rator.
_Docere_.--To instruct the intellects of his hearers.
_Placere_.--To use those varied arts and graces by which the
instruction is rendered palatable and agreeable.
_Movere_.--To move their wills to action.
The last function is by far the most important.
The preacher's triumph lies not in the conviction of the
intellect, nor in the approbation of the tastes, but in the
arousing of the wills of his hearers. The will is the goal-point
at which he aims from the beginning.
A doctor may persuade his patient that bitter medicine and active
exercise are necessary, but so long as the sick man lies on the
sofa and nods assent this barren conviction is of little profit.
When, however, the persuasion forces him to take a six-mile walk
and swallow the revolting draught, then, and only then, is
triumph secured. So a preacher may convince the habitual sinner
of the heinousness of sin; he may win his applause by the cogency
of his reasoning and the brilliancy of his style; but not till he
has moved his will to fling the old fetters to the winds, not
till he brings him a tearful penitent to the confessional, is his
work complete.
We shall now take the three words of Cicero in order.
[Side note: _Docere_]
How shall we accomplish all implied in that word "_docere_?" How
embed conviction in the minds of our hearers? Fill your own head
to repletion with the subject; be ambitious to leave, if
possible, no book unread, books of even collateral bearing. The
more thought stored up the more complete will be your mastery
over the subject and the more abundant the materials from which
to select. I was struck by a letter from Father Faber to a
friend:--"I intend writing a book on the Passion. I have already
read a hundred works on the subject; see if you can get me any
more." A hundred volumes, yet he looks for more! Hence his brain
was saturated with his subject, and when he tapped it, how
copiously it flowed! What books should I read?
[Side note: What books to read]
The solid matter in Theology and the Sacred Scriptures and their
developments. A book of sermons is the last to open. Why? You
wish to raise a structure, then go to the original quarry where
you have material in abundance. The arguments that bear the
shaping of your own chisel, though not as polished as those you
would borrow, will fit more naturally and adorn with greater
grace. There are two great risks in reading sermon books--a
tendency to imitat
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