Article December 31, 1910 Issue

THE THINKER

RICHARD P. VERRALL.

Rodin's statue of The Thinker in front of the Pantheon in Paris, representing primitive man in the act of receiving his first idea, is an apt illustration of the hostile attitude which mortals invariably adopt when compelled to think in new channels. The muscular contortions of The Thinker vividly portray the fierceness of the struggle going on within him, and indicate the stubborn resistance of the carnal mind to the spiritual idea which comes to destroy it.

Carlyle says: "Truly a thinking man is the worst enemy the prince of darkness can have; every time such a one announces himself, I doubt not, there runs a shudder through the nether empire; and new emissaries are trained, with new tactics, to, if possible, entrap him, and hoodwink and handcuff him." The apparent success which this hypothetical "prince of darkness" seems to have had in deceiving the people in this and past ages, but emphasizes the need of a more scientific method of thinking, such as has been practised and communicated to others by Mrs. Eddy. She has remained steadfast in the faith and has succeeded in establishing on the earth a pure and undefiled system of metaphysical healing. She has thrown wide open the doors which a belief in materiality had barred, and has emancipated thousands of victims who had been bound by the love of sin and the fear of sickness.

In overthrowing the belief that evil has power with the understanding that good is the only power, Mrs. Eddy has undermined the very foundations of falsity, and established the fact that "now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ." In showing mankind how true thoughts free them from the subtle influence of superstition and "personal contagion," she has said: "Good thoughts are an impervious armor" (Pamphlet, What Our Leader Says, p. 7). This encouraging statement naturally raises the question as to where the dividing line between good and bad thoughts is located, and how one can keep within the boundaries of the former. Paul answered this question when he wrote to the church at Philippi: "Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus;" obviously implying that the right thinker must not only discard all malicious and carnal thoughts, but that he must actually think no other thoughts than those which come from the one divine Mind. As if to remove all doubt or misunderstanding on this subject, Paul further said: "And if any man think that he knoweth any thing [of himself], he knoweth nothing yet as he ought to know."

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