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Often appears with: religious persecution and toleration · the fear of death · mourning and grief · justice as a virtue · conquest, plunder, and captives · fate, destiny, and necessity · plague, famine, and mass death · crime and punishment · equity, mercy, and pardon · custom and the manners of a people · myth and the gods of the nations · miracles and divine intervention
Usually: narrative (369) · confronting death (281) · detachment (191) · grief and loss (175) · lament (155) · reverence (105) · wonder (99) · curiosity (80) · argument (53) · indignation (47)
“Lo, I have seen the open hand of God; And in it nothing, nothing, save the rod Of mine affliction, and the eternal hate, Beyond all lands, chosen and lifted great For Troy! Vain, vain were prayer and incense-swell And bulls' blood on the altars!...” Euripides, The Trojan women of Euripides · insight
“Nor did I deem that thou, a mortal man, Could’st by a breath annul and override The immutable unwritten laws of Heaven.” Sophocles, Plays of Sophocles: Oedipus the King; Oedipus at Col · insight
“For that thou hast entombed a living soul, And sent below a denizen of earth, And wronged the nether gods by leaving here A corpse unlaved, unwept, unsepulchered.” Sophocles, Plays of Sophocles: Oedipus the King; Oedipus at Col · insight
“A witness that of ills whate’er befall Mortals’ unwisdom is the worst of all.” Sophocles, Plays of Sophocles: Oedipus the King; Oedipus at Col · precept
“But when he had his will in everything, And no desire was left unsatisfied, It thundered from the netherworld; the maids Shivered, and crouching at their father’s knees Wept, beat their breast and uttered a long wail.” Sophocles, Plays of Sophocles: Oedipus the King; Oedipus at Col · vivid
“The heartless and ghastly form of slavery rises between mother and child, even at the bed of death. The mother, at the verge of the grave, may not gather her children, to impart to them her holy admonitions, and invoke for them her dying benediction.” Frederick Douglass, My Bondage and My Freedom · vivid
“O Pallas! thou hast fail’d thy plighted word,\n To fight with caution, not to tempt the sword!” Virgil, The Aeneid · vivid
“The ghosts rejected are th’ unhappy crew Depriv’d of sepulchers and fun’ral due: The boatman, Charon; those, the buried host, He ferries over to the farther coast; Nor dares his transport vessel cross the waves With such whose bones are not compos’d in graves.” Virgil, The Aeneid · insight
“O mortals, blind in fate, who never know To bear high fortune, or endure the low!” Virgil, The Aeneid · insight
“For this, this only favour let me sue, If pity can to conquer’d foes be due: Refuse it not; but let my body have The last retreat of humankind, a grave.” Virgil, The Aeneid · precept
“Thee, gentle sir, chevalier nobly bred, / To the Glorious Celestial I commend; / Neer shall man be, that will Him serve so well;” Anonymous (Old French epic), The Song of Roland · precept
“Rollant, my friend, God lay thee mid the blooms / Of Paradise, among the glorious!” Anonymous (Old French epic), The Song of Roland · vivid
The narrative shifts within the Koran’s discourse: humans are created, tested, and judged; unbelievers mock revelation; Muhammad is told to be patient; then the text recounts Noah’s preaching, his Ark, and the flood’s destruction.
it with the substance of others shall have no increase from God:10 but whatever ye shall give in alms, as seeking the face of God, shall be doubled to you. It is God who created you-then fed you-then will cause you to die-then will make you alive. Is there any of your companion-gods who can do aught of these things? Praise be to Him! and far be He exalted above the gods they join with Him. Destruction hath appeared…
After repeating the narrator’s account of Muhammad’s claimed inspiration and alleged hallucinations, the passage quotes Qur’anic exhortations to repentance, forgiveness, trust in God, and detailed end-times scenes including the trumpet, courts of judgment, Hell’s gates, and Paradise’s gates.
The same said those who flourished before them; but their deeds profited them not. And their own ill deeds recoiled upon them. And whoso among these (Meccans) shall do wrong, on them likewise their own misdeeds shall light, neither shall they invalidate God. Know they not that God giveth supplies with open hand, and that He is sparing to whom He will? Of a truth herein are signs to those who believe. SAY: O my ser…
It begins with a commentary interjection, then presents Qur’an Sura VII: al-A’raf, including the creation of humanity and the command to prostrate to Adam, Satan’s refusal and expulsion, and warnings about records of deeds on the Day of Reckoning.
