Shortly after I began work in Christian Science, it came to me that the five wise virgins are the five Spiritual senses: intuition, hope, faith, understanding, and fruition. Science and Health, p. 206, 40th edition: "The five foolish virgins are material sense, or human belief," — ignorance, fear, doubt, dread, and despair. Page 62: "Spiritual sense is a conscious capacity to understand God." Human belief is materialism — the opposite of the true Spiritualism.
The five foolish virgins are not only foolish, but ugly; and to take them up and master them is the work of the five wise ones. The foolish are vindictive in belief, and persistently clamorous for power and supremacy. They must be taken up one by one, and overcome.
"And the foolish said unto the wise, give us of your oil, for our lamps are gone out." Materialism must go out, in the light of Science; and mortal mind, begging for oil, is told to go rather to "them that sell and buy for yourselves." True wisdom is expressed in this reply. The door must be closed upon them, the separation must take place for growth in grace to be progressive; for demonstration to yield happy returns.
