Science and Health With Key to The Scriptures

M >> Mary Baker Eddy >> Science and Health With Key to The Scriptures

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550:15 Error of thought is reflected in error of action. The
continual contemplation of existence as material and cor-
poreal - as beginning and ending, and with
550:18 birth, decay, and dissolution as its component
stages - hides the true and spiritual Life, and causes
our standard to trail in the dust. If Life has any starting-
550:21 point whatsoever, then the great I AM is a myth. If Life
is God, as the Scriptures imply, then Life is not embry-
onic, it is infinite. An egg is an impossible enclosure for
550:24 Deity.

Embryology supplies no instance of one species pro-
ducing its opposite. A serpent never begets a bird, nor
550:27 does a lion bring forth a lamb. Amalgamation is deemed
monstrous and is seldom fruitful, but it is not so hideous
and absurd as the supposition that Spirit - the pure and
550:30 holy, the immutable and immortal - can originate the
impure and mortal and dwell in it. As Christian Science
repudiates self-evident impossibilities, the material senses
551:1 must father these absurdities, for both the material senses
and their reports are unnatural, impossible, and unreal.

The real producer

551:3 Either Mind produces, or it is produced. If Mind is
first, it cannot produce its opposite in quality and quantity,
called matter. If matter is first, it cannot pro-
551:6 duce Mind. Like produces like. In natural
history, the bird is not the product of a beast. In spiritual
history, matter is not the progenitor of Mind.

The ascent of species

551:9 One distinguished naturalist argues that mortals spring
from eggs and in races. Mr. Darwin admits this, but he
adds that mankind has ascended through all
551:12 the lower grades of existence. Evolution de-
scribes the gradations of human belief, but it does not
acknowledge the method of divine Mind, nor see that ma-
551:15 terial methods are impossible in divine Science and that
all Science is of God, not of man.

Transmitted peculiarities

Naturalists ask: "What can there be, of a material
551:18 nature, transmitted through these bodies called eggs, -
themselves composed of the simplest material
elements, - by which all peculiarities of an-
551:21 cestry, belonging to either sex, are brought down from
generation to generation?" The question of the natu-
ralist amounts to this: How can matter originate or trans-
551:24 mit mind? We answer that it cannot. Darkness and
doubt encompass thought, so long as it bases creation on
materiality. From a material standpoint, "Canst thou
551:27 by searching find out God?" All must be Mind, or
else all must be matter. Neither can produce the other.
Mind is immortal; but error declares that the material
551:30 seed must decay in order to propagate its species, and
the resulting germ is doomed to the same routine.

Causation not in matter

The ancient and hypothetical question, Which is first,
552:1 the egg or the bird? is answered, if the egg produces the
parent. But we cannot stop here. Another question
552:3 follows: Who or what produces the parent of
the egg? That the earth was hatched from the
"egg of night" was once an accepted theory. Heathen
552:6 philosophy, modern geology, and all other material hy-
potheses deal with causation as contingent on matter
and as necessarily apparent to the corporeal senses, even
552:9 where the proof requisite to sustain this assumption is un-
discovered. Mortal theories make friends of sin, sickness,
and death; whereas the spiritual scientific facts of exist-
552:12 ence include no member of this dolorous and fatal triad.

Emergence of mortals

Human experience in mortal life, which starts from an
egg, corresponds with that of Job, when he says, "Man
552:15 that is born of a woman is of few days, and
full of trouble." Mortals must emerge from
this notion of material life as all-in-all. They must peck
552:18 open their shells with Christian Science, and look outward
and upward. But thought, loosened from a material
basis but not yet instructed by Science, may become wild
552:21 with freedom and so be self-contradictory.

Persistence of species

From a material source flows no remedy for sorrow,
sin, and death, for the redeeming power, from the ills
552:24 they occasion, is not in egg nor in dust. The
blending tints of leaf and flower show the
order of matter to be the order of mortal mind. The
552:27 intermixture of different species, urged to its utmost
limits, results in a return to the original species. Thus
it is learned that matter is a manifestation of mortal
552:30 mind, and that matter always surrenders its claims when
the perfect and eternal Mind is understood.

