388 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



[No. 107. 



the same subject. Thus St. Augustine (Serm. x. 

 t. X. p. 112.) preached upon the subject of praise 

 and tnauksgiving, out ot' the Epistle, the Psahn, 

 and the Gospel together, because they each had 

 something relating to his subject. {Bingham, 

 book xiv. ch. iv. § 17.) This may have given 

 rise to the present plan of textual preaching. 

 During the middle ages we frequently meet with 

 the terms postilla, postill^, postillare, and the like 

 (ivom post ilia verba Scripturm sacra), denoting 

 sometimes merely expositions of Scripture, and 

 sometimes iiopular discourses founded upon a 

 passage just before read. 



In England, about the year 957, Elfric, after- 

 wards Archbishop of Canterbur)-, required the 

 priest in each parish to explain the Gospel of tlie 

 day, the Creed, and the Lord's Prayer, on Sundays 

 and holydays. (Canon xxiii. ^Ifrica, Wilkins, 

 Concil. torn. i. p. 253.) The same person after- 

 wards compiled Homilies in the Anglo-Saxon lan- 

 guage, which lor some time continued to be read 

 in the English Church. (Ca\e, Historia Literaria, 

 toni. ii.) 



During the reign of King John, a.d. 1204, the 

 custom of preaching from a text appears to have 

 originated with Stephen Langton, Archbisliop of 

 Canterbury, and adopted by some of the divines 

 of the University of Oxford. The practice, how- 

 ever, met with some ojiposition by the sages and 

 seniors of that seat of learning, as related by the 

 author [Sir John Peshall] oi'^The History of the 

 University of Oxford, from the Death of 'w'illiam 

 the Conqueror to the Demise of Queen Elizabeth, 

 4to. 1773, p. 7.: — 



" The ancient practice of explaining considerable 

 portions of Scripture first showed itself openly in tliis 

 University. This was to name a thesis or text from 

 the Scripture, and make divisions ujjon it ; wliich 

 nietliod is s:iid to have been adopted by Stephen Lang- 

 ton, Archbishop of Canterbury, who therefore divided 

 tlie Scriptures into cliapters. The peojile at tlieir re- 

 ligious .issemblies much approved of this way, in pre- 

 ference to the raw discourses of young and ignorant 

 preachers. Yet others, rejecting new customs and 

 innovations, chose to follow their old way, wliich was 

 that of the Saints Austin, Jerome, Barnard, Sec; and 

 Robert Grostest, D. D. (whose word was a law with 

 the imiver»ity), was among the op|)Oscrs. This was 

 piiitillando, i e. by expounding the words of Scripture 

 as they stood in order, by inferences diawn from them. 

 They took no text, but began in this maimer : ' I in- 

 tend, by the grace of God, in ray following discourse, 

 to treat of certain matters; and in these matters I in- 

 tend to draw certain and true conclusions, for I intend 

 now to speak of the fear of God. First, concerning 

 fear,' &c. And so far down as the fifteenth century 

 this kind of preaching continued : for so ^^aEcanius, 

 doctor and chancellor of the university, relates of him- 

 self: ' Anno 1450, in the octaves of St. John the Evan- 

 gelist, on the Lord's Day, J showed in my sermon, 

 preached at Oxford, in St. Martin's Cluirch at Carfax, 



that Dr. Augustine preached four liundred sermons to 

 the clergy and people without any thesis, and without 

 taking a text at the beginning of his discourse. And 

 so I (says lie) preached the day and year above-men- 

 tioned, in Oxford, by taking no theme or text ; but I 

 administered to the people profitable matters, without 

 repeating of any text, but only words pertinent to 

 matters proposed or declared.' " 



The ancient practice of explaining considerable 

 portions of Scripture to the people was revived by 

 our reformers. Before them Colet had employed 

 many years in publicly expounding all the Epistles 

 of St. Paul. Archbishop Cranmer expounded 

 Hebrews ; as Bishops Hooper, Latimer, and Jewel, 

 did Jonah, the Lord's Prayer, many of the Epistles, 

 and all the Epistles and Gospels on Sundays and 

 holydays. 



" From the practice of Ambrose, Origen, Clirysos- 

 tom, and Austin, among the ancients, and of our re- 

 formers, and more modern divines, we may safely affirm 

 (says Mr. Shepherd in his Elucidation of the Moruing 

 and Evening Prayer) that explaining and applying 

 portions of Scripture read in the Lessons, is a very 

 beneficial mode of preaching to ordinary congregations." 



J. Y. 



Hoxton. 



THE REV. 



G.\.T. 



(Vol. iii., pp. 424. 508.) 



Through the kindness of a friend, who fakes an 

 interest in the pedisree of the Guy family, I am 

 emibled to offer the following information to 

 ]Mr. Tag art. 



Li Paley's Life of Law, prefixed to the Theory 

 of Hcligion, mention is made of Gay's disserta- 

 tion ; and the author is there stated to be of 

 " Sidney College." Inquiry was accordingly made 

 in that quarter, and the following answer was 

 returned : — 



" I find there have been four (lersons of the name of 

 Gay educated at Sidney College; three of them cer- 

 tainly — and in all probability the fourth — members of 

 the same family. As I shall have occasion to refer to 

 them subsequently, I will give you their several entries 

 in the College Register : 



'" I. Johannes, fil. Jacobi Gay, clerici, natns apud 

 Meath in com. Devon, lit. gram, insiit. per quinquen- 

 nium apud Torrington sub M" Reynolds, deinde 

 per biennium sub INI'" Kayner, apud Tiverton in com. 

 pra'dicto. Adm. est Pens. min. anno at. lfe'°''sub tut. 

 M" Nath. Popple, S. T. 15., et M'" Laur. Jackson, 

 M. A., T™" Nov. 1717.' 



" ' 2. Nicholas, fil. Jacobi Gay, clerici, natus apud 

 Meath in com. Devon, lit. gram, iiistit. per quin- 

 quennium apud Toirington sub M'" Reynolds, deinde 

 per tricnnium sub M"" Rayner apud Tiverton, in com. 

 pn-edicto. Adm. est Sizator 20"° Oct. 1718, anno £Bt. 

 17™°, Tut. Laurentio Jackson, A.M.' 



" ' 3. Jacobus, fil. natu max. ReV" Joannis Gay, 



