New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1893-05-01
SELECTIONS FROM THE MAIL
BISHOP BROOKS AND SURGEON.
CAN THE GENIUS OF THE ONE BE DEFINED BY
THAT OF THE oTHEEl


THAT OF THE OTHEEl
TO III" Editor Of The TRIBUNE.
Sir In the current issue Of the Treasury the'e
appear two paragraph, taken rom President
Ihwings article IN thc March number OF ihe "e''""
OF Reviews under The title "rhillp' BROOKS co'.
pared WITH Fec cher and Spurgoon In WHICH 'he io'
towing words occur He Il. G. Bishop brooH'' "'"
none OF the commonpacedness OF Mr. spureeoh' Al"
| he also lacked tina, tremendous following WHO"
>plreeon has Lad all these years. opurscoh Lac
large executive functions. and about his Tabernacle
| still cluster many and divers educational a:n
ecclesiastical agencies. Phillips BROOKS was E'sl
ara foremost preacher. Sturgeon was ha''oNN
and strictly orthodox. The orthodoxy OF PhlllpS
Brooks was broad" Upon these sentences with your
| courteous permission. would make one or Two OBJ
scIvaons, one who knew Sturgeon y, rsonally ana
graduated from bis college In l--i.
In dong this lei say that heartily indOrse the
Presidents culOgy OF the deceased prcote, WHOSE
high personal character, flowing cloQuence. ana mas
| nifccnt presence were appreciated BY all sect' OF
Christians on both Sides Of the Atlantic. But why
are the above words entitled comparison ana moi
a cOntrasti comparison Of men j. an attempt 10
show wherein they agree, whereas the whole para
graph abors to show that these men differed widely
| the poles II the writer meant to produce CON
iras he surely might have found a more STRIKING
one nearer home. II Is perhaps pity mat Tue
proportions Of one great man cannot be pr''ch'eu
without attempt TO belittle another. Aside from
that are 10 understand thnt the salient features
Of Mr. spurgeons greatness. according TO the cnlisht
cned judgment OF President Thwlng are common
paccdness." executive functions and narrow ana
strict orthodoxyi7 Assuming the commonpaced'
ness IS It hard u account the enthusiastic
admiration. expressed In many ways OF such men a.
John Ruskin, W. T.. Gladstone, the late Canon LID
dom Lord slaftcsbury the present Bishop Of RocleS
ter Canon Fleming. not TO mention a host Of the
greatest names both In England and America oI
Mr.. Surgeons sermons $1,000 copies at least were
sold every week for many years: thirty nine yearly
volumes have been Published with enormous sale
ard have translated into "cvcry language spoken
by Christians" to quote the late ,achcr, own words
If the world thus indorscs the place. what
reception may not anticipate for the extraordinary
and the uniquel The first volume of sermons was
published In 1870, when he was twenty years ana
six months old. They neither written nor re-
vised: they were submitted 10 Tie public from the
reporters nc eS with all their lnpcrf"con' on their
heads" and yet Inspection Of them Will reveal To
less acute mind than that Of DR.. 1hwne several oil
the sources Of the Just popularity Of the preacher
via % immense intellectual power; 81 de'l
spirituality CD remarkable experimental insight.
and a. an astonishing amount Of theological AMI
general kncwcdgc which furnished III" accessories
Ct genuine deep and magnetic eloqucncc unnvallrd
by any preacher OF his Year, In any country In III"
world In MS
1t Is true that Sturgeon had large executive fnnc
tons, hc founded the Pastors COLLEGE and III"
>tockNc Orphanage." From the former upward oil
500 ministers and missionaries have gone 10 every
part Of the British Empire, and In England and AUS
tralia they hold many Of the leading and most ho,
orcd Iulpiis In the denomination. They Law" Oh
tanned degree, from every British university. t'N
contrbnir current Theological literature. they AZ"
prof ,>or, I'm colcg",-and all gndly boar witness
that they haV" received an Inspiration ANA an Ell
thusiasm from >purgron which often come from great
genius hut never from ccnnonpI"c''n''s or mere
",N.cufiNc" ability.
The third in this trinity Of alleged -pure"onic char
acierisicS t. hls aud strict orthodoxy.
What / would ask Dr. Thwing. 1, o-thodoNyi Would
he allow CARLYLE to reply my doXy against Your
doNy~l Calyiu-m or hyper Calyiui,m would p"rlap.
be- considered criterion OF II IN IL Mario" ana
strict form. n h" followed any school he was
perhaps 4 disciple Of Andrew Fuller. and Fuller wa.
a moderate Caitini-t or. all god 'Ilvnl,is would
urge. ~" tnlNiui-t at all. II ,paC" permitted 'ouu
from the first ,olum" of his "rmon- when 1t" was. u
ever. ana III his View IN MS d"
years doubt. Mr. >purg"on gave ulirranf" !" W"Iu'
which. without - knowledge 81 the Circumstances al
tending their u''"ranc" might Ice regarded bl '"pT
fetal observer Il, narrowly orthodox. hut the ll,-
torilu who seeks the impartial ard infial d"iin'al"
Of the great preacher, plnc" IN h> generation VIII
refuse ludg" hin 10y statement, forced from NM
lev heated cnniroNrr~y. often conducted r. lu'tnniN
from n sc', room under conditions Of extreme weak
and pain. =, long ! N"niur" r"-prciiuhN 70
submit ~ the Ian Of -ah" -"ar', 81 Mhi"h ana
Of \dd- sol has syiy for ~" vast populations nl
fine Anglo saxon rae" in East and West 20 long VIII
tli. >"r.or, 81 that preacher surNiN'. WAoSr great
ness no competent contemporary lae Gu'sii"h'd ana
whose Immortality "uncA pocird Ph"nomrnn OF ~"
fIitirr7 viii uurnch. FRANCS Il. BAIEMAN,
Pastor Trinity Baptist Church
New York hpril -. I'JJ