The Pascagoula democrat-star. (Pascagoula, Miss.) 1878-1920, 1891-11-20

CLEANLINESS AND GoDLI,rss

There IS a m0dern snap adv.
lisemeni saying thai ''CIeanIi,o
Is next to %g0dlIness." roes nes
without saying, but scholar. ~
not agree rs 10 wbe said il w
One profound Grille, whose hr,i'
ness IL is 10 answer the oueO,;".
he asks in his ANSWER 10 Corsa,S
Pondents" column, says boldly.
'lseader-The expression .@clea,l;
ness Is next 10 godliness' is M, j.,
The Bible. IL was a tavorite :"
preston OF the celebrated preachor
Whiiefeld." Well, who said I
Was in the Bible? Crulen wool'i
tell anybody 1t was not. Then tha
further information that il was
"iavorite expression Of WliteGeld,
Is not convincing az TO lis origin
II may be n favorite e%xpress,n,'
with Sam Small, or William Mui'
doom, The trainer. Soap men like
70 say it was a saying first said Nv
Henry Ward Beeeher. Bnl Lorf
II goes back beyond Beecher. join
Wesley, who died 100 wears aga
said in Il sermon on "Dress": Scr
lainl.y, this is a duty, not a sin
cleanliness is indeed neyl r.
sodliness.'" Wesley had proba.
bly, heard something like il before
Tor Francis Bacon, who lived three
hundred years ago, in an arcumen,
Of his on the advancement Of
Learning" said "Cleanliness of
body was ever deemed 10 proceed
from a due reverence of God
There is no Donneily c~ryplogram
10 prove thai Bacon ever heard
OF anything of The sort before he
wrote his soap advertisement; but
there is a learned Hebrew, DR., A.
5. Bethlehem, rabbi, who find,
something in the chronicles of The
Hebrew fathers-and the Lord on.
ly knows how long ago they lived
and cites PLinehas ben lair as
follows: The doctrines OF religion
are resolved into carefulness care.
iulneSs into vigorousnes<; vigorous.
ness into gnililessness guililess-
ness into sbstemionSness 4; abslem-
onto cleanliness c%leanli-
ness into enthusiastically, next
TO godliness. II is not easy 10 20
back beyond this, or 10 60 back on
il. II is an intelligent explanation
to The origin of the expression, and
knocks The soap out Of it when it
is understood that The cleanliness
that is next to goodness Is That
hich comes from carefulness viz
nrou-ness, gniltlessnessand absiem-
Iou>ness. Soap is not IN it, and it
Is MI certain that the Hebrew
fathers 1t CIV OF such soap as We
now have. The lameniable Jere.
in the Old Testament, says:
For though ihou wash thee with,
and take with thee much
soap. yet thine miquity is marked
before me, saith The Lord God.'
1t Will be observed that Jeremiah
quotes the Lord God, an. authority
much older than he was, when
speaking OF soap. Classic writers
hink that Jeremiah referred 10 the
ashes of plants and Other purifying
agents in use in his time. and not
o bard or soft soap. II is certain
hat soap is not as old as the hills.
Ii il had been known in The timeo OF
when everything Went into
he ark in pairs, Noah would GER
ainly have mentioned Pears soap.
The soap advertisers have uncoubl'
IDLY mlsused The expression,
'Cleanliness is next 10 godllness,'
70 lar as soap is concerned. There
ire men and women in This world
If ours who are intensely wicked,
md a long journey from godllneSs,
Who keep their bodies scrupulouSIy
Cleanliness with them is
leallhiness. and healihiness gives
hem ability 10 be more sinful, aud
'apacity to enjoy wickedness. On
he other hand, there are dear old
hen of great piety and %nndoubted
honesty who are actually greasy
nd personally dirty, and who never
will be clean until they are in hesv,
N. Cleanliness, that comes 0i
Dap, may be next 10 godliness ;bus
t is moi a sure thing.