Selected quad for the lemma: death_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
death_n	body_n	soul_n	unite_v	4,194	5	9.8657	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A36827	A new voyage to the Levant containing an account of the most remarkable curiosities in Germany, France, Italy, Malta, and Turkey : with historical observations relating to the present and ancient state of those countries / by the Sieur du Mont ; done into English, and adorn'd with figures.; Nouveau voyage du Levant. English	Dumont, Jean, baron de Carlscroon, 1667-1727.	1696 (1696)	Wing D2526; ESTC R9818	264,606	436

the second Prophet whose Dispensation was to continue till the coming of JESUS CHRIST whom they call the Breath of God acknowledging that he was Conceiv'd by Divine Operation in the Womb of his Mother who remain'd a Virgin even after his Birth He alter'd and reform'd the Law according to the Power with which God had entrusted him and for that reason incurr'd the hatred of the Jews who sought to put him to Death and hir'd the Traytor Judas to betray him But when he came to the Oliv●-Garden they were seiz'd with so strange an Illusion that they Crucifi'd Judas instead of his Master who was in the mean time translated to Heaven where he remains with the two former Prophets They say this Opinion serves much better to display the Glory of CHRIST than the Christian Doctrine and brand us with Folly and Impiety for believing that He whom we adore as God was shamefully Crucify'd The very sight of a Crucifix fills 'em with Anger and Rage pretending that 't is a horrid Injury to CHRIST to represent him in a State of Ignominy and Suffering They believe also that He will come to judge the World at the last Day but that He will first Reign upon the Earth and Marry and beget Children They affirm that He was a Holy Man and a chosen Vessel but they will not be perswaded to acknowledge a Trinity of Persons in the Godhead saying That such an Opinion wou'd absolutely destroy the Unity of that Sovereign Being without which He cou'd not be GOD. CHRIST was succeeded by Mahomet after whom there shall come no other Prophet ' Twou'd be an endless Task to reckon up all the Glorious Titles they bestow upon him They differ not much from us in their Opinions concerning the Divine Attributes Only they have such a peculiar Fondness for Predestination that they extend it even to the most Indifferent Actions yet with some Limitations and Circumstances which 't wou'd be very difficult to explain and which they themselves do not well understand Thus they are firmly perswaded that under the Reign of such an Emperor the State will infallibly and perpetually have either a disast'rous or happy Fate And 't is this Persuasion that makes 'em so inclinable to dethrone their Sultans They believe that there is an infinite number of Angels some Good and others Bad. The first are call'd White and the others Black Angels or Devils They imagine that every Man has two Angels that attend him continually and that one of 'em writes down all his Good and the other all his Bad Actions They address their Prayers to the Black Angels as well as to the White that they may secure the Friendship both of the Inhabitants of Paradice and Hell tho' in their Opinion the Souls of the Damn'd enter not into the last of these Places till the Day of Judgment For 't is an Article of the Turkish Faith that the Spirits of the Wicked remain in their Graves where they are tormented by the Black Angels till the last Day when they shall be sent to Hell together with their Bodies and suffer very cruel Punishments for the space of One or Two Thousand Years according to the Crimes they committed in this Life after which they shall be releas'd and admitted into Paradice where they shall enjoy the same Happiness that is appointed for the Souls of Good Men. They think 't is inconsistent with the Divine Goodness and blame us for believing that GOD will punish a Man Eternally for the Offences of so short a Life Yet since they are extremely afraid of Hell they pray very devoutly to the Black Angels that they wou'd be pleas'd not to write down all their Ill Actions Since you will doubtless look upon their Opinion of the Soul 's resting in the Grave after Death to be very Absurd and Ridiculous I shall endeavour to give you a clearer Idea of their Thoughts on that Subject They differ from us in the account they give of the manner how the Soul Informs and Animates the Body For whereas we believe that these two Substances are Hypostatically united and that Death consists in their Separation they imagine that the Soul and Body have no dependance on one another and that the absence of the Spirit which for Example may take a Journey to Paradice is not necessarily attended with the Destruction of the Corporeal Machine tho' they acknowledge that the Body is always depriv'd of Reason during its Separation from the Soul Thus they believe that the only reason why a Fool or Ideot acts and speaks absurdly is because his Soul and consequently his Reason has forsaken him As for Lunatic and Hypochondriacal Persons who have some lucid Intervals and are only depriv'd of their Reason by Fits they endeavour to solve the Difficulty by maintaining that the Soul leaves her Mansion at certain times and returns again after a short Absence And this they say is an effect of Providence either for the Punishment of the Distemper'd Person or for some other hidden Design When a Christian tells 'em that these