Why withhold my name, while appropriating my language and ideas, but give
credit when citing from the works of other authors?
Life and its ideals are inseparable, and one's writings on ethics, and
demonstration of Truth, are not, cannot be, understood or taught by those
who persistently misunderstand or misrepresent the author. Jesus said, "For
there is no man which shall do a miracle in my name, that can lightly speak
evil of me."
If one's spiritual ideal is comprehended and loved, the borrower from it is
embraced in the author's own mental mood, and is therefore _honest_. The
Science of Mind excludes opposites, and rests on unity.
It is proverbial that dishonesty retards spiritual growth and strikes at
the heart of Truth. If a student at Harvard College has studied a textbook
written by his teacher, is he entitled, when he leaves the University, to
write out as his own the substance of this textbook? There is no warrant in
common law and no permission in the gospel for plagiarizing an author's
ideas and their words. Christian Science is not copyrighted; nor would
protection by copyright be requisite, if mortals obeyed God's law of
_manright_. A student can write voluminous works on Science without
trespassing, if he writes honestly, and he cannot dishonestly compose
_Christian Science_. The Bible is not stolen, though it is cited, and
quoted deferentially.
Pages:
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74