, '' ! ' Christian Science; Man's Dominion Over Evil Edward A. Kimball, CS.D. WORKS ON CHRISTIAN SCIENCE Written by MARY BAKER EDDY SCIENCE AND HEALTH WITH KEY TO THE SCRIPTURES. In one volume, 700 pp. The orig-inal, standard, and only text- book on Christian Science Mind-healinK. Cloth . . . $3 00 Full Leather (same paper as cloth binding) . 4 00 Morocco (Oxford India Bible paper) 6 00 Levant (heavy Oxford India Bible paper) . . . 6 00 Lar^e Type Edition. Leather (Oxford India Bible paper) . 7 50 German Translation. Cloth 8 50 Pocket edition 5 50 MISCELLANEOUS WRITINGS. 471 pp. Cloth . 2 26 Morocco (Oxford India Bible paper) 4 00 Levant (Oxford India Bible paper) 5 00 THE FIRST CHURCH OF CHRIST, SCIENTIST. AND MISCELLANY. 364 pp. Cloth 2 25 Morocco (Oxford India Bible paper) 4 00 CONCORDANCE TO SCIENCE AND HEALTH. 611 pp. Stiff morocco cover 6 00 CONCORDANCE TO MRS. EDDY'S PUBLISHED WRITINGS OTHER THAN SCIENCE AND HEALTH. 1,103 pp. Oxford India Bible paper, with stiff morocco cover, . . 6 00 CHURCH MANUAL. Containing By-laws of The Mother Church 100 Pocket edition 2 00 CHRIST AND CHRISTMAS. An illuetrated poem ... 3 00 UNITY OF GOOD AND OTHER WRITINGS. Morocco (heavy Oxford India Bible paper) 3 50 CtfRISTIA.N HEALING AND OTHER WRITINGS. Morocco (heavy Oxford India Bible paper) 3 50 RETROSPECTION AND INTROSPECTION. A biographical sketch of the author. Library edition, cloth. 95 pp. . . 1 00 UNITY OF GOOD. Library edition, cloth. 64 pp. . . . 60 Pocket edition, leather covers 1 00 PULPIT AND PRESS. Library edition, cloth. 90 pp. . . I 00 RUDIMENTAL DIVINE SCIENCE. PebWed cloth covers. 17 pp. 32 Library edition 50 Printed in New York point eyatem of type for the blind . . 50 NO AND YES. Pebbled cloth covers. 46 pp 32 Library edition, cloth 55 MESSAGES TO THE MOTHER CHURCH. Library edition, cloth 1 50 CHRISTIAN SCIENCE vs. PANTHEISM. Pebbled ck>th covers 25 MESSAGE TO THE MOTHER CHURCH, 1900. Paper ooveri 26 MESSAGE TO THE MOTHER CHURCH, 1901. Paper covers 60 MESSAGE TO THE MOTHER CHURCH. 1902. Paper covers 60 CHRISTIAN HEALING AND THE PEOPLE'S IDEA OF GOD. In one volume. Library edition, cloth. 36 pp. . 55 CHRISTIAN HEALING. Paper covers. 20 pp 20 THE PEOPLE'S IDEA OF GOD. Paper covers. 14 pp. . 20 POEMS. 70 pp.. all of Mrs. Eddy's hymns, also her earlier poems. Specially bound 1 60 FEED MY SHEEP. Solo 50 The above prices are for single copies, prepaid. For quantity prices and description see price list furnished upon request. Address orders for above works and make remittances payable to ALLISON V. STEWART, ^*^'iSn?MaM..^urk A^^^'e CHRISTIAN SCIENCE: MAN'S DOMINION OVER EVIL A LECTURE DELIVERED AT EMERSON HALL HARVARD UNIVERSITY, MARCH 16, 1908 BY EDWARD A. KIMBALL, C.S.D. AS A MEMBER OF THE BOARD OF LECTURESHIP OF THE FIRST CHURCH OF CHRIST, SCIEN^TIST, IN BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS THE CHRISTIAN SCIENCE PUBLISHING SOCIETY FALMOUTH AND ST. PAUL STREETS BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS U. S. A. Copyright, 1908 by The Christian Science Publishing Society. ZAf-^ CHRISTIAN SCIENCE: MAN'S DOMINION OVER EVIL T AM inclined to ask you to indulge me in this -■■ one respect — I am to speak about a subject that is necessarily large, boundless. Most of you are students; you know how impossible it is for one to traverse, adequately, any great theme in an hour. I shall be obliged to say much in a rather abrupt, bald way, and to let many of my statements go without attempting to vindicate them by means of argument, for the reason that there will not be time enough for amplification. What I crave at your hands is this: because of the abruptness of some of my declarations, I hope you will not think that I come to you with any sort of effrontery, for I assure you that I feel a very considerable sense of humility, in speaking before any audience on this subject. By way of introduction I ask you to let your thought dwell upon an imaginary procession or line of men. Consider two groups of men, one of which consists of savages from the depths of dark 4o-;v. CHRISTIAN science: Africa. Let them appear at one end of the line. At the other end, place such men as Lincoln, Franklin, Bacon, Emerson, and Gladstone. Now consider these two groups of men with reference to that which is distinctive concerning them. On the side of physicality the savage is superior. He will show an ability to endure more and to perform more by way of physical endeavor than the others. He can probably digest his food better; he has a better nervous system. At the World's Fair in Chicago, it was determined that the best specimen of physical manhood was a South Sea Islander. Inasmuch as this group of men is superior on the plane of animality, what may we observe re- garding the total relative value and consequence of the two groups? Is there any other difference or characteristic? Yes! there is a vast difference in the realm of mentality, and therein lies the chief distinction and the conspicuous superiority of the men who stand at the head of the line; moreover, these two instances of humanity indi- cate both the dwarfed limitations and the bound- less possibilities in the mental realm; they ought to attract attention to that which lies beyond, namely, the infinity of the Mind that is God. Now fill up the gap between these two groups with all MAN'S DOMINION OVER EVIL 5 the gradations which indicate the entire range of the so-called human mind, and