American Academy of Religion

The Philosophy of Death in Coptic Epitaphs

Author(s): William A. Ward
Source: Journal of Bible and Religion, Vol. 25, No. 1 (Jan., 1957), pp. 34-40
Published by: Oxford University Press
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1457370
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The Philosophy of Death in Coptic Epitaphs

WILLIAM A. WARD*

between the world of the living and the un-

known world which lies beyond. A simple

Coptic Church, and justly so.

MUCH has been written about the

grave stone becomes the closed door behind

The Copts, during the first few

which stands eternity, and eternity has been

centuries of the Christian era, represented

a subject closest to man's fancy since his

one of the truly normative Christian groups

thoughts were first recorded on clay, papyrus

in the world, clinging strongly to the earliest

or stone. It may be a terse statement record-

doctrines of Christianity. Their theology,

ing only a name, a date and the simple fact

then, is of the utmost interest to the study

of death as in the short inscription quoted

of the early church. However, the present-

above. Or it may be a long, beautifully ex-

day literature concerning Coptic theology has

pressed eulogy on the passing of a human

been directed more toward the late medieval

soul. Again, it may be a cynical, pessimistic

and modern Copts than to their predecessors

panegyric on the futility of life. Whatever its

of Roman and early Arab times.

outward form of expression, the epitaph rep-

It is intended here to examine the Coptic

resents the last eloquent fling of the human

philosophy of death as found in epitaphs in

mind in the face of inevitable death. The

the belief that these inscriptions contain

ancient Copts were no exception to this uni-

more than just theological or philosophical

versal human trait, to record one's final

generalities, but represent a personal ap-

thoughts for the eyes of following genera-

proach to the doctrines of death and immor-

tions to read.

tality. Some of the texts used here were col-

Some criticism could be made of Coptic

lected by Maria Cramer fifteen years ago,

theological literature. It often lacks orig-

but their number has been expanded by the

inality and spontaneity. Its content some-

use of many others culled from the myriads

times depends entirely too much on Greek

of epitaphs now known. Indeed, one searches

originals and very frequently descends to

through many hundreds of epitaphs to find

mere translation. From the standpoint of

those few which contain useful information.

literary criticism it is often without polish.

But this search has been rewarded and one

This may all be true. Yet, one does find a

can reconstruct a fairly good idea of what

basic honesty in those works of Coptic theo-

death meant to the people of the ancient

logical writing which can be classified as

Coptic church. Most of the texts used here

date from around the eighth century so they products of original thinking. The modern

are representative of one period. reader cannot help but be swayed by the sim-

plicity and integrity of these ancient Chris-

One God, making succour. Teukaris: she died on

tians, both those who vanished into the des-

the 10th of Mesore; in peace.

erts to the solitude of monasteries or hermits'

The words of an epitaph are the final link

caves or those who stayed behind in the

cities to practice their beliefs in normal sur-

* WILLIAM A. WARD holds the degrees of

roundings.
B.A. from Butler University and M.A. in the field

of Egyptology from the University of Chicago. He

And when they died these same honest

is at present a Fellow in the Department of Near

men left behind them one last reminder of

Eastern and Judaic Studies at Brandeis University

their existence, their epitaphs. Through

where he is concentrating on comparative Egypto-

these inscriptions, the simple and eloquent

Semitics under Dr. Cyrus H. Gordon.

34

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 THE PHILOSOPHY OF DEATH IN COPTIC EPITAPHS 35

alike, we meet them as individuals, as per- mentality of the deeply religious Copts, es-

sonalities. We come to know a bit about pecially from monks and religious officers.

their fears, their hopes and their inner Life was, after all, but a fleeting moment and

thoughts. We see them as men meeting the at its best was none too good. Some scholars

one eternal bond that equalizes all men in are of the opinion that this is precisely the

every age in every community. In their reason for the monastic way of life which

epitaphs where we meet their personal views had its origin in the Egyptian deserts; the

of death and the hereafter they cease to exist solitaries who established themselves in their

as just a part of a great religious movement. cells and monasteries were fleeing from the

