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book of nature understood - so that he can prove all he says. He is made not of opinions - but of wisdom and proves all things by his science. ~ Phineas Parkhurst Quimby |
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THE SCIENTIFIC MAN
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"DR. QUIMBY'S DISCOURSE"ON THE SCIENTIFIC MAN It
is not to be supposed
that every man who walks upright is to be set down as a Scientific Man. Nor is it true that everyone who calls himself "scientific" is so. But it is he who can show himself so to the world by his acts, who can explain some truth, thereby putting the world in possession of a fact that it has been ignorant of, thus increasing the wisdom and happiness of mankind. The Scientific Man attaches his senses to science - not to opinions. The natural man's wisdom is based on an opinion, but the Scientific Man bases his on a wisdom that can be demonstrated by facts, and this demonstration is called science. All science is susceptible of proof, so that an opinion is of no force to the Scientific Man. Opinions or beliefs are the natural man, and as he dies, the spiritual or Scientific Man takes his place. Man begins at his birth to develop this life or Science, and his body, like language, is a medium for him to communicate through, until a higher life or Scientific Man comes forth. The natural man is a blank. As he begins to develop, he begins to be arbitrary, and he wants to rule, so he shows his plane or sphere by his reason, and when his reason destroys his error, out comes the Scientific Man, and when this man commences his career, he assumes a higher plane. There are persons claiming wisdom (or science), and when asked for proof, they give their opinion - while every Scientific Man knows that any opinion is merely a babbling about what is not understood. All wisdom that has been reduced or developed is the growth of the Scientific Man. And as wisdom is developed, it is put into practice for the happiness of man. The beginning of the Scientific Man is to know that the natural man is a medium for a higher wisdom. The natural man located the seat of intelligence in the heart, while the Scientific Man uses the brain as the medium of intelligence. Thus you get two individuals: one at the heart and one at the brain. A truly Scientific Man is a book of nature - understood - so that he can prove all he says. He is made not of opinions but of wisdom - and proves all things by his science. So when we say that such a thing is based on a scientific principle, it is the same as saying that it is wisdom superior to an opinion. The Scientific Man is not flesh and blood, but wisdom. The natural man is made of flesh and blood. The Scientific Man is not matter. All he has are his senses; there is his residence for the time. He has no abiding city but is a traveler or sojourner in the world of matter. His house is not made with hands but is in the scientific world; so his whole aim is the happiness of man. Horatio Dresser, 1921 The Quimby Manuscripts By the term "Science" Dr.
Quimby meant that wisdom which, superior to all opinions or wisdom of
the world, and all knowledge founded on externals, mere facts or
speculation, is Divine in origin; is beyond all doubt, and capable of
verification by all. It is Divine, not in the sense of a "revelation"
given on authority, but because it is "Wisdom reduced to self-evident
propositions," "reduced to practice for the benefit of man," therefore
the basis of sciences such as chemistry or mathematics in which
unchangeable principles are implied. Science is aggressive, it is the
Truth which shall set men free, the Christ which Jesus came to declare.
It is discoverable in the Bible, if we have spiritual eyes to see the
meaning beneath the symbols. It is within the reach of all who, led by
intuition and, aware of man's true nature, distinguish between shadows
and realities, the mind which is always changing and the spirit which
never changes. Man then may learn to identify his true self with
Science as the "scientific man," the man with spiritual senses and an
immortal identity. Dr. Quimby did not undertake to found a new religion
on this "great truth" or Science, but believed that spiritual science
is altogether superior to religion as ordinarily understood. His
writings as a whole show what he means by the term.
Dresser, Horatio W. (Ed.). (1921). The Quimby Manuscripts. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell Co. |
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