294 THE BOOK OF A NATURALIST 
about the friendship of the poets, and the attempt to live up 
to their interest in him is playing havoc with his sincerity, and 
making him only less of a nevrose than the quite unnecessary 
cat. His earlier difficulty with the Egyptians is a warning 
that ought to serve for all time. If he ate up Apis it was but 
as a rough and ready way of inviting the worshippers of Apis 
to leave him alone.” 
