 
 but none the less it is certain; for it is "the day that lets 
 no one go." 
 
 Two instances are known in Babylonian literature of 
 persons who escaped death, and were translated to the 
 abode of the gods. Ut(Sit? Pir?)-napishtim, the Baby- 
 lonian Noah, after narrating the story of the Flood to 
 Gilgamesh, concludes: "Bel went up into the ship, 
 grasped my hands, and led me out, led out my wife also, 
 and caused her to kneel down at my side. He touched 
 our shoulders, stood between us, and blessed us, saying, 
 'Formerly Ut-napishtim was a man, now shall Ut-napish- 
 tim and his wife be like gods, and Ut-napishtim shall 
 dwell afar at the mouth of the streams.' " 21 Adapa just 
 missed immortality by declining the bread and the water 
 of life, 22 which shows that it was considered possible 
 for men to escape death. Such cases, however, were the 
 rare exception. 
 
 Babylonian theology knows of a distinction in the fates 
 of those who enter Aralu. One "rests in his chamber 
 and drinks clean water"; another "eats what is left in 
 the pot, the remnants of food that are cast out into the 
 street." 23 When Ishtar incurs the wrath of Ereshkigal, 
 the queen of the Underworld, Ereshkigal bids her ser- 
 vant Namtaru : "Shut her in my palace, loose upon her 
 sixty diseases." 24 The Gilgamesh Epic 25 seems to speak 
 of a judgment in the other world: "After the Watch- 
 demon and the Lock-demon have greeted a man, the 
 Anunnaki, the great gods, assemble themselves; Mam- 
 metu, who fixes fate, determines with them his fate; they 
 establish death and life." 
 
 On this basis, Jeremias and Delitzsch 26 found the 
 theory that the Babylonians distinguished a Paradise and 
 a Hell in the Underworld. The facts do not justify this 
 
 21 Gilgamesh Epic, XI. 198-204. 
 
 22 Adapa Myth, II. rev. 24-34. 
 
 23 Gilgamesh Epic, XII. vi. 1-12. 
 2i Ishtar' s Descent, obv. 68f. 
 
 26 X. vi. 35-38. 
 
 28 Babel und Bibel, 38ff. 
 
220 SPIRITISM vii 
 
 view. In the passage which speaks of the different fates 
 of the dead, the context shows that these fates depend, 
 not upon moral distinctions, but upon the manner of 
 burial. The one who "rests in his chamber and drinks 
 clean water" is he who has enjoyed the honourable in- 
 terment of a hero. The one who eats refuse is he "whose 
 corpse has been cast out upon the field, whose ghost has 
 no one to care for him." This is nothing more than a 
 survival of the primitive animistic belief that the repose 
 of the spirit depends upon the proper burial of the body. 
 The "clean water" is not the "water of life," but the 
 libation poured by a son upon the grave. The judgment 
 pronounced by Mammetu and the Anunnaki is not a 
 judgment upon character, that determines eternal life or 
 eternal death, but is merely a decision whether or no a 
 man is to die. Through severe illness his soul is brought 
 down to the very gates of Aralu, and is greeted by the 
 watchman; then the gods decide whether he is to remain 
 in the Underworld or is to return to life. This explains 
 the following line, "But the days of death are not re- 
 vealed." So, after it has been decreed that Ishtar is 
 not to remain in Hades, the Anunnaki are assembled to 
 pronounce her release, and to sprinkle her with the water 
 of life that she may return to the upper world. 27 The 
 distinction in Aralu is merely one of relative comfort, it 
 is not a distinction of place. In numerous passages the 
 dead of all ages and all degrees are described as dwelling 
 together in one common habitation. Thus in an epic 
 fragment belonging to the Gilgamesh cycle the ghost of 
 Enkidu says : 
 
 "In the house that I have entered, my friend, . . . crowns 
 lie upon the ground. There dwell the wearers of crowns, who of 
 old ruled the land, for whom Bel and Anu have appointed name 
 and memory. Cold dishes are served up to them, and they drink 
 water out of skins. In the house that I have entered, my friend, 
 dwell Enu-priests and Lagaru-priests. There dwell enchanters 
 
 27 Ishtar' s Descent, rev. 37 i. 
 
vii IN BABYLONIA AND ASSYRIA 221 
 
 and magicians. There dwell the anointed priests of the great gods. 
 There dwell the heroes Etana and Ner. There dwells the queen 
 of the Underworld Ereshkigal. There dwells Belit-seri, the scribe- 
 goddess of the lower world crouching before her." 28 
 
 By the Babylonians Sheol was conceived as a land, a 
 city, or a house, in which all classes of men dwelt together 
 as on earth. Life went on much the same as in the upper 
 world, only all was shadowy. This conception was simply 
 a survival of primitive beliefs concerning the existence of 
 the dead that were combined with the later doctrine of 
 Sheol. 29 
 
 When once a man had entered Sheol the Babylonians 
 believed that it was impossible for him to return to life 
 again. The Underworld was "the land of no return," 30 
 or "the enduring dwelling." 31 Its watchman, the "Lur- 
 ker of Nergal," does not release when once he has seized 
 a man. 32 Speaking of his friend Enkidu, Gilgamesh says: 
 "My friend whom I loved has become like clay . . . 
 Shall I not also like him lay me down to rest, and not 
 arise for evermore?" 33 This denial that the dead can 
 return means only that they cannot return to life, not that 
 they may not leave Sheol to haunt the living, or to re- 
 spond to the summons of a medium. The ancient belief 
 in ghosts and in necromancy continued alongside of the 
 belief in Sheol. 34: 
 
 Whether the Babylonians believed in the possibility of 
 a resurrection is a disputed question. A number of gods, 
 particularly Marduk, bear the title muballit mituti, 
 'quickener of the dead.' In a hymn it is said, "He whose 
 corpse has gone down to Aralu thou bringest back." 35 
 On the strength of these passages it has been claimed 
 
 28 Jeremias, Holle und Parodies, 16. 
 
 29 See pp. 6, 104, 169. 
 
 30 Ishtar's Descent, obv. 1, 6, 41. 
 
 31 Ibid., rev. 31. 
 
 32 Gilgamesh Epic, XII. iii. 18. 
 
 33 Ibid., VIII. v. 36f. 
 
 34 See pp. 212ff., 226-231. 
 
 35 King, Babylonian Magic and Sorcery, No. 2, 22. 
 
222 SPIRITISM vii 
 
 that the Babylonians believed in a resurrection, 36 but the 
 evidence is insufficient. All that this language means is 
 that the god in question raises up to life a man who is 
 sick unto death. According to the primitive conception, 
 the soul left the body in illness, or in unconsciousness, and 
 drew near to the Underworld. For a time it was doubt- 
 ful whether it would remain with the shades or return 
 to earth. The god who prevented its final separation 
 from its body was called "quickener of the dead," but 
 that there could be any resurrection after the body had 
 been buried and dissolution had set in there is no evi- 
 dence ; in fact, this idea seems to be directly contrary to 
 the statements just quoted that there is no return for one 
 upon whom Mammetu and the Anunnaki have pronounced 
 sentence of death, but only for one whose entrance to 
 Aralu they postpone. The "water of life" that is guarded 
 by the Anunnaki in Aralu does not serve to bring back the 
 dead, but only to restore those who have gone down alive 
 to Sheol. It is given to Asushunamir, the messenger of 
 the gods, that he may return to heaven ; and is sprinkled 
 on Ishtar that she may go back to the upper world. 37 
 Gilgamesh is washed with it that he may be cleansed from 
 his leprosy, 38 and Adapa has it offered to him that he may 
 attain immortality. 39 In these cases the dead are not re- 
 stored to life, but the living are prevented from dying. 
 The "water of life" is the divine counterpart of the holy 
 water with which the priest sprinkled the sick man to keep 
 the death-demons from dragging him down to Aralu. In 
 only one passage is the possibility of a real resurrection 
 suggested. When Ishtar is refused admission to Aralu, 
 she says to the porter : "If thou openest not thy gate and 
 I come not in, I will break down the door, I will shatter 
 the bolt, I will break through the threshold and remove 
 the doors, I will bring up the dead, eating, living; the 
 
 36 Jensen, Keilin<schrifiliche Bibliothek, VI. 480. 
 
 37 Ishtar' s Descent, rev. 19, 34, 38. 
 
 38 Gilgamesh Epic, XI. 254ff. 
 
 39 Adapa Myth, II. rev. 26. 
 
vii IN BABYLONIA AND ASSYRIA 223 
 
 dead shall be more numerous than the living." 40 This 
 seems to refer to a restoration of the dead to life. From 
 this it follows that the Babylonians regarded it as possi- 
 ble for the great gods to empty Aralu, if they saw fit; but 
 there is no evidence that they believed that this power 
 would ever be exerted. 
 
 c. Deification of the Dead. — Names for spirits of 
 the dead in Babylonian and Assyrian texts are regularly 
 preceded with the determinative for 'god,' Sumerian 
 dingir, Semitic ilu, the same etymologically as the Hebrew 
 word el, 'god.' This shows that they were regarded as 
 belonging to the class of superhuman beings, or "powers," 
 just as in 1 Samuel 28:13 the ghost of Samuel rising out 
 of the earth is called "a god." In the incantations they 
 are often called "evil gods." An Assyrian king calls 
 them "princes, spirits of the earth, gods who inhabit 
 the grave." 
 
 The deification of dead kings in ancient Babylonia is 
 peculiarly well attested. Some of these kings were 
 already deified during their lives, and their worship 
 naturally continued after their deaths. The first king 
 of whom this is known with certainty is NaranvSin of 
 the dynasty of Agade (c. 2750 B.C.) who had the de- 
 terminative for "god" prefixed to his name during his 
 lifetime. The same was true of his successor Sargani- 
 sharri (c. 2720 B.C.). The kings of the dynasty of Ur, 
 namely Ur-Engur (2469 B.C.), Dungi (2451 B.C.), 
 Pur-Sin (2393 B.C.), Gimil-Sin (2384 B.C.), and Ibi-Sin 
 (2377 B.C.), were all canonized while alive, except 
 Ur-Engur, the founder of the dynasty. The worship of 
 these kings persisted under their successors, just like the 
 worship of royal ancestors in China and in Egypt. In 
 succeeding generations their names were used like names 
 of gods to form proper names. Thus we find such names 
 as Dungi-ilu, 'Dungi is god,' and Dungi-bani, 'Dungi 
 
 40 Ishtar's Descent, obv. 16-20. 
 
224 SPIRITISM vii 
 
 is my creator.' A large number of such names has been 
 collected by Huber. 41 Dungi records that he built a 
 temple for his father Ur-Engur, and a temple of Dungi 
 is often mentioned. An officer of King Gimil-Sin records : 
 "For Gimil-Sin, beloved of Enlil, the king, whom Enlil 
 has chosen as his beloved, the mighty king, king of Ur, 
 king of the four quarters of the world, his god; Lugal- 
 ma-gur-ri, captain of the fortress, patesi of Ur, his 
 servant, built his beloved temple." 42 
 
 d. Burial of the Dead. — The excavations that have 
 been carried on in the mounds of Babylonia and Assyria 
 show that the inhabitants of these lands exercised the 
 greatest care in the disposal of the corpses of the dead. 
 The poor were buried in ordinary great water-jars, lined 
 with bitumen, about a metre in height. The well-to-do 
 were buried in clay coffins shaped like a baby's bath-tub, 
 also about a metre in length. In order to insert them 
 into these small receptacles the bodies were doubled 
 together or were divided through the middle. The coffins 
 were frequently covered with wood and were enclosed in 
 a tomb of unburned brick. The bodies were dressed in 
 their best garments, and were provided with weapons, 
 armour of bronze and iron, jewelry, bronze mirrors, and 
 other toilet articles. With them were placed vessels 
 containing food, drink, and ointments. Many of these 
 vessels were the choicest specimens of the potter's art. 
 Seals, cones, cylinders, and other written records were 
 also added occasionally. All these customs indicate that 
 the dead had need in the other life of these objects with 
 which they were supplied by the piety of the survivors. 43 
 Herodotus, i. 198, narrates of the Babylonians: "They 
 
 41 Die Personennamen in den Keilschrifturkunden, 1907. 
 
 42 E. Thureau-Dangin, Sumerische und Akkadische Kbnigsinschriften, pp. 200, 
 231, notes. For further information on this subject see S. A. Mercer, "Emperor- 
 Worship in Babylonia," Jour Amer. Oriental Society, 1917, p. 360; S. Langdon, 
 "The Cult of Deified Kings in Ancient Sumer," Museum Journal, Univ. of Penn., 
 1917, p. 165; and Proceed. Soc. Bibl. Archeology, 1918. 
 
 «See J. P. Peters, Nippur, ii. 214-234. 
 
vii IN BABYLONIA AND ASSYRIA 225 
 
 bury their dead in honey, and have funeral lamentations 
 like the Egyptians." 44 
 
 e. Offerings to the Dead. — Among the Babylonians 
 sacrifices and libations were offered periodically at tombs. 
 The regular pouring out of libations of water was a duty 
 that devolved upon the oldest son, or the legal heir, and 
 that might not be neglected without incurring the wrath 
 of the deceased. 45 In order to secure regular offerings 
 to his spirit a Babylonian who had no son adopted one. 
 Women also adopted daughters under similar circum- 
 stances. Thus in a tablet of the Cassite period 46 we 
 read: "Ina-Uruk-rishat . . . had no daughter, there- 
 fore she adopted Etirtu. ... So long as Ina-Uruk- 
 rishat lives Etirtu is to show her honour. If Ina-Uruk- 
 rishat dies, then shall Etirtu, as though she were her 
 daughter, make libations of water for her." An ancient 
 bronze tablet represents a dead man lying on a bier, with 
 priests surrounding him, and an altar for burning incense 
 near his head. 47 
 
 Sacrifices to dead kings of the dynasty of Ur are often 
 mentioned in the temple accounting-tablets and receipts, 
 which have been found in such vast numbers at Drehem 
 and Jokah in southern Babylonia. One of these tablets, 
 for instance, reads: "One dead sheep for god Dungi, 
 one for god Pur-Sin, one for god Gimil-Sin, one for god 
 Gimil-Sin a second time : offerings at the festival. Con- 
 veyed on behalf of the house of the cattle. Month 
 pap-u-e, year when god Ibi-Sin became king." 48 A king 
 of Assyria, whose name is missing, records how he cele- 
 brated the obsequies of his father, and closes with the 
 words: "Gifts unto the princes, unto the spirits of the 
 
 44 See G. Rawlinson, Herodotus, i. p. 263 sq., with notes on the burial customs 
 of the Babylonians. 
 
 45 Jastrow, Religion of Babylonia, p. 559. 
 
 48 Clay, Documents Dated in the Reigns of Cassite Rulers, No. 40. 
 
 47 King, Babylonian Religion, p. 39. 
 
 48 See S. Langdon, Proc. Soc. Bibl. Archeology, 1918, pp. 50-52. 
 
226 SPIRITISM vii 
 
 earth, and unto the gods who inhabit the grave, I then 
 presented." 49 King Ashurbanipal also records that he 
 invoked the shades of his ancestors, and poured out liba- 
 tions in their honour: "The prescriptions for the sacri- 
 fices and the libations of water for the shades of the 
 kings, my predecessors, which had ceased to be observed, 
 I introduced afresh. To gods and men, to the dead and 
 the living I did good." 50 
 
 /. Exorcism of the Dead. — Besides the offerings 
 which were designed to placate the dead and keep them 
 from harming the living, there were other rites which 
 were intended to drive away the ghosts when they became 
 troublesome. 
 
 i. Invocation of the Gods. — As the chief helpers 
 against the shades the gods were invoked to come to the 
 aid of the sufferer. Since it was not known which of the 
 gods would be the greatest help, it was customary to 
 invoke all of them, not only the chief divinities of the 
 Babylonian pantheon, but also many other minor deities 
 who are known to us only from the magical texts. 
 
 2. The Divine Prescription. — In many of the texts, 
 after the invocation of the gods, we read how the god 
 Marduk is taught the proper remedy by his father Ea, 
 the god of wisdom : 
 
 "Marduk hath seen him (the sick man) and 
 Unto the house of his father Ea hath entered and spoken : 
 'Father.' 
 
 Twice he hath said unto him, 
 'What this man shall do he knoweth not, 
 Whereby he may be assuaged.' 
 Ea hath answered his son Marduk: 
 'O my son, what dost thou not know, 
 What more can I give thee? 
 O Marduk, what dost thou not know, 
 How can I add unto thy knowledge? 
 What I know thou knowest also. 
 Go, my son Marduk.' " 51 
 
 49 King, op tit., p. 49. 
 
 "° M. Streck, Assurbanipdl, ii. p. 250. 
 
 n Thompson, II. p. xxii. 
 
vii IN BABYLONIA AND ASSYRIA 227 
 
 Then Ea gives his son Marduk specific directions what 
 to do for the recovery of the sick man. Thus the cere- 
 monies of the priest come with divine authority and have 
 sacramental efficacy. The priest who knows what Ea, 
 the father, has revealed through Marduk, his son, comes 
 to the patient as the representative of the gods. He says : 
 
 "The man of Ea am I! 
 The man of Damkina am I! 
 To revive (N.N.) the sick man, 
 The great lord Ea hath sent me; 
 He hath added his pure spell to mine, 
 He hath added his pure voice to mine, 
 He hath added his pure spittle to mine, 
 He hath added his pure prayer to mine." 52 
 
 3. Magic Rites. — The directions which Ea gives 
 Marduk for the cure are almost exclusively magic cere- 
 monies. A common form is the provision of an animal 
 into which the evil spirit may enter when it leaves the 
 man. Thus in one text we read: 
 
 "Give the pig in his stead, 
 And give the flesh as his flesh, 
 The blood as his blood, 
 And let him take it; 
 
 Its heart (which thou hast set on his heart) 
 Give as his heart, 
 And let him take it." 53 
 
 This reminds us of the story in Matt. 8 128-34 of how 
 the demons went out of the man and entered into a herd 
 of swine which they caused to rush violently down a 
 precipice to destruction. Birds also were used, the idea 
 being that the demons would enter into them and fly away 
 with them when they were released. Thus one incanta- 
 tion reads: 
 
 "A raven, the bird that helpeth the gods, 
 In my right hand I hold; 
 A hawk, to flutter in thine evil face, 
 
 51 Devils and Evil Spirits, Vol. I, Tablet III, 1, 65ff ; II. p. xxv. 
 w Thompson, II. p. xxxiii. 
 
228 SPIRITISM vii 
 
 In my left hand I thrust forward; 
 
 With the sombre garb of awe I clothe thee, 
 
 In sombre dress I robe thee." 54 
 
 With this we may compare the ritual of the release of 
 the bird in Lev. 14 14-7. 
 
 Demons could be transferred not only to living crea- 
 tures but also to inanimate objects. With the proper 
 ceremonies they could be induced to take up their abode in 
 vessels of water, which then were broken, scattering their 
 contents, and driving away their occupants. In one 
 magical text we read: 
 
 "The evil Spirit (and) Ghost that appear in the desert, 
 O Pestilence that hast touched the man for harm, 
 The Tongue that is banefully fastened on the man, 
 May they be broken in pieces like a goblet, 
 May they be poured forth like water." 55 
 
 Demons could also be induced to enter images of wax or 
 of clay which were then destroyed. Thus we read : 
 
 "Go, my son (Marduk), 
 Pull off a piece of clay from the deep, 
 Fashion a figure of his bodily form (therefrom) and 
 Place it on the loins of the sick man by night, 
 At dawn make the 'atonement' for his body, 
 Perform the Incantation of Eridu, 
 Turn his face to the west, 
 
 That the Plague-demon which hath seized upon him 
 May vanish away from him." 56 
 
 Another favourite magical act was the tying and loos- 
 ing of cords. The tying represented the binding of the 
 man by the demon, the loosing, the release from its 
 clutches. Compare Luke 13:16, "Ought not this woman 
 . . . whom Satan had bound, lo, these eighteen years, to 
 have been loosed from this bond?" One direction of this 
 sort reads : 
 
 84 Thompson, I. p. 135. 
 K Ibid., I. p. 151. 
 "Ibid., II. p. 101. 
 
vii IN BABYLONIA AND ASSYRIA 229 
 
 "Weave thou a two-coloured cord from the hair of a virgin kid 
 and from the wool of a virgin lamb, 
 Upon the limbs of the king, son of his god, bind it." 57 
 
 4. Drugs. — Drugs served originally a magical pur- 
 pose, just as charms and spells. In the medical texts they 
 are introduced with the same formula as the magical 
 rites, and they are mingled with them. The theory that 
 led to their use was either allopathic or homoeopathic. 
 Some drugs were so bitter or nauseous that they would 
 drive out any self-respecting devil. This was allopathic 
 treatment. Other drugs resembled the demons or the 
 organs of the body, and therefore rendered them 
 propitious and mitigated their attacks. This was 
 homoeopathy. 
 
 The allopathic remedies included all the nasty sub- 
 stances that the ancient Sumerians could discover. Among 
 these are enumerated u a green frog, pestilence root with 
 a claw of a black dog, a thorn plant with earth taken 
 from the 'outer gate,' a green vegetable of some kind 
 with the dust of a man's foot, swine's fat, swine's tail, 
 dog's dung, the neck of a dog, the foot of a small insect, 
 the fat of a serpent, excrement of man, and urine, the 
 hair of a virgin goat, human bone." 58 
 
 The homoeopathic remedies included plants or roots 
 whose fantastic forms suggested a resemblance to the 
 demons of disease, or plants whose leaves, or roots, or 
 fruits, resembled organs of the human body. The 
 ginseng root has no medicinal value, still it is dug ex- 
 tensively in New England and exported to China, where 
 it is highly prized as a remedy, because its grotesque 
 forms are supposed to resemble various devils, and there- 
 fore to be a powerful aid in expelling them. We still find 
 traces of this theory of medicine in some modern popular 
 botanical names such as liver-wort, spleen-wort, blood- 
 root, etc. 
 
 87 Thompson, I. p. 101. 
 M Jastrow, o. c, p. 158. 
 
230 SPIRITISM vn 
 
 5. Adjuration. — When the gods had been placated, 
 and the magic rites had been performed, and the magic 
 drugs had been administered, the time had come for the 
 solemn adjuration of the demon to leave the body of the 
 sick man. Like all primitive peoples, the Sumerians be- 
 lieved in the magical power of the right form of words. 
 The priest knew the proper ritual in the case of every 
 disease; and when these words were uttered in connec- 
 tion with the prescribed ceremonies, the demon could not 
 withstand their power, but must leave the body of the 
 sufferer. In order to get control of the demon it was 
 important that his name should be mentioned in the ex- 
 orcism. As this was not always known, it was usual to 
 enumerate every variety of devil so that no one might 
 slip through by inadvertence. These exorcisms, accord- 
 ingly, are valuable sources of information in regard to 
 Babylonian demonology, they are a sort of "Who's Who 
 in Hell." After the demons are enumerated, the usual 
 formula of exorcism in Sumerian is "ZI AN-NA KAN- 
 PA ZI KI-A KAN-PA," or in Semitic translation "Ina 
 shame sibit ina irsitim sibitma" that is, "By Heaven be 
 thou exorcised, by Earth be thou exorcised." Other 
 gods are invoked and other forms of exorcism are used. 
 Then it is expected that sooner or later the demon will 
 yield to the spell and leave the man. 
 
 In the adjuration to the demon a curious argument is 
 often introduced. He is told that he shall have no food 
 or water until he comes out. This is an allusion to the 
 belief that the ghosts could not rest unless they received 
 their customary food-offerings and libations. They have 
 entered into the sick man because of lack of these offer- 
 ings, and they are told that they shall not receive them 
 until they go out again. Thus in one tablet we read : 
 
 "From the man, the son of his god, 
 Thou shalt have no food to eat, 
 Thou shalt have no water to drink, 
 Thou shalt not stretch forth thy hand 
 
vii IN BABYLONIA AND ASSYRIA 231 
 
 Unto the table of my father Bel, thy creator. 
 Neither with sea-water, nor with sweet water, 
 Nor with bad water, nor with Tigris water, 
 Nor with Euphrates water, nor with pond water, 
 Nor with river water shalt thou be covered." 59 
 
 g. Necromancy. — The Babylonians and the Assyrians 
 believed that it was possible by certain magic rites to call 
 up spirits of the dead to answer questions or to injure 
 enemies. The person who possessed this power was 
 known as "raiser of the departed spirit." In the 
 Gilgamesh Epic 60 we are told how Gilgamesh applied 
 first to the god Enlil for help to bring up the ghost of 
 his dead friend Enkidu (Eabani) , but received no answer. 
 He then applied to the moon-god, but equally unsuccess- 
 fully. Finally he applied to Enki (Ea), god of the 
 ocean, the master of magic arts, and obtained his request. 
 
 "Father Ea heard his prayer, 
 Spoke to the mighty one, the hero Nergal, 
 Mighty one, hero Nergal, hear his prayer! 
 Open at once the hole of the earth, 
 Let the ghost of Enkidu ascend out of the earth, 
 Let him tell his brother the law of the earth! 
 The mighty one, the hero Nergal . . . 
 Opened at once the hole of the earth, 
 And the ghost of Enkidu ascended like a wind out of the earth." 
 
 Gilgamesh then says to Enkidu: 
 
 "Tell me, my friend, tell me, my friend, 
 The law of the earth that thou hast seen." 
 
 The whole narrative bears a striking resemblance to 
 the account of the raising of the ghost of Samuel by the 
 witch of Endor in 1 Samuel, chapter 28. 
 
 ■• Thompson, I. p. 61. 
 •o Tablet xii. col. 3. 
 
CHAPTER VIII 
 
 EARLIEST HEBREW CONCEPTIONS OF THE DEAD 1 
 
 From the period prior to the conquest of Canaan no 
 written records of the Hebrews have come down to us, 
 nevertheless, by means of the science of comparative 
 religion their earliest beliefs in regard to the nature and 
 destiny of the soul may be determined with a high degree 
 of certainty. When in the later writings of the Old 
 Testament we discover conceptions that are identical with 
 those of the other Semites and of primitive races through- 
 out the world, we are justified in inferring that these are 
 survivals from the earliest period of the religion of Israel. 
 a. The Distinction Between Soul and Body. — The 
 early Hebrews, like all the other Semites, regarded man 
 as composed of two elements, basar, or 'flesh,' and nefesh, 
 or 'breath.' The basar was the material element that 
 at death returned to dust. The same word was used for 
 the "meat" of slaughtered animals. Men were called 
 "flesh" and "all flesh" was used as a synonym for "man- 
 kind" to emphasize the transitory, perishable side of 
 human life. The nefesh or 'breath' was an ethereal 
 substance that inhabited the basar. It was identical with 
 the life. 2 It was the seat of knowledge, appetite, emo- 
 
 1 The most important works on Spiritism among the Hebrews are: Stade, 
 Geschichte des Volkes Israel (1881), I, 387ff.; Biblische Theologie (1905), 185ff.; 
 Schwally, Das Leben nach dem Tode nach den Vorstellungen des alten Israels 
 (1892); Frey, Tod, Seelenglaube und Seelenkult im alien Israel (1898); Charles, 
 A Critical History of the Doctrine of a Future Life (1899); Griineisen, Der 
 Ahnenkultus und die Urreligion Israels (1900); Guerinot, "Le culte des morts 
 chez les Hebreux," Journal Asiatique, 1904, pp. 441-85; Lods, La croyance a la 
 vie future et le culte des morts dans I'antiquite israelite (1908); Margoliouth, 
 "Ancestor- Worship (Hebrew and Jewish)," Hastings, Encyclopedia of Religion 
 and Ethics, I, 444-50, 457-61; Torge, Seelenglaube und Unsterblichkeitshoffnung 
 im Alten Testament (1909); Burney, Israel's Hope of Immortality (1909). 
 
 2 Gen. 44:30 J; Ex. 21:23 E. 
 
 232 
 
vin EARLY HEBREW CONCEPTIONS 233 
 
 tion, and activity. 3 In composition with the pronominal 
 suffixes nefesh had the meaning of 'self,' e. g., nafshi, 
 'my breath,' equals 'myself.' It resided in the blood, 
 hence the commandment, "Be sure that thou eat not the 
 blood, for the blood is the nefesh, and thou shalt not eat 
 the nefesh with the flesh; thou shalt pour it upon the 
 earth as water." 4 The heart as the chief receptacle of 
 blood in the body was also identified with the nefesh, 
 hence throughout the Old Testament "heart" is used in- 
 terchangeably with "breath" where we should say "mind" 
 or "soul." Death was caused by the departure of the 
 "breath." 5 Resurrection was the return of the "breath" 
 into the body. 6 Rudh, 'wind,' was used in the early 
 period practically as a synonym of nefesh, 'breath.' 
 
 b. The Continued Existence of the Disembodied 
 Soul. — The early Hebrews, like the other Semites, be- 
 lieved that the nefesh, or 'breath,' persisted after death. 
 The most ancient Hebrew tombs in Palestine contain 
 precisely the same deposits that are found in other 
 Semitic tombs, and bear witness to the same conception of 
 immortality that was held by the other Semitic peoples. 7 
 Nefesh is used as the name of the disembodied spirit. 8 
 Belief in the continued existence of the dead is strikingly 
 exemplified in the narrative of the appearance of the 
 ghost of Samuel to Saul. 9 
 
 c. Powers Retained by the Soul in Death. — The 
 Hebrews believed that the dead retained a large measure 
 of their former intellectual and emotional faculties. 
 The shades are represented as rejoicing at the downfall 
 of the king of Babylon. 10 Pharaoh is comforted when 
 
 8 E.g., I Sam. 2:16; Gen. 34:3 J; II Sam. 5:8. 
 4 Deut. 12:23f.; cf. Lev. 17:10; Gen. 9:4. 
 8 Gen. 35:18 J. 
 8 I Ki. 17:21f. 
 
 7 Palestine Exploration Fund, Quarterly Statement, 1904, pp. 328ff. 
 8 Cf. Lev. 19:28; 21:1; 21:11; Num. 5:2; 6:6; 6:11; 9:6f.; 9:10; 
 19:llf.; Hag. 2:13. 
 9 1 Sam., chap. 28. 
 10 Isa. 14:9f. 
 
234 SPIRITISM vm 
 
 he sees the hosts of the dead that have preceded him. 11 
 Rachel mourns over the captivity of her children. 12 From 
 Isa. 63:16 it appears that some of the nation believed 
 that Abraham and Israel continued to care for their de- 
 scendants. According to I Sam. 28:16-19, Samuel re- 
 members his relations with Saul, and continues to feel 
 concern in the welfare of Israel. The blood of murdered 
 Abel cries to Yahweh from the earth, 13 that is, the soul 
 that resides in the blood is conscious of the wrong done 
 to it and demands vengeance. Compare Job 24:12: 
 "From out of the cities the dead groan, and the soul of 
 the slain crieth out"; also Enoch 9:10: "Now, behold, 
 the spirits of the dead cry out, and lament even unto the 
 gates of heaven"; and Rev. 6:9, where the souls under 
 the altar cry out: "How long, O Master, the holy and 
 true, dost thou not avenge our blood on them that dwell 
 on the earth?" A father's blessing or curse operates 
 after his death because he himself sees to its fulfilment. 
 Hence the exaggerated reverence for parents and the 
 aged that we find among the ancient Hebrews. 
 
