The First Church of Christ, Scientist and Miscellany, Part Three

Page 176

TO FIRST CHURCH OF CHRIST, SCIENTIST, WILMINGTON, N. C.

3
IN APPRECIATION OF A GIFT OF FIFTY DOLLARS IN GOLD TOWARDS

THE CONCORD (N. H.) STREET FUND

My Beloved Brethren: - Long ago you of the dear

6 South paved the way to my forever gratitude, and now
illustrate the past by your present love. God grant
that such great goodness, pointing the path to heaven

9
within you, hallow your Palmetto home with palms of
victory and songs of glory.

Page 177

CHAPTER VIII - DEDICATORY MESSAGES TO BRANCH CHURCHES

FIRST CHURCH OF CHRIST, SCIENTIST,

of CHICAGO, ILL.

3 BELOVED BRETHREN: - Most happily would I com-
ply with your cordial invitation and be with you on
so interesting an occasion as the dedication of First

6 Church of Christ, Scientist, in Chicago. But daily duties
attention elsewhere, and I am glad to say that
there seems to be no special need of my personal pres-

9 ence at your religious jubilee. I am quite able to take
the trip to your city, and if wisdom lengthens my sum
of years to fourscore (already imputed to me), I shall

12 then be even younger and nearer the eternal meridian
than now, for the true knowledge and proof of life is in
putting off the limitations and putting on the possibilities

15
and permanence of Life.

In your renowned city, the genesis of Christian Science
was allied to that olden axiom: "The blood of the martyrs

18 is the seed of the Church;" but succeeding years show in
livid lines that the great Shepherd has nurtured and
nourished this church as a fatling of the flock. To-day

21 the glory of His presence rests upon it, the joy of many
generations awaits it, and this prophecy of Isaiah is
fulfilled among you: "I will direct their work in truth,

24
and I will make an everlasting covenant with them."

Page 178

1 Your Bible and your textbook, pastor and ethical
tenets, do not mislead the seeker after Truth. These

3 unpretentious preachers cloud not the spiritual meaning
of Holy Writ by material interpretations, nor lose the
invincible process and purity of Christianity whereby

6 the sick are healed and sinners saved. The Science of
Christianity is not generally understood, but it hastens
hourly to this end. This Science is the essence of religion,

9 distilled in the laboratory of infinite Love and prepared
for all peoples. And because Science is naturally divine,
is this natural Science less profitable or scientific than

12 "counting the legs of insects"? The Scripture declares
that God is All. Then all is Spirit and spiritual. The
true sense of life is lost to those who regard being

15 as material. The Scripture pronounces all that God
made "good;" therefore if evil exists, it exists without
God. But this is impossible in reality, for He made

18 all "that was made." Hence the inevitable revelation
of Christian Science - that evil is unreal; and this is
the best of it.

21 On April 15, 1891, the Christian Science textbook lay
on a table in a burning building. A Christian Scientist
entered the house through a window and snatched this

24 book from the flames. Instantly the table sank a charred
mass. The covers of the book were burned up, but not
one word in the book was effaced. If the world were in

27
ashes, the contents of "Science and Health with Key to
the Scriptures" would remain immortal.

It is said that the nearest approach to the sayings of

30
the great Master is the Logia of Papias, written in A.D.
145, and that all else reported as his sayings are transla-
tions. The ancient Logia, or imputed sayings of Jesus

Page 179

1 by Papias, are undoubtedly the beginning of the gospel
writings. The synoptic Scriptures, as set forth in the

3 first and second chapters of Genesis, were in two dis-
tinct manuscripts. The first gave an account of the
spiritual creation, and the second was an opposite story,

6 or allegory, of a material universe and man made of
dust. In this allegorical document the power and pre-
rogative of Spirit are submerged in matter. In other

9 words, soul enters non-intelligent dust and man becomes
both good and evil, both mind and matter, mortal and
immortal, - all of which divine Science shows to be an

12
impossibility.

The Old and the New Testaments contain self-evident
truths that cannot be lost, but being translations, the

15 Scriptures are criticized. Some dangerous skepticism ex-
ists as to the verification of our Master's sayings. But
Christians and Christian Scientists know that if the Old

18 Testament and gospel narratives had never been written,
the nature of Christianity, as depicted in the life of our
Lord, and the truth in the Scriptures, are sufficient to au-

21 thenticate Christ's Christianity as the perfect ideal. The
character of the Nazarene Prophet illustrates the Prin-
ciple and practice of a true divinity and humanity. The

24 different renderings or translations of Scripture in no
wise affect Christian Science. Christianity and Science,
being contingent on nothing written and based on the

27
divine Principle of being, must be, are, irrefutable and
eternal.

We are indeed privileged in having the untranslated

30
revelations of Christian Science. They afford such expo-
sitions of the therapeutics, ethics, and Christianity of
Christ as make even God demonstrable, the divine Love

Page 180

practical, and so furnish rules whereby man can prove
God's love, healing the sick and the sinner.

3 Whosoever understands Christian Science knows beyond
a doubt that its life-giving truths were preached and
practised in the first century by him who proved their

6 practicality, who uttered Christ's Sermon on the Mount,
who taught his disciples the healing Christianity which
applies to all ages, and who dated time. A spiritual

9 understanding of the Scriptures restores their origi-
nal tongue in the language of Spirit, that primordial
standard of Truth.

12 Christian Science contains no element whatever of hyp-
notism or animal magnetism. It appeals alone to God, to
the divine Principle, or Life, Truth, and Love, to whom

15 all things are possible; and this Principle heals sin, sick-
ness, disease, and death. Christian Science meets error
with Truth, death with Life, hate with Love, and thus,

18 and only thus, does it overcome evil and heal disease.
The obstinate sinner, however, refuses to see this grand
verity or to acknowledge it, for he knows not that in justice,

21
as well as in mercy, God is Love.

In our struggles with sin and sinners, when we drop
compliance with their desires, insist on what we know is

24 right, and act accordingly, the disguised or the self-
satisfied mind, not ready to be uplifted, rebels, miscon-
strues our best motives, and calls them unkind. But this

27 is the cross. Take it up, - it wins the crown; and in
the spirit of our great Exemplar pray: "Father, forgive
them; for they know not what they do."

30
No warfare exists between divine theology and Christian
Science, for the latter solves the whence and why of the
cosmos and defines noumenon and phenomena spiritually,

Page 181

1 not materially. The specific quest of Christian Science is
to settle all points beyond cavil, on the Biblical basis that

3 God is All-in-all; whereas philosophy and so-called natural
science, dealing with human hypotheses, or material cause
and effect, are aided only at long intervals with elementary

6
truths, and ultimate in unsolved problems and outgrown,
proofless positions.

Progress is spiritual. Progress is the maturing concep-

9 tion of divine Love; it demonstrates the scientific, sinless
life of man and mortal's painless departure from matter
to Spirit, not through death, but through the true idea of

12
Life, - and Life not in matter but in Mind.

The Puritans possessed the motive of true religion,
which, demonstrated on the Golden Rule, would have

15 solved ere this the problem of religious liberty and human
rights. It is "a consummation devoutly to be wished"
that all nations shall speedily learn and practise the

18 intermediate line of justice between the classes and masses
of mankind, and thus exemplify in all things the universal
equity of Christianity.

21 Thirty years ago (1866) Christian Science was discovered
in America. Within those years it is estimated that
Chicago has gained from a population of 238,000 to the

24
number of 1,650,000 inhabitants.

The statistics of mortality show that thirty years ago
the death-rate was at its maximum. Since that time it

27 has steadily decreased. It is authentically said that one
expositor of Daniel's dates fixed the year 1866 or 1867 for
the return of Christ - the return of the spiritual idea to

30
the material earth or antipode of heaven. It is a marked
coincidence that those dates were the first two years of
my discovery of Christian Science.

Page 182

Thirty years ago Chicago had few Congregational
churches. To-day it is said to have a majority of these

3 churches over any other city in the United States. Thirty
years ago at my request I received from the Congrega-
tional Church a letter of dismissal and recommendation

6 to evangelical churches - thenceforth to exemplify my
early love for this church and a membership of thirty
years by establishing a new-old church, the foundations

9
of which are the same, even Christ, Truth, as the chief
corner-stone.

In 1884, I taught a class in Christian Science and

12 formed a Christian Scientist Association in Chicago.
From this small sowing of the seed of Truth, which, when
sown, seemed the least among seeds, sprang immortal

15 fruits through God's blessing and the faithful labor of
loyal students, - the healing of the sick, the reforming
of the sinner, and First Church of Christ, Scientist, with

18
its large membership and majestic cathedral.

Humbly, gratefully, trustingly, I dedicate this beauti-
ful house of worship to the God of Israel, the divine

21 Love that reigns above the shadow, that launched the
earth in its orbit, that created and governs the universe -
guarding, guiding, giving grace, health, and immortality

24
to man.

May the wanderer in the wilderness of mortal beliefs
and fears turn hither with satisfied hope. May the birds

27 of passage rest their weary wings amid the fair foliage of
this vine of His husbanding, find shelter from the storm
and a covert from the tempest. May this beloved

30
church adhere to its tenets, abound in the righteousness
of Love, honor the name of Christian Science, prove the
practicality of perfection, and press on to the infinite

Page 183

1 uses of Christ's creed, namely, - "Thou shalt love the
Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul,

3 and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and
thy neighbor as thyself." Thus may First Church of
Christ, Scientist, in this great city of Chicago, verify what

6
John Robinson wrote in 1620 to our Pilgrim Fathers:
"When Christ reigns, and not till then, will the world
have rest."

FIRST CHURCH OF CHRIST, SCIENTIST,

LONDON, ENGLAND

Beloved Brethren across the Sea: - To-day a nation is

12 born. Spiritual apprehension unfolds, transfigures, heals.
With you be there no more sea, no ebbing faith, no night.
Love be thy light upon the mountain of Israel. God

15
will multiply thee.

FIRST CHURCH OF CHRIST, SCIENTIST,

BROOKLYN, N. Y.

18 Beloved Brethren: - I rejoice with you; the day has
come when the forest becomes a fruitful field, and the deaf
hear the words of the Book, and the eyes of the blind see

21
out of obscurity.

FIRST CHURCH OF CHRIST, SCIENTIST,

DETROIT, MICH.

24 Beloved Students and Church: - Thanks for invitation
to your dedication. Not afar off I am blending with
thine my prayer and rejoicing. God is with thee. "Arise,

27
shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is
risen upon thee."

Page 184

FIRST CHURCH OF CHRIST, SCIENTIST,

TORONTO, CANADA

3 Beloved Brethren: - Have just received your des-
patch. Since the world was, men have not heard with
the ear, neither hath the eye seen, what God hath prepared

6
for them that wait upon Him and work righteousness.

WHITE MOUNTAIN CHURCH

My Beloved Brethren: - To-day I am privileged to

9 congratulate the Christian Scientists of my native State
upon having built First Church of Christ, Scientist, at
the the Mountains. Your kind card, inviting me to

12 be present at at dedication, came when I was so occu-
pied that I omitted to wire an acknowledgment thereof
and to return my cordial thanks at an earlier date. The

15 beautiful birch bark on which it was written pleased me;
it was so characteristic of our Granite State, and I
treasure it next to your compliments. That rustic scroll

18 brought back to me the odor of my childhood, a love
which stays the shadows of years. God grant that this
little church shall prove a historic gem on the glowing

21
records of Christianity, and lay upon its altars a sacrifice
and service acceptable in God's sight.

Your rural chapel is a social success quite sacred in its

24 results. The prosperity of Zion is very precious in the
sight of divine Love, holding unwearied watch over a
world. Isaiah said: "How beautiful upon the mountains

27
are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, . . . that
saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth!" Surely, the Word
that is God must at some time find utterance and accept-

Page 185

1 ance throughout the earth, for he that soweth shall reap.
To such as have waited patiently for the appearing of

3
Truth, the day dawns and the harvest bells are ringing.

"Let us, then, be up and doing,

With a heart for any fate;

6
Still achieving, still pursuing,

Learn to labor and to wait."

The peace of Love is published, and the sword of the

9 Spirit is drawn; nor will it be sheathed till Truth shall
reign triumphant over all the earth. Truth, Life, and
Love are formidable, wherever thought, felt, spoken, or

12 written, - in the pulpit, in the court-room, by the way-
side, or in our homes. They are the victors never to be
vanquished. Love is the generic term for God. Love

15 formed this trinity, Truth, Life, Love, the trinity no man
can sunder. Life is the spontaneity of Love, inseparable
from Love, and Life is the "Lamb slain from the foun-

18 dation of the world," - even that which "was dead, and
is alive again; and was lost, and is found;" for Life is
Christ, and Christ, as aforetime, heals the sick, saves

21
sinners, and destroys the last enemy, death.

In 1888 I visited these mountains and spoke to an
attentive audience collected in the hall at the Fabyan

24 House. Then and there I foresaw this hour, and spoke
of the little church to be in the midst of the mountains,
closing my remarks with the words of Mrs. Hemans: -

27
For the strength of the hills, we bless Thee,

Our God, our fathers' God!

The sons and daughters of the Granite State are rich in

30
signs and symbols, sermons in stones, refuge in mountains,

Page 186

1
and good universal. The rocks, rills, mountains, meadows,
fountains, and forests of our native State should be

3 prophetic of the finger divine that writes in living char-
acters their lessons on our lives. May God's little ones
cluster around this rock-ribbed church like tender nestlings

6
in the crannies of the rocks, and preen their thoughts for
upward flight.

Though neither dome nor turret tells the tale of your

9 little church, its song and sermon will touch the heart,
point the path above the valley, up the mountain, and on
to the celestial hills, echoing the Word welling up from

12 the infinite and swelling the loud anthem of one Father-
Mother God, o'er all victorious! Rest assured that He
in whom dwelleth all life, health, and holiness, will supply

15
all your needs according to His riches in glory.

FIRST CHURCH OF CHRIST, SCIENTIST,

DULUTH, MINN.

18 First Church of Christ, Scientist, Duluth, Minn.: - May
our God make this church the fold of flocks, and may
those that plant the vineyard eat the fruit thereof. Here

21
let His promise be verified: "Before they call, I will
answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear."

FIRST CHURCH OF CHRIST, SCIENTIST,

SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH

Beloved Brethren: - Accept my thanks for your cordial
card inviting me to be with you on the day of your church

27
dedication. It gives me great pleasure to know that
you have erected a Church of Christ, Scientist, in your

Page 187

1 city. Surely, your fidelity, faith, and Christian zeal
fairly indicate that, spiritually as well as literally, the

3 church in Salt Lake City hath not lost its saltness. I
may at some near future visit your city, but am too busy
to think of doing so at present.

6 May the divine light of Christian Science that lighteth
every enlightened thought illumine your faith and under-
standing, exclude all darkness or doubt, and signal the

9 perfect path wherein to walk, the perfect Principle whereby
to demonstrate the perfect man and the perfect law of
God. In the words of St. Paul: "Now the end of the

12 commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and of a
good conscience, and of faith unfeigned;" and St. John
says: "For this is the message that ye heard from the

15
beginning, that we should love one another."

May the grace and love of God be and abide with

you all.

