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Saint Bernard ?
s Seminary
fLIBRARY]
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OR
BY
Copyright, 1(91.
tT E. STEINBACK.
C< lk firm Fr. Puitet ft Co.
PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDIT IOH
X. J. P.
Testificor coram Deo et Jesn Christo
qoi judicatures et vlvoi et
pascer*.
Cowcit, Tain. DS Rzroub
CONTENTS
PAGE
17
CHAPTER. IL
NECESSITY AND OBLIGATION OF DILIGKNT PREPARATION . 37
CHAPTER III.
CHAPTER TV.
PAGB
. 97
CHAPTER VL
THE PROPER TIMK IN WHICH 1O WRIT.-i . . 4
CHAPTER VII.
its
rules
CHAPTER
....
IH. Proposition, its nature and object Division,
advantages, disadvantages, and principal
VIII.
149
....
REFUTATION, SPECIAL APPLICATION
SECTION I. Instruction, its obligation, necessity, and
IL
nature
Explanation of the Christian Doctrine. Clear*
ness the essential quality of instruction-
. . l6z
i6j
VTL
VIII.
and ascetic;
Refutation ....
comparisons,
parables; reason, examples
examples, and
.
244
TO THE PASSIONS,
tB* PATHETIC FART-PERSUASION, APPEAL ^
PERORATION
its nature and necessity .
SECTION I. Persuasion,
H._Appeal to the passions
in him
IIL Certain conditions which are required
*8 5
who appeals to the passions .
to the
TV The order to be observed in appealing
.
. 298
passions
V. The Peroration ; or, conclusion of the discourse.
Examples
3*
CHAPTER X.
3
fclNAL PREPARATION .
j
Careful revision of the written
discourse . 31 /
SECTION I.
CHAPTER XI.
334
gTYUt Of THE PULPIT .
OPINIONS OF DISTINGUISHED ECCLESIASTICS.
Th following are selected from many kind and flattering notices of his
Work with which the author has been honoured :
"Mr DEAR MR. POTTER I wish to thank you for the copy of
your excellent work which you have been so kind as to send me.
seems to me you have succeeded in treating the subject of
"It
"
REV. AND DEAR SIR I beg to thank you for your excellent book
on Sac d Eloquence, which, I hope, will be of much use to our
students for the priesthood. No part of it will be more useful than
that in \. hich you repress the ambition of being eloquent. It has been
well said that Men forget that eloquence resides essentially in toe
14 OPINIONS OF DL /.<rOCSHED ECCLESIASTICS.
thought, and that no langur^e will render eloquent that which is not
so in the simplest words which will convey the meaning. St. Charles
"J
HENRY EDWARD,
ARCHBISHOP or WESTMINSTJUU**
CHAPTER L
INTRODUCTORY.
1
Whately s "
Elements of Rhetoric.
INTRODUCTORY. 13
it astonishes or wounds ;
a voice, in fine, which
does not speak in the name of opinion, which is
variable nor in the name of philosophy, which is
;
f*? 1
HERE are, no doubt, occasions in which a
pastor is so overwhelmed by press of
business, or is called upon so unexpect
edly to preach, that preparation is morally im
possible. In such circumstances, excused by his
necessity before God and man, he has a right to
expect the assistance of heaven and the indulgence
of his hearers. With these exceptions, \ve have no
hesitation in asserting that the pastor of souls is
bound to prepare his discourses carefully, and with
such an amount of diligence as will render them
efficacious to theirend the salvation of his flock.
If he be bound sub gravi to instruct his people,
he must be bound to prepare himself to do so in an
effective and fruitful manner, since there must be
some proportion between the end and the means
It is an incontestablefact that the preacher who
A
sermon which costs the preacher
little to compose, costs the audience a g*-eat deal to
*
listen to, and "
1
Acts, vL 1.
NECESSITY OF DILIGENT PREPARATION. 33
SECTION I.
Style.
The remote preparation for preaching consists in
the employment of certain preparatory means
which are calculated to give us a facility when we
come to the actual work of composition. It would,
36 REMOTE PREPARATION FOR PREACHING.
Subjects :
"
"
He writes passionately,
because he feels keenly,
forcibly, because he conceives vividly he sees too ;
nation, or who
bound by duty, to address his
is
collection^
of good and striking matter: In the/
practice of composition.
SECTION II.
i4
Here I had such or such a point to prove, and this
Is the way I have proved After having thus
it."
his reading.
