a 



ft 



OR THE BURNING OF THE DEAD. 113 



**- of matter, and by reason of its purity made things fit for the 

 " fellowship of the gods." " Noster ignis actionem divini ig- 

 nis imitans, quicquid materiale reperit, in sacrificio, destrmfc, 

 et admota purificat, et a vinculis materiae solvit, ac propter 

 naturse puritatem ad deorum communionem idonea fecit *." 

 According to Luc an, " the power of the flame carried the 

 soul into the eternal world." Speaking of the manes of the 

 dead, he thus expresses the general belief: 



Quos ignea virtus 



Innocuos vitae patientes setheris imi 

 Fecit, et seternos animam collegit in orbes. 



Pharsal. lib. ix. ver. ii. 



And Ovid says of Julius Cesar : 



Nam Patris Augusti docui mortale fuisse 

 Corpus ; in a;therias Numen abiisse domos. 



Pont. lib. iv. Ep. 13. 



" The Romans burned the bodies of the dead," says Servius, 

 ** ut stafim anima in generalitatem, id est, in suam rediret na- 

 " turam f." This corresponds with the account given by Si- 

 lius Italicus, when describing the funeral of Paulus : 



Recens crepitantibus undique flammis, 



iEthereas anima exultans evasit in auras. 



Lib. x. 



Ovid may be viewed as expressing the general persuasion, 

 that the soul was not completely separated from the body, till 

 the latter was consumed on the pyre, when he thus declares 

 the ardour of his friendship : 



Spiritus et vacuas prius hie tenuandus in auras 



Ibit, et in tepido deseret ossa rogo ; 

 Quam subeant animo meritorum oblivia nostro. 



Trist. lib. i, Eleg. 4. 



Vol. VIII. P. I. P These 



* Jamblich. de Myster. Cap. de Katione Sacrific. 

 "T Serv. in Mn. lib. iii. 



