Editorial February 2, 1907 Issue

A NEW EDITION OF SCIENCE AND HEALTH

ARCHIBALD McLELLAN

ATTENTION is called to the publisher's announcement on page 406 of this issue of a new edition of the Christian Science text-book which is now on sale. This edition is printed from new plates, and contains a number of important changes and additions, which have been made by Mrs. Eddy in keeping with her statement on page 361 of this book, viz., "I have revised Science and Health only to give a clearer and fuller expression of its original meaning. Spiritual ideas unfold as we advance. A human perception of divine Science, however limited, must be correct in order to be Science and subject to demonstration. A germ of infinite Truth, though least in the kingdom of heaven, is the higher hope on earth, but it will be rejected and reviled until God prepares the soil for the seed. That which when sown bears immortal fruit, enriches mankind only when it is understood,—hence the many readings given the Scriptures, and the requisite revisions of Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures."

The changes which have been made from time to time in Science and Health are evidences of Mrs. Eddy's desire to have this book flawless in its statement of the Science which she has discovered, and this without regard to the great amount of work involved. Rev. James Henry Wiggin, from his personal knowledge of her work on the early editions of Science and Health, has thrown light upon this desire, which has always inspired the author. We quote from Mr. Wiggin's book, "Christian Science and the Bible," as follows: "Whatever is to be Mrs. Eddy's future reputation, time will show. Little cares she, if only through her work Truth may be glorified. More than once, in her eagerness, she has reached her bottom dollar, but the interest of the world to hear her words has filled her coffers anew. Within a few months she has made sacrifices from which most authors would have shrunk, to ensure the mortal rightness of her book. Day after day flew by, and weeks lengthened into months; from every quarter came importunate missives of inquiry and mercantile reproach; hundreds of dollars were sunk in a bottomless sea of corrections; yet not till the authoress was satisfied that her duty was wholly done, would she allow printer and binder to send forth her book to the world."

Christian Scientists appreciate Mrs. Eddy's labors in this direction and are grateful for them.

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