The art of letter-writing has been lost; at least it is seldom displayed. The haste of modern life, the many means of communication, the ease of travel and transportation, the multitude of books and papers, these and other causes have increased vastly the volume of correspondence, but have made its character more fugitive and less studied and serious. It cannot be denied, however, that this form of literature is peculiarly instinct with human interest and rich in biographic and historical material.

Among all the letters of the world, those written in the first century by the followers of Christ, and preserved for us in the New Testament, are regarded as supreme. By way of eminence they are called epistles. This word, of course, might be applied to any series of letters; yet fortunately its use is being restricted to these which are of such surpassing dignity and value and which have exercised such an incomparable influence upon the history of the race.

Of these epistles those which bear the names of James, Peter, John, and Jude, have been placed in a group by themselves and for many centuries have been known as the catholic or "General Epistles." The exact meaning of the title has been a matter of some uncertainty. It may refer to their authorship, their contents, or their destination. The authorship of all other New Testament epistles has popularly been assigned to Paul, but in this group of General Epistles we find the products of a number of different writers. Of these, James and Jude were own brothers of Jesus and the other two, Peter and John, were his most prominent apostles. It is of interest to note that we find here the writings of two men who had shared the experiences of the home in Nazareth and of two other men, who had been most intimate with Christ in the days of his earthly ministry and who after his ascension were most closely united in the work of establishing his Church.

While it is not highly probable that the title of these epistles is due to their content, it is true that the themes discussed are of the most general character. They contain references to every cardinal doctrine of Christianity, and touch every phase of Christian experience. It is well to note, however, that each one of these writers lays special stress upon some one characteristic and distinguishing truth. James is the apostle of works, Peter gives messages of hope, John is an exponent of love, and Jude emphasizes the need of a pure faith.

It is most of all likely that the title is due to the general character of the readers for whom these epistles were designed. Paul wrote his letters to specific individuals or churches or groups of churches; these letters were addressed to the universal Church or to Christian believers scattered over wide areas of the Roman Empire. This is not strictly true of them all. For example, the Second and Third Epistles of John seem to be addressed to individuals. However, it is sufficiently accurate to suggest this general character as the origin of the familiar title and to allow us to make the immediate application that here are messages for us all, designed for the help and guidance of Christians in every place and time.

The historic references in these epistles lead us back to the earthly ministry of Christ and to the recorded acts of his apostles. The prophetic utterances point us forward to his return, not with such fullness as to satisfy our curiosity, but with such certainty as to inspire hope. One of their chief values lies in their accurate pictures of the Apostolic Church, covering the whole course of its career from the early ministry of James to the late years of the aged John. The passages of difficult interpretation are sufficiently numerous to inspire humility and caution; but the main teachings are plain and of immediate application to the life and problems of the modern Church. They invite careful and repeated reading and suggest the possibility of continual growth ''in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ."