One of the choice treats that come to one after he has mastered a foreign language—at least to such a degree as to enable him to follow its various details—is to listen to an Oriental orator. The writer has sat for hours in the baraza (court room) of Negro chiefs in East Africa, listening with delight to the masterful speeches of native "lawyers" and "attorneys." One cannot miss the point in their presentation, because Orientals cannot make speeches without using illustrations—illustrations which are very apt and which do illustrate.
Jesus left us a wonderful example here in the art of teaching. His sermons were always adapted to the intellectual caliber of His respective hearers, but whether He spoke to the learned Nicodemus, or to a large crowd of common folk, He always used illustrations. But observe:
I. His stories were true to fact.
2. His illustrations brought out the point under consideration with admirable clearness.
3. He never told stories merely to amuse His hearers.
4. His stories and illustrations were bound to linger in the mind of those who had heard them, and to deepen the truth He had presented.
Illustrations in effective speech are like cool, shadowy resting places on the bank of a swiftly flowing river. Use them freely. However, do not tell stories, and authenticate them with a few Bible texts. Preach the word, and illustrate it with some pertinent incident or experience.
Ernst Kotz.
Washington, D. C.