18
PLEASANT VIEW, CONCORD, N. H.,

November 16, 1898

FIRST CHURCH OF CHRIST, SCIENTIST,

ATLANTA, GEORGIA

My Beloved Brethren: - You have met to conse-
crate your beautiful temple to the worship of the only

24 true God. Since the day in which you were brought into
the light and liberty of His children, it has been in the
hearts of this people to build a house unto Him whose

27 name they would glorify in a new commandment -
"that ye love one another." In this new recognition of
the riches of His love and the majesty of His might you

30
have built this house - laid its foundations on the rock

Page 188

1 of Christ, and the stone which the builders rejected you
have made the head of the corner. This house is hallowed

3 by His promise: "I have hallowed this house, which thou
hast built, to put my name there forever; and mine eyes
and mine heart shall be there perpetually." "Now mine

6 eyes shall be open, and mine ears attent unto the prayer
that is made in this place." Your feast days will not be
in commemoration, but in recognition of His presence;

9 your ark of the covenant will not be brought out of the
city of David, but out of "the secret place of the most
High," whereof the Psalmist sang, even the omniscience

12 of omnipotence; your tabernacle of the congregation will
not be temporary, but a "house not made with hands,
eternal in the heavens;" your oracle, under the wings of

15
the cherubim, is Truth's evangel, enunciating, "God is
Love."

In spirit I enter your inner sanctuary, your heart's

18 heart, breathing a benediction for God's largess. He
surely will not shut me out from your presence, and the
ponderous walls of your grand cathedral cannot prevent

21
me from entering where the heart of a Southron has
welcomed me.

Christian Science has a place in its court, in which, like

24 beds in hospitals, one man's head lies at another's feet.
As you work, the ages win; for the majesty of Christian
Science teaches the majesty of man. When it is learned

27 that spiritual sense and not the material senses convey all
impressions to man, man will naturally seek the Science of
his spiritual nature, and finding it, be God-endowed for

30
discipleship.

When divine Love gains admittance to a humble heart,
that individual ascends the scale of miracles and meets the

Page 189

1 warmest wish of men and angels. Clad in invincible
armor, grasping the sword of Spirit, you have started in

3 this sublime ascent, and should reach the mount of revela-
tion; for if ye would run, who shall hinder you? So dear,
so due, to God is obedience, that it reaches high heaven

6
in the common walks of life, and it affords even me a
perquisite of joy.

You worship no distant deity, nor talk of unknown

9 love. The silent prayers of our churches, resounding
through the dim corridors of time, go forth in waves of
sound, a diapason of heart-beats, vibrating from one

12 pulpit to another and from one heart to another, till
truth and love, commingling in one righteous prayer,
shall encircle and cement the human race.

15 The government of divine Love derives its omnipotence
from the love it creates in the heart of man; for love is
allegiant, and there is no loyalty apart from love. When

18 the human senses wake from their long slumber to see how
soon earth's fables flee and faith grows wearisome, then
that which defies decay and satisfies the immortal cravings

21 is sought and found. In the twilight of the world's
pageantry, in the last-drawn sigh of a glory gone, we are
drawn towards God.

24 Beloved brethren, I cannot forget that yours is the first
church edifice of our denomination erected in the sunny
South - once my home. There my husband died, and

27
the song and the dirge, surging my being, gave expression
to a poem written in 1844, from which I copy this verse: -

Friends, why throng in pity round me?

30
Wherefore, pray, the bell did toll?
Dead is he who loved me dearly:
Am I not alone in soul?

Page 190

1 Did that midnight shadow, falling upon the bridal
wreath, bring the recompense of human woe, which is the

3 merciful design of divine Love, and so help to evolve that
larger sympathy for suffering humanity which is eman-
cipating it with the morning beams and noonday glory of

6
Christian Science?

The age is fast answering this question: Does Christian
Science equal materia medica in healing the worst forms

9 of contagious and organic diseases? My experience in
both practices - materia medica and the scientific meta-
physical practice of medicine - shows the latter not only

12
equalling but vastly excelling the former.

Christians who accept our Master as authority, regard
his sayings as infallible. Jesus' students, failing to cure a

15 severe case of lunacy, asked their great Teacher, "Why
could not we cast him out?" He answered, "This kind
goeth not out but by prayer and fasting." This declara-

18 tion of our Master, as to the relative value, skill, and
certainty of the divine laws of Mind over the human
mind and above matter in healing disease, remains beyond

21
questioning a divine decision in behalf of Mind.

Jesus gave his disciples (students) power over all manner
of diseases; and the Bible was written in order that all

24 peoples, in all ages, should have the same opportunity to
become students of the Christ, Truth, and thus become
God-endued with power (knowledge of divine law) and

27 with "signs following." Jesus declared that his teaching
and practice would remain, even as it did, "for them also
which shall believe on me through their word." Then,

30
in the name of God, wherefore vilify His prophets to-day
who are fulfilling Jesus' prophecy and verifying his last
promise, "Lo, I am with you alway"? It were well for

Page 191

1 the world if there survived more of the wisdom of Nico-
demus of old, who said, "No man can do these miracles

3
that thou doest, except God be with him."

Be patient towards persecution. Injustice has not a
tithe of the power of justice. Your enemies will advertise

6 for you. Christian Science is spreading steadily through-
out the world. Persecution is the weakness of tyrants
engendered by their fear, and love will cast it out. Con-

9 tinue steadfast in love and good works. Children of
light, you are not children of darkness. Let your light
shine. Keep in mind the foundations of Christian

12 Science - one God and one Christ. Keep personality
out of sight, and Christ's "Blessed are ye" will seal your
apostleship.

15 This glad Easter morning witnesseth a risen Saviour, a
higher human sense of Life and Love, which wipes away
all tears. With grave-clothes laid aside, Christ, Truth, has

18 come forth from the tomb of the past, clad in immortality.
The sepulchres give up their dead. Spirit is saying unto
matter: I am not there, am not within you. Behold the

21
place where they laid me; but human thought has risen!

Mortality's thick gloom is pierced. The stone is rolled
away. Death has lost its sting, and the grave its victory.

24
Immortal courage fills the human breast and lights the
living way of Life.

SECOND CHURCH OF CHRIST, SCIENTIST,

CHICAGO, ILL.

My Beloved Brethren: - Your card of invitation to this
feast of soul - the dedication of your church - was duly

30
received. Accept my thanks.

Page 192

1 Ye sit not in the idol's temple. Ye build not to an
unknown God. Ye worship Him whom ye serve. Boast

3 not thyself, thou ransomed of divine Love, but press on
unto the possession of unburdened bliss. Heal the sick,
make spotless the blemished, raise the living dead, cast

6
out fashionable lunacy.

The ideal robe of Christ is seamless. Thou hast touched
its hem, and thou art being healed. The risen Christ is

9 thine. The haunting mystery and gloom of his glory
rule not this century. Thine is the upspringing hope, the
conquest over sin and mortality, that lights the living

12
way to Life, not to death.

May the God of our fathers, the infinite Person whom
we worship, be and abide with you. May the blessing of

15
divine Love rest with you. My heart hovers around your
churches in Chicago, for the dove of peace sits smilingly
on these branches and sings of our Redeemer.

FIRST CHURCH OF CHRIST, SCIENTIST,

LOS ANGELES, CAL.

Beloved Students: - Your kind letter, inviting me to

21 be present at the dedication of your church, was duly
received. It would indeed give me pleasure to visit you,
to witness your prosperity, and "rejoice with them that

24 do rejoice," but the constant recurring demands upon
my time and attention pin me to my post. Of this,
however, I can sing: My love can fly on wings of joy to

27 you and leave a leaf of olive; it can whisper to you of
the divine ever-presence, answering your prayers, crown-
ing your endeavors, and building for you a house "eternal

30
in the heavens."

Page 193

1 You will dedicate your temple in faith unfeigned, not to
the unknown God, but unto Him whom to know aright

3 is life everlasting. His presence with you will bring to
your hearts so much of heaven that you will not feel my
absence. The privilege remains mine to watch and work

6 for all, from East to West, from the greensward and
gorgeous skies of the Orient to your dazzling glory
in the Occident, and to thank God forever "for His

9
goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children
of men."

PLEASANT VIEW, CONCORD, N. H.,

12 November 20, 1902

SECOND CHURCH OF CHRIST, SCIENTIST,

MINNEAPOLIS, MINN.

15 Beloved: - The spiritual dominates the temporal. Love
gives nothing to take away. Nothing dethrones His
house. You are dedicating yours to Him. Protesting

18
against error, you unite with all who believe in Truth.
God guard and guide you.

FIRST CHURCH OF CHRIST, SCIENTIST,

NEW YORK, N. Y.

Beloved Brethren: - Carlyle writes, "Give a thing time;
if it succeeds, it is a right thing." Here I aver that you

24 have grasped time and labor, taking the first by the fore-
lock and the last by love. In this lofty temple, dedicated
to God and humanity, may the prophecy of Isaiah be

27
fulfilled: "Fear not: . . . I have called thee by thy
name; thou art mine." Within its sacred walls may

Page 194

1 song and sermon generate only that which Christianity
writes in broad facts over great continents - sermons

3
that fell forests and remove mountains, songs of joy
and gladness.

The letter of your work dies, as do all things material,

6 but the spirit of it is immortal. Remember that a temple
but foreshadows the idea of God, the "house not made
with hands, eternal in the heavens," while a silent, grand

9 man or woman, healing sickness and destroying sin,
builds that which reaches heaven. Only those men and
women gain greatness who gain themselves in a complete

12
subordination of self.

The tender memorial engraven on your grand edifice
stands for human self lost in divine light, melted into the

15 radiance of His likeness. It stands for meekness and
might, for Truth as attested by the Founder of your
denomination and emblazoned on the fair escutcheon of

18
your church.

Beloved Students: - Your telegram, in which you pre-
sent to me the princely gift of your magnificent church

21 edifice in New York City, is an unexpected token of your
gratitude and love. I deeply appreciate it, profoundly
thank you for it, and gratefully accept the spirit of it;

24 but I must decline to receive that for which you have
sacrificed so much and labored so long. May divine
Love abundantly bless you, reward you according to

27
your works, guide and guard you and your church
through the depths; and may you

"Who stood the storm when seas were rough,

30
Ne'er in a sunny hour fall off."

Page 195

FIRST CHURCH OF CHRIST, SCIENTIST,

CLEVELAND, OHIO

3 Beloved Brethren: - You will pardon my delay in
acknowledging your card of invitation to the dedicatory
services of your church. Adverse circumstances, loss of

6 help, new problems to be worked out for the field, etc,.
have hitherto prevented my reply. However, it is never
too late to repent, to love more, to work more, to watch

9 and pray; but those privileges I have not had time to
express, and so have submitted to necessity, letting the
deep love which I cherished for you be hidden under an

12
appearance of indifference.

We must resign with good grace what we are denied, and
press on with what we are, for we cannot do more than we

15 are nor understand what is not ripening in us. To do
good to all because we love all, and to use in God's service
the one talent that we all have, is our only means of

18
adding to that talent and the best way to silence a deep
discontent with our shortcomings.

Christian Science is at length learned to be no miserable

21 piece of ideal legerdemain, by which we poor mortals ex-
pect to live and die, but a deep-drawn breath fresh from
God, by whom and in whom man lives, moves, and has

24 deathless being. The praiseworthy success of this church,
and its united efforts to build an edifice in which to worship
the infinite, sprang from the temples erected first in the

27 hearts of its members - the unselfed love that builds
without hands, eternal in the heaven of Spirit. God
grant that this unity remain, and that you continue to

30
build, rebuild, adorn, and fill these spiritual temples with
grace, Truth, Life, and Love.

Page 196

FIRST CHURCH OF CHRIST, SCIENTIST,

PITTSBURGH, PA.

3 My Beloved Brethren: - I congratulate you upon erect-
ing the first edifice of our denomination in the Keystone
State, a State whose metropolis is called the "city of

6 brotherly love." May this dear church militant accept
my tender counsel in these words of the Scripture, to be
engrafted in church and State: -

9 "Let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to
wrath." "He that is slow to anger is better than the
mighty; and he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh

12 a city." "If any man offend not in word, the same is
a perfect man, and able also to bridle the whole body."
"By thy words thou shalt be condemned." "Love thy

15
neighbor as thyself."

"Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example,
that [we] should follow his steps: . . . who, when he was

18 reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened
not; but committed himself to Him that judgeth right-
eously." "Consider him that endured such contradiction

21
of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in
your minds."

FIRST CHURCH OF CHRIST, SCIENTIST,

ST. LOUIS, MO.

My Beloved Brethren: - The good in being, even the
spiritually indispensable, is your daily bread. Work and

27
pray for it. The poor toil for our bread, and we should
work for their health and holiness. Over the glaciers of
winter the summer glows. The beauty of holiness comes

Page 197

1 with the departure of sin. Enjoying good things is
not evil, but becoming slaves to pleasure is. That error

3
is most forcible which is least distinct to conscience.
Attempt nothing without God's help.

May the beauty of holiness be upon this dear people,

6
and may this beloved church be glorious, without spot
or blemish.

FIRST CHURCH OF CHRIST, SCIENTIST,

SAN JOSE, CAL.

Beloved Students: -Words are inadequate to express
my deep appreciation of your labor and success in com-

12 pleting and dedicating your church edifice, and of the
great hearts and ready hands of our far Western students,
the Christian Scientists.

15 Comparing such students with those whose words
are but the substitutes for works, we learn that the
translucent atmosphere of the former must illumine the

18
midnight of the latter, else Christian Science will dis-
appear from among mortals.

I thank divine Love for the hope set before us in the

21
Word and in the doers thereof, "for of such is the kingdom
of heaven."

FIRST CHURCH OF CHRIST, SCIENTIST,

WILMINGTON, N. C.

My Beloved Brethren: - At this dedicatory season of
your church edifice in the home of my heart, I send lov-

27
ing congratulations, join with you in song and sermon.
God will bless the work of your hearts and hands.

PLEASANT VIEW, CONCORD, N. H.,

30 July 27, 1907

Page 198

FIRST CHURCH OF CHRIST, SCIENTIST,

LONDON, ENGLAND

3
Beloved Students and Brethren: - Your letters of May 1

and June 19, informing me of the dedication of your

magnificent church edifice, have been received with many

6
thanks to you and great gratitude to our one Father.

May God grant not only the continuance of His favors, but their abundant and ripened fruit.

9
CHESTNUT HILL, MASS.,

June 26, 1909

Page 199

CHAPTER IX - LETTERS TO BRANCH CHURCHES

FIRST CHURCH OF CHRIST, SCIENTIST,

PHILADELPHIA, PA.

3 MY BELOVED STUDENTS AND BRETHREN: - I rejoice
with thee. Blessed art thou. In place of dark-
ness, light hath sprung up. The reward of thy hands

6
is given thee to-day. May God say this of the church
in Philadelphia: I have naught against thee.

FIRST CHURCH OF CHRIST, SCIENTIST,

WASHINGTON, D. C.

Beloved Brethren: - The Board of Directors and
Trustees of this church will please accept my grateful

12 acknowledgment of the receipt of their Christian canon
pertaining to the hour. The joint resolutions contained
therein show explicitly the attitude of this church in our

15 capital towards me and towards the Cause of Christian
Science, so dear to our hearts and to all loyal lovers of
God and man.

18 This year, standing on the verge of the twentieth cen-
tury, has sounded the tocsin of a higher hope, of strength-
ened hands, of unveiled hearts, of fourfold unity between

21
the churches of our denomination in this and in other

Page 200

1 lands. Religious liberty and individual rights under the
Constitution of our nation are rapidly advancing, avow-

3
ing and consolidating the genius of Christian Science.

