IRLF M73 % c WOMAN'S CAUSE '0 Cause By CAROL NORTON, C.S.D. Author of "Studies in Character," "The New World, "Poems and Verses" BOSTON DANA ESTES C& COMPANY PUBLISHERS Copyright, 1895, by CAROL NORTON A II Rights Reserved 'TVHE Woman's Cause is man's: they rise or sink Together, dwarfed or godlike, bond or free. Tennyson 304589 OTRENGTH and honor are her clothing; and she shall rejoice in time to come. She openeth her mouth with Wis- dom; and in her tongue is the law of kindness. Give her of the fruit of her hands; and let her own works praise her in the gates. Proverbs xxxi. 25, 26, 31. vii preface "Vision Beautiful" of the twentieth century will be the " new man " and the " new woman " side by side, at work in the vineyard of Christ, reforming the race, and reveal- ing the kingdom of God among men. This " new man " will be to mortals a revelation, for he will express the divine majesty of his Creator, and reflect man's rightful dominion over sin, dis- ease, and death. He will be the Scien- tist of the age, because he will under- stand and demonstrate the Science of Being through the metaphysics of Di- vine Law. He will be a Prophet because of his u communion with the Divine Mind, which will enable him to read the signs of the times, to analyze mental forces that are destined to perplex the com- ing days, and to see the inevitable future of things, both good and bad. He will be a Theologian of the highest type, on account of his spiritual vision, acquaintance with the spiritually scien- tific import of the Bible and the teach- ings of Jesus Christ, and lastly because of the premise from which he will work, i. e., the eternal reality of Good, as Deity, and the unreality of evil, as er- ror. He will be the most advanced and successful Physician that practises among men by virtue of the medicine he will use, and the food and exercise that he will prescribe. He will heal through the divine law of Mind, as the great curative Principle, God; and he will emulate and imitate understand- ingly, such great healers of moral and bodily ills as Jesus, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Peter, and Paul. His medi- cine for the sick will be the simple oper- ation of spiritual thought upon the body; the food he will prescribe, the eating of the body of Christ, i. e., the thinking and living of the Christ Mind; and the exercise demanded will be the honest and perpetual thinking of pure and Christly thoughts, as opposed to the indulgence of selfish, depraved, and material ones. As a Reformer, Statesman, and Ideal- ist, he will be eminently successful, honest, sincere, and practical; for he will reform by his religion, and uplift and purify the State by the influence of Good that he will radiate among men. As an Idealist, he will insist that the perfect ideals of freedom, equality, health, and immortality constitute the only real being, and must sooner or later be the rich heritage of all men. Thus he will be A man of deeds, not creed, A soul which Truth doth lead, A heart whose life is Love, A mind which lives above The things that work for ill. The " new woman " will be a greater revelation to the world in many re- spects than the " new man." She will be all that has made noble womanhood in the past, with added graces and strength. She will not evolve, but re- veal new qualities and characteristics, thus her true selfhood will become seen, felt, and universally acknowl- edged. For centuries this selfhood has been to a great extent dormant and undeveloped. And why? Because of the general idea that woman's nature is naturally limited to a certain sphere of life, and her chief characteristics, those that make social and religious leadership, and work, things wholly beyond her ability. True it is that there are scattered along the path of centuries, in all lands, conspicuous ex- ceptions to this general idea, but these examples are largely in the minority and appear as instances of "womanly attainment" that have been born and nourished into fulness in spite of sur- rounding difficulties, rather than be- cause of the encouragement given by the world at large. xiv preface Through the cross of Christ and the gospel of Love, this new woman will attain her place in the plan of the Great Architect; she will reflect the Mother- hood of God, and proclaim the infinite compassion of the Divine Maternity. Thus she will help uplift the race to the heights of chastity, equality, and union with the eternal law of Life and Love. Roman's test of civilization is the esti- mate of woman," said George William Curtis; and the closing days of this century present many proofs of the truthfulness of this utterance. The present is certainly woman's hour in a larger and purer sense than that of any previous epoch of human history. It is especially pregnant with evidences of her coming emancipation from all that limits her mental growth, and her position in the world socially, civilly, and religiously. Through clouds of bigotry, literalism, custom and self- ishness we get inspiring glimpses of 1C 16 that