Original subtitles

chapter 3

marriage

what therefore god hath joined together

let not man put asunder

in the resurrection they neither marry

nor are given in marriage

but are as the angels of god in heaven

jesus

when our great teacher came to him for

baptism

john was astounded

reading his thoughts jesus added

suffer it to be so now

for thus it becometh us to fulfill all

righteousness

jesus concessions in certain cases

to material methods

were for the advancement of spiritual

good

marriage is the legal and moral

provision for generation among humankind

until the spiritual creation is

discerned intact

is apprehended and understood

and his kingdom is come as in the vision

of the apocalypse

where the corporeal sense of creation

was cast out

and its spiritual sense was revealed

from heaven

[Music]

marriage will continue

subject to such moral regulations as

will secure increasing virtue

infidelity to the marriage covenant

is the social scourge of all races

the pestilence that walketh in darkness

the destruction that wasteth that noon

day

the commandment

thou shalt not commit adultery

is no less imperative than the one

thou shalt not kill

chastity is the cement of civilization

and progress

without it

there is no stability in society

and without it one cannot attain the

science of life

union of the masculine and feminine

qualities constitutes completeness

the masculine mind reaches a higher tone

through certain elements of the feminine

while the feminine mind gains courage

and strength through masculine qualities

these different elements conjoin

naturally with each other

and their true harmony is in spiritual

oneness

both sexes should be loving

pure

tender

and strong

[Music]

the attraction between native qualities

will be perpetual

only as it is pure and true

[Music]

bringing sweet seasons of renewal

like the returning spring

beauty

wealth or fame

is incompetent to meet the demands of

the affections

and should never weigh against the

better claims of intellect

goodness

and virtue

happiness is spiritual

born of truth and love

it is unselfish

therefore

it cannot exist alone

but requires all mankind to share it

human affection is not poured forth

vainly

even though it meet no

return love enriches the nature

enlarging

purifying and elevating it

the wintry blasts of earth may uproot

the flowers of affection

and scatter them to the winds

but this severance of fleshly ties

serves to unite thought more closely to

god

for love supports the struggling heart

until it ceases to sigh over the world

and begins to unfold its wings for

heaven

marriage is unblessed or blessed

according to the disappointments it

involves

or

the hopes it fulfills

to happify existence by constant

intercourse with those adapted to

elevate it

should be the motive of society

unity of spirit gives new opinions to

joy

or else

joy's drooping wings trail in dust

ill-arranged notes produce discord

tones of the human mind may be different

but they should be concordant in order

to blend properly

unselfish ambition

noble life motives and purity

these constituents of thought

mingling

constitute individually and collectively

true happiness

strength and permanence

there is moral freedom in soul

never contract the horizon of a worthy

outlook

by the selfish exaction of all another's

time and thoughts

with additional joys

benevolence should grow more diffusive

the narrowness and jealousy which would

confine a wife or a husband forever

within four walls

will not promote the sweet interchange

of confidence and love

but on the other hand

a wandering desire for incessant

amusement outside the home circle

is a poor augury for the happiness of

wedlock

home is the dearest spot on earth

and it should be the center

though not the boundary of the

affections

said the peasant bride to her lover

two eat no more together than they eat

separately

this is a hint

that a wife ought not to court vulgar

extravagance or stupid ease

because another supplies her wants

wealth may obviate the necessity for

toil or the chance for ill nature in the

marriage relation

but nothing can abolish the cares of

marriage

she that is married careth

how she may please her husband

says the bible

and this is the pleasantest thing to do

matrimony should never be entered into

without a full recognition of its

enduring obligations on both sides

there should be the most tender

solicitude for each other's happiness

and mutual attention and approbation

should wait on all the years of married

life

mutual compromises will often maintain a

compact

which might otherwise become unbearable

man should not be required to

participate in all the annoyances and

cares of domestic economy

nor should women be expected to

understand political economy

fulfilling the different demands of

their united spheres

their sympathies should blend in sweet

confidence and cheer

each partner sustaining the other

[Music]

