510 BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICE OF THE LATE REV. DR CHALMERS. 
be unheard of. Men will do that on principle which now they must do by legal 
enactment. Such a state of things would follow the universal prevalence of 
Christian charity in men’s hearts, and is not therefore to be considered a mere 
chimera. Should this triumph of principle and of love ever be achieved amongst 
mankind, what will be said and thought in those days of the mind that, amidst 
scepticism and ridicule, had resolutely maintained the principle, nay, which had 
in its own sphere of action practically worked out its successful application ? 
Thirdly, And now, Sir, we have to consider Dr CHALMERS as an orator. He was 
distinguished as a preacher, as a speaker at public meetings, and as a member of 
ecclesiastical courts. We attribute to him in all these positions, especially in the 
pulpit, the quality of a high and a peculiar eloquence, and we have the utmost con- 
fidence in the correctness of this estimate; for if CHALMERS were not eloquent, 
where, we may ask, is eloquence to be found? Judge by the effects upon men’s ; 
minds, and say, is not that eloquence which captivates and enchains the hearers ? 7 
Is not that eloquence which delights all classes of mankind, all ages, all situations : 
of life? Is not that eloquence which ensures an interest and admiration unbroken, 
and which to the last attend every appearance of the speaker in public? Nor was 
this attraction the result of art, or the merely artificial embellishments of oratory. Bs 
It was not in graceful and studied action. It was not in musical and practised | 
intonation. It was not in the purity and beauty of the accent. All these were | 
plain, homely, to some hearers quite unusual; and yet how extraordinary were __ 
the effects of his eloquence! Such effects, then, being the result, not of artificial 
embellishments or natural grace of manner, tones of voice or skilful action, are : 
attributable to the power and energy of the preacher’s own spirit, to the vivid 
pictures which he brought before his hearers, the fervid oratory with which he 
took captive the heart and understanding. One important element of his success 
as a preacher, I think, was the impression of earnest truth and sincere conviction 
existing in hisown mind. As to the mode of arguing and the style of composi- 
tion, the remarks already made upon Dr CHALMERS as an author, apply to him 
as a preacher. indeed, all his writings seem as if composed for spoken communi- 
cation, and the method is favourable to producing one vivid and powerful effect 
upon the mind. No one indeed, who has not heard Dr CuaLMers in his day of 
vigour, can form a correct idea of his power as a pulpit orator. It is now thirty 
years since his Astronomical Sermons were delivered, and though I suppose no 
discourses ever produced a greater effect, the nature of that effect must be little 
known to the younger members of the present generation. The fame of a preacher 
mainly depends (like the fame of an actor or singer) upon traditionary descrip- 
tion. In many cases, the perusal of written discourses gives little notion of the 
effect in delivery; in some cases, as of WHITFIELD, Dean Kirwan, and other emi- 
nent preachers, who, in their day, produced marvellous sensations, they give no 


