The San Francisco call., 1899-10-01
EDITORIAL
VARIATIONS
BY JOHN McNAUGHT.

young woman Of an intense emo
tional nature, with an ardent, ambi-
tious intellect, possessing, it appears,
many fine faculties but lacking the saw
ing one of common sense, in a stress of
excitement lost her reason and her
strength and was committed last week
to Agnews asylum as an insane patient,
where she died. For some time before
her insanity manifested itself she had
been student of Christian Science and
Votary of its doctrines. On that show
ing considerable number of the people
of the neighborhood have come to the
conclusion she was rendered insane by
the philosophy she was studying, and
they have found means to make some
thing startlingly sensational of the case
and to raise a clamor against Christian
Science and all its teachers.
In that same asylum at Agnews there
was for many years-and may be yet,
for all | know-a young woman of ar
dent mind who, while a student at the
State Normal School at San Jose, be-
came insane from a strain upon the
brain brought about by overstudy and
lack Of proper recreation and nourish-
ment. Now let us have another sensa-
ton and raise cry against the Normal
School, demanding the suppression of
the teaching of those who believe in the
education of girls.
Call doctrine christianity" and
the common world will listen to it with
toleration at least, though it be hardly
more than q traditional superstition
l,a 49, Il al ofT I,a
human intellect Call doctrine sci
ence," and the same world will listen to
it with an equal liberation, though it
teach by precept there is no soul, and
that every i'll of humanity can be cured
by pills. That much the world will do
solely because Christianity and science
are old, familiar names. We do not
know what they mean, but we know
the words. and anything called by
their names sounds friendly. 1t has
been the custom to regard them
as good old antagonistc forces,
opposing one another in the domain
of philosophy in much the same
way as Democracy and Republicanism
oppose each other in politics. We have
grown used to their rivalries and their
fights, and it appears to most of us
natural condition of the world that they
should go on fighting. The thinkers
who are trying to fuse the two into a
rational system of Christian Science are
therefore regarded as enemies of soci-
ETY., hardly more respectable than the
men who try to organize fusion parties
in politics, and the average man who
has never given a serious thought to
Christianity science or Christian Sci
ence is cocksure that just as a fusion
party would endanger the chances Of
both the old parties, so the new philosO-
ply, if it be not suppressed, will entail
the destruction of both science and
Christianity.
The war for the cause Of the good old
faces, forms, creeds and names against
anything and everything unfamiliar be-
gan with the appearance of the first
stranger on the outskirts of village of
human beings. No sooner had that ear
liest of wanderers been sighted by the
natives of the village than one said to
another: do you know that thing?"
The other replied: mo, L don't"
Then said the first, get your club
and let's kill it,
When a name has once become famil-
lar and approved any kind of doctrince
can be put forth under it with good
success, no matter how different it be
from what the name itself means and
implies. Examples of that truth are to
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