,,the ,,young ,,priest',s ,,keepsake ,by ,,michael ,j4 ,,phelan1 ,s4,j4 ,second ,edition4 ,,dublin ,m4 ,h4 ,,gill ,,and ,,son1 ,,ltd4 ,,and ,,waterford #aiji #ast4 ,edition ,,may1 #aiji4 #bnd4 -- ,enlarged1 ,,nov41 #aiji4 ,,preface ,this little book is written in the hope that it may assist young priests and ecclesiastical students to meet the demands which the life before them has in store4 ,works specially suited to the priest1 the layman and the nun are happily abundant2 but to the young man standing on the threshold of his career as a priest1 how few are addressed4 ,yet it is while his character is in the formative stage1 and his weapons are still in the shaping1 that advice and direction are of most practical value4 ,the writer brings to his task only one qualification on which he can rely--his own personal experience4 ,after having gone through a long course of preparation in ,irish ecclesiastical colleges1 he lived for nearly thirteen years on the ,australian mission1 and is now completing a decade spent in giving missions and retreats in all parts of ,ireland4 ,of the college1 therefore1 and of the foreign and home missions he can speak with whatever authority a long experience and ordinary powers of observation are supposed to give4 ,in dealing with the foreign mission he does not rely solely on his own judgment4 ,many matters here treated of he heard repeatedly discussed by priests abroad1 who bitterly deplored that1 while in college1 they knew so little of the life before them1 and regretted that there was then no kind friend to take them by the hand and show them what was in store when the day came for them to plunge into a life that was strange and entirely new4 ,it is to be hoped that this modest volume will1 in part at least1 discharge the office of that friend4 ,it may appear1 at first sight1 that when writing the fourth chapter1 ,on ,pulpit ,oratory1 the author had before his mind an elaborate discourse1 such as is expected only on great occasions4 ,this is not so4 ,it is true that the various parts of a sermon1 when detailed in analysis1 may seem1 like the works of a watch spread out on a table1 bewilderingly numerous and complex4 ,but when we come to construct1 it will be found that in synthesis the distracting number of small parts will disappear1 to coalesce and form the few main principles on which either a sermon or a watch is built4 ,these principles are essential to every discourse1 no matter how brief4 ,as the humble seven-and-sixpenny ,waterbury requires its springs and levers equally with the hundred-guinea repeater1 so the twenty minutes' sermon1 to be effective1 must have a fixed plan and definite sequence as well as the more ambitious effort4 ,most of these chapters were written originally for the ,mungret ,annual1 with a view to assist the apostolic students who are now1 as priests1 rendering such splendid service to the ,church of ,god abroad4 ,and it was the very generous reception accorded the articles in the ecclesiastical colleges that suggested the idea of presenting them in the more lasting form of a book4 ,sacred ,heart ,college1 ,limerick1 ,march #ag1 #aiji1 ,feast of ,st4 ,patrick4 ,,preface ,,to ,,the ,,second ,,edition ,the rapid sale of the first edition of this work surprised no one more than the author4 ,it was not addressed to the public in general1 but to a limited section2 the price1 while moderate1 could not be called cheap2 yet within a little over two months the entire edition was exhausted4 ,it is impossible to express my deep gratitude to the reviewers4 ,from them the book met with a chorus of approving welcome1 without even one jarring note4 ,to all ,i now tender my grateful thanks2 but the author of ,my ,new ,curate has placed me under a special obligation for his thoughtful critique in the ,freeman's ,journal1 and ,ibh ,maine for his friendly review in the ,leader4 ,nor should ,i omit to thank the ecclesiastical colleges1 that not only pardoned the blunt candour of some of the chapters1 but gave the book a more than cordial reception4 ,the present edition includes two entirely new chapters--the two last--extending over #de pages4 ,it is hoped that the added matter will prove of as much interest as those chapters of the first edition which received such a hearty welcome4 ,college of the ,sacred ,heart1 ,limerick1 ,september #bi1 #aiji1 ,feast of ,st4 ,michael4 ,,contents ,,chapter ,,first ,,culture3 ,,its ,,necessity ,,to ,a ,,young ,,priest ,,chapter ,,second ,,english3 ,,its ,,necessity ,,to ,a ,,young ,,priest ,,chapter ,,third ,,should ,a ,,young ,,priest ,,write ,,his ,,sermons8 ,,chapter ,,fourth ,,how ,,should ,,the ,,young ,,priest ,,prepare ,,his ,,sermons8 ,,chapter ,,fifth ,a ,,sophistry ,,exposed--,,advice ,,given-- ,,theologian ,,and ,,preacher--,,the ,,difference ,,chapter ,,sixth ,,the ,,art ,,of ,,elocution ,,chapter ,,seventh ,,the ,,danger ,,of ,,the ,,hour4 ,,how ,,to ,,meet ,,it ,,chapter ,,eighth ,,the ,,young ,,priest',s ,,activities ,,chapter ,,first ,,culture3 ,,its ,,necessity ,,to ,a ,,young ,,priest ,if you question any priest of experience and observation who has lived on the foreign mission1 and ask him what constitutes the greatest drawbacks1 what seriously impedes the efficiency of our young priests abroad1 without hesitation he will answer--,first1 want of social culture2 and1 secondly1 a defective ,english education4 ,to the first of these this chapter will be exclusively devoted1 while the subject of ,english will be dealt with in the chapter to follow4 ,side note3 ,the case stated ,one of the great disadvantages of living in an island is that we get so few opportunities of seeing ourselves as others see us4 ,when you seriously attempt to impress the necessity of culture on the student preparing for the foreign mission he generally pities you4 ,in his eyes culture is a trifle1 suited perhaps to the serious consideration of ladies and dancing masters1 but utterly unworthy of one thought from a strong-minded or intellectual man4 ,but you tell him that without it the world will sneer at him4 ,he then pities the world1 and replies--,what do ,i care about the world's thoughtless sneer2 have ,i not a priestly heart and a scholar's head8 ,that reply1 if he were destined to live in a wilderness1 would be conclusive4 ,an anchorite may attain a very high degree of sanctity and yet retain all his defects of character--his crudity1 selfishness1 vulgarity4 ,while grace disposes towards gentleness it does not destroy nature4 ,there is no essential connection between holiness and polished manners4 ,nor does scholarship either require or supply culture4 ,a mastery of the ,summa will not prevent you from doing an awkward action4 ,dr4 ,johnson's learning was the marvel of his age1 but his manners were a by-word4 ,so1 if your only destiny was to be a scholar or a hermit1 manners need give you little trouble4 ,but your vocation is to be an apostle2 to go out amongst men2 to be the light for their darkness1 the salt for their corruption2 the aim and goal of your operations are human hearts4 ,this being granted1 are you not bound to sweep from your path every impediment that prevents your arm from reaching these hearts8 ,but the most effective barrier standing between you and them is ill-formed manners4 ,the laws of good society1 the refinement of gentlemanly culture may1 from your standpoint1 be the merest trifles2 but they become no trifles when without them your right hand is chained from reaching human souls4 ,the only remaining question is1 ,does the world to-day place such a high value on good manners that if ,i go into it without them my efforts will be in a large degree neutralised8 ,entertain not a shadow of doubt on that point1 such is the fact4 ,side note3 ,protestants and ,catholics demand culture in the ,priest ,proud and pampered society will never bend its stubborn neck and submit itself to the guidance of a man who1 judged by its own standard--the only one it acknowledges--is far from being up to the level2 an object of contempt perhaps1 at best of pity4 ,in its most generous mood it is slow and cautious to take you on trust2 its cold analysis searches you2 your unplaned corners offend its taste2 and except in every detail you answer to its rule and level you are disdainfully thrust aside4 ,catholics1 while they esteem a mere fop at his just value1 expect their priest to rise above the sneers of the most censorious and1 if possible1 to challenge the respect of all4 ,they are proud of their priest2 and surely it is not too much to expect on his part that he will do his best not to make them ashamed of him4 ,their ,protestant neighbours know of this pride2 and if they can but lay a finger on his evident defects they will glut their inborn hatred of the ,church by hitting the ,catholics on the sensitive nerve1 by galling them by caricature and derision of the gauche manners of the priest4 ,protestant young men1 too1 will appeal to the pride of their ,catholic companions2 and an appeal to pride is generally a trump card4 ,they will ask--,is it possible that gentlemen could submit themselves to the guidance of a clergyman whose manners are unformed and whose ,english is marred by provincialisms and defective accent8 ,in speaking of accents1 let me say here ,i do not ask the young priest to commit the signal folly of attempting to ingraft an imported accent on his own native one4 ,no6 ,he should speak as an ,irishman1 but as an educated ,irishman4 ,side note3 ,by foreign ,canons you will be judged ,the fatal mistake on the part of a young priest would be to take ,irish opinion as the standard by which he will be judged outside ,ireland4 ,in ,ireland we call these things trifles1 because the people whose eyes are filled with the rich light of warm faith see the priest alone1 and are blind1 or at least generously indulgent1 to the defects of the man4 ,reverse this1 and you have the accurate measure by which you will be judged abroad4 ,the man and his defects alone are seen2 the priest and the sublimity of his state are entirely lost sight of4 ,the world judges what it can understand--the man alone4 ,hence the student preparing for the foreign mission may take this as an axiom3--,if people cannot respect you as a gentleman1 on the non-,catholic world your influence is nil2 and even on your own ,catholic people it will sit very lightly4 ,but he replies-- ,this is not logical1 for a man may be an excellent priest1 a good scholar1 without social accomplishments4 ,all that ,i admit1 but age and experience will teach him that logic does not rule the world2 some of its greatest actions could not bear the pressure of a syllogism4 ,we must meet the world as it is1 not as we would make it4 ,is it not you who show logical weakness in preparing for this ideal world that has no existence outside your own dreams and ignoring the world of hard facts you will have to face8 ,side note3 ,no argument to be drawn from the ,apostles ,you then appeal to facts and say1 ,look at the apostles4 ,let me answer--first1 you do not attempt to imply that crudity was a help to them4 ,if so1 how8 ,now1 the most you can say is that in spite of it they succeeded4 ,but you forget that they had the gift of miracles1 and a sanctity so evident that their passport was secure despite their defects4 ,unless you can produce the same sanctity and miracles your argument falls to the ground4 ,but to the statement itself--,were not the apostles men of manners8 ,some1 it is true1 before their call had little connection with schools1 but we may rest assured that three years under such a teacher as they had did wonders4 ,they must be dull indeed not to read the living lesson their ,master's character daily taught4 ,his tenderness1 ,his courteous dignity1 and gentle consideration for others were such that in a man we would say they almost bordered on weakness2 this was the living model on which they daily gazed and pondered4 ,this ,master then sent them forth to all nations4 ,they were to mix with the white-robed senators in ,rome1 and dispute with the highest intellects of polished ,athens1 to force an entrance into every circle of social life4 ,could we imagine ,god sending them forth to that task encumbered with defects that would paralyse their mission if not ensure its defeat4 ,we must also take into account the gifts of ,pentecost4 ,what a change these wrought6 ,the ,holy ,spirit enriched their intellects and perfected their moral virtues2 their trembling wills became braced as iron pillars4 ,for what purpose8 ,to prepare and equip them for their destined mission4 ,is it not natural to suppose that the same ,divine ,power swept their characters free from every impediment that could hamper their ministry8 ,so the appeal to the apostles is gratuitous4 ,side note3 ,culture necessary for domestic life ,in dealing with this question a young priest is to consider more than his flock4 ,priests on the foreign mission live community life1 in hourly contact with each other4 ,you cannot realise the agony a man inflicts on others by coarse or unpolished manners4 ,the toil of a priest's day is severe1 but the hardest day is mere summer pastime compared with the crushing thought of having to turn home to a boorish companion4 ,this living martyrdom reaches its most acute stage when1 in society1 a man is forced to witness a brother priest expose the raw spots of his character to the vitriolic cynicism of the scoffer4 ,but the importance of this subject is by no means exclusive to the foreign mission4 ,in ,ireland1 of late1 a spirit of criticism has shown itself1 often exacting even to fastidiousness2 so far from time being likely to blunt it1 everything points to the probability of its edge growing sharper with years4 ,and the young ,irish priest of the future who dares to trample on the canons of good taste need expect scant mercy4 ,side note3 ,to arms ,my advice to all ecclesiastical students is--search and see if unmannerly ways are ingrafting themselves into your character4 ,if so1 give them no quarter4 ,master an approved handbook1 and during the recreations raise discussions on details of good manners4 ,ask your friends candidly to point out your defects4 ,it is far easier to be admonished by one friend whose correction is swathed in soft charity than await till a dozen sneerers send their poisoned arrows to fester in your heart4 ,in correcting yourselves and asking your friends to admonish you1 it will assist you to pocket your pride1 to remember that three such weighty issues as the efficiency of your ministry1 the honour of the priesthood1 and the comfort of your future home will in a large measure be influenced by the degree of social culture you carry out of college4 ,no man has greater need to fear than he who stands high in his class4 ,when any habit becomes fixed it requires a high degree of humility and moral courage to root it out4 ,but1 intellectual pride1 nourished by college triumphs1 is up in arms4 ,he scorns to be corrected or taught by a world he despises4 ,let me ask1 did ,god give him these intellectual gifts for himself or as instruments by which to win souls back to their ,father8 ,the man who1 rather than bend his own pride1 allows his talents to become useless incurs an awful responsibility4 ,stubbornly refuse to be corrected or to shape and polish your manners while in college1 and one thing ,i absolutely promise you1 with all the authority a long experience can give1 that when you do go out from the college you will meet a master that will bend and break you4 ,the roasting fire of the world's scorn will search the very marrow of your bones4 ,,chapter ,,second ,,english3 ,,its ,,necessity ,,to ,a ,,young ,,priest ,let me begin by asking one plain question--,if all the scholastic wealth with which ,st4 ,thomas has enriched the world lay embedded in the mind of a ,missionary priest3 if he more than rivalled ,suarez as a casuist1 and ,bellarmine as a controversialist1 yet if he failed to acquire a mastery over the only instrument by which he could bring to bear the riches of his own intellect on the minds of those around him1 of what value is all the wealth entombed within his head8 ,if he has acquired no command of the rich vocabulary1 the graceful elegance of diction1 the mysterious beauty of expression1 the abundant illustration1 the art of storing nervous vigour and living thought into crisp and pregnant terseness3 if this one weapon1 a finished ,english education1 is not at his disposal1 his knowledge1 as far as others are concerned1 is so much lumber3 to the one spot alone--the ,confessional--his efficiency is narrowed4 ,the other fields of his ministry are deprived of the immense service this learning might afford4 ,let us see how this works out in practice4 ,the unctions of ordination are scarcely dry on your hands till you begin to realise what you never realised before--viz41 that in the most literal sense of the word you belong to the ,church ,militant4 ,you go out from college1 you are quickly confronted with opposition4 ,at once your brain begins to hew arguments of massive solidity2 had you but the skill with which to hurl them you would overwhelm the stoutest foe4 ,this skill you have not got1 you never mastered the sciences by which you could smite the aggressor4 ,with rage you1 perhaps for the first time1 realise your own deficiency4 ,your arms are pinioned by helpless ignorance of the use of what should be one of the first weapons of the priest4 ,your thoughts now struggle for birth1 but are fated to die stillborn1 while the foe laughs you in the face4 ,is this not a sad pity3 yet it is an everyday fact4 ,there are sixty millions of ,irish money lying in the banks throughout this country1 yet the nation is perishing from atrophy1 starving for want of commercial nourishment4 ,if the gold now piled in banks were but circulated through the channels of industry1 every limb of national life would pulse with new vigour1 the remotest corner of the land would feel the influence of the golden current2 so1 within the mind of the priest may be hoarded treasures of deepest learning1 but unless he has the art of minting and circulating through his parish the glittering coin of polished thought1 though his brain be an ,el ,dorado of wealth1 that parish will run into spiritual bankruptcy4 ,you are the ,light of the ,world1 said ,christ to ,his ,apostles4 ,the same1 in effect1 ,he will say to the young priest the day he sets out to continue the work they began2 but how will that light1 of which he is the bearer1 reach the darkened world for which ,god has destined it if he neglects to arm himself with the light-diffuser3 the only medium of communication between him and his people8 ,though the sun is poised in the firmament above us1 this earth would remain for ever wrapped in midnight darkness were it not that there is an interposing medium--whatever it be--to waft to us its heat waves and carry its splendours to the tiniest nook and crevice4 ,the language1 its graces and powers1 are for the priest the instruments by which darkened minds are illumined1 by which the clear rays of living truth are flashed into their gloom4 ,the man that neglects to acquire a mastery of this instrument incurs a great responsibility4 ,the devil1 too1 has a message to deliver1 a message of error2 but at his command there are not only perverse intellects but all the elegance of polished language and all the persuasive graces of elocution4 ,side note3 ,an illustration from everyday life ,let me take an illustration from everyday life4 ,a ,catholic child under his father's roof has religion instilled into him4 ,he goes to school1 and here his knowledge is developed and enlarged4 ,from the schoolroom he is transplanted into the world to strike roots if he can in stubborn soil and preserve his faith amidst the ice-chills of infidelity4 ,foes beset him on every side4 ,he turns to the public library4 ,the infidel review is crisp in style1 its arguments catchy1 and the brilliancy of its diction captivates4 ,the pages of the fashionable novel are strewn with the rose leaves of literature3 the plot enthrals4 ,the arguments of the free-thought lecturer are well reasoned1 the sophistries artistically concealed1 whilst his mastery over the graces of elocution holds his audience spell-bound4 ,the young man staggers4 ,he now turns to where he should expect to find strength4 ,under the pulpit next ,sunday is a mind where the mists of doubt are gathering and darkening4 ,he looks up to the ,light of the ,world to have these mists dispelled4 ,instead of seeing his foes battered with their own weapons he sees these weapons1 that in every domain are conquering for the devil1 here despised4 ,he is forced to listen1 perhaps1 to an exhibition of tedious crudity4 ,he goes away disheartened2 perhaps to fall4 ,now1 the solid theological knowledge in that preacher's head is more than sufficient to shatter the arguments of infidelity2 the analytic power acquired during his college course would enable him to tear every sophistry to shreds2 but the art of making both of these effective for the pulpit1 the mastery of clear and nervous ,english1 the elocution that sends every argument like a quivering arrow of light to its mark1 these he neglected1 or perhaps contemned4 ,this is our weak spot2 here our position wants strengthening4 ,sit by the fireside with that preacher and suggest the advisability of cultivating ,english and elocution4 ,he replies3 ,i have two thousand souls to look after1 sodalities to work up1 schools to organise1 and attend1 perhaps1 four sick calls in one night4 ,no1 not now1 but long years before1 he should have been trained4 ,it is not on the battlefield1 when the bugle is sounding the charge1 that the soldier should begin to learn the use of his weapons4 ,in the college1 and not on the field of action1 is the place to acquire this science4 ,side note3 ,a ruinous advice ,one of the most fatal directions ever tendered to ,irish students is--devote all your college years to ,classics1 ,philosophy1 and ,theology exclusively--these are your professional studies--and when you become a curate it will be time to master ,english and ,elocution4 ,analyse this and see what it means4 ,do not learn ,english or its expression till you are flung into a village without a soul to stimulate or encourage you2 or1 worse still1 till you find yourself in the fierce whirl of an ,english or ,american city4 ,wait till you are in the pulpit and then begin to learn to preach is very like advising a man to wait till he is drowning and then it will be time enough to learn how to swim4 ,would any sane man give such an advice to an aspirant of the fine arts8 ,what would be thought of the man who would say--,if you wish to become a good musician neglect to learn the scales till you come to your twenty-fifth year2 or if it is your ambition to be a great painter1 permit a quarter of a century to roll over your head before you learn how to hold the palette or mix the paints4 ,the man that would tender such ridiculous advice would be laughed at4 ,yet it is not one whit more absurd than the transparent nonsense that has grown hoary from age1 and passes unchallenged as a first principle4 ,it is often asked how is it that the ,irish ,church has remained so barren4 ,eighty years have passed since the bells of the thatched chapels rang in ,emancipation4 ,during that time over three thousand talented priests are on the land2 yet how small the number of works produced4 ,why such a miserable result8 ,what has sterilised the intellects of these men8 ,mainly this fatal advice4 ,how could we have literary tastes among the priests in their pastoral life when such tastes were either frowned down during their college career or postponed to a period when their cultivation became an impossibility4 ,side note3 ,you must begin while young ,no man can become a preacher without becoming a writer first4 ,i need not labour this proposition4 ,a single quotation from the highest authority establishes it4 ,when ,cicero was asked the question--,how can ,i become an orator8 his one answer was-- ,scribere quam plurimum4 ,the first step to oratorica eminence was--write as much as possible4 ,now1 ask any distinguished writer when did he begin to cultivate a literary taste4 ,he will tell you with ,pope that he lisped in numbers4 ,he began almost with the dawn of reason4 ,if1 then1 pen practice must be the first step towards pulpit success1 it is while the fancy is tender that it should be trained2 while the receptive powers are hungry in youth they should be fed2 while the habits