Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1871-02-28
sE EHE VOL. %, NO. 80.


la the course Of an editorial on
editors and Divines," the Baltimore
american says:
"We admit that the press has the
advantage of the pulpit, inasmuch as
however stupid may be its editorials,
it has, or should have, all the stirring
news of the day to compensate for
the dullness of it's utterances. The
pulpit, on the other hand, if it should
not furnish a discourse that is both
interesting and instructive provides
nothing to save the pew from nodding
and winking at the preacher. 1t
would not be in order to take up q
book to read, or to get up and escape
the infection by retreat. The reader
can throw down the newspaper when
it fails to interest him, but the pew
must hold on manfully to the end
and keep awake as best he may.
Human nature cannotstand every.
thing, and which of our readers can
say he has not at times, while listen
ing to dull, monotonous repetition
of Christian truths, that he has heard
better expounded fifty times before,
felt it impossible to resist the inHu-
ence of sleep, and almost jerked his
neck awry in his efforts to keep his
head in steady position? We can
go to place ofamusement and sit three
or four hours in one position without
any feeling of drowsiness, because
the mind is deeply interested, but
one hour of dull and spirtless SER
mon will test the somnolency of the
best Of us. Then again the press,
when it has nothing to say that is
regarded Of sufficient interest to write
about, can fill up its space with Sc
lections from the writings of others.
Rather than publish dull and spirit
less editorials, the intelligent and ex-
perienced editor regards it as much
the wisest course to say nothing edit
orial. And here comes the point
which we wish to make with the
clergy, whether it would not be bet
ter for them, when they feel partic-
ularly dull and stupid, to take book
from their library and read to their
congregations some one of the ele-
quent and very able sermons that can
be found there. The editor who
writes merely to fill up his editorial
space, without regard to the interest
he may impart to his readers, has
mistaken his vocation, and we are
rather inclined to think that the di>
vine who breaches merely to consume
his allotted hour has mistaken bis
calling.
"lf father has q week and sickly
son he is apt to imagine that he can
make minister out of him. He is
sent to college, and an effort is made
to make something out of him that
God never intended. Young men
who are supposed to be good for
nothing else are given the charitable
scholarship in our colleges, in some
cases as an act of charity, and in
others to get off the hands of rela-
tives non-productive member of
the household. Would it not be bet
ter to select young men for the min
istry who have frst-in Bible classes
and Sabbath Schools and Young
Mems Christian Assoclations--shown
some evidence that education will
make them powerful, eloquent and
effective preachers =? If clerical stu
dents were composed Of this class of
young men, we imagine that there
would not be SO many dali discour-
ses inflicted upon the patience Of
those who go to church for something
else than the performance of mere
formal Christian duty"