The tendency of the human mind has ever been to imagine that it has achieved something if it can only thrust back its explanations a stage. Thus, the ancient, who to the generally accepted theory that the world was supported on the back of an elephant added the confident assertion that the elephant stood on the back of a tortoise, imagined, no doubt, that he had contributed very considerably to the explanation of things. As a matter of fact, he had contributed, of course, just nothing at all. And yet all material explanations of man and the universe partake of this nature. The bacteria theory was hailed as a great advance of human knowledge. Nevertheless it did not advance the explanation of disease one iota. The bacteria theory is simply the tortoise. For the inevitable question, What causes the germ or the microbe? remains unanswered.
Now this tendency of the human mind to rest satisfied with an explanation, that is, with a position attained, is fundamental, for it represents the inevitable resistance of the human mind to its own destruction. It is one of the great rocks of offense in the path of human progress, and it is by no means absent from the path of the student of Christian Science. The human mind is forever seeking a place wherein to rest. Being a counterfeit of the divine Mind, it seeks in matter that state of rest which is attained and can only be attained in the ever activity of Spirit, and it is forever eagerly on the lookout for that manifestation of law of which matter is really incapable. Its great aim and desire is to envisage a future, to have an objective, the attainment of which is desirable as an end in itself, and to evolve, meanwhile, a desirable modus vivendi.
In order in some way to secure this end, the human mind, when hard pressed by Truth, constantly changes its ground. Thus, with apparent joyfulness the student of Christian Science will give up some gross material belief, but unless this renunciation is followed by watchfulness begotten of a fundamental understanding of why the renunciation was made and a determination to hew to the line all along the line, before very long the same material beliefs will be found fully enthroned once more, in a different form. It is merely the tortoise taking the place of the elephant. Thus Mrs. Eddy writes, in "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" (p. 449), "A grain of Christian Science does wonders for mortals, so omnipotent is Truth, but more of Christian Science must be gained in order to continue in well doing." The healing of body and mind which comes to so many from the first glimpse of divine Principle in Christian Science is a wonder indeed, but it ceases to be a wonder the moment the student ceases to press faithfully on along that line of the unreality of matter and the allness of Spirit which effected the healing.