thus hallowing the union of interests

and affections

in which the heart finds peace and home

tender words

and unselfish care in what promotes the

welfare and happiness of your wife

will prove more salutary in prolonging

her health and smiles

than solid indifference or jealousy

husbands

hear this

and remember how slight a word or deed

may renew the old tristan times

after marriage it is too late to grumble

over

incompatibility of disposition

a mutual understanding should exist

before this union

and continue ever after

for deception is fatal to happiness

the nuptial vow

should never be annulled

so long as its moral obligations are

kept intact

but the frequency of divorce

shows

that the sacredness of this relationship

is losing its influence

and that fatal mistakes are undermining

its foundations

separation never should take place

and it never would

if both husband and wife were genuine

christian scientists

science inevitably lifts one's being

higher in the scale of harmony

and happiness

kindred tastes

motives and aspirations are necessary to

the formation of a happy

and permanent companionship

the beautiful in character

is also the good

welding indissolubly

the links of affection

a mother's affection cannot be weaned

from her child

because the mother love includes purity

and constancy

both of which are immortal

therefore

maternal affection lives on

under whatever difficulties

from the logic of events

we learn

that selfishness and impurity alone are

fleeting

and that wisdom will ultimately put

asunder

what she hath not joined together

marriage should improve the human

species

becoming a barrier against vice

a protection to woman

strength to man

and a center for the affections

this however

in a majority of cases

is not its present tendency

and why

because the education of the higher

nature is neglected

and other considerations

passion

frivolous amusements

personal adornment

display

and pride

occupy thought

an ill-attuned ear calls discord harmony

not appreciating concord

so

physical sense

not discerning the true happiness of

being

places it on a false basis

science will correct the discord

and teach us life's sweeter harmonies

soul has infinite resources with which

to bless mankind

and happiness would be more readily

attained and would be more secure in our

keeping if sought in soul

higher enjoyments alone can satisfy the

cravings of immortal man

we cannot circumscribe happiness within

the limits of personal sense

the senses confer no real enjoyment

the good in human affections must have

ascendancy over the evil

and the spiritual over the animal

or happiness will never be one

the attainment of this celestial

condition

would improve our progeny

diminish crime

and give higher aims to ambition

[Music]

