WEBSTER'S dictionary defines the verb "to adulterate" in part as follows: "To make corrupt or impure by adding new, strange, or foreign elements." The seventh commandment, "Thou shalt not commit adultery," has for the Christian Scientist a profound and vital significance, for it warns him against admitting to his consciousness any thought which is foreign to Life, Truth, and Love. Such a process of exclusion deprives him of nothing that is real or good, for anything foreign to God is necessarily unreal and powerless to bring one either pain or pleasure. Chastity of thought, on the other hand, is mirrored in the student's daily living, in ever-unfolding good, opening unlimited possibilities to him, broadening his vision, enlarging his talents, and leading him forward to higher and holier attainment.

In view of the glorious results which follow obedience to the divine demand for purity, how foolish and insignificant are the importunities of mortal mind!

What would be thought of the farmer who sowed wheat in his field and then deliberately planted burdock seeds among the grain? What would be the verdict passed upon a worker in any line of endeavor who weakened his own work, either deliberately or carelessly, and thus thwarted his own success? His foolishness would be self-evident. So the success of the Christian Scientist depends upon the constructive quality of his thought; and foolish, indeed, is he who adulterates his thinking by entertaining mental images which are sinful and destructive.

Every Christian Scientist should have a definite goal. He must work out his own salvation; that is, prove in his own experience the allness of God and the consequent nothingness of evil. He knows that this demonstration must be continually progressive — that he must strive to bring his every thought, word, and deed into conformity with the high standard of Life, Truth, and Love; for as Mrs. Eddy tells us in "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" (pp. 261, 262), "Good demands of man every hour, in which to work out the problem of being."

The Christian Scientist is alive to the importance of this demand made upon him by God, infinite good. He knows that enduring health, happiness, and success will inevitably be his as he humbly and courageously meets this demand. Since infinite Love stands ready to bestow upon the obedient student unlimited spiritual riches, and since, through Christian Science, the student is being awakened to the conviction of Love's present availability would it not be foolish of him to adulterate his thinking by disregarding the divine demand, thus shutting himself off from the attendant blessings of goodness and purity?

In his mental work, the student insists on his divine birthright as the son of God. He claims for himself, by reflection, the spiritual qualities of dominion, intelligence, and goodness. He further knows that he can express the qualities of vivacity, friendliness, lovableness. Having established his true identity as the child of Love, the student should never be tempted into betrayal of his trust. To take a cigarette into his mouth would be a denial of his right to dominion. To accept an intoxicating drink, which would rob him of his ability to think clearly, would be for him to deny "the scientific statement of being," which begins, "There is no life, truth, intelligence, nor substance in matter" (Science and Health, p. 468) . When sick or in pain, how fervently the student clings to the words, and how earnestly he seeks to understand them! Since he would never verbally or mentally deny the truth they convey, having proved them true in his own experience, how could he be tempted into an act which would deny them? The purity of the conscientious student is a bulwark against temptation.

The alert student is not deceived by such a sophistry as the argument that to be popular one must follow the crowd. As a matter of fact, he is not interested in personal popularity, which, in the long run, brings more of heartache than of joy. His desire is for true friendship, based on honesty, purity, sincerity; and his demonstration of these qualities brings such friendship into his experience in ever-increasing measure. Working constantly to establish the true concept of friendship, turning steadfastly to divine Love for guidance, the student is protected against the banal and often harmful claims of sentimentality. Love is a tender and beautiful quality of the ever-loving Father-Mother, God. It is reflected in unlimited measure by all His children; and it cannot be adulterated, for effect must be as pure as its cause.

The student of Christian Science guards the purity of his thought with zealous watchfulness, for he knows that nothing impure can come into his experience unless it is first accepted in his thinking. His concept of chastity is strengthened by the emphatic interpretation of the seventh commandment which Mrs. Eddy gives in "Miscellaneous Writings" (p. 67), " 'Thou shalt not commit adultery;' in other words, thou shalt not adulterate Life, Truth, or Love, — mentally, morally, or physically."