ying to
_his_ mind certain ideas, must of necessity be equally familiar and
convey the very same ideas to every other man. Much of this language
is technical; much of it consists of words and phrases which have long
been obsolete so far as daily use and wont are concerned. Let the
preacher set himself to listen to a professional man who elects to
speak upon the subjects in which he is most interested in the language
of his profession; or let him hearken to an artisan who talks about his
craft in the terms in use at the bench, or in the factory, and then he
will in some degree comprehend the effect of technical language in
mystifying the uninitiated hearer. We recall in this connection a
sermon in which, years ago, we heard a very young preacher declaiming
to an audience of labouring men and women concerning a certain
"anthropomorphic" passage. As we say he was very young, and probably
no longer uses the word outside the study. Another worthy man in our
hearing solemnly advised a congregation largely composed of factory
girls to make their lives "Christo-centric." We acknowledge our
indebtedness to the Rev. W. L. Watkinson, himself a splendid example of
the excellence for which we plead, for two humorous illustrations of
the mistake now being considered. One is that of a local preacher who,
during a revival of religion, most earnestly counselled his auditors to
exercise "fiduciary" faith; the other, of a learned divine whose
appointment in a certain village coincided with the visit of a
travelling menagerie. "I perceive," he said, in sensational tones,
"that a spirit of German transcendental ratiocination is creeping into
the Church." The congregation, remembering the adjacent caravans, left
at once in hurry and alarm.

In that very interesting volume in which the proprietors of _The Daily
News_ tabulated the results of a census of church attendance in the
metropolis, Mr. F. C. Masterman, writing on the religious problem of
South East London, has the following words:--

"The prevailing theology, even more perhaps than the prevailing
liturgy, is wrapped up in an ancient language. The very terms are
technical--grace, justification, conversion, perseverance. They flow
out glibly from the student who has soaked himself in their historical
meanings; they are Greek to the general. They were once living
realities for which men fought and gladly died; they still symbolise
realities, the permanent elements of the li