Sing ye to the Lord a new canticle. Sing to the Lord all the earth.
Sing ye to the Lord and bless his Show forth his salvation from day
naiua. to day.
For the Lord is great and exceed- He is to be feared above all god*
ingly to be praised.
Praise and beauty are before Him. Holiness and majesty in his sanc
tuary.
The
Aaron his poet, Isaiah his country, Judaea.
;
;
be
and remained indelibly stamped. This ch.ld
came a prophet such he was
: born, such he was as
standard," and
judgment, as we have already remarked, the
to this
the "
truth!
One most remarkable things in the late
of the
illustrious and gifted Cardinal Wiseman, and one
which caused most astonishment, was the facility
with which he could, at very short notice, and with
an amount of information and depth of thought
which were truly surprising, lecture upon almost
any given subject, upon any branch of science or
art, sacred or profane. The fact is not so very
wonderful, or, to speak more correctly, it is more
easily understood, if what was related
to us be
* he was ac-
true, viz that from his earliest years
g/ t
58 REMOTE PREPARATION FOR PREACHING.
as he went along, no matter what might be the
subject of his reading, of everything that struck
him as worthy of being remembered. In this
way he collected an immense mass of materials,
which his powerful intellect, his great grasp of
mind, and his command of language, enabled
him to turn to ready account, even on the short
est notice. Of what use this course of studious read-
SECTION IV,
5
06 REMOTE PREPARATION FOR
and raising to the highest degree of perfection
our peculiar and characteristic qualities those ;
SECTION I.
gain my end t
SECTION II.
subject.
men must be content to follow a more
Ordinary
laborious and
circuitous way than this. There are
few men who are sufficiently well up in sacred
science, or whose knowledge is sufficiently fresh
and accurate, to enable them to sit down at once
and compose their sermon, without some previous
revision and reading-up of matter, and such men
must employ the indirect method of meditating and
conceiving their subject.
This method consists in reading, pencil in hand,
some approved writer on the subject which we have
selected to treat. This lecture instructs us on those
points on which we may be ignorant, and refreshes
our memory on those which we had begun to forget.
It awakens and the imagination, excites
fertilises
our zeal, inspires us with conceptions that are full
of life, and sets the spirit of invention in full play.
This course of reading is very different from the
one described preceding chapter. Then, we
in the
read in order to form our style now, we read in
;
SECTION III.
cism !
"
SECTION IV.
Unity t
i
Epis. zvni. t University Preaching.
PROXIMATE PREPARATION FOR PREACHIXG. 87
graces ?
PROXIMATE PREPARATION FOR PREACHING. 93
grace.
Q4 PROXIMATE PREPARATION FOR PREACHINfr.
-p IrrvIL
tion. j
and efficaciously. j
Exhortatic n Prayer.
aspire to effect.
It is scarcely necessary to add that a sermon
does not absolutely require to have tht*:e, or even
two points. If the time be sufficiently employed,
or the subject be sufficiently developed by one
if
arrangement.
This is merely a development of the idea laid
down in the preceding section, viz., that it is
almost impossible to speak with such a prepara
tion, or, more strictly, with such an absence of it,
as was there indicated, without failing in the
104 FJ VE METHODS OF PREPARING A DISCOURSE.
little
labour, painful perhaps and
in the beginning,
a little
diligent care never to speak without such
preparation as becomes the Master whom he serves
and the holy work entrusted to his hand, he will by
degrees, quickly and almost insensibly, acquire tht
habit of speaking well, of preaching the word of
God in dignity and in power without effort and
without labour, except such as that which a right-
minded and conscientious man will ever bestow
upon any work which he undertakes, or is bound to
discharge for God.
Let him neglect to take this necessary trouble, to
undergo this essential labour in the commencement
112 FIVE METHODS OF PREPARING A DISCOURSE.
of his ecclesiastical career, and he will never repair
the injury which he will thus inflict upon the acci
dental glory of God, upon the eternal interests of
his own immortal soul, and the souls of those for
whom he must answer before the judgment-seat i f
Christ. Whe-n disinclination or any human or un
becoming motive may tempt him to omit this
labour, to shirk this, perhaps, painful preparation,
let him think of the dreadful day to come when he
set sermon,"
or formal discourse.
We do not pretend to say that a preacher is
bound, or that it is even desirable, to deliver set
"
SECTION I.
Text.
practical rules :
SECTION II.
humility.
