Dialoghi sulla religione naturale - Studi umanistici Unimi - Università ...

210 1L REFERENTE STORICO
dei moderati, doveva dare di essi una splendida definizione, che espri­
meva anche la condanna storica della loro sterilità religiosa. I loro
discorsi, egli disse, sono come una bella giornata di inverno, breve,
limpida e fredda; e commentava: « thè brevity is good, and thè clear-
ness better, but thè coldness is fatai. Moonlight preaching ripens no
harvest » 75 .
Il più famoso predicatore moderato, Hugh Blair, il quale « would
stop hounds by his eloquence », come ci dice Boswell 76, così ammoniva
il suo gregge:
Ovvero:
It is for thè sake of man, not of God that worship and prayers are
required, not that God may be rendered more glorious, but that
man may be made better...
Satisfy yourselves with what is rational and attainable. Train your
mind to moderate views of human life and happiness 77 .
Nei Dialogues gli fa eco Cleante:
The proper office of reiigion is to regalate thè heart of men, huma-
nize their conduct, infuse thè spirit of temperance, order, and obe-
dience (p. 272).
E si confronti con le dottrine moderate la professione di fede che egli
fa nella parte XII:
The most agreeable reflection, which is possible for human imagina-
tion to suggest, is that of genuine theism which represents us as
thè workmanship of a Being perfectly good, wise, and powerful;
who created us for happiness, and who, having implanted in us im-
measurable desires of good, will prolong our existence to ali eternity,
and will transfer us into an infinite variety of scenes, in order to
satisfy those desires, and render our felicity complete and durable
(p. 278).
75 Cit. in G. R. CRAGG, The church in thè age of reason..., cit., p. 90.
76 J. BOSWELL, The private papers, cit., XII, p. 109. Sulla retorica dei sermoni
di Blair, cfr. D. EHNINGER, J. L. GOLDEN, The intrinsic sources of Blair's popularity,
«Southern speech journal », XXI (1955), pp. 12-30; e J. L. GOLDEN, Hugh Blair:
minister of St. Giles, « Quarterly journal of speech», XXXVIII (1952), pp. 155-60.
77 H. BLAIR, Sermons, 5 vols, Edinburgh and London 1777-1801, I (1777), « On
thè union of piety and morality », p. 15; III (1790), « On moderation », p. 248.