Wyandot County Republican. [volume] (Upper Sandusky, Ohio) 1869-1903, 1869-01-07
Fro II Hearth and Home.1
On Preaching Other Mems Ser
mons.
BY REV. ]. P. THOMPSON, DID

BY REV. j. P. THOMPSON, DID
The American pulpit is pledged
against plagiarism as the unpardon-
able sin. A preacher detected in
the use of borrowed sermons loses
caste in the profession, and has
little mercy to hope for from the
press and the public. Even an un-
conscious borrowings when, af-
ter readinga strong and eloquent
writer, one undesignedly appro-
PIRATES and reproduces his thoughts,
his method, his tropes, and illustra-
tions, without servilely copying his
language-is deemed discreditable
in man of sufficient calibre and
education to have thoughts and ex
pressions of his own. "Have you
read Pressence's Jesus Christ %
asked one minister Of another, who
had just preached a sermon upon
the character of Jesus. "No," re
piled the preacher, with a tone and
emphasis that suggested feeling
Of injured innocence. "Why do
you ask p "Ohr' rejoined the
first quickly, 81 saw no trace of
him in your sermon; it wasn't that
at ALL only desired your opinion
of the book" So sensitive are
clergymen of honor and culture to
the fai1test- suspicion Of using the
words or thoughts of others, with
out proper acknowledgment. Even
the unpublished manuscript sermons
adapted to congregations of various
grades, so often advertised in Eng
land, and used by English clergy
men with no suspicion of impro-
priety or fear of disgrace, would
find no market in this country.
All this is most creditable to the
American clergy. It indicates a
high average grade of education
and g nice standard of honor-a
perception Of the becoming which
one has right to look tor in pub
lie teacher of truth.
The Rev. John Angel James, OF
Birmingham, England, once left his
pulpit in charge of a young minister.
who greatly astonished -his-eon'
gregation by preaching sermon
that they had heard from theil
pastor little while before. Com
plant being made to Mr.. James
on his return, of the audacity of his
young substitute, he said it was
clear that one of them had repeated
the other; but he himself was the
offender, for having heard this
preacher with much delight, upor
a certain public occasion, and being
hurried in his preparation for the
following Sabbath, he had repro
duced from memory the discourse
which his young friend had now
visited upon him in his own pulpit
Such an incident in an American
pulpit would have almost proved &
case of ''my double and how he
und1d me- yet it detracted nothing
from the standing of Mr.. James
The young man received credit fol
his cleverness, and Mr.. James fol
his magnanimity, while the affai
passed as an excellent joke. W.
are proud of tone AID STANDARD
among American preachers tina
render the practice of borrowing
sermons unprofessional and dis
creditable.
But while adhering to this stand
ard of clerical and literary honor
may it not still be possible ant
proper for clergymen to use oc
casionally the sermons of Others
for their own relief, and to the ad
vantage of their congregations? I
this is done with an open acknowl
edgment, all offence against homo
is removed; and if done with judg
ment and timely adaptation, nigh
not the reading of borrowed ser
mons give pleasing and usefu
: variety to the preachers, especially
in parishes where opportunities o
hearing strangers are unfrequent?
Not long since one of the mos
popular clergymen of Boston an
nounced to his congregation that h.
would read to them, il course
Liddon's hampton Lectures on tn
Divinity of Christ. This clergyman
was himself capable of presenting
the subject of the lectures eloquent
ly, but he chose to use material pre-
pared with great learning and care
and with special reference to th'
latest phases OF criticism, instead o
culIing from this extracts to enricf
and adorn his own discussion of th'
. theme. He may have felt-as every
one feels who have the care of ;
large parish-the impossibility o
: devoting time and care enough to .
special series of discourses withou
sighting other portions of his work
and so have preferred to use thes'
"Unive, sity sermons" of an accom-
plished scholar and thinker. The
experiment was successful. Th'
sermons were read, at an extr;
weekday service, to crowds o
eager listeners. This example give!
pertinence to the following query o
friend: "Would not country
preachers, or a majority of them
do far more good by occasiona
preaching of sermons by old Eng
lish divines, such as DR.. South.
Would not the preachers gain by
the rest, and the people gain by the
quality ?"
REPORT OF THE CATTLE CoMMIs
s1oNERs.-The report of w. Clenden
in, d Mcmillan, Thomas V. Reber
E. Messenger, and James Stockdale
Commissioners in behalf of tn,
State of Ohio to attend the Cattl
Plague Convention at Springfield