Chapter VIII - Footsteps Of Truth
Profession and proof
233:1
of any sort. Every day makes its demands upon us for
of any sort. Every day makes its demands upon us for
higher proofs rather than professions of Christian power.
These proofs consist solely in the destruction
of sin, sickness, and death by the power of
Spirit, as Jesus destroyed them. This is an element of
progress, and progress is the law of God, whose law de-
mands of us only what we can certainly fulfil.
Perfection gained slowly
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In the midst of imperfection, perfection is seen and
In the midst of imperfection, perfection is seen and
acknowledged only by degrees. The ages must slowly
work up to perfection. How long it must be
before we arrive at the demonstration of scien-
tific being, no man knoweth, – not even "the
Son but the Father;" but the false claim of error con-
tinues its delusions until the goal of goodness is assidu-
ously earned and won.
Christ's mission
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Already the shadow of His right hand rests upon the
Already the shadow of His right hand rests upon the
hour. Ye who can discern the face of the sky, – the
sign material, – how much more should ye
discern the sign mental, and compass the de-
struction of sin and sickness by overcoming the thoughts
which produce them, and by understanding the spiritual
idea which corrects and destroys them. To reveal this
truth was our Master's mission to all mankind, including
the hearts which rejected him.
Efficacy of truth
233:25
When numbers have been divided according to a fixed
When numbers have been divided according to a fixed
rule, the quotient is not more unquestionable than the
scientific tests I have made of the effects of
truth upon the sick. The counter fact rela-
tive to any disease is required to cure it. The utterance
of truth is designed to rebuke and destroy error. Why
should truth not be efficient in sickness, which is solely
the result of inharmony?
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Spiritual draughts heal, while material lotions interfere
Spiritual draughts heal, while material lotions interfere
with truth, even as ritualism and creed hamper spirit-
uality. If we trust matter, we distrust Spirit.
Crumbs of comfort
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Whatever inspires with wisdom, Truth, or Love – be
Whatever inspires with wisdom, Truth, or Love – be
it song, sermon, or Science – blesses the human family
with crumbs of comfort from Christ's table
feeding the hungry and giving living waters to
the thirsty.
Hospitality to health and good
234:9
We should become more familiar with good than with
We should become more familiar with good than with
evil, and guard against false beliefs as watchfully as we
bar our doors against the approach of thieves
and murderers. We should love our enemies
and help them on the basis of the Golden
Rule; but avoid casting pearls before those who trample
them under foot, thereby robbing both themselves and
others.
Cleansing the mind
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If mortals would keep proper ward over mortal mind,
If mortals would keep proper ward over mortal mind,
the brood of evils which infest it would be cleared out.
We must begin with this so-called mind and
empty it of sin and sickness, or sin and sick-
ness will never cease. The present codes of human
systems disappoint the weary searcher after a divine
theology, adequate to the right education of human
thought.
234:25
Sin and disease must be thought before they can be
Sin and disease must be thought before they can be
manifested. You must control evil thoughts in the first
instance, or they will control you in the second. Jesus
declared that to look with desire on forbidden objects was
to break a moral precept. He laid great stress on the
action of the human mind, unseen to the senses.
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Evil thoughts and aims reach no farther and do no more
Evil thoughts and aims reach no farther and do no more
harm than one's belief permits. Evil thoughts, lusts, and
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malicious purposes cannot go forth, like wandering pollen,
malicious purposes cannot go forth, like wandering pollen,
from one human mind to another, finding unsuspected
lodgment, if virtue and truth build a strong defence.
Better suffer a doctor infected with smallpox to attend
you than to be treated mentally by one who does not obey
the requirements of divine Science.
Teachers' functions
235:7
The teachers of schools and the readers in churches
The teachers of schools and the readers in churches
should be selected with as direct reference to their
morals as to their learning or their correct
reading. Nurseries of character should be
strongly garrisoned with virtue. School-examinations are
one-sided; it is not so much academic education, as a
moral and spiritual culture, which lifts one higher. The
pure and uplifting thoughts of the teacher, constantly
imparted to pupils, will reach higher than the heavens of
astronomy; while the debased and unscrupulous mind,
though adorned with gems of scholarly attainment, will
degrade the characters it should inform and elevate.
