, disease.

"There--now you see."

It seemed nebulous; it did not seem to say anything about the difficulty
in hand--how non-existent matter can propagate illusions I said, with
some hesitancy:

"Does--does it explain?"

"Doesn't it? Even if read backward it will do it."

With a budding hope, I asked her to do it backwards.

"Very well. Disease sin evil death deny Good omnipotent God life matter
is nothing all being Spirit God Mind is Good good is God all in All is
God. There do you understand now?

"It--it--well, it is plainer than it was before; still--"

"Well?"

"Could you try it some more ways?"

"As many as you like; it always means the same. Interchanged in any way
you please it cannot be made to mean anything different from what it
means when put in any other way. Because it is perfect. You can jumble
it all up, and it makes no difference: it always comes out the way it
was before. It was a marvelous mind that produced it. As a mental tour
de force it is without a mate, it defies alike the simple, the concrete,
and the occult."

"It seems to be a corker."

I blushed for the word, but it was out before I could stop it.

"A what?"

"A--wonderful structure--combination, so to speak, of profound
thoughts--unthinkable ones--um--"

"It is true. Read backward, or forward, or perpendicularly, or at any
given angle, these four propositions will always be found to agree in
statement and proof."

"Ah--proof. Now we are coming at it. The statements agree; they agree
with--with--anyway, they agree; I noticed that; but what is it they
prove I mean, in particular?"

"Why, nothing could be clearer. They prove:

"1. GOD--Principle, Life, Truth, Love, Soul, Spirit, Mind. Do you get
that?"

"I--well, I seem to. Go on, please."

"2. MAN--God's universal idea, individual, perfect, eternal. Is it
clear?"

"It--I think so. Continue."

"3. IDEA--An image in Mind; the immediate object of understanding. There
it is--the whole sublime Arcana of Christian Science in a nutshell. Do
you find a weak place in it anywhere?"

"Well--no; it seems strong."

"Very well There is more. Those three constitute the Scientific
Definition of Immortal Mind. Next, we have the Scientific Definition
of Mortal Mind. Thus. FIRST DEGREE: Depravity I. Physical-Passions and
appetites, fear, depraved will, pride, envy, deceit, hatred, revenge,
sin, disease, death."

"Phantasms, madam--unrealities, as I understand it."

"Every o