Heaven be praised for the signs of the times. Let "the
heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing;" our

6
trust is in the Almighty God, who ruleth in heaven and
upon earth, and none can stay His hand or say, "What

doest thou?"

FIRST CHURCH OF CHRIST, SCIENTIST,

LONDON, ENGLAND

My Beloved Brethren: - The chain of Christian unity,

12 unbroken, stretches across the sea and rises upward to the
realms of incorporeal Life - even to the glorious beati-
tudes of divine Love. Striving to be good, to do good, and

15 to love our neighbor as ourself, man's soul is safe; man
emerges from mortality and receives his rights inalienable
- the love of God and man. What holds us to the Chris-

18 tian life is the seven-fold shield of honesty, purity, and
unselfed love. I need not say this to you, for you know
the way in Christian Science.

21 Pale, sinful sense, at work to lift itself on crumbling
thrones of justice by pulling down its benefactors,
will tumble from this scheme into the bottomless

24 abyss of self-damnation, there to relinquish its league
with evil. Wide yawns the gap between this course
and Christian Science.

27 God spare this plunge, lessen its depths, save sin-
ners and fit their being to recover its connection with
its divine Principle, Love. For this I shall continue to

30
pray.

Page 201

1 God is blessing you, my beloved students and breth-
ren. Press on towards the high calling whereunto

3
divine Love has called us and is fast fulfilling the
promises.

Satan is unchained only for a season, as the Revelator

6
foresaw, and love and good will to man, sweeter than a
sceptre, are enthroned now and forever.

FIRST CHURCH OF CHRIST, SCIENTIST, NEW YORK, N. Y.

My Beloved Brethren: - Your Soul-full words and song
repeat my legacies in blossom. Such elements of friend-

12 ship, faith, and hope repossess us of heaven. I thank
you out of a full heart. Even the crown of thorns, which
mocked the bleeding brow of our blessed Lord, was over-

15 crowned with a diadem of duties done. So let us meekly
meet, mercifully forgive, wisely ponder, and lovingly
scan the convulsions of mortal mind, that its sudden

18 sallies may help us, not to a start, but to a tenure of
unprecarious joy. Rich hope have I in him who says in
his heart: -

21 I will listen for Thy voice,
Lest my footsteps stray;
I will follow and rejoice

24
All the rugged way.

SECOND CHURCH OF CHRIST, SCIENTIST, NEW YORK, N. Y.

27
Beloved Brethren: - Please accept a line from me in lieu
of my presence on the auspicious occasion of the open-
ing of your new church edifice. Hope springs exultant

Page 202

1 on this blest morn. May its white wings overshadow this
white temple and soar above it, pointing the path from

3 earth to heaven - from human ambition, fear, or distrust
to the faith, meekness, and might of him who hallowed
this Easter morn.

6 Now may his salvation draw near, for the night is far
spent and the day is at hand. In the words of St. Paul:
"Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom

9 tribute is due; custom to whom custom; . . . honor to
whom honor. Owe no man any thing, but to love one
another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the

12
law."

May the benediction of "Well done, good and faithful,"
rest worthily on the builders of this beautiful temple, and

15 the glory of the resurrection morn burst upon the spiritual
sense of this people with renewed vision, infinite mean-
ings, endless hopes, and glad victories in the onward and

18
upward chain of being.

FIRST CHURCH OF CHRIST, SCIENTIST, OAKLAND, CAL.

21 Beloved Brethren: - I thank you for the words of cheer
and love in your letter. The taper unseen in sunlight
cheers the darkness. My work is reflected light, - a

24 drop from His ocean of love, from the underived glory,
the divine Esse. From the dear tone of your letter,
you must be bringing your sheaves into the store-

27 house. Press on. The way is narrow at first, but it
expands as we walk in it. "Herein is my Father glori-
fied, that ye bear much fruit." God bless this vine of

30
His planting.

Page 203

FIRST CHURCH OF CHRIST, SCIENTIST, WASHINGTON, D. C.

3 Beloved Brethren: - I have nothing new to communi-
cate; all is in your textbooks. Pray aright and demon-
strate your prayer; sing in faith. Know that religion

6 should be distinct in our consciousness and life, but not
clamorous for worldly distinction. Church laws which
are obeyed without mutiny are God's laws. Goodness

9 and philanthropy begin with work and never stop working.
All that is worth reckoning is what we do, and the best of
everything is not too good, but is economy and riches.

12 Be great not as a grand obelisk, nor by setting up to be
great, - only as good. A spiritual hero is a mark for
gamesters, but he is unutterably valiant, the summary of

15 suffering here and of heaven hereafter. Our thoughts
beget our actions; they make us what we are. Dis-
honesty is a mental malady which kills its possessor; it

18 is a sure precursor that its possessor is mortal. A deep
sincerity is sure of success, for God takes care of it. God
bless this dear church, and I am sure that He will if it is

21
ready for the blessing.

FIRST CHURCH OF CHRIST, SCIENTIST, LONDON, ENGLAND

24 Beloved Students: - You have laid the corner-stone of
your church edifice impressively, and buried immortal
truths in the bosom of earth safe from all chance of being

27
challenged.

You whose labors are doing so much to benefit mankind
will not be impatient if you have not accomplished all you

Page 204

1 desire, nor will you be long in doing more. My faith in
God and in His followers rests in the fact that He is infinite

3 good, and that He gives His followers opportunity to use
their hidden virtues, to put into practice the power which
lies concealed in the calm and which storms awaken to

6
vigor and to victory.

It is only by looking heavenward that mutual friend-
ships such as ours can begin and never end. Over sea

9
and over land, Christian Science unites its true followers
in one Principle, divine Love, that sacred ave and essence
of Soul which makes them one in Christ.

FIRST CHURCH OF CHRIST, SCIENTIST, COLUMBUS, OHIO

IN REPLY TO A LETTER ANNOUNCING THE PURPOSE OF THE

15 CHRISTIAN SCIENTISTS TO PRACTISE WITHOUT FEES IN COM-
PLIANCE WITH THE STATE LAWS

Beloved Brethren: - I congratulate you tenderly on the

18 decision you have made as to the present practice of
Christian Science in your State, and thoroughly recom-
mend it under the circumstances. I practised gratui-

21
tously when starting this great Cause, which was then the
scoff of the age.

The too long treatment of a disease, the charging of

24 the sick whom you have not healed a full fee for treat-
ment, the suing for payment, hypnotism, and the resent-
ing of injuries, are not the fruits of Christian Science,

27 while returning good for evil, loving one's enemies, and
overcoming evil with good, - these are its fruits;
and its therapeutics, based as aforetime on this divine

30
Principle, heals all disease.

Page 205

1 We read in the Scriptures: "There is therefore now no
condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk

3 not after the flesh, but after the Spirit." "Stand fast
therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us
free." "Be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless

6
as doves."

Wisdom is won through faith, prayer, experience; and
God is the giver.

9 "God moves in a mysterious way
His wonders to perform;
He plants His footsteps in the sea

12
And rides upon the storm."

THIRD CHURCH OF CHRIST, SCIENTIST, LONDON, ENGLAND

15 Beloved Brethren: - Love and unity are hieroglyphs of
goodness, and their philosophical impetus, spiritual
Aesculapius and Hygeia, saith, "As the thought is, so is the

18 deed; as the thing made is good or bad, so is its maker."
This idealism connects itself with spiritual understanding,
and so makes God more supreme in consciousness, man

21 more His likeness, friends more faithful, and enemies
harmless. Scholastic theology at its best touches but the
hem of Christian Science, shorn of all personality, wholly

24 apart from human hypotheses, matter, creed and dogma,
the lust of the flesh and the pride of power. Christian
Science is the full idea of its divine Principle, God; it is

27 forever based on Love, and it is demonstrated by perfect
rules; it is unerring. Hence health, holiness, immortality,
are its natural effects. The practitioner may fail, but the

30
Science never.

Page 206

Miscellany

1 Philosophical links, which would unite dead mat-
ter with animate, Spirit with matter and material

3 means, prayer with power and pride of position, hinder
the divine influx and lose Science,- lose the Principle
of divine metaphysics and the tender grace of spiritual

6
understanding, that love-linked holiness which heals
and saves.

Schisms, imagination, and human beliefs are not

9 parts of Christian Science; they darken the discern-
ment of Science; they divide Truth's garment and cast
lots for it.

12 Seeing a man in the moon, or seeing a person in the
picture of Jesus, or believing that you see an individual
who has passed through the shadow called death, is

15 not seeing the spiritual idea of God; but it is seeing
a human belief, which is far from the fact that portrays
Life, Truth, Love.

18 May these words of the Scriptures comfort you: "The
Lord shall be unto thee an everlasting light, and thy God
thy glory." "The city had no need of the sun, neither

21 of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did
lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof." "Ye
are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy

24 nation, a peculiar people; that ye should show forth the
praises of Him who hath called you out of darkness into
His marvellous light." "Giving thanks unto the Father,

27 which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inherit-
ance of the saints in light: who hath delivered us from
the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the

30
kingdom of His dear Son." "Ye were sometimes dark-
ness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children
of light."

Page 207

FIRST CHURCH OF CHRIST, SCIENTIST, MILWAUKEE, WIS.

3
Beloved Brethren: - Your communication is gratefully
received. Press on! The wrath of men shall praise God,
and the remainder thereof He will restrain.

A TELEGRAM AND MRS. EDDY'S REPLY

Beloved Leader: - The representatives of churches and
societies of Christian Science in Missouri, in annual

9 conference assembled, unite in loving greetings to you,
and pledge themselves to strive more earnestly, day
by day, for the clearer understanding and more perfect

12 manifestation of the truth which you have unfolded to
the world, and by which sin and sickness are destroyed
and life and immortality brought to light.

15 Yours in loving obedience,
CHURCHES AND SOCIETIES OF CHRISTIAN
SCIENCE IN MISSOURI

18
ST. JOSEPH, MISSOURI,
January 5, 1909

Mrs. Eddy's Reply

21 "Well done, thou good and faithful servant: . . . enter
thou into the joy of thy lord" - the satisfaction of
meeting and mastering evil and defending good, thus

24
predicating man upon divine Science. (See Science
and Health, p. 227.)

CHESTNUT HILL, MASS,

27
January 6, 1909

Page 208

FIRST CHURCH OF CHRIST, SCIENTIST, SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA

3 Beloved Brethren: - Accept my deep thanks for your
highly interesting letter. It would seem as if the whole
import of Christian Science had been mirrored forth by

6
your loving hearts, to reflect its heavenly rays over all the
earth.

BOX G, BROOKLINE, MASS.,

9
July 15, 1909

FIRST CHURCH OF CHRIST, SCIENTIST, EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND

12 Beloved Christian Scientists: - Like the gentle dews of
heaven and the refreshing breeze of morn, comes your
dear letter to my waiting heart, - waiting in due expec-

15 tation of just such blessedness, crowning the hope and
hour of divine Science, than which nothing can exceed
its ministrations of God to man.

18 I congratulate you on the prospect of erecting a church
building, wherein to gather in praise and prayer for the
whole human family.

21
BOX G, BROOKLINE, MASS.,
November 2, 1909

THE COMMITTEES IN CONFERENCE, CHICAGO, ILL.

24 The Committees: - God bless the courageous, far-seeing
committees in conference for their confidence in His
ways and means of reaching the very acme of Christian

27
Science.

Page 209

COMMENT ON LETTER FROM

FIRST CHURCH OF CHRIST, SCIENTIST, OTTAWA, ONTARIO

3 God will abundantly bless this willing and obedient
church with the rich reward of those that seek and serve
Him. No greater hope have we than in right thinking

6
and right acting, and faith in the blessing of fidelity,
courage, patience, and grace.

Page 210

CHAPTER X - ADMONITION AND COUNSEL

WHAT OUR LEADER SAYS

BELOVED Christian Scientists, keep your minds so

3 filled with Truth and Love, that sin, disease, and
death cannot enter them. It is plain that nothing can
be added to the mind already full. There is no door

6 through which evil can enter, and no space for evil to fill
in a mind filled with goodness. Good thoughts are an
impervious armor; clad therewith you are completely

9 shielded from the attacks of error of every sort. And not
only yourselves are safe, but all whom your thoughts rest
upon are thereby benefited.

12 The self-seeking pride of the evil thinker injures him
when he would harm others. Goodness involuntarily
resists evil. The evil thinker is the proud talker and

15
doer. The right thinker abides under the shadow of the
Almighty. His thoughts can only reflect peace, good will
towards men, health, and holiness.(1)

WAYS THAT ARE VAIN

Certain individuals entertain the notion that Chris-
tian Science Mind-healing should be two-sided, and only

21
denounce error in general, - saying nothing, in particu-

(1) Copyright, 1909, by Mary Baker Eddy. Renewed, 1937.

Page 211

1 lar, of error that is damning men. They are sticklers
for a false, convenient peace, straining at gnats and

3 swallowing camels. The unseen wrong to individuals
and society they are too cowardly, too ignorant, or too
wicked to uncover, and excuse themselves by denying

6 that this evil exists. This mistaken way, of hiding sin
in order to maintain harmony, has licensed evil, allowing
it first to smoulder, and then break out in devouring

9 flames. All that error asks is to be let alone; even as
in Jesus' time the unclean spirits cried out, "Let us
alone; what have we to do with thee?"

12 Animal magnetism, in its ascending steps of evil,
entices its victim by unseen, silent arguments. Revers-
ing the modes of good, in their silent allurements to

15 health and holiness, it impels mortal mind into error of
thought, and tempts into the committal of acts foreign
to the natural inclinations. The victims lose their

18 individuality, and lend themselves as willing tools to
carry out the designs of their worst enemies, even those
who would induce their self-destruction. Animal mag-

21 netism fosters suspicious distrust where honor is due, fear
where courage should be strongest, reliance where there
should be avoidance, a belief in safety where there is

24 most danger; and these miserable lies, poured constantly
into his mind, fret and confuse it, spoiling that indi-
vidual's disposition, undermining his health, and sealing

27
his doom, unless the cause of the mischief is found out
and destroyed.

Other minds are made dormant by it, and the victim

30
is in a state of semi-individuality, with a mental hazi-
ness which admits of no intellectual culture or spiritual
growth. The state induced by this secret evil influence

Page 212

1 is a species of intoxication, in which the victim is led to
believe and do what he would never, otherwise, think

3
or do voluntarily.

This intricate method of animal magnetism is the
essence, or spirit, of evil, which makes mankind drunken.

6 In this era it is taking the place of older and more open
sins, and other forms of intoxication. A harder fight
will be necessary to expose the cause and effects of

9 this evil influence, than has been required to put down
the evil effects of alcohol. The alcoholic habit is the
use of higher forms of matter, wherewith to do evil;

12
whereas animal magnetism is the highest form of mental
evil, wherewith to complete the sum total of sin.

The question is often asked, Why is there so much

15 dissension among mental practitioners? We answer,
Because they do not practise in strict accordance with
the teaching of Christian Science Mind-healing. If they

18 did, there would be unity of action. Being like the
disciples of old, "with one accord in one place," they
would receive a spiritual influx impossible under other

21 conditions, and so would recognize and resist the
animal magnetism by which they are being deceived
and misled.

24 The mental malpractitioner, interfering with the
rights of Mind, destroys the true sense of Science, and
loses his own power to heal. He tries to compensate

27 himself for his own loss by hindering in every way con-
ceivable the success of others. You will find this prac-
titioner saying that animal magnetism never troubles

30
him, but that Mrs. Eddy teaches animal magnetism;
and he says this to cover his crime of mental malprac-
tice, in furtherance of unscrupulous designs.