Physicians' privilege
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Physicians, whom the sick employ in their helplessness,
Physicians, whom the sick employ in their helplessness,
should be models of virtue. They should be wise spir-
itual guides to health and hope. To the trem-
blers on the brink of death, who understand
not the divine Truth which is Life and perpetuates being,
physicians should be able to teach it. Then when the soul
is willing and the flesh weak, the patient's feet may be
planted on the rock Christ Jesus, the true idea of spiritual
power.
Clergymen's duty
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Clergymen, occupying the watchtowers of the world,
Clergymen, occupying the watchtowers of the world,
should uplift the standard of Truth. They should so raise
their hearers spiritually, that their listeners
will love to grapple with a new, right idea
and broaden their concepts. Love of Christianity, rather
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than love of popularity, should stimulate clerical labor
than love of popularity, should stimulate clerical labor
and progress. Truth should emanate from the pulpit,
but never be strangled there. A special privilege is vested
in the ministry. How shall it be used? Sacredly, in the
interests of humanity, not of sect.
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Is it not professional reputation and emolument rather
Is it not professional reputation and emolument rather
than the dignity of God's laws, which many leaders seek?
Do not inferior motives induce the infuriated attacks on
individuals, who reiterate Christ's teachings in support
of his proof by example that the divine Mind heals sick-
ness as well as sin?
A mother's responsibility
236:12
A mother is the strongest educator, either for or
A mother is the strongest educator, either for or
against crime. Her thoughts form the embryo of an-
other mortal mind, and unconsciously mould
it, either after a model odious to herself or
through divine influence, "according to the pattern
showed to thee in the mount." Hence the importance
of Christian Science, from which we learn of the one
Mind and of the availability of good as the remedy for
every woe.
Children's tractability
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Children should obey their parents; insubordination
Children should obey their parents; insubordination
is an evil, blighting the buddings of self-government.
Parents should teach their children at the
earliest possible period the truths of health
and holiness. Children are more tractable than adults,
and learn more readily to love the simple verities that will
make them happy and good.
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Jesus loved little children because of their freedom
Jesus loved little children because of their freedom
from wrong and their receptiveness of right. While
age is halting between two opinions or battling with
false beliefs, youth makes easy and rapid strides towards
Truth.
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A little girl, who had occasionally listened to my ex-
A little girl, who had occasionally listened to my ex-
planations, badly wounded her finger. She seemed not
to notice it. On being questioned about it she answered
ingenuously, "There is no sensation in matter." Bound-
ing off with laughing eyes, she presently added, "Mamma,
my finger is not a bit sore."
Soil and seed
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It might have been months or years before her parents
It might have been months or years before her parents
would have laid aside their drugs, or reached the mental
height their little daughter so naturally at-
tained. The more stubborn beliefs and theo-
ries of parents often choke the good seed in the minds of
themselves and their offspring. Superstition, like "the
fowls of the air," snatches away the good seed before it
has sprouted.
Teaching children
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Children should be taught the Truth-cure, Christian
Children should be taught the Truth-cure, Christian
Science, among their first lessons, and kept from discuss-
ing or entertaining theories or thoughts about
sickness. To prevent the experience of error
and its sufferings, keep out of the minds of your children
either sinful or diseased thoughts. The latter should
be excluded on the same principle as the former. This
makes Christian Science early available.
Deluded invalids
237:23
Some invalids are unwilling to know the facts or to
Some invalids are unwilling to know the facts or to
hear about the fallacy of matter and its supposed laws.
They devote themselves a little longer to their
material gods, cling to a belief in the life and
intelligence of matter, and expect this error to do more
for them than they are willing to admit the only living and
true God can do. Impatient at your explanation, unwill-
ing to investigate the Science of Mind which would rid
them of their complaints, they hug false beliefs and suffer
the delusive consequences.