The only safe and general rule that we can ven
ture to give the young preacher on this point is,
never to speak of himself, good or bad, in the pulpit,
and, least of all, to do so in his exordium. do We
not mean to say, of course, that this rule suffers no
exceptions but the circumstances in which he can
;
De Orat., lib. 0.
INTRODUCTION OF THE DISCOURSE. 12?
ject. seldom
It is that a Christian preacher has
any necessity to use this exordium. It is fitly
EXAMPLES.
Simple Exordiums Dr. Newman.
"There are two especial manifestations under
is, it is
"
do here Perhaps
? it was the first act of reason, the
beginning of their real responsibility, the commence
ment of their trial perhaps from that day they may
;
He who whom
reigns in the heavens, and from
all empires spring, to whom belongeth glory, ma
jesty, and independence He alone glories in giving
;
Exordium by Brydayne.
At the sight of an auditory so new to me, me-
"
my breast.
Until now, I have proclaimed the righteousness
"
Eternity 1
Eternity ! These are the subjects upon
which I am come to discourse, and which I ought,
doubtless, to have reserved for you alone. Ah !
"
Here my
eyes fall only upon the great, the rich, the
oppressors of suffering humanity, upon sinners daring
and How
could a preacher address
hardened!"
Exordium by Bossuet. .
-\
"I
was, then, still destined to render this funeral
duty to the most high and most puissant princess,
Henrietta Anne of England. Duchess of Orleans.
She whom I had seen so attentive while I rendered
the same duty to the queen, her mother, was to be,
so soon after, the subject of a similar discourse, and
my sad voice was reserved for this deplorable
ministry. O vanity O nothingness O mortals
! 1 !
and of this tomb, the first and the last worcU of Ec-
clesiastes the one which shows the nothingness
:
SECTION III
Unity."
It flows naturally, and
as a necessary consequence, from what has preceded
it, is expressed in a few words, and must be plain,
We
will now consider, in the first point, the sen
timents of man at the hour of death ;
we will con
sider, in thesecond point, the actions of the saints ;
10^
it
ought to embrace the whole subject, neither more
one part ought not to trench upon another,
less ;
* Lib. iv.
158 INTRODUCTION OF THE DISCOURSE.
EXAMPLES.
What is the end ot man ? (2.) Is man
bound to attain his end ? (3.) By what means if
|(l.)
he to attain it ?
Sin.
...,.<]
effects in regard to God, angels, and men ? (3.)
Its remedies in regard to past and future sin.
INTRODUCTION OF THE DISCOURSE.
Or (BOURDALOUE),
The divine Per (I.) God has an essential dominion over us
fections : Omni which we are bound to acknowledge by a sincere
potence, Sanc oblation of ourselves.
Or,
Death . (I.) certainty of death ought to detach us
The
from things of the world.
all (2. ) The uncertainty
\
To fill us with coumge to sustain the trials of life.
Dispositions.
t Motives 2 Thin g s to be
Prayer. . .
* / ( ->
(3)
( Conditions.
Scandal {
^ Its nature and enormity, (a.) Its punish-
I ment. (3,) Its reparation.
INTRODUCTION OF THE DISCOURSE. C
t
worship her : Invocation and Imiution.
tl
CHAPTER VIII.
V
BODY OF THE DISCOURSE INSTRUCTION, ARGUMEN
TAT1ON, REFUTATION, SPECIAL APPLICATION.
SECTION I.
"
Scribendi recte, SAPERE est principium efforts."*
Ara Poet.
166 BODY OF THE DISCOURSE.
struction ought to form the body, the substance of
the discourse the other qualities, the charm of
;
says Cicero.
The power of pleasing and of moving, t-
jcording
to Quintilian, has no right to be brought forward
D Orat lib. iL
INSTRUCTION. .
167
thoroughly known
their religion, or, having for
Holy Sacraments.
Yes, the preacher persuade himself most inti
let
terit.
SECTION II.
"
Cor. xlv.
l8o BODY OF THE DISCOURSE.
*
we may be Loquendi omntno nulla
understood.
causa, si quod loquimur non intelligunt ii proftef
guos ut intelligant, loquimur*
t
quendum est.^
These principles, which are essentially true as
regards orators in general, become still more prac-
I Cor ffl. .
t Job, sxix. *.
INSTRUCTION. 183
composition. From
the neglect of or inability to
secure precision arises what is known as a loose
style.