Better basis than embryology

Naturalists describe the origin of mortal and material
553:1 existence in the various forms of embryology, and ac-
company their descriptions with important observations,
553:3 which should awaken thought to a higher and
purer contemplation of man's origin. This
clearer consciousness must precede an under-
553:6 standing of the harmony of being. Mortal thought must
obtain a better basis, get nearer the truth of being, or
health will never be universal, and harmony will never
553:9 become the standard of man.

One of our ablest naturalists has said: "We have no
right to assume that individuals have grown or been
553:12 formed under circumstances which made material con-
ditions essential to their maintenance and reproduction,
or important to their origin and first introduction."
553:15 Why, then, is the naturalist's basis so materialistic,
and why are his deductions generally material?

All nativity in thought

Adam was created before Eve. In this instance, it is
553:18 seen that the maternal egg never brought forth Adam.
Eve was formed from Adam's rib, not from a
foetal ovum. Whatever theory may be adopted
553:21 by general mortal thought to account for human origin,
that theory is sure to become the signal for the appear-
ance of its method in finite forms and operations. If con-
553:24 sentaneous human belief agrees upon an ovum as the
point of emergence for the human race, this potent belief
will immediately supersede the more ancient supersti-
553:27 tion about the creation from dust or from the rib of our
primeval father.

Being is immortal

You may say that mortals are formed before they
553:30 think or know aught of their origin, and you
may also ask how belief can affect a result
which precedes the development of that belief. It can
554:1 only be replied, that Christian Science reveals what "eye
hath not seen," - even the cause of all that exists, - for
554:3 the universe, inclusive of man, is as eternal as God, who
is its divine immortal Principle. There is no such thing
as mortality, nor are there properly any mortal beings,
554:6 because being is immortal, like Deity, - or, rather, being
and Deity are inseparable.

Our conscious development

Error is always error. It is /no thing/. Any statement
554:9 of life, following from a misconception of life, is errone-
ous, because it is destitute of any knowledge
of the so-called selfhood of life, destitute of
554:12 any knowledge of its origin or existence. The mortal
is unconscious of his foetal and infantile existence; but
as he grows up into another false claim, that of self-con-
554:15 scious matter, he learns to say, "I am somebody; but
who made me?" Error replies, "God made you." The
first effort of error has been and is to impute to God the
554:18 creation of whatever is sinful and mortal; but infinite
Mind sets at naught such a mistaken belief.

Mendacity of error

Jesus defined this opposite of God and His creation
554:21 better than we can, when he said, "He is a liar, and the
father of it." Jesus also said, "Have not I
chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil?"
554:24 This he said of Judas, one of Adam's race. Jesus never
intimated that God made a devil, but he did say, "Ye
are of your father, the devil." All these sayings were to
554:27 show that mind in matter is the author of itself, and is
simply a falsity and illusion.

Ailments of animals

It is the general belief that the lower animals are less
554:30 sickly than those possessing higher organiza-
tions, especially those of the human form.
This would indicate that there is less disease in propor-
555:1 tion as the force of mortal mind is less pungent or sensi-
tive, and that health attends the absence of mortal mind.
555:3 A fair conclusion from this might be, that it is the human
belief, and not the divine arbitrament, which brings the
physical organism under the yoke of disease.

Ignorance the sign of error

555:6 An inquirer once said to the discoverer of Christian
Science: "I like your explanations of truth, but I do
not comprehend what you say about error."
555:9 This is the nature of error. The mark of igno-
rance is on its forehead, for it neither understands nor
can be understood. Error would have itself received as
555:12 mind, as if it were as real and God-created as truth; but
Christian Science attributes to error neither entity nor
power, because error is neither mind nor the outcome of
555:15 Mind.