glorified hour when woman will stand in the world for what she is, and for what the All-Father meant her to be. For centuries the world has been governed by materialistic and unrea- sonable prejudice on all questions that involve the element of freedom, and perhaps in no way more conspicuously than in its estimate of woman's nature, privileges, capabilities, and destiny. It has progressed along other lines much more rapidly than it has moved forward in the idea of sex-equality. Men have fought war after war for man's political freedom; they have overturned nations to right the wrongs of a few men. They have so perfected the vast machinery of the Law that to-day the humblest citizen of our Commonwealth has the 10 man's Cause 17 protection, individual might and dig- nity, enjoyed by the king of two centu- ries ago. But woman has, to a great extent, fought her own battles, won her victories in the closet, alone with her God, and has become the happy pos- sessor of enlarged privileges and possi- bilities, only as the thought of the race has been exalted and spiritualized by the influx of light and purity from on High. True it is that the work of holy men in all ages has ushered in, step by step, the freedom that she is now beginning to enjoy. All the progress of the ages has been of necessity spiritual progress, as there is really no other. All good is of God, and the increase of good in the world means the growth of all those things among men and races that work is ftfiioman'g Cause for liberty, right, health, and spiritual freedom to the individual. While for ages woman has been steadily ascending to her rightful place as man's co-equal in all the walks of life, yet what is so widely known in all parts of the world at the present time as " Woman's Cause," is the outgrowth of the last quarter of the century, in a peculiar and marked way. In Christen- dom the " Woman's Movement " dom- inates all other questions that involve individual, social, moral, and spiritual freedom. Truly says a well-known au- thor, "The Mother-heart of God will never be known to the world until translated into terms of speech by mother-hearted women. Law and Love will never balance in the realm of grace until a woman's hand shall hold the JKUoman's (Cause 19 scales." Our nineteenth century civili- zation will find that its last quarter has given birth to two vital forces that have already begun to evolve a better state of things. The first is a system of re- ligion that can be truly called scientif- ically spiritual. The second, the great idea that " The woman's cause is man's: they rise or sink Together, dwarfed or godlike, bond or free. For woman is not undeveloped man, But diverse. . . . Yet in the long years liker must they grow The man be more of woman, she of man, Distinct in individualities ; But like each other even as those who love, Then comes the statelier Eden back to men ; Then reign the world's great bridals, chaste and calm; May these things be!" Woman's work for the ages has been essentially religious and -ethical. She 20 has touched the chords of the harp of human existence to those higher har- monies of Soul, wherein dogma, human intellect and mere speculation have no part. She has given and continues to give to the world the idea of God as Love. In the hours of humanity's greatest need, woman has always voiced the great Mother-heart of God, in words at once firm, loving, compas- sionate, and exalted. It was through Miriam that Israel caught some of the highest notes of its great prophetic Scriptures. Deborah filled the high office of Judge in Israel, with great power. And from the trust- ing prayer of Hannah came that great leader, Samuel, to be the saviour of a down-trodden people. Sarah is cited by Paul in his wonderful tribute to the 21 works of faith in the eleventh Chapter of Hebrews, as one of the great exam- ples of exalted faith. Here woman stands side by side in spiritual power, with such conspicuous Biblical charac- ters as Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, David, Samuel and others. It was Esther who delivered her kin- dred; and through woman's compas- sion and devotion, Moses was saved to Israel. Ruth stands as a type of fidelity and loyalty. It was Elizabeth's child of promise, " the greatest born among women," who prepared the way for the world's Saviour. The Virgin Mary, " blessed among women," gave to a suf- fering world its Redeemer. She it was who guarded the tender infant days of that Holy Child. In her maternal arms 22 he rested, and as he " grew and waxed strong, growing in favor with God and man," she never forsook him, but lov- ingly, meekly, followed him with a mother's heart to "the foot of the cross, where amidst the shadows of the cruci- fixion, he gave her into the tender care of the loving disciple. While all Israel looked and waited for a Messiah, his- tory once again repeated itself, and when the Saviour came, but few re- ceived him, or recognized in his words, works and life, the embodiment of their own Messianic prophecies and hopes, hence his