THE SO-CALLED RUSSIAN LITANY

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2842, 5 August 1916, Page 7

THE SO-CALLED RUSSIAN LITANY

Sir,—A few of the clergy have taken it upon themselves to use in church, and at united memorial services, 11 war litany which thoy ■ believe to bo liussiau. The name is most misleading, ft seriously misrepresents the l'.uvsians, who are not given to such superstitious as those attributed to them in the clause: "And for those, 0 Lord, the humble beasts, who with us bear tho heat and burden of the day, and offer their guileless lives for the well-being of their countries, we supplicate Thy great tenderness of heart, and great is Thy loving kindness, 0 Master, Saviour of the world." Now, if the beasts were endowed with personality, tho language could not be very different. The as-

■ suniption of personality on their part is ' evident, for they are "beasts who," not 1 beasts which," and they, of their own i free will, "offer their guileless lives" i convinced that in so doing they are making a sacrifice for tho "well-being of their countries" and fmstrating the base designs of the Huns. Then resting upon these assumptions, the. clause ends in a fervent appeal to the Saviour for the salvation of the beasts. Perhaps some little excuse may be , made for thoso who have failed to detect the gross improprieties of the clause. 1 They are impressed by. the beauty and pathos of the words, and believe the ljtauy to be an accurate translation of a litany used in Hussia. In such a case, what could be better than for Russians and English to unite in offering the prayers and intercessions at the piosent timo? But the clause has puzzled us from tho first and we cannot understand why its glaring improprieties did not arouse suspicion. Perhaps some who rejoice in oratorical displays and rhetorical personifications failed to' observe the (rue meaning of. the words, and forgot that such flights of language Have no 'place in the simplicity that marks every litany. Litanies are not the place for extravagant ornament, but for serious and simple words from the heart, not fiom tho poetic imagination. Perhaps some clue to the meaning intended by the author may bo found in the fact that tho litany in question is the copyright property of its publishers, the "Our Animal Brothers' Guild." Obviously, to a guild of such a'name (suggesting vegetarianism), this ' clause is precious; the rest is bait. If you wish, the guild will sell you a card with the "humble beasts" clause printed by itself. Surely we ar4 not dependent upon the "Our Animal Brothers' Guild" for our devotion. Those who have imposed this litany upon us have been misled. Let them now abandon it; It is not a translation of any l?u&ian litany.Perhaps it may be mentioned that in one of our towns, on the occasion of the first anniversary of the war, the litany was printed with ft beautiful and necessary prayer for "all those, the bravo and the true, who have died the death of honour, and are departed, in the hope of resurrection to eternal life." But, in the same town, the litany was ngain printed for a memorial service for Lord Kitchener and men of the Navy without this prayer. Probably some one who objected to prayers for the dead eot the clause struck out. An article by the Bev. I?. ,T. Campbell (i)f City Temple fame), in Pearson's Magazine for June last, on "What is Hell?" contains thoughts on the question that may be helpful to many. The clause (and others need amending) that should have 'been struck out was the "humble beasts" clause which at least teaches vegetarianism. But in any case, why should • we pray for beasts, except as ve viuld do for the preservation <.f any other kind of property? If we are to pray for "humble beasts," why not for beasts of prev, and even sharks?—l am, etc., A LAYMAN. Ist August, 1916. I ' '