"And they laughed him to scorn. But when he had put them all out, he taketh the father and the mother of the damsel, and them that were with him, and entereth in where the damsel was lying. "And he took the damsel by the hand, and said unto her, _Talitha cumi_; which is, being interpreted, Damsel, I say unto thee, arise. "And straightway the damsel arose, and walked; for she was of the age of twelve years. And they were astonished with a great astonishment. "And he charged them straitly that no man should know it; and commanded that something should be given her to eat."[46] There are several points embraced in the above which are deserving of serious consideration. The first is that Christ perfectly understood the importance of securing for his patient a favorable mental environment. To that end he endeavored to quiet the fears of the father, and to impress upon him the necessity of holding his mind in the attitude of faith and confidence. The father was necessarily in telepathic rapport with the daughter, and it was important that he should not impress his doubts and fears upon her departing soul. The injunction was, therefore, laid upon him, "Be not afraid, only believe." He also understood the value of a positive mental force surrounding the deceased, which would be in perfect harmony with his own force and purpose. To that end, he selected three of the most powerful of his followers, Peter, James, and John, to be present in the chamber of death, and he suffered no one else to follow him. He kept the multitude of unbelievers as far away as possible. When he came to the house and saw the tumult, and heard the weeping and wailing of the friends and relatives of the deceased, he not only put them all out of the room, but sought to quiet their fears by the only way possible, which was by assuring them that "the damsel is not dead, but sleepeth." These words possess a double meaning, a double purpose; and some have supposed that they implied that the damsel was only in a cataleptic trance. It is probable, however, that they were uttered in the sense that the soul never dies. It will be remembered that he used the same expression in regard to Lazarus, but afterwards explained his meaning by declaring that Lazarus was really dead in the common acceptation of the term. His object in using that expression was twofold. First, he desired to quiet the fears and stop the lamentations of the friends and relatives, for the obvious reason that their hopeless wailing must operate as a strong adverse suggestion to the soul of the patient. The only way that could be accomplished was by an assurance that the damsel was not dead. Secondly, he knew the potency of such a suggestion upon the patient herself. It was the master-stroke on his part, first, to quiet the fears of the relatives, and secondly, to fill the departing soul with the subjective faith necessary to enable him successfully to command it