Preaching and Preachers [pp. 454-483]

Preaching and Preachers.
years younger than the men we just named, he represents a
different school, but it is one which he founded himself. When
father Latour, on his arrival at the capital, asked him what he
thought of the great orators, he replied, "I find them possessed
of genius and great talent; but if I preach, I will not preach
like them." Great clearness of thought, perfect sobriety of
judgment, profound knowledge of the human heart and of
manners, a fund of tender emotion, novelty of illustration,
copiousness of language, perspicuous method, and unerring
taste, are the characteristics of Massillon. He simplified the
divisions of the sermon, and reduced its length, conforming the
whole treatment to the most classic models. He is sparing in
his citations and unobtrusive in his array of argument. Beyond all competitors, he dissects the heart, reveals the inmost
windings of motive, and awakens the emotions of terror, remorse,
and pity. In the ethical field, he excels in depicting vice
and awakening conscience, in pursuing pride, avarice and selflove to their retreats, and in exposing and stigmatizing the
follies of the great. When the aged Bourdaloue heard him,
he pointed him out as he descended from the pulpit, saying,
"Hunc oportet crescere, me autem minui." Baron, the great
actor, said of him to a companion, "My friend, here is an
orator; as for us, we are but actors." Whole assemblies were
dissolved in tears, or started to their feet in consternation.
When he preached the funeral sermon of the King, on the
words, "Lo, I have become great;" he commenced by repeating them slowly, as if to recollect himself; then he fixed his
eyes on the assembly in mourning; next he surveyed the
funeral enclosure, with all its sombre pomp; and lastly, turning
his eyes on the mausoleum erected in the midst of the cathedral-after some moments of silence exclaimed, Dieu seul est
grand, mesfr~res. "My brethren, God alone is great!" The
immense assembly was breathless and awestruck. Voltaire
always had on his table the Petit-Careme of Massillon, which
he regarded as the best model of French prose.
There are discourses of Massillon, which, with the omission
of the Ave Maria, and a few superficial forms, might be delivered to any Protestant assembly. The union of simple elegance
and strong passion has given his sermons a formative influence
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