Page 213

1 The natural fruits of Christian Science Mind-healing
are harmony, brotherly love, spiritual growth and

3 activity. The malicious aim of perverted mind-power,
or animal magnetism, is to paralyze good and give
activity to evil. It starts factions and engenders envy

6 and hatred, but as activity is by no means a right of
evil and its emissaries, they ought not to be encouraged
in it. Because this age is cursed with one rancorous

9 and lurking foe to human weal, those who are the
truest friends of mankind, and conscientious in their
desire to do right and to live pure and Christian lives,

12 should be more zealous to do good, more watchful and
vigilant. Then they will be proportionately successful
and bring out glorious results.

15 Unless one's eyes are opened to the modes of mental
malpractice, working so subtly that we mistake its sug-
gestions for the impulses of our own thought, the victim

18 will allow himself to drift in the wrong direction with-
out knowing it. Be ever on guard against this enemy.
Watch your thoughts, and see whether they lead you

21 to God and into harmony with His true followers.
Guard and strengthen your own citadel more strongly.
Thus you will grow wiser and better through every

24
attack of your foe, and the Golden Rule will not rust
for lack of use or be misinterpreted by the adverse
influence of animal magnetism.

ONLY ONE QUOTATION

The following three quotations from "Science and
Health with Key to the Scriptures" are submitted

30
to the dear Churches of Christ, Scientist. From these

Page 214

1 they may select one only to place on the walls of their
church. Otherwise, as our churches multiply, promiscu-

3 ous selections would write your textbook on the walls of
your churches.

Divine Love always has met and always will meet every

6
human need.

MARY BAKER EDDY

Christianity is again demonstrating the Life that is

9
Truth, and the Truth that is Life.
MARY BAKER EDDY

Jesus' three days' work in the sepulchre set the seal

12
of eternity on time. He proved Life to be deathless and
Love to be the master of hate.

MARY BAKER EDDY

THE LABORER AND HIS HIRE

In reply to letters questioning the consistency of
Christian Scientists taking pay for their labors, and with

18 the hope of relieving the questioners' perplexity, I will say:
Four years after my discovery of Christian Science, while
taking no remuneration for my labors, and for healing all

21 manner of diseases, I was confronted with the fact that I
had no monetary means left wherewith to hire a hall in
which to speak, or to establish a Christian Science home

24 for indigent students, which I yearned to do, or even to
meet my own current expenses. I therefore halted from
necessity.

27
I had cast my all into the treasury of Truth, but where
were the means with which to carry on a Cause? To
desert the Cause never occurred to me, but nobody

Page 215

1 then wanted Christian Science, or gave it a halfpenny.
Though sorely oppressed, I was above begging and

3 knew well the priceless worth of what had been bestowed
without money or price. Just then God stretched forth
His hand. He it was that bade me do what I did,

6 and it prospered at every step. I wrote "Science and
Health with Key to the Scriptures," taught students for
a tuition of three hundred dollars each, though I seldom

9 taught without having charity scholars, sometimes a
dozen or upward in one class. Afterwards, with touch-
ing tenderness, those very students sent me the full

12 tuition money. However, I returned this money with
love; but it was again mailed to me in letters begging
me to accept it, saying, "Your teachings are worth much

15
more to me than money can be."

It was thus that I earned the means with which to start
a Christian Science home for the poor worthy student, to

18 establish a Metaphysical College, to plant our first maga-
zine, to purchase the site for a church edifice, to give my
church The Christian Science Journal, and to keep "the

21
wolves in sheep's clothing," preying upon my pearls, from
clogging the wheels of Christian Science.

When the great Master first sent forth his students, he

24 bade them take no scrip for their journey, saying, "The
laborer is worthy of his hire." Next, on the contrary,
he bade them take scrip. Can we find a better example

27 for our lives than that of our Master? Why did he send
forth his students first without, and then with, provision
for their expenses? Doubtless to test the effect of both

30
methods on mankind. That he preferred the latter is
evident, since we have no hint of his changing this direc-
tion; and that his divine wisdom should temper human

Page 216

1 affairs, is plainly set forth in the Scriptures. Till Christian
Scientists give all their time to spiritual things, live without

3 eating, and obtain their money from a fish's mouth, they
must earn it in order to help mankind with it. All sys-
tems of religion stand on this basis.

6 The law and the gospel, - Christian, civil, and educa-
tional means, - manufacture, agriculture, tariff, and
revenue subsist on demand and supply, regulated by a

9 government currency, by which each is provided for and
maintained. What, then, can a man do with truth
and without a cent to sustain it? Either his life must

12
be a miracle that frightens people, or his truth not
worth a cent.

THE CHILDREN CONTRIBUTORS

15 My Beloved Children: - Tenderly thanking you for
your sweet industry and love on behalf of the room
of the Pastor Emeritus in The First Church of Christ,

18 Scientist, Boston, I say: The purpose of God to you-
ward indicates another field of work which I present to
your thought, work by which you can do much good and

21 which is adapted to your present unfolding capacity. I
request that from this date you disband as a society,
drop the insignia of "Busy Bees," work in your own sev-

24
eral localities, and no longer contribute to The Mother
Church flower fund.

As you grow older, advance in the knowledge of self-

27 support, and see the need of self-culture, it is to be expected
you will feel more than at present that charity begins at
home, and that you will want money for your own uses.

30
Contemplating these important wants, I see that you
should begin now to earn for a purpose even higher, the

Page 217

1 money that you expend for flowers. You will want it for
academics, for your own school education, or, if need be,

3
to help your parents, brothers, or sisters.

Further to encourage your early, generous incentive
for action, and to reward your hitherto unselfish toil, I

6 have deeded in trust to The Mother Church of Christ,
Scientist, in Boston, the sum of four thousand dollars
to be invested in safe municipal bonds for my dear chil-

9 dren contributors to the room of the Pastor Emeritus.
This sum is to remain on interest till it is disbursed in
equal shares to each contributor. This disbursal will

12 take place when the contributors shall have arrived at
legal age, and each contributor will receive his divi-
dend with interest thereon up to date, provided he has

15
complied with my request as above named.

A CORRECTION

In the last Sentinel [Oct. 12, 1899] was the following

18 question: "If all matter is unreal, why do we deny the
existence of disease in the material body and not the body
itself?"

21 We deny first the existence of disease, because we can
meet this negation more readily than we can negative all
that the material senses affirm. It is written in "Science

24 and Health with Key to the Scriptures": "An improved
belief is one step out of error, and aids in taking the
next step and in understanding the situation in Christian

27
Science" (p. 296).

Thus it is that our great Exemplar, Jesus of Nazareth,
first takes up the subject. He does not require the last

30
step to be taken first. He came to the world not to
destroy the law of being, but to fulfil it in righteousness.

Page 218

1 He restored the diseased body to its normal action,
functions, and organization, and in explanation of his

3 deeds he said, "Suffer it to be so now: for thus it be-
cometh us to fulfil all righteousness." Job said, "In
my flesh shall I see God." Neither the Old nor the New

6 Testament furnishes reasons or examples for the destruc-
tion of the human body, but for its restoration to life
and health as the scientific proof of "God with us."

9 The power and prerogative of Truth are to destroy all
disease and to raise the dead - even the self-same
Lazarus. The spiritual body, the incorporeal idea, came

12
with the ascension.

Jesus demonstrated the divine Principle of Christian
Science when he presented his material body absolved

15 from death and the grave. The introduction of pure
abstractions into Christian Science, without their correl-
atives, leaves the divine Principle of Christian Science

18
unexplained, tends to confuse the mind of the reader, and
ultimates in what Jesus denounced, namely, straining
at gnats and swallowing camels.

QUESTION ANSWERED

A fad of belief is the fool of mesmerism. The belief
that an individual can either teach or heal by proxy is a

24 false faith that will end bitterly. My published works are
teachers and healers. My private life is given to a serv-
itude the fruit of which all mankind may share. Such

27 labor is impartial, meted out to one no more than to
another. Therefore an individual should not enter the
Massachusetts Metaphysical College with the expecta-

30
tion of receiving instruction from me, other than that

Page 219

1 which my books afford, unless I am personally present.
Nor should patients anticipate being helped by me through

3 some favored student. Such practice would be erro-
neous, and such an anticipation on the part of the sick a
hindrance rather than help.

6 My good students have all the honor of their success
in teaching or in healing. I by no means would pluck
their plumes. Human power is most properly used in

9
preventing the occasion for its use; otherwise its use
is abuse.

CHRISTIAN SCIENCE HEALING

12 To say that it is sin to ride to church on an electric
car, would not be more preposterous than to believe
that man's Maker is not equal to the destruction of disease

15 germs. Christ, Truth, the ever-present spiritual idea,
who raises the dead, is equal to the giving of life and health
to man and to the healing, as aforetime, of all manner of

18 diseases. I would not charge Christians with doubting
the Bible record of our great Master's life of healing, since
Christianity must be predicated of what Christ Jesus

21 taught and did; but I do say that Christian Science cannot
annul nor make void the laws of the land, since Christ,
the great demonstrator of Christian Science, said, "Think

24
not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets:
I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil."

I have expressed my opinion publicly as to the pre-

27 cautions against the spread of so-called infectious and
contagious diseases in the following words: -

"Rather than quarrel over vaccination, I recommend, if

30
the law demand, that an individual submit to this process,
that he obey the law, and then appeal to the gospel to

Page 220

1 save him from bad physical results. Whatever changes
come to this century or to any epoch, we may safely

3 submit to the providence of God, to common justice, to
the maintenance of individual rights, and to govern-
mental usages. This statement should be so interpreted

6 as to apply, on the basis of Christian Science, to the
reporting of a contagious case to the proper authorities
when the law so requires. When Jesus was questioned

9 concerning obedience to human law, he replied: 'Render
to Caesar the things that are Caesar's,' even while you
render 'to God the things that are God's.' "

12 I believe in obeying the laws of the land. I practise and
teach this obedience, since justice is the moral signification
of law. Injustice denotes the absence of law. Each day

15 I pray for the pacification of all national difficulties, for
the brotherhood of man, for the end of idolatry and
infidelity, and for the growth and establishment of

18 Christian religion - Christ's Christianity. I also have
faith that my prayer availeth, and that He who is
overturning will overturn until He whose right it is shall

21 reign. Each day I pray: "God bless my enemies; make
them Thy friends; give them to know the joy and the
peace of love."

24 Past, present, or future philosophy or religion, which
departs from the instructions and example of the great
Galilean Prophet, cannot be Christlike. Jesus obeyed

27 human laws and fell a victim to those laws. But nineteen
centuries have greatly improved human nature and
human statutes. That the innocent should suffer for the

30
guilty, seems less divine, and that humanity should share
alike liberty of conscience, seems more divine to-day than
it did yesterday.

Page 221

1 The earthly price of spirituality in religion and medicine
in a material age is persecution, and the moral distance

3 between Christianity and materialism precludes Jesus'
doctrine, now as then, from finding favor with certain
purely human views. The prophets of old looked for

6 something higher than the systems and practices of their
times. They foresaw the new dispensation of Truth
and the demonstration of God in His more infinite

9 meanings, - the demonstration which was to destroy sin,
disease, and death, establish the definition of omnipotence,
and illustrate the Science of Mind. Earth has not known

12 another so great and good as Christ Jesus. Then can
we find a better moral philosophy, a more complete,
natural, and divine Science of medicine, or a better

15
religion than his?

God is Spirit. Then modes of healing, other than the
spiritual and divine, break the First Commandment of

18 the Decalogue, "Thou shalt have no other gods before
me." There are no other heaven-appointed means than
the spiritual with which to heal sin and disease. Our

21 Master conformed to this law, and instructed his follow-
ers, saying, "He that believeth on me, the works that I
do shall he do also." This is enough.

24 All issues of morality, of Christianity, of pleasure, or of
pain must come through a correct or incorrect state
of thought, since matter is not conscious; then, like a

27 watchman forsaking his post, shall we have no faith in
God, in the divine Mind, thus throwing the door wide
open to the intruding disease, forgetting that the divine

30
Mind, Truth and Life, can guard the entrance?

We earnestly ask: Shall we not believe the Scripture,
"The prayer of faith shall save the sick"? In the seven-

Page 222

1 teenth chapter of the Gospel according to St. Matthew,
we read that even the disciples of Jesus once failed mentally

3 to cure by their faith and understanding a violent case of
lunacy. And because of this Jesus rebuked them, saying:
"O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be

6 with you ? how long shall I suffer you? bring him hither to
me." When his disciples asked him why they could not
heal that case, Jesus, the master Metaphysician, answered,

9 "Because of your unbelief" (lack of faith); and then
continued: "If ye have faith as a grain of mustard
seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence

12 to yonder place; and it shall remove." Also he added:
"This kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting"
(refraining from admitting the claims of the senses).

15 Even in those dark days Jesus was not arrested and
executed (for "insanity") because of his faith and
his great demands on the faith of his followers, but

18 he was arrested because, as was said, "he stirreth
up the people." Be patient, O Christian Scientist!
It is well that thou canst unloose the sandals of thy

21
Master's feet.

The Constitution of the United States does not provide
that materia medica shall make laws to regulate man's

24 religion; rather does it imply that religion shall permeate
our laws. Mankind will be God-governed in proportion
as God's government becomes apparent, the Golden Rule

27 utilized, and the rights of man and the liberty of conscience
held sacred. Meanwhile, they who name the name of
Christian Science will assist in the holding of crime in

30
check, will aid the ejection of error, will maintain law
and order, and will cheerfully await the end - justice and
judgment.

Page 223

RULES OF CONDUCT

I hereby notify the public that no comers are received

3 at Pleasant View without previous appointment by letter.
Also that I neither listen to complaints, read letters, nor
dictate replies to letters which pertain to church diffi-

6 culties outside of The Mother Church of Christ, Scientist,
or to any class of individual discords. Letters from the
sick are not read by me or by my secretaries. They

9
should be sent to the Christian Science practitioners
whose cards are in The Christian Science Journal.

Letters and despatches from individuals with whom I

12 have no acquaintance and of whom I have no knowl-
edge, containing questions about secular affairs, I do
not answer. First, because I have not sufficient time to

15 waste on them; second, because I do not consider myself
capable of instructing persons in regard to that of which
I know nothing. All such questions are superinduced by

18
wrong motives or by "evil suggestions," either of which
I do not entertain.

All inquiries, coming directly or indirectly from a

21 member of The Mother Church of Christ, Scientist, which
relate in any manner to the keeping or the breaking
of one of the Church By-laws, should be addressed to

24
the Christian Science Board of Directors and not to the
Pastor Emeritus.

A WORD TO THE WISE

27
The hour is imminent. Upon it lie burdens that
time will remove. Just now divine Love and wisdom
saith, "Be still, and know that I am God." Do all Chris-

Page 224

1 tian Scientists see or understand the importance of that
demand at the moment, when human wisdom is inade-

3
quate to meet the exigencies of the hour and when they
should wait on the logic of events?

