Chapter III - Marriage
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existence by constant intercourse with those adapted to
existence by constant intercourse with those adapted to
elevate it, should be the motive of society. Unity of
spirit gives new pinions to joy, or else joy's drooping
wings trail in dust.
Chord and discord
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Ill-arranged notes produce discord. Tones of the
Ill-arranged notes produce discord. Tones of the
human mind may be different, but they should be con-
cordant in order to blend properly. Unselfish
ambition, noble life-motives, and purity, –
these constituents of thought, mingling, constitute in-
dividually and collectively true happiness, strength, and
permanence.
Mutual freedom
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There is moral freedom in Soul. Never contract the
There is moral freedom in Soul. Never contract the
horizon of a worthy outlook by the selfish exaction of
all another's time and thoughts. With ad-
ditional joys, benevolence should grow more
diffusive. The narrowness and jealousy, which would
confine a wife or a husband forever within four walls, will
not promote the sweet interchange of confidence and love;
but on the other hand, a wandering desire for incessant
amusement outside the home circle is a poor augury for
the happiness of wedlock. Home is the dearest spot on
earth, and it should be the centre, though not the bound-
ary, of the affections.
A useful suggestion
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Said the peasant bride to her lover: "Two eat no more
Said the peasant bride to her lover: "Two eat no more
together than they eat separately." This is a hint that
a wife ought not to court vulgar extravagance
or stupid ease, because another supplies her
wants. Wealth may obviate the necessity for toil or the
chance for ill-nature in the marriage relation, but noth-
ing can abolish the cares of marriage.
Differing duties
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"She that is married careth . . . how she may please
"She that is married careth . . . how she may please
her husband," says the Bible; and this is the pleasantest
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thing to do. Matrimony should never be entered into
thing to do. Matrimony should never be entered into
without a full recognition of its enduring obligations on
both sides. There should be the most tender
solicitude for each other's happiness, and mu-
tual attention and approbation should wait on all the years
of married life.
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Mutual compromises will often maintain a compact
Mutual compromises will often maintain a compact
which might otherwise become unbearable. Man should
not be required to participate in all the annoyances and
cares of domestic economy, nor should woman be ex-
pected to understand political economy. Fulfilling the
different demands of their united spheres, their sympa-
thies should blend in sweet confidence and cheer, each
partner sustaining the other, – thus hallowing the union
of interests and affections, in which the heart finds peace
and home.
Trysting renewed
59:17
Tender words and unselfish care in what promotes the
Tender words and unselfish care in what promotes the
welfare and happiness of your wife will prove more salutary
in prolonging her health and smiles than stolid
indifference or jealousy. Husbands, hear this
and remember how slight a word or deed may renew the
old trysting-times.
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After marriage, it is too late to grumble over incompati-
After marriage, it is too late to grumble over incompati-
bility of disposition. A mutual understanding should
exist before this union and continue ever after, for decep-
tion is fatal to happiness.
Permanent obligation
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The nuptial vow should never be annulled, so long as
The nuptial vow should never be annulled, so long as
its moral obligations are kept intact; but the frequency
of divorce shows that the sacredness of this re-
lationship is losing its influence, and that fatal
mistakes are undermining its foundations. Separation
never should take place, and it never would, if both
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husband and wife were genuine Christian Scientists.
husband and wife were genuine Christian Scientists.
Science inevitably lifts one's being higher in the scale of
harmony and happiness.
Permanent affection
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Kindred tastes, motives, and aspirations are necessary
Kindred tastes, motives, and aspirations are necessary
to the formation of a happy and permanent companion-
ship. The beautiful in character is also the
good, welding indissolubly the links of affec-
tion. A mother's affection cannot be weaned from her
child, because the mother-love includes purity and con-
stancy, both of which are immortal. Therefore maternal
affection lives on under whatever difficulties.
From the logic of events we learn that selfishness
and impurity alone are fleeting, and that wisdom will
ultimately put asunder what she hath not joined
together.
Centre for affections
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Marriage should improve the human species, becoming
Marriage should improve the human species, becoming
a barrier against vice, a protection to woman, strength to
man, and a centre for the affections. This,
however, in a majority of cases, is not its
present tendency, and why? Because the education of
the higher nature is neglected, and other considerations,
– passion, frivolous amusements, personal adornment,
display, and pride, – occupy thought.
Spiritual concord
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An ill-attuned ear calls discord harmony, not appreciat-
An ill-attuned ear calls discord harmony, not appreciat-
ing concord. So physical sense, not discerning the true
happiness of being, places it on a false basis.
