The anti-monopolist. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1874-1878, 1875-07-19
THE SERMON TRADE.
From the London Saturday Review.

IRON the London Saturday Revlew.1
The lrrepressible sermon question has
once more broken out. and the comments
which have been made upon it reveal the
difficulty of getting any hearing for the
sense. Young clergymen, it appears, are
in the habit of buying manuscript o,
Autographed sermons and preaching them
as their own. The dealers in this com-
modify use their power, it is further said,
to extort money from their victims.
When a man has once bought such arti.
cles, he is threatened with exposure if he
does not continue to subscribe; and there
are some c%lergymen, it is added, weak
enough to give in to such threats. Upon
all which there are two or three obvious
remarks. A man who buys a sermon
and tries to pass it of for his own is
guilty Of a dishonorable action, and de-
serves a certain amount of inconvenience.
The practice ought, il possible, to be put
down; though it is so easy to conceal it
that its complete suppression is not very
likely to take place. As for the supposed
extortion, We can only say that it is an
interesting illustration of the want Of
worldly wisdom characteristic Of a GER
tain part Of the clergy. We will not say
that q man who is p~oor-spirited enough
to submit to such bullying deserves what
he gets; but we must agree that he is
one of those feeble creatures who are
pretty sure to come to grief, in one way
or other, in . world full of cheats and
extortioners. We should be very glad
to hear that one of the scoundrels who
carry on such practices was caught and
punished; but we would hope that the
extent of this particular roguery was
over-estimated.
The further question is OF course
raised, how the system of sermon-writing
is to be put upon a better footingi Why
are the clergy-or some of them-forced
to such unworthy expedients! The diff.
Guilty is not to answer such a question,
but to imagine why anybody should ask
it. Let US endeavor TO obtain some kind
of measure of the literary value of the or.
binary Anybody who desires to
know what is within the power Of the Az.
erage clergyman may take up one of the
inferior magazines and read one Of the ar.
ticles which serve for padding" lie will
probably admit that it has neither style
nor thought. and that, in short, it is the
kind Of stuff Of which . clever man might
pour out an indefinite supply withou,
preparation, and which is useful 1t most
to beguile : dull ten minutes waiting for I
train. Yet We must remember that the
article has been written by some one who
probably makes or ekes out . living by it
and who has very strong motives, if moi
for doing his BEST At least for keeping NJ
to . certain mark necessary to secure reg
ular employment. 1t has very probably
cost the author . good deal Of pans and
polish, and represents his most seriou,
work, not the occupation of his spar,
hours. The author, moreover, has had
the choice of wide range Of subjects, and
has hit upon that which he thinks likely
TO be popular at the moment. He is no,
restrained by any severe sense Of deco.
rum, and can use IS freely IS possible any
telling illustrations which occur to him
Moreover, if editors speak the truth. they
probably receive 1t least . score Of SINH
lar articles for every me that they pub
lish. The author, then is, is in som
sense . picked MAJ, and possesses power,
Of writing which. however small their in
trinsic value. are distinctly above the ~.
ersge. And yet the oniv -esuit is the
production Of . stuff which runs through
the reader mind without making any
definite impression. He will no more re
membe- it q week after reading it than b.
| will remember the peculiar favor Of ar
ordinary mutton-chop . year after III
consumption.
Now, the majority Of the young clergy
who enlighten u week by week are
necessarily Of this caliber. not of the
writer's Of such articles, but Of the
writer's OF such articles or perhaps rather
Of those who do not even asp n 70 write
articles They have no literary taste
whatever. and. but for the ~compulsion oil
their profession, xould NO more writs
sermons than they woald indulge in q.
rebate performances before their conge.
gaticas Thsy hays T. vTits sPen ssh-
IL