let the entire pro- cession stand for historic humanity, and then we may observe other things of great importance. The man at the foot of the line least knows how little he knows. The man at the head of the line best knows how little he knows and admits that the vast realm of knowledge lies, as yet, quite unexplored. He knows that, comparatively speak- ing, mankind expresses very little exact, absolute knowledge. He knows that we have yet to learn the definite facts of being, and he best knows that these facts are to be spiritually discerned. At the foot of this imaginary human procession is a state of dense materiality or animality; in- deed, we here have a state of existence that is but little above the animal. About all that distin- guishes such a human being is his ability to artic- ulate, by means of words, his various requirements and instincts. Observe that, at first, these people make use of only the simplest and most crude processes. Then they have recourse to more com- plex methods and tools; they begin to employ devices, implements, and expedients, and to show forth greater mental elaboration. As we move along the ascending scale, we find that they ponder 6 CHRISTIAN SCIENCE: the unknown and peer into the mystery of crea- tion. With some small appreciation of the phe- nomena of daily existence, they inquire, "Where did we come from; what has induced the uni- verse?" Then follows a maze of both crude and ornate speculative philosophy, and finally we come to an instinctive and continuous searching after God or "gods many" and the erection of countless doctrines, creeds, dogmas, and beliefs, ranging all the way from the ridiculous to the sublime. In proceeding along the line, we come to the point where mentality takes on a scientific aspect. Later we notice the metaphysical, the idealistic, and the occult, while midway are to be discerned ^impses of pure divine spirituality and a capacity to reach out beyond the realm of crude sense and materiality and toward the real, supersensible ability of man to know the truth. When the astronomer reaches this supersensible mental per- ception, he uncovers his head and declares, "The undevout astronomer is mad." In this state of advancement the mathematician, whose mental gaze ranges far out toward the unlimited, declares with awe that the science of numbers is infinite, and when he does this it is because of his own mental release and more adequate mental grasp. MAN»S DOMINION OVER EVIL 7 At the head of this long sequence of mental grada- tions we find that state which is indicative of what is called spiritual-mindedness ; we find the proph- ets and revelators who pass the frontiers of sheer materialism and discover something of the infinity and substance of Spirit, the verity of pure divine Science. You know that no word is more mis- used than the word "science." You know that to speak of the science of cooking is absurd; one might as well speak of the science of boils or of the science of shipwrecks. Nothing is science ex- cept that which fundamentally is purely mental or spiritual. Notwithstanding the many beliefs and mental moods of the race, we observe one place where may be found a distinct and significant segrega- tion. The division is between that which is wholly materialistic as a trend of belief or philosophy, and that which is either metaphysical or spiritual, or both. Now permit me to say that at some place in this line of progress and mental advance, humanity may and does arrive at the mental stage or poise wherein it is enabled to grasp the signifi- cance of Christian Science. This Science is wholly mental or spiritual, and no one comprehends it until there is a sufficient attenuation of what is 8 CHRISTIAN SCIENCE: termed material belief to make it possible for one practically to turn from a belief in a material life- basis, and to begin to work toward the possibilities of a spiritual life-basis. This human throng that we are considering, stands for a race of people who, soon or late, cry and complain of heavy hearts and heavy burdens ; soon or late they murmur and lament because of disaster and a hard lot, and this misery of human- ity is what comprises its long continued problem of evil. Soon or late, every one asks the most important question of history, "What must I do to be saved?" "Can I do anything to be saved, or am I under an irresistible doom?" Mankind has been trying for centuries to solve the problem, and after all the centuries confesses itself as being without a solution. There are the same tears, the same lamentation, the same reproach. A poor, suffering humanity is taught that it cannot be saved on earth, or while alive; that the only way to get rid of it all, the only way out, is to die out. And now comes Christian Science to declare that you can get out ; and if there were nothing else in Christian Science to attract the attention of men, it would be done by this one incomparable promise, which surpasses every other promise for the weal MAN'S DOMINION OVER EVIL 9 of men that has been made in the name of religion, philosophy, and science. There is nothing known in the history of man or the range of human belief that promises so much to the man that is in trouble as does Christian Science. There is nothing equivocal about the promise. The only open question is as to whether or not these prom- ises are being fulfilled. I am reminded at this point that many of