THE CULTIVATION OF ENGLISH STYLE.

ONE of the incidental requisites for ministerial success is the accurate and refined use of the English tongue. We cannot think that an undue emphasis is laid upon this phase of sermonic preparation and pulpit delivery in our universities and schools of theology. While laying all emphasis upon the weightier matters of the law, without which no ministerial furnishing is ever complete, it is encouraging that our great centers of education are also giving the subject the attention befitting its high importance. The pew should not surpass the pulpit in the correct and facile use of the mother tongue. With college graduates who have entered medicine, the law, or commercial life as auditors in all the churches it behooves the man who ministers to them in holy things that he lag not behind in the quality of his address to them. Though the misfortunes of early life may have prevented his graduation from classic halls, he, nevertheless, has a duty toward these particular auditors; that fortune has less highly favored him is no excuse for any slovenliness or inaccuracy of speech which it is within his power to remedy. The newspaper, also, in its daily circulation, the frequent magazine literature of the day, and the accessible libraries of all our larger villages and cities, to the extent that they act as educators of the common people, are a spur to the ministry of the day to the study and mastery of the English language.

As to the methods in which this most desirable end is to be brought about no invariable rule may, perhaps, be laid down. The circumstances of our ministers so widely differ as to earlier education, present environment, and personal facilities that to formulate any specific direction would be foreign to the present purpose. We may, however, venture the suggestion that the judgment of our best journalists, such as is expressed in the accompanying extract, has its definite value. A veteran editor, known for his terse and vigorous English, gives to young journalists the following advice, which merits the attention of ministers as well, and which, for its illustration of the excellencies to which it exhorts, is deserving of insertion in full:

After a knowledge of the English language comes, of course, in regular order, the practice, the cultivation of the ability to use it, the development of that art which in its latest form we call style, and which distinguishes one writer from another. This style is something of such evanescent, intangible nature that it is difficult to tell in what it consists. I suppose it is in the combination of imagination and humor, with the entire command of the word-resources of the language, all applied together in the construction of sentences. I suppose that is what makes style. It is a very precious gift, but it is not a gift that can always be acquired by practice or by study.

It may be added that certainly in its highest perfection it can never be acquired by practice. I do not believe, for instance, that everybody who should endeavor to acquire such a style as the late Dr. Channing possessed could succeed in doing so. He was a famous writer fifty years ago in Boston, and his style is of the most beautiful and remarkable character. As a specimen of it let me suggest to you his essay on Napoleon Bonaparte. That was, perhaps, the very best of the critical analyses of Napoleon that succeeded to the period of Napoleon worship, which had run all over the world. Channing's style was sweet, pure, and delightful, without having those surprises, those extraordinary felicities, that mark the style of some writers. It was perfectly simple, translucent throughout, without effort, never

leaving you in any doubt as to the idea; and you closed the book with the feeling that you had fallen in with the most sympathetic mind, whose instructions you might sometimes accept or sometimes reject, but whom you could not regard without entire respect and admiration.

Another example of a very beautiful and admirable style which is well worth study is that of Nathaniel Hawthorne. In his writings we are charmed with the new sense and meaning that he seems to give to familiar words. It is like reading a new language to take a chapter of Hawthorne; yet it is perfectly lovely because with all its suggestiveness it is perfectly clear, and when you have done with it you wish you could do it yourself.

The next point to be attended to is this: What books ought you to read? There are some books that are indispensable, a few books. Almost all books have their use, even the silly ones, and an omnivorous reader, if he reads intelligently, need never feel that his time is wasted even when he bestows it on the flimsiest trash that is printed; but there are some books that are absolutely indispensable to the kind of education that we are contemplating, and to the profession that we are considering; and of all these the most indispensable, the most useful, the one whose knowledge is most effective, is the Bible. There is no book from which more valuable lessons can be learned. I am considering it now not as a religious book, but as a manual of utility, of professional preparation, and professional use for a journalist. There is perhaps no book whose style is more suggestive and more instructive, from which you learn more directly that sublime simplicity which never exaggerates, which recounts the greatest event with solemnity, of course, but without sentimentality or affectation, none which you open with such confidence and lay down with such reverence; there is no book like the Bible. When you get into a controversy and want exactly the right answer, when you are looking for an expression, what is there that closes a dispute like a verse from the Bible? What is it that sets up the right principle for you, which pleads for a policy, for a cause, so much as the right passage of Holy Scripture?