I respectfully call your attention to this demand, know-

6 ing a little, as I ought, the human need, the divine com-
mand, the blessing which follows obedience and the bane
which follows disobedience. Hurried conclusions as to

9 the public thought are not apt to be correctly drawn. The
public sentiment is helpful or dangerous only in proportion
to its right or its wrong concept, and the forward footsteps

12 it impels or the prejudice it instils. This prejudice the
future must disclose and dispel. Avoid for the immediate
present public debating clubs. Also be sure that you are

15 not caught in some author's net, or made blind to his
loss of the Golden Rule, of which Christian Science is the
predicate and postulate, when he borrows the thoughts,

18 words, and classification of one author without quotation-
marks, at the same time giving full credit to another more
fashionable but less correct.

21 My books state Christian Science correctly. They may
not be as taking to those ignorant of this Science as
books less correct and therefore less profound. But it is

24 not safe to accept the latter as standards. We would not
deny their authors a hearing, since the Scripture declares,
"He that is not against us is on our part." And we should

27 also speak in loving terms of their efforts, but we cannot
afford to recommend any literature as wholly Christian
Science which is not absolutely genuine.

30
Beloved students, just now let us adopt the classic
saying, "They also serve who only stand and wait."
Our Cause is growing apace under the present persecution

Page 225

1 thereof. This is a crucial hour, in which the coward and
the hypocrite come to the surface to pass off, while the

3
loyal at heart and the worker in the spirit of Truth are
rising to the zenith of success, - the "Well done, good
and faithful," spoken by our Master.

CAPITALIZATION

A correct use of capital letters in composition caps the
climax of the old "new tongue. " Christian Science is not

9 understood by the writer or the reader who does not com-
prehend where capital letters should be used in writing
about Christian Science.

12 In divine Science all belongs to God, for God is All;
hence the propriety of giving unto His holy name
due deference, - the capitalization which distinguishes

15
it from all other names, thus obeying the leading of our
Lord's Prayer.

The coming of Christ's kingdom on earth begins in the

18 minds of men by honoring God and sacredly holding His
name apart from the names of that which He creates.
Mankind almost universally gives to the divine Spirit

21 the name God. Christian Science names God as divine
Principle, Love, the infinite Person. In this, as in all
that is right, Christian Scientists are expected to stick

24 to their text, and by no illogical conclusion, either in
speaking or in writing, to forget their prayer, "Hallowed
be Thy name."

27 In their textbook it is clearly stated that God is divine
Principle and that His synonyms are Love, Truth, Life,
Spirit, Mind, Soul, which combine as one. The divine

30
Principle includes them all. The word Principle, when
referring to God, should not be written or used as a

Page 226

1 common noun or in the plural number. To avoid using
this word incorrectly, use it only where you can substi-

3 tute the word God and make sense. This rule strictly
observed will preserve an intelligent usage of the word
and convey its meaning in Christian Science.

6 What are termed in common speech the principle of har-
monious vibration, the principle of conservation of num-
ber in geometry, the principle of the inclined plane in

9 mechanics, etc., are but an effect of one universal cause, -
an emanation of the one divine intelligent Principle that
holds the earth in its orbit by evolved spiritual power,

12 that commands the waves and the winds, that marks the
sparrow's fall, and that governs all from the infinitesimal
to the infinite, - namely, God. Withdraw God, divine

15 Principle, from man and the universe, and man and the
universe would no longer exist. But annihilate matter,
and man and the universe would remain the forever fact,

18 the spiritual "substance of things hoped for;" and the
evidence of the immortality of man and the cosmos is
sustained by the intelligent divine Principle, Love.

21
Beloved students, in this you learn to hallow His name,
even as you value His all-power, all-presence, all-Science,
and depend on Him for your existence.

WHEREFORE?

Our faithful laborers in the field of Science have
been told by the alert editor-in-chief of the Christian

27 Science Sentinel and Journal that "Mrs. Eddy advises,
until the public thought becomes better acquainted with
Christian Science, that Christian Scientists decline to

30
doctor infectious or contagious diseases."

Page 227

1 The great Master said, "For which of those works do
ye stone me?" He said this to satisfy himself regarding

3 that which he spake as God's representative - as one who
never weakened in his own personal sense of righteousness
because of another's wickedness or because of the minify-

6 ing of his own goodness by another. Charity is quite as
rare as wisdom, but when charity does appear, it is known
by its patience and endurance.

9 When, under the protection of State or United States
laws, good citizens are arrested for manslaughter because
one out of three of their patients, having the same disease

12 and in the same family, dies while the others recover, we
naturally turn to divine justice for support and wait on
God. Christian Scientists should be influenced by their

15 own judgment in taking a case of malignant disease.
They should consider well their ability to cope with the
claim, and they should not overlook the fact that there

18 are those lying in wait to catch them in their sayings;
neither should they forget that in their practice, whether
successful or not, they are not specially protected by law.

21 The above quotation by the editor-in-chief stands for this:
Inherent justice, constitutional individual rights, self-
preservation, and the gospel injunction, "Neither cast

24
ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under
their feet, and turn again and rend you."

And it stands side by side with Christ's command,

27 "Whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to
him the other also." I abide by this rule and triumph by
it. The sinner may sneer at this beatitude, for "the fool

30
hath said in his heart, There is no God." Statistics show
that Christian Science cures a larger per cent of malignant
diseases than does materia medica.

Page 228

1 I call disease by its name and have cured it thus; so
there is nothing new on this score. My book Science and

3 Health names disease, and thousands are healed by
learning that so-called disease is a sensation of mind, not
of matter. Evil minds signally blunder in divine meta-

6 physics; hence I am always saying the unexpected to
them. The evil mind calls it "skulking," when to me it
is wisdom to "overcome evil with good." I fail to know

9
how one can be a Christian and yet depart from Christ's
teachings.

SIGNIFICANT QUESTIONS

12 Who shall be greatest? Referring to John the Baptist,
of whom he said none greater had been born of women,
our Master declared: "He that is least in the kingdom of

15 heaven is greater than he." That is, he that hath the
kingdom of heaven, the reign of holiness, in the least in his
heart, shall be greatest.

18 Who shall inherit the earth? The meek, who sit at the
feet of Truth, bathing the human understanding with
tears of repentance and washing it clean from the taints of

21
self-righteousness, hypocrisy, envy, - they shall inherit
the earth, for "wisdom is justified of her children."

"Who shall dwell in Thy holy hill? He that walketh

24
uprightly, and worketh righteousness, and speaketh the
truth in his heart."

Who shall be called to Pleasant View? He who strives,

27 and attains; who has the divine presumption to say: "For
I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that
he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him

30
against that day" (St. Paul). It goes without saying that
such a one was never called to Pleasant View for penance

Page 229

1 or for reformation; and I call none but genuine Christian
Scientists, unless I mistake their calling. No mesmerist

3 nor disloyal Christian Scientist is fit to come hither. I
have no use for such, and there cannot be found at Pleasant
View one of this sort. "For all that do these things are

6 an abomination unto the Lord: and because of these
abominations the Lord thy God doth drive them out from
before thee." (Deuteronomy 18: 12.)

9 It is true that loyal Christian Scientists, called to the
home of the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science,
can acquire in one year the Science that otherwise might

12 cost them a half century. But this should not be the
incentive for going thither. Better far that Christian
Scientists go to help their helper, and thus lose all selfish-

15 ness, as she has lost it, and thereby help themselves and
the whole world, as she has done, according to this saying
of Christ Jesus: "And whosoever doth not bear his cross,

18
and come after me, cannot be my disciple."

MENTAL DIGESTION

Will those beloved students, whose growth is taking in

21 the Ten Commandments and scaling the steep ascent of
Christ's Sermon on the Mount, accept profound thanks for
their swift messages of rejoicing over the twentieth cen-

24 tury Church Manual? Heaps upon heaps of praise con-
front me, and for what? That which I said in my heart
would never be needed, - namely, laws of limitation for a

27 Christian Scientist. Thy ways are not as ours. Thou
knowest best what we need most, - hence my disap-
pointed hope and grateful joy. The redeemed should be

30
happier than the elect. Truth is strong with destiny;
it takes life profoundly; it measures the infinite against

Page 230

1 the finite. Notwithstanding the sacrilegious moth of time,
eternity awaits our Church Manual, which will maintain

3
its rank as in the past, amid ministries aggressive and
active, and will stand when those have passed to rest.

Scientific pathology illustrates the digestion of spiritual

6 nutriment as both sweet and bitter, - sweet in expectancy
and bitter in experience or during the senses' assimilation
thereof, and digested only when Soul silences the dyspepsia

9 of sense. This church is impartial. Its rules apply not
to one member only, but to one and all equally. Of this
I am sure, that each Rule and By-law in this Manual will

12
increase the spirituality of him who obeys it, invigorate his
capacity to heal the sick, to comfort such as mourn, and
to awaken the sinner.

TEACHING IN THE SUNDAY SCHOOL

TO THE SUPERINTENDENT AND TEACHERS OF THE
MOTHER CHURCH SUNDAY SCHOOL

18 Beloved Students: - I read with pleasure your approval
of the amendments to Article XIX, Sections 5 and 6, (1)
in our Church Manual. Be assured that fitness and

21 fidelity such as thine in the officials of my church give
my solitude sweet surcease. It is a joy to know that
they who are faithful over foundational trusts, such as

24 the Christian education of the dear children, will reap
the reward of rightness, rise in the scale of being, and
realize at last their Master's promise, "And they shall be

27
all taught of God."

PLEASANT VIEW, CONCORD, N. H.,
November 14, 1904

30
(1) Article XX, Sections 2 and 3 in 89th edition.

Page 231

CHARITY AND INVALIDS

Mrs. Eddy endeavors to bestow her charities for such

3 purposes only as God indicates. Giving merely in com-
pliance with solicitations or petitions from strangers,
incurs the liability of working in wrong directions. As

6 a rule, she has suffered most from those whom she has
labored much to benefit - also from the undeserving
poor to whom she has given large sums of money, worse

9 than wasted. She has, therefore, finally resolved to
spend no more time or money in such uncertain, un-
fortunate investments. She has qualified students for

12 healing the sick, and has ceased practice herself in order
to help God's work in other of its highest and infinite
meanings, as God, not man, directs. Hence, letters from

15
invalids demanding her help do not reach her. They are
committed to the waste-basket by her secretaries.

"Charity suffereth long and is kind," but wisdom must

18 govern charity, else love's labor is lost and giving is un-
kind. As it is, Mrs. Eddy is constantly receiving more
important demands on her time and attention than one

21 woman is sufficient to supply. It would therefore be as
unwise for her to undertake new tasks, as for a landlord
who has not an empty apartment in his house, to receive

24
more tenants.

LESSONS IN THE SUNDAY SCHOOL

TO THE OFFICERS OF THE SUNDAY SCHOOL OF SECOND CHURCH

27 OF CHRIST, SCIENTIST, NEW YORK

Beloved Brethren: -You will accept my thanks for your
interesting report regarding the By-law, "Subject for

30
Lessons" (Article XX, Section 3 of Church Manual).

Page 232

1 It rejoices me that you are recognizing the proper course,
unfurling your banner to the breeze of God, and sailing

3 over rough seas with the helm in His hands. Steering
thus, the waiting waves will weave for you their winning
webs of life in looms of love that line the sacred shores.

6
The right way wins the right of way, even the way of
Truth and Love whereby all our debts are paid, mankind
blessed, and God glorified.

WATCHING versus WATCHING OUT

COMMENT ON AN EDITORIAL WHICH APPEARED IN THE CHRISTIAN
SCIENCE SENTINEL, SEPTEMBER 23, 1905

12 Our Lord and Master left to us the following sayings as
living lights in our darkness: "What I say unto you I say
unto all, Watch" (Mark 13: 37); and, "If the goodman

15 of the house had known what hour the thief would come,
he would have watched, and not have suffered his house
to be broken through." (Luke 12: 39.)

18 Here we ask: Are Christ's teachings the true authority
for Christian Science? They are. Does the textbook of
Christian Science, "Science and Health with Key to the

21 Scriptures," read on page 252, "A knowledge of error
and of its operations must precede that understanding
of Truth which destroys error, until the entire mortal,

24 material error finally disappears, and the eternal verity,
man created by and of Spirit, is understood and recog-
nized as the true likeness of his Maker"? It does. If

27 so-called watching produces fear or exhaustion and no
good results, does that watch accord with Jesus' saying?
It does not. Can watching as Christ demands harm

30
you? It cannot. Then should not "watching out"
mean, watching against a negative watch, alias, no

Page 233

1 watch, and gaining the spirit of true watching, even the
spirit of our Master's command? It must mean that.

3 Is there not something to watch in yourself, in your
daily life, since "by their fruits ye shall know them,"
which prevents an effective watch? Otherwise, where-

6 fore the Lord's Prayer, "Deliver us from evil"? And
if this something, when challenged by Truth, frightens
you, should you not put that out instead of putting

9 out your watch? I surely should. Then are you not
made better by watching? I am. Which should we
prefer, ease or dis-ease in sin? Is not discomfort from

12 sin better adapted to deliver mortals from the effects of
belief in sin than ease in sin? and can you demonstrate
over the effects of other people's sins by ind]ifference

15
thereto? I cannot.

The Scriptures say, "They have healed also the hurt
of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, Peace,

18 peace; when there is no peace" (Jeremiah 6: 14), thus
taking the name of God in vain. Ignorance of self is the
most stubborn belief to overcome, for apathy, dishonesty,

21 sin, follow in its train. One should watch to know what
his errors are; and if this watching destroys his peace in
error, should one watch against such a result? He should

24 not. Our Master said, "He that taketh not his cross,
and followeth after me, is not worthy of me . . . and he
that loseth his life [his false sense of life] for my sake shall

27
find it." (Matthew 10: 38, 39.)

PRINCIPLE OR PERSON?

Do Christian Scientists love God as much as they love

30
mankind? Aye, that's the question. Let us examine it
for ourselves. Thinking of person implies that one is not

Page 234

1 thinking of Principle, and fifty telegrams per holiday sig-
nalize the thinking of person. Are the holidays blest by

3 absorbing one's time writing or reading congratulations?
I cannot watch and pray while reading telegrams; they
only cloud the clear sky, and they give the appearance of

6 personal worship which Christian Science annuls. Did
the dear students know how much I love them, and how
I need every hour wherein to express this love in labor

9 for them, they would gladly give me the holidays for this
work and not task themselves with mistaken means.
But God will reward their kind motives, and guide them

12
every step of the way from human affection to spiritual
understanding, from faith to achievement, from light to
Love, from sense to Soul.

CHRISTIAN SCIENCE AND CHINA

Beloved Student: - The report of the success of Christian
Science in benighted China, when regarded on one side

18 only, is cheering, but to look at both sides of the great
question of introducing Christian Science into a heathen
nation gives the subject quite another aspect. I believe

21 that all our great Master's sayings are practical and
scientific. If the Dowager Empress could hold her
nation, there would be no danger in teaching Christian

24 Science in her country. But a war on religion in
China would be more fatal than the Boxers' rebellion.
Silent prayer in and for a heathen nation is just what

27 is needed. But to teach and to demonstrate Christian
Science before the minds of the people are prepared
for it, and when the laws are against it, is fraught with

30
danger.

Page 235

INCONSISTENCY

To teach the truth of life without using the word

3 death, the suppositional opposite of life, were as impos-
sible as to define truth and not name its opposite, error.
Straining at gnats, one may swallow camels.

6 The tender mother, guided by love, faithful to her in-
stincts, and adhering to the imperative rules of Science,
asks herself: Can I teach my child the correct numer-

9 ation of numbers and never name a cipher? Knowing
that she cannot do this in mathematics, she should know
that it cannot be done in metaphysics, and so she should

12
definitely name the error, uncover it, and teach truth
scientifically.