you are Bible students. Permit me to remind you that all through the Bible runs the thought that God is the healer of disease. We are exhorted over and over again to have faith in God. There are many words to the effect that to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Again and again are we solicited to turn to God or to Christ for better- ment, for salvation, for regeneration; but most men are just as I was. I found it utterly impos- sible to have faith in something that I did not know anything about. It was impossible to have a substantive and available faith in that which was absolutely invisible, imponderable, and with- out apparent available utility. I, like most other people, was fascinated by the apparently substan- tive nature of material things. I had no capacity, above the senses, to comprehend the things of 10 . CHRISTIAN science: supersensible existence. I know how easy it is for people to put the whole question away, just as I did, by declaring, "Christian Science teaches the allness of Spirit; but there is nothing visible, nothing in sight, as Spirit." I complained be- cause my senses did not cognize and could not observe the basis or modus thereof. That which appeals to the materialist is something that can be touched and examined, and for this reason the world is divided, as heretofore, into those people who believe in a material basis and those who de- clare that a spiritual basis and modus operandi are palpable and of everlasting advantage to mankind. Referring again to the course of mental devel- opment, I remind you that to the question. What is the creative cause or impulsion of the universe.? there have been many answers. Those which have had the most approval are, first, the one which declares the cause of the universe to be a blind, non-intelligent material substance and energy; and second, the one which declares that the first cause and origin is God, that He made everything. There came a time, in the course of human discern- ment, when men perceived that every object in the universe existed at the standpoint of effect. It MAN'S DOMINION OVER EVIL 11 IS a fact that everything which the personal senses observe has already been made; it has already been created, or manufactured, and exists in con- sequence of some inducement or animus. Now, then, what is the inducement, what is the basis or cause of what is called man and the universe? To a large extent the answer to this question has been after this fashion: Whereas all visible, material things already are organized, that is to say, have been composed or created; and whereas anything that can be discerned, already has been made, the conclusion is that the primary inducement of material things, including man, is atomic dust or substance. This has been called the atomic theory of a life- basis, and instantly I ask you to observe that it is, as a basis, utterly non-discernible. Every one admits that as an assumed basic substance it is intangible and always will be. Nothing but theory and sheer supposition lies in the atomic hypothesis. The world of thought includes nothing more impalpable as basis, and nothing more incapa- ble of proof. The purely materialistic theory concerning the initiative and impulsion of man offers, as such a basis, nothing at all — nothing that can be known or discovered or can be appre- 12 CHRISTIAN SCIENCE: ciated by the senses called personal. The man who objects to a spiritual life-basis on the ground that it is transcendental, can find nothing but vacuity as a material basis, which vacuity a despairing human speculation has sought to fill up by means of a conjectural hypothesis which it admits is utterly unprovable. Now Christian Science teaches among other things, that there is no such thing as atomic substances or an atomic life-basis, and it teaches that man and the universe are not the phenomena of any such noumenon. If it were true, however, that man has his origin in atomic substance, as the primary basis of his existence, then he would be annihilated at death; his exist- ence would be forever extinguished in oblivion. Why.'' Because it is impossible for a phenomenon to outclass or rise superior to its noumenon. It is impossible for any effect to outfoot or outdo or excel its cause. If the primary cause of man were dust, then without fail his ultimate would be in dust. At this moment I am reminded of one of Robert Stevenson's stories. He tells of two men who were out fishing when a storm came on at nightfall. The men became bewildered and knew not their course because of the shifting wind. After a while MAN'S DOMINION OVER EVIL 18 the storm became very severe, and one of the men said, "Sandy, can ye pray?" "I don't know," said the other. "I never tried it, but I will try." "Well, Sandy, pray as hard and fast as ye can." So Sandy got into the stern of the boat and prayed. The other man continued to look out for land. After a little he felt the keel touch the sand, and he immediately called out, "Stop pray- ing, Sandy; we are ashore, and we don't have to be beholden to anybody." If our origin is in atomic dust, there is no good in praying, for prayer would be utterly in vain and irrational. The atomic theory would inevi- tably abolish immortality and heaven, and turn to mockery the hope of a future life. It affords no place for prayer and no possibility of an answer. It would abolish Christian salvation and consign humanity to