Patient waiting
238:1
Motives and acts are not rightly valued before they are
Motives and acts are not rightly valued before they are
understood. It is well to wait till those whom you would
benefit are ready for the blessing, for Science
is working changes in personal character as
well as in the material universe.
To obey the Scriptural command, "Come out from
among them, and be ye separate," is to incur society's
frown; but this frown, more than flatteries, enables one
to be Christian. Losing her crucifix, the Roman Catholic
girl said, "I have nothing left but Christ." "If God be
for us, who can be against us?"
Unimproved opportunities
238:12
To fall away from Truth in times of persecution, shows
To fall away from Truth in times of persecution, shows
that we never understood Truth. From out the bridal
chamber of wisdom there will come the warn-
ing, "I know you not." Unimproved op-
portunities will rebuke us when we attempt to claim the
benefits of an experience we have not made our own, try
to reap the harvest we have not sown, and wish to enter
unlawfully into the labors of others. Truth often remains
unsought, until we seek this remedy for human woe be-
cause we suffer severely from error.
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Attempts to conciliate society and so gain dominion over
Attempts to conciliate society and so gain dominion over
mankind, arise from worldly weakness. He who leaves
all for Christ forsakes popularity and gains Christianity.
Society and intolerance
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Society is a foolish juror, listening only to one side of
Society is a foolish juror, listening only to one side of
the case. Justice often comes too late to secure a verdict.
People with mental work before them have
no time for gossip about false law or testimony.
To reconstruct timid justice and place the fact above the
falsehood, is the work of time.
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The cross is the central emblem of history. It is the
The cross is the central emblem of history. It is the
lodestar in the demonstration of Christian healing, – the
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demonstration by which sin and sickness are destroyed.
demonstration by which sin and sickness are destroyed.
The sects, which endured the lash of their predecessors,
in their turn lay it upon those who are in advance of
creeds.
Right views of humanity
239:5
Take away wealth, fame, and social organizations,
Take away wealth, fame, and social organizations,
which weigh not one jot in the balance of God, and we
get clearer views of Principle. Break up
cliques, level wealth with honesty, let worth
be judged according to wisdom, and we get better views
of humanity.
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The wicked man is not the ruler of his upright
The wicked man is not the ruler of his upright
neighbor. Let it be understood that success in error is
defeat in Truth. The watchword of Christian Science
is Scriptural: "Let the wicked forsake his way, and the
unrighteous man his thoughts."
Standpoint revealed
239:16
To ascertain our progress, we must learn where our
To ascertain our progress, we must learn where our
affections are placed and whom we acknowledge and
obey as God. If divine Love is becoming
nearer, dearer, and more real to us, matter is
then submitting to Spirit. The objects we pursue and
the spirit we manifest reveal our standpoint, and show
what we are winning.
Antagonistic sources
239:23
Mortal mind is the acknowledged seat of human mo-
Mortal mind is the acknowledged seat of human mo-
tives. It forms material concepts and produces every
discordant action of the body. If action pro-
ceeds from the divine Mind, action is harmo-
nious. If it comes from erring mortal mind, it is discord-
ant and ends in sin, sickness, death. Those two opposite
sources never mingle in fount or stream. The perfect
Mind sends forth perfection, for God is Mind. Imper-
fect mortal mind sends forth its own resemblances, of
which the wise man said, "All is vanity."
Some lessons from nature
240:1
Nature voices natural, spiritual law and divine Love,
Nature voices natural, spiritual law and divine Love,
but human belief misinterprets nature. Arctic regions,
sunny tropics, giant hills, winged winds,
mighty billows, verdant vales, festive flowers,
and glorious heavens, – all point to Mind, the spiritual
intelligence they reflect. The floral apostles are hiero-
glyphs of Deity. Suns and planets teach grand lessons.
The stars make night beautiful, and the leaflet turns nat-
urally towards the light.
Perpetual motions
240:10
In the order of Science, in which the Principle is above
In the order of Science, in which the Principle is above
what it reflects, all is one grand concord. Change this
statement, suppose Mind to be governed by
matter or Soul in body, and you lose the key-
note of being, and there is continual discord. Mind is
perpetual motion. Its symbol is the sphere. The rota-
tions and revolutions of the universe of Mind go on
eternally.
