CHAPTER XIII.

MUMMIFICATION— TRANSMIGRATION— RE-INCARNATION.
(bTHE
HE natural tenderness felt by men for the bodies of those endeared eJ_|_ to them, as well as the necessity of putting away from sight, or contact, objects which rapidly become offensive, in all ages has led to some disposition of the dead, by which these ends could be effected. Funeral rites have, in all ages, been interwoven with and consecrated by ceremonies. Portions of these rites have often survived the peo- ple and the religion to which they owed their origin. The Masonic student seeking for " More Light " is continually discovering the intimate relation between the manners and customs of the pagan philoso- phers of a prehistoric age and those practiced in the present day by the Christian Churches throughout the world universal.
The poet Virgil speaks of a peculiar mythological doctrine which declares that unless dust is sprinkled three times on a dead bod}-, the soul, which had left its earthly temple, must wander for a thousand years on this side of the river Styx before Charon would admit him to his mysterious bark and ferry him to the gates of Hades. In the Christian Churches this peculiar ceremony is still performed at the burial of our dead, and the three-fold sprinkling upon the coffin, accompanied by the Avords, " Dust to dust, ashes to ashes," is most assuredly a custom that we have adopted from the pagan philosophers in a far-away past, long centuries before the Christian era had dawned, or Christ came upon the earth.
Four methods iu times past have been employed in different countries for the disposition of the dead, which were as follows : Incin- eration, Mummification, Exposure, and Interment. I will describe these methods so that you may be enabled to have a general idea regarding the manner of disposing of the dead by various nations, and shall speak of them from my own personal observations throughout
294 EGYPT, THE CRADLE OF ANCIENT MASONRY.
the world, obtained from the most reliable information and from various authorities.
The Hebrews generally buried their dead in cemeteries invariably situated outside the walls of their cities ; yet, from a passage in Isaiah,