of thought are fresh and flexible they should be exercised4 ,wait till the hoar frost of age nips the rich blooms of imagination and stiffens the once nimble powers of the mind1 and the cast-iron habits of maturer years have settled on you3 literary culture is then an impossibility4 ,what does this culture imply8 ,a developed insight into the beauties of thought2 a just appreciation of style2 an intimate acquaintance with the best authors2 an abundant vocabulary and graceful expression4 ,can these be acquired in a year8 or is the time for acquiring them seasoned manhood8 ,how worthless and pernicious is this one word ,wait1 here more than ever1 where mastery of language is in question4 ,but a glance shows how much more absurd it is to let a man pass out of his teens before putting him through a thorough course of elocution4 ,it is while the muscles of throat and lungs are as flexible as a piece of ,indiarubber1 and the young ear sensitive to every nuance of sound1 the future priest must learn to articulate1 to pronounce correctly1 to husband his breathing1 to bend his voice with ease and mastery through the varied octaves of human passion4 ,a piece of advice which ,i would give to a young priest who may find himself within reach of an elocution master is to place himself under his guidance for at least the first twelve months4 ,the very best student elocutionist has1 on leaving college1 but a theoretic knowledge of the art of preaching4 ,to weave the principles and graces he there acquired into his own compositions in the pulpit is a new experience4 ,to do this with effect he still requires the master's guiding hand4 ,he should deliver his sermons in the presence of that master1 invite him to his church1 and ask him to note defects for correction4 ,this plan ,i have seen acted on with eminent results3 it may be a young priest's making3 at its lowest estimate it is worth gold4 ,side note3 ,a workable plan ,i can well imagine the young reader objecting that ,i would have him turn from his study-desk1 where ,lehmkuhl and ,st4 ,thomas lie1 to practise composition and elocution4 ,no1 but ,i want to show how all ,i have put before him can be done without encroaching to the extent of one hour on his ordinary class studies4 ,i4 ,let the most hard-working student gather carefully the golden sands of wasted time that lie strewn even through the busiest ordinary day and see what they amount to in a year4 ,why not hoard and mint them2 for his class knowledge will1 to a great extent1 be buried treasure except he has the engine by which to deliver it to others4 ,a student should permit no day to pass without writing out at least one thought4 ,cover but half a sheet of notepaper--correct1 prune1 condense1 clarify1 and then1 if you wish1 burn it1 yet1 it is a distinct gain4 ,you are shaping a sword that will stand you in good need yet4 #b4 ,during study hours an ,english author should lie on the desk4 ,when the head grows wearied1 instead of uselessly goading the tired jade or consuming brain tissue on that most fatiguing of occupations1 day dreaming1 sip a page or two of ,english4 ,you rest your brain1 and while doing so store up knowledge1 silently develop taste and acquire style4 #c4 ,again1 how are vacations consumed8 ,the student who does not read at least two hours a day is letting a golden opportunity pass and wasting a precious gift of ,god--time4 ,it may be said that this after all is a rather slow process2 it will only mean about a volume a month4 ,yes1 but that means twelve in a year1 or at least eighty-four in your course1 not a bad stock to start life with4 #d4 ,in the training of the future priest the recreation hour can be converted into the most important item on the day's programme4 ,he plunges from the silence of the study hall into the vortex of the world1 for it is the world in miniature2 its passions1 its pride1 its meanness1 as well as its gentleness of heart and heroism of spirit are all flowing around him4 ,if properly utilised1 the recreations can be minted into veritable gold4 ,in the term recreation ,i include all those occasions of free intercourse where students meet to interchange thought--the hall1 the club1 c4--and the more numerous these are the better4 ,here the student is his natural self1 unrestrained by a master's presence4 ,the young minds are free to wrestle1 and opposing thoughts to clash4 ,the fire of contradiction will test the genuine ore3 the same fire will consume all that is worthless in his opinions and principles3 the clay and alloy of his character too will go4 ,he learns to cast away many a cherished notion now dinged and broken in the war of minds2 he is taught to distrust himself and tolerate the opinions of others4 ,if the recreation1 however1 is to be a mental gymnasium it must be guided by fixed rules1 and this is most important4 ,the tone must be of a high level4 ,no vulgarity2 no scurrility4 ,in the hottest debate we must not forget that we are gentlemen4 ,we should argue1 not to overcome an opponent1 but to make truth evident4 ,minds in debate should resemble flails on the threshing floor1 that labour not to overcome each other1 but to separate the solid grains from the chaff and straw4 ,no man should be ashamed to say ,i don't know or ,perhaps ,i am wrong4 ,without these safeguards the recreation or debate might easily become a cock-pit of unbridled passions4 ,our fortunes lie not in our stars1 good ,brutus1 but in ourselves4 ,the making of the priests depends not merely on the college1 but also on the students' own endeavours4 ,this latter fact is but imperfectly understood1 or acted on only in a very limited extent4 ,it is from intercourse between minds of various bents1 the debating clubs1 the social unions1 and not the lecture halls or study desks1 that the ,oxford student draws strength and elegance of character4 ,it is the want or misuse of these opportunities that leaves the young ,irish priest so raw and unfinished4 ,knowledge only comes from the professor and the book1 but the character is shaped1 rounded1 and polished by a variety of agencies lying outside both these4 ,the creation of these agencies is almost entirely in the student's own hands4 ,side note3 ,the dangers of the hour and how to meet them ,if the ,irish priest on the foreign mission is to become a force in the future1 his course of philosophy must be both solid and practical4 ,the last half century has not only changed the arms of his adversaries but transferred the conflict to new grounds4 ,protestantism is dying4 ,the mere veneer of ,christianity is fast fading off among the sects4 ,the cobwebs of neglect are overspreading the works of theological controversy2 but in the domain of ethics and metaphysics activity daily grows in intensity4 ,the student would do well to keep this fact before his eyes4 ,it is proper that a priest should be conversant with the errors of the past and the arguments by which they are met4 ,many of these errors he will discover exhumed1 draped in new disguises1 and paraded as the fruit of modern thought4 ,but it will be well also1 in his studies1 not to ignore the fact that the ,agnostic and the ,socialist are1 under his very eyes1 digging what they confidently assure us is to be the grave of ,christianity4 ,agnosticism and ,socialism are the two great forces to be reckoned with in the immediate future4 ,poison-thought has eaten the vitals of non-catholic sectaries4 ,the teaching of so-called ,christian churches has evaporated into a mere natural theism1 the supernatural element has disappeared4 ,both the ,socialist and ,agnostic frankly confess that the demolition of the sects is but a preliminary skirmish3 the real battle lies farther afield4 ,the lines of conflict between us and them are daily drawing closer1 and it is a question of brief time till we are locked in deadly grip4 ,how are we preparing for this struggle1 which may yet convulse the world8 ,the future priest must be made familiar with the modern objections in their native dress and form4 ,the aspirant for the foreign missions has a tough quarry before him3 it behoves him to steady his hand and point his weapon4 ,young men complain of the length and tediousness of the years consumed in preparation for the ,ministry4 ,could ,i but engrave on their minds the conviction as it lives1 fixed and definite1 on my own as to the equipment requisite for the efficient discharge of their great office2 could ,i but show them the thousands untouched that might be within her fold to-day1 were the ,church's workmen fully aware of the pressing needs of modern life1 they would count that hour as lost that did not contribute its quota towards their arming for the future4 ------ ,p4,s4--,i cannot do better than here append a list of those books ,i found in practical experience most valuable in meeting modern thought4 ,i would earnestly ask every aspirant for the foreign mission not to leave the college till he has a familiar acquaintance with every page of them4 ,i take it for granted that the transcendent merits of ,catholic ,belief and ,faith of our ,fathers are so well known1 especially as books for intending converts1 that there is no need to add them to the list on the following page4 ,dealing with ,agnosticism1 c4 ,liberalism and the ,church ,brownson4 ,notes on ,ingersol ,lambert4 ,the ,newest ,answer to the ,old ,riddle ,gerrard4 ,new ,materialism ,gaynor4 ,dealing with ,socialism ,pope ,leo ,,xiii4 on ,labour4 ,labour and ,popular ,welfare ,mallock4 ,socialism ,cathrein4 ,,chapter ,,third ,,should ,a ,,young ,,priest ,,write ,,his ,,sermons8 ,side note3 ,clearing the ground ,that the young priest may discharge the office of preacher with efficiency and honour1 not only must he bring ability and industry to his task1 but he must approach it with a mind free from false theories4 ,one unsound principle may mean shipwreck4 ,amongst the many questions discussed by aspirants to pulpit success1 perhaps the greatest prominence is given to the relative merits of the written or the extemporary sermon4 ,this is so important that its full treatment demands an entire chapter4 ,before coming to close quarters we may premise a question4 ,if the carefully prepared sermon cost as little trouble as the extemporary effort1 would the world ever have heard of this discussion8 ,oh6 the fatal tendency to move on the lines of least resistance1 to glide on the downward slope1 and when we have reached the bottom to manufacture arguments and apologies justifying the course we selected6 ,when the question is probed to the bottom you will find that all advocacy of extemporary preaching resolves itself into an apology for laziness4 ,to me the question has long since ceased to be anything more than a mere academic one1 useful perhaps for a debating class1 where youthful gladiators flesh their harmless swords4 ,in practical life1 the well written1 the well prepared sermon was the only one ,i discovered able to bear the test of experience4 ,side note3 ,manning ,at the threshold of this discussion the authority of ,cardinal ,manning may be invoked against us1 who1 without condemning the written sermon1 shows a decided preference for speaking from notes4 ,a written sermon1 such as advocated1 could scarcely be before his mind when he wrote that chapter in ,the ,eternal ,priesthood4 ,it is evident he had in view the post-renaissance preacher--vain1 pompous1 decked in borrowed ornament1 anxious about the embroidery1 and careless about the soul of his discourse4 ,the species1 thank ,god1 is extinct4 ,at any rate1 if ,cardinal ,manning meant to condemn the written discourse such as we understand it1 is he triumphantly answered by himself4 ,the man who advises you to preach from notes and then launches upon the world a goodly set of volumes of carefully written sermons1 every line of which passed under his correcting pen1 requires no refutation4 ,his action nullifies his advice4 ,it is to be feared1 too1 that in forming his judgment he relied too much on his own experience1 and out of it drew conclusions for others1 who could never hope to have his exceptional advantages-- a fatal mistake4 ,before his conversion he had completed a distinguished career at ,oxford4 ,of the ,english language and its perfect use he was a past master4 ,the copiousness of diction1 elegance of phrase1 the power of expressing himself in graceful strength were eminently his4 ,his intellect was stored with abundant knowledge drawn from many sources4 ,the thoughts of his well-ordered mind stood in line as definite and orderly as soldiers on parade4 ,the fibres of his reasoning had waxed strong in encounters with the ablest intellects of the day and before the most distinguished audiences in the literary and debating clubs at ,oxford4 ,add to this the fact that in a keen knowledge of the human heart1 its strength and weakness1 he was surpassed by no man of his age4 ,this was the equipment with which ,manning started life1 and it is to be feared he pre-supposed this1 or a great part of it1 to be in possession of those for whom he wrote4 ,now1 what young priest1 even the most brilliant of his class1 going on the mission can pretend to the hundredth part of the advantages that enabled ,manning to dispense with the written page8 ,therefore1 to conclude that because he1 under such privileged circumstances1 succeeded1 you can do the same under a very different set of conditions1 is to ignore the hard logic of facts and pay a poor compliment to your reason4 ,side note3 ,father ,burke and ,o',connell ,then1 we are confronted not with opinions but names--the two names that will stand for all time in the forefront of ,irish orators are those of ,o',connell and ,father ,burke4 ,o',connell wrote but one speech--his first4 ,the orations delivered by ,father ,burke in ,america1 by which he achieved a ,european reputation1 were not written4 ,what1 then1 it is asked1 becomes of the advocacy of the written sermon8 ,the answer to this argument is evident4 ,if the question is reduced to one of great names1 into the other side of the scales may be thrown not two but dozens of the most illustrious men who not only wrote1 but became famous mainly because they wrote4 ,passing by the great pagan orators1 ,cicero and ,demosthenes1 and the ,doctors of the ,church1 ,saints ,augustine1 ,john ,chrysostom1 c4--these all wrote1 polished and elaborated--we come to the four names that have flung a deathless glory around the ,french pulpit1 that created a golden era of sacred eloquence which has never been surpassed3 ,bourdaloue1 ,bossuet1 ,massillon1 and ,fenelon4 ,i will not labour the argument by showing how much of their strength and fame rested on the construction of their sermons4 ,but1 to return to the intrinsic merits of the statement--yes1 ,o',connell and ,father ,burke were great orators in spite of1 and not because of1 the fact that they spoke extemporarily4 ,so crude were some of ,o',connell's speeches1 so careless was he of their dress1 that ,shiel complained3 ,he flung a brood of young1 sturdy ideas upon the world1 with scarce a rag to cover them4 ,if ever there was a case when the man made the sermon instead of the sermon making the man1 it was the case of ,father ,burke4 ,how little he owed to his sermons and how much they owed to his delivery is left on record by a capable judge4 ,sir ,charles ,gavan ,duffy says3 ,father ,burke was a born orator2 the charm of voice1 eye and action combined to produce his wonderful effects4 ,when his words were printed much of the spell vanished4 ,one rejoiced to hear him over and over again1 but re-read him rarely1 ,i think4#a ,the greatest tribute that can be paid to the genius of these two orators is that compositions1 wordy1 loose1 abounding in repetitions1 in their mouths enthralled multitudes4 ,every defect disappeared2 the mastery1 the dazzling brilliancy of their oratory swept all hearts and blinded criticism4 ,we well may pause before answering the question3 ,what effects would they have produced had they time to write masterpieces of finished beauty like those of ,grattan and of ,bourdaloue8 where each link in the chain of argument hangs in glittering strength1 and each thought shows the flash of the gem and its solidity too4 #a ,my ,life in ,two ,hemispheres1 ,vol4 ,,ii41 #bgd4 ,side note3 ,defence of the system ,i ,the first great difficulty against extemporary preaching is that1 though a priest studies his subject and maps his plan1 he still reckons without his host4 ,the mind aroused to activity and warmed by exertion is sure to spring new thoughts1 arguments1 and illustrations across his path4 ,these offspring of latest birth clothed in freshness will prove a temptation too strong4 ,he will swerve from the main line to pursue them3 the tendency to chase the fresh hare can scarcely be resisted4 ,then another new thought springs up1 and1 alas6 another fresh hunt4 ,the defined sketch lying on his desk is abandoned3 the new ideas have mastered him1 but he cannot master them4 ,he labours himself to death without avail1 for there is neither point1 argument1 nor sequence3 his sermon is a definition of eternity--without beginning and without end4 ,the congregation is groaning in despair1 and the only appreciated passage in the whole performance is the preacher's passage from the pulpit to the sacristy4 ,now1 to a man who writes his sermon1 such a catastrophe is impossible4 ,in the process of preparation the field is well beaten and every thought that could arise secured4 ,from the best of these his selection is made4 ,to this selection he clings without danger of swerve4 ,the road on which he travels is not only mapped but free of ambush and surprises4 ,the milestones are erected4 ,he may not be a ,bossuet or a ,burke1 but he speaks to a definite point1 has a time to stop1 and the people leave the church with a clear idea4 ,side note3 ,,ii4 ,the defenders of extemporary preaching must postulate three essentials in any man undertaking the office4 7,i7 ,orderly thought4 7#b7 ,abundant vocabulary4 7#c7 ,accurate and graceful expressions4 ,without these he cannot speak4 ,admit the want of any one of them and the contention falls to the ground4 ,now1 what young priest coming out of college has this equipment8 ,it is a singular fact1 too1 that these three can be acquired only by1 and are the direct outcome of1 pen practice4 ,how is it that this fact has escaped so many8 ,writing makes an exact man1 says ,bacon2 and to the question3 ,how can ,i become an orator8 ,cicero's answer was3 ,caput est quam plurimum scribere4 ,when then men point to a ,gladstone or a ,bright as an example of an extemporary orator we are entitled to ask3 ,in what sense can they be called extemporary speakers1 except in the most limited1 since the well marshalled ideas1 the flowing periods and elegant graces of delivery are the products of reams and reams of written pages and years of patient drudgery8 ,yet1 even with all these advantages1 on great occasions it was on the written page they relied4 ,till the young priest1 then1 comes to his task as well furnished as a ,gladstone or a ,bright1 the advocates of extemporary speaking are out of count4 ,side note3 ,,iii4 ,the extemporary preacher challenges nature on her own ground4 ,no one need doubt the issue4 ,nature will conquer1 and the man who defies her will succumb4 ,he endeavours to think1 to select word-clothing for his thoughts1 to labour his memory1 and deliver his sermon1 and performs all four operations at the same time1 a task clearly impossible1 but more so when we remember the usual embarrassments that beset a young preacher--the nervous agitation1 the want of self-control1 the desire to succeed4 ,it ends generally in a stammer and then a break1 greeted by the congregation with a sigh of relief or perhaps a sneer of contempt4 ,is it by preaching such as this you hope to challenge the respect and get a hold on the intellect of a cynical world8 ,is it through such instrumentality you would bring home the ,church's message to proud and festering humanity8 ,no one can succeed who attempts more than one task at a time4 ,look to analogy4 ,at the moment when a regiment is expected to charge1 you don't find it engaged in collecting ammunition1 sharpening swords1 and learning drill4 ,all these necessary preliminaries are long since completed4 ,now every bridle is grasped1 every sword hilt in grip1 and the rowelled heels are ready to dash into the horses' flanks at the first note of the trumpet blast4 ,the preacher should come to the pulpit in a like state of preparedness1 with his thoughts already gathered1 moulded1 polished and clothed in the words that fit them best2 with every argument as definite and well knitted as a proposition in ,euclid2 the page swept clear of superfluous verbiage2 each idea standing out bright as a jewel in its setting1 and the whole so thoroughly committed to memory that he can defy the most critical to discover a trace of effort4 ,he should come1 holding his elocutionary forces in reserve1 and ready1 when the moment arrives1 to flash from his lips each living thought and send from his heart the waves of subtle1 unseen fire to melt1 rock1 or subdue the hearts of others1 instead of attempting four tasks simultaneously1 and failing in all4 ,his sole business in the pulpit is not to shape his message or to clothe his message1 but to gather and converge all the powers within him for one grand purpose and it alone--to send that message home4 ,these pages are written mainly for the ,irish priest on the foreign mission4 ,it is well he should be under no delusion4 ,in ,ireland a slipshod or unprepared sermon may meet with indulgent charity4 ,a very different reception awaits it abroad4 ,the priest who attempts it will quickly discover how he is set up for a sign that shall be contradicted4 ,the free1 white light of open criticism penetrates even the sanctuary4 ,there is no dignity to hedge any man4 ,congregations smart at being treated to such poor fare1 and will not leave him long in ignorance of their opinions4 ,perhaps while in the pulpit the sight of many a curving lip will make the blood tingle or cause the shame spot to burn on his cheek4 ,again1 the priest on the foreign mission will never face a congregation that is not sprinkled with ,protestants or unbelievers4 ,should he not then consider the feelings of his own people who are humiliated or filled with honest pride by the manner in which their pastor acquits himself in the eyes of strangers8 ,waiving then all supernatural motives1 should not every priest have sufficient manly pride1 self-respect and sensibility for the honour of his exalted office to lift himself and his work above the sneer of the most censorious1 and challenge the respect1 if not the admiration1 of every listener8 ,the preparation should begin not on the day the sacred oils are poured on the young priest's hands1 but on the day he enters college4 ,his eyes should be kept fixed on the goal before him4 ,i am to be a preacher1 and every obstacle that stands on my path must go down1 and every advantage that goes to make a great orator1 at all costs1 ,i must make my own4 ,this ambition should be nourished till it consumes him1 till it becomes his waking thought1 his midnight dream4 ,his reading1 recitation and debates should be studied under the light of this lodestar of his destiny3 at first shining afar off1 but swiftly nearing as each vacation ends4 ,side note3 ,objectors answered ,i4 ,those who champion the method of extemporary preaching lay great stress on two points4 7,i7 ,the extemporary preacher has a natural warmth and earnestness of conviction that goes straight to the heart4 7#b7 ,these1 they maintain1 can never accompany the prepared discourse4 ,let us examine these two statements4 ,it is true that when men speak under the influence of strong emotions1 passion may1 in a large measure1 compensate for accurate expression and sequence of thought1 especially with a rude or half educated audience4 ,in proof of this1 ,peter the ,hermit and ,mahomet are striking examples4 ,we are dealing1 however1 not with extraordinary but the ordinary demands on a priest's powers1 and it would be poor wisdom to stake all his success on the chance moods of his temperament4 ,to-day the tempest may rock his soul and his words bear the breath of flame2 but1 by next ,sunday1 the spirit has passed1 his passions are ice chill2 he is confronted with the duty of preaching1 and on what support shall he now lean8 ,we must also remember that with increasing education the popular mind is becoming more analytic1 and congregations less willing