Case of Hezekiah and The Messengers
On 25 March 1764, Sterne delivered a sermon in Paris that was important to Anglo-French relations. The sermon was first printed in Sermons of Mr Yorick Vol. III (1766) with edits and changes to various parts of the text, but was mis-attributed as having been delivered in 1763. This sermon was not notable for its content per se, but for its being given on the opening of the English embassy in Paris at the end of the Seven Years' War.
The opening of the sermon, a summation of 2 Kings 20:13-17, surprised and shocked many guests, because the passage was viewed as an insult to the embassy's hosts, Lord and Lady Hertford. However, Lord Hertford reacted kindly and thanked Sterne for the sermon. Laurence later rewrote passages of the sermon.
The sermon was written in order to appeal to an audience of mixed religious beliefs. Those like David Hume and Diderot were in attendance, and Sterne had joked that the sermon would convert the French from "deism to Shandeism". Regardless, the basis of the sermon was to promote the idea that humans are basically good.
Read more about this topic: Sermons Of Laurence Sterne, Notable Sermons
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