I have just finished Chapter 10, “Writing Her Book”, and Chapter 11 “A Wedding” of A World More Bright: The Life of Mary Baker Eddy by Isabel Ferguson and Heather Vogel Frederick.
I made quite a few notes, so here they are.
Wycliffe Bible
It was good to see a reproduction of Wycliffe’s Bible* showing the
words “science and health” from Luke 1: 77 (page 82). Mrs. Eddy was unaware of Wycliffe's phrase until well after having named her major work Science and Health.
My interest is in one of the notes on page 82 which speaks about
that Bible. It shows a portrait of John Wycliffe, who was dubbed the “Morning
Star of the Reformation” and who was persecuted by the Roman Catholic church
for translating the Latin Vulgate Bible into English. One is reminded of how
Mrs. Eddy was persecuted by the church at large for presuming to give the world
the Key to the Scriptures and Christian Science.
The attic room
Page 84 gives us a photo of the attic room where Mrs. Eddy worked
on the writing of her textbook. I love that her only natural light in the room
is from above. One can compare her working conditions to those of to-day. That
room had no heating or cooling; she wrote every word with nib pen and ink.
Other writers of her era were working under similar conditions – the Bronte
sisters come to mind. I have read that they read by the light of the fire.
Science and Health
Science and Health went through more than 400 printings in Mary Baker Eddy’s lifetime. See page 86.
One of Mrs. Eddy’s pupils was in charge of the advertising for the
sale of the book. A side note on page 87 gives the graphic wording, including “It
is a mine of wisdom” and “It enables you to do good to all”.
Asa Gilbert Eddy
Mary became Mrs. Eddy when she married Asa Gilbert Eddy one
of her students. Mrs. Eddy called her husband Gilbert. Page 88 reproduces a copy of the wedding notice where Gilbert is recorded as Gilbert A. Eddy.
There is also a copy of Gilbert Eddy’s business card. He was the
first person to advertise as a Christian Scientist. The card says, “No Medicine, Mediumship,
or Mesmerism.” It is interesting to see what was important in the public’s
perception of healing in that era.
There is a portrait of Gilbert. Oh, that hairdo! It seems that in
normal life his hair was more natural, “with bangs that fell over his left
eyebrow” – page 90.
A gentle man, he did well in the practising of healing in Christian Science. He told the mother of a child he healed: “Why, your child was all right all the time, only you could not see it. Truth never changes, it is only ourselves that change, only the human, mortal consciousness, and when we stop being afraid, God’s law is manifested” (page 91).
Mary Baker Eddy in the pulpit
A quote from page 94: “…Clara Choate described her teacher’s
presence in the pulpit as ‘one of restful serenity,’ her faith ‘forcible in her
every word.’”
I wonder if, when I was a First Reader in a Christian Science church, I could have endeavoured
to better emulate those qualities.
Bates writes: “It is not definitely known when the first
partial translation into Anglo-Saxon was made, but its date is conceded to be
as early as the seventh century. …. The best records available show that
different students translated certain books of the bible or chapters therefrom,
and that the Scriptures as a whole were not produced in the English tongue
until about 1383, when John Wycliffe, the parish priest of Lutterworth, issued
his Bible in manuscript form.”
This manuscript preceded the invention of the printing
press. Bates notes that “It is worthy of note that the Bible was the first book
to be issued from the printing press.”
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