to accept emotions1 no matter how sincere1 as a substitute for reason4 ,the second statement--that the written sermon cannot be vitalized with fervour--seems childish in face of the fact that even actors1 speaking the thoughts of men dead three hundred years1 move people to tears or cause their blood to blaze4 ,the great pulpit orators1 to whom allusion has already been made1 preached carefully written sermons1 yet over ten thousand hearts they poured lava tides that swept every prejudice in their fiery breaths4 ,side note3 ,shiel ,what1 then1 becomes of this trite assumption when there are iron facts like these to fall upon it8 ,again1 it is objected that the freshness disappears in elaborate preparation1 and an oft-repeated sermon becomes stale to its author4 ,shiel1 we are told1 always prepared the language as well as the substance of his speeches4 ,two very high excellences he possessed to a most wonderful degree--the power of combining extreme preparation with the greatest passion4 ,side note3 ,wesley ,that disposes of the first statement4 ,now1 does the repetition of the same sermon cause it to grow flat8 ,listen to the actor on his hundredth night1 and see have he and his words grown weary of each other4 ,wesley wrote every sermon1 and repeatedly preached the same discourse1 with the result that so far from losing by repetition it gained2 and ,benjamin ,franklin1 who was the ,american ambassador in ,england at the time1 assures us he never became truly eloquent with a sermon till he had preached it thirty times4 ,the following graphic picture of the effects produced by the preaching of ,wesley and his two companions will scarcely help to support the theory that a sermon preached frequently becomes fruitless3--,he looked down from the top of a green knoll at ,kingswood on twenty thousand colliers1 grimy from the ,bristol coalpits1 and saw1 as he preached1 the tears making white channels down their blackened cheeks4 4 4 4 ,the terrible sense of a conviction of sin1 a new dread of hell1 a new hope of heaven1 took forms at once grotesque and sublime4#b #b ,green--,short ,history of the ,english ,people4 ,we have heard preachers from whose lips each thought fell as fresh and as hot as if that moment only it welled up from the fountains of the heart2 yet each rounded and chiselled sentence1 that seemed to flow so spontaneously1 cosily nestled between the covers of their manuscripts4 ,we have watched the varied gestures1 the cadences of voice and facial expression to harmonize with and so express the sense of the words that one seemed to grow out of the other2 still these graces of elocution1 that looked so artless and so charming1 were the fruit of long years of study4 ,all was fresh6 ,all was natural6 ,all palpitated with the blood of life1 yet all were the products of previous toil4 ,it is nonsense1 then1 for any man to assert that the written sermon must bear the stamp of artificiality or that the fire evaporates in the passage from the desk to the pulpit4 ,side note3 ,,ii4 ,but ,i may be told there is small time for writing sermons4 ,it is singular that where there is most time on a priest's hands there are fewest sermons on his desk4 ,but to the objection4 ,one of the strongest motives urging the writer to insist on the written sermon is his deep conviction of the shortness of time1 for there is no more expeditious way of squandering that precious gift of ,god than by preaching extemporary sermons4 ,this is how the case stands4 ,you have to spend as much time in gathering and arranging the matter for the extemporary as for the written one4 ,next year you may have to preach on the same gospel or feast2 of what use will your notes be then8 ,the ideas1 arguments1 and illustrations that now spring to your mind with a glance at this cipher or note will then have vanished4 ,the cipher remains1 but its inspiring power has passed4 ,the oracle is dumb4 ,you may summon spirits from the vasty deep--but will they come8 ,you have again to face your old task2 year after year the same drudgery awaits you with less hope of success4 ,the brain1 at first stimulated by novelty1 poured forth the hot tide of thought2 now it will answer only to the lash4 ,at the end of five years what hoarded reserve have you laid by8 ,your hands are as empty as the day you started1 with this disadvantage1 that you have lost the habit of labour you acquired at college--a serious loss4 ,when a man permits the fine edge of college industry to become blunted1 the best day of his usefulness is passed4 ,this treadmill of ineffectual toil fills with disgust1 till finally all efforts are abandoned1 and the people are treated to ,hamlet's reading3 ,words1 words1 words4 ,this is the usual series of evolutions through which an extemporary preacher passes4 ,he begins with good intentions and bad theories4 ,the system breaks down1 but his habits are now too set to try another1 and so he runs to seed4 ,here you have explained the fruitlessness1 indeed the paralysis1 of many a pulpit4 ,in the written sermon1 on the other hand1 you have a treasure for life2 years pass1 but your sermon remains1 an instrument becoming more flexible and telling every time you use it4 ,you are independent of your mood1 on which the extemporary preacher has to lean so much4 ,you can also defy chance that may call you to the pulpit at a day's notice4 ,your motto is3 ,semper paratus4 ,your brain may be barren and your feelings frigid1 but here are thoughts already made and shaped4 ,they are your own2 and the mind instinctively responds to the children of its own birth4 ,it rises1 clasps1 and embraces them4 ,the passion glow enkindles afresh2 and heart and words are aflame with the ancient fires4 ,when for the first five years you lay aside a well-written sermon a month1 what a handsome stock-in-trade is at your disposal for life--your fortune is made4 ,side note3 ,incitements to toil ,the world is in no humour to stand half-hearted work2 it will bow its proud head only to the man who pours out sweat2 and ,bourdaloue's standard of excellence will hold for all time4 ,his answer to the question ,what was your best sermon8 is3 ,the one ,i took the most pains with4 ,his labour at the desk was the precise measure of his success in the pulpit4 ,the ,french have a proverb1 ,tout vaut ce qu'il coute4 7,everything is worth what it costs47 ,see how laymen put our lethargy and its apologists to shame4 ,look at the author with pallid cheek and fevered brow1 half starving in an attic1 perfecting his style1 polishing his periods4 ,there is the actor1 haggard1 jaded1 toiling for hours at a single passage1 that he may interpret its meaning and enchain his audience4 ,while the world is dreaming the barrister is studying his brief1 ransacking tomes1 wading through statutes1 in search of one to support his contention1 knitting his defence in logical terseness1 cudgeling his brains for ingenious appeals to move a jury4 ,the lives of eminent lawyers are records of appalling drudgery4 ,turn to the great doctors of the church4 ,after preaching for thirty years1 ,st4 ,augustine did not consider himself free from the obligation of writing his sermons4 ,he prepared1 he tells us1 cum magno labore4 ,i have1 says ,st4 ,john ,chrysostom1 traversed land and ocean to acquire the art of rhetoric4 ,if giants so laboured1 who are we to expect exemption8 ,ah6 if our bread entirely depended on our sermons1 as a lawyer's on his briefs or an actor's on his parts1 what a revolution we should behold6 ,yet how humiliating the thought6 ,every time you go into the pulpit it is to plead a brief for ,christ4 ,the destiny of many a soul hangs on your effort4 ,will you permit yourself to be outdone in generous toil by the lawyer1 who consumes his night not to save a man from an unending hell1 but from a month's imprisonment8 ,to-day the devil's agents put forth sleepless activity4 ,the world rings with the clash of warring forces4 ,the priest1 then1 that idly folds his arms and manufactures sops for a gnawing conscience1 while the very air is electric with the energies of assault1 that priest is set up not for the resurrection but the ruin of many in ,israel4 ,,chapter ,,fourth ,,how ,,should ,,the ,,young ,,priest ,,prepare ,,his ,,sermons8 ,the pulpit1 as an instrument for the salvation of human souls1 holds1 after the ,sacraments1 first place4 ,indeed the frequentation and proper reception of the ,sacraments themselves largely depend upon it4 ,never since the first ,pentecost was its agency a more pressing necessity than to-day4 ,the apostles of evil are busy4 ,the printing press teems beyond all precedent1 obscuring truth and belching forth poison over the world of intellect with a reckless audacity that scorns all restraint4 ,the powers of darkness have seized1 polished with unstinting labour and sharpened into slashing efficiency1 the varied weapons in the armoury of the orator--crispness of style1 brilliancy of diction1 a declamation that covers the want of argument and gilds sophistry till it passes for truth4 ,the question for us is--how shall we meet the enemy with steel as highly tempered as his own8 ,cicero embraces within the compass of three words the whole scope of the orator4 ,docere4--,to instruct the intellects of his hearers4 ,placere4--,to use those varied arts and graces by which the instruction is rendered palatable and agreeable4 ,movere4--,to move their wills to action4 ,the last function is by far the most important4 ,the preacher's triumph lies not in the conviction of the intellect1 nor in the approbation of the tastes1 but in the arousing of the wills of his hearers4 ,the will is the goal-point at which he aims from the beginning4 ,a doctor may persuade his patient that bitter medicine and active exercise are necessary1 but so long as the sick man lies on the sofa and nods assent this barren conviction is of little profit4 ,when1 however1 the persuasion forces him to take a six-mile walk and swallow the revolting draught1 then1 and only then1 is triumph secured4 ,so a preacher may convince the habitual sinner of the heinousness of sin2 he may win his applause by the cogency of his reasoning and the brilliancy of his style2 but not till he has moved his will to fling the old fetters to the winds1 not till he brings him a tearful penitent to the confessional1 is his work complete4 ,we shall now take the three words of ,cicero in order4 ,side note3 ,docere ,how shall we accomplish all implied in that word docere8 ,how embed conviction in the minds of our hearers8 ,fill your own head to repletion with the subject2 be ambitious to leave1 if possible1 no book unread1 books of even collateral bearing4 ,the more thought stored up the more complete will be your mastery over the subject and the more abundant the materials from which to select4 ,i was struck by a letter from ,father ,faber to a friend3--,i intend writing a book on the ,passion4 ,i have already read a hundred works on the subject2 see if you can get me any more4 ,a hundred volumes1 yet he looks for more6 ,hence his brain was saturated with his subject1 and when he tapped it1 how copiously it flowed6 ,what books should ,i read8 ,side note3 ,what books to read ,the solid matter in ,theology and the ,sacred ,scriptures and their developments4 ,a book of sermons is the last to open4 ,why8 ,you wish to raise a structure1 then go to the original quarry where you have material in abundance4 ,the arguments that bear the shaping of your own chisel1 though not as polished as those you would borrow1 will fit more naturally and adorn with greater grace4 ,there are two great risks in reading sermon books--a tendency to imitate the style and a temptation to filch the jewels4 ,the style may be very sublime1 but the question is will it suit you4 ,your neighbour's clothes may fit him admirably1 but on you they would hang lop-sided4 ,the second danger is even more fatal4 ,a struggling tyro who makes an inartistic attempt to adorn his discourse with the most brilliant passages from ,bossuet renders his production not only worthless but grotesque4 ,the man who can build a labourer's cottage handsomely should be content2 but when he attempts to engraft upon it the turrets and pilasters of the neighbouring mansion he covers his work not with ornament but ridicule4 ,am ,i then1 you will ask1 to cast aside the brilliant thoughts and happy imagery ,i meet in my reading8 ,no1 ,i only ask you not to use them now4 ,note them for re-reading4 ,cast them as nuggets into the smelting-pot of your own brain4 ,trust to time and the alchemy of thought to transmute them4 ,wait till these thoughts become your thoughts4 ,the intellect will assimilate this foreign material and send it forth on some future occasion1 palpitating with the warm blood of natural life1 to strengthen the frame-work of your reasoning or adorn your composition with veins of natural beauty4 ,side note3 ,how shall ,i read8 ,read with a pencil and paper slip beside you1 not only to jot down arguments and illustrations1 but to seize on the inspirations that may come4 ,the thoughts we get from books are not at all as valuable as the train of natural ideas these books excite4 ,when the mind is once set going there is no knowing what rich ore it may strike4 ,when the brain throbs in labour with thought struggling for birth1 when the soul is full and the imagination in flame1 this is the golden moment4 ,each idea now stands out clear cut as a cube of crystal1 and colours of unwonted richness are draping the fancy4 ,hence1 at all hazards1 lay hold of this inspiration4 ,close the most interesting work2 leave the most fascinating society2 heed neither food nor sleep till it is secured4 ,for you this spirit may never breathe again4 ,let this moment pass1 and when you do invoke the intellect it is cold and barren1 and the heart that yesterday blazed with living fires holds lifeless ashes now4 ,it is not always when you have pointed your pencils and spread the virgin page before you thought will come4 ,the ideas that have revolutionized the world came at times and in places most unlooked for4 ,when musing on the swaying ,sanctuary lamp during ,benediction1 ,galileo discovered the laws of the pendulum4 ,such a trifle as the fall of an apple suggested the laws of gravitation to ,newton2 and the first idea of the steam engine came to ,watt while he was watching the lid rising from the boiling kettle4 ,during a royal banquet the argument to crush the ,manicheans grew on the great mind of ,st4 ,thomas1 and the king made his secretary write it down on the spot4 ,had not these men trained themselves to admit and welcome the angel visitant1 no matter when or where he came1 the stagnant pool of the world's ignorance might have remained for ever unstirred4 ,your notes are now before you1 some the offspring of original thought and others culled from reading4 ,the former require only polishing and shaping1 but the latter must pass through your own intellect2 every thought must feel the brain heat before it becomes palatable4 ,we do not ask people to eat meat raw1 so we should take care not to offer them ideas cold and untouched by the warmth of our own reasoning4 ,think over1 ruminate1 roll them from side to side1 let them sink down through the tissues of your own brain and settle there2 then when you send them out warm1 bearing the stamp of your own minting1 they will be found effective4 ,remember that to translate dry theology into questionable ,english1 encumbered with technical expressions1 is not writing a sermon2 but the man who takes up the theological principles1 simmers them in his own thought1 wraps them in the transparency of clear language1 illustrating them with his own imagery1 and thereby bringing them within the grasp of the meanest intelligence1 that man1 in a sense1 creates the truth anew4 ,you begin the work of construction by making out a sketch argument4 ,let a well-jointed syllogism underlie and form the framework of your sermon4 ,the conclusion of that syllogism must be the goal point at which you aim4 ,that once selected1 all other parts of the sermon should tend towards it4 ,as all roads lead to ,rome1 so all members of the argument should converge to this point4 ,the congregation should leave the church with that idea fixed and clear as a star of light before their minds4 ,in writing1 as in committing to memory1 you should keep the audience ever before the mind's eye4 ,attack it on every side2 pursue it with argument1 and never leave it in the power of an intelligent man to say3 ,i do not understand what he means4 ,this habit of writing with the audience before us not only secures cogency and point for our arguments and clearness for our illustrations1 but it saves us from the fatal mistake of producing not a sermon but an essay4 ,here our meditations assist us4 ,the daily habit of balancing and introspection enables a man to read and analyse his own heart1 its strength and weakness4 ,he becomes familiar with the springs and levers that move it1 the storms that convulse and the sunshine that gladdens the mysterious world within his own breast4 ,how useful this knowledge when he comes to train the artillery of the pulpit on the hearts of others6 ,side note3 ,placere ,so far we have been studying how to mortise the joints of our arguments into well-knit and shapely strength2 the pure scholastic1 however1 possesses but half the weapons of the preacher4 ,the best built skeleton is repulsive till it is clothed with flesh1 colour and beauty4 ,this is the rhetorician's task4 ,he comes with his graceful art1 and drapes the dry bones of hard reasoning1 clarifies the arguments by illustrations1 clothes them in language crisp and sparkling1 weaves around them the warm glow of fancy and renders the hardest truths palatable by the grace of diction and delivery4 ,he accomplishes all implied in the word placere4 ,when rhetoric and logic clasp hands the standard of triumph is fairly certain to be planted above the stubborn heart4 ,we must1 however1 remember that the arts of rhetoric are subordinate to the reasoning1 and must be brought forward only for the purpose of driving the reasoning home4 ,but since man's faculties are not divided into watertight compartments1 neither should the sermon intended to influence him4 ,our reason is not independent of our passions2 our feelings so influence our judgment that even in our greatest actions it is hard to disentangle and say so much is the product of one and so much of the other4 ,the sermon should be constructed to fit the man2 argument and emotion should not stand apart1 but dovetail and interlace4 ,side note3 ,sheil ,in the art of entwining the garlands of rhetoric around the framework of argument1 ,sheil stands conspicuous4 ,lecky says of him--,his speeches seem exactly to fulfil ,burke's description of perfect oratory--half poetry1 half prose4 ,two very high excellencies he possessed to the most wonderful degree--the power of combining extreme preparation with the greatest passion and of blending argument with declamation4 ,we know scarcely any speaker from whom it would be possible to cite so many passages with all the sustained rhythm and flow of declamation1 yet consisting wholly of the most elaborate arguments4 ,he always prepared the language as well as the substance of his speeches4 ,he seems to have followed the example of ,cicero in studying the case of his opponent as well as his own1 and was thus enabled to anticipate with great accuracy4 ,the hint contained in the last paragraph is invaluable to the man who proves or expounds doctrine4 ,it sometimes happens that there is an objection so natural that it seems to grow out of the reasoning4 ,perhaps1 while the preacher is speaking1 it is taking shape on the minds of the hearers2 at least sooner or later it is certain to recur4 ,how is it to be dealt with8 ,let it pass1 and the audience carry away the argument with a cloud of doubt hanging around that goes far to destroy its force4 ,or it may be that when he opens the morning paper it confronts him1 set forth in the most convincing shape1 with the advantage of having1 at least1 twenty-four hours to rest on the public mind before he can touch it4 ,therefore1 let no such objection pass1 but grapple with it here and now1 and tear it to shreds4 ,here you are master of the situation1 and can present the objection in a shape most accessible to your own knife4 ,by anticipating an antagonist you break his sword and render your own position unassailable4 ,before our preacher goes into the pulpit just one word in his ear--,beware of two very common defects--7,i7 ,rapidity of speech and 7#b7 ,want of proper articulation4 ,a people who think warmly1 as we ,irish do1 speak rapidly4 ,thought is rushed upon thought and sentence telescoped into sentence4 ,before sending forth an idea1 take care that its predecessor has got time to settle on the minds of your hearers4 ,in articulation try to earn the eulogy passed on ,wendell ,philips3 ,he sent each sentence from his lips as bright and clear cut as a new made sovereign from the mint4 ,side note3 ,movere ,what is the main weapon of the orator8 ,demosthenes answers-- ,action4 ,mr4 ,gladstone--,earnestness4 ,but ,st4 ,francis ,borgia probably explains what both mean when he advises us to preach with an evidence of conviction that makes it clear to the audience you are prepared to lay down your life at the foot of the pulpit stairs for the truth of what you say4 ,without this deep-seated conviction and the enthusiasm that flows from it1 your fire is but painted fire1 your thunder the thunder of the stage4 ,this living earnestness is the spark that illumines and vitalizes all4 ,without it the best built sermon is but a painted corpse2 but when the soul gleams forth in the flashing eye and quivering lip1 waves of unseen fire are issuing with every sentence1 and arrows of light silently piercing every heart4 ,the most stubborn prejudices are forced to melt and the most depraved wills are swept on the crest of the grand tidal wave1 slowly gathering from the start2 but when the preacher forgets himself and his surroundings1 flings self-consciousness away1 goes outside himself1 pouring the hot tide from his own glowing heart1 till every flash of his eye and every wave of his hand becomes a palpitating thought1 then his audience surrender2 their hearts are in the hollow of his hand1 wax to receive any impression2 their wills can be braced and lifted to the sublimest heights of heroism--this is triumph4 ,side note3 ,o',connell ,it is said that the great mastery ,o',connell exercised over the people mainly sprang from the passionate earnestness of his conviction4 ,the nation's heart seemed merged into his own4 ,he stood forth her living1 breathing symbol4 ,when he spoke it was ,ireland spoke4 ,her passions rocked his soul2 her humour flashed from his eye2 her scorn gleamed in his glances1 and her sobs choked his utterance4 ,ah6 if preachers were as filled with the ,spirit of ,christ as this man was with the spirit of patriotism1 what a revolution we might witness6 ,you ask--,how then do actors move people since there can be no enthusiasm when men know they simulate unreal people and unreal passions8 ,i answer1 that the first step towards becoming a great actor is to fling aside that knowledge and hand yourself over the willing victim of a delusion4 ,you must not act but live your part3 persuade yourself that you are the character you personate3 surrender your heart to be torn by real passions and wrung by real sorrows4 ,the answer is well known which a celebrated actor once gave to a divine3--,how is it that you so move people by fiction and our preachers fail to move them by truth8 ,sir1 we speak fiction as if it were fact1 and your preachers speak truth as if it were fiction4 ,here we leave our preacher facing his audience and filled with but one idea3 ,i have a great message to deliver and ,i will lay hold of every means to send that message home2 voice1 passion1 style1 gesture1 these are my arms1 and with these ,i hope to conquer4 ,side note3 ,parting glance at the preacher's mission ,in parting we take a glance at the preacher's exalted mission1 and we may well ask3 ,what in the whole range of human occupations does this world hold worthy of being compared to it8 ,the battle-field1 it is true1 has its glories1 but it has its horrors also4 ,who can paint the pride with which ,napoleon saw the triumph of his skill crush two ,emperors at ,austerlitz or the rapture with which he beheld the trophies of great kingdoms at his feet8 ,the fatigues of winter marches were