Spiritually u/ IN THE ffatoral U/orld, BY " ELEVE. Author of "Life is Worth Living," "Drops of Gold," "Progress of the Pilgrim" etc., etc. THIRD THOUSAND. 1894: PURDY PUBLISHING CO., PUBLISHERS, McVicker"s Building, CHICAGO. \1 Copyrighted by Purdt Publishing Compant. CHICAGO. Printed by the Purdy Publishing Company, INTRODUCTION. When we read the written thoughts of an author we are able to tell by the feelings that stir us, irrespective of our con victions, as to what the independent power of the author must be. There are certain writings which convince us almost against our will that their premises and reasoning are right, yet we feel no uplifting, no healing of bodily or mental conditions from reading them. This indicates that the hearts of the writers did not burn within them while they wrote. Spirit ual Law ik the Natural World was the outspeaking of a heart that burned within the author, as the hearts of the two traveling from Emmaus ages ago, because her life had been spared, her strength renewed, her health restored, her hope revived by the teachings she records. Therefore we hear from every quarter of all this same minis try which this book has already wrought for many others also. Lionel Beale told Joseph Cook that what is now wanted is something to upset natural law. By "natural law" he meant the procession of undesirable phenomena to which our race seems to be subjected. What shall upset disease, starvation, hatred, pain, death, save the spirit of the "Law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus, that maketh free from the law of sin and death?" He spoke what our world has long felt, viz., that we hunger and thirst for peace and safety, for health and sweet life, and realize that the methods so long in practice have sig nally failed to bring them. I can set to my seal that "Spiritual Law in the Natural World" contains the stepping stones to every attainment the heart aspires to. It is sure to heal you if you read it — heal you of pain, of physical disease, of feebleness, of indeterminate will, of faltering by the way. side of your human walk. It will uplift, and cheer and in spire you, and this is the mission of a good book. Emma Curtis Hopkins. I BOOKS BY ELEVE. SPIRITUAL LAW IN THE NATURAL WORLD. $1.00 DROPS OF GOLD. 50cts. LIFE 13 WORTH LIVING. 25ots. PROGRESS OF THE PILGRIM. 50ctS. FOUR BOOKLETS! THE WONDERFUL KINGDOM. 15cts. GIANTS IN THOSE DATS. 15cts. TIIE LAND OF FAIR MEN. 15cts. EASTER ISLAND. 15cts. CONTENTS. CHAPTER. PAOB Preface 1 Introduction 2 I. Universal Presence of a Creator — Life Prin ciple 3 II. Rejection of Error 12 III. Necessary Affirmations 25 IV. Faith 43 V. Nature and Office of Mind. Work .... 55 VI. Spiritual Understanding 70 VII. The First Result of Knowledge. —The Origin of Man Explained 89 VIII. Power of Law to Remove Deception . 104 IX. Power of Law to Annul Sin 119 X. Fourth Power of Law 129 XI. Fifth Power of Law. — Foolishness and Ignor- axce Dispelled 148 XII. The Sixth Power of Law is the Triumph of Truth, or Perfect Health 157 XIII. Treatments 173 SPIRITUAL LAW IN THE NATURAL WORLD. CHAPTER I. Universal Presence of a Creator — Life Principle. Scientific doctrine can only be established by scientific reasoning, as science means philosophical knowledge or the knowledge of reasoning. To convince you of the reasonableness of anything we must begin our argument at some point where we agree and reason from that to establish our own ground as right. This is the way we proceed in teaching the science of Spiritual Law, which is in itself pure reasoning, and when understood, will change the life of the world, giving joy for sadness, health for sickness, peace for discord and truth where error has reigned. Are we not all and every one seeking to be entirely satisfied with life? We gQ^tojind fro, wander here and there — ever restless — tr3'ing to find what will completely fill our lives, hearts and minds, so that there will be noth ing left to desire. - Has anybody ever found this entire content — or satisfac tion — in the prevailing theologies, philosophies, sciences, 3 4 SPIRITUAL LA W IN THE NA TURAL WORLD. or transcendentalisms of the past? All have striven, labored, studied to reach this goal, but not one ever attained it in its full completeness except Jesus Christ. If He attained satisfaction why has not his example been followed ? Why have we not followed in his foot steps ? Because his words have not been understood, and his life has seemed too hard to imitate in this prosaic, mate rialistic world. Not only that, but all who have considered him to be God have been too busy discussing speculative theories concerning him to literally follow him. But there is no other way. " I am the truth," * * * "follow me," he said We have never found the truth in his teaching, for it has been covered with the rubbish of ceremonial, with dogma and creed for generation after generation, till, like the strata of geology, there has formed layer upon layer of crustacean covering, and become like the kernel of a nut within its shell so hard that it requires an effort to break and throw off before the hidden meat is exposed to view. The science of Spiritual Law removes the shell of specu lations and gives us the truth as Jesus gave it, unvarnished, unadorned and in its purity. There is, therefore, nothing new in it, and those who expect something totally unknown heretofore are often disappointed in its first lessons, and sometimes a feeling of irritation arises and young students think this science cannot be so wonderful or bring such great power if it is the same old story. But truth misun derstood is not truth to that one who misunderstands it. Truth perverted is not truth at all. Truth unused is not existent to that one who neglects it. If people had spoken Truth one millionth part as much SPIRITUAL LA W IN THE NA TURAL WORLD. 5 as they have talked of all other things, it would have pre vailed by this time to our satisfaction. It is truth under stood, truth used, truth lived, that will bring heaven into view, or, as we are in the habit of expressing it, bring a new heaven and a new earth. It does make all things new. Let us try to grasp it, to get such a hold upon it that we become one with it. Let us eat the words of truth and so assimilate them that they are the life current that flows through us with a richness unparalleled, giving us true health, real strength and the vitality that only God can impart. Now in order to explain how the Truth works we meta go back to the early discovery of mental law and show how Mind works, for Truth can work only through Mind. Thus we must first of all understand Mind. The study of Mind is the study of metaphysics, for meta means above — out of range of — so metaphysics is out of the range of physics, which is the study of knowledge of the material world, then it must be of mind, as all that is above what we call materiality is certainly mind. All philosophers have taught that there is a first cause of all things, whether they call it Nous or Air or Substance, and that this Cause is Divine. Metaphysicians have gone farther and said that mind was the cause of all things, though some of them have called mind a human product of materiality. (All who have made a study of the Cause of all things have become so at one with it as to have causing power, for it is an invariable rule that we become like what we study or are closely associated withy/ We become so like people with whom we live constantly that often the ex pression of face and sound of voice grow similar, and even 6 SPIRITUAL LA W IN THE JVA TURAL WORLD. the features grow alike. Sometimes a child will look more like its nurse than its mother. Those ancient students of power found themselves in vested with power even over material things, for they caused corn to grow, roses to bloom, rain to fall or cease, empty cruses to be filled with oil and measures of meal to increase by word or will. By words the sick were healed and the dead raised, and the words so used were called Truth. Those students of First Cause who had such power through their study called the Cause God, and down to this day It is called God. The words that had such heal ing potency were called the words of God or Truth. Truth was called the Substance of all, the Origin of all and the Ruler of all, and pure Intelligence. Then those words were words of Substance, Life and Intelligence, and as they were words of God, God must be Substance, Life and Intelligence. We should never condemn a person unheard. It is not only unjust but not according to law and equity. Neither should we condemn a subject or doctrine unheard and un known. To do so is evidence of a small, narrow, preju diced mind. Spiritual law is the teaching of Jesus Christ. How can any one dare to condemn knowledge of Christ's teaching either heard or unheard. Jesus said that certain signs should follow those who believed in him and his doctrine, and those signs now follow all who truly accept His doc trine of Spirtual Law.