pagan fatalism and extinc- tion. I ask you to consider the correlative of the atomic theory, its immediate kin in the material realm. I refer to the evolution theory as generally understood, to the effect that an inferior noume- non can evolve itself to the point of a superior product or effect, whereas such an achievement is impossible and ought to be unthinkable. Now we do not fail to observe in what is called U CHRISTIAN science: the material realm a sort of evolutionary pro- gression as indicated in the improvement, not only in man but in the animal and vegetable king- dom, but it is not because of the possibility of the improvement of an effect above its cause, but rather because all the improvement is primarily included in the cause or noumenon. What does this suppositional basis promise humanity ? Every one here knows that it promises to give man life by a process of embryonic development; then it promises that when he reaches a state of maturity it will begin a process of impairment, degenera- tion, disintegration, dissolution, and decomposi- tion. Its only promise and prospect is of utter failure. On the other hand, what is the basis and prom- ise of life in God; the basis that is in pure divine Mind? Science declares that man manifests intel- ligence. It declares that man cannot rise above nor excel his creator, and therefore that that which is the creator of man is necessarily intelli- gent also. It declares, through the Science of Mind, that intelligence is not in matter, cannot be put into it, nor taken from it. It declares that matter is non-intelligence and cannot perform any function of Mind. It declares that Mind is self- MAN'S DOMINION OVER EVIL 16 existence and is the only state of self-existence in the universe. It declares that Mind or Deity — the creator — is one infinite conscious intelligence, and that this alone is eternal, alone is supreme in the universe. For forty years Mrs. Eddy has insisted that causation is in the divine Mind and not in matter. She proclaimed that God is the only real cause and source of being, the only Principle by reason of which all things exist. What does this divine Mind promise for man? It is true that God is invisible. The personal senses cannot possibly perceive God, but regard- less of this we inquire. What does this invisible spiritual animus promise? It promises life and health, the perpetuity of existence. It promises the rule of continuous harmonious being, — the dominion over all the earth. It promises normal prosperity in every way. It provides for the peace and perfection of its own offspring, — its own ideas. I would not have you understand me as meaning that the science of numbers is spirit- ual, but it presents the highest exact concept of science that is comprehended by a materialistic age, and I will linger at this point for a moment to call your attention to one of the simplest ideas of this science of numbers. Take, for example, 16 CHRISTIAN SCIENCE: the idea two and two make four. Even though the material universe were destroyed, nothing could destroy two and two make four. It is true everywhere, — in the middle of the sun, on the sur- face of every fixed star. There are clusters of nebulae so far apart that it would take light, trav- eling at the rate of sixteen billions of miles per day, five millions of years to traverse the distance ; and yet, if you were privileged to go along that pathway, you would know that there was not an inch wherein you could not find that two and two make four. One cannot imagine a time when it was not or will not be true. Just think how useful it is. How long would the banks and the business of the world continue without it.'' What chaos would ensue if it could cease to be. How prodig- iously important it is. There is but one "two and two make four," and yet every one has it and is willing the others should have it too. Did you ever know of any quarrel about it.?' Was any one ever killed because of it.? No; on the basis of actual truth humanity would be peaceful, happy, and without disorder. Think of the nobility of it, the beauty, the charming simplicity of just one true idea and its activity. Turning from this digression, I venture again MAN'S DOMINION OVER EVIL 17 to make plain the fact that whether it be Mind, Spirit, God, that is considered the cause of the universe, or whether it be matter, it is apparent that in either case the cause and authority are invisible. Even the materialist is obliged to rest every belief about the origin of the universe on a non-discernible supposition. Could anything be more vague as origin or more disappointing and tragic as a conclusion than that supposition? In addition to the fact that the source or omnific origin of the universe is invisible, there is the equally significant fact that the fundamental law through which the universe is governed also is invisible, as is all the power of the universe. Think of it for a moment when Christian Science urges the acknowledgement of the invisible God as the creator and as law and power. Remember that while the only evidence of existence is in concrete form, the senses of a mortal never behold primary causation. Only when the supreme cause of exist- ence manifests itself through invisible law and power can we behold the result in action and in concrete effect. Nothing is more common than law. Without it, existence, including man and the universe, would be impossible. If