 In contrast to these passages, which ascribe to the dead 
 a continuance of those powers of thought and feeling 
 that they enjoyed on earth, another view appears in the 
 later writings of the Old Testament, according to which 
 the dead have lost memory, knowledge, and desire. This 
 view, as we shall see more fully later, was a result of the 
 conflict of the religion of Yahweh against primitive 
 animism and ancestor-worship. The other conception, 
 which ascribed to the dead large powers of thought and 
 feeling, was, as comparative religion shows, the original 
 Hebrew belief. 14 
 
 d. Powers Gained by the Soul in Death. — The gen- 
 eral Semitic belief in the superhuman powers of disem- 
 bodied spirits was shared by the ancient Hebrews. 
 
 "Ezek. 32:31. 
 
 »Jer. 31:15. 
 
 18 Gen. 4:10. 
 
 14 Charles, Eschatalogy Hebrew and Christian, p. 41. 
 
vin EARLY HEBREW CONCEPTIONS 235 
 
 Ghosts, like gods, could take possession of stones or 
 images. Heaps of stones were placed over the graves 
 of Achan and of Absalom that their ghosts might remain 
 in them and trouble Israel no longer. 15 A massebd, or 
 'standing stone/ stood upon Rachel's grave l unto this 
 day.' 16 This was doubtless a beth-el, or 'house of 
 deity,' as were all the other masseboth. 11 Masseboth 
 of this sort must have been the seats of cult of the dead, 
 since no exception is made in their favour in the sweeping 
 condemnation of later legislation. 18 The view of Stade, 
 Schwally, Budde, Holzinger, Nowack, and Charles that 
 the teraphim were images of ancestors cannot be dem- 
 onstrated, but is nevertheless exceedingly probable in view 
 of the facts that they were not images of Yahweh, 19 that 
 they represented the human form, 20 that they were house- 
 hold gods, 21 and that they were used for obtaining 
 oracles. 22 Etymologically the word may be connected 
 with rephaim, 'shades,' or with Bab. tarpu, 'spectre.' 
 It is interesting to note that Wisd. Sol. 14:15 connects 
 the origin of idolatry with images of the dead. 
 
 Of the belief that spirits could take possession of 
 animals we find no trace in the Old Testament, unless it 
 be in the list of unclean beasts Lev., chap. 11, and Deut., 
 chap. 14. It is noteworthy that the animals and birds 
 here pronounced unclean are precisely those which the 
 other Semites regarded as most often possessed by spirits. 
 From Exod. 20:4 (cf. II Kings 18:4; Ezek. 8:10) we 
 learn that the early Hebrews worshipped images of 
 animals, which shows that they regarded animals as the 
 abodes of spirits. 
 
 Of the idea that spirits could take possession of men, 
 causing disease, insanity, or inspiration, a survival is seen 
 
 "Josh. 7:26; II Sam. 18:17. 
 16 Gen. 35:20; cf. II Sam. 18:18. 
 "Gen. 35:14f. 
 
 18 Exod. 23:24; 34:13; Lev. 26:1; Deut. 7:5; 12:3; 16:22. 
 
 19 Gen. 35:2, 4, E; cf. 31:19, E. 
 20 1 Sam. 19:13, 16. 
 
 21 Gen. 31:30, 34; Judg. 17:5; I Sam. 19:13, 16. 
 
 22 1 Sam. 15:23; II Kings 23:24; Ezek. 21:21; Zech. 10:2. 
 
2 3 6 SPIRITISM vm 
 
 among the Hebrews in the fact that diseases such as 
 leprosy rendered one ceremonially unclean. Being caused 
 by rival spirits, they roused the jealousy of Yahweh, and 
 excluded the sufferer from his cult. In later times they 
 were ascribed to the activity of Yahweh himself, who thus 
 absorbed the functions of the ancient lesser spirits; 23 
 but, with curious inconsistency, the diseases still remained 
 unclean. The insanity of Saul was due to "an evil spirit 
 from Yahweh that terrified him," 24 and such insanity 
 protected a man from injury, because, as in the modern 
 Orient, he was regarded as inspired. 25 To stir up trouble 
 between Abimelech and the Shechemites, God sent an 
 evil spirit into them ; 26 and in order that Sennacherib 
 might depart, Yahweh sent a spirit into him. 27 In the 
 developed Hebrew theology all extraordinary talents or 
 powers were ascribed to possession by the spirit of 
 Yahweh ; 28 but this idea was due to absorption by 
 Yahweh of the functions of originally independent spirits, 
 as is shown by the survival in the Hebrew language of 
 such expressions as "spirit of wisdom, spirit of might, 
 spirit of jealousy, spirit of error, spirit of deep sleep." 
 
 Spirits of the dead possessed greater knowledge than 
 living men. When the ghost of Samuel appeared to Saul, 
 he predicted to him his impending death and the defeat 
 of Israel. 29 Hence when these spirits took possession 
 of men they induced clairvoyant powers. Such a pos- 
 sessing spirit was called yidde'orii, 'the knowing one,' 
 or as our version renders it, 'familiar spirit.' 30 Another 
 name is } 6bh, the etymology and exact meaning of which 
 are unknown. 31 Because of these superhuman powers 
 
 23 Num. 12:10; I Sam. 25:38; I Kings 17:20. 
 
 2 *I Sam. 16:14. 
 
 28 1 Sam. 21:12-15; 24:7. 
 
 2e Judg. 9:23. 
 
 2T II Kings 19:7. 
 
 28 Exod. 28:3; 31:3; Num. 27:18; Judg. 6:34; 11:29; 13:25; 14:6, 19; 15:14; 
 I Sam. 11:6. 
 
 28 I Sam. 28:19. 
 
 30 1 Sam. 28:3, 9; Isa. 8:19; 19:3; II Ki. 21:6; 23:24; Deut. 18:11; Lev. 
 19:31; 20:6; 27. 
 
 81 1 Sam. 28:7f.; Isa. 29:4. 
 
viii EARLY HEBREW CONCEPTIONS 237 
 
 the Hebrews, like the other Semites, applied to ghosts the 
 name elohim, 'gods.' 32 
 
 The dead were believed to retain the semblance of 
 their former bodies, and to be able to appear not only 
 to one another but also to the living. The ghost of 
 Samuel was recognized by Saul because he appeared as 
 "an old man covered with a robe." 33 The kings of the 
 earth still wore their royal apparel and sat on thrones 
 in the other world. 34 The dead of all the different 
 nations were recognizable by their features and their 
 costumes. The warriors "had their weapons of war 
 and laid their swords under their heads." The uncir- 
 cumeised remained uncireumcised ; those pierced with the 
 sword still showed the fatal gash. 35 Hence wounded 
 warriors committed suicide that they might appear in 
 the other world to have died as heroes. 36 
 
 In the Old Testament appearances of ghosts are rarely 
 mentioned, because the religion of Yahweh was opposed 
 to necromancy and the cult of the dead; still there is the 
 classical instance of the raising of Samuel. 37 In post- 
 biblical literature apparitions of the dead are more fre- 
 quently mentioned. Thus in II Mac. 15:12-16 the high 
 priest Onias and the prophet Jeremiah appear to Judas 
 Maccabaeus on the eve of the battle with the Syrians, 
 and in Josephus 38 Alexander appears to his widow 
 Glaphyra. 
 
 e. Powers Lost by the Soul in Death. — The Hebrews, 
 like the other Semites, thought of the soul as losing its 
 physical powers in parting from the body. For them it 
 was only "breath" or "wind." The common name for 
 ghosts is rephaim, 'feeble ones.' 39 In Isa. 14:10 the 
 ghosts say: "Art thou also become weak as we?" In 
 
 12 1 Sam, 28:13. 
 
 83 I Sam. 28:14. 
 
 84 Isa. 14:9. 
 
 88 Ezek. 32:21-32; cf. 28:10; 31:18. 
 
 86 Judg. 9:54; I Sam. 31:4; II Sam. 17:23. 
 
 87 1 Sam., chap. 28; cf. Job 4:15. 
 
 88 Ant. XVII, 13:4; War, II, 7:4. 
 
 ^Job 26:5; Ps. 88:11 [10]; Prov. 2:18; Isa. 14:9; 26:19. 
 
2 3 8 SPIRITISM vm 
 
 Ps. 88 :4 the sick man says: "I am like to them that go 
 down into the pit; I am as a man that hath no help." 
 According to Isa. 59:10 they "grope as those that have 
 no eyes, and stumble at noon as in the twilight." 40 Such 
 statements show that the Hebrews inherited from their 
 forefathers the general belief of primitive man in the 
 shadowy, unsubstantial nature of disembodied souls. 
 
 /. The Abode of the Disembodied Spirit. — Among 
 the Hebrews, as among the other Semites, the soul was 
 believed to retain a close connection with its dead body. 
 The corpse and everything connected with it rendered 
 one who. touched it taboo. Originally this was a sacred 
 taboo due to the presence of the revered spirits in the 
 body; subsequently, in consequence of the opposition of 
 Yahwism to the cult of the dead, it was regarded as 
 an unclean taboo. 41 The cult of the patriarchs and 
 heroes that was carried on at their graves proves that 
 they were supposed still to haunt their bodies. The 
 voice of Rachel weeping for her children was heard in 
 Ramah on the road between Bethel and Bethlehem where 
 her body was buried. 42 Similarly, in Mark 5 :5, the man 
 possessed by the unclean spirit dwelt among the tombs. 
 Injuries to the body were still felt by the soul. Job 
 14:2 if., while denying that the dead man cares anything 
 about his sons, yet affirms, "Only for his own body he 
 feels pain, and for his own soul he mourns." Hence 
 mutilation of the corpses of enemies was practised by 
 the Hebrews as by other ancient peoples. 43 
 
 Among the Hebrews there existed the same horror of 
 remaining unburied that was felt by the other Semites. 
 Fathers on their deathbeds solemnly charged their sons 
 not to neglect the last rites. 44 When the prophet de- 
 clared, "They shall not be gathered nor buried, they 
 
 *»Cf. Ezek. 26:20f. 
 
 "E.g., Num. 19:11 P. 
 
 "Jer. 31:15; Gen. 35:16-20. 
 
 «I Sam. 17:51ff.; 18:25, 27; II Sam. 4:12; 20:22. 
 
 "E.g., Gen. 47:30. 
 
vin EARLY HEBREW CONCEPTIONS 239 
 
 shall be as dung upon the face of the ground," 45 this 
 was a fearful curse. Still more terrible was the thought 
 of being devoured by beasts. 46 So dreadful did it seem 
 to refuse burial that this was accorded even to crim- 
 inals, 47 or to those who committed suicide. 48 Only the 
 bodies of foreign enemies, or of the most heinous offend- 
 ers were left unburied, 49 or were burnt. 50 Violation of 
 tombs and burning of their contents were regarded as 
 terrible calamities. 51 
 
 Not merely burial but also burial in the family grave 
 was earnestly desired by the Hebrews. Jacob required 
 of Joseph that he should bury him in the burying-place 
 of his fathers. 52 Of nearly all the kings of Judah it is 
 recorded that they were buried with their fathers in the 
 city of David; hence the euphemistic expressions for 
 burial, "gather unto one's fathers," "gather unto one's 
 kin," "lie with one's fathers." Exclusion from the family 
 tomb was a severe punishment. 53 All this shows that 
 the Hebrews, like other ancient peoples, believed that the 
 soul lingered with the corpse, and that by burial in the 
 family tomb it enjoyed the fellowship of its relatives. 
 This explains why offerings to the dead were placed 
 either in or upon their graves. Hebrew tombs in Pales- 
 tine contain the same sorts of deposits that are placed 
 in the earlier Canaanite tombs, and offerings to the dead 
 are frequently mentioned in the Old Testament. 54 
 
 «Jer. 25:33; cf. Isa. 14:18f.; Jer. 22:19; 36:30. 
 
 "II Sam. 21:10; I Kings 14:13; II Kings 9:35ff. 
 
 «Deut. 21:22f.; Josh. 7:24-26. 
 
 "Josephus, War, III, 8:5. 
 
 *»I Sam. 17:44; Ezek. 29:5. 
 
 80 Isa. 30:33; Gen. 38:24; Lev. 20:14; Josh. 7:15. 
 
 "Am. 2:1; I Kings 13:2; II Kings 23:16, 20. 
 
 "Gen. 47:30; cf. 50:25; II Sam. 17:23; 19:37; 21:14. 
 
 "II Sam. 18:17; I Kings 13:22; II Kings 21:18; II Chron. 28:27. 
 
 "Deut. 26:14; Jer. 16:7; Ezek. 24:17, 22; II Chron. 16:14. 
 
CHAPTER IX 
 
 BABYLONIAN INFLUENCE ON HEBREW CONCEPTIONS OF 
 
 THE DEAD 
 
 In the previous chapter we considered those conceptions 
 of the future life which the Hebrews held before their 
 migration out of their primitive home in the Arabian 
 desert. We must now consider the new elements that 
 entered their eschatology in consequence of the conquest 
 of Canaan. 
 
 The Canaanites were a Semitic people, closely akin 
 to Israel; and their original beliefs concerning the soul, 
 as archaeology shows, were identical with those of the 
 other Semites; but, as a result of long-continued Babylo- 
 nian influence, these beliefs had undergone many im- 
 portant modifications during the two millenniums that 
 preceded the Hebrew conquest. 1 Babylonian ideas of 
 the other world were adopted by the Canaanites, and 
 were passed on to the Hebrews who settled among them 
 and amalgamated with them. As a result of this process 
 the Old Testament contains not only primitive Semitic 
 beliefs about the future life, but also another diverse 
 cycle of ideas which goes back ultimately to a Babylonian 
 origin. 
 
 The Hebrew conception of Sheol is in every particular 
 the counterpart of the ancient Babylonian conception of 
 Aralu as described in chapter vii. As among the 
 Babylonians, so also in the Old Testament "Death" or 
 "the Dead," is used frequently in poetic parallelism with 
 Sheol. 2 As among the Babylonians, so also in the Old 
 
 1 Paton, Early History of Syria and Palestine, chap. iv. 
 2 E.g., II Sam. 22:5f.; Hos. 13:14; Ps. 115:17. 
 
 240 
 
ix BABYLONIAN INFLUENCE 241 
 
 Testament "Earth" is a frequent synonym of Sheol. 3 To 
 the Babylonian conception of the "Great Beneath" cor- 
 responds the Hebrew Eres-tahtiyd (or tahtiyoth), which 
 our version renders "the lower part of the earth" but 
 which more properly means "Lower Land" or "Under- 
 world." 4 The Babylonian idea of "the Hollow" appears 
 in the Old Testament in the name Bor, 'the Pit,' 5 or 
 the synonymous Shahath. 6 
 
 As in Babylonia so also in the Old Testament one 
 "goes down" or is "brought down" to Sheol, 7 and the 
 sick man who barely escapes death is said to be "brought 
 up" from Sheol. 8 How literally this language is meant 
 is shown by the story of Korah and his company who 
 "went down alive into Sheol," 9 or Amos 9 :2, which 
 speaks of "digging into Sheol" Isa. 7:11 speaks of 
 "going deep unto Sheol" ; Isa. 29 '.4 of the shade as 
 speaking "deep from the earth" ; Isa. 57 .-9, of "descending 
 deep unto Sheol." Sheol is called the "under part of 
 the earth," 10 and both Sheol and the Pit have the ad- 
 jective "beneath" attached to them. 11 Ecclus. 51:5 
 speaks of the "depth of the belly of Hades." Sheol is 
 lower than the foundations of the mountains. 12 Beneath 
 the earth are the "waters under the earth," 13 but Sheol is 
 lower than these. 14 The deepest thing conceivable is 
 said to be "deeper than Sheol," 15 and the depths of Sheol 
 are often contrasted with the heights of heaven. 16 
 
 8 Exod. 15:12; Isa. 14:9; 29:4; Eccles. 3:21; see Gunkel, Schopfung und Chaos, 
 P. 18. 
 
 *Ezek. 26:20; 31:14; 32:18, 24. 
 
 B Ezek. 26:20; 31:14, 16; 32:18, 23; Isa. 14:15, 19; 38:18; Ps. 28:1; 30:3; 
 40:2; 88:6; 143:7; Prov. 1:12; 28:17; Lam. 3:53, 55. 
 
 •Job 33:18, 24, 28, 30; Isa. 38:17; 51:14; Ezek. 28:8. 
 
 7 Ps. 28:1; 30:3; 88:4; 107:26; 143:7; Isa. 14:19; 38:18; Ezek. 26:20; 
 31:14, 16; 32:18f. 
 
 8 1 Sam. 2:6; Jos 33:24, 28, 30; Ps. 9:13; 16:10; 30:3; 49:15; 86:13; Lam. 
 3:53, 55; Jonah 2:6; Wis. 16:13; Tob. 13:2. 
 
 "Num. 16:30-33; cf. Ps. 55:15; Prov. 1:12. 
 
 10 Ps. 63:9; 139:15; Isa. 44:23. 
 
 11 Deut. 32:22; Ps. 88:6; Lam. 3:55. 
 "Deut. 32:22; Jonah 2:6. 
 
 - 8 Gen. 49:25; Exod. 20:4; Amos 7:4. 
 
 "Job 26:5; Lam. 3:53; Jonah 2:3f. 
 
 18 Job 11:8. 
 
 "Job 11:8; Ps. 139:8; Isa. 7:11; Amos 9:2. 
 
242 SPIRITISM ix 
 
 Like the Babylonians, the Hebrews believed that Sheol 
 was ordinarily entered through a gate in the western 
 horizon by which the sun, moon, and stars went down. 
 In Enoch 22:1-4 the entrance to Sheol is described as 
 lying in the distant west. The Hebrews conceived of 
 the earth as surrounded by water, and therefore spoke 
 of the "ends of the earth." To reach Sheol one had to 
 pass across, or through the waters. II Sam. 2 2:5f. 
 (=Ps. i8:4f.) reads: "The waves of Death compassed 
 me, the floods of Belial made me afraid, the cords of 
 Sheol were round about me, the snares of Death came 
 upon me" ; and Jonah 2 12-5 : "Out of the belly of Sheol 
 I cried . . . for thou didst cast me into the depth, into 
 the heart of the seas, and the flood was round about me; 
 all thy waves and thy billows passed over me. . . . The 
 waters compassed me about, even to the soul; the deep 
 was round about me ; the weeds were wrapped about my 
 head." 17 Deut. 3o:i2f. contrasts "crossing the sea" 
 with "going up into heaven," and in Rom. 10:7 "crossing 
 the sea" is interpreted as "descending into the abyss." 
 Of the ferryman across the "Waters of Death" there is 
 no trace in the Old Testament. Spirits are supposed 
 rather to "fly away" to their abode. 18 The bird-like 
 form assumed by the soul for its journey was a wide- 
 spread belief of antiquity, and appears probably in the 
 word "twitter" that is used of the voice of ghosts. 19 
 
 The Babylonian conception of the seven divisions of 
 Sheol is familiar to Jewish Theology. 20 They are first 
 mentioned in II Esdras 7.80 ff., but the idea is certainly 
 much more ancient. Prov. 7 127 knows of the "chambers 
 of Death" and Isa. 14:15; Ezek. 32:23 of the "recesses 
 of the Pit." The gates of Sheol are referred to in Job 
 38:17; Ps. 9:13; 107:18; Isa. 38:10; Wis. 16:13; Matt. 
 16:18; and their bars in Job 17:16; Jonah 2:6. The 
 
 "Cf. Job 36:16f.; Ps. 88:7; 107:26; 124:3-5; Lam. 3:54; Amos 9:2f. 
 
 18 Ps. 90:10. 
 
 "Isa. 8:19; 29:4. 
 
 80 Eisenmenger, Entdecktes Judenthum, II, 328ff. 
 
ix BABYLONIAN INFLUENCE 243 
 
 Greek text of Job 38:17 speaks of the "gatekeepers of 
 Sheol." 
 
 The same confusion between the grave and Sheol that 
 existed in Babylonia is found also in the Old Testament. 
 Sheol and the grave are used interchangeably in a great 
 number of passages, 21 Isa. 14:11 says, "Thy pomp is 
 brought down to Sheol . . . the worm is spread under 
 thee, and worms cover thee." Ezek. 32:17-32 speaks 
 of all the nations as lying in graves in the midst of Sheol. 
 Like the Babylonians, the Hebrews regarded Sheol as a 
 place of darkness. In Job 10:2 if. it is called "The land 
 of darkness and of deep gloom, the land of thick dark- 
 ness like darkness itself, the land of deep gloom without 
 any order, and where the light is as darkness." 22 As 
 among the Babylonians, so also in the Old Testament 
 "dust" is a synonym of Sheol. 23 
 
 The Babylonian belief in a king of Sheol who ruled 
 over a host of malignant spirits is found also in the Old 
 Testament. Sheol is frequently personified as a hungry 
 monster opening its jaws to devour men. 24 It seems to 
 have been worshipped as a deity by the Canaanites, to 
 judge from certain place-names in Palestine. 25 Muth, 
 'Death,' was deified by the Phoenicians. 26 He appears 
 in the Hebrew personal name Ahi-Moth, 'Death is a 
 brother,' and probably in several place-names. In the 
 Old Testament Death is often personified and is used in 
 parallelism with Sheol. 27 He appears as the ruler of 
 Sheol in Ps. 49:14: "They are appointed as a flock for 
 Sheol, Death shall be their shepherd"; and in Job 18 :i4: 
 "He shall be brought to the King of Terrors." Another 
 demon of the Underworld is apparently Belial 
 (BHiya'al) , which the scribes have fancifully vocalized 
 
 81 E.g., Gen. 37:35; Ps. 88:3, 5, 11. 
 
 M Cf. Job 17:13; 38:17; Ps. 88:6, 12; 143:3; Ps. of Sol. 14:19. 
 
 23 Job 7:21; 17:16; Isa. 29:4. 
 
 "Isa. 5:14; Hab. 2:5; Jonah 2:2; Prov. 1:12; 27:20; 30:l5f. 
 
 " H. P. Smith, in Studies in Memory of W. R. Harper, I, 55, 
 
 29 Ibid, 61. 
 
 "Job 30:23; 38:17; Ps. 107:18, 
 
244 SPIRITISM ix 
 
 as though it meant 'without use/ but which may mean 
 'the god who swallows' (Bdli'el). 28 Similar is the 
 "destroyer" of Exod. 12:23, or the "destroyers" of Job 
 33 :22. Diseases are often personified as the evil demons 
 of Sheol: "Terrors shall make him afraid on every 
 side, and shall chase him at his heels. His strength shall 
 be hunger-bitten, and Calamity shall be ready at his side. 
 It shall devour the members of his body, yea the First- 
 born of Death shall devour his members"; 29 "Shall I 
 ransom them from the power of Sheol? Shall I redeem 
 them from Death? Hither with thy plagues, O Death! 
 Hither with thy pestilence, O Sheol!"; 30 "The pangs 
 of Death compassed me, and the pains of Sheol got 
 hold upon me." 31 The death-angels of later Judaism 
 are simply the degraded gods of the Underworld of an 
 earlier period. 
 
 The inevitableness of Sheol was keenly felt by the 
 early Babylonians, and similarly the ancient Hebrews 
 said, "I go the way of all the earth"; 32 "I know that 
 thou wilt bring me to Death, and to the house appointed 
 for all the living"; 33 "What man is he that shall live 
 and not see Death, that shall deliver his soul from the 
 hand of Sheol?" 34 "Remember the sentence upon him, 
 for so also shall thine be; yesterday for me, and today 
 for thee." 35 Only a few Babylonian heroes escaped 
 going down to Sheol by being translated to the gods. In 
 the Old Testament we have the similar cases of Enoch 36 
 and Elijah. 37 Such translations were, however, so rare 
 that they constituted no basis for hope that men in 
 general would escape the common doom of humanity. 
 
 28 Nah. 1:15; II Sam. 22:5 (=Ps. 18:5). 
 
 28 E.g., Job. 18:11-13. 
 
 •°Hos. 13:14. 
 
 81 Ps. 116:3; cf. II. Sam. 22:6. 
 
 "Josh. 23:14; I Kings 2:2. 
 
 88 Job 30:23. 
 
 **Ps. 89:48. 
 
 "Ecclus. 38:22. 
 
 88 Gen. 5:24. ' ':' 
 
 "11 Kings 2:11. 
 
ix BABYLONIAN INFLUENCE 245 
 
 Like the Babylonian literature, the Old Testament 
 knows of a distinction in the fate of the dead in Sheol. 
 Ezek. 31:16 speaks of the kings of the earth as "the 
 trees of Eden, the choice and best of Lebanon, that drink 
 water and are comforted in the nether parts of the 
 earth." Ezek. 32:23; Isa. 14:15, 19 speak of those who 
 go down to "the recesses of the Pit" or the "stones of 
 the Pit"; but in both of these cases their sad fate is not 
 due to sin, but to the fact that they are "cast forth from 
 the sepulchre like an abominable branch ... as a 
 carcase trodden under foot." Lack of burial prevented 
 rest in Sheol, and lack of burial in the family tomb ex- 
 cluded one from the society of his relatives, 38 but there 
 is no trace in the Old Testament of a division of the dead 
 on the basis of character. The sinner is threatened with 
 Sheol as a punishment, but never with a particular section 
 of Sheol. 39 The righteous Samuel says to the wicked 
 Saul, who has been rejected by the Lord, "Tomorrow 
 shalt thou and thy sons be with me." 40 Jacob says, "I 
 shall go down to the grave unto my son mourning," in 
 spite of the fact that he supposes Joseph to have been 
 devoured by a beast, and therefore to be unburied. 41 
 The Old Testament thinks far more frequently of the 
 miserable lot of all the shades than of distinctions that 
 exist among them. Isa. 14:9-23 and Ezek. 32:18-32 
 speak of all men of all races as dwelling together in Sheol, 
 and Job 3 :i3-i9 says: 
 
 "Now should I have lain down and been quiet; I should have 
 slept; then had I been at rest, with kings and counsellors of the 
 earth who built tombs for themselves, or with princes that had 
 gold, who filled their houses with silver: or as a hidden untimely 
 birth I had not been: as infants which never saw light. There 
 the wicked cease from troubling ; and there the weary are at rest. 
 There the prisoners are at ease together; they hear not the voice 
 
 38 See p. 239. 
 
 89 Cf. Prov. 2:18; 21:16. 
 
 *°I Sam. 28:19. 
 
 « Gen. 37:33, 35 J. 
 
246 SPIRITISM ix 
 
 of the taskmaster. The small and the great are there; and the 
 slave is free from his master." 
 
 The Babylonian laments over the impossibility of re- 
 turning from Sheol find their echo in the Old Testament. 
 David says, "I shall go to him, but he shall not return 
 to me" ; 42 and the wise woman of Tekoa, "We must 
 needs die, and are as water spilt on the ground, which 
 cannot be gathered up again"; 43 "As the cloud is con- 
 sumed and vanisheth away, so he that goeth down to 
 Sheol shall come up no more. He shall return no more 
 to his house, neither shall his place know him any 
 more." 44 
 
 Like the Babylonian literature, the Old Testament 
 holds that in severe illness the soul leaves the body and 
 begins its journey to the Underworld. Thus Job 33 119-22 
 says: "He is chastened with pain upon his bed, and with 
 continual strife in his bones. His flesh is consumed away 
 that it cannot be seen, and his bones that were not seen 
 stick out. Yea his soul draweth near unto the Pit, and 
 his life to the Destroyers." Similarly Ps. 88 :3f. : "My 
 soul is full of troubles, and my life draweth near unto 
 Sheol. I am counted with them that go down into the 
 Pit." Isa. 29 14 speaks of half-dead Judah as speaking 
 like a ghost out of the ground. When Yahweh, like the 
 Babylonian "Quickeners of the Dead," takes pity on the 
 sufferer and restores him to health, he is said to bring 
 him back from Sheol. Thus Hezekiah, when cured of his 
 dangerous illness, says: "Thou hast in love to my soul 
 delivered it from the Pit of Beli[al?]." 45 In none of 
 these passages is a resurrection referred to, or even a 
 blessed immortality for the disembodied spirit, but only 
 a release from impending death. The doctrine of a resur- 
 rection of the body does not appear in the Old Testament 
 
 "II Sam. 12:23. 
 43 II Sam. 14:14. 
 
 "Job 7:9f.; cf. 10:21; 16:22; Eccles. 12:5; Ecclus. 38:21; Wis. 16:14. 
 "Isa. 38:17; cf. I Sam. 2:6; Job 33:24, 28, 30; Ps. 9:13; 16:10; 30:3; 49:15; 
 86:13; Lam. 3:53, 55; Jonah 2:6; Wis. 16:13; Tob. 13:2. 
 
ix BABYLONIAN INFLUENCE 247 
 
 until after the Exile, and therefore has no connection 
 with ancient Babylonian beliefs. Three cases are re- 
 corded in pre-exilic literature of a raising of the dead 
 to life. The first is Elijah's raising of the widow's son, 46 
 the second is Elisha's raising of the son of the woman of 
 Shunem, 47 and the third is the raising of a dead man 
 through contact with the bones of Elisha. 48 In all these 
 cases apparent death had just occurred, but the body had 
 not yet been buried, so that one may question whether 
 the connection between soul and body had been com- 
 pletely severed. These restorations do not differ ma- 
 terially from the preceding instances in which the souls 
 of the dangerously ill are brought back from the gates 
 of Sheol. Pre-exilic literature does not know a single 
 instance in which reanimation occurs after dissolution has 
 set in. 
 
 From the foregoing study it appears that the Old Tes- 
 tament doctrine of Sheol is the counterpart in every par- 
 ticular of the Babylonian doctrine of Aralu, and there can 
 be no doubt that, directly or indirectly, it has been derived 
 from Babylonia. When we consider the fact that this belief 
 appears in the earliest Hebrew literature we must assume 
 that it was acquired soon after the conquest of Canaan; 
 and that probably it was acquired from the earlier 
 inhabitants of the land, who, as is known from recent 
 archaeological discoveries, had become thoroughly Baby- 
 lonianized long before the arrival of the Hebrews. 
 
 "I Kings 17:21ff. 
 « II Kings 4:32ff. 
 "II Kings 13:21. 
 
CHAPTER X 
 
 WORSHIP OF THE DEAD BY ISRAEL 
 
 The mourning and funeral rites of the ancient Hebrews 
 were closely similar to those of the other Semites, and 
 have also many analogies in the customs of primitive 
 and uncivilized races throughout the world. There can 
 be no doubt, therefore, that they belonged to the earliest 
 period of the religion of Israel. They all point to an 
 original cult of the dead. 
 
 a. Removal of Garments. — As soon as death oc- 
 curred, or news of it was received, the Hebrews "tore 
 off" (A. V. "rent") their garments. 1 Originally, doubt- 
 less, the mourner remained naked as long as the funeral 
 rites lasted; but, with advancing civilization, this was 
 felt to be indecent; and therefore, after the garments 
 had been torn off, sackcloth was usually girded on. 2 The 
 "sackcloth" was merely a kilt of goat or camel's hair, 
 such as had been worn by the forefathers in the desert. 
 It was the nearest approach to nakedness that propriety 
 would allow. Bare feet were unobjectionable, and 
 therefore remained a sign of mourning down to late 
 times. 3 In the post-exilic period the Jews were satisfied 
 with merely tearing off the upper garment. 4 By the time 
 of Christ the custom was conventionalized into a mere 
 tearing of a small piece out of the robe, or a baring of 
 the arm and shoulder. 5 
 
 *Cf. Mic. 1:8, 11; Isa. 20:2. 
 
 2 Gen. 37:34; II Sam. 3:31; I Kings 21:27; II Kings 6:30; 19:1; Esther 4:1. 
 
 •II Sam. 15:30; Ezek. 24:17. 
 
 *Ezra 9:3; Num. 14:6. 
 
 •Buchler, Zeitschrift fur die alttestomentliche Wissenschaft, XXI, 81-92; 
 Jastrow, "The Tearing of Garments as a Sign of Mourning," Journal American 
 Oriental Society, XXI, 23. 
 
 248 
 
x WORSHIP OF THE DEAD BY ISRAEL 249 
 
 The custom had a religious origin. The case of Saul, 
 who stripped off his garments when he prophesied, and 
 lay all night naked, 6 shows that in early times nudity was 
 regarded as the proper condition for a seer. Even in 
 later days the prophets wore the primitive skin apron 
 ( "hairy mantle" ) . 7 Sandals were removed from the feet 
 when entering holy ground. 8 Similarly one stripped one's 
 self and removed one's sandals when mourning because 
 one was about to take part in the cult of the dead. 9 This 
 rite was forbidden to the high priest 10 as it was an act 
 of worship to another deity than Yahweh. 
 
 b. Covering the Head. — The Hebrews had also the 
 custom of covering the head or mouth, or laying the hand 
 on the head as an act of mourning. 11 The most natural 
 interpretation of this ceremony is suggested by Exod. 
 3 :6; I Kings 19 113, where the prophets cover their heads 
 in the presence of Yahweh so as to protect themselves 
 from death if they looked upon him. 12 
 
 c. Cuttings in the Flesh. — These are referred to by 
 Jeremiah as established forms of mourning to which 
 the prophet does not object. 13 In Lev. 19:28 they are 
 associated with tattooed marks. The fact that they are 
 prohibited by Lev. 19:28; 21:5, and Deut. 14:1 shows 
 that they are known to be religious rites in honour 
 of the dead. Lev. 19:28 states expressly that they are 
 made "for a spirit." The interpretation of the custom 
 is furnished by I Kings 18 :2 8, where the prophets of Baal 
 cut themselves in honour of their god. 
 
 d. Cutting the Hair. — In mourning the Hebrews 
 shaved the head, 14 made a "bald spot between the 
 
 «I Sam. 19:24. 
 
 T II Kings 1:8; Zech. 13:4; Matt. 3:4; Mark 1:6. 
 
 8 Exod. 3:5; Josh. 5:15. 
 
 9 See Jastrow, "The Tearing of Garments as a Symbol of Mourning," Jour. 
 Am. Orient. Soc, XXI, 23ff. 
 
 10 Lev. 21:10. 
 
 "II Sam. 13:19; 15:30; 19:4; Esther 6:12; Ezek. 24:17, 22; Mic. 3:7. 
 
 "Exod. 33:20. 
 
 13 Jer. 16:6; 41:5; 47:5; 48:37. 
 
 " Mic. 1:16; Isa. 15:2; 22:12; Jer. 16:6; 47:5; 48:37; Deut. 21:12; Lev. 21:5. 
 
250 SPIRITISM x 
 
 eyes," 15 or shaved off the beard. 16 In later times a 
 little of the hair was plucked out as a ceremonial 
 equivalent. This performance also must be interpreted 
 as an act of worship to the dead. The hair of the nazirite 
 was dedicated to Yahweh, and was presented as a sacrifice 
 when his vow expired. 17 The prohibition of cutting the 
 hair for the dead l8 shows also that it was regarded as 
 a religious ceremony. 
 
 e. Covering with Dust or Ashes. — The Hebrews, 
 when mourning, seem originally to have wallowed in the 
 dust. 19 Subsequently they sat in the dust, 20 or put dust 
 upon their heads. 21 The rite is evidently a symbolic act 
 of communion with the dead. 
 
 /. Fasting. — Fasting usually lasted until the evening 
 of the day of death. 22 When it was continued over a 
 longer period, e.g., seven days, 23 food was taken only 
 after the sun had set, as in the Muhammadan feast of 
 Ramadan. 
 
 g. Burial. — Immediately after death the eyes of the 
 corpse were closed, 24 probably also the mouth, though 
 this does not happen to be mentioned before the Mishna. 
 The body was then washed, 25 anointed with perfumed 
 oils, 26 dressed in its best attire, and bound up in the 
 position of an unborn child, as we know from the remains 
 in early Hebrew tombs in Palestine. 27 These customs 
 are not mentioned in the Old Testament, but their an- 
 tiquity is proved by the fact that they existed also among 
 
 18 Deut. 14:1. 
 
 18 Isa. 15:2; Jer. 41:5; 48:37. 
 "Num. 6:5, 18; Judg. 13:5; 16:17. 
 18 Lev. 21:5; Deut. 14:1. 
 
 19 Mic. 1:10; Jer. 6:26; Ezek. 27:30; Esther 4:3. 
 20 Isa. 26:19; 47:1; 52:2; 58:5; Ezek. 28:18; Job 2:8; Jonah 3:6. 
 "Josh. 7:6; I Sam. 4:12; II Sam. 1:2; 13:19; Esther 4:1; Job 2:12; Lam. 
 2:10; Ezek. 27:30; II Mace. 10:25; 14:15; Rev. 18:19. 
 22 II Sam. 1:12; 3:35; 12:21. 
 28 1 Sam. 31:13. 
 24 Gen. 46:4. 
 
 26 Acts 9:37. 
 
 28 Mark 16:1; Luke 24:1; John 12:3, 7; 19:40. 
 
 27 Cf. Matt. 27:59; Mark 15:46; Luke 23:53. 
 
x WORSHIP OF THE DEAD BY ISRAEL 251 
 
 the Babylonians and the Arabs. 28 As in the modern 
 Orient, the interment probably took place in the evening 
 of the day of death, which explains why fasting usually 
 lasted until the evening. 29 The body was carried to the 
 grave on a bier, 30 and coffins were unknown in the early 
 period. The poor were laid on the ground, or in a 
 shallow trench, and were covered with a mound of earth. 
 The rich were buried in caves or in artificial tombs that 
 they had hewn out for themselves during their lifetime. 31 
 In pre-exilic days these tombs were entered by holes in 
 the roofs, and the dead were deposited one above the 
 other in layers on the floor. 32 On the importance attached 
 to burial in the family tomb see pp. 238, 245. With the 
 dead were deposited food and drink, pottery, lamps, 
 implements, weapons, ornaments, amulets, and images of 
 various sorts. 33 Many of the articles were broken, the 
 idea being doubtless to liberate their spirits so that they 
 might join the spirit of the dead. 
 
 h. The Sanctity of Tombs. — The Book of Genesis 
 and the other early historical books record the burial 
 places of the forefathers with the same interest that they 
 show in tracing the origin of the numerous holy springs, 
 holy trees, holy mountains, and holy stones. That they 
 enjoyed a similar sanctity is proved by numerous refer- 
 ences to them as seats of worship. At Hebron, the burial 
 place of Sarah and Abraham, 34 the chiefs made a cove- 
 nant 35 and Absolom paid his vows. 36 It was a "city of 
 refuge" 37 and a city of the priests. 38 According to 
 Sozomen, 39 religious rites were kept up here as late as 
 
 28 King, Babylonian Religion, pp. 48ff. ; Wellhausen, Reste, 2 p. 178. 
 29 II Sam. 1:12; 3:35; 12:21; cf. Deut. 21:23. 
 60 II Sam. 3:31. 
 
 81 Gen. 23:9; II Kings 23:16; Isa. 22:16. 
 
 82 Palestine Exploration Fund, Quarterly Statement, 1904, pp. 328ff. 
 "Ibid., pp. 332-35. 
 
 "Gen. 23:19; 25:9. 
 "II Sam. 5:3. 
 "II Sam. 15:7, 12. 
 ,T Josh. 20:7. 
 "Josh. 21:11. 
 "Histor. eccl, II, 4. 
 
252 SPIRITISM x 
 
 Christian times. The Haram, or 'sanctuary,' that 
 covers the supposed cave of Machpelah is still one of the 
 chief holy places of Islam, and Jews come thither from all 
 parts of the world to pray to Abraham and Sarah. At 
 Ramah, the burial place of Rachel, 40 there was a holy 
 stone upon her grave. On the grave of Deborah below 
 Bethel there stood a tree known as Allon-bdkhuth, 'the 
 holy tree of weeping.' 41 The burial place of Miriam was 
 Kadesh, 'the sanctuary.' 42 Shechem, the burial-place 
 of Joseph, 43 was the site of a holy tree called "the oak of 
 the oracle," or "the oak of the diviners," 44 of a holy 
 stone, 45 of an altar 46 and of a temple. 47 It was also a city 
 of refuge. 48 Of similar character as sanctuaries were 
 probably the graves of the heroes Tola, 49 Jair, 50 Ibzan, 51 
 Elon, 52 and Abdon. 53 
 
 The Book of Kings records with equal care the burial 
 places of the kings of Judah. Ezek. 43 17-9 shows clearly 
 that in his day these were seats of worship. The words 
 "whoredom" and "abomination" that he applies to them 
 are the ones that are commonly used by the prophets for 
 the cult of strange gods. Isa. 65 13 f. speaks also of 
 people who provoke Yahweh to his face continually, 
 "who dwell among the graves and lodge in the vaults." 
 
 The "uncleanness" of graves in the later Hebrew re- 
 ligion is additional proof that originally they were places 
 of worship. Among ancient peoples everything connected 
 with death was "taboo," i.e., it could not be touched with- 
 
 40 Gen. 35:19; I Sam. 10:2; Jer. 31:15. 
 
 41 Gen. 35:8. 
 
 42 Num. 20:1. 
 
 43 Josh. 24:32. 
 
 "Gen. 12:6; Deut. 11:30; Judg. 9:37. 
 
 46 Josh. 24:26f. 
 
 48 Gen. 12:7; 22:9. 
 
 47 Judg. 9:4, 46. 
 "Josh. 20:7. 
 
 48 Judg. 10:lf. 
 60 Judg. 10:3-5. 
 51 Judg. 12:8-10. 
 "Judg. 12:1 If. 
 "Judg. 12:13-15. 
 
x WORSHIP OF THE DEAD BY ISRAEL 253 
 
 out falling under the influence of a spirit. 54 Among the 
 Semites the word for taboo was kddhosh, which we com- 
 monly render "holy." Into the religion of Yahweh many 
 ancient Semitic taboos were taken up, and continued to 
 be regarded as u holy." Other taboos were felt to belong 
 to inferior spirits or to rival gods, and were now pro- 
 nounced "unclean." Thus foreign rites make Yahweh's 
 land "unclean," 55 and alien worship makes the Temple 
 "unclean." 56 Now, as we have just seen, the graves of 
 the patriarchs and heroes were at first regarded as 
 "holy," and were favourite places of sacrifice. Archae- 
 ology shows that in pre-exilic times the dead were buried 
 without hesitation within the city walls or even in 
 houses, 57 but in later literature dead bodies and graves 
 render anyone who touches them ceremonially "un- 
 clean." 58 Bones of the dead defile the altar of Yah- 
 weh. 59 This change from "holy" to "unclean" can be 
 explained only as due to a growing consciousness that 
 the ancient sanctity of tombs was inconsistent with the 
 sole authority of Yahweh. Hence corpses and every- 
 thing connected with them were placed under a ban. 
 That this is the correct interpretation of the taboo is 
 shown (1) by the fact that it is called "uncleanness for 
 a spirit" (nefesh), eo which shows that the uncleanness 
 does not come from the corpse but from the spirit as- 
 sociated with it; (2) by the fact that priests, who are 
 specially connected with the worship of Yahweh, are 
 allowed to "defile themselves for a spirit" only in a few 
 exceptional cases, 61 and that nazirites are not allowed to 
 defile themselves at all. 62 
 
 64 Jevons, Introduction to the History of Religion, chap. vi. 
 
 BB Jer. 2:7, 23; 3:2, 9; Ezek. 36:18. 
 
 68 Jer. 7:30; Ezek. 43:7, 9. 
 
 67 Palestine Exploration Fund, Quarterly Statement, 1902, p. 347. This cus- 
 tom is also attested by I Sam. 25:1; 28:3; I Kings 2:10, 34; 11:43; 14:31, 
 etc.; II Kings 21:18, 26; Ezek. 43:7f. 
 
 68 Deut. 26:14; Ezek. 43:7f.; Num. 19:11; Matt. 23:27. 
 
 59 I Kings 13:2; II Kings 23:14, 16, 20. 
 
 80 Lev. 21:1, 11; 22:4; Num. 5:2; 6:6, 11; 9:6f., 10; 19:llf.; Hag. 2:13. 
 
 "Lev. 21:1-4, 11. 
 
 "Num. 6:6. 
 
254 SPIRITISM x 
 
 i. Sacrifice to the Dead. — Among the Hebrews the 
 persistence of sacrifice to the dead down to a late time 
 is attested by the confession in Deut. 26:14, "I have not 
 given thereof for the dead." According to Josephus, 63 
 the tomb of David was filled with treasures; and accord- 
 ing to II Chron. 16:14, Asa's tomb was filled with sweet 
 odours and spices, and they made a very great burning for 
 him. This was the usual custom at the burial of kings. 64 
 Ps. 106:28 declares of the forefathers, "They ate the 
 sacrifices of the dead." Tob. 4:17 commends offerings 
 to the dead: "Pour out thy bread on the tomb of the 
 just"; and similarly Ecclus. 7:33: "A gift hath grace in 
 the sight of every living man, so from a dead man keep 
 not back grace." 65 Others mention the cult of the dead 
 as practised in their day, but regard it as useless and 
 wicked. 66 In later Judaism the saying of the Kaddish 
 by the oldest son takes the place of the ancient sacrifices. 67 
 
 The existence of sacrificial funeral feasts among the 
 Hebrews is attested by Jer. 16:7: "Neither shall men 
 break bread for a mourner to comfort him for the dead, 
 nor shall one give him the cup of consolation to drink on 
 account of his father or his mother" ; also by Ezek. 24 117 
 (emended text) , "Eat not the bread of mourning." Since 
 eating these offerings involved participation in the wor- 
 ship of another god than Yahweh, it rendered one 
 "unclean." 68 
 
 Among the Hebrews the duty of bringing sacrifices and 
 libations rested upon the oldest son. Hence the double 
 portion given to the firstborn. 69 Childlessness was re- 
 garded as the greatest possible misfortune, 70 and the 
 proper blessing for a bride was, "Be thou the mother 
 
 "Ant., XIII, 8, 4; XVI, 7, 1; War, I, 2, 5. 
 6 *Jer. 34:5; II Chron. 21:19. 
 86 Cf. II Mace. 12:42ff. 
 
 86 Ecclus. 30:18 (in the Greek); Ep. Jer., vss. 31f.; Wisd. 14:15; 19-3; Sibylline 
 Oracles, viii. 382-384; Jubilees, 22:17. 
 
 87 Margoliouth, Hastings, Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics, I, 459. 
 88 Hos. 9:4; Deut. 26:14. 
 
 68 Deut. 21:15ff. 
 
 70 Gen. 30:1; I Sam. l:5f. 
 
\ 
 
 x WORSHIP OF THE DEAD BY ISRAEL 255 
 
 of thousands of ten thousands." 71 Yahweh punished 
 men even in the other world by cutting off their pos- 
 terity, 72 and victors destroyed an enemy's children in 
 order that his ghost might receive no offerings. If a 
 man had no sons by his first wife, he took a second wife, 
 or his wife gave him her female slaves as concubines. 73 
 If these means failed, a slave, or some person outside 
 of the family, was adopted as a son, and was given the 
 inheritance on condition that he kept up the ancestral 
 rites. 74 If this device also failed, the nearest male rela- 
 tive of the deceased was required to take his widow and 
 raise up seed for him. 75 This painful anxiety to secure a 
 son is explainable only by the desire to obtain after death 
 those gifts without which one's soul could not rest. 
 
 ;. Prayer to the Dead. — Among the Hebrews the la- 
 ment was a regular and important part of the funeral cere- 
 monies. 76 In it the members of the family were assisted 
 by professional mourning men and women. 77 These 
 people had a stock of laments adapted to various occa- 
 sions that they chanted before the corpse. In the case 
 of important persons special dirges were composed. 78 
 
 Some lamentations are doubtless to be regarded as 
 natural expressions of grief, but this will not explain 
 official mournings in which the entire nation took part. 79 
 The only tenable theory is that such laments were acts 
 of homage paid to the departed. This view is confirmed 
 by the following facts : ( 1 ) the Hebrew laments, like 
 those of the ancient Arabs, were always addressed to the 
 dead; 80 (2) similar laments were customary in the 
 
 71 Gen. 24; 60. 
 
 "Exod. 20:5; 34:7; Num. 14:18; Deut. 5:9. 
 
 78 Gen. 16: If. 
 
 "Gen. 15:2f. 
 
 "Gen. 38:16; Deut. 25:5; Ruth 2:20; 3:13; 4:5. 
 
 "Gen. 23:2; Deut. 21:13; II Sam. 19:4; I Kings 13:30; II Kings 13:14; 
 Jer. 16:6; 22:10, 18; 34:5; Ezek. 24:16; Acts 9:39. 
 
 T7 II Chron. 35:25; Jer. 9:17f.; Am. 5:16. 
 
 "II Sam. 1:17; 3:33. 
 
 n E.g., Gen. 50:7-10; Deut. 34:8; Num. 20:29; Judg. 11:40; I Sam. 25:1; 
 28:3; II Sam. 1:12; 3:32; Zech. 12:10-14. 
 
 *>Cf. II Sam. 1:26; 3:34; Jer. 22:18; 34:5. 
 
256 SPIRITISM x 
 
 worship of the gods; 81 (3) lamentation, like other acts 
 of mourning, was repugnant to Yahweh as part of the 
 cult of rival divinities. 82 Isa. 63:16, "Thou art our 
 father, though Abraham knoweth us not, and Israel doth 
 not acknowledge us," seems to imply invocation of the 
 patriarchs by some at least of the nation. This cult has 
 not completely died out even from modern Judaism. 
 
 Necromancy is a form of invocation of the dead. It 
 was common in the time of Saul, although it was re- 
 garded as inconsistent with the religion of Yahweh. 83 
 Isaiah still had reason to denounce it: "When they say 
 unto you, Consult the ghosts and the familiar spirits that 
 gibber and moan, give this answer: Should not a people 
 rather consult its God? On behalf of the living, should 
 men consult the dead?" 84 This practice flourished 
 in the time of Manasseh, 85 and Josiah made an effort 
 to abolish it. 86 It seems to be mentioned also in Isa. 
 57:9; 65 :4. The prohibition of necromancy by Deuter- 
 onomy 87 and by the Holiness Code 88 shows that it was 
 common in the latter days of the monarchy, but that it 
 was regarded by the religious leaders of the nation as irre- 
 concilable with the exclusive worship of Yahweh. 
 
 From the foregoing survey it appears that the earliest 
 Hebrew beliefs in regard to the soul were identical with 
 those of the other Semites, and that the cult of the dead 
 was one of the most ancient and most firmly intrenched 
 forms of religion among the Hebrews. The religion of 
 Yahweh encountered no more formidable rival, and cen- 
 turies of conflict were necessary before it was finally over- 
 come. 
 
 81 Cf. Judg. 11:40 with Ezek. 8:14; Zech. 12:11. 
 82 Deut. 26:14; Hos. 9:4; Am. 6:10. 
 
 83 I Sam. 28:7-9. 
 
 84 Isa. 8:19; cf. 19:3; 28:15, 18; 29:4. 
 86 II Kings 21:6. 
 
 88 II Kings 23:24. 
 
 87 Deut. 18:11. 
 
 88 Lev. 19:31; 20:6, 27. 
 
CHAPTER XI 
 
 EARLY OPPOSITION TO WORSHIP OF THE DEAD BY ISRAEL 
 
 In chapter VIII attention was called to the conception of 
 the soul which the Hebrews inherited from their Semitic 
 forefathers. In chapter IX it was shown how, through 
 the conquest of Canaan, the Babylonian doctrine of Sheol 
 was superimposed upon the ancient belief in spirits. We 
 must now consider how this inheritance of animistic ideas 
 from pre-Mosaic times was affected by the religion of 
 Yahweh. 
 
 a. The Primitive Conception of Spirits Was Unaffected 
 by Early Yahwistn. — The Mosaic doctrine of God was 
 not monotheism but monolatry. It did not say, "Thou 
 shalt not believe that there are other gods," but "Thou 
 shalt have no other gods besides me." The god of 
 Moses bore the personal name Yahweh, which shows 
 that he was only one of a class of supernatural beings. 
 All the divinities of primitive Semitic heathenism were 
 still regarded as real persons, only Israel was forbidden 
 to worship them. 1 In the same way belief in the exist- 
 ence of spirits of the dead was left undisturbed by the 
 religion of Yahweh. All the animistic conceptions held by 
 the primitive Semites in common with other ancient peo- 
 ples were incorporated bodily into the Hebrew religion, 
 and remained unchanged down to the times of the proph- 
 ets. Mosaism had no new eschatology of the individual; 
 it simply accepted the ideas that it found on the ground. 
 For this reason there is nothing new in the pre-prophetic 
 period to add to the account of the earliest Hebrew con- 
 
 *Cf. Exod. 15:11; Judg. 11:24; I Kings 11:33; II Kings l:2f.; 3:27; Deut. 
 4:19; 29:26; 32:8 in the Greek. 
 
 257 
 
258 SPIRITISM xi 
 
 ceptions of the soul that has been given in the preceding 
 chapters. 
 
 b. The Worship of Spirits Was from the First Forbid- 
 den by Yahweh. — The God whom Moses proclaimed did 
 not deny the existence of other gods, but he did deny their 
 right to receive the worship of Israel. The command- 
 ment "Thou shalt have no other gods besides me," which 
 the Deuteronomic Decalogue 2 places at the head of Yah- 
 weh's fundamental requirements, stands also at the head 
 of the original Book of the Covenant, which has been 
 preserved by J in Exod. 34 114 and by E in Exod. 21 123. 
 It is universally conceded that this was one of the doc- 
 trines of primitive Mosaism. In like manner, although 
 Yahweh did not deny the existence of spirits of the dead, 
 worship of them in any form whatsoever he sternly pro- 
 hibited. By the ancient Hebrews the shades were known 
 as elohim, 'gods/ 3 and received all the acts of homage 
 that were paid to other divinities; 4 consequently they 
 were included in the general prohibition of the worship of 
 other gods that lay at the foundation of the Mosaic relig- 
 ion. Yahweh was "a jealous God," who would not tolerate 
 the cult of ancestors, heroes, or other spirits, any more 
 than he would tolerate the cult of the nature gods, tribal 
 gods, or any of the other b e( dlim of the Semitic world. 
 
 With the first proclamation of Yahweh the doom of 
 ancestor-worship was sealed; but, as was to be expected, a 
 long conflict was necessary before it was finally eradicated 
 from Israel. This form of religion was firmly established 
 among the Hebrews in pre-Mosaic times, and the conquest 
 of Canaan tended only to confirm it. As the Book of 
 Judges and the early prophets repeatedly inform us, 
 "Israel served the b e 'dlim," and among thes^ b e 'dlim were 
 the ancestors and heroes who from time immemorial had 
 been worshipped in Canaan. 
 
 Gradually, however, the true genius of the Mosaic 
 
 3 Deut. 5:7; Exod. 20:3. 
 •I Sam. 28:13. 
 * See p. 2S4ff. 
 
xi EARLY OPPOSITION 259 
 
 religion asserted itself. Through the efforts of the 
 nazirites, Levites, judges, seers, and other religious 
 enthusiasts, Yahweh finally triumphed over spirits of 
 the dead as well as over the other h e< alim. By the be- 
 ginning of the period of the monarchy his victory was 
 complete ; the local divinities were no longer worshipped 
 by the majority of the nation, and the supreme authority 
 of Yahweh was recognized in all parts of the land. From 
 I Sam. 28 19 it appears that Saul, who owed his throne to 
 the choice of Yahweh, 5 and who had himself received the 
 spirit of Yahweh, 6 made an effort to exterminate those 
 who had familiar spirits and necromancers; and was so 
 successful that, when, toward the close of his reign, he 
 wished to consult a medium, he had difficulty in finding 
 one. The fact that this medium was a woman shows 
 that invocation of the dead was already discredited in 
 Israel. Dying superstitions usually linger among women 
 after they have been abandoned by men. The command- 
 ment of the Book of the Covenant, "Thou shalt not suffer 
 a sorceress to live," 7 is also directed against necromantic 
 arts; and, if the text be sound, shows that these survived 
 chiefly among women. The protestation of the bringer 
 of the tithe in Deut. 26:14, "I have not given thereof for 
 the dead," is probably a fragment of a liturgy that is far 
 older than Deuteronomy, and the prohibitions of 
 necromancy in Deut. 18:11 and the Holiness Code 8 are 
 also survivals of ancient legislation. It was, therefore, 
 no new doctrine that Isaiah taught: "When they say 
 unto you consult the ghosts and the familiar spirits that 
 gibber and moan, give this answer : Should not a people 
 rather consult its God? On behalf of the living, 
 should men consult the dead?" 9 
 c. Yahweh Appropriated the Functions of the Dead, 
 
 •I Sam. 10:1. 
 
 9 1 Sam. 10:10; 19:23. 
 
 7 Exod. 22:18. 
 
 •Lev. 19:31; 20:6, 27. 
 
 •Is*. 8:19. 
 
260 SPIRITISM xi 
 
 — The method by which Yahweh triumphed over the 
 b e 'dlim of Canaan was not by destroying them but by 
 absorbing them. The name ba'al became a synonym of 
 Yahweh, and the b e) dlim were regarded as his local mani- 
 festations. The ancient shrines of the land became his 
 shrines, and the legends connected with them were retold 
 as stories of his dealings with the patriarchs. The 
 agricultural ritual and the harvest festivals of the b e< dlim 
 were reconsecrated to his service. 10 
 
 The same process is seen in Yahweh's relation to spirits 
 of the dead. He conquered them by assuming their 
 functions and claiming their rites. Oracular indication 
 through physical objects became his work in the sacred 
 lot of Urim and Thummim. 11 Disease and insanity were 
 now ascribed to his activity. 12 Genius and inspiration of 
 every sort were traced to the operation of his spirit. 13 
 The revealing of the future through prophets became his 
 exclusive prerogative. It was only when he refused to 
 answer Saul by dreams, or by Urim, or by prophets, that 
 Saul was constrained to seek the help of inferior spirits. 
 The avenging of shed blood was now assumed by him. 14 
 Violation of tombs was an affront to him. 15 Care for 
 the widow and orphaned children became his responsi- 
 bility. 16 The fulfilment of a father's blessing or curse 
 became his concern. 17 
 
 d. Yahweh Appropriated the Cult of the Dead. — 
 The shrines of Canaan that had formerly been consecrated 
 to the cult of the dead were now, like the high places of 
 all the other b e 'dlim, appropriated by Yahweh. The 
 tombs of Sarah and Abraham, of Israel, of Rachel, of 
 Deborah, of Joseph, of Miriam, and of numerous local 
 
 10 See Paton, The Early Religion of Israel, (1910), chap. v. 
 "I Sam. 14:41; 28:6; Deut. 33:8. 
 "Num. 12:10; I Sam. 16:14; 25:38; I Kings 17:20. 
 
 13 Exod. 28:3; 31:3; Num. 27:18; Judg. 6:34; 11:29; 13:25; 14:6, 19; 15:14; 
 I. Sam. 11:6. 
 
 "Gen. 4:llff.; II Sam. 21:lf.; Deut. 21:1-9. 
 
 "Amos 2:1. 
 
 "Exod. 20:6; 22:22. 
 
 "Gen. 9:25-27; 27:27-29, 39-40; 49:2-27. 
 
xi EARLY OPPOSITION 261 
 
 heroes, became his sanctuaries, and their holiness was 
 now explained as due, not to the fact that the forefathers 
 were buried there, but that they had been the scenes of 
 his manifestation in the past. Far from being "unclean" 
 in early times graves were places of peculiar sanctity, 
 near which it was most fitting that Yahweh should be 
 worshipped. Caves owed their holiness to the fact that 
 they were used as places of burial, 18 and it is noteworthy 
 that the original sanctuary of Yahweh at Sinai was a 
 cave. 19 The dark holy of holies of Solomon's temple, 
 with its anteroom, in which a lamp was kept burning and 
 bread and incense were offered, was the counterpart of 
 an ancient Canaanite tomb. The holy trees, standing 
 stones, and altars that stood beside the graves of ances- 
 tors were all reconsecrated to the worship of Yahweh. 20 
 Sacrifice is a rite that has meaning only in the cult of 
 the dead. The blood, in which the life of the animal 
 resides, is poured out in order that the shades may drink 
 of it and renew their vigour. Offerings of food and drink 
 are not needed by celestial deities, but are needed by 
 spirits of the dead, and have been offered to them from 
 the earliest times. It can hardly be doubted that bloody 
 offerings and libations first arose in connection with ances- 
 tor-worship, and were afterward extended to the cult of 
 other divinities with whom they had no natural connec- 
 tion. Their primitive association with the dead is shown 
 by the fact that the blood of the victim was always poured 
 upon the earth, so that it might sink down to the Under- 
 world. In many ancient tombs channels were con- 
 structed through which blood and libations descended to 
 the buried person. In like manner the old Arabian altar 
 had a ghabghab, or pit, beneath it into which blood was 
 poured and offerings were thrown. All such sacrifices 
 and libations for the dead were appropriated by Yahweh. 
 
 u Cf. Gen. 23:9. 
 
 19 Exod. 33:22; I Kings 19:8f. 
 
 20 Gen. 12:6f.; 22:9; 35:8, 20; Deut. 11:30; Josh. 24:26f.; Judg. 9:4, 37, 46. 
 
262 SPIRITISM xi 
 
 The blood of the slain animal was still poured upon 
 the ground, 21 although it was no longer offered to the 
 gods of the Underworld. Beneath the altar of Solomon's 
 temple was a channel cut out in the rock to receive the 
 blood, and Elijah dug a trench for the blood around the 
 altar that he constructed on Carmel; yet the sacrifices in 
 both of these cases were rendered to Yahweh. The ritual 
 of the red heifer in Num., chap. 19, bears clear evidence 
 of having been borrowed from the cult of the dead. 22 
 The same is true perhaps of the goat for Azazel, 23 and 
 of a number of other sacrificial rites that have found a 
 place in the official religion of post-exilic Judaism. From 
 this it appears that everything that was clearly connected 
 with the worship of the dead was already in the pre- 
 prophetic period claimed by Yahweh as his due. 
 
 e. Rites of the Dead That Were not Clearly Acts of 
 Worship Were Still Permitted, but They Rendered One 
 Unclean, — Burial, and such customs as tearing off the gar- 
 ments, girding on sackcloth, covering the head, making 
 cuttings in the flesh, cutting the hair, covering oneself 
 with dust or ashes, lamentation and fasting 24 had lost 
 much of their primitive religious significance as early as 
 the pre-prophetic period, and seemed to be merely acts 
 of mourning; consequently these were tolerated by the 
 early Hebrew religion, and no effort was made to take 
 them away from the dead. At the same time it was 
 felt that these ceremonies were in a way connected with 
 u other gods," and therefore rendered one "unclean," 
 i. e., debarred one from taking part in the public worship 
 of Yahweh. Hosea, speaking of the exiles in Egypt 
 and in Assyria, says: "Their sacrifices shall be unto 
 them as the bread of mourners; all that eat thereof shall 
 be polluted," 25 and Amos (6:10) says that it is not per- 
 
 "Exod. 29:12; Lev. 4:7, 18; 17:13; Deut. 12:16. 
 
 23 H. P. Smith, in American Journal of Theology, April, 1909. 
 
 38 Lev. 16:26. 
 
 3 * See pp. 248ff. 
 
 "Hos. 9:4. 
 
xi EARLY OPPOSITION 263 
 
 mitted to make mention of the name of Yahweh when 
 bringing a corpse out of a house. In Deut. 26:14 the 
 bringer of the tithe says: "I have not eaten thereof in 
 my mourning, neither have I put away thereof being un- 
 clean, nor given thereof for the dead." That these rites 
 rendered one "unclean" on account of their association 
 with the cult of the dead, is evident from the technical 
 expression of the Law "unclean for a spirit." 26 In these 
 cases early Yahwism made a compromise with ancestor- 
 worship that it would not make in the case of necromancy 
 and sacrifice to the dead. 
 
 It appears, accordingly, that the pre-prophetic religion 
 of Israel did not change the primitive Semitic concep- 
 tions of the future life; yet in its attack upon ancestor- 
 worship it prepared the way for the prophetic denial of 
 the intelligence and power of the dead, through which 
 eventually ancient animistic conceptions were destroyed. 
 
 /. Sheol Stood Outside of the Authority of Yahweh. 
 — The recognition that there were other gods of other 
 peoples led naturally to the belief that foreign lands 
 stood outside of Yahweh's sphere of influence, and that 
 his activity was limited for the most part to the land 
 of Canaan. 27 In a similar manner Sheol was regarded 
 as lying outside of his rule. It was a foreign land, 
 presided over by its own gods, the spirits of the dead, 
 and over its border Yahweh never passed to exert his 
 authority. In the creation narrative of J it is not men- 
 tioned along with "earth and heaven" as created by 
 Yahweh. 28 Even in the late Priestly account 29 it is 
 omitted from the works of Elohim, and the same is true 
 of II Esdras 6:iff. Nowhere in the Old Testament is 
 Yahweh's creation of Sheol referred to, and Wis. 1 113 
 asserts, "God made not death" (cf. 2:24). Not until 
 the Middle Ages did the Jewish rabbis infer from the 
 
 '•Lev. 21:1, 11; 22:4; Num. 5:2, etc. 
 
 "Cf. Gen. 4:14; I Sam. 26:19£.; II Sam. 15:8; II Kings 5:15, 17. 
 
 "Gen. 2:46 ff. 
 
 "Gen. 1:1—2 :4a. 
 
264 SPIRITISM xi 
 
 lack of the formula, "and God saw that it was good," 
 in Gen. 1 :6-8, that Sheol was created on the second day. 30 
 Yahweh was conceived as dwelling in heaven, 31 whence 
 he came down to exert his authority on earth, but never 
 once in pre-prophetic literature is he said to descend into 
 Sheol, or in any way to show his power there. 
 
 Since Yahweh was powerless either to bless or to curse 
 in Sheol, worship of him ceased of necessity when one 
 entered that land. The later literature repeatedly as- 
 serts that he cannot be served there, and this is undoubt- 
 edly an echo of earlier thought. Thus Ps. 6 15 declares, 
 "In death there is no remembrance of thee; in Sheol who 
 shall give thee thanks"; Isa. 38:1 8f., "Sheol cannot 
 praise thee, Death cannot celebrate thee. . . . The liv- 
 ing, the living, he shall praise thee, as I do this day." 
 
 So long as Sheol stood outside of Yahweh's jurisdic- 
 tion, no radical change could arise in Israel's concep- 
 tion of the future life. The primitive Semitic and the 
 Babylonian eschatologies held their own without inter- 
 ference until the time when Yahweh was known to be 
 the universal God, whose authority extended to Sheol 
 as well as to all other parts of the universe. Then at 
 last these venerable beliefs began to give place to a 
 worthier idea of the future life. 
 
 Because of this total lack of religious or ethical ele- 
 ments in the conception of Sheol, the ancient Hebrew 
 dreaded the future life as much as did all the other 
 Semites. Death seemed to him wholly evil. His one 
 desire was that he might live long in the land, enjoy peace 
 and prosperity, and have numerous descendants. His 
 hope never extended into the other world. Even in late 
 times death was regarded as exclusion from the presence 
 and the care of Yahweh. 32 
 
 g. Retribution Was Limited to the Present Life. — 
 
 30 Eisenmenger, Entdecktes Judenthum, II, 326. 
 81 Gen. 11:5; Exod. 24:10; I Kings 22:19. 
 "Isa. 38:18; Ps. H5:16f.; 6:5f.; 30:10. 
 
xi EARLY OPPOSITION 265 
 
 Yahweh's rewards of the righteous and his punishments 
 of the wicked were limited to this life. To those who 
 kept his commandments he promised that their days 
 should be long upon the land which Yahweh their God 
 gave them, 33 that their bread and their water should be 
 blessed, and sickness should be kept away from them, that 
 none should cast their young or be barren, that all their 
 enemies should be defeated before them, and their border 
 should be widely extended. 34 Those who broke his com- 
 mandments were punished with sudden death, 35 with loss 
 of children and property, with sickness, misfortune, and 
 invasion by enemies. 36 Nowhere in pre-exilic literature 
 is any reward of virtue or any punishment of sin antic- 
 ipated in Sheol. The righteous Hezekiah is represented 
 as saying, "I shall go unto the gates of Sheol. ... I 
 shall not see Yahweh in the land of the living. . . . They 
 that go down into the Pit cannot hope for thy faithful- 
 ness"; 37 and Ps. 88:4f. says: "I am counted with them 
 that go down into the Pit, I am as a man that hath no 
 help : cast off among the dead, like the slain that lie in the 
 grave, whom thou rememberest no more, and they are cut 
 off from thy hand." Both of these passages are probably 
 late, still they preserve the thought of the early Hebrew 
 religion. 
 
 h. Collective Retribution — In lack of a belief in fu- 
 ture rewards and punishments the justice of Yahweh was 
 vindicated by means of the theory of collective retribu- 
 tion. The penalty of the sinful father, which he escaped 
 by dying, was visited upon his living descendants. The 
 early Hebrews brought into Canaan as an inheritance 
 from primitive Semitic times a strong sense of the soli- 
 darity of the family and of the clan. Tribes were spoken 
 of in the singular, as Israel, Moab, Ammon, and the iden- 
 
 "Exod. 20:12. 
 
 "Exod. 23:25-31. 
 
 "Gen. 38:7ff.; I Sam. 6:19ff.; 25:39; II Sam. 6:6ff. 
 
 "Gen. 44:16; Judg. 9:56f.; II Sam. 16:8. 
 
 S7 Isa. 38:10f., 18. 
 
266 SPIRITISM | xi 
 
 tity of the individual was lost in the group. The logical 
 corollary of this conception was the assumption of collec- 
 tive responsibility for the sins of individuals. Saul sought 
 to kill David's relatives on his account, 38 and annihilated 
 the clan of Ahimelech the priest because he had be- 
 friended David. 39 David proposed to cut off the 
 entire family of Nabal because of the insolence of the 
 head of the house. 40 The seven sons of Saul were 
 hanged because of his attack on the Gibeonites. 41 The 
 sons of Naboth were slain with him. 42 
 
 It seemed eminently natural, accordingly, that Yahweh 
 should deal with the group rather than the individual, 
 and should bring the punishment of the sinner, or the 
 reward of the righteous, upon his family, his clan, or 
 his nation, rather than upon himself. Yahweh "visited 
 the penalty of the fathers upon the children, upon the 
 third and upon the fourth generation of them that hated 
 him." 43 The Canaanites were enslaved because of the 
 guilt of their remote ancestor. 44 Pharaoh and his house 
 were plagued because he had taken Sarah. 45 The wombs 
 of the house of Abimelech were closed for the same 
 offence. 46 The firstborn of Egypt were smitten for the 
 sin of Pharaoh. 47 Amalek was destroyed because its 
 forefathers attacked Israel. 48 Dathan and Abiram were 
 engulfed with their wives, their sons, and their little 
 ones. 49 Achan was slain with his sons and his daughters, 
 his oxen and his asses, his sheep and all that he had. 50 
 The sin of Eli was visited upon his descendants. 51 The 
 
 38 1 Sam. 22:1, 3f. 
 
 89 1 Sam. 22:16. 
 
 "I Sam. 25:22. 
 
 "II Sam. 21:6ff. 
 
 42 II Kings 9:26. 
 
 "Exod. 20:5. 
 
 "Gen. 9:24f. 
 
 "Gen. 12:17 J. 
 
 "Gen. 20:18 E. 
 
 * 7 Exod. 12:29 J. 
 
 "Exod. 17:16; I Sam. I5:2f. 
 
 "Num. 16:27ff JE. 
 
 80 Josh. 7:24 J. 
 
 81 1 Sam. 2:31. 
 
xi EARLY OPPOSITION 267 
 
 blood of Abner fell upon the father's house of Joab. 52 
 David's child was killed and the sword never departed 
 from his house because of his sin. 53 Solomon was told, 
 "I will surely rend the kingdom from thee. . . . Not- 
 withstanding in thy days I will not do it, for David thy 
 father's sake; but I will rend it out of the hand of thy 
 son." 54 The house of Jeroboam was cursed for the sin 
 of its founder, 55 so also that of Baasha, 56 and of Ahab. 57 
 In an indirect way the blessing or cursing of descendants 
 reacted upon forefathers because it affected the cult that 
 was paid to their spirits. If children were cut off, the 
 spirit was deprived of the offerings that were necessary 
 for its repose. Only in this round-about manner did the 
 vengeance of Yahweh reach the sinner in Sheol. 
 
 "II Sam. 3:29. 
 
 M II Sam. 12:10, 14f. 
 
 "I Kings 11:111 
 
 M I Kings 14:10. 
 
 ••I Kings 16:3. 
 
 57 1 Kings 21:21. See Lohr, Socialismus u. Individualismus im A. T. 
 
CHAPTER XII 
 
 PROPHETIC AND LEGAL DENIAL OF THE VITALITY OF 
 
 SPIRITS 
 
 In the period of the prophets we possess for the first 
 time contemporary written records. In the previous 
 periods we have been compelled to reconstruct the con- 
 ception of the future life by comparison of survivals in 
 Israel with the phenomena of other Semitic religions, but 
 from the eighth century B.C. onward we have as historical 
 sources books that were written by the prophets them- 
 selves and law-codes that were inspired by their teaching. 
 The writings of these great men in chronological order are 
 as follows: — Amos (760 B.C.), Hosea (750), Isaiah, 
 chapters 1-32 (740-700), Micah (722-680), Jeremiah 
 (624-586), Nahum (606), Habakkuk (605), Ezekiel 
 (592-570), Obadiah (after 586), Isaiah, chapters 40-55 
 
 (546). 
 
 The legislation of Deuteronomy was written out about 
 650 B.C. in the reign of Manasseh, and makes its first 
 appearance in history in the book of the law discovered 
 in the time of Josiah (II Kings, 22 :8) and adopted in the 
 national assembly described in II Kings, 23. It shows 
 throughout the influence of the teaching of the prophets 
 of the foregoing Assyrian period. The Holiness Code 
 in Lev. 17-26 was committed to writing about 600 B.C., 
 shortly before the Exile, and is first quoted by the Pro- 
 phet Ezekiel. It depends both upon the prophets of 
 the Assyrian period and upon Deuteronomy. 
 
 During this period Israel stood under the rule, first 
 of Assyria, and then of Babylon, and was consequently 
 exposed to the influence of the Assyro-Babylonian civiliza- 
 
 268 
 
xii VITALITY OF SPIRITS DENIED 269 
 
 tion. This may have strengthened the old Babylonian 
 beliefs concerning Sheol that had come to the Hebrews in 
 an earlier period, but it brought no new elements into 
 their conception of the future life. All that was new in 
 the thought of this period was due to the teaching of the 
 prophets. 
 
 The literary prophets from Amos onward differed 
 from their predecessors chiefly in the emphasis that they 
 laid upon the moral character of Yahweh. The earlier 
 seers knew that Yahweh had ethical attributes, but they 
 did not make these fundamental in their conception of him. 
 The literary prophets, however, perceived that righteous- 
 ness was Yahweh's central attribute. From this it fol- 
 lowed that he was different in kind from the gods of 
 other nations, who were destitute of moral qualities. The 
 gods of the heathen, being unethical, were no gods 
 at all. Instead of being elohim, 'powers,' they were 
 elilim, 'feeble ones,' or, as our version renders it, 'vani- 
 ties.' Yahweh was the only God, because he alone was 
 holy. Thus for the first time in the history of Israel, 
 theoretical monotheism was attained, not as among other 
 peoples by the avenue of philosophical reflection, but by 
 the avenue of the moral judgment. This new and higher 
 conception of the nature of Yahweh could not fail to 
 modify the ancient conception of the future life. 
 
 a. The Activity of the Dead Was Denied. — The same 
 process by which the "other gods" were degraded from 
 mighty beings, the rivals of Yahweh, to "feeble ones" 
 is seen in the case of spirits of the dead. In pre-prophetic 
 days they were believed to possess such large powers that 
 the temptation was strong to render them some of the 
 worship due to Yahweh alone; in the prophetic period 
 they were stripped of their energy so completely that they 
 became mere shadows, unable to help or to hurt, to whom 
 it was futile either to pray or to offer sacrifice. 
 
 This development shows itself conspicuously in the 
 prophetic denial of the independent vitality of the human 
 
2/o SPIRITISM xii 
 
 soul. In Semitic and early Hebrew anthropology nefesh 
 and ruah were synonymous terms for 'spirit' ; in pro- 
 phetic anthropology ruah was distinguished from nefesh 
 as the vital principle and the seat of the higher faculties. 
 It was imparted by God to the nefesh during life, but re- 
 claimed by him at death. The germ of this idea is found 
 in the Yahwistic narrative of Gen. 2:7, where Yahweh 
 breathes into man's nostrils the breath of life and he be- 
 comes "a living nefesh" but the thought is not developed 
 in Hebrew literature until after the Exile. Thus in Isa. 
 42 15 we read, "He giveth breath to the people upon it, 
 and spirit to them that walk therein" ; Ps. 104 :2oJ ., u Thou 
 gatherest in their breath, they die, and return to their 
 dust: thou sendest forth thy spirit, they are created"; 
 Job 27 :3, "My life is yet whole in me, and the spirit of 
 God is in my nostrils"; 32:8, "There is a spirit in man, 
 and the breath of Shaddai giveth them understanding" ; 
 33 .-4, "The spirit of God hath made me, and the breath of 
 Shaddai giveth me life"; 34:14, "If he gather unto him- 
 self his spirit and his breath, all flesh shall perish to- 
 gether"; Eccles. 12:7, "The dust returns to the earth 
 as it was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it." 
 In these passages the vitality of the human soul depends 
 so completely upon the indwelling spirit of God, that ac- 
 tivity ceases when the divine breath is withdrawn. All 
 individual ruhoth are absorbed in the one ruah of 
 Yahweh, and all that is left of a man after death is a 
 nefesh, or 'breath,' from which knowledge and feeling 
 have departed. Thus the religion of the prophets cut 
 the root of ancestor-worship by denying the conscious 
 existence of the dead. 
 
 In striking contrast to the ancient doctrine which as- 
 cribed interest in the living and superhuman powers to the 
 dead, the late prophetic and subsequent literature 
 denies all activity to them. Abaddon, 'destruction,' be- 
 comes one of the names of Sheol. 1 In Isa. 38:11, if the 
 
 *Job 26:6; Ps. 88:11; Prov. 15:11; 27:20. 
 
xii VITALITY OF SPIRITS DENIED 271 
 
 text be sound, it is called he del t 'cessation.' In Ps. 
 88:12 it is "the land of forgetfulness." Ezekiel 26:21 
 says of Tyre, when she goes down to Sheol, "I will make 
 thee a destruction, and thou shalt be no more: thou 
 shalt be sought for, yet thou shalt never be found again" ; 
 Isa 63:16, "Thou art our father, though Abraham 
 knoweth us not, and Israel doth not acknowledge us"; 
 Job 7:9-11, "As the cloud is consumed and vanisheth 
 away, so he that goeth down to Sheol shall come up no 
 more"; Job 14:21, "His sons come to honour, and he 
 knoweth it not; and they are brought low, but he per- 
 ceiveth it not of them"; Job 17 :i 5f ., "Where then is my 
 hope? and as for my hope, who shall see it? It shall go 
 down to the bars of Sheol, when once there is rest in the 
 dust"; Ps. 94:17, "Unless Yahweh had been my help, 
 my soul had soon dwelt in silence"; Eccles. 9 :5f., 10, 
 "The living know that they shall die, but the dead know 
 not anything, neither have they any more a reward, for 
 the memory of them is forgotten. As well their love as 
 their hatred and their envy is now perished, neither have 
 they any more a portion for ever in anything that is done 
 under the sun. . . . For there is no work, nor device, nor 
 knowledge, nor wisdom in Sheol, whither thou goest"; 
 Ecclus. 3o:i8f., "Good things poured upon a mouth that 
 is closed, are as messes of meat laid upon a grave. 
 What can an offering profit a shade, for it can 
 neither eat nor smell"; 38:20-23, "Give not thy heart 
 unto sorrow . . . him thou wilt not profit, and thou 
 wilt hurt thyself. . . . When the dead is at rest, let his 
 remembrance rest, and be comforted for him when his 
 spirit departeth from him." Most of these passages are 
 later than the period that we are considering, but they 
 preserve the negative attitude of prophetism toward the 
 existence in Sheol. 
 
 The old belief that the dead could not worship Yahweh 
 persisted in this period, but for a different reason. In 
 pre-prophetic times Yahweh could not be honoured in 
 
272 SPIRITISM xii 
 
 Sheol because his authority did not extend thither, but 
 in prophetic times it was because the dead had not suffi- 
 cient energy to worship. Thus Ps:88:ii, "Shall thy 
 loving-kindness be declared in the grave, or thy faithful- 
 ness in Abaddon? Shall thy wonders be known in the 
 dark? and thy righteousness in the land of forgetful- 
 ness ?" Ps. 115:17, "The dead praise not Yahweh, neither 
 any that go down into silence"; Ecclus. 17:27, "Who 
 shall give praise to the Most High in the grave, instead 
 of them which live and return thanks? Thanksgiving 
 perisheth from the dead, as from one that is not: he 
 that is in life and health shall praise the Lord" ; Bar. 
 2:17, "The dead that are in the grave, whose spirit is 
 taken from their bodies, will give unto the Lord neither 
 glory nor righteousness." 
 
 These statements must not be taken as an assertion 
 of the annihilation of the soul at death. Disembodied 
 spirits continued to exist, but their existence was empty 
 of content. It was form without substance. Hence it is 
 frequently compared to the feeble life of the soul in 
 sleep. It is "the eternal sleep." 2 "Till the heavens be 
 no more, they shall not awake or be roused out of their 
 sleep" ; 3 "They sleep in the dust of the earth." 4 "Sleep" 
 in these passages is not understood of the body in the 
 grave, but of the unconscious, emotionless existence of 
 the shades in Sheol. 
 
 The foregoing discussion has made it clear that the at- 
 titude of the religion of Yahweh to the eschatology of 
 the individual, from the days of Moses to the completion 
 of the law in the post-exilic Priestly Code, was essentially 
 negative. Spirits of the dead, like "strange gods," were 
 at first dangerous rivals of Yahweh, and his adherents 
 laboured for their destruction. In this process the dead 
 were deprived of one attribute after another, until at the 
 end of the prophetic-legal development they had become 
 
 »Jer. 51:39, 57; Ecclus. 46:19f. 
 •Job 14:12. 
 *Dan. 12:2. 
 
xii VITALITY OF SPIRITS DENIED 273 
 
 powerless shadows, whose existence was destitute of every 
 element that constituted life. Thus the victory over 
 necrolatry was won, but at the cost of the extinction of 
 even a rudimentary belief in immortality. Primitive 
 Semitic animism had nothing in common with Yahwism, 
 and it was necessary that it should perish before the struc- 
 ture of a better faith could arise. 
 
 b. Rites of Ancestor-worship Were Eliminated from 
 the Worship of Yahweh. — The literary prophets saw 
 clearly that Yahweh had triumphed over the h e< dlim by 
 appropriating their cults, and that the result had been 
 that in the popular conception Yahweh was no better 
 than a ba'al. 5 In their effort to purify the conception of 
 God they insisted that heathen elements should be purged 
 out of the religion of Israel. This movement culminated 
 in the demand of Deuteronomy that the high places, which 
 originally had been seats of the worship of the b e< alim } 
 should be abolished. These included the graves that in 
 pre-prophetic times had been transformed into sanctuaries 
 of Yahweh. Henceforth they were forbidden as places 
 of worship. 6 This prohibition was intensified by the 
 doctrine that graves were "unclean," and that they "de- 
 filed" one who came in contact with them. 7 In like man- 
 ner the masseboth, or 'standing stones' upon graves, 
 that had been appropriated to the service of Yahweh in 
 the earlier religion, were repudiated by the religion of 
 the prophets. 8 
 
 c. Rites of Mourning for the Dead Were Restricted. 
 — The leaders of Hebrew thought felt instinctively that 
 mourning for the dead, though not distinctly worship, 
 was nevertheless closely allied to it; accordingly they 
 bent their efforts to abolish this as far as possible. The 
 process was a gradual one, that first came to clear ex- 
 pression in the Law, and that was never carried through 
 
 B Hos. 2:16. 
 
 8 Dent. 12:1-14, etc. 
 
 7 Ezek. 43:7f.; Num. 19:11. 
 
 8 Deut. 16:22. 
 
274 SPIRITISM xii 
 
 completely. Jeremiah and Ezekiel still regard shaving 
 the head and making cuttings in the flesh as permissible, 9 
 but Deut. 14:1 and the Holiness Code 10 prohibit both 
 of these customs. The prophet, who stood in a peculiarly 
 intimate relation with Yahweh, was forbidden to parti- 
 cipate in mourning. 11 In like manner the priest was for- 
 bidden to "defile himself for a spirit," except in the case 
 of his nearest kin; 12 and the high priest was forbidden to 
 "defile himself" under any circumstances. 13 The nazirite 
 also was forbidden to come near a dead body. 14 In gen- 
 eral, however, the primitive Semitic rites of mourning 
 were too firmly intrenched to be dislodged by the Law, 
 and most of them remained unchanged in later Judaism. 
 d. Yahweh' 's Power Extended to Sheol. — With the 
 recognition of the prophets that Yahweh was the only 
 God, because he alone was righteous, went the belief that 
 he was not limited to the land of Israel, but that the 
 whole world stood under his rule. 15 In like manner 
 Sheol was now believed to be included in his realm. 
 "Though they dig into Sheol, thence shall mine hand 
 take them," says the Lord by his prophet. 16 The demons 
 of Sheol obey the command of Yahweh. 17 To the un- 
 believing Ahaz Isaiah says, "Ask thee a sign from 
 Yahweh, thy God, going deep unto Sheol." 18 The wrath 
 of Yahweh reaches even unto the lowest Sheol; 19 his 
 knowledge is deeper than Sheol; 20 "The shades tremble 
 beneath the waters and the inhabitants thereof. Sheol 
 is naked before him, and Abaddon hath no covering" ; 21 
 
 »Jer. 16:6; Ezek. 7:18. 
 
 » Lev. 19:27f.; 21:5. 
 
 "Jer. 16:5; Ezek. 24:17. 
 
 13 Lev. 21: If. 
 
 "Lev. 21:10f. 
 
 "Num. 6:6f. 
 
 "Cf. Amos 1:3—2:3; 9:7. 
 
 16 Amos 9:2. 
 
 "Hos. 13:14. 
 
 18 Isa. 7:11. 
 
 "Deut. 32:22. 
 
 *> Job 11:8. 
 
 "Job 26:5f. 
 
xii VITALITY OF SPIRITS DENIED 275 
 
 Yahweh knows the recesses of the deep and the gates of 
 death have been revealed unto him; 22 "If I make my bed 
 in Sheol, behold thou art there"; 23 "Sheol and Abaddon 
 are before Yahweh." 24 
 
 When Yahweh's power was thus extended to Sheol, 
 it would seem as if the shades might have enjoyed fellow- 
 ship with him, and as if there might have been the begin- 
 ning of a higher doctrine of immortalty; but this exten- 
 sion of God's power came too late. In the struggle 
 against ancestor-worship the shades had been stripped 
 so completely of their powers that, although Yahweh 
 was now present among them, his presence did not help. 
 They could not know him, and could not rejoice in his 
 loving-kindness. Yahweh's power over Sheol also made 
 it theoretically possible that he could deliver souls from 
 that dark abode, and bring them back to life; but this 
 doctrine never appears in the period that we are con- 
 sidering. The statement that "Yahweh killeth and 
 maketh alive" 25 refers not to resurrection but to recovery 
 from dangerous illness, and the three raisings of the dead 
 that are recorded in pre-exilic times are properly regarded 
 as cases of suspended animation. 
 
 e. Retribution Was Limited to the Present Life. — 
 Like the pre-prophetic literature, the Prophets and the 
 Law never promise rewards or punishments in the other 
 world. This is not because Yahweh is unable to bestow 
 them, but because the dead are unable to receive them. 
 In their zeal to destroy the last vestiges of ancestor- 
 worship, these writings go so far in their denial of life in 
 Sheol that it becomes impossible for them to develop any 
 doctrine of future retribution. Thus the paradox is ex- 
 plained that the prophetic religion, which was pre-emi- 
 nently a religion of hope, had no hope of immortality. 
 Over the gate of Sheol, as the prophets conceived it, might 
 
 "Job 38:16f. 
 
 28 Ps. 139:8. 
 
 M Prov. 15:11. 
 
 M I Sam. 2:6; II Kings 5:7; De^t. 32:39, 
 
276 SPIRITISM xii 
 
 have been written the words that Dante saw written 
 over the entrance to Hell, "Lasciate ogni speranza voi 
 che'ntrate." 
 
 /. Collective Retribution. — The prophets held the 
 same conception as the earlier religion that rewards and 
 punishments due a man were allotted to his relatives and 
 descendants. Amos announced as the punishment of 
 Amaziah, "Thy wife shall be a harlot in the city, and 
 thy sons and thy daughters shall fall by the sword." 26 
 These prophets always asserted that the penalty due the 
 ruling classes should fall upon the nation as a whole. 27 
 In like manner the rewards of virtue accrued to the family 
 of the righteous. 
 
 0. Ezekiefs Theory of Individual Retribution in the 
 Present Life. — Ezekiel agreed with the prophets that 
 preceded him that there was no activity of the dead in 
 Sheol, and that all rewards and punishments were allotted 
 men by Yahweh in the present life ; but he differed from 
 his predecessors in the matter of collective retribution. 
 Instead of the doctrine that the penalty of the parents is 
 visited upon the children, he affirmed, "The soul that 
 sinneth it shall die," and entered into an elaborate argu- 
 ment to prove that every man received before death 
 the appropriate reward of his deeds. 28 
 
 This modification of the old prophetic doctrine was 
 necessitated by the growth in Israel of a new sense of 
 the worth of the individual. In the period of the later 
 monarchy the old tribal organization began to break up, 
 and during the Babylonian Exile it disappeared almost 
 entirely. The religious experience of the prophets fos- 
 tered individualism, and this left its mark in the legisla- 
 tion of Deuteronomy and the Holiness Code which recog- 
 nize new rights of wives, children, and slaves over against 
 the head of the house, and which prohibit the punishment 
 of children for the crimes of fathers, or of fathers for 
 
 "Amos 7:17. 
 
 17 Cf. Amos 8:8; Hos. 3:4; Isa. 5:25-30; Mic. 3:12. 
 
 »Ezek. 18:4-32; 9:3-6; 14:12-20. 
 
xii VITALITY OF SPIRITS DENIED 277 
 
 the crimes of children. 29 This new consciousness of 
 the dignity of the individual human being found noble 
 expression in the words of the Lord proclaimed by 
 Ezekiel, "Behold all souls are mine; as the soul of the 
 father, so also the soul of the son is mine," 30 and in 
 the prediction of Jeremiah that in the Messianic age 
 Yahweh would write his instruction in the heart of each 
 individual, so that all should know him from the least 
 unto the greatest. 31 
 
 This new conception of the value of the individual 
 made belief in the ancient theory of collective retribution 
 impossible. Punishment of the nation for the sins of its 
 rulers, or of children for the sins of their parents, no 
 longer seemed consistent with the righteousness of 
 Yahweh. Both Jeremiah and Ezekiel found the proverb 
 current among the people, "The fathers have eaten sour 
 grapes, and the children's teeth are blunted," that is to 
 say, "We are suffering unjustly the penalty of our ances- 
 tors' sins." 32 It was to meet this objection that Ezekiel 
 formulated his doctrine of a complete rewarding or pun- 
 ishing of each individual in the present life that necessi- 
 tated no entail of guilt upon coming generations. 
 
 This became the orthodox doctrine of the Zadokites, 
 or Sadducees, the priestly aristocracy that claimed descent 
 from Aaron through Zadok, the chief priest of Solomon's 
 temple, 33 and that monopolized priestly functions in the 
 temple of Zerubbabel. 34 Ezekiel himself belonged to 
 this priesthood. In the New Testament the Sadducees 
 appear as deniers that there is any conscious existence of 
 the soul after death, and also as deniers of the Pharisaic 
 doctrine of the resurrection of the spirit to a new life on 
 earth in the body; "for the Sadducees say that there is no 
 
 M Deut. 24:lf.; 15:12; 23:1S£.; 12:31; 18:10; Lev. 25:42; 18:21. 
 *>Ezek. 18:4. 
 81 Jer. 31:31-34. 
 ^ 82 Jer. 31:29; Erek. 18:2. 
 38 I Kings 2:35 b. 
 M Ezek. 44:15-16; P in Ex. 30:32f.; Num. 4:17, 20. 
 
278 SPIRITISM xii 
 
 resurrection, neither angel nor spirit." 35 They preserved 
 in a petrified form the doctrines of the Law and of the 
 Prophets, that death was eternal sleep, and that all retri- 
 bution came to men in the present life; with Ezekiel's 
 modification, that each man received his own, and not 
 some other man's recompense. 
 
 This doctrine of the Sadducees was followed by most 
 of the post-exilic Jewish literature. It appears in the 
 Psalter, 36 in the Book of Proverbs, 37 in the arguments 
 of the three friends against Job, 38 and in Ecclesiastes. 39 
 Ecclesiasticus, 40 Tobit, and i Maccabees occupy the same 
 position. It is the orthodox doctrine of Judaism so far 
 as the Canonical Scriptures are concerned, for it is the 
 doctrine of the Law, of the Prophets, and of most of 
 the Writings. 
 
