(PART II) - MISCELLANY
Books by Mary Baker Eddy
YOUTH AND YOUNG MANHOOD
YOUTH AND YOUNG MANHOODosmopolitan, November, 1907] EDITOR'S NOTE. - The Cosmopolitan presents this month to its readers a facsimile of an article sent to us by Mrs. Eddy, with the corrections on the manuscript reproduced in her own handwriting. Not only Mrs. Eddy's own devoted followers, but the public generally, will be interested in this communication from the extraordinary woman who, nearly eighty-seven years of age, plays so great a part in the world and leads with such conspicuous success her very great following. Mrs. Eddy writes very rarely for any publications outside of the Christian Science periodicals, and our readers will be interested in this presentation of the thought of a mind that has had so much influence on this generation. The Cosmopolitan gives no editorial indorsement to the teachings MY 273 of Christian Science, it has no religious opinions or predilections to put before its readers. This manuscript is presented simply as an interesting and remarkable proof of Mrs. Eddy's ability in old age to vindicate in her own person the value of her teachings. Certainly, Christian Scientists, enthusiastic in their belief, are fortunate in being able to point to a Leader far beyond the allotted years of man, emerging triumphantly from all attacks upon her, and guiding with remarkable skill, determination, and energy a very great organization that covers practically the civilized world. King David, the Hebrew bard, sang, "I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread." I for one accept his wise deduction, his ultimate or spiritual sense of thinking, feeling, and acting, and its reward. This sense of rightness acquired by experience and wisdom, should be early presented to youth and to manhood in order to forewarn and forearm humanity. The ultimatum of life here and hereafter is utterly apart from a material or personal sense of pleasure, pain, joy, sorrow, life, and death. The truth of life, or life in truth, is a scientific knowledge that is portentous; and is won only by the spiritual understanding of Life as God, good, ever-present good, and therefore life eternal. You will agree with me that the material body is mortal, but Soul is immortal; also that the five personal senses are perishable: they lapse and relapse, come and go, until at length they are consigned to dust. But say you, "Man awakes from the dream of death in possession of the five personal senses, does he not?" Yes, because death alone does not awaken man in God's image and likeness. The divine Science of Life alone gives MY 274 the true sense of life and of righteousness, and demonstrates the Principle of life eternal; even the Life that is Soul apart from the so-called life of matter or the material senses. Death alone does not absolve man from a false material sense of life, but goodness, holiness, and love do this, and so consummate man's being with the harmony of heaven; the omnipotence, omnipresence, and omniscience of Life, even its all-power, all-presence, all-Science. Dear reader, right thinking, right feeling, and right acting - honesty, purity, unselfishness - in youth tend to success, intellectuality, and happiness in manhood. To begin rightly enables one to end rightly, and thus it is that one achieves the Science of Life, demonstrates health, holiness, and immortality. |
|| - page index - || - chapter index - || - download - || - Exit - || |
(c) Copyright 1998 -
Rolf Witzsche
Published by
Cygni Communications Ltd. North Vancouver, Canada