law could be abolished, 18 CHRISTIAN SCIENCE: the universe would collapse in chaos. Therefore, when I tell jou that Christian Science practice rests on an invisible Principle, law, and power, you will see that in this respect it is by no means unusual, irrational, or impractical. There is no other foundation or rule. The most dense form of materialism does not rest on a more tangible impulse or modus. The materialistic theory declares that we exist as victims ; that we are like bubbles on a sea of capricious destiny; that we are doomed to be sick and to die at any moment, and that we have no adequate power to resist. What does Mind de- clare? It declares that you are not a victim, that you have a fundamental right to be the master of your foe; that you not only have a right to be a man but a right to continued activity also. The promise is that we may do all things through the Mind which was in Christ, — that we may move mountains. Twenty-five years ago one of the most celebrated instructors in America, in ad- dressing a convention of teachers, told them that in the next fifty years the discoveries in the realm of mind would outweight unspeakably in impor- tance all the discoveries ever made in what is called the realm of matter and invention. MAN'S DOMINION OVER EVIL 19 The outcroppings of mental possibilities in the realm of what Mrs. Eddy designates mortal mind, when estimated correctly indicate the possibility of great changes. Take, for instance, the case of "Blind Tom." You know that Blind Tom could listen to a piece of music for the first time and go immediately to a piano and reproduce it. He is. what they call abnormal, but in this particular he comes the nearest to being normal of any of us. The rest of us are abnormal because we cannot do it. I have no time to elaborate this, but will add by way of supporting the statement as fol- lows: The people in this audience, I will presume to describe as possessed of trained conditions of mind. You easily ascend to a high standard of cognition, so I ask you. Does it not follow that if any man can do this thing, then the act is one of the normal possibilities concerning man.? Again, consider the "lightning calculator." He may be a boy only seven years old. Ask him what will be the interest at seven and a half per cent on $7,382.97 for twenty-three years and twenty-three days, and he will give you the answer instantly. He is called phenomenal, and yet we all ought to be able to do it. And why not.? The answer exists just as well as the question. 90 CHRISTIAN SCIENCE: We do not need to manufacture an answer, for it is always present as a correlative. Why then do we not at once seize upon the answer? It is because we people, who call ourselves a fallen race, are mentally below a normal standard and have mentally restricted ourselves. The thing that must be accomplished for us is this : Science must and will enable us to appropriate and manifest the unlimited capacity of the normal man to know the truth. This capacity will be manifested when we are ruled by the Mind that is God instead of by the "carnal mind," which is no mind at all; which is always wrong and always stands for limitation. You have had other lectures here, and the subject of Christian Science has been discussed before you in a general way. It is not my pur- pose to attempt an elaborate exposition of the theology of Christian Science now, but rather to confine myself to a few statements that have imme- diate application to your needs and your future careers. Pardon me if I may seem to be too familiar and to enter too largely upon what you regard as your own affairs, but as you are soon to make entrance upon the larger field of life, I feel certain that I can say something which will MAN'S DOMINION OVER EVIL 21 be of great benefit to you if you are disposed to consider and appropriate it. It is concerning the application and enforcement of natural law. Because of ignorance, sin, and fear, humanity is yielding to the illegitimate law of sickness and death; indeed, it seems to be generally believed that man is naturally involved in disaster and that he should be submissive to it. I venture, there- fore, to speak to you of some of the spurious laws or influences that are fraudulently imposed upon the race, and that will press with more or less severity of impact upon you unless you know how to resist and abolish them. Failing to do this, you are quite likely to wonder, some day, why you do not succeed; to wonder why you fail here and there, or are unaccountably hindered. If such be the case with you, it will probably be because you have not learned that you have a right to a legiti- mate dominion over your affairs, and have not learned to exercise such dominion. The Bible says that Christ has abolished the law of sin and death. You are soon to go forth to a career, and at the very doorway of that career is a so-called law that is declared by materialism to be strong and far-reaching; it is the law of hereditary trans- mission, — a law of hereditary influence and taint. 