Science will correct the discord, and teach us
life's sweeter harmonies.
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Soul has infinite resources with which to bless mankind,
Soul has infinite resources with which to bless mankind,
and happiness would be more readily attained and would
be more secure in our keeping, if sought in Soul. Higher
enjoyments alone can satisfy the cravings of immortal
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man. We cannot circumscribe happiness within the
man. We cannot circumscribe happiness within the
limits of personal sense. The senses confer no real
enjoyment.
Ascendency of good
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The good in human affections must have ascendency
The good in human affections must have ascendency
over the evil and the spiritual over the animal, or happi-
ness will never be won. The attainment of
this celestial condition would improve our
progeny, diminish crime, and give higher aims to ambi-
tion. Every valley of sin must be exalted, and every
mountain of selfishness be brought low, that the highway
of our God may be prepared in Science. The offspring
of heavenly-minded parents inherit more intellect, better
balanced minds, and sounder constitutions.
Propensities inherited
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If some fortuitous circumstance places promising chil-
If some fortuitous circumstance places promising chil-
dren in the arms of gross parents, often these beautiful
children early droop and die, like tropical
flowers born amid Alpine snows. If perchance
they live to become parents in their turn, they may re-
produce in their own helpless little ones the grosser traits
of their ancestors. What hope of happiness, what noble
ambition, can inspire the child who inherits propensities
that must either be overcome or reduce him to a loath-
some wreck?
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Is not the propagation of the human species a greater
Is not the propagation of the human species a greater
responsibility, a more solemn charge, than the culture of
your garden or the raising of stock to increase your flocks
and herds? Nothing unworthy of perpetuity should be
transmitted to children.
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The formation of mortals must greatly improve to
The formation of mortals must greatly improve to
advance mankind. The scientific morale of marriage is
spiritual unity. If the propagation of a higher human
species is requisite to reach this goal, then its material con-
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ditions can only be permitted for the purpose of gener-
ditions can only be permitted for the purpose of gener-
ating. The foetus must be kept mentally pure and the
period of gestation have the sanctity of virginity.
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The entire education of children should be such as to
The entire education of children should be such as to
form habits of obedience to the moral and spiritual law,
with which the child can meet and master the belief in so‑
called physical laws, a belief which breeds disease.
Inheritance heeded
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If parents create in their babes a desire for incessant
If parents create in their babes a desire for incessant
amusement, to be always fed, rocked, tossed, or talked
to, those parents should not, in after years,
complain of their children's fretfulness or fri-
volity, which the parents themselves have occasioned.
Taking less "thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or
what ye shall drink"; less thought "for your body what
ye shall put on," will do much more for the health of the
rising generation than you dream. Children should be
allowed to remain children in knowledge, and should
become men and women only through growth in the
understanding of man's higher nature.
The Mind creative
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We must not attribute more and more intelligence
We must not attribute more and more intelligence
to matter, but less and less, if we would be wise and
healthy. The divine Mind, which forms the
bud and blossom, will care for the human
body, even as it clothes the lily; but let no mortal inter-
fere with God's government by thrusting in the laws of
erring, human concepts.
Superior law of Soul
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The higher nature of man is not governed by the lower;
The higher nature of man is not governed by the lower;
if it were, the order of wisdom would be reversed.
Our false views of life hide eternal harmony,
and produce the ills of which we complain.
Because mortals believe in material laws and reject the
Science of Mind, this does not make materiality first and
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the superior law of Soul last. You would never think
the superior law of Soul last. You would never think
that flannel was better for warding off pulmonary disease
than the controlling Mind, if you understood the Science
of being.
Spiritual origin
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In Science man is the offspring of Spirit. The beauti-
In Science man is the offspring of Spirit. The beauti-
ful, good, and pure constitute his ancestry. His origin is
not, like that of mortals, in brute instinct, nor
does he pass through material conditions prior
to reaching intelligence. Spirit is his primitive and ulti-
mate source of being; God is his Father, and Life is the
law of his being.
The rights of woman
63:12
Civil law establishes very unfair differences between the
Civil law establishes very unfair differences between the
rights of the two sexes. Christian Science furnishes no
precedent for such injustice, and civilization
mitigates it in some measure. Still, it is a
marvel why usage should accord woman less rights than
does either Christian Science or civilization.
