Retrospection and Introspection

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Project Gutenberg's Retrospection and Introspection, by Mary Baker Eddy This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.net Title: Retrospection and Introspection Author: Mary Baker Eddy Release Date: September 23, 2005 [EBook #16734] Language: English Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 *** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK RETROSPECTION AND INTROSPECTION *** Produced by Justin Gillbank, Josephine Paolucci and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net RETROSPECTION AND INTROSPECTION BY MARY BAKER EDDY AUTHOR OF SCIENCE AND HEALTH WITH KEY TO THE SCRIPTURES Registered U.S. Patent Office Published by The Trustees under the Will of Mary Baker G. Eddy BOSTON, U.S.A. Authorized Literature of The First Church of Christ, Scientist in Boston, Massachusetts Copyright, 1891, 1892 By Mary Baker G.
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Project Gutenberg's Retrospection and Introspection, by Mary Baker EddyThis eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and withalmost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away orre-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License includedwith this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.netTitle: Retrospection and IntrospectionAuthor: Mary Baker EddyRelease Date: September 23, 2005 [EBook #16734]Language: EnglishCharacter set encoding: ISO-8859-1*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK RETROSPECTION AND INTROSPECTION ***POrnoldiuncee dD ibsyt rJiubsuttiend  GPriololfbraenakd,i nJgo sTeepahmi naet  Phatotlpu:c/c/iw wawn.dp gtdhpe.netRETROSPECTIONNADINTROSPECTIONYBMARY BAKER EDDYAUTHOR OF SCIENCE AND HEALTH WITH KEY TO THE SCRIPTURESRegisteredU.S. Patent OfficePublished by TheTrustees under the Will of Mary Baker G. EddyBOSTON, U.S.A.Authorized Literature ofThe First Church of Christ, Scientistin Boston, MassachusettsCopyright, 1891, 1892
By Mary Baker G. EddyCopyright renewed 1919 and 1920All rights reservedPRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICAAncestral ShadowsCONTENTSAutobiographic ReminiscencesVoices Not Our OwnEarly StudiesGirlhood CompositionTheological ReminiscenceThe Country-seat (Poem)Marriage and ParentageEmergence into LightThe Great DiscoveryFoundation WorkMedical ExperimentsFirst PublicationThe Precious VolumeRecuperative IncidentA True ManCollege and Church"Feed My Sheep" (Poem)College ClosedGeneral Associations and Our MagazineFaith-cureFoundation-stonesThe Great Revelation
Sin, Sinner, and EcclesiasticismThe Human ConceptPersonalityPlagiarismAdmonitionExemplificationWaymarksRETROSPECTION AND INTROSPECTIONANCESTRAL SHADOWSMy ancestors, according to the flesh, were from both Scotland and England, mygreat-grandfather, on my father's side, being John McNeil of Edinburgh.His wife, my great-grandmother, was Marion Moor, and her family is said tohave been in some way related to Hannah More, the pious and popular Englishauthoress of a century ago.I remember reading, in my childhood, certain manuscripts containing Scripturalsonnets, besides other verses and enigmas which my grandmother said werewritten by my great-grandmother. But because my great-grandmother wrote astray sonnet and an occasional riddle, it was no sign that she inherited a sparkfrom Hannah More, or was her relative.John and Marion Moor McNeil had a daughter, who perpetuated her mother'sname. This second Marion McNeil in due time was married to an Englishman,named Joseph Baker, and so became my paternal grandmother, the Scotchand English elements thus mingling in her children.Mrs. Marion McNeil Baker was reared among the Scotch Covenanters, and hadin her character that sturdy Calvinistic devotion to Protestant liberty which gavethose religionists the poetic daring and pious picturesqueness which we find sographically set forth in the pages of Sir Walter Scott and in John Wilson'ssketches.Joseph Baker and his wife, Marion McNeil, came to America seeking "freedomto worship God;" though they could hardly have crossed the Atlantic more thana score of years prior to the Revolutionary period.With them they brought to New England a heavy sword, encased in a brassscabbard, on which was inscribed the name of a kinsman upon whom theweapon had been bestowed by Sir William Wallace, from whose patriotism andbravery comes that heart-stirring air, "Scots wha hae wi' Wallace bled."
