In order to learn, we must attend; in order to profit by what we have learnt, we must think—that is, reflect. He only thinks who reflects.
Coleridge.
THE traditional belief in "Two first principles;" namely, God and matter, in contradistinction to one divine Principle, as taught in Christian Science, seems to have been held by philosophers and theologians in varied forms since the days of Plato and Aristotle. The combination of Monotheism and Pantheism included in the elder Pliny's belief that "There is but one God, and this God manifests Himself in nature," represents a still prevalent, though impossible theory, vainly attempting to reconcile matter with Mind. He argued that "Nature and Nature's works are one." "If there are other universes, they are natural; that is to say, a part of Nature. God rules them all according to law which He himself cannot violate. It is useless to supplicate Him and absurd to worship Him, for to do these things is to degrade Him with the thought, He is like us." The foregoing implication that God is the author of the physical universe, in which the climax of creation, according to the Psalmist, was conceived in sin and shapen in iniquity, is, to borrow a phrase from the classic naturalist, hardly "complimentary to God."
Justin Martyr, an extensively traveled and well-educated Gentile, after studying the writings of Plato and Socrates, declared that he had found in Jesus of Nazareth what the former were seeking after. To him, Christianity, says his biographer, was "the mother of true philosophy," and he afterwards aided in disseminating the teachings of those despised Galileans to whom their Master had said, "Ye are the light of the world." In his dialogue with Trypho, a materialistic Jew, Justin defined philosophy as "the knowledge of that which really exists," and declared it to be "a clear perception of the truth; and happiness is the reward of such knowledge and wisdom."
In response to Trypho's question, "But what do you call God?" Justin makes answer, "That which always maintains the same nature, and in the same manner, and is the cause of all other things—that, indeed, is God. . . . But, father, said I, the Deity cannot be seen merely by the eyes, as other living beings can, but is discernible to the mind alone, as Plato says; and I believe him. . . . Plato indeed says, that the mind's eye is of such a nature, and has been given for this end, that we may see that very Being when the mind is pure itself, who is the cause of all discerned by the mind, having no color, no form, no greatness—nothing, indeed, which the bodily eye looks upon; but Deity is something of this sort, he goes on to say, that is beyond all essence, unutterable and inexplicable, but alone honorable and good, coming suddenly into souls well-dispositioned, on account of their desire of seeing Him." "It is not, therefore," said Trypho, "on account of his affinity, that a man sees God, nor because he has a mind, but because he is temperate and righteous."
This illuminating admission might afford food for meditation to some of our scholastic theologians to-day, for if the mere possession of a mind or intellect is in itself insufficient to grasp an understanding of God, and temperance and righteousness are the channels of true wisdom, then we can understand that "the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man" would avail more at the bedside of the sick than the accumulated knowledge of four thousand years of materia medica and hygiene.
Among the recent discoveries of eminent physicists engaged in the realm of scientific research, there are appearing so many conclusions which are parallel with the fundamental propositions of Christian Science, that one becomes more and more impressed with the wonderful insight and foresight of the woman through whose spiritual intuition and indefatigable effort the Science of Mind was discovered. To say that Mrs. Eddy had been thinking a hundred years in advance of the times would be to make a statement requiring no modification, yet in spite of the transcendant superiority of her spiritual perceptions, she has succeeded in at once applying them practically to the saving and healing of a sin-sick race; and what is the value of knowledge unless it can thus heal our diseases and forgive our iniquities? Christian Science not only meets this dual need, but goes much farther and undertakes to reveal "new heavens and a new earth," in which the former, having passed away, "shall not be remembered, nor come into mind."
Among those who are perhaps quite unconsciously "helping the woman," by breaking down the traditions of the past and proving through the discoveries of natural science the elementary deductions of Christian Science, Gustav LaBon, a French savant, writing on the "Current ideas concerning the structure of atoms"(Annual Report of the Smithsonian Institute, 1903), declares that "Those scientists who follow in foreign journals the experiments and discussions of the most eminent physicists of the present day, such as Lord Kelvin, J. J. Thomson, Crookes, Larmor, Lorentz, and many others, have before them a curious spectacle. They see melting away before them, day by day, fundamental scientific conceptions that seemed established solidly enough to remain forever. ... It is hardly thirty years since it would have been impossible to write on this subject a single word deduced from any scientific observation whatever, and one might have supposed that the history of atoms would always be enveloped in darkness. Was it not universally admitted that they were indestructible? Everything was changing in the world, and everything was ephemeral. Beings succeeded each other, always taking on new forms; stars ended by becoming extinguished; the atom alone was not subject to the action of time, and seemed eternal. The doctrine of its immutability reigned for two thousand years and nothing seemed to indicate that it could ever be shaken. We have detailed the experiments which resulted in the crumbling away of this antique belief. We know now that matter disappears slowly and that the atoms which compose it are not destined to last forever."
