As with ever increasing earnestness of purpose the United States prepares to perform to the full its part in the world war, great events in the history of our country appear to its citizens in a clearer light and with a deeper signification. We feel a new thrill as we contemplate the coming of the Pilgrims from the old England they loved to New England, impelled by no mad dream of world conquest but solely by the desire to enjoy, unmolested, the privilege of worshiping God in their own way. In the world's long history, no nation ever had its foundation laid in a purpose more pure; and quite naturally this country was the first to adopt, as a part of its basic law, the provision that its inhabitants should always be free to worship God according to the dictates of conscience. In the light of present events we appreciate more fully than ever before the great blessing which resulted to the whole world from the publication of the Declaration of Independence, which gave new impetus to that ideal of government now so dear to all lovers of liberty everywhere. Christian Scientists perceive that in the forward march of events, only that which was natural and inevitable occurred when Christian Science, the Science of freedom, was discovered in New England, from whence rang out in clear tones that wonderful message to humanity contained in "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" (pp. 224, 227): "Truth brings the elements of liberty. On its banner is the Soul-inspired motto, 'Slavery is abolished;'" and "Citizens of the world, accept the 'glorious liberty of the children of God,' and be free! This is your divine right."

Our country now faces the situation to which Mrs. Eddy prophetically referred, when she said: "But if our nation's rights or honor were seized, every citizen would be a soldier and woman would be armed with power girt for the hour" (Miscellany, p. 277). To-day, the battalions of the nations are indeed being set in array, and the issue is squarely drawn: Shall freedom and justice be trampled under the heel of tyranny, and all people be brought under the domination of carnal-mindedness, expressing its spurious and despotic power through elaborately developed human organizations; or shall those ideals of civil and religious liberty, with roots extending far back into the centuries, but which first blossomed in America, spread over and possess the earth, in fulfillment of prophecy, and in preparation for that day when every man shall be his own king and his own priest, and Christ's Kingdom shall be established on earth as in heaven?

As our army takes its place beside those other armies which are fighting with a steadfastness and heroism possible only to those who fight for Principle, and we consider the power of this army (and it is destined to be an army of tremendous power; let us make no mistake about that), thought turns to Old Testament days. We see the shepherd boy, fresh from tending his flock, meet and overthrow the giant champion of the Philistines, not because a sling and a stone constitute a superior weapon, but because the youthful shepherd fought for "a cause" which he knew was right, and clearly realized that right alone has power. Had David accepted Goliath's invitation to "come down" to his mental level of trust in carnality he would have fared no better than the soldiers of Soul, who for forty days had fled before the giant's display of physical force. But the dauntless shepherd boy, who had seen the moral issue involved so clearly that he had dared to rescue an innocent lamb from a greed-impelled bear or lion, instantly saw what an untenable position Goliath occupied when, trusting in brute force, he defied the God of the armies of Israel, and proposed to enslave those who worshiped the only true God. This moral courage and spiritual discernment were David's real strength when he faced the Philistine, and they gave him both freedom and power to reveal the victory of Principle.

Again we remember brave Gideon, that "mighty man of valour," who was inspired by God to free his land and people from the wanton destructiveness and aggression of the Midianites and their allies. When he advanced to meet the foe, Gideon's trust in spiritual might grew steadily stronger, until he dared to reduce his army to a band of three hundred ardent, faithful followers; and with this small force he put to rout a multitude of armed men. Thus he made plain the lesson that the strength of an army lies not in its size, but rests on its trust in and devotion to God, good.

We ponder the fearlessness and perfect calm with which Elisha greeted the news that the host of the king of Syria had surrounded Dothan to capture him, and we recognize in the gentleness with which he dealt with those Syrians, rendered powerless to do him harm by his clear understanding of what really constitutes power, a proof of the statement, "Tenderness accompanies all the might imparted by Spirit" (Science and Health, p. 514). So we might go on through the long list of moral heroes, "who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens."

But when we meditate on these things, upon no point should we dwell more than upon this, that, since God's eternal law never changes, whatever has been possible is still possible to man. Every one knows the distressful method employed by human ingenuity when it undertakes to remove an abnormal growth from a human body; yet thousands know that Christian Science treatment, by eliminating the belief in an abnormal growth from human consciousness, thereby causes to disappear from the human body the manifestation of that diseased belief, as painlessly as dawns the morning light. Why then should we not realize that it is possible for an army to win a righteous victory without harm to itself? Did not brave Dewey sail into Manila Harbor and conquer the fleet of the foe without losing a single ship or a single man?

The same divine law which sustained Jesus and John and Paul, which brought the three Hebrew captives safely through the fiery furnace, and Daniel through the lions' den, sustained Washington and Dewey, and operates to-day to sustain, empower, and protect every soldier who fights for the freedom of humanity, and against the aggressiveness of the carnal mind. The more clearly this is realized by our soldiers and their friends, the more quickly and the less painfully will the victory be won, and the more impressive will be the lesson to all mankind. Whatever adds to the spiritual equipment of our soldiers is of supreme importance. How irresistible in power can be an army thoroughly imbued with the spirit of the ninety-first psalm, supported by chaplains, personal and impersonal, and by friends at home, who understand God well enough to pray "the prayer of faith," and who realize for the men the truth of the grand promise: "Because thou hast made the Lord, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation; there shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come night thy dwelling. For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways." Something of this spirit does imbue our army, our nation, and its allies, and is destined to take possession of it more and more. Then with ever increasing confidence, of each brave soldier, lover of his country, friend and servant of mankind, we may truly say, in the words of one of our hymns:—

Copyright, 1918, by The Christian Science Publishing Society, Falmouth and St. Paul Streets, Boston, Massachusetts. Entered at Boston post office as second-class matter