_______________________ 1 See note at Sura [xcvii.] iii. 18. This is one of the passages said to have originated with Zayd. 2 Not only seas, properly so called, but the great masses of fresh water in the Nile, Tigris, inland lakes, etc. 3 The Gospel. 4 This idea was probably suggested by Muhammad's reminiscences of the view from the Cave of Hira, to the north and west of which there is a prospect thus described by…
Continuing entries recount Major-general Harrison’s execution and the display of his body parts, Pepys’s viewing of sermons and royal interactions at Whitehall, and further hangings and quarterings at Charing Cross.
though he resigned the part of Othello to Hart. DAVIS'S DRAMATIC MISC.] by the same token, a very pretty lady that sat by me, called out, to see Desdemona smothered. 13th I went out to Charing Cross, to see Major-general Harrison hanged, drawn, and quartered; which was done there, he looking as cheerful as any man could do in that condition. [Thomas Harrison, son of a butcher at Newcastle-under-Line, appointed by C…
Pepys continues commentary on public praise and burial ceremonies for naval figures, describes the worsening plague statistics in London, and recounts court business with the Duke’s return from sea and political bustle at Whitehall.
a clerk, and the Alderman, and his son; and there was a little grandson also Richard, who will hereafter be Sir Richard Browne. My Lord Mayor very respectfull to me. 14th. I met with Mr. Cowling; who observed to me how he finds every body silent in the praise of my Lord Sandwich, to set up the Duke and the Prince; but that the Duke did both to the King and my Lord Chancellor write abundantly of my Lord's courage an…
During July 9-16, Pepys describes his wine cellar, discusses parish burial patterns amid plague, notes a solemn fast-day and high weekly deaths, manages a wedding shopping visit to Dagenham, and coaches the shy Philip Carteret’s courtship.
13th. Above 700 died of the plague this week. 14th. I by water to Sir G. Carteret's, and there find my Lady Sandwich buying things for my Lady Jem's wedding: and my Lady Jem is beyond expectation come to Dagenham's, [Dagenhams near Romford, now belonging to Sir Thomas Neave, Bart. This estate was devised by Mrs. Anne Rider, only surviving child of Sir Henry Wright, to her relative and friend Edward Carteret, Esq.…
From mid-January to early February, Pepys attends social and religious gatherings, instructs a young man in courtship manners, worries about plague-era burial practices, and tours to learn how widely sickness has spread.
to do; and it was agreed at last to have them go to church together, as the family used to do, though his lameness was a great objection against it. 16th (Lord's day). I up, having lain with Mr. Moore in the chaplin's chamber. And having trimmed myself, down to Mr. Carteret; and we walked in the gallery an hour or two, it being a most noble and pretty house that ever, for the bigness, I saw. Here I taught him what…
Pepys describes plague tolling bells and then, on 31st, delays waiting for transport to a wedding near Deptford, later reports plague deaths and proceeds with the ceremony and prayers.
30th. It was a sad noise to hear our bell to toll and ring so often to-day, either for death or burials: I think five or six times. 31st. Up; and very betimes by six o'clock at Deptford, and there find Sir G. Carteret, and my Lady ready to go: I being in my new coloured silk suit, and coat trimmed with gold buttons and gold broad lace round my hands, very rich and fine. By water to the Ferry, where, when we come,…
In August 1665 Pepys and others check weekly plague bills around Dagenhams, amid fears of sick neighbors, forced burials, and a frantic incident involving a plague-infected maid in a pest coach.
Lady do confess exceedingly, and the latter do also now call me cozen, which I am glad of. So God preserve us all friends long, and continue health among us. AUGUST 3, 1665. To Dagenhams. All the way people, citizens, walking to and fro, enquire how the plague is in the City this week by the Bill; which by chance, at Greenwich, I had heard was 2020 of the plague, and 3000 and odd of all diseases. By and by met my…
Pepys reports escalating plague in London with empty streets and massive death tolls, updates his will, describes people carrying corpses by day, and notes deaths near Deptford, Woolwich, and Court.
over anew my will, which I had bound myself by oath to dispatch by tomorrow night; the town growing so unhealthy, that a man cannot depend upon living two days. 12th. The people die so, that now it seems they are fain to carry the dead to be buried by day-light, the nights not sufficing to do it in. And my Lord Mayor commands people to be within at nine at night all, as they say, that the sick may have liberty to …
After a night at Windsor’s Carteret chamber, Pepys surveys the surroundings, travels by water at night fearing plague corpses, and observes coffins and unburied plague bodies watched by guards.
