262 THE IMPROVEMENT OF THE MIND. siege in form ; he drew all his lines of circnmvallation and con- travàllation accordingto the rules of art ; but he was so tedious, and so exact in these mathematical performances, that the season was spent, he-was forced to break up the siege, and retire with- out any execution done upon the town. Ergates is another' sort of preacher, a workman that need not be ashamed : he had in his younger days but few of those learned vanities, and age and experience have now worn them all off: he preaches like a man who watchesfor our souls, as one that must give an account : he passes over lesser matters with speed, and pursues his great design, namely, to save him- self, and them that hear him ; 1 Tim. iv. 16. And by following this advice of St. Paul, he happily complies with that great and natural rule of Horace, always to make haste towards the most valuable end : Semper ad eventurn festinat. He never affects to chose a ,eery obscure text lest he should waste teo much of the hour in explaining the literal sense of it: he reserves all those obscurities, till they come in course at his seasons of public ex- position ; for it is his opinion, that preaching the gospel for the salvation of men, carries in it a little different idea from a learned and critical exposition of the difficult texts of scripture. Heknows well how to use his logic in his composures ; but he calls no part of the words by their logical name, if there be any vulgar name that answers it : reading and meditation have furnished him with extensive views of his subject, and his own good sense bath taught him to give sufficient reasons for every thing he asserts ; but he never uses one of them till a proof is needful. He is acquainted with the mistaken glosses of exposi- tors, but he thinks it needless to acquaint his hearers with them, unless there be evident danger that they might run into the same mistake. He understands well what his subject is not, as well as what it is ; but when he would explain it to you, he never says first, negatively, unless some remarkable error is at hand, and which his hearers may easily fall into for want of such a caution. Thus in five or ten minutes at the most, he makes his way plain to the proposition or theme on which he designs to dis- course : and being so wise as to know well what to say, and what to leave out, he proportions every part of his work to his time he enlarges a little upon the subject, by way of illustration, till the truth becomes evident and intelligible to the weakest of his hearers ; then he confirms the point with a few conviecing argu- ments, where the matter requires it, and makes haste to turn the doctrine into use and improvement. Thus the ignorant are in- structed, and the growing Christians are established and im- proved : the stupid sinner is loudly awakened, and the mourning soul receives consolation : the unbeliever is led to trust in Christ
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