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See Bishop of Winchester’s Charge, 1837, p. 39. The example of Bishop Jewell offers much instruction to this class of preachers. His biographer writes—‘The more eminent he was in dignity, the more diligent in the work of the Ministry—not so much in frequent as in exquisite teaching. For, though his sermons were very frequent, yet they were always rare for the matter and manner of his delivery. The Roman orator tells us of ‘negligentia quaedam diligens’—a certain negligent diligence and learned ignorance when the speaker carefully shuns all affectation of art, and labours that his speech may not seem elaborate. But the sober and discreet hearer often has cause to complain of a diligentia quaedam negligens—a negligent kind of diligence, in many popular preachers, who ascend frequently into the pulpit, but with extemporary provision; they are often in travail, but without pain; and delivered of nothing for the most part but empty words—as if sermons were to be valued by the number and not by the weight. These men’s sermons, though they exceed the hour in length, and the days of the week in number, yet they themselves lie open to the curse of the prophet, denounced against all those “that do the work of the Lord negligently.” Freed from all the danger of such malediction, Jewell was freest from all his parts and place. For though he might, best of any, presume in this kind upon his multiplicity of reading, and continual practice of preaching, yet he would never preach in the meanest village without precedent meditation, and writing also the main headings of his sermons.’ Featley’s Life of Bishop Jewell. Compare Mr. Cecil’s own account of the manner of commencing his Ministry—in his Life, prefixed to ‘Remains’ This was the complaint in Jerome’s time—‘Sola Scripturarum ars est, quam sibi passim omnes vendicant. Hanc garrula anus, hanc debrus senex, hanc sophista verbosus, hanc universi prsesumunt, lacerant, docent antequam discunt,’ Epist. ad Paulin. Even the heathen epigrammatist remarked ‘ Si duri puer ingeni videtur, Praeconem facias.’ Mart. Lib. 5. Epig. 56.