So to sleep; being very well, but weary, and, the better by having carried with me a bottle of strong water; whereof now and then a sip did me good. 20th. I up and to walk forth to see the place; and I find it to be a very noble seat in a noble forest, with the noblest prospect towards Windsor, and round about over many countys, that can be desired; but otherwise a very melancholy place, and little variety save onl…
Pepys and his wife attend Polichinello at Moorfields, then on Sunday learn of the Great Fire starting in Pudding Lane; Pepys observes destruction from the Tower and the river, including St. Magnes Church and Fish Street.
were there horribly frighted to see Young Killigrew come in with a great many more young sparks; but we hid ourselves, so as we think they did not see us. 2nd (Lord's day). Some of our maids sitting up late last night to get things ready against our feast to-day, Jane called us up about three in the morning, to tell us of a great fire they saw in the City. So I rose, and slipped on my night-gown, and went to her wind…
Pepys learns his mother died and repeats her last words, then notes the planned sentence in his maritime prize case and later buys periwigs, inspects a repaired French gun, and remarks on planned street building.
of work, and truly wrought; but for certain not a thing to be used much with safety: and he do find that this very gun was never yet shot off. 30th. To see the silly play of my Lady Newcastle's, [Margaret, daughter of Thomas Lucas of Colchester, and sister to John Lord Lucas, married William Marquis of Newcastle, created a Duke 1664.] called "The Humourous Lovers;" the most silly thing that ever came upon a stage.…
After recovering the gold up to about the correct total, Pepys rides back to London safely, learns Sir William Batten’s burial, and records Parliament’s response to the King’s speech and worries about calling Lord Sandwich home.
by this time it was past two in the morning; and so to bed, and there lay in some disquiet all night telling of the clock till it was day-light. 11th. And then W. Hewer and I, with pails and a sieve, did lock ourselves into the garden, and there gather all the earth about the place into pails, and then sift those pails in one of the summer-houses (just as they do for dyamonds in other parts of the world); and there…
Pepys travels from Salisbury toward Hungerford, then night-arrives at Old Sarum and sleeps at the George Inn, paying hospitality and giving money to the poor along the way.
where had been a fair of custard; and met many people and scholars going home; and there did get some pretty good musick, and sang and danced till supper: 5s. 10th. Wednesday. Up, and walked to the hospitall: very large and fine, and pictures of founders and the History of the hospitall; and is said to be worth 700l. per annum, and that Mr. Foly was here lately to see how their lands were settled. And here, in o…
In late February Pepys attends Bartholomew Fair with the King and Queen at Whitehall, later visits Westminster Abbey on Shrove Tuesday to see Queen Katherine of Valois’ body, and criticizes several new or revived plays.
service's sake, and the Duke of York's, and will propound it to the Duke of York: and I confess, if there be one, I would be glad to be in. 22nd. In the evening to White Hall, and there did without much trouble get into the playhouse, finding a good place among the Ladies of Honour, and all of us sitting in the pit; and then by and by came the King and Queene, and they began "Bartholomew- fair." But I like no play …
On January 8th Pepys attends Peter Gunning again, visits family due to lack of coal, hears of Mr. Palmer’s death and burial at Westminster, and on January 9th wrestles with borrowed-money repayment worries while observing parliamentary political disputes.
us, and in the choosing, Pall was Queen and Mr. Stradwick was King. After that my wife and I bid adieu and came home, it being still a great frost. 7th. At my office as I was receiving money of the probate of wills, in came Mrs. Turner, Theoph., Madame Morrice, and Joyce, and after I had done I took them home to my house and Mr. Hawly came after, and I got a dish of steaks and a rabbit for them, while they were pla…
In winter Athens holds a public funeral for the first war dead, laying bones out in tents by tribe, using cypress coffins and a bier for the missing, and Pericles delivers the introductory remarks of his funeral oration.
Cranian territory, and losing some men by the treachery of the Cranians, who fell suddenly upon them after having agreed to treat, put to sea somewhat hurriedly and returned home. In the same winter the Athenians gave a funeral at the public cost to those who had first fallen in this war. It was a custom of their ancestors, and the manner of it is as follows. Three days before the ceremony, the bones of the dead are…
Pericles urges the survivors to remain steadfast, to see Athens daily and commit their best service to the city, framing honour, freedom, and collective burial as lasting glory.
only from dishonour, but met danger face to face, and after one brief moment, while at the summit of their fortune, escaped, not from their fear, but from their glory. “So died these men as became Athenians. You, their survivors, must determine to have as unfaltering a resolution in the field, though you may pray that it may have a happier issue. And not contented with ideas derived only from words of the advantages…
The victors bury Brasidas at public expense and honor him as a hero at Amphipolis, return fallen Athenians to Athens, and then Thucydides narrates subsequent reinforcements, winter movements, and the move toward peace.
