Thursday, December 18, 2008

101 Ways, Part 69: Entred into His Heavenly House

For a brief intro to the "101 Ways to Say 'Died'" series, click here.
HERE RESTS ye BODY OF
MR. EDMUND ANGIER
MERCHANT WHO LEFT
HIS EARTHLY & ENTRED
INTO HIS HEAUENLY
HOUSE ye 4th OF MARCH
1692 AETATIS SUAE 80
THE MEMORY OF THE JUST IS BLESSED

In general, the New England Puritans were more attached to the Old Testament than to the New. While the line from Proverbs 10:7 ("the memory of the just is blessed") is very common on 17th-century gravestones, the apparent reference to Paul's second letter to the Corinthians (2Cor.5:1-2) is somewhat more unusual:
For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.
For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven . . .
An early winter afternoon is the perfect time to photograph 80% of the gravestones in the old Harvard Square graveyard. Unfortunately, the Edmund Angier stone is among the other 20%. Oh well — I hope you can read this text and I'll try to get a better pic in the spring.

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