As regular readers of The Christian Science Journal know, Science and Health was first published a century ago, in 1875. Its author, Mary Baker Eddy, writes in its Preface: "A book introduces new thoughts, but it cannot make them speedily understood. It is the task of the sturdy pioneer to hew the tall oak and to cut the rough granite." And she continues, "Future ages must declare what the pioneer has accomplished." Science and Health, p. vii;
During the past twelve months each issue of this magazine has particularly emphasized the gratitude of testifiers who are happy to "declare what the pioneer has accomplished" thus far in their lives. They speak of gaining inner peace through reading Science and Health, of spiritualized thought, satisfaction, reconstructed mentalities and lives. There is mention of character improvement, spiritual education and growth, release from drinking and smoking habits, the healing of heart trouble, diabetes, a malignant growth, nervous convulsions, and complications following childbirth.
All these experiences and many more are cited as examples of how the Christian Science textbook, Science and Health, has blessed humanity during the first century of its existence, and they cannot fail to kindle expectation for the future. The implication is obvious: if these are the first-fruits, what wonders can the second century be expected to bring forth? Surely, greater blessings still as the readers of this book grasp even more strongly the significance of its divine message and accept it into their thought as the vital, operative truth of being.