rejection and crucifixion. But all were not asleep to the mighty events of those holy days in humanity's his- tory, neither were all blind to the fact, that in the immaculate conception of the meek and lowly Christ-child existed HUoman'0 Cause 23 the fulfilment of Isaiah's words, " Be- hold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which, being interpreted is God with us." While those who sat in Moses' seat and re- hearsed the prophetic words of the great Law-giver, and the prophets re- lating to the coming Messiah, rejected him when he came, Luke records the just and devout Simeon, who waited for the consolation of Israel, as being so filled with the Holy Ghost (spiritual illumination) that when the Christ- child was brought into the Temple by his parents, Simeon recognized the in- fant Messiah and taking him in his arms blessed God, and said, " Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word. For 24 Zttlomatrs (<itu*e mine eyes have seen thy salvation, which thou hast prepared before the face of all people. A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy peo- ple Israel." John also records that the Baptist after preaching the coming of Christ, on seeing Jesus, at once ex- claimed to two disciples who stood by, "Behold the Lamb of God." But Simeon and John were not alone in their recognition of the long looked for Messiah. Woman ever rising to prophetic vision stands equally the dis- cerner of the Nazarene's individuality, for Luke tells us of Anna the Prophet- ess, the daughter of Phanuel, " who de- parted not from the Temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day." Who coming into the Tem- ple where the child Jesus was, like 10 man's Cause 25 Simeon " gave thanks likewise unto the Lord, and spoke of Him to all them that looked for redemption in Jerusa- lem." To Mary of Bethany Jesus gave some of the sublimest truths of his min- istry, to the woman at the well he preached one of his grandest dis- courses; to Mary Magdalene came the glory of regeneration and the new birth, after which she followed her Master more closely than all others, seeing him first after the resurrection. To woman came the great privilege of first proclaiming the Gospel of the Res- urrection. Faithful woman followed the Nazarene Teacher and his disciples, ministering to them of their substance. To Lois and Eunice, Timothy owed his preparation for discipleship in the early church. 26 ZZlomfin'g (Cause Well says Bishop Fallows: "The time has come for the setting apart of women for the work of the gospel min- istry. On the resurrection morn the commission was first given to women to preach the good news to man. The Corinthian women were not to be com- pared for a moment with the refined, cultured women of to-day. The injunc- tion to the former did not apply to the latter. I have been long, I confess, in coming to this conclusion. I read the life of our Lord in a new light, the last ritualistic prejudice has vanished. Christ's commissions were given to women and men alike. Men have too long misconceived the true position of women. This present period in the church is very important. Let us not array ourselves against Holy Ghost ftll omurg Cause 27 women lest we be found to fight against God." " Not she with trait'rous kiss her Saviour stung. Not she denied Him with unholy tongue. She, while apostles shrank, could danger brave, Last at His cross, and earliest at His grave." From early days until now, a noble army of consecrated, unnamed women in every age and clime has uplifted mankind in an unseen ministry of de- votion, purity and goodness. In art, social reform, in literature, and at the fireside countless thousands have min- istered to the human race. Our own country and the whole Eng- lish-speaking world, as well as all lands have been blessed in a wonderful degree in all the walks of life, by the work of noble women. Who has sung of the Pilgrim's landing, with the sublimity 28 of Mrs. Hemans, in her famous poem, " The Breaking Waves Dashed High? " Who has risen to greater heights of religious fervor, among the poets, than Lucy Larcom, Adelaide Procter, Fran- ces Havergal, Celia Thaxter, and Alice and Phoebe Gary? Can it not be truly said, that the writings for young people of Louisa Alcott, Frances Hodgson Burnett, Mary Mapes Dodge, and Susan Coolidge, have few, if any supe- riors in our literature? It took the noble humanity and fiery eloquence of Garrison and Phillips, and the breath of human equality and justice of Low- ell's and Whittier's anti-slavery poems, to picture the awful inhumanity of sla- very, and to inaugurate its destruction. While to Harriet Beecher Stowe was given the task of portraying in her 21 Oman's Cause 29 famous and pathetic book, the crush- ing of maternal affection born of the system. She spoke for thousands of slave mothers whose hearts were wrung with the loss of those who, by the law of humanity and affection, were their own. What voices rose higher, or whose efforts counted for more in that great struggle for human equality, than those