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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
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The feeling which first prompted men to bury their dead in the neighbourhood of their places of worship is natural and universal . If a stranger , an impartial person , unbiassed by our predilections in favour of long-established customs , were asked to point out the spot best fitted for so awful a deposit , he would say , " Bury your dead in a place where strong , universal
religious associations may protect their repose . Make their graves m some spot where they will often meet your eyes ; but be careful at the same time , by connecting the remembrance of the dead with your religious feelings , to preserve its vividness and strength . Bury your dead in or near your places of worship . " A custom thus approving itself to every man ' s feelings was
adopted long ago , and became almost universal : the consequence of which is , that some change has become desireable , if not necessary . The number of dfead in our cities has so outgrown that of the living , that the very feelings which first appropriated our churchyards to be the abode of the departed , are daily shocked and disgusted at the scenes which every passer by must unavoidably witness .
If any philosophical reasoner should say that it cannot matter to the dead what becomes of their remains ; or to the living , when the immediate relatives and friends are no more , I reply , that when we behold the violations which are often practised , we naturally look forward to the time when the remains of those whom we love , and perhaps committed but yesterday to the tomb , shall be cast out in the same manner . It is not enough that we can now guard their repose , if the suspicion comes across us that when our guardianship is withdrawn , their ashes shall be held in no more respect than the dust of the ground . It is not enough that we can cast our eyes on the hallowed spot as we enter the house of God , and silently pay to it the tribute of our hearts , if we feel the chilling conviction that in time that grave shall be levelled ; that the careless step shall tread upon it , and that the sanctity of the place shall be abolished . Neither can it be ri g ht that the respect which the heart naturally pays to the remains of the dead , should be discouraged . It cannot be right that children should behold the subservience of this natural respect to considerations of convenience and interest . If to
the dead it matters not whether their bones crumble by natural decay , or are broken by the tool of the workman , to the gazer it matters much . If no friend be near to shudder at the violation , some delicate spirit may be wounded , and most probably some young mind will receive a hurtful impression , will have some sentiment of natural piety weakened , some emotion of religious awe chilled or destroyed . While this religious awe invests the memory of the dead , and is associated with their remains , it can be no light matter to treat this remembrance with carelessness .
While , in the midst of cities , temptations to violate , sooner or later , the repose of the dead exist , nature will be found a more faithful guardian of their rights than even the vicinity of the sanctuary . If its walls afford but a temporary protection , we shall be wise to seek that which is more durable ;
and if man may not be trusted with the sacred charge , we should remove it where it may at least be safe from the hand of the spoiler . By depositing our dead in some place removed from the habitations of man , we indeed deprive ourselves of the consolation of visiting their graves , when we go up to worship , and of beholding their tombs as we join in the service of the sanctuary . But the deprivation is more than compensated by the security
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ON COUNTRY BURIAL-GROUNDS .
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), April 2, 1828, page 230, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2559/page/14/
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