Page 95

CHAPTER IV - ADDRESSES

CHRISTIAN SCIENCE IN TREMONT TEMPLE

FROM the platform of the Monday lectureship in
3 Tremont Temple, on Monday, March 16, 1885, as
will be seen by what follows, Reverend Mary Baker G.
Eddy was presented to Mr. Cook's audience, and allowed
6 ten minutes in which to reply to his public letter con-
demning her doctrines; which reply was taken in full by
a shorthand reporter who was present, and is transcribed
9

below.

Mrs. Eddy responding, said: -

As the time so kindly allotted me is insufficient for
12

even a synopsis of Christian Science, I shall confine my-
self to questions and answers.

Am I a spiritualist?
15 I am not, and never was. I understand the impossi-
bility of intercommunion between the so-called dead and
living. There have always attended my life phenomena
18 of an uncommon order, which spiritualists have mis-
called mediumship; but I clearly understand that no
human agencies were employed, - that the divine Mind
21

reveals itself to humanity through spiritual law. And
to such as are "waiting for the adoption, to wit, the re-
demption of our body," Christian Science reveals the in-

Page 96
1 finitude of divinity and the way of man's salvation from
sickness and death, as wrought out by Jesus, who robbed
3 the grave of victory and death of its sting. I understand
that God is an ever-present help in all times of trouble, -
have found Him so; and would have no other gods, no
6

remedies in drugs, no material medicine.

Do I believe in a personal God?

I believe in God as the Supreme Being. I know not
9 what the person of omnipotence and omnipresence is,
or what the infinite includes; therefore, I worship that
of which I can conceive, first, as a loving Father and
12 Mother; then, as thought ascends the scale of being to
diviner consciousness, God becomes to me, as to the
apostle who declared it, "God is Love," - divine Prin-
15

ciple, - which I worship; and "after the manner of my
fathers, so worship I God."

Do I believe in the atonement of Christ?

18 I do; and this atonement becomes more to me since
it includes man's redemption from sickness as well as
from sin. I reverence and adore Christ as never before.
21 It brings to my sense, and to the sense of all who en-
tertain this understanding of the Science of God, a whole
salvation.
24

How is the healing done in Christian Science?

This answer includes too much to give you any con-
clusive idea in a brief explanation. I can name some
27

means by which it is not done.

It is not one mind acting upon another mind; it is
not the transference of human images of thought to
30

other minds; it is not supported by the evidence before
the personal senses, - Science contradicts this evidence;
it is not of the flesh, but of the Spirit. It is Christ come

Page 97
1 to destroy the power of the flesh; it is Truth over error;
that understood, gives man ability to rise above the evi-
3 dence of the senses, take hold of the eternal energies of
Truth, and destroy mortal discord with immortal har-
mony, - the grand verities of being. It is not one mortal
6

thought transmitted to another's thought from the human
mind that holds within itself all evil.

Our Master said of one of his students, "He is a devil,"
9 and repudiated the idea of casting out devils through
Beelzebub. Erring human mind is by no means a de-
sirable or efficacious healer. Such suppositional healing
12 I deprecate. It is in no way allied to divine power. All
human control is animal magnetism, more despicable
than all other methods of treating disease.
15 Christian Science is not a remedy of faith alone, but
combines faith with understanding, through which we
may touch the hem of His garment; and know that om-
18

nipotence has all power. "I am the Lord, and there is
none else, there is no God beside me."

Is there a personal man?
21 The Scriptures inform us that man was made in the
image and likeness of God. I commend the Icelandic
translation: "He created man in the image and likeness
24 of Mind, in the image and likeness of Mind created
He him." To my sense, we have not seen all of man;
he is more than personal sense can cognize, who is the
27 image and likeness of the infinite. I have not seen a
perfect man in mind or body, - and such must be the
personality of him who is the true likeness: the lost
30

image is not this personality, and corporeal man is this
lost image; hence, it doth not appear what is the real
personality of man. The only cause for making this

Page 98
1 question of personality a point, or of any importance, is
that man's perfect model should be held in mind, whereby
3

to improve his present condition; that his contemplation
regarding himself should turn away from inharmony, sick-
ness, and sin, to that which is the image of his Maker.

SCIENCE AND THE SENSES

Substance of my Address at the National Convention in Chicago,
June 13, 1888
9 The National Christian Scientist Association has
brought us together to minister and to be ministered
unto; mutually to aid one another in finding ways and
12 means for helping the whole human family; to quicken
and extend the interest already felt in a higher mode of
medicine; to watch with eager joy the individual growth
15 of Christian Scientists, and the progress of our common
Cause in Chicago, - the miracle of the Occident. We
come to strengthen and perpetuate our organizations
18 and institutions; and to find strength in union, - strength
to build up, through God's right hand, that pure and
undefiled religion whose Science demonstrates God and
21 the perfectibility of man. This purpose is immense,
and it must begin with individual growth, a "consum-
mation devoutly to be wished." The lives of all re-
24 formers attest the authenticity of their mission, and call
the world to acknowledge its divine Principle. Truly
is it written: -
27

"Thou must be true thyself, if thou the truth would'st teach;
Thy heart must overflow, if thou another's heart would'st
reach."

Page 99
1 Science is absolute and final. It is revolutionary in
its very nature; for it upsets all that is not upright.
3 It annuls false evidence, and saith to the five material
senses, "Having eyes ye see not, and ears ye hear not;
neither can you understand." To weave one thread of
6 Science through the looms of time, is a miracle in itself.
The risk is stupendous. It cost Galileo, what? This
awful price: the temporary loss of his self-respect. His
9 fear overcame his loyalty; the courage of his convictions
fell before it. Fear is the weapon in the hands of
tyrants.
12 Men and women of the nineteenth century, are you
called to voice a higher order of Science? Then obey
this call. Go, if you must, to the dungeon or the scaf-
15 fold, but take not back the words of Truth. How many
are there ready to suffer for a righteous cause, to stand
a long siege, take the front rank, face the foe, and be
18

in the battle every day?

In no other one thing seemed Jesus of Nazareth more
divine than in his faith in the immortality of his words.
21 He said, "Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my
words shall not pass away;" and they have not. The
winds of time sweep clean the centuries, but they can
24 never bear into oblivion his words. They still live, and
to-morrow speak louder than to-day. They are to-day
as the voice of one crying in the wilderness, "Make
27 straight God's paths; make way for health, holiness,
universal harmony, and come up hither." The gran-
deur of the word, the power of Truth, is again casting
30

out evils and healing the sick; and it is whispered, "This
is Science."

Jesus taught by the wayside, in humble homes. He

Page 100
1 spake of Truth and Love to artless listeners and dull
disciples. His immortal words were articulated in a
3 decaying language, and then left to the providence of
God. Christian Science was to interpret them; and
woman, "last at the cross," was to awaken the dull senses,
6

intoxicated with pleasure or pain, to the infinite mean-
ing of those words.

Past, present, future, will show the word and might of
9 Truth - healing the sick and reclaiming the sinner -
so long as there remains a claim of error for Truth to
deny or to destroy. Love's labors are not lost. The
12 five personal senses, that grasp neither the meaning nor
the magnitude of self-abnegation, may lose sight thereof;
but Science voices unselfish love, unfolds infinite good,
15 leads on irresistible forces, and will finally show the fruits
of Love. Human reason is inaccurate; and the scope
of the senses is inadequate to grasp the word of Truth,
18

and teach the eternal.

