The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1900-10-09
LARK TWAIN On CHRISTIAN SIIEZCE
II" I o'0c'p:e OF n New Doctrine Treated the Famous I,u oox;o4
""en n Fiau Broken Some Arms. Legs ard One
hing and Another.

L t4l not seem 10
say anything about the difficulty in hand
hoW non existing matter can propagate
Illusions. said, with some ~hesitancy:
"Does-does 1t eXDlain?"
Doesn't It? Even if read backward it
will % H."
With . budding hope, I asked her to
90 it backward.
Very well. Disease sin evil death deny
Coed omniDotcnt God life matter is moth
ing al being Spirit Cod Mind is Good good
is God all il All is God. There-d0 YOU
understand now?'
"I--it-weI. it is palmer than it vas
before: still
"We.l?"
"Culd you try it some ~aorc ways?'
As many as you like; It aluays means
the same. I-ntercharged in any way YOU
please, it cannot be made to mean any
thing different from what it means when
put in any other way. because il IS pcr-
feet, You can tumble it all up. ana it
makes no difference: i always comes OFT
the way it was before. 1t was 4 mar
velous mind that produced i. As a men
tai tour de force it is without a mate,
It defcs alike the simple, the concrete
and the occult"
1T seems to be a corker.'
l blushed for the word, but it was out
before I could stop it.
- what?"
"A wonderful Observation-Disclosures, so
to speak, of profound thoughts-unthink-
able ones-un"-
1T is true. Read backwards, or fer
wards, or perpendicular, or at any given
angle, these four proposition will always
be found to agree in statement and
proof
"Ah-proof. Now we are coming 1T it.
The statements agree; they are with
with-anyWay, they agree; I noticed that;
but what is it they PROVE mean in par
t:cu7ar?"
Why, nothing could be clearer. They
prove: /. God-Principle, Life. Truth,
Love, Soul, Spirit, Mind Do you set
that?"
well, seem to. Go on, please
80. Nan-God's universal idea, irdi-
yidual, perfect, eternal. IS it clecr?'
Tt think so. Continue"
3. Idea-An image OF Mird; the i'm
mediate object Of Understanding. Theirs
It is-the whole sublime Arcana Of Chris
tan Science IN q nutshell. DO you find
a weak place il it anyWhere?"
'EEeIl-no; it seems strong"
Very wei. There is more. Those
tItISc CONSTITUTE liz SttClItl1C tjCIliitItl u
Immortal Mind. Next, We have the Seicn-
t.fie definition OF Mortal Mind. Thus, First
Degree: D~errav:ty. /. DISQUALIFICATION
ard appetitcs, iear, depravcd Will, pride,
envy, deceit, hatred, revenge, sin, disease,
deo-h.'
'phantasras, madaEl-unrealities, as
understand -"
Every one. Second Degree: Evil Dis
erpcarirg. /. Moral-Eonasty, affection,
compassion, horo, faitll, l~2eehncss, tenn
pcTarcc. Is it c!oar?'
.tCrystal.'
Third Degree: Spiritual Salvation.
/. Spiritual-Faith, wisdom, power, pGT-
ity, Understanding, health, love. You see
how searchingIy and co-ordinatcly inter
dependent and anthropomorphus it al IS.
II this Third Degree, as Ne know by the
revelations of Christian Science, nacta!
mird disappears"
Not carl-er?'
no, not until the teaching end Erepa-
raticn for the Third Degree are com
.1e-cG."
cit is not until then that ono is Enabled
10 take hold Of Christian Science effect
lively. and with the right sense CT SYM
gathy and kinship, as l understand you.
That is to say, it could not succeed during
! the processes @ the Second Degree, be
cause there would still BE remains Of mind
left: and thcrcfore-but | interrupted
YOU. You were about to further explain
the good results proceeding from the
/ erosions and Gisintegrations effected by
the Third Degree. 1t is very interesting;
&C or, please"
Yes, I was saying, in this Third Dc
gree mortal mind disappears. Science Sc
reverses the evidence before the corporea!
! human senses as to make this scriptUral
testimony true IN our hearts, the last
shah be frs. ana t1,e frst Shall be last,
that God ara His idea may be to US
what divinity really is, and must OF ncco5-
sity bc-all-inclusive."
st IS beautiful. And with what ex-
haustive exactness your choice and ar
arrangement of words confirms and estab-
! fishes what you have claimed for the
powers and functions OF the Third De
gree. The Second could probably produce
only temporary absence CT mind; it is re-
served to the third to make it permanent
A sentence framed under the auspices O.
the Second could have q kind OF meaning
q sort CT deceptive resemblance Of it
whereas it is only under the magic OF tbs
Third that the defect would disappear
Also, without doubt, it is the Third De-
gree that contributes another remarkable
sDecialty to Christian Science, VIZ: cas-
and flow and layishness OF words anC
RHYTHM and swing and smoothness. Their
must be a special reason, for this?'
'Yes-God-all, all-God, good Ccd, non
Matter, Matteration, Spirit, Bones
Truth"
That explains it,
There is nothing in Christian Science
that is not eXplicable: for Cod is one
Time is one, Individuality is one, and MAJ
be one OF q series, one CT many, as an IL
dividual man, individual horse; whereas
God is one. not enc OF a series, hut ons
alone and without an equal
.sThesc are noble thoughts. They mako
one burn TO know more. How does Chris
tan Science explain the spiritual relation
of systematic duality to incidental de-
fection?"
"Christian Science reverso6 the seeming
relation OF Soul and body-as astronomy
reycrses the human perception OF tao
movement Of the solar systcn2-and makes
body tributary to the Min AS it is tnG
earth which is in motion while the sun is
at rest, though in viewing the sun rise Onf