PN 4145 .C8 Copy 1 m LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. (SMITHSONIAN DEPOSIT.) Chap T '/f^/45" Shelf .(2. g UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 1 : <. / ACOUSTICS AND LOGIC IN THEIR APPLICATION TO READING ALOUD. A LECTURE, DELIVERED IN UNIVERSITY HALL, OCT. 12, 1855. OTtti) an glppenbtx ON THE CLERGYMAN'S SORE THROAT. BY RICHARD CULL, FELLOW OF THE ETHNOLOGICAL SOCIETT. LONDON: WALTON AND MABERLY, UPPER GOWER STREET, AND IVY LANE, PATERNOSTER ROW. 1855. W. M WATTS, CROWN COURT, TEMPLE BAR. INTRODUCTORY LECTURE, The art of Reading aloud is essentially an art, and requires special study in order for its successful practice. The object aimed at in this art is the expression of mind. The object aimed at in the art of Painting is the expression of mind. The Sculptor's aim is the expression of mind. The object aimed at in Music, and the other Fine Arts, is the expression of mind. Indeed, these Arts are designated Fine because their object is the expression of mind. The art of Reading aloud, then, is a Fine Art. No matter what the material is in which the artist works, the artist who has studied his art is able to mould that material at will, and imprint it with mind. I claim for the art of Reading, then, a high place amongst the arts : and you will find that much and varied knowledge, a sound judgment, a refined taste, with both energy and activity of mind, are required for the successful practice of this art. