On this page
-
Text (2)
-
Untitled Article
-
Untitled Article
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
-
-
Transcript
-
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
Additionally, when viewing full transcripts, extracted text may not be in the same order as the original document.
Untitled Article
eloquence—of eloquence , indeed , employed in a different department , but still comprehending human life in some of its most interesting relations . * Me& quidem sentential nemo poterit esse
omni laude cumulatus orator , nisi erit omnium rerum magnarum atque artium scientiam consecutus : etenim ex rerum cognitione efflorescat et redundet oportet oratio ; quse , nisi subest res ab oratore percepta et cognita , inanem quandam habet elocutionem et pene puerilem * . '
These last words exhibit no exaggerated description of much that is considered pulpit eloquence in the present day ; and the prevalence of this loose declamatory style among the most zealous and popular sects , —disjoined , as it usually is , from all exact knowledge and sound Dhilosoohv—is one cause , doubtless , of the knowledge and sound philosophy—is one causedoubtless , of the
, very little influence exercised by the pulpit on that portion of the community , who are the most distinguished for their knowledge and intelligence . The influence of the pulpit is most directly felt within the circle where it is least wanted—by those who have already strong religious convictions .
The head of the preacher cannot be too richly stocked with materials , especially on the all-important subjects of scriptural interpretation , history , morals , politics , philosophy , and the knowledge of human nature , —if , at the same time , he be rightly instructed how to use those materials to the greatest advantage , for the purposes of popular influence and instruction ; and provided also that his heart be deeply engaged in his work , and actuated by an earnest zeal for the salvation of human souls . It was once
remarked , rather severely , of a popular preacher , that if the man had had anything to say , he could have said it : with equal justice it might be said of others , that they have plenty to say , if they only knew how to say it . We will not decide which of these predicaments is the worst ; but we are quite sure that , with proper discipline , neither of them need exist , and that neither of
them ought to exist . The academies of the Unitarian Dissenters have generally provided well and amply for the literary and scientific part of a minister ' s education ; and those who have had the privilege of studying at York will not find it easy to express , in terms sufficiently warm , their deep and grateful sense of the advantages enjoyed in this respect . If a knowledge of theology , derived from an enlightened and critical interpretation of the sacred books , and communicated with the utmost candour and
impartiality , were the whole of what is required for the equipment of a Christian minister for the efficient discharge of his various duties , it would be impossible to desire anything in addition to what that excellent institution affords . But an acquaintance with critical aud dogmatic theology , though a most essential , is not the only ,
Untitled Article
* De Oratore , 6 . No . 71 . 3 G
Untitled Article
ofF . F . Reinhard . 737
-
-
Citation
-
Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), Nov. 2, 1832, page 737, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1824/page/17/
-