SIGNS OF THE TIMES

15 Is God infinite? Yes. Did God make man? Yes.
Did God make all that was made? He did. Is God
Spirit? He is. Did infinite Spirit make that which is

18 not spiritual? No. Who or what made matter? Matter
as substance or intelligence never was made. Is mortal
man a creator, is he matter or spirit ? Neither one. Why?

21 Because Spirit is God and infinite; hence there can be
no other creator and no other creation. Man is but His
image and likeness.

24 Are you a Christian Scientist? I am. Do you adopt
as truth the above statements? I do. Then why this
meaningless commemoration of birthdays, since there are

27
none?

Had I known what was being done in time to have
prevented it, that which commemorated in deed or in

30
word what is not true, would never have entered into the

Page 236

1 history of our church buildings. Let us have no more of
echoing dreams. Will the beloved students accept my

3
full heart's love for them and their kind thoughts.

NOTA BENE

My Beloved Christian Scientists: - Because I suggested

6 the name for one central Reading Room, and this name
continues to be multiplied, you will permit me to make
the amende honorable - notwithstanding "incompetence"

9 - and to say, please adopt generally for your name,
Christian Science Reading Room. An old axiom says:
Too much of one thing spoils the whole. Too many

12
centres may become equivalent to no centre.

Here I have the joy of knowing that Christian Scientists
will exchange the present name for the one which I sug-

15
gest, with the sweet alacrity and uniformity with which
they accepted the first name.

Merely this appellative seals the question of unity, and

18 opens wide on the amplitude of liberty and love a far-
reaching motive and success, of which we can say, the
more the better.

21
PLEASANT VIEW, CONCORD, N. H.
JULY 8, 1907

TAKE NOTICE

24 I request the Christian Scientists universally to read
the paragraph beginning at line 30 of page 442 in the
edition of Science and Health which will be issued Febru-

27 ary 29 [1908]. I consider the information there given to
be of great importance at this stage of the workings of
animal magnetism, and it will greatly aid the students in

30
their individual experiences.

Page 237

1 The contemplated reference in Science and Health to
the "higher criticism" announced in the Sentinel a few

3
weeks ago, I have since decided not to publish.

TAKE NOTICE

What I wrote on Christian Science some twenty-five

6 years ago I do not consider a precedent for a present
student of this Science. The best mathematician has
not attained the full understanding of the principle

9
thereof, in his earliest studies or discoveries. Hence, it
were wise to accept only my teachings that I know to
be correct and adapted to the present demand.

TAKE NOTICE

To Christian Scientists: - See Science and Health, page
442, line 30, and give daily attention thereto.

PRACTITIONERS' CHARGES

Christian Science practitioners should make their
charges for treatment equal to those of reputable phy-

18
sicians in their respective localities.

BROOKLINE, MASS., December 24, 1909

TAKE NOTICE

21 The article on the Church Manual by Blanche Hersey
Hogue, in the Sentinel of September 10 [1910] is practi-
cal and scientific, and I recommend its careful study to all

24
Christian Scientists.

Page 238

CHAPTER XI - QUESTIONS ANSWERED

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

Will the Bible, if read and practised, heal as effectually

3
as your book, "Science and Health with Key to the
Scriptures"?

THE exact degree of comparison between the effects

6 produced by reading the above-named books can
only be determined by personal proof. Rightly to read
and to practise the Scriptures, their spiritual sense must

9 be discerned, understood, and demonstrated. God being
Spirit, His language and meaning are wholly spiritual.
Uninspired knowledge of the translations of the Scriptures

12 has imparted little power to practise the Word. Hence
the revelation, discovery, and presentation of Christian
Science - the Christ Science, or "new tongue" of which

15 St. Mark prophesied - became requisite in the divine
order. On the swift pinions of spiritual thought man
rises above the letter, law, or morale of the inspired Word

18 to the spirit of Truth, whereby the Science is reached
that demonstrates God. When the Bible is thus read
and practised, there is no possibility of misinterpreta-

21
tion. God is understandable, knowable, and applicable
to every human need. In this is the proof that Chris-
tian Science is Science, for it demonstrates Life, not

Page 239

1 death; health, not disease; Truth, not error; Love, not
hate. The Science of the Scriptures coexists with God;

3 and "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures"
relegates Christianity to its primitive proof, wherein
reason, revelation, the divine Principle, rules, and prac-

6 tice of Christianity acquaint the student with God. In
the ratio that Christian Science is studied and under-
stood, mankind will, as aforetime, imbibe the spirit and

9 prove the practicality, validity, and redemptive power of
Christianity by healing all manner of disease, by over-
coming sin and death.

12 Must mankind wait for the ultimate of the millennium -
until every man and woman comes into the knowledge of
Christ and all are taught of God and see their apparent

15
identity as one man and one woman - for God to be
represented by His idea or image and likeness?

God is one, and His idea, image, or likeness, man, is one.

18 But God is infinite and so includes all in one. Man is the
generic term for men and women. Man, as the idea or
image and likeness of the infinite God, is a compound, com-

21 plex idea or likeness of the infinite one, or one infinite,
whose image is the reflection of all that is real and eternal
in infinite identity. Gender means a kind. Hence man-

24 kind - in other words, a kind of man who is identi-
fied by sex - is the material, so-called man born of the
flesh, and is not the spiritual man, created by God,

27 Spirit, who made all that was made. The millennium
is a state and stage of mental advancement, going
on since ever time was. Its impetus, accelerated by

30
the advent of Christian Science, is marked, and will

Page 240

1 increase till all men shall know Him (divine Love) from
the least to the greatest, and one God and the brother-

3
hood of man shall be known and acknowledged through-
out the earth.

THE HIGHER CRITICISM

6 An earnest student writes to me: "Would it be asking
too much of you to explain more fully why you call Chris-
tian Science the higher criticism?"

9 I called Christian Science the higher criticism in my
dedicatory Message to The Mother Church, June 10,
1906, when I said, "This Science is a law of divine Mind,

12 . . . an ever-present help. Its presence is felt, for it
acts and acts wisely, always unfolding the highway of
hope, faith, understanding."

15 I now repeat another proof, namely, that Christian
Science is the higher criticism because it criticizes evil,
disease, and death - all that is unlike God, good - on a

18 Scriptural basis, and approves or disapproves according
to the word of God. In the next edition of Science and
Health I shall refer to this.

21
MARY BAKER EDDY

CLASS TEACHING

Mrs. Eddy thus replies, through her student, Mr.

24
Adam Dickey, to the question, Does Mrs. Eddy approve
of class teaching: -

Yes! She most assuredly does, when the teaching is

27
done by those who are duly qualified, who have re-
ceived certificates from the Massachusetts Metaphysical
College or the Board of Education, and who have the

Page 241

1 necessary moral and spiritual qualifications to perform
this important work. Class teaching will not be abol-

3 ished until it has accomplished that for which it was
established; viz., the elucidation of the Principle and
rule of Christian Science through the higher meaning

6 of the Scriptures. Students who are ready for this
step should beware the net that is craftily laid and cun-
ningly concealed to prevent their advancement in this

9
direction.

INSTRUCTION BY MRS. EDDY

We are glad to have the privilege of publishing an ex-

12 tract from a letter to Mrs. Eddy, from a Christian Scien-
tist in the West, and Mrs. Eddy's reply thereto. The
issue raised is an important one and one upon which

15 there should be absolute and correct teaching. Christian
Scientists are fortunate to receive instruction from their
Leader on this point. The question and Mrs. Eddy's

18 reply follow.

"Last evening I was catechized by a Christian Science
practitioner because I referred to myself as an immortal

21 idea of the one divine Mind. The practitioner said that
my statement was wrong, because I still lived in my
flesh. I replied that I did not live in my flesh, that

24 my flesh lived or died according to the beliefs I enter-
tained about it; but that, after coming to the light of
Truth, I had found that I lived and moved and had

27
my being in God, and to obey Christ was not to know
as real the beliefs of an earthly mortal. Please give the
truth in the Sentinel, so that all may know it."

Page 242

Mrs. Eddy's Reply

You are scientifically correct in your statement about

3 yourself. You can never demonstrate spirituality until you
declare yourself to be immortal and understand that
you are so. Christian Science is absolute; it is neither

6 behind the point of perfection nor advancing towards
it; it is at this point and must be practised therefrom.
Unless you fully perceive that you are the child

9 of God, hence perfect, you have no Principle to demon-
strate and no rule for its demonstration. By this I
do not mean that mortals are the children of God, -

12
far from it. In practising Christian Science you must
state its Principle correctly, or you forfeit your ability
to demonstrate it.

TAKE NOTICE

I hereby announce to the Christian Science field that
all inquiries or information relating to Christian Science

18 practice, to publication committee work, reading-room
work, or to Mother Church membership, should be sent
to the Christian Science Board of Directors of The

21 Mother Church; and I have requested my secretary
not to make inquiries on these subjects, nor to reply to
any received, but to leave these duties to the Clerk of

24
The Mother Church, to whom they belong.
MARY BAKER EDDY

September 28, 1910

Page 243

CHAPTER XII - READERS, TEACHERS, LECTURERS

THE NEW YORK CHURCHES

MY BELOVED STUDENTS: - According to reports, the

3 belief is springing up among you that the several
churches in New York City should come together and
form one church. This is a suggestion of error, which

6 should be silenced at its inception. You cannot have lost
sight of the rules for branch churches as published in our
Church Manual. The Empire City is large, and there

9
should be more than one church in it.

The Readers of The Church of Christ, Scientist, hold
important, responsible offices, and two individuals would

12 meet meagrely the duties of half a dozen or more of the
present incumbents. I have not yet had the privilege of
knowing two students who are adequate to take charge

15 of three or more churches. The students in New York
and elsewhere will see that it is wise to remain in their
own fields of labor and give all possible time and attention

18
to caring for their own flocks.

THE NOVEMBER CLASS, 1898

Beloved Christian Scientists: - Your prompt presence in

21
Concord at my unexplained call witnesses your fidelity
to Christian Science and your spiritual unity with your

Page 244

1 Leader. I have awaited your arrival before informing
you of my purpose in sending for you, in order to avoid

3 the stir that might be occasioned among those who wish
to share this opportunity and to whom I would gladly
give it at this time if a larger class were advantageous

6
to the students.

You have been invited hither to receive from me one or
more lessons on Christian Science, prior to conferring on

9 any or all of you who are ready for it, the degree of C.S.D.,
of the Massachusetts Metaphysical College. This oppor-
tunity is designed to impart a fresh impulse to our spiritual

12 attainments, the great need of which I daily discern.
I have awaited the right hour, and to be called of God
to contribute my part towards this result.

15 The "secret place," whereof David sang, is unquestion-
ably man's spiritual state in God's own image and like-
ness, even the inner sanctuary of divine Science, in which

18 mortals do not enter without a struggle or sharp experi-
ence, and in which they put off the human for the divine.
Knowing this, our Master said: "Many are called, but few

21 are chosen." In the highest sense of a disciple, all loyal
students of my books are indeed my students, and your
wise, faithful teachers have come so to regard them.

24 What I have to say may not require more than one
lesson. This, however, must depend on results. But
the lessons will certainly not exceed three in number.

27
No charge will be made for my services.

MASSACHUSETTS METAPHYSICAL COLLEGE

The Massachusetts Metaphysical College of Boston,

30
Massachusetts, was chartered A.D. 1881. As the people
observed the success of this Christian system of heal-

Page 245

1 ing all manner of disease, over and above the approved
schools of medicine, they became deeply interested

3 in it. Now the wide demand for this universal bene-
fice is imperative, and it should be met as heretofore,
cautiously, systematically, scientifically. This Chris-

6 tian educational system is established on a broad and
liberal basis. Law and order characterize its work
and secure a thorough preparation of the student for

9
practice.

The growth of human inquiry and the increasing pop-
ularity of Christian Science, I regret to say, have called

12 out of their hiding-places those poisonous reptiles and de-
vouring beasts, superstition and jealousy. Towards the
animal elements manifested in ignorance, persecution,

15 and lean glory, and to their Babel of confusion worse
confounded, let Christian Scientists be charitable. Let
the voice of Truth and Love be heard above the dire

18 din of mortal nothingness, and the majestic march of
Christian Science go on ad infinitum, praising God,
doing the works of primitive Christianity, and enlighten-

21
ing the world.

To protect the public, students of the Massachusetts
Metaphysical College have received certificates, and these

24
credentials are still required of all who claim to teach
Christian Science.

Inquiries have been made as to the precise significa-

27 tion of the letters of degrees that follow the names of
Christian Scientists. They indicate, respectively, the
degrees of Bachelor and Doctor of Christian Science,

30
conferred by the President or Vice-President of the
Massachusetts Metaphysical College. The first degree
(C.S.B.) is given to students of the Primary class; the

Page 246

1 second degree (C.S.D.) is given to those who, after
receiving the first degree, continue for three years as

3
practitioners of Christian Science in good and regular
standing.

Students who enter the Massachusetts Metaphys-

6 ical College, or are examined under its auspices by
the Board of Education, must be well educated and
have practised Christian Science three years with good

9
success.

THE BOARD OF EDUCATION

In the year 1889, to gain a higher hope for the race, I

12 closed my College in the midst of unprecedented pros-
perity, left Boston, and sought in solitude and silence a
higher understanding of the absolute scientific unity which

15 must exist between the teaching and letter of Christianity
and the spirit of Christianity, dwelling forever in the
divine Mind or Principle of man's being and revealed

18
through the human character.

While revising "Science and Health with Key to the
Scriptures," the light and might of the divine concur-

21 rence of the spirit and the Word appeared, and the
result is an auxiliary to the College called the Board of
Education of The Mother Church of Christ, Scientist,

24
in Boston, Mass.

Our Master said: "What I do thou knowest not now;
but thou shalt know hereafter;" and the spirit of his

27 mission, the wisdom of his words, and the immortal-
ity of his works are the same to-day as yesterday and
forever.

30
The Magna Charta of Christian Science means much,

Page 247

1 multum in parvo, - all-in-one and one-in-all. It stands
for the inalienable, universal rights of men. Essentially

3 democratic, its government is administered by the
common consent of the governed, wherein and whereby
man governed by his creator is self-governed. The

6 church is the mouthpiece of Christian Science, - its
law and gospel are according to Christ Jesus; its rules
are health, holiness, and immortality, - equal rights and

9
privileges, equality of the sexes, rotation in office.

TO A FIRST READER

Beloved Student: - Christ is meekness and Truth

12 enthroned. Put on the robes of Christ, and you will
be lifted up and will draw all men unto you. The
little fishes in my fountain must have felt me when I

15 stood silently beside it, for they came out in orderly
line to the rim where I stood. Then I fed these
sweet little thoughts that, not fearing me, sought their

18
food of me.

God has called you to be a fisher of men. It is not a
stern but a loving look which brings forth mankind to

21 receive your bestowal, - not so much eloquence as tender
persuasion that takes away their fear, for it is Love alone
that feeds them.

24 Do you come to your little flock so filled with divine
food that you cast your bread upon the waters? Then
be sure that after many or a few days it will return

27
to you.

The little that I have accomplished has all been
done through love, - self-forgetful, patient, unfaltering

30
tenderness.

