powerful spiritual enemy that he had sought to conquer, for the peace of the Church and the glory of Christ; then employ the language of that immortal oration (with such necessary alterations as the case demands) in the praise of Christian heroism, as exemplified in the glorious deeds of a valiant. Christian leader, and we may well imagine its lofty place among the Christian classics. Then with such an oratorical performance we may compare the dying speech of the great apostle-unequalled, however, by the greatest of uninspired utterancesin which he asserts the Christian believer's right to a crown in language that will live forever, and more eloquent than Demosthenes' best: "I have fought a good fight," etc. What a rising, step by step, up to the very throne of the Eternal! Here, "Still rising in a climax, till the last, by the most sublime flights of Grecian oratory. Yet it was itself Grecian, and no mistake. The martial spirit so conspicuous here and elsewhere in Paul's writings has all the glow and rhetoric of Demosthenes' heroic utterances, whose patriotism the Apostle transferred to the everlasting commonwealth of the saints, as when he said: "Our citizenship is in heaven;" "Ye are no more strangers and sojourners, but ye are fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God; " therefore, "Fight the good fight of faith," fight for your country"Put on the whole armor of God;""Stand against the wiles of the devil," and many other expressions adapted from patriotic Greek eloquence. In St. Paul classic eloquence is risen from the dead and glorified by the mind and Spirit of Christ; and Demosthenes' oration, "De Corona," the greatest, perhaps, that ever fell from uninspired lips, was the forerunner and type of the great Christian utterance on the crown by the eloquent Apostle. As at Corinth, in St. Paul's day, so now, there is much that passes for pulpit eloquence, but which bears no likeness to the ancient classic, or Pauline. There is also that which does ap proach this high standard. The difference between th same as that between the rant of a shallow declaim whole outfit is cheap learning and a glib tongue) and t solid and convincing presentation of divine truth by o mind and heart are in fellowship with the Divine. preachers quite too many who have gained a wide not certain pyrotechnic displays in the pulpit, but are not possessing any of the great qualities that convert si edify saints. Crowds go to hear them-for about t reason that the idle loungers of Athens flocked to M to hear what Paul had to say concerning the "stranga of which "he seemed to be a setter forth"-and retu the feast of husks unfed, deceived and mocked. Better true preacher, like Paul, to be mocked by his hearers th they should be mocked by the preacher. When Demo had concluded any one of his powerful orations again enemy of his country, the vast assembly of Greeks used t the Areopagus tremble on its rocky foundations with their "Let us fight against Philip! Let us conquer or die the crowds that are entertained by certain popular preach away in anything but a fighting mood, and with no thou making any sacrifice for Christ. We plead for pulpit eloq but not for the vain and weak stage performances of cl actors. If the choice must be between such "excellen speech and wisdom," and the kind of preaching referred the beginning of this article, then let us have that rustic plicity with all its narrowness and ignorance. But there such alternative as that. Let the highest eloquence be sou it is divine, and truly human; rightly used, it is more po ful for good than words can express; it is an instrument of Lord that has executed some of His greatest designs in world, in every age of its history. The oratory that insp the Greeks with high moral sentiments and aroused them patriotic action; that relieved Rome of deadly conspiracy, sa the state, and called forth the deep gratitude of the nation. expressed in the gift of "Pater Patria" to the orator; t spread the kingdom of truth and righteousness among men, broke down false religions, made moral heroes and an army of Christian martyrs; such is the oratory, classic and Pauline, that is needed, now and always, in every city and town, in every village and hamlet.. What has now been said is intended as a plea for what is most needed in the pulpit, and that is, power. It is easy to see that the chief outward conditions of such power in St. Paul's case were his educational accomplishments. These he wholly consecrated to the service of God. And without such consecration the highest mental attainments are powerless in the pulpit. They are mere ciphers, if standing alone and not supplemented and perfected by the one thing needful-the possession by the preacher of "the mind of Christ." There is an infinite difference between mere formal oratory and that which is filled with the earnestness of Christian faith and love. "If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am become sounding brass, or a clanging cymbal." In another place St. Paul tells the same truth, the secret of pulpit power: "We have the mind of Christ." Pulpit power exists only where the man of God is thoroughly furnished with the implements of heaven and earth, knows how to use them, is faithful in the service of his divine Master, covets the best gifts -and glories only in the cross. We make the following observations on this subject: 1. One great reason why St. Paul was the greatest and most successful of all the apostles was, that he excelled as an orator. This implied that he possessed the requisites of a true orator. Cicero, in "De Oratore," puts into the mouth of Crassus this general proposition: That an almost universal knowledge in science and literature is necessary to perfection in oratory. This was evidently Cicero's own opinion, as it is understood that "Crassus" in the dialogue represented his views. It is well known that Cicero's studies embraced the whole field of knowledge; hence the great variety of themes on which he spoke and wrote. His works show that he was a living cyclo pædia of learning; and this fact is undoubtedly o secrets of his great power as an orator. It is cert that "out of the abundance of the heart the mouth s St. Paul was to the Church what Demosthenes and Ci to Greece and Rome. Like Moses, he was learned i wisdom of his age. And we may be sure he did no study the art of public speaking. So that with his mi with knowledge, and having special gifts of eloquence, before the world as one of its best representatives of t art, divine in the new and added sense that, in his cas sanctified and illuminated by the Spirit of God. St. an orator not only preached the gospel, but he also P its sacred truths in such manner as to be best und make the most abiding impression on mind and heart, a move the will and convert the soul. 2. All this, however, has in itself no power to effec gracious purposes in men's behalf. The saving virtue gospel is the divine grace which it promises. That grac bringeth salvation; and all of which we have been sp as pertaining to oratory, can only be, at best, the most e means of breaking down and through the barriers that are way of God's saving grace reaching and penetrating the of men. But that is indeed much, and in every way wo the preacher's most diligent effort. It is the duty of ministers to use the very best means, in the pulpit and where, that will accomplish the object of their high comm from the Lord. 3. Let it be carefully observed, that the eloquence wh common to pagan and Christian, does not appear with prominence in St. Paul. The Christian mind is struck firs chiefly with the great and solemn truths that he uttered. form and style have much to do with the effect produce mind and heart, yet the chief thing is the substance cont in the form, and the great object was to convey that subst to men for their spiritual benefit. True to the word of Ci that, "the kingdom of God cometh not with observation,' great Apostle kept in the back-ground everything that might withdraw the attention from Christian virtue and the solemn concerns of the life to come. Therefore, as any one may see, there is not manifest in the most eloquent of his writings, or addresses, the least effort or design to produce a thrill of momentary delight. Nor is there the slightest indication of pride of learning. His pride was in something else: he gloried only in the cross. He determined not to know anything, among Jews and Gentiles, learned and unlearned, except Christ and Him crucified. That glorious theme he indeed expanded and illustrated in language unsurpassed for excellence by "the tongues of men and of angels," yet he did not thereby furnish flowers without fruit, and conceal the Central Object in clouds of rhetoric. All that he possessed in spirit, soul and body, he laid upon the altar of Christ. It was his "living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God," and in full accord with his exhortation to all Christians: "Whatsoever ye do, in word or in deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus." And though he was the greatest of God's servants, the mightiest of all the heroes and princes in Messiah's kingdom, yet his own estimate of himself he expressed in the words: "I am the least of the apostles." He was as eloquent as Demosthenes, even as judged according to the world's standard, and yet he was perfectly willing, for the gospel's sake, to be regarded as a mere "babbler," his only concern being that his words of truth might enter into the souls of at least some of his hearers and give the light of salvation. And this entire self-consecration to the service of God, his freedom from worldly ambition and his selfabnegation, instead of detracting from him as an orator, added immeasurably to his quality in that regard. For, the best orators are not those who are habitually conscious of their ability as such, and who make eloquence their special aim. The best and most successful pulpit orators, are those who speak not for time, but for eternity; not to tickle the ears of men, but to please the ear of God. Such was St. Paul. Such was the eloquent Massillon, whether addressing an ordinary congrega |