Page:The Origin of Christian Science.djvu/201

Rh are worked out in detail by Mrs. Eddy as by the Neoplatonists. Again let me remind the student that I am not selecting at random certain similarities between the two systems that could be accidental, but I am showing that the materials of one building even to the finishing pieces have been used in constructing the other. The bricks, boards, shape, size, and trimmings of Mrs. Eddy's psychological edifice are not only like those of the Neoplatonic temple but are these actual materials and qualities. There are really not two structures but one. An attempt has been made to render the old one modern by simply effacing from the walls the names of heathen gods and writing in their stead the names of Christian ideas.

The first application that may be taken up has reference to language. Mrs. Eddy finds fault with verbal expression as being a hindrance to thought rather than a help. The reason is that words, written and spoken, are dependent on the physical senses, which give error rather than truth. Mrs. Eddy is quite consistent in her depreciation of language. Her rejection of audible prayer is a perfectly logical conclusion. If to understand truth we must get away from all that is physical then a written or spoken utterance is a hindrance. But one wonders why the author of Christian Science did not apply this principle to all use of language and refrain altogether from speaking and writing. Why does she attempt to state truth by means of error?