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TIIK SLKKPJNG IIKIIKMOT1I.
The fable of the Lion and the Mouse
is well known. Didst ever hear of the
sleeping Behemoth and the Solomon
mice ? It's a most fascinating allegory.
It is instructive as well. Its peculiarity
is that while everyone thinks that ho
knows the Behemoth , none knows him.
All assume that they know the Solomon
mice ! But few del Nevertheless ,
some do know something of the Solo
mon mice. It is striking strange no
zoologist has ever seen or heard of
either the Solomon mice or the Behe
moth. Both are mentioned in the Bible.
Sacred and profane history has much
to eay of the Solomon mice. "But the
Behemoth ! What of him ? " Ho is
nothing like the lion of the fable in ap
pearance. You can see that kind of an
animal at any time in Central Park.
He is always caged. You can see the
Behemoth , too. He is never caged. He
goeth about free. Is it not singular that
you should so often see the Behemoth
and yet know him not ? He is the most
singular of all the beasts of the field.
Among the fowls of the air and the fish
of the sea none resembles him. Ho is
king of the forest , monarch of the sea ,
and imperial ruler of the world. The
Solomon mice are alone his superior.
They are the dictators to this ruler of
the world. His might is indescribable.
Wo eat with him , sleep with him , talk
with him , shake hands with him , laugh
and cry with him , and yet we know him
not.
not.Think
Think not I am attempting to describe
the Omnipotent. The fool alone essays
that folly. The Behemoth has but one
superior in manifesting the omnipotence
of the omnipresent. The little mice , the
Solomon mice are the exclusive repre
sentatives of the omnipotence of the
omnipresent. "But the Behemoth ,
what of him ? " Why is it that men
always rush after the lions of brute
force and so completely ignore the Solo
mon mice of intelligence. Surely , man
kind is still bound. It is high time that
it cast off its intellectual swaddling
clothes. The Behemoth , mighty mon
ster 1 is almost always asleep. He is sel
dom seen though ever present. He is en
wrapped iu an invisible and impene
trable veil. We see neither the Behe
moth nor the veil. The Behemoth
knows not of its existence. The Solo
mon mice can alone see the veil and
pass through its meshes. The Solomon
mice know the Behemoth. They tell us
that ho much resembles a sleeping vol
cano. He must not bo compared with
Vesuvius or Etna. They are but small ,
sputtering volcanoes. The Behemoth is
but slow to auger. His volcanic wrath
has been soon but a few times. Fortu
nately these are of comparatively recent
date. The Solomon mice have especially
studied his nature. They alone know
of the sources of his power. They toll
us that the Behemoth is a somnambulist ;
that he walketh in sleep , eatoth in sleep ,
talketh in sleep , and worketh in sleep.
The Behemoth hath eyes to see and ears
to hear with but seldom makes use of
them. Ho is the paradox of paradoxes ;
the riddle of riddles.
Tlio Mystic Veil.
The Behemoth lives in a veil. Other
animals live within its mystic and ca
pacious folds. They all move about
within it freely yet see it not. The
Solomon mice alone see it and know of
its nature. While all these animals
live within and are enshrouded by this
mystic veil , none knows the other , save
the mice. The Solomon mice know
them all. None sees the Behemoth as he
is. But few of the generations of men
liave seen the Behemoth step beyond the
veil. None has ever wanted another
visitation of his Titanic wrath who has
once seen and suffered from it. The
Solomon mice alone know and fear not
the Behemoth. He , the sleepy , phleg
matic mammoth , troubles not himself
about the mice. The veil is a paradox.
The Solomon mice can see through it
and find free passage. All other ani
mals live within it yet know it not.
The Inhabitants of the A'cll.
The veil is ignorance. It encloses the
jungles of eternal warfare. The chief
inhabitants of these jungles , aside from
the Behemoth and the Solomon mice are
lions and tigers , wolves , hyenas , jackals ,
sloths , and pole cats. Occasionally ,
there are intervals of seeming peace.