Science speaks when the senses are silent, and then
the evermore of Truth is triumphant. The spiritual mon-
21 itor understood is coincidence of the divine with the
human, the acme of Christian Science. Pure humanity,
friendship, home, the interchange of love, bring to earth
24

a foretaste of heaven. They unite terrestrial and celes-
tial joys, and crown them with blessings infinite.

The Christian Scientist loves man more because he
27 loves God most. He understands this Principle, - Love.
Who is sufficient for these things? Who remembers that
patience, forgiveness, abiding faith, and affection, are
30

the symptoms by which our Father indicates the dif-
ferent stages of man's recovery from sin and his en-
trance into Science? Who knows how the feeble lips

Page 101
1 are made eloquent, how hearts are inspired, how heal-
ing becomes spontaneous, and how the divine Mind is
3 understood and demonstrated? He alone knows these
wonders who is departing from the thraldom of the
senses and accepting spiritual truth, - that which blesses
6

its adoption by the refinement of joy and the dismissal of
sorrow.

Christian Science and the senses are at war. It is a
9 revolutionary struggle. We already have had two in
this nation; and they began and ended in a contest for
the true idea, for human liberty and rights. Now cometh
12

a third struggle; for the freedom of health, holiness, and
the attainment of heaven.

The scientific sense of being which establishes har-
15 mony, enters into no compromise with finiteness and
feebleness. It undermines the foundations of mortality,
of physical law, breaks their chains, and sets the captive
18

free, opening the doors for them that are bound.

He who turns to the body for evidence, bases his con-
clusions on mortality, on imperfection; but Science saith
21

to man, "God hath all-power."

The Science of omnipotence demonstrates but one
power, and this power is good, not evil; not matter,
24

but Mind. This virtually destroys matter and evil, in-
cluding sin and disease.

If God is All, and God is good, it follows that all
27 must be good; and no other power, law, or intelligence
can exist. On this proof rest premise and conclusion in
Science, and the facts that disprove the evidence of the
30

senses.

God is individual Mind. This one Mind and His
individuality comprise the elements of all forms and

Page 102

individualities, and prophesy the nature and stature of
Christ, the ideal man.
3 A corporeal God, as often defined by lexicographers
and scholastic theologians, is only an infinite finite being,
an unlimited man, - a theory to me inconceivable. If
6 the unlimited and immortal Mind could originate in a
limited body, Mind would be chained to finity, and the
infinite forever finite.
9 In this limited and lower sense God is not personal.
His infinity precludes the possibility of corporeal person-
ality. His being is individual, but not physical.
12 God is like Himself and like nothing else. He is uni-
versal and primitive. His character admits of no degrees
of comparison. God is not part, but the whole. In His
15

individuality I recognize the loving, divine Father-Mother
God. Infinite personality must be incorporeal.

God's ways are not ours. His pity is expressed in
18 modes above the human. His chastisements are the
manifestations of Love. The sympathy of His eternal
Mind is fully expressed in divine Science, which blots
21

out all our iniquities and heals all our diseases. Human
pity often brings pain.

Science supports harmony, denies suffering, and de-
24 stroys it with the divinity of Truth. Whatever seems mate-
rial, seems thus only to the material senses, and is but the
subjective state of mortal and material thought.
27 Science has inaugurated the irrepressible conflict be-
tween sense and Soul. Mortal thought wars with this
sense as one that beateth the air, but Science outmasters
30

it, and ends the warfare. This proves daily that "one
on God's side is a majority."

Science defines omnipresence as universality, that which

Page 103
1 precludes the presence of evil. This verity annuls the tes-
timony of the senses, which say that sin is an evil power,
3 and substance is perishable. Intelligent Spirit, Soul, is
substance, far more impregnable and solid than matter; for
one is temporal, while the other is eternal, the ultimate
6

and predicate of being.

Mortality, materiality, and destructive forces, such as
sin, disease, and death, mortals virtually name substance;
9 but these are the substance of things not hoped for. For
lack of knowing what substance is, the senses say vaguely:
"The substance of life is sorrow and mortality; for who
12 knoweth the substance of good?" In Science, form and
individuality are never lost, thoughts are outlined, indi-
vidualized ideas, which dwell forever in the divine Mind
15 as tangible, true substance, because eternally conscious.
Unlike mortal mind, which must be ever in bondage,
the eternal Mind is free, unlimited, and knows not the
18

temporal.

Neither does the temporal know the eternal. Mortal
man, as mind or matter, is neither the pattern nor Maker
21 of immortal man. Any inference of the divine derived
from the human, either as mind or body, hides the actual
power, presence, and individuality of God.
24 Jesus' personality in the flesh, so far as material sense
could discern it, was like that of other men; but Science
exchanges this human concept of Jesus for the divine
27 ideal, his spiritual individuality that reflected the Im-
manuel, or "God with us." This God was not outlined.
He was too mighty for that. He was eternal Life, infinite
30

Truth and Love. The individuality is embraced in Mind,
therefore is forever with the Father. Hence the Scrip-
ture, "I am a God at hand, saith the Lord." Even while

Page 104
1 his personality was on earth and in anguish, his individual
being, the Christ, was at rest in the eternal harmony.
3 His unseen individuality, so superior to that which was
seen, was not subject to the temptations of the flesh, to
laws material, to death, or the grave. Formed and gov-
6 erned by God, this individuality was safe in the substance
of Soul, the substance of Spirit, - yea, the substance of
God, the one inclusive good.
9 In Science all being is individual; for individuality is
endless in the calculus of forms and numbers. Herein
sin is miraculous and supernatural; for it is not in the
12 nature of God, and good is forever good. Accord-
ing to Christian Science, perfection is normal, - not
miraculous. Clothed, and in its right Mind, man's
15 individuality is sinless, deathless, harmonious, eternal.
His materiality, clad in a false mentality, wages feeble
fight with his individuality, - his physical senses with
18 his spiritual senses. The latter move in God's grooves
of Science: the former revolve in their own orbits, and
must stand the friction of false selfhood until self-
21

destroyed.

In obedience to the divine nature, man's individuality
reflects the divine law and order of being. How shall
24 we reach our true selves? Through Love. The Prin-
ciple of Christian Science is Love, and its idea represents
Love. This divine Principle and idea are demonstrated,
27

in healing, to be God and the real man.

Who wants to be mortal, or would not gain the true
ideal of Life and recover his own individuality? I will
30

love, if another hates. I will gain a balance on the side of
good, my true being. This alone gives me the forces of
God wherewith to overcome all error. On this rests the

Page 105
1 implicit faith engendered by Christian Science, which
appeals intelligently to the facts of man's spirituality, in-
3

dividuality, to disdain the fears and destroy the discords
of this material personality.

