Rich Egyptians often sat a skeleton at their feasts as a reminder of the nearness of Death, the promise of Resurrection.
John Hunter (1728-93), great English surgeon, once sat a skeleton beside his sole pupil at a lecture so that "when I address you as gentlemen, I do not err."
Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832), great English philosopher-economist, arranged for his skeleton to attend the centennial celebration of his death (TIME, June 20, 1932). When not at commemorative gatherings, the Bentham skeleton sits in a wooden box at the University of London, dressed in Bentham's own...
To continue reading:
or
Log-In