Fits of Madness proceed from the Disorder and Indisposition of the Organs which hinders the Soul from performing her Functions they upbraid him with the absurdity of his Opinion for say they the Soul of Man is a Spirit and therefore cannot be stopt or obstructed in the exercise of her Faculties by Matter which is a Substance of another and absolutely different Nature From this Principle they infer that neither the Presence nor Absence of the Soul can produce any alteration in the Machinal course of the Body which is only mov'd by Springs And that when one of the principal Springs fails or is spoil'd the Soul cannot prevent the Ruine of the whole Engine This they pretend is an obvious Truth and confirm'd by daily Experience And therefore we must not be surpriz'd that a dead Body neither Walks Breathes nor performs any Operation tho' the Soul be still lodg'd in it For since she is not the Author of the Machine which she Inhabits 't is beyond her Power either to keep it entire or to repair it after it falls to decay GOD alone who made and contriv'd it can restore it and renew its motion as he will do at the last Day To confirm this Hypothesis they cite with a great deal of Confidence what Pliny relates of a Man whose Soul and Body were wont to be separated every day so that the Body remain'd without any appearance of Life or Motion till the return of the Soul which afterwards us'd to give an Account of all the wonderful things she had seen in the remotest Countries This you know is one of that Author 's fabulous Stories and yet the Turks pretend to draw from thence an evident and irrefutable Proof of their Opinion Besides they give the Soul a Figure exactly like that of the Body and upon this Principle maintain that the Souls of the Damned are beaten in the Grave and suffer Torments

Subject you must e'en be content to read it Besides the ordinary Dogs that wander about the Streets there are others call'd Jaccals or Chacaly that run in the Fields where they make a hideous noise every Night They do not Bark like other Dogs but have a kind of sharp or yelling Cry peculiar to themselves Now if you 'll believe the Turks the Chacaly or Wild-Dogs in ancient Times Inhabited the Cities and the other Dogs liv'd in the Fields They were perpetual and irreconcilable Enemies to each other and fought many bloody Battles in one of which the Chacaly were Victorious and the Forces of the Dogs were so shatter'd that they were oblig'd to beg a Peace which was granted by their Generous Enemies on these favourable Terms That the Dogs might stay in the City till their Wounds were heal'd during which time the Chacaly shou'd retire to the Country but that afterwards both Parties shou'd return to their former Habitations These Conditions were punctually perform'd by the Chacaly but the Dogs growing lusty and strong resolv'd to maintain their Post and have ever since remain'd in the City 'T is the remembrance of this Injury that makes the Chacaly call to the Dogs every Night in their yelling Language and summon 'em to resign a Place which they usurp'd so unjustly and they answer as they Bark crying still Yock Yock which in the Turkish Language signifies No no. But instead of insisting longer on these insipid Fables I shall return to the Turkish Religion which is little less absurd and ridiculous They are so besotted with their Conceits about Predestination that they use no manner of precaution to preserve themselves from Infectious Distempers and are offended at the Christians for taking care of their Health on such occasions A Frenchman told me the other Day that during the time of a very violent Contagion he perceiv'd at a distance some Turks in the Street who were carrying the Body of a Man that dy'd of the Plague to his Grave As he was turning another way on purpose to avoid meeting 'em one of the Company ran after him and clasp'd him in his Arms rubbing his Body upon him several times after which opening his Vest and showing him a large Plague-Sore under his right Pap Learn said he not to forsake dead and dying Men. And indeed if we reflect seriously on the little care they take to stop that raging Disease we may reasonably conclude that none of 'em cou'd escape without a kind of Miracle if the Distemper were as Contagious as 't is generally thought to be For they never avoid the Converse of those who come from an infected Place and there are few Ports where there are not some Vessels that left the Plague reigning in the Towns from whence they came Yet this neglect of the Cautions us'd by other Nations on such occasions is never attended with the least ill-consequence unless when the disposition of the Air has a sort of natural tendency to promote and spread the Contagion for then it bursts forth impetuously like Gun-Powder set on Fire But this is not the Opinion of the Turks for they absolutely deny that the Infection depends either on the Constitution of the Air or of humane Bodies pretending that it proceeds wholly from a supernatural Cause and that when GOD designs to execute the fury of his Vengeance on obstinate Sinners he sends an Army of black Angels to destroy ' em They add that every Angel receives of Bow and two sorts of Arrows to inflict either Death or Sickness with orders to shoot their mortal Arrows at those whom they find under the Power of Sin and to direct the others at such who are only tainted with some Pollution 'T is then that Men stand most in need of the Protection of their White Angels who