Progress demanded
240:18
Mortals move onward towards good or evil as time
Mortals move onward towards good or evil as time
glides on. If mortals are not progressive, past failures
will be repeated until all wrong work is ef-
faced or rectified. If at present satisfied with
wrong-doing, we must learn to loathe it. If at present
content with idleness, we must become dissatisfied with
it. Remember that mankind must sooner or later, either
by suffering or by Science, be convinced of the error that
is to be overcome.
240:27
In trying to undo the errors of sense one must pay fully
In trying to undo the errors of sense one must pay fully
and fairly the utmost farthing, until all error is finally
brought into subjection to Truth. The divine method
of paying sin's wages involves unwinding one's snarls
and learning from experience how to divide between sense
and Soul.
241:1
"Whom the Lord loveth He chasteneth." He, who
"Whom the Lord loveth He chasteneth." He, who
knows God's will or the demands of divine Science and
obeys them, incurs the hostility of envy; and he who
refuses obedience to God, is chastened by Love.
The doom of sin
241:5
Sensual treasures are laid up "where moth and rust
Sensual treasures are laid up "where moth and rust
doth corrupt." Mortality is their doom. Sin breaks in
upon them, and carries off their fleeting joys.
The sensualist's affections are as imaginary,
whimsical, and unreal as his pleasures. Falsehood, envy,
hypocrisy, malice, hate, revenge, and so forth, steal away
the treasures of Truth. Stripped of its coverings, what
a mocking spectacle is sin!
Spirit transforms
241:13
The Bible teaches transformation of the body by the
The Bible teaches transformation of the body by the
renewal of Spirit. Take away the spiritual signification
of Scripture, and that compilation can do no
more for mortals than can moonbeams to melt
a river of ice. The error of the ages is preaching without
practice.
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The substance of all devotion is the reflection and
The substance of all devotion is the reflection and
demonstration of divine Love, healing sickness and
destroying sin. Our Master said, "If ye love me, keep
my commandments."
241:23
One's aim, a point beyond faith, should be to find the
One's aim, a point beyond faith, should be to find the
footsteps of Truth, the way to health and holiness. We
should strive to reach the Horeb height where God is re-
vealed; and the corner-stone of all spiritual building is
purity. The baptism of Spirit, washing the body of all
the impurities of flesh, signifies that the pure in heart
see God and are approaching spiritual Life and its
demonstration.
Spiritual baptism
241:31
It is "easier for a camel to go through the eye of a
It is "easier for a camel to go through the eye of a
needle," than for sinful beliefs to enter the kingdom of
242:1
heaven, eternal harmony. Through repentance, spiritual
heaven, eternal harmony. Through repentance, spiritual
baptism, and regeneration, mortals put off their material
beliefs and false individuality. It is only a
question of time when "they shall all know
Me [God], from the least of them unto the greatest."
Denial of the claims of matter is a great step towards
the joys of Spirit, towards human freedom and the final
triumph over the body.
The one only way
242:9
There is but one way to heaven, harmony, and Christ
There is but one way to heaven, harmony, and Christ
in divine Science shows us this way. It is to know no
other reality – to have no other conscious-
ness of life – than good, God and His reflec-
tion, and to rise superior to the so-called pain and pleasure
of the senses.
242:15
Self-love is more opaque than a solid body. In pa-
Self-love is more opaque than a solid body. In pa-
tient obedience to a patient God, let us labor to dis-
solve with the universal solvent of Love the adamant
of error, – self-will, self-justification, and self-love, –
which wars against spirituality and is the law of sin
and death.
Divided vestments
242:21
The vesture of Life is Truth. According to the Bible,
The vesture of Life is Truth. According to the Bible,
the facts of being are commonly misconstrued, for it is
written: "They parted my raiment among
them, and for my vesture they did cast lots."
The divine Science of man is woven into one web of
consistency without seam or rent. Mere speculation or
superstition appropriates no part of the divine vesture,
while inspiration restores every part of the Christly gar-
ment of righteousness.
