Mary Baker Eddy has throughout her writings used the term Principle as one of the synonyms for God. To the neophyte in Christian Science this synonym may seem cold and abstract, but as one progresses Spiritward the understanding of divine Principle becomes precious to him because of what it conveys of solidity and consistency. Only grand, solid ideas could belong to Principle! Even in human usage the term invariably indicates a dependable nature. The principle of music, of art, or of mathematics bespeaks fixed and fine qualities.
A dictionary defines "principle" in part as "a settled rule of action; a governing law of conduct." Principle is something to live by, for it involves law and government. We are conscious of the fact that the numeration table is always at hand when needed; that no matter how often one turns to it, the numbers are there for our use. Many other persons may draw upon those numbers at the same time in any quantity. Regardless of how many times a day the number ten may be required for solving problems by certain individuals, that number is always present to use. It is never worn out, depleted, or used up. Thus there are no vacuums in the principle of mathematics, and there are none in divine Principle, Love.
While numbers may appear to be cold and abstract, they hint the existence of a higher thought. Mrs. Eddy declares in "The First Church of Christ, Scientist, and Miscellany" (p. 226), "What are termed in common speech the principle of harmonious vibration, the principle of conservation of number in geometry, the principle of the inclined plane in mechanics, etc., are but an effect of one universal cause,—an emanation of the one divine intelligent Principle that holds the earth in its orbit by evolved spiritual power, that commands the waves and the winds, that marks the sparrow's fall, and that governs all from the infinitesimal to the infinite,—namely, God." With final force she concludes, "Withdraw God, divine Principle, from man and the universe, and man and the universe would no longer exist." Divine Principle, infinite in scope and dependability, gives us a firm confidence in its reliable resources and its unfailing responsiveness to human needs.