On our Master's individual demonstrations over sin,
6 sickness, and death, rested the anathema of priesthood
and the senses; yet this demonstration is the foundation
of Christian Science. His physical sufferings, which
9 came from the testimony of the senses, were over when
he resumed his individual spiritual being, after showing
us the way to escape from the material body.
12 Science would have no conflict with Life or common
sense, if this sense were consistently sensible. Man's real
life or existence is in harmony with Life and its glorious
15 phenomena. It upholds being, and destroys the too
common sense of its opposites - death, disease, and sin.
Christian Science is an everlasting victor, and vanquish-
18

ment is unknown to the omnipresent Truth. I must ever
follow this line of light and battle.

Christian Science is my only ideal; and the individual
21 and his ideal can never be severed. If either is misunder-
stood or maligned, it eclipses the other with the shadow
cast by this error.
24 Truth destroys error. Nothing appears to the physi-
cal senses but their own subjective state of thought. The
senses join issue with error, and pity what has no right
27 either to be pitied or to exist, and what does not exist in
Science. Destroy the thought of sin, sickness, death, and
you destroy their existence. "Whatsoever a man soweth,
30

that shall he also reap."

Because God is Mind, and this Mind is good, all
is good and all is Mind. God is the sum total of the

Page 106
1 universe. Then what and where are sin, sickness, and
death?
3 Christian Science and Christian Scientists will, must,
have a history; and if I could write the history in poor
parody on Tennyson's grand verse, it would read
6 thus: -
Traitors to right of them,
M. D.'s to left of them,
9 Priestcraft in front of them,
Volleyed and thundered!
Into the jaws of hate,
12

Out through the door of Love,
On to the blest above,
Marched the one hundred.

EXTRACT FROM MY
FIRST ADDRESS IN THE MOTHER CHURCH,
MAY 26, 1895

Friends and Brethren: - Your Sunday Lesson, com-
18 posed of Scripture and its correlative in "Science and
Health with Key to the Scriptures," has fed you. In addi-
tion, I can only bring crumbs fallen from this table of
21

Truth, and gather up the fragments.

It has long been a question of earnest import, How
shall mankind worship the most adorable, but most
24 unadored, - and where shall begin that praise that shall
never end? Beneath, above, beyond, methinks I hear
the soft, sweet sigh of angels answering, "So live, that
27

your lives attest your sincerity and resound His praise."

Music is the harmony of being; but the music of Soul
affords the only strains that thrill the chords of feeling
30

and awaken the heart's harpstrings. Moved by mind,
your many-throated organ, in imitative tones of many

Page 107
1 instruments, praises Him; but even the sweetness and
beauty in and of this temple that praise Him, are earth's
3 accents, and must not be mistaken for the oracles of God.
Art must not prevail over Science. Christianity is not
superfluous. Its redemptive power is seen in sore trials,
6 self-denials, and crucifixions of the flesh. But these come
to the rescue of mortals, to admonish them, and plant
the feet steadfastly in Christ. As we rise above the seem-
9

ing mists of sense, we behold more clearly that all the
heart's homage belongs to God.

More love is the great need of mankind. A pure af-
12

fection, concentric, forgetting self, forgiving wrongs and
forestalling them, should swell the lyre of human love.

Three cardinal points must be gained before poor
15 humanity is regenerated and Christian Science is dem-
onstrated: (1) A proper sense of sin; (2) repentance;
(3) the understanding of good. Evil is a negation: it
18 never started with time, and it cannot keep pace with
eternity. Mortals' false senses pass through three states
and stages of human consciousness before yielding error.
21 The deluded sense must first be shown its falsity through
a knowledge of evil as evil, so-called. Without a sense
of one's oft-repeated violations of divine law, the in-
24 dividual may become morally blind, and this deplorable
mental state is moral idiocy. The lack of seeing one's
deformed mentality, and of repentance therefor, deep,
27 never to be repented of, is retarding, and in certain mor-
bid instances stopping, the growth of Christian Scientists.
Without a knowledge of his sins, and repentance so severe
30

that it destroys them, no person is or can be a Christian
Scientist.

Mankind thinks either too much or too little of sin.

Page 108
1 The sensitive, sorrowing saint thinks too much of it: the
sordid sinner, or the so-called Christian asleep, thinks too
3

little of sin.

To allow sin of any sort is anomalous in Christian
Scientists, claiming, as they do, that good is infinite, All.
6 Our Master, in his definition of Satan as a liar from the
beginning, attested the absolute powerlessness - yea,
nothingness - of evil: since a lie, being without founda-
9

tion in fact, is merely a falsity; spiritually, literally, it

is nothing.

Not to know that a false claim is false, is to be in danger
12 of believing it; hence the utility of knowing evil aright,
then reducing its claim to its proper denominator, -
nobody and nothing. Sin should be conceived of only
15 as a delusion. This true conception would remove mortals'
ignorance and its consequences, and advance the second
stage of human consciousness, repentance. The first
18 state, namely, the knowledge of one's self, the proper
knowledge of evil and its subtle workings wherein evil
seems as real as good, is indispensable; since that which
21 is truly conceived of, we can handle; but the misconcep-
tion of what we need to know of evil, - or the concep-
tion of it at all as something real, - costs much. Sin
24 needs only to be known for what it is not; then we are
its master, not servant. Remember, and act on, Jesus'
definition of sin as a lie. This cognomen makes it less
27 dangerous; for most of us would not be seen believing
in, or adhering to, that which we know to be untrue.
What would be thought of a Christian Scientist who be-
30

lieved in the use of drugs, while declaring that they have
no intrinsic quality and that there is no matter? What
should be thought of an individual believing in that

Page 109
1 which is untrue, and at the same time declaring the unity
of Truth, and its allness? Beware of those who mis-
3 represent facts; or tacitly assent where they should dis-
sent; or who take me as authority for what I disapprove,
or mayhap never have thought of, and try to reverse, in-
6

vert, or controvert, Truth; for this is a sure pretext of
moral defilement.

Examine yourselves, and see what, and how much, sin
9 claims of you; and how much of this claim you admit
as valid, or comply with. The knowledge of evil that
brings on repentance is the most hopeful stage of mortal
12 mentality. Even a mild mistake must be seen as a mis-
take, in order to be corrected; how much more, then,
should one's sins be seen and repented of, before they
15

can be reduced to their native nothingness!

Ignorance is only blest by reason of its nothingness;

for seeing the need of somethingness in its stead, blesses
18 mortals. Ignorance was the first condition of sin in the
allegory of Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden. Their
mental state is not desirable, neither is a knowledge of
21 sin and its consequences, repentance, per se; but, ad-
mitting the existence of both, mortals must hasten through
the second to the third stage, - the knowledge of good;
24 for without this the valuable sequence of knowledge
would be lacking, - even the power to escape from the
false claims of sin. To understand good, one must discern
27

the nothingness of evil, and consecrate one's life anew.

Beloved brethren, Christ, Truth, saith unto you, "Be
not afraid!" - fear not sin, lest thereby it master you;
30

but only fear to sin. Watch and pray for self-knowledge;
since then, and thus, cometh repentance, - and your
superiority to a delusion is won.

Page 110
1 Repentance is better than sacrifice. The costly balm
of Araby, poured on our Master's feet, had not the value
3

of a single tear.

