Irving Finkel

They didn't.

They just took it all for granted.

Well, everybody who died in bed naturally or peacefully, what we call their ghost, went down to the netherworld.

And there they were.

So they buried people jolly quick for obvious reasons.

And like they do in Islam and Judaism today, it's the same kind of idea.

And the spirit of the person...

went down through the gates to the netherworld and stayed there.

So that's the basic situation.

And people in their houses had actual burials under the courtyard.

And they had a thing where you pour stuff down, a whole fluid and food, kind of symbolic offerings to them.

I don't know.

Because you know that everyone's going to die.

I think the real tragedy would be is if we're not supposed to.

That would be the tragedy.

But every single person is going to die.

So all relationships have this finite clause in them.

So if you're very fond of somebody or you love somebody and they die, it's kind of infantile to...

But that's the pain.

It's the fact that the whole thing ends.