Page:Valid Objections to So-called Christian Science (1902).pdf/55

 cism is common to all primitive peoples. When a man is sick, they fancy this is due to the presence of some evil spirit—or, as the Christian Scientist would put it, some error of mind—and the charms and hideous noises of the witch doctor are deemed more potent than any intelligent method of treatment.

Among the Indians of the West, a common method of treating the severely ill is to chant monotonous songs and to make a great din, by beating drums and rattling gourds filled with stones, during the long hours of the day and night. This is supposed to frighten away the powers of error and to soothe the mind of the patient by taking his attention away from the thought of his malady.

But to perceive more clearly the unhappiness we would entail upon our generation by following the lead of Christian Science teaching, it will be well to consider the facts which show what our present system has done in the alleviation of suffering and the prolongation of life.

Under modern hygienic conditions, the average length of existence for an individual in England has increased to an appreciable degree in this last half