|
PERFIDY AND SLANDER |
| 9 |
What has an individual gained by losing his
own self-
respect? or what has he lost when, retaining his own,
he
loses the homage of fools, or the pretentious praise of |
| 12 |
hypocrites, false to themselves as to
others?
Shakespeare, the
immortal lexicographer of mortals,
writes: - |
| 15 |
To thine
own self be true,
And it must follow, as the night the day,
Thou canst
not then be false to any man. |
| 18 |
When Aristotle was asked what a person
could gain
by uttering a falsehood, he replied, "Not to be credited
when he shall tell the truth." |
| 21 |
The character of a liar and hypocrite is so
contempti-
ble, that even of those who have lost their honor it might
be expected that from the violation of truth they should |
| 24 |
be restrained by their pride.
Perfidy of an
inferior quality, such as manages to evade
the law, and which dignified
natures cannot stoop to |
| 27 |
notice, except legally, disgraces human
nature more than
do most vices.
Slander is a
midnight robber; the red-tongued assas- |
| 30 |
sin of radical worth; the conservative
swindler, who
Page
227 |
| 1 |
sells himself in a traffic by which he can
gain nothing.
It can retire for forgiveness to no fraternity where its |
| 3 |
crime may stand in the place of a virtue;
but must at
length be given up to the hisses of the multitude, with-
out friend and without apologist. |
| 6 |
Law has found it necessary to offer to the
innocent,
security from slanderers - those pests of society - when
their crime comes within its jurisdiction. Thus, to evade |
| 9 |
the penalty of law, and yet with malice
aforethought to
extend their evil intent, is the nice distinction by
which
they endeavor to get their weighty stuff into the hands |
| 12 |
of gossip! Some uncharitable one may give
it a forward
move, and, ere that one himself become aware, find
himself
responsible for kind (?) endeavors. |
| 15 |
Would that my pen or pity could raise these
weak,
pitifully poor objects from their choice of self-degrada-
tion to
the nobler purposes and wider aims of a life made |
| 18 |
honest: a life in which the fresh flowers
of feeling blos-
som, and, like the camomile, the more trampled upon,
the sweeter the odor they send forth to benefit mankind; |
| 21 |
a life wherein calm, self-respected
thoughts abide in
tabernacles of their own, dwelling upon a holy hill,
speak-
ing the truth in the heart; a life wherein the mind can |
| 24 |
rest in green pastures, beside the still
waters, on isles
of sweet refreshment. The sublime summary of an
honest
life satisfies the mind craving a higher good, and |
| 27 |
bathes it in the cool waters of peace on
earth; till it
grows into the full stature of wisdom, reckoning its
own
by the amount of happiness it has bestowed upon |
| 30 |
others.
Not to avenge one's
self upon one's enemies, is the
command of almighty wisdom; and we take
this to be
Page
228 |
| 1 |
a safer guide than the promptings of human
nature.
To know that a deception dark as it is base has been |
| 3 |
practised upon thee, - by those deemed at
least indebted
friends whose welfare thou hast promoted, - and yet
not
to avenge thyself, is to do good to thyself; is to take |
| 6 |
a new standpoint whence to look upward; is
to be calm
amid excitement, just amid lawlessness, and pure amid
corruption. |
| 9 |
To be a great man or woman, to have a name
whose
odor fills the world with its fragrance, is to bear with
patience
the buffetings of envy or malice - even while |
| 12 |
seeking to raise those barren natures to a
capacity for a
higher life. We should look with pitying eye on the
momentary success of all villainies, on mad ambition |
| 15 |
and low revenge. This will bring us also to
look on a
kind, true, and just person, faithful to conscience and
honest beyond reproach, as the only suitable fabric out |
| 18 |
of which to weave an existence fit for
earth and
heaven.
CONTAGION |
| 21 |
Whatever man sees, feels, or in any way
takes cog-
nizance of, must be caught through mind; inasmuch
as
perception, sensation, and consciousness belong to |
| 24 |
mind and not to matter. Floating with the
popular
current of mortal thought without questioning the re-
liability
of its conclusions, we do what others do, |
| 27 |
believe what others believe, and say what
others say.
Common consent is contagious, and it makes disease
catching. |
| 30 |
People believe in infectious and
contagious diseases,
Page
229 |
| 1 |
and that any one is liable to have them
under certain
predisposing or exciting causes. This mental state pre- |
| 3 |
pares one to have any disease whenever
there appear the
circumstances which he believes produce it. If he
believed
as sincerely that health is catching when exposed to con- |
| 6 |
tact with healthy people, he would catch
their state of
feeling quite as surely and with better effect than he
does
the sick man's. |
| 9 |
If only the people would believe that good
is more
contagious than evil, since God is omnipresence, how
much more
certain would be the doctor's success, and |
| 12 |
the clergyman's conversion of sinners. And
if only the
pulpit would encourage faith in God in this direction
and
faith in Mind over all other influences governing |
| 15 |
the receptivity of the body, theology would
teach man
as David taught: "Because thou hast made the Lord,
which is
my refuge, even the most High thy habitation; |
| 18 |
there shall no evil befall thee, neither
shall any plague
come nigh thy dwelling."
The confidence of
mankind in contagious disease would |
| 21 |
thus become beautifully less; and in the
same propor-
tion would faith in the power of God to heal and to save
mankind increase, until the whole human race would |
| 24 |
become healthier, holier, happier, and
longer lived. A
calm, Christian state of mind is a better preventive of
contagion than a drug, or than any other possible sana- |
| 27 |
tive method; and the "perfect Love" that
"casteth out
fear" is a sure defense.
Page
230
IMPROVE YOUR TIME
Success in life
depends upon persistent effort, upon |
| 3 |
the improvement of moments more than upon
any other
one thing. A great amount of time is consumed in talking
nothing, doing nothing, and indecision as to what one |
| 6 |
should do. If one would be successful in
the future, let
him make the most of the present.
Three ways of
wasting time, one of which is con- |
| 9 |
temptible, are gossiping mischief, making
lingering calls,
and mere motion when at work, thinking of nothing or
planning for some amusement, - travel of limb more |
| 12 |
than mind. Rushing around smartly is no
proof of ac-
complishing much.
All successful
individuals have become such by hard |
| 15 |
work; by improving moments before they pass
into hours,
and hours that other people may occupy in the pursuit
of
pleasure. They spend no time in sheer idleness, in |
| 18 |
talking when they have nothing to say, in
building air-
castles or floating off on the wings of sense: all of
which
drop human life into the ditch of nonsense, and worse |
| 21 |
than waste its years.
"Let us,
then, be up and doing,
With a heart for any fate; |
| 24 |
Still
achieving, still pursuing,
Learn to labor and to wait."
THANKSGIVING DINNER |
| 27 |
It was a beautiful group! needing but
canvas and the
touch of an artist to render it pathetic, tender,
gorgeous.
Page
231 |
| 1 |
Age, on whose hoary head the almond-blossom
formed a
crown of glory; middle age, in smiles and the full fruition |
| 3 |
of happiness; infancy, exuberant with joy,
- ranged side
by side. The sober-suited grandmother, rich in ex-
perience, had seen sunshine and shadow fall upon ninety- |
| 6 |
six years. Four generations sat at that
dinner-table.
The rich viands made busy many appetites; but, what
of
the poor! Willingly - though I take no stock in |
| 9 |
spirit-rappings - would I have had the
table give a
spiritual groan for the unfeasted ones.
Under the skilful
carving of the generous host, the |
| 12 |
mammoth turkey grew beautifully less. His
was the
glory to vie with guests in the dexterous use of knife and
fork, until delicious pie, pudding, and fruit caused un- |
| 15 |
conditional surrender.
And the baby! Why,
he made a big hole, with two
incisors, in a big pippin, and bit the finger
presump- |
| 18 |
tuously poked into the little mouth to
arrest the peel!
Then he was caught walking! one, two, three steps, -
and papa knew that he could walk, but grandpa was |
| 21 |
taken napping. Now! baby has tumbled, soft
as thistle-
down, on the floor; and instead of a real set-to at crying,
a look of cheer and a toy from mamma bring the soft |
| 24 |
little palms patting together, and pucker
the rosebud
mouth into saying, "Oh, pretty!" That was a scientific
baby; and his first sitting-at-table on Thanksgiving Day |
| 27 |
- yes, and his little rainbowy life -
brought sunshine
to every heart. How many homes echo such tones of
heartfelt joy on Thanksgiving Day! But, alas! for the |
| 30 |
desolate home; for the tear-filled eyes
looking longingly
at the portal through which the loved one comes not,
or
gazing silently on the vacant seat at fireside and board -
Page
232 |
| 1 |
God comfort them all! we inwardly prayed -
but the
memory was too much; and, turning from it, in a bumper |
| 3 |
of pudding-sauce we drank to peace, and
plenty, and
happy households.
CHRISTIAN SCIENCE |
| 6 |
This age is reaching out towards the
perfect Principle
of things; is pushing towards perfection in art,
inven-
tion, and manufacture. Why, then, should religion be |
| 9 |
stereotyped, and we not obtain a more
perfect and prac-
tical Christianity? It will never do to be behind the
times in things most essential, which proceed from the |
| 12 |
standard of right that regulates human
destiny. Human
skill but foreshadows what is next to appear as its
divine
origin. Proportionately as we part with material systems |
| 15 |
and theories, personal doctrines and
dogmas, meekly to
ascend the hill of Science, shall we reach the
maximum
of perfection in all things. |
| 18 |
Spirit is omnipotent; hence a more
spiritual Chris-
tianity will be one having more power, having
perfected
in Science that most important of all arts, - healing. |
| 21 |
Metaphysical healing, or Christian Science,
is a de-
mand of the times. Every man and every woman would
desire and
demand it, if he and she knew its infinite |
| 24 |
value and firm basis. The unerring and
fixed Principle
of all healing is God; and this Principle should be
sought from the love of good, from the most spiritual |
| 27 |
and unselfish motives. Then will it be
understood to be
of God, and not of man; and this will prevent mankind
from striking out promiscuously, teaching and practising
Page
233
in the name
of Science without knowing its fundamental
Principle. |
| 3 |
It is important to know that a malpractice
of the best
system will result in the worst form of medicine. More-
over, the feverish, disgusting pride of those who call |
| 6 |
themselves metaphysicians or Scientists, -
but are such
in name only, - fanned by the breath of mental mal-
practice, is the death's-head at the feast of Truth; the |
| 9 |
monkey in harlequin jacket that will retard
the onward
march of life-giving Science, if not understood and with-
stood, and so strangled in its attempts. |
| 12 |
The standard of metaphysical healing is
traduced by
thinking to put into the old garment of drugging the new
cloth of metaphysics; or by trying to twist the fatal |
| 15 |
magnetic force of mortal mind, termed
hypnotism, into
a more fashionable cut and naming that "mind-cure,"
or
- which is still worse in the eyes of Truth - terming |
| 18 |
it metaphysics! Substituting good words for
a good life,
fair-seeming for straightforward character, mental mal-
practice for the practice of true medicine, is a poor shift |
| 21 |
for the weak and worldly who think the
standard of
Christian Science too high for them.
What think you of a
scientist in mathematics who finds |
| 24 |
fault with the exactness of the rule
because unwilling to
work hard enough to practise it? The perfection of
the
rule of Christian Science is what constitutes its utility: |
| 27 |
having a true standard, if some fall short,
others will
approach it; and these are they only who adhere to that
standard. |
| 30 |
Matter must be understood as a false
belief or product
of mortal mind: whence we learn that sensation is not
in matter, but in this so-called mind; that we see and
Page
234 |
| 1 |
feel disease only by reason of our belief
in it: then shall
matter remain no longer to blind us to Spirit, and
clog |
| 3 |
the wheels of progress. We spread our wings
in vain when
we attempt to mount above error by speculative views
of
Truth. |
| 6 |
Love is the Principle of divine Science;
and Love is
not learned of the material senses, nor gained by a culpa-
ble attempt to seem what we have not lifted ourselves |
| 9 |
to be, namely, a Christian. In love
for man, we gain a
true sense of Love as God; and in no other way can
we
reach this spiritual sense, and rise - and still rise - to |
| 12 |
things most essential and divine. What
hinders man's
progress is his vain conceit, the Phariseeism of the
times,
also his effort to steal from others and avoid hard work; |
| 15 |
errors which can never find a place in
Science. Empiri-
cal knowledge is worse than useless: it never has
advanced
man a single step in the scale of being. |
| 18 |
That one should have ventured on such
unfamiliar
ground, and, self-forgetful, should have gone on to estab-
lish this mighty system of metaphysical healing, called |
| 21 |
Christian Science, against such odds, -
even the entire
current of mortality, - is matter of grave wonderment
to
profound thinkers. That, in addition to this, she has made |
| 24 |
some progress, has seen far into the
spiritual facts of be-
ing which constitute physical and mental perfection,
in
the midst of an age so sunken in sin and sensuality, seems |
| 27 |
to them still more inconceivable.
In this new
departure of metaphysics, God is regarded
more as absolute, supreme; and
Christ is clad with a |
| 30 |
so richer illumination as our Saviour from
sickness, sin,
and death. God's fatherliness as Life, Truth, and Love,
makes His sovereignty glorious.
Page
235 |
| 1 |
By this system, too, man has a changed
recognition
of his relation to God. He is no longer obliged to sin, |
| 3 |
be sick, and die to reach heaven, but is
required and em-
powered to conquer sin, sickness, and death; thus, as
image and likeness, to reflect Him who destroys death |
| 6 |
and hell. By this reflection, man becomes
the partaker
of that Mind whence sprang the universe.