The origin of divinity

Searching for the origin of man, who is the reflection
of God, is like inquiring into the origin of God, the self-
555:18 existent and eternal. Only impotent error
would seek to unite Spirit with matter, good
with evil, immortality with mortality, and call this
555:21 sham unity /man/, as if man were the offspring of both
Mind and matter, of both Deity and humanity. Crea-
tion rests on a spiritual basis. We lose our standard of
555:24 perfection and set aside the proper conception of Deity,
when we admit that the perfect is the author of aught
that can become imperfect, that God bestows the power
555:27 to sin, or that Truth confers the ability to err. Our
great example, Jesus, could restore the individualized
manifestation of existence, which seemed to vanish in
555:30 death. Knowing that God was the Life of man, Jesus
was able to present himself unchanged after the cruci-
fixion. Truth fosters the idea of Truth, and not the be-
556:1 lief in illusion or error. That which is real, is sustained
by Spirit.

Genera classified

556:3 Vertebrata, articulata, mollusca, and radiata are mor-
tal and material concepts classified, and are supposed to
possess life and mind. These false beliefs
556:6 will disappear, when the radiation of Spirit
destroys forever all belief in intelligent matter. Then
will the new heaven and new earth appear, for the for-
556:9 mer things will have passed away.

The Christian's privilege

Mortal belief infolds the conditions of sin. Mortal
belief dies to live again in renewed forms, only to go out
556:12 at last forever; for life everlasting is not to be
gained by dying. Christian Science may ab-
sorb the attention of sage and philosopher, but
556:15 the Christian alone can fathom it. It is made known
most fully to him who understands best the divine Life.
Did the origin and the enlightenment of the race come
556:18 from the deep sleep which fell upon Adam? Sleep is
darkness, but God's creative mandate was, "Let there be
light." In sleep, cause and effect are mere illusions.
556:21 They seem to be something, but are not. Oblivion and
dreams, not realities, come with sleep. Even so goes on
the Adam-belief, of which mortal and material life is the
556:24 dream.

Ontology /versus/ physiology

Ontology receives less attention than physiology. Why?
Because mortal mind must waken to spiritual
556:27 life before it cares to solve the problem of
being, hence the author's experience; but when
that awakening comes, existence will be on a new stand-
556:30 point.

It is related that a father plunged his infant babe, only
a few hours old, into the water for several minutes, and
557:1 repeated this operation daily, until the child could remain
under water twenty minutes, moving and playing with-
557:3 out harm, like a fish. Parents should remember this
and learn how to develop their children properly on dry
land.

The curse removed

557:6 Mind controls the birth-throes in the lower realms of
nature, where parturition is without suffering. Vege-
tables, minerals, and many animals suffer no
557:9 pain in multiplying; but human propagation
has its suffering because it is a false belief. Christian Sci-
ence reveals harmony as proportionately increasing as the
557:12 line of creation rises towards spiritual man, - towards
enlarged understanding and intelligence; but in the line
of the corporeal senses, the less a mortal knows of sin,
557:15 disease, and mortality, the better for him, - the less pain
and sorrow are his. When the mist of mortal mind evap-
orates, the curse will be removed which says to woman,
557:18 "In sorrow thou shalt bring forth children." Divine
Science rolls back the clouds of error with the light of
Truth, and lifts the curtain on man as never born and as
557:21 never dying, but as coexistent with his creator.

Popular theology takes up the history of man as if he
began materially right, but immediately fell into mental
557:24 sin; whereas revealed religion proclaims the Science of
Mind and its formations as being in accordance with
the first chapter of the Old Testament, when God, Mind,
557:27 spake and it was done.

CHAPTER XVI - THE APOCALYPSE

Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of
this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein:
for the time is at hand. - REVELATION.

Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised in the city of
our God, in the mountain of His holiness. - PSALMS.