When a speaker employs words which are not
recognised as pure English he is said to be guilty
Grammar of Eloquence."
In choosing words and phrases, the following
"
"
* 1
4. A
simple form of expression is to be pre
ferred to a complex one. Accept is better than
accept of, admit* than admit of.
5. In cases of doubt,
"
12.
cially
possible to the word which they are intended to
qualify. Personal pronouns should clearly point
out the noun for which they stand. They should
not be introduced too frequently in the same sen
tence An indiscreet and too frequent repetition
of personal pronouns in a sentence is a source of
great ambiguity. Whenever, on account of sucl
repetition, the noun to which the pronoun refers
may become at all doubtful or obscure, the noun
must be repeated. The relative pronoun should,
instantly and without the least obscurity, present
its antecedent to the mind of the reader or hearer ;
SECTION III.
SECTION
Selection of Arguments.
SECTION V.
Arrangement of Arguments.
14
210 BODY OF THE DISCOURSE.
H<ec
he writes,
ful,"
*
to employ, in the first place,
points,"
the
leave tVe i
vpecial application to the good sense,
the wat~fcto.l zeal, and the ever-growing experience
of the pastor of souls
All that remains to be said on this matter is,
Van Hemel :
"
Precis de Rlitorique Sacrge."
ARGUMENTATION. 215
Maury.
2l6 BODY OF THE DISCOURSE.
SECTION VI.
synonymous terms.
Thirdly, he will amplify in such a manner that
his discourse mav continually increase in force,
that, as it may become more clear,
he advances,
moreajaicoated, more strong and energetic.
Fourthly, he will do welPto lonow the example
of Massillon, who used to imagine that his adver-
ARGUMENTATION. 221
loc t
Topics,"
we now proceed to devote a tew"Wuids to
the consideration of theoe loci, as they are techni
cally called.
does not rsquire many words to prove that the
It
2 Cor. v. 19.
ARGUMENTATION.
ad docendum, ad argu-
divinitus tnsptrafa, utilis est
endum, ad cornpiendum, ad erudiendum in justitia,
ut perfectus sit homo Dei, ad omne opus bonum in-
strucfus."*
fiP~%
/T/
M LIBRARY
226 BODY OF THE DISCOURSE.
Augustine advises,
legerit nostasque habuerit, etsi -non intelleclu, tamen
lectione"* so that he
not miss a single vein of
may
this priceless and inexhaustible mine. He must
study it with a profoundly religious sentiment, as
befits the Word of God, with such a lively faith
as will engrave its most striking passages indelibly
on his mind. He must endeavour to render its
;"
Jesus
Christ," by Pere Saint-Jure ; the "
Love of God,"
Imitation of Christ,"
the "
,-.
The loci communes of rhetoric, or in other words,
Proof s from Reason," may
"
Intrinsic Topics
"
or "
By Circumstances ,
in this rhetorical point of view,
we may consider the place in which any action
occurred, the persons who were concerned in it, with
allthose qualities which might distinguish them,
together with all the incidents which preceded, ac
companied, or followed it. These circumstances,
which are embodied in the well-known verse,
"
Topic
truth or fact by an exposition of causes, primary
or secondary, essential or accidental, and of effects
which, naturally or essentially, flow from them.
Comparisons, when properly employed, are of
the greatest advantage in amplifying and develop
ing a discourse. They must be drawn from objects
well known to our hearers, otherwise, as is evident,
EXAMPLES.
"
>
word, if all die with us, the laws are then a foolish
Look at
that poor profligate in the Gospel, look
at Dives do you think he understood that his
;
rule; how
the grace of God fell on them, and, with
out compulsion, as the historian tells us, the mul
titude became Christian how, when all was
;
SECTION VII.
Refutation.
say to himselt :
"
SECTION VIII.
Ex
tremes to be avoided.
SECTION I.
PERSUASION. 269
SECTION II.
18
J74 THE PATHETIC PART.
the fruit of true and genuine feeling alo \e, and that
%
"A fact,"
ELur.
PERSUASION. 179
"
No words
could give a more lively idea of the
state to which the inhabitants of the besieged city
were reduced, whilst no direct appeal could be so
successful in exciting those feelings of horror which
arise within, in the heart, at the mere recital of this
terrible scene. Again, how powerfully, although
indirectly, the sacred writer appeals to the senti
ment of compassion, in describing the lamentation
of David over Saul and Jonathan,* one of the most
beautiful and touching pieces of composition which
was ever penned. And more strongly still is the
same sentiment excited by the description of David s
sorrow for his unworthy son Absalom. "The king
therefore being much moved, went up to the high-
Chamber over the gate, and wept. And as he went
tie spake in this manner :
My son Absalom,
Absalom my son : who would grant me thai I might
<Iie for thee, Absalom my son, my son Absalom."t
SECTION III.
of his audience.