Beloved children, the world has need of you, - and
more as children than as men and women: it needs your
6 innocence, unselfishness, faithful affection, uncontami-
nated lives. You need also to watch, and pray that you
preserve these virtues unstained, and lose them not through
9 contact with the world. What grander ambition is there
than to maintain in yourselves what Jesus loved, and to
know that your example, more than words, makes morals
12

for mankind !

ADDRESS BEFORE THE ALUMNI

OF THE MASSACHUSETTS METAPHYSICAL COLLEGE, 1895
15 My Beloved Students: - Weeks have passed into
months, and months into years, since last we met; but
time and space, when encompassed by divine presence,
18 do not separate us. Our hearts have kept time together,
and our hands have wrought steadfastly at the same
object-lesson, while leagues have lain between us.
21 We may well unite in thanksgiving for the continued
progress and unprecedented prosperity of our Cause. It
is already obvious that the world's acceptance and the
24

momentum of Christian Science, increase rapidly as
years glide on.

As Christian Scientists, you have dared the perilous de-
27

fense of Truth, and have succeeded. You have learned
how fleeting is that which men call great; and how per-
manent that which God calls good.

Page 111
1 You have proven that the greatest piety is scarcely
sufficient to demonstrate what you have adopted and
3

taught; that your work, well done, would dignify angels.

Faithfully, as meekly, you have toiled all night; and
at break of day caught much. At times, your net has
6 been so full that it broke: human pride, creeping into
its meshes, extended it beyond safe expansion; then,
losing hold of divine Love, you lost your fishes, and pos-
9 sibly blamed others more than yourself. But those whom
God makes "fishers of men" will not pull for the shore;
like Peter, they launch into the depths, cast their nets
12 on the right side, compensate loss, and gain a higher sense
of the true idea. Nothing is lost that God gives: had He
filled the net, it would not have broken.
15 Leaving the seed of Truth to its own vitality, it propa-
gates: the tares cannot hinder it. Our Master said,
"Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall
18 not pass away;" and Jesus' faith in Truth must not ex-
ceed that of Christian Scientists who prove its power to
be immortal.
21 The Christianity that is merely of sects, the pulpit, and
fashionable society, is brief; but the Word of God abideth.
Plato was a pagan; but no greater difference existed be-
24 tween his doctrines and those of Jesus, than to-day exists
between the Catholic and Protestant sects. I love the
orthodox church; and, in time, that church will love
27 Christian Science. Let me specially call the attention of
this Association to the following false beliefs inclining
mortal mind more deviously: -
30

The belief in anti-Christ: that somebody in the flesh
is the son of God, or is another Christ, or is a spiritually
adopted child, or is an incarnated babe, is the evil one-

Page 112
1 in other words, the one evil - disporting itself with the
subtleties of sin !
3 Even honest thinkers, not knowing whence they come,
may deem these delusions verities, before they know it,
or really look the illusions in the face. The ages are bur-
6 dened with material modes. Hypnotism, microbes, X-rays,
and ex-common sense, occupy time and thought; and
error, given new opportunities, will improve them. The
9 most just man can neither defend the innocent nor detect
the guilty, unless he knows how to be just; and this knowl-
edge demands our time and attention.
12 The mental stages of crime, which seem to belong to
the latter days, are strictly classified in metaphysics as
some of the many features and forms of what is properly
15 denominated, in extreme cases, moral idiocy. I visited
in his cell the assassin of President Garfield, and found
him in the mental state called moral idiocy. He had no
18 sense of his crime; but regarded his act as one of simple
justice, and himself as the victim. My few words touched
him; he sank back in his chair, limp and pale; his flip-
21 pancy had fled. The jailer thanked me, and said, "Other
visitors have brought to him bouquets, but you have
brought what will do him good."
24 This mental disease at first shows itself in extreme
sensitiveness; then, in a loss of self-knowledge and of
self-condemnation, - a shocking inability to see one's
27 own faults, but an exaggerating sense of other people's.
Unless this mental condition be overcome, it ends in a
total loss of moral, intellectual, and spiritual discernment,
30

and is characterized in this Scripture: "The fool hath
said in his heart, There is no God." This state of mind
is the exemplification of total depravity, and the result

Page 113
1 of sensuous mind in matter. Mind that is God is not in
matter; and God's presence gives spiritual light, wherein
3

is no darkness.

If, as is indisputably true, "God is Spirit," and Spirit
is our Father and Mother, and that which it includes is
6 all that is real and eternal, when evil seems to predomi-
nate and divine light to be obscured, free moral agency
is lost; and the Revelator's vision, that "no man might
9

buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the
beast, or the number of his name," is imminent.

Whoever is mentally manipulating human mind, and
12 is not gaining a higher sense of Truth by it, is losing in
the scale of moral and spiritual being, and may be car-
ried to the depths of perdition by his own consent. He
15 who refuses to be influenced by any but the divine Mind,
commits his way to God, and rises superior to sugges-
tions from an evil source. Christian Science shows that
18 there is a way of escape from the latter-day ultimatum
of evil, through scientific truth; so that all are without
excuse.
21 Already I clearly recognize that mental malpractice,
if persisted in, will end in insanity, dementia, or moral
idiocy. Thank God! this evil can be resisted by true
24 Christianity. Divine Love is our hope, strength, and
shield. We have nothing to fear when Love is at the
helm of thought, but everything to enjoy on earth and
27

in heaven.

The systematized centres of Christian Science are life-
giving fountains of truth. Our churches, The Christian
30

Science Journal, and the Christian Science Quarterly,
are prolific sources of spiritual power whose intellectual,
moral, and spiritual animus is felt throughout the land.

Page 114
1 Our Publishing Society, and our Sunday Lessons, are
of inestimable value to all seekers after Truth. The Com-
3 mittee on Sunday School Lessons cannot give too much
time and attention to their task, and should spare no
research in the preparation of the Quarterly as an educa-
6

tional branch.

The teachers of Christian Science need to watch inces-
santly the trend of their own thoughts; watch that these
9 be not secretly robbed, and themselves misguided, and
so made to misteach others. Teachers must conform
strictly to the rules of divine Science announced in the
12 Bible and their textbook, "Science and Health with Key
to the Scriptures." They must themselves practise, and
teach others to practise, the Hebrew Decalogue, the Ser-
15

mon on the Mount, and the understanding and enuncia-
tion of these according to Christ.

They must always have on armor, and resist the foe
18 within and without. They cannot arm too thoroughly
against original sin, appearing in its myriad forms: pas-
sion, appetites, hatred, revenge, and all the et cetera of
21 evil. Christian Scientists cannot watch too sedulously,
or bar their doors too closely, or pray to God too fer-
vently, for deliverance from the claims of evil. Thus
24 doing, Scientists will silence evil suggestions, uncover
their methods, and stop their hidden influence upon the
lives of mortals. Rest assured that God in His wisdom
27 will test all mankind on all questions; and then, if found
faithful, He will deliver us from temptation and show us
the powerlessness of evil, - even its utter nothingness.
30

The teacher in Christian Science who does not spe-
cially instruct his pupils how to guard against evil and
its silent modes, and to be able, through Christ, the liv-

Page 115
1 ing Truth, to protect themselves therefrom, is commit-
ting an offense against God and humanity. With Science
3 and Health for their textbook, I am astounded at the
apathy of some students on the subject of sin and mental
malpractice, and their culpable ignorance of the work-
6 ings of these - and even the teacher's own deficiency in
this department. I can account for this state of mind in
the teacher only as the result of sin; otherwise, his own
9

guilt as a mental malpractitioner, and fear of being found
out.

