A。Nothingwhatever。Iamamanwithoutareligion。Thesewordsmeansomuchmythicbosh。
　　Q。Haveyouhadanyexperienceswhichappearedprovidential？
　　A。Nonewhatever。Thereisnoagencyofthesuperintendingkind。Alittlejudiciousobservationaswellasknowledgeofscientificlawwillconvinceanyoneofthisfact。
　　Q。Whatthingsworkmoststronglyonyouremotions？
　　A。Livelysongsandmusic；PinaforeinsteadofanOratorio。I
　　likeScott，Burns，Byron，Longfellow，especiallyShakespeare，etc。，etc。Ofsongs，theStar-SpangledBanner，America，Marseillaise，andallmoralandsoul-stirringsongs，butwishy-washyhymnsaremydetestation。Igreatlyenjoynature，especiallyfineweather，anduntilwithinafewyearsusedtowalkSundaysintothecountry，twelvemilesoften，withnofatigue，andbicyclefortyorfifty。Ihavedroppedthebicycle。
　　Inevergotochurch，butattendlectureswhenthereareanygoodones。Allofmythoughtsandcogitationshavebeenofahealthyandcheerfulkind，forinsteadofdoubtsandfearsIseethingsastheyare，forIendeavortoadjustmyselftomyenvironment。
　　ThisIregardasthedeepestlaw。Mankindisaprogressiveanimal。Iamsatisfiedhewillhavemadeagreatadvanceoverhispresentstatusathousandyearshence。
　　Q。Whatisyournotionofsin？
　　A。Itseemstomethatsinisacondition，adisease，incidentaltoman’sdevelopmentnotbeingyetadvancedenough。Morbidnessoveritincreasesthedisease。Weshouldthinkthatamillionofyearshenceequity，justice，andmentalandphysicalgoodorderwillbesofixedandorganizedthatnoonewillhaveanyideaofevilorsin。
　　Q。Whatisyourtemperament？
　　A。Nervous，active，wide-awake，mentallyandphysically。SorrythatNaturecompelsustosleepatall。
　　Ifweareinsearchofabrokenandacontriteheart，clearlyweneednotlooktothisbrother。Hiscontentmentwiththefiniteincaseshimlikealobster-shellandshieldshimfromallmorbidrepiningathisdistancefromtheinfinite。Wehaveinhimanexcellentexampleoftheoptimismwhichmaybeencouragedbypopularscience。
　　Tomymindacurrentfarmoreimportantandinterestingreligiouslythanthatwhichsetsinfromnaturalsciencetowardshealthy-mindednessisthatwhichhasrecentlypouredoverAmericaandseemstobegatheringforceeveryday——IamignorantwhatfootholditmayyethaveacquiredinGreatBritain——andtowhich，forthesakeofhavingabriefdesignation，Iwillgivethetitleofthe“Mind-curemovement。”Therearevarioussectsofthis“NewThought。”touseanotherofthenamesbywhichitcallsitself；buttheiragreementsaresoprofoundthattheirdifferencesmaybeneglectedformypresentpurpose，andIwilltreatthemovement，withoutapology，asifitwereasimplething。
　　Itisadeliberatelyoptimisticschemeoflife，withbothaspeculativeandapracticalside。Initsgradualdevelopmentduringthelastquarterofacentury，ithastakenupintoitselfanumberofcontributoryelements，anditmustnowbereckonedwithasagenuinereligiouspower。Ithasreachedthestage，forexample，whenthedemandforitsliteratureisgreatenoughforinsincerestuff，mechanicallyproducedforthemarket，tobetoacertainextentsuppliedbypublishers——aphenomenonneverobserved，Iimagine，untilareligionhasgotwellpastitsearliestinsecurebeginnings。
　　OneofthedoctrinalsourcesofMind-cureisthefourGospels；
　　anotherisEmersonianismorNewEnglandtranscendentalism；
　　anotherisBerkeleyanidealism；anotherisspiritism，withitsmessagesof“law“and“progress“and“development“；anothertheoptimisticpopularscienceevolutionismofwhichIhaverecentlyspoken；and，finally，Hinduismhascontributedastrain。Butthemostcharacteristicfeatureofthemind-curemovementisaninspirationmuchmoredirect。Theleadersinthisfaithhavehadanintuitivebeliefintheall-savingpowerofhealthy-mindedattitudesassuch，intheconqueringefficacyofcourage，hope，andtrust，andacorrelativecontemptfordoubt，fear，worry，andallnervouslyprecautionarystatesofmind。[44]Theirbeliefhasinageneralwaybeencorroboratedbythepracticalexperienceoftheirdisciples；andthisexperienceformsto-dayamassimposinginamount。
　　[44]“CautionaryVersesforChildren“：thistitleofamuchusedwork，publishedearlyinthenineteenthcentury，showshowfarthemuseofevangelicalprotestantisminEngland，withhermindfixedontheideaofdanger，hadatlastdriftedawayfromtheoriginalgospelfreedom。Mind-curemightbebrieflycalledareactionagainstallthatreligionofchronicanxietywhichmarkedtheearlierpartofourcenturyintheevangelicalcirclesofEnglandandAmerica。
　　Theblindhavebeenmadetosee，thehalttowalk；life-longinvalidshavehadtheirhealthrestored。Themoralfruitshavebeennolessremarkable。Thedeliberateadoptionofahealthy-mindedattitudehasprovedpossibletomanywhoneversupposedtheyhaditinthem；regenerationofcharacterhasgoneononanextensivescale；andcheerfulnesshasbeenrestoredtocountlesshomes。Theindirectinfluenceofthishasbeengreat。
　　Themind-cureprinciplesarebeginningsotopervadetheairthatonecatchestheirspiritatsecond-hand。Onehearsofthe“GospelofRelaxation。”ofthe“Don’tWorryMovement。”ofpeoplewhorepeattothemselves，“Youth，health，vigor！”whendressinginthemorning，astheirmottofortheday。
　　Complaintsoftheweatheraregettingtobeforbiddeninmanyhouseholds；andmoreandmorepeoplearerecognizingittobebadformtospeakofdisagreeablesensations，ortomakemuchoftheordinaryinconveniencesandailmentsoflife。Thesegeneraltoniceffectsonpublicopinionwouldbegoodevenifthemorestrikingresultswerenon-existent。Butthelatteraboundsothatwecanaffordtooverlooktheinnumerablefailuresandself-deceptionsthataremixedinwiththemforineverythinghumanfailureisamatterofcourse，andwecanalsooverlooktheverbiageofagooddealofthemind-cureliterature，someofwhichissomoonstruckwithoptimismandsovaguelyexpressedthatanacademicallytrainedintellectfindsitalmostimpossibletoreaditatall。
　　Theplainfactremainsthatthespreadofthemovementhasbeenduetopracticalfruits，andtheextremelypracticalturnofcharacteroftheAmericanpeoplehasneverbeenbettershownthanbythefactthatthis，theironlydecidedlyoriginalcontributiontothesystematicphilosophyoflife，shouldbesointimatelyknitupwithconcretetherapeutics。Totheimportanceofmind-curethemedicalandclericalprofessionsintheUnitedStatesarebeginning，thoughwithmuchrecalcitrancyandprotesting，toopentheireyes。Itisevidentlyboundtodevelopstillfarther，bothspeculativelyandpractically，anditslatestwritersarefarandawaytheablestofthegroup。[45]Itmattersnothingthat，justastherearehostsofpersonswhocannotpray，sotherearegreaterhostswhocannotbyanypossibilitybeinfluencedbythemind-curers’ideas。Forourimmediatepurpose，theimportantpointisthatsolargeanumbershouldexistwhoCANbesoinfluenced。Theyformapsychictypetobestudiedwithrespect。[46]
　　[45]IrefertoMr。HoratioW。DresserandMr。HenryWood，especiallytheformer。Mr。Dresser’sworksarepublishedbyG。
　　P。Putnam’sSons，NewYorkandLondon；Mr。Wood’sbyLee&
　　ShepardBoston。
　　[46]Lestmyowntestimonybesuspected，Iwillquoteanotherreporter，Dr。H。H。Goddard，ofClarkUniversity，whosethesison“theEffectsofMindonBodyasevidencedbyFaithCures“ispublishedintheAmericanJournalofPsychologyfor1899vol。
　　x。。Thiscritic，afterawidestudyofthefacts，concludesthatthecuresbymind-cureexist，butareinnorespectdifferentfromthosenowofficiallyrecognizedinmedicineascuresbysuggestion；andtheendofhisessaycontainsaninterestingphysiologicalspeculationastothewayinwhichthesuggestiveideasmayworkp。67ofthereprint。Asregardsthegeneralphenomenonofmentalcureitself，Dr。Goddardwrites：
　　“Inspiteoftheseverecriticismwehavemadeofreportsofcure，therestillremainsavastamountofmaterial，showingapowerfulinfluenceofthemindindisease。Manycasesareofdiseasesthathavebeendiagnosedandtreatedbythebestphysiciansofthecountry，orwhichprominenthospitalshavetriedtheirhandatcuring，butwithoutsuccess。Peopleofcultureandeducationhavebeentreatedbythismethodwithsatisfactoryresults。Diseasesoflongstandinghavebeenameliorated，andevencured……Wehavetracedthementalelementthroughprimitivemedicineandfolk-medicineofto-day，patentmedicine，andwitchcraft。Weareconvincedthatitisimpossibletoaccountfortheexistenceofthesepractices，iftheydidnotcuredisease，andthatiftheycureddisease，itmusthavebeenthementalelementthatwaseffective。Thesameargumentappliestothosemodernschoolsofmentaltherapeutics——
　　DivineHealingandChristianScience。ItishardlyconceivablethatthelargebodyofintelligentpeoplewhocomprisethebodyknowndistinctivelyasMentalScientistsshouldcontinuetoexistifthewholethingwereadelusion。Itisnotathingofaday；
　　itisnotconfinedtoafew；itisnotlocal。Itistruethatmanyfailuresarerecorded，butthatonlyaddstotheargument。
　　Theremustbemanyandstrikingsuccessestocounterbalancethefailures，otherwisethefailureswouldhaveendedthedelusion……ChristianScience，DivineHealing，orMentalSciencedonot，andnevercanintheverynatureofthings，curealldiseases；
　　nevertheless，thepracticalapplicationsofthegeneralprinciplesofthebroadestmentalsciencewilltendtopreventdisease……Wedofindsufficientevidencetoconvinceusthattheproperreforminmentalattitudewouldrelievemanyasuffererofillsthattheordinaryphysiciancannottouch；wouldevendelaytheapproachofdeathtomanyavictimbeyondthepowerofabsolutecure，andthefaithfuladherencetoatruerphilosophyoflifewillkeepmanyamanwell，andgivethedoctortimetodevotetoalleviatingillsthatareunpreventable“pp。
　　33，34ofreprint。
　　Tocomenowtoalittlecloserquarterswiththeircreed。Thefundamentalpillaronwhichitrestsisnothingmorethanthegeneralbasisofallreligiousexperience，thefactthatmanhasadualnature，andisconnectedwithtwospheresofthought，ashallowerandaprofoundersphere，ineitherofwhichhemaylearntolivemorehabitually。Theshallowerandlowersphereisthatofthefleshlysensations，instincts，anddesires，ofegotism，doubt，andthelowerpersonalinterests。ButwhereasChristiantheologyhasalwaysconsideredFROWARDNESStobetheessentialviceofthispartofhumannature，themind-curerssaythatthemarkofthebeastinitisFEAR；andthisiswhatgivessuchanentirelynewreligiousturntotheirpersuasion。
　　“Fear。”toquoteawriteroftheschool，“hashaditsusesintheevolutionaryprocess，andseemstoconstitutethewholeofforethoughtinmostanimals；butthatitshouldremainanypartofthementalequipmentofhumancivilizedlifeisanabsurdity。
　　Ifindthatthefearclementofforethoughtisnotstimulatingtothosemorecivilizedpersonstowhomdutyandattractionarethenaturalmotives，butisweakeninganddeterrent。Assoonasitbecomesunnecessary，fearbecomesapositivedeterrent，andshouldbeentirelyremoved，asdeadfleshisremovedfromlivingtissue。Toassistintheanalysisoffearandinthedenunciationofitsexpressions，Ihavecoinedthewordfearthoughttostandfortheunprofitableelementofforethought，andhavedefinedtheword’worry’asfearthoughtincontradistinctiontoforethought。Ihavealsodefinedfearthoughtastheself-imposedorself-permittedsuggestionofinferiority，inordertoplaceitwhereitreallybelongs，inthecategoryofharmful，unnecessary，andthereforenotrespectablethings。”[47]
　　[47]HoraceFletcher：HappinessasfoundinForethoughtMinusFearthought，MenticultureSeries，ii。ChicagoandNewYork，Stone。1897，pp。21-25，abridged。
　　The“misery-habit。”the“martyr-habit。”engenderedbytheprevalent“fearthought。”getpungentcriticismfromthemind-curewriters：——
　　“Considerforamomentthehabitsoflifeintowhichweareborn。
　　Therearecertainsocialconventionsorcustomsandallegedrequirements，thereisatheologicalbias，ageneralviewoftheworld。Thereareconservativeideasinregardtoourearlytraining，oureducation，marriage，andoccupationinlife。