S — Song of Degrees to Soul Cakes (Part 3 of 3)

Soul The Moslems fancy that it is necessary, when a man is bow-strung, to relax the rope a little before death occurs to let the soul escape. The Greeks and Romans seemed to think that the soul made its escape with life out of the death-wound.
   Soul. The Moslems say that the souls of the faithful assume the forms of snow-white birds, and nestle under the throne of Allah until the resurrection.
   Soul. Heraclitus held the soul to be a spark of the stellar essence: “scintilia stellaris essentiae.” (Macrobius: Somnium Scipioris, lib. i. cap. 14.)

“Vital spark of heavenly flame,
Quit, oh! quit this mortal frame.”
Pope: The Dying Christian to his Soul.

   Soul, in Egyptian hieroglyphics, is represented by several emblems, as a basket of fire, a heron, a hawk with a human face, and a ram.

Soul Cakes Cakes given in Staffordshire and Cheshire on All Souls' Day, to the poor who go a-souling, i.e. begging for soul-cakes. The words used are-

“Soul, soul, for soul-cake
Pray you, good mistress, a soul cake.”