Then, everybody who is going to practice the newspaper profession ought to know Shakespeare. He is the chief master of English speech. He is the head of English literature. Considered as a writer, considered as a poet, considered as a philosopher, I do not know another who can be named with him. He is not merely a constructor of plays that are powerful and impressive when they are shown upon the stage, with all the auxiliaries of lights and scenery and characters; he is a high literary treasure, a mighty storehouse of wisdom, the great glory of the literature of our language; and, if you don't know him. knowing the language may not be of much avail after all. Perhaps that is an exaggeration, and I take it back; but it is an object to know Shakespeare; it is indispensable to a journalist.

There is another English author who ought not to be neglected by any young man who means to succeed in this profession. I mean John Milton, and I invite your attention to that immortal essay of his, too little known in our day, the "Speech for the Liberty of Unlicensed Printing." It is a treasury of the highest wisdom, of the noblest sentiments, and of the greatest instruction; study that, and you will get at once the philosophy of English liberty and the highest doctrine that has ever been promulgated, to my knowledge, with regard to the freedom of the press.

WEIGHING OUR SUCCESSES.

THE measure of success is a man's abiding personality and his abiding work. He whose influence for good lives in his achievements is the one who really lives. Mere transient popularity and temporary success are of little worth. They are the flowers which are beautiful for a day, but wither with the first breeze of the evening. They appear to the eye and gratify the sense, but leave no trace even of existence. Such is not the success of the true preacher. His work abides because it is God's work and is wrought by God's Spirit. "If any man's work abide... he shall receive a reward." This leads to the conclusion that the young preacher should seek such preparation and perform such labor as shall last. He must learn early in life to estimate at their proper value the mere praise and blame of men. He must not be elated if his sermons are

commended by admirers; he must not be cast down if they do not always win popular approval.

How then shall we weigh our success in our ministry? What standard shall we employ? Shall we make the social or the financial position of our Church the standard? In God's kingdom there are no first, second, or third class churches, and no first, second, or third class preachers. There is no keeping up our "grade" in the divine economy. All who are called to preach are equal in rank, although all preachers may not be equal in ability. They may do different work, they may command the attention of persons of different social and intellectual gifts, but they are all "ambassadors for Christ." They all persuade men in Christ's stead to be reconciled to God.

It would not be wise, therefore, to weigh our successes by the size or wealth of the church to which we are called to minister. It is true there is a kind of talent required in certain churches, and these churches can only be secured by those who are adapted to them. But the preacher must beware lest he regard the securing of some important pastorate as the achievement of success. That church exists for the performance of certain work, and it is his duty to see that this work is performed. He must be its leader and instructor in its great enterprises of personal salvation and practical benevolence. He may hold the position for a full pastoral term to the satisfaction of the congregation, and yet not be in the best sense a successful pastor. Only as he shall be the instrument of accomplishing all the good which that church ought to do, or is qualified to do, can he be in the highest sense successful. Once in a while the minister is forced to ask, "Am I succeeding as I ought? Where can I find a model of success?" And he will look around over his Conference and find some one of less talent and less opportunities of training and of work who has really done the work of the gospel minister, who has saved men and women, who has edified the Church, who has done good in manifold ways and, even though unknown outside of his immediate circle, is indeed "a workman that needeth not to be ashamed."

NOTES FOR STUDENTS ON HARMAN'S "INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY OF THE HOLY SCRIPTURES."

THIS important book on a most important subject is placed early in the list of studies prescribed by the bishops. It requires careful and painstaking study. Some notes briefly calling attention to its salient features and the methods to be pursued in its study may be helpful, especially to those who have not had a previous theological training.

The student should first note and impress upon his memory the purpose of the book as stated by the author, taking care to define clearly the meaning of the several terms, "genuineness," "credibility," "integrity," on which there is often confusion. Accurate definition is important. Only by careful discrimination of terms and by keeping in mind the author's purpose will the subordinate parts be readily retained in the memory.