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The finger-posts of divine Science show the way our
The finger-posts of divine Science show the way our
Master trod, and require of Christians the proof which
he gave, instead of mere profession. We may hide
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spiritual ignorance from the world, but we can never
spiritual ignorance from the world, but we can never
succeed in the Science and demonstration of spiritual
good through ignorance or hypocrisy.
Ancient and modern miracles
243:4
The divine Love, which made harmless the poisonous
The divine Love, which made harmless the poisonous
viper, which delivered men from the boiling oil, from
the fiery furnace, from the jaws of the lion,
can heal the sick in every age and triumph
over sin and death. It crowned the demon-
strations of Jesus with unsurpassed power and love. But
the same "Mind . . . which was also in Christ Jesus"
must always accompany the letter of Science in order to
confirm and repeat the ancient demonstrations of prophets
and apostles. That those wonders are not more com-
monly repeated to-day, arises not so much from lack of
desire as from lack of spiritual growth.
Mental telegraphy
243:16
The clay cannot reply to the potter. The head, heart,
The clay cannot reply to the potter. The head, heart,
lungs, and limbs do not inform us that they are dizzy,
diseased, consumptive, or lame. If this in-
formation is conveyed, mortal mind conveys
it. Neither immortal and unerring Mind nor matter,
the inanimate substratum of mortal mind, can carry
on such telegraphy; for God is "of purer eyes than
to behold evil," and matter has neither intelligence nor
sensation.
Annihilation of error
243:25
Truth has no consciousness of error. Love has no
Truth has no consciousness of error. Love has no
sense of hatred. Life has no partnership
with death. Truth, Life, and Love are a law
of annihilation to everything unlike themselves, because
they declare nothing except God.
Deformity and perfection
243:30
Sickness, sin, and death are not the fruits of Life.
Sickness, sin, and death are not the fruits of Life.
They are inharmonies which Truth destroys. Perfection
does not animate imperfection. Inasmuch as God is
244:1
good and the fount of all being, He does not produce
good and the fount of all being, He does not produce
moral or physical deformity; therefore such deformity is
not real, but is illusion, the mirage of error.
Divine Science reveals these grand facts. On
their basis Jesus demonstrated Life, never
fearing nor obeying error in any form.
244:7
If we were to derive all our conceptions of man from
If we were to derive all our conceptions of man from
what is seen between the cradle and the grave, happi-
ness and goodness would have no abiding-place in man,
and the worms would rob him of the flesh; but Paul
writes: "The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath
made me free from the law of sin and death."
Man never less than man
244:13
Man undergoing birth, maturity, and decay is like the
Man undergoing birth, maturity, and decay is like the
beasts and vegetables, – subject to laws of decay. If
man were dust in his earliest stage of exist-
ence, we might admit the hypothesis that he
returns eventually to his primitive condition;
but man was never more nor less than man.
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If man flickers out in death or springs from matter into
If man flickers out in death or springs from matter into
being, there must be an instant when God is without His
entire manifestation, – when there is no full reflection
of the infinite Mind.
Man not evolved
244:23
Man in Science is neither young nor old. He has
Man in Science is neither young nor old. He has
neither birth nor death. He is not a beast, a vegetable,
nor a migratory mind. He does not pass from
matter to Mind, from the mortal to the im-
mortal, from evil to good, or from good to evil. Such
admissions cast us headlong into darkness and dogma.
Even Shakespeare's poetry pictures age as infancy, as
helplessness and decadence, instead of assigning to man
the everlasting grandeur and immortality of development,
power, and prestige.
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The error of thinking that we are growing old, and the
The error of thinking that we are growing old, and the
benefits of destroying that illusion, are illustrated in a
sketch from the history of an English woman, published
in the London medical magazine called The Lancet.
Perpetual youth
245:5
Disappointed in love in her early years, she became
Disappointed in love in her early years, she became
insane and lost all account of time. Believing that she
was still living in the same hour which parted
her from her lover, taking no note of years,
she stood daily before the window watching for her
lover's coming. In this mental state she remained young.