Page 248

THE CHRISTIAN SCIENCE BOARD OF LECTURESHIP

Beloved Students: - I am more than satisfied with your

3 work: its grandeur almost surprises me. Let your watch-
word always be:

"Great, not like Caesar, stained with blood,

6 But only great as I am good."

You are not setting up to be great; you are here for the
purpose of grasping and defining the demonstrable, the

9 eternal. Spiritual heroes and prophets are they whose
new-old birthright is to put an end to falsities in a wise
way and to proclaim Truth so winningly that an honest,

12
fervid affection for the race is found adequate for the
emancipation of the race.

You are the needed and the inevitable sponsors for the

15 twentieth century, reaching deep down into the univer-
sal and rising above theorems into the transcendental,
the infinite - yea, to the reality of God, man, nature,

18 the universe. No fatal circumstance of idolatry can fold
or falter your wings. No fetishism with a symbol can
fetter your flight. You soar only as uplifted by God's

21
power, or you fall for lack of the divine impetus. You
know that to conceive God aright you must be good.

The Christ mode of understanding Life - of extermi-

24 nating sin and suffering and their penalty, death - I
have largely committed to you, my faithful witnesses.
You go forth to face the foe with loving look and with the

27 religion and philosophy of labor, duty, liberty, and love,
to challenge universal indifference, chance, and creeds.
Your highest inspiration is found nearest the divine

30
Principle and nearest the scientific expression of Truth.

Page 249

1 You may condemn evil in the abstract without harming
any one or your own moral sense, but condemn persons

3 seldom, if ever. Improve every opportunity to correct
sin through your own perfectness. When error strives to
be heard above Truth, let the "still small voice" produce

6 God's phenomena. Meet dispassionately the raging ele-
ment of individual hate and counteract its most gigantic
falsities.

9 The moral abandon of hating even one's enemies ex-
cludes goodness. Hate is a moral idiocy let loose for
one's own destruction. Unless withstood, the heat of

12 hate burns the wheat, spares the tares, and sends forth a
mental miasma fatal to health, happiness, and the morals
of mankind, - and all this only to satiate its loathing of

15 love and its revenge on the patience, silence, and lives
of saints. The marvel is, that at this enlightened period
a respectable newspaper should countenance such evil

18
tendencies.

Millions may know that I am the Founder of Chris-
tian Science. I alone know what that means.

READERS IN CHURCH

The report that I prefer to have a man, rather than
a woman, for First Reader in The Church of Christ,

24 Scientist, I desire to correct. My preference lies with
the individual best fitted to perform this important
function. If both the First and Second Readers are my

27 students, then without reference to sex I should prefer
that student who is most spiritually-minded. What our
churches need is that devout, unselfed quality of thought

30
which spiritualizes the congregation.

Page 250

WORDS FOR THE WISE

The By-law of The Mother Church of Christ, Scientist,

3 relative to a three years' term for church Readers, was
entitled to and has received profound attention. Rotation
in office promotes wisdom, quiets mad ambition, satisfies

6
justice, and crowns honest endeavors.

The best Christian Scientists will be the first to adopt
this By-law in their churches, and their Readers will

9 retire ex officio, after three years of acceptable service as
church Readers, to higher usefulness in this vast vineyard
of our Lord.

12
The churches who adopt this By-law will please send
to the Editor of our periodicals notice of their action.

AFTERGLOW

15 Beloved Students: - The By-law of The Mother
Church of Christ, Scientist, stipulating three years as
the term for its Readers, neither binds nor compels the

18 branch churches to follow suit; and the By-law applies
only to Christian Science churches in the United States
and Canada. Doubtless the churches adopting this

21 By-law will discriminate as regards its adaptability to
their conditions. But if now is not the time, the branch
churches can wait for the favored moment to act on this

24
subject.

I rest peacefully in knowing that the impulsion of this
action in The Mother Church was from above. So I have

27
faith that whatever is done in this direction by the branch
churches will be blest. The Readers who have filled this
sacred office many years, have beyond it duties and

Page 251

1 attainments beckoning them. What these are I cannot
yet say. The great Master saith: "What I do thou

3
knowest not now; but thou shalt know hereafter."

TEACHERS OF CHRISTIAN SCIENCE

I reply to the following question from unknown ques-

6
tioners:

"Are the students, whom I have taught, obliged to
take both Primary and Normal class instruction in the

9
Board of Education in order to become teachers of Pri-
mary classes?"

No, not if you and they are loyal Christian Scientists,

12 and not if, after examination in the Board of Education,
your pupils are found eligible to enter the Normal class,
which at present is taught in the Board of Education

15
only.

There is evidently some misapprehension of my meaning
as to the mode of instruction in the Board of Education.

18 A Primary student of mine can teach pupils the prac-
tice of Christian Science, and after three years of good
practice, my Primary student can himself be examined in

21
the Board of Education, and if found eligible, receive a
certificate of the degree C.S.D.

THE GENERAL ASSOCIATION OF TEACHERS, 1903

24 My Beloved Students: - I call you mine, for all is Thine
and mine. What God gives, elucidates, armors, and tests
in His service, is ours; and we are His. You have con-

27
vened only to convince yourselves of this grand verity:
namely, the unity in Christian Science. Cherish stead-
fastly this fact. Adhere to the teachings of the Bible,

Page 252

1 Science and Health, and our Manual, and you will obey
the law and gospel. Have one God and you will

3 have no devil. Keep yourselves busy with divine Love.
Then you will be toilers like the bee, always distributing
sweet things which, if bitter to sense, will be salutary as

6
Soul; but you will not be like the spider, which weaves
webs that ensnare.

Rest assured that the good you do unto others you do

9 to yourselves as well, and the wrong you may commit
must, will, rebound upon you. The entire purpose of
true education is to make one not only know the truth

12 but live it - to make one enjoy doing right, make one
not work in the sunshine and run away in the storm, but
work midst clouds of wrong, injustice, envy, hate; and

15
wait on God, the strong deliverer, who will reward right-
eousness and punish iniquity. "As thy days, so shall thy
strength be."

THE LONDON TEACHERS' ASSOCIATION, 1903

Beloved Students: - Your letter and dottings are an
oasis in my wilderness. They point to verdant pastures,

21 and are already rich rays from the eternal sunshine of
Love, lighting and leading humanity into paths of peace
and holiness.

24 Your "Thanksgiving Day," instituted in England on
New Year's Day, was a step in advance. It expressed
your thanks, and gave to the "happy New Year" a higher

27 hint. You are not aroused to this action by the allure-
ments of wealth, pride, or power; the impetus comes from
above - it is moral, spiritual, divine. All hail to this

30
higher hope that neither slumbers nor is stilled by the
cold impulse of a lesser gain!

Page 253

1 It rejoices me to know that you know that healing
the sick, soothing sorrow, brightening this lower sphere

3 with the ways and means of the higher and everlasting
harmony, brings to light the perfect original man and uni-
verse. What nobler achievement, what greater glory can

6
nerve your endeavor? Press on! My heart and hope
are with you.

"Thou art not here for ease or pain,

9
But manhood's glorious crown to gain."

THE GENERAL ASSOCIATION OF TEACHERS, 1904

Beloved Brethren: - I thank you. Jesus said: "The

12
world hath not known Thee: but I have known Thee,
and these have known that Thou hast sent me."

THE CANADIAN TEACHERS, 1904

15 Beloved Brethren: - Accept my love and these words
of Jesus: "Holy Father, keep through Thine own name
those whom Thou hast given me, that they may be one,

18
as we are."

STUDENTS IN THE BOARD OF EDUCATION, DECEMBER, 1904

21 Beloved Students: - You will accept my profound
thanks for your letter and telegram. If wishing is wise,
I send with this a store of wisdom in three words: God

24
bless you. If faith is fruition, you have His rich blessing
already and my joy therewith.

We understand best that which begins in ourselves

27
and by education brightens into birth. Dare to be
faithful to God and man. Let the creature become

Page 254

1 one with his creator, and mysticism departs, heaven
opens, right reigns, and you have begun to be a Chris-

3
tian Scientist.

THE MAY CLASS, 1905

Beloved: - I am glad you enjoy the dawn of Christian

6
Science; you must reach its meridian. Watch, pray,
demonstrate. Released from materialism, you shall run
and not be weary, walk and not faint.

THE DECEMBER CLASS, 1905

Beloved Students: - Responding to your kind letter,
let me say: You will reap the sure reward of right think-

12 ing and acting, of watching and praying, and you will
find the ever-present God an ever-present help. I
thank the faithful teacher of this class and its dear

15
members.

"ROTATION IN OFFICE"

Dear Leader: - May we have permission to print, as

18 a part of the preamble to our By-laws, the following
extract from your article "Christian Science Board of
Education" in the June Journal of 1904, page 184: -

21 "The Magna Charta of Christian Science means
much, multum in parvo, - all-in-one and one-in-all. It
stands for the inalienable, universal rights of men.

24 Essentially democratic, its government is administered
by the common consent of the governed, wherein and
whereby man governed by his creator is self-governed.

27
The church is the mouthpiece of Christian Science,
- its law and gospel are according to Christ Jesus;

Page 255

1 its rules are health, holiness, and immortality, - equal
rights and privileges, equality of the sexes, rotation

3
in office."

Mrs. Eddy's Reply

Christian Science churches have my consent to publish

6 the foregoing in their By-laws. By "rotation in office"
I do not mean that minor officers who are filling their
positions satisfactorily should be removed every three

9
years, or be elevated to offices for which they are not
qualified.

CHESTNUT HILL, MASS.,

12
March 6, 1909

Page 256

CHAPTER XIII - CHRISTMAS

EARLY CHIMES, DECEMBER, 1898

BEFORE the Christmas bells shall ring, allow me

3 to improvise some new notes, not specially musi-
cal to be sure, but admirably adapted to the key of my
feeling and emphatically phrasing strict observance or

6
note well.

This year, my beloved Christian Scientists, you must
grant me my request that I be permitted total exemption

9 from Christmas gifts. Also I beg to send to you all a
deep-drawn, heartfelt breath of thanks for those things
of beauty and use forming themselves in your thoughts

12 to send to your Leader. Thus may I close the door of
mind on this subject, and open the volume of Life on
the pure pages of impersonal presents, pleasures, achieve-

15
ments, and aid.

CHRISTMAS, 1900

Again loved Christmas is here, full of divine benedic-

18 tions and crowned with the dearest memories in human
history - the earthly advent and nativity of our Lord
and Master. At this happy season the veil of time

21 springs aside at the touch of Love. We count our bless-
ings and see whence they came and whither they tend.
Parents call home their loved ones, the Yule-fires burn,

24
the festive boards are spread, the gifts glow in the dark

Page 257

1 green branches of the Christmas-tree. But alas for the
broken household band! God give to them more of

3
His dear love that heals the wounded heart.

To-day the watchful shepherd shouts his welcome over
the new cradle of an old truth. This truth has traversed

6 night, through gloom to glory, from cradle to crown. To
the awakened consciousness, the Bethlehem babe has left
his swaddling-clothes (material environments) for the

9 farm and comeliness of the divine ideal, which has passed
from a corporeal to the spiritual sense of Christ and is
winning the heart of humanity with ineffable tenderness.

12 The Christ is speaking for himself and for his mother,
Christ's heavenly origin and aim. To-day the Christ is,
more than ever before, "the way, the truth, and the

15 life," - "which lighteth every man that cometh into the
world," healing all sorrow, sickness, and sin. To this
auspicious Christmastide, which hallows the close of the

18 nineteenth century, our hearts are kneeling humbly. We
own his grace, reviving and healing. At this immortal
hour, all human hate, pride, greed, lust should bow and

21
declare Christ's power, and the reign of Truth and Life
divine should make man's being pure and blest.

CHRISTMAS GIFTS

24 Beloved Students: - For your manifold Christmas memo-
rials, too numerous to name, I group you in one benison
and send you my Christmas gift, two words enwrapped,

27
- love and thanks.

To-day Christian Scientists have their record in the
monarch's palace, the Alpine hamlet, the Christian trav-

30
eller's resting-place. Wherever the child looks up in

Page 258

1 prayer, or the Book of Life is loved, there the sinner is
reformed and the sick are healed. Those are the "signs

3 following." What is it that lifts a system of religion to
deserved fame? Nothing is worthy the name of religion
save one lowly offering - love.

6 This period, so fraught with opposites, seems illumi-
nated for woman's hope with divine light. It bids her
bind the tenderest tendril of the heart to all of holiest

9 worth. To the woman at the sepulchre, bowed in strong
affection's anguish, one word, "Mary," broke the gloom
with Christ's all-conquering love. Then came her resurrec-

12 tion and task of glory, to know and to do God's will, -
in the words of St. Paul: "Looking unto Jesus the author
and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set be-

15
fore him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is
set down at the right hand of the throne of God."

The memory of the Bethlehem babe bears to mortals

18 gifts greater than those of Magian kings, - hopes that
cannot deceive, that waken prophecy, gleams of glory,
coronals of meekness, diadems of love. Nor should they

21 who drink their Master's cup repine over blossoms that
mock their hope and friends that forsake. Divinely
beautiful are the Christmas memories of him who sounded

24
all depths of love, grief, death, and humanity.

To the dear children let me say: Your Christmas gifts
are hallowed by our Lord's blessing. A transmitted

27 charm rests on them. May this consciousness of God's
dear love for you give you the might of love, and may
you move onward and upward, lowly in its majesty.

30
To the children who sent me that beautiful statuette
in alabaster - a child with finger on her lip reading a book
- I write: Fancy yourselves with me; take a peep into

Page 259

1 my studio; look again at your gift, and you will see the
sweetest sculptured face and form conceivable, mounted

3
on its pedestal between my bow windows, and on either
side lace and flowers. I have named it my white student.

From First Church of Christ, Scientist, in London,

6 Great Britain, I received the following cabled message: -

REV. MRS. EDDY, PLEASANT VIEW,
Concord, N. H.

9
Loving, grateful Christmas greetings from members
London, England, church.

December 24, 1901

12 To this church across the sea I return my heart's wire-
less love. All our dear churches' Christmas telegrams to
me are refreshing and most pleasing Christmas presents,

15 for they require less attention than packages and give me
more time to think and work for others. I hope that in
1902 the churches will remember me only thus. Do not

18 forget that an honest, wise zeal, a lowly, triumphant
trust, a true heart, and a helping hand constitute man,
and nothing less is man or woman.

21
[New York World]

THE SIGNIFICANCE OF CHRISTMAS

Certain occasions, considered either collectively or

24 individually and observed properly, tend to give the
activity of man infinite scope; but mere merry-making
or needless gift-giving is not that in which human capac-

27 ities find the most appropriate and proper exercise.
Christmas respects the Christ too much to submerge
itself in merely temporary means and ends. It represents

30
the eternal informing Soul recognized only in harmony,

Page 260

1 in the beauty and bounty of Life everlasting, - in the
truth that is Life, the Life that heals and saves man-

3 kind. An eternal Christmas would make matter an alien
save as phenomenon, and matter would reverentially
withdraw itself before Mind. The despotism of material

6 sense or the flesh would flee before such reality, to make
room for substance, and the shadow of frivolity and the
inaccuracy of material sense would disappear.

9 In Christian Science, Christmas stands for the real, the
absolute and eternal, - for the things of Spirit, not of mat-
ter. Science is divine; it hath no partnership with human

12 means and ends, no half-way stations. Nothing condi-
tional or material belongs to it. Human reason and phi-
losophy may pursue paths devious, the line of liquids, the

15
lure of gold, the doubtful sense that falls short of sub-
stance, the things hoped for and the evidence unseen.