Unfair discrimination
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Our laws are not impartial, to say the least, in their
Our laws are not impartial, to say the least, in their
discrimination as to the person, property, and parental
claims of the two sexes. If the elective fran-
chise for women will remedy the evil with-
out encouraging difficulties of greater magnitude, let us
hope it will be granted. A feasible as well as rational
means of improvement at present is the elevation of
society in general and the achievement of a nobler
race for legislation, – a race having higher aims and
motives.
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If a dissolute husband deserts his wife, certainly the
If a dissolute husband deserts his wife, certainly the
wronged, and perchance impoverished, woman should be
allowed to collect her own wages, enter into business
agreements, hold real estate, deposit funds, and own her
children free from interference.
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Want of uniform justice is a crying evil caused by the
Want of uniform justice is a crying evil caused by the
selfishness and inhumanity of man. Our forefathers
exercised their faith in the direction taught by the Apostle
James, when he said: "Pure religion and undefiled before
God and the Father, is this, To visit the fatherless and
widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted
from the world."
Benevolence hindered
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Pride, envy, or jealousy seems on most occasions to
Pride, envy, or jealousy seems on most occasions to
be the master of ceremonies, ruling out primitive Chris-
tianity. When a man lends a helping hand
to some noble woman, struggling alone with
adversity, his wife should not say, "It is never well to
interfere with your neighbor's business." A wife is
sometimes debarred by a covetous domestic tyrant from
giving the ready aid her sympathy and charity would
afford.
Progressive development
64:17
Marriage should signify a union of hearts. Further-
Marriage should signify a union of hearts. Further-
more, the time cometh of which Jesus spake, when he
declared that in the resurrection there should
be no more marrying nor giving in marriage,
but man would be as the angels. Then shall Soul re-
joice in its own, in which passion has no part. Then
white-robed purity will unite in one person masculine wis-
dom and feminine love, spiritual understanding and per-
petual peace.
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Until it is learned that God is the Father of all, mar-
Until it is learned that God is the Father of all, mar-
riage will continue. Let not mortals permit a disregard
of law which might lead to a worse state of society than
now exists. Honesty and virtue ensure the stability of
the marriage covenant. Spirit will ultimately claim its
own, – all that really is, – and the voices of physical
sense will be forever hushed.
Blessing of Christ
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Experience should be the school of virtue, and human
Experience should be the school of virtue, and human
happiness should proceed from man's highest nature.
May Christ, Truth, be present at every bridal
altar to turn the water into wine and to give to
human life an inspiration by which man's spiritual and
eternal existence may be discerned.
Righteous foundations
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If the foundations of human affection are consistent
If the foundations of human affection are consistent
with progress, they will be strong and enduring. Divorces
should warn the age of some fundamental error
in the marriage state. The union of the sexes
suffers fearful discord. To gain Christian Science and its
harmony, life should be more metaphysically regarded.
Powerless promises
65:13
The broadcast powers of evil so conspicuous to-day
The broadcast powers of evil so conspicuous to-day
show themselves in the materialism and sensualism of
the age, struggling against the advancing
spiritual era. Beholding the world's lack of
Christianity and the powerlessness of vows to make home
happy, the human mind will at length demand a higher
affection.
Transition and reform
65:20
There will ensue a fermentation over this as over many
There will ensue a fermentation over this as over many
other reforms, until we get at last the clear straining of
truth, and impurity and error are left among
the lees. The fermentation even of fluids is
not pleasant. An unsettled, transitional stage is never
desirable on its own account. Matrimony, which was once
a fixed fact among us, must lose its present slippery foot-
ing, and man must find permanence and peace in a more
spiritual adherence.
65:29
The mental chemicalization, which has brought con-
The mental chemicalization, which has brought con-
jugal infidelity to the surface, will assuredly throw off
this evil, and marriage will become purer when the scum
is gone.
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Thou art right, immortal Shakespeare, great poet of
Thou art right, immortal Shakespeare, great poet of
humanity:
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Sweet are the uses of adversity;
Sweet are the uses of adversity;
Which, like the toad, ugly and venomous,
Wears yet a precious jewel in his head.
Salutary sorrow
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Trials teach mortals not to lean on a material staff, –
Trials teach mortals not to lean on a material staff, –
a broken reed, which pierces the heart. We do not
half remember this in the sunshine of joy
and prosperity. Sorrow is salutary. Through
great tribulation we enter the kingdom. Trials are
proofs of God's care. Spiritual development germi-
nates not from seed sown in the soil of material hopes,
but when these decay, Love propagates anew the higher
joys of Spirit, which have no taint of earth. Each suc-
cessive stage of experience unfolds new views of divine
goodness and love.