He will do well also to group in outline the points discussed in the introductory chapter, which, in brief, may be stated as follows:

1. The scope of the discussion.

2. The mental attitude in which we should enter upon the study.

3. The scholastic acquisitions which are important in order to pursue the subject critically.

4. The author's justification of the difficulties which are to be found in the Bible.

5. The human and the divine elements which appear in the word of God.

6. The views of Justin Martyr, Clement of Alexandria, Theophilus of Antioch, Origen, and others on the inspiration of the Scriptures.

These points are clearly stated by the author; but the student who is preparing for examination will do well to make an analysis for himself and to commit it to memory. It will not be difficult to memorize the analysis after it has been carefully prepared. The subjects are arranged in logical order, and thus can be more readily retained. When the analysis has been thoroughly mastered it becomes much easier to recall the details at the time of the examination. The whole discussion being before the mind in the outline, the bearing of each subordinate argument or illustration will be readily understood. This method should be supplemented by reading any discussions on the same topics which may be found elsewhere. Take, for example, the fourth point mentioned above. The author shows that the difficulties which are found in the word of God are analogous to difficulties which we meet in the physical world. On this point the student will do wisely to recall and read anew the discussion in Butler's Analogy, where this subject is very exhaustively treated.

A SUGGESTION.

It is the purpose of the "Itinerants' Club" to furnish such papers as will be most helpful to younger ministers, especially to those who are pursuing their Conference studies. During the past year attention has been called to the extent of the course which has been prescribed by the Board of Bishops, and an attempt has been made to emphasize the necessity of careful preparation in order to pass successful examinations. The course is now a rigid one, and the Conference committees are giving more than ordinary attention to this part of our Conference work. Conference itinerant clubs are holding meetings for lectures and instruction, and the committees are meeting at specified periods to examine the candidates, thus facilitating systematic preparation on the part of the student. This department of the Review will be glad to receive communications from brethren who have well-defined views on the methods by which the "Itinerants' Club" can best aid the young men who are pursuing their Conference courses. These communications will be regarded as confidential if so stated on the part of the writer; otherwise the editor will feel at liberty to use them in whole or in part.

ARCHEOLOGY AND BIBLICAL RESEARCH.

FASCINATION OF OLD TESTAMENT STUDY.

EVERYONE is interested in searching out the causes of great movements. This accounts for the numerous lives of great men and sketches of important events which continually pour from the press. It accounts for the never-failing interest manifested by believers and skeptics alike in the life of Jesus. Is it not at least striking that Renan, who speut forty years in carrying out a youthful plan to explain the origin of Christianity, should close his labors with a History of the People of Israel? Why was the student of the early years of Christianity fascinated with the history of the Jews? It was because he could not explain Jesus of Nazareth or the most remarkable religious movement of the world without going back to the Jews, from whom Christ sprang. But Judaism is even more than the historic mother of Christianity. There are three religions-Christianity, Mohammedanism, and Buddhism-which overleap national and race boundaries. The first two claim the Old Testament as their mother. In the Old Testament, as well as in the New, divine power hides. It is not strange, therefore, that from Germany and Holland we have almost as many histories of Israel as we have lives of Jesus. Augustine's City of God, the first attempt at a philosophy of history, the book which shaped the Roman Catholic hierarchy, grew out of his study of the Old Testament. The theology of the Puritans, which has largely shaped our American civilization, sprang from the same source. Every thinker who loves the philosophy of history, who delights in tracing great movements to their genetic causes, will find a strange fascination in Old Testament study. The chief reason why the history of Israel has not become the most prominent and popular study in our universities is because a prophet is needed to interpret this matchless literature. Have we not more scribes than prophets in our colleges?

PURPOSE.

OUR chief reasons for introducing a department of biblical research and archæology into the Review are an intense love of the Bible and a strong belief in its divine power. If we can awaken in our readers a greater interest in this book, if we can lead anyone to a profounder study of its pages, to a more intelligent conception of its growth, and to a deeper rcalization of its providential work in the training of the race and of its divine power yet to nourish the individual soul, we shall be satisfied. We recognize at once the human as well as the divine elements in the book. To illustrate both these elements and to awaken interest in the Bible we shall present our readers from time to time with such facts as we can gather in regard to biblical archæology. We shall hail with joy any light which Egypt, Babylonia, Assyria, or any land may throw