New-York tribune., 1905-08-20
THE ROYAL LIMIT FOR SERMONS

r--,rsror William differs from Bishop Potter
.-or ,Ne question Of the length of sermons.
IT, whereas the Bishop recently. in discourse
,.,,,.o-o5 in the crypt Of the new Cathedral OF
- ,obr ,be Divine, insisted that clergyman
A,.,,,a never preach for more than twenty min
- .,a kaiser shortly after his accession to
=, ,hrone issued strict commands to his court
,ai,s that they should limit their sermons to
-, minutes BY many this act is. regarded as
:, ,he wisest measures of his reign and as
,4,s contributed in no small degree to the
ay.-sordinary revival Of religious sentiment
.hrougbout his dominions which has signalized
tis tenure OF the crown. The Lutheran clergy
=, large have taken their cue from the chaplains
q, court ana brief sermons have become the
rr,le instead OF the exception. throughout Prus-
sia. with the result that churchgong on Sunday
has become much more universal than in any OF
the previous reiEns.
Certain II Is that q ten minute sermon is far
more effective and beneficial than one Of thirty.
forty or even sixty minutes. Emperor William
takes the ground that il forces the preacher TO
be concise and to concentrate All that is best
and strongest in his argument into that brief
period, instead Of scattering IL over much
longer stretch of time. a process naturally cal
euIated 10 diminish its vigor and its force.
Bishop Potter. basing his remarks on his own
experience and on the recommendation given
10 young curate by the late William f. Glad
stone. declares that after the lapse of twenty
minutes the thoughts Of the congregation are
bound 10 wander. and that. while they may sub
seouently return. it Is almost impossible for 4
preacher 10 hold the attention of his listeners
continuously beyond twenty minutes
Long sermons were all very well in medieval
times. when the clergy may he said to have
enjoyed the monopoly Of learning, and when
the preacher ayaied himself Of the opportunity
to teach TO his congregation things Of which
they would otherwise have remained ignorant
But to-day a fair proportion Of the laymen who
I'll the church are in every respect the equal Of
their pastor in point Of science and book lore,
while they are generally his superiors in point
Of knowledge and experience Of the world The
sermon has therefore to a considerable extent
lost its raison d'etre, and Is often calculated 10
exasperate and irritate the listeners rather than
70 appeal TO their best feelings. Even the most
religious and God fearing men cannot help re-
senting the necessity Of maintaining silence
when they hear some youthful preacher making
from the pulpit statement which they know
10 be erroneous. They long to take up the
argument. 10 talk back. 10 discuss matters and
70 show the priest the error of his ways. But
they cannot They have to remain seated and
10 keep their mouths closed, no matter how
r ch they may fume and fret about the sub
3ect. And when this continues Sunday after
Sunday it gradually commences to dawn on
them that church attendance such as this IS
more conducive TO irreligion and 10 anger than
70 piety and peace. and accordingly they stay
a. home.
Perhaps it might be different if we enjoyed
the same means Of freeing our minds in the
course Of the sermon as did George III's sons.
the Dukes of York, Kent and Sussex, and old