In Christian
Science, progress is demonstration, not |
| 9 |
doctrine. This Science is ameliorative and
regenerative,
delivering mankind from all error through the light and
love of Truth. It gives to the race loftier desires and new |
| 12 |
possibilities. It lays the axe at the root
of the tree of
knowledge, to cut down all that bringeth not forth good
fruit; "and blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended |
| 15 |
in me." It touches mind to more spiritual
issues, sys-
tematizes action, gives a keener sense of Truth and a
stronger desire for it. |
| 18 |
Hungering and thirsting after a better
life, we shall
have it, and become Christian Scientists; learn God
aright, and know something of the ideal man, the real |
| 21 |
man, harmonious and eternal. This movement
of thought
must push on the ages: it must start the wheels of reason
aright, educate the affections to higher resources, and |
| 24 |
leave Christianity unbiased by the
superstitions of a
senior period.
INJUSTICE |
| 27 |
Who that has tried to follow the divine
precept, "All
things whatsoever ye would that men should do unto
you,
do ye even so to them," has not suffered from the
Page
236 |
| 1 |
situation? - has not found that human
passions in their
reaction have misjudged motives? |
| 3 |
Throughout our experience since undertaking
the
labor of uplifting the race, we have been made the re-
pository of
little else than the troubles, indiscretions, |
| 6 |
and errors of others; until thought has
shrunk from
contact with family difficulties, and become weary with
study to counsel wisely whenever giving advice on per- |
| 9 |
sonal topics.
To the child
complaining of his parents we have said,
"Love and honor thy parents, and
yield obedience to |
| 12 |
them in all that is right; but you have the
rights of con-
science, as we all have, and must follow God in all your
ways." |
| 15 |
When yielding to constant solicitations of
husband or
wife to give, to one or the other, advice concerning diffi-
culties and the best way to overcome them, we have done |
| 18 |
this to the best of our ability, - and
always with the pur-
pose to restore harmony and prevent dishonor. In
such
cases we have said, "Take no counsel of a mortal, even |
| 21 |
though it be your best friend; but be
guided by God
alone;" meaning by this, Be not estranged from each
other
by anything that is said to you, but seek in divine |
| 24 |
Love the remedy for all human discord.
Yet, notwithstanding
one's good intentions, in some
way or at some step in one's efforts to help
another, as |
| 27 |
a general rule, one will be blamed for all
that is not right:
but this must not deter us from doing our duty,
whatever
else may appear, and at whatever cost.
Page
237
REFORMERS
The olden opinion
that hell is fire and brimstone, has |
| 3 |
yielded somewhat to the metaphysical fact
that suffering
is a thing of mortal mind instead of body: so, in place
of material flames and odor, mental anguish is generally |
| 6 |
accepted as the penalty for sin. This
changed belief
has wrought a change in the actions of men. Not a few
individuals serve God (or try to) from fear; but remove |
| 9 |
that fear, and the worst of human passions
belch forth
their latent fires. Some people never repent until earth
gives them such a cup of gall that conscience strikes home; |
| 12 |
then they are brought to realize how
impossible it is to
sin and not suffer. All the different phases of error
in
human nature the reformer must encounter and help to |
| 15 |
eradicate.
This period is not
essentially one of conscience: few
feel and live now as when this nation
began, and our |
| 18 |
forefathers' prayers blended with the
murmuring winds
of their forest home. This is a period of doubt,
inquiry,
speculation, selfishness; of divided interests, marvellous |
| 21 |
good, and mysterious evil. But sin can only
work out
its own destruction; and reform does and must push on
the
growth of mankind. |
| 24 |
Honor to faithful merit is delayed, and
always has
been; but it is sure to follow. The very streets through
which Garrison was dragged were draped in honor of |
| 27 |
the dead hero who did the hard work, the
immortal work,
of loosing the fetters of one form of human slavery. I
remember, when a girl, and he visited my father, how a |
| 30 |
childish fear clustered round his coming.
I had heard
Page
238 |
| 1 |
the awful story that "he helped 'niggers'
kill the white
folks!" Even the loving children are sometimes made |
| 3 |
to believe a lie, and to hate reformers. It
is pleasant,
now, to contrast with that childhood's wrong the reverence
of my riper years for all who dare to be true, honest to |
| 6 |
their convictions, and strong of purpose.
The reformer has no
time to give in defense of his
own life's incentive, since no sacrifice is
too great for the |
| 9 |
silent endurance of his love. What has not
unselfed love
achieved for the race? All that ever was accomplished,
and more than history has yet recorded. The reformer |
| 12 |
works on unmentioned, save when he is
abused or his
work is utilized in the interest of somebody. He may
labor for the establishment of a cause which is fraught |
| 15 |
with infinite blessings, - health, virtue,
and heaven;
but what of all that? Who should care for everybody?
It is
enough, say they, to care for a few. Yet the good |
| 18 |
done, and the love that foresees more to
do, stimulate
philanthropy and are an ever-present reward. Let one's
life answer well these questions, and it already hath a |
| 21 |
benediction:
Have you renounced
self? Are you faithful? Do
you love?
MRS. EDDY SICK
The frequent public
allegement that I am "sick, unable
to speak a loud word," or that I died of
palsy, and am |
| 27 |
dead, - is but another evidence of the
falsehoods kept
constantly before the public.
While I accord these
evil-mongers due credit for their
Page
239 |
| 1 |
desire, let me say to you, dear reader:
Call at the
Massachusetts Metaphysical College, in 1889, and judge |
| 3 |
for yourself whether I can talk-and laugh
too! I
never was in better health. I have had but four
days' vacation
for the past year, and am about to com- |
| 6 |
mence a large class in Christian Science.
Lecturing,
writing, preaching, teaching, etc., give fair proof that
my
shadow is not growing less; and substance is taking |
| 9 |
larger proportions.
"I'VE GOT COLD"
Out upon the
sidewalk one winter morning, I observed |
| 12 |
a carriage draw up before a stately
mansion; a portly
gentleman alight, and take from his carriage the
ominous
hand-trunk. |
| 15 |
"Ah!" thought I, "somebody has to take it;
and what
may the potion be?"
Just then a tiny,
sweet face appeared in the vestibule, |
| 18 |
and red nose, suffused eyes, cough, and
tired look, told
the story; but, looking up quaintly, the poor child said,
-
"I've got cold,
doctor." |
| 21 |
Her apparent pride at sharing in a popular
influenza
was comical. However, her dividend, when compared
with that
of the household stockholders, was new; and |
| 24 |
doubtless their familiarity with what the
stock paid, made
them more serious over it.
What if that sweet
child, so bravely confessing that |
| 27 |
she had something that she ought not to
have, and which
mamma thought must be gotten rid of, had been taught
the value of saying even more bravely, and believing |
| 30 |
it, -
Page
240 |
| 1 |
"I have not got cold."
Why, the doctor's
squills and bills would have been |
| 3 |
avoided; and through the cold air the
little one would
have been bounding with sparkling eyes, and ruby
cheeks
painted and fattened by metaphysical hygiene. |
| 6 |
Parents and doctors must not take the sweet
freshness
out of the children's lives by that flippant caution, "You
will get cold." |
| 9 |
Predicting danger does not dignify life,
whereas fore-
casting liberty and joy does; for these are strong pro-
moters of health and happiness. All education should |
| 12 |
contribute to moral and physical strength
and freedom.
If a cold could get into the body without the assent of
mind, nature would take it out as gently, or let it remain |
| 15 |
as harmlessly, as it takes the frost out
of the ground or
puts it into the ice-cream to the satisfaction of all.
The sapling bends to
the breeze, while the sturdy oak, |
| 18 |
with form and inclination fixed, breasts
the tornado. It
is easier to incline the early thought rightly, than
the
biased mind. Children not mistaught, naturally love |
| 21 |
God; for they are pure-minded,
affectionate, and gen-
erally brave. Passions, appetites, pride,
selfishness, have
slight sway over the fresh, unbiased thought. |
| 24 |
Teach the children early self-government,
and teach
them nothing that is wrong. If they see their father with
a
cigarette in his mouth - suggest to them that the habit |
| 27 |
of smoking is not nice, and that nothing
but a loathsome
worm naturally chews tobacco. Likewise soberly
inform
them that "Battle-Axe Plug" takes off men's heads; or, |
| 30 |
leaving these on, that it takes from their
bodies a sweet
something which belongs to nature, - namely, pure
odors.
Page
241 |
| 1 |
From a religious point of view, the faith
of both youth
and adult should centre as steadfastly in God to benefit |
| 3 |
the body, as to benefit the mind. Body and
mind are
correlated in man's salvation; for man will no more
enter
heaven sick than as a sinner, and Christ's Christi- |
| 6 |
anity casts out sickness as well as sin of
every sort.
Test, if you will,
metaphysical healing on two patients:
one having morals to be healed, the
other having a physi- |
| 9 |
cal ailment. Use as your medicine the great
alterative,
Truth: give to the immoralist a mental dose that says,
"You
have no pleasure in sin," and witness the effects. |
| 12 |
Either he will hate you, and try to make
others do like-
wise, so taking a dose of error big enough apparently
to
neutralize your Truth, else he will doubtingly await the |
| 15 |
result; during which interim, by constant
combat and
direful struggles, you get the victory and Truth heals him
of the moral malady. |
| 18 |
On the other hand, to the bedridden
sufferer admin-
ister this alterative Truth: "God never made you sick:
there is no necessity for pain; and Truth destroys the |
| 21 |
error that insists on the necessity of any
man's bondage
to sin and sickness. 'Ye shall know the truth, and the
truth shall make you free."' |
| 24 |
Then, like blind Bartimeus, the doubting
heart looks
up through faith, and your patient rejoices in the gospel
of health. |
| 27 |
Thus, you see, it is easier to heal the
physical than the
moral ailment. When divine Truth and Love heal, of
sin, the sinner who is at ease in sin, how much more should |
| 30 |
these heal, of sickness, the sick who are
dis-eased, dis-
comforted, and who long for relief !
Page
242
"PRAYER AND HEALING"
The article of
Professor T- , having the above cap- |
| 3 |
tion, published in Zion's Herald,
December third, came
not to my notice until January ninth. In it the
Professor
offered me, as President of the Metaphysical College in |
| 6 |
Boston, or one of my students, the liberal
sum of one
thousand dollars if either would reset certain dislocations
without the use of hands, and two thousand dollars if |
| 9 |
either would give sight to one born blind.
Will the gentleman
accept my thanks due to his gener-
osity; for, if I should accept his bid
on Christianity, he |
| 12 |
would lose his money.
Why?
Because I performed
more difficult tasks fifteen years |
| 15 |
ago. At present, I am in another department
of Christian
work, "where there shall no signs be given them," for
they shall be instructed in the Principle of Christian |
| 18 |
Science that furnishes its own proof.
But, to reward his
liberality, I offer him three thou-
sand dollars if he will heal one single
case of opium-eating |
| 21 |
where the patient is very low and taking
morphine powder
in its most concentrated form, at the rate of one ounce
in
two weeks, - having taken it twenty years; and he is to |
| 24 |
cure that habit in three days, leaving the
patient well. I
cured precisely such a case in 1869.
Also, Mr. C. M. H -
, of Boston, formerly partner |
| 27 |
of George T. Brown, pharmacist, No. 5
Beacon St., will
tell you that he was my student in December, 1884; and
that before leaving the class he took a patient thoroughly |
| 30 |
addicted to the use of opium - if she went
without it
Page
243 |
| 1 |
twenty-four hours she would have delirium -
and in
forty-eight hours cured her perfectly of this habit, |
| 3 |
with no bad results, but with decided
improvement in
health.
I have not yet made
surgery one of the mental branches |
| 6 |
taught in my college; although students
treat sprains,
contusions, etc., successfully. In the case of sprain of
the
wrist joint, where the regular doctor had put on splints |
| 9 |
and bandages to remain six weeks, a student
of mine
removed these appliances the same day and effected the
cure in
less than one week. Reference, Mrs. M. A. F -, |
| 12 |
107 Eutaw Street, East Boston.
I agree with the
Professor, that every system of medi-
cine claims more than it practises.
If the system is Science, |
| 15 |
it includes of necessity the Principle,
which the learner
can demonstrate only in proportion as he understands
it.
Boasting is unbecoming a mortal's poor performances. |
| 18 |
My Christian students are proverbially
modest: their
works alone should declare them, since my system of medi-
cine is not generally understood. There are charlatans |
| 21 |
in "mind-cure," who practise on the basis
of matter, or
human will, not Mind.
The Professor
alludes to Paul's advice to Timothy. |
| 24 |
Did he refer to that questionable counsel,
"Take a little
wine for thy stomach's sake"? Even doctors disagree
on
that prescription: some of the medical faculty will |
| 27 |
tell you that alcoholic drinks cause the
coats of the stomach
to thicken and the organ to contract; will prevent
the
secretions of the gastric juice, and induce ulceration, |
| 30 |
bleeding, vomiting, death.
Again, the Professor
quotes, in justification of material
methods, and as veritable: "He took a
bone from the
Page
244 |
| 1 |
side of Adam, closed up the wound thereof,
and builded
up the woman." (Gen. ii. 21.) |
| 3 |
Here we have the Professor on the platform
of Christian
Science! even a "surgical operation" that he says was
performed by divine power, - Mind alone constructing |
| 6 |
the human system, before surgical
instruments were
invented, and closing the incisions of the flesh.
