1848.] The Transition. 739 One class of propositions consists in the mere name of the subject, either particular or general, simple or compound; either without a predicate, as, The conscience, or with a predicate, as, The reproving conscience; either without a precise designation of the train of thought to be pursued, as, The necessity of Solitude, or with such a designation, as, The necessity of solitude for acquiring self-knowledge. In proportion to the definiteness with which a particular train of thought is proposed at first, must be the limitation of the subsequent remarks to that specific train. A second class of propositions is expressed in a perfect sentence, and that either categorical, which must be afterwards proved, as, Faith without works is like a body without a soul; or hypothetical, which summons the hearers to answer a question, to investigate a subject or solve a problem, as, Does not the religion of Jesus demand too much of its followers? or, How significant of our moral state is our treatment of the Lord's supper. A third class consists in a combination of the first two classes, the proposition being the mere name of the theme, but containing all the parts of a perfect sentence, as, The experience that great improvement results from painful effort and harassing fears. 6. The Transition. The transitus is ordinarily defined, as that part of the discourse which develops the connection between the theme and the text. It corresponds in some degree with the "narratio" of the ancient rhetoricians. It is not, however, the explanation of the text as such, but is that part of the explanation which is necessary for showing the pertinency of the proposition to the text, or the fact that the former is involved in the latter. If the proposition be derived directly and obviously from the text, it demands only a brief transitus which shall unfold the intermediate idea uniting the two; but if it be derived indirectly and by inference, it requires a more extended illustration of the process by which it is deduced from, and of its precise relevancy to the text. The shorter the transition so much the better, if it fully demonstrate the fitness of the theme to the words by which it was ostensibly suggested. If the transition be long, it has the appearance of a second exordium, [and this fault is somewhat common in those German discourses, in which the transition immediately follows, and the introduction directly precedes the text]. The term transition has often a more extended meaning than that above given, and includes every part of the discourse which develops the connection between two prominent trains of remark; the passage from one head to another, the exhibition of an intermediate thought embracing part of the preceding and part of the following. The perfection of this branch of the sermon consists in its introducing the new topic easily, naturally, and giving it the appearance of growing out of the preceding stock, as a branch from the trunk. The common fault of sermons is, that the different topics are introduced abruptly, like the parts of a scientific treatise, or else the transitions are made with apparent artifice, and attract attention to themselves. The former fault diminishes the unity of the discourse as a whole; the latter diminishes its ease, simplicity, and modesty. Reinhard exhibits often a great degree of ease in his transitions, and so connects together the different parts of a discourse as to save them from a fragmentary, disjointed appearance, and to preserve the unbroken evenness of the whole. In a Fast-day sermon on the duties to which we should be excited by viewing the dignity of Christ's church, he occupies his first division with remarks illustrating this dignity, and slides into his second division by the following gradual descent. “And it is hard to tear ourselves away from this elevating view, but we must come down to our own characters, and compare them with the image now presented of the Christian communion, and see whether we be like it. Let us then inquire, what duties are urged upon us by this view of the church's dignity. And oh! I must have had but little success in attempting to portray it, if it do not excite in our breasts, as the first feeling required of us, a reverential gratitude towards Jesus." Having thus glided into his second division and its first subdivision, he is led to close the latter with a prayer expressing thankfulness to Christ for having delivered the church from death, and he ends the prayer with the words: "And we, even we, are among the beings whom thou hast delivered; among the members of the communion which thou lovest! And yet, my brethren, can we, dare we say this? Are we justified in regarding ourselves as a part of the church whose dignity has been now described? Oh! a thoughtful examination of our spiritual state is doubtless the second thing demanded of us, in contemplating this exalted dignity." He is thus led to propound various questions for conducting this examination, and then naturally exclaims: "What questions! my brethren, what themes for us to examine! Yet why should I not speak boldly (in propounding them)? The more impartial our scrutiny of the matter, so much the more must a view of the dignity of the church fill us with deep shame for our delinquencies," and this is the third duty which the subject enjoins upon us, after considering which we are told as a matter of course: * These extracts are abridged from the original. 1848.] The Partition. 741 "But in vain are such emotions, unless our views of the dignity which the church should possess, inspire us with the firm purpose of striving for it with increased earnestness." This effort, being the fourth duty enjoined, easily and without a chasm suggests the fifth, "that we cling to the gospel of Jesus as the means of attaining the exaltation which we should strive for," and the prospect of which prompts to all the duties which have been considered. 