They become simply men preparing to meet temptations of the world and the evils of its

their god. And in this moment the formality inhabitants. Another, probably more cor-

of history drops for an instant and we glimpse rect, reason lies in the opposite direction.

the fleeting portrait of a soul. Ascetic perfection came from personal tri-

Such is not true of all men everywhere. umph over the forces of evil. What better

All men leave epitaphs but few leave honest place to practise the eternal war with the

ones. The ancestors of the Copts, the phar- devil and his demons than on their own

aonic Egyptians, eulogized themselves and ground, in the deserts which were the tradi-

their good works. Other peoples speak only tional homes of evil spirits? Thus, we can

of the gods and the magical powers of this expect some Coptic epitaphs to reflect the

world. Still others are concerned with the pessimism toward mortal existence which

joys of living in this present existence. But was bound to result from such a manner of

the Copts, in their epitaphs, were primarily thinking.

concerned with death, itself, and the small- However, life was not so cheerless to

ness of man when he faces it. Rare, indeed, everyone. One Cosma, a citizen of Qau who

is the Coptic epitaph which praises the mortal lived about the same time as Pieu and Feb-

works of the deceased. ronia, records a happy life with his wife and

Let us now examine the Coptic philosophy children.

concerning the passage from this world into

My wife and my sons were about my table. I

the next as seen in their epitaphs. The whole

rejoiced with them and they rejoiced together with

story is included in these inscriptions from me when my house prospered with the enjoyment of

the world.

life, itself, through death and into heaven

and the beginning of a new existence in eter-

Such a feeling is also expressed by Sotarix

nity.

of Akhmim, a contemporary of Cosma. He

Life was considered by some to be some-

tells of his happy life when:

what grim, though it was only ephemeral

. . . he enjoyed himself with his brethren and his

and temporary and therefore bearable. This

wife and sons rejoiced over his good character. . . .

attitude was expressed simply in pessimistic

Still another states it more simply but with

tones by two residents of Dier Abu Hennes,

just as much clarity. The Copt George

near Antinoe. The Arch-priest Pieu wails:

writes:

O the lifetime of the world which is filled with

I was glad among my children. I was happy.

pain and groaning.

There is no discrepancy in these inscrip-

And the lady Febronia laments:

tions. Not all Copts led the overly-pious life

The whole lifetime of man acts like smoke and

of the hermit or the religious fanatic. Many

all the cares of life act like a shadow which bends.

lived normal lives and shared the pleasures

This is just what one should expect from the

and joys of home and family. There were

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36 WILLIAM A. WARD

"Adam, you are earth. You shall return to the earth."

Christians among the Copts as there are to-

O compassionate and good God, have mercy on the

day who were given to pessimistic contem-

spirit of the blessed Trosis the wife of the blessed

plation. And many Copts retained the op-

Parashe. She died . . . (date).

timistic love of life which had been char-

acteristic of their ancient forebears. These Whether one looked at life as joyous or un-

inscriptions show us vividly the proof for the happy, everyone faced the inevitable return

observation made above that though stereo- to the ground from which man first sprang.

types may be found in Coptic epitaphs, indi- For as Pieu later asks:

vidual personalities may be seen to emerge

And who is the one who shall live and not see

and in some epitaphs it is the latter feeling

death?

which is the dominant thought. Febronia

So death was inevitable. But what of

and Pieu, as will be seen when we examine

death, itself? Cosma, the family man from

other parts of their epitaphs, looked upon

Qau, complains of its suddenness using a

life as unhappy while Cosma, George and

New Testament simile.

others drank of its fullness and shared its

happiness. These people were all contem-

The visit of God came upon me forthwith before

poraries but it is not strange that we should

I knew what had happened according to what was

written that "the day of the Lord will come in the

find two extreme views of life expressed in

manner of a thief."

their epitaphs. One may find the same op-

posites written on tombstones in any older

George, whose happy home we have already

cemetery in America. When we deal with

seen, also expresses this suddenness.

individuals we deal with individual thought.