He further states
that God cannot save the soul without |
| 9 |
compliance to ordained conditions. But, we
ask, have
those conditions named in Genesis been perpetuated in
the
multiplication of mankind? And, are the conditions |
| 12 |
of salvation mental, or physical; are they
bodily penance
and torture, or repentance and reform, which are the
action of mind ? |
| 15 |
He asks, "Has the law been abrogated that
demands
the employment of visible agencies for specific ends?"
Will he accept my
reply as derived from the life and |
| 18 |
teachings of Jesus? - who annulled the
so-called laws of
matter by the higher law of Spirit, causing him to
walk
the wave, turn the water into wine, make the blind to see, |
| 21 |
the deaf to hear, the lame to walk, and the
dead to be
raised without matter-agencies. And he did this for man's
example; not to teach himself, but others, the way of |
| 24 |
healing and salvation. He said, "And other
sheep I have,
which are not of this fold."
The teachings and
demonstration of Jesus were for |
| 27 |
all peoples and for all time; not for a
privileged class or
a restricted period, but for as many as should believe
in
him. |
| 30 |
Are the discoverers of quinine, cocaine,
etc., espe-
cially the children of our Lord because of their medical
discoveries?
Page
245 |
| 1 |
We have no record showing that our Master
ever used,
or recommended others to use, drugs; but we have his |
| 3 |
words, and the prophet's, as follows: "Take
no thought,
saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink?"
"And
Asa . . . sought not to the Lord, but to the phy- |
| 6 |
sicians. And Asa slept with his fathers."
VERITAS ODIUM PARIT
The combined efforts
of the materialistic portion of |
| 9 |
the pulpit and press in 1885, to retard by
misrepresen-
tation the stately goings of Christian Science, are giving
it new impetus and energy; calling forth the vox populi |
| 12 |
and directing more critical observation to
its uplifting
influence upon the health, morals, and spirituality of
mankind. |
| 15 |
Their movements indicate fear and weakness,
a physi-
cal and spiritual need that Christian Science should re-
move
with glorious results. The conclusion cannot now |
| 18 |
be pushed, that women have no rights that
man is bound
to respect. This is woman's hour, in all the good tend-
encies, charities, and reforms of to-day. It is difficult |
| 21 |
to say which may be most mischievous to
the human
heart, the praise or the dispraise of men.
I have loved the
Church and followed it, thinking that |
| 24 |
it was following Christ; but, if the pulpit
allows the people
to go no further in the direction of Christlikeness,
and
rejects apostolic Christianity, seeking to stereotype infinite |
| 27 |
Truth, it is a thing to be thankful for
that one can walk
alone the straight and narrow way; that, in the words
of
Wendell Phillips, "one with God is a majority."
Page
246 |
| 1 |
It is the pulpit and press, clerical robes
and the pro-
hibiting of free speech, that cradles and covers the sins
of |
| 3 |
the world, - all unmitigated systems of
crime; and it
requires the enlightenment of these worthies, through
civil and religious reform, to blot out all inhuman codes. |
| 6 |
It was the Southern pulpit and press that
influenced the
people to wrench from man both human and divine rights,
in order to subserve the interests of wealth, religious caste, |
| 9 |
civil and political power. And the pulpit
had to be
purged of that sin by human gore, - when the love of
Christ
would have washed it divinely away in Christian |
| 12 |
Science!
The cry of the
colored slave has scarcely been heard
and hushed, when from another
direction there comes |
| 15 |
another sharp cry of oppression. Another
form of inhu-
manity lifts its hydra head to forge anew the old
fetters;
to shackle conscience, stop free speech, slander, vilify; |
| 18 |
to invite its prey, then turn and refuse
the victim a solitary
vindication in this most unprecedented warfare.
A conflict more
terrible than the battle of Gettysburg |
| 21 |
awaits the crouching wrong that refused to
yield its
prey the peace of a desert, when a voice was heard
crying in
the wilderness, - the spiritual famine of 1866, |
| 24 |
- "Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make
His paths
straight."
Shall religious
intolerance, arrayed against the rights |
| 27 |
of man, again deluge the earth in blood?
The question
at issue with mankind is: Shall we have a spiritual Chris-
tianity and a spiritual healing, or a materialistic religion |
| 30 |
and a materia medica?
The advancing faith and hope of
Christianity, the
earnest seeking after practical truth that shall cast
out
Page
247 |
| 1 |
error and heal the sick, wisely demand for
man his God-
given heritage, both human and divine rights; namely, |
| 3 |
that his honest convictions and
proofs of advancing truth
be allowed due consideration, and treated
not as pearls
trampled upon. |
| 6 |
Those familiar with my history are more
tolerant; those
who know me, know that I found health in just what I
teach. I have professed Christianity a half-century; and |
| 9 |
now I calmly challenge the world, upon fair
investigation,
to furnish a single instance of departure in one of my
works from the highest possible ethics. |
| 12 |
The charges against my views are false, but
natural,
since those bringing them do not understand my state-
ment of
the Science I introduce, and are unwilling to be |
| 15 |
taught it, even gratuitously. If they did
understand it, they
could demonstrate this Science by healing the sick;
hence
the injustice of their interpretations. |
| 18 |
To many, the healing force developed by
Christian
Science seems a mystery, because they do not understand
that
Spirit controls body. They acknowledge the exist- |
| 21 |
ence of mortal mind, but believe it to
reside in matter
of the brain; but that man is the idea of infinite
Mind,
is not so easily accepted. That which is temporary |
| 24 |
seems, to the common estimate, solid and
substantial.
It is much easier for people to believe that the body
affects mind, than that the body is an expression of |
| 27 |
mind, and reflects harmony or discord
according to
thought.
Everything that God
created, He pronounced good. |
| 30 |
He never made sickness. Hence that
is only an evil belief
of mortal mind, which must be met, in every
instance,
with a denial by Truth.
Page
248 |
| 1 |
This is the "new tongue," the language of
them that
"lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover," whose |
| 3 |
spiritual interpretation they refuse to
hear. For instance:
the literal meaning of the passage "lay hands on the
sick"
would be manipulation; its moral meaning, found in the |
| 6 |
"new tongue," is spiritual power, - as, in
another Scrip-
ture, "I will triumph in the works of Thy hands."
FALSEHOOD |
| 9 |
The Greeks showed a just estimate of the
person they
called slanderer, when they made the word synonymous
with
devil. If the simple falsehoods uttered about me |
| 12 |
were compounded, the mixture would be
labelled thus:
"Religionists' mistaken views of Mrs. Eddy's book, 'Sci-
ence and Health with Key to the Scriptures,' and the |
| 15 |
malice aforethought of sinners."
That I take opium;
that I am an infidel, a mesmerist,
a medium, a "pantheist;" or that my
hourly life is prayer- |
| 18 |
less, or not in strict obedience to the
Mosaic Decalogue, -
is not more true than that I am dead, as is oft
reported.
The St. Louis Democrat is alleged to have reported my |
| 21 |
demise, and to have said that I died of
poison, and be-
queathed my property to Susan Anthony.
The opium falsehood
has only this to it: Many years |
| 24 |
ago my regular physician prescribed
morphine, which I
took, when he could do no more for me. Afterwards,
the glorious revelations of Christian Science saved me |
| 27 |
from that necessity and made me well,
since which time
I have not taken drugs, with the following exception:
When the mental malpractice of poisoning people was
Page
249 |
| 1 |
first undertaken by a mesmerist, to test
that malprac-
tice I experimented by taking some large doses of mor- |
| 3 |
phine, to see if Christian Science could
not obviate its
effect; and I say with tearful thanks, "The drug had
no
effect upon me whatever." The hour has struck, |
| 6 |
- "If they drink any deadly thing, it
shall not hurt
them."
The false report
that I have appropriated other people's |
| 9 |
manuscripts in my works, has been met and
answered
legally. Both in private and public life, and especially
through my teachings, it is well known that I am not a |
| 12 |
spiritualist, a pantheist, or prayerless.
The most devout
members of evangelical churches will say this, as well
as
my intimate acquaintances. None are permitted to re- |
| 15 |
main in my College building whose morals
are not un-
questionable. I have neither purchased nor ordered a
drug
since my residence in Boston; and to my knowledge, |
| 18 |
not one has been sent to my house, unless
it was something
to remove stains or vermin.
The report that I
was dead arose no doubt from the |
| 21 |
combined efforts of some malignant
students, expelled
from my College for immorality, to kill me: of their
mental
design to do this I have proof, but no fear. My heavenly |
| 24 |
Father will never leave me comfortless, in
the amplitude
of His love; coming nearer in my need, more tenderly to
save and bless.
LOVE
What a word! I am in
awe before it. Over what
worlds on worlds it hath range and is sovereign!
the un-
Page
250 |
| 1 |
derived, the incomparable, the infinite All
of good, the
alone God, is Love. |
| 3 |
By what strange perversity is the best
become the most
abused, - either as a quality or as an entity? Mortals
misrepresent and miscall affection; they make it what |
| 6 |
it is not, and doubt what it is. The
so-called affection
pursuing its victim is a butcher fattening the lamb
to
slay it. What the lower propensities express, should be |
| 9 |
repressed by the sentiments. No word is
more mis-
construed; no sentiment less understood. The divine
significance of Love is distorted into human qualities, |
| 12 |
which in their human abandon become
jealousy and
hate.
Love is not
something put upon a shelf, to be taken |
| 15 |
down on rare occasions with sugar-tongs and
laid on a
rose-leaf. I make strong demands on love, call for active
witnesses to prove it, and noble sacrifices and grand |
| 18 |
achievements as its results. Unless these
appear, I cast
aside the word as a sham and counterfeit, having no ring
of the true metal. Love cannot be a mere abstraction, or |
| 21 |
goodness without activity and power. As a
human quality,
the glorious significance of affection is more than
words:
it is the tender, unselfish deed done in secret; the silent, |
| 24 |
ceaseless prayer; the self-forgetful heart
that overflows;
the veiled form stealing on an errand of mercy, out of
a
side door; the little feet tripping along the sidewalk; the |
| 27 |
gentle hand opening the door that turns
toward want and
woe, sickness and sorrow, and thus lighting the dark
places of earth.
Page
251
ADDRESS ON THE FOURTH OF JULY AT PLEASANT VIEW,
CONCORD, N. H., BEFORE 2,500 MEMBERS OF THE
MOTHER CHURCH, 1897
My beloved brethren, who have come all the
way from
the Pacific to the Atlantic shore, from the Palmetto to
the |
| 6 |
Pine Tree State, I greet you; my hand may
not touch
yours to-day, but my heart will with tenderness untalkable.
His Honor, Mayor Woodworth, has welcomed
you to |
| 9 |
Concord most graciously, voicing the
friendship of this
city and of my native State - loyal to the heart's core
to
religion, home, friends, and country. |
| 12 |
To-day we commemorate not only our nation's
civil
and religious freedom, but a greater even, the liberty of
the
sons of God, the inalienable rights and radiant reality |
| 15 |
of Christianity, whereof our Master said:
"The works
that I do shall he do;" and, "The kingdom of God cometh
not
with observation" (with knowledge obtained from |
| 18 |
the senses), but "the kingdom of God is
within you," -
within the present possibilities of mankind.
Think of this inheritance! Heaven right
here, where |
| 21 |
angels are as men, clothed more lightly,
and men as angels
who, burdened for an hour, spring into liberty, and
the
good they would do, that they do, and the evil they would |
| 24 |
not do, that they do not.
From the falling leaves of old-time faiths
men learn a
parable of the period, that all error, physical, moral,
or |
| 27 |
religious, will fall before Truth
demonstrated, even as
dry leaves fall to enrich the soil for fruitage.
Sin, sickness, and disease flee before the
evangel of |
| 30 |
Truth as the mountain mists before the
sun. Truth is
Page
252 |
| 1 |
the tonic for the sick, and this medicine
of Mind is not
necessarily infinitesimal but infinite. Herein the
mental |
| 3 |
medicine of divine metaphysics and the
medical systems
of allopathy and homoeopathy differ. Mental medi-
cine
gains no potency by attenuation, and its largest |
| 6 |
dose is never dangerous, but the more the
better in every
case.
Christian Science
classifies thought thus: Right thoughts |
| 9 |
are reality and power; wrong thoughts are
unreality and
powerless, possessing the nature of dreams. Good thoughts
are potent; evil thoughts are impotent, and they should |
| 12 |
appear thus. Continuing this category, we
learn that
sick thoughts are unreality and weakness; while healthy
thoughts are reality and strength. My proof of these |
| 15 |
novel propositions is demonstration,
whereby any man
can satisfy himself of their verity.
Christian Science is
not only the acme of Science |
| 18 |
but the crown of Christianity. It is
universal. It ap-
peals to man as man; to the whole and not to a por-
tion; to man physically, as well as spiritually, and to all |
| 21 |
mankind.
It has one God. It
demonstrates the divine Principle,
rules and practice of the great healer
and master of meta- |
| 24 |
physics, Jesus of Nazareth. It
spiritualizes religion and
restores its lost element, namely, healing the
sick. It
consecrates and inspires the teacher and preacher; it |
| 27 |
equips the doctor with safe and sure
medicine; it en-
courages and empowers the business man and secures
the
success of honesty. It is the dear children's toy and |
| 30 |
strong tower; the wise man's spiritual
dictionary; the
poor man's money; yea, it is the pearl priceless
whereof
our Master said, if a man findeth, he goeth and selleth
Page
253 |
| 1 |
all that he hath and buyeth it. Buyeth it!
