Page images
PDF
EPUB

that he well understands the sword exercise. If the address of a speaker be good; if, moreover, his countenance and general appearance be indicative of scholarship and intelligence, the presentation itself is a burst of eloquence.

To point out all the faults of which speakers and readers are guilty, would swell this work beyond the limits within which the author must be confined. If a person commences speaking immediately upon presenting himself before an audience, without first casting his eyes around respectfully on the members of it,-if his appearance and deportment are awkward, if he puts his hands into his pockets, plays with his watch-chain, and looks with great attention on a little piece of paper,--if he assumes an unmanly posture, if he make his oratory itinerating, by travelling alternately to the right and then the left,-if his eyes are fixed on one object, or are downeast, or partly closed, if he tastes of a glass of water, and spits a few times, if, in his gestures, he "saws the air,”—if all this, or any considerable part of it, be true of him, he may rest assured, that such faults, although they may be comparatively unimportant, will, nevertheless, create the belief with his hearers, that he is poorly qualified, either to instruct or amuse them, and also, that his habits are much "more honored in the breach, than in the observance."

It is, undoubtedly, less difficult to speak negatively on the subject of gestures, than affirmatively; but there are certain general rules, from which an orator should seldom, if ever, depart. He should never begin a discourse immediately on presenting himself before an audience. His eyes should first be cast upon the members of it, with an air of respect. He should assume a dignified posture, and stand as firmly as a rock, and yet as gracefully as a Chesterfield. His head must not be thrown back nor forward. ther be elevated nor drawn down. more frequently used than the left. both from the elbow, and from the shoulder. They should not be made with the fingers, but with the palm of the hand open. When the speaker points towards an object or a person, on the left of him, the left hand only should be used. The motion of both hands together, is often demanded by the sentiments or emotions of the orator.

His shoulders should nei-
The right hand should be
Gestures should be made

Thoughts should be indicated by the countenance, and especially by the eye, before they are heard in words. Gesticu

lation should certainly precede or be used during the utterance of the words, it is intended to enforce. It should never be used subsequently to their utterance. And, as Shakspeare says, "all should be done gently."

No speakers, except the practitioners of the histrionic art, should often close their hands or double up their fists. An incident is said to have occurred in the days of King James II. of England, which shows the ungracefulness of such a gesture. A clergyman, eminent for his talents and piety, who was honored with the attendance of the king, with the view of impressing upon the king's mind an important truth, fixed his attention upon him, and, doubling up his fist, struck upon the desk with great force, and exclaimed: "There! who dares to deny that?" "No one," said King James, in a low voice, "that stands in reach of your fist."

A speaker should not stand perfectly erect, only when he is expressing courage, fortitude, firmness of purpose, &c. The posture of the body generally, should be a little inclined towards the audience. When he commences or finishes a discourse, both his arms should hang, as they naturally do, by the side. When gestures are made, in the course of a sermon or speech, by movements of the arm, the elbow ought to be kept at a distance from the body.

The

We learn how great the influence of gesture is, from the actor's art. Cicero justly observes, "that few can resist the effects, even of the moderate skill exhibited on the stage." effects produced by the accomplished and unequalled Garrick, were wonderful. The bishop of London inquired of him, how he could interest his hearers so much by mere fiction, as to affect them, even unto tears, when "I cannot," continued the bishop, "produce such effects upon my audience, with the most solemn realities of religion." The shrewd and philosophic reply of Garrick was: "I represent fiction as though it were reality; and you, reality as though it were fiction."

Those automatical gestures which are too often taught, and that mechanical formality and intolerable affectation, which are sometimes countenanced in literary institutions, should be entirely and forever set aside. Excess in gestures, is to be avoided, as well as awkward ones. It is much better to have too little, than too much rhetorical action. The observations on gesticulation, will be concluded with an extract from Dr. Blair, who, in one of his lectures on Delivery, says: “To

superficial thinkers, the management of the voice and gesture, in public speaking, may appear to relate to decoration only, and to be one of the inferior arts of catching an audience. But this is far from being the case. It is intimately connected with what is, or ought be, the end of all public speaking, persuasion; and, therefore, deserves the study of the most grave and serious speakers, as much as of those whose only aim it is to please."

REMARKS ON THE INFLECTIONS OF THE VOICE, WITH EXAMPLES.

Good Elocution is, in a great measure, a matter of taste. It depends chiefly upon the developement of the intellectual faculties, and the sensibilities of our nature; and, consequently, no precise rules can be applied to the modifications which the voice undergoes, in reading, conversation, or public speaking. Correct inflections are essential requisites to a finished rhetorical delivery; but the best means of acquiring it, is, to improve the voice, the taste, and the gestures.

If the attention be fixed upon the sentiments and the sense; nature, or habit, will spontaneously suggest the proper inflections. Some writers make a distinction between the eloquence of the pulpit, the eloquence of the bar, and the eloquence of popular assemblies. There is, nevertheless, but one kind of eloquence. It is the same thing in the social circle, in those departments of public life, and every where else.

