Editorials

The separation of the ideal and the practical finds no endorsement in the teachings of Christ Jesus. He demanded of others, and put into effect himself, that which he preached, and this was the most exalted idealism.

In these days of widespread doubt and anxiety it is reassuring to remember that heretofore nations have gone through rigorous tests and trials, and have survived. They have more than survived.

The statement, "And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good," is the acceptance of perfection not for a part but for the whole. Here is set forth one standard, one workmanship.

Christian Science is here to educate men, to educate men spiritually, and so enable them individually to demonstrate man's oneness with the Life and Mind that is God. Much of the system of spiritual education established by Mary Baker Eddy provides self-instruction for students through thoughtful study, in quiet hours, of the Bible and her inspired works.

How impressively true it is that human experiences have their testing as well as their joyous aspects! Hagar fled from the jealousy of Sarai into the wilderness. As she sat by the fountain of water, an angel declared that the Lord had heard her affliction and instructed her to return to her mistress.

Mortals often believe that seeing and hearing are their personal possessions, indwelling in material organs called eyes and ears. They believe too that these important personal possessions are subject to impairment, or even destruction, by forces over which they have little or no control.

If there is to be a new world, built on sane and stable foundations, then everywhere men and women must be found no longer willing to submit unresistingly, unintelligently, to the ruling of their thoughts and lives by others. The adventurous curiosity and thirst of youth for independence may provide many pitfalls, but it can be advantageously directed.

How easy it is to abandon an enterprise unfinished! Undauntable resolution, and every man has it as a divine gift, is requisite to carry an important project, or any project at all, to conclusion. How often is one enticed through ennui, unrest, discouragement, downright laziness, or the attractiveness of some other venture, to hesitate in his course or leave off the work in which he is engaged; whereas steadfastness of purpose ensures the glorious satisfaction of staying with the task to the finish and bringing into visibility some measure of godliness.

The rights of man are inherent in sonship, and can neither be delegated nor withheld. Men may ignore, repudiate, or disown them; they may believe that they must be suffered and fought for as something retributory and sacrificial, or longed for as something remote and undefinable; but the fact remains that the divine rights of sonship belong inalienably to man.

On the stage of human events, how often appear characters filling the roles of villains and victims! The fraud deceiving the credulous, the thief taking from the unwary, the falsely ambitious conniving to displace another, the dominating husband and enduring wife, the immoral plotting the fall of the innocent, the malicious attempting to undermine and destroy his fellow man, the unscrupulous ruler grinding down conquered peoples. It is a sad array, mortal mind, alias mortals, with motives base and blind, preying on other mortal minds, all illustrations of Mrs.