S. GREGORY NAZIANZEN is more * concise, and more poetical; but not quite fo perfwafive. And yet he has feveral moving Paffages; particularly, in his Funeral Oration upon his Brother S. BASIL; and in his last Discourse at taking leave of Conftantinople. S. BASIL is grave, fententious, and rigid, even in his Stile. He had meditated profoundly on all the Truths of the Gofpel: he knew exactly all the Disorders and Weakneffes of human Nature; and he had a great Sagacity in the Conduct of Souls. There is nothing more eloquent than his Epiftle to a Virgin that had fallen: In my Opinion 'tis a Mafter-piece. But now if a Preacher fhou'd not have form'd his Taste in these Matters before he study's the Fathers, he will be in danger of copying the most unaccurate Parts of their Works; and may perhaps imitate their chief Defects in the Sermons he composes. C. But * Οὐ μίω δ' ὅτερ ἂν ὑπολάβοι τὶς ἴσως ἢ πάντων ατόπων, και μοχθηρῶν, οἱ κρίνεσι, τὰ 7 ἄλλων τοῖς οἰκείοις πάθεσιν, καύνων βαθμού * τάξιν έπιθυμία μείζο $ νΘ. Οὐχ ὕτως ἐγώ, ο τ θείς μεγέθες, ἢ ἡ ἀνθρωπίνης ταπεινώσεως ἄπειρος, ὡς μὴ μέγα νομίζειν πάση γυνήτη φύση καὶ ὁπωσῖν πλησιάζειν Θεῷ, τῷ μόνῳ φανοτάτῳ καὶ λαμπροτάτῳ καὶ παρέχοντι πάσης υλικῆς, καὶ αύλα φύσεως xa Sachs Καθαρθῆναι δεν πρότον, εἶτα καθάραι σοφιπῆναι ἡ ὕτω σοφίσαι· Αρέθαι φῶς, και φωτίσαι· ἐγε είσαι θεῷ, και προσαγαγεῖν ἄλλος· ἀγαθῆναι ἡ ἁγάται χειρα ζωγῆσαι με χειρῶν, συμβολῆσαι με συνέσεως. GREG. NAZ. Orat. Apol. C. But how long continued this false Eloquence which fucceeded the true kind? A. Till now. C. What do you mean? till now! A. Yes, till now: for we have not yet corrected our Tafte of Eloquence, fo much as we imagin. You will foon perceive the Reafon of it. The barbarous Nations that over-ran the Roman Empire, did fpread Ignorance and a bad Tafte every where. Now we defcended from them. And tho' Learning began to revive in the fifteenth Century; it recover'd then but flowly. It was with great difficulty that we were brought by degrees to have any Relish of a right Manner: and even now, how many are there who have no Notion of it? However we ought to fhew a due Respect not only to the Fathers, but to other pious Authors, who wrote during this long Interval of Ignorance. From them we learn the Traditions of their Time, and several other useful Inftructions. I'm quite afham'd of giving iny Judgment fo freely on this Point: but, Gentlemen, ye defir'd me. And I shall be very ready to own my Mistakes if any-one will undeceive me. But 'tis time to put an End to this Conversation. C. We till you C. We cannot part with you give us your Opinion about the manner of chufing a Text. A. You know very well that the Ufe of Texts arofe from the antient Custom that Preachers obferv'd, in not delivering their own Reflections to the People; but only explaining the Words of the facred Text. However by degrees they came to leave-off this way of expounding the whole Words of the Gospel that was appointed for the Day; and difcours'd only upon one Part of it, which they call'd the TEXT of the Sermon. Now if a Preacher does not make an exact Explication of the whole Gofpel, or Epiftle, he ought at least to chufe thofe Words that are most important; and beft fuited to the Wants and Capacities of the People. He ought to explain them well: and to give a right Notion of what is meant by a fingle Word, 'tis oftimes neceffary to expound many others in the Context. But there fhou'd be nothing refin'd or far-fetch't in fuch Inftructions. It must look very ftrange and awkard in a Preacher to fet-up for Wit and Delicacy of Invention, when he ought to fpeak with the utmoft Seriousness and Gravity; out of Regard to the Authority of the Holy Spirit whofe Words he borrows. C. I C. I must confefs I always diflik't a forc'd Text. Have you not obferv'd that à Preacher draws from a Text, whatever Sermons he pleases? He infenfibly warps and bends his Subject to make the Text fit the Sermon that he has occafion to preach. This is frequently done in the Time of Lent. I cannot approve of it. B. Before we conclude, I must beg of you to fatisfy me as to one Point that ftill puzzles me, and after that we'll let you go. A. Come then, let us hear what it is. I have a great mind to fatisfy you if I can. For I heartily with you wou'd employ your Parts in making plain and perTwafive Sermons. B. You wou'd have a Preacher explain the Holy Scriptures with Connection, according to the obvious Sense of them. A. Yes that wou'd be an excellent Method. B. Whence then did it proceed that the Fathers interpreted the Scripture quite otherwife? They ufually give a fpiritual, and allegorical Meaning to the facred Text. Read S. AUSTIN, S. AMBROSE, S. JEROM, ORIGEN and others of the Fathers: They find Myfteries every where, and feldom regard the Letter of Scripture. A. The A. The Jews that liv'd in our Saviour's Days abounded in these myfterious allegorical Interpretations. It seems that the Therapenta who liv'd chiefly at Alexandria, (and whom PHILO reckon'd to be philofophical Jews, tho' EuSEBIUS fuppofes they were primitive Christians,) were extremely addicted to these myftical Interpretations. And indeed it was in the City of Alexandria that Allegories began to appear with Credit among Chriftians. ORIGEN was the first of the Fathers who forfook the literal Sense of Scripture. You know what Disturbance he occafion'd in the Church. Piety it-felf feem'd to recommend these allegorical Interpretations. And befides there is fomething in them very agreeable, ingenious, and edifying. Moft of the Fathers to gratify the Humour of the People (and probably their own too) made great Ufe of them. But they kept faithfully to the literal, and the prophetical Sense (which in it's kind is literal too) in all Points where they had Occafion to fhew the Foundations of the Chriftian Doctrine. When the People were fully instructed in every thing they cou'd learn from the Letter of Scripture; the Fathers them those myftical Interpretations to edify and comfort them. Thefe Explications were exactly gave adapted |