The helpless ignorance of the community on this sub-
12 ject is pitiable, and plain to be seen. May God enable
my students to take up the cross as I have done, and meet
the pressing need of a proper preparation of heart to prac-
15 tise, teach, and live Christian Science! Your means of
protection and defense from sin are, constant watchful-
ness and prayer that you enter not into temptation and
18 are delivered from every claim of evil, till you intelligently
know and demonstrate, in Science, that evil has neither
prestige, power, nor existence, since God, good, is All-
21

in-all.

The increasing necessity for relying on God to de-
fend us against the subtler forms of evil, turns us more
24 unreservedly to Him for help, and thus becomes a means
of grace. If one lives rightly, every effort to hurt one
will only help that one; for God will give the ability to
27 overcome whatever tends to impede progress. Know
this that you cannot overcome the baneful effects of
sin on yourself, if you in any way indulge in sin; for,
30

sooner or later, you will fall the victim of your own as
well as of others' sins. Using mental power in the right
direction only, doing to others as you would have them

Page 116
1 do to you, will overcome evil with good, and destroy
your own sensitiveness to the power of evil.
3

The God of all grace be with you, and save you from
"spiritual wickedness in high places."

PLEASANT VIEW, CONCORD, N. H.,
6

JUNE 3, 1895

ADDRESS BEFORE THE CHRISTIAN SCIENTIST ASSOCIATION

OF THE MASSACHUSETTS METAPHYSICAL COLLEGE, IN 1893

SUBJECT:
9

"Obedience"

My Beloved Students: - This question, ever nearest
12 to my heart, is to-day uppermost: Are we filling the
measures of life's music aright, emphasizing its grand
strains, swelling the harmony of being with tones whence
15 come glad echoes? As crescendo and diminuendo accent
music, so the varied strains of human chords express
life's loss or gain, - loss of the pleasures and pains and
18 pride of life: gain of its sweet concord, the courage of
honest convictions, and final obedience to spiritual law.
The ultimate of scientific research and attainment in
21 divine Science is not an argument: it is not merely say-
ing, but doing, the Word - demonstrating Truth - even
as the fruits of watchfulness, prayer, struggles, tears, and
24

triumph.

Obeying the divine Principle which you profess to un-
derstand and love, demonstrates Truth. Never absent
27 from your post, never off guard, never ill-humored, never
unready to work for God, - is obedience; being "faith-
ful over a few things." If in one instance obedience be
30

lacking, you lose the scientific rule and its reward: namely,

Page 117
1 to be made "ruler over many things." A progressive
life is the reality of Life that unfolds its immortal Prin-
ciple.
3 The student of Christian Science must first separate the
tares from the wheat; discern between the thought,
6 motive, and act superinduced by the wrong motive or
the true - the God-given intent and volition - arrest
the former, and obey the latter. This will place him on
9 the safe side of practice. We always know where to look
for the real Scientist, and always find him there. I agree
with Rev. Dr. Talmage, that "there are wit, humor, and
12

enduring vivacity among God's people."

Obedience is the offspring of Love; and Love is the
Principle of unity, the basis of all right thinking and
15 acting; it fulfils the law. We see eye to eye and know as we
are known, reciprocate kindness and work wisely, in
proportion as we love.
18 It is difficult for me to carry out a divine commission
while participating in the movements, or modus operandi,
of other folks. To point out every step to a student and
21 then watch that each step be taken, consumes time, -
and experiments ofttimes are costly. According to my
calendar, God's time and mortals' differ. The neo-
24 phyte is inclined to be too fast or too slow: he works
somewhat in the dark; and, sometimes out of season,
he would replenish his lamp at the midnight hour and
27 borrow oil of the more provident watcher. God is the
fountain of light, and He illumines one's way when one
is obedient. The disobedient make their moves before
30

God makes His, or make them too late to follow Him.
Be sure that God directs your way; then, hasten to follow
under every circumstance.

Page 118
1 Human will must be subjugated. We cannot obey
both God, good, and evil, - in other words, the ma-
3 terial senses, false suggestions, self-will, selfish motives,
and human policy. We shall have no faith in evil
when faith finds a resting-place and scientific under-
6 standing guides man. Honesty in every condition,
under every circumstance, is the indispensable rule of
obedience. To obey the principle of mathematics ninety-
9 nine times in one hundred and then allow one numeral
to make incorrect your entire problem, is neither Science
nor obedience.
12 However keenly the human affections yearn to for-
give a mistake, and pass a friend over it smoothly, one's
sympathy can neither atone for error, advance individual
15 growth, nor change this immutable decree of Love: "Keep
My commandments." The guerdon of meritorious
faith or trustworthiness rests on being willing to work
18 alone with God and for Him, - willing to suffer patiently
for error until all error is destroyed and His rod and His
staff comfort you.
21 Self-ignorance, self-will, self-righteousness, lust, covet-
ousness, envy, revenge, are foes to grace, peace, and
progress; they must be met manfully and overcome,
24 or they will uproot all happiness. Be of good cheer;
the warfare with one's self is grand; it gives one plenty
of employment, and the divine Principle worketh with
27 you, - and obedience crowns persistent effort with
everlasting victory. Every attempt of evil to harm good
is futile, and ends in the fiery punishment of the
30

evil-doer.

Jesus said, "Not that which goeth into the mouth
defileth a man; but that which cometh out of the mouth,

Page 119
1 this defileth a man." If malicious suggestions whisper
evil through the mind's tympanum, this were no apology
3 for acting evilly. We are responsible for our thoughts and
acts; and instead of aiding other people's devices by
obeying them, - and then whining over misfortune, -
6 rise and overthrow both. If a criminal coax the unwary
man to commit a crime, our laws punish the dupe as ac-
cessory to the fact. Each individual is responsible for
9

himself.

Evil is impotent to turn the righteous man from his
uprightness. The nature of the individual, more stub-
12 born than the circumstance, will always be found argu-
ing for itself, - its habits, tastes, and indulgences. This
material nature strives to tip the beam against the spir-
15 itual nature; for the flesh strives against Spirit, - against
whatever or whoever opposes evil, - and weighs mightily
in the scale against man's high destiny. This conclusion
18 is not an argument either for pessimism or for optimism,
but is a plea for free moral agency, - full exemption
from all necessity to obey a power that should be and is
21

found powerless in Christian Science.

Insubordination to the law of Love even in the least,
or strict obedience thereto, tests and discriminates be-
24 tween the real and the unreal Scientist. Justice, a
prominent statute in the divine law, demands of all
trespassers upon the sparse individual rights which one
27 justly reserves to one's self, - Would you consent that
others should tear up your landmarks, manipulate your
students, nullify or reverse your rules, countermand
30

your orders, steal your possessions, and escape the
penalty therefor? No! "Therefore all things what-
soever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even

Page 120
1 so to them." The professors of Christian Science must
take off their shoes at our altars; they must unclasp
3 the material sense of things at the very threshold of
Christian Science: they must obey implicitly each and
every injunction of the divine Principle of life's long
6 problem, or repeat their work in tears. In the words
of St. Paul, "Know ye not, that to whom ye yield your-
selves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye
9

obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto
righteousness?"