Note the
scope of that saying, even that Christianity is not merely |
| 3 |
a gift, as St. Paul avers, but is bought
with a price, a great
price; and what man knoweth as did our Master its
value, and the price that he paid for it? |
| 6 |
Friends, I am not enough the new woman of
the period
for outdoor speaking, and the incidental platform is not
broad enough for me, but the speakers that will now ad- |
| 9 |
dress you - one a congressman - may
improve our
platforms; and make amends for the nothingness of
matter
with the allness of Mind.
WELL DOINGE IS THE FRUITE OF DOINGE WELL
HERRICK
This period is big with events. Fraught
with history, |
| 15 |
it repeats the past and portends much for
the future.
The Scriptural metaphors, - of the woman
in travail,
the great red dragon that stood ready to devour the
child |
| 18 |
as soon as it was born, and the husbandmen
that said,
"This is the heir: come, let us kill him, that the in-
heritance may be ours," - are type and shadow of this |
| 21 |
hour.
A mother's love touches the heart of God,
and should
it not appeal to human sympathy? Can a mother tell |
| 24 |
her child one tithe of the agonies that
gave that child
birth? Can that child conceive of the anguish, until
she
herself is become a mother? |
| 27 |
Do the children of this period dream of
the spiritual
Mother's sore travail, through the long night, that has
opened their eyes to the light of Christian Science? Cherish
Page
254 |
| 1 |
these new-born children that filial
obedience to which the
Decalogue points with promise of prosperity? Should
not |
| 3 |
the loving warning, the far-seeing wisdom,
the gentle en-
treaty, the stern rebuke have been heeded, in return for
all that love which brooded tireless over their tender |
| 6 |
years? for all that love that hath fed them
with Truth, -
even the bread that cometh down from heaven, - as the
mother-bird tendeth her young in the rock-ribbed nest of |
| 9 |
the raven's callow brood!
And what of the hope
of that parent whose children
rise up against her; when brother slays
brother, and |
| 12 |
the strength of union grows weak with
wickedness?
The victim of mad ambition that saith, "This is
the heir:
come, let us kill him, that the inheritance |
| 15 |
may be ours," goes on to learn that he must
at last
kill this evil in "self" in order to gain the kingdom
of
God. |
| 18 |
Envy, the great red dragon of this hour,
would obscure
the light of Science, take away a third part of the stars
from the spiritual heavens, and cast them to the earth. |
| 21 |
This is not Science. Per contra, it
is the mortal mind
sense - mental healing on a material basis - hurling
its so-called healing at random, filling with hate its |
| 24 |
deluded victims, or resting in silly peace
upon the
laurels of headlong human will. "What shall, therefore,
the
Lord of the vineyard do? He will come and de- |
| 27 |
stroy the husbandmen, and will give the
vineyard unto
others."
Page
255
LITTLE GODS
It is sometimes
said, cynically, that Christian Scien- |
| 3 |
tists set themselves on pedestals, as so
many petty deities;
but there is no fairness or propriety in the
aspersion.
Man is not equal to
his Maker. That which is formed |
| 6 |
is not cause, but effect; and has no
underived power.
But it is possible, and dutiful, to throw the weight
of
thought and action on the side of right, and to be thus |
| 9 |
lifted up.
Man should be found
not claiming equality with, but
growing into, that altitude of Mind which
was in Christ |
| 12 |
Jesus. He should comprehend, in divine
Science, a
recognition of what the apostle meant when he said:
"The
Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that |
| 15 |
we are the children of God: and if
children, then heirs;
heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ."
ADVANTAGE OF MIND-HEALING |
| 18 |
It is sometimes asked, What are the
advantages of your
system of healing?
I claim for healing
by Christian Science the following |
| 21 |
advantages: -
First: It does away with
material medicine, and rec-
ognizes the fact that the antidote for
sickness, as well |
| 24 |
as for sin, may be found in God, the
divine Mind.
Second: It is more effectual
than drugs, and cures
where they fail, because it is this divine antidote,
and |
| 27 |
metaphysics is above physics.
Page
256 |
| 1 |
Third: Persons who have been healed
by Christian
Science are not only cured of their belief in disease,
but |
| 3 |
they are at the same time improved
morally. The body
is governed by Mind, and mortal mind must be
corrected
in order to make the body harmonious.
A
CARD
While gratefully
acknowledging the public confidence
manifested in daily letters that
protest against receiving |
| 9 |
instruction in the Massachusetts
Metaphysical College
from any other than Mrs. Eddy, I feel, deeply, that
of
necessity this imposes on me the severe task of remain- |
| 12 |
ing at present a public servant: also, that
this must pre-
vent my classes from forming as frequently as was an-
nounced in the October number of the Journal, and |
| 15 |
necessitates receiving but a select number
of students.
To meet the old impediment, lack of time, that has oc-
casioned the irregular intervals between my class terms, |
| 18 |
I shall continue to send to each applicant
a notice from
one to two weeks previous to the opening term.
MARY BAKER
G. EDDY
SPIRIT AND LAW
We are accustomed to
think and to speak of gravita-
tion as a law of matter; while every quality
of matter, |
| 24 |
in and of itself, is inert, inanimate, and
non-intelligent.
The assertion that matter is a law, or a lawgiver, is
anomalous. Wherever law is, Mind is; and the notion
Page
257 |
| 1 |
that Mind can be in matter is rank
infidelity, which either
excludes God from the universe, or includes Him in
every |
| 3 |
mode and form of evil. Pantheism
presupposes that
God sleeps in the mineral, dreams in the animal, and
wakes in a wicked man. |
| 6 |
The distinction between that which is and
that which
is not law, must be made by Mind and as Mind. Law is
either
a moral or an immoral force. The law of God is |
| 9 |
the law of Spirit, a moral and spiritual
force of immor-
tal and divine Mind. The so-called law of matter is an
immoral force of erring mortal mind, alias the minds of |
| 12 |
mortals. This so-called force, or law, at
work in nature
as a power, prohibition, or license, is cruel and
merciless.
It punishes the innocent, and repays our best deeds |
| 15 |
with sacrifice and suffering. It is a code
whose modes
trifle with joy, and lead to immediate or ultimate death.
It fosters suspicion where confidence is due, fear where |
| 18 |
courage is requisite, reliance where there
should be
avoidance, a belief in safety where there is most
danger. Our
Master called it "a murderer from the |
| 21 |
beginning."
Electricity,
governed by this so-called law, sparkles
on the cloud, and strikes down the
hoary saint. Floods |
| 24 |
swallow up homes and households; and
childhood, age,
and manhood go down in the death-dealing wave. Earth-
quakes engulf cities, churches, schools, and mortals. |
| 27 |
Cyclones kill and destroy, desolating the
green earth.
This pitiless power smites with disease the good Samari-
tan ministering to his neighbor's need. Even the chamber |
| 30 |
where the good man surrenders to death is
not exempt
from this law. Smoothing the pillow of pain may infect
you
with smallpox, according to this lawless law which
Page
258 |
| 1 |
dooms man to die for loving his neighbor as
himself, -
when Christ has said that love is the fulfilling of the |
| 3 |
law.
Our great Ensample,
Jesus of Nazareth, met and abol-
ished this unrelenting false claim of
matter with the |
| 6 |
righteous scorn and power of Spirit. When,
through
Mind, he restored sight to the blind, he figuratively and
literally spat upon matter; and, anointing the wounded |
| 9 |
spirit with the great truth that God is
All, he demon-
strated the healing power and supremacy of the law of
Life and Love. |
| 12 |
In the spiritual Genesis of creation, all
law was vested
in the Lawgiver, who was a law to Himself. In divine
Science, God is One and All; and, governing Himself, |
| 15 |
He governs the universe. This is the law of
creation:
"My defense is of God, which saveth the upright in
heart."
And that infinite Mind governs all things. On |
| 18 |
this infinite Principle of freedom, God
named Him-
self, I AM. Error, or Adam, might give names to itself,
and
call Mind by the name of matter, but error could |
| 21 |
neither name nor demonstrate Spirit. The
name, I
AM, indicated no personality that could be paralleled
with it;
but it did declare a mighty individuality, |
| 24 |
even the everlasting Father, as infinite
consciousness,
ever-presence, omnipotence; as all law, Life, Truth, and
Love. |
| 27 |
God's interpretation of Himself furnishes
man with
the only suitable or true idea of Him; and the divine
definition of Deity differs essentially from the human. |
| 30 |
It interprets the law of Spirit, not of
matter. It explains
the eternal dynamics of being, and shows that
nature
and man are as harmonious to-day as in the beginning,
Page
259 |
| 1 |
when "all things were made by Him; and
without Him
was not any thing made." |
| 3 |
Whatever appears to be law, but partakes
not of the
nature of God, is not law, but is what Jesus declared
it, "a
liar, and the father of it." God is the law of Life, |
| 6 |
not of death; of health, not of sickness;
of good, not
of evil. It is this infinitude and oneness of good that
silences the supposition that evil is a claimant or a claim. |
| 9 |
The consciousness of good has no
consciousness or knowl-
edge of evil; and evil is not a quality to be known
or
eliminated by good: while iniquity, too evil to conceive |
| 12 |
of good as being unlike itself, declares
that God knows
iniquity!
When the Lawgiver
was the only law of creation, free- |
| 15 |
dom reigned, and was the heritage of man;
but this
freedom was the moral power of good, not of evil: it
was
divine Science, in which God is supreme, and the |
| 18 |
only law of being. In this eternal harmony
of Science,
man is not fallen: he is governed in the same rhythm
that
the Scripture describes, when "the morning stars |
| 21 |
sang together, and all the sons of God
shouted for joy."
TRUTH-HEALING
The spiritual
elevator of the human race, physically, |
| 24 |
morally, and Christianly, is the truism
that Truth dem-
onstrates good, and is natural; while error, or evil,
is really non-existent, and must have produced its own |
| 27 |
illusion, - for it belongs not to nature
nor to God. Truth
is the power of God which heals the sick and the
sinner,
and is applicable to all the needs of man. It is the uni-
Page
260 |
| 1 |
versal, intelligent Christ-idea illustrated
by the life of
Jesus, through whose "stripes we are healed." By con- |
| 3 |
flicts, defeats, and triumphs, Christian
Science has been
reduced to the understanding of mortals, and found
able
to heal them. |
| 6 |
Pagan mysticism, Grecian philosophy, or
Jewish reli-
gion, never entered into the line of Jesus' thought or
action. His faith partook not of drugs, matter, nor of |
| 9 |
the travesties of mortal mind. The divine
Mind was
his only instrumentality and potency, in religion or medi-
cine. The Principle of his cure was God, in the laws |
| 12 |
of Spirit, not of matter; and these laws
annulled all other
laws.
Jesus knew that
erring mortal thought holds only in |
| 15 |
itself the supposition of evil, and that
sin, sickness, and
death are its subjective states; also, that pure Mind
is
the truth of being that subjugates and destroys any sup- |
| 18 |
positional or elementary opposite to Him
who is All.
Truth is supreme and
omnipotent. Then, whatever
else seemeth to be intelligence or power is
false, delud- |
| 21 |
ing reason and denying revelation, and
seeking to dethrone
Deity. The truth of Mind-healing uplifts mankind,
by
acknowledging pure Mind as absolute and entire, and |
| 24 |
that evil is naught, although it seems to
be.
Pure Mind gives out
an atmosphere that heals and
saves. Words are not always the auxiliaries of
Truth. |
| 27 |
The spirit, and not the letter, performs
the vital func-
tions of Truth and Love. Mind, imbued with this Science
of healing, is a law unto itself, needing neither license |
| 30 |
nor prohibition; but lawless mind, with
unseen motives,
and silent mental methods whereby it may injure the
race, is the highest attenuation of evil.
Page
261 |
| 1 |
Again: evil, as mind, is doomed,
already sentenced,
punished; for suffering is commensurate with evil,
and |
| 3 |
lasts as long as the evil. As mind,
evil finds no escape
from itself; and the sin and suffering it occasions
can
only be removed by reformation. |
| 6 |
According to divine law, sin and suffering
are not
cancelled by repentance or pardon. Christian Science
not only
elucidates but demonstrates this verity of be- |
| 9 |
ing; namely, that mortals suffer from the
wrong they
commit, whether intentionally or ignorantly; that every
effect and amplification of wrong will revert to the wrong- |
| 12 |
doer, until he pays his full debt to divine
law, and the
measure he has meted is measured to him again, full,
pressed down, and running over. Surely "the way of |
| 15 |
the transgressor is hard."
In this law of
justice, the atonement of Christ loses
no efficacy. Justice is the handmaid
of mercy, and show- |
| 18 |
eth mercy by punishing sin. Jesus said, "I
came not to
destroy the law," - the divine requirements typified in
the
law of Moses, - "but to fulfil it" in righteousness, |
| 21 |
by Truth's destroying error. No greater
type of divine
Love can be presented than effecting so glorious a
purpose.
This spirit of sacrifice always has saved, and still saves |
| 24 |
mankind; but by mankind I mean mortals, or
a kind
of men after man's own making. Man as God's idea
is already
saved with an everlasting salvation. It is im- |
| 27 |
possible to be a Christian Scientist
without apprehend-
ing the moral law so clearly that, for conscience'
sake,
one will either abandon his claim to even a knowledge |
| 30 |
of this Science, or else make the claim
valid. All Science
is divine. Then, to be Science, it must produce
physical
and moral harmony.
Page
262 |
| 1 |
Dear readers, our Journal is
designed to bring health
and happiness to all households wherein it is
permitted |
| 3 |
to enter, and to confer increased power to
be good and
to do good. If you wish to brighten so pure a purpose,
you
will aid our prospect of fulfilling it by your kind |
| 6 |
patronage of The Christian Science
Journal, now enter-
ing upon its fifth volume, clad in Truth-healing's
new
and costly spring dress.