 In spite of its popularity, Ezekiel's theory of indi- 
 vidual retribution in the present life was open to for- 
 midable objections. In the first place, experience taught 
 that there was truth in the old theory of collective retri- 
 bution. Children did suffer the consequences of their 
 parents' sins. In the second place, it was contrary to 
 experience that every man received in the present life the 
 just recompense of his deeds. It was only too obvious 
 that sinners frequently flourished and lived to a ripe old 
 age, while the righteous suffered, and were cut off pre- 
 maturely. In the third place^ Ezekiel's theory necessi- 
 tated the assumption that happiness is the measure of 
 goodness. If a man suffered all his life, he must be a 
 great sinner. This was the logic of Job's friends. In 
 view of his unparalleled misfortunes, they could only 
 conclude that he was the chief of sinners. 41 Job knew 
 that this was not true, and yet he suffered. Consequently, 
 
 88 Mark 12:18-27; Acts 23:8. 
 
 86 Ps. 34:19ff.; 37:25, 28; 80:10; 145:20, etc. 
 
 ^Prov. 3:33; 11:31. 
 
 "•Job 4:8; 8:20; 11:20. 
 
 8 »Eccles. 2:14f.; 3:21; 8:10; 9:2, 5f., 10; 12:5. 
 
 "Ecclus. ll:26f.; 17:27; 30:17. 
 
 "Job 4:7; 8:3ff.; 11:3-6. , 
 
xii VITALITY OF SPIRITS DENIED 279 
 
 he was forced to give up Ezekiel's theory of individual 
 retribution in the present life. 42 Other thinkers felt the 
 same difficulty, and the old doctrine that the sins of the 
 fathers were visited upon the children maintained itself 
 in Jewish thought even down to New Testament times. 43 
 The prophetic period thus ended in negation of the 
 ancient beliefs in regard to the soul and in regard to 
 retribution. The Prophets and the Law denied the con- 
 scious existence of the soul after death, and Ezekiel and 
 his successors denied collective rewards and punishments, 
 but were unable to establish their theory of individual 
 rewards and punishments in the present life. The ancient 
 faith in ghost life and in tribal solidarity was gone, and 
 there was nothing to put in its place. In the next period 
 we shall see how, after the ground had been cleared of 
 primitive Semitic animistic conceptions of the future life 
 and primitive Semitic ideas of the unity of the clan, new 
 doctrines of immortality arose that were based upon 
 the righteousness of Yahweh and the need for its vindi- 
 cation in another world, and that were suggested by 
 contact, first with Persian and then with Greek thought. 
 
 "Job 9:22-25; 10:3; 12:4-6; 16:11-17; 19:6-21; 21:7-34; 27:2. 
 «Job 5:4; 17:5; 20:10; 27:14f.; Ps. 109:9-15; Dan. 9:7-16; Tob. 3:3; Judith 
 7:28; Bar. 1:15-21; 2:26; 3-8; Matt. 23:35. 
 
CHAPTER XIII 
 
 NEW THEORIES OF IMMORTALITY IN POST-EXILIC JUDAISM 
 
 a. Persian Influence in the Doctrine of Resurrection 
 of the Body. — From 536 to 333 B.C. the Jews stood un- 
 der the rule of the Persian empire, and their religion was 
 subjected to the influence of Persian thought. The doc- 
 trine of the Satan, or "the Accuser," Greek Diabolos, 
 English Devil, first appears in the post-exilic Books of 
 Zechariah, Job, and Chronicles, 1 and is almost certainly 
 a reflex of the Persian Zoroastrian doctrine of Angro- 
 mainyu, or Ahriman, the Evil One, the antithesis of 
 Ahura-mazda, or Ormazd, the Good God. The post- 
 exilic doctrine of angels also probably shows Persian 
 influence. In pre-exilic literature the "angel of Yahweh" 
 is the local appearance-form of Yahweh himself, and has 
 no personal name. In post-exilic literature orders of 
 angels are recognized distinct from Yahweh, and they 
 bear personal names such as Gabriel, Michael, Raphael, 
 Uriel. 2 This also is closely similar to the teaching of 
 the Avesta. In like manner the doctrine of the resurrec- 
 tion of the body, which first appears in the Book of Job, 
 is probably suggested by Persian eschatology, where this 
 doctrine is highly developed. 
 
 As we have seen before, there is no evidence for the 
 existence of a doctrine of resurrection among the Baby- 
 lonians or among the pre-exilic Hebrews. 3 The three 
 cases of re-animation recorded in pre-exilic literature, 
 Elijah's raising of the widow's son, Elisha's raising of 
 
 iZech. 3:lf.; Job. 1:6-12; 2:1-7; I Chr. 21:1. 
 8 Dan. 20:21; 10:13. 
 » See pp. 221f., 246f. 
 
 280 
 
xin NEW THEORIES OF IMMORTALITY^ 281 
 
 the Shunammite boy, and the raising of a dead man 
 through contact with the bones of Elisha, are all appar- 
 ently instances of re-awakening rather than recalling from 
 real death. The bodies had not been buried, and dissolu- 
 tion had not set in, so that these cannot properly be classed 
 under the head of resurrection. There was nothing, 
 therefore, in pre-exilic literature to suggest the hope of 
 resurrection to the author of Job. On the other hand, 
 he lived toward the end of the Persian period, and was 
 certainly influenced by Persian thought in other respects, 
 so that there is no difficulty in thinking that he borrowed 
 this doctrine also from Persian sources. The pre-exilic 
 prophets had taught the lifelessness of Sheol, but also 
 the perfect righteousness of Yahweh and his almighty 
 power that extended even to Sheol. It was easy to 
 correlate the Zoroastrian doctrine of resurrection with 
 these prophetic doctrines by holding that Yahweh's right- 
 eousness and almighty power showed themselves by de- 
 livering men from the "eternal sleep" of Sheol through 
 restoring them to life on earth in the body. The foreign 
 doctrine of resurrection thus came as a welcome aid in 
 solving the problem of retribution which had been left 
 unsolved by the prophets. 
 
 While Job was struggling with the mystery of his 
 terrible sufferings, loss of wealth, loss of children, and 
 loss of health, and was unable to find any explanation for 
 these either as the punishment of the sins of his ancestors, 
 or as punishment for his own sins; and was tempted to 
 deny that an all-wise, all-powerful, and all-righteous God 
 ruled the world; the question suddenly flashed into his 
 mind, Was it not possible that a vindication of his in- 
 nocence might come after death? That could not be in 
 Sheol, since there conscious existence ceased, but might 
 not God bring him back to life again, so that on earth and 
 in the flesh he should receive the reward of virtue ? The 
 cut-down tree revives. May not man also awaken from 
 the sleep of death? 
 
282 SPIRITISM xni 
 
 "There is hope for a tree, if it be cut down, that it will sprout 
 again, 
 And that the tender branch thereof will not cease. 
 Though the root thereof wax old in the earth, 
 And the stock thereof die in the ground; 
 Yet through the scent of water it will bud, > 
 And put forth boughs like a plant" (Job 14:7-9). 
 
 At first the poet rejects the thought of resurrection as 
 inconceivable. 
 
 "But a man dieth, and is prostrate, 
 And a mortal expireth, and where is he? 
 As the water vanisheth from the sea, 
 And as the river drieth up and is arid, 
 So man lieth down, and doth not arise: 
 Till the heavens be no more, they shall not awake, 
 Nor be roused out of their sleep" (14:10-12). 
 
 But the new hope that has risen within him still asserts 
 itself. 
 
 "O that thou wouldest hide me in Sheol, 
 That thou wouldest conceal me until thy wrath should turn 
 
 away, 
 That thou wouldest appoint me a set time and remember me. 
 If a man die, shall he live again? 
 All the days of my enlistment would I wait, 
 Till my discharge should come, 
 Till thou shouldest call, and I should answer thee, 
 Till thou shouldest long for the work of thy hands" (14:13-15). 
 
 The hope here expressed does not mount to the height 
 of assertion, and the theme is not pursued farther at this 
 point; but in 19:25-27 Job again returns to it, and this 
 time states as a conviction what before had been only a 
 vague longing. 
 
 "But I know that my avenger liveth, 
 And one who shall survive after I am dust; 
 And that another shall arise as my witness, 
 And that he shall set up his mark. 
 From my flesh shall I see God, 
 Whom I shall see for myself, 
 And mine eyes shall behold, and no stranger." 4 
 
 * Translated from the text as revised by Duhm on the basis of the Septuagint. 
 
xin NEW THEORIES OF IMMORTALITY' 283 
 
 This cannot refer, as many commentators have sup- 
 posed, to a vision of God in the other world, for Job 
 has asserted too often his conviction that there is no 
 knowledge in Sheol (Job 7 19; 14:21; 17:15 f.). It must 
 be interpreted in the light of the hope that struggles to 
 expression in 14:7-15, that there is such a thing as a 
 return from Sheol to the life upon earth. "From my 
 flesh," accordingly, cannot mean "disembodied," but must 
 mean "re-embodied." The vindication of a disembodied 
 spirit would be at variance with the whole development 
 of Old Testament thought up to this point. 
 
 An apocalypse of the late Persian period that has been 
 incorporated with the prophecies of Isaiah, Isa., chaps. 
 24-27, extends the hope of an individual resurrection ex- 
 pressed by Job to all the righteous of Israel: "Thy dead 
 shall arise; the inhabitants of the dust shall awake, and 
 shout for joy; for a dew of lights is thy dew, and to life 
 shall the earth bring the shades." 5 On the other hand, 
 the wicked shall remain in the dreamless sleep of Sheol : 
 "They shall be swept together as prisoners into a pit, 
 and led down to be confined in a dungeon ; thus after many 
 days they will be punished." "The (wicked) dead will 
 not live again, their shades will not rise ; to that end thou 
 didst punish them, thou didst destroy them, and cause all 
 memory of them to perish." 6 Here Sheol appears, not as 
 the common fate of all men, as in the pre-exilic period, but 
 only as the punishment of the wicked; while the reward 
 of the righteous is that they escape from Sheol, and 
 participate in the kingdom of the restored Israel. 
 
 A further extension of the doctrine of resurrection is 
 seen in Daniel (165-164 B.C.) : "And many that sleep 
 in the land of dust shall awake, some to everlasting life, 
 and some to shame and everlasting contempt." 7 Here 
 both the conspicuously good and the conspicuously bad 
 
 •Isa. 26:19, according to the amended text of Duhm and Cheyne. 
 8 Isa. 24:22; 26:14. 
 'Dan. 12:2f. 
 
284 SPIRITISM xm 
 
 are raised again, in order that in the flesh they may re- 
 ceive the just recompense of their deeds in their former 
 lives. 
 
 The expectation of resurrection is extended by later 
 writings to all the dead. Thus in II Esd. 4:41 we read: 
 "In the grave the chambers of souls are like the womb; 
 for like as a woman that travaileth maketh haste to 
 escape the anguish of the travail, even so do these places 
 haste to deliver those things that are committed unto 
 them from the beginning"; 7:32: "The earth shall re- 
 store those that are asleep in her, and so shall the dust 
 those that dwell therein in silence, and the chambers shall 
 deliver those souls that were committed unto them" ; 
 Enoch 51:1: "In those days shall the earth give back 
 those that are gathered in her, and Sheol shall restore 
 those it has received, and Abaddon shall render up 
 what has been intrusted to it" ; Apoc. Bar. 2 1 123 : "May 
 Sheol be sealed up henceforth, that it receive no more 
 dead; and may the chambers of souls restore those that 
 are shut up in them." 
 
 This general resurrection of all men, to receive the 
 judgment of the last day, became the doctrine of the 
 Pharisees and of the Talmud. In Acts 23 :6ft. we are told 
 that "when Paul perceived that the one part were Sad- 
 ducees and the other Pharisees, he cried out in the council, 
 Brethren, I am a Pharisee, a son of Pharisees: touching 
 the hope and resurrection of the dead I am called in 
 question. And when he had so said, there arose a dis- 
 sension between the Pharisees and the Sadducees; and 
 the assembly was divided. For the Sadducees say that 
 there is no resurrection, neither angel nor spirit; but the 
 Pharisees confess both." So also in John 11 :24 Martha 
 voices the correct Pharisaic teaching when she says of 
 her brother, "I know that he shall rise again in the resur- 
 rection at the last day." This doctrine of resurrection 
 agrees with the Prophets, the Law, and the Sadducees 
 in denying that there is any life of the spirit apart from 
 
xm NEW THEORIES OF IMMORTALITY 285 
 
 the body. It is not belief in immortality in any proper 
 sense of the word, but is belief in resumption of the 
 present physical life on earth. It is more akin to primi- 
 tive theories of re-incarnation and transmigration of 
 souls than it is to philosophical or religious conceptions 
 of the intrinsic indestructibility of spirits. It exalts the 
 righteousness of God, but it is a lower doctrine of spirits 
 than primitive animism. 8 
 
 b. Greek Influence in the Doctrine of Incorporeal 
 Immortality. — From Alexander's conquest in 333 B.C. 
 down to the founding of the Maccabean kingdom in 165 
 B.C. the Jews stood under Greek rule and were in close 
 contact with Greek civilization. In Palestine, and par- 
 ticularly in Egypt, they accepted many Greek philosophic 
 ideas, and sought to combine them with the faith of their 
 fathers. This was particularly true of conceptions of 
 the soul. The magnificent heritage of Greek thought on 
 the subject of immortality, which has been discussed in 
 a previous chapter, 9 was well known to Jewish thinkers 
 in Alexandria, and was more or less familiar to the 
 rabbis in Palestine. The Book of Wisdom, which stands 
 sixth in our English Apocrypha, is a product of Alexan- 
 drian Hellenism, and teaches a purely Platonic doctrine 
 of the inherent divinity and immortality of the soul. In 
 Wisd. 2 123-3 :6 we meet the finest expression of faith 
 in immortality that occurs in all pre-Christian literature : 
 
 "God created man for incorruption, 
 And made him an image of his own proper being; 
 But by the envy of the Devil death entered into the world, 
 And they that are of his portion make trial thereof. 
 But the souls of the righteous are in the hand of God, 
 And no torment shall touch them. 
 In the eyes of the foolish they seemed to have died; 
 And their departure was accounted to be their hurt, 
 And their journeying away from us to be their ruin; 
 But they are in peace. 
 
 8 See pp. 26, 98ft. 
 • See pp. 99-101. 
 
286 SPIRITISM xm 
 
 For even if in the sight of men they be punished, 
 
 Their hope is full of immortality; 
 
 And having borne a little chastening, they shall receive great 
 
 good; 
 Because God made trial of them, and found them worthy of 
 
 himself." 
 
 Here we meet the Platonic ideas, that man is a spark 
 from the divine fire, that birth is a fall from a higher 
 existence, that the body is the prison of the soul, that 
 death is a release from prison, and that the souls 
 of the righteous pass to an immediate reward. 10 The 
 same theology is taught in IV Maccabees, 11 where the 
 patriarchs and saints are not in Sheol, but dwell with 
 God, and are joined at death by the righteous, particu- 
 larly by martyrs for the faith. A similar doctrine was 
 held by Philo of Alexandria and by the Essenes in Pales- 
 tine, according to the testimony of Josephus. 12 On this 
 theory resurrection was unnecessary, since the body was 
 evil, and at death the soul at once entered upon a higher 
 spiritual life. 
 
 It is possible that the Platonic doctrine of inherent 
 immortality is taught by a few psalms of the late Greek 
 period, where it is said that God does not permit his 
 righteous ones to see Sheol, or that he delivers them 
 from Sheol; 13 but it is probable in all these cases that 
 deliverance from Sheol does not mean keeping one from 
 going to Sheol after death, but keeping one from dying. 14 
 In this case the Platonic theory of immortality is not 
 found in any of the writings that have been admitted to 
 the Old Testament canon. 
 
 c. Combination of the Persian Doctrine of Resurrec- 
 tion with the Greek Doctrine of Incorporeal Immor- 
 tality. — Hellenistic Jews who had adopted the Platonic 
 
 10 Cf. 1:15; 4:7-15; 7:3; 8:20; 9:15; 10:13. 
 
 "IV Mac. 5:37; 7:3, 19; 9:8; 13:17;i 14:5f.; 15:3; 16:13; 17:5, 12; 
 18:16, 23. 
 
 12 Ant. xviii. 1:5; War, ii. 8:11. 
 
 18 Ps. 16:9-11; 17:15; 49:13-15; 73:23-26. 
 
 14 See p. 246. 
 
xiii NEW THEORIES OF IMMORTALITY 287 
 
 conception of the soul, but who wished also to retain 
 the orthodox Pharisaic doctrine of the resurrection of 
 the body, tried to unite the two ideas by the assumption 
 that at death the righteous passed at once into a blessed 
 existence and the wicked into a state of punishment, but 
 that they were raised again to the life of the body on 
 earth at the last day to receive their final rewards and 
 punishments. This doctrine first appears in the oldest 
 portion of the Book of Enoch, chaps. 1-36, 15 which some 
 critics date as early as 170 B.C., but which others assign 
 to the reign of John Hyrcanus (135-105 B.C.). In chap. 
 22 Sheol is described as containing three divisions, two 
 for the wicked and one for the righteous. One contains 
 the souls of the wicked who have received their punish- 
 ment in this life. They shall remain there forever, and 
 not be raised at the last day. The second contains the 
 wicked who have not been punished in this life. "Here 
 their spirits are placed apart in this great pain, till the 
 day of judgment, and punishment, and torment of the 
 accursed forever." The third contains the souls of the 
 righteous and the great saints. These dwell already in 
 Paradise, and drink of the water of life, while they await 
 their resurrection. 
 
 In the Parables of Enoch (Chaps. 37-71), which prob- 
 ably date from a time shortly before the beginning of 
 the Christian era, the righteous pass at once after death 
 into blessedness in the presence of God, and are 
 guarded by the pre-existent "Son of Man." 16 At the time 
 of the coming of the "Son of Man" they are to be raised 
 to life, in order that they may share in the blessedness 
 of the Messianic kingdom. 17 
 
 A similar conception appears in another independent 
 section of the Book of Enoch (chaps. 102-4) : "I swear 
 to you now, ye righteous . . . that good of every sort, 
 
 " See Charles, The Book of Enoch; Kautzsch, Apocryphen und Pseudepigraphen. 
 Charles, Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha of the Old Testament. 
 "Enoch 38:1; 40:5; 43:4; 49:3; 60:6; 61:12; 70:4. 
 "Enoch 51:1. 
 
288 SPIRITISM xm 
 
 joy and honour, are prepared and recorded for the spirits 
 of those who have died in righteousness. . . . Woe to 
 you sinners, when ye die in your sins, and your comrades 
 say of you, Blessed are the sinners. . . . Know ye not 
 that their souls are brought down to Sheol, that they 
 fare ill, and that their affliction will be great?" 18 
 
 This combination of Platonism and Pharisaism found 
 great favour in the early Christian Church and in later 
 Rabbinic Judaism, and has become the orthodox doctrine 
 of Christian scholastic theology. Thus the Westminster 
 Shorter Catechism teaches: "The souls of believers are, 
 at their death, made perfect in holiness, and do immedi- 
 ately pass into glory; and their bodies, being still united 
 to Christ, do rest in their graves till the resurrection. At 
 the resurrection, believers, being raised up in glory, shall 
 be openly acknowledged and acquitted in the day of 
 judgment, and made perfectly blessed in the full enjoying 
 of God to all eternity." 
 
 The difficulty with this combination is that a judgment 
 at death makes a last judgment unnecessary. If the dead 
 pass at once into felicity or into torture, there is no need 
 of a general resurrection in order that the divine justice 
 may be vindicated. The two theories seem to be mutually 
 exclusive, and all efforts to combine them are artificial. 
 
 Thus it appears that in the time of Christ four theories 
 of the future life prevailed among the Jews; first, that of 
 the Sadducees, that there was no conscious existence of 
 the soul after death and no resurrection; second, that of 
 the Pharisees, that there was no conscious existence of 
 the soul after death, but that there was a resurrection 
 to new life in the body on earth; third, that of the Hellen- 
 ists, that there was a conscious existence of the disem- 
 bodied soul without resurrection; and fourth, that also 
 of the Hellenists, that there was a conscious existence of 
 the disembodied soul, followed by a resurrection at the 
 last day. These four theories struggled with one another 
 
 18 Enoch 103 :lf.; compare also Apoc. Bar., chap. 30; II Esd., chap. 7. 
 
xin NEW THEORIES OF IMMORTALITY 289 
 
 for supremacy, no consensus of opinion was reached, and 
 many Jews remained sceptical on the whole subject. A 
 new revelation was needed to clarify thought. Fresh 
 light must be thrown upon the nature of God, the nature 
 of man, and their relation to one another, before the prob- 
 lem of immortality could be solved. That light came in 
 Him, through whose life, and teaching, and rising again 
 from the dead, life and immortality have been brought 
 to light. ' 
 
CHAPTER XIV 
 
 THE TEACHING OF JESUS IN REGARD TO IMMORTALITY 
 
 a. The Fatherhood of God. — The fundamental fact 
 in the religious experience of Jesus was the fatherhood 
 of God. He constantly called God "my Father," and 
 spoke of himself as "the Son." 1 He recognized that 
 God was the Father of other men also, but he carefully 
 distinguished his sonship from theirs. He spoke of "your 
 Father" and "my Father," but never of "our Father." 
 He taught his disciples: "After this manner pray ye, 
 Our Father who art in Heaven," but he did not join 
 in the petition. He was conscious of a unique filial rela- 
 tion. At his baptism and at his transfiguration he was 
 aware of a voice saying, "This is my Son, my Beloved, 
 in whom I am well pleased"; and, according to the re- 
 markable passage from the Quelle which has been pre- 
 served both by Matthew and by Luke, he declared: "All 
 things have been delivered unto me of my Father; and 
 no one knoweth the Son, save the Father; neither doth 
 any know the Father, save the Son, and he to whomso- 
 ever the Son willeth to reveal him." 2 Nevertheless, this 
 consciousness of his own peculiar sonship did not hinder, 
 but rather helped him, to realise that other men also 
 were children of God in a very deep and true sense. On 
 this foundation of personal experience of sonship to God 
 Jesus based his gospel. Father became his constant name 
 for God, being used one hundred and eighty times in our 
 canonical Gospels. 
 
 This title had been applied to God in the Old Testa- 
 
 *Mark 8:38; 14:36; Matt. 7:21; 10:321; 12:50; 16:17; etc.; Luke 4:3, 9. 
 
 8 Mark 1:11; 9:7; Matt. 11:27 = Luke 10:22. Cf. Matt. 17:2Sf.; Mark 12:6. 
 
 290 
 
xiv THE TEACHING OF JESUS 291 
 
 ment and in other ancient religions, but Jesus gave it a 
 new meaning both extensively and intensively. Exten- 
 sively, in the Old Testament God was the Father of 
 Israel, 3 of the king, 4 and of the righteous; 5 but he was 
 never called the Father of each individual Israelite, much 
 less of all men. The Gentiles stood outside of his fatherly 
 interest and care. 6 For Jesus, on the contrary, God was 
 the Father of every individual human being. When he 
 said, "Your Heavenly Father feeds the birds of the 
 heaven, and clothes the lilies and the grass of the field," 
 and added, "Are ye not of much more value than they? 
 shall He not much more feed and clothe you?" he im- 
 plied that God's fatherly care extends even to the lower 
 orders of life; and therefore, all men must be included 
 in its scope. In the parable of the good Samaritan he 
 taught that God's fatherhood transcends the limits of 
 race; and in the parables of the two sons and of the 
 prodigal son he taught that God is the Father of sinners 
 as well as of the righteous. 7 
 
 Intensively also Jesus' conception of the fatherhood 
 of God went far beyond the teaching of the Old Testa- 
 ment. In the Old Testament, as in many other ancient 
 religions, Father meant primarily "begetter," or "crea- 
 tor." 8 It was also a title of respect expressing the divine 
 superiority to men in wisdom, power, and goodness; and 
 a title of authority describing God as the ruler of the 
 world, just as the patriarchal father was the ruler of his 
 family. Rarely, and only in the later Old Testament 
 books, does Father express the parental love of God 
 toward his children. 9 
 
 All these older meanings of fatherhood Jesus re- 
 tained in his conception of God. God is Father because 
 
 8 Deut. 32:6, 18; Isa. 64:8; Mai. 2:10; Ex. 4:22; Hos. 11:1. 
 
 *II Sam. 7:14f.; Ps. 2:7; 89:26f. 
 
 6 Ps. 103:13. 
 
 8 Ex. 17:14, 16; Deut. 25:17-19; I Sam. 15:3; Mai. 1:2. 
 
 7 Matt. 6:25-34; 7:7-11; 10:29-31; 18:14; Luke 15. 
 
 8 Deut. 32:18; Isa. 64:8; Jer. 2:27; Mai. 2:10. 
 
 •Hos. 11:1, 8; Jer. 3:14, 19; 31:3; Mai. 3:17; Ps. 103:13. 
 
292 SPIRITISM xiv 
 
 he has created men, 10 and because he is infinitely superior 
 to them in every respect. To express this divine tran- 
 scendence Jesus used the terms "Heavenly Father," or 
 "Father in Heaven." God is Father also because He 
 is the sovereign ruler of the universe. The Father is at 
 the same time King of the Kingdom of God. 11 The 
 central element, however, in Jesus' conception of God's 
 fatherhood is his infinite and eternal love. This element, 
 which exists in the Old Testament only in germ, becomes 
 fundamental in the theology of Jesus, 12 so that the 
 Apostle John can correctly summarise his Master's teach- 
 ing by saying, "God is love," that is, love is not merely 
 one among many divine attributes, but it is the essence 
 of God, it is the quality which explains and unifies all 
 the divine attributes and activities. This love of God 
 Jesus exemplified in his own attitude toward men by 
 showing a love that included Gentiles as well as Jews, 
 women and little children as well as men, ignorant as 
 well as wise, lowly as well as exalted, sinful as well as 
 good, unchurched and hated as well as pious and religious. 
 
 b. The Sonship of Men. — The counter-truth to the 
 universal fatherhood of God is, that all men are God's 
 children. This Jesus affirmed quite as often as that God 
 is the Father in Heaven. When he spoke of men as 
 "becoming sons of God," 13 this did not imply that they 
 were not already sons, but only that they could continually 
 advance into a larger realisation and exemplification of 
 sonship. All men are children of God, but all do not 
 yet live like God's children. 
 
 From sonship to God Jesus inferred the infinite value 
 of every human soul. The soul is more precious than 
 all material things: "What shall it profit a man, if he 
 shall gain the whole world, and lose his own life; or 
 what shall a man give in exchange for his life." The 
 
 10 Mark 10:6. 
 
 "Mark. 10:27; 14:36; Matt. 6:4, 6, 8, 18, 32; 5:48; 19-17. 
 
 12 See above, note 7. 
 
 " Matt. 5:45; Mark. 3:35; John 1:12-13; 3:3-9. 
 
xiv THE TEACHING OF JESUS 293 
 
 soul is more valuable than all plant or animal life, more 
 valuable than the grass or the lilies, more valuable than 
 birds, or sheep, or oxen. In the parables of the lost 
 piece of money, the lost sheep, and the prodigal son, 
 Jesus taught that God cherishes every human soul, and 
 that He cannot bear that one of his children should 
 perish. 14 
 
 c. The Immortality of the Soul. — The love of God, 
 which makes every human being precious to Him, is the 
 basis of Jesus' teaching of immortality. If God re- 
 gards his children as supremely precious because He loves 
 them, it is inconceivable that he will give them up to 
 annihilation in death. No true parent can bear to think 
 of the death of his smallest or feeblest child, "even so it 
 is not the will of your Heavenly Father that one of these 
 little ones should perish." 15 Granted Jesus' conception 
 of the father-love of God, his doctrine of immortality 
 follows from it with inevitable logic. The certainty of 
 the future life rings through all the gospel message. 
 "Be not afraid of them that kill the body, but are not 
 able to kill the soul." "See that ye despise not one 
 of these little ones; for I say unto you, that in heaven 
 their angels do always behold the face of my Father 
 which is in heaven." Jesus spoke frequently of "inherit- 
 ing eternal life." To the penitent thief at his side he 
 said: "To-day shalt thou be with me in Paradise." He 
 said: "In my Father's house are many mansions, I go 
 to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare 
 a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto 
 myself; that where I am, there ye may be also." He 
 bade men "lay up treasures in heaven, where neither 
 moth nor rust doth consume, and where thieves do not 
 break through and steal." 16 
 
 By the light of this doctrine of immortality Jesus 
 
 "Matt. 16:26; 6:25-30; 12:12; Luke IS. 
 
 "Matt. 18:14. 
 
 "Matt. 10: 28=Luke 12: 4; Matt. 18: lo; 19: 16, 29; Luke 23: 43; John 14: 2. 
 
294 SPIRITISM xiv 
 
 tested the current Jewish theories in regard to the future 
 life and found them inadequate. 
 
 d. Jesus' Attitude Toward the Sadducees. — Jesus' 
 relation to the Sadducean doctrine of eternal sleep of 
 the dead comes to clearest expression in the lengthy argu- 
 ment with the Sadducees recorded by all the Synoptic 
 Gospels. 17 The Sadducees repeated an ancient story, 
 which they regarded as a reductio ad absurdum of the 
 Pharisaic belief in resurrection, about a woman who 
 obeyed the levirate law of Deut. 25 15 requiring a man 
 to take his brother's widow, if he died childless, and beget 
 children for his brother. This woman married seven 
 brothers in turn, who all died childless. "In the resur- 
 rection, therefore," the Sadducees asked triumphantly, 
 "whose wife shall she be? for the seven had her to 
 wife." They regarded this case as a demonstration that 
 a return to physical life on earth, such as the Pharisees 
 taught, was impossible; and with the rejection of resur- 
 rection they also rejected belief in any sort of immor- 
 tality. 
 
 Jesus replied: "Ye do greatly err, not knowing the 
 scriptures, nor the power of God. God said unto Moses, 
 'I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the 
 God of Jacob.' He is not the God of the dead, but of 
 the living, for all live unto him." That is to say, if God 
 has entered during life into such a personal relation of 
 love and fellowship with a man that He can say, "I am 
 Abraham's God, and Isaac's God, and Jacob's God," 
 that relation is from the nature of the case indestructible. 
 They cannot die on whom God has set his love; "He is 
 not the God of the dead, but of the living"; those whom 
 He has once loved must live evermore unto Him. This 
 is the same confidence that Paul expressed when he said : 
 "I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, 
 nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, 
 nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created 
 
 "Mark 12:18-27 = Matt. 22:23-33 = Luke 20:27-40. 
 
xiv THE TEACHING OF JESUS 295 
 
 thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, 
 which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." 18 Jesus thus re- 
 jected totally the doctrine of the Sadducees that the con- 
 scious existence of the soul ceases at death, and in so 
 doing he rejected also the doctrine of the Prophets and 
 of the Law which the Sadducees had perpetuated. 
 
 e. Jesus 1 Attitude Toward the Pharisees. — In op- 
 posing the Sadducees Jesus in a measure put himself on 
 the side of the Pharisees, but their crass, materialistic 
 conception of the future life was as unacceptable to him 
 as it was to the Sadducees. He recognized that the 
 Sadducees were right in holding that a resumption of 
 the present life on earth is impossible. "They that are 
 accounted worthy to attain to that world, and the resur- 
 rection from the dead, neither marry, nor are given in 
 marriage; neither can they die any more, for they are 
 equal unto the angels, and are sons of God, being sons 
 of the resurrection." That is to say, the future life is 
 different in kind from the present life; it is no mere re- 
 animation of the body that has been laid in the grave, 
 but it is entrance upon a new and incomprehensible form 
 of existence "like unto the angels." Jesus thus rejected 
 the Pharisaic doctrine of the resurrection of the flesh 
 just as completely as he rejected the Sadducean doctrine 
 of eternal sleep in Sheol. 
 