of Lucretia Mott and Lydia Maria Child? Christendom's favorite hymn, " Nearer, my God, to Thee," is a woman's gift to the worldo Through the untiring work of a few devoted women, foremost among them being Clara Barton and Florence Nightingale, to-day over forty nations, in time of battle, mutually agree to protect and to make absolutely neutral ground, that portion of their battlefields occupied by 30 Ziloman'g Canst the Red Cross Society, in its ministry to the wounded. In the world of literature in England is to be found a famous group of women, foremost among them being Hannah More, Mrs. Browning, Jean Ingelow, and Eliza Cook. The reform work in that country of such philanthropists as Elizabeth Fry, Augusta Webster, Lady Elizabeth Hope, Sarah Robinson and Mrs. L. Ormiston Chant has been one of the most potent forces that has worked to raise the ways, means and character of living in England. In America the philanthropic work of Dorothea Dix ranks with the highest, in the line of social reform in public charity institutions, and the educa- tional work of Elizabeth Peabody has JKllomau's Cause 31 borne much fruit. With Frances E. Willard's great work for Temperance, and for a purer social life, the disinter- ested efforts of her colaborer, Lady Henry Somerset, and of the long de- votion of Margaret Fuller, Lucy Stone, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony, to the cause of equal suffrage, we are all aqcuainted. All lovers of progress, right and equality honor their courage and admire their ideals. Mary A. Livermore has graced the lec- ture platform and preached from the pulpit with the quiet dignity and sub- limity born of deep religious conviction and high aim. The work of Julia Ward Howe for humanity and for her sex, especially for the great truth that there should be but " one moral stand- ard for man and woman," has been a 32 telling factor in the direction of social reform. The work of this noble army of women, to which could be added scores whose names cannot be mentioned in this brief review, proves that woman's heart has ever cried out for freedom and goodness, and that she never has spared nor ever will spare, a single ef- fort to establish the reign of true man- hood and womanhood, with one moral standard for both, to the end that the Religion of Jesus Christ rule the world, with all the purity, equality and gran- deur that this religion includes. Said one of the women Reformers before the Woman's Congress held in Chicago, " If woman is qualified, is she called? How can one know? Again let us take the divine judgment. How Cause 33 can we know God's call, His purpose, His requirement of any creature? The song-bird sings. She cannot help it. And the great creatures of the sea must take their place therein. They die if out of their own domain. . . . And all God's ministers must chant His love, for they see His presence and feel His touch, in places, in persons, and in prin- ciples, and they must repeat His thoughts after Him. Are women thus moved? Let even pre-Christian history answer. Have women thus moved, thus inspired men, and cities, and na- tions? Let dying martyrs and trans- figured saints give reply. In the latest floodtide of the world's philanthropy and Christian work are women seen and felt? Let the overwhelming sta- 34 tistics of the last thirty years give the answer." " Let her make herself her own To give or keep, to live and learn and be All that harms not distinctive womanhood." To the work of Rev. Mary Baker Eddy, the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science, the " Cause of Woman " owes endless homage and gratitude. To her, in a larger sense than to any other woman, does human- ity owe everlasting indebtedness. To praise her work is not to take away one iota of the lustre that surrounds the work of the noble and consecrated women referred to; but it is to add glory to the sex which she so grandly represents. Truly can it be said that her characteristics are pre-eminently those of a great spiritual Reformer and Cause 35 Teacher. Spiritual might to which is allied meekness, a depth of love that blesses the race and includes all who would array themselves against the ex- alted teachings of the religion she has founded, patience, moral courage, un- changing purpose, a modesty akin to selflessness, and a lofty optimism, which amidst storms of misrepresenta- tion and materialism has held bravely to the great fact of the eternal suprem- acy and reality of Good as the One- God, and of evil's unreality, these have been her conspicuous characteris- tics from the inception of her labors, as the Founder of the great Christian Science Movement. Looking backward down the vista of time we halt at the year 1866. The great struggle that had brought about 36 the end of human slavery on the Amer- ican continent was just at its close, when in the old Bay State, that centre of religious growth, liberalism and freedom, one brave woman stepped out of the beaten path of traditional theol- ogy, medicine and popular scientific systems, and rising