forgotten when in the fiery flashes of his veterans' eyes he read his own renown1 while their applauding shouts fell like music on his ears4 ,but blood soils the proudest trophies of war1 and across the perspective of victory the spectres of murdered men will stalk4 ,human eloquence1 too1 has its conquests1 the purest1 the most beautiful in the natural order4 ,how the pride flush heightens on the orator's cheek as he watches the crusts of prejudice melt and hostile hearts surrender2 when he marks the bated breath and the hushed silence attesting his victory more eloquently than the stormiest applause6 ,he sees the varied moods of his own soul mirrored in the faces around him1 as he summons forth what spirit he lists3 tears or laughter1 murmurs or applause answer to his call4 ,what pen can picture the ecstasies that thrilled the soul of ,grattan as he gave utterance to the spirit of expiring freedom in those orations that rank among the world's masterpieces8 ,the snows of age melted and the decrepitude of years was flung aside1 and his eyes gleamed with strange fires as he beheld sodden corruption struck dumb and hang its guilty head2 when he saw the wavering drink fresh courage with each new outburst1 and men of commonest clay transformed into heroes by the blaze of his genius4 ,glorious triumphs indeed2 but1 alas6 human1 and as such doomed to die4 ,but in the sublimity of his purpose and the imperishable nature of his conquests the preacher stands alone4 ,compared with his the greatest trophies of the battle-field or the forum are feeble trifles4 ,the preacher1 in prayer and study1 goes down over the green swards of ,calvary1 and there gathers the ruby drops of ,redemption4 ,he ascends the pulpit and pours them as a purple tide over souls that are parched and perishing4 ,as when the ,pentecostal fire rested on the ,apostles' heads1 a new light filled their minds and a new flame sprung up within their hearts2 so when the same spirit breathes through the preacher's lips1 the clouds of ignorance dissolve and the light of truth divine glorifies the minds and inflames the souls of his hearers4 ,the ears of faith can hear the applause of angels and the eyes of faith can read ,heaven's approval in the flashing glances of the ,blest1 as with each stroke the preacher widens the empire of the ,precious ,blood and piles palpitating trophies before the ,sacred ,heart4 ,ah6 here is a field worthy of the highest ambition that ever burned within a human breast4 ,hence1 we should toil1 toil1 toil1 and call no labour excessive that we put forth in burnishing into polished efficiency every weapon ,god has given us for the service of his pulpit4 ,,chapter ,,fifth ,a ,,sophistry ,,exposed4 ,,advice ,,given ,theologian and ,preacher--,the ,difference ,it is amazing to think how often the offices of theologian and preacher are spoken of as if they were identical4 ,now1 the functions of theologian and preacher stand widely apart4 ,to the reflective mind this sounds like repeating a truism2 yet what a world of confused thought and ignorant criticism would be cleared from the subject if this fact were kept well in sight4 ,when you say that a young priest is becoming a good preacher you are met by impossible6 he never got a prize in theology4 ,this is supposed to give your poor judgment its final coup2 argument after that is useless3 causa finita est4 ,now1 ,i do not think our appreciation of an eminent surgeon is lessened by our being told that he is a poor chemist2 yet the difference between these respective professions is scarcely more radical than that which separates the office of preacher from that of theologian4 ,to the ordinary public the theological treatise is a sealed book4 ,it is the preacher's duty to break that seal2 to take out the dry truths stored there2 to render them palatable and inviting1 and bring them within the grasp of the plainest intelligence4 ,side note3 ,solicitor and barrister ,few occupations more aptly illustrate this difference than those of solicitor and barrister4 ,the attorney works up the materials for the case3 he groups statutes1 discovers principles1 tabulates references1 supplies dates4 ,while he does not plead himself1 a man so armed is invaluable at the elbow of an able advocate2 without the barrister1 however1 especially where the prejudices1 interests1 and the imagination of a jury have to be worked upon1 his load of learned lumber would be of small value4 ,the theologian makes out the brief3 the preacher pleads it4 ,to render this distinction clearer let us take one more illustration4 ,no animal can exist on air and clay and sunlight alone4 ,though these contain the elements on which it is fed2 yet1 though surrounded by them in most ample abundance1 he must perish if a third power is not brought into play4 ,the vegetable world comes intervening between the raw chemicals and the hungry man4 ,out of earth and air and light it builds the ripened sheaf1 the succulent apple and the savoury potato4 ,so1 though bookshelves groan under calf-bound tomes hoarding the hived treasures of the masters of theology1 the common minds of the multitude would starve did not the preacher interpose as interpreter of the theologian's message1 drawing forth from his storehouse truths and principles out of which he manufactures the daily bread on which the ordinary man must live4 ,without his aid the richest repository ever clasped between the covers of a book would remain a fons signatus a hortus conclusus4 ,the prophet of ,god saw the dry bones scattered over the valley of desolation till the breath of a new power passed over them1 and lo6 7,i7 the bones came together each one to its joint2 7#b7 the sinews and the flesh came upon them 4 4 4 7#c7 and the skin was stretched out over them 4 4 4 and the spirit came into them and they lived4 ,the attorney and the theologian gather the dry bones1 but on the preacher and the barrister lie the fourfold task of mortising the joints into each other1 binding them with the sinews of argument1 clothing them in living beauty and vitalizing the whole structure with the flame of impassioned earnestness4 ,only when this has been done will they live4 ,so thoroughly distinct are the two offices it rarely happens that a professional theologian becomes an efficient preacher4 ,the concentration and exclusive exercise of one faculty unfits him for a task demanding many4 ,people do not come to church to hear spoken treatises or witness dissecting operations on subtle distinctions4 ,they come to be instructed1 pleased and moved4 ,again1 for the perfect fulfilment of the preacher's task1 amongst other gifts he must have imagination2 but to the master of an exact science like theology an exuberant fancy might prove a fatal dowry4 ,a clear statement of this truth holds out hopeful encouragement to the man whose theological attainments could not be described as brilliant3 it teaches1 too1 the man who has distinguished himself in theology that if he ambitions being a preacher he has an entirely new set of sciences to master1 but1 best of all1 it breaks into small bits an oft-used weapon in the hands of the young preacher's arch-enemy--the critic4 ,side note3 ,the critic at work ,how often do we see this self-constituted oracle rely for his sole support on this sophistry8 ,you turn from a church door filled with admiration2 there is a glow of rapture around your heart2 every nerve is tingling2 you have been enthralled4 ,a truth1 old indeed but now dressed in a new robe1 lives before your mind with a meaning and a richness of colour never experienced before4 ,your will is swept captive on the crest of that subtle tide of unseen fire that seems to fill the air4 ,you are bracing yourself to a heroic resolve4 ,the preacher's voice1 like ceaseless music1 is still thrilling down through the avenues of your soul4 ,when the critic comes and in pity asks you--,do you really think that a good sermon8 he compassionates your poor judgment1 leads you to the library1 takes down a volume of ,lehmkuhl or ,suarez1 and with a triumphant wave of his hand assures you that every idea in that sermon may be found there4 ,you are now face to face with the most perplexing of sophistries--the half truth4 ,your judgment is staggered by two apparently contradictory facts--it was a fine sermon1 yet every idea may be found in the theological treatise4 ,to enable you to extricate yourself from the puzzle1 ratify your first opinion and confound the critic2 picture another set of circumstances4 ,you stand before ,st4 ,peter's1 wrapped in admiration at this world's wonder4 ,power1 glory1 strength and beauty1 all are aisled ,in this eternal ark of worship undefiled4 ,you are marvelling how did human brains conceive and human hands embody this mighty dream of art4 ,one of the pest tribe yclept critic comes pitying your simple heart2 he leads you to a quarry1 and triumphantly pointing says3 ,here every stone of that building was found4 ,now1 what becomes of the glory simple people like you bestow on ,bramante and ,michael ,angelo8 ,how would you answer him8 ,easily enough4 ,make him a present of the quarry1 and ask him to produce another ,st4 ,peter's4 ,the challenge is conclusive4 ,you have him impaled4 ,come back now to the library4 ,present the preacher's critic with a hundred tomes1 give him all this raw material multiplied ten times over out of which that masterpiece of sacred eloquence was built1 and ask him to enthral those thousands that hung spellbound on that man's lips1 whose thrilled hearts were aflame1 who left the church examining their consciences and vowing better lives4 ,alas6 he who was so eloquent in tearing others to rags when he himself essays their task himself--angels well might weep4 ,no department of life is secure against this sophistry4 ,you listen till you are dazed with admiration at one of those masterpieces of forensic pleading that have flung a deathless glory around the names of ,russell and ,whiteside2 but the critic1 with a superior toss of his head1 assures you that this can be found in ,magna ,charta and the ,statute book4 ,here is the tantalising half truth4 ,to be sure the principles and groundwork of reasoning are there2 but the office of the advocate was to draw them from the dust and darkness1 to gather these scattered articles1 statutes and precedents into his capacious brain1 and from them evolve a framework of argument to fit his purpose4 ,he moulds them into an impregnable bulwark of law and reasoning to shelter his client4 ,so naturally does he bend them to his case that every listener is impressed with the conviction that surely the framers of these statutes and principles must have a case like this before their minds when they committed them to parchment4 ,yet in the judgment of the critic the variety of talents brought to this complex task count for nothing4 ,here we see what a distinction must be made between the office of theologian and preacher1 and what a confusion of thought is saved by keeping this line of demarcation in view4 ,side note3 ,parting advice ,now that the subject of pulpit oratory is swept clear from misleading theories and set in its true light before the young preacher's eyes1 let us see how further we can assist him to discharge his high office with honour and efficiency4 ,side note3 ,i4--,be natural in development ,to thine own self be true is the soundest of advices4 ,from the beginning the young preacher should aim at developing on his own lines1 thinking in his own way and expressing his thoughts in their own native dress4 ,no matter how eminent the paragon you admire1 do not become an understudy of him4 ,remember he is great only because he is himself and not the imitation of another4 ,try1 however1 to get at the secret of his greatness4 ,what is it8 ,he discovered his strong points and cultivated them4 ,go and do likewise4 ,you see a man with clear sequence of ideas and easy expression1 but without those exceptional gifts that go to make the born orator4 ,he could attain even eminence as a lecturer or instructor1 but lecture or instruct he will not1 for he has read ,ventura and become smitten4 ,he tries to imitate the ,padre's lofty style1 and succeeds in amazing the unlearned and making the learned smile4 ,failure is written large over all his efforts4 ,david could not fight with the gorgeous but cumbersome arms of ,saul3 with his own homely sling and the polished stone from the brook1 the weapon to which he was accustomed1 he achieved victory4 ,i knew a priest who had a marvellous charm as a storyteller4 ,he invested the merest trifles of incident with resistless fascination4 ,hours in his society flew like moments4 ,he became a distinguished preacher4 ,i went to hear him1 and quickly discovered the secret of his success4 ,he knew his strong point1 and staked his all on it4 ,he preached his sermons as he told his stories--in graphic1 familiar narrative4 ,the congregation felt they were taken into his confidence2 they were hypnotised4 ,you forgot that you were sitting in stiff dignity in a church1 and imagined yourself one of a group around the winter's log listening to a delightful raconteur1 and you willingly surrendered to the pleasing delusion4 ,every play of fancy1 every flash of thought1 every clinched conviction passed from him to his hearers till the souls of preacher and listeners became like reflecting mirrors4 ,there was always regret when he finished4 ,now1 had that man attempted to become ,demosthenes instead of himself he would have succeeded in becoming ridiculous4 ,side note3 #b4--;,be natural in composition ,the natural outpouring of thought has a relish and a resistlessness of force that no art can rival4 ,the scent of a sprig of wild woodbine holds a charm beyond all the perfumes of the chemist's shop4 ,in order to be natural there is no necessity to ignore the elegancies of style2 for what is style8 ,le style est l'homme4 ,the style is the man4 ,a perfect style1 then1 is attained when the written page is the exact expression of the train of thought as it lies in the writer's head4 ,a style is absolutely perfect when it is absolutely natural4 ,artificial embroidery1 purple patches1 and golden vapour are often the defects and not the perfection of style4 ,language can be simple1 however1 without being vulgar or commonplace4 ,what book will ever equal the ,bible for simplicity1 yet what dignity8 ,what preacher ever approached ,,our ,,divine ,,lord2 and1 humanly speaking1 what was the source of ,his strength8 ,he accommodated ,himself to ,his hearers4 ,from the open book of nature ,he made the realms of grace familiar to the minds of children4 ,he pointed to the lilies of the field1 to the ravens of the wood1 to the ripening bud and the angry cloud4 ,ut ex iis quae animus novit1 surgat ad incognita quae non novit4#a #a ,third ,nocturn for ,non-,virgins4 ,he used the world around us to lift our thoughts to the world above us4 ,when ,he spoke to fishermen ,his illustrations were taken from seas and nets4 ,when ,he preached to farmers the word of ,god was the seed falling on rocky soil or the fertile furrow4 ,when the merchants with caravans and silken tunics surrounded ,him it becomes the pearl of great price4 ,when amongst simple villagers it is the lost groat in search of which the housewife sweeps the floor and searches each nook and cranny4 ,here is language coming down to the level of every hearer1 abounding in familiar pictures1 yet never losing dignity4 ,while composing sermons for factory hands ,cardinal ,wiseman employed a weaver to teach him the technicalities of the loom that he might reach their hearts through the only channel of thought they understood4 ,it is wonderful how the natural world around us can be used to bring even the most sublime truths within the grasp of the plainest intellects4 ,why do we not draw more frequently and more abundantly from this source8 ,when we hear of a man whose discourses are too sublime for the ordinary intelligence it is hard to forbear a smile4 ,our pity goes out not to the ordinary intelligence1 but to the cloudy dweller in ,patmos4 ,mystic obscurity is used more frequently as a cloak for muddle-headed thinking than as a robe with which to drape sublimity of thought4 ,hence1 if people do not understand the preacher1 blame not the people1 but let the preacher look to it4 ,our nimble-minded imaginative people will rise to and grasp the most elevated ideas if properly presented4 ,i listened to a sermon in an ,english church preached before a congregation of ,irish poor4 ,the keynote was lofty1 but beautifully sustained throughout4 ,the range of thought was high1 but the truths clarified by an abundance of happy illustration4 ,that discourse was so classic in its beauty that it might be preached before an ,oxford audience1 yet not an idea was lost on that breathless congregation1 where every female head was covered by a shawl4 ,the speaker possessed in an eminent degree three gifts that must command success3--,he could think clearly2 he could so express his thoughts that his language became the mirror of his mind2 he made a large demand on the familiar scenes of nature with which to illustrate his ideas and send his reasoning home2 he possessed a mind at once logical and imaginative and a manner of expression that formed a definition of perfect style--,le style c'est l'homme--the style is the man4 ,side note3 #c4--;,be natural in delivery ,the faintest suspicion of art immediately sets your audience up in arms4 ,their teeth are on edge2 their heart locked against you4 ,this is acting and not preaching seals your fate4 ,do not imagine for a moment that ,i advocate the neglect of elocutionary graces4 ,so far from that ,i hold that every young priest leaving college should be a past master of all rhetorical arts4 ,gesture1 articulation1 voice production and inflection should be at his finger tips4 ,no book on the subject should be unread4 ,no year of college life should pass without contributing materially towards the elocutionary equipment of the future preacher4 ,the college that neglects this training and permits young men to go into the ministry without this needful art is guilty of a most serious sin of omission4 ,what ,i do mean is preach your sermons and do not declaim them4 ,how is this accomplished8 ,for the first year bend all your powers to capturing the intellects of your auditors1 holding in reserve1 for the time being1 the elocutionary forces4 ,then1 when you have acquired the habit of convincing the intelligence1 let the elegancies of finished declamation insinuate themselves gradually into your delivery4 ,thus art will so engraft itself on nature1 the rhetorical graces so entwining and dovetailing into your convictions and passions that they will appear as growing out of and not added on to them4 ,here is perfection-- ,ars artium celare artem4 ,reverse this3 make declamation your first concern1 and let us even suppose the artificiality is not detected1 which is supposing a great deal4 ,what is the result8 ,your sermon is declamation and nothing else4 ,this means failure1 for no matter how the passions are aroused1 if they are not upheld by the pillars of conviction1 your finest effort is a fire of chips3 a blaze for a moment1 then ashes4 ,though elocutionary powers are of so much importance as to be almost indispensable1 yet they are subordinate to the sermon3 they are the aids and auxiliaries to drive it home4 ,a graceful gesture or musical inflection of voice will not convince the intellect or move the passions3 they are not the arrows3 they lend wings of fire1 however1 to send the arrows to the mark4 ,i know no more fatal blunder1 or one that militates more strongly against a speaker1 than the adoption of an artificial accent4 ,side note3 ,the ,irish gift of oratory ,god has not only given our race a special mission--the apostolate of the ,english-speaking world--but he has singularly endowed us with those gifts that go to make successful preachers of ,his ,word--logical minds1 imagination and sensibility4 ,side note3 ,logical minds ,that we possess this in an eminent degree is evident from a striking fact4 ,there are three avocations to which the faculty of close reasoning is a first essential--law1 politics and theology--and in each of these our countrymen excel4 ,side note3 ,law ,we are as essentially a race of lawyers as the ,jews are a race of moneylenders4 ,for eleven years ,i watched the sons of ,irish parents going from an ,australian college to professional careers4 ,ninety-eight per cent41 following the natural bent of their minds1 turned to the lawyer's office4 ,from the year #aheh to the present hour the robes of ,victoria's ,chief ,justice have been uninterruptedly worn by ,irishmen4 ,from #ahgc the ,chief ,justiceship of ,new ,south ,wales has been exclusively held by sons of the green isle4 ,but1 above all1 turn to the lawyers' streets in the new worlds of ,america and ,australia and see the amazing number of brass plates adorned with ,o's and ,mac's4 ,side note3 ,politics ,the political organisations in the labour world of ,england to-day are mainly captained by ,irishmen4 ,two of them have been sent to ,parliament1 and two more will probably join them in the next ,parliament4 ,the rapidity with which the ,irish emigrant1 following the law of natural selection1 plunges into politics has passed into a proverb in ,america and furnished a humorous parody on a well-known stanza3-- ,there came to the beach a poor exile of ,erin1 ,the dew on his thin robe was heavy and chill1 ,the ship that had brought him scarce from harbour was steerin'1 ,when ,senator ,mike was presenting a ,bill4 ,side note3 ,theology ,the great ,cardinal ,franzelin said to one of his most distinguished pupils#b--;,as a professor of theology at ,rome for many years ,i had every day opportunities of studying the character and mental equipment of various nations1 and1 though in favour of the ,germans1 ,i give it as my opinion that the ,irish1 as a race1 have the most theological minds of any people4 ,judgment from such an authority is conclusive4 #b ,dr4 ,croke1 late ,archbishop of ,cashel4 ,the first essential for a preacher is the power of lucid reasoning4 ,that this faculty is ours is now abundantly established4 ,the next talent requisite is imagination4 ,that we have imagination1 often teeming in tropical luxuriance1 but shared in great or less degree by all1 has never been questioned4 ,one more requisite and the oratorical outfit is complete4 ,side note3 ,sensibility ,on this score it is sufficient to say that we are ,celts1 endowed with the ardent nervous temperaments4 ,but suffering has given to ours an acute refinement that nothing else could impart4 ,never soul could know its powers ,until sorrow swept its chords4 ,we give preference to ,jews and ,irishmen on our staff1 said the proprietor of a leading journal4 ,both have suffered1 and a man with a grievance writes passionately4 ,he dips the pen into his own heart and electric energy thrills his sentences2 hence the crisp pungency and compressed fire of our columns4 ,what gift that goes to make an orator has ,god denied us8 ,reason1 fancy1 passion1 a pathos and humour where the smile trembles on the borderland of tears4 ,why then this barrenness8 ,mainly because of the criminal neglect of colleges in the past to cultivate the abundant material placed at their disposal2 other contributory causes are cynical criticism and want of courageous ambition4 ,colleges are now bestirring themselves--it is high time--but criticism has not died4 ,refined natures have heartstrings like the chords of ,aeolian harps1 sensitive to the faintest touch1 responsive to the gentlest whisper of the evening breeze2 such shrink in terror from the icy breath of the scoffer3 the purpose is frozen dead within their souls4 ,o criticism6 what crimes have been committed in your name6 ,how many noble careers have you blasted8 ,side note3 ,the world's greatest orators ,the man without ambition is not worth his salt4 ,some of the world's greatest orators have been spurred on to triumph despite difficulties before which timid men would stand aghast4 ,the story of ,demosthenes is too familiar to bear repetition4 ,a good voice and commanding presence are powerful auxiliaries towards oratorical success2 but ,curran's appearance was so mean that he was once taken for a shoeblack4 ,his stammering1 blunders1 and collapses in early life earned for him the nickname of ,orator ,mum4 ,yet to what a lofty eminence did not his sleepless endeavours lift him6 ,if ,sheil's portraits speak truly he must have