The works of the Rev. William Thom, late minister ... - waughfamily.ca

LETTERS, TRACTS, is'c.249•grammatical or philofophical invefligation." I rea-Ibned upon the matter, and was convinced, that lectureson compontion, witliout models both of con>pofitionand delivery, would not be effeftful. Butwhen in our chapel example Is fuperadded to precept; when- difcourfes are accurately compofed, accordingto the Ariftotelian, the Ciceronian, and Onintilianianrules, and efpecially by the energy of ourown rhetorical fyftems, delivered with a philofophicalfolcmnity, with fpirit and vivacity, and all thegraces of elocution*, when, preaching by turns, everyone of us is feen to exult in his own. peculiar excellence,and all of us foar, like Elijah, high above theheads of all ordinary public fpeakers, inftru6lion, likea cloak, will drop down from us ; our young Eiifhaswill receive a double portion of our fpirit, and prayand preach accordingly. Then a wonderful andmuch-needed improvement in the art of preachingwill quickly take place ; the fpirit of eloquence, likeajfafcetida^or any flrongly odoriferous body, will diffufeitfelf on all fides from our chapel. Firft it will'feize on the minifters of the town, then on thefe Inthe neighbourhood, and then gradually extend itsinfluenceto the moft rem^ote parts ; by which operation,our* chapel will have the fmgular gloryof improvingthe whole kingdom.And while we are reforming the art of preachingswe will at the fame time do our utmofl: to improveour church mufic, which hitherto confifts of little elfebut jarring and difcordant founds. It is pity we arenot abl6 to reflore the mufic of the ancients' whichproduced fo aflonifliing eiFc£ls. To fupply that want,one of our number is,in th? enfuing vacation, to vifitthe Highlands and Weilcrn liles of Scotland ; thefeats of our ancient heroes, our Connals, our Starnos,and our Fingals, celebrated in the fongs of our Offians,our Crunniochs, and our Pibrochs. This is atour unknown to the ancients^ and happily refervejd.