The Barrow-Downs Discussion Forum - View Single Post

Bêthberry · 10-10-2002, 11:06 AM

I think you are on to something, Squatter, although a quick search has so far frustrated my efforts to find the source I was thinking of in support of your point. <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>Cleanliness, it would appear, is not so closely linked to nobility of spirit as some people would have us believe. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>Cleanliness was closely associated with ritual, for it involved not just physical cleanliness but spiritual (moral) as well. In fact, in early centuries, too close attention to physical attributes would have been regarded as manifestation of a lack of attention to spiritual cleanliness, a worship of materialism in fact. It wasn't slovenliness, but a mortification of the body for spiritual gain. Not a modern concept. "Cleanliness is next to godliness" is a recent invention.Bethberry

10-10-2002, 11:06 AM	#17
Bêthberry Cryptic Aura Join Date: May 2002 Posts: 6,003	I think you are on to something, <B>Squatter</B>, although a quick search has so far frustrated my efforts to find the source I was thinking of in support of your point.<P> <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>Cleanliness, it would appear, is not so closely linked to nobility of spirit as some people would have us believe.<BR> <HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P>Cleanliness was closely associated with ritual, for it involved not just physical cleanliness but spiritual (moral) as well. In fact, in early centuries, too close attention to physical attributes would have been regarded as manifestation of a lack of attention to spiritual cleanliness, a worship of materialism in fact. It wasn't slovenliness, but a mortification of the body for spiritual gain. Not a modern concept. <P>"Cleanliness is next to godliness" is a recent invention.<P>Bethberry __________________ I’ll sing his roots off. I’ll sing a wind up and blow leaf and branch away.