every valley of sin must be exalted

and every mountain of selfishness be

brought low

that the highway of our god may be

prepared in science

the offspring of heavenly minded parents

inherit more intellect

better balanced minds

and sounder constitutions

if some fortuitous circumstance places

promising children in the arms of gross

parents

often these beautiful children early

droop and die

like tropical flowers born amid alpine

snows

if perchance they live to become parents

in their turn

they may reproduce in their own helpless

little ones the grosser traits of their

ancestors

what hope of happiness

what noble ambition

can inspire the child who inherits

propensities

that must either be overcome

or reduce him to a loathsome wreck

is not the propagation of the human

species a greater responsibility

a more solemn charge

than the culture of your garden

or the raising of stock to increase your

flocks and herds

nothing unworthy of perpetuity should be

transmitted to children

the formation of mortals must greatly

improve to advance mankind

the scientific morale of marriage is

spiritual unity

if the propagation of a higher human

species is requisite to reach this goal

then its material conditions can only be

permitted for the purpose of generating

the fetus must be kept mentally pure

and the period of gestation have the

sanctity of virginity

the entire education of children should

be such as to form habits of obedience

to the moral and spiritual law

with which

the child can meet and master the belief

in so-called physical laws

a belief which breeds disease

if parents create in their babes a

desire for incessant amusement

to be always fed

rocked

tossed or talked to

those parents should not in after years

complain of their children's fretfulness

or frivolity

which the parents themselves have

occasioned

taking less thought for your life

what you shall eat or what ye shall

drink

lest thought for your body what ye shall

put on

will do much more for the health of the

rising generation than you dream

children should be allowed to remain

children in knowledge

and should become men and women

only through growth in the understanding

of man's higher nature

we must not attribute more and more

intelligence to matter

but less and less if we would be wise

and healthy

the divine mind which forms the bud and

blossom

will care for the human body

even as it clothes the lily

but let no mortal interfere with god's

government by thrusting in the laws of

erring human concepts

the higher nature of man

is not governed by the lower

if it were

the order of wisdom would be reversed

our false views of life hide eternal

harmony

and produce the ills of which we

complain

because mortals believe in material laws

and reject the science of mind

this does not make materiality first

and the superior law of soul last

you would never think that flannel was

better for warding off pulmonary disease

than the controlling mind

if you understood the science of being

in science

man is the offspring of spirit

the beautiful good and pure constitute

his ancestry

his origin is not like that of mortals

in brute instinct

nor does he pass through material

conditions prior to reaching

intelligence

spirit is his primitive and ultimate

source of being

god is his father

and life is the law of his being

civil law establishes very unfair

differences between the rights of the

two sexes

christian science furnishes no precedent

for such injustice

and civilization mitigates it in some

measure

still

it is a marvel why usage should accord

woman less rights than does either

christian science or civilization

our laws are not impartial

to say the least

in their discrimination as to the person

property

and parental claims of the two sexes

if the elective franchise for women will

remedy the evil without encouraging

difficulties of greater magnitude

let us hope it will be granted

a feasible

as well as rational means of improvement

at present

is the elevation of society in general

and the achievement of a nobler race for

legislation

[Music]