My childhood was also gladdened by one of my Grandmother Baker's books,printed in olden type and replete with the phraseology current in theseventeenth and eighteenth centuries.Among grandmother's treasures were some newspapers, yellow with age.Some of these, however, were not very ancient, nor had they crossed theocean; for they were American newspapers, one of which contained a fullaccount of the death and burial of George Washington.A relative of my Grandfather Baker was General Henry Knox of Revolutionaryfame. I was fond of listening, when a child, to grandmother's stories aboutGeneral Knox, for whom she cherished a high regard.In the line of my Grandmother Baker's family was the late Sir John Macneill, aScotch knight, who was prominent in British politics, and at one time held theposition of ambassador to Persia.My grandparents were likewise connected with Capt. John Lovewell ofDunstable, New Hampshire, whose gallant leadership and death, in the Indiantroubles of 1722-1725, caused that prolonged contest to be known historicallyas Lovewell's War.A cousin of my grandmother was John Macneil, the New Hampshire generalwho fought at Lundy's Lane, and won distinction in 1814 at the neighboringbattle of Chippewa, towards the close of the War of 1812.AUTOBIOGRAPHIC REMINISCENCESThis venerable grandmother had thirteen children, the youngest of whom wasmy father, Mark Baker, who inherited the homestead, and with his brother,James Baker, he inherited my grandfather's farm of about five hundred acres,lying in the adjoining towns of Concord and Bow, in the State of NewHampshire.One hundred acres of the old farm are still cultivated and owned by UncleJames Baker's grandson, brother of the Hon. Henry Moore Baker ofWashington, D.C.The farm-house, situated on the summit of a hill, commanded a broadpicturesque view of the Merrimac River and the undulating lands of threetownships. But change has been busy. Where once stretched broad fields ofbending grain waving gracefully in the sunlight, and orchards of apples,peaches, pears, and cherries shone richly in the mellow hues of autumn,—nowthe lone night-bird cries, the crow caws cautiously, and wandering winds sighlow requiems through dark pine groves. Where green pastures bright withberries, singing brooklets, beautiful wild flowers, and flecked with large flocksand herds, covered areas of rich acres,—now the scrub-oak, poplar, and fernflourish.The wife of Mark Baker was Abigail Barnard Ambrose, daughter of DeaconNathaniel Ambrose of Pembroke, a small town situated near Concord, justacross the bridge, on the left bank of the Merrimac River.Grandfather Ambrose was a very religious man, and gave the money forerecting the first Congregational Church in Pembroke.
In the Baker homestead at Bow I was born, the youngest of my parents' sixchildren and the object of their tender solicitude.During my childhood my parents removed to Tilton, eighteen miles fromConcord, and there the family remained until the names of both father andmother were inscribed on the stone memorials in the Park Cemetery of thatbeautiful village.My father possessed a strong intellect and an iron will. Of my mother I cannotspeak as I would, for memory recalls qualities to which the pen can never dojustice. The following is a brief extract from the eulogy of the Rev. Richard S.Rust, D.D., who for many years had resided in Tilton and knew my saintedmother in all the walks of life.The character of Mrs. Abigail Ambrose Baker was distinguished fornumerous excellences. She possessed a strong intellect, asympathizing heart, and a placid spirit. Her presence, like thegentle dew and cheerful light, was felt by all around her. She gavean elevated character to the tone of conversation in the circles inwhich she moved, and directed attention to themes at oncepleasing and profitable.As a mother, she was untiring in her efforts to secure the happinessof her family. She ever entertained a lively sense of the parentalobligation, especially in regard to the education of her children. Theoft-repeated impressions of that sainted spirit, on the hearts of thoseespecially entrusted to her watch-care, can never be effaced, andcan hardly fail to induce them to follow her to the brighter world. Herlife was a living illustration of Christian faith.My childhood's home I remember as one with the open hand. The needy wereever welcome, and to the clergy were accorded special household privileges.Among the treasured reminiscences of my much respected parents, brothers,and sisters, is the memory