7. The Partition. The Greek and Roman rhetoricians set a high value not merely on the early announcement of the entire theme of the discourse, but also on the early announcement of the leading ideas and general course of thought in the treatment of that theme. Hence they prescribed that the proposition (in its narrow sense) should be followed by the partition. According to the phraseology of Aristotle, the proposition includes the partition; according to that of Cicero, the partition includes the proposition. Quinctilian says: Partitio est nostrarum aut adversarii propositionum, aut utrarumque ordine collata enumeratio.1 The discourse may be divided into the part addressed to the intellect and that addressed to the feelings; or into descriptions of the various attributes of the subject, or of its specific branches, or its subordinate relations to duty, etc., or its efficient or final causes; or into various processes of proof or of explanation, or into contrasted exhibitions of two opposing sides of the same subject. The advantages of stating at the outset the more prominent topics of the discourse are, that thereby the attention of the audience is more closely fastened on the most essential parts of the theme, and these parts are more distinctly and more easily understood and remembered, not only in themselves but also in their relation to each other and to the entire discourse. Recte habita in causa partitio illustrem et perspicuam totam efficit orationem, says Cicero.2 This preparatory sketch serves also to recommend the speaker as one who thinks logically, and who has with particular care and thoroughness investigated his present theme. It also relieves the tedium of the discourse for the hearers, by giving them waymarks which apprise them of the speaker's progress, by visibly changing the scene before them and refreshing them with a near view of the peroration. This advantage, however, was greater for the secular orations of antiquity than for the modern sermon; for those were much longer than this, and more fatiguing. Al2 De Invent. L. I. c. 22. 'Inst. Orat. L. IV. c. 5. though the abovenamed advantages are real, yet they do not require the uniform insertion of this preparatory outline. The sermon should, and often may be planned with such discrimination, written with such accuracy and distinctness, spoken with such variety of emphasis, that it shall not require the aid of a preparatory sketch, in order to make and keep an audience attentive to the thoughts, their reciprocal relation, the exact order of their arrangement. Moreover, it is not necessary that the hearers be able always to repeat the thoughts of the discourse consecutively. Few can remember their exact order, even if it be at the first distinctively announced. The design of the discourse is accomplished, if the audience fully understand its genius and main import, become interested in it, and inspirited by it to a virtuous life. Neither the ancient nor the modern pulpit orators have confined themselves to the use of the partition. When it is employed, however, it should be free from all that is obscure, verbose, artificial or highly adorned. By its compressed, suggestive, nervous, energetic style it should stimulate the curiosity of the hearers. Harms has a sermon with this proposition: Do right and fear no man; and with the following partition: This proverb is, a word of instruction, a word full of power, a word of consolation; or a proverb for thought, strength and solace. He has another sermon on Death in life, with this easily remembered partition : 1. Ihr selber seid ein fallend Laub; 2. Und, was ihr thut, zerfällt in Staub; 3. Und, was ihr habt, wird Todes-raub.1 The partition should be conformed to the rules of logic. Thus do logic and rhetoric embrace in part the same sphere. The feelings cannot be aroused unless the judgment be first convinced, and the judgment cannot be convinced unless the arguments be presented to it in a manner consentaneous with the laws of mind, and this manner is first prescribed by logic for the discovery of truth, and then adopted by rhetoric for the communication of it. The discourse being a dialogue between the speaker and the minds of his audience, must go on in the straight line which the mental laws require, and any in 1 Many of the German preachers are fond of introducing the paronomasia into their divisions, for the purpose of aiding the memory of the hearers. Thus Tholuck in his 2nd volume of Sermons, p. 124, says, "The quickening thoughts to which this narration leads us, are the following: 1. Die Stätte seines Scheidens, die Stätte seines Leidens; 1848.] Rules for the Partition. 743 terruption of the train of thought breaks up the interest of the hearers in the dialogue. There are instances, however, in which the rules of rhetoric require an exception from the rules of logic. Thus, when a genus is the theme of the discourse, logic would require that all its species, however unimportant, be introduced as parts of the division, but rhetoric may simply require that the essential characteristics of the genus be introduced, and these constitute the partition, as technically distinct from the division. Again, it is a logical rule that no single branch of the partition shall be identical with the proposition itself, and that substantially the same sentence which constitutes a chief head of the discourse, shall not reäppear as one of the subordinate heads. The mind of the audience is interrupted in its progress from premises to results, by this appearance of repetition. The speaker is very apt to commit this fault by expressing his proposition too indefinitely, and by subsequently introducing heads of discourse which he had not at first designed to mention. Reinhard has a sermon with the theme, Warnings against a morbid Conscientiousness; and he first explains the nature of the fault; secondly, describes the signs and the workings of it; thirdly, states the reasons why we should guard against it. Now this third branch of the partition is the same in substance with the original theme, and the first two branches are not logically appropriate as parts of the proposition, but are presupposed by it. This reäppearance of the proposition, after other heads have been discussed, might have been avoided by giving it a more general form; as for instance, Morbid conscientiousness, under which the abovenamed partition would be logically appropriate. This general theme, however, would excite the expectation of a merely intellectual treatise, and Reinhard designs to give a practical character, and the appearance of it, to his sermon. The relation of his discourse to the will is indicated in his proposition, and thus do the laws of rhetoric allow, and in some cases even require this prominence of the persuasive influence over the logical exactness of the arrangement. As the whole proposition should not be repeated in any one of the subordinate heads, so it should contain, in itself, all the ideas and none other than the identical ideas, which constitute the various branches of the partition. When the practical character of the discourse will not allow the preacher to treat thoroughly of his entire subject, he should either limit his proposition so as to cover no more ground than he designs to travel over, or else should inform his hearers that he intends to discuss a part only of the proposed theme. As the sentence announcing the subject of discourse should not be the same with any of the subordinate heads, so these subordinate heads, whether partes or sub |