22 CHRISTIAN SCIENCE: Millions of people are greatly hindered thereby, and are gratuitously suffering on beds of pain because of this belief. Christian Science declares that what is called hereditary influence and contamination does not exist, either because of matter or of actual law. The mystery of heredity has been solved; it has been determined definitely that such influences are brought to bear and impressions are made by a process of prenatal mesmerism, but, let me say for your encouragement, that there is nothing natural or necessary about it. There is not a man here who is irretrievably under any such law. We know absolutely that many people have been healed instantaneously of so-called hereditary dis- ease by delivering them from that blight of pre- natal impress or liability; there is not one of you in this room but may break that law and release yourself. Take, for instance, the case of one who is infirm of body or purpose, or one of whom people say his temperamental characteristics are peculiar, or that he is not forceful and energetic, or that he has no talent; and this is because he has been distorted by reason of ancestral influ- ences. Such a one is liable to go through life under that law and its constraint, not knowing MAN'S DOMINION OVER EVIL 28 enough to rid himself of it and to establish his absolute freedom. Now I have not the slightest idea what you think or will say about this, but let me insist that Christian Science promises you, in the name of a pure science, according to a pure law, coming from the supreme power of the uni- verse, that it will deliver you from this oppressive influence; and, moreover, it promises that you can learn to do it for yourself. Your efficiency and prosperity need not be repressed nor curtailed by any of the human beliefs concerning hereditary impairment. Unless you learn to abolish the rule you are liable to go out into the world of future activity under the spurious law relating to opportunity. This law is another fraud; it declares that every man has his opportunity, and that if he misses it, he will probably be a failure. This is another phase of limitation, but the rule has not proceeded from God, from Science, from Truth, or intelli- gence. The actual Science of being is that you are not under a law of limited opportunity. You are subject to the law of boundless and perpetual opportunity, and you can enforce that law in your behalf righteously, just as widely as need be. Opportunity is infinite and ever-present; in fact 24 CHRISTIAN SCIENCE: man himself exists at the standpoint of oppor- tunity. According to Christian Science, it is never too late for opportunity and its availability. No human condition is so severe, no sickness so desperate as to defeat the opportunity to recover. No loss is so dispiriting as to annul the oppor- tunity to regain. Another spurious law that dwarfs humanity is the law of lack and of poverty. Christian Science teaches concerning this, that the only legitimate law is the law of supply, and that the normal man exists also at the standpoint of supply. I would not have you think that Christian Science encour- ages greed and the mad rush for money; never- theless, it is to be said that destitution and poverty are abnormities, and that man is entitled to and ought to receive a legitimate and ample mainte- nance. If there were a law which made partial and discriminating provision for the essential poverty of most people, such a law would not be even ethical, and surely such a provision would be utterly unscientific and unlike divine perfection. We are being taught to annul the belief that the mere caprice of luck and fortune commands the welfare or the desolation of the human estate, and you will do well to learn speedily that no law MAN'S DOMINION OVER EVIL 26 can irresistibly assert its curtailment of your own prosperity. The greatest pest and torment of humanity is fear; it is about all there is to hell; it induces nearly all the sin, disease, disaster, and misery of the world. Every one of us until now has labored under its dire mischief; it is wholly ab- normal and unnatural. There is nothing known to man except Christian Science which promises to deliver you from it. For a million people to entreat you not to be afraid would be of no con- sequence, but for you to learn scientifically how to master fear is of more consequence to you than is the entire State of Massachusetts. It is ob- servable among business men that fear is one of the most disastrous things that projects itself upon their affairs. Consider for a moment a very simple object-lesson on the plane of everyday ex- perience. You college men know much about a boat-race, but do you know that very many races are lost because of fear, rather than because of physical deficiency? Do you know that very much of the training induces fear on the part of the oarsmen? Do you know that the man who is afraid is at a great disadvantage, as compared with the man who is not afraid? I do not want it 26 CHRISTIAN SCIENCE: to appear that I am urging the right of mere human will to dominate your affairs and procure results by means of the headlong or tumultuous onslaught of the human mind, alias mesmerism; nevertheless it is true, that as you come to under- stand Christian Science, it will teach you to over- come and to banish fear; it will teach you that you may do anything which is right for you to do without dismay or anxiety. Christian Science repudiates the wretched sup- position that fear is a natural integer of the divine economy. On the contrary, it shows that human- ity is the toy of the most outrageous and gratui- tous illusions which appear in this guise. A story is told of a man, who at the close of his earthly career called his children together and