HEART TO HEART
When the heart
speaks, however simple the words,
its language is always acceptable to
those who have |
| 12 |
hearts.
I just want to say,
I thank you, my dear students, who
are at work conscientiously and
assiduously, for the good |
| 15 |
you are doing. I am grateful to you for
giving to the
sick relief from pain; for giving joy to the suffering
and
hope to the disconsolate; for lifting the fallen and strength- |
| 18 |
ening the weak, and encouraging the heart
grown faint
with hope deferred. We are made glad by the divine
Love
which looseth the chains of sickness and sin, open- |
| 21 |
ing the prison doors to such as are bound;
and we should
be more grateful than words can express, even through
this white-winged messenger, our Journal. |
| 24 |
With all the homage beneath the skies, yet
were our
burdens heavy but for the Christ-love that makes them
light
and renders the yoke easy. Having his word, you |
| 27 |
have little need of words of approval and
encouragement
from me. Perhaps it is even selfish in me sometimes to
relieve my heart of its secrets, because I take so much
Page
263 |
| 1 |
pleasure in thus doing; but if my motives
are sinister,
they will harm myself only, and I shall have the unself- |
| 3 |
ish joy of knowing that the wrong motives
are not yours,
to react on yourselves.
These two words in
Scripture suggest the sweetest |
| 6 |
similes to be found in any language -
rock and feathers:
"Upon this rock I will build my church;"
"He shall
cover thee with His feathers." How blessed it is to |
| 9 |
think of you as "beneath the shadow of a
great rock in
a weary land," safe in His strength, building on His
foundation, and covered from the devourer by divine |
| 12 |
protection and affection. Always bear in
mind that His
presence, power, and peace meet all human needs and
reflect all bliss.
THINGS TO BE THOUGHT OF
The need of their
teacher's counsel, felt by students,
especially by those at a distance,
working assiduously for |
| 18 |
our common Cause, - and their constant
petitions for
the same, should be met in the most effectual way.
To be responsible
for supplying this want, and poise |
| 21 |
the wavering balance on the right side, is
impracticable
without a full knowledge of the environments. The
educational system of Christian Science lacks the aid |
| 24 |
and protection of State laws. The Science
is hampered
by immature demonstrations, by the infancy of its dis-
covery, by incorrect teaching; and especially by unprin- |
| 27 |
cipled claimants, whose mad ambition
drives them to
appropriate my ideas and discovery, without credit, ap-
preciation, or a single original conception, while they
Page
264 |
| 1 |
quote from other authors and give them
credit for every
random thought in line with mine. |
| 3 |
My noble students, who are loyal to Christ,
Truth, and
human obligations, will not be disheartened in the midst
of
this seething sea of sin. They build for time and eter- |
| 6 |
nity. The others stumble over misdeeds, and
their own
unsubstantiality, without the groundwork of right, till,
like
camera shadows thrown upon the mists of time, they |
| 9 |
melt into darkness.
Unity is the
essential nature of Christian Science. Its
Principle is One, and to
demonstrate the divine One, |
| 12 |
demands oneness of thought and action.
Many students enter
the Normal class of my College
whom I have not fitted for it by the Primary
course. |
| 15 |
They are taught their first lessons by my
students; hence
the aptness to assimilate pure and abstract Science is
somewhat untested. |
| 18 |
"As the twig is bent, the tree's inclined."
As mortal
mind is directed, it acts for a season. Some students
leave
my instructions before they are quite free from |
| 21 |
the bias of their first impressions,
whether those be cor-
rect or incorrect. Such students are more or less
subject
to the future mental influence of their former teacher. |
| 24 |
Their knowledge of Mind-healing may be
right theo-
retically, but the moral and spiritual status of thought
must be right also. The tone of the teacher's mind must |
| 27 |
be pure, grand, true, to aid the mental
development of
the student; for the tint of the instructor's mind must
take its hue from the divine Mind. A single mistake in |
| 30 |
metaphysics, or in ethics, is more fatal
than a mistake in
physics.
If a teacher of
Christian Science unwittingly or inten-
Page
265 |
| 1 |
tionally offers his own thought, and gives
me as authority
for it; if he diverges from Science and knows it not,
or, |
| 3 |
knowing it, makes the venture from vanity,
in order to
be thought original, or wiser than somebody else, - this
divergence widens. He grows dark, and cannot regain, |
| 6 |
at will, an upright understanding. This
error in the
teacher also predisposes his students to make mistakes
and
lose their way. Diverse opinions in Science are |
| 9 |
stultifying. All must have one
Principle and the same
rule; and all who follow the Principle and
rule have but
one opinion of it. |
| 12 |
Whosoever understands a single rule in
Science, and
demonstrates its Principle according to rule, is master
of
the situation. Nobody can gainsay this. The ego- |
| 15 |
tistical theorist or shallow moralist may
presume to
make innovations upon simple proof; but his mistake
is
visited upon himself and his students, whose minds |
| 18 |
are, must be, disturbed by this discord,
which extends
along the whole line of reciprocal thought. An error
in
premise can never bring forth the real fruits of Truth. |
| 21 |
After thoroughly explaining spiritual Truth
and its ethics
to a student, I am not morally responsible for the mis-
statements or misconduct of this student. My teachings |
| 24 |
are uniform. Those who abide by them do
well. If
others, who receive the same instruction, do ill, the fault
is
not in the culture but the soil. |
| 27 |
I am constantly called to settle questions
and disaf-
fections toward Christian Science growing out of the
departures from Science of self-satisfied, unprincipled |
| 30 |
students. If impatient of the loving
rebuke, the stu-
dent must stop at the foot of the grand ascent, and
there
remain until suffering compels the downfall of his self-
Page
266 |
| 1 |
conceit. Then that student must struggle
up, with bleed-
ing footprints, to the God-crowned summit of unselfish |
| 3 |
and pure aims and affections.
To be two-sided,
when these sides are moral oppo-
sites, is neither politic nor scientific;
and to abridge a |
| 6 |
single human right or privilege is an
error. Whoever
does this may represent me as doing it; but he mistakes
me, and the subjective state of his own mind for mine. |
| 9 |
The true leader of a true cause is the
unacknowledged
servant of mankind. Stationary in the background, this
individual is doing the work that nobody else can or will |
| 12 |
do. An erratic career is like the comet's
course, dash-
ing through space, headlong and alone. A clear-headed
and
honest Christian Scientist will demonstrate the Prin- |
| 15 |
ciple of Christian Science, and hold
justice and mercy as
inseparable from the unity of God.
UNCHRISTIAN RUMOR |
| 18 |
The assertion that I have said hard things
about my
loyal students in Chicago, New York, or any other place,
is
utterly false and groundless. I speak of them as I feel, |
| 21 |
and I cannot find it in my heart not to
love them. They
are essentially dear to me, who are toiling and
achieving
success in unison with my own endeavors and prayers. |
| 24 |
If I correct mistakes which may be made in
teaching or
lecturing on Christian Science, this is in accordance with
my students' desires, and thus we mutually aid each other, |
| 27 |
and obey the Golden Rule.
The spirit of lies
is abroad. Because Truth has spoken
aloud, error, running to and fro in the
earth, is scream-
Page
267 |
| 1 |
ing, to make itself heard above Truth's
voice. The
audible and inaudible wail of evil never harms Scientists, |
| 3 |
steadfast in their consciousness of the
nothingness of
wrong and the supremacy of right.
Our worst enemies
are the best friends to our growth. |
| 6 |
Charity students, for whom I have
sacrificed the most
time, - those whose chief aim is to injure me, -
have
caused me to exercise most patience. When they report |
| 9 |
me as "hating those whom I do not
love," let them re-
member that there never was a time when I saw an
op-
portunity really to help them and failed to improve it; |
| 12 |
and this, too, when I knew they were
secretly striving
to injure me.
VAIN GLORY |
| 15 |
Comparisons are odorous. -
SHAKESPEARE
Through all human history, the vital
outcomes of
Truth have suffered temporary shame and loss from |
| 18 |
individual conceit, cowardice, or
dishonesty. The bird
whose right wing flutters to soar, while the left
beats its
way downward, falls to the earth. Both wings must be |
| 21 |
plumed for rarefied atmospheres and upward
flight.
Mankind must gravitate from sense to Soul,
and human
affairs should be governed by Spirit, intelligent good. |
| 24 |
The antipode of Spirit, which we name
matter, or non-
intelligent evil, is no real aid to
being. The predisposing
and exciting cause of all defeat and victory under
the |
| 27 |
sun, rests on this scientific basis: that
action, in obedi-
ence to God, spiritualizes man's motives and
methods,
and crowns them with success; while disobedience to
Page
268 |
| 1 |
this divine Principle materializes human
modes and con-
sciousness, and defeats them. |
| 3 |
Two personal queries give point to human
action: Who
shall be greatest? and, Who shall be best? Earthly
glory is
vain; but not vain enough to attempt pointing |
| 6 |
the way to heaven, the harmony of being.
The imaginary
victories of rivalry and hypocrisy are defeats. The Holy
One saith, "O that thou hadst hearkened to My com- |
| 9 |
mandments! then had thy peace been as a
river." He
is unfit for Truth, and the demonstration of divine power,
who departs from Mind to matter, and from Truth to |
| 12 |
error, in pursuit of better means for
healing the sick and
casting out error.
The Christian Scientist keeps straight to
the course. |
| 15 |
His whole inquiry and demonstration lie in
the line of
Truth; hence he suffers no shipwreck in a starless night
on
the shoals of vainglory. His medicine is Mind - |
| 18 |
the omnipotent and ever-present good. His
"help is
from the Lord," who heals body and mind, head and
heart;
changing the affections, enlightening the mis- |
| 21 |
guided senses, and curing alike the sin and
the mortal
sinner. God's preparations for the sick are potions of
His
own qualities. His therapeutics are antidotes for |
| 24 |
the ailments of mortal mind and body. Then
let us not
adulterate His preparations for the sick with material
means. |
| 27 |
From lack of moral strength empires fall.
Right alone
is irresistible, permanent, eternal. Remember that hu-
man
pride forfeits spiritual power, and either vacillating |
| 30 |
good or self-assertive error dies of its
own elements.
Through patience we must possess the sense of Truth;
and
Truth is used to waiting. "Commit thy way unto
Page
269 |
| 1 |
the Lord; trust also in Him; and He shall
bring it to
pass." |
| 3 |
By using falsehood to regain his liberty,
Galileo vir-
tually lost it. He cannot escape from barriers who com-
mits his moral sense to a dungeon. Hear the Master |
| 6 |
on this subject: "No man can serve two
masters: for
either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else
he
will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot |
| 9 |
serve God and mammon."
Lives there a man
who can better define ethics, better
elucidate the Principle of being, than
he who "spake as |
| 12 |
never man spake," and whose precepts and
example have
a perpetual freshness in relation to human events?
Who is it that
understands, unmistakably, a fraction |
| 15 |
of the actual Science of Mind-healing?
It is he who has
fairly proven his knowledge on a Chris-
tian, mental, scientific basis; who
has made his choice |
| 18 |
between matter and Mind, and proven the
divine Mind
to be the only physician. These are self-evident proposi-
tions: That man can only be Christianized through Mind; |
| 21 |
that without Mind the body is without
action; that Science
is a law of divine Mind. The conclusion follows that
the
correct Mind-healing is the proper means of Christianity, |
| 24 |
and is Science.
Christian Science
may be sold in the shambles. Many
are bidding for it, - but are not willing
to pay the price. |
| 27 |
Error is vending itself on trust, well
knowing the will-
ingness of mortals to buy error at par value. The
Reve-
lator beheld the opening of this silent mental seal, and |
| 30 |
heard the great Red Dragon
whispering that "no man
might buy or sell, save he that had the
mark, or the name
of the beast, or the number of his name."
Page
270 |
| 1 |
We are in the Valley of Decision. Then, let
us take
the side of him who "overthrew the tables of the money- |
| 3 |
changers, and the seats of them that sold
doves," - of
such as barter integrity and peace for money and fame.
What artist would question the skill of the masters in |
| 6 |
sculpture, music, or painting? Shall we
depart from the
example of the Master in Christian Science, Jesus of
Nazareth, - than whom mankind hath no higher ideal? |
| 9 |
He who demonstrated his power over sin,
disease, and
death, is the master Metaphysician.
To seek or employ
other means than those the Master |
| 12 |
used in demonstrating Life scientifically,
is to lose the
priceless knowledge of his Principle and practice. He
said, "Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His right- |
| 15 |
eousness; and all these things shall be
added unto you."
Gain a pure Christianity; for that is requisite for
heal-
ing the sick. Then you will need no other aid, and will |
| 18 |
have full faith in his prophecy, "And there
shall be one
fold, and one shepherd;" but, the Word must abide in
us,
if we would obtain that promise. We cannot depart |
| 21 |
from his holy example, - we cannot leave
Christ for the
schools which crucify him, and yet follow him in heal-
ing. Fidelity to his precepts and practice is the only pass- |
| 24 |
port to his power; and the pathway of
goodness and
greatness runs through the modes and methods of God.
"He
that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord."
COMPOUNDS
Homoeopathy is the
last link in material medicine.
The next step is Mind-medicine. Among the
foremost
Page
271 |
| 1 |
virtues of homoeopathy is the exclusion of
compounds
from its pharmacy, and the attenuation of a drug up to |
| 3 |
the point of its disappearance as matter
and its manifesta-
tion in effect as a thought, instead of a thing.
