'
"Take away from certain preachers their 'heavenly tone,' as the old lady
called it--their sing-song cadences, and their favorite pulpit
phrases--and you take away the principal part of their stock in trade.
Out upon such 'words without knowledge'--sound without sense!
"Quite as destitute of Gospel power is that preaching which consists
largely in the presentation of old worn-out theories, musty scholastic
philosophies about religion, usually paraded under the pretentious title
of 'doctrine.'
"The devil, it is said, once inspired a dead priest to preach an
orthodox sermon. On being questioned by his imps why he ventured on such
a deliverance, he replied very significantly, that nothing made infidels
more effectually than orthodoxy preached by dead men's lips."
CHAPTER X.
THE REFORMING TENDENCY.
I had a third tendency which helped to get me into trouble; namely, a
reforming tendency. Earnest and active-minded young men are generally
reformers. In me the reforming tendency was unusually strong. I wanted
to reform everybody and everything, and to do it thoroughly, and without
delay. And I commenced operations very early.
1. It was the custom of my class-leader to read over to his class once a
quarter the rules of society, and to request the members, if they were
aware of any breach of any of the rules by any of the members, to name
the matter as he proceeded.
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