intercede for 'em and do what they can toward the Blows that are aim'd against 'em sometimes covering a Man entirely when they perceive a great number of Enemies ready to attack him Yet notwithstanding all their Care their Assistance proves oftentimes ineffectual and therefore 't is the Interest of every Man that regards his own Safety to secure himself against the Vengeance of those destroying Spirits by leading a sinless Life The Turks pretend that they infallibly perceive the Blow when the Arrow pierces 'em And even some Franks who have been two or three times seiz'd with the Plague assure me that they felt a certain Pricking in the place where the Carbuncles break forth which is not at all improbable since 't is usual for such a troublesome Sensation to accompany all sorts of Tumors But to conclude this Subject with my Letter I shall only add that the Plague which rages so often in these Oriental Countries and sweeps away such vast numbers of the Inhabitants is in some measure necessary for their Preservation For the number of the People is augmented Yearly by at least a fifth Part and you will be the less inclin'd to look upon this as a Paradox if you consider that they are allow'd to marry four Wives and to keep several Concubines and that there are 50000 Slaves brought every Year into Turkey So that the Country wou'd be quickly over-stock'd with Inhabitants and in all probability the People wou'd be in danger of Starving if their numbers were not lessen'd by Pestilential Distempers And notwithstanding the terrible Havock it makes the Land is still so full of People that a Man wou'd think their own Interest shou'd make 'em forbid the Exportation of Corn especially since they have none to spare I am SIR Your c. Smyrna May 1691. LETTER XXI SIR I Proceed now to give you an account of the Manners and Customs of the Turks which you may remember was the last of the three Subjects I undertook to Discourse of I told you once before and I shall take this occasion to repeat it as an undoubted Truth that they are opposite to us almost in every thing And this Opposition appears in nothing more plainly than in their obstinate adhering to their ancient Customs In our Country we are never at rest till we have Invented some new fashion and Beauty it self wou'd hardly please us without the Charms of Novelty Hence the Turks accuse the Franks of Fickleness and Inconstancy and boast of their own strength of Mind that fixes steddily on solid Enjoyments without deigning to take notice of Trifles I confess I was at first somewhat surpriz'd at the difference I observ'd between their Temper and ours but after I had taken all possible care to free my self of those Prejudices that are wont in such cases to put a biass upon the Judgment and seriously consider'd the Genius of that Nation I found that what they call Strength of Mind Constancy or Solidity is at the bottom nothing else but a pure insensibility and a Weakness that is altogether inexcusable in any reasonable Creature And you will certainly be of the same Opinion when I have

which is expos'd there and even pay five hundred Piasters to the Turks that they may be suffer'd to perform their Devotions there on that Occasion So true it is that they are not willing to be separated from the Church of Rome You may depend upon the Certainty of this Story for I can assure you of the Truth of it on the Faith of an Eye-Witness They have a great Number of Images and their Devotion to 'em is not at all inferior to that which prevails in the Church of Rome But I must confess there is a great Difference in the Structure and Workmanship of the Images for whereas in our Country they may for the most part be reckon'd so many Master-pieces of Art whether we consider the Regularity of the Design the Disposition of the Lights and Shades or the Beauty of the Colours The Greeks are of Opinion and scruple not to say that the Pictures of the Saints as they are represented in the Roman Churches are more proper to raise Criminal Desires than to inspire the Minds of the Spectators with Devotion And therefore to avoid the dangerous Consequences of that Abuse they confine themselves to a certain Antick way of Painting which is extremely unnatural especially in their Figures of Virgins who are almost all represented black and so muffled up in Kerchiefs and Gowns that you can scarce distinguish their Faces And their Painters are so ignorant and so little acquainted with the Beauties of the Art they profess that they cannot so much as copy a Head Nor am I at all surpriz'd at the Unskillfulness of these pretended Artists for their Method is directly opposite to that of our Painters First they lay on the Shades and design the entire Figure after which they proceed to the Disposition of the Light which is the most preposterous Method cou'd be imagin'd The Armenians are not so scrupulous in this Point tho' they profess almost the same Articles of Faith for they make use of the modern way of Painting and there is at present on their High Altar an Image of the Virgin made by a French-man which shews so much of her Breasts that I shou'd be almost Jealous if my Mistress were painted after that Manner Nevertheless you must not suspect them of Libertinism for I never heard of any Religious Order except the Monks of Trape that observe such mortifying Fasts They keep four Lents which lasts one half of the Year like those that are observ'd by the Greeks But the Armen●●ns do not allow themselves so