Morning journal and courier., 1884-01-25
Friday. January 25. 1884.
Imagination in Sermons.

ImagiuatiOn in Sermons. What pr. Burton, of Hartford, Hea to
 Say Upon the Subject-HOw Young
 Preachers Can Draw From Nature
 Materials For Their Sermons.
 The fifth lecture in the Lyman Beecher course was delivered yesterday afternoon be- fore small audience at Marquand chapel by Rev. Dr. Burton, of Hartford. He an nonnced as bis theme imagination in ser mons At the preceding lecture he spoke of imagination in theology. He said in sub stance: In organizing the materials of ser mon the minister goes through mental ope- ration like that of the painter whom he paints a landscape. He has all his materials in mind. We will say for example that he is to paint sunset in the Adirondack region. He brings to mind the lay of the land, forest features from one place, touch of water from another, and so on with all the features of his painting. He combines all these, not as they are to be found in any one place, but as they exist in nature, and sheds through all indi ividual feeling from the heart. The vari- ous constituent Iartieulars come together i'm asinatively. In order to do this we must see them, must remember them emotionally, loV- ingly. We must combine the beautiful re- msmbrances in such a way that the picture shall be natural after the precise manner of nature, just as nature would have made it if she had happened to think of it. Nature is the silent rhetoric of God; his prac- tical testimony as to what he likes, and the best art reproduces his style. How does the painter get bis divine combination? He needs more than the mechanical intellect and reason, he needs imagination. Nobody knows how he combines. Somehow he has power to create pictures that are not bias 1 phemies against nature and therefore are pictures The act is complex, and the painter I must grind part with part, turning the whole into one harmonious picture.
 Now the sermon in it's highest idea is 8 l work of art, if there ever was one. There need be no thought of art in the minister's | mind. Yet his sermon will be not merely truthful, it will be artistic and will have the effect of picture. Every item fashions with every item with which it is related.
 will now speak of the language of imag ination and imagination as related to the use of language. Words wers originally formed to initiate various natural phenom- ena, or were fitted in some way to express those phenomena. Then words were used to express mental states and acts. And it was found that the words that expressed certain physical things were best fitted to ex press the mental acts If words are fitted to describe both physioals and inmate riRls, it is because there is some subtle sinnili
 tude between those physicals and immaterials Men forget their original meanings. In re- \ gard to this view I make two observations. First, words seem to have an instinct of l their origin because each word seems to re- l fuse to be applied to supersensible | objects not fitted to them. There js fine persistency in words which ! makes them refuse to be misapplied l Second, it Is the privilege of every man to | enter into the secret of the primary signif | canoe of word and to use it in its original l things when you bring them back to things l All language is so many words plus the l things. Few can hear the deep, primeval l undertone of words or taste their ground
 flavor. But where man does appreciate
 and know the meaning of words and uses l them in that way, even the most ignorant
 know that something is going on. Why are
 old sermons so unsuitable! You ono, . preached them with telling effect. Thert 1 they are in all their original grandeur, bu
 something has happened to the preacher. H.
 has lost his connection with his words. TheJ
 are not his own any more. The only way tC
 make an old sermon do good service Is to pu
 it through process of regestation so that il
 shall enter again into it's mothers womb anG
 be born.
 Cresds and itureies are well enough, but
 reiteration causes them to lose their vigol
 and even their meaning. Still they will live
 for the sake of the sound of them if fol l no fFan
 nent damage in the heat of debate. They
 will survive. Phrases may be refashioned as
 to pro sincialand conventional forms.
 Another service which imagination may
 render is her prolific contribution of images | and imageries drawn from human life apd
 nature. This is dangerous if We are SO de lighted with them that we use them for theil
 own sake. But if we just turn all our de- l vices in upon the ends of God it is innocent i In what rich way imagination works up the
 homely things of earth. Life is full of things | not gross, but common or homely which we
 may use friend once said to me on cominc l out of lecture: "- had hay on his horns
 to day" common expression but how much l more expressive than to have said that -
 was cumulative. Such imagery is pictorial
 You can see the animal plunging her horns 1 into the unresisting hay. Dr. Burton quoted | at length from Dr. Browns description ot his dog Rab, showing the power of vigorous perception, the imaginative use of homely 1 similies. = Preachers have as much right to nature AS poets have. The great poets are on serious
 business and go at it in a grave way. 1 Nature is grave. We can gel
 her repose. A really restless diction
 is not possible to one who com munes with nature. We can also get from \ nature rhetorical truthfulness and reality.
 and naturalness. The man who studies na-
 ture is also sure to be realistic and acceptable 1 when called upon to move out into the super
 natural. Suppose a dramatist introduces a
 supernatural character. into his drama l That character must act and sneak | ln the style of human nature else human
 readers will reject him. There must be a l congruity between the natural and super-
 natural to be acceptable to good taste.
 | We may also diversity our expression and
 make it pithy and rich from nature. There is variety, beauty, viVidness and celestial pith in naturalistic diction. Dr. Burton il- 1 lustrated this point by referring to Dr. Browns Rab again and also to Hamlets so- l ilcquy on Yorick's skull He pleaded for yer satility of diction, and enforced his claim bv l selections from Carlyle's writings. He said there was danger of being too profuse in the l use of fine language. That can be avoided by having high practical end to which we are busting. Tennysen does not lack fine l imageries yet he is simple and clear. So was John Henry Newman, yet how chastened his every expression. Jeremy Taylor was not so seIf-restrained. Dr. Bushnell would have helped the world to understand them If he had been less prefuse in his use of inn agerles. That is the peril of affluence. West Haven.
 The West Haven Union Temperance soci : sty will hold their regular monthly meeting
 next Sunday evening" January 27th at !