Article February 15, 1908 Issue

Elbert Hubbard says in his Philistine magazine for...

The Mexican Herald

Elbert Hubbard says in his Philistine magazine for December: "The entire thinking world will one day pay homage to Mrs. Mary Baker G. Eddy because she has helped humanity to eliminate many forms of fear."

Think as we may of this notable woman who has built up a great religious denomination, it remains a fact that her adherents have to a great extent—some more, some less—eliminated fear and its evil offspring, worry and anger, from their daily lives. This is much. Fear has dominated the human mind from the dateless age of the cave dwellers. ... The apostles of the evolution theory of explanation of the universe, tell us that pain has been mankind's greatest educator; pain makes fear, and fear breeds caution, and the child of caution is prudence. This is what we are told. But certainly whatever our times can show of great and useful achievement is due to men of a bright and optimistic and wholly audacious temperament. This is the stuff the great inventors and all great doers are made of. The world is far from perfect; it offers ample scope for the work of generations of reformers and humanitarians. But who will say that humanity would not advance rapidly towards more genial conditions were Christian unselfishness the rule, and needless fear supplanted by a great hopefulness?

Just to get rid of worry would add immensely to the sum of human happiness. More than that, it would be the banishing of friction, and thus positive and useful accomplishing would be far easier than it is now. The Christian Scientists assert that they have the secret of cheerfulness, that they do not allow pessimistic thoughts to sway their minds. They seem to have taken hold of this great business of life by the right handle. And life is the real business of all of us, men and women, as Montaigne eloquently showed several centuries ago. How to make a success of life in gaining health, needful human comforts, and spiritual tranquillity, is the problem for all. There is no sense in choosing a dark dungeon to dwell in, when outside, on the fair surface of the earth, there is sweet air and bright sunshine. The mental attitude makes the dungeon, or the open air of cheerfulness. Man is as he thinks. He is nothing else but a bundle of thoughts. Thinking rightly brings positive happiness, serenity.

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