 /. Jesus' Attitude Toward the Alexandrian School. 
 — Jesus rejection of the Pharisaic idea of resurrection 
 seems to ally him with the Platonic doctrine of immor- 
 tality held by the Hellenistic Jews of Alexandria; and, it 
 must be admitted, he is nearer to this school than to 
 either the Sadducees or the Pharisees; still his teaching 
 is not identical with that of the Book of Wisdom. Wis- 
 dom and all the Hellenists maintain that the future life 
 is purely incorporeal, that there is no resurrection of any 
 sort, but that the body is evil and a clog to the soul from 
 which it is delivered by death. This is not the conception 
 
 "Rom. 8:38f. 
 
296 SPIRITISM xiv 
 
 of Jesus. He retains the old Pharisaic term ''resurrec- 
 tion," although he does not use it in the Pharisaic sense. 
 He speaks of a "recompense in the resurrection of the 
 just." He says, iC L am the resurrection and the life." 19 
 This must indicate that he did not hold that the future 
 life is to be the ghost-existence of a discarnate spirit, 
 as both primitive animism and classical philosophy taught, 
 but that the soul is provided at death with a new body 
 adapted to the new environment upon which it is enter- 
 ing. It is not the body that has been laid in the grave, 
 but a superior body, like unto those worn by the angels 
 of God. The entrance upon this new existence Jesus 
 can appropriately call "resurrection," even though his 
 idea is vastly different from the Pharisaic conception 
 of a resurrection of the flesh. 
 
 Paul's doctrine of the resurrection seems to be iden- 
 tical; and, therefore, is the best commentary on the 
 teaching of Jesus: "But some one will say, How are the 
 dead raised? and with what manner of body do they 
 come? Thou foolish one, that which thou thyself sowest 
 is not quickened except it die ; and that which thou sowest, 
 thou sowest not the body that shall be, but a bare grain, 
 it may chance of wheat, or of some other kind; but God 
 giveth it a body even as it pleaseth him, and to each seed 
 a body of its own. . . . There are also celestial bodies, 
 and bodies terrestrial: but the glory of the celestial is 
 one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another. ... 
 So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in cor- 
 ruption; it is raised in incorruption: it is sown in dis- 
 honour; it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness; it 
 is raised in power: it is sown a natural body; it is raised 
 a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also 
 a spiritual body. . . . Now this I say, brethren, that 
 flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; 
 neither doth corruption inherit incorruption. . . . For 
 this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal 
 
 "Mark 12:25f. = Matt. 22:30f. = Luke 20:35f.; Luke 14:14; John 11:25. 
 
xiv THE TEACHING OF JESUS 297 
 
 must put on immortality. But when this corruptible shall 
 have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put 
 on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that 
 is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, 
 where is thy victory? O death, where is thy sting? . . . 
 Thanks be to God, who giveth us the victory through our 
 Lord Jesus Christ." 20 
 
 Jesus thus transcended the materialistic denial of im- 
 mortality by affirming that there is no break between the 
 present and the future existence of the soul, but that life 
 is continuous. He transcended the equally materialistic 
 conception of a re-animation of the body laid in the 
 grave by teaching that the eternal mode of existence is 
 different in kind from the present mode, and is akin to 
 that of a superior order of spiritual beings, the angels. 
 He transcended the ghost-theory of primitive animism 
 by teaching that the soul at death enters, not upon a 
 dreamy, shadowy, worthless existence, but upon a richer 
 and more abundant life. He transcended the philosophic 
 abstraction of pure spirit, with its attendant danger of 
 loss of personality through absorption into the Universal 
 Spirit, by teaching that the soul acquires at death a 
 spiritual body, adapted to the needs of eternal, spiritual 
 existence. Thus he gave the world the loftiest and 
 noblest doctrine of immortality that has ever been con- 
 ceived, and surpassed the best efforts of all the religious 
 thinkers who had gone before him. 
 
 The Christian Church in its teaching on immortality 
 has not always maintained the high standard set by its 
 Master, but has substituted the Jewish compromise be- 
 tween Hellenism and Pharisaism that was current in the 
 time of Christ, according to which souls entered at once 
 after death upon a spiritual immortality, but returned 
 to their bodies at the general resurrection of the last day. 
 This has become the orthodox doctrine of the great his- 
 toric creeds. Thus the Westminster Confession, the last 
 
 20 1 Cor. 15:35-57. 
 
298 SPIRITISM xiv 
 
 of these creeds, says: "The bodies of men, after death, 
 return to dust, and see corruption; but their souls (which 
 neither die nor sleep), having an immortal subsistence, 
 immediately return to God who gave them. The souls 
 of the righteous, being then made perfect in holiness, are 
 received into the highest heavens, where they behold the 
 face of God in light and glory, waiting for the full re- 
 demption of their bodies : and the souls of the wicked are 
 cast into hell, where they remain in torments and utter 
 darkness, reserved to the judgment of the great day. 
 Besides these two places for souls separated from their 
 bodies, the Scripture acknowledgeth none. At the last 
 day, such as are found alive shall not die, but be changed : 
 and all the dead shall be raised up with the selfsame 
 bodies, and none other, although with different qualities, 
 which shall be united again to their souls for ever." 21 
 This is exactly the doctrine of the Book of Enoch and 
 of the Talmud, 22 but it is doubtful whether it represents 
 in the slightest degree the original teaching of Jesus. 
 
 g. The Resurrection of Jesus. — According to the 
 unanimous belief of the primitive Christian Church Jesus 
 died upon the cross, was buried, and on the third day 
 rose from the dead and showed himself alive to a large 
 number of his disciples. He thus not merely taught im- 
 mortality, but also demonstrated it in his own case by 
 proving that he had survived the catastrophe of death. 
 In regard to this stupendous claim of the first followers 
 of Jesus the historical facts are as follows: 
 
 i. Mark, our oldest Gospel, written from thirty to 
 thirty-five years after the crucifixion, declares that Jesus 
 predicted not only his death, but also his resurrection; 
 and this testimony is repeated by all the other Gospels. 23 
 
 2. Christian literature beginning with the sermons 
 of Peter and Paul in the Book of Acts, continuing with 
 
 21 Westminster Confession, Chapter XXXII. 
 
 22 See p. 284. 
 
 28 Mark. 8:31; 9:9f., 31; 10:34. 
 
xiv THE TEACHING OF JESUS 299 
 
 the early letters of Paul (52-60 A.D.), the Gospels (60- 
 100 A.D.), and other later writings, is unanimous that 
 Jesus was crucified, and that he certainly died on the 
 cross. Crucifixion is not the sort of punishment that a 
 man can survive and lead an active life after it has oc- 
 curred. The Roman executioners may be trusted to have 
 seen to it that Jesus was surely dead before they allowed 
 his body to be removed from the cross, and the Fourth 
 Gospel adds: "One of the soldiers with a spear pierced 
 his side, and straightway there came out blood and water" 
 (i. e. y the heart was pierced). "And he that hath seen 
 hath born witness, and his witness is true : and he knoweth 
 that he saith true, that ye also may believe" (i. e. y this 
 rests upon the testimony of an eye-witness). 24 There 
 can be no doubt, therefore, as to the reality of Jesus' 
 death. The "swoon theory" as an explanation of the 
 primitive Christian belief in Jesus' resurrection is now 
 thoroughly discredited among scientific historians. 
 
 3. The belief that Jesus had risen from the dead 
 appeared among the first disciples on the third day 
 after his crucifixion, and remained unshaken throughout 
 the whole period covered by the New Testament litera- 
 ture. The early Aramaic document on which Luke bases 
 his narrative in the first thirteen chapters of Acts records 
 that, beginning with the Day of Pentecost, fifty days 
 after the crucifixion, Peter began to preach, "Jesus of 
 Nazareth, the Messiah, whom ye crucified, hath God 
 raised from the dead." This testimony is confirmed by 
 Peter himself in his first letter (c. 64 A.D.). 25 From 
 personal experience as the companion of Paul, Luke 
 testifies that Paul preached the resurrection of Jesus from 
 the time of his conversion, soon after the crucifixion, 
 through all his missionary journeys; 26 and his statements 
 are confirmed by Paul's earliest letters, I Thessalonians, 
 
 24 Acts 2:36; 4:10; I Thes. 4:14; 5:10; I Cor. 15:3; Mark 15:37; John 19:34f. 
 26 Acts 1:22; 2:24; 2:31-34; 3:15; 4:2, 10, 33; 5:30; 10:40; I Pet. 1:3, 21; 3:21. 
 26 Acts 13:30-37; 17:3, 18, 31-32; 26:8, 23. 
 
300 SPIRITISM xiv 
 
 II Thessalonians, I Corinthians, II Corinthians, Galatians, 
 Romans, Colossians, Ephesians, and Philippians, which 
 are the oldest New Testament writings, and range in date 
 between 52 and 60 A.D. 27 There is not another subject 
 on which the New Testament writings are so unanimous 
 as they are on the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the 
 dead. There were disputes in the Church as to whether 
 his followers also rose, and disputes on many matters 
 of doctrine and practice; but no early Christian ever 
 questioned that Jesus himself had risen, nor did any 
 heresy denying the resurrection appear in the early cen- 
 turies of Christianity. This fact of universal faith in 
 Jesus' resurrection in the Christian Church from the very 
 beginning is admitted by all schools of criticism, and must 
 be satisfactorily accounted for by any historical theory 
 of the resurrection. 
 
 4. The New Testament writings state that the primi- 
 tive Christian assurance of the fact of Jesus' resurrection 
 rested upon two foundations: first, the empty tomb and 
 the inability of the Jewish authorities to produce the 
 body of Jesus; and second, upon repeated appearances of 
 Jesus to his disciples during the forty days that followed 
 his crucifixion. Matthew (70-80 A.D.) alone narrates 
 the guarding of the tomb in which the body of Jesus was 
 laid by the Jewish and Roman authorities. Mark, our 
 oldest Gospel, followed by all the other Gospels, narrates 
 that women who came to the tomb early in the morning 
 of the third day found it empty, and reported this to 
 the Apostles. Luke and John record that Peter and 
 John then went to the tomb, and found it empty, as the 
 women had reported. Matthew alone relates that the 
 priests bribed the soldiers to say that the body of Jesus 
 had been stolen while they slept. 28 The empty tomb 
 thus rests primarily upon the testimony of Mark, who 
 
 aT I Thes. 1:10; 4:14; I Cor. 6:14; 15:3-23; II Cor. 4:14; 5:15; 13:4; Gal. 
 1:1; Rom. 1:4; 4:24f.; 5:10; 6:4-10; 7:4; 8:11, 34; 10:9; 14:9; Col. 2:12; 3:1; 
 Eph. 1:19-23; 2:5, 6; Phil. 2:8-11; 3:10. 
 
 28 Matt. 27:62-66; Mark 16:1-8; Luke 24:12, 24; John 20:3-10; Matt. 28:11-15. 
 
xiv THE TEACHING OF JESUS 301 
 
 was one of the eye-witnesses of the closing events in the 
 earthly life of Jesus, and in whose mother's house the 
 last supper was eaten and the Spirit descended on the 
 Day of Pentecost. 29 Papias, who wrote about 140 A.D., 
 states that "Mark, who was Peter's interpreter, wrote 
 down accurately, though not in order, all that he recol- 
 lected of what Christ had said or done." Mark's testi- 
 mony to the empty tomb is thus ultimately the testimony 
 of Peter also. 
 
 Luke in his account of the empty tomb follows Mark 
 in the main, but has access to another source, which, in 
 addition to Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of 
 James, mentions Joanna among the women who found 
 the sepulchre empty. This Joanna is named by Luke 
 only in 8 13 : "Joanna, the wife of Chuzas, Herod's stew- 
 ard, and Susanna, and many others, who ministered unto 
 them of their substance." The same special source con- 
 nected with Herod's court appears also in Luke 23 q-12. 
 It is a reasonable conjecture that this special source used 
 by Luke was the account of Joanna herself, or of one 
 of the other women who with her found the tomb empty. 
 
 Through some accident of textual transmission the 
 Gospel of Mark most unfortunately breaks off abruptly 
 at 16:8, and what follows in the current text is an addi- 
 tion, perhaps by the Presbyter Aristion, which is not found 
 in the earliest New Testament manuscripts. Luke fol- 
 lows Mark closely in 24:1-1 1, and therefore it is probable 
 that he followed him also in the account of Peter's dis- 
 covery of the empty tomb in 24:12. This is just the sort 
 of material that Mark might be expected to have received 
 from the oral instruction of Peter. The empty tomb, 
 accordingly, rests not only upon the testimony of Mark, 
 but also upon the testimony of two other early and inde- 
 pendent sources, the tradition of the women who visited 
 the sepulchre, and of Peter. The only ways in which 
 the evidence of the empty tomb can be eliminated are by 
 
 29 Mark 14:15, Slf.; Luke 24:33; Acts l:13f., 2:1-4; 12:12. 
 
302 
 
 SPIRITISM xiv 
 
 the supposition that the disciples stole the body of Jesus, 
 which is precluded by their moral character and their 
 willingness to die for their testimony; or by the theory 
 that the empty tomb is a later embellishment of the tradi- 
 tion, which is difficult in view of the three ancient and 
 independent lines of evidence in support of it. 
 
 5. The earliest witness to the appearances of Jesus 
 after his resurrection is Paul in I Cor. 15:3-8: "For I 
 delivered unto you first of all that which also I received : 
 that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; 
 and that he was buried; and that he hath been raised on 
 the third day according to the scriptures; and that he ap- 
 peared unto Cephas; then to the twelve; then he appeared 
 to above five hundred brethren at once, of whom the 
 greater part remain until now, but some are fallen asleep; 
 then he appeared unto James; then to all the apostles; 
 and last of all, as to the child untimely born, he appeared 
 to me also." Here Paul, writing only twenty-five or 
 twenty-six years after the crucifixion (no farther away 
 from the events that he records than we are from the 
 incidents of the Spanish-American war) , declares that he 
 had received the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus 
 as part of the primitive apostolic preaching; and had pro- 
 claimed this on his first visit to Corinth several years 
 earlier : "I delivered unto you first of all that which also 
 I received." Furthermore, he asserts that Peter, James, 
 and the other apostles, who were well known to him per- 
 sonally, vouched for appearances of the risen Jesus to 
 themselves. Still more, he claims that there were above 
 five hundred brethren, most of whom were still alive, who 
 had seen Jesus after his resurrection. Finally, Paul says 
 that, some time after the appearances to the others, Jesus 
 appeared to him also. This testimony of Paul, a contem- 
 porary of Jesus, and a personal friend of the first apostles, 
 written within such a short period after the events, is 
 historical evidence of the first order. 
 
 The first appearance of Jesus that Paul records, that 
 
xiv THE TEACHING OF JESUS 303 
 
 to Peter (I Cor. 15:5 a), is attested by an independent 
 tradition in Luke 24:34, also by Acts 1:22, 3:15 and 
 I Pet. 1 13, 21. The second appearance recorded by Paul 
 (I Cor. 15 :5 b) , that to the whole body of disciples, is 
 recorded also by Luke 24:36-42, and independently by 
 John 20:19-25. The third appearance, according to Paul, 
 that to above five hundred brethren at once (I Cor. 
 15:6), is probably identical with the appearance on a 
 mountain in Galilee narrated by Matt. 28:16-20; Acts 
 1 :2&>3 and also by the Gospel of Peter. The appearance 
 to James (I Cor. 15:7 a) is mentioned also by a later 
 tradition in the Gospel according to the Hebrews; and 
 the appearance to all the apostles (I Cor. 15:7 b) is re- 
 lated also by Luke 24:44-49 and Acts 1:4, as well as 
 by the Gospel according to the Hebrews. The belated 
 appearance to Paul himself (I Cor. 15:8) is recorded 
 also in Acts 9:1-9; 22:1-11; 26:1-18, and is frequently 
 alluded to in Paul's letters, e. g. y I Cor. 9:1; Gal. 1:11-17. 
 The appearance to Mary Magdalene (and other 
 women) is narrated by Matt. 28:9-10; John 20:11-18; 
 and by the appendix to Mark (Mark 16:9-11). In all 
 probability Matthew's account is based upon the missing 
 conclusion to Mark's Gospel, since he follows Mark in 
 the preceding narrative of the empty tomb. The absence 
 of this appearance from Paul's list signifies nothing, since 
 Paul is giving primarily a list of appearances to the 
 apostles, among whom he claims to be included on ac- 
 count of Jesus' appearance to him also. The appearance 
 to the two disciples on the road to Emmaus is related by 
 Luke only, 24:13-35 (Appendix to Mark, 16 :i 2-13), but 
 the Greek name Cleopas borne by one of the disciples 
 suggests that the incident is derived from the special 
 source connected with Herod's court from which Luke 
 derived 8:3; 23:7-12; 24:10, namely the report of some 
 of the women who came early to the tomb. The appear- 
 ances to the apostles recorded in John 20:26-31 and 
 21 a-24 are not attested by any earlier sources, and there- 
 
3 o 4 SPIRITISM xiv 
 
 fore stand on a lower plane of credibility; still, in spite 
 of its late date (c. ioo A.D.) , the Gospel of John unques- 
 tionably contains many genuine incidents of the life of 
 Jesus that are not recorded by the Synoptic Gospels, and 
 in some cases John seems to have preserved an even more 
 accurate tradition than the Synoptists. The testimony of 
 John, therefore, is not lightly to be dismissed as worth- 
 less, even when it is unsupported by earlier evidence. 
 
 The only way in which one can set aside this large 
 body of early testimony to appearances of Jesus in proof 
 of his resurrection is by the hypothesis that all these 
 appearances were visions. This theory does not explain 
 the ancient testimony to the empty tomb, and is com- 
 pelled to call in the "fraud theory" to its support. It is 
 contrary to the evidence of our sources, which assert that 
 Jesus ate and drank with his disciples, bade them touch 
 him, and gave them all possible proof that he was not an 
 apparition. 30 The appearances do not occur in such a 
 way as would be natural, if they were visionary. If only 
 visions had occurred, we should expect that they would 
 have come a considerable time after Jesus' death, when 
 the disciples had recovered from their first disappoint- 
 ment — "The chief priests and our rulers delivered him 
 up to be condemned to death, and crucified him; but we 
 hoped that it was he who should redeem Israel" — and 
 when, after meditation on Jesus' teaching they had come 
 to the conclusion that he still lived in Heaven with his 
 Father. Someone might then have seen a vision of Jesus 
 in glory such as Stephen saw (Acts 7 :55f.) ; and others, 
 hearing of it, might have had similar visions. The num- 
 ber of visions would slowly increase, and no limit would 
 be set to the period during which they occurred. It 
 would even be regarded as a normal Christian experience 
 to have a vision of the glorified Christ. Instead of this, 
 our earliest sources are unanimous that the appearances 
 began on the third day after Jesus' crucifixion, that they 
 
 »°Luke 24:30, 37-43; John 20:27; 21:13; Acts 1:3; 10:41; 1 John 1:1. 
 
xiv THE TEACHING OF JESUS 305 
 
 came to so many persons on that day that by evening 
 the disciples were convinced that Jesus had risen from 
 the dead, that they lasted over a period of only forty 
 days, then ceased abruptly, and were not expected to 
 recur again, so that those who had seen them constituted 
 a unique class of witnesses to the resurrection. This is 
 not in accord with the psychology of visions. The later ap- 
 pearance to Paul was so exceptional and unexpected that 
 Paul spoke of himself as "a child untimely born." If the 
 experiences of the first disciples were only visions, there 
 is no reason why Paul might not have had a similar ex- 
 perience, or why any other Christian in all time to come 
 might not have it. Even Paul's experience differed from 
 that of the first apostles in that he had no demonstration 
 of the bodily existence of the risen Jesus. That exist- 
 ence apparently terminated at the end of the forty days 
 during which Jesus "showed himself alive after his pas- 
 sion by many proofs" (Acts 1:3), and he then entered 
 upon the spiritual existence of the other world that he 
 had described in his teaching about immortality. 
 
 The "vision theory," accordingly, fails to do justice 
 to the evidence of our earliest Christian historical 
 records; and therefore, we are forced to the conclusion 
 that the only satisfactory explanation of the resurrection 
 faith in the primitive Christian Church is the resurrection 
 fact. The first Christians believed that Jesus had risen 
 from the dead, not because some of them had visions of 
 him — visions of the dead have been common enough in 
 all ages — but because they knew the empty tomb and 
 the bodily appearances of Jesus over a period of forty 
 days to be historical events. Comparisons with Oriental 
 and Classical myths of dying and reviving nature-gods 
 are out of place here, for belief in Jesus' resurrection 
 was not a gradual growth during the centuries after 
 Christianity had gone out into Graeco-Roman world, but 
 it appeared full blown on the third day after the cruci- 
 fixion. The antiquity of the Christian records leaves no 
 
306 SPIRITISM xiv 
 
 room for a process of myth-making, and mythical 
 analogies are useful only when incidents are themselves 
 proved to be mythical. 
 
 This stupendous event of Jesus' resurrection was the 
 appropriate culmination of his life and of his teaching. 
 He claimed to be the "Son of God," and as such to be 
 the "Messiah." "He was declared to be the Son of God 
 with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the 
 resurrection from the dead" (Rom. 1:4). He was re- 
 jected by the Jewish authorities as an imposter; but "this 
 Jesus did God raise up . . . and made him both Lord 
 and Christ" (Acts 2:22-36). He taught that the way 
 of self-renunciation was the only way to self-realisation 
 — "He that findeth his life shall lose it, but he that loseth 
 his life shall find it" — and, in obedience to this law, he 
 went to the cross. If the cross had been the end, Jesus' 
 life would have closed in apparent failure, and men 
 would never have known whether he triumphed, and 
 whether his rule of life were true; but through the resur- 
 rection it was proved that, because "he humbled himself, 
 becoming obedient even v unto death, yea the death of the 
 cross, therefore also God highly exalted him, and gave 
 him the name which is above every name, that in the 
 name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven 
 and things on earth and things under the earth, and that 
 every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, 
 to the glory of God the Father" (Phil. 2:8-11). Jesus 
 taught the immortality of every human soul, and he gave 
 the supreme evidence of immortality by showing himself 
 alive after his passion. Therefore, the faith of the early 
 Christian Church in immortality rested not so much upon 
 Jesus' teaching as upon the fact of his resurrection. "God 
 hath begotten us unto a living hope by the resurrection of 
 Jesus Christ from the dead." "He hath abolished death, 
 and brought life and immortality to light through the 
 gospel." "If we believe that Jesus died and rose again, 
 even so them also that are fallen asleep in Jesus will 
 
xiv THE TEACHING OF JESUS 307 
 
 God bring with him." "God both raised the Lord, and 
 will raise up us through his power." "If Christ be 
 preached that he hath been raised from the dead, how 
 say some among you that there is no resurrection of the 
 dead." "Now hath Christ been raised from the dead, 
 the firstfruits of them that are asleep." "He that raised 
 up the Lord Jesus shall raise up us also with Jesus." "If 
 the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell 
 in you, he that raised up Christ Jesus from the dead shall 
 give life also to your mortal bodies through his spirit 
 that dwelleth in you." 31 
 
 "I Pet. 1:3; II Tim. 1:10; I Thes. 4:14; I Cor. 6:14; 15:12, 20; II Cor. 
 4:14; Rom. 8.11. 
 
INDEX 
 
 Aalu, 109; see Earu 
 
 Abaddon, 270 
 
 Abeghian, M., 68n 
 
 Abel, 9911 
 
 Abode of the dead, 35-39, 92-113, 
 165-175, 205-207, 215-223, 
 238 f; see Spirits, dwelling- 
 place 
 
 Abraham's tomb, 251, 260 
 
 Absalom, 235 
 
 Abydos, 152 f., 168 f., 171 
 
 Achaeans, 63 
 
 Achan, 235 
 
 Achilles, 6, 8, 74, 78, 81, 93, 117, 
 131 f., 136 
 
 Adam, James, no 
 
 Adapa, 219, 222 
 
 Adjuration of demons, 164 f., 230 
 
 Adoption of sons, 72, 73, 225, 255 
 
 ^Edui, 130 
 
 ^Egean civilisation, 63 
 
 ^Llius Spartianus, 7 
 
 y£neas, 76, 83, 97, 103, 106, 136 
 
 y£neas Sylvius, 98 
 
 ^Eneid, 81 n., 83, 84 n., 97, 103, 
 106, 136, 143 
 
 iEschylus, 87, 93, 101 
 
 Afringan, 144 
 
 Agni, 68, 108 
 
 Agriculture, 67 
 
 Agrippina, 88 
 
 Ahhazu, 213 
 
 Ahhotep, 180 
 
 Ahimelech, 266 
 
 Ahmose, 180, 197 
 
 Ahriman, 77, 112, 280 
 
 Ahura Mazda, 77, 112, 280 
 
 Alexander, 237, 285 
 
 Alexandrian school, 285-289 
 
 Algonkins, 129 
 
 Allen, Grant, 14 
 
 Allopathic remedies, 229 
 
 All Saints' Day, 140, 147 
 
 All Souls' Day, 146 f. 
 
 Altar, 45, 51 f., 103, 225 
 
 Althaea, 87 
 
 Amenhotep I, 180, 194; II, 191; 
 III, 155, 167, 191; IV, 175; 
 son of Hapi, 176 
 
 Amenti, 109, 170 
 
 Amon, 161 
 
 Amos, 268 f. 
 
 Amulets, 192, 251 
 
 Ananikian, M. H., ix 
 
 Ancestors, 69, 71, 114; ones that 
 are worshipped, 41, 114; of 
 reigning dynasty, 41 ; ennobled 
 after death, 42 ; worship of, 
 see cult of dead 
 
 Ancus, 103 
 
 Andromache, 118 
 
 Angels, 280, 293; guardian, 155, 
 
 293 
 
 Angro-mainyu, 280 
 
 Anima, 70 
 
 Animals, possessed by spirits, see 
 Spirits possess animals; buried 
 with owners, 47, 49, 131 f., 
 209 ; perceive spirits, 204 
 
 Animism, 15, 68 
 
 Animus, 70 
 
 'Ankh, 155 
 
 Anniversary of burial, 145 
 
 Annyn, 106 
 
 Anses, 71 
 
 Antelopes for the dead, 157 
 
 Anthesteria, 145 f. 
 
 Anu, 213, 220 
 
 Anunnaki, 219 f., 220, 222 
 
 Apocalypse of Baruch, 284 
 
 Apollo, 83 
 
 Apparitions, see Spirits appear 
 
 Appius, 79 
 
 Arabs, 200-202, 203, 204, 205, 206, 
 207, 208, 209 
 
 Aralu, 170, 215-223, 240 
 
 Aramaeans, 200, 203 
 
 Arawn, 92, 106 
 
 Argus, 87 
 
 Aristion, 301 
 
 Aristophanes, 141 
 
 Armenians, 61, 145 
 
 309 
 
3io 
 
 INDEX 
 
 Armour, 47, 133, 224 
 
 Arthur, King, 96, no f. 
 
 Aryans, 60; civilisation of, 66 
 
 Asa, 254 
 
 Ashakku, 213 
 
 Ashes in mourning, 11, 117, 250 
 
 Ashurbanipal, 206, 211, 226 
 
 Asklepeios, 97, 176 
 
 Assistants of Heaven, 43 
 
 Astaka, 146 
 
 Asushunamir, 222 
 
 Atharva Veda, 68 n., 76, 124, 144 
 
 Athenaeus, 141 
 
 Athenodorus, 88 
 
 Attila, 65, 136 
 
 Augury, see Spirits control objects, 
 
 plants, animals 
 Augustine, 71, 90 n. 
 Avallon, no 
 Avernus, 83 
 Avesta, 60, 68 n., 69, 72, 73, 77, 
 
 108, 112, 121, 124, 126, 137, 148 
 
 f., 280 
 Azazel, 262 
 
 Ba, 95, 154 f., 165 f., 171 
 
 Ba'al, 29, 273, 258 f. 
 
 Babylonians, 200-202, 203, 204, 205, 
 206, 207, 208, 209, 211-231; in- 
 fluence on Hebrews, 240-247 
 
 Baedeker, 181, 188 n., 189 n., 195 n. 
 
 Balaam, 204 
 
 Ban, 139 
 
 Barrett, L. C, ix 
 
 Barrows, 104, 131 
 
 Barth, A., 68 n., 108 n. 
 
 Basar, 200, 232 
 
 Bats, 25, 96 
 
 Beans for the dead, 138, 146 
 
 Bear, 24 
 
 Beer for the dead, 52, 139, 157-159, 
 166, 189, 198 f. 
 
 Beggars fed at funerals, 80 
 
 Bekhten, 161, 164 f. 
 
 Bel, 219, f. 
 
 Belial, 243 
 
 Belit-seri, 221 
 
 Ben, '186 
 
 Benefactors deified, 42 
 
 Benihassan, 153, 188 
 
 Benzinger, 10 
 
 Beowulf, 128 
 
 Beth-el, 235, 252 
 
 Bhuts, 76, 85 
 
 Biban el-Muluk, 189, 194 f. 
 
 Bier, 43, 118, 119, 121, 122, 131, 
 132, 251 
 
 Birds possessed by spirits, 25, 73, 
 74, 76, 95, 162, 173, 203, 217, 
 227, 242 ; omens from, 95 ; sac- 
 rifice of, 199 
 
 Black animals sacrificed to the 
 dead, 74, 137, 151 
 
 Blood, seat of soul, 201, 233 f., 261; 
 sacrificed to the dead, n, 13, 
 72 f., 140, 151, 209, 261 f. ; see 
 Sacrifice 
 
 Boar, 25 
 
 Boat over Styx, see Ferryman 
 
 Body, relation to Spirit, see Spirits, 
 relation to body; prison of 
 soul, 99, 286, 295 
 
 Boghazkeui, 61, 62 
 
 Bohemians, 62 
 
 Bones, occupied by spirits, 3, 103 ; 
 painted red, 3 ; see Spirits, re- 
 lation to body 
 
 Book of Him Who is in the Nether 
 World, 153, 190 f. 
 
 Book of the Dead, 154, 162, 164, 
 174, 183, 191-193 
 
 Bbr, 241 
 
 Bothros, 141 ; see Trench 
 
 Brahmanas, 60 
 
 Brahmans, 80, 98 
 
 Bread, for dead, 120, 140, 157-159, 
 166, 198 f. ; of life, 219 
 
 Breast, beating on, 117 
 
 Breaking of objects for dead, 209, 
 251 
 
 Breasted, J. H., ix, 153 f., 158 n., 
 159 n., 161 n., 166 n., 167 n., 
 168 n., 176 n., 179 n., 181 n., 
 182 n., 188 n., 195 n., 196 n., 
 197 n., 198 n. 
 
