If it be true (as it certainly is) that a man can feel exquisite happiness in skinning a cat, then the religious philosopher can only draw one of two deductions. He must either deny the existence of God, as all atheists do; or he must deny the present union between God and man, as all Christians do. The new theologians seem to think it a highly rationalistic solution to deny the cat.
-G. K. Chesterton, "The Maniac," Orthodoxy, 15.
2 comments:
I used to 'skin the cat' when I was little: I dangled from monkey bars by my hands, and then swung my legs over my head, between my arms. I wonder how common this phrase is--do kids skin the cat outside of southwestern PA? At any rate, I DON'T think this is what Chesterton had in mind...
But while we're on the subject, I'll mention that there is a rather disturbing cat skinning (actually, it's more of a cat boiling) at the beginning of the second book of The Once and Future King. It's particularly disconcerting because the first book is so cheery and winsome...Arthur has just pulled the sword out of the stone, and everything is swell, and now children, let's watch the nasty, bored lady boil her cat. Suddenly it becomes clear that this is NOT a comedy. T. H. White's worldview isn't particularly Christian...but original sin isn't much in doubt. He doesn't deny the cat.
Kids in Northern New Mexico also skin the cat. I was more apt to drop myself on my head in the process, being too risk-averse to gain any momentum as my legs moved over my head, and being forced to let go of the bar so as not to dislocate my shoulders. I always let go too soon and landed smack on my noggin.
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