said, "Well, children, I have had a great deal of trouble in my life — a great deal of trouble — but most of it never happened." Inasmuch as most of the trouble never happens, let us consider the importance of avoiding the bad habit of a fictitious expectation. It is probable that there will come a time when you will be in quest of professional or business occupation; when you wiH be in want of a situa- tion. Let us assume that you will be entitled to it and that it will be right for you to be employed MAN'S DOMINION OVER EVIL 27 righteously and profitably. Such an assumption as this carries with it scientifically the conclusion that if it is right for you to have such a thing, that thing must be in existence and must be avail- able. Please bear with me if I presume to say to you that most of you do not understand how to proceed advantageously to solve such a prob- lem, and although it seems to be applying Chris- tian Science on a somewhat low plane, it is to be remembered that Science is to improve every department of your life, and to facilitate every form of normal activity, and it is to be remem- bered still further, that it purports to present the right way and the adequate way in which to accomplish any normal purpose. Inasmuch as all that means business, labor, and occupation exists primarily in thought, and that your participation therein is wholly a matter of thought which regu- lates and decides the outcome, can you not see that it makes a vast difference what kind of thought you .exert, and do you not see that thought in any event is to dominate in the case.? There are two conditions of the human mind that are often spoken of: the optimistic and the pessimistic, and they are both generally acknowl- edged as having a place therein. Christian Sci- 28 CHRISTIAN SCIENCE: ence, however, repudiates this illicit dualism, for the reason that it indicates an unsound or abber- rated mental condition. The ordinary definition of the word optimism falls far below a scientific definition of the rights of man, but for the purpose of making myself easily understood, I will say that each one of you should be a pronounced optimist. One of the most influential human conditions is the one which I will call expectancy. In a large measure expectancy is the open door to welfare, and when misused, expectancy becomes the open door to adversity. Keep the right door open, by expecting to gain everything that is right. You are entitled to the fulness and ample- ness of life, but you will need to learn that gloomy foreboding never solves a problem and never re- leases the influences that make for your largest prosperity and advantage. Learn, my friends, of the prodigious activity and supreme influence of the Mind which is always right. Learn that for every condition of wrong thinking which way- lays and obstructs the human race, there is the positive condition of dominion, hope, and power which is an irresistible offset thereto. Learn to operate according to the law of divine Mind; learn to let this Mind be in you, for it is the Mind MAN'S DOIMINION OVER EVIL 29 that means health and life and boundless oppor- tunity and recompense. No legitimate limitation rests upon you ; none is competent to repress your own normal capacity. Do not let any argument of limitation enter into your life; remember that Mind will do every good thing for you, — it will remove mountains for you. i You are going out into the world, you will need ability to do and to perform. You will live side by side with people who have been taught to be afraid of every conceivable thing and condition. You will need to guard yourselves against the contagion of such fear and of the disordered be- liefs of the entire human race, which seems bent on continuing in the mutual business of scaring and hindering itself at every point. You must learn to maintain a poise that will mean for you aloofness and immunity from the depressing pre- dictions and prophesyings which humanity be- stows upon itself. Remember that the primary law of being is to you and for you, the law of health and life, and be not afraid concerning your body. The discussion of disease and dis- aster on the part of mortals is itself one of the chief causes of mischief. The familiar saying that "a little knowledge is a dangerous thing" 80 CHRISTIAN SCIENCE: is conspicuously exemplified by the human race, which, being ignorant of the cause and cure of disease and even of symptomatology, essays with jocund air perpetually to display its ignorance and to fill mankind with alarm. You came to Harvard University to acquaint yourselves with knowledge. You are acquiring a large store of useful information and intellec- tual culture. To all this I add this suggestion, that at the open door of every man's life there lies the pearl of great price, — the knowledge which goes beyond all other knowledge, — the divine Sci- ence of infinite being, a knowledge of which will profit humanity unspeakably and contribute to its untold success. For twenty-one years it has meant for me the difference between life and death, for I was thought to be incurably ill. Since hav- ing been healed through Christian Science at that time, I have not had a serious instance of illness; but, notwithstanding this pronounced transforma- tion, I may say to you that I have been able, through the instrumentality of this law, to bring to pass within the environment of my daily life, things of