of my second brother, Albert Baker, who was, next tomy mother, the very dearest of my kindred. To speak of his beautiful characteras I cherish it, would require more space than this little book can afford.My brother Albert was graduated at Dartmouth College in 1834, and wasreputed one of the most talented, close, and thorough scholars ever connectedwith that institution. For two or three years he read law at Hillsborough, in theoffice of Franklin Pierce, afterwards President of the United States; but laterAlbert spent a year in the office of the Hon. Richard Fletcher of Boston. He wasconsequently admitted to the bar in two States, Massachusetts and NewHampshire. In 1837 he succeeded to the law-office which Mr. Pierce hadoccupied, and was soon elected to the Legislature of his native State, where heserved the public interests faithfully for two consecutive years. Among otherimportant bills which were carried through the Legislature by his persistentenergy was one for the abolition of imprisonment for debt.In 1841 he received further political preferment, by nomination to Congress ona majority vote of seven thousand,—it was the largest vote of the State; but hepassed away at the age of thirty-one, after a short illness, before his election.His noble political antagonist, the Hon. Isaac Hill, of Concord, wrote of mybrother as follows:—Albert Baker was a young man of uncommon promise. Gifted withthe highest order of intellectual powers, he trained and schooledthem by intense and almost incessant study throughout his short
life. He was fond of investigating abstruse and metaphysicalprinciples, and he never forsook them until he had explored theirevery nook and corner, however hidden and remote. Had life andhealth been spared to him, he would have made himself one of themost distinguished men in the country. As a lawyer he was ableand learned, and in the successful practice of a very largebusiness. He was noted for his boldness and firmness, and for hispowerful advocacy of the side he deemed right. His death will bedeplored, with the most poignant grief, by a large number of friends,who expected no more than they realized from his talents andacquirements. This sad event will not be soon forgotten. It blightstoo many hopes; it carries with it too much of sorrow and loss. It is apublic calamity.VOICES NOT OUR OWNMany peculiar circumstances and events connected with my childhood throngthe chambers of memory. For some twelve months, when I was about eightyears old, I repeatedly heard a voice, calling me distinctly by name, three times,in an ascending scale. I thought this was my mother's voice, and sometimeswent to her, beseeching her to tell me what she wanted. Her answer wasalways, "Nothing, child! What do you mean?" Then I would say, "Mother, whodid call me? I heard somebody call Mary, three times!" This continued until Igrew discouraged, and my mother was perplexed and anxious.One day, when my cousin, Mehitable Huntoon, was visiting us, and I sat in alittle chair by her side, in the same room with grandmother,—the call againcame, so loud that Mehitable heard it, though I had ceased to notice it. Greatlysurprised, my cousin turned to me and said, "Your mother is calling you!" but Ianswered not, till again the same call was thrice repeated. Mehitable then saidsharply, "Why don't you go? your mother is calling you!" I then left the room,went to my mother, and once more asked her if she had summoned me? Sheanswered as always before. Then I earnestly declared my cousin had heard thevoice, and said that mother wanted me. Accordingly she returned with me tograndmother's room, and led my cousin into an adjoining apartment. The doorwas ajar, and I listened with bated breath. Mother told Mehitable all about thismysterious voice, and asked if she really did hear Mary's name pronounced inaudible tones. My cousin answered quickly, and emphasized her affirmation.That night, before going to rest, my mother read to me the Scriptural narrative oflittle Samuel, and bade me, when the voice called again, to reply as he did,"Speak, Lord; for Thy servant heareth." The voice came; but I was afraid, anddid not answer. Afterward I wept, and prayed that God would forgive me,resolving to do, next time, as my mother had bidden me. When the call cameagain I did answer, in the words of Samuel, but never again to the materialsenses was that mysterious call repeated.Is it not much that I may worship Him,With naught my spirit's breathings to control,And feel His presence in the vast and dimAnd whispering woods, where dying thunders rollFrom the far cataracts? Shall I not rejoiceThat I have learned at last to know His voiceFrom man's?—I will rejoice! My soaring soul