I was glad in the midst of my children. I was

Man everywhere understands that life is

happy. Suddenly the seeking-spirits of death came

not a permanent thing. A theme which re-

for me I

curs time and again in Coptic epitaphs is

man's inevitable return to the clay from John, a deacon of Antinoe, speaks of death

whence he originally came. The usual frame- with the usual grim approach of the clerics.

work of expression used is the punishment of

O death, the name of which is bitter in the mouth

mortality leveled on Adam. Cosma of Qau,.

of everyone who is cut off, which separates fathers

whose optimism we met above, after speak-

from their sons and sons from their fathers. ....

ing of the sentence of death which God made

Another Cosmas, who lived in the region of

upon Adam, speaks thus:

modern Cairo, uses a metaphor which is as

He declared a bitter punishment upon him which

old as literature. Death is likened to the

is death and he made it lord over him and his seed

journey of a ship.

for eternity, saying: "Adam, you were a lump of

clay, you shall return again to the earth." This, now,

O difficult sailing. We have come to the shore

happened to me.

(even though) the sea is broad and its waves are

stormy.

The sorrowful Arch-priest Pieu says it phil-

osophically.
And the unhappy Pieu, grateful for release

from the troubles of this life, records the safe

The man of today is the earth and ashes of

arrival at the end of the voyage.

tomorrow.

You have reached the suitable harbor. For death

And the lady Trosis who lived during the

is a quiet haven.

same period gives almost her whole inscrip-

tion to this idea.

Here again may be seen the consistency

of individual personalities. Those who were

This (i.e., death) is the first judgment which God

essentially not contented with the mortal

pronounced upon Adam the first man, saying:

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 THE PHILOSOPHY OF DEATH IN COPTIC EPITAPHS 37

world were quite willing to leave it behind. beneath the scorching Egyptian sun which

Those whose basic attitude toward life was never ceased throwing down its waves of

happy were satisfied to reach eternity with heat. During this time the population

God but somewhat loathe to begin the jour- watched and waited for the flood waters of

ney. the inundation which promised the rebirth

Death had to come but it was viewed of nature. Perhaps this memory of parched

with a varying response. To some it came fields and dying vegetation was the basis for

welcome. To others it was a surprise and un- the words used on the epitaph of Cosmas

welcome. Some were pleased at its appear- from near Cairo.

ance, some were resigned and others dis-

His short life faded in a moment. It acted as the

tressed. But all could describe death in beau-

grass which dries up and whose flower withers.

tiful metaphors. An agricultural people

Designations for the actual burial place are

whose entire life was closely tied to its fields

rare, the epitaphs being primarily concerned

is bound to express its feelings in terms of

with more abstract ideas. One could be sim-

observed natural phenomena. This is true of

ply placed in "the ground." John the Deacon

any age and is universal among agrarian civi-

speaks of "this burial." And the lady To-

lizations. Thus, we may expect to find this

ham refers to the "holy mountain" which, in

type of metaphorical expression among the

the case of epitaphs, is probably a collo-

Egyptians whose existence was dependent

quialism for "cemetery."

on their farms.

The old and the young, by nature, have

Every year one could watch the flooding

different attitudes toward death. The mor-

of the Nile. The rising water took its toll

tality of man is essentially a concern of the

among the tall plants growing along the

aged.

banks. The epitaph of a young girl, Drosis,

must refer to this destruction of vegetation

People expect old men to die.

by the flood waters when it speaks of a . ......... 0..,,...... 0.. ,.,.. .

People watch with unshocked eyes.

young plant that is destroyed as it is about to

But the old men know when an old man dies.

come to maturity.

(from "Old Men," by Ogden Nash)

. . . and if it comes to the time when it bears fruit

But youth is not concerned with old age and,

and the proper time of maturity, and the water,

reaches the blossom, it dies instantly . . . and it

therefore, is not directly confronted with

lays down its stems in grief so that the plant dies

death. When death comes in youth it comes

in its youth before it has given fruit. Thus it is with

as an unwanted interruption of the norm and

this young girl in that she was caused to go before

deserves special lament. True to their por-

the time of giving fruit. Instantly she was carried

traits of individuals the Coptic epitaphs re-

off ...

cord the deaths of young and old alike and

Trees are rare in Egypt and were always so.