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Amidst gratitude for conjugal felicity, it is well to re-
Amidst gratitude for conjugal felicity, it is well to re-
member how fleeting are human joys. Amidst conjugal
infelicity, it is well to hope, pray, and wait patiently on
divine wisdom to point out the path.
Patience is wisdom
66:21
Husbands and wives should never separate if there
Husbands and wives should never separate if there
is no Christian demand for it. It is better to await the
logic of events than for a wife precipitately
to leave her husband or for a husband to
leave his wife. If one is better than the other, as must
always be the case, the other pre-eminently needs good
company. Socrates considered patience salutary under
such circumstances, making his Xantippe a discipline for
his philosophy.
The gold and dross
66:30
Sorrow has its reward. It never leaves us
Sorrow has its reward. It never leaves us
where it found us. The furnace separates
the gold from the dross that the precious metal may
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be graven with the image of God. The cup our Father
be graven with the image of God. The cup our Father
hath given, shall we not drink it and learn the lessons
He teaches?
Weathering the storm
67:4
When the ocean is stirred by a storm, then the clouds
When the ocean is stirred by a storm, then the clouds
lower, the wind shrieks through the tightened shrouds,
and the waves lift themselves into mountains.
We ask the helmsman: "Do you know your
course? Can you steer safely amid the storm?" He
answers bravely, but even the dauntless seaman is not
sure of his safety; nautical science is not equal to the
Science of Mind. Yet, acting up to his highest under-
standing, firm at the post of duty, the mariner works on
and awaits the issue. Thus should we deport ourselves
on the seething ocean of sorrow. Hoping and work-
ing, one should stick to the wreck, until an irresistible
propulsion precipitates his doom or sunshine gladdens
the troubled sea.
Spiritual power
67:18
The notion that animal natures can possibly give force
The notion that animal natures can possibly give force
to character is too absurd for consideration, when we
remember that through spiritual ascendency
our Lord and Master healed the sick, raised
the dead, and commanded even the winds and waves to
obey him. Grace and Truth are potent beyond all other
means and methods.
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The lack of spiritual power in the limited demonstration
The lack of spiritual power in the limited demonstration
of popular Christianity does not put to silence the labor
of centuries. Spiritual, not corporeal, consciousness is
needed. Man delivered from sin, disease, and death
presents the true likeness or spiritual ideal.
Basis of true religion
67:30
Systems of religion and medicine treat of physical pains
Systems of religion and medicine treat of physical pains
and pleasures, but Jesus rebuked the suffering from any
such cause or effect. The epoch approaches when the
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understanding of the truth of being will be the basis of
understanding of the truth of being will be the basis of
true religion. At present mortals progress slowly for
fear of being thought ridiculous. They are
slaves to fashion, pride, and sense. Some-
time we shall learn how Spirit, the great architect, has
created men and women in Science. We ought to weary
of the fleeting and false and to cherish nothing which
hinders our highest selfhood.
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Jealousy is the grave of affection. The presence of
Jealousy is the grave of affection. The presence of
mistrust, where confidence is due, withers the flowers
of Eden and scatters love's petals to decay. Be not
in haste to take the vow "until death do us part."
Consider its obligations, its responsibilities, its rela-
tions to your growth and to your influence on other
lives.
Insanity and agamogenesis
68:16
I never knew more than one individual who believed
I never knew more than one individual who believed
in agamogenesis; she was unmarried, a lovely charac-
ter, was suffering from incipient insanity, and
a Christian Scientist cured her. I have named
her case to individuals, when casting my bread upon
the waters, and it may have caused the good to ponder
and the evil to hatch their silly innuendoes and lies, since
salutary causes sometimes incur these effects. The per-
petuation of the floral species by bud or cell-division is
evident, but I discredit the belief that agamogenesis
applies to the human species.
God's creation intact
68:27
Christian Science presents unfoldment, not accretion;
Christian Science presents unfoldment, not accretion;
it manifests no material growth from molecule to mind,
but an impartation of the divine Mind to man
and the universe. Proportionately as human
generation ceases, the unbroken links of eternal, har-
monious being will be spiritually discerned; and man,
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not of the earth earthly but coexistent with God, will
not of the earth earthly but coexistent with God, will
appear. The scientific fact that man and the universe
are evolved from Spirit, and so are spiritual, is as fixed in
divine Science as is the proof that mortals gain the sense
of health only as they lose the sense of sin and disease.
