Page:The Life of Mary Baker G. Eddy.djvu/167

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HISTORY OF CHRISTIAN SCIENCE
129


Answers," is word for word the same as Mrs. Glover's manuscript, "The Science of Man."[1]


The relation of Quimby's "Questions and Answers" to the Christian Science doctrine will be discussed in a later chapter. The following quotations, taken at random, illustrate the fact that the Quimby manuscript abounds in ideas and phrases familiar to every Christian Scientist.

If I understand how disease originates in the mind and fully believe it, why cannot I cure myself?

Disease being made by our beliefs or by our parents' beliefs or by public opinion, there is no one formula of argument to be adopted, but every one must be hit in their particular case. Therefore it requires great shrewdness or wisdom to get the better of the error.

I know of no better counsel than Jesus gave to His Disciples when He sent them forth to cast out devils, and heal the sick, and thus in practice to preach the Truth "Be ye wise as serpents and harmless as doves." Never get into a passion, but in patience possess ye your soul, and at length you weary out the discord and produce harmony by your Truth destroying error. Then it is you get the case. Now, if you are not afraid to face the error and argue it down, then you can heal the sick.

The patient's disease is in his belief.

Error is sickness. Truth is health.

In this science the names are given thus: God is Wisdom. This Wisdom is not an individuality but a principle, embraces every idea form, of which the idea, man, is the highest—hence the image of God, or the Principle.

Understanding is God.

All sciences are part of God.

Truth is God.

There is no other Truth but God.

God is Wisdom. God is Principle.

Wisdom, Love, and Truth are the Principle.

Error is matter.

Matter has no intelligence.

To give intelligence to matter is an error which is sickness.

Matter has no intelligence of its own, and to believe intelligence is in matter is the error which produces pain and inharmony of all sorts; to

  1. The manuscript Science of Man, from which Mrs. Glover taught, is not the same work as her printed pamphlet of that title.