of the victory of his troops, and not long after expired. The rest of the army returning with Clearidas from the pursuit stripped the dead and set up a trophy. After this all the allies attended in arms and buried Brasidas at the public expense in the city, in front of what is now the marketplace, and the Amphipolitans, having enclosed his tomb, ever afterwards sacrifice to him as a hero and have given to him the ho…
After the battle the Athenians burn the dead on a pyre, return about 260 dead under truce, gather bones and sail to Catana, while Syracusans burn their dead and appoint Hermocrates and other generals to improve discipline.
even sent a garrison of their own citizens to the Olympieum, fearing that the Athenians might lay hands on some of the treasures there. The rest returned to the town. The Athenians, however, did not go to the temple, but collected their dead and laid them upon a pyre, and passed the night upon the field. The next day they gave the enemy back their dead under truce, to the number of about two hundred and sixty, Syrac…
Odysseus receives Nausicaa’s farewell plea for remembrance, washes for supper, honors Demodocus with a pork portion, and asks the bard to sing about the wooden horse and Troy’s fall.
to the lid yourself, and have the whole bound round at once, for fear any one should rob you by the way when you are asleep in your ship.” 72 When Ulysses heard this he put the lid on the chest and made it fast with a bond that Circe had taught him. He had done so before an upper servant told him to come to the bath and wash himself. He was very glad of a warm bath, for he had had no one to wait upon him ever since …
Elpenor tells Odysseus he died from a drunken fall from Circe’s roof and asks to be burned, buried on the sea shore, and marked with his oar, as Odysseus later consults ghosts over Teiresias’s prophecy about Neptune’s grudge.
I saw him: ‘Elpenor,’ said I, ‘how did you come down here into this gloom and darkness? You have got here on foot quicker than I have with my ship.’ “‘Sir,’ he answered with a groan, ‘it was all bad luck, and my own unspeakable drunkenness. I was lying asleep on the top of Circe’s house, and never thought of coming down again by the great staircase but fell right off the roof and broke my neck, so my soul came down …
Odysseus asks his mother Anticlea how she died and her condition in Hades, learns she died from longing for him rather than illness, cannot be embraced, and is urged to return and report what he sees.
doing, and in what mind she is; does she live with my son and guard my estate securely, or has she made the best match she could and married again?’ “My mother answered, ‘Your wife still remains in your house, but she is in great distress of mind and spends her whole time in tears both night and day. No one as yet has got possession of your fine property, and Telemachus still holds your lands undisturbed. He has to …
After clearing Oceanus, Ulysses reaches Circe’s Aeaean island, retrieves Elpenor’s body, performs funeral rites, feasts, and Circe warns them about Sirens, ordering waxed ears for the crew and binding Ulysses to hear.
THE SIRENS, SCYLLA AND CHARYBDIS, THE CATTLE OF THE SUN. “After we were clear of the river Oceanus, and had got out into the open sea, we went on till we reached the Aeaean island where there is dawn and sun-rise as in other places. We then drew our ship on to the sands and got out of her on to the shore, where we went to sleep and waited till day should break. “Then, when the child of morning, rosy-fingered Dawn, …
Hermes guides the dead suitors’ ghosts into Hades through Oceanus to the asphodel meadow, where Odysseus’ victims meet Achilles, Agamemnon, and others and converse in lament about their deaths and proper burial.
THE GHOSTS OF THE SUITORS IN HADES—ULYSSES AND HIS MEN GO TO THE HOUSE OF LAERTES—THE PEOPLE OF ITHACA COME OUT TO ATTACK ULYSSES, BUT MINERVA CONCLUDES A PEACE. Then Mercury of Cyllene summoned the ghosts of the suitors, and in his hand he held the fair golden wand with which he seals men’s eyes in sleep or wakes them just as he pleases; with this he roused the ghosts and led them, while they followed whining and g…
Agamemnon and Achilles recount the lavish mourning for Achilles: Thetis arrives with immortal nymphs, the muses sing, the funeral lasts days, and there are sacrifices and burning rites before Hermes brings the suitors’ ghosts to them.