To" suit the action to the word, and the word to the action," is eloquence under all circumstances. By how much we depart from this precept, by so much our elocution is defective. It is certain, that "nothing can gain entrance into the affections which stumbles at the threshold, by offending" either the eye or the "ear."

What are we to do, in order to exemplify that great elocutionary precept of Shakspeare? Simply to represent, by emphasis, or quantity, conjointly with action, those words and parts of sentences which are the most important in sense, in the strongest manner. And how is this to be done? Not by arbitrary rules, nor by persons destitute of taste or natural capacity. The qualifications of the orator are not entirely original, they are partly acquired. A complete orator never existed, with

out possessing both genius and learning. It is difficult to determine whether eloquence owes most to nature or cultivation; "nor is the inquiry of much practical interest, since neither of these, separated from the other, can produce an eloquent orator."

Labor is the price to be paid, to attain excellence in oratory, even by those who possess peculiar and extraordinary natural qualifications. Eloquence is nature, ascertained and exemplified by the aid of good mental endowments, and the graces of a polished elocution. The object of art is, to ascertain and display the powers of nature; and, meanwhile, disguise the means by which it is done. The principle is, "Ars est celare artem," art is to conceal art. Eloquence consists in concealing the art by which we exhibit the free, full, and powerful machinery of nature.

If the voice is in a cultivated condition, and good sense be exercised, no effort to modify it is necessary. Emotion,or passion, attunes the voice, better than particular rules.

[ocr errors]

Demosthenes appeared not as one who wished to be admired as an elegant writer, or an eloquent speaker, but as "a passionate man tormented by truth." He was governed by no key of rhetorical notation," nor by any marks of inflectior. When he spoke so powerfully against Philip, that his hearers imagined they heard the rattling chains of the usurper, he doubtless broke through all the false rules with which some books on elocution are lumbered.

This is equally true of Cicero, when he vehemently exclaimed in the senate of Rome: "How long, O Cataline! wilt thou abuse our patience?" and when he spoke of the battle of Pharsalia, so eloquently that Julius Cæsar turned pale.

Of Patrick Henry, when he said in Virginia, in 1765, with the most expressive look, and in a voice so powerful that it seemed to shake the house in which he spoke: "Cæsar had his Brutus, Charles the First his Cromwell, and George the Third-[treason, TREASON, cried the members of the house of burgesses may profit by their example." And when, in 1798, in reply to a preacher, who observed to an admiring crowd, "Mr. Henry is not a God," he said, "No, indeed," deeply affected both by the scene and the remark, no, indeed, my friend; I am but a poor worm of the dust-as fleeting and unsubstantial as the shadow of the cloud that flies over your fields, and is remembered no more."

[ocr errors]

Of Whitefield, when by the transcendent power of his eloquence, he compelled Dr. Franklin, against his pre-determine

tion and judgment, to contribute to the Orphan House of Georgia; and also when he said: "Look yonder!" stretching out his hand and pointing while he spoke, "what is that I see? It is my agonized Lord! Hark! hark! Do you not hear? O my Father, if it be possible let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not my will but thine, O God, be done."

Of the blind and solitary beggar of Jericho, when groping his way to the road side where our Savior was to pass, he heard in the voices of the multitude, the sound of his coming, and shouted, almost with agony: "Jesus! thou son of David, have mercy on me!"

Of the Great Physician himself, when, hearing the tone of distress, he kindly inquired, "What wilt thou have me to do?" And, again, of the blind man, when he sprang forward, threw himself at the feet of Christ, and in a voice choked with emotion, and trembling with earnestness, he answered, "Lord grant that I may receive my sight!"

Of David, when he lamented the loss of Saul and Jonathan, thus: "The beauty of Israel is slain upon thy high places. How are the mighty fallen! I am distressed for thee, my brother Jonathan:" and when he mourned over the death of Absalom, and said, in the deep anguish of his soul: "O my son Absalom! my son, my son Absalom! would God I had died for thee! O Absalom, my son, my son."

Of St. Paul, when his peerless eloquence made Felix, the Roman governor, tremble, and extorted from King Agrippa the acknowledgment, "Almost thou persuadest me to be a christian."

Of Daniel Webster, when speaking, in 1830, on Foote's land resolution, in the senate of the United States, he said: "When the mariner has been tossed for many days in thick weather and on an unknown sea, he naturally avails himself of the first pause in the storm, the earliest glance of the sun, to take his latitude, and ascertain how far the elements have driven him from his true course. Let us imitate this prudence, and before we float farther on the waves of debate, refer to the point from which we departed, that we may at least be able to form some conjecture where we now are."

The names of many others might be added to this brilliant list, whose elocution has not been artificial, but

[blocks in formation]
« PreviousContinue »