much Liberty as the 〈◊〉 of their Fellow Christians for they abstain from eating Flesh Fish and even Shell-Fish Butter Milk Cheese and every thing that has or ever had Life which may be justly reckon'd a very severe piece of Mortification Their Bishop has put himself under the Protection of France to deliver himself from the insupportable Exactions of the Turks and 't is but a very little while ago since he was freed from Prison where he had lain six Months He is a very honest and civil Person and diligent in performing the Duties of his Function His Habit is almost the same with that of the Greek Bishop only he wears a Hood or Cawle at the Neck of his Gown and carries in his Hand a Cross like that which is us'd by the Roman Bishops only 't is made of Wood. This puts me in Mind of what a certain Author said concerning the Ancients That they were Golden Bishops tho' they wore Wooden Crosses and I may safely venture to apply that Saying to this Prelate To return to the Greeks I had almost forgot to take Notice of one of their Opinions in which they differ from those of the Romish Persuasion You have doubtless observ'd that the Romanists have an extreme Veneration for those Persons whose Bodies remain free from Putrefaction after their Death and that the Incorruption of the Body is reckon'd a convincing Mark of the Holiness of the Deceas'd and is one of the most considerable Proofs that can be offer'd for the Canonization of the Saint whereas the Greeks pretend that 't is only an Effect of Excommunication and when they find a Body in that Condition they never leave praying for the Soul of the dead Person till his Body be putrefy'd and corrupted The Interrment of dead Bodies is perform'd with almost the same Ceremonies that are observ'd in the Church of Rome All the Clergy meet together and sing the de profundis and Prayers for the Soul of the Deceas'd Several Persons march before with lighted Candles after whom the Body is carry'd in an open Coffin drest in its finest Clothes with a little Cotton in its Mouth so that oftentimes the Person seems to be alive Then comes the Husband or Wife accompany'd with the Children and Slaves of the Deceas'd all bellowing out their Grief in so dismal and terrible a Manner that one wou'd conclude they thought themselves irrecoverably ruin'd The Women especially signalize their Love by all the wildest Marks of Despair tossing their Bodies so furiously from side to side that they wou'd certainly break their Necks if they were not supported by two Persons who are appointed to attend ' em Their usual Song is Hai agamimont hai mathiamont Ab my Eyes ah my Love And the Slaves echo back the howling Musick with so hideous a Noise that one wou'd think they design'd to scare the Devil Those who have not a sufficient Number of Slaves to make a Noise sutable to the Quality of the Deceas'd may supply that Defect by hiring Weeping-Women who for an Jsallote which is worth about forty Pence howl and cry as if they were acted by the most furious Transports of Rage and Despair 'T is true the Frace is too gross and visible for there is something so moving in true Sorrow that it can never be counterfeited neither is it possible for the most dextrous Mimick to imitate the tender Motions of Nature And even when those pretended Mourners seem to be transported with Fury and Despair running about like Mad-Women with dishevell'd Hair the Artifice is easily discernible And particularly I observ'd that when they pretend to tear their Hair they hold it fast with one Hand near the Roots and then pull as hard as they can with the other To co●clude an unconcern'd Spectator wou'd be tempted to imagine that all this Mummery is acted in derision to the deceas'd for as soon as he is interr'd they make a Feast on his Grave at his own Charge and his Wife and Children take care that nothing be wanting to the Company who eat and drink and laugh as if they were carousing in a Tipling House This is certainly a very extravagant way of expressing their Affection to their dead Friends nor cou'd they treat a Man worse whose Memory they design'd to affront I have also had occasion to see the Funeral Solemnities of the Jews which in my Opinion are less inconsistent with the Rules of Decency for

pretend that he was poyson'd since there was not the least Mark of Poyson found in his Body which was open'd by his own Chirurgeon in the presence of his Chaplain Secretary and the rest of his Domestick Servants But tho' in all probability the French had no hand in this Gentleman's Death I dare not pronounce 'em guiltless of the Attempt that was made upon Count Marsigli who was assaulted near Belgrade in his return from Vienna with his Imperial Majesty's Answer His Chiaoux and two of his Servants were kill'd upon the Spot and he was wounded in five places both with Sabres and Pistols But before they had time to dispatch him the Prince of Moldavia came seasonably to his Assistance tho' he cou'd not seize the Murderers because they fled as soon as they perceiv'd him All these Circumstances and the Juncture of the Time make me very inclinable to believe that this Attempt was not made without a particular Order I took Occasion Yesterday to discourse concerning this Accident with the Consul de Hochepied whose Vertue makes him so incapable of Suspicion that he cannot believe the French wou'd be guilty of so Barbarous an Action and besides he is persuaded that the Murderers wou'd have seiz'd on the Count's Papers if they had