Mortals can never understand God's creation while believ-
ing that man is a creator. God's children already created
will be cognized only as man finds the truth of being.
Thus it is that the real, ideal man appears in proportion
as the false and material disappears. No longer to marry
or to be "given in marriage" neither closes man's con-
tinuity nor his sense of increasing number in God's in-
finite plan. Spiritually to understand that there is but
one creator, God, unfolds all creation, confirms the Scrip-
tures, brings the sweet assurance of no parting, no pain,
and of man deathless and perfect and eternal.
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If Christian Scientists educate their own offspring
If Christian Scientists educate their own offspring
spiritually, they can educate others spiritually and not
conflict with the scientific sense of God's creation. Some
day the child will ask his parent: "Do you keep the First
Commandment? Do you have one God and creator, or
is man a creator?" If the father replies, "God creates
man through man," the child may ask, "Do you teach
that Spirit creates materially, or do you declare that
Spirit is infinite, therefore matter is out of the ques-
tion?" Jesus said, "The children of this world marry,
and are given in marriage: But they which shall be ac-
counted worthy to obtain that world, and the resur-
rection from the dead, neither marry, nor are given in
marriage."
Chapter IV
Christian Science Versus Spiritualism
And when they shall say unto you,
Seek unto them that have familiar spirits,
And unto wizards that peep and that mutter;
Should not a people seek unto their God? – ISAIAH.
Verily, verily, I say unto you, If a man keep my saying, he shall never
see death. Then said the Jews unto him, Now we know that thou hast a
devil. – JOHN.
The infinite one Spirit
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MORTAL existence is an enigma. Every day is a
MORTAL existence is an enigma. Every day is a
mystery. The testimony of the corporeal senses
cannot inform us what is real and what is delusive, but
the revelations of Christian Science unlock the treasures
of Truth. Whatever is false or sinful can
never enter the atmosphere of Spirit. There
is but one Spirit. Man is never God, but spiritual man,
made in God's likeness, reflects God. In this scientific
reflection the Ego and the Father are inseparable. The
supposition that corporeal beings are spirits, or that there
are good and evil spirits, is a mistake.
Real and unreal identity
70:12
The divine Mind maintains all identities, from a blade
The divine Mind maintains all identities, from a blade
of grass to a star, as distinct and eternal. The
questions are: What are God's identities?
What is Soul? Does life or soul exist in the thing
formed?
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Nothing is real and eternal, – nothing is Spirit, – but
Nothing is real and eternal, – nothing is Spirit, – but
God and His idea. Evil has no reality. It is neither
person, place, nor thing, but is simply a belief, an illusion
of material sense.
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The identity, or idea, of all reality continues forever;
The identity, or idea, of all reality continues forever;
but Spirit, or the divine Principle of all, is not in Spirit's
formations. Soul is synonymous with Spirit, God, the
creative, governing, infinite Principle outside of finite form,
which forms only reflect.
Dream-lessons
71:10
Close your eyes, and you may dream that you see a
Close your eyes, and you may dream that you see a
flower, – that you touch and smell it. Thus you learn
that the flower is a product of the so-called
mind, a formation of thought rather than of
matter. Close your eyes again, and you may see land-
scapes, men, and women. Thus you learn that these
also are images, which mortal mind holds and evolves
and which simulate mind, life, and intelligence. From
dreams also you learn that neither mortal mind nor
matter is the image or likeness of God, and that im-
mortal Mind is not in matter.
Found wanting
71:21
When the Science of Mind is understood, spiritualism
When the Science of Mind is understood, spiritualism
will be found mainly erroneous, having no scientific basis
nor origin, no proof nor power outside of
human testimony. It is the offspring of the
physical senses. There is no sensuality in Spirit. I never
could believe in spiritualism.
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The basis and structure of spiritualism are alike ma-
The basis and structure of spiritualism are alike ma-
terial and physical. Its spirits are so many corporealities,
limited and finite in character and quality. Spiritualism
therefore presupposes Spirit, which is ever infinite, to be
a corporeal being, a finite form, – a theory contrary to
Christian Science.
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There is but one spiritual existence, – the Life of
There is but one spiritual existence, – the Life of
which corporeal sense can take no cognizance. The
divine Principle of man speaks through immortal sense.
If a material body – in other words, mortal, material
sense – were permeated by Spirit, that body would
disappear to mortal sense, would be deathless. A con-
dition precedent to communion with Spirit is the gain of
spiritual life.
