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April 14, 1909. THI to those who while discarding the authority of the Bible and Church, profess to lind an authority in Christ independent of either. Passing over the fact that we muse assume the authority of the Bible to the extent of trustworthiness, at least, in order to get any Christ at all, the lecturer proceeded to show that unless we assume the Scriptural view of Christ's person to be true we have absolutely no ground for allowing him any authority whatever. In other words, a purely human Christ can have no more authority over the mind and conscience than any other human being. In dealinir wilh the nnthnriiv or' th.-? reason the ground taken was briefly this: The Protestant view of the right of private judgment is the true one, in that every authority, be it of Bible or Church or what not, must submit its case and make good its claim at the bar of the individual reason. But this does not mean that reason itself is the sole and final authority in matters of religion. The reason furnishes us with the canons and means of judging what is authoritative, but is not itself the authority. On many of his hearers the sermon on sin made an even deeper impression than did the lectures?leading as it did step by step through the current philosophical conceptions of sin up to what was shown irrefutably to be the only adequate conception, philosophically as well as religiously?-sin in its exceeding siniillness as transgression of the divine law. , To those who have heard Dr. Pnt.ton it will be enough to say that both in sermon and lectures he was at his very best. To those who have never heard him it were ideal to attempt to convey any idea or that marvelous combination of depth and simplicity, of keen humor and intense' seriousness, of magnetic power and iron logic which characterises his utterance. The most eloquent testimony to his effectiveness as a speaker is the fact that handling subjects as abstruse as these were, he could hold his hearers spellbound for ueriods raneint^ from sixty-five to eighty minutes, and that his last audience was quadruple the size of his first. One of the things which it is impossible to reproduce and yet impossible to forget about Dr. Patton is the wonderful pit and aptness of his illustrations. In these days when the illustration which docs not illustrate and the anecdote which diverts the attention rather than claims it for the point to'be made are so commonly met with, it is as unusual as it is striking to happen upon a series of illustrations that are invariably like the sting of a honey-bee?leaving both impression and point behind. And Dr. x-Miion 8 illustrations certainly have that merit. He draws them froip every sphere of life. Particularly noteworthy are the ones taken from two of the most widely diverse of human callings?seafaring and the law. In both the language used is that of the expert. Any lawyer could tell that Dr. Patton had read law as well as theology, and any sailor would know that he had (been often among those who go down to the sea in ships. Many of his figures are colloquial, almost, in matter and expression, and Z PRESBYTERIAN OF THE SOU' iboya BAK1 B B POW1 ii wh?ies?me PL FW&W N Li-> alc Royal is th Royal Gri replete with humor that is both homely and keen; but there* is never the slightest approach to the undignified or malapropos. Any attempt to reproduce them on paper were vain, but a brief description of one or two of his illustrations may not be amis3. Iu the first lecture he was speaking of minute objections to the Bible, the infinitesimal disagreements and inconsistencies that men spend their time over to the neelert <-?f tho mental issues; and to show how utterly irrelevant and immaterial these were he drew an illustration from a supposed case at law. The point at issue in the case is the fact of death of a man who is alleged to have jumped overboard from an Atlantic Liner. The evidence is that the man?Mr. A he may be called? disappeared after the concert in the saloon of the vessel on Saturday night, and was never seen again. An attorney is examining a witness, who testifies that he was on deck outside the door of the smoking-room shortly after the conclusion of tha concert, and that while there he saw a man jump overboard. Question: Was it Mr. A. that you saw jump overboard? Answer: I could not tell who it was? the night was too rlarlr- hut T soi? body jump overboard. Question: Had you seen Mr. A beloro during that evening? Answer: Yes, I saw him at the concert. Q. Did he appear in good spirits then? A. Yes, he presided at the concert and appeared in a jolly mood. Q. Would you recognize the program of the conceit if you saw it? A. Yob, certainly. fi la kio rvo?A?? T * * tiufl )7a|/ci until. i nana you that program? A. Yes. Q. According to the program Mrs. B is down for a song, is she not? A. Yes. she is down to 3ing "Annie Laurie." Q. Did she sing "Annie Laurie"? A. No, she sang "The Last Rose of Summer." Whereupon, the testimony having been concluded, the opposing counsel requests the court to rule as a matter of lay that * 4 TH. '** j. ii NO TO DER. Mso/utt(y Pure III ;t, most tasteful and > VilSPIlit Pnl'P a-rtA r>ae. . ? iade with Royal Bakir, and not otherwise. e only Baking Powder made from ape Cream of Tartar the testimony in the case is wholly confused and contradictory and that there is no legally sufficient evidenca tending to show the death of Mr. A. A more bewitching specimen of the genus reductio ad absurdum it would be hard to furnish. A very striking figure of speech came in the final discourse when the lecturer was characterising the modern tendency toward the elimination of the supernatural from religion and pointing out its inevitable result. In an almost dramatic outburst he exclaimed, "The passengers are all on board the train and have taken their seats, ready to start.' The conductor comes through and shouts, 'All aboard! This train makes no stops! The first station is Agnosticism!' " One more example will suffice. Referrlnir tr\ nmrloen c .w ?i irirtsuiaiism as expounded by Prof. James and others, he paid his respects to the theory which reduces all truth to relativity and takes as the .criterion of the truth of any given proposition the question whether or not it "will work." He said: "A man In New York City steps out into the street and holds up his finger to a street car; and the car stops. It works. The next day the same man steps out and hold up his finger to an automobile, and the automobile does not stop. It doesn't work. And the coroner's jury renders a verdic t that the deceased came to his death as the result of a false theory of the universe." So much for his illustrations. There Is no doubt about the fact that they leave an indelible impression behind them. But the thing of all others that stands uppermost in the mind of the hearer at the conclusion of a series of lectures such as this, is the assuring conviction that, even in these days of radical criticism and radical theology, the faith of the fathers does not lack for able defenders. There are giantg in these days as in days of old.' The true propneis are not all dead. "Yet have 1 left me seven thousand In Israel, all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal, and every mouth which hath not kissed him." (I Kings 19: 18). Chapel Hill, N. C.