Editorials

March 4, 1920. Board of Trustees of The Christian Science Publishing Society, 107 Falmouth Street, Boston, Massachusetts.

"Of all knowledge, the wise and good seek most to know themselves,"—so declared Shakespeare, and all thoughtful men have recognized this self-knowledge as a primal necessity to all true accomplishment in being and doing. In other words, men must act intelligently if they are to express any right activity; and what does this intelligence imply but true self-knowledge? Since God is the infinite One, He must be the only Ego, and He therefore includes all selfhood.

In the early days of the Christian church, while the bishop was the overlooker or overseer of a specific group of workers, the familiar figure of the shepherd was used continually to describe his duties. In fact the bishop's crook or pastoral staff was made like the shepherd's staff, that by the very insignia his flock might be reminded of his spiritual office.

WHEN the children of Israel begged of Samuel that he would give them a king to reign over them, they gave as their reason for such a desire, "That we also may be like all the nations; and that our king may judge us, and go out before us, and fight our battles. " Samuel warned them that if they insisted upon this they would eventually find themselves the servants of this king and that all they owned would become his property.

BEFORE they reached Marah the delivered Israelites had marched from the Red Sea for three days into the wilderness "and found no water. " As soon as they had pitched their camp at Marah murmurings arose, for the water there had so bitter a taste that they could not drink of it.

In the epistle to the Hebrews it is said of Enoch, "Before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God. " This pleasing of God is a question of vast importance and one which cannot be considered too often or too earnestly.

When Mark Antony spoke from the rostrum in the forum anent the death of Caesar, and thence descended to gather the crowd about him while he excited them to revenge, he was stirring in them the evil passions which ere long set Rome ablaze. "Mischief, thou art afoot, take thou what course thou wilt!" he said, caring not to guide the storm bat only to have it rage.

At the beginning of what men call the New Year all the world teems with good resolutions. It is looked upon as a general accounting time.

There is a book which a century ago was credited with having the largest circulation next to the Bible of any published in the English language. It was of deepest interest to Bible readers and was looked upon as one of the great formative influences conjoining with the Bible in establishing the English tongue.

When centuries ago the angels sang to the shepherds the glad song of "peace on earth, good will to men," the listeners little realized the wonderful blessings which were to follow. Up to that time the world had been largely in darkness as to the marvelous nature of God as Love itself.