above the mists of materialistic codes, announced in tones at once Scriptural, and Christian, log- ical and metaphysical, the great truth that Mind is Causation, and that the so-called miracles of early Christianity were not supernatural, but divinely natural, and capable of perpetual dem- onstration in all ages. For years Boston had been the centre of America's intellectual and religious life, and the world of thought had be- come used to being startled by the 37 voices that this new world's Athens from time to time sent forth. From out its liberty-loving atmosphere had sounded the stentorian voices of Wen- dell Phillips and William Lloyd Garri- son in behalf of a nation in the chains of slavery. As the offspring of its broad and ever-widening love of liberty in the deep things of the Spirit, came forth the lofty strains of Channing, whose exalted thought and pulpit elo- quence, more than that of any other single liberal Christian worker, brought about the great liberal movement that raised high the standard of rational re- ligion, and entered its powerful protest against form, dogma, mysticism and literalism in Christianity. From Mas- sachusetts and Boston went forth the aspiring transcendentalism of Emerson, 38 the anti-slavery and spiritual poems and writings of Whittier and Lowell, the tender and noble poems of Henry and Samuel Longfellow, true poets of humanity; and the much-loved prose and poetry of Doctor Holmes. Here, too, A. Bronson Alcott sent forth as leaven in the great world of thought, the sweet discoveries of his pure nature, and Hawthorne his tales of romance, and lastly can be mentioned the many contributions of Louis Agassiz to mod- ern knowledge. So it would seem as if it were in the divine and natural order, that in this foremost centre of religious activity, in the freest land of the globe, the voice of the Founder of the great spiritual Movement known as Christian Science should first be heard. From Puritan parents, Mrs. Eddy inherited Cause 39 that natural love of freedom that so conspicuously marks all her writings and work. Her chief desire had always been to bring freedom to all who were in bondage to sin and disease, and we have but to turn to the results of the Movement, born of her self-sacrificing labors, to witness the fulfilment of her long cherished desire. Her voice was raised, the message fresh from the hands of God went forth, the blessed discovery of the Truth that had so long existed unseen in the very midst of men, ushered in "with signs follow- ing," was given to a hungry world sorely in need of health, of scientific religion, and of Christly grace. Did an army rush forth to accept the message of this lone brave woman? Did a host advance recognize the 40 teaching of this new herald as Christian and Scientific? Did the pulpits of lib- eral Massachusetts accord it the wel- come due to " tidings of great joy? " Did its press grasp the holy import of the teaching, or see in it the Gospel of the Nazarene? Not so in any general sense. It was as of old, the " light shin- ing in darkness and the darkness com- prehended it not." True, certain noble minds at once discerned its Christian character, and some saw its marked originality. Longfellow wrote kindly to the Founder, on receipt of the Chris- tian Science text book, " Science and Health, with Key to the Scriptures," by Rev. Mary Baker G. Eddy. Wendell Phillips said, in speaking of her early labors: "Had I young blood in my veins I would help that woman." But aa Oman's Cause 41 apart from the recognition of a few thinkers, the teaching of Christian Science, although attended with won- derful evidences of its divine origin in the healing of all types of disease, was misunderstood and looked upon as an- tagonistic to true Christianity. It was history's long repetition of the rejection of those higher truths that only spirit- ual discernment and time reveal to the minds of men. Meanwhile the Founder of Christian Science went on with her divine mis- sion. She knew the divinity and scien- tific nature of her discovery. She had received orders higher than any within the grasp of man to issue, and through the help of that Infinite Father and Mother God, who never forsakes, she went in and out among the sinful, the 42 sick and the sorrowing, breaking the bread of Life, explaining the Scriptures, aglow with the holy enthusiasm that is born of a divine certainty; healing all manner of disease, and meekly rising above the opposition that so many times tested the brave heart almost to its limit of endurance. Little by little her efforts began to bear fruit. Here and there some earnest, longing heart would respond to the pure teaching of the consecrated worker. Before long, spiritually minded men and women began to recognize that there existed in her teachings something that they needed, and that popular religion and the church gave not. In some instances these people came, like the disciples of old, from the humblest walks of life, bearing no university diplomas, but 1 Oman's Cause 43 possessing those higher