the individual reaction to it. The Arch-priest

Every one was sooner or later utilized for its

Pieu records that his old age is over and

valuable timber. Cosma of Qau, thinking of

that he is ready to die.

the ultimate fate of all trees which were

You are a blessed one, O Pieu...

chopped down for their precious wood, con-

You have ended life in a ripe old age.

tinues his lament that he had to leave his

The youth of a deceased person was cause

happy life.

for particular notice. Two such lamentations

They cut me down as a tree is always cut down.

have already been quoted above in a section

dealing with another idea. One was the

After the Nile had receded, the crops

grown and the harvest ended, the fields lay young girl Drosis who was likened to a plant

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38 WILLIAM A. WARD

that dies before maturity and who "was may be found is that the prayer of any living

caused to go before the time of giving fruit." person whether friend or stranger will some-

The other was Cosma whose "short life how benefit the deceased in the next life. One

faded in a moment." These record in vivid, can hardly escape the conclusion that the

perhaps even tragic, terms the simple truth Copts felt that the forgiveness of God and

that youth had been severed from life by a eternal rest with Him could be aided by

prerogative of old age. Even more touching prayers uttered on behalf of the dead. The

is the harsh simplicity of a tiny inscription universality of such requests makes this a

which needs no comment. stereotyped idea and we cannot claim indi-

viduality in the epitaphs at this point except

Little Mary. She died on the 1st of Tobe.

for significant variations. The appearance of

Probably the most universal feature of

such stereotypes, however, does not force us

Coptic epitaphs is the request for prayer

to alter the general thesis that individuality is

from the living. Hardly an epitaph of any expressed in Coptic epitaphs.

length fails to make some plea to the living A highly interesting observation about this

request for prayer involves us in a subject

to pray for the deceased so that some benefit

which is far too complicated and which covers

can be gained thereby for the latter's soul.

too great a mass of material to allow its being

The most common request, which appears

more than mentioned here. The Coptic re-

hundreds of times, is simply "Remember

quest for prayer is obviously related to the

N.", or "Remember me" or "Remember the

so-called "appeal to the living" of the ancient

soul of N." Other pleas are more elaborate.

hieroglyphic inscriptions. There is a tremen-

Cosma of Cairo closes his epitaph:

dous amount of evidence which shows that

Everyone who shall stand before him (i.e., at his

this "appeal to the living" enjoyed a continu-

grave), pray on his behalf so that he might receive

ous line of development from Old Kingdom

the mercy of Christ.

times into the Graeco-Roman period in Egypt,

Included in the epitaph of Drosis is a similar

though only a tiny part of this evidence has

entreaty.

been collected as such. The Coptic pleas for

prayer are lineal descendants of this older

Pray and entreat him (God) to cause his mercy

to stand for the one who died who is the blessed formula found time and again in the funerary

Drosis . . . that he place her in his holy paradise

inscriptions of ancient Egypt and some Coptic

and that she find a rest of eternal life.

epitaphs employ precisely the same phraseol-

ogy. Three examples will suffice to show this

Deacon John pleads:

very close relationship.

Remember me, my beloved ones, so God may

forgive me. Hail, livings ones upon earth! All scribes lector-

priests and purification-priests who shall pass by

One Victor says:

this noble place; may you say a funerary formula

for the soul of N.

Now, you who shall read this epitaph pray for me

(from a Middle Kingdom stela, circa 1775 B.C.)

so God shall give mercy (to my) spirit.

Hail, all priests, dignitaries and revered ones who

From the inscriptions of the monastery of

shall . . . enter into this tomb, who shall see this

Apa Jeremias comes an epitaph which reads:

stela and read its writings. May you praise God for

me and may you remember my good name.

Everyone who shall read these writings shall give

(from a Ptolemaic stela)

rest to him.

O ye (list of priests and officials), stretch forth

The single unifying thought that permeates

your arms to me, saying: "May Amen-Re praise thee

all these examples and the many others which

in peace... May thy soul live in heaven before

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 THE PHILOSOPHY OF DEATH IN COPTIC EPITAPHS 39

Re; may they soul be divine before the gods . ."

usual designation for the soul's residence after

(from a stela of the time of Alexander the

death is that found in the formula which re-

Great)

quests prayer so that the deceased might rest

"in the bosom of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob."

