T. B.

Upton,
Sept. 26, 1904.

Dear Herbert,—­I am much exercised in my mind about school sermons.  It seems to me that we ought to make more of them than we do.  We have our sermons here, very wisely, I think, at the evening service.  The boys are more alert, the preacher is presumably in a more genial mood, the chapel is warm and brightly lighted, the music has had a comforting and stimulating effect upon the mind; it is exactly the time when the boys are ready and disposed to be interested in themselves, their lives and characters; they are hopeful, serious, ardent.  The iron is hot, and it is just the moment to strike.

Well, it seems to me that the opportunity is often missed.  In the first place, all the clerical members of the staff are asked to preach in turn—­“given a mount,” as the boys say.  The headmaster preaches once a month, and a certain number of outside preachers, old Uptonians, local clergy, and others are imported.

Now the first point that strikes me is that to suppose that every clergyman is ipso facto capable of preaching at all is a great mistake.  I suppose that every thoughtful Christian must have enough materials for a few sermons; there must be some aspects of truth that come home to every individual in a striking manner, some lessons of character which he has learnt.  But he need not necessarily have the art of expressing himself in a penetrating and incisive way.  It seems to me a mistaken sort of conscientiousness which makes it necessary for every preacher to compose his own sermons.  I do not see why the sermons of great preachers should not frankly be read; one hears a dull sermon by a tired man on a subject of which Newman has treated with exquisite lucidity and feeling in one of his parochial sermons.  Why is it better to hear tedious considerations on the same point expressed in a commonplace way than to listen to the words of a master of the art, and one too who saw, like Newman, very deep into the human heart?  I would have a man frankly say at the beginning of his sermon that he had been thinking about a particular point, and that he was going to read one of Newman’s sermons on the subject.  Then, if any passage was obscure or compressed, he might explain it a little.

Again, I want more homeliness, more simplicity, more directness in sermons; and so few people seem to be aware that these qualities of expression are not only the result of being a homely, simple, and direct character, but are a matter of long practice and careful art.

Then, again, I want sermons to be more shrewd and incisive.  Holiness, saintliness, and piety are virtues which are foreign to the character of boys.  If any proof of it is needed, it is only too true that if a boy applies any of the three adjectives holy, saintly, or pious to a person, it is not intended to be a compliment.  The words in their mouths imply sanctimonious pretension, and a certain Pharisaical