It is generally conceded that a pioneer in any department of scientific research is not only entitled to the credit of his or her own immediate discoveries and labors, but also of having opened a door in the human mind, through which all other thinkers may profit by the advantages thus offered. We gather from LaBon's statement that during the past thirty years, or since the advent of Christian Science, unparalleled strides have been made in the realm of natural science and philosophy; and that the Science of healing by divine metaphysics ranks as the most important among these progressive steps in the century just past, is a claim that has already been abundantly justified. Is it not manifestly moulding the current conceptions in all the branches of science and art, and rapidly breaking down the barriers of limitation and ignorance which had 90 long held humanity in the tends of materialism? The atom, which was formerly regarded as an indestructible and indivisible body, is now "condemned to a relatively ephemeral existence;" the final dissolution of which, and in fact of all material bodies composed of aggregations of atoms, is no longer a mere theory or hypothesis, but a fixed and final conclusion of the most learned and profound thinkers of the day.
Robert Kennedy Duncan, professor of chemistry in Washington and Jefferson College, in an elaborate treatise on "The New Knowledge," in which he undertakes to set forth "a popular account of the new physics and the new chemistry in their relation to the new theory of matter," remarks that "the world is divided between men who know and cannot tell, and men who tell and cannot know." He says, "What matter is, in itself and by itself, is quite hopeless of answer and concerns only metaphysicians." He then draws a distinction between matter and non-matter, and affirms that "things such as grace, mercy, justice, and truth, while they are existing entities as much as matter, are unquestionably non-matter." He declares further, that "matter in its last analysis is identical with electricity;" and he also classifies electricity, magnetism, light, and heat under the generalization of "non-matter." Granting the reliability of the foregoing premises, we are driven to conclude with Mr. Balfour that "Matter to the modern scientist is not matter at all."
In answer to the question, "What are Life and Mind?" Professor Duncan frankly admits that he is unable "to give us even the glimpse of an idea of the physical basis of Life," and, in the closing chapter of his book, after summarizing the various modern theories that have been deduced from recent scientific observations, the author honestly acknowledges that, from the standpoint of physics, "There is no criterion of absolute truth, there is no way of attaining to absolute truth, and we may as well acknowledge it." How hopeless seems the foregoing conclusion in contrast with the hopeful and inspiring words of the Saviour of mankind, who declared that "The wisdom of this world is foolishness with God," and "Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." Surely the wisdom of this world is gradually giving place to the inspired declarations of the Science of Mind.
In The Christian Science Journal of August, 1885, Mrs. Eddy announced, in substance, that not matter but Mind is the basis of all atomic action, and that energy is not in matter nor is atomic action the result of organization or the infusion of matter with life. She repudiated the theory of the evolution of the mortal into the immortal and declared that man is co-existent not with matter, but with Mind. Mind was thus shown to be the source of all motive power and creative energy, and man and the universe were declared to be the emanations of Mind. (See Miscellaneous Writings, p. 189.)
In the light of modern scientific investigation, the atom is no longer regarded as the smallest possible fragment of . matter, but is now known to contain many hundreds of rapidly moving electrons. The electrons are so infinitesimal that they can readily penetrate the most homogeneous material bodies, such as iron or even compressed steel, and this explains the phenomenal transparency of all forms of matter under the influence of X-rays and similar forces of radio-activity. "The material atom," says Larmor, "is composed of electrons, and of nothing else;" and LaBon avers that "It is in these atomic systems, which were ignored for so long a time because of their extreme minuteness, that we must doubtless look for the explanation of some of the mysteries that surround us." "The infinitely little," he adds, "may perhaps contain the secret of the infinitely Great."
The Discoverer of Christian Science, instead of seeking an explanation of the mysteries which surround us through a microscopic examination of the infinitely little, has effectively solved the problem by turning her attention to the infinitely Great, and instead of attempting to analyze the hopeless incongruities of "intra-atomic chemical reactions producing the dissociation of matter" or "the Genesis and Evolution of atoms" in their transition from dust to dust, has sought first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and has been entrusted with the key which not only unlocks the secrets of the infinitely little, but at the same time reveals the eternal Principle of all being.