558:1 ST. JOHN writes, in the tenth chapter of his book of
Revelation: -

558:3 And I saw another mighty angel come down from heaven,
clothed with a cloud: and a rainbow was upon his head, and
his face was as it were the sun, and his feet as pillars of
558:6 fire: and he had in his hand a little book open: and he
set his right foot upon the sea, and his left foot on the
earth.

The new Evangel

558:9 This angel or message which comes from God, clothed
with a cloud, prefigures divine Science. To mortal sense
Science seems at first obscure, abstract, and
558:12 dark; but a bright promise crowns its brow.
When understood, it is Truth's prism and praise. When
you look it fairly in the face, you can heal by its means,
558:15 and it has for you a light above the sun, for God "is the
light thereof." Its feet are pillars of fire, foundations
of Truth and Love. It brings the baptism of the Holy
558:18 Ghost, whose flames of Truth were prophetically de-
scribed by John the Baptist as consuming error.

Truth's volume

559:1 This angel had in his hand "a little book," open for
all to read and understand. Did this same book contain
559:3 the revelation of divine Science, the "right
foot" or dominant power of which was upon
the sea, - upon elementary, latent error, the source of
559:6 all error's visible forms? The angel's left foot was upon
the earth; that is, a secondary power was exercised upon
visible error and audible sin. The "still, small voice"
559:9 of scientific thought reaches over continent and ocean
to the globe's remotest bound. The inaudible voice of
Truth is, to the human mind, "as when a lion roareth."
559:12 It is heard in the desert and in dark places of fear. It
arouses the "seven thunders" of evil, and stirs their latent
forces to utter the full diapason of secret tones. Then is
559:15 the power of Truth demonstrated, - made manifest in
the destruction of error. Then will a voice from harmony
cry: "Go and take the little book. . . . Take it, and eat
559:18 it up; and it shall make thy belly bitter, but it shall be in
thy mouth sweet as honey." Mortals, obey the heavenly
evangel. Take divine Science. Read this book from
559:21 beginning to end. Study it, ponder it. It will be indeed
sweet at its first taste, when it heals you; but murmur not
over Truth, if you find its digestion bitter. When you
559:24 approach nearer and nearer to this divine Principle, when
you eat the divine body of this Principle, - thus partak-
ing of the nature, or primal elements, of Truth and Love,
559:27 - do not be surprised nor discontented because you must
share the hemlock cup and eat the bitter herbs; for the
Israelites of old at the Paschal meal thus prefigured this
559:30 perilous passage out of bondage into the El Dorado of faith
and hope.

To-day's lesson

The twelfth chapter of the Apocalypse, or Revela-
560:1 tion of St. John, has a special suggestiveness in connec-
tion with the nineteenth century. In the opening of the
560:3 sixth seal, typical of six thousand years since
Adam, the distinctive feature has reference
to the present age.

560:6 /Revelation/ xii. 1. And there appeared a great wonder in
heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon
under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve
560:9 stars.

True estimate of God's messenger

Heaven represents harmony, and divine Science inter-
prets the Principle of heavenly harmony. The great
560:12 miracle, to human sense, is divine Love, and
the grand necessity of existence is to gain the
true idea of what constitutes the kingdom of
560:15 heaven in man. This goal is never reached while we
hate our neighbor or entertain a false estimate of any-
one whom God has appointed to voice His Word. Again,
560:18 without a correct sense of its highest visible idea, we can
never understand the divine Principle. The botanist must
know the genus and species of a plant in order to classify
560:21 it correctly. As it is with things, so is it with persons.

Persecution harmful

Abuse of the motives and religion of St. Paul hid from
view the apostle's character, which made him equal to
560:24 his great mission. Persecution of all who have
spoken something new and better of God has
not only obscured the light of the ages, but has been fatal
560:27 to the persecutors. Why? Because it has hid from
them the true idea which has been presented. To mis-
understand Paul, was to be ignorant of the divine idea he
560:30 taught. Ignorance of the divine idea betrays at once a
greater ignorance of the divine Principle of the idea - igno-
561:1 rance of Truth and Love. The understanding of Truth
and Love, the Principle which works out the ends of eternal
561:3 good and destroys both faith in evil and the practice of
evil, leads to the discernment of the divine idea.