Having no consciousness of time, she literally grew no
older. Some American travellers saw her when she was
seventy-four, and supposed her to be a young woman.
She had no care-lined face, no wrinkles nor gray hair, but
youth sat gently on cheek and brow. Asked to guess her
age, those unacquainted with her history conjectured that
she must be under twenty.
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This instance of youth preserved furnishes a useful
This instance of youth preserved furnishes a useful
hint, upon which a Franklin might work with more cer-
tainty than when he coaxed the enamoured lightning
from the clouds. Years had not made her old, because
she had taken no cognizance of passing time nor thought
of herself as growing old. The bodily results of her belief
that she was young manifested the influence of such a be-
lief. She could not age while believing herself young, for
the mental state governed the physical.
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Impossibilities never occur. One instance like the
Impossibilities never occur. One instance like the
foregoing proves it possible to be young at seventy-four;
and the primary of that illustration makes it plain that
decrepitude is not according to law, nor is it a necessity of
nature, but an illusion.
Man reflects God
245:32
The infinite never began nor will it ever end. Mind
The infinite never began nor will it ever end. Mind
246:1
and its formations can never be annihilated. Man is not
and its formations can never be annihilated. Man is not
a pendulum, swinging between evil and good, joy and
sorrow, sickness and health, life and death.
Life and its faculties are not measured by
calendars. The perfect and immortal are the eternal
likeness of their Maker. Man is by no means a material
germ rising from the imperfect and endeavoring to reach
Spirit above his origin. The stream rises no higher than
its source.
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The measurement of life by solar years robs youth and
The measurement of life by solar years robs youth and
gives ugliness to age. The radiant sun of virtue and truth
coexists with being. Manhood is its eternal noon, un-
dimmed by a declining sun. As the physical and mate-
rial, the transient sense of beauty fades, the radiance of
Spirit should dawn upon the enraptured sense with bright
and imperishable glories.
Undesirable records
246:17
Never record ages. Chronological data are no part
Never record ages. Chronological data are no part
of the vast forever. Time-tables of birth and death are
so many conspiracies against manhood and
womanhood. Except for the error of meas-
uring and limiting all that is good and beautiful, man
would enjoy more than threescore years and ten and
still maintain his vigor, freshness, and promise. Man,
governed by immortal Mind, is always beautiful and
grand. Each succeeding year unfolds wisdom, beauty,
and holiness.
True life eternal
246:27
Life is eternal. We should find this out, and begin the
Life is eternal. We should find this out, and begin the
demonstration thereof. Life and goodness are immortal.
Let us then shape our views of existence into
loveliness, freshness, and continuity, rather
than into age and blight.
246:32
Acute and chronic beliefs reproduce their own types.
Acute and chronic beliefs reproduce their own types.
247:1
The acute belief of physical life comes on at a remote
The acute belief of physical life comes on at a remote
period, and is not so disastrous as the chronic belief.
Eyes and teeth renewed
247:3
I have seen age regain two of the elements it had lost,
I have seen age regain two of the elements it had lost,
sight and teeth. A woman of eighty-five, whom I knew,
had a return of sight. Another woman at
ninety had new teeth, incisors, cuspids, bi-
cuspids, and one molar. One man at sixty
had retained his full set of upper and lower teeth without
a decaying cavity.
Eternal beauty
247:10
Beauty, as well as truth, is eternal; but the beauty
Beauty, as well as truth, is eternal; but the beauty
of material things passes away, fading and fleeting as
mortal belief. Custom, education, and fashion
form the transient standards of mortals. Im-
mortality, exempt from age or decay, has a glory of its
own, – the radiance of Soul. Immortal men and women
are models of spiritual sense, drawn by perfect Mind
and reflecting those higher conceptions of loveliness
which transcend all material sense.