Spirits obsolete
72:9
So-called spirits are but corporeal communicators. As
So-called spirits are but corporeal communicators. As
light destroys darkness and in the place of darkness all
is light, so (in absolute Science) Soul, or God,
is the only truth-giver to man. Truth de-
stroys mortality, and brings to light immortality. Mortal
belief (the material sense of life) and immortal Truth
(the spiritual sense) are the tares and the wheat, which
are not united by progress, but separated.
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Perfection is not expressed through imperfection.
Perfection is not expressed through imperfection.
Spirit is not made manifest through matter, the anti-
pode of Spirit. Error is not a convenient sieve through
which truth can be strained.
Scientific phenomena
72:21
God, good, being ever present, it follows in divine
God, good, being ever present, it follows in divine
logic that evil, the suppositional opposite of good, is never
present. In Science, individual good derived
from God, the infinite All-in-all, may flow
from the departed to mortals; but evil is neither com-
municable nor scientific. A sinning, earthly mortal is
not the reality of Life nor the medium through which
truth passes to earth. The joy of intercourse becomes
the jest of sin, when evil and suffering are communicable.
Not personal intercommunion but divine law is the com-
municator of truth, health, and harmony to earth and
humanity. As readily can you mingle fire and frost as
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Spirit and matter. In either case, one does not support
Spirit and matter. In either case, one does not support
the other.
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Spiritualism calls one person, living in this world, ma-
Spiritualism calls one person, living in this world, ma-
terial, but another, who has died to-day a sinner and sup-
posedly will return to earth to-morrow, it terms a spirit.
The fact is that neither the one nor the other is infinite
Spirit, for Spirit is God, and man is His likeness.
One government
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The belief that one man, as spirit, can control an-
The belief that one man, as spirit, can control an-
other man, as matter, upsets both the individuality and
the Science of man, for man is image. God
controls man, and God is the only Spirit. Any
other control or attraction of so-called spirit is a mortal
belief, which ought to be known by its fruit, – the repe-
tition of evil.
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If Spirit, or God, communed with mortals or controlled
If Spirit, or God, communed with mortals or controlled
them through electricity or any other form of matter, the
divine order and the Science of omnipotent, omnipresent
Spirit would be destroyed.
Incorrect theories
73:19
The belief that material bodies return to dust, hereafter
The belief that material bodies return to dust, hereafter
to rise up as spiritual bodies with material sensations and
desires, is incorrect. Equally incorrect is the
belief that spirit is confined in a finite, ma-
terial body, from which it is freed by death, and that, when
it is freed from the material body, spirit retains the sensa-
tions belonging to that body.
No me-diumship
73:26
It is a grave mistake to suppose that matter is any part
It is a grave mistake to suppose that matter is any part
of the reality of intelligent existence, or that Spirit and
matter, intelligence and non-intelligence, can
commune together. This error Science will
destroy. The sensual cannot be made the mouthpiece of
the spiritual, nor can the finite become the channel of
the infinite. There is no communication between so‑
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called material existence and spiritual life which is not
called material existence and spiritual life which is not
subject to death.
Opposing conditions
74:3
To be on communicable terms with Spirit, persons must
To be on communicable terms with Spirit, persons must
be free from organic bodies; and their return to a mate-
rial condition, after having once left it, would
be as impossible as would be the restoration
to its original condition of the acorn, already absorbed
into a sprout which has risen above the soil. The seed
which has germinated has a new form and state of exist-
ence. When here or hereafter the belief of life in matter
is extinct, the error which has held the belief dissolves
with the belief, and never returns to the old condition.
No correspondence nor communion can exist between
persons in such opposite dreams as the belief of having
died and left a material body and the belief of still living
in an organic, material body.
Bridgeless division
74:17
The caterpillar, transformed into a beautiful insect,
The caterpillar, transformed into a beautiful insect,
is no longer a worm, nor does the insect return to
fraternize with or control the worm. Such
a backward transformation is impossible in
Science. Darkness and light, infancy and manhood,
sickness and health, are opposites, – different beliefs,
which never blend. Who will say that infancy can utter
the ideas of manhood, that darkness can represent light,
that we are in Europe when we are in the opposite hemi-
sphere? There is no bridge across the gulf which divides
two such opposite conditions as the spiritual, or incor-
poreal, and the physical, or corporeal.
74:29
In Christian Science there is never a retrograde step,
In Christian Science there is never a retrograde step,
never a return to positions outgrown. The so-called dead
and living cannot commune together, for they are in
separate states of existence, or consciousness.