closely resembled a starved sweep on a wet day1 while ,disraeli declares his voice was as unmusical as the sound of a broken tin whistle4 ,of him ,lecky writes3--,richard ,lalor ,shiel forms one of the many examples history presents of splendid oratorical powers clogged by insuperable natural defects4 ,his person was diminutive and wholly devoid of dignity4 ,his voice shrill1 harsh1 and often rising to a positive shriek4 ,his action1 when most natural1 violent1 without gracefulness1 and eccentric even to absurdity4#c #c ,lecky--,leaders of ,public ,opinion in ,ireland1 p4 #aid4 ,in spite of these defects1 and at a period when the nation's ear was pampered to fastidiousness by the eloquence of ,grattan1 ,flood and ,o',connell1 he began his upward struggle towards eminence4 ,he not only succeeded in winning a foremost place1 but in wreathing himself with deathless fame when laurels shaded the brows of giants alone4 ,in face of these encouraging examples who could lose heart when the trumpet of ambition blows--struggle1 struggle1 struggle4 ,scorn delights and live laborious days4 ,,chapter ,,sixth ,,the ,,art ,,of ,,elocution ,the subject of preaching would be incomplete without a chapter on the important and graceful art of elocution4 ,side note3 ,what books should we read8 ,if asked what works would a student read on the subject1 the wisest answer would be1 every book he can lay hold of4 ,the number of works dealing with rhetoric are few1 but if a man can get half-a-dozen new ideas from any one of them his labour is more than repaid4 ,even should he meet the same thought repeated1 the fact that it is clothed in different language and set in a new light invests it with a freshness that is sure to fix it permanently in his mind4 ,if1 however1 the question be narrowed down to which are the three best books on this subject8 without pretending to give a decisive answer to this difficult question we have no hesitation in saying that1 for the ecclesiastical student1 ,potter's ,sacred ,eloquence1 ,the ,making of an ,orator1 by ,mr4 ,john ,o',connor ,power1 and ,mr4 ,mc,hardy ,flint's little work1 ,natural ,elocution1 will be found most useful4 ,some of the thoughts in this chapter are borrowed from the last two authors4 ,with this general acknowledgment both gentlemen will1 we are sure1 be content when we spare the reader repeated references to either titles or pages of their works4 ,side note3 ,what is rhetoric8 ,side note3 ,cicero ,at the threshold of our subject we are met by the question--,what is rhetoric8 ,mr4 ,power gives the answer--,the resources of rhetoric are natural resources1 and rules for composition are only records intended for the guidance of those who have not discovered the originals for themselves4 ,the first speakers had no rules and no experience to draw upon but their own4 ,in course of time speeches came to be reported1 and then the secret of their eloquence disclosed itself4 ,all the qualities of the orator were then observed2 the highest and the best were chosen and combined and erected into an art1 which was named ,rhetoric4 ,this art was designed to aid speakers and not as a means of fettering their natural ability4 ,cicero has put almost the same thoughts in different words--,i consider that1 with regard to all precept1 the case is this2 not that orators by adhering to them have obtained distinction in eloquence1 but that certain persons have noticed what men of eloquence have practised of their own accord1 and formed rules accordingly2 so that eloquence has not sprung from art1 but art from eloquence4 ,this is not only sound theory1 but sound sense4 ,it shatters a time-worn fallacy and gives hope and encouragement to the student4 ,every man can become an orator in a greater or a less degree4 ,the powers slumber within him2 and the teacher's duty is not to create but awaken1 draw out1 develop and guide these inborn gifts4 ,now1 the question is--,by what standard shall the speaker be trained8 ,the master-hand of ,shakespere has framed a set of rules that will stand for all time as the most pregnant piece of wisdom ever penned on the art of elocution4 ,though ,hamlet's advice is addressed to actors1 there is scarcely a line which the young orator can afford to ignore4 ,he would do well to commit the entire piece to memory4 ,side note3 ,shakespere's advice to speakers ,speak the speech1 ,i pray you1 as ,i pronounced it to you1 trippingly on the tongue2 but if you mouth it1 as many of our players do1 ,i had as lief the town-crier spoke my lines4 ,nor do not saw the air too much with your hand thus3 but use all gently2 for in the very torrent1 tempest1 and 7as ,i may say7 whirlwind of your passion1 you must acquire and beget a temperance1 that may give it smoothness4 ,o1 it offends me to the soul1 to hear a robustious periwig-pated fellow tear a passion to tatters1 to very rags1 to split the ears of the groundlings2 who1 for the most part are capable of nothing but inexplicable dumb shows and noise3 ,i would have such a fellow whipped for o'er-doing ,termagant2 it out-herods ,herod3 pray you1 avoid it4 ,be not too tame neither1 but let your own discretion be your tutor3 suit the action to the word1 the word to the action2 with this special observance1 that you o'er-step not the modesty of nature2 for anything so overdone is from the purpose of playing1 whose end1 both at the first1 and now1 was1 and is1 to hold1 as 'twere the mirror up to nature2 to show virtue her own feature1 scorn her own image1 and the very age and body of the time1 his form and pressure4 ,now this1 overdone1 or come tardy off1 though it make the unskilful laugh1 cannot but make the judicious grieve2 the censure of which one1 must1 in your allowance1 o'er-weigh a whole theatre of others4 ,o1 there be players1 that ,i have seen play--and heard others praise1 and that highly--not to speak it profanely1 that1 neither having the accent of christians1 nor the gait of christian1 pagan1 nor man1 have so strutted1 and bellowed1 that ,i have thought some of nature's journeymen had made men1 and not made them well1 they imitated humanity so abominably4 ,side note3 ,avoid extremes ,it will be well to observe that throughout this advice the poet is careful to warn us against extremes--neither to tear a passion to rags nor to be too tame--he insists on moderation4 ,even in the very tempest of passion one must not lose self-control nor make extravagant use of the hands4 ,the overdone and the come tardy off are the two poles to be shunned4 ,speak the speech as ,i pronounced it4 ,by placing the two words speak and pronounce in contrast1 ,hamlet leads us to infer that in reading the play over for the actors his principal care was to give perfect articulation4 ,speak the speech as ,i pronounced it4 ,trippingly on the tongue4 ,evidently the slow1 thick utterance of the mumbling speaker1 to the roof of whose mouth the words seem to cling1 was not unknown in ,shakespere's day4 ,as a remedy against this he tells them to speak it trippingly4 ,no word in the ,english language could so clearly convey the case4 ,nimble1 airy resonance is suggested by the very sound of the word trippingly4 ,side note3 ,two errors ,having given this advice he hastens to warn them against the opposite extreme3 ,but if you mouth it4 ,he wants no boisterous notes of artificial passion3 he would as lief the town-crier spoke his lines4 ,the office of that humble functionary demands not the graces of finished elocution1 only strong lungs with which to shout2 hence a piece of delicate pathos or varied passions would probably receive scant justice at his hands4 ,but even the town-crier is tolerable--he is nature's product-- compared with the workmanship of nature's journeymen--those who strut and bellow4 ,they imitate humanity so abominably that their delivery touches the extremest limit of all that is reprehensible in elocution4 ,side note3 ,gesture ,suit the action to the word1 the word to the action4 ,here we have the fundamental law for the use of gesture4 ,gesture is not an artificial action standing apart from1 or added to1 the words4 ,it is thought seeking spontaneous1 visible1 outward expression through the movements of the hand or eye or features just at the moment when that same thought is receiving articulate birth on the tongue4 ,its purpose is to make the words grow large1 as it were2 to expand and emphasise their meaning2 hence the wisdom of the advice--,suit the action to the word1 the word to the action4 ,if the action distract the listeners' attention from the word its purpose is defeated4 ,now that we have an idea of what elocution is1 and analysed the wisest set of rules ever framed for its government1 we turn to the mechanical agencies by which it is produced--breathing1 resonance1 inflection4 ,side note3 ,how to inhale ,when a person draws in the air through the mouth1 the cold1 unpurified stream strikes directly on the back of the roof1 causing dryness and irritation4 ,to avoid this the preacher1 except when actually engaged in speaking1 should inhale through the nose4 ,the advantages of so doing are considerable4 ,the air inhaled through the nasal organs is drawn over the roof of the mouth and soft palate1 and thus warmed by contact with the blood-vessels2 so that it is rendered innoxious by the time it reaches the throat4 ,again1 any particles of dust or other impurities it might contain are caught by the filterers or hairs situated in the nasal cavities for that purpose4 ,thus it reaches the tender vocal chords both warmed and purified4 ,to these may be added another advantage3 it is more becoming to inhale with closed lips--the picture of a speaker gasping open-mouthed is not a graceful one4 ,side note3 ,how use the lungs ,we now come to the important question--,how shall ,i increase my vocal powers8 ,as is well known1 there are two methods of inhaling and expelling the air from the lungs4 ,one is by means of the rising and falling of the ribs4 ,this is called the costal method4 ,the other is by the contraction and distention of the midriff or diaphragm4 ,the diaphragm is the movable floor to the thorax or box that encloses the lungs4 ,this is called the diaphragmatic method4 ,now1 since ,god has furnished us with both methods1 ,he evidently intended that we should use both1 as we use our two eyes or our two ears4 ,they are given1 not as alternative1 but as simultaneous instruments of action4 ,the weakness in many a speaker's voice1 its want of volume and its failure when a sustained effort is demanded1 is due to the fact that he breathes by means of his ribs alone1 throwing all the pressure on the upper portion of the lungs1 not asking the large areas to contribute anything4 ,he thus robs himself of breathing capacity1 and consequently of voice power4 ,side note3 ,diaphragmatic breathing ,to get a perfect mastery over the diaphragmatic method and make it as serviceable as possible1 practise breathing while lying on your back1 filling the lungs to the utmost1 and exhausting them as completely as possible4 ,inhale rapidly and exhale slowly4 ,then reverse the order2 inhale slowly and exhale rapidly4 ,again let slow and rapid alternately make both movements4 ,by this exercise you acquire flexibility of the midriff muscles1 you enlarge the cubic dimensions of the breathing area1 you distribute the burden generally2 and when the occasion comes to send your voice over four thousand heads you will discover that the reserve fund of voice and strength acquired by this practice is at your service4 ,this plan bears that highest and safest sanction--in practical experience it has proved a genuine success4 ,side note3 ,a clergyman's sore throat ,the ailment known as a clergyman's sore throat is too common and too serious to be passed over--the raucous1 husky voice sawn across the throat1 the congested blood-vessels1 the strained muscles1 the throat lining as raw as a beefsteak4 ,here you have evident results of some unnatural effort4 ,what is it8 ,in ordinary conversation we employ the throat1 back of the mouth and vocal chords mainly3 very little demand is made on the lungs4 ,the voice we use is the head voice4 ,now1 when called on to fill a large building1 the centre of stress should instantly be shifted from the mouth and throat to the lungs4 ,on them the whole weight should be flung--then you produce the chest voice4 ,it is the want of this transference of strain from the throat to the lungs that causes the misery called a clergyman's sore throat4 ,men endeavour to fill a large building with precisely the same set of organs that they use when speaking by the fireside4 ,the strain intended for the broad-based1 strong-fibred lungs is kept on the delicate vocal chords1 palate and throat4 ,these were never built for that purpose1 and nature kicks against the outrage4 ,the throat becomes congested1 parched1 torn and raw2 the voice grows husky1 cracked1 and finally ends in a scream4 ,here is the genesis of the fatal clergyman's sore throat explained4 ,side note3 ,an illustration ,analogy makes this clearer still4 ,our back teeth were built for the purpose of grinding2 hence their broad crowns1 strong shafts1 and firm roots2 the teeth in the front of the mouth were intended for tasks not at all so arduous4 ,tamper with this arrangement2 transfer the laborious work of mastication to the front teeth1 and see how nature will punish you4 ,this illustrates the outrage committed when the strain and effort that should be shifted to the lungs are allowed to rest on the slender organs intended for the entirely different purpose of modulation4 ,side note3 ,how acquire a chest voice ,one question remains--,how can a person cultivate a chest voice8 ,how bring the voice directly from the lungs without in the least distressing the throat8 ,this is all important4 ,the young speaker should practise for a short time daily the method of lifting1 first1 words and then sentences straight from the lungs without making the least possible demand on the throat or vocal chords1 stealing each word out of the depths of the lungs1 afraid1 as it were1 of awakening the upper organs4 ,when he has acquired this habit of speaking words and sentences1 let him practise a verse or two of declamation4 ,in a short time he will be surprised at his progress in acquiring a chest voice4 ,in public speaking it will become his ordinary voice2 for not only does the established habit assist him1 but the organs daily develop and fit themselves to his purpose1 and he learns to transfer the stress from his throat to his lungs as easily and quickly and instinctively as the pianist passes his fingers from the treble to the base notes on the keyboard4 ,the test of any theory is--,how has it worked in practice8 ,the method of voice production here recommended has given the writer advantages that it would be difficult to overestimate4 ,lungs naturally weak grew to three times their former size and strength2 his voice increased in depth1 richness and resonance2 though constantly speaking in large churches for years1 he has never known what hoarseness1 sore throat or huskiness is4 ,a method that to him has been worth untold gold may not be without advantage to his readers4 ,side note3 ,resonance ,we must1 however1 have more than speech2 we must have musical speech4 ,this is acquired by resonance and inflection4 ,to send a stream of air from the lungs and vocalise it on its outward passage is not enough2 by this you produce only a tiny1 impoverished voice that conveys no force and awakens no emotion4 ,there is something wanting2 that something is--,resonance4 ,it supplies richness and effectiveness to the stream of sound4 ,side note3 ,an illustration ,the difference between speech stripped of resonance and accompanied with it is best illustrated by a simple experiment4 ,take a violin-string in your hand3 touch it1 and mark the sound produced--how weak and thin4 ,now1 attach the string to the violin3 touch it again1 and see how the resonating instrument converts the feeble sound of the detached string into a sonorous wave of vibrating music4 ,now1 the vocal chords are placed in the throat midway between two resonators--the chest and the head4 ,these are to the chords what the body of the violin is to the string4 ,when the stream of air has passed the chords it is already accompanied by the vibrations of the chest1 but the head is the main contributor4 ,the residual air in the upper portions of the throat1 mouth and nasal cavities is thrown into vibration4 ,here the importance of the subject reveals itself4 ,the art that can convert a screech into pleasing cadences of soft sound is no trifle4 ,nasal resonance must not be confounded with nasal twang4 ,the one is produced by vibrating the air in the cavities1 the twang by expelling it from them4 ,the part played by each organ in voice production may be briefly summarised3--,the lungs send out a stream of air2 the vocal chords1 principally1 modulate it2 the head and chest give it resonance4 ,now1 that it is clearly evident ,god intended us to speak and sing to the accompaniment of these aerial orchestras concealed in the head and chest1 the only remaining question is--,how we shall use them8 ,side note3 ,advice how to avoid screech ,take care never to exhaust these reservoirs of air2 if you do the result will be screech and shout4 ,no matter what demand is made on you1 be sure to hold a reserve supply of residual air3 set it vibrating1 and your voice on its outward passage will receive an enrichment of volume1 force1 and music4 ,side note3 ,inflection3 its necessity ,go slowly and articulate well are not sufficient4 ,inflect your language must be added4 ,a student should practise assiduously till his sentences become as flexible as a cutting whip1 capable of being bent to every mood and of lending themselves to every passion4 ,in pathos his words should sink almost to a sob1 tearful in their plaintiveness2 in denunciation they should rise1 muttering the voices of the storms2 and in narrative the proper pitch is ordinary middle tone4 ,side note3 ,french and ,english want inflection ,it is in this want of inflective grace that ,english1 and more especially ,french1 speakers lose so much of their force4 ,both read admirably and articulate with precision1 but the unvaried straight line tone1 so suited to reading1 will not serve the purpose when we not only wish to make people understand1 but also endeavour to move their passions4 ,side note3 ,the secret power of a good story-teller ,recall a good story-teller or speaker of whom you never wearied2 go back in memory and see how much he owed to the power contained in the inflected voice--the varied tones that sank or swelled as suited the mood or passion4 ,as you sat by the winter's fire your flesh was made to creep and your hair stood on end in terror while you furtively stole a glance around looking for the apparition described in the weird ghost story4 ,the secret power that somewhere lay enthralled you4 ,was it not in the husky whisper or the hush of restraint8 ,let that speaker tell the same story in the middle pitched narrative tone1 and lo6 the spell is vanished4 ,if the thunder thrills that rocked and vibrated through his voice were taken from ,demosthenes1 would he have ever driven ,eschines into exile8 ,side note3 ,two advantages of inflection ,the practice of varied cadences in speech has two genuine advantages--it saves the speaker from fatigue and the hearers from weariness4 ,when a man varies his tone of voice he breaks up the arrangement in the group of muscles that till then bore the stress of effort3 a new combination is formed1 and the work transferred to fresh muscles4 ,this brings instant relief4 ,a similar sense of refreshment comes to his hearers4 ,in speaking1 as in singing1 we must have melody1 but there is no melody without variety4 ,people would rush even from a ,melba if she sang every note in the same key4 ,inflection not only constitutes the melody of speech1 but imparts to it rhetorical significance and logical force4 ,the want of success in many a speaker who has both a good voice and good matter may be found in the fact that his voice1 instead of being as flexible as a piece of whalebone1 is as unbending as a bar of iron2 or1 worse still1 perhaps he adopts the dreary monotony of the sing-song tone3 the two unvarying notes so suggestive of the up and down movements of a pump-handle4 ,this cuckoo tone would blight the best written sermon4 ,side note3 ,two impediments to good preaching ,nothing now remains except to warn the young preacher against the two most common defects--affectation of voice and word-dropping at the end of the sentences4 ,side note3 ,an artificial tone of voice ,preach1 says ,dr4 ,ireland1 in a manner that the people will understand1 and that goes straight to their hearts1 and not in the stilted phraseology of the seventeenth century sermon4 ,sage advice6 ,the comic stage has set the world laughing at the grotesque inflections of the parson preacher2 but is his counterpart never found amongst ourselves4 ,is the ,catholic pulpit free from speakers whose ridiculous cadences at once class them amongst the disciples of the ,rev4 ,mr4 ,spalding8 ,side note3 ,artificiality means failure ,we have met priests1 typical of a considerably large class1 who1 in ordinary conversation1 could speak in a manner both natural and pleasing2 who1 when roused1 could be even eloquently convincing2 who1 at the dinner-table and even on the platform1 are listened to with pleasure1 yet let one of them go into a pulpit1 and fifteen minutes exhausts the patience of the most charitable congregation4 ,should he exceed this limit there are suppressed sighs and ominous consulting of watches4 ,why8 ,because in the pulpit he adopts an artificial tone of voice4 ,in some instances it takes the shape of a pious whine1 in others of a drone4 ,but in whatever shape it finds expression the hollow ring of the unreal is there to damn it4 ,side note3 ,how he came to acquire it ,a hoary tradition made it venerable in his eyes4 ,as a boy he heard it from a pastor to whom he was accustomed to look with reverence4 ,he came to persuade himself that1 like a judge's gravity or a soldier's step1 a priest too should bear a professional hallmark1 and this should be a preacher's voice1 so he acquired it4 ,fatal acquisition6 ,the peculiarity of it is that this tone is reserved exclusively for the pulpit4 ,not a whisper of it heard during the week4 ,it is his preaching voice1 and like his preaching stole or preaching surplice it is laid aside till ,sunday brings him again before the congregation4 ,side note3 ,the result of the artificial tone ,what madness6 ,adopting this tone is like drawing the lead from the pistol or putting a foil on the rapier3 it defeats his purpose1 it renders his weapon ineffective4 ,so far from setting his congregation on fire he sets them asleep2 instead of sending them away with clenched convictions they leave the church tittering1 or perhaps in bad temper4 ,side note3 ,priests never use in moments of serious issues ,i would like to ask such a man--,if you were pleading in a court for your character or before an angry mob for your life is it on this antiquated weapon you would rely8 ,would not nature's unerring instinct tell you to fling it to the winds and stake your fortunes on the untrammeled outpouring of head and heart8 ,every tone would ring with earnestness3 every sentence thrill with passion4 ,the thoughts1 how clear6 ,how convincing the arguments6 ,nature's unfettered strength would then1 like a tidal wave1 sweep you triumphantly onward to the goal4 ,yet when you stand in the pulpit to plead a brief for ,christ the simple1 unaffected earnestness that everywhere else carries conviction is abandoned for such a musty instrument as an unctuous whine or a holy drone4 ,the young priest should avoid it3 it spells ruin4 ,side note3 ,voice dropping ,it is wonderful how few the speakers are who sustain the same pitch and energy of voice from the beginning of a sentence to its closing syllable4 ,side note3 ,cause of the defect ,the temptation to exhaust the air in the lungs1 and therefore permit the final words to drop1 is so strong that unless a student watch it and assiduously guard against it he will discover that he has fallen victim to this weak point before he is twelve months a priest4 ,side note3 ,it destroys a sermon ,whenever you hear the last words of each sentence of a sermon growing faint1 like ,marathon runners staggering feebly towards the goal1 and the final word dropping completely under1 that sermon1 no matter how beautiful