Page:The Origin of Christian Science.djvu/78

70 be thereby imperfect, and if he were displeased with anything he would be affected from a power without his own being and would not be infinite and omnipotent. They understand divine perfection and infinity in a way that renders the deity absolutely indifferent. So Plotinus can say: “The good itself is without desire,” and “the life of the gods and of divine and happy men&emsp;*&emsp;*&emsp;*&emsp;is a life unaccompanied with human pleasures.” And Spinoza can say: “Neither the honest man nor the thief can cause God any pleasure or displeasure,” and “it cannot be said that God desires anything of any man, or that anything is displeasing or pleasing to Him: all these are human qualities and have no place in God.” Mrs. Eddy teaches that to God there is no evil. From this it must follow that to God there is nothing good, and so Plotinus reasons: “To the one nothing is good, and, therefore neither is the wish for anything good to it.” Mrs. Eddy shrinks from stating her doctrine so boldly and honestly. But that this is her doctrine can be seen from the quotations already given.

To give point to much that has just been said and to put it so its force will be felt I will say that Mrs. Eddy's deity is incapable of love. This may seem contrary to fact since one of Mrs. Eddy's synonyms for God