Students of
Christian Science (and many who are not |
| 6 |
students) understand enough of this to keep
out of their
heads the notion that compounded metaphysics (so-called)
is, or can be, Christian Science, - that rests on oneness; |
| 9 |
one cause and one effect.
They should take our
magazine, work for it, write for
it, and read it. They should eschew all
magazines and |
| 12 |
books which are less than the best.
"Choose you this day
whom ye will serve." Cleanse
your mind of the cobwebs which spurious
"compounds" |
| 15 |
engender. Before considering a subject
that is unworthy
of thought, take in this axiomatic truism: "Trust her
not, she's fooling thee;" and Longfellow is right.
CLOSE OF THE MASSACHUSETTS METAPHYSICAL COLLEGE
Much is said at this
date, 1889, about Mrs. Eddy's |
| 21 |
Massachusetts Metaphysical College being
the only
chartered College of Metaphysics. To make this plain,
the
Publishing Committee of the Christian Scientist |
| 24 |
Association has published in the Boston
Traveler the
following: -
"To benefit the
community, and more strongly mark |
| 27 |
the difference between true and false
teachers of mental
healing, the following history and statistics are
officially
submitted: -
Page
272 |
| 1 |
"Rev. Mary Baker G. Eddy obtained a college
charter
in January, 1881, with all the rights and privileges per- |
| 3 |
taining thereunto (including the right
to grant degrees)
under Act of 1874, Chapter 375, Section 4.
"This Act was
repealed from and after January 31, |
| 6 |
1882. Mrs. Eddy's grant for a college, for
metaphysical
purposes only, is the first on record in history, and
no
charters were granted for similar colleges, except hers, |
| 9 |
from January, 1881, till the repealing of
said Act in
January, 1882.
"The substance of
this Act is at present incorporated |
| 12 |
in Public Statutes, Chapter 115, Section 2,
with the fol-
lowing important restrictions: In accordance with
Statutes
of 1883, Chapter 268, any officer, agent, or servant of any |
| 15 |
corporation or association, who confers, or
authorizes
to be conferred, any diploma or degree, shall be pun-
ished
by a fine not less than five hundred dollars and |
| 18 |
not more than one thousand dollars.
"All the
mind-healing colleges (except Rev. Mrs.
Eddy's) have simply an incorporated
grant, which may |
| 21 |
be called a charter, such as any stock
company may ob-
tain for any secular purposes; but these so-called
char-
ters bestow no rights to confer degrees. Hence to name |
| 24 |
these institutions, under such charters,
colleges, is a fraud-
ulent claim. There is but one legally
chartered college
of metaphysics, with powers to confer diplomas and
de- |
| 27 |
grees, and that is the Massachusetts
Metaphysical College,
of which Rev. Mrs. Eddy is founder and
president."
I have endeavored to
act toward all students of Chris- |
| 30 |
tian Science with the intuition and
impulse of love. If
certain natures have not profited by my rebukes, -
Page
273 |
| 1 |
some time, as Christian Scientists, they
will know the
value of these rebukes. I am thankful that the neo- |
| 3 |
phyte will be benefited by experience,
although it will
cost him much, and in proportion to its worth.
I close my College
in order to work in other directions, |
| 6 |
where I now seem to be most needed, and
where none
other can do the work. I withdraw from an overwhelm-
ing
prosperity. My students have never expressed so |
| 9 |
grateful a sense of my labors with them as
now, and
never have been so capable of relieving my tasks as at
present. |
| 12 |
God bless my enemies, as well as the better
part of
mankind, and gather all my students, in the bonds of
love and
perfectness, into one grand family of Christ's |
| 15 |
followers.
Loyal Christian
Scientists should go on in their pres-
ent line of labor for a good and
holy cause. Their insti- |
| 18 |
tutes have not yet accomplished all the
good they are
capable of accomplishing; therefore they should con-
tinue, as at present, to send out students from these |
| 21 |
sources of education, to promote the
growing interest in
Christian Science Mind-healing.
There are one
hundred and sixty applications lying on |
| 24 |
the desk before me, for the Primary class
in the Massa-
chusetts Metaphysical College, and I cannot do my best
work for a class which contains that number. When |
| 27 |
these were taught, another and a larger
number would
be in waiting for the same class instruction; and if I
should teach that Primary class, the other three classes |
| 30 |
- one Primary and two Normal - would be
delayed.
The work is more than one person can well accomplish,
and the
imperative call is for my exclusive teaching.
Page
274 |
| 1 |
From the scant history of Jesus and of his
disciples,
we have no Biblical authority for a public institution. |
| 3 |
This point, however, had not impressed me
when I opened
my College. I desire to revise my book "Science and
Health with Key to the Scriptures," and in order to do |
| 6 |
this I must stop teaching at present. The
work that
needs to be done, and which God calls me to outside
of
College work, if left undone might hinder the progress |
| 9 |
of our Cause more than my teaching would
advance it:
therefore I leave all for Christ.
Deeply regretting
the disappointment this will occa- |
| 12 |
sion, and with grateful acknowledgments to
the public
for its liberal patronage, I close my College.
MARY BAKER G.
EDDY
MALICIOUS REPORTS
Truth
is fallen in the street, and equity cannot enter. - ISAIAH lix. l4.
When the press is gagged, liberty is
besieged; but |
| 18 |
when the press assumes the liberty to lie,
it discounts
clemency, mocks morality, outrages humanity, breaks
common
law, gives impulse to violence, envy, and hate, |
| 21 |
and prolongs the reign of inordinate,
unprincipled clans.
At this period, 1888, those quill-drivers whose
consciences
are in their pockets hold high carnival. When news- |
| 24 |
dealers shout for class legislation, and
decapitated reputa-
tions, headless trunks, and quivering hearts are held
up
before the rabble in exchange for money, place, and |
| 27 |
power, the vox populi is
suffocated, individual rights
are trodden under foot, and the car of the
modern In-
quisition rolls along the streets besmeared with blood.
Page
275 |
| 1 |
Would not our Master say to the chief
actors in scenes
like these, "Ye fools and blind!" Oh, tardy human |
| 3 |
justice! would you take away even woman's
trembling,
clinging faith in divine power? Who can roll away the
stone
from the door of this sepulchre ? Who - but God's |
| 6 |
avenging angel!
In times like these
it were well to lift the veil on the
sackcloth of home, where weepeth the
faithful, stricken |
| 9 |
mother, and the bruised father bendeth his
aching head;
where the bereft wife or husband, silent and alone, looks
in dull despair at the vacant seat, and the motherless |
| 12 |
little ones, wondering, huddle together,
and repeat with
quivering lips words of strange import. May the great
Shepherd that "tempers the wind to the shorn lamb," |
| 15 |
and binds up the wounds of bleeding
hearts, just comfort,
encourage, and bless all who mourn.
Father, we thank
Thee that Thy light and Thy love |
| 18 |
reach earth, open the prison to them that
are bound, con-
sole the innocent, and throw wide the gates of heaven.
LOYAL CHRISTIAN SCIENTISTS |
| 21 |
Pen can never portray the satisfaction that
you afforded
me at the grand meeting in Chicago of the National Chris-
tian Scientist Association in 1888. Your public and |
| 24 |
private expressions of love and loyalty
were very touch-
ing. They moved me to speechless thanks.
Chicago is the
wonder of the western hemisphere. The |
| 27 |
Palmer House, where we stopped, is
magnificent and
orderly. The servants are well-mannered, and the fare
is appetizing. The floral offerings sent to my apartments
Page
276 |
| 1 |
were superb, especially the large book of
rare flowers, and
the crescent with a star. |
| 3 |
The reception in the spacious rooms of the
Palmer
House, like all else, was purely Western in its cordiality
and
largeness. I did not hold interviews with all with |
| 6 |
whom I desired to, solely because so many
people and
circumstances demanded my attention that my person-
ality
was not big enough to fill the order; but rest as- |
| 9 |
sured my heart's desire met the demand.
My students, our
delegates, about one thousand Chris-
tian Scientists, active, earnest, and
loyal, formed a goodly |
| 12 |
assemblage for the third convention of our
National As-
sociation, - an assemblage found waiting and watching
for
the full coming of our Lord and Christ. |
| 16 |
In Christian Science the midnight hour will
always be
the bridal hour, until "no night is there." The wise
will
have their lamps aglow, and light will illumine the |
| 18 |
darkness.
Out of the gloom
comes the glory of our Lord, and
His divine Love is found in affliction.
When a false |
| 21 |
sense suffers, the true sense comes out,
and the bride-
groom appears. We are then wedded to a purer, higher
affection and ideal. |
| 24 |
I pray that all my students shall have
their lamps
trimmed and burning at the noon of night, that not one
of
them be found borrowing oil, and seeking light from |
| 27 |
matter instead of Spirit, or at work
erroneously, thus
shutting out spiritual light. Such an error and loss
will
be quickly learned when the door is shut. Error giveth |
| 30 |
no light, and it closes the door on
itself.
In the dark hours,
wise Christian Scientists stand
firmer than ever in their allegiance to
God. Wisdom
Page
277 |
| 1 |
is wedded to their love, and their hearts
are not
troubled. |
| 3 |
Falsehood is on the wings of the winds, but
Truth
will soar above it. Truth is speaking louder, clearer,
and more
imperatively than ever. Error is walking to |
| 6 |
and fro in the earth, trying to be heard
above Truth,
but its voice dies out in the distance. Whosoever pro-
claims Truth loudest, becomes the mark for error's shafts. |
| 9 |
The archers aim at Truth's mouthpiece; but
a heart
loyal to God is patient and strong. Justice waits, and
is used
to waiting; and right wins the everlasting |
| 12 |
victory.
The stake and
scaffold have never silenced the mes-
sages of the Most High. Then can the
present mode of |
| 15 |
attempting this - namely, by slanderous
falsehoods, and
a secret mind-method, through which to effect the pur-
poses of envy and malice - silence Truth? Never. They |
| 18 |
but open the eyes to the truth of Benjamin
Franklin's
report before the French Commissioners on Mesmerism:
"It is
one more fact to be recorded in the history of the |
| 21 |
errors of the human mind."
"The Lord reigneth;
let the earth rejoice."
No evidence before
the material senses can close my |
| 24 |
eyes to the scientific proof that God,
good, is supreme.
Though clouds are round about Him, the divine justice
and judgment are enthroned. Love is especially near |
| 27 |
in times of hate, and never so near as
when one can be
just amid lawlessness, and render good for evil.
I thunder His law to
the sinner, and sharply lighten |
| 30 |
on the cloud of the intoxicated senses. I
cannot help
loathing the phenomena of drunkenness produced by
animality. I rebuke it wherever I see it. The vision
Page
278 |
| 1 |
of the Revelator is before me. The wines of
fornica-
tion, envy, and hatred are the distilled spirits of evil, |
| 3 |
and are the signs of these times; but I am
not dismayed,
and my peace returns unto me.
Error will hate more
as it realizes more the presence |
| 6 |
of its tormentor. I shall fulfil my
mission, fight the good
fight, and keep the faith.
There is great joy
in this consciousness, that through- |
| 9 |
out my labors, and in my history as
connected with the
Cause of Christian Science, it can be proven that I
have
never given occasion for a single censure, when my mo- |
| 12 |
tives and acts are understood and seen as
my Father
seeth them. I once wondered at the Scriptural declara-
tion
that Job sinned not in all he said, even when he cursed |
| 15 |
the hour of his birth; but I have learned
that a curse on
sin is always a blessing to the human race.
Those only who are
tried in the furnace reflect the |
| 18 |
image of their Father. You, my beloved
students, who
are absent from me, and have shared less of my labors
than many others, seem stronger to resist temptation |
| 21 |
than some of those who have had line upon
line and
precept upon precept. This may be a serviceable hint,
since
necessities and God's providence are foreshadowed. |
| 24 |
I have felt for some time that perpetual
instruction of
my students might substitute my own for their growth,
and so dwarf their experience. If they must learn by |
| 27 |
the things they suffer, the sooner this
lesson is gained
the better.
For two years I have
been gradually withdrawing from |
| 30 |
active membership in the Christian
Scientist Association.
This has developed higher energies on the part of
true
followers, and led to some startling departures on the
Page
279 |
| 1 |
other hand. "Offenses will come: but woe
unto him,
through whom they come." |
| 3 |
Why does not the certainty of individual
punishment
for sin prevent the wrong action? It is the love of God,
and
not the fear of evil, that is the incentive in Science. |
| 6 |
I rejoice with those who rejoice, and am
too apt to weep
with those who weep, but over and above it all are
eter-
nal sunshine and joy unspeakable. |
| 9 |
THE MARCH PRIMARY CLASS
TO
THE PRIMARY CLASS OF THE MASSACHUSETTS METAPHYSICAL
COLLEGE, 571 COLUMBUS AVENUE, THAT ASSEMBLED FEB.
25, |
| 12 |
1889, WITH AN ATTENDANCE OF
SIXTY-FIVE STUDENTS
My students, three picture-stories from
the Bible pre-
sent themselves to my thought; three of those
pictures |
| 15 |
from which we learn without study. The
first is that of
Joshua and his band before the walls of Jericho. They
went seven times around these walls, the seven times |
| 18 |
corresponding to the seven days of
creation: the six days
are to find out the nothingness of matter; the
seventh
is the day of rest, when it is found that evil is naught |
| 21 |
and good is all.