The
Christian preacher must be an orator, but,
more than that, he must be a man of edifying life
ind a man of prayer. He must be a man of edifying
life, since his audience will not allow themselves
to be truly and efficaciously moved and changed by
the words of one whose conduct is a living and open
contradiction to his preaching. He must be a man
of prayer, because, however much he may labour
and however great his natural talents may be, it is
have
tried," says Cicero,
I all
"
We
aspire," says Quintilian, move others "
to
14
. Si vis meflere, dolendum est
Primum ipsi tibi.
"
Lib. Ti.
a 88 THE PATHETIC PART
must be inflamed
not by cries and excessive gesticulation, but by the
interior warmth and feeling of your soul. They
must spring from the heart rather than from the
mouth. It has been beautifully said that it is the
heart which appeals to the heart, the tongue only
APPEAL TO THE PASSIONS.
let the sun come out and strike us with hii beam
To sit down
compose for the pulpit, with a reso
to
lution to be eloquent is one impediment to per
suasion but to be determined to be earnest is
;
;"
it clothes the
naked, and perhaps uninviting truth in those rich
and beautiful garments of conception and of ex
pression which render it potent to interest, to soften,
and to move. "The fruits of imagination," says
Longinus, animate and give life to a discourse
"
ing God, his saints, the altar, the cross, or the very
walls of the church, to bear witness to the pious
intentions of our audience in fine, in those sighs
;
SECTION IV.
SECTION V.
Uh.vLc.1.
20
306 THE PATHETIC PART.
f
quent KB antes aperire licet.^ It is in these supreme
moments that passion collects, and animates with
itsown sacred fire, those strong, impetuous, and
ardent appeals those brilliant turns of thought
those living expressions those bold figures of
speech those melting images which pour forth,
as were spontaneously, from the llpT of him who
it
me spernit.
Finally, the peroration is most fitly concluded by
a ^hort and fervent prayer addressed to Jesus *.L ,
EXAMPLES.
FINAL PREPARATION.
SECTION I.
which
figures will add to its beauty, many develop
ments which will increase its strength, are certain
to present themselves to his mind, and these, ot
course, must be added. He will also find it most
useful to retouch his sermon after he has delivered
it, since it is in the moment
of delivery that the
have v
." It is essential
to begin by writing as well as possible : facility
wJl arise from habit. No man will ever learn how
to write well by writing quickly but, in learning
;
SECTION II.
Lib, 1.5,
ai
321 FINAL PREPARATION.
of the word.
While, then, a preacher will find it becoming
"
University P
FINAL PREPARATION. 323
:
ntellect, \vhich is at work.
and this is perhaps the most formidable
Lastly,
abjection which can be advanced against
this
in their
memory, and, whether they speak to the
ignorant or the learned, they will not change a single
word. They perceive that their audience do not com
prehend them. No matter; they will give no new
development.no furtherexplanation. Theywillclear
up no point, and present it under different and more
intelligible aspects. They will confine themselves
to repeating the lesson which they have learned."
328 FINAL PREPARATION.
slavery of words
"
may
be absolutely necessary for some time in the com
mencement, and, although much may be done to
modify, if not altogether remove the inconveniences
which result from the system, nevertheless, in view
of these inconveniences and others to which it is
not necessary to make more minute reference, the
young preacher will endeavour, prudently and by
degrees, to free himself from its trammels.
The faculty of memory, under an oratorical
hope Practice
"
of Preaching.
Veritas paieatt ie> itas piac^at% veritas moveat.
STYLE OF THE PULPIT. 335
"Peror?t
?
on" he aims at moving the heart and
influencing the will.
In these pages we have considered at some length,
and developed pretty fully, the action of what is
Body
of the has been devoted almost ex
Discourse"
^;
"
it."
likely,"
master
and model, St. Augustine devoted all the energies
STYLE OF THE PULPIT. 347
tne meaning
1
THE END.
/
3V
1
1
^* ^
POTTER, T.J. BQT
Sacred eloquence. 2959
P6