The Helena independent., 1893-09-04
.0RATORY IN THE PULPIT
How Some Of the Country's Great
Divinss Prepare Their Best
Sermons
The Rev. DE- Greer Says That
Writing Serves to 6timu-
late Thought.
Archbishop Corsigan's Simple Style
Flashes Of Inspiratioa-R Rsv. DIR.
Talmadgs and Mr.. Bssuhsr.
Especial Correspondence,1 I


Especial Correspondence.1
NEW York, Aug. 28.-Probably the lar
gest audience that has been gathered in n
public building this year to listen to an ad-
dress, with the exception of the occasion
at Chicago Of the opening exercises Of the
Worlds fair, was that which conRregated
in the marble cathedral in which the arch
bishop of the diocese Of New York performed
public religious offices on the day when
Mgr. Satolli celebrated pontifical mass in
that beautiful ediflce.
The building Is capable of containing be-
tween 5000 and 1000 persons, and as it was
packed so that hundreds were compelled to
remain upon the broad steps leading to the
portals Of the cathedral it is probable that AS
many as $500 persons were gathered there
upon that day. The address was delivered
by Archbishop Corrigan. No one who saw
him ut the time of the delivery would have
realized with what excessive care and pa
tient scrutiny of each word he had prepared
this address. Archbishop Corrigan has not
SO great a rppute as u pulpit orator as have
some of the priests of his diocese, but on
the first Sunday of every month when he
delivers sermon the cathedral is always
crowded. The archbishop is the most pa
tient in the preparation of his sermons of
any of the distinguished clergymen in the
United States, and in q recent conversation
with the writer his private secretary, Rev.
Father Connolly, explained the manner in
which these pulpit addresses were prepared.
1t differs so greatly from the methods
adopted by nearly all of the great pulpit
orators that it may be interesting to de-
scribe it,
The sermon or address is really written
mentally at odd moments and without the
use of pen or paper When the archbishop
is on his way to some of his many meetings
as director of the diocese, he turns over in
his mind, having selected his text, the
thoughts of which the text is to be the
chief suggestion. He digests the subject
thus mentally Occasionally he takes down
a book from his Shelf reads passage and
stores that up in his mind. When lie has a
moment to spare, he refers to an authority.
A few days before the address is to be de
livered the archbishop, having the address
pretty carefully mapped out in his mind,
dictates it to his stenographer. He speak s
slowly, frequently changing word after
he has uttered it, sometimes two or three
times. When the dictation is finished, it is
typewriter, and the archbishop goes over
this manuscript, weighing each word, striv-
ing to avoid all rhetorical flourish, aiming
only to get the thought which he desires to
express so lucidly set forth that it will be
understood by the humblest Of his hearers,
His idea of sermon is that it should be
weighty in thought, but simplicity and
clearness itself. =
So it happens when he returns this manu-
script to his secretary it is very often filled
with interlineations, all in the direction of
greater simplicity and lucidity of expires
sion. It is then rewritten, and the arch
bishop, having this corrected copy, reads it
over once or twice, and by that simple act
it is memorized SO perfectly that he is able
to deliver it without single glance at the
manuscript. Each address is really the
work Of a month, and the sermons of the
archbishop are regarded as models of sim
plicity and clearness, although they are alb.
s0lutely free from what are called the -four
ishes of rhetoric.
The Rev. DR.. Greer, who is esteemed b;
many the most polished and attractive pull.
pit orator in the Episcopal denomination,
writes his own sermons out, finding that
the manual labor entailed by the act OF
writing stimulates his thought. Some
times he cannot write so fast as his thoughts
, come. The act of writing fixes the sermon
in his mind, so that, although he usually
puts the manuscript before him when he is
in the pulpit, nevertheless he repeats page
after page of it with scarcely more than &
glance at his notes.
DR.. Talmage dictates his sermons to &
stenographer, has them typewriter and
memories them with perfect ease, but he
is quite apt to be possessed by some new
method of treatment while he is upon the
platform and will add this thought to tn,
sermon as it was dictated, doing it witt
such perfect mastery of the art Of rhetoric
that it seems to his hearers as though thi
thought must have been the one upol
which he spent the most time developing
Phillips Brooks, esteemed by many tn,
greatest pulpit orator in America as lont
as he lived, spoke almost entirely withou
notes and more nearly extemporaneousl,
than any other preacher, excepting possibl,
MI Beecher. Bishop Brooks once said tt
the writer that he prepared his sermon
usually without writing word. He select
ed the topic and pitched upon the tex
which would exemplify it and then gav
himself up to very careful mental study
sitting frequently in his chair for an hou
or two, with his eyes closed perhaps, or
ranging the line Of thought, developing th,
argument and recalling the Scriptural quo
tations which would be of advantage
Sometimes he jotted down the heads Of tn,
various subdivisions upon bit of paper III
larger than his hand, but that was all il
the way of writing that he did for the mos
part, Thus prepared he was able to preach
| speaking with that terrific speed whicl
was the terror of stenographers, neve
stumbling, never going back to correct
word or an expression.
| Mr.. Beecher was once asked when an,
| how he prepared his sermons, and he re
piled that he was preparing them all tn
time. He got an incident here and sug
gestion there. He thought them out upol
the street cars or while riding, but he yer.
rarely touched pen to paper until few
hours before the hour for the delivery o
/ the sermon. Frequently after he entere,
/ the pul pit suggestion came to him, like
flash of inspiration, for n different treat
ment from that which he had contemplated
and sweeping his manuscript away he wa
/ quite likely to deliver a sermon whicl
would reveal him ut his best.
i. j. EDWARDS.