The second picture is of the disciples met
together in
an upper chamber; and they were of one mind. Mark, |
| 24 |
that in the case of Joshua and his band
they had all to
shout together in order that the walls might fall;
and the
disciples, too, were of one mind. |
| 27 |
We, to-day, in this class-room, are enough
to con-
vert the world if we are of one Mind; for then the whole
world
will feel the influence of this Mind; as when the
Page
280 |
| 1 |
earth was without form, and Mind spake and
form
appeared. |
| 3 |
The third picture-lesson is from
Revelation, where, at
the opening of the seals, one of the angels presented
him-
self with balances to weigh the thoughts and actions of |
| 6 |
men; not angels with wings, but messengers
of pure and
holy thoughts that say, See thou hurt not the holy things
of Truth. |
| 9 |
You have come to be weighed; and yet, I
would not
weigh you, nor have you weighed. How is this? Be-
cause God
does all, and there is nothing in the opposite |
| 12 |
scale. There are not two, - Mind and
matter. We
must get rid of that notion. As we commonly think, we
imagine all is well if we cast something into the scale of |
| 15 |
Mind, but we must realize that Mind is not
put into the
scales with matter; then only are we working on one side
and in Science. |
| 18 |
The students of this Primary class,
dismissed the fifth
of March, at close of the lecture on the fourth
presented
their teacher with an elegant album costing fifty dollars, |
| 21 |
and containing beautiful hand-painted
flowers on each
page, with their autographs. The presentation was made
in a brief address by Mr. D. A. Easton, who in appro- |
| 24 |
priate language and metaphor expressed his
fellow-stu-
dents' thanks to their teacher.
On the morning of
the fifth, I met the class to answer |
| 27 |
some questions before their dismissal, and
allude briefly
to a topic of great import to the student of Christian
Science, - the rocks and sirens in their course, on and |
| 30 |
by which so many wrecks are made. The
doors of animal
magnetism open wide for the entrance of error, some-
times just at the moment when you are ready to enter on
Page
281 |
| 1 |
the fruition of your labors, and with
laudable ambition
are about to chant hymns of victory for triumphs. |
| 3 |
The doors that this animal element flings
open are
those of rivalry, jealousy, envy, revenge. It is the self-
asserting mortal will-power that you must guard against. |
| 6 |
But I find also another mental condition of
yours that
fills me with joy. I learned long ago that the world could
neither deprive me of something nor give me anything, |
| 9 |
and I have now one ambition and one joy.
But if
one cherishes ambition unwisely, one will be chastened
for
it. |
| 12 |
Admiral Coligny, in the time of the French
Huguenots,
was converted to Protestantism through a stray copy of
the
Scriptures that fell into his hands. He replied to his |
| 15 |
wife, who urged him to come out and confess
his faith,
"It is wise to count the cost of becoming a true Chris-
tian." She answered him, "It is wiser to count the cost |
| 18 |
of not becoming a true Christian."
So, whatever we meet
that is hard in the Christian warfare we must count
as
nothing, and must think instead, of our poverty and help- |
| 21 |
lessness without this understanding, and
count ourselves
always as debtors to Christ, Truth.
Among the gifts of
my students, this of yours is one |
| 24 |
of the most beautiful and the most costly,
because you
have signed your names. I felt the weight of this yes-
terday, but it came to me more clearly this morning when |
| 27 |
I realized what a responsibility you assume
when sub-
scribing to Christian Science. But, whatever may come
to you,
remember the words of Solomon, "Though hand |
| 30 |
join in hand, the wicked shall not go
unpunished: but
the seed of the righteous shall be delivered."
You will need, in
future, practice more than theory.
Page
282 |
| 1 |
You are going out to demonstrate a living
faith, a true
sense of the infinite good, a sense that does not limit
God, |
| 3 |
but brings to human view an enlarged sense
of Deity.
Remember, it is personality, and the sense of personality
in
God or in man, that limits man.
OBTRUSIVE MENTAL HEALING
The question will
present itself: Shall people be treated
mentally without their knowledge or
consent? The |
| 9 |
direct rule for practice of Christian
Science is the Golden
Rule, "As ye would that men should do to you, do ye."
Who of us would have our houses broken open or our |
| 12 |
locks picked? and much less would we have
our minds
tampered with.
Our Master said,
"When ye enter a house, salute it." |
| 15 |
Prolonging the metaphysical tone of his
command, I say,
When you enter mentally the personal precincts of human
thought, you should know that the person with whom |
| 18 |
you hold communion desires it. There are
solitary ex-
ceptions to most given rules: the following is an
exception
to the above rule of mental practice. |
| 21 |
If the friends of a patient desire you to
treat him with-
out his knowing it, and they believe in the efficacy of
Mind-healing, it is sometimes wise to do so, and the end |
| 24 |
justifies the means; for he is restored
through Christian
Science when other means have failed. One other oc-
casion which may call for aid unsought, is a case from |
| 27 |
accident, when there is no time for
ceremony and no other
aid is near.
The abuse which I
call attention to, is promiscuous
Page
283 |
| 1 |
and unannounced mental practice where there
is no neces-
sity for it, or the motive is mercenary, or one can to
ad- |
| 3 |
vantage speak the truth audibly; then the
case is not
exceptional. As a rule, one has no more right to enter
the
mind of a person, stir, upset, and adjust his thoughts |
| 6 |
without his knowledge or consent, than one
has to enter
a house, unlock the desk, displace the furniture, and suit
one's self in the arrangement and management of another |
| 9 |
man's property.
It would be right to
break into a burning building and
rouse the slumbering inmates, but wrong
to burst open |
| 12 |
doors and break through windows if no
emergency de-
manded this. Any exception to the old wholesome rule,
"Mind your own business," is rare. For a student of |
| 15 |
mine to treat another student without his
knowledge, is
a breach of good manners and morals; it is nothing less
than a mistaken kindness, a culpable ignorance, or a |
| 18 |
conscious trespass on the rights of
mortals.
I insist on the
etiquette of Christian Science, as well
as its morals and Christianity. The
Scriptural rule of |
| 21 |
this Science may momentarily be forgotten;
but this is
seldom the case with loyal students, or done without
incriminating the person who did it. |
| 24 |
Each student should, must, work out his own
problem
of being; conscious, meanwhile, that God worketh with
him, and
that he needs no personal aid. It is the genius |
| 27 |
of Christian Science to demonstrate good,
not evil, -
harmony, not discord; for Science is the mandate of
Truth
which destroys all error. |
| 30 |
Whoever is honestly laboring to learn the
principle of
music and practise it, seldom calls on his teacher or mu-
sician to practise for him. The only personal help re-
Page
284 |
| 1 |
quired in this Science is for each one to
do his own work
well, and never try to hinder others from doing theirs |
| 3 |
thus.
Christian Science,
more than any other system of
religion, morals, or medicine, is subject to
abuses. Its |
| 6 |
infinite nature and uses occasion this.
Even the human-
itarian at work in this field of limitless power and
good
may possess a zeal without knowledge, and thus mistake |
| 9 |
the sphere of his present usefulness.
Students who
strictly adhere to the right, and make the
Bible and Science and Health a
study, are in no danger |
| 12 |
of mistaking their way.
This question is
often proposed, How shall I treat
malicious animal magnetism? The hour has
passed for |
| 15 |
this evil to be treated personally, but it
should have been
so dealt with at the outset. Christian Scientists
should
have gone personally to the malpractitioner and told |
| 18 |
him his fault, and vindicated divine Truth
and Love
against human error and hate. This growing sin must
now be
dealt with as evil, and not as an evil-doer or per- |
| 21 |
sonality. It must also be remembered that
neither an evil
claim nor an evil person is real, hence is neither
to be
feared nor honored. |
| 24 |
Evil is not something to fear and flee
before, or that
becomes more real when it is grappled with. Evil let
alone grows more real, aggressive, and enlarges its claims; |
| 27 |
but, met with Science, it can and will be
mastered by
Science.
I deprecate personal
animosities and quarrels. But if |
| 30 |
one is intrusted with the rules of church
government, to
fulfil that trust those rules must be carried out; thus
it
is with all moral obligations. I am opposed to all personal
Page
285 |
| 1 |
attacks, and in favor of combating evil
only, rather than
person. |
| 3 |
An edition of one thousand pamphlets I
ordered to
be laid away and not one of them circulated, because I
had
been personal in condemnation. Afterwards, by a |
| 6 |
blunder of the gentleman who fills orders
for my books,
some of these pamphlets were mistaken for the corrected
edition, and sold. |
| 9 |
Love is the fulfilling of the law. Human
life is too
short for foibles or failures. The Christian Science
Jour-
nal will hold high the banner of Truth and Love, and
be |
| 12 |
impartial and impersonal in its tenor and
tenets.
WEDLOCK
It was about the
year 1875 that Science and Health |
| 15 |
first crossed swords with free-love, and
the latter fell hors
de combat; but the whole warfare of sensuality
was not
then ended. Science and Health, the book that cast the |
| 18 |
first stone, is still at work, deep down
in human conscious-
ness, laying the axe at the root of error.
We have taken the
precaution to write briefly on mar- |
| 21 |
riage, showing its relation to Christian
Science. In the
present or future, some extra throe of error may
conjure
up a new-style conjugality, which, ad libitum, severs
the |
| 24 |
marriage covenant, puts virtue in the
shambles, and
coolly notifies the public of broken vows. Springing
up
from the ashes of free-love, this nondescript phoenix, |
| 27 |
in the face and eyes of common law, common
sense, and
common honesty, may appear in the rôle of a
superfine
conjugality; but, having no Truth, it will have no past, |
| 30 |
present, or future.
Page
286 |
| 1 |
The above prophecy, written years ago, has
already
been fulfilled. It is seen in Christian Science that the |
| 3 |
gospel of marriage is not without the law,
and the solemn
vow of fidelity, "until death do us part;" this verity
in
human economy can neither be obscured nor throttled. |
| 6 |
Until time matures human growth, marriage
and progeny
will continue unprohibited in Christian Science. We look
to
future generations for ability to comply with absolute |
| 9 |
Science, when marriage shall be found to be
man's one-
ness with God, - the unity of eternal Love. At present,
more
spiritual conception and education of children will |
| 12 |
serve to illustrate the superiority of
spiritual power over
sensuous, and usher in the dawn of God's creation,
wherein they neither marry nor are given in marriage, |
| 15 |
but are as the angels. To abolish marriage
at this period,
and maintain morality and generation, would put inge-
nuity to ludicrous shifts; yet this is possible in Science, |
| 18 |
although it is to-day problematic.
The time cometh, and
now is, for spiritual and eternal
existence to be recognized and understood
in Science. |
| 21 |
All is Mind. Human procreation, birth,
life, and death
are subjective states of the human erring mind; they
are the phenomena of mortality, nothingness, that illus- |
| 24 |
trate mortal mind and body as one,
and neither real nor
eternal.
It should be
understood that Spirit, God, is the only |
| 27 |
creator: we should recognize this verity of
being, and
shut out all sense of other claims. Until this absolute
Science of being is seen, understood, and demonstrated |
| 30 |
in the offspring of divine Mind, and man
is perfect even
as the Father is perfect, human speculation will go on,
and stop at length at the spiritual ultimate: creation
Page
287 |
| 1 |
understood as the most exalted divine
conception. The
offspring of an improved generation, however, will go
out |
| 3 |
before the forever fact that man is eternal
and has no
human origin. Hence the Scripture: "It is He that hath
made
us, and not we ourselves;" and the Master's de- |
| 6 |
mand, "Call no man your father upon the
earth: for one
is your Father, which is in heaven."
To an ill-attuned
ear, discord is harmony; so personal |
| 9 |
sense, discerning not the legitimate
affection of Soul,
may place love on a false basis and thereby lose it.
Science
corrects this error with the truth of Love, and restores |
| 12 |
lost Eden. Soul is the infinite source of
bliss: only high
and holy joy can satisfy immortal cravings. The good
in human affections should preponderate over the evil, |
| 15 |
and the spiritual over the animal, - until
progress lifts
mortals to discern the Science of mental formation and
find the highway of holiness. |
| 18 |
In the order of wisdom, the higher nature
of man
governs the lower. This lays the foundations of human
affection
in line with progress, giving them strength and |
| 21 |
permanence.
When asked by a wife
or a husband important ques-
tions concerning their happiness, the
substance of my reply |
| 24 |
is: God will guide you. Be faithful over
home rela-
tions; they lead to higher joys: obey the Golden Rule
for
human life, and it will spare you much bitterness. |
| 27 |
It is pleasanter to do right than wrong; it
makes one
ruler over one's self and hallows home, - which is woman's
world. Please your husband, and he will be apt to please |
| 30 |
you; preserve affection on both sides.
Great mischief comes
from attempts to steady other
people's altars, venturing on valor without
discretion,
Page
288 |
| 1 |
which is virtually meddlesomeness. Even
your sincere
and courageous convictions regarding what is best for |
| 3 |
others may be mistaken; you must be
demonstratively
right yourself, and work out the greatest good to the
greatest number, before you are sure of being a fit coun- |
| 6 |
sellor. Positive and imperative thoughts
should be dropped
into the balances of God and weighed by spiritual
Love,
and not be found wanting, before being put into action. |
| 9 |
A rash conclusion that regards only one
side of a ques-
tion, is weak and wicked; this error works out the
results
of error. If the premise of mortal existence is wrong, |
| 12 |
any conclusion drawn therefrom is not
absolutely right.
Wisdom in human action begins with what is nearest
right under the circumstances, and thence achieves the |
| 15 |
absolute.
Is marriage nearer
right than celibacy?
Human knowledge
inculcates that it is, while Science |
| 18 |
indicates that it is not. But to
force the consciousness
of scientific being before it is understood is
impossible,
and believing otherwise would prevent scientific demon- |
| 21 |
stration. To reckon the universal cost and
gain, as well
as thine own, is right in every state and stage of being.