The affinities are obvious and the similarity

This latter, however, evidently does not refer

of expression can be seen to be quite close.

to Heaven, itself, but rather to a temporary

The hieroglyphic texts which contain this

abode where the soul remains until the day of

"appeal to the living" usually bring some

judgment. This is clearly seen in the epitaph

benefit to the living person who repeats the

of Senouthio.
prayers as well as to the deceased; the living

receives benefits in the present life while the

May you cause him to rest in the bosom of

deceased receives them in the next. However, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and may you keep his

there is a series of these inscriptions which spirit in repose until the resurrection from the place

to which he has gone, namely, the ground.

does not mention any benefit to the living and

which is primarily concerned with the benefit

This concept of an intermediate place is

gained by the deceased as a result of the

perhaps also to be seen in the phrase "the place

prayers of the living. This is in the spirit of

of repose" found frequently. The closing

the Coptic epitaphs. Examples of this kind

lines of the epitaph of Helena and Peter read:

of text date from pre-Middle Kingdom times

O Lord of all flesh, may you give rest to the spirit

to the Ptolemaic period. The hieroglyphic

of thy servant and the spirit of her father in the

texts translated above are of this latter type.

place of repose; amen.

Communication between the living and the

dead which emanates from the deceased with

This idea of a place of existence for the dead

the idea of gaining the prayers of the living

intermediate between this life and .the next

is widespread during the early Christian

echoes the New Testament story of Lazarus

period. It cannot be argued here whether or

and the Rich Man where Lazarus is described

not this idea originated in Egypt and then

as having been carried into "Abraham's

spread to the rest of the ancient world. But

bosom," yet could still communicate with the

one significant feature in favor of this con-

Rich Man in Hades. This idea is also seen

clusion can be mentioned here. Many peoples

in the fact that though Jesus told the thief on

of the pre-Christian era record some kind of

the cross that they would be together in Para-

communication between the dead and living.

dise the same day (Luke 23:43), three days

But in the pre-Christian inscriptions of the

later he admonished Mary not to touch him

Semitic world, for example, this specific idea

as he had not yet gone to heaven (John

of the request for beneficial prayers from the

20:17).

living is conspicuously absent. Such a re-

Having noted the Coptic designations for

quest has been seen to be very ancient in

heaven we have come to the end of the limits

Egypt but the present writer has not found it

of this discussion. From the ancient tomb-

elsewhere prior to the Christian age.

stones of Coptic Egypt we have gleaned a

The ultimate goal of any deceased person,

rather descriptive idea of the philosophy of

pagan or Christian, is eternal life in a place of

death evolved by the early Christians in the

perfection. Modern Christianity calls this

land of the Nile.

"heaven." The Coptic epitaphs are strangely

The Coptic civilization represents an im-

reticent to mention heaven except in ex-

portant chapter in the development of Chris-

tremely rare cases. It is referred to as "His

tianity during its early growth and the mor-

(God's) house." Another text asks mercy for

the deceased so that he might be accepted in tuary inscriptions of this civilization are an

the "Jerusalem of the Sky." By far the most

integral part of this chapter. The history of

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40 WILLIAM A. WARD

the development of Christian thought would especially the Greeks. Such inscriptions are

suffer much were this chapter unknown. It is readily available to those who wish to pursue

hoped that the present discussion contributes this matter further. Excellent comparative

one more step toward a more intelligent un- material is also available in the Old Testa-

derstanding of the Copts and their important ment. Here, the main purpose has been to

contributions to the Christian world.

present certain patterns of thought as de-

veloped among the Copts. While the inscrip-

Postscript
tions of other civilizations offer excellent ma-

terial for comparison they do not alter the

In order to keep the length of this presenta-

conclusions reached in the present discussion.

tion within acceptable bounds, I have deemed

it advisable to omit some of the comparative All translations used in this study are my

material from the epitaphs of other peoples, own.

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