NO man can sever his individual interests from the common lot of humanity, nor dwell so apart from humankind as to remain wholly unaffected by the universal experience. For this reason, no life can be entirely isolated. That which Henry Drummond calls the "Alchemy of Influence" enters so largely into human affairs that its silent action tends to determine both individual and general development. Man's relationship to his fellow-man affords such unmeasured opportunity to mould and modify thought, that it has ever been the means of promoting alike the wellbeing and misfortune, the joy and sorrow, of mankind. Noble purposes are fostered by an uplifting comradeship, while debasing and ignoble influences are suggested through an unworthy association.
Manhood owes its moral uprightness largely to the influences of youth, and can often trace its present integrity to the loving care and counsel which guided its early experiences into the way of righteousness. Unlimited opportunities for pure and wholesome association are likewise found in the companionship of good books. The perception of the ideal, as the world has received it through its great writers, fosters the pursuit of that ideal. The influences for good which spring from pure aspirations and actual living, have been sent far and wide by those men and women who possess the power to clothe uplifting thought with fitting expression. Such writings have ever been ennobling companions, and hours spent with them have borne fruit in exalted purposes and great deeds. Recognizing the value of companionship with all that is wholesome and true in human life, the conclusion follows that close association with the divine Mind must bestow to the degree it is sought and cherished, the supreme blessing. Because God has been conceived as dwelling in a distant heaven, He has seemed removed, as does a friend in a remote street or in a far city. This sense of distance prevents the possibility of a close companionship, and man, in his hour of need, often feels friendless and alone, because he knows not where to locate, nor how to find the "great Friend to all the sons of men."
Christian Science has brought to the world the universal panacea for this sense of estrangement, in its revelation that every experience is a condition of thought. The association with a friend rests not in outward contact with the person, but rather in the mental recognition of the individual life and character. Daily contact with the personal Jesus gave to the prejudiced Pharisee no hint of the Christly nature so near at hand, yet to the discerning Christian in later centuries, that Christ has been an abiding Presence.