checked them saying, ‘Hold, Argives, fly not sons of the Achaeans, this is his mother coming from the sea with her immortal nymphs to view the body of her son.’ “Thus he spoke, and the Achaeans feared no more. The daughters of the old man of the sea stood round you weeping bitterly, and clothed you in immortal raiment. The nine muses also came and lifted up their sweet voices in lament—calling and answering one anot…
Athene instructs Telemachus to call an assembly the next day, order the wooers to leave, and, if necessary, to sail for news at Pylos and Sparta; she also details steps for burial rites if Odysseus is dead and a future plan to slay the wooers.
neither refuseth the hated bridal, nor hath the heart to make an end: so they devour and minish my house, and ere long will they make havoc likewise of myself.” Then in heavy displeasure spake unto him Pallas Athene: “God help thee! thou art surely sore in need of Odysseus that is afar, to stretch forth his hands upon the shameless wooers. If he could but come now and stand at the entering in of the gate, with helme…
Odysseus demands the release of his companions, and Circe transforms them from swine back into human men with charms, then orders him to return to his ship and eventually seek Teiresias in the underworld.
sat thus, and that I put not forth my hands to the meat, and that I was mightily afflicted, she drew near to me and spake to me winged words: “‘Wherefore thus, Odysseus, dost thou sit there like a speechless man, consuming thine own soul, and dost not touch meat nor drink? Dost thou indeed deem there is some further guile? Nay, thou hast no cause to fear, for already I have sworn thee a strong oath not to harm thee.…
After a year of feasting, Odysseus urges departure to return home; Circe instructs him to sail to the dwelling of Hades, perform specific libations and sacrifices, and wait for the blind seer Teiresias.
is my spirit eager to be gone, and the spirit of my company, that wear away my heart as they mourn around me, when haply thou art gone from us.’ “So spake I, and the fair goddess answered me anon: ‘Son of Laertes, of the seed of Zeus, Odysseus of many devices, tarry ye now no longer in my house against your will; but first must ye perform another journey, and reach the dwelling of Hades and of dread Persephone to se…
At Dawn Odysseus rouses his men, but Elpenor falls from Circe’s roof and dies; Odysseus laments, circles back to Circe’s guidance, and Circe prepares a ram and black ewe for the voyage onward.
of the people; he will surely declare to thee the way and the measure of thy path, and as touching thy returning, how thou mayst go over the teeming deep.’ “So spake she, and anon came the golden throned Dawn. Then she put on me a mantle and a doublet for raiment, and the nymph clad herself in a great shining robe, light of woof and gracious, and about her waist she cast a fair golden girdle, and put a veil upon her…
The crew sails to Oceanus, reaches the land of the Cimmerians in perpetual night, performs Odysseus’s trench and blood rite, and sees many ghosts, including Elpenor and then the prophet Teiresias.
Odysseus, his descent into hell, and discourses with the ghosts of the deceased heroes. “Now when we had gone down to the ship and to the sea, first of all we drew the ship unto the fair salt water and placed the mast and sails in the black ship, and took those sheep and put them therein, and ourselves too climbed on board, sorrowing, and shedding big tears. And in the wake of our dark-prowed ship she sent a favouri…
Elpenor’s ghost recounts his death and begs Odysseus to bury him properly, while Odysseus then encounters his mother Anticleia and prepares to question Teiresias after restraining the sword from the blood.
my voice spake to him winged words: ‘Elpenor, how hast thou come beneath the darkness and the shadow? Thou hast come fleeter on foot than I in my black ship.’ “So spake I, and with a moan he answered me, saying: ‘Son of Laertes, of the seed of Zeus, Odysseus of many devices, an evil doom of some god was my bane and wine out of measure. When I laid me down on the house-top of Circe I minded me not to descend again by…
Odysseus’ mother Anticleia describes Odysseus’s household during his absence—Penelope’s fidelity, Telemachus’ flourishing, and Laertes’ winter sorrow—then explains that Persephone does not deceive, since the dead lack the living’s bodily bonds.
flitted from my hands as a shadow or even as a dream, and sharp grief arose ever at my heart. And uttering my voice I spake to her winged words: “‘Mother mine, wherefore dost thou not abide me who am eager to clasp thee, that even in Hades we twain may cast our arms each about the other, and have our fill of chill lament? Is this but a phantom that the high goddess Persephone hath sent me, to the end that I may groa…
Back on the voyage, Odysseus has the crew bury Elpenor in Aeaea, meets Circe who instructs them on the Sirens and the choice between Scylla/Charybdis paths, using waxed ears and binding for safety.