greater consequence and that were of more importance to ordinary minds than it was for me to be withheld from the grave. I am but MAN'S DOMINION OVER EVIL 31 one among a million people who thus have been benefited. Each one of all these people recognizes the fact that it is through the teaching of Mrs. Eddy and her wonderful demonstration and proof, that we have been thus delivered and are entitled to rejoice. Only those who have been delivered from the consuming depths of evil can appreciate the an- guish that is imposed upon human beings. Only such as they can appreciate the unprecedented uplift and freedom which has been afforded through the interposition of Christian Science. None but these people can realize the matchless service to the world which Mrs. Eddy is showing forth by revealing the fact that the Christ-mission really meant that mankind may be saved from every semblance of evil now and here. Not only does Christian Science reveal the actuality of Spirit and acquaint its adherents with God and the life which is eternal, but it promises to every man a betterment of his immediate existence on earth, and performs according to its promise. It does not invite any one to die in order to be saved or to be happy. It repudiates the assumption that a dead man is entitled to know more than a live man. Its entire essence and import is in the 32 CHRISTIAN SCIENCE: way of expectation of life, health, immortality, and righteousness. This is what our Leader, Mrs. Eddy, has been contending for nearly fifty years. Physicians, dentists, scientists, and scholars, one by one, are admitting or declaring their concur- rence in nearly all the propositions or postulates for which she has contended. It is time for me to stop. I know as well as do you that I have been incomplete, and yet I k-now that at some time what I have been saying will touch your life and will benefit you. I know that some day you will enter upon the plane of achieve- ment wherein you will free yourselves from the things which bind and limit. Some day you will learn that you are entitled to win, and you will win. My friends, consider the majesty, the sub- limity, the possibilities of infinite Mind. You are here spending years of time and vast sums of money in order to improve your minds. You must have some considerable appreciation of the unlim- ited privileges that lie in the direction of Mind. Consider all that is open to you by way of oppor- tunity and utility, and then consider the promise, "Ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you." Periodicals Published by The Christian Science Publishing Society Falmouth and St, Paul Sts.. Boston. Mass.. U. S. A. The Christian Science Journal Founded April, 1883, by Mary Baker Eddy, Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science, and author of the Christian Science Text-book. "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures." This monthly magazine is the official oreran of The First Church of Christ, Scientist, in Boston. Mass. Subscription price: Domestic territory (including Mexico and Cuba), one year, $2.00: six months, $1.00; single copy, 20 cents. For Canada add 25 cents and for all other countries 65 cents annually for postage: single copy, for Canada, 20 cents; other countries, 25 cents. Christian Science Sentinel A weekly newspaper for the home, published every Saturday, con- taining news items of general interest, and contributed and selected articles, testimonies of healing, and timely editorials in connection with the Christian Science movement. Subscription price: Domestic, one year, $2.00; six months, $1.00; single copy, 5 cents. For Canada add 45 cents and for all other countries 95 cents annually for postage; single copy, for Canada, 6 cents; other countries, 7 cents. Der Herold der Christian Science A monthly magazine printed in German. It contains original and translated articles bearing upon Christian Science, testimonies of healing, also, as a supplement, the Lesson-Sermons for the following: month which are read at the Sunday services in all Christian Science churches. Subscription price: Domestic and Canada, one year, $1.00; six montha. 50 cents; single copy, 10 cents. For all other countries add 25 cents annually for postage; single copy, 12 cents. The Christian Science Monitor A daily newspaper published every afternoon, except Sunday, of world-wide scope, containing current news, and particularly designed for those desiring a high-class publication in the home. Subscription price: Domestic and Canada, one year, $5.00; six months. $2.50. For all other countries add $3.00 annually for postage. For Greater Boston postal district. $6.00 a year by carrier. The Christian Science Quarterly Published January. April, July, and October. Contains the Lesson-Sermons which are read at the Sunday services throughout the year in all the Christian Science churches. Subscription price: In the United States. Canada, Mexico, and Cuba, one year, 50 cents; single copy, 15 cents. For all other countries add 10 cents annually for postage: single copy, 18 cents. 3 THIS BOOK IS DUE ON THE LAST DATE STAMPED BELOW AN INITIAL FINE OF 25 CENTS WILL BE ASSESSED FOR FAILURE TO RETURN THIS BOOK ON THE DATE DUE. THE PENALTY WILL INCREASE TO 50 CENTS ON THE FOURTH DAY AND TO $1.00 ON THE SEVENTH DAY OVERDUE. 9 Vii^ ucn \.0K»* t4Nov'6?6l> r-T \'L ' 0^ ■ ^y^ W 14 1962 YB 310^5 Hi!:;: yj^IVERStTY OF CAUFORNIA LIBRARY