Beloved students, loyal laborers are ye that have wrought
12 valiantly, and achieved great guerdons in the vineyard
of our Lord; but a mighty victory is yet to be won, a
great freedom for the race; and Christian success is
15 under arms, - with armor on, not laid down. Let us
rejoice, however, that the clarion call of peace will at
length be heard above the din of battle, and come more
18

sweetly to our ear than sound of vintage bells to villagers
on the Rhine.

I recommend that this Association hereafter meet tri-
21 ennially: many of its members reside a long distance from
Massachusetts, and they are members of The Mother
Church who would love to be with you on Sunday, and
24

once in three years is perhaps as often as they can afford
to be away from their own fields of labor.

COMMUNION ADDRESS, JANUARY, 1896

27 Friends and Brethren: - The Biblical record of the
great Nazarene, whose character we to-day commemorate,
is scanty; but what is given, puts to flight every doubt as
30

to the immortality of his words and works. Though

Page 121
1 written in a decaying language, his words can never pass
away: they are inscribed upon the hearts of men: they
3

are engraved upon eternity's tablets.

Undoubtedly our Master partook of the Jews' feast
of the Passover, and drank from their festal wine-cup.
6 This, however, is not the cup to which I call your at-
tention, - even the cup of martyrdom: wherein Spirit
and matter, good and evil, seem to grapple, and the
9 human struggles against the divine, up to a point of
discovery; namely, the impotence of evil, and the om-
nipotence of good, as divinely attested. Anciently, the
12 blood of martyrs was believed to be the seed of the Church.
Stalled theocracy would make this fatal doctrine just
and sovereign, even a divine decree, a law of Love! That
15 the innocent shall suffer for the guilty, is inhuman. The
prophet declared, "Thou shalt put away the guilt of
innocent blood from Israel." This is plain: that what-
18 ever belittles, befogs, or belies the nature and essence of
Deity, is not divine. Who, then, shall father or favor
this sentence passed upon innocence? thereby giving the
21 signet of God to the arrest, trial, and crucifixion of His
beloved Son, the righteous Nazarene, - christened by
John the Baptist, "the Lamb of God."
24 Oh! shameless insult to divine royalty, that drew
from the great Master this answer to the questions of the
rabbinical rabble: "If I tell you, ye will not believe; and
27

if I also ask you, ye will not answer me, nor let me go."

Infinitely greater than human pity, is divine Love, -
that cannot be unmerciful. Human tribunals, if just,
30

borrow their sense of justice from the divine Principle
thereof, which punishes the guilty, not the innocent. The
Teacher of both law and gospel construed the substitution

Page 122
1 of a good man to suffer for evil-doers - a crime! When
foretelling his own crucifixion, he said, "Woe unto the
3 world because of offenses! for it must needs be that
offenses come; but woe to that man by whom the offense
cometh!"
6 Would Jesus thus have spoken of what was indis-
pensable for the salvation of a world of sinners, or of the
individual instrument in this holy (?) alliance for accom-
9 plishing such a monstrous work? or have said of him
whom God foreordained and predestined to fulfil a divine
decree, "It were better for him that a millstone were
12

hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the
depth of the sea"?

The divine order is the acme of mercy: it is neither
15 questionable nor assailable: it is not evil producing good,
nor good ultimating in evil. Such an inference were
impious. Holy Writ denounces him that declares, "Let
18

us do evil, that good may come! whose damnation is
just."

Good is not educed from its opposite: and Love divine
21 spurned, lessens not the hater's hatred nor the criminal's
crime; nor reconciles justice to injustice; nor substitutes
the suffering of the Godlike for the suffering due to sin.
24 Neither spiritual bankruptcy nor a religious chancery can
win high heaven, or the "Well done, good and faithful
servant, . . . enter thou into the joy of thy Lord."
27 Divine Love knows no hate; for hate, or the hater, is
nothing: God never made it, and He made all that was
made. The hater's pleasures are unreal; his sufferings,
30

self-imposed; his existence is a parody, and he ends -
with suicide.

The murder of the just Nazarite was incited by the

Page 123
1 same spirit that in our time massacres our missionaries,
butchers the helpless Armenians, slaughters innocents.
3 Evil was, and is, the illusion of breaking the First Com-
mandment, "Thou shalt have no other gods before me:"
it is either idolizing something and somebody, or hating
6

them: it is the spirit of idolatry, envy, jealousy, covet-
ousness, superstition, lust, hypocrisy, witchcraft.

That man can break the forever-law of infinite Love,
9 was, and is, the serpent's biggest lie! and ultimates in
a religion of pagan priests bloated with crime; a religion
that demands human victims to be sacrificed to human
12 passions and human gods, or tortured to appease the
anger of a so-called god or a miscalled man or woman !
The Assyrian Merodach, or the god of sin, was the "lucky
15 god;" and the Babylonian Yawa, or Jehovah, was the
Jewish tribal deity. The Christian's God is neither, and
is too pure to behold iniquity.
18 Divine Science has rolled away the stone from the sepul-
chre of our Lord; and there has risen to the awakened
thought the majestic atonement of divine Love. The
21 at one ment with Christ has appeared - not through
vicarious suffering, whereby the just obtain a pardon for
the unjust, - but through the eternal law of justice;
24 wherein sinners suffer for their own sins, repent, forsake
sin, love God, and keep His commandments, thence to
receive the reward of righteousness: salvation from sin,
27

not through the death of a man, but through a divine Life,
which is our Redeemer.

Holy Writ declares that God is Love, is Spirit; hence
30

it follows that those who worship Him, must worship
Him spiritually, - far apart from physical sensation
such as attends eating and drinking corporeally. It is

Page 124
1 plain that aught unspiritual, intervening between God
and man, would tend to disturb the divine order, and
3 countermand the Scripture that those who worship the
Father must worship Him in spirit. It is also plain,
that we should not seek and cannot find God in mat-
6 ter, or through material methods; neither do we love
and obey Him by means of matter, or the flesh, - which
warreth against Spirit, and will not be reconciled
9

thereto.

We turn, with sickened sense, from a pagan Jew's
or Moslem's misconception of Deity, for peace; and find
12 rest in the spiritual ideal, or Christ. For "who is so
great a God as our God!" unchangeable, all-wise, all-
just, all-merciful; the ever-loving, ever-living Life, Truth,
15 Love: comforting such as mourn, opening the prison
doors to the captive, marking the unwinged bird, pitying
with more than a father's pity; healing the sick, cleansing
18 the leper, raising the dead, saving sinners. As we think
thereon, man's true sense is filled with peace, and power;
and we say, It is well that Christian Science has taken
21 expressive silence wherein to muse His praise, to kiss the
feet of Jesus, adore the white Christ, and stretch out our
arms to God.
24 The last act of the tragedy on Calvary rent the veil
of matter, and unveiled Love's great legacy to mortals:
Love forgiving its enemies. This grand act crowned
27 and still crowns Christianity: it manumits mortals; it
translates love; it gives to suffering, inspiration; to
patience, experience; to experience, hope; to hope, faith;
30

to faith, understanding; and to understanding, Love tri-
umphant!

