d reign over us.' And
the vine said unto them, 'Should I leave my wine, which cheereth God and
man, and go to be promoted over the trees?'

"Then said all the trees unto the bramble, 'Come thou and reign over
us.' And the bramble said unto the trees, 'If in truth ye anoint me
king over you, then come and put your trust in my shadow: and if not,
let fire come out of the bramble and devour the cedars of Lebanon.'"

247

The concrete illustrations by means of which
Jesus constantly taught are called parables.
"Without a parable spake he not unto them." The
parable differs from the fable proper in
dealing with more fundamental or ideal truth.
The fable moves on the plane of the prudential
virtues, the parable on the plane of the higher
self-forgetting virtues. Because of that
difference there is in the parable "no jesting
nor raillery at the weakness, the follies, or
the crimes of men." All is deeply earnest,
befitting its high spiritual point of view. As
a rule the parables use for illustration
stories of what might actually happen. Two of
the most familiar of the parables follow. What
true neighborliness means is the message of
"The Good Samaritan."

THE GOOD SAMARITAN

_Luke x:25-37_

And behold, a certain lawyer stood up and tempted him, saying, "Master,
what shall I do to inherit eternal life?" He said unto him, "What is
written in the law? how readest thou?" And he answering said, "Thou
shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul,
and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbor as
thyself." And He said unto him, "Thou hast answered right; this do, and
thou shalt live." But he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus,
"And who is my neighbor?"

And Jesus answering said, "A certain man went down from Jerusalem to
Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and
wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. And by chance there
came down a certain priest that way; and when he saw him, he passed by
on the other side. And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came
and looked on him, and passed by on the other side. But a certain
Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was; and when he saw him, he
had compassion on him, and went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring
in oil and wine, and