its conception or eloquent its composition1 is doomed to failure4 ,the entire meaning of many a sentence is completely lost if the last words fail to reach the listeners' ears4 ,very often the last word is the important member of a sentence1 the others being merely ancillary to it4 ,in oratory1 especially1 many a sentence has to depend for its driving force on the energy with which the final words are sent home4 ,now1 when people give a preacher attentive interest1 the least they are entitled to expect is that he should let them hear every word4 ,but finding themselves invariably baffled by the last word becoming inaudible1 it is small wonder if1 tantalised and disgusted1 they abandon all effort to follow him4 ,side note3 ,the cure ,it is therefore of great importance that this defect1 so fatal yet so common1 should be provided against in time4 ,but how8 ,since it comes from exhaustion1 consequent on the mismanagement of the voice1 the remedy is obvious4 ,let the student daily practise reading aloud in the open air1 preferably sermons or speeches by the best authors4 ,let him nervously guard against allowing his voice to show the slightest trace of fatigue in the final words of each sentence4 ,this can be accomplished by inhaling fully1 going slowly1 and not only giving full value to the punctuation stops1 but resting at the rhetorical and logical pauses4 ,side note3 ,advantages of the remedy ,by this excellent practice he strengthens his lungs and vocal organs1 cultivates his ear1 and acquires a control over his voice so perfect that he can husband his reserve fund of breath and strength to impart at will freshness to the final syllable4 ,this practice should be continued till it becomes a rooted habit1 till it has grown to be his normal method of speaking4 ,when he goes into the pulpit ,i would give him an advice1 the value of which time and experience can alone enable him to appreciate4 ,direct your voice not to the end of the church1 but to the side wall about three-quarters way down from the pulpit to the door4 ,fix your eye on some person there2 to him address your sermon1 but pitch your voice against the wall about two feet above his head4 ,by this plan you not only secure your voice against unnecessary fatigue1 but you take the surest method of sending it into every ear1 and the reverberations of your own voice will act electrically on you4 ,as ring after ring of your sentences comes back from the sounding spot against which you have discharged them you are filled with courageous confidence and an assurance that every word has found its mark4 ,a recent writer in the ,quarterly ,review discloses in one luminous sentence the qualities that go to make an orator1 and every priest should struggle with all his might to be an orator in the best sense of the word4 ,he says3 ,nor is any man a great orator who has not many of the gifts of a great actor--his command of gesture1 his variety and grace of elocution1 his mobility of features1 his instant sympathy with the ethical tone of this or that situation1 his power of evoking that sympathy in every member of his audience2 and this is surely what ,demosthenes meant by making acting not action the secret of all oratory4 ,what a vista these words open up6 ,what a variety of accomplishments demanded that can only be acquired1 even by the most gifted1 by long study and patient practice6 ,and since learning to speak in public is like learning to swim1 or to skate1 or to ride a bicycle1 in this sense at least1 that no amount of previous theoretical instruction will enable one to realise the initial difficulties or find out how to overcome them without actual experiment1 it would be arrant folly on the part of the future priest to neglect this subject during his student years4 ,these questions--,culture1 ,english1 and ,preaching--should occupy a foremost place in the curricula of our colleges4 ,it is only by training the student from the start1 by fostering literary1 dramatic and debating societies where not alone the practical art of speaking is developed1 but the social amenities of good society are practised1 that the young priest can be equipped to efficiently discharge the high office awaiting him1 and so reflect a lasting credit on the ,church of ,god at home and abroad4 ,,chapter ,,seventh ,,the ,,danger ,,of ,,the ,,hour4 ,,how ,,to ,,meet ,,it ,side note3 ,statement of the case ,the printing press is one of the greatest forces of the modern world4 ,the multitude of publications sent forth on its wings each morning are messengers of light or darkness4 ,their influence for good or evil is more powerful than that of armies or parliaments3 that influence we can no more escape than we can escape the sunlight or the air that surrounds us4 ,it penetrates our homes2 it colours our thoughts2 it furnishes motives for our actions4 ,the ,press is indeed the lever that moves the world of our day1 and we are but the puppets of its will4 ,such being the case1 is it not a question of first importance for the priest to examine its bearing on his own life1 and on the lives of those committed to his care8 ,side note3 ,a general principle ,that we may do so in a scientific manner1 let us take a simple general principle4 ,reading is the food of the mind4 ,now1 the body is marvellously influenced by the food it assimilates2 give a man wholesome nutriment and mark the bounding vigour of his blood1 the activity and healthy development of every organ2 feed him on innutritious food and the most robust must fade2 on poisonous food and the strongest languishes unto death4 ,the substance of the body is so influenced by what it assimilates that scientists assure us1 young animals fed on madder will reproduce the purple dye of the plant in the very texture of the bone4 ,side note3 ,the principle illustrated ,with far greater thoroughness and completeness does thought act upon the mind3 thought blends with thought with a force and subtleness unknown in matter4 ,watch the principle in action4 ,let any man habitually read good books--and by good books ,i mean the production of any person whose mind is illumined by faith and whose heart is fed by the sacraments--it matters little in what shape such books reach us1 let it be a novel or a book of poems or essays4 ,no man can invariably read such works without growing imperceptibly better4 ,his ,catholic principles grow more robust2 he becomes more fearless in expressing them2 each volume leaves an aroma behind and imparts a new flavour to his life4 ,fresh oil is poured into the lamp of his piety1 its flame burns brighter1 he feels an unction in his prayers2 he has a holy relish for the sacraments4 ,his very interests in life change3 he looks on everything with supernatural eyes1 he becomes touchy about the interests of the ,church1 anxious about the foreign missions1 and feels an insult to the ,holy ,see as a wound4 ,the food his brain is living on is leavening his whole life1 giving colour1 tone and trend to his existence4 ,side note3 ,brownson ,this literature1 on which he nourishes himself1 has been admirably described by the mastermind of ,catholic ,america--,dr4 ,brownson3--,catholic literature is robust and healthy of a ruddy complexion1 and full of life4 ,it knows no sadness but the sadness of sin1 and it rejoices for evermore4 ,it eschews melancholy as the devil's best friend on earth1 abhors the morbid sentimentality which feeds upon itself and grows by what it feeds upon4 4 4 4 ,it washes its face1 anoints its head1 puts on its festive robe1 goes forth into the fresh air1 the bright sunshine2 and1 when occasion requires1 rings out the merry laugh that does one's heart good to hear4 ,it is on principle that the ,catholic approves such gladsome and smiling literature4#a #a ,vol4 xix41 p4 #aee4 ,now look at the converse picture4 ,let the mind of the most devout ,catholic feed on the writings of the ,protestant or sensualist and mark the transformation4 ,see how his soul becomes enervated1 his judgment warped and his heart invaded by every temptation4 ,his ,catholic principles insensibly vanish1 and the standards of paganism replace them4 ,the light of the supernatural dies in his eyes1 a film of clay overspreads his vision2 he looks on the ,church through coloured lenses1 and the rankness of earth is upon his life4 ,thus our thoughts1 views and actions are marvellously coloured and influenced by the books we read4 ,side note3 ,the ,english press operating on the ,irish mind ,let us now turn to examine how this bears on our own lives and the lives of those around us4 ,thick as snowflakes1 but without their whiteness1 the sensuous and infidel ,press of ,england is discharging its messengers of evil on this land4 ,it is speaking by a multitude of tongues into the hearts of our people4 ,the sensational novel1 the suggestive picture paper1 the trashy magazine are breathing a deadly blight over the soul of ,ireland3 they whisper thoughts that fall like corrosive poison into the sanctuary of young hearts1 destroying the only jewels that are worthy of being there enshrined--bright faith and pure morals4 ,side note3 ,what the ,londoner saw ,an ,irishman residing in ,london1 after visiting his native country in #aijj1 records his impressions3-- ,i have been amazed during recent visits to ,ireland at the display of ,london weekly publications1 while ,dublin publications of a similar kind were difficult to obtain4 ,i have seen the counters of newsagents in such towns as ,waterford1 ,limerick1 ,kilkenny and ,galway piled as thickly1 and with as varied a selection of these ,london weekly journals as in ,lambeth or ,islington4 4 4 4 ,i was so impressed with the phenomenon that ,i endeavoured when in ,dublin to obtain some accurate information in regard to its extent4 ,at ,messrs4 ,eason's ,i was told that within the past ten years the circulation of these journals in ,ireland had almost quadrupled1 although the population had diminished within the same period by one-eighth4#b #b ,mr4 ,mac,donagh in ,nineteenth ,century1 ,july1 #aijj4 ,this is the offal the national mind is feeding on1 and yet people express surprise that we are becoming ,west-,british and losing ,catholic thought and character4 ,it is estimated that1 without counting the book or parcel post1 every week there are three tons of this literature discharged on the quays of ,dublin alone4 ,if this is even approximately true it reveals a startling condition of things4 ,it may well be questioned whether the bayonets of ,cromwell or the plantations of ,james threatened more destruction to all we hold dear4 ,i believe they were as toy armies compared with the silent foe now encamped upon the soil4 ,out of these three tons it would be easy to count1 not the volumes1 but the pages1 devoted to a defence of the ,ten ,commandments4 ,works of open or professed assault on faith or morals are as yet few1 the time is not ripe just yet1 their forerunners are here1 however1 the ground is being prepared4 ,the advance guards have come1 and it is only a question of time till the heavy ordnance is planted in our midst4 ,side note3 ,cardinal ,logue ,our present danger has been admirably described by an eminent prelate3--,a mass of literature which professes to be innocent1 and ostensibly aims at being interesting1 but seeks to create that interest and engross attention by fostering thoughts that appeal to the passions with no uncertain voice4 ,even when such works do not openly attack faith or the sanctity of morals1 they seek to convey the subtle poison of unbelief or corruption by covert insinuation1 by ridicule1 by ignoring religious truth and supernatural motives as unworthy of consideration1 more effectually and fatally1 than they would have done by open and undisguised assault4#c #c ,cardinal ,logue1 ,lenten ,pastoral4 ,there are novels that constitute an unbroken attack1 from the first page to the last1 against some divine truth1 yet with such a delicate hand is the insidious poison distributed that you may be challenged to lay your finger on a single objectionable passage4 ,satan has not been studying the human heart for six thousand years without knowing it well4 ,he takes very good care not to label his drugs1 or present his poison to timid minds in large doses2 hence there is no alarm3 but the treacherous danger of such books is well illustrated by a tree to be found in tropical forests4 ,side note3 ,the ,tropical tree ,in early autumn it is ablaze with sheaves of fairest pink2 it warns you off by no repellant odour2 its umbrageous shelter is most inviting2 yet so fatal is the subtle breath with which it charges the air around that should an incautious traveller rest his head for one night under its treacherous shade he would wake no more4 ,so1 the flowery brilliancy of style1 the charms and graces of diction of many a modern novel are fascinating1 but the pages they adorn exhale a deadly breath4 ,side note3 ,a sample novel ,let us take a sample novel4 ,the foundation of the ,state is the family2 the corner-stone on which the family rests is the sacred marriage bond4 ,dissolve that and you convert social harmony into social chaos4 ,yet how many books are there which are covert attacks on the marriage tie4 ,the heroine is generally a married lady who discovers that her husband is not the man she should have married4 ,from this centre-point the web of intrigue is woven4 ,mawkish sentiment and false pity are aroused4 ,a glamour is thrown over the sins and the sinners4 ,tears are demanded for libertines and their crimes are gilded4 ,virtue becomes a tyranny2 the marriage bond an intolerable yoke1 and the divorce court--which is truly a vestibule of hell--a haven of relief4 ,it is unnecessary to trace the effects of such degrading teaching on the lives of the young1 whose minds are as wax to receive and marble to retain3 how the high standards of virtue taught in the school and strengthened in the home vanish3 how the touchy sensitiveness of the pure soul becomes deadened and a hunger for grosser excitements is awakened4 ,side note3 ,the head leads the heart ,now that we have analysed the intellectual food on which our people live let us advance the enquiry one step further and ask--,where must it all end8 ,st4 ,thomas answers3 ,nihil volitum nisi cognitum4 ,that principle is axiomatic in its truth3 the heart will ever follow the head4 ,as you sow in thought you will reap in action4 ,corrupt a nation's intellect1 and as surely as darkness succeeds sunset1 as effect follows cause1 so surely corruption of that nation's heart must ensue4 ,how clearly the devil understands this and what use has he not made of it6 ,for the past four hundred years the greatest evils that have afflicted the ,church are traceable to a licentious ,press4 ,printing was scarcely invented till ,satan seized it for his own purposes4 ,by it the ,humanists of the fifteenth century scattered broadcast pagan ideas4 ,the disentombed paganism continued to ferment and rot the hearts of the people till in the next century it burst forth in the deluge of unbridled passions that marked the ,reformation4 ,side note3 ,france ,voltaire and his disciples did not openly cry down with the ,church1 but they took the surest road to level it4 ,they corroded the foundations of ,christian belief4 ,by encyclopedias and pamphlets they first attacked with sneer and jibe1 the person of the priest1 then the sacraments he administered became the butt of their mockery1 and they finally flouted the gospel he preached4 ,and while the agents of evil were busy1 the good cures of ,france sounded no trumpet of alarm1 but dreamed themselves into the comforting delusion that all would blow over1 till the ground under their feet began to rock and heave in the convulsive throes of the ,revolution4 ,the disciples of ,satan to-day are sleepless in their endeavours to undermine the faith of ,ireland through the same agency2 while it is to be feared that some of the guardians of that sacred treasure are inclined to imitate the dreamy lethargy that led to such disastrous results in ,france4 ,side note3 ,europe ,look at ,europe to-day seething with socialism and anarchy1 its huge standing armies scarcely able to hold these worse than barbarian hordes in check4 ,out of what dark womb have these monsters crept8 ,a corrupt ,press4 ,the devil found men whose lives were filled with pain and want2 he came breathing through the ,press telling them to distrust ,god1 and to make war upon society4 ,the ,reformation1 the ,revolution1 the social anarchy of to-day are the direct offspring of a licentious ,press4 ,permit a nation's mind to be poisoned1 and that nation's heart must rot4 ,nihil volitum nisi cognitum4 ,side note3 ,fifty years ago ,in proof of this we need not look outside our own shores4 ,fifty years ago the priests of ,ireland often had recourse to rough methods with the people4 ,even the aid of the blackthorn was occasionally invoked as an effective instrument for securing correction or impressing conviction4 ,yet1 on the morrow1 all was forgotten2 and the people would die for the man who punished them4 ,let the priest of to-day but thwart the grand-children of that generation1 even in a small matter1 and mark their rancour4 ,how bitter6 how relentless6 ,the ,catholic spirit of half a century ago was not operated on by the literature of a nation that is daily losing even the veneer of ,christianity4 ,you may gash a man with healthy blood to the bone1 and time will quickly heal the wound and scarcely leave a scar1 but if the man's blood be corrupt the scratch of a thorn may involve consequences demanding the surgeon's knife4 ,the spirit that ,catholic ,ireland had fifty years ago is sadly changed to-day2 and its tendency to fester on slight provocation is due to the poison distilled into it from an unwholesome1 anti-,catholic literature4 ,only twenty years ago we had a painful illustration of the silent but terrible mischief that has been done by ,england's ,press upon the ,catholic mind of this country4 ,side note3 ,an evil crisis ,up to the time of the ,parnell crisis the priests imagined their feet were planted upon a solid rock2 they discovered they were standing on a pie-crust4 ,what a startling revelation was in store for them4 ,small wonder they rubbed their eyes and asked in bewilderment1 ,are we in ,catholic ,ireland8 ,the ground broke2 the fiery breath of hell belched forth4 ,we saw the devil spitting hate through the lips of politicians1 the columns of the ,press1 and the resolutions of the schoolmasters4 ,terrible as was this outward exhibition1 it revealed but a fraction4 ,the spirit of revolt and infidelity that raged within the breasts of young men and darkened their conversation was awful4 ,the writings of avowed freethinkers and libertines were devoured1 and if any young man had the heroic courage to remonstrate1 his words would be drowned in derision4 ,god permitted that warning to come1 but have we taken it as a warning8 ,what efforts have we made since to secure the entrenchments8 ,the danger passed1 and we sank back into the old1 dreamy lethargy1 and left the field open to the devil to sow his tares anew4 ,our greatest danger to-day is our apparent safety4 ,we wrap ourselves into a false security1 while a dry rot is permitted to stealthily corrode the pillars of intellectual conviction that must uphold all4 ,unless this is fought1 and fought effectively1 the structure of our ,catholic life will topple like a house of cards4 ,side note3 ,objections answered ,all looks calm now1 but so long as the causes that produced the sad outburst of twenty years ago continue unchecked1 worse inevitably awaits us4 ,i may be told4 ,look at the union of priests and people to-day2 look at our flourishing sodalities and our beautiful churches4 ,the union of priests and people was then tested by one strong wrench1 and it snapped2 and so long as the evil forces that caused the fissure continue to gnaw once more the bond that unites the hearts of priests and people1 is it stronger you expect that bond to grow8 ,with regard to our pious sodalities4 ,did the question ever present itself--,how much of the average sodalist's piety is resting on sentiment and tradition1 and how little of it on intellectual conviction8 ,transplant him from the hotbed to the ice-chills of infidelity in ,america or ,australia1 where the very air is electric with doubt and denial1 and when the storm beats upon him1 is his head armed to defend his ,faith8 ,where could he get the necessary knowledge8 ,not from the book in his hand1 for it is ,marie ,corelli or ,hall ,caine you find him best acquainted with4 ,not from the ,catholic newspaper1 for the question is--,do we possess one8 ,it is a strange fact that while ,irish ,catholics abroad have founded1 and support1 splendid ,catholic journals in every land where they have found a home1 the mother ,church from which they sprang is practically defenceless4 ,he gets poor assistance from the pulpit2 for while homilies and exhortations are admirable in their way1 they fall far short of covering the needs of this questioning age4 ,our dogmatic treatises are permitted to lie entombed in dust on our top shelves1 while clear and homely exposition of ,catholic truth would be drunk in like honey by the people4 ,you point to our beautiful churches1 beautiful they are indeed4 ,but to what purpose do we raise temples of stone if we permit the living temple of the soul to be eaten into by the poison mildews of evil thought4 ,the ,continent is dotted over with stately but empty basilicas1 silent and mournful monuments to a ,faith and a love long since departed4 ,side note3 ,questions ,now that we begin to realise the danger and the extent of this evil1 a number of questions naturally suggest themselves4 ,side note3 ,i ,how is it that the master carefully scrutinizes the character of a servant before admitting her into his house1 lest her influence in his home might be for evil1 and that same man allows the author to pass in unchallenged8 ,the author comes1 not to minister but to master2 to impress his thoughts on the minds and perhaps blast the virtue of the children4 ,side note3 #b ,since every parent is bound to provide that his children's apartments are well supplied with healthy air1 is not the obligation far more serious to take care that the moral atmosphere of the home does not hold the deadliest poisons in solution8 ,side note3 #c ,side note3 ,questions ,why does not the young girl1 who is so fastidious about the class of people with whom she will associate1 exercise even ordinary discrimination in the selection of an author8 ,this is the companion whose influence sinks deeper and lasts longer than that of the person with whom she sips tea or takes a walk4 ,he whispers into her soul under the shade of the midnight lamp4 ,he embeds his principles on her brain4 ,he lives in her dreams4 ,he becomes her oracle to conjure by4 ,side note3 #d ,or1 let us put the question this way3 ,how many of the men and women who flit across the pages of modern fiction would a respectable ,catholic admit into his home or introduce to his family8 ,he would not give them his company1 but he gives them his brains4 ,the hem of his garment they may not touch1 but the pith of his life he places at their disposal4 ,make no mistake about it4 ,you cannot shake off the influence of your author4 ,his thoughts become your thoughts4 ,he weaves himself into the woof of your mind4 ,side note3 #e ,how is it that when the proselytiser comes to your parish in human shape you are all afire1 but when he comes speaking1 not by one but a hundred tongues1 silently but effectively sapping the ,faith or virtue of your flock1 no pulpit rings with denunciation8 ,all these questions may be answered by another most pertinent to the priest4 ,have the people been taught to realise the danger confronting them8 ,have their consciences been awakened8 ,have we been dumb watch-dogs while they are being devoured8 ,side note3 ,apologies ,the treatment of this subject would be incomplete if the stock apologies for dangerous reading were not dealt with4 ,when you remonstrate with a ,catholic on the character of his reading1 you are sure to be met with some of the following1 and any one of them is supposed to be a complete justification1 no matter how bad the book3-- ,side note3 ,style ,i read these books for the style4 ,this is sometimes heard from people whose pretentions to literary taste borders on the grotesque2 but let that pass4 ,has a paralysis fallen on every hand that wields a ,catholic pen8 ,does the light of ,faith beaming on a