Ka Leo o ka Lahui, Volume II, Number 193, 14 May 1891 — THE HYPOCRITE AND THE CAT. [ARTICLE]

THE HYPOCRITE AND THE CAT.

When Elisha bade Naaman, the leper, go wash in Jordan seven times and be elean, prophet though he was, he did n©t foresee that nearly three thousand vears later mankind would be cursed with a different form of leprosy frem that whieh afflicted ihe captain of the host of the King of Syria. Nor did he rec«gnize, when he detected Gehazi—the would-b« grabber of oliveyards and vineyards, the liar and hypocrito—and tranBferred to him, as a proper punishment for his •bliquity t the loathfiorae diseaße of whieh he had cleansed Naaman, that his hypocritical servant would be the prototype of a claBB of leprous men that infest all grades of society in the present age.

There ie a physical leprosy and a psychic.il leprosy a leprosy of the body and a leprosv of the soul. The former is easily detected, carrying about with it outward and visible 6igns of corporeal r©ttenness; the latter is hidden by a eleak of pretentiobs honeety and morality, and wears a mark of fictitious purity and eleanlineaa. Inside the eloak, and disguised by the maak, dwells the hjpacrite.

When We«ley proclaimed from the pulpil that eleanlineea was a pavinf-Btone U> go4lineaa, he supplied the hypocrite with a hint that he did not fail to s*>ice upoii and put in practice. Vour sleek and pioua hypCK>rite, with worda of eharity and brotherly love ever at the lip of hia toi)gue, is the very meMiel o( pemonal puritv—a cha*t* ipecta* ele of immtoulatenf»sn in hu dreaa and UemaUHi» o)tering. Ua alwaya kee|v* hi« elaak and matk

scrupuioualy elean and neat. He ie constantly washin{_* his hands and face, as thou§li in fear that his countenance might betray the gtains on his spiritual features, and that his fingers might expose to sight the dirt and slirne that befouls his | soul. Now, there are only two classes of aaimals that wash the mankind and the feline race, and of all creatures ixt the animal kingdom the most significant type of the hypocrite is the cat. In its sleek appearance and cleanly habits by its velvety foot-fall, with its purring and fawning, its insidious treachery and expertness in eapturing its prey, it presents a perfect portrait of our modern Pecksniflf. •—Selected. *