A show of lengthy prayers

Leading politicians swear before the Lord Buddha to run a clean campaign without vote-buying during a ceremony held by the Election Commission at the Temple of the Emerald Buddha yesterday. Election officials also took an oath to ensure a fair poll.

This image from The Nation bought to mind an old quote, filed away in the dark recesses of my childhood memory:

Beware of the scribes who like to walk about in long robes, to be greeted obsequiously in the market squares, to take the front seats in the synagogues and the place of honour at banquets; these are the men who swallow the property of widows while making a show of lengthy prayers.