"The eminent astronomer. Sir Norman Lockyer, director of one of the large English observatories," says LaBon, "first showed the evolution of matter in the stars, and was also the first who dared to maintain that the atoms of elementary bodies were dissociable. The proofs that he furnished of this last assertion were convincing, but minds were not then prepared for them, and it was necessary to wait till the discovery of the cathodic radiations and the radio-activity of matter before the antique doctrine of the indestructibility of atoms could be shaken."
According to Laplace's theory of cosmogony, "The sun and planets were at first a great rotating nebula, at whose center a nucleus formed and from which rings were successively detached, which later formed the earth and other planets. At first gaseous, these masses became gradually cooled, and the space primitively filled by the nebula was occupied only by a few globes that continue to rotate around their own axes and about the sun. According to the new ideas concerning the composition of atoms, we are authorized to suppose that each of them was formed in a similar manner, and, in spite of its minute size, represents a veritable solar system."
"The last phase of the existence of matter," LaBon declares, "is that in which the electric atom, having lost its individuality,—that is to say, its fixity,—disappears in the ether. This would be the final term of the dissociation of matter, the final nirvana into which it seems that everything material must return after an ephemeral existence."
The final disappearance of the electric atom, or electron into the ether is symbolized by the melting of an iceberg as it floats into southern latitudes, and loses its identity by absorption in the ocean. The ether or final nirvana, into which all matter must eventually disperse, and from which all energy and radio-activity are supposed to be derived, is regarded as a non-ponderous substance, that is, having no appreciable weight; it is also entirely transparent, it has neither outline, form, nor color. It is supposed to exist everywhere, not only in the inter-stellar space, but "in the earth beneath, and in the water under the earth;" it passes freely between and through the atoms of all material bodies, and is the probable medium for the transmission of heat, light, and odor, and, in fact, makes cognizable every form, outline, color, and quality that the sense perceptions are able to appreciate. Physicists generally agree that the ether is "the fundamental element of the universe," in which worlds are born, mature, and will eventually decay. The ether is regarded as entirely different from all forms of matter and is not subject to the laws of gravitation or change; it is a substance, but not material in the usual sense of the word, and it is said by LaBon, that "The necessity for the ether has long been realized, because no phenomenon would be conceivable without the existence of this medium. Without it there would probably be neither weight, nor light, nor electricity, nor heat,—in a word, nothing of that with which we are acquainted. The universe would be silent and dead, or would manifest itself in a form utterly inconceivable. If we could construct a chamber of glass from which the ether was entirely removed, neither heat nor light could traverse it. It would be absolutely black, and probably gravitation would cease to act upon bodies within it. . . . Yet, as soon as we attempt to define the properties of the ether, enormous difficulties appear. They arise, especially, from the fact that, being unable to connect it with anything known, terms of comparison, and consequently of definition, fail entirely."
From the Christian Science standpoint, may it not safely be argued that the ether under its scientific synonym, mortal mind, will eventually be regarded, even by our natural scientists, as both the initial cause and ultimate vanishing-point of all material phenomena and physical effects? This conclusion gained, however, we have but reached the negative side of scientific statement and are still without hope and without God in the world. The crowning feature of Christian Science is the positive revelation of immortal Mind, divine Principle, or the substance of Spirit, which terms Mrs. Eddy employs so appropriately to characterize Deity and to define "the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen."
The great impulse recently given to atomic analysis by the discoveries of X-rays, radium, and kindred phenomena, has revealed the interesting fact that a single atom contains an almost inconceivable conservation of energy. An English physicist observes that one gram of radium would produce sufficient energy to transport the entire British fleet to the summit of Mt. Blanc. This amount of force he estimates at 6,800,000 horse power, and declares it would suffice to move a freight train equal in length to more than four times the circumference of the earth. In discussing the practical application of these enormous reservations of power, LaBon queries, "Shall we some day succeed in easily liberating this colossal force that lies within the atom? No one can tell. Neither could one have told in the time of Galvani that the energy which was used with difficulty to twitch the legs of a frog and attract small fragments of paper would one day set in motion enormous railway trains." "The provision of combustibles that the terrestrial strata contain," he continued, "is rapidly becoming exhausted, and if this reservoir of energy fails, manufacture, the essential element of civilization, is destined to perish. Without coal, indeed, railroads and steamboats would be stopped, factories closed, and electric lights extinguished. The man of science who finds the means of economically liberating the forces that matter contains will almost instantaneously change the face of the world. An illimitable source of energy being gratuitously at the disposal of man, he would not have to procure it by severe labor. The poor would be the equals of the rich, and the social question would no longer be agitated."
