It is sometimes in order for the members of one profession to plume
themselves at the expense of another. Especially does it seem to be
the thought at times that the ministry is peculiarly a profession of
ease. That there is a truer and deeper view, however, is seen in the
following:
A barrister, accustomed to practise in criminal courts, made
sneering remarks concerning preachers. “If,” said he, “I were
to address a jury in the average way you clergymen do I should
never get a conviction.” The elderly clergyman to whom he spoke,
replied: “If you had to address the same jury 104 times a year,
and your object was not to get them to give a verdict against
some other person--which they might be willing to do--but to
induce them to convict themselves, I doubt if you would do any
better than we do.” Silence on the part of the barrister. (Text.)
(2030)