The Behemoth and the Solomon mice
constantly desire and seek peace. The
lions and tigers are in perpetual warfare.
The wolves , the hyenas , the jackals and
the polo cats keep the jungle in con
stant turmoil. Though passing through
centuries of discord the inhabitants of
the jungle seem to have learned but little
from experience. They are profoundly
enwrapped in the veil of ignorance.
They have turned their hearts against
wisdom. They have no ear for the Solomon
omen mice. The nature of the veil is
such that with all their wisdom it has
been impossible for the Solomon mice
to partition off the jungle and maintain
peace among its inhabitants. Unlike
the sheep and goats they cannot be sep
arated. The Behemoth is greater and
more powerful than all the other inhabi
tants of the jungle combined except
the mice. The Solomon mice are appar
ently insignificant and but few in num
ber. Notwithstanding this , they alone
can prevail over the Behemoth and
bring him to reason. Thereby they rule
the jungle. For that reason all the
other inhabitants hate them. The Be
hemoth notices not the other inhabi
tants so long as they disturb not his
peaceful slumbers. The roar of the
battle almost constantly going on be
tween the lions and tigers seldom frets
him. The hyenas , the wolves , etc. ,
form a sort of camp following to the
contending factions. They pester the
Behemoth more than they do the lions
and tigers. These pests swarm about
the sleeping monster and occasionally
stir him up , but they sneak away ere he
is fully aroused. The Behemoth kiiow-
oth the Solomon mice , though generally
too indifferent to listen to their wisdom.
The lions and tigers are too busy com-
jatting each other to give attention to
anything else. They know their neces
sities , but neither knows that the path
of peace and reciprocal usefulness is the
only way to attain unto them. The Be
hemoth is often half aroused by the boy
cotts and strikes of these warring clans.
As an armistice , for repairs , soon fol
lows the Behemoth turns to his slum
bers again. The lions and the tigers
have little or no idea of their mutual re
lations as inhabitants of the same jungle.
They know of the Behemoth , they
know something of his wants , but of his
nature they know nothing. The Behe
moth knows nothing of them , except that
they are continually quarreling about
iiim. None of them knows that he
cannot live without the other , the parti
tion of the jungle being impossible.
Only the Solomon mice know this.
Ever since the jungle was inhabited
they have been telling the inhabitants
that they could not live and prosper
until they know the nature of the invis
ible veil which separated them while it
did not isolate them. The somnolent
Behemoth is too indolent to listen. The
Lions and tigers are too busy fighting each
other for their own lives. They have
the utmost contempt for the mice. They
say : "Those insignificant little ani
mals , what are they doing here ? Of
what use are they to anyone ? If they
are of any account iu the jungle why is
it there are so few of them ? " The Solomon
omen mice have a hard time of it in the
jungle. Could they not find shelter in
the shadow and between the limbs of
the mighty Behemoth they would long
since have perished. The Behemoth's
phlegmatic indifference is their safety.
He kuoweth not that but for the watch
ful intelligence of the Solomon mice he
would be destroyed through his indif
ference to the warfare of the lions and
tigers. It would have been the total
destruction of the inhabitants of the
jungle had the mine been destroyed.
The wants and appetites of the Behe
moth are innumerable and nnsatiuble.
The lions and tigers live largely in sup
plying them. The hyenas , the jackals ,
the wolves , the pole cats , and the sloths ,
are parasites. They live mostly on the
Behemoth too indolent and indifferent
to be aware of it. Otherwise these par
asites live on the refuse of the camps ,
left by the lions and tigers. The chief
mission of the wolves appears to be to
stir up strife between the lions and the
tigers while they rob both. The jackals
and hyenas are camp followers of the
tigers among which they keep up a con
dition of mutual suspicion and unrest.
The pole cats follow in the wake of the