human mind quench the beauties of imagination or dull the taste8 ,or1 is a perfect style to be found only among the apostles of evil8 ,surely the long range of ,catholic writers offers an ample variety of the most perfect exponents of literary style4 ,let us be honest4 ,it is not for the style these books are read2 it is because they gratify an unhealthy craving1 because they are soft1 sensual1 suggestive1 and stimulate feelings not far from the border-land of sin4 ,side note3 ,i see no harm ,i see no harm in them4 ,now by this answer you implicitly admit that you see no good4 ,have you then no remorse for frittering away such a precious gift of ,god as time8 ,if the damned got five minutes of that time to repent1 every chamber in hell would be empty4 ,yet you squander months and years without a qualm4 ,you see no harm in it4 ,look into your own life and what do you discover4 ,the unction of prayer sucked out of your soul1 your relish for the ,sacraments gone1 a dry rot consuming your spiritual life1 a nausea for supernatural things1 a taste every day becoming more clayey1 and an increasing appetite for grosser excitements4 ,books that you would tremble to touch a year ago you now devour without a pang2 or perhaps the stray shreds of infidelity are weaving themselves into your future creed4 ,do not mind what you see with the eye of a conscience that is already half-dead4 ,search deep into your own heart and life1 and you will quickly discover the damage done4 ,side note3 ,narrow-minded ,we cannot be narrow-minded4 ,is it then a something to be ashamed of1 if in matters pertaining to our eternal interests we are cautious and conservative8 ,not prone to take dangerous risks8 ,this is the disposition sometimes called narrow-mindedness4 ,surely it is better even to be narrow-minded than pagan-minded4 ,but let us clear our minds of cant and squarely face the question4 ,will the person who calls you narrow-minded for exercising caution in the selection of your books1 exhibit his own breadth of mind by going into a chemist's shop1 shutting his eyes and gulping down the contents of the first bottle that comes to his hand8 ,ha6 ,you see how quickly his broad-mindedness is replaced by most careful caution4 ,but a library is like a chemist's shop4 ,the shelves may hold health-giving medicines or the most deadly poisons4 ,as well call the harbour authorities narrow-minded because they close the ports against the cholera ship1 as to question the just prudence of the man who shuts his door against the evil book4 ,side note3 ,up-to-date ,we must be up-to-date4 ,the man that takes this as the sole principle by which to guide his moral conduct1 not only writes himself down depraved1 but an intellectual imbecile4 ,what does he mean8 ,he means that he is incapable of thinking for himself2 that he has no fixed chart1 but is tossed about in the eddy of fashion2 that he has no principle to guide his own conduct by1 but has to look to the street and follow where the crowd leads4 ,the most un-up-to-date people that ever lived were the early ,christians4 ,when thousands were swarming to the butcheries of the ,coliseum they refused to be up-to-date and kept carefully away from the taint of blood and savagery4 ,when the debaucheries of the festivals disgraced the city1 they again refused to be up-to-date4 ,no doubt they were sneered at and called old-fashioned1 priest-ridden1 c4 ,but it was they1 and not those who taunted them1 who showed loftiness and nobility of mind in taking1 not the craze of the hour1 but the ,gospel of ,jesus ,christ as the standard of their conduct4 ,side note3 ,how to meet the ,danger ,we have now taken the full bearings of the ,danger of the ,hour4 ,the remaining question is--,how to meet it8 ,to expose the bad book is but half our task--its place must be supplied by the good one4 ,how can this be done8 ,the answer naturally suggests itself4 ,have we not the ,catholic ,truth ,society8 ,yes1 and it is a splendid weapon if worked as it should be2 and its admirable publications pushed into every home4 ,there is a temptation to belittle these works because they cost only a penny4 ,though they are reduced to that humble price to meet the wants of the millions1 we must not forget that most of them are the productions of the ablest pens1 and some of them contain more thought between their modest covers than many a pretentious volume4 ,they have the special advantage of being at a price and in a form accessible to the young4 ,there are many thousands reading these booklets who would never venture1 even if they could1 to face the four hundred paged volume4 ,but the ,catholic ,truth ,society works do not cover all our needs4 ,they do two things--they serve to create a thirst for more knowledge1 and act as pedagogues to lead the child to the door of the parochial library4 ,here we strike the goal4 ,side note3 ,the ,parochial ,library ,the parochial library is the crying want of the hour4 ,the one weapon by which we must beat back an evil which threatens appalling ruin4 ,our service of ,god must vary with the need of the different ages4 ,at one time ,he is best served by the pouring out of martyr blood1 at another by the building of splendid churches2 but to any man who watches the drift and danger of our generation1 it is clear as noonday1 that the most effective work a priest can offer ,god to-day is a well stocked library1 open to every child of the parish4 ,it has been said that if ,st4 ,paul were on earth now1 he would be found editing a ,catholic newspaper4 ,we have seen the devil using the ,press with terrible effect for the destruction of souls2 let us wrench it from him and baptize it for the service of ,christ4 ,the parochial library as an instrument of defence and propagation is no new discovery4 ,side note3 ,encyclopedia ,britannica ,as ,christianity made its way1 says the ,encyclopedia ,britannica1 the institution of libraries became a part of the organisation of the ,church4 ,so intimate did the union between literature and religion become1 that alongside every ,church the ,catholic bishops had a library erected4 ,now1 if in times past1 when not one man in twenty could read1 the unerring foresight of the ,church led her to adopt the parochial library as her most able auxiliary1 the wisdom of that adoption applies with ten-fold force to our times4 ,side note3 ,the ,blunder of the ,past ,fifty years ago we taught the people how to read2 awakened within them the native desire for knowledge1 and then--stopped4 ,when the national school was built had we established the parochial library and made it the means of continuing the child's education1 we would have a different ,ireland to-day4 ,we made the youth hungry and then stepped aside4 ,the ,british publisher came and occupied the place we should have held4 ,he has been feeding them on garbage and gutter literature since4 ,god grant that it is not too late to undo the mischief of our neglect4 ,side note3 ,what we spend ,it is estimated that we spend four hundred and forty-six thousand pounds every year on ,english papers1 books and magazines4 ,almost half a million of money6 ,how many of our honest rooftrees would not that sum keep standing8 ,how many of our pure boys and girls would it not save from the hells of ,chicago and ,new ,york4 ,it is bad enough to part with the bone and muscle1 but a nation loses her most precious asset when she exports her intellect4 ,while we have gone on helping the ,british publisher to the carriage and the suburban villa1 the young ,irishman1 who feels the fire of genius throbbing in his blood1 sees but two alternatives before him--to starve at home or sell his brains in a foreign market4 ,to-day the priest holds the field1 but for how long8 ,recent convulsions should warn us2 the ground may rock again2 then let us arouse ourselves to the task before us4 ,side note3 ,awake6 ,whether the priest moves or not the library is sure to come1 and what in his hands would be a centre of diffusive light to the parish1 under the control of semi-educated or conscienceless men may prove a dark curse4 ,let the coarse and sensuous literature of ,england drop from our people's hands4 ,let us encourage native genius to dip her pen into the old holy well of ,catholic truth1 and build up a literature that will be racy of the soil and redolent of its ,faith4 ,let us feed the minds of the young on the untainted productions of our own countrymen and women4 ,let us brace them with robust ,catholic principles that are mortised into the solid bed-rock of knowledge4 ,then the most powerful foe the future holds will blow the trumpet in vain4 ,but to the priest who slumbers1 heedless of the swift march of time1 and the forces of evil now possessing our land1 ,i say-- ,dream on1 dear gentle soul1 dream on6 ,the day may come when you will awake with a thunder-clap1 perhaps to find the ,irish ,church in chains4 ,,chapter ,,eighth ,,the ,,young ,,priest',s ,,activities ,i should like to see the priest at the head of every movement for the bettering and uplifting of the people4 ,side note3 ,the ,last ,fortress ,ireland is the last fortress of ,catholic ,christendom4 ,latin ,christianity is having to struggle for existence2 and for us1 time will but multiply1 from within and without1 the forces organised by ,satan to capture the last stronghold that flies the ,papal banner4 ,side note3 ,satan's ,first ,move ,his first effort will be in the future1 as it has ever been in the past1 to drive a wedge of separation between the priests and the people4 ,that accomplished1 half his battle is won4 ,if he can get the people to despise the priest in any capacity as a social man1 a politician1 c41 he knows that time rubs out fine-drawn distinctions2 they will cease to respect at the altar the man they are accustomed to flout on the street2 and if they once come to despise the priest1 they will soon despise the sacraments he administers1 and challenge the ,gospel which he preaches4 ,let us forestall him1 and bind the people to our hearts with hoops of steel4 ,for their sakes more than for ours we cannot make our hold too firm or root ourselves too deeply in their affections4 ,for what hope could there be for souls if a chasm should yawn between the pastor and his flock1 if those ,god has united by so many and such sacred ties should glare hatred and distrust from opposing camps8 ,the priest is supreme in ,ireland to-day2 but in the near future he may have many a rival claimant2 and should the people pass under alien sway1 the last fortress is gone4 ,now1 when we unroll the map of social ,ireland1 we discover a multitude of ways by which the priest can keep in touch with1 direct and uplift the people1 and each effort for their sakes means a fresh strengthening of the bonds that bind the hearts of priests and people4 ,let us take a survey of the situation4 ,that done1 the number of ways by which the priest can become the reformer of his parish will at once disclose themselves4 ,side note3 ,a ,statement of ,facts ,have you ever faced the sad problem3--,why are our asylums enlarging while our general population is shrinking8 ,three main causes are responsible4 ,side note3 ,food ,the food we are eating1 especially the use of overdrawn tea4 ,a gentleman of over twenty years' experience1 as governor of a lunatic asylum1 assured the writer that next to drink1 overdrawn tea was the most responsible agent for insanity4 ,that week he had received a farmer's wife and five strapping sons all stark mad from the poison stewing by so many of our hearths4 ,whilst we were guided by the healthy traditions of our own race1 we fed on solid food--oatmeal1 specially suited to our climate1 being a heat-producer1 a bone-builder and a tissue-former1 rich milk1 butter1 vegetables and home-cured bacon4 ,what a poor substitute for these luscious foods are the weak white bread and thin cup of tea6 ,the ,scotsman has stuck to his national diet2 he has done more1 he has forced his porridge on the bill of fare of every first-class ,english hotel4 ,side note3 ,activity ,i ,could not the curate1 from the lecture platform1 in the school and in private conversation1 drive home to the people and open their eyes to the suicide they are committing8 ,i know one priest who gets every farmer in his parish to sow every year a quarter acre of oats for home use4 ,could not others do the same8 ,side note3 ,drink ,the second cause is ,drink4 ,on this question ,i shall content myself with quoting a few statistics4 ,they supply melancholy food for reflection4 ,in #ahii1 out of every three placed in the dock for drunkenness in the capital of this ,catholic country one was a woman4 ,i think you may search the world for a more shameless exhibition4 ,out of every thousand of the general population in ,england1 fifty persons are arrested for drunkenness2 out of every thousand of the general population in ,ireland1 one hundred and forty-three4 ,in other words1 we produce almost three convicted drunkards to their one4 ,and still we plume ourselves on our superior virtue4 ,our total income from agriculture1 the staple industry of the country1 is forty millions4 ,on this1 mainly1 the nation has to live4 ,yet before a penny is touched for food1 clothing or education1 almost fourteen out of the forty millions are handed over to the sellers of drink4 ,within fifteen years we lost half a million of our people1 but we consoled ourselves by opening eleven hundred and seventy-five new public-houses within the same period4 ,side note3 ,activity ,,ii ,to these figures ,i shall not add one word3 it would only weaken the argument4 ,will any one deny that the young priest has here an ample field for his zeal and energy1 and a splendid opportunity of proving himself the reformer and saviour of the people8 ,side note3 ,emigration ,the third1 most powerful source of lunacy1 is ,emigration4 ,it may seem a paradox to say that the lessening of our people must naturally mean the increase of insanity4 ,when we say the country loses forty thousand of its inhabitants yearly1 we make but a partial statement of the case4 ,whom do we lose8 ,not the average class--the youth1 and the youth only go4 ,two consequences follow4 ,a boy1 when he has arrived at his eighteenth year1 has cost the country two hundred pounds1 and a girl one hundred and fifty4 ,up to that time they were consumers1 they produced little4 ,this enables us to arrive at the appalling fact that ,ireland every year pours seven millions worth of human cargo into the emigrant ship4 ,would that this was all1 but worse remains to be said4 ,who stay with us8 ,the aged1 the delicate1 the infirm4 ,the kernel of the race is going1 the husks are remaining with us4 ,intermarriage among these1 intermingling of enfeebled and tainted blood is one of the main contributory causes why the walls of our asylums are enlarging4 ,side note3 ,remedies ,let us see what the priest can do to fight the national curse1 and stay the national haemorrhage4 ,side note3 ,the ,points to ,fix on ,in dealing with the drink question his main purpose should be to purify public opinion4 ,till that is done1 every other effort must fail4 ,what use in our inveighing against a vice if the people insist on labelling it a virtue8 ,our first effort must be to get the people to view it in an honest light--to see it as we see it4 ,public opinion up to this could scarcely be more depraved4 ,side note3 ,the ,village ,scandal ,it was not an unusual thing to see young boys feigning drunkenness and staggering through the village4 ,why8 ,they were at an age when pride began to crave for notoriety and applause4 ,they knew the public to which they appealed1 and they took the shortest cut to win its approbation1 and that was by pretending to be drunk4 ,an action like that is a terrible verdict against the national conscience4 ,if public opinion were healthy1 if it held for such mock heroes1 not the incense of applause1 but a lash of scorn1 if boys were persuaded that so far from exhibiting in their conduct a manly trait1 they were only proving themselves degraded puppies1 the cure would be immediate4 ,side note3 ,perverted ,judgments ,listen to people talking of a man who has sent his children out on the world1 and his wife to an untimely grave1 and you would think it was some visitation of ,providence overtook him1 and that he deserved all our sympathy4 ,the agent that dares to threaten an eviction has to carry revolvers and walk the country under the shadow of police protection2 but the father and husband who evicts his own children and flings them into the slums of foreign cities1 and sends his broken-hearted wife to the grave1 not only has his crime condoned but1 by the same people1 he is daily smothered in the rose-leaves of apology4 ,poor fellow6 ,ah1 it is a good man's fault6 ,not one hard word4 ,yet the world outside the shores of this country are pouring scorn on the degraded name of drunken ,ireland4 ,side note3 ,the ,young ,men's ,pride ,why not appeal to the patriotic pride of the young men by showing the contempt and distrust that follow our race because of this vice8 ,it would touch them to the quick4 ,side note3 ,the ,hereditary ,taint ,another point to be insisted on is3--,the crime of the drunkard does not die with himself4 ,like lunacy or consumption it transmits a sad heritage to his offspring4 ,ninety out of every hundred are drunkards because they inherited tainted blood4 ,parents shudder at the bare possibility of their child being born an idiot1 or with some repulsive birth-mark4 ,yet1 before the infant can lift its hand in protest1 the parents poison its life at the very source and send it on the world with a moral deformity marking its nature4 ,side note3 ,the ,dawn ,these were the two sources of weakness in the past3 a public opinion that fostered1 instead of smiting1 the curse1 and an hereditary taint that grew stronger with every generation1 while the will to resist became more feeble4 ,thank ,god1 the dawn of a brighter day is with us3 there is a healthy awakening of public opinion4 ,the ,gaelic revival has for the first time in our history linked sobriety with patriotism3 the word has gone forth that reconstructed ,ireland must not rest on staggering pillars4 ,the young priest of the future has the rising tide with him1 and ,ireland has seen her darkest day4 ,no matter how we may deplore emigration1 we must deal with it as a fact4 ,side note3 ,is the ,emigrant ,prepared ,side note3 ,his ,peril ,abroad ,from what class are the emigrants drawn8 ,from the young4 ,it is hard to part with them3 but there is one consolation4 ,they go to build up the ,church in other lands1 but every precaution must be taken to strengthen them for the trials awaiting them4 ,now1 every returned ,american and ,australian priest will candidly tell you that the ,irish emigrant is poorly equipped for his new surroundings4 ,dr4 ,kenrick and ,cardinal ,gibbons go so far as to say that the neglect of the ,irish priest in preparing his emigrating flock1 is the main source of leakage in the ,american ,church4 ,they are not able to answer the most ordinary objections1 and they have not moral strength to withstand the shafts of ridicule4 ,in the fierce cross-currents of unbelief1 he is poorly able to keep his foothold4 ,many stagger2 some fall1 never to rise4 ,we reply3--,look at our ,confirmation classes1 and at the admirable lives of the youth before they leave us4 ,neither of these weaken the contention4 ,at the age a child is confirmed1 he is incapable of reflective reason2 his knowledge is three parts memory4 ,it is between the ,confirmation day and the twentieth year that the convictions and principles that guide a lifetime are formed4 ,yet1 this is the precise period during which the young boy is permitted to starve4 ,secondly1 the good life of a person reared in a purely ,catholic atmosphere is no guarantee of what he may become when transplanted to a country where the very atmosphere palpitates with doubt and denial4 ,side note3 ,activity ,,iii ,here surely is a field that urgently demands a young priest's activities4 ,every young priest should be the eldest brother to the young men of the parish1 the repository of their confidence1 the director of their sports1 the organizer of their ,feis2 and when there is danger of angry passions running high or of drunkenness getting in among them1 the curate's place is not the study1 but the football field4 ,to such a curate it would be an easy task to organize the young men of the parish for a ,sunday meeting during the four winter months1 and give them a thorough course in ,catholic belief or ,faith of ,our ,fathers4 ,this would be a distinct advantage not only to those who are leaving1 but to those who remain4 ,the ,catholic mind of this country is now1 by travel and reading1 brought into constant contact with ,protestant and infidel thought4 ,these meetings should wear as little of the appearance of a class as possible4 ,boys should be taught to look upon them as friendly meetings of brothers discussing the weapons with which to face the future3 the session might appropriately close with an excursion or a social evening4 ,now that we have treated emigration as a fact1 let us turn to a few of the means by which it might be lessened4 ,side note3 ,the ,summer ,swallow ,a constant source of temptation is the sight of the returned emigrant with flash jewellery1 superior airs and stories of boasted wealth4 ,side note3 ,activity ,,iv ,when summer brings these returned swallows1 a spirit of discontent with their social surroundings seizes the youth4 ,the priest's duty is to impress upon them that the bright side of the picture alone is presented to them3 there is another side of awful darkness4 ,the successful one they see1 but the fate of the submerged ninety-nine is hidden from their eyes4 ,our people emigrate without a knowledge of skilled labour2 they have to take the lowest occupations and bring up their children in vile surroundings3 they are lost in shoals4 ,had the youth of this country the writer's experience3 did they see hundreds of their countrymen sleeping in the parks of ,sydney1 without the shelter of a roof and without knowing where to turn in the morning for a bit3 could they hear the thirty-two accents of ,ireland in the low streets of dens where souls and bodies rot1 they would try their hands at a dozen means of winning honest bread before turning their faces towards the emigrant ship4 ,could we but take the twenty-two thousand ,irish-born convicts out of the jails of one city--,new ,york--with their clanking fetters and arrow-branded jackets1 and march them through the length and breadth of ,ireland1 and show the youth1 that1 if some wear bangles1 others wear handcuffs1 it would go far to cure the microbe of unrest4 ,every tale of distress1 failure and hardship abroad should be repeated in the ,irish provincial journals4 ,no effort should be spared to show the people1 not one but both sides of the picture4 ,side note3 ,activity ,v ,amusements ,one of the most important problems facing the young priest of to-day is3--,how to organise healthy and sinless amusements for the people4 ,our skies are gloomy1 our climate depressing1 and the very dreariness of country life causes thousands to fly4 ,look at the groups of young men at the village corners1 where is the hope or contentment in their looks8 ,side note3 ,goldsmith's ,days ,i think you may challenge the world's literature for more wholesome pictures of rural pleasures than those mirrored in the ,deserted ,village4 ,they are not creations of the poet's fancy1 but chronicles of facts that lived before his eyes4 ,in them1 you have the image of ,ireland as she lived before the black shadow of '#dg fell upon her4 ,all went on in the open daylight1 under the eyes of parents and friends4 ,the young contended while the old surveyed4 ,virtue was safe1 tired hearts were cheered1 and1 whilst these sports flourished1 few ,irish boys or girls wanted to know the road to the emigrant ship4 ,would it be possible to re-create the ,ireland of ,goldsmith's days8 ,side note3 ,the ,winter's ,night ,one thing1 however1 is not outside the range of possibility--to persuade parents in rural districts to make some effort to brighten the lives of their children2 to have all household work done two hours before bedtime1 to have a bright fire on the hearth and a bright lamp on the table1 and a plentiful supply of the ,catholic ,truth ,society books1 ,catholic papers and periodicals always at hand4 ,many a poor boy and girl1 whose thoughts to-day are turning to ,sydney or ,new ,york as an escape