The Emporia news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1859-1881, 1860-12-08
NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. PAEACHTNG


The people prefer it. They Ike man to
look them full IN the face. and address them
boldly from The heart, not the manuscript
The electric preachers have all spoken ex-
tempo,e. Wesley, White6eId. Spurseon,
Beecher. the Catholic preachers. the Meth
odist, the preachers who have produced tie
greatest impression and The widest and long.
est, have all looked straight into the eye oil
the people, and given them sermons hot and
fresh from their own souls. y
Il Is better for the preacher. The man
who writes his sermons is the slave of the
desk. A sermon Of an hours length fills
thirty or forty pages Of foolscap, equal to
four or five of these columns. A preacher
requires usually two such sermons week
sometimes three. The best portion of every
day, therefore, must be given up to the mere
manual labor of accommodating new knoledge
for the enrichment of his own mind and
the minds of his hearers; the preacher is
polishing up sentences aad rounding off par
agraphs, when he ought to be out in the
world enjoying nature. observing life, gath
ering new illustrations, charging his exper
fences. and expanding his chest; he is a
prisoner in his library porting over musty
books, looking to books and deped,ng upon
hooks for inspiration. 1t lie not book men
that move the masses. Books are good, are
indispensable. but there is such thing as
besotted with books. Dull preachers often
are.
D OF all toll done by man on this earth. lit
erary composition is the most exhausting.
This is the reason why so many preachers
lose their health and their lives in voca-
ton which, rightfuIly persued, is most ia
vorable to longevity. They think it is the
delivery of the sermon which kills them, be-
cause their bodily weakness takes the form OF
sore throat. On the contrary. it is the
writiseg that does the buisness-the six or
eight hours OF daily bending over the desk.
This is what reduced Edwards to q listless
skeleton, and that sent Charming to his ac-
count before his time. This is what fills
steamers with pallid pastors, and makes
clergyman and dyspeptic synonymous terms.
Many a man can preach two admirable ser
mons every week. and grow fat on it; scarce
any man can aCrite two even tolerable ones.
without wearing himself out. Ten or IF
teen pages day of superior. thoughtful
compositiou-composi that is to be lis
tened to by people who read Dickens. ITv-
ing. Thackeray. Carlyle, Macaulay, Ever
etI, all the week-can not be produced by
any living man, unless he distills. his hearts
blood into sentences. and converts into par
agraphs the very substance of his brains.
Il is q fact. too, that reading is far more
fatiguing than speaking. Take a hook and
rea aloud for an hour. and You will BE- tir-
ed Speak for an hour in animated. earn
est manner, and you will find yourselfeeer-
ed and ref.sshed. Il acts upon the body ike
wine. sometimes. Men there are who have
addressed great assemblies two or three
times every day for weeks. without once be-
ing painfully faigued-
Nor is it dificlt 10 learn the art of extem-
poraaeous speaking. Il Is easier 20 learn 10
speak veil than 70 write sell Great speak
ing. as We have before remarked. is the ming
led .5v-rasw OF iull mind and full heas a.
Fhorough siady of the subject. sincere
insere-t in Il. and little practice, will en-
able most men to address an audience so
As TO command and retain. lis attention.
There Is no donbt that preaching will be
one OF the yoaations practised among men
20 the end OF tins. Il j. natural. it is de
sirahie, is i necessary sshas fhss viss and
good ahoaId % shis way bring themselves