a race having higher aims and motives

if a dissolute husband deserts his wife

certainly the wronged and perchance

impoverished woman should be allowed to

collect her own wages

enter into business

agreements hold real estate

deposit funds

and own her children

free from interference

want of uniform justice

is a crying evil

caused by the selfishness and inhumanity

of man

our forefathers exercised their faith

in the direction taught by the apostle

james when he said

pure religion and undefiled before god

and the father is this

to visit the fatherless and widows in

their affliction

and to keep himself unspotted from the

world

end quote

pride

envy or jealousy

seems on most occasions to be the master

of ceremonies

ruling out primitive christianity

when a man lends a helping hand to some

noble woman

struggling alone with adversity

his wife should not say

it is never well to interfere with your

neighbor's business

a wife is sometimes debarred by a

covetous domestic tyrant

from giving the ready aid her sympathy

and charity would afford

marriage should signify a union of

hearts

furthermore

the time cometh of which jesus spake

when he declared that in the

resurrection

there should be no more marrying

nor giving in marriage

but man would be as the angels

then

shall soul rejoice in its own

in which passion has no part

then

white-robed purity will unite in one

person

masculine wisdom

and feminine love

spiritual understanding

and perpetual peace

until it is learned that god is the

father of all

marriage will continue

let not mortals permit a disregard of

law

which might lead to a worse state of

society than now exists

honesty and virtue ensure the stability

of the marriage covenant

spirit will ultimately claim its own

all that really is

and the voices of physical sense will be

forever hushed

experience should be the school of

virtue

and human happiness should proceed from

man's highest

nature may christ's truth be present at

every bridal altar

to turn the water into wine

and to give to human life and

inspiration

by which man's spiritual and eternal

existence

may be discerned

if the foundations of human affection

are consistent with progress they will

be strong and enduring

divorces should warn the age of some

fundamental error in the marriage state

the union of the sexes suffers fearful

discord

to gain christian science and its

harmony

life should be more metaphysically

regarded

the broadcast powers of evil

so conspicuous today

show themselves in the materialism and

sensualism of the age

struggling against the advancing

spiritual era

beholding the world's lack of

christianity

and the powerlessness of vows to make

home happy the human mind will at length

demand a higher affection

there will ensue a fermentation over

this

as over many other reforms

until we get at last the clear straining

of truth

and impurity and error are left among

the leaves

the fermentation even of fluids is not

pleasant

an unsettled transitional stage is never

desirable on its own account

matrimony

which was once a fixed fact among us

must lose its present slippery footing

and man must find permanence and peace

in a more spiritual adherence

the mental chemicalization

which has brought conjugal infidelity to

the surface

will assuredly throw off this evil

and marriage will become purer

when the scum is gone

thou art right immortal shakespeare

great poet of humanity

sweet are the uses of adversity

which

like the toad

ugly and venomous

wears yet a precious jewel in his head

trials teach mortals not to lean on a

material staff

a broken reed

which pierces the heart

we do not half remember this in the

sunshine of joy and prosperity

sorrow is salutary

through great tribulation we enter the

kingdom

trials are proofs of god's care

spiritual development germinates not

from seed sown in the soil of material

hopes

but when these decay

love propagates anew the higher joys of

spirit

which have no taint of earth

each successive stage of experience

unfolds new views of divine goodness

and love

amidst gratitude for conjugal felicity

it is well to remember how fleeting are

human joys

amidst conjugal infilicity

it is well to hope

pray

and wait patiently

on divine wisdom to point out the path

husbands and wives should never separate

if there is no christian demand for it

it is better to await the logic of

events

than for a wife precipitately to leave

her husband

or for a husband to leave his wife

if one is better than the other

as must always be the case

the other preeminently needs good

company

socrates considered patience salutary

under such circumstances

making his xanthip a discipline for his

philosophy

sorrow has its reward

it never leaves us where it found us

the furnace separates the gold from the

dross

that the precious metal may be graven

with the image of god

the cup our father hath given

shall we not drink it and learn the

lessons he teaches

when the ocean is stirred by a storm

then the clouds lower

the wind shrieks through the tightened

shrouds

and the waves lift themselves into

mountains

we asked the helmsman

do you know your course

can you steer safely amid the storm

he answers bravely

but even the dauntless seaman is not

sure of his safety

nautical science is not equal to the

science of mind

yet

acting up to his highest understanding

firm at the post of duty

the mariner works on

and awaits the issue

thus should we deport ourselves on the

seething ocean of sorrow

hoping and working

one should stick to the wreck

until an irresistible propulsion

precipitates his doom

or sunshine gladdens the troubled sea

the notion that animal natures can

possibly give force to character

is too absurd for consideration

when we remember that through spiritual

ascendancy our lord and master healed

the sick

raised the dead

and commanded even the winds and waves

to obey him

grace and truth are potent

beyond all other means and methods

the lack of spiritual power in the

limited demonstration

of popular christianity

does not put to silence the labor of

centuries

spiritual

not corporeal consciousness is needed

man delivered from sin disease and death

presents the true likeness

or spiritual ideal

systems of religion and medicine

treat of physical pains and pleasures

but jesus rebuked the suffering from any

such cause or effect

the epic approaches

when the understanding of the truth of

being will be the basis of true religion

at present

mortals progress slowly for fear of

being thought ridiculous

they are slaves to fashion

pride and sense

sometime we shall learn how spirit the

great architect

has created men and women in science

we ought to weary of the fleeting and

false

and to cherish nothing which hinders our

highest selfhood

jealousy

is the grave of affection

the presence of mistrust where

confidence is due

withers the flowers of eden

and scatters love's petals to decay

be not in haste to take the vow

until death do us part

consider its obligations

its responsibilities

its relations to your growth and to your

influence on other lives

i never knew more than one individual

who believed in a gamma genesis

she was unmarried

a lovely character

was suffering from incipient insanity

and a christian scientist cured her

i have named her case to individuals

when casting my bread upon the waters

and it may have caused the good to

ponder and the evil to hatch their silly

innuendos and lies

since salutary causes sometimes incur

these effects

the perpetuation of the floral species

by bud or cell division is evident

but i discredit the belief that a

genesis applies to the human species

christian science presents unfoldment

not accretion

it manifests no material growth from

molecule to mind

but an impartation of the divine mind to

man and the universe

proportionately as human generation

ceases

the unbroken links of eternal harmonious

being

will be spiritually discerned

and man

not of the earth earthly

but coexistent with god

will appear

the scientific fact that man and the

universe are evolved from spirit

and so are spiritual

is as fixed in divine science as is the

proof that mortals gain the sense of

health

only as they lose the sense of sin and

disease

mortals can never understand god's

creation

while believing that man is a creator

god's children already created

will be cognized only as man finds the

truth of being

thus it is that the real ideal man

appears

in proportion as the false and material

disappears

no longer to marry

or to be given in marriage

neither closes man's continuity

nor his sense of increasing number in

god's infinite plan

spiritually to understand that there is

but one creator god

unfolds all creation

confirms the scriptures

brings the sweet assurance of no parting

no pain

and of man deathless and perfect

and eternal

if christian scientists educate their

own offspring spiritually

they can educate others spiritually

and not conflict with the scientific

sense of god's creation

someday

the child will ask his parent

do you keep the first commandment

do you have one god and creator

or is man a creator

if the father replies

god creates man through man

the child may ask

do you teach that spirit creates

materially

or do you declare that spirit is

infinite

therefore

matter is out of the question

jesus said

the children of this world mary and are

given in marriage

but they which shall be accounted worthy

to obtain that world and the

resurrection from the dead

neither mary

nor are given in marriage