 Breath, 6, 74, 154, 200 f., 202, 205, 
 232 f., 270; of dying received 
 by relative, 117 
 
 Bretons, 64 
 
 Bridal pitcher on grave, 134 
 
 Briseis, 117 
 
 British, 65 
 
 Brittany, 104 
 
 Bronze, 66 
 
 Brynhild, 134 
 
 Brythonic Celts, 64 
 
 Buchler, 248 
 
 Budde, 235 
 
 Buddhism, 98, 100 
 
 Budge, 154 
 
 Bulgarians, 63 
 
INDEX 
 
 3" 
 
 Burial, 2, 12, 36, 46, 77, 88, 124-126, 
 127, 202, 209, 224, 250; nec- 
 essity of, see Unburied; im- 
 portance of correct manner, 74, 
 224; place of, 46, 129-131; in 
 houses, 44, 50, 102, 129, 253 ; 
 by roads, 130; in family grave, 
 37, 102, 239, 245 ; refused to 
 criminals, 94, 239; granted to 
 criminals, 239; refused to 
 enemies, 93, 206 f., 239; re- 
 fused to suicides, 94; granted 
 to suicides, 239; of souls, 37; 
 see Graves, Tombs 
 
 Burkhardt, 209 n. 
 
 Burney, 232 n. 
 
 Busiris, 169 
 
 Byblos, 171 
 
 Bywater, 100 n. 
 
 Caesar, 65, 101, 127, 132, 139 
 Cakes for dead, 90, 97, 138, 140- 
 
 142, 147 f., 199 
 Canaanites, 200 f., 240 
 Canonical Books, Chinese, 16, 17 n., 
 
 37 
 Canopic jars, 178 
 Carter, J. B., 69 n. 
 Catamaran, 173 
 Cattle for the dead, 132, 137, 158, 
 
 199 
 Caves as tombs, 44, 261 
 Cecrops, 96 
 Celts, 64, 75, 81, 84, 90, 92, 
 
 95 f., 101-104, IQ 6, no, 115, 
 
 126, 127, 129, 130-133, 139, 
 
 141, 147 
 Cemeteries, 125, 127, 133, 183, 188, 
 
 196 
 Centum group of languages, 61 
 Ceremonial, importance of, 28, 56, 
 
 79, 172 
 Chadwick, H. M., 69 n. 
 Champollion, 154 
 Chariots, 133 
 Charlemagne, 128 
 Charles, R. H., 232 n., 234 n., 235, 
 
 287 n. 
 Charon, 111; see Ferryman 
 Ch'eng-I, 55 
 Cheops, 169, 185 f. 
 Chi, 23 
 
 Ch'i, 19, 20, 38, 39 
 Chiao, 23, 52 
 Children given by ancestors, 91 ; 
 
 necessary for cult, 225, 254; 
 
 sacrificed to dead, 133 ; killed 
 
 to punish ancestors, 255, see 
 
 Son 
 Chou-li, 17 
 Ch'un-ch'iu, 17 
 Chung-yung , 17 
 Cicero, 73, 75, 125, 151 
 Clairvoyance, 4, 30, 236; see 
 
 Medium 
 Classics, Chinese, 16, 17 n., 37, 59 
 Clay, A. T., 225 n. 
 Clennell, W. J., 17 n. 
 Cleomenes, 96 
 Cleopas, 303 
 Clothes for the dead, 12, 39, 44, 47, 
 
 72, 81, 119, 159 f., 179, 189 f., 
 
 224, 250 
 Cock, 25 
 Coffin, 121, 179, 182, 224, 251; 
 
 Texts in, 153, 162, 174, 189, 
 
 192, 196 
 Colebrooke, 121, 126, 144 
 Comparative religion, 1 
 Compitalia, 78 
 Confucius, 16, 19, 40, 42, 43, 48, 
 
 5I..56, 57, 58 
 
 Contagion, 214 
 
 Copper, 66 
 
 Cords, tied and loosed in magic, 
 228 
 
 Cornelii, 125 
 
 Cornish, 64 
 
 Corporeal existence of Dead among 
 Celts, 90, 92 
 
 Corpse, mutilation of, 8, 35, 238; 
 preparation for burial, 43, 116, 
 118 f., 178-183, 250; unclean- 
 ness of, 12, 116, 119, 121, 214, 
 238, 252; see Mummy, Ex- 
 posure, Burial, Cremation 
 
 Cossacks, 62 
 
 Cremation, 12, 78, 126-129, 2 °6 
 
 Crocodile, spirit, 162 
 
 Cromlechs, 131 
 
 Crooke, W., 68 n., 82 
 
 Crystal-gazing, 6 
 
 Cult of the dead, in primitive re- 
 ligion, 9-13; in China, 39-59; 
 among Indo-Europeans, 114- 
 151; in Egypt, I75;i99; among 
 Semites, 208-210; in Babylonia 
 and Assyria, 223-231; in 
 Israel, 248-256; early opposi- 
 tion in Israel, 257-263 ; for- 
 bidden by Prophets and Law, 
 268-274 
 
312 
 
 INDEX 
 
 Cuneiform, 211 
 
 Curses on violators of tombs, 165, 
 
 167 f. 
 Curtiss, 209 n. 
 Czechs, 62 
 
 Daeva, 86 
 
 Dahshur, 185 
 
 Dakhmas, 86, 122, 126 
 
 Dalmatians, 62 
 
 Dancing, 53 
 
 Danes, 65 
 
 Daniel, 31 n., 283 f. 
 
 Dante, 276 
 
 David, 266 
 
 Davis, C. H. S., 154; T. M., 191 
 
 Dawn, 67 
 
 Days of sacrifice to the dead, 55, 
 58, 142-147 
 
 Dead, see Spirits of the Dead 
 
 Death, 1, 4, 12 ; inevitableness of, 
 218 f., 244; eternal sleep, 166, 
 202, 278, 281, 283 ; uncleanness 
 of, see Corpse; name of Un- 
 derworld, 215, 240; King of 
 Sheol, 243 ; angels of, 244 
 
 Deborah, 252, 260 
 
 Decius, 139 
 
 Dedu, 169 
 
 De Groot, J. J. M., 17 n., 18 n., 
 20 n., 24 n., 27 n., 32 n., 35 n., 
 . 37 ?•> 39 n., 44 n., 49 n. 
 
 Deification of dead, See Spirits 
 deified 
 
 Delitzsch, 219 
 
 Demeter, 100 
 
 Democratization of hereafter, 129, 
 174, 182 f. 
 
 De Morgan, 152 
 
 Der el-Bahri, 179, 189, 194, 195 
 
 Deuteronomy, 268, 276 
 
 Devas, 114 
 
 Devil, 280, 285 
 
 Devotio, 139 
 
 Dew at, 104, 170, 173 f., 191, 193 
 
 Dies parentales, 145 
 
 Diodorus Siculus, 92, 102, 139 
 
 Diogenes Laertius, 141 
 
 Dionysiac cults, 99 
 
 Dirges, see Laments 
 
 Disease, unclean, 236; cured by 
 magic, 226-231; see Spirits 
 obsess men 
 
 Disposal of the dead, see Exposure, 
 Burial, Cremation. 
 
 Divided personality, 82 
 
 Dlugosz, 107 
 
 Doctrine of the Mean, 17, 20, 55 n. 
 
 Dogs, possessed, 98 ; connected with 
 the dead, 108, 123 f. ; as sacri- 
 fices, 132, 190 
 
 Dolmens, 2, 131 
 
 Domestic animals, 66 
 
 Door opened at death, 116 
 
 Dore, H., 17 n., 18 n., 22 n., 24 n., 
 26 n., 32 n., 35 n., 44 n., 46 n., 
 49 n. 
 
 Double, 2, 5, 155 
 
 Doughty, 206, 209 n. 
 
 Draught-board in grave, 189 
 
 Dreams, 3, 17, 31, 76, 80 f. 
 
 Drink for the dead, 3, 8, 28, 44, 53, 
 
 120, 131-135, I37-H7, 157-159, 
 160, 189-191, 204, 224, 251 
 
 Drugs, 229 
 
 Druids, 91, 101 
 
 D.u, 154 
 
 Ducks, 26 
 
 Duhm, 282 f. 
 
 Dungi, 223 f., 225 
 
 Dusii, 71, 90 
 
 Dust in mourning, 11, 117, 208 f., 
 250 
 
 Dutch, 65 
 
 Dwelling-place of dead, see Abode 
 
 Dying, treatment of, 43, 116 
 
 Ea, 226-228, 213, 231 
 
 Eabani, see Enkidu 
 
 Eannatum, 206 
 
 Earth, name of Underworld, 215, 
 241 
 
 Earu, 109, 170 
 
 East, region of life, 170, 173, 183, 
 216 
 
 Echo, 6, 204 f. 
 
 Ecstasy, 29, 83 
 
 Edda, 128 
 
 Edkins, J., 17 n. 
 
 Eetion, 76 
 
 Eggs for dead, 140 
 
 Egypt, pre-dynastic, 152, 178, 183, 
 189; old empire, 152, 160, 168, 
 178, 181, 184, 188-190, 198; 
 middle empire, 153, 156, 162, 
 168, 180, 182, 187 f., 190, 194, 
 new empire, 153, 160, 162, 183, 
 188 f., 190-193; period of de- 
 cline, 154, 57; spiritism in, 152- 
 199 
 
INDEX 
 
 31.1 
 
 Eisenmenger, 242 
 
 Ekimmu, see Etimmu 
 
 Eleusinian mysteries, 100 
 
 "Elevation of fathers," 144 
 
 Elijah, 244, 247, 280 
 
 Elisha, 247, 280 
 
 Elon, 252 
 
 Elpenor, 73 
 
 Elysium, 109 f. 
 
 Embalming, see Mummy 
 
 Embryonic position of corpse, 2, 
 
 119, 178, 183, 201, 250 
 Empedocles, 99, 101 
 Emperor-worship, see Kings, cult 
 
 of 
 Endowments for the dead, 167-169, 
 
 .197 f- 
 Enki, see Ea 
 Enkidu, 151, 204, 205, 206, 208, 210, 
 
 215, 220, 221, 231 
 Enlil, 224 
 Enoch, 244; chaps. 1-36, 284, 287; 
 
 chaps. 37-71, 287; chaps. 102- 
 
 104, 287 
 Erebus, 83, 86, 91 
 Erechtheus, 96 
 Ereshkigal, 218 f., 221 
 Erinyes, 87, 95 
 Erman, 153, 158 n., 164 n., 165 n., 
 
 192, 196 n. 
 Esdras II, 284 
 Essenes, 286 
 Etana, 221 
 
 Etimmu, 201, 202, 205 
 Euhemerus, 14 
 
 Eulogy of the dead, 122, 135, 136 
 Euripides, 93, 101, 151 
 Evil spirits, 28, 58, 59, 76, 77, 86, 
 
 164 f., 208, 212-215, 218, 230, 
 
 243 
 Ewald, 9 
 
 Exorcism, 58, 76, 164 f., 203 f., 212, 
 
 226-231 
 Exposure of dead, 93, 122-124, 239 
 Eyes of corpse closed, 44, 118 
 Ezagulis, 147 
 Ezekiel, 268, 274; his theory of 
 
 retribution, 276, 279 
 
 Fairbanks, A., 69 n. 
 False door, 45, 187, 194 
 Familiar spirit, 210, 236, 256, 259 
 Family, cult of dead, 115; buried 
 
 together, 37, 102, 239, 245 
 Farnell, L. R., 68 n., 69 n. 
 
 Far Cardigan, 146 
 
 Fasting, 11, 33, 50, 209, 250 
 
 Fear of the dead, see Spirits obsess 
 men 
 
 Feasts of the dead, 13, 54, 79, 135 f., 
 142-149, 254 
 
 Feet of corpse toward door, 119, 
 122 
 
 Fen, 45 
 
 Feng-shui, 46 
 
 Feralia, 145 f. 
 
 Ferryman of dead, in, 158, 170, 
 173, 217, 242; see Charon 
 
 Festus, 78 
 
 Fetish, see Spirits occupy objects 
 
 Field of Rushes, 170 
 
 Filial piety, 40, 55, 57, 79, 197 f. 
 
 Fire for spirits, 147, 198; see 
 Lights, Lamps; god of, 68 
 
 Firstborn, 254; see Son 
 
 Fish for the dead, 53, 165 
 
 Flam en Dialis, 139 
 
 Flemings, 65 
 
 Flesh, 200, 232; cut for dead, 10, 
 117, 208, 249, 274 
 
 Flood, 219 
 
 Flowers, for dead, 73, 79, 135, 140 
 
 Follower, 71 
 
 Food, for the dead, 3, 8, 12, 28, 44, 
 4£ 49, 53, 72, 97, 120, 131-135, 
 Y37-147, 157-159, 160, 189-191 
 201, 204, 206, 224, 230 f., 251, 
 2J4. > 
 
 Fore-Doding of the future, 6, 31, 
 82, 236 
 
 Forefathers, see Ancestors 
 
 Fortieth day after burial, 143, 145 
 
 Fowler, W. W., 69 n. 
 
 Foxes, 25 
 
 Fragments of food left for friend- 
 less dead, 141 
 
 Fravashis, 69, 72, 73, 91, 137, 148 
 
 Frazer, 10 f., 172 
 
 Frisians, 65 
 
 Fruit for dead, 35, 78, 137, 140, 199 
 
 Furniture for the dead, 189-191, 
 
 193 
 Future life, ,resembles the present, 
 72, 92, 157-159, 221 ; general 
 estimate of, 8, 91 f., 207 f., 
 264; see Immortality, Hades, 
 Paradise 
 
 Gaels, 64 
 Gaius, 88 
 
314 
 
 INDEX 
 
 Galba, 89 
 
 Games at funerals, 97, 136, 143 
 
 Garments, removed in mourning, 9, 
 248 ; rent, 248 ; see Clothes 
 
 Garstang, 152 n. 
 
 Gathas, 61 
 
 Gebal, 171 
 
 Geese for tke dead, 158 f., 199 
 
 Gehenna, 107 
 
 Genius, 70, 155 
 
 Germans, 65 
 
 Ghosts, 5, 7-9, 27, 32, 36, 71, 74-77, 
 85-93, io 4 f«» J 4-6 f-> 203-206, 
 208, 212, 221, 237, 256; see 
 Spirits appear 
 
 Gifts, see Offerings 
 
 Giles, H. A., 16 n., 17 n. 
 
 Gilgamesh, 151, 204, 205, 206, 
 208, 210, 215, 216 f., 219, 220, 
 221, 222, 231; Epic of, 204, 
 208 n., 210, 215 f., 218 {., 
 221 n., 231 
 
 Gimil-Sin, 223 f., 225 
 
 Giraldus, 84 
 
 Gizeh, 186 
 
 Gladiatorial games at funerals, 
 136 
 
 Glaphyra, 237 
 
 Glorious one = spirit, 156, 160 
 
 Goats as sacrifices, 199 
 
 God, in Chinese religion, 39; Indo- 
 European names, 67; in O. T. 
 see Yahweh; in teaching of 
 Jesus, 290-292; Father of 
 Jesus, 290; Father of all men, 
 290; meaning of fatherhood, 
 291 f . ; love of, 292, 294 f. 
 
 Gods, help against evil spirits, 208, 
 212, 226 ; bring men back from 
 Sheol, 221 f. ; do not rule in 
 Sheol, 208 ; can empty Sheol, 
 223 
 
 Gog, 60 
 
 Goidelic Celts, 64 
 
 Gold, with dead, 125, 132, 180; see 
 Treasure 
 
 Golden Age, 108, 171 
 
 Golther, W., 69 n. 
 
 Gorgons, 87 
 
 Goths, 71 
 
 Grain, for the dead, 79, 137, 159, 
 199 
 
 Grandfathers, title of dead, 71, 114, 
 115, 142, 148 f., 150 
 
 Granger, F., 69 n., 97 n., 103 n., 
 104 n., 122 
 
 Graves, 7, 12, 44 f., 130 f., 183, 
 251 ; dwelling place of spirits, 
 see Spirits; places of cult, 102, 
 
 140, 194, 251; of heroes, 102; 
 protected by stones, 207; en- 
 closed, 209 ; as holy places of 
 Yahweh, 261 ; unclean, 252, 
 273 ; see Burial, Tombs 
 
 Grave-court, 45 
 
 Grave-hall, 45 
 
 Gravestone, 22, 39, 45, 75, 203; 
 see Stones 
 
 Great Pyramid, 169, 185 f. 
 
 Great Russians, 62, 115, 133 
 
 Greeks, 63, 69, 70, 72, 73, 74, 76, 
 77, 82, 86, 87, 90, 91, 93, 96, 
 99-103, 105, 109, no, 112, 113, 
 114, 115, 116, 117, 118, 119, 
 120, 121, 122, 123, 124, 125, 
 126, 127, 129, 130, 131, 132, 134, 
 
 135, 136, 137, 138, I39> HO, 
 
 141, 145, 146, 149, 150; in- 
 fluence on Judaism, 285-289 
 
 Griineisen, 232 n. 
 Guerinot, 232 n. 
 Gummere, F. B., 69 n. 
 Gunkel, 241 n. 
 
 Habakkuk, 268 
 
 Hades, 74, 78, 81, 87, 89, 92, 93, 
 99, 105-107, 123 ; see Aralu, 
 Dewat, Orcus, Sheol 
 
 Hadrian, 7 
 
 Hair cut in mourning, n, 131, 208, 
 249; loosed in mourning, 44, 
 117 
 
 Halloween, 147 
 
 Hallstatt, 127, 133 
 
 Hamaspathmaedaya, 72, 146 
 
 Haoma, 116 
 
 Happiness the measure of good- 
 ness, 278 
 
 Hardedef, 169 
 
 Hares, possessed, 98 
 
 Harkhuf, 159, 166 
 
 Harper, Song of, 168 
 
 Harpies, 74, 87, 95 
 
 Harrison, J. E., 69 n., 78 n., 87 n., 
 97 n., 99 n., 146 
 
 Hartland, E. S., 120 
 
 Hathor, 176 
 
 Hatshepsut, 195 
 
 Haunted House, 88 
 
 Haupt, 206 
 
 Havgan, 106 
 
 Head, covered in mourning, 10, 249 
 
INDEX 
 
 315 
 
 Heart, seat of soul, 70, 201, 233 
 Hearth as place of sacrifice, 141 
 Heaven, 37, 39, 41, 52, 67, 128, 172- 
 
 175; see Avallon, Elysium 
 
 Paradise 
 Hebrews, 200, 203 
 Hebron, 251 
 Hector, 8, 118 
 Heir, sacrifices to ancestors, 225; 
 
 see Son 
 Hekate, 74, 77, 123 
 Heliopolis, 172 f. 
 Hell, 107, 112, 219, 276; see Tar- 
 tarus, Gehenna 
 Hellenists, see Alexandrian school 
 Henderson, G., 69 n., 75 n., 96 n. 
 Hepzefi, 198 
 Heraclitus, 100 
 Herakles, 78 
 Hermes, 77, 123 
 Herodotus, 80, 81 n., 96, 122, 124, 
 
 162, 180, 185, 224 
 Heroes, 102 f., 252; worship of, 
 
 42 f., 102 f., 115, 176 f. 
 Hesiod, 77, 112, 123 
 Hezekiah, 246 
 High Ruler, 39 
 Hilprecht, 216 
 Hindus, 60, 69, 72, 74, 75, 76, 80, 
 
 82, 85, 90, 93, 96, 98, 107, 108, 
 
 112, 114, 115, 116, 120, 
 
 121, 123, 124, 130, 131, 137, 
 
 138, 139, 141, 143, 144, 145, 
 
 146, 148, 149 
 History of the South, 34 
 Hittites, 61 
 Hole, for egress of spirit, 2 f., 104, 
 
 160; name of Underworld, 
 
 215, 231, 241; see Pit 
 Holiness Code, 268, 276 
 Holy, 253; of holies, 261 
 Homer, 64, 69, 70, 78, 90, 91, 105, 
 
 112, 122 f., 129 f., 135; see 
 
 Iliad, Odyssey 
 Homoeopathic remedies, 229 
 Honey for the dead, 13, 97, 132, 
 
 137 f., 165, 199, 225 
 Hopkins, E. W., 17 n., 68 n., 124 n., 
 
 129 n. 
 Horace, 103, 151 
 Horus, 158, 171, 178, 192; eye of, 
 
 171, 192 
 Hosea, 268 
 Hotephiryakhet, 182 
 Houses abandoned to the dead, 44, 
 
 50 
 
 Hou-tsi, 43 
 Hrihor, 166 
 Hrozny, F., 61 
 Hsiao-king, 41 n. 
 Huber, 224 
 Hun, 19 
 Huns, 19, 65 
 Huts, 45 
 Hyenas, 25 
 Hypnotism, 4, 29, 82 
 
 Ibi-Sin, 223, 225 
 
 Ibn-Dustah, 127 
 
 Ibn-Fadhlan, 127, 134 
 
 Ibzan, 252 
 
 Icelanders, 65 
 
 I-li, 17, 46 
 
 Iliad, 74 n., 76 n., 78 n., 81 n., 
 
 87 n-, 93, 95 n-> 117-119, 123, 
 127, 132, 136 
 
 Images occupied by spirits, 75, 
 160 f., 165, 169, 184, 188, 203, 
 228, 235; of things for the 
 dead, 48, 158, 189-192, 251 
 
 Imhotep, 169, 176 
 
 Imitations, see substitutes 
 
 Immortality, in primitive religion, 
 2-4, 208; in China, 18 f. ; 
 among Indo-Europeans, 68-72; 
 in Egypt, 154-157; among 
 Semites, 201 ; among Babylo- 
 nians, 211 ff.; in Israel, 233; 
 denied by Prophets and Law, 
 2 73> 2 75 f- '■> i n Judaism, 280- 
 289 ; denied by resurrection, 
 283-285; in Greek thought, 99- 
 101, 285-289; combined with 
 resurrection, 286-288; theories 
 in time of Christ, 288 f. ; in 
 the teaching of Jesus, 290-307 ; 
 in Christian Church, 288, 
 297 f ., 306 f. ; see Future life 
 
 Impersonator, 28, 49, 54, 80, 122 
 
 Implements for dead, 119, 133, 135, 
 251 
 
 Incense, 52, 157, 176, 199, 209, 254 
 
 Incubi, 90 
 
 India, see Hindus 
 
 Individualism, 276 f. 
 
 Indo-Europeans, distribution and 
 characteristics, 60 ; primitive 
 civilisation, 66 
 
 Indra, 67, 112 
 
 Inferi, 70, 141, 145 
 
 Insanity, see Spirits obsess men 
 
 Inspiration, see spirits possess men 
 
3i6 
 
 INDEX 
 
 Intef, 156, 169 
 
 Invitation to ancestors, 148 
 
 Invocation of gods against spirits, 
 
 226 
 Invoker, 57 
 Io, 87 
 Ionians, 63 
 Iranians, 60 
 Irish, 64 
 Irkalla, 218 
 Isaiah, chaps. 1-32, 268 ; chaps, 24- 
 
 27, 283 ; chaps. 40-55, 268 
 Ishtar, 207 n., 215, 216, 217, 218, 
 
 219, 220, 221 n., 222 
 Isidore, 71, 90 n. 
 Isis, 158, 171, 183, 196 
 Islands of Blessed, in 
 
 Jackals, 25 
 
 Jackson, A. V. W., 68 n. 
 
 Jacob, 245 
 
 Jacobus, M. W., ix 
 
 Jade, 52, 53 
 
 Jair, 252 
 
 James, 302, 303 
 
 Jars as coffins, 77, 121, 224 
 
 Jastrow, 10 f., 201 n., 203, 208 n., 
 209 n., 212 n., 215, 225 n., 
 229 n., 248 f. 
 
 Jensen, 215, 217, 222 n. 
 
 Jesus, religious experience, 290; 
 unique sonship, 290; taught 
 fatherhood of God, 290 f. ; 
 revealed love of God, 292; 
 taught men are sons of God, 
 290-293 ; taught value of soul, 
 292 f. ; taught immortality, 
 293-297 ; attitude toward Sad- 
 ducees, 294 f. ; toward Phari- 
 sees, 295 ; toward Alexandri- 
 ans, 295 f. ; teaching about 
 resurrection, 295-297; highest 
 teaching on immortality, 297 ; 
 his death, 299 ; his resurrec- 
 tion, 298-307 
 
 Jequier, 153 n., 191 
 
 Jeremiah, 237, 268, 274, 277 
 
 Jeremias, 206, 215, 217, 219, 221 
 
 Jevons, 11, 253 n. 
 
 Jewelry with dead, 47, 53, 119, 
 180, 224; see Ornaments, 
 Treasures 
 
 Jinn, 202, 203, 205 
 
 Joanna, 301 
 
 Job, 278 f., 280-283 
 
 John, 303 f. 
 
 Jordanis, 71 
 
 Joseph, 31 n., 245, 252, 260 
 
 Josephus, 177, 237, 254, 286 
 
 Josiah, 256 
 
 Judas Maccabeus, 237 
 
 Judgment, Day of, 287 f., 298 
 
 Jugo-Slavs, 62 
 
 Jullian, C, 139 
 
 Juno, 70 
 
 Ka, 2, 5, 70, 155 f., 158 
 
 Kadesh, 252 
 
 Kadhosh, 253 
 
 Kamphausen, 9 
 
 K'ang Tzu-kao, 48 
 
 Karma, 98 
 
 Kautzsch, 287 n. 
 
 Ker, 70, 77, 78, 146 
 
 Kerberos, 123, 138 
 
 Khafre, 186 
 
 Kheti, 195 
 
 Khonsu, 161, 164 f. 
 
 Khu, 156 
 
 Khufu, 169, 185 
 
 Kigal, 215 f. 
 
 King of Underworld, 171 f., 218, 
 
 243 
 
 King, L. W., 212 n., 216, 221 n., 
 225 n., 226 n. 
 
 Kings, deified during life, 175 f., 
 223 ; after death, 175 f., 223, 
 225 f., 252; life in other 
 world, 37 f., 157 f., 174 
 
 Korah, 241 
 
 Koran, see Qur'an 
 
 Krauss, F. S., 69 n. 
 
 Kiichler, 212 n. 
 
 Kuei, 18, 38 
 
 Kuei-shen, 18, 39 
 
 Labartu, 213 
 
 Lacau, 183 
 
 Ladder of sun-god, 173 
 
 Laments, 13, 20, 44, 57, 117, 118, 
 
 196, 210, 225, 255 f. 
 Lamps for the dead, 251 ; see Fires, 
 
 Lights 
 Langdon, 212 n., 224 n., 225 n. 
 Larentalia, 71, 146 f. 
 Lares, 70, 78, 130, 146 
 Larvce, 71, 146 
 Lascowski, 98 
 Lasicius, 98, 147 
 Law of Twelve Tables, 125, 127, 
 
 130 
 Laying out of corpse, 119, 120 
 
INDEX 
 
 3 T 7 
 
 Lebadea, 97 
 
 Leger, L., 69 n. 
 
 Legge, J., 17 n., 21 n., 37 n., 55 n. 
 
 Lehraann, E., 68 n. 
 
 Lekythoi, 135 
 
 Lemuria, 138, 146, 149 
 
 Letters, sent to the dead, 92, 164 
 
 Letts, 62, 63 
 
 Levirate marriage, 294 
 
 Levitation, 4, 32 
 
 Leyrer, 9 
 
 Libations, see water, milk, beer, 
 wine, liquors; 13, 137 f., 139 f., 
 143 f., 199, 225 f., 230 f. 
 
 Life, length desired, 264 f. 
 
 Lights for dead, 120, 144; see 
 Fires, Lamps 
 
 Lightning, 68 
 
 Li-ki, 16, 17 n., 19, 38, 42, 46, 48, 
 
 5i» 52, 56, 58 
 Lily Lake, 173 
 Lippert, 97 n. 
 Liquors, distilled, 133 
 Lithuanians, 62, 63, 97, 127, 133, 
 
 142, 145, 148, 150 
 Little Russians, 62 
 Livy, 79 n. 
 Lods, 232 n. 
 Lohr, 267 n. 
 Lots, 23, 75 
 Loutrophoros, 134 
 Lucan, 83, 92, 102, 106 
 Lucian, 14, 88, 151. 
 Luke, 299, 301, 303 
 Lun-yu, 17, 48 n. 
 
 Macbain, A., 69 n., 124 n. 
 
 Maccabees IV, 286 
 
 Macculloch, J. A., 69 n., 85 n., 
 
 96 n., 133 n., 140 n., 147 n. 
 Mace, 152 n. 
 Maciver, 152 n. 
 Macrobius, 105 
 Maelduin, voyage of, 95 
 Maelsuthain, 96 
 Magi, 122, 124 
 Magic, sympathetic 190; for the 
 
 dead, 166, 172; objects in 
 
 graves. 
 Mahabhdrata, 60, 76, 124 
 Maleki, 63 
 
 Mammetu, 219 f., 222 
 Manasseh, 256 
 Manes, 70, 73, 75, 78, 79, 106, 114- 
 
 116, 139, 143, 145 f. 
 Manetho, 152, 177 
 
 Mannhardt, J. W. E., 69 n. 
 
 Manu, Laws of, 60, 114, 137 
 
 Manx, 64 
 
 Marduk, 221, 226-228 
 
 Margoliouth, 232 n., 254 n. 
 
 Mariette, 153 
 
 Mark, 298, 300, 301, 303 
 
 Marriage with dead, 92, 134 
 
 Mary Magdalene, 303 
 
 Masks, 75, 103, 122 
 
 Maspero, 153, 201 n. 
 
 Masseba, 203 235, 273 
 
 Ma'staba, 160, 184, 188, 189 
 
 Mas'udi, 127, 134 
 
 "Materialisation" of spirits, 34, 85 
 
 Matthew, 300 303 
 
 Mausolea, 44, 131 
 
 Mead for the dead, 138 
 
 Meal for the dead, 13, 137 
 
 Meat for the dead, 198 
 
 Mediterranean, sea, 216, 217; race, 
 63, 70 
 
 Mediums, 29, 59, 82, 84, 85, 165, 
 203, 221, 259 
 
 Mekhu, 178 
 
 Meletius, 63 
 
 Melissa, 80, 81 
 
 Men, the children of God, 291 f. 
 
 Mencius, 17, 51 
 
 Menecius, J., 63, 69 n., 97, 142, 148, 
 150 
 
 Menes, 152, 169, 184 
 
 Menelaus, 109 
 
 Menkure, 186 
 
 Mercer, 224 n. 
 
 Merneptah, 193 
 
 Messiah, 287 
 
 Metempsychosis, see Transmigra- 
 tion 
 
 Meyer, E., 68 n., 129 ; E. H., 69 n. 
 
 Micah, 268 
 
 Milk for the dead, 13, 137 f., 199, 
 209 
 
 Mind-reading, 30, 82 
 
 Minerva, 69 
 
 Ming, 19, 38 
 
 Ming dynasty tombs, 45 
 
 Minister of Ritual, 56 
 
 Miracles, 31 
 
 Miriam, 252, 260 
 
 Mirrors, for the dead, 224 
 
 Mitanni, 62 
 
 Mithra, 62 
 
 Models, see images 
 
 Money with dead, 44, 119 
 
 Monolatry, 257 f. 
 
