THE GOOD SAMARITAN.


As Jesus was talking to His disciples, a certain lawyer stood up and
asked, "Who is my neighbour?" And Jesus answered by telling them this
story:--

A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among
thieves, who robbed him, stripped him of his clothes, and, wounding
him, left him on the road half dead. By chance there came a priest
that way, and, as a teacher of religion to men, he should have stopped
to help the poor man. Instead of this, he pretended not to see, and
passed by on the other side of the road. Then there came by a Levite,
who also, as an official of the church, should have given help. But he
merely came and looked on the injured man, and passed on the other
side as the priest had done.

Afterwards there came by a Samaritan, and, when he caught sight of the
wounded Jew, he went over to him and was very sorry for him. Now the
Jews hated the Samaritans, and were their enemies, so that it would
not have been surprising if he, also, had done as the priest and the
Levite did. But, no! Though it was his enemy, he could not pass him by
and leave him on the road, perhaps to die. He examined his wounds and
bound them up; doing all that he could to soothe them. Then he lifted
him carefully on his own beast, and brought him to the nearest inn,
and took care of him through the night. The next day, when the
Samaritan departed, he paid the man who kept the inn, and said to him,
"Take care of this poor man until he is well, and whatever it may cost
for his lodging and food, that I will pay thee when I come again."