" Yet they must have had some vague notion of an
after.world[TN-12], for the writer who paints the darkest picture of
their condition remarks, "I saw them frequently putting shoes on the
feet of the dead, which seems to indicate that they entertain the idea
of a journey after death."[234-2]
Proof of Charlevoix's opinion may be derived from three independent
sources. The aboriginal languages may be examined for terms
corresponding to the word soul, the opinions of the Indians themselves
may be quoted, and the significance of sepulchral rites as indicative of
a belief in life after death may be determined.
The most satisfactory is the first of these. _We_ call the soul a ghost
or spirit, and often a shade. In these words, the _breath_ and the
_shadow_ are the sensuous perceptions transferred to represent the
immaterial object of our thought. Why the former was chosen, I have
already explained; and for the latter, that it is man's intangible
image, his constant companion, and is of a nature akin to darkness,
earth, and night, are sufficiently obvious reasons.
Pages:
363
364
365
366
367
368
369
370
371
372
373
374
375
376
377
378
379
380
381
382
383
384
385
386
387