Odysseus, his passage by the Sirens, and by Scylla and Charybdis. The sacrilege committed by his men in the isle Thrinacia. The destruction of his ships and men. How he swam on a plank nine days together, and came to Ogygia, where he stayed seven years with Calypso. “Now after the ship had left the stream of the river Oceanus, and was come to the wave of the wide sea, and the isle Aeaean, where is the dwelling place…
Agamemnon’s ghost and Achilles’ spirit exchange accounts, including the detailed funeral rites at Troy—washing, burning with unguents, bones in an urn—followed by the story of Odysseus’s role and revenge.
young lords of the Achaeans. Lo, his mother from the sea is she that comes, with the deathless maidens of the waters, to behold the face of her dead son.’ “So he spake, and the high-hearted Achaeans ceased from their flight. Then round thee stood the daughters of the ancient one of the sea, holding a pitiful lament, and they clad thee about in raiment incorruptible. And all the nine Muses one to the other replying w…
Amphimedon continues his account: Penelope’s finished robe coincided with Odysseus’ later arrival, the bow shooting begins, Antinous is killed first, and the wooers die as blood pools under the disguised Odysseus.
of the Achaean women in the land count it blame in me, as well might be, were he to lie without a winding-sheet, a man that had gotten great possessions.’ “So spake she, and our high hearts consented thereto. So then in the daytime she would weave the mighty web, and in the night unravel the same, when she had let place the torches by her. Thus for the space of three years she hid the thing by guile and won the mind…
In Hades, the ghost of Agamemnon praises Penelope’s faithful virtue and condemns Clytemnestra’s treachery, then Odysseus returns to Laertes’ farm where his old father’s grief and poverty are shown.
nought, even they who might wash the black-clotted blood out of our wounds, and lay out the bodies and wail the dirge, for that is the due of the dead.” Then the ghost of the son of Atreus answered him: “Ah, happy son of Laertes, Odysseus of many devices, yea, for a wife most excellent hast thou gotten, so good was the wisdom of constant Penelope, daughter of Icarius, that was duly mindful of Odysseus, her wedded lo…
The narrator reflects on his son’s innocence beyond the color-line, the burial and relocation from Georgia to the North, and the hope that death means escape from bondage under the Veil.
what cared I, within my home beside my wife and baby boy? Wast thou so jealous of one little coign of happiness that thou must needs enter there,—thou, O Death? A perfect life was his, all joy and love, with tears to make it brighter,—sweet as a summer’s day beside the Housatonic. The world loved him; the women kissed his curls, the men looked gravely into his wonderful eyes, and the children hovered and fluttered a…
Genesis 8 continues with God stopping the flood, the ark resting on the mountains of Ararat, raven and dove sent out, and the dove returning with an olive leaf, ending with Noah leaving and making a sacrifice.
And God remembered Noe and all the beasts and all the cattle that were with him in the ark; And God made a wind to blow upon the earth, and the waters ceased: and the fountains of the deep and the windows of heaven were stopped and the rain of heaven was forbidden, and the waters returned from off the earth and abated after the end of an hundred and fifty days. And the ark rested upon the mountains of Ararat, the sev…
Sarah dies at Hebron in Canaan; Abraham negotiates with the sons of Heth for the field and double cave of Ephron near Mamre, paying silver to secure a burial possession.
Sara was an hundred and twenty seven years old (for so long lived she) and then died in a head city called Hebron in the land of Canaan. Then Abraham came to mourn Sara and to weep for her. And Abraham stood up from the corpse, and talked with the sons of Heth saying: I am a stranger and a foreigner among yow, give me a possession to bury in with you, that I may bury my dead out of my sight. And the children of Heth …
Jacob, sick near death, adopts Joseph’s sons Manasseh and Ephraim as his own, blesses them with crossed hands, recounts Rachel’s death and burial, and grants Joseph additional land.
After these deeds, tidings were brought unto Ioseph, that his father was sick. And he took with him his two sons, Manasse and Ephraim. Then was it said unto Iacob: behold, thy son Ioseph cometh unto thee. And Israel took his strength unto him, and sat up on the bed, and said unto Ioseph: God all mighty appeared unto me at Lus in the land of Canaan, and blessed me, and said unto me: behold, I will make thee grow and w…
Jacob calls his sons to predict their “last days,” blessing each tribe with characteristic imagery, commissions burial in Canaan’s Machpelah cave, then dies and is gathered to his people.
