S E R 



S E R 



Saurin is copious, eloquent, and devout, though, in his man- 

 ner, too oftentatious. Among the Roman Catholics, the two 

 moll eminent are Bourdaloue and Maffillon. The French cri- 

 tics differ in their opinion to which of thefe preachers the 

 preference h due. To Bourdaloue they attribute more foli- 

 dity and clofe reafoning : to MaffiUon, a more pleafmg and 

 engaging manner. The former is a great reafoner, and in- 

 culcates his doftrines with much zeal, piety, and earnellnefs ; 

 but his llyle is verbofe, and abounding with quotations from 

 the fathers, and ho wants imagination. MaffiUon has more 

 grace, more fentiment, and, a5 Dr. Blairthinks, may have more 

 genius. He difcovers much knowledge, both of the world 

 and of the human heart ; he is pathetic and perfuafive, and 

 is perhaps the mod eloquent writer of fermons which mo- 

 dern times have produced. During the period that pre- 

 ceded the reftoration of Ciiarles II., the fermons of the 

 £ngli(h divines abounded with fcholaftic cafuiiUcal theology, 

 but in their application they adopted more pathetic addrefl'es 

 to the confciences of the hearers. Upon the reiloration, 

 preaching afl'umed a more correft and polifhed form. 

 Whatever was earnell and paflionate, either in the compofi- 

 tion or delivery of fermon'^, was reckoned enthufialtic and 

 fanatical ; and hence that argumentative manner, bordering 

 on the dry and unperfuaiive, which is too generally the cha- 

 rafterof Englifh fermons. Dr. Clark, who excels in a va- 

 riety of refpccls, may be eftcemed a very inllruftive com- 

 pofer of fermons, but he is deficient in the power of in- 

 tereiling and feizing the heart. Tillotfon's manner is more 

 free and warm, and he approaches nearer than molt of the 

 Enghlh divines to the charaifter of popular fpcaking ; and 

 he is, even now, one of the bell models for preaching. Dr. 

 Barrow is admirable for the prodigious fecundity of his in- 

 vention, and the concurrence, Itrength, and force of his con- 

 ceptions ; but lefs happy in execution, or compolition. 

 Atterbury deferves to be particularly mentioned as a model 

 of correft and beautiful flyle, befides having the merit of a 

 warmer and more eloquent flrain of writing in fome of his 

 fermons, tlian is commonly met with. If BuUer had given 

 us more fermons in the rtrain of thofe upon felf-deceit and 

 the charafter of Balaam, in the room of abftraft philofophi- 

 cal eifayp, he might have been diltinguilhed for that fpecies 

 of charaderiftical fermons above recommended. 



The parts of a fermon, difcourfe, orregular formed oration, 

 are the following fix ; viz. the exordium or introduftion, the 

 Hate and divifionof the fubjeft, narration, and explication, rea- 

 foning, or arguments, the pathetic part, and the conclufion. 

 (See each under its proper head.) The introduAion of an 

 Englilh fermon is too often ftiff and formal, whereas thofe 

 of the French preachers are very fplendid and lively. 

