Part 57 (2/2)
To an ill-attuned ear, discord is harmony; so personal sense, discerning not the legitimate affection of Soul, may place love on a false basis and thereby lose it. Science [10]
corrects this error with the truth of Love, and restores lost Eden. Soul is the infinite source of bliss: only high and holy joy can satisfy immortal cravings. The good in human affections should preponderate over the evil, and the spiritual over the animal,-until progress lifts [15]
mortals to discern the Science of mental formation and find the highway of holiness.
In the order of wisdom, the higher nature of man governs the lower. This lays the foundations of human affection in line with progress, giving them strength and [20]
permanence.
When asked by a wife or a husband important ques- tions concerning their happiness, the substance of my reply is: G.o.d will guide you. Be faithful over home rela- tions; they lead to higher joys: obey the Golden Rule [25]
for human life, and it will spare you much bitterness.
It is pleasanter to do right than wrong; it makes one ruler over one's self and hallows home,-which is woman's world. Please your husband, and he will be apt to please you; preserve affection on both sides. [30]
Great mischief comes from attempts to steady other people's altars, venturing on valor without discretion,
[Page 288.]
which is virtually meddlesomeness. Even your sincere [1]
and courageous convictions regarding what is best for others may be mistaken; you must be demonstratively right yourself, and work out the greatest good to the greatest number, before you are sure of being a fit coun- [5]
sellor. Positive and imperative thoughts should be dropped into the balances of G.o.d and weighed by spiritual Love, and not be found wanting, before being put into action.
A rash conclusion that regards only one side of a ques- tion, is weak and wicked; this error works out the results [10]
of error. If the premise of mortal existence is wrong, any conclusion drawn therefrom is not absolutely right.
Wisdom in human action begins with what is nearest right under the circ.u.mstances, and thence achieves the absolute. [15]
Is marriage nearer right than celibacy?
Human knowledge inculcates that it is, while Science indicates that it _is not_. But to force the consciousness of scientific being before it is understood is impossible, and believing otherwise would prevent scientific demon- [20]
stration. To reckon the universal cost and gain, as well as thine own, is right in every state and stage of being.
The selfish _role_ of a martyr is the s.h.i.+ft of a dishonest mind, nothing short of self-seeking; and real suffering would stop the farce. [25]
The cause of temperance receives a strong impulse from the cause of Christian Science: temperance and truth are allies, and their cause prospers in proportion to the spirit of Love that nerves the struggle. People will differ in their opinions as to means to promote the [30]
ends of temperance; that is, abstinence from intoxicat- ing beverages. Whatever intoxicates a man, stultifies,
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and causes him to degenerate physically and morally. [1]
Strong drink is unquestionably an evil, and evil cannot be used temperately: its slightest use is abuse; hence the only temperance is total abstinence. Drunkenness is sensuality let loose, in whatever form it is made [5]
manifest.
What is evil? It is suppositional absence of good.
From a human standpoint of good, mortals must first choose between evils, and of two evils choose the less; and at present the application of scientific rules to hu- [10]
man life seems to rest on this basis.
All partners.h.i.+ps are formed on agreements to certain compacts: each party voluntarily surrenders independ- ent action to act as a whole and per agreement. This fact should be duly considered when by the marriage [15]
contract two are made one, and, according to the divine precept, ”they twain shall be one flesh.” Oneness in spirit is Science, compatible with home and heaven.
Neither divine justice nor human equity has _divorced_ two minds in one. [20]
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