Over three hundred years ago William Shakespeare put these words in the mouth of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark: "This most excellent canopy, the air, look you, this brave o'erhanging firmament . . . appeareth no other thing to me than a foul and pestilent congregation of vapours." What a graphic description of the atmosphere enveloping many of our cities today! And not only air, but water and noise pollution pose a grave threat to the quality of life, and modern society cries out for decisive remedial action.
Among other causes, the pollution of our environment has developed through ignorance, indifference, and an unwillingness to face the cost of changing sanitary and industrial practices. The problem has seemed almost too big and difficult to tackle. Its cumulative effects have been known and discussed for some years, but only now do we see the first feeble attempts to correct it.
What can Christian Scientists do to help? First of all, they can bring to bear whatever powers of persuasion they have to support wise and effective remedies. This can be done by letting legislators or government agencies know how deeply they feel on this important question. But as metaphysicians they have a higher and potentially more dynamic way of helping. They understand the influence for good of spiritually inspired thought on the community, the nation, and the world.
