Page:Valid Objections to So-called Christian Science (1902).pdf/35

 Mind may produce, or allay symptoms of disorder in the human body which fall under a certain category, they themselves are not responsible for all disorders, nor is disorder in itself a mere condition of the mind. It is a physical state produced by a physical derangement.

It is well known that sudden or continued emotions produce a decided effect upon the body. Anger causes us to tremble and to experience unwonted sense of heat. Fear makes the extremities to grow cold. Shame causes us to blush. Merriment brings about a certain physical convulsion called laughter. Worry causes a general depletion of the vitality. But none of these things produce typhoid fever, or diphtheria, or small-pox, or a broken leg, or the wound from a sword thrust or a Mauser bullet. And none of these will effect a cure of such specific injuries; although our state of mind, by rendering the functions of our organism harmonious, may do much to assist such a cure.

The point where Christian Science has duped its votaries is this: It has confused the category of diseases that are present through an emotional or nerve-disturbing cause with the category of diseases that are present through external