[nwrep]

ping

[wideminded]

'Matilda Who Told Lies, And Was Burned to Death'
by Hillaire Belloc

Matilda told such Dreadful Lies,
It made one Gasp and Stretch one's Eyes;
Her Aunt, who, from her Earliest Youth,
Had kept a Strict Regard for Truth,
Attempted to Believe Matilda:
The effort very nearly killed her,
And would have done so, had not She
Discovered this Infirmity.

For once, towards the Close of Day,
Matilda, growing tired of play,
And finding she was left alone,
Went tiptoe to the Telephone
And summoned the Immediate Aid
Of London's Noble Fire-Brigade.

Within an hour the Gallant Band
Were pouring in on every hand,
From Putney, Hackney Downs, and Bow
With Courage high and Hearts aglow
They galloped, roaring through the Town,
'Matilda's House is Burning Down!'

Inspired by British Cheers and Loud
Proceeding from the Frenzied Crowd,
They ran their ladders through a score
Of windows on the Ball Room Floor;
And took Peculiar Pains to Souse
The Pictures up and down the House,

Until Matilda's Aunt succeeded
In showing them they were not needed;
And even then she had to pay
To get the Men to go away! . . . .

It happened that a few Weeks later
Her Aunt was off to the Theatre
To see that Interesting Play
The Second Mrs Tanqueray.
She had refused to take her
Niece To hear this entertaining Piece:
A Deprivation Just and Wise
To Punish her for Telling Lies.

That Night a Fire did break out -
You should have heard Matilda Shout!
You should have heard her Scream and Bawl,
And throw the window up and call
To People passing in the Street -

(The rapidly increasing Heat
Encouraging her to obtain
Their confidence) - but all in vain!
For every time She shouted 'Fire!'
They only answered 'Little Liar'!
And therefore when her Aunt returned,
Matilda, and the House, were Burned.

Other great poems and illustrations in Belloc's Cautionary Tales for Children.

[First Amendment]

Sorry to be a nag (NOT a "N.A.G.") but it is necessary to excerpt this? I don't like going to other sites unless necessary as I have very slow dial-up, and also the articles are then not part of FR archives, and this looks to be very interseting.

[headsonpikes]

Belloc was more than a prophet about the powers of Islam - his 'The Servile State' is a masterly prophecy of modern socialism.

[genefromjersey]

With all respect to M. Belloc, Islam was hardly a "Christian" heresy. Mohammed, I read somewhere, was originally a Jew-though he and his tribe might have been long separated from anything resembling orthodox Judaism.

Christianity just prior to the time of Mohammed had been splintered to a large degree: for example, the Coptic church (Egypt at that point was a largely Christian country)was at loggerheads with the church at Alexandria.

Although the Copts now say they never waged war,they did in fact mount a punitive expedition against one of their neighbors - who happened to hold Mecca - using Assyrian mercenaries.

During the seige of Mecca, the Coptic forces were infected with smallpox ( early germ warfare? ) which killed them in such numbers they fled the battlefield: bringing the deadly plague home with them.( Source: PLAGUE WARS )

The Coptic church almost vanished as a result, and when Mohammed came along - less than half a century later - there was little opposition to his preachings.

[hosepipe]

Islam(Qu'ran & Hadith(s)) is Crotch-ology... and studying it does require wipeing your mind often..

[jocon307]

"[T]he power of Islam may at any moment re-arise."

There, you see, it's happened.

Now it's time for another slap-down.

[DannyTN]

Long article. Interesting reading.

However, I take exception to the following comment.

"No fragment of Islam ever abandons its sacred book, its code of morals, its organized system of prayer, its simple doctrine."

I think this is not true. It's just that when a Muslim converts, he is not very vocal about it, because the Islamists will kill him if they can. And my guess is that there are a lot of Muslim's questioning the bloodthirstyness of their religion these days.

[justshutupandtakeit]

bttt for a later more through read.

[muawiyah]

"....The Arian generals and garrisons of Northern Africa had been conquered by the orthodox armies of the Emperor.......... Islam_the teaching of Mohammed_conquered immediately in arms..."

We might note that the "Arian Heresy" is known as a heresy only on the word of it's opposition which won the "war".

Then, along comes Mohammed, who failed to conduct universal conquest, so his gnostic tradition became known as a different religion rather than just another Christian heresy, which it was.

And if anybody missed it, all of these guys used armed conquest to advance the cause of their respective religions, or heresies, or orthodoxies.

It's truly incredible that we will be joined later on by folks who believe that only Islam has ever used armed might to force conversions.

[ChinaGotTheGoodsOnClinton]

Great post! I've been looking for something like this.

I am of the veiw that Mohammed was right, right that is when he said orignally that he saw the devil. His wife later convinced him otherwise.

I find as I remember back to HS history, much has been re-written to favor Islam.

Like for instance I was taught that the Dark Ages was the result of the Church's terrible lust for power and to keep everyone uneducated and stupid.

Turns out that the Ottoman Empire had Europe isolated, cut off and THAT was more like the reason for the dark ages.

Columbus found America in a attempt to find a safe way to the far east, free from Muslim raiders!

Now of course in my thirst for theology, I became convinced of the error of my antiCaholic upbringing and promptly converted ten years ago.

Been the best thing I've ever done!

[gg188]

I have taken the liberty of excerpting a very few of Belloc's first now-proven and then prophetic words (remember---this is from 1936):

The Mohammedan temper was not tolerant. It was, on the contrary, fanatical and bloodthirsty. It felt no respect for, nor even curiosity about, those from whom it differed. It was absurdly vain of itself, regarding with contempt the high Christian culture about it. It still so regards it even today.

snip

Millions of modern people of the white civilization_that is, the civilization of Europe and America_have forgotten all about Islam. They have never come in contact with it. they take for granted that it is decaying, and that, anyway, it is just a foreign religion which will not concern them. It is, as a fact, the most formidable and persistent enemy which our civilization has had, and may at any moment become as large a menace in the future as it has been in the past.

[dennisw]

btttttttttttttt

[PsyOp]

Excellent post!

Mohammed, The Mad Poet Quoted....

[Destro]

Posted for the upteenth time on FreeRepublic.....