The basis of Christmas is the rock, Christ Jesus; its

18 fruits are inspiration and spiritual understanding of joy
and rejoicing, - not because of tradition, usage, or cor-
poreal pleasures, but because of fundamental and de-

21 monstrable truth, because of the heaven within us. The
basis of Christmas is love loving its enemies, returning
good for evil, love that "suffereth long, and is kind." The

24 true spirit of Christmas elevates medicine to Mind; it
casts out evils, heals the sick, raises the dormant facul-
ties, appeals to all conditions, and supplies every need of

27 man. It leaves hygiene, medicine, ethics, and religion
to God and His Christ, to that which is the Way, in word
and in deed, - the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

30
There is but one Jesus Christ on record. Christ is
incorporeal. Neither the you nor the I in the flesh can
be or is Christ.

Page 261

CHRISTMAS FOR THE CHILDREN

Methinks the loving parents and guardians of youth

3 ofttimes query: How shall we cheer the children's Christ-
mas and profit them withal? The wisdom of their elders,
who seek wisdom of God, seems to have amply provided

6 for this, according to the custom of the age and to the full
supply of juvenile joy. Let it continue thus with one
exception: the children should not be taught to believe

9 that Santa Claus has aught to do with this pastime. A
deceit or falsehood is never wise. Too much cannot be
done towards guarding and guiding well the germinating

12 and inclining thought of childhood. To mould aright
the first impressions of innocence, aids in perpetu-
ating purity and in unfolding the immortal model, man

15 in His image and likeness. St. Paul wrote, "When I
was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a
child, . . . but when I became a man, I put away

18
childish things."

PLEASANT VIEW, CONCORD, N. H.,
December 28, 1905

21
[Ladies' Home Journal]

WHAT CHRISTMAS MEANS TO ME

To me Christmas involves an open secret, understood

24 by few - or by none - and unutterable except in Chris-
tian Science. Christ was not born of the flesh. Christ
is the Truth and Life born of God - born of Spirit and

27
not of matter. Jesus, the Galilean Prophet, was born
of the Virgin Mary's spiritual thoughts of Life and its
manifestation.

Page 262

1 God creates man perfect and eternal in His own image.
Hence man is the image, idea, or likeness of perfection

3 - an ideal which cannot fall from its inherent unity
with divine Love, from its spotless purity and original
perfection.

6 Observed by material sense, Christmas commemorates
the birth of a human, material, mortal babe - a babe
born in a manger amidst the flocks and herds of a Jewish

9
village.

This homely origin of the babe Jesus falls far short
of my sense of the eternal Christ, Truth, never born and

12 never dying. I celebrate Christmas with my soul, my
spiritual sense, and so commemorate the entrance into
human understanding of the Christ conceived of Spirit,

15 of God and not of a woman-as the birth of Truth, the
dawn of divine Love breaking upon the gloom of matter
and evil with the glory of infinite being.

18 Human doctrines or hypotheses or vague human phi-
losophy afford little divine effulgence, deific presence or
power. Christmas to me is the reminder of God's great

21 gift, - His spiritual idea, man and the universe, -
a gift which so transcends mortal, material, sensual giv-
ing that the merriment, mad ambition, rivalry, and

24 ritual of our common Christmas seem a human mock-
ery in mimicry of the real worship in commemoration
of Christ's coming.

27 I love to observe Christmas in quietude, humility,
benevolence, charity, letting good will towards man, elo-
quent silence, prayer, and praise express my conception

30
of Truth's appearing.

The splendor of this nativity of Christ reveals infinite
meanings and gives manifold blessings. Material gifts

Page 263

1
and pastimes tend to obliterate the spiritual idea in con-
sciousness, leaving one alone and without His glory.

MRS. EDDY'S CHRISTMAS MESSAGE

MY HOUSEHOLD

Beloved: - A word to the wise is sufficient. Mother

6 wishes you all a happy Christmas, a feast of Soul and a
famine of sense.
Lovingly thine,

9
MARY BAKER EDDY
BOX G, BROOKLINE, MASS.,
December 25, 1909

Page 264

CHAPTER XIV - CONTRIBUTIONS TO NEWSPAPERS AND MAGAZINES

1
[Boston Herald, May 5, 1900]

A WORD IN DEFENCE

3 I EVEN hope that those who are kind enough to
speak well of me may do so honestly and not too
earnestly, and this seldom, until mankind learn more of

6
my meaning and can speak justly of my living.

[Boston Globe, November 29, 1900]

CHRISTIAN SCIENCE THANKS

9 On the threshold of the twentieth century, will you
please send through the Globe to the people of New
England, which is the birthplace of Thanksgiving Day, a

12
sentiment on what the last Thanksgiving Day of the
nineteenth century should signify to all mankind?

Mrs. Eddy's Response

15 New England's last Thanksgiving Day of this century
signifies to the minds of men the Bible better understood
and Truth and Love made more practical; the First

18
Commandment of the Decalogue more imperative, and

Page 265

1 "Love thy neighbor as thyself" more possible and
pleasurable.

3 It signifies that love, unselfed, knocks more loudly than
ever before at the heart of humanity and that it finds
admittance; that revelation, spiritual voice and vision,

6 are less subordinate to material sight and sound and more
apparent to reason; that evil flourishes less, invests less
in trusts, loses capital, and is bought at par value; that

9 the Christ-spirit will cleanse the earth of human gore;
that civilization, peace between nations, and the brother-
hood of man should be established, and justice plead not

12
vainly in behalf of the sacred rights of individuals, peoples,
and nations.

It signifies that the Science of Christianity has dawned

15 upon human thought to appear full-orbed in millennial
glory; that scientific religion and scientific therapeutics
are improving the morals and increasing the longevity

18 of mankind, are mitigating and destroying sin, disease,
and death; that religion and materia medica should be
no longer tyrannical and proscriptive; that divine Love,

21 impartial and universal, as understood in divine Sci-
ence, forms the coincidence of the human and divine,
which fulfils the saying of our great Master, "The king-

24 dom of God is within you;" that the atmosphere of the
human mind, when cleansed of self and permeated with
divine Love, will reflect this purified subjective state in

27 clearer skies, less thunderbolts, tornadoes, and extremes of
heat and cold; that agriculture, manufacture, commerce,
and wealth should be governed by honesty, indus-

30
try, and justice, reaching out to all classes and peoples.
For these signs of the times we thank our Father-
Mother God.

Page 266

[New York World, December, 1900]

INSUFFICIENT FREEDOM

3 To my sense, the most imminent dangers confronting
the coming century are: the robbing of people of life and
liberty under the warrant of the Scriptures; the claims of

6 politics and of human power, industrial slavery, and insuf-
ficient freedom of honest competition; and ritual, creed,
and trusts in place of the Golden Rule, "Whatsoever ye

9
would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them."

[Concord (N. H.) Monitor, July, 1902]

CHRISTIAN SCIENCE AND THE TIMES

12 Your article on the decrease of students in the semi-
naries and the consequent vacancies occurring in the
pulpits, points unmistakably to the "signs of the times"

15 of which Jesus spoke. This flux and flow in one direc-
tion, so generally apparent, tends in one ultimate - the
final spiritualization of all things, of all codes, modes,

18 hypotheses, of man and the universe. How can it be
otherwise, since God is Spirit and the origin of all that
really is, and since this great fact is to be verified by the

21
spiritualization of all?

Since 1877, these special "signs of the times" have in-
creased year by year. My book, "Science and Health

24 with Key to the Scriptures," was published in 1875.
Note, if you please, that many points in theology and
materia medica, at that date undisturbed, are now agitated,

27
modified, and disappearing, and the more spiritual modes
and significations are adopted.

It is undoubtedly true that Christian Science is destined

Page 267

1 to become the one and the only religion and therapeutics
on this planet. And why not, since Christianity is fully

3 demonstrated to be divine Science? Nothing can be cor-
rect and continue forever which is not divinely scientific,
for Science is the law of the Mind that is God, who is

6 the originator of all that really is. The Scripture reads:
"All things were made by Him; and without Him was
not any thing made that was made." Here let us re-

9 member that God is not the Alpha and Omega of man
and the universe; He is supreme, infinite, the great for-
ever, the eternal Mind that hath no beginning and no

12
end, no Alpha and no Omega.

HEAVEN

15
Is heaven spiritual?

Heaven is spiritual. Heaven is harmony, - infinite,
boundless bliss. The dying or the departed enter heaven

18 in proportion to their progress, in proportion to their fit-
ness to partake of the quality and the quantity of heaven.
One individual may first awaken from his dream of life

21 in matter with a sense of music; another with that of
relief from fear or suffering, and still another with a bit-
ter sense of lost opportunities and remorse. Heaven is

24 the reign of divine Science. Material thought tends to
obscure spiritual understanding, to darken the true con-
ception of man's divine Principle, Love, wherein and

27 whereby soul is emancipate and environed with ever-
lasting Life. Our great Teacher hath said: "Behold, the
kingdom of God is within you" - within man's spiritual

30
understanding of all the divine modes, means, forms, ex-
pression, and manifestation of goodness and happiness.

Page 268

[Boston Herald, March 5, 1905]

PREVENTION AND CURE OF DIVORCE

3 The nuptial vow should never be annulled so long as
the morale of marriage is preserved. The frequency of
divorce shows that the imperative nature of the mar-

6 riage relation is losing ground, - hence that some funda-
mental error is engrafted on it. What is this error?
If the motives of human affection are right, the affec-

9
tions are enduring and achieving. What God hath joined
together, man cannot sunder.

Divorce and war should be exterminated according to

12 the Principle of law and gospel, - the maintenance of
individual rights, the justice of civil codes, and the power
of Truth uplifting the motives of men. Two command-

15 ments of the Hebrew Decalogue, "Thou shalt not commit
adultery" and "Thou shalt not kill," obeyed, will elimi-
nate divorce and war. On what hath not a "Thus saith

18
the Lord," I am as silent as the dumb centuries without
a living Divina.

This time-world flutters in my thought as an unreal

21 shadow, and I can only solace the sore ills of mankind by
a lively battle with "the world, the flesh and the devil,"
in which Love is the liberator and gives man the victory

24 over himself. Truth, canonized by life and love, lays
the axe at the root of all evil, lifts the curtain on the
Science of being, the Science of wedlock, of living and of

27 loving, and harmoniously ascends the scale of life. Look
high enough, and you see the heart of humanity warming
and winning. Look long enough, and you see male and

30
female one - sex or gender eliminated; you see the des-
ignation man meaning woman as well, and you see the

Page 269

1 whole universe included in one infinite Mind and reflected
in the intelligent compound idea, image or likeness, called

3 man, showing forth the infinite divine Principle, Love,
called God, - man wedded to the Lamb, pledged to inno-
cence, purity, perfection. Then shall humanity have

6 learned that "they which shall be accounted worthy to
obtain that world, and the resurrection from the dead,
neither marry, nor are given in marriage: neither can

9 they die any more: for they are equal unto the angels;
and are the children of God." (Luke 20: 35, 36.) This,
therefore, is Christ's plan of salvation from divorce.

12
All are but parts of one stupendous whole,
Whose body nature is, and God the Soul.
- POPE

15 [The Independent, November, 1906]

HARVEST

God hath thrust in the sickle, and He is separating the

18 tares from the wheat. This hour is molten in the furnace
of Soul. Its harvest song is world-wide, world-known,
world-great. The vine is bringing forth its fruit; the

21 beams of right have healing in their light. The windows
of heaven are sending forth their rays of reality - even
Christian Science, pouring out blessing for cursing, and

24 rehearsing: "I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes,
and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground."
"Prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I

27 will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you
out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to
receive it."

30
The lie and the liar are self-destroyed. Truth is im-

Page 270

1 mortal. "Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: . . . for so
persecuted they the prophets which were before you."

3
The cycle of good obliterates the epicycle of evil.

Because of the magnitude of their spiritual import, we
repeat the signs of these times. In 1905, the First Con-

6 gregational Church, my first religious home in this capital
city of Concord, N. H., kindly invited me to its one hun-
dred and seventy-fifth anniversary; the leading editors

9 and newspapers of my native State congratulate me; the
records of my ancestry attest honesty and valor. Divine
Love, nearer my consciousness than before, saith: I am

12
rewarding your waiting, and "thy people shall be my
people."

Let error rage and imagine a vain thing. Mary Baker

15 Eddy is not dead, and the words of those who say that she
is are the father of their wish. Her life is proven under
trial, and evidences "as thy days, so shall thy strength be."

18 Those words of our dear, departing Saviour, breathing
love for his enemies, fill my heart: "Father, forgive them;
for they know not what they do." My writings heal the

21 sick, and I thank God that for the past forty years I
have returned good for evil, and that I can appeal to
Him as my witness to the truth of this statement.

24 What we love determines what we are. I love the
prosperity of Zion, be it promoted by Catholic, by Prot-
estant, or by Christian Science, which anoints with

27 Truth, opening the eyes of the blind and healing the sick.
I would no more quarrel with a man because of his religion
than I would because of his art. The divine Principle of

30
Christian Science will ultimately be seen to control both
religion and art in unity and harmony. God is Spirit,
and "they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit

Page 271

1 and in truth." If, as the Scriptures declare, God, Spirit,
is infinite, matter and material sense are null, and there

3
are no vertebrata, mollusca, or radiata.

When I wrote "Science and Health with Key to the
Scriptures," I little understood all that I indited; but

6 when I practised its precepts, healing the sick and reform-
ing the sinner, then I learned the truth of what I had
written. It is of comparatively little importance what a

9
man thinks or believes he knows; the good that a man does
is the one thing needful and the sole proof of rightness.

[The Evening Press, Grand Rapids, Mich., August, 1907]

MRS. EDDY DESCRIBES HER HUMAN IDEAL

In a modest, pleasantly situated home in the city of
Concord, N. H., lives at eighty-six years of age the most

15 discussed woman in all the world. This lady with sweet
smile and snowy hair is Mrs. Mary Baker Eddy, Founder
and Leader of Christian Science, beloved of thousands

18 of believers and followers of the thought that has made
her famous. It was to this aged woman of world-wide
renown that the editor of The Evening Press addressed

21
this question, requesting the courtesy of a reply: -

"What is nearest and dearest to your heart to-day?"

Mrs. Eddy's reply will be read with deep interest by all

24
Americans, who, whatever their religious beliefs, cannot
fail to be impressed by the personality of this remarkable
woman.

Mrs. Eddy's Answer

Editor of The Evening Press: - To your courtesy and
to your question permit me to say that, insomuch as I

30
know myself, what is "nearest and dearest" to my heart

Page 272

1 is an honest man or woman - one who steadfastly and
actively strives for perfection, one who leavens the loaf

3
of life with justice, mercy, truth, and love.

Goodness is greatness, and the logic of events pushes
onward the centuries; hence the Scripture, "The law of

6
the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me [man] free
from the law of sin and death."

This predicate and ultimate of scientific being presents,

9
however, no claim that man is equal to God, for the finite
is not the altitude of the infinite.

The real man was, is, and ever shall be the divine ideal,

12 that is, God's image and likeness; and Christian Science
reveals the divine Principle, the example, the rule, and
the demonstration of this idealism.

15
Sincerely yours,
MARY BAKER EDDY
PLEASANT VIEW, CONCORD, N. H.

[Cosmopolitan, November, 1907]

Part Four Table of Contents