from cheerless drudgery1 would then read a new meaning into the word home4 ,no matter how toil presses during the day1 the prospective two hours of brightness and pleasure cheers them4 ,give a man a taste for reading and the means of gratifying it1 says ,sir ,john ,herschel1#a and you can hardly fail to make him a happy man1 you place him in contact with the best society of every period of history--the wisest1 the wittiest1 the tenderest1 the bravest and the purest characters that adorn humanity4 ,a parent who cannot line his child's pocket with gold has in this simple plan a means of enriching his head with knowledge1 and so sending him on the world armed4 ,self-respect would grow2 the gross pleasures of the card-table or the public-house would lose their charm4 ,your own words would fall on ears steadily becoming more intelligent4 ,the parish after five years would wear a new face4 #a ,eton ,address ,side note3 ,activity ,,vi ,the country ,schoolhouse ,could not the young men be gathered once a week during the winter months1 and the school house be converted into a literary1 debating or lecture room8 ,if the young priest prepared one lecture a month1 he might revolutionize the district by teaching the people how to organize and foster small industries or technical branches suited to the localities4 ,there is wealth in the mushrooms on the field1 the blackberries on the hedge1 and the cresses by the stream4 ,in other countries thousands are made by these unnoticed products4 ,why not here8 ,side note3 ,our ,ruins ,when the summer comes1 the curate could easily organize occasional bicycle excursions with the young men to some memorable ,catholic ruin1 in whose history he should be well made up4 ,the saints and scholars who have glorified our annals are lying around our churches2 we stumble over their graves for forty years sometimes1 without enquiring who they were or what they did4 ,i am aware there are laudable exceptions3 they are1 however1 isolated4 ,when the public wants to know anything about our monasteries1 they often have to turn to the layman and even to the parson4 ,the small number of priests in the ,archaeological ,society is a striking reproach4 ,one would think that our saints and their works were something to be ashamed of1 since the natural guardians of their memories have practically abandoned them4 ,this country is filled with catacombs4 ,every child should be made acquainted with the life of the leading saint1 and the history of the most memorable ruin in the locality2 those hoary prophets1 now so mute1 would then speak with tongues of fire out of the dim past1 telling the story of our fathers' ,faith and heroic achievements4 ,let us now rise to a higher plane of the young priest's activities4 ,side note3 ,activity ,,vii ,literature ,it is a stupendous and a humiliating fact that1 while this country is deluged with the writings of the sensualist and the infidel1 there are over three thousand brainy priests upon the land1 and the world of thought knows nothing of them4 ,side note3 ,cambridge and ,oxford ,side note3 ,first ,premium ,men ,when we read of brilliant students at ,cambridge or ,oxford1 we naturally look forward to see them leaders of thought or action in their own land1 and we are seldom disappointed4 ,our ,irish colleges are discharging yearly swarms from their doors1 many of them men with brilliant records4 ,who hears of them after8 ,what have these first-class premium men1 who gave such splendid promise1 done with their gifts and knowledge8 ,how little does the ,irish ,church owe them8 ,the day the premium book was handed them1 all serious effort died4 ,they were content to rest for the remainder of their lives under the shade of their academic laurels4 ,the soldier is not satisfied with the triumphs of his recruit days4 ,he knows that the purpose of his life then is not to gain a prize and stop at that1 but to acquire efficient skill in the use of his weapons that he may become a living force on the future field of action4 ,the college is but the training ground1 not the final goal2 the real field of our activities lies outside its walls4 ,yet when the scholastic course closes these richly-gifted men dip below the horizon1 and the world seldom hears of them again2 the destructive wave that in its silent strength is covering the land receives no check from them2 they are engraving no impression on the intellect of the day4 ,our humiliation and surprise increase when we turn to the publisher's lists and see parsons1 who have to prepare to meet critical audiences ,sunday after ,sunday1 and are weighted with the cares of heavy families1 holding leading places in every literary enterprise4 ,now1 if our young men set to work to popularise our native saints1 and in their lives dig up the buried glories of our ,catholic past1 if each diocese produced even one crisp well-written life1 what a splendid step in advance4 ,but the demand for our literary activities is far wider than the shores of ,ireland4 ,side note3 ,america and ,australia ,the ,american and ,australian ,churches are daughters of this soil4 ,we are proud of them2 they are the frontier regiments of our fighting army2 they are daily advancing ,patrick's standard over fresh fields of conquest3 but what help have we given them8 ,the present generation of priests there are builders4 ,but1 like the men on ,jerusalem's walls1 they have to grasp the sword in one hand and the trowel in the other4 ,protestantism in those lands is fast running to its final declension--naked infidelity4 ,now the infidel knows no rest2 activity is the law of his existence4 ,the buried ghosts of past heresies are resuscitated and draped in all the attractiveness of modern dress4 ,the arsenal of error stored by every perverse genius from ,arius to ,tyndal is daily discharged into the ,catholic ranks4 ,there is scarcely a truth free from truculent assault4 ,it is hard to ask the men toiling in the glare of the camp fires1 to fight the battles and manufacture the shells4 ,now1 all that is best of ,french ,catholic intellect has been given to this cause for the past century4 ,the priest who would devote a few winters to the holy toil of translating this into a shape suitable to the needs of our fighting millions would do an act of merit that ,god alone could measure4 ,yet what ammunition have we supplied to our brave soldiers8 ,scarcely a grain of shot4 ,side note3 ,the ,causes of ,sterility ,why this sterility8 ,why this barrenness8 ,is it our native lethargy or our native modesty8 or the defective training of our colleges in neglecting to foster literary tastes8 ,we will not pause to enquire4 ,that there is one sad cause is beyond all question--the bitterness of clerical criticism4 ,the ,irish priest who takes to the cultivation of letters ought to choose ,st4 ,sebastian for his patron saint2 for he will have an arrow planted in every square inch of his body4 ,while we have no word of condemnation for the writers who are sucking the life-blood of ,faith from our people1 should one of ourselves show style in his sermons1 or attach his name to a magazine article1 the amount of mordant criticism he has to face is sufficient to make the stoutest heart sink4 ,the average ,irish skull in the hands of a phrenologist will show a development of destructive bumps surpassed by none1 but when he searches for constructive ones1 a glass of no small magnifying power must come to his aid4 ,the habit of sneering criticism begins in the college and should be killed in its birth-place4 ,the man who drops an icy or an acid word into the warm enthusiasm of a young heart commits a great crime4 ,he may paralyse the purpose of a noble life4 ,let us reserve all our hard blows and hard words for ,christ's enemies1 and a cheerful encouragement to ,his friends should not cost us a drop of blood4 ,side note3 ,the ,task is ,finished ,here we pause1 fully conscious of the incompleteness of our task4 ,the many possible and profitable fields of the young priest's activities are no more than hinted at4 ,we are passing through a period of change3 old landmarks are disappearing1 but if the future is to be made secure1 the priest of the present must cling to the people and teach them to cling to him4 ,in the revival of their industries or their language1 in the ,feis or the hurling field1 the priest should be the source of their inspiration and their controlling director4 ,woe to the parish where the priest sits idly or sinks into dreamy lethargy while the people pass from him1 away4 ,side note3 ,farewell ,the world is moving onward4 ,our world is willing just now that we move with and direct it4 ,but how long1 ,o ,lord1 how long8 ,let us remain stationary and it will move without us2 and once lost1 lost for ever4 ,a glance at the ,continent should fire us to desperate efforts4 ,you see the ,church dashed to pieces in the seething vortex of destruction2 in some countries honey-combed to rottenness1 ready to totter and fall before the first outburst of ,socialistic fury4 ,the ,press teems with ribald jeer and blatant blasphemy4 ,the priesthood1 a separate caste1 hounded like lepers of old from the highways of public life1 voiceless and despised--the apostate priest hailed with delight smothered in incense--the faithful priest lashed at the pillar of public scorn4 ,o ,god1 shall ,ireland--the last fortress--follow8 ,that question is for us to answer3 the shaping of the future lies in the hands of the living present4 ,let listlessness prevail1 and when an apostle of evil does arise1 perhaps in the not distant future1 he will appeal to the past for his justification4 ,he will tell the people1 that for a full century three thousand four hundred priests were upon the land4 ,talent1 leisure and unbounded trust were theirs4 ,yet1 where are the literature1 village libraries1 social organizations1 or other agencies of enlightenment promoted by them8 ,has not the country rotted and the emigrant ship been glutted8 ,away with them6 ,why cumber they the ground8 ,that day1 please ,god1 shall never come1 if we sink deep into our souls the conviction that a great effort is required1 and fling our hearts into it2 that the ever increasing new needs and foes of to-day cannot be met with the antiquated weapons of the past2 that the old rut must be abandoned and the new ground broken3 then the future is secure4 ,the old citadel of ,catholic ,christendom will continue a fortress1 flying the old flag1 towering above the ,atlantic breakers with a strength impregnable and a ,faith undimmed--a ,pharos of spiritual splendour4 ,and when in other lands eyes grow dim with the mists of despair1 they will look up and the light of a new-born hope will enkindle within them4 ,and when hearts in other lands are sinking from repeated failure1 they will pulse with the inspiration of a fresh courage when the story of our efforts and our triumphs is recalled4 ,,the ,,end ,,press ,,notices ,every thoughtful mind amongst us1 whether priest or layman1 will thank the courageous writer who throws upon our insular prejudices the flashlights of other civilisations1 and shows us certain defects which we can only neglect at our own peril4 ,we hope that this little book will find its way to every student's desk in ,ireland and abroad1 and that its lessons will be taken to heart by professors and alumni alike4 ,it is worth reading if only for its style1 which is far above that usually assumed by writers on similar subjects4 ,but its chief value is in the deep insight it manifests as to the wants of the age and the necessary equipment of the young apostles of our race1 whose mission will be to strange peoples and curious1 though some times sympathetic1 souls who are seeking the light and failing to find it4 ,it is a book to be read with humility and a total absence of that mild conceit which refuses to accept any but domestic and partial criticism4 ,the words are those of a thinker and an orator4-- ,canon ,sheehan in the ,freeman's ,journal4 ,anyone who has lived five years in ,australia would advise every young priest coming to this country to have a copy of ,father ,phelan's admirable book in his luggage1 and read it more than once4 ,the young ecclesiastic coming hither who treats lightly the advice given him will find by-and-by that every line of the book is true2 every priest who has lived a few years on the ,australian mission will know already that it is so4--,melbourne ,advocate4 ,the ,rev4 ,m4 ,phelan1 ,s4,j41 stresses the necessity of culture of mind and manners for young priests and seminarians4 ,father ,phelan1 himself a noted preacher1 devotes several helpful chapters to the means of acquiring excellence in preaching4 ,the book is brimful of valuable hints and helps1 and their value is not diminished by the fact that the style is racy and readable throughout4 ,the following is intended for ,irish readers1 but the advice has wider application3--'4 4 4 ,he should not commit the signal folly of attempting to engraft an imported accent on his own2 he should speak as an ,irishman1 but as an educated ,irishman4' ',the ,young ,priest's ,keepsake' should become a vade-mecum4--,america4 ,with considerable skill and plenty of plain speaking1 ,father ,phelan gives some admirable advice to young priests in regard to the study of ,english and the composition and delivery of sermons4 ,his experiences in ,ireland and on the foreign missions are his claim to say what his opinion is1 and his opinion is weighty4 ,father ,phelan has wise counsels to give1 and gives them in a most pleasing way4 ,he is always bright1 always interesting1 and always instructive4 ,his book deserves to be known to the clergy at large1 and we wish it the circulation it deserves4--,catholic ,times4 ,this is1 indeed1 a very valuable book for the young priest4 ,it is intended chiefly for those who are going on the foreign mission1 and it would be well for them if they would take to heart the sound advice given to them here by a man of wide experience and great success in the missionary field4 ,the first chapter on the necessity of culture and gentlemanly manners is alone worth the price of the book4 ,young priests have probably often heard of the necessity of writing their sermons1 but ,i doubt if they ever had the advantage of having it put before them in such a practical and convincing fashion as that in which it is done by ,father ,phelan in his third chapter4 ,the same notes of practical sound sense mark the chapters on ',pulpit ,oratory' and on ',elocution4' ,altogether1 this book should be the ,keepsake of every young priest4 ,it contains many things that will benefit priests1 young or old1 of every description4 ,father ,phelan deserves our thanks as well as our congratulations on the success of his work4--,irish ,ecclesiastical ,record4 ,a wonderful amount of practically useful advice1 the matured fruit of vast missionary experience1 seasoned by conscientious study and a fraternal longing to assist the young priest are the most salient features of this inimitably-written volume4 ,the style is excellent4 ,in crisp1 accurate language every paragraph1 every sentence even1 tells exactly what the writer wishes to state1 and no more4 4 4 4 ,the book has not appeared an hour too soon4 4 4 4 ,it is bound to be of immense service to ,irish students1 especially those preparing for a missionary life in foreign countries4 4 4 4 ,i take the responsibility of highly recommending ,father ,phelan's book to those for whose instruction and efficiency the work has been written4--,the ,author of ,innisfail in ,sydney ,freeman's ,journal4 ,father ,phelan is a model of the ideas he advocates4 ,his ,english is pure without being dull for a moment4 ,he exemplifies his theories4 ,if you are a preacher1 or wish to be1 if you are teaching rhetoric or learning rhetoric1 if you are a seminarian or a friend of a seminarian1 get this book for yourself or your friend4--,american ,messenger4 ,those who know ,father ,phelan as a preacher will not require to be told that his book is simple1 solid1 and practical1 and that his method of exposition is lucid1 homely1 and vigorous4 ,purely literary effort has been no aim of the writer1 and yet it would be hard to name a recent book which can be read with greater pleasure1 for the charm of its style alone4 ,the expression is cut down to the last necessary word1 but every necessary word is there2 every idea is expressed simply1 but adequately1 and with the finish and lustre of the diamond4 4 4 4 ,it would be interesting to the reader and a pleasure to the writer to quote from ,father ,phelan's work some of the many magnificent passages1 but the book is so beautifully knit together1 ideas follow each other in such logical sequence1 that no selection could give an adequate impression of the work4 ,but with an easy conscience ,i can recommend every clerical student1 every young priest1 and for that matter1 old priests too1 to procure a copy1 confident that any reader who takes it up will read it through1 as ,i have done1 before laying it down1 and feel the better for having done so4-- ,ibh ,maine in ,the ,leader4 ,the ,rev4 ,m4 ,j4 ,phelan1 ,s4,j41 says much that is sensible in his little volume4 ,we are glad that he denounces 'the signal folly of attempting to engraft an imported accent on his own native one1 which is sometimes done by the ,irish priest in ,england with deplorable results4 ,it is a useful little book1 well printed and neatly bound4--7,english7 ,catholic ,book ,notes4 ,the title of a clerical vade-mecum is scarcely too ambitious a one to give to ',the ,young ,priest's ,keepsake'2 a work which cannot but be regarded by all whose good fortune it will be to read it1 as one of the most admirable works dealing with clerical life that has appeared in ,ireland for many a day4 ,the author1 ,rev4 ,m4 ,j4 ,phelan1 ,s4,j41 bases his claim for a hearing upon a long experience as missionary priest1 and upon the possession of ordinary powers of observation4 ,those who know ,father ,phelan rate his claims much higher4 ,his fame as a preacher is spread throughout the length and breadth of ,ireland4 ,his wide and varied learning1 his acute powers of observation1 his keen sense of humour and sound practical judgment are common topics of conversation amongst a wide circle of friends4 ,the fine flower and fruit ripened by constant study and wide experience are modestly displayed in this little book4--,irish ,independent4 ,the ecclesiastical student who takes up ',the ,young ,priest's ,keepsake' will quickly realise that he has not only fallen in with a wise mentor but a cordially kind friend1 to say nothing of a charming writer4 ,the way is marked out for him by one who has trodden it1 and who1 as we can gather1 from the evident culture and literary grace of his pages and his renown as a preacher of missions1 has been no laggard in those studies which he so earnestly recommends to young priests and ecclesiastical students4 4 4 4 ,if ,father ,phelan's lessons were taken to heart by the coming race of priests we1 or at least our children1 would behold the ,catholic pulpit transformed into a mighty living force4 ,at present it is far from being that4 ,it is in this country the weakest part of the great redeeming machinery of the church1 and it should be so strong and effective4 4 4 4 ,the book is brilliantly written1 and1 as ,father ,phelan maintains his position in no mamby-pamby or apologetic fashion1 the reader is treated to some very lively passages4--,the ,tribune 7,melbourne74 ,in this little work from the pen of ,father ,phelan1 ,s4,j41 those who are in course of preparation for the high calling of the sacred ministry will find some advice worthy of serious consideration4 4 4 4 ,it is an age of 'experts'2 as an 'expert' of undoubted merit in the sphere of missionary work ,father ,phelan well may claim the right of giving authoritative advice to those aspiring to that field of labour in which his own efforts have been crowned with such signal success4 4 4 4 ,were the revered author not1 in fact what he is1 a ,jesuit missionary of acknowledged excellence and wide fame1 the value of his advice would be none the less evident on a thoughtful perusal of his book4 4 4 4 ,even a mere casual reading would send the young student away with a clear realization of the steps he must take to secure that in his mind or personality there shall be nothing to make any man1 however critical1 however captious1 think less of that ,living ,word whose mouthpiece it will be his lot in life to be4 4 4 4 ,he has done well and very well in trying to make it easy for future workers in the same field to do justice to their sacred calling and to themselves4--,cork ,examiner4 ,he knows what he is talking about1 and he speaks with a first-hand knowledge of what is required by young priests coming to ,australia4--,catholic ,press 7,sydney74 ,amongst the many qualifications which the author has brought to his delicate task1 not the least are his earnestness and his enthusiasm for his subject4 ,these qualities are responsible for some of the best features of the book4 ,they have given it its thoroughly constructive character and tempered even its severest criticisms4 ,the greater part of the book is devoted to sacred eloquence4 ,here1 of course1 the writer speaks with the authority of a master4 ,he will deserve the gratitude of many a young preacher for having given to the world the benefit of his own experience in an art which he has made so completely his own4 ,in the chapter on elocution he lays down excellent principles for the delivery of sermons and suggests means of curing the most common defects that mar pulpit oratory4 ,finally1 he gives elaborate hints on the best means of composing sermons4 ,for instance1 the sermon writer is advised to seize without delay1 and commit to writing1 a brilliant thought no matter how unseasonable the time at which it presents itself4 ,when a train of thought is allowed to go by it either never returns or returns like the ,sybil with diminished treasure4 ,this is but one grain of the practical wisdom which is scattered so liberally through the pages of ',the ,young ,priest's ,keepsake'4--,mungret ,annual4 ,a very thoughtful and eloquent book4 ,no better book of its kind could be in the hands of young priests who are at the beginning of life's work4 ,its table of contents shows the subjects which find a place in its pages4 ,under each of these headings ,father ,phelan gives much useful information and adds a charm to the knowledge which he imparts by the apt illustrations with which he adorns it4--,theological ,quarterly4 ,this book is sure to be read with keen interest by a great many young priests and priests no longer young2 and it is not likely to drop out of use after a few months4 ,father ,phelan speaks from wide1 practical experience1 and he develops his views with clearness and earnestness1 and with many fresh and vivid illustrations4 ,we would be surprised to hear that any priest young or old taking up ',the ,young ,priest's ,keepsake' and turning over the pages1 at ,no4 #ej ,upper ,o',connell ,street1 laid it down and went out without arranging to have it sent after him4-- ,irish ,monthly4 ,it is well known that ,father ,phelan is an authority on the subject of pulpit eloquence1 for he is himself one of the most eloquent preachers of the ,jesuit ,order1 and his profound eloquence and ripe scholarship are only equalled by his deep knowledge of human nature4 4 4 4 ,the theological students and others who wish to acquire the art of speaking to the heart1 and preachers who realize that they themselves are becoming stale and commonplace1 cannot do better than read and inwardly digest this beautiful work4--,galway ,express4 ',the ,young ,priest's ,keepsake' seems to us an exceedingly practical and commonsense work4 ,when we have said this much we have said no more of ,father ,phelan's book than it deserves4 ,the volume has been admirably produced by ,messrs4 ,m4 ,h4 ,gill ,son1 on ,irish paper1 with ,irish ink1 and bears the imprimatur of the ,irish trade mark4 ,we hope it will have the wide circulation it deserves4--,irish ,catholic4 ,the ,rev ,m4 ,j4 ,phelan1 ,s4,j41 gives youthful clerics the benefit of his personal experience as a student in ecclesiastical colleges1 and a missionary for almost a quarter of a century in ,australia and ,ireland4 ,the volume has a chapter on culture1 one on ,english1 three on sermons1 and a final one on elocution4 ,they are all suggestive1 and some of them will prove not unprofitable to priests who can no longer be called young4--,ave ,maria4