One of her latter-day schemes for bleeding the faithful has been, as I have indicated, to publish frequent “revised” editions of her great work, “Science and Health,” with the announcement of additions to its text necessary to growth in “Science.” Everybody must buy a new book and add a new profit to Mrs. Eddy’s coffers.
In February, 1908, over her signature, she published this:
“Take Notice
“I request Christian Scientists universally to read the paragraph beginning at line thirty of page 442 in the edition of ‘Science and Health,’ which will be issued, February 29. I consider the information there given to be of great importance at this stage of the workings of animal magnetism, and it will greatly aid the students in their individual experiences.
“Mary Baker G. Eddy.”
Shortly after the time of the publication of this notice (the litigation brought by her sons being still pending) Senator Chandler, their senior counsel with whom I was associated, happened to be in Boston. As the Senator was particularly interested in keeping tabs on Mrs. Eddy’s mental attitude toward so-called “animal magnetism,” he asked me if I would procure for him a copy of this edition, as her notice seemed to indicate a possible change in her point of view on that subject. After protesting mildly that I hated to put any good money into that fake enterprise, I went to the publication office in Boston and asked for a copy of the edition of “Science and Health” published on February 29. The clerk in attendance informed me that the edition was completely exhausted, but that another edition containing those alterations and others could be had. Insisting that no other edition than the one of February 29 would answer my purpose, a somewhat worn copy was finally produced as the only one in the place and I was told I could have it, if I didn’t object to its condition. Turning to page 442 and running my eye down to line thirty, where there was a little paragraph of two lines, I returned the book to the clerk and said it was not what I wanted, as it didn’t appear to contain the new matter of “great importance” referred to by Mrs. Eddy’s published notice. Upon his assurance, however, that it was the volume published on February 29 and that the paragraph of two lines, at line thirty, page 442, was the paragraph referred to in Mrs. Eddy’s notice, I tucked the little gold brick under my arm, reluctantly parted with my three good dollars and, returning to the Parker House, handed it to Senator Chandler without a word.
Turning to page 442, the Senator paused at line thirty long enough to read the paragraph of two lines, and then, looking up, exclaimed:
“What a swindle! Do you suppose any one can be of so little intelligence, who buys that book in consequence of Mrs. Eddy’s notice and reads this paragraph, that he does not feel, as we feel, that he has been swindled?”
I assured the Senator that, in my judgment, Mrs. Eddy’s following was largely made up of people who dearly loved to hand their money over to her, that nothing else gave them quite such joy and that they would be only too delighted and satisfied to be told by Mrs. Eddy that they must be a law unto themselves in order to be protected, sleeping or awake, from the foul fiend of animal magnetism. As Mrs. Eddy says her students said of her teachings for which they had rapturously parted with three hundred dollars, “it was worth more to them than money could possibly be.”
What was this information, of “great importance,” which “would greatly aid the students” and which Christian Scientists “universally” must buy a new book to read? It was just two lines inserted in a blank space at the end of a chapter and necessitated the change of no other plate of a single page in the book.
“Christian Scientists, be a law to yourselves, that mental malpractice can harm you neither when asleep nor when awake.”
Only this and nothing more. It is senseless, and yet it cost many thousands of Christian Scientists from three to six dollars apiece to find out, if they could find anything out, that the “revelator” had sold them a “gold brick.” And even since the edition of February, 1908, another edition, with only one line added, has been foisted upon the faithful.