In proportion to a man's spiritual progress, he will

Page 125
1 indeed drink of our Master's cup, and be baptized with
his baptism ! be purified as by fire, - the fires of suffering;
3 then hath he part in Love's atonement, for "whom the
Lord loveth He chasteneth." Then shall he also reign
with him: he shall rise to know that there is no sin,
6 that there is no suffering; since all that is real is right.
This knowledge enables him to overcome the world, the
flesh, and all evil, to have dominion over his own sinful
9 sense and self. Then shall he drink anew Christ's cup,
in the kingdom of God - the reign of righteousness -
within him; he shall sit down at the Father's right hand:
12 sit down; not stand waiting and weary; but rest on the
bosom of God; rest, in the understanding of divine Love
that passeth all understanding; rest, in that which "to
15

know aright is Life eternal," and whom, not having seen,
we love.

Then shall he press on to Life's long lesson, the eternal
18

lore of Love; and learn forever the infinite meanings of
these short sentences: "God is Love;" and, All that is
real is divine, for God is All-in-all.

MESSAGE TO THE ANNUAL MEETING

OF THE MOTHER CHURCH, BOSTON, 1896

Beloved Brethren, Children, and Grandchildren: -
24 Apart from the common walks of mankind, revolving
oft the hitherto untouched problems of being, and
oftener, perhaps, the controversies which baffle it,
27 Mother, thought-tired, turns to-day to you; turns to
her dear church, to tell the towers thereof the remarkable
achievements that have been ours within the past few
30

years: the rapid transit from halls to churches, from un-

Page 126
1 settled questions to permanence, from danger to escape,
from fragmentary discourses to one eternal sermon; yea,
3

from darkness to daylight, in physics and metaphysics.

Truly, I half wish for society again; for once, at least,
to hear the soft music of our Sabbath chimes saluting the
6

ear in tones that leap for joy, with love for God and
man.

Who hath not learned that when alone he has his
9 own thoughts to guard, and when struggling with man-
kind his temper, and in society his tongue? We also
have gained higher heights; have learned that trials lift
12 us to that dignity of Soul which sustains us, and finally
conquers them; and that the ordeal refines while it
chastens.
15 Perhaps our church is not yet quite sensible of what
we owe to the strength, meekness, honesty, and obedi-
ence of the Christian Science Board of Directors; to
18

the able editors of The Christian Science Journal, and
to our efficient Publishing Society.

No reproof is so potent as the silent lesson of a good
21 example. Works, more than words, should characterize
Christian Scientists. Most people condemn evil-doing,
evil-speaking; yet nothing circulates so rapidly: even gold
24 is less current. Christian Scientists have a strong race to
run, and foes in ambush; but bear in mind that, in the
long race, honesty always defeats dishonesty.
27 God hath indeed smiled on my church, - this
daughter of Zion: she sitteth in high places; and to de-
ride her is to incur the penalty of which the Hebrew
30

bard spake after this manner: "He that sitteth in the
heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in
derision."

Page 127
1 Hitherto, I have observed that in proportion as this
church has smiled on His "little ones," He has blessed
3 her. Throughout my entire connection with The Mother
Church, I have seen, that in the ratio of her love for
others, hath His love been bestowed upon her; watering
6

her waste places, and enlarging her borders.

One thing I have greatly desired, and again earnestly
request, namely, that Christian Scientists, here and
9 elsewhere, pray daily for themselves; not verbally, nor
on bended knee, but mentally, meekly, and importu-
nately. When a hungry heart petitions the divine Father-
12 Mother God for bread, it is not given a stone, - but
more grace, obedience, and love. If this heart, humble
and trustful, faithfully asks divine Love to feed it with the
15 bread of heaven, health, holiness, it will be conformed to
a fitness to receive the answer to its desire; then will flow
into it the "river of His pleasure," the tributary of divine
18

Love, and great growth in Christian Science will follow, -
even that joy which finds one's own in another's good.

To love, and to be loved, one must do good to others.
21 The inevitable condition whereby to become blessed, is to
bless others: but here, you must so know yourself, under
God's direction, that you will do His will even though
24 your pearls be downtrodden. Ofttimes the rod is His
means of grace; then it must be ours, - we cannot avoid
wielding it if we reflect Him.
27 Wise sayings and garrulous talk may fall to the ground,
rather than on the ear or heart of the hearer; but a tender
sentiment felt, or a kind word spoken, at the right moment,
30

is never wasted. Mortal mind presents phases of charac-
ter which need close attention and examination. The
human heart, like a feather bed, needs often to be stirred,

Page 128
1 sometimes roughly, and given a variety of turns, else it
grows hard and uncomfortable whereon to repose.
3 The lessons of this so-called life in matter are too vast
and varied to learn or to teach briefly; and especially
within the limits of a letter. Therefore I close here,
6 with the apostle's injunction: "Finally, brethren, what-
soever things are true, whatsoever things are honest,
whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure,
9 whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of
good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any
praise, think on these things. Those things, which ye
12

have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in
me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you."
With love, Mother,
MARY BAKER G. EDDY

Page 129

CHAPTER V - LETTERS

TO THE MOTHER CHURCH

MY BELOVED BRETHREN: - If a member of the church
3 is inclined to be uncharitable, or to condemn his
brother without cause, let him put his finger to his lips,
and forgive others as he would be forgiven. One's first
6 lesson is to learn one's self; having done this, one will
naturally, through grace from God, forgive his brother and
love his enemies. To avenge an imaginary or an actual
9 wrong, is suicidal. The law of our God and the rule of
our church is to tell thy brother his fault and thereby help
him. If this rule fails in effect, then take the next Scrip-
12 tural step: drop this member's name from the church, and
thereafter "let the dead bury their dead," - let silence
prevail over his remains.
15 If a man is jealous, envious, or revengeful, he will seek
occasion to balloon an atom of another man's indis-
cretion, inflate it, and send it into the atmosphere of mortal
18 mind - for other green eyes to gaze on: he will always
find somebody in his way, and try to push him aside;
will see somebody's faults to magnify under the lens that
21

he never turns on himself.

What have been your Leader's precepts and example!
Were they to save the sinner, and to spare his exposure

so long as a hope remained of thereby benefiting him?
Has her life exemplified long-suffering, meekness, charity,
3

purity?

She readily leaves the answer to those who know
her.
6 Do we yet understand how much better it is to be
wronged, than to commit wrong? What do we find in
the Bible, and in the Christian Science textbook, on this
9 subject? Does not the latter instruct you that looking
continually for a fault in somebody else, talking about it,
thinking it over, and how to meet it, - "rolling sin as a
12 sweet morsel under your tongue," - has the same power
to make you a sinner that acting thus regarding disease
has to make a man sick? Note the Scripture on this
15

subject: "Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the
Lord."

