We are told that Archimedes, the most celebrated mathematician of antiquity, elated by the wonderful discoveries in mechanics which he had made, declared that if he had a fulcrum, a standpoint from which to work, he could move the world. This world of which Archimedes spoke appeared to him, as it does to nearly every one even to-day, to be a thing of matter, surrounded by a material atmosphere, inhabited by material beings. On the other hand, Mrs. Eddy's discovery of Christian Science is revealing to her followers the fundamental fact that "all is Spirit and spiritual" (Science and Health, p. 331). When God is recognized as the only cause and creator, we must recognize also that since His nature is wholly spiritual His creation, the world and all it contains, must in its essence be wholly spiritual.
While intellectually convinced of these facts, the beginner in Christian Science may yet feel himself so material, so hemmed in by matter, that he does not know where to find his own individuality or where to look for the spiritual universe, "If this body is not myself, where am I?" perhaps he asks, and he cannot see how to emerge from this state of confusion. In "Miscellaneous Writings" we find a remarkable passage which throws light on this subject. On page 85 temptation is spoken of as "that mist of mortal mind which seems to be matter and the environment of mortals." This definition of matter and mortal environment dissolves matter into wrong thought, confused thinking, into a temptation to believe in persons and things, in modes and methods of action apart from God. After considering the subject further, the student comes to see that his personality—his personal sense—is the pivot or center round which his world turns, and that therefore he and his world are of one piece; all is spiritual or all is material.
Now a so-called mortal is supposed to be a combination of mind or brain and matter. In his least developed state, that of the savage, he connects his individuality almost entirely with matter. In his latest development the mortal thinks of himself largely as a creature of brain. He demands more, expects more, requires more to satisfy his sense of need. In all outward things he differs greatly from the savage, but he is still the pivot round which his larger world revolves. The difference between the civilized man and the savage is primarily one of thought, but this difference is not of a fundamental character, does not, proceed from a change of basis; the one condition is the natural outcome of the other. The civilized man is still surrounded by the Great Unknown, and is as far removed as the most ignorant savage from the free, illimitable ranges of infinity, from "the land of Heart's Desire."