credentials, spiritual aspiration and perception, honesty of purpose and willingness to leave time-honored theories. Again, came men and women from the high- est intellectual circles, and from the leading walks of social and philan- thropic work, and, with a common dis- cernment, saw in Christian Science a demonstrable Religion, and the true interpretation of the life of Christ. All this time the healing of the sick went on, which led thousands to its accept- ance as a Religion. Thus the Move- ment went on from strength to strength, till to-day it numbers hun- dreds of thousands of followers, and of it can be truly said, it is the Truth which known, maketh free. As a prac- tical outgrowth of the Founder's life 44 JKUoman'a Canst and work, came the Massachusetts Metaphysical College, chartered by the State, in 1881, in which Mrs. Eddy taught over four thousand students the principles of Christian Science. These students, returning to their homes in all parts of the world, have, in their turn, presented Christian Science to the world through healing and teaching, also the National Christian Scientist Association; the Christian Science Journal, the official organ of the Asso- ciation; and the Mother Church of Christian Science in Boston. In " Sci- ence and Health, with Key to the Scrip- tures," first published in 1875, she em- bodied the principles of the system. After a number of revisions, this book is now (1907) in its four hundredth edition, with a constantly increasing Z&1 Oman's (Cause 45 demand. The Christian Science Churches have grown in number until now there are five hundred and fifty chartered ones, and two hundred Sun- day Services, which will eventually become regular churches. It is well here to say, that Christian Science counts not its strength from a numerical standpoint, but from the power it has among men as a quickener of spiritual discernment; a healer of disease, a reformer of the depraved and vicious; a purifier of social, moral and business methods; a saviour of men from the miasma of materialism, skep- ticism and " science falsely so-called," a deliverer from the awful dogma of eternal punishment, and a verifier of the promises of Jesus Christ. 46 z&omairg Canst To give to man Christ's love, To lift from sin above, To bear the message of His peace, To bid the restless heart-throbs cease, To heal the sick and free the bound, Till songs of praise from all lips sound, Such is its mission here. It is always a delight to dwell upon the wonderful growth of the Movement during the last few years; to write of its influence, as shown in the great Con- gress of the Parliament of Religions in Chicago; to tell of the gathering to- gether of six thousand of its represen- tatives in Boston in January, 1895, to attend the dedication of the Mother Church in that city, and to read the Testimonial Tablet engraved on that beautiful church to the loved Founder; to note the fair and cordial reception given the subject by the Press, and to (Cause 47 witness the way in which the encyclo- paedias, dictionaries and historical works of the hour are writing the life of the Founder, and the history of the Movement; to detail the widespread healing of disease the world over, and to rejoice at the reformation of the sin- ner by its exalted teaching. The work of Rev. Mary Baker Eddy is rounded and symmetrical. The re- ligious system which she has founded and developed bears the imprint of a divinely guided hand. She has sancti- fied the word " Science " by wedding it to that of " Christian," and in Chris- tian Science as a code of law incorpo- rating within itself Science, Theology and Medicine, we can truly say, she has welded with the hammer of metaphys- ics upon the anvil of revelation, the 48 toman's three great Sciences, and using them not as three diverse systems, but as one, she has proved the existence of but one God, or Mind, with but one governing spiritual law, ruling the whole creation, including man. A certain Judge, after reading her im- mortal book, " Science and Health, With Key to the Scriptures," said: " The wisdom and logic of that book is not the product of a man's mind, nor of a woman's, but of Divinity." The work of Mrs. Eddy has opened to woman in the ministry of Christian Science, the two noblest of all avo- cations, philanthropy and medicine. Through the understanding of Chris- tian Science men and women, by one and the same method, can reform the sinner and heal the sick. In her recent Ullomau's Cause 49 reconstruction of the order of public services in the Churches of Christ, Scientist, throughout the world, she has placed woman by the side of man in the pulpit as co-worker and co-equal. What Christian thinkers have for years said should be done, she has done. She has revealed simultaneously with " the new man " in God's own image, " the new woman," and in her own words she states their equality thus: ' " Man is the generic term for God's children, made in His own image and likeness, and because they are thus made, reflected, the male and female of His creating are equipoised in the balances of God." 1 The World's Parliament of Religions, by Rev. John Henry Barrows, D. D., Vol. II., page 1423. Address on Christian Science by its Discoverer and Founder, Rev. Mary Baker Eddy. By permission. 