REPAST, or Food that was set upon the Tombs of the Dead. Cœna mortui. Baruch Baruch. vi. 31.mentions it in these Words. Rugiunt autem clamantes contra Deos suos, sicut in cœna mortui. The Pagans howl in the Presence of their Gods, as in the Repast which is made for the Dead. He speaks of certain Solemnities, wherein the Idolaters us’d to make great Lamentations: For Example, in the Feasts of Adonis. As to the Repasts for the Dead, they are distinguish’d into two Kinds: One was made in the House of the Defunct, at the Return of the Mourners from the Grave. To this were invited the Kindred and Friends of the Deceased; where they did not fail to express their Grief by Cries and Lamentations. The other Kind was made upon the Tomb itself of the dead Person, where they provided a Repast for the wandering Souls, and believed that the Goddess Trivia, who presides over the Streets and Highways, repair’d thither in the Night-time. But in truth they were Beggars and poor People, who came thither in the Darkness of the Night, and carry’d away what was left upon the Tomb.
Ovid. Fast.Est honor & tumulis animas placare paternas,
Parvaque in extructas munera ferre pyras.
Sometimes, however, the Relations made a small Repast upon the Tomb of the Deceased. Nonnius Marcell. ex Varrone.Ad sepulchrum antiquo more silicernium confecimus, id est, περιδεῖπνον*, quo* pransi discedentes dicimus alius alii Vale.
The Custom of setting Food upon the Sepulchres of the Dead, was common among the Hebrews. Tobit thus advises his Son; Tob. iv. 17.Pour out thy Bread on the Burial of the Just, but give nothing to the Wicked. That is to say, not to partake in the Repast with the Relations, who perform’d the same Ceremony. And Jesus the Son of Sirach affirms, Ecclus. xxx. 18.that Delicates poured upon a Mouth shut up, are as Messes of Meat set upon a Grave. What is thus set upon a Tomb, is utterly lost as to the dead Person; he can have no Benefit from it. And elsewhere; A Gift hath Grace Ecclus. vii. 33.in the Sight of every Man living, and for the Dead detain it not.
This Custom was almost universal. We find it among the Greeks, the Romans, and almost all the People of the East. It still obtains in Syria, in Babylonia, and in China. St. Aug. Ep. 22. 29. nov. edit.Austin observes, that in his Time, in Africa, they laid Victuals upon the Tombs of the Martyrs, and in Church-yards. The thing at first was done very innocently, but afterwards it degenerated into an Abuse; and the greatest Saints, and most zealous Bishops, as St. Austin, and St. AmbroseAug. Confess. l. 6. c. 2., had much Difficulty to suppress it. St. Monica being at Milan, had a mind, according to Custom, to offer Bread and Wine to the Memory of the Martyrs; but the Porter would not open the Door to her, because St. Ambrose had forbid him; she therefore summitted with an humble Obedience.
Hos. ix. 4.The Repast that was made in the House of the Deceased among the Jews, was also of two Kinds. One was during the Time that the Mourning continu’d, and these Repasts were look’d upon as unclean, because those that partook of them were unclean, as having assisted at the Obsequies of the dead Person. Hosea says; Their Sacrifices shall be unto them as the Bread of Mourners; all that eat thereof shall be polluted. And in the Form that the Israelites made Use of, when they offer’d their First-fruits, they address’d themselves thus to the Lord; ” O Lord, I have ” not neglected thy Ordinances; I have not ” used these things while I was in Mourning; I have made no Use of them at the ” Funerals of the Dead.” God would not permit Ezekiel to mourn for his Wife. Cover not thy Lips, Eze. xxiv. 17. Jer. xvi. 7.and eat not the Bread of Men. And Jeremiah; Neither shall Men give them the Cup of Consolation, to drink for their Father, or for their Mother.
The other Repasts made in the Time of Mourning, are those which were given after Joseph. de bello, l. 2. c. 1.the Funeral. Josephus relates, that Archelaus treated the whole People in a magnificent Manner, after he had compleated the seven Days Mourning for the King his Father. He there adds, That it was the Custom of his Nation to make great Feasts for the Relations, which could not be done without an Injury to many Families, which were not in a Condition to support such large Expences. St. Pauline commends Paulin. illustrat. p. 29, 30.Pammachius, for having made a great Feast for the Poor, in the Basilicon of St. Peter, on the Day of the Funeral of his Wife Paulina.