pleased with it then, they would not be
pleased with it now. It is possible in liturgies so to employ
the principle of repetition that no wearying sense of sameness
will be conveyed, and again it is possible so to mismanage it
as to transform worship into something little better than a
"slow mechanic exercise." Mere iteration, as such, is barren
of spiritual power; witness the endless sayings over of _Kyrie
Eleison_ in the Oriental service-books, a species of vain repetition
which a liturgical writer of high intelligence rightly characterizes
as "unmeaning, if not profane."[21] Now the common popular
criticism upon the Evening Prayer of the Church is that it repeats
too slavishly the wording of the Morning Prayer. If this is an
unjust criticism we ought not to let ourselves be troubled by it.
On the other hand, if it is a just criticism it will be much wiser
of us to heed than to stifle the voice that tells us the truth.
It might seem to be straining a point were one to venture to explain
the present very noticeable disinclination of Churchmen to attend
a second service on Sunday, by connecting it with the particular
infelicity in question; but that the excuse, We have said all this
once to-day; why say it again? may possibly have something, even
if not much, to do with the staying at home is certainly a fair
conjecture.

Without altering at all the structure of the Evening Prayer, it
would be perfectly possible so to refill or reclothe that formulary
as to give it the one thing needful which now it lacks--freshness.
In such a process the _Magnificat_ and the _Nunc dimittis_ would
play an important part; as would also certain "ancient collects"
of which we have heard much of late. Failing this, the next best
thing (and the thing, it may be added, much more likely to be done,
considering what a tough resistant is old usage) would be the
provision of an alternate and optional form of Evening Prayer, to
be used either in lieu of, or as supplementary to the existing
office. In the framing of such a _Later Evensong_ a larger freedom
would be possible than in the refilling of a form the main lines
of which were already fixed. Still, the first plan would be better,
if only it could be brought within the range of things possible.

Next to Evening Prayer in the order of the Table of Contents comes
the Litany. Here there is no call for enrichment,[22] though
increased flexibility of use might be secured for this venerable
fo