Article November 10, 1917 Issue

True Nobility

COL. F. H. MATURIN

Nobility and humility are, or should be, synonymous terms: to be truly noble is to be humble, and to be humble is to be noble. A great writer has well and beautifully written, "True nobility is the effacement of self; let a thought of self enter, and the glory of a great action is gone, like the bloom of a faded flower." We learn in Christian Science not only what this effacement of self means, but also what a vital necessity it is to us as Christian Scientists to practice this self-effacement in order that we may progress, and so reap the benefits to be gained from the teachings of this Science. We learn also from the study of our textbook, "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" by Mrs. Eddy, that this self-effacement is what our Leader designates as "unselfed love."

In that wonderful and healing chapter entitled Prayer, with which the textbook begins, we read in the opening lines as follows: "The prayer that reforms the sinner and heals the sick is an absolute faith that all things are possible to God,—a spiritual understanding of Him, an unselfed love." On page 192 of the same book Mrs. Eddy writes, "Whatever holds human thought in line with unselfed love, receives directly the divine power." In these two passages our Leader tells us of the great reward of true nobility, or humility, as expressed in self-effacement, in an unselfed love; namely, the power to overcome sin and sickness in ourselves and in others. In Micah we read that God requires this humility, for the prophet tells us we should love mercy and walk humbly with God; and Isaiah further tells us that God will reward the one who does this, for we read, "To this man will I look, even to him that is poor [humble] and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word."

At the time when Saul was "breating out threatenings and slaughter" and persecuting the followers of Christ Jesus, it cannot be said that self-effacement was one of his most conspicuous characteristics. Yet when on his way from Jerusalem to Damascus, bent on further persecution, the light came to him,—the light that shone upon him out of heaven,—what a change! That Mrs. Eddy associated nobility with humility can be gathered from her metaphysical rendering on page 326 of Science and Health of Saul's experience. She writes of this change: "Thought assumed a nobler outlook, ... and in humility he took the new name of Paul. He beheld for the first time the true idea of Love, and learned a lesson in divine Science." Christian Scientists are praying to-day, as Saul must have been praying, for more light, and so they learn the lesson as he learned it, and thus are able to say as he later said: "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me."

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