And Iacob called for his sons and said: come together, that I may tell you what shall happen you in the last days. Gather you together and hear ye sons of Iacob, and hearken unto Israel your father. Ruben, thou art mine eldest son, my might and the beginning of my strength, chief in receiving and chief in power. As unstable as water wast thou: thou shalt therefore not be the chiefest, for thou wentest up upon thy fat…
Joseph weeps, embalmers preserve Jacob for forty days, Pharaoh permits the burial journey, Egyptians and Canaanites mourn at Atad, Jacob is buried in Canaan, and Joseph later instructs forgiveness and records Joseph’s death.
And Ioseph fell upon his father's face, and wept upon him, and kissed him. And Ioseph commanded his servants that were Physicians, to embalm his father, and the Physicians embalmed Israel forty days long, for so long doth the embalming last, and the Egyptians bewept him seventy days. And when the days of weeping were ended, Ioseph spake unto the house of Pharao saying: If I have found favour in your eyes, speak unto …
The LORD institutes Passover for Israel: slaughtering a spotless male lamb, marking doorposts with blood, eating roasted meat with unleavened bread and bitter herbs, and observing it as an everlasting holy custom.
And the LORD spake unto Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt saying: This month shall be your chief month: even the first month of the year shall it be unto you. Speak ye unto all the fellowship of Israel saying: that they take the tenth day of this month to every household, a sheep. If the household be too few for a sheep, then let him and his neighbour that is next unto this house, take according to the number of s…
Passover is extended across days of sweet bread, with Israelites instructed to keep away from leaven; Moses tells elders to mark doors with hyssop blood, and at midnight the firstborn of Egypt die while Pharaoh orders Israel to leave.
The first month and the fourteenth day of the month at even, ye shall eat sweet bread unto the twenty first day of the month at even again. Seven days see that there be no leavened bread found in your houses. For whosoever eateth leavened bread, that soul shall be rooted out from the multitude of Israel: whether he be a stranger or born in the land. Therefore see that ye eat no leavened bread, but in all your habitat…
God’s song ends with commands to set hearts on the law as Israel’s life, then narrates Moses being told to die on Mount Abarim by Mount Nebo in the land of Moab.
I will make mine arrows drunken with blood, and my sword shall eat flesh of the blood of the slain and of the captive and of the bare head of the enemy. Rejoice {Praise ye} heathen with his people, for he will avenge the blood of his servants, and will avenge him of his adversaries, and will be merciful unto the land of his people. And Moses went and spake all the words of this song in the ears of the people, both he…
Jesus is mocked, taken to Golgotha, crucified, and dies as darkness falls; the temple veil tears, an earthquake opens graves, and women, including Mary Magdalene, witness the burial.
in his right hand. And bowed their knees before him, saying: hail king of the jewes, and spitted upon him, and took the reed and smote him on the head. And when they had mocked him, they took the robe off him again, and put his own raiment on him, and led him away to crucify him. And as they came out, they found a man of Cyren, named Simon: him they compelled to bear his cross. And came unto the place, which is call…
After the sabbath Jesus is placed in a rock tomb and a group of women find it opened; Jesus appears, commissions his disciples to preach and says salvation and signs follow.
And began to salute him: Hail king of the jewes. And they smote him on the head with a reed, and spat upon him, and kneeled down and worshipped him. And when they had mocked him, they took the purple off him, and put his own clothes on him, and led him out, to crucify him. And they compelled one that passed by, called Simon of Cyrene (which came out of the field, and was father of Alexander and Rufus) to bear his cr…
Zechariah blesses God and prophesies John’s role, then narrates the Roman census under Augustus, Joseph and Mary’s journey to Bethlehem, Jesus’s birth, and shepherds’ visitation and news-spreading.
country of jewry: and all they that heard them laid them up in their hearts, saying: What manner child shall this be? And the hand of God was with him. And his father Zacharias was filled with the holy ghost, and prophesied saying: Blessed be the lord God of Israhel, for he hath visited and redeemed his people. And hath raised up an horn of salvation unto us, in the house of his servant David. Even as he promised by…
In Luke’s account, Jesus is crucified, dies, and is buried by Joseph of Arimathea; women prepare ointments, and on the following day the tomb is found empty with angels announcing the resurrection.
said unto Iesus: lord remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. And Iesus said unto him: Verily I say unto thee, today shalt thou be with me in paradise. And it was about the sixth hour. And there came a darkness over all the land, until the ninth hour, and the sun was darkened. And the veil of the temple rent even thorow the midst. And Iesus cried with a great voice and said: Father, into thy hands I commend m…
Jesus, warned that Judeans wanted to stone him, goes again to Judea, raises Lazarus after he has been dead four days, and declares himself the resurrection and the life.