been set on by the French But in my Opinion that Circumstance ought not to be alleg'd as an Argument in their Vindication for the seizing of the Papers wou'd have plainly discover'd the Authors of the Murder and we may reasonably suppose that tho' the French King takes no care to conceal the boundlesness of his Ambition he wou'd be loath to be reckon'd an Abettor of Murderers And besides he might well dispense with a Sight of the Emperor's Orders and Count Marsigli's Instructions since he entertains so many Spies at the Port who make it their Business to discover the most secret Transactions and had in all probability acquainted him with every thing that related to the Negotiation Thus Mr. Collier has had the Misfortune to see all his Hopes unexpectedly blasted and we may reasonably suppose that his Vexation is considerably heighten'd by the impossibility of regaining his Ground For Money is the prevailing Argument at the Port and the infallible Rule by which all Controversies are decided I cannot better represent the Genius of the Aga's Bassa's that Visiers that compose this Court than by comparing 'em to a Company of Merchants who wou'd sell the very State if they cou'd to the highest Bidder And the same Character may be universally apply'd to private Persons for Int'rest is the Idol to which they sacrifice their Quiet Honour Emperor and even the Empire it self This is the fatal Source of all those terrible Disorders and Revolutions of which we find so many Instances in History that wou'd seem altogether incredible if almost every Day did not furnish us with fresh Examples of ' em There is at present in this Place one of Count Tekely's Relations who came lately from France and 't is observable that he was not at all surpriz'd at the News of the unsuccessful Conclusion of the Treaty which makes us believe that he expected so sudden a Change and was not ignorant of the Causes of it He lodges at the Consul's House and is just ready to depart for Constantinople where 't is said he intends to lodge with Mon●ieur Chateauneuf I know not what Treatment he expects from the Ambassador but I 'm apt to believe he will not meet with a very Ceremonious Reception For when the Count himself paid a Visit to the Ambassador at Sophia he receiv'd him in his Bed and pretended a Fit of Sickness to avoid the Ceremony of a formal Reception for there were some Reasons that inclin'd him to receive the Count as Prince of Transilvania as there were others that oblig'd him to treat him only as Count Tekely The Triumph of a Christian that has renouned the Faith I had Occasion this very Day to see the Triumphant Procession of a Genoese Renegado who came hither in a Ship belonging to Provence Since the Cadi's are oblig'd by the Chartel not to receive a Christian that intends to abjure his Religion till they have first acquainted the Consul of his Nation who is to examine whether his Apostacy be voluntary or constrain'd the Cadi of the City sent to inform the French Consul that a Frank who came under the Banner of France was resolv'd to turn Musulman adding that he might send his Interpreters to examine the new Convert and re●eive his Declaration The Consul reply'd that he did not know the Man nor was at all concern'd with his Resolution but hearing that the Cavalcade was to pass by his Gate he sent Word to the Cadi that he wou'd take it as an Affront and order the Renegado to be seiz'd in the midst of his Triumph and chastis'd with five hundred Bastonado's Nevertheless he was so far from endeavouring to execute his Menaces that he suffer'd the whole Procession to pass under his Windows without making the least Attempt to disturb ●em I shall take this Occasion to give you a ●●ief Account of the Ceremonies that are us'd when a Christian intends to abjure his Religion First they instruct him in the Principles of the Mahometan Religion and after a whole Month spent in that Exercise they gather a Contribution to buy a Sute of Clothes for him which sometimes amounts to fifty Crowns but rarely exceeds that Summ and they commonly use Force when People are not willing to contribute out of Charity Then the Renegado is carry'd before the Cadi in whose Presence and of two Effendi's and several other Persons he makes a public Profession of his Faith with the following Ceremonies First an Isman makes him perform the Goul which is their most Solemn Ablution and as he begins to wash himself he pronounces these Words bis millah el azem ve ellem doullillah allah din is lam In the Name of the Great God Glory be to God the God of the Musulman Faith Then the Isman himself performs the Goul for they reckon themselves polluted by touching a Christian after which they both put on their Clothes and come before the Cadi who says to the Renegado Art thou willing to turn Musulman After he has reply'd Yes the Isman takes the Alcoran in both his Hands and holding it above the Christian's Head he says first bis millah in the Name of God then addressing himself to the Christian he proceeds thus Allah ecber allah ecber allah ecber eschad in la illah illallah eschad in Mebemet resoul allah which are almost the same Words that are proclaim'd by the Muezins from the Minarets or Steeples of the Mosquees The Renegado replies Illah illallah Mehemet resoul allah There is no other God and Mahomet is his great Prophet and as soon as he has made a public Profession of his Faith by pronouncing these Words they put a Turbant on his Head and make him kiss the Alcoran