 Common-place topics fhould be avoided": variety Ihould be 

 ftudied ; and in fome cafes the difcourfe may commence 

 without an introduftion. Explanatory introduftions from 

 the context are not uncommon, they are appropriate and 

 inllruAive; but they fiiould not be too long. An hifto- 

 rical introduftion has, generally, a happy effeft in caufing 

 attention. To the propofition or enunciation of the fub- 

 jeft generally fucceeds the divifion ; but it has been quef- 

 tioned, whether this method of lay ng down heads, as it is 

 called, be the belt method of preaching. Archbilhop Cambray 

 declares ftrongly againlt it ; alleging, that it is a modern 

 invention, that it was never praftiied by the fathers of the 

 church, and that it took its rife from the fchoolmen. But 

 we are of opinion, with Dr. Blair, that it ferves ufeful pur- 

 jjofes, and ought not to be laid afide. ( See the preceding 

 part of this article.) But in any difcourfe or fermon, there 

 are certain rules which (hould be obferved, e. g. the feveral 

 parts into which the fubjedt is divided fhould be really dif- 



tinft from one another : the order of nature (hould be fol- 

 lowed, beginning with the fimpleft points, or thofe that are 

 moil eafily apprehended and necefi"ary to be firft difcufled, 

 and then proceeding to thofe which are built upon the 

 former, and which fuppofe them to be known : — the feveral 

 members of a divifion ought to exhauft the fubjeft : — the 

 terms in which the partitions are expreffed fhould be as con- 

 cife as pofllble : — and the number of heads (hould not be 

 needlefsly multiplied. Another part of a difcourfe or fer- 

 mon is narration. This part mull be concife, clear, and 

 dillinft, and in a ftyle correft and elegant, rather than 

 highly adorned. The argumentative part is fuceeeded by 

 the pathetic, in which, if any where, eloquence reigns, and 

 exerts its power. (See Pathetic.) In fermons, infe- 

 rences from what has been faid make a common conclufion. 

 With regard to thefe care Ihould be taken, not only that 

 they rife naturally, but that they (hould fo much agree with 

 the (train of fentiment throughout the difcourfe, as not to 

 break the unity of the fermon. The precife time of con- 

 cluding a difcourfe is an objeft of importance. It (hould 

 be fo adjuited that our difcourfe is brought to a point ; 

 neither ending abruptly and unexpeftedly ; nor difappointing 

 the expectation of the hearers, when they look for the 

 clofe ; and continuing to hover round and round the con- 

 clufion, till they become heartily tired of us. We (hould 

 endeavour to go off with a good grace ; not to end with a 

 languilhing and drawling fentence ; but to rife with dig- 

 nity and fpirit, that we may leave the minds of the hearers 

 warm ; and difmils them with a favourable iraprefTion of 

 the fubjeft, and of the fpeaker. Blair's Leftures, vol. ii. 

 See Elocution of the Pulpit, and Preaching. 



Sermon, Funeral. See Funeral. 



SERMONES, the title which Horace gives his Satires. 

 See S.\TiRE. 



Critics are divided about the reafon of the name ; the 

 opinion of father Boiiu feems bell grounded. A mere 

 obfervance of feet and meafure, fuch as we find in Terence, 

 Plautus, and in Horace's Satires, he thinks is not fufficient 

 to conltitute verle, to determine the work to be poetical, or 

 to diftinguilh it from profe ; unlefs it have fome farther air, 

 or charadter of poetry ; fomcwhat of the fable or the fubhme. 



Hence he judges it is, that Horace calls his Satires ^ro/!', 

 or fermons : his Odes have quite another air, and are there- 

 fore called poems, carmina. 



SERMONETTA, in Geography, a town of Italy, in the 

 Campagna, fituated on a mountain difficult of accefs. Some 

 fay that it occupies tiie fcite of the ancient Sora ; but 

 others fay that it occupies the fpot on which Sulmo Itood ; 

 13 miles S. of Velctri. 



SERMONIUM, in Old Records, a kind of interlude or 

 hiftorical play, which the inferior orders of clergy, affilted 

 by boys, &c. ufed at times to atl in the body of the church, 

 fuitable to the folemnity of fome felHval or high procellion 

 day. 



This is fuppofed to have been tlie origin of the modem 

 drama. 



SERMOUNTAIN, in Botany, a fpecies of the lafcr- 

 wort in the Linnaean fyltem, and, according to others, of 

 the fefeli, or wild fpignel, which grows wild in fome of the 

 fouthern parts of Europe, is raifed with us in gardens, and 

 flowers in June. 



The feeds of this plant are the part directed for ufe in 

 our pharmacopoeias, and the roots appear to be ufeful 

 aromatics, though not regarded in practice ; of an agreeable 

 fmell, and a warm glowing fwcctilh talle ; the roots have 

 the greatelt warmth and pungency ; the feeds the greatell 

 fweetnefs, and the moil pleafant flavour. A fpirituous ex- 

 trad 



