“Although I am of divine origin, and gifted with supernatural power, I shall not draw upon these resources in determining the best method of elevating the race.”

When Mrs. Eddy copyrighted that Preface seven years ago, she had long been used to regarding herself as a divine personage.  I quote from Mr. F. W. Peabody’s book: 

“In the Christian Science Journal for April, 1889, when it was her property, and published by her, it was claimed for her, and with her sanction, that she was equal with Jesus, and elaborate effort was made to establish the claim.”

“Mrs. Eddy has distinctly authorized the claim in her behalf, that she herself was the chosen successor to and equal of Jesus.”

The following remark in that April number, quoted by Mr. Peabody, indicates that her claim had been previously made, and had excited “horror” among some “good people”: 

“Now, a word about the horror many good people have of our making the Author of Science and Health ‘equal with Jesus.’”

Surely, if it had excited horror in Mrs. Eddy also, she would have published a disclaimer.  She owned the paper; she could say what she pleased in its columns.  Instead of rebuking her editor, she lets him rebuke those “good people” for objecting to the claim.

These things seem to throw light upon those words, “our [my] divine origin.”

It may be that “Christian Science eschews divine rights in human beings,” and forbids worship of any but “one God, one Christ”; but, if that is the case, it looks as if Mrs. Eddy is a very unsound Christian Scientist, and needs disciplining.  I believe she has a serious malady —­“self-deification”; and that it will be well to have one of the experts demonstrate over it.

Meantime, let her go on living—­for my sake.  Closely examined, painstakingly studied, she is easily the most interesting person on the planet, and, in several ways, as easily the most extraordinary woman that was ever born upon it.

P.S.—­Since I wrote the foregoing, Mr. McCrackan’s article appeared (in the March number of the North American Review).  Before his article appeared—­that is to say, during December, January, and February—­I had written a new book, a character-portrait of Mrs. Eddy, drawn from her own acts and words, and it was then—­together with the three brief articles previously published in the North American Review—­ready to be delivered to the printer for issue in book form.  In that book, by accident and good luck, I have answered the objections made by Mr. McCrackan to my views, and therefore do not need to add an answer here.  Also, in it I have corrected certain misstatements of mine which he has noticed, and several others which he has not referred to.  There are one or two important matters of opinion upon which he and I are not in disagreement; but there are others upon which we must continue to disagree, I suppose; indeed, I know we must; for instance, he believes Mrs. Eddy wrote Science and Health, whereas I am quite sure I can convince a person unhampered by predilections that she did not.