The implied possibility of solving the social question by liberating the unlimited forces said to be stored up in the atoms, is another Aladdin's dream, such as has always evaded the realization of mortals since the mist went up from the face of the earth and Adam "became a living soul." Surely it is useless to seek the Eldorado of human happiness in any other way than that prescribed by the Saviour, who said, "The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you." Although Jesus was undoubtedly the greatest of all natural scientists and metaphysicians, he spent no time in inducing conclusions from the mysteries of spectrum analysis, but solved every problem of matter and evil by dismissing their phenomena with the power of His Word. He defied the so-called principalities and powers of darkness, and acknowledged no allegiance but to his Father in heaven. Through obedience to the laws of God, he overcame the world and fulfilled the law of Love. He walked on the water, fasted for forty days, fed the hungry, healed all manner of sickness, raised the dead, and finally ascended out of matter into Mind.
Wireless telegraphy, by means of which ocean steamships can now be connected at all times with the land, is characterized by Mr. Edison as the "greatest scientific wonder of the age." In 1875, Mrs. Eddy distinctly foretold the advent of this modern triumph of inventive genius in her first edition of Science and Health. She also demonstrated, by means of metaphysical treatment, the possibility of healing absent patients in all parts of the globe. Is it not possible that the spiritual thought-force liberated by this great discovery has made possible the remarkable inventions of Marconi, and is it not equally probable that the recent announcements regarding the destructibility of atoms and the unreality of matter, so conclusively established through the discovery of X-rays and radium, are directly due to the same unseen, yet omnipotent Principle that has been revealed through the teachings of our Leader?
Although we hail with joy the present signs of universal awakening, it is surely useless to delve further into the mysteries of belief in matter. The world, the flesh, and the devil, comprising the trinity of evil, we are told in the Bible, must "pass away," for "the flesh profiteth nothing" and "the devil is a liar." The fruits of the tree of material knowledge, which are now being offered to the descendants of Adam's race in the more subtle and deceptive forms of materialistic hypotheses, are yet by no means divested of their injurious effects. The human mind cannot faithfully serve two masters, nor can the wisdom of this world reveal the truth that makes us free.
The modern theory of matter, which traces the evolution of star-dust from the atom to a world, and follows the mighty procession of all the planetary systems as they whirl through the ether to a distant goal, although an intensely fascinating intellectual pastime, full of majestic beauty and mystical speculation, is yet wholly incompetent to solve the smallest problems, such as constantly confront us in our daily life. "Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you," is surely as good advice now to a suffering race as when uttered on the Galilean hillside by the first great exponent of Christian philosophy.
Building upon the sure foundation laid by Jesus, Mrs. Eddy has demonstrated the Science of his wonderful works. She has revealed "the Comforter," or "Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him." For "the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned." The priceless privilege of living in this Christian Science era can only be understood in part by those who have overcome the world of sense sufficiently to receive some of that Mind which was also in Christ Jesus. Never before has any race or nation been blessed with such a complete revelation of the way of salvation. Surely Christian Science is the Comforter which will guide us into all truth. Its truth is the sword of Spirit, which destroys error, conquers the carnal mind, wins life's battle, and establishes that perfect peace which passeth all human understanding.
On page 97 of Science and Health, Edition 1905, Mrs. Eddy points out in substance, that the more closely the current conceptions of matter approach its essence, mortal mind, the nearer they will come to the final recognition of the unreality of matter, which involves the allness of Mind. The attainment of the ultimate possibilities of Christian Science, she tells us, is not an argument, but a proof of God's power and presence. Although the most eloquent sermons ever preached about Christianity and religion have been heretofore impotent to heal our diseases and to forgive our iniquities, it is now an established fact that a thoughtful perusal of Mrs. Eddy's works is daily healing and saving many thousands of sufferers. All who have studied Christian Science and demonstrated its teachings, have imbibed in some measure the spirit of true humility exemplified by its Discoverer and Founder, and will agree with St. Paul "not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God; who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit; for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life."
