Article January 27, 1917 Issue

Straight Lines and Plumb Lines

EDWARD A. STRONG

In all time the plumb line has been used as the symbol of rectitude, uprightness, and spiritual understanding. We read in the book of Amos, "Behold, I will set a plumbline in the midst of my people Israel: I will not again pass by them any more." This prophecy foretells the coming of the final revelation and unfoldment of the spiritual relationship and inseparable connection which exists between God and man, of "perfect Principle and idea,—perfect God and perfect man" (Science and Health, p. 259). This has now come to all of God's children, to remain forever and never again to be lost or to be obscured,—the Comforter which was to make manifest the Christ, Truth, as taught in Christian Science.

A straight line is never less than a straight line. What is spoken of as its movement is always straight forward, never deviating or turning to the right or to the left, but proceeding in an unvarying direction to the point of its ultimate destination. A straight line may be wholly mental and not dependent upon or limited by its material representation, and although some material object may seem to interfere with or to intercept its action, still nothing can prevent its operation, which is always in a straight line. Thus it is with the spiritual consciousness which is the realization of the true relation of God and man; though it may seem for a time that the material senses are obliterating the spiritual understanding, still through the Principle of its unvarying activity it is always and continually operative.

The plumb line is constantly pointing upward in agreement with a perfect perpendicular and never varies to one side or the other, for should it deviate in the least from the perpendicular, it would at once cease to be a plumb line. So spiritual understanding always points upward and always reflects and is coincident with the one perfect Principle. As the plumb line indicates and is always parallel to the exact perpendicular, and is not in any way dependent upon any material representation to make it a plumb line, but solely on its agreement with the perpendicular, which is always perfectly plumb, so the real man, the reflection of infinite Mind, apart from any mortal sense of man, is and always has been in perfect accord with his divine Principle, God.

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