There was once an evil knight who rode around the countryside terrifying everyone. No one knew who he was, for the visor of his helmet was always down. At the mere mention of his coming, people fled inside their houses, locked their doors, closed their shutters, and sat trembling in the dark.
A brave and good knight, returning from a mission in a far-off land, determined to rid the community of this menace. Pursuing the evil knight, he overtook him, engaged him in battle, and unhorsed him. Before finishing him off, the good knight lifted up the visor to see who his antagonist was. There was no one there. The terrifying suit of armor was empty.
This tale can illustrate the nature of all error, called in Christian Science mortal mind, or animal magnetism. Mrs. Eddy begins her definition of "mortal mind" in the Glossary of Science and Health this way: "Nothing claiming to be something, for Mind is immortal; mythology . . . ." The same definition concludes, ". . . that which neither exists in Science nor can be recognized by the spiritual sense; sin; sickness; death."Science and Health, pp. 591-592.