The Christian Science Board of Directors has borne
18 the burden in the heat of the day, and it ought not to
be expected that they could have accomplished, without
one single mistake, such Herculean tasks as they have
21 accomplished. He who judges others should know well
whereof he speaks. Where the motive to do right exists,
and the majority of one's acts are right, we should avoid
24 referring to past mistakes. The greatest sin that one can
commit against himself is to wrong one of God's "little
ones."
27 Know ye not that he who exercises the largest charity,
and waits on God, renews his strength, and is exalted?
Love is not puffed up; and the meek and loving, God
30

anoints and appoints to lead the line of mankind's tri-
umphal march out of the wilderness, out of darkness
into light.

Page 131
1 Whoever challenges the errors of others and cherishes
his own, can neither help himself nor others; he will be
3 called a moral nuisance, a fungus, a microbe, a mouse
gnawing at the vitals of humanity. The darkness in
one's self must first be cast out, in order rightly to discern
6

darkness or to reflect light.

If the man of more than average avoirdupois kneels on
a stool in church, let the leaner sort console this brother's
9 necessity by doing likewise. Christian Scientists preserve
unity, and so shadow forth the substance of our sublime
faith, and the evidence of its being built upon the rock of
12

divine oneness, - one faith, one God, one baptism.

If our Board of Directors is prepared to itemize a report
of the first financial year since the erection of the edifice of
15 The First Church of Christ, Scientist, let it do so; other-
wise, I recommend that you waive the church By-law
relating to finances this year of your firstfruits. This
18 Board did not act under that By-law; it was not in ex-
istence all of the year. It is but just to consider the great
struggles with perplexities and difficulties which the
21 Directors encountered in Anno Domini 1894, and which
they have overcome. May God give unto us all that lov-
ing sense of gratitude which delights in the opportunity to
24 cancel accounts. I, for one, would be pleased to have the
Christian Science Board of Directors itemize a bill of this
church's gifts to Mother; and then to have them let her
27

state the value thereof, if, indeed, it could be estimated.

After this financial year, when you call on the members
of the Christian Science Board of Directors to itemize or
30

audit their accounts, these will be found already itemized,
and last year's records immortalized, with perils past and
victories won.

Page 132
1 A motion was made, and a vote passed, at your last
meeting, on a subject the substance whereof you had al-
3 ready accepted as a By-law. But, I shall take this as a
favorable omen, a fair token that heavy lids are opening,
6

even wider than before, to the light of Love - and By-laws.

Affectionately yours,

MARY BAKER EDDY

TO - , ON PRAYER
9

MASSACHUSETTS METAPHYSICAL COLLEGE,

571 COLUMBUS AVENUE,

BOSTON, March 21, 1885
12 Dear Sir: - In your communication to Zion's Herald,
March 18, under the heading, "Prayer and Healing; sup-
plemental," you state that you would "like to hear from
15

Dr. Cullis; and, by the way, from Mrs. Eddy, also."

Because of the great demand upon my time, consisting
in part of dictating answers through my secretary, or an-
18 swering personally manifold letters and inquiries from all
quarters, - having charge of a church, editing a maga-
zine, teaching Christian Science, receiving calls, etc., - I
21 find it inconvenient to accept your invitation to answer
you through the medium of a newspaper; but, for infor-
mation as to what I believe and teach, would refer you to
24

the Holy Scriptures, to my various publications, and to my
Christian students.

It was with a thrill of pleasure that I read in your arti-
27 cle these words: "If we have in any way misrepresented
either Dr. Cullis or Mrs. Eddy, we are sorry." Even the
desire to be just is a vital spark of Christianity. And those
30

words inspire me with the hope that you wish to be just.

Page 133
1 If this is so, you will not delay corrections of the statement
you make at the close of your article, when referring to
3

me, "the pantheistic and prayerless Mrs. Eddy, of Boston."

It would be difficult to build a sentence of so few words
conveying ideas more opposite to the fact.
6

In refutation of your statement that I am a pantheist,
I request you to read my sermons and publications.

As to being "prayerless," I call your attention and
9

deep consideration to the following Scripture, that voices
my impressions of prayer: -

"When thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites
12 are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and
in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men.
. . . But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet,
15 and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father
which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret
shall reward thee openly."
18 I hope I am not wrong in literally following the dictum
of Jesus; and, were it not because of my desire to set
you right on this question, I should feel a delicacy in mak-
21

ing the following statement: -

Three times a day, I retire to seek the divine blessing
on the sick and sorrowing, with my face toward the Jeru-
24 salem of Love and Truth, in silent prayer to the Father
which "seeth in secret," and with childlike confidence that
He will reward "openly." In the midst of depressing care
27 and labor I turn constantly to divine Love for guidance,
and find rest. It affords me great joy to be able to attest to
the truth of Jesus' words. Love makes all burdens light,
30

it giveth a peace that passeth understanding, and with
"signs following." As to the peace, it is unutterable; as
to "signs," behold the sick who are healed, the sorrowful

Page 134
1 who are made hopeful, and the sinful and ignorant who
have become "wise unto salvation"!
3 And now, dear sir, as you have expressed contrition for
an act which you have immediately repeated, you are
placed in this dilemma: To reiterate such words of
6

apology as characterize justice and Christianity.
Very truly,
MARY BAKER G. EDDY

TO THE NATIONAL CHRISTIAN SCIENTIST ASSOCIATION

Beloved Students: - Meet together and meet en masse,
in 1888, at the annual session of the National Christian
12 Scientist Association. Be "of one mind," "in one place,"
and God will pour you out a blessing such as you never
before received. He who dwelleth in eternal light is
15

bigger than the shadow, and will guard and guide His
own.

Let no consideration bend or outweigh your purpose
18 to be in Chicago on June 13. Firm in your allegiance to
the reign of universal harmony, go to its rescue. In God's
hour, the powers of earth and hell are proven powerless.
21 The reeling ranks of materia medica, with poisons, nos-
trums, and knives, are impotent when at war with the
omnipotent! Like Elisha, look up, and behold: "They
24

that be with us, are more than they that be with them."

Error is only fermenting, and its heat hissing at the
"still, small voice" of Truth; but it can neither silence
27

nor disarm God's voice. Spiritual wickedness is stand-
ing in high places; but, blind to its own fate, it will tumble
into the bottomless.

Page 135
1 Christians, and all true Scientists, marching under what-
soever ensign, come into the ranks ! Again I repeat, per-
3 son is not in the question of Christian Science. Principle,
instead of person, is next to our hearts, on our lips, and
in our lives. Our watchwords are Truth and Love; and
6 if we abide in these, they will abound in us, and we shall
be one in heart,-one in motive, purpose, pursuit. Abid-
ing in Love, not one of you can be separated from me; and
9 the sweet sense of journeying on together, doing unto
others as ye would they should do unto you, conquers all
opposition, surmounts all obstacles, and secures success.
12

If you falter, or fail to fulfil this Golden Rule, though you
should build to the heavens, you would build on sand.

Is it a cross to give one week's time and expense to the
15 jubilee of Spirit? Then take this cross, and the crown
with it. Sending forth currents of Truth, God's methods
and means of healing, and so spreading the gospel of
18 Love, is in itself an eternity of joy that outweighs an
hour. Add one more noble offering to the unity of good,
and so cement the bonds of Love.
21

With love,

MARY BAKER EDDY

Part Three   Table of Contents