Now hath redeemed her birthright of the day,And won, through clouds, to Him, her own unfettered way!—Mrs. Hemans.EARLY STUDIESMy father was taught to believe that my brain was too large for my body and sokept me much out of school, but I gained book-knowledge with far less laborthan is usually requisite. At ten years of age I was as familiar with LindleyMurray's Grammar as with the Westminster Catechism; and the latter I had torepeat every Sunday. My favorite studies were natural philosophy, logic, andmoral science. From my brother Albert I received lessons in the ancienttongues, Hebrew, Greek, and Latin. My brother studied Hebrew during hiscollege vacations. After my discovery of Christian Science, most of theknowledge I had gleaned from schoolbooks vanished like a dream.Learning was so illumined, that grammar was eclipsed. Etymology was divinehistory, voicing the idea of God in man's origin and signification. Syntax wasspiritual order and unity. Prosody, the song of angels, and no earthly oringlorious theme.GIRLHOOD COMPOSITIONFrom childhood I was a verse-maker. Poetry suited my emotions better thanprose. The following is one of my girlhood productions.Alphabet and BayonetIf fancy plumes aerial flight,Go fix thy restless mindOn learning's lore and wisdom's might,And live to bless mankind.The sword is sheathed, 'tis freedom's hour,No despot bears misrule,Where knowledge plants the foot of powerIn our God-blessed free school.Forth from this fount the streamlets flow,That widen in their course.Hero and sage arise to showScience the mighty source,And laud the land whose talents rockThe cradle of her power,And wreaths are twined round Plymouth Rock,From erudition's bower.Farther than feet of chamois fall,Free as the generous air,Strains nobler far than clarion callWake freedom's welcome, whereMinerva's silver sandals still
Are loosed, and not effete;Where echoes still my day-dreams thrill,Woke by her fancied feet.THEOLOGICAL REMINISCENCEAt the age of twelve[A] I was admitted to the Congregational (Trinitarian)Church, my parents having been members of that body for a half-century. Inconnection with this event, some circumstances are noteworthy. Before thisstep was taken, the doctrine of unconditional election, or predestination, greatlytroubled me; for I was unwilling to be saved, if my brothers and sisters were tobe numbered among those who were doomed to perpetual banishment fromGod. So perturbed was I by the thoughts aroused by this erroneous doctrine,that the family doctor was summoned, and pronounced me stricken with fever.My father's relentless theology emphasized belief in a final judgment-day, in thedanger of endless punishment, and in a Jehovah merciless towardsunbelievers; and of these things he now spoke, hoping to win me from dreadedheresy.My mother, as she bathed my burning temples, bade me lean on God's love,which would give me rest, if I went to Him in prayer, as I was wont to do,seeking His guidance. I prayed; and a soft glow of ineffable joy came over me.The fever was gone, and I rose and dressed myself, in a normal condition ofhealth. Mother saw this, and was glad. The physician marvelled; and the"horrible decree" of predestination—as John Calvin rightly called his own tenet—forever lost its power over me.When the meeting was held for the examination of candidates for membership,I was of course present. The pastor was an old-school expounder of thestrictest Presbyterian doctrines. He was apparently as eager to haveunbelievers in these dogmas lost, as he was to have elect believers convertedand rescued from perdition; for both salvation and condemnation depended,according to his views, upon the good pleasure of infinite Love. However, I wasready for his doleful questions, which I answered without a tremor, declaringthat never could I unite with the church, if assent to this doctrine was essentialthereto.Distinctly do I recall what followed. I stoutly maintained that I was willing to trustGod, and take my chance of spiritual safety with my brothers and sisters,—notone of whom had then made any profession of religion,—even if my creedaldoubts left me outside the doors. The minister then wished me to tell him when Ihad experienced a change of heart; but tearfully I had to respond that I couldnot designate any precise time. Nevertheless he persisted in the assertion that Ihad been truly regenerated, and asked me to say how I felt when the new lightdawned within me. I replied that I could only answer him in the words of thePsalmist: "Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know mythoughts: and see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the wayeverlasting."This was so earnestly said, that even the oldest church-members wept. Afterthe meeting was over they came and kissed me. To the astonishment of many,the good clergyman's heart also melted, and he received me into theircommunion, and my protest along with me. My connection with this religiousbody was retained till I founded a church of my own, built on the basis of
