Chapter VII - Physiology
When man is man
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through the five physical senses) constitutes man, we fail
through the five physical senses) constitutes man, we fail
to see how anatomy can distinguish between
humanity and the brute, or determine when
man is really man and has progressed farther than his
animal progenitors.
Individualization
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When the supposition, that Spirit is within what it
When the supposition, that Spirit is within what it
creates and the potter is subject to the clay,
is individualized, Truth is reduced to the level
of error, and the sensible is required to be made manifest
through the insensible.
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What is termed matter manifests nothing but a material
What is termed matter manifests nothing but a material
mentality. Neither the substance nor the manifestation
of Spirit is obtainable through matter. Spirit is positive.
Matter is Spirit's contrary, the absence of Spirit. For
positive Spirit to pass through a negative condition
would be Spirit's destruction.
Man not structural
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Anatomy declares man to be structural. Physiology
Anatomy declares man to be structural. Physiology
continues this explanation, measuring human
strength by bones and sinews, and human life
by material law. Man is spiritual, individual, and eter-
nal; material structure is mortal.
Phrenology makes man knavish or honest according to
the development of the cranium; but anatomy, physiology,
phrenology, do not define the image of God, the real im-
mortal man.
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Human reason and religion come slowly to the recogni-
Human reason and religion come slowly to the recogni-
tion of spiritual facts, and so continue to call upon
matter to remove the error which the human mind alone
has created.
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The idols of civilization are far more fatal to health
The idols of civilization are far more fatal to health
and longevity than are the idols of barbarism. The idols
of civilization call into action less faith than Buddhism
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in a supreme governing intelligence. The Esquimaux
in a supreme governing intelligence. The Esquimaux
restore health by incantations as consciously as do civi-
lized practitioners by their more studied methods.
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Is civilization only a higher form of idolatry, that
Is civilization only a higher form of idolatry, that
man should bow down to a flesh-brush, to flannels, to
baths, diet, exercise, and air? Nothing save divine
power is capable of doing so much for man as he can
do for himself.
Rise of thought
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The footsteps of thought, rising above material stand-
The footsteps of thought, rising above material stand-
points, are slow, and portend a long night to the traveller;
but the angels of His presence – the spiritual
intuitions that tell us when "the night is far
spent, the day is at hand" – are our guardians in the
gloom. Whoever opens the way in Christian Science is
a pilgrim and stranger, marking out the path for gen-
erations yet unborn.
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The thunder of Sinai and the Sermon on the Mount
The thunder of Sinai and the Sermon on the Mount
are pursuing and will overtake the ages, rebuking in
their course all error and proclaiming the kingdom of
heaven on earth. Truth is revealed. It needs only to
be practised.
Medical errors
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Mortal belief is all that enables a drug to cure mortal
Mortal belief is all that enables a drug to cure mortal
ailments. Anatomy admits that mind is somewhere in
man, though out of sight. Then, if an indi-
vidual is sick, why treat the body alone and
administer a dose of despair to the mind? Why declare
that the body is diseased, and picture this disease to the
mind, rolling it under the tongue as a sweet morsel and
holding it before the thought of both physician and pa-
tient? We should understand that the cause of disease
obtains in the mortal human mind, and its cure comes
from the immortal divine Mind. We should prevent the