50 By years of patient toil she has formed a system of religious and medical in- struction that has already become a boon to thousands of mothers, because of its demonstrable power to strengthen moral character, and inculcate a natural love of the pure and good in the minds of children, and because of the freedom that it brings to families, inasmuch as it heals all manner of disease, destroys the fear of parents, and thus becomes the ever-present friend, the Guardian Angel in the home. She has sounded no minor chords, made no concessions to materialistic conventionalism and blind custom, even though they be hoary with age, nor has she allowed any form of mysticism to enter her teachings as to woman's rights, priv- ileges and possibilities, sexually, civilly, fcllomau's Cause 51 morally or spiritually. But in every instance bases her arguments for woman's complete emancipation from all that retards the attainment of her divine destiny upon the great founda- tional stone of the divine creation, that mighty utterance found in the first chapter of Genesis " God created man in His own image, in the image of God created He him, male and fe- male created He them." Mrs. Eddy's work has given dignity to womanhood, made it synonymous with that grace of graces, spiritual dis- cernment, and has given in words sub- lime and marvelous, a glimpse of the resurrection state, and of the reflections of the Fatherhood and Motherhood of God. History will not only record Mrs. 52 Eddy as the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science, and as Author, Teacher, Reformer and Philosopher, but as Poetess. Her poems and hymns are gems of rarest thought set in the pure gold of spiritual vision, tenderness and deep consecration. Foremost among her poems can be mentioned "Death of Colonel Ransom," "To My Mother in Heaven," "Woman's Rights," " Meeting Beyond the Grave," " The Wife and Widow." Among her best known hymns are " Christ My Refuge," "Saw Ye My Saviour," "Feed My Sheep," and " Laus Deo." Her touching prayer in verse entitled, "The Mother's Evening Prayer," is one of the priceless jewels of the world's poetry and should be in the heart and mind of every mother and WUoman'0 Cause 53 guardian, and in the homes of all lovers of our Master. The higher and divinely spiritual significance of " Woman's Cause " is beautifully set forth in Mrs. Eddy's poem entitled, " Woman's Rights." WOMAN'S RIGHTS 1 Grave on her monumental pile, She won from vice, by virtue's smile, Her dazzling crown, her sceptered throne, Affection's wreath, a happy home. The right to worship deep and pure, To bless the orphan, feed the poor; Last at the cross to mourn her Lord, First at the tomb to hear his word. To fold an angel's wings below, And hover o'er the couch of woe, To nurse the Bethlehem babe so sweet, The right to sit at Jesus' feet. 1 By permission. 54 Roman's (Cause To form the bud for bursting bloom, The hoary head with joy to crown ; In short, the right to work and pray, " To point to heaven and lead the way." A. Bronson Alcott's words to her in the early days of her work were timely and beautiful. He wrote : " The pro- found truths which you announce, sus- tained by the immortal life, give to your work the seal of inspiration; reaffirm in modern phrase the Christian revela- tions. In times like these, so sunk in sensualism, I hail with joy your voice, speaking an assured word for God and immortality, and my joy is heightened that these words are of woman's divin- ings." As the warm gulf-stream flows on its course year after year, changing the climatic conditions of vast stretches of territory, a beautiful type of the great current of Spiritual Truth that has come down through the centuries, illuming the hearts of men, and giving birth to heavenly aspiration, so the life and inspired teachings of the Founder of Christian Science can be well termed a counter current, that like those so common along our New Eng- land coast, runs directly contrary to the main stream of worldly ways and means, materialistic systems and dog- mas, but once the vessel of our lives and hopes enters into it, it is borne along by the tide of the Divine Law of Love, to the port of Salvation, wherein we cast anchor safe within the harbor bar, secure in the eternal haven. Then open to our gaze the gates of the Celes- 56 wnatrs Cause tial City " beside the tideless sea " and entering in we awake in His likeness, at one with Good the everlasting Father, and we are satisfied. 14 DAY USE RETURN TO DESK FROM WHICH BORROWED LOAN DEPT. This book is due on the last date stamped below, or on the date to which renewed. Renewed books are subject to immediate recall. LD 21A-50m-9,'58 (6889slO)476B General Library University of California Berkeley YB 07037 3O4589 Tl UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY