138 RELIGIOUS EXTRAS AGANCE 



and almost unintelligible phrases, which his deluded 

 congregation mistook for divine inspiration ; and thus 

 became the means of substituting cant and hypocrisy for 

 true religion, and a miserable and morose fanaticism for 

 the kindly duties presented by the first teachers of the 

 gospel. 



The casual observer must think it a privilege to live in 

 an age when such absurdities are exploded, and the 

 common sense of the people seems to have set bounds to 

 the extravagances of self- constituted preachers ; and when 

 those only are listened to of any sect who have at least 

 the pretensions of education and preparation for the office 

 of ministers of Christ. 



He would probaljly overlook that weakness in our 

 nature that is now so conspicuous in the crowd who hang 

 upon the originality of style, tinged by buiFoonery ; and 

 eccentric declamation, sometimes approaching blasphemy, 

 l^ractised by a loud and \oluble, but vain and presump- 

 tuous, popular jDreacher. 



The enthusiast would avow, and the sceptic would 

 admit, that men of less pretensions, and under less favour- 

 able circumstances, have, at different epochs in the history 

 of our Church, founded sects, and " led away divers 

 people having itching ears "; while the vulgar of every 

 class would raise a tabernacle to liis honour, and rank 

 him with many others whose names have done no credit 

 to the creed he professes to expound. But the sincere 

 believer would fain hope that the effervescence created 

 by the novelty of his powerful preaching will gradually 

 subside, and that the dignity of human reason and the 

 sanctity of pure religion may be vindicated by the con- 