3i8 
 
 INDEX 
 
 Monotheism, 257 f., 269 
 
 Montenegrins, 62 
 
 Moon, 67 
 
 Moore, C. H., 69 n.; G. F., 17 n., 
 
 68 n. 
 Morality and Sacrifice, 56 
 Moravians, 62 
 Moret, 161 
 Mortuary chapel, 160, 187, 189, 
 
 194, 197 
 Mosaism, 257 
 Motion of spirit, 5 
 Motor-antomatism, 6 
 Moulton, J. H., 68 n. 
 Mound, 45, 130, 251; see Tumulus 
 Mourners, professional, 117, 196, 
 
 255 
 Mourning, rites of, 41, 50, 117, 118, 
 195 f., 208, 248-250, 255, 262 f. ; 
 made one unclean, 262 f. ; for- 
 bidden by Prophets and Law, 
 
 273 
 
 Mouth, objects placed in, 44, 119 
 
 Mu, 45 
 
 Much, R., 128 
 
 Miiller, S., 128; W. M., 157, 169 n. 
 
 Muhammad, 202 
 
 Mummy, 12, 160, 163, 165, 168, 
 179-181 ; restoration of, 166; 
 of Kings, 179 f. 
 
 Mundus, 105 f., 141 ; see Trench 
 
 Music, for the dead, 28, 53 ; instru- 
 ments of, 48 
 
 Mut, 158 
 
 Mycenaean age, 103, 121, 125, 131 
 
 Nabal, 266 
 
 Naboth, 266 
 
 Nahum, 268 
 
 Nakedness, 9, 19, 208, 248 
 
 Name, controls demon, 230 
 
 Namtaru, 218 f. 
 
 Naram-Sin, 223 
 
 Nature-gods of Indo-European, 67 
 
 Nav, 107 
 
 Naville, 154, 157 n., 164 
 
 Nazirites, 250, 253, 274 
 
 Necromancy, 13, 88, 150 f., 210, 
 
 221, 231, 256, 259 
 Neferhotep, 156 
 Nefesh, 200 f., 202, 203, 232 f., 253, 
 
 270 
 Nekhtioker, 169 
 Nekonekh, 199 
 Nekues, 70 
 
 Neolithic age, 2, 131, 135 
 
 Ner, 221 
 
 Nergal, 218, 231 
 
 Nero, 88 
 
 Nesha, 161 
 
 Newberry 188 n. 
 
 Nezemib, 182, 197 
 
 Nibelungenlied, 128 
 
 Night, time when ghosts appear, 
 
 86, 89 
 Ninth day after burial, 142-145 
 Nirvana, 100 
 Noah, 219 
 
 Nodding images, 161 
 Noldeke, 202 n., 204 n., 207 n., 
 
 209 n. 
 Noon, time when ghosts appear, 85, 
 
 89 m 
 Norwegians, 65 
 Nourse, E. E., ix 
 Novendialis, 143 
 Nowack, 235 
 Numa, 125 
 
 Obadiah, 268 
 
 'Obh, 236 
 
 Obsession, see Spirits obsess 
 
 Odoacer, 65 
 
 Odhin, in 
 
 Odysseus, 73, 86, 87, 90, in, 137, 
 
 141, 150 
 Odyssey, 73, 74 n., 81 n., 86, 90, 
 
 105, 106, 109, ii2, 123, 137, 
 
 141, 150 
 CEdipus, 87 
 Oefele, 212 n. 
 
 Offerings, in grave, 3, 12 f., 37, 44, 
 • 46, 131, 158 f., 184, 201, 233, 
 
 239. 254; on grave, 45, 51, 
 
 102 f., 137-140, 158 f., 197- 
 
 199, 212, 225 f., 239, 254; for 
 
 dead who have no kin, 116; 
 
 see Sacrifice; restriction of, 
 
 125, 132, 135 
 Oil for the dead, 132 
 Ointment for dead, 159, 224 
 Onias, 237 
 Orcus, 76, 105 f., 125, 143; see 
 
 Hades 
 Ormazd, 280 
 Ornaments with dead, 12, 119, 131, 
 
 133. i35» 167, 189, 193 f., 251; 
 
 see Jewelry 
 Orphism, 99 f., 105 
 
INDEX 
 
 3i9 
 
 Osiris, 158 f., 169, 171 f., 173, 183, 
 192, 196; identified with wor- 
 shipper, 172, 174, 181; his re- 
 ligion, 169 f., 174 
 
 Os resectum, 103, 126 
 
 Otho, 89 
 
 Ovid, 78, 89, 138, 146 
 
 Owls, 25 ; 203 f., 205, 212 n. 
 
 Paleolithic cave-dwellers, 2 
 
 Palettes for dead, 189 
 
 Pandora, 77 
 
 P'an-keng, 23 
 
 Papias, 301 
 
 Papyrus, Abbott, 193 
 
 Paradise, 95, 107-m, 219, 287; see 
 
 Elysium, Heaven, Valhalla 
 Parents, 71 ; see Ancestors 
 Parsees, 61, 122 
 Patriarchal organization, 67 
 Patroclus, 6, 78, 81, 93, 117, 127, 
 
 131, 136 
 Paul, 284, 296 f., 298, 299 f., 302, 
 
 303> 305 
 
 Pausanias, 81 n., 132, 140 
 
 Paynozem I, 166 
 
 Pectorals on mummies, 192 
 
 Pelasgians, 63 
 
 Penelope, 81 
 
 Pepi I, 173 f; II, 179 
 
 Perfume for dead, 179 
 
 Periander, 80, 81 
 
 Perkunas, 68 
 
 Persians, 60, 69, 72, 73, 74, 77, 86, 
 91, 93, 108, 109, 112, 115, 
 116, 121, 124, 126, 137, 139, 
 144, 148, 149 ; influence on 
 Jews, 280 f. 
 
 Personators, see Impersonator, 28 
 
 Peter, 298, 299, 301, 302; of Dus- 
 burg, 69 n., 127 
 
 Peters, J. P., 201 n., 224 n. 
 
 Petrie, W. F., 152 n., 185 
 
 Pharaohs, descended from the sun- 
 god, 173, 175 
 
 Pharisees, 277, 284 
 
 Pheasants, 26 
 
 Phigalia, 81 
 
 Philo, Alexandrinus, 286; Byblius, 
 
 Phocion, 129 
 Phrygians, 61 
 Pinda 114, 138, 148 
 Pindar, 101 
 Pitdcha, 85 
 
 Piso, 151 
 
 Pit, = Underworld, 241, 245 f. ; see 
 
 Trench 
 Pitdras, 69, 71, 90, 91, 108, 114 f., 
 
 124, 138, 144, 148 
 Pithoi, 121 
 Places of sacrifice to dead, 140-142, 
 
 194 f. ; see Graves 
 Planchette, 23 
 
 Plants occupied by spirits, 76 
 Plato, 77, 99, 101, 130, 163, 285 f., 
 
 295 
 Plautus, 95 
 Pliny, 88, 97, 125, 138 
 Plutarch, 79 n., 96, 106, 118, 130, 
 
 171 
 Pneuma, 69 
 P'o, 19, 20, 38 
 Poles, 62 
 Polybius, 80 n. 
 Polydaemonism, 15, 68 
 Polydorus, 76, 103, 136 
 Polyxene, 134 
 
 Pomponius Mela, 106, 127, 132 
 Porter, see Watchman, Kerberos 
 Possession by spirits, 6, 27, 28, 80- 
 
 Potitii, 79 
 
 Praeneste, 75 
 
 Praetorius, M., 63, 69 n. 
 
 Prayer, to the dead, 13, 28, 56, 144, 
 147-150, 202, 209, 255; for the 
 dead, 73, 158 f. ; officer of, 28 
 
 Prediction, see Foreboding 
 
 Prescriptions for sick, 226 
 
 Preta, 85, 144 
 
 Priam, 118 
 
 Priests, of the dead, 197; abstain 
 from mourning, 249, 253, 274 
 
 Procession, funeral, 121, 122 
 
 Propertius, 89 
 
 Prophets, of Israel, 29, 268 f. ; for- 
 bidden to mourn, 274 
 
 Proetus, 109 
 
 Prussians, 62, 63, 127, 142, 145 
 
 Psalms, 286 
 
 Psuche, 69, 91 
 
 Psychomancy, see Necromancy 
 
 Ptahshepses, 159 
 
 Ptolemy, 96 
 
 Pit, 22 
 
 Punishments, 265, 275, 287 f., 298 
 
 Purim, 146 
 
 Pur-Sin, 223, 225 
 
 Pushan, 108 
 
320 
 
 INDEX 
 
 Pwyll, 92, 106 
 Pyramidion, 182, 186, 192 
 Pyramids, 168 f., 172, 184-188; 
 emblem of sun, 186; Texts in, 
 
 i53» 155, 157, 163, i7i> 
 
 173 f., 182, 187, 192 
 Pythagoras, 100, 102, 138, 163 
 Pythia, 83 
 
 Quibel, 152 n. 
 
 Quickener of the dead, 221, 246 
 
 Quintilian, 94 
 
 Qur'an, 202 
 
 Rachel's grave, 235, 238, 252, 260 
 
 Ramadan, 250 
 
 Ramah, 252 
 
 Ramayana, 60, 72, 98, 123 
 
 Ramses, II, 166, 180, 193; III, 180; 
 IX, 193 
 
 Rats, 25 
 
 Rawlinson, 225 
 
 Re, 109, 158 f., 171 f., 173, 174 f., 
 186; united with worshipper, 
 173 f., 176, 195 
 
 Rebirth, 26 ; see Transmigration 
 
 Recall of soul, 3, 18, 44, 117, 167 
 
 Reflection, 6 
 
 Re-incarnation, see Animals, 
 Transmigration 
 
 Relics, 7 
 
 Renouf, 154 
 
 Rephaim, 235, 237 
 
 Request to ancestors to depart, 149 
 
 Resurrection, 26, 163, 166, 172 f., 
 221-223, 246 f., 275, 280-285, 
 294-297 
 
 Resurrection of Jesus, predicted by 
 him, 298 ; part of earliest 
 Christian teaching, 299 f., 302; 
 proved by empty tomb, 300-302 ; 
 proved by appearances, 302- 
 306; "swoon theory," 299; 
 "vision theory," 304; "fraud 
 theory," 304; culmination of 
 his life and teaching, 306 
 
 Retribution, limited to present life, 
 265, 275 f. ; collective, 265- 
 267, 276-279; individual, 276- 
 279; see Rewards, Punish- 
 ments 
 
 Revenant, 18 
 
 Rewards, 9, 265, 275, 287 f., 298 ; 
 see Retribution 
 
 Rhadamanthus, 109 
 
 Rhesus, 103 
 
 Rhys, J., 69 n., 106 n. 
 
 Rice for dead, 120, 138 
 
 Ridgeway, W., 129 
 
 Rig Veda, 60, 68 n., 72, 76, 108, 112, 
 123 f., 131, 149 
 
 Ritual texts for the dead, 181 
 
 Rock tombs, 188 f. 
 
 Rogers, 203 n. 
 
 Rohde, E., 69 n., 74 n., 97 n., 103 n., 
 121-123, 128, 135, 138, 143, 151 
 
 Romans, 64, 70, 73, 75, 76, 78, 80, 
 83, 89, 94, 95, 97, 103, 104, 
 105, no, in, 114, 115, 
 116, 122, 125, 126, 127, 130, 131, 
 
 135, 136, 137, 138, 139, Ho, 
 141, 142, 143, 145, 146, 149 
 
 Romulus, 79 
 
 Rosetta Stone, 154 
 
 Ross, J., 17 n. 
 
 Ruah, 201 f., 202, 233, 270 
 
 Ruthenians, 62 
 
 Sackcloth in mourning, 44, 50, 248 
 
 Sacrifice, of animals, 12 f., 28, 41, 
 43 , 49, 5i f-> 55 f-> 73, 78, 80, 
 97 *•> i3i-i35> 137, 140, 197- 
 199, 209, 261; human, 47, 131- 
 134, 189 f . ; originated in cult 
 of the dead, 261 ; motive for, 
 56, 72, 78; relation to morality, 
 56 ; to Heaven, 52 ; to Heaven 
 and Earth, 41 ; see Offerings 
 
 Sadducees, 277 f., 284, 294 f. 
 
 Saints, 7 
 
 Sakkara, 184 
 
 Salt, 78 
 
 Samhain feast, 146 
 
 Samuel, ghost of, 151, 223, 231, 233, 
 245, 276 f. 
 
 Sandals, removed in mourning, 249 
 
 Sarcophagi, 121, 182 f., 188 
 
 Sarganisharri, 223 
 
 Satan, 228, 280 
 
 Satem, group of languages, 61 
 
 Sati of widows, 131 
 
 Saul, 236 f., 245, 249, 256, 259 f., 
 266 
 
 Saussaye, P. D. C. de la, 69 n. 
 
 Sayings of Confucius, 17, 19 
 
 Scarabs, 192 
 
 Scepticism in regard to immortal- 
 ity, 19, 156 f. 
 
 Schafer, 153 
 
 Schrader, O., 68 n., 109, 134 
 
 Schwally, 9, 232 n., 235 
 
 Scythians, 60, 124 
 
INDEX 
 
 321 
 
 Seance, 33 
 
 Sebni, 178 
 
 Second-sight, 84 
 
 Seeing ghosts dangerous, 10, 89 
 
 Seers, 203 
 
 Sejn, P. V., 118, 119, 136, 141 f., 
 
 H9 
 
 Semites, 66', conception of spirits, 
 200-210 
 
 Senmut, 158 f. 
 
 Sennacherib, 236 
 
 Serbians, 62 
 
 Serdab, 160 
 
 Serpents, see Snakes 
 
 Servius, 130 
 
 Sesostris III, 176 
 
 Set, 171 
 
 Sethe, 153, 176 n., 187 
 
 Seti I, 166, 168, 180 
 
 Seven heavens, 217 
 
 Shades, 2, 70 
 
 Shadow, i, 6, 71, 91, 156, 205 
 
 Shahath, 241 
 
 Shamashshumukin, 206 
 
 Shang-ti, 39 
 
 Shechem, 252 
 
 She-chi, 39 
 
 Sheep as sacrifices, 74, 132, 137, 
 199 
 
 Shelf for offerings to dead, 45, 49, 
 194 
 
 Shen, 18, 38, 39 
 
 Shen-ch'i, 39 
 
 Shen-kuei, 18 
 
 Shen-nung, 43 
 
 Sheol, 104, 107, 170, 207, 215-223, 
 240-247, 269; names for, 215- 
 241 ; deep in earth, 215 f., 241 ; 
 a cavern, 214 f., 241 ; entrance 
 in west, 216, 241 ; reached by 
 crossing sea, 216, 241; seven 
 divisions, 217, 242; gates of, 
 170, 217, 220, 242; watchman 
 of, 218-222, 242; like grave, 
 218, 243; dark, 218, 243; dusty, 
 218, 243; king of, 171 f., 218, 
 243 ; demons of, 218, 243 f., 
 approached in illness, 220, 
 222, 246, 286 ; escaped by re- 
 turn to health, 221 f., 246 f., 
 286; inevitable, 218 f., 244; no 
 return from, 221, 246; all 
 classes there, 220 f., 245 f . ; life 
 similar to earth, 221 ; distinc- 
 tions in, 219, 245; no distinc- 
 tions of character, 219, 245; 
 
 outside the authority of Yah- 
 weh, 263 f. ; no worship of 
 Yahweh, 264, 271, 275 f . ; no 
 retribution, 265 ; unchanged by 
 early Yahwism, 264; con- 
 scious existence ceases, 270, 
 281-283 ; is eternal sleep, 272, 
 278, 281, 283; under Yahweh's 
 rule, 274 f . ; as punishment for 
 wicked only, 283 ; righteous es- 
 cape by resurrection, 282-285; 
 emptied of all the dead, 283 f . ; 
 not entered by righteous, 286- 
 289; retribution in, 287 
 
 Shih, 23 
 
 Shi-king, 16, 20 n., 21 n., 29 n., 
 37, 38 n., 52 n., 53 n., 55 n., 
 
 58 
 Shou, 51, 53 
 
 Shrines, ancestral, 42, 49 
 Shu-king, 16, 23 n., 37 n., 41, 49 n., 
 
 50 n., 52 n. 
 Shun, 22, 23, 49, 51, 52 
 Sibyls, 83 
 Sibylline Books, 84 
 Sickness, brings one near Sheol, 
 
 220, 222, 246 
 Sihler, E. G., 69 n. 
 Silk, 47, 52, 53, 57 
 Sinai, 152 f., 176, 261 
 Sincerity in sacrifice, 56 
 Singing, 57 
 Sinuhe, 195 
 Sirens, 95 
 Sirius, 152 
 
 Sixth day after burial, 142-145 
 Skull, seat of spirit, 103 f., 205; 
 
 trepanned, 3 
 Sky, see Heaven 
 Slaves buried with master, 47, 49, 
 
 131-134 
 Slavonians, 62 
 Slavs, 62, 63, 71, 79, 94, 97, 98, 
 
 104, 106, 107, 114, 115, 118, 
 
 119, 120, 124, 126, 127, 128, 
 
 130, 133, 134, 136, 140, 141, 
 
 142, 143, 145, 148, 149, 150 
 Sleep, 3, 17, 81, 84, 202 
 Slovaks, 62 
 Slovenes, 62 
 Smith, H. P., 243, 262; S. A., 215; 
 
 W. R., 10 
 Smoke, 2, 6, 70, 91 
 Snakes, 25, 96, 97, 98, 162, 203 
 Snefru, 176, 185 
 Socrates, 101 
 
322 
 
 INDEX 
 
 Solar, barque, 158; immortality, 
 172, 187 
 
 Solidarity of clan, 265, 276 
 
 Solmsen, F., 98 n. 
 
 Solon, 93, 118 
 
 Soma, 108, U2, 116 
 
 Son, duty of sacrificing, 13, 72 f., 
 79, 225, 254; of God, 290-293; 
 of Man, 287; of Re, 172, 175 
 
 Song of Harper, 156 
 
 Soped, 176 
 
 Sophocles, 93, 101 
 
 Sothic cycle, 152 
 
 Soul, in primitive religion, 1 f . ; in 
 China, 17 f. 38; among Indo- 
 Europeans, 69 f. ; in Egypt, 
 154-156; among Semites, 200 
 f. ; in Israel, 232 f. ; etymology 
 of word, 71 ; value for Jesus, 
 292 f. ; see Spirit. 
 
 Soul-tower, 45 
 
 Sozomen, 251 
 
 Spencer, Herbert, 14 
 
 Spirit of Yahweh, 236, 270 
 
 Spirits of the dead, primitive con- 
 ception, 2-9; in China, 18-39; 
 among Indo-Europeans, 69- 
 113, among Greeks, 99-101, 
 285-289; in Egypt, 156-178; 
 among Semites, 201-208; in 
 Babylonia, 211-223; early He- 
 brew conceptions; 233-239; in 
 early Yahwism, 257; in teach- 
 ing of Prophets, 269-273 ; 
 in Judaism, 280-289; in teach- 
 ing of Jesus, 293-298; names 
 for, 2, 18, 69, 154-156, 200 f. ; 
 existence after death, 2, 18, 
 156 f., 201 f., 233; relation to 
 corpse, 7, 35, 163, 165, 205, 232, 
 238, 295; need food, 2, 20, 54, 
 72 f., itf-15% 224, 233; powers 
 retained, 4, 19, 54, 72, 1 57-1 59, 
 202, 233 f. ; powers gained, 5, 
 20, 73, I59" ][ 65i 202-205, 234- 
 237; motion, 5, 73, 159 f., 
 202 f. ; control of objects, 5, 
 21-24, 75, 160-162, 203, 228, 235, 
 see Images; write communica- 
 tions, 23 ; occupy plants or 
 animals, 5, 24, 76, 94-102, 
 162 f., 203, 227 f., 235; ani- 
 mate dead bodies, 26, 163 ; re- 
 born in new bodies, 26, 163 ; 
 obsess the living, 5, 27 f., 76, 
 163-165, 203, 212-215, 218, 
 
 235 f . ; possess the living, 27, 
 80-85, J 65, 203, 235 f. ; appear 
 to men, 4, 32, 85-90, 204 f., 
 237; possess superior knowl- 
 edge, 4, 6, 19, 20, 28, 31, 90, 
 233 f., 236; bless the living, 
 90-91, 149, 159, 234; injure the 
 living, 76-80, 164, 204, 211-215, 
 234; punish violation of 
 tombs, 165, 167 f . ; punish neg- 
 lect of offerings, 225 ; punish 
 violation of custom, 79; pow- 
 ers lost, 6, 48, 91 f., 166, 205, 
 2 34, 237 f. ; unsubstantial char- 
 acter, 6, 7, 19, 71, 91, 205, 238, 
 261, 275; feeble voices, 86; 
 rousing from death, 144, 166; 
 without habitation, 93 f., 
 203 f., 214 f., see Exposure; 
 dwell in grave, 36, 102-104, 
 165-169, 205, see Grave; dwell 
 in Underworld, 104-107, 169- 
 172, 207; dwell in Sky, 37 f., 
 128, 172-175, 207; dwell in 
 Paradise, 95, 107-111, 207; 
 dwell in Tartarus, 101, m, 
 113; deified, 9, 39-43, 114, 175- 
 178, 223 f., 258; vitality denied 
 by Prophets, 268-273 ; worship 
 forbidden by Yahweh, 273 ; 
 resurrection asserted by Phari- 
 sees, 280-285; immortality 
 taught by Alexandrians, 285- 
 289; immortality taught by 
 Jesus, 293 ; see Soul 
 
 Spirits of Heaven and of Earth, 40 
 
 Sraddha, 143, 146 
 
 Stade, 10, 232 n., 235 
 
 State cult of dead, 115 
 
 Statues, see images 
 
 Steindorff, 161 n. 
 
 Sticks, moved by spirits, 5, 24 
 
 Stone, occupied by spirits, 2, 5, 22, 
 66, 75, 203, 209, 273; see 
 Gravestone, Spirits occupy ob- 
 jects 
 
 Strabo, 122 
 
 Streck, 226 
 
 Sub-conscious, 6 
 
 Substitutes for offerings in graves, 
 
 44, 47, 49 f-> 134 f-i 158, 189- 
 
 192 
 Succubi, 90 
 Suetonius, 88 n. 
 Suicides, 237; of wives, 47; burial 
 
 refused, 94 
 
INDEX 
 
 323 
 
 Sulla, 126 
 
 Sumerians, 211, 214, 215, 230 
 
 Sun, 67, 171 ; descends into Under- 
 world, 169 f., 174, 216, 242; 
 rising type of resurrection, 173 
 
 Superi, 141 
 
 Swearing by the dead, 202 
 
 Swedes, 65 
 
 Sweeping out of spirits, 150 
 
 Swine, possessed by spirits, 227; 
 for sacrifices, 79, 137 
 
 Swoons, 3, 17 
 
 Tablet, ancestral, 22, 23, 37, 39, 42, 
 
 44, 45, 46, 49, 52, 55, 56; of 
 
 Heaven, 52 
 Tabu, see Corpse, Death, Mourn- 
 ing, Uncleanness 
 Tacitus, 128 
 Ta-hsioh, 17 
 Talisman, 5 
 Talks of Confucius, 19 
 Talmud, 284 
 Target practice, 54 
 Tartarus, 101, 111-113 
 Tarquinius Priscus, 84 
 Tattooing for the dead, 11, 249 
 Telepathy, 6, 82 
 Telesthesia, 6, 82 
 Tell el-Amarna Letters, 175 
 Temple, ancestral, 42 f., 46, 49, 52, 
 
 55, 187, 189, 194 f. 
 Ten-day feast after cremation, 143 
 Tennyson, no 
 Teraphim, 235 
 Tertullian, 81, 94, 104 
 Teti, 173 
 Tetisheri, 197 
 Teutons, 65, 85, 90, 104, 107, in, 
 
 126, 127, 128, 129, 130, 131, 
 
 134, 136, 139, 145, 147 
 Theoklymenos, 82 
 Theos, 71 
 Theseus, 103 
 Thesprotia, 80 
 Thinite dynasties, 152, 178 
 Third day after burial, 142-145 
 Thirtieth day after burial, 145 
 Thompson, 202 n., 203 n., 204 n., 
 
 205 n., 212 n., 213 n., 226 n., 
 
 227 n., 228 n., 229 n. 
 Thoth, 158 
 
 Thought-transference, 6 
 Thumos, 70 
 Thunder-god, 67 
 Thureau-Dangin, 224 n. 
 
 Thurlow, E. K., ix 
 
 Thurston, E., 86 n. 
 
 Thutmose, III, 179; IV, 180 
 
 Thuya, 191 
 
 T'ien, 39 
 
 Tiger, 24 
 
 Ti'u, 213 
 
 Tiy, 191 
 
 Toilet articles for the dead, 133, 
 
 189, 224 
 Tola, 252 
 Tombs, 44 f., 131, 160, 165-169, 
 
 183-189, 197, 201, 224, 233, 
 
 239, 251, 254; destruction of, 
 
 168 f. ; repair of, 169, 177; 
 
 robbery of, 47, 165-170, 180, 
 
 187 f., 191, 193 f., 206 
 Tombstone, see Gravestone, Stone 
 Tools, 47, 167 
 Toothache worm, 213 
 Torannos, 67 
 Torge, 232 n. 
 Torquatus, 103 
 Tortoise-shell, 22, 25 
 Totemism, 5 
 Towers of Silence, 86 
 Toys in children's graves, 135 
 Translation of men, 219, 244 
 Transmigration, 98, 162 f. 
 Treasures in graves, 47, 53, 131, 
 
 132, 133, 180, 189, 193, 254; 
 
 see Jewelry, Ornaments, Gold 
 Trees, 76, 261 
 Trench, sacrificial, 73, 105 f., 141 
 
 151, 261 f. 
 Tronis, 140 
 Trophonius, 97 
 Tso-chuan, 17 
 
 Tubes into graves, 72, 140 
 Tullus, 103 
 
 Tumuli, 45, 130, 184; see Mound 
 Twentieth day after burial, 143, 
 
 145 
 
 Ulysses, 7, 105 f. ; see Odysseus 
 
 Unburied dead, 8, 27, 36, 85 f., 
 93 f., 203 f., 206, 212, 220, 238, 
 245; see Burial 
 
 Unclean, see Corpse, Death, Dis- 
 ease, Grave, Mourning 
 
 Underworld, abode of spirits, 74, 
 80, 83, 104-107, 123, 125, 137, 
 169-172, 241; see Dewat, 
 Hades, Hell, Orcus, Sheol 
 
 Uni, 182 
 
 Unis, 166, 174, 187 
 
324 
 
 INDEX 
 
 Unnatural deaths, 203, 212 
 
 Untimely deaths, 4, 85 f., 204 
 
 Upanishads, 60 
 
 Ur, dynasty of, 223 
 
 Ur-Engur, 223 f. 
 
 Urim and Thummim, 260 
 
 Usener, H., 68 n., 98 n., 123 
 
 Ushebtis, 191 f. 
 
 Utensils, 12 
 
 Ut-napishtim, 216 f., 219 
 
 Utukku, 202 
 
 Valerius Maximus, 92, 102, 106 
 
 Valhalla, 109, in 
 
 Valkyries, 74, in 
 
 Vampires, 212 
 
 Varuna, 62 
 
 Vases, decorated, 135 
 
 Vatinius, 151 
 
 Vedas, 69, 90, 98, 107, 114, 123, 126, 
 
 138 
 Vegetables, 53 
 Vergil, 76, 81, 83, 97, 106 
 Veselovskij, A. N., 109 
 Vessels in graves, 47, 133-135, 224, 
 
 251 ; broken for the dead, 209, 
 
 251 
 Vielona, 109, 147 
 Violent deaths, 85, 86, 204 
 Volves, 85 
 
 Wail, 209 ; see Lament 
 
 Wake, 120 
 
 Warren, 215 
 
 Water for dead, 13, 53, 90, 120, 
 137 f., 140, 143 f., 166, 197, 
 199, 206, 209, 220, 225 f., 
 230 f. ; poured out at death, 
 116; sprinkled on dying, 116, 
 222; holy, 222; of life, 159, 
 219 f., 222, 287; of death, 217, 
 242 
 
 Weapons for the dead, 12, 27, 47, 
 66, 119, 131, 133, i35» 189, 224, 
 251 
 
 Weicker, G., 95 n., 217 n. 
 
 Wellhausen, 202, 203 n., 205 n., 
 206 n., 207 n., 208 n., 209 n. 
 
 Welsh, 64, 106, no 
 
 Wen, 21, 37, 38, 42, 51 
 
 Wends, 62, 133 f. 
 
 Weshptah, 182 
 
 West = Underworld, 157, 170 f., 
 183, 196, 216 f., 241 
 
 Westerners, name for Dead, 170 f., 
 183 
 
 Westminster Confession, 297 f. 
 White Russians, 62 f., 114 f., 119, 
 
 133, 142, 144, 145, 148 f., 150 
 Wild animals for the dead, 199 
 Wilde, Lady, 104 n. 
 Wilkenson, 181 
 Winckler, H., 61 
 Wind, name of spirit, 201, 202, 205, 
 
 233, 270; spirits manifested in, 
 
 . 74 
 Window, opened at death, 116 
 Wine for dead, 13, 52, 73, 79, 
 
 137 f., 140, 189, 199 
 Wisdom, Book of, 285, 295 
 Wissowa, W., 97 n. 
 Witches, 151 
 Wives buried with husbands, 47, 
 
 49, 131-134, 189 f. ; in other 
 
 world, 47, 49, 131-134, 157, 
 
 189 
 Woden, 74 
 
 Wolves, possessed by spirits, 25, 98 
 Women as mediums, 29-35, 2 59 
 Words, magic power, 230 
 Worship, see Cult 
 Writing by mediums, 32 
 Written records in graves, 224 
 Wu, Emperor, 29, 51, 53, 57; 
 
 medium, 29, 42, 59 
 
 Xenophon, 125 
 
 Yahweh, causes disease, 236; sends 
 evil spirit, 236; causes inspira- 
 tion, 236; brings up from 
 Sheol, 246 ; punishes dead 
 through children, 255, 267; at- 
 titude toward spirits, 257; 
 retribution limited to this 
 life, 265; breath in man, 270; 
 delivers from Sheol, 286; for- 
 bids cult of the dead, 252 f., 
 254, 256, 258-263 ; appropri- 
 ated functions of spirits, 
 259 f. ; absorbed the spirits, 
 260; took cult of dead, 260- 
 262; tolerated mourning, 
 262 f . ; did not rule in Sheol, 
 262 f., not worshipped in 
 Sheol, 264; no retribution in 
 Sheol, 265; dealt with men 
 collectively, 265-267, 276; 
 righteousness in Prophets, 
 269; forbade cult of dead, 
 273; forbade mourning, 273 f. ; 
 the only god for the Prophets, 
 
INDEX 
 
 325 
 
 269; power extended to Sheol, 
 274 f . ; raises the dead, 281- 
 285 
 
 Yama, 78, 107 f., 123, 144 
 
 Yang, principle of universe, 38, 59 
 
 Yang, sacrifice, 58 
 
 Yao, 16, 49 
 
 Yarrow, 23 
 
 Y'hiv, 156 
 
 Yidde'oni, 236 
 
 Yih-king, 16, 2$ 
 
 Yima l 108 f. 
 
 Yin, 38, 52, 59 
 Yii, 23, 50 
 Yule-log, 147 
 Yuya, 191 
 
 Zadok, 277 
 Zau, 167, 179 
 Zend, 60 
 Ziggurat, 184 
 Zimmern, 215 
 Zoroaster, 60 
 Zoser, 176, 184 
 
n 
 
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