E-text prepared by Al Haines
Transcriber's note:
The volume from which this e-book was prepared contains two of
Beers' books, "An Outline Sketch of English Literature" and
"An Outline Sketch of American Literature," which start on
pages 7 and 317, respectively.
Page numbers in this book are indicated by numbers enclosed in curly braces, e.g. {99}, to facilitate use of the index. They have been located where page breaks occurred in the original book. For its Index, a page number has been placed only at the start of that section.
by
Introduction and Supplementary Chapters onthe Religious and Theological Literatureof Great Britain and the United States
by
John Fletcher Hurst
New York: Eaton & Mains
Cincinnati: Jennings & Pye
Copyright, 1886, 1887, by
Phillips & Hunt
New York
Copyright, 1897, by
Eaton & Mains
New York
{3}
At the request of the publishers the undersigned has prepared thisIntroduction and two Supplementary Chapters on the Religious andTheological Literature of Great Britain and the United States. To thepreacher in his preparation for the pulpit, and also to the generalreader and student of religious history, the pursuit of the study ofliterature is a necessity. The sermon itself is a part of literature,must have its literary finish and proportions, and should give ampleproof of a familiarity with the masterpieces of the English tongue.
The world of letters presents to even the casual reader a rich andvaried profusion of fascinating and luscious fruit. But to the earneststudent who explores with thorough research and sympathetic mind theintellectual products of countries and times other than his own, theinfinite variety, so strikingly apparent to the superficial observer,resolves itself into a beautiful and harmonious unity. Literature isthe record of the struggles and aspirations of man in the boundlessuniverse of thought. As in physics the correlation and conservation offorce bind all the material sciences together into one, so in the worldof intellect all the diverse departments of mental life and action findtheir common bond in literature. Even the {4} signs and formulas ofthe mathematician and the chemist are but abbreviated forms ofwriting—the stenography of those exact sciences. The simplechronicles of the annalist, the flowing verses of the poet, clothinghis thought with winged words, the abstruse propositions of thephilosopher, the smiting protests of the bold reformer, either inChurch or State, the impassioned appeal of the advocate at the bar ofjustice, the argument of the legislator on behalf of his measures, thevery cry of inarticulate pain of those who suffer under the oppressionof cruelty, all have their literature.
The minister of the Gospel, whose mission is to man in his highest andholiest relations, must know the best that human thought has producedif he would successfully reach and influence the thoughtful andinquiring. Perhaps our best service here will be to suggest a methodof pursuing a course of study in literature, both English and American.The following work of Professor Beers touches but lightly and scarcelymore than opens these broad and inviting fields, which are ever growingricher and more