The divine loveliness
247:19
Comeliness and grace are independent of matter. Be-
Comeliness and grace are independent of matter. Be-
ing possesses its qualities before they are perceived hu-
manly. Beauty is a thing of life, which
dwells forever in the eternal Mind and re-
flects the charms of His goodness in expression, form,
outline, and color. It is Love which paints the petal
with myriad hues, glances in the warm sunbeam, arches
the cloud with the bow of beauty, blazons the night with
starry gems, and covers earth with loveliness.
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The embellishments of the person are poor substitutes
The embellishments of the person are poor substitutes
for the charms of being, shining resplendent and eternal
over age and decay.
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The recipe for beauty is to have less illusion and
The recipe for beauty is to have less illusion and
more Soul, to retreat from the belief of pain or pleasure
248:1
in the body into the unchanging calm and glorious free-
in the body into the unchanging calm and glorious free-
dom of spiritual harmony.
Love's endowment
248:3
Love never loses sight of loveliness. Its halo rests upon
Love never loses sight of loveliness. Its halo rests upon
its object. One marvels that a friend can ever seem less
than beautiful. Men and women of riper
years and larger lessons ought to ripen into
health and immortality, instead of lapsing into darkness
or gloom. Immortal Mind feeds the body with supernal
freshness and fairness, supplying it with beautiful images
of thought and destroying the woes of sense which each
day brings to a nearer tomb.
Mental sculpture
248:12
The sculptor turns from the marble to his model in
The sculptor turns from the marble to his model in
order to perfect his conception. We are all sculptors,
working at various forms, moulding and chisel-
ing thought. What is the model before mortal
mind? Is it imperfection, joy, sorrow, sin, suffering?
Have you accepted the mortal model? Are you repro-
ducing it? Then you are haunted in your work by vicious
sculptors and hideous forms. Do you not hear from all
mankind of the imperfect model? The world is holding
it before your gaze continually. The result is that you
are liable to follow those lower patterns, limit your life‑
work, and adopt into your experience the angular outline
and deformity of matter models.
Perfect models
248:25
To remedy this, we must first turn our gaze in the right
To remedy this, we must first turn our gaze in the right
direction, and then walk that way. We must form perfect
models in thought and look at them continually,
or we shall never carve them out in grand and
noble lives. Let unselfishness, goodness, mercy, justice,
health, holiness, love – the kingdom of heaven – reign
within us, and sin, disease, and death will diminish until
they finally disappear.
249:1
Let us accept Science, relinquish all theories based on
Let us accept Science, relinquish all theories based on
sense-testimony, give up imperfect models and illusive
ideals; and so let us have one God, one Mind, and that
one perfect, producing His own models of excellence.
Renewed selfhood
249:5
Let the "male and female" of God's creating appear.
Let the "male and female" of God's creating appear.
Let us feel the divine energy of Spirit, bringing us into
newness of life and recognizing no mortal nor
material power as able to destroy. Let us re-
joice that we are subject to the divine "powers that be."
Such is the true Science of being. Any other theory of
Life, or God, is delusive and mythological.
249:12
Mind is not the author of matter, and the creator of
Mind is not the author of matter, and the creator of
ideas is not the creator of illusions. Either there is no
omnipotence, or omnipotence is the only power. God is
the infinite, and infinity never began, will never end, and
includes nothing unlike God. Whence then is soulless
matter?
Illusive dreams
249:18
Life is, like Christ, "the same yesterday, and to-day,
Life is, like Christ, "the same yesterday, and to-day,
and forever." Organization and time have nothing to do
with Life. You say, "I dreamed last night."
What a mistake is that! The I is Spirit. God
never slumbers, and His likeness never dreams. Mortals
are the Adam dreamers.
249:24
Sleep and apathy are phases of the dream that life, sub-
Sleep and apathy are phases of the dream that life, sub-
stance, and intelligence are material. The mortal night-
dream is sometimes nearer the fact of being than are the
thoughts of mortals when awake. The night-dream has
less matter as its accompaniment. It throws off some
material fetters. It falls short of the skies, but makes its
mundane flights quite ethereal.
Philosophical blunders
249:31
Man is the reflection of Soul. He is the direct oppo-
Man is the reflection of Soul. He is the direct oppo-
site of material sensation, and there is but one Ego. We