of it. Iesus loved Martha and her sister, and Lazarus. After he heard that he was sick, then abode he two days still in the same place where he was. Then after that said he to his disciples: let us go into jewry again. His disciples said unto him: Master, the jewes lately sought means to stone thee, and wilt thou go thither again? Iesus answered: are there not twelve hours in the day? If a man walk in the day he stu…
Jesus dies, soldiers do not break his legs, and a spear brings blood and water; Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus bury him in a new tomb, and Mary Magdalene visits it at dawn.
loved, he said unto his mother: Woman behold thy son. Then said he to the disciple: behold thy mother. And from that hour the disciple took her for his own. After that when Iesus perceived that all things were performed, that the scripture might be fulfilled: he said: I thirst. There stood a vessel full of vinegar by. They filled a sponge with vinegar, and wound it about with hyssop, and put it to his mouth. As soon…
After the Diana riot, Paul departs from Ephesus through Macedonia and Greece, travels to Troas, and raises Eutychus after he falls from a window during a midnight preaching session.
peril to be set at nought: but that also the temple of great Diana should be despised. And her majesty should be destroyed, which all Asia, and the world worshippeth. When they heard these sayings, they were full of wrath, and cried out saying: Great is Diana of the Ephesians. And all the city was on a roar, and they rushed into the common hall with one assent, and caught Gaius, and Aristarcus, men of Macedonia, Pau…
Paul urges the Thessalonians to pray, grow in holiness and brotherly love, avoid sexual immorality and exploitative bargaining, and comfort the grieving with the hope of Christ’s return and the resurrection.
joy for your sakes before our God, while we night and day pray exceedingly, that we might see you presently, and might fulfil that which is lacking in your faith. God himself our father, and our lord Iesus Christ guide our journey unto you: and the lord increase you, and make you flow over in love one toward another, and toward all men, even as we do toward you, to stablish your hearts that they might be without oug…
Livy reports conflicting versions of how and where Gracchus died, different accounts of his funeral, and the detail that if killed at the river Calor his head was sent to Hannibal and buried by Roman forces.
immediately despatched Carthalo to convey it into the Roman camp to Cneius Cornelius, the quaestor, who buried the general in the camp, the Beneventans joining the army in the celebration. 18. The consuls having entered the Campanian territory, while devastating the country on all sides, were alarmed, and thrown into confusion, by an eruption of the townsmen and Mago with his cavalry. They called in their troops to …
Livy describes the aftermath of the capture of Syracuse: Marcellus receives Syracusans seeking safety; the city is plundered; Archimedes is killed; measures protect Hiero’s legacy; grain from Utica prevents a famine; and some Spain planning follows.
Mericus, with the men under his command, had joined them, he sounded a retreat, lest the royal treasure, the fame of which was greater than the reality, should be plundered. 31. The impetuosity of the soldiers having been checked, time and opportunity to escape were given to the deserters in the Achradina; and the Syracusans, at length delivered from their fears, threw open the gates of the Achradina, and sent deput…
Herzl’s worsening heart condition culminates in his death in 1904 after a final trip, his farewell words about giving his heart’s blood, and instructions to bury him until Jews can move his remains to Palestine.
interested and was seeking a way out; but the devious route of political action, once started, could not so easily be halted; Herzl found himself chained to a political reality. Throughout his Zionist life, Herzl suffered from a heart ailment which became more and more acute as he was taken up by the excitements and activities of the Movement. He became aware of his illness soon after he had written "The Jewish Stat…
Aeneas explains Polydore’s backstory, the betrayal by the Thracian ruler who murdered him for gold, and how the Trojans prepare funeral rites and then travel onward toward an island with Delian worship.
veins. O fly from this unhospitable shore, Warn’d by my fate; for I am Polydore! Here loads of lances, in my blood embrued, Again shoot upward, by my blood renew’d.’ “My falt’ring tongue and shiv’ring limbs declare My horror, and in bristles rose my hair. When Troy with Grecian arms was closely pent, Old Priam, fearful of the war’s event, This hapless Polydore to Thracia sent: Loaded wi…
Andromache mournfully gives Aeneas parting gifts and prays for a shared destiny, then the fleet lands near the Ceraunian rocks at night and prepares to sail.
hence, and seek your new abodes, Blest in a son, and favour’d by the gods: For I with useless words prolong your stay, When southern gales have summon’d you away.’ “Nor less the queen our parting thence deplor’d, Nor was less bounteous than her Trojan lord. A noble present to my son she brought, A robe with flow’rs on golden tissue wrought, A phrygian vest; and loads with gifts beside O…