Espousals supernal

Agassiz, through his microscope, saw the sun in an
561:6 egg at a point of so-called embryonic life. Because of
his more spiritual vision, St. John saw an
"angel standing in the sun." The Revelator
561:9 beheld the spiritual idea from the mount of vision.
Purity was the symbol of Life and Love. The Revelator
saw also the spiritual ideal as a woman clothed in light, a
561:12 bride coming down from heaven, wedded to the Lamb
of Love. To John, "the bride" and "the Lamb" repre-
sented the correlation of divine Principle and spiritual idea,
561:15 God and His Christ, bringing harmony to earth.

Divinity and humanity

John saw the human and divine coincidence, shown in
the man Jesus, as divinity embracing humanity in Life
561:18 and its demonstration, - reducing to human
perception and understanding the Life which
is God. In divine revelation, material and corporeal self-
561:21 hood disappear, and the spiritual idea is understood.

Spiritual sunlight

The woman in the Apocalypse symbolizes generic man,
the spiritual idea of God; she illustrates the coincidence
561:24 of God and man as the divine Principle and
divine idea. The Revelator symbolizes Spirit
by the sun. The spiritual idea is clad with the radiance
561:27 of spiritual Truth, and matter is put under her feet. The
light portrayed is really neither solar nor lunar, but spirit-
ual Life, which is "the light of men." In the first chapter
561:30 of the Fourth Gospel it is written, "There was a man sent
from God . . . to bear witness of that Light."

Spiritual idea revealed

John the Baptist prophesied the coming of the im-
562:1 maculate Jesus, and John saw in those days the spiritual
idea as the Messiah, who would baptize with the Holy
562:3 Ghost,- divine Science. As Elias presented
the idea of the fatherhood of God, which Jesus
afterwards manifested, so the Revelator completed this
562:6 figure with woman, typifying the spiritual idea of God's
motherhood. The moon is under her feet. This idea
reveals the universe as secondary and tributary to Spirit,
562:9 from which the universe borrows its reflected light, sub-
stance, life, and intelligence.

Spiritual idea crowned

The spiritual idea is crowned with twelve stars. The
562:12 twelve tribes of Israel with all mortals, - separated by
belief from man's divine origin and the true
idea, - will through much tribulation yield to
562:15 the activities of the divine Principle of man in the har-
mony of Science. These are the stars in the crown of
rejoicing. They are the lamps in the spiritual heavens
562:18 of the age, which show the workings of the spiritual idea
by healing the sick and the sinning, and by manifesting
the light which shines "unto the perfect day" as the night
562:21 of materialism wanes.

/Revelation/ xii. 2. And she being with child cried, travail-
ing in birth, and pained to be delivered.

Travail and joy

562:24 Also the spiritual idea is typified by a woman in tra-
vail, waiting to be delivered of her sweet promise, but re-
membering no more her sorrow for joy that
562:27 the birth goes on; for great is the idea, and the
travail portentous.

/Revelation/ xii. 3. And there appeared another wonder in
562:30 heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads
and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads.

The dragon as a type

563:1 Human sense may well marvel at discord, while, to a
diviner sense., harmony is the real and discord the unreal.
563:3 We may well be astonished at sin, sickness, and
death. We may well be perplexed at human
fear; and still more astounded at hatred, which lifts
563:6 its hydra head, showing its horns in the many inventions
of evil. But why should we stand aghast at nothingness?
The great red dragon symbolizes a lie, - the belief
563:9 that substance, life, and intelligence can be material.
This dragon stands for the sum total of human error.
The ten horns of the dragon typify the belief that mat-
563:12 ter has power of its own, and that by means of an
evil mind in matter the Ten Commandments can be
broken.

The sting of the serpent