Christian Science, "Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner-stone."In confidence of faith, I could say in David's words, "I will go in the strength ofthe Lord God: I will make mention of Thy righteousness, even of Thine only. OGod, Thou hast taught me from my youth: and hitherto have I declared Thywondrous works." (Psalms lxxi. 16, 17.)In the year 1878 I was called to preach in Boston at the Baptist Tabernacle ofRev. Daniel C. Eddy, D.D.,—by the pastor of this church. I accepted theinvitation and commenced work.The congregation so increased in number the pews were not sufficient to seatthe audience and benches were used in the aisles. At the close of myengagement we parted in Christian fellowship, if not in full unity of doctrine.Our last vestry meeting was made memorable by eloquent addresses frompersons who feelingly testified to having been healed through my preaching.Among other diseases cured they specified cancers. The cases described hadbeen treated and given over by physicians of the popular schools of medicine,but I had not heard of these cases till the persons who divulged their secret joywere healed. A prominent churchman agreeably informed the congregation thatmany others present had been healed under my preaching, but were too timidto testify in public.One memorable Sunday afternoon, a soprano,—clear, strong, sympathetic,—floating up from the pews, caught my ear. When the meeting was over, twoladies pushing their way through the crowd reached the platform. With tears ofjoy flooding her eyes—for she was a mother—one of them said, "Did you hearmy daughter sing? Why, she has not sung before since she left the choir andwas in consumption! When she entered this church one hour ago she could notspeak a loud word, and now, oh, thank God, she is healed!"It was not an uncommon occurrence in my own church for the sick to be healedby my sermon. Many pale cripples went into the church leaning on crutcheswho went out carrying them on their shoulders. "And these signs shall followthem that believe."The charter for The Mother Church in Boston was obtained June, 1879,[B] andthe same month the members, twenty-six in number, extended a call to MaryB.G. Eddy to become their pastor. She accepted the call, and was ordainedA.D. 1881.THE COUNTRY-SEATWritten in youth, while visiting a family friend in the beautiful suburbs of Boston.Wild spirit of song,—midst the zephyrs at playIn bowers of beauty,—I bend to thy lay,And woo, while I worship in deep sylvan spot,The Muses' soft echoes to kindle the grot.Wake chords of my lyre, with musical kiss,To vibrate and tremble with accents of bliss.Here morning peers out, from her crimson repose,On proud Prairie Queen and the modest Moss-rose;And vesper reclines—when the dewdrop is shed
On the heart of the pink—in its odorous bed;But Flora has stolen the rainbow and sky,To sprinkle the flowers with exquisite dye.Here fame-honored hickory rears his bold form,And bares a brave breast to the lightning and storm,While palm, bay, and laurel, in classical glee,Chase tulip, magnolia, and fragrant fringe-tree;And sturdy horse-chestnut for centuries hath givenIts feathery blossom and branches to heaven.Here is life! Here is youth! Here the poet's world-wish,—Cool waters at play with the gold-gleaming fish;While cactus a mellower glory receivesFrom light colored softly by blossom and leaves;And nestling alder is whispering low,In lap of the pear-tree, with musical flow.[C]Dark sentinel hedgerow is guarding repose,Midst grotto and songlet and streamlet that flowsWhere beauty and perfume from buds burst away,And ope their closed cells to the bright, laughing day;Yet, dwellers in Eden, earth yields you her tear,—Oft plucked for the banquet, but laid on the bier.Earth's beauty and glory delude as the shrineOr fount of real joy and of visions divine;But hope, as the eaglet that spurneth the sod,May soar above matter, to fasten on God,And freely adore all His spirit hath made,Where rapture and radiance and glory ne'er fade.Oh, give me the spot where affection may dwellIn sacred communion with home's magic spell!Where flowers of feeling are fragrant and fair,And those we most love find a happiness rare;But clouds are a presage,—they darken my lay:This life is a shadow, and hastens away.MARRIAGE AND PARENTAGEIn 1843 I was united to my first husband, Colonel George Washington Glover ofCharleston, South Carolina, the ceremony taking place under the paternal roofin Tilton.After parting with the dear home circle I went with him to the South; but he wasspared to me for only one brief year. He was in Wilmington, North Carolina, onbusiness, when the yellow-fever raged in that city, and was suddenly attackedby this insidious disease, which in his case proved fatal.My husband was a freemason, being a member in Saint Andrew's Lodge,Number 10, and of Union Chapter, Number 3, of Royal Arch masons. He washighly esteemed and sincerely lamented by a large circle of friends andacquaintances, whose kindness and sympathy helped to support me in this
terrible bereavement. A month later I returned to New Hampshire, where, at theend of four months, my babe was born.Colonel Glover's tender devotion to his young bride was remarked by allobservers. With his parting breath he gave pathetic directions to his brothermasons about accompanying her on her sad journey to the North. Here it is butjustice to record, they performed their obligations most faithfully.After returning to the paternal roof I lost all my husband's property, except whatmoney I had brought with me; and remained with my parents until after mymother's decease.A few months before my father's second marriage, to Mrs. Elizabeth PattersonDuncan, sister of Lieutenant-Governor George W. Patterson of New York, mylittle son, about four years of age, was sent away from me, and put under thecare of our family nurse, who had married, and resided in the northern part ofNew Hampshire. I had no training for self-support, and my home I regarded asvery precious. The night before my child was taken from me, I knelt by his sidethroughout the dark hours, hoping for a vision of relief from this trial. Thefollowing lines are taken from my poem, "Mother's Darling," written after thisseparation:—Thy smile through tears, as sunshine o'er the sea,Awoke new beauty in the surge's roll!Oh, life is dead, bereft of all, with thee,—Star of my earthly hope, babe of my soul.My second marriage was very unfortunate, and from it I was compelled to askfor a bill of divorce, which was granted me in the city of Salem, Massachusetts.My dominant thought in marrying again was to get back my child, but after ourmarriage his stepfather was not willing he should have a home with me. A plotwas consummated for keeping us apart. The family to whose care he wascommitted very soon removed to what was then regarded as the Far West.After his removal a letter was read to my little son, informing him that his motherwas dead and buried. Without my knowledge a guardian was appointed him,and I was then informed that my son was lost. Every means within my powerwas employed to find him, but without success. We never met again until hehad reached the age of thirty-four, had a wife and two children, and by astrange providence had learned that his mother still lived, and came to see mein Massachusetts.Meanwhile he had served as a volunteer throughout the war for the Union, andat its expiration was appointed United States Marshal of the Territory of Dakota.It is well to know, dear reader, that our material, mortal history is but the recordof dreams, not of man's real existence, and the dream has no place in theScience of being. It is "as a tale that is told," and "as the shadow when itdeclineth." The heavenly intent of earth's shadows is to chasten the affections,to rebuke human consciousness and turn it gladly from a material, false senseof life and happiness, to spiritual joy and true estimate of being.The awakening from a false sense of life, substance, and mind in matter, is asyet imperfect; but for those lucid and enduring lessons of Love which tend tothis result, I bless God.Mere historic incidents and personal events are frivolous and of no moment,unless they illustrate the ethics of Truth. To this end, but only to this end, suchnarrations may be admissible and advisable; but if spiritual conclusions are
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