The selfish rôle of a martyr is the shift of a dishonest |
| 24 |
mind, nothing short of self-seeking; and
real suffering
would stop the farce.
The cause of
temperance receives a strong impulse |
| 27 |
from the cause of Christian Science:
temperance and
truth are allies, and their cause prospers in proportion
to the spirit of Love that nerves the struggle. People |
| 30 |
will differ in their opinions as to means
to promote the
ends of temperance; that is, abstinence from intoxicat-
ing beverages. Whatever intoxicates a man, stultifies
Page
289 |
| 1 |
and causes him to degenerate physically and
morally.
Strong drink is unquestionably an evil, and evil cannot |
| 3 |
be used temperately: its slightest use is
abuse; hence
the only temperance is total abstinence. Drunkenness
is
sensuality let loose, in whatever form it is made |
| 6 |
manifest.
What is evil? It is
suppositional absence of good.
From a human standpoint of good, mortals
must first |
| 9 |
choose between evils, and of two evils
choose the less;
and at present the application of scientific rules to
hu-
man life seems to rest on this basis. |
| 12 |
All partnerships are formed on agreements
to certain
compacts: each party voluntarily surrenders independ-
ent
action to act as a whole and per agreement. This |
| 15 |
fact should be duly considered when by the
marriage
contract two are made one, and, according to the divine
precept, "they twain shall be one flesh." Oneness in |
| 18 |
spirit is Science, compatible with home and
heaven.
Neither divine justice nor human equity has divorced
two
minds in one. |
| 21 |
Rights that are bargained away must not be
retaken
by the contractors, except by mutual consent. Human
nature has
bestowed on a wife the right to become a |
| 24 |
mother; but if the wife esteems not this
privilege, by
mutual consent, exalted and increased affections, she
may
win a higher. Science touches the conjugal ques- |
| 27 |
tion on the basis of a bill of rights. Can
the bill of con-
jugal rights be fairly stated by a magistrate, or by a
minister? Mutual interests and affections are the spirit |
| 30 |
of these rights, and they should be
consulted, augmented,
and allowed to rise to the spiritual altitude whence
they
can choose only good.
Page
290 |
| 1 |
A third person is not a party to the
compact of two
hearts. Let other people's marriage relations alone:
two |
| 3 |
persons only, should be found within their
precincts.
The nuptial vow is never annulled so long as the animus
of
the contract is preserved intact. Science lifts humanity |
| 6 |
higher in the scale of harmony, and must
ultimately break
all bonds that hinder progress.
JUDGE NOT |
| 9 |
Mistaken views ought to be dissolving
views, since
whatever is false should disappear. To suppose that hu-
man love, guided by the divine Principle, which is Love, |
| 12 |
is partial, unmerciful, or unjust,
indicates misapprehen-
sion of the divine Principle and its workings in the
human
heart. |
| 15 |
A person wrote to me, naming the time of
the occur-
rence, "I felt the influence of your thought on my mind,
and it produced a wonderful illumination, peace, and |
| 18 |
understanding;" but, I had not thought of
the writer
at that time. I knew that this person was doing well,
and my
affections involuntarily flow out towards all. |
| 21 |
When will the world cease to judge of
causes from a
personal sense of things, conjectural and misapprehen-
sive! When thought dwells in God, - and it should not, |
| 24 |
to our consciousness, dwell elsewhere, -
one must bene-
fit those who hold a place in one's memory, whether it
be friend or foe, and each share the benefit of that radia- |
| 27 |
tion. This individual blessedness and
blessing comes
not so much from individual as from universal love: it
emits light because it reflects; and all who are receptive |
| 30 |
share this equally.
Page
291 |
| 1 |
Mistaken or transient views are human: they
are not
governed by the Principle of divine Science: but the |
| 3 |
notion that a mind governed by Principle
can be forced
into personal channels, affinities, self-interests, or
obliga-
tions, is a grave mistake; it dims the true sense of God's |
| 6 |
reflection, and darkens the understanding
that demon-
strates above personal motives, unworthy aims and
ambitions. |
| 9 |
Too much and too little is attached to me
as authority
for other people's thoughts and actions. A tacit acqui-
escence with others' views is often construed as direct |
| 12 |
orders, - or at least it so appears in
results. I desire
the equal growth and prosperity of all Christian
Scien-
tists, and the world in general; each and every one has |
| 15 |
equal opportunity to be benefited by my
thoughts and
writings. If any are not partakers thereof, this is not
my
fault, and is far from my desire; the possible per- |
| 18 |
version of Christian Science is the irony
of fate, if the
spirit thereof be lacking. I would part with a blessing
myself to bestow it upon others, but could not deprive |
| 21 |
them of it. False views, however
engendered, relative
to the true and unswerving course of a Christian
Scientist,
will at length dissolve into thin air. The dew of heaven |
| 24 |
will fall gently on the hearts and lives of
all who are found
worthy to suffer for righteousness, - and have taught
the truth which is energizing, refreshing, and consecrat- |
| 27 |
ing mankind.
To station justice
and gratitude as sentinels along the
lines of thought, would aid the
solution of this problem, |
| 30 |
and counteract the influence of envious
minds or the mis-
guided individual who keeps not watch over his
emotions
and conclusions.
Page
292
NEW COMMANDMENT
The divinity of St.
John's Gospel brings to view over- |
| 3 |
whelming tides of revelation, and its
spirit is baptismal;
he chronicles this teaching, "A new commandment I
give unto you, That ye love one another." |
| 6 |
Jesus, who so loved the world that he gave
his life
(in the flesh) for it, saw that Love had a new command-
ment
even for him. What was it? |
| 9 |
It must have been a rare revelation of
infinite Love, a
new tone on the scale ascending, such as eternity is
ever
sounding. Could I impart to the student the higher |
| 12 |
sense I entertain of Love, it would partly
illustrate the
divine energy that brings to human weakness might and
majesty. Divine Love eventually causes mortals to turn |
| 15 |
away from the open sepulchres of sin, and
look no more
into them as realities. It calls loudly on them to bury
the dead out of sight; to forgive and forget whatever is |
| 18 |
unlike the risen, immortal Love; and to
shut out all op-
posite sense. Christ enjoins it upon man to help those
who know not what he is doing in their behalf, and there- |
| 21 |
fore curse him; enjoins taking them by the
hand and
leading them, if possible, to Christ, by loving words and
deeds. Charity thus serves as admonition and instruc- |
| 24 |
tion, and works out the purposes of Love.
Christian Science,
full of grace and truth, is accom-
plishing great good, both seen and
unseen; but have |
| 27 |
mortals, with the penetration of Soul,
searched the secret
chambers of sense? I never knew a student who fully
understood my instructions on this point of handling |
| 30 |
evil, - as to just how this should be
done, - and carried
Page
293 |
| 1 |
out my ideal. It is safe not to teach
prematurely the
infant thought in Christian Science - just breathing
new |
| 3 |
Life and Love - all the claims and modes of
evil; there-
fore it is best to leave the righteous unfolding of error
(as a general rule) alone, and to the special care of the |
| 6 |
unerring modes of divine wisdom. This
uncovering and
punishing of sin must, will come, at some date, to the
rescue of humanity. The teacher of divine metaphysics |
| 9 |
should impart to his students the general
knowledge that
he has gained from instruction, observation, and mental
practice. |
| 12 |
Experience weighs in the scales of God the
sense and
power of Truth against the opposite claims of error.
If
spiritual sense is not dominant in a student, he will |
| 15 |
not understand all your instructions; and
if evil domi-
nates his character, he will pervert the rules of
Christian
Science, and the last error will be worse than the first - |
| 18 |
inasmuch as wilful transgression brings
greater torment
than ignorance.
A
CRUCE SALUS |
| 21 |
The sum total of Love reflected is
exemplified, and
includes the whole duty of man: Truth perverted, in
belief, becomes the creator of the claim of error. To |
| 24 |
affirm mentally and audibly that God is All
and there is
no sickness and no sin, makes mortals either saints or
sinners. |
| 27 |
Truth talked and not lived, rolls on the
human heart
a stone; consigns sensibility to the charnel-house of sen-
suality, ease, self-love, self-justification, there to moulder |
| 30 |
and rot.
Page
294 |
| 1 |
The noblest work of God is man in the image
of his
Maker; the last infirmity of evil is so-called man, swayed |
| 3 |
by the maëlstrom of human passions,
elbowing the con-
cepts of his own creating, making place for himself
and
displacing his fellows. |
| 6 |
A real Christian Scientist is a marvel, a
miracle in the
universe of mortal mind. With selfless love, he
inscribes
on the heart of humanity and transcribes on the page |
| 9 |
of reality the living, palpable presence -
the might and
majesty! - of goodness. He lives for all mankind, and
honors his creator. |
| 12 |
The vice versa of this man is
sometimes called a
man, but he is a small animal: a hived bee, with
sting
ready for each kind touch, he makes honey out of |
| 15 |
the flowers of human hearts and hides it
in his cell of
ingratitude.
O friendly hand!
keep back thy offerings from asps |
| 18 |
and apes, from wolves in sheep's clothing
and all raven-
ing beasts. Love such specimens of mortality just enough
to reform and transform them, - if it be possible, - |
| 21 |
and then, look out for their stings, and
jaws, and claws;
but thank God and take courage, - that you desire to
help even such as these.
COMPARISON TO ENGLISH BARMAIDS
Since my residence
in Concord, N. H., I have read
the daily paper, and had become an admirer
of Edgar |
| 27 |
L. Wakeman's terse, graphic, and poetic
style in his
"Wanderings," richly flavored with the true ideas of
humanity and equality. In an issue of January 17, how-
Page
295 |
| 1 |
ever, were certain references to American
women which
deserve and elicit brief comment. |
| 3 |
Mr. Wakeman writes from London, that a
noted Eng-
lish leader, whom he quotes without naming, avers that
the
"cursed barmaid system" in England is evolved by |
| 6 |
the same power which in America leads women
"along
a gamut of isms and ists, from female suffrage, past a
score of
reforms, to Christian Science." This anony- |
| 9 |
mous talker further declares, that the
central cause of
this "same original evil" is "a female passion for
some
manner of notoriety." |
| 12 |
Is Mr. Wakeman awake, and caught
napping? While
praising the Scotchman's national pride and affection,
has our American correspondent lost these sentiments |
| 15 |
from his own breast? Has he forgotten how
to honor
his native land and defend the dignity of her daughters
with
his ready pen and pathos? |
| 18 |
The flaunting and floundering statements of
the great
unknown for whose ability and popularity Mr. Wakeman
strongly
vouches, should not only be queried, but flatly |
| 21 |
contradicted, as both untrue and uncivil.
English senti-
ment is not wholly represented by one man. Nor is the
world ignorant of the fact that high and pure ethical |
| 24 |
tones do resound from Albion's shores. The
most ad-
vanced ideas are inscribed on tablets of such an organi-
zation as the Victoria Institute, or Philosophical Society |
| 27 |
of Great Britain, an institution which
names itself after
her who is unquestionably the best queen on earth;
who
for a half century has with such dignity, clemency, and |
| 30 |
virtue worn the English crown and borne
the English
sceptre.
Now, I am a
Christian Scientist, - the Founder of
Page
296 |
| 1 |
this system of religion, - widely known;
and, by special
invitation, have allowed myself to be elected an
associate |
| 3 |
life-member of the Victoria Institute,
which numbers
among its constituents and managers - not barmaids,
but
bishops - profound philosophers, brilliant scholars. |
| 6 |
Was it ignorance of American society and
history,
together with unfamiliarity with the work and career
of
American women, which led the unknown author |
| 9 |
cited by Mr. Wakeman to overflow in shallow
sarcasm,
and place the barmaids of English alehouses and rail-
ways in
the same category with noble women who min- |
| 12 |
ister in the sick-room, give their time and
strength to
binding up the wounds of the broken-hearted, and live
on
the plan of heaven? |
| 15 |
This writer classes Christian Science with
theosophy
and spiritualism; whereas, they are by no means iden-
tical -
nor even similar. Christian Science, antagonis- |
| 18 |
tic to intemperance, as to all immorality,
is by no means
associated therewith. Do manly Britons patronize tap-
rooms and lazar-houses, and thus note or foster a fem- |
| 21 |
inine ambition which, in this unknown
gentleman's
language, "poises and poses, higgles and wriggles" it-
self into publicity? Why fall into such patronage, unless |
| 24 |
from their affinity for the worst forms of
vice?
And the barmaids! Do
they enter this line of occu-
pation from a desire for notoriety and a wish
to promote |
| 27 |
female suffrage? or are they incited
thereto by their
own poverty and the bad appetites of men? What man-
ner of man is this unknown individual who utters bar- |
| 30 |
maid and Christian Scientist in the same
breath? If he
but knew whereof he speaks, his shame would not
lose
its blush!
Page
297 |
| 1 |
Taking into account the short time that has
elapsed
since the discovery of Christian Science, one readily sees |
| 3 |
that this Science has distanced all other
religious and
pathological systems for physical and moral reforma-
tion. In the direction of temperance it has achieved far |
| 6 |
more than has been accomplished by legally
coercive
measures, - and because this Science bases its work on
ethical
conditions and mentally destroys the appetite for |
| 9 |
alcoholic drinks.
Smart journalism is
allowable, nay, it is commend-
able; but the public cannot swallow reports
of American |
| 12 |
affairs from a surly censor ventilating his
lofty scorn of
the sects, or societies, of a nation that perhaps he has
never visited. |
