’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. 1.  Physical—­Passions and appetites, fear, depraved will, pride, envy, deceit, hatred, revenge, sin, disease, death.’

‘Phantasms, madam—­unrealities, as I understand it.’

’Every one.  Second degree:  Evil Disappearing. 1.  Moral—­Honesty, affection, compassion, hope, faith, meekness, temperance.  Is it clear?’

‘Crystal.’

’Third degree:  Spiritual Salvation. 1.  Spiritual—­Faith, wisdom, power, purity, understanding, health, love.  You see how searchingly and co-ordinately interdependent and anthropomorphous it all is.  In this Third Degree, as we know by the revelations of Christian Science, mortal mind disappears.’

‘Not earlier?’

’No, not until the teaching and preparation for the Third Degree are completed.’

’It is not until then that one is enabled to take hold of Christian Science effectively, and with the right sense of sympathy and kinship, as I understand you.  That is to say, it could not succeed during the process of the Second Degree, because there would still be remains of mind left; and therefore—­but I interrupted you.  You were about to further explain the good results proceeding from the erosions and disintegrations effected by the Third Degree.  It is very interesting:  go on, please.’

’Yes, as I was saying, in this Third Degree mortal mind disappears.  Science so reverses the evidence before the corporeal human senses as to make this scriptural testimony true in our hearts, “the last shall be first and the first shall be last,” that God and His idea may be to us —­what divinity really is, and must of necessity be—­all-inclusive.’

’It is beautiful.  And with that exhaustive exactness your choice and arrangement of words confirms and establishes what you have claimed for the powers and functions of the Third Degree.  The Second could probably produce only temporary absence of mind, it is reserved to the Third to make it permanent.  A sentence framed under the auspices of the Second could have a kind of meaning—­a sort of deceptive semblance of it —­whereas it is only under the magic of the Third that that defect would disappear.  Also, without doubt, it is the Third Degree that contributes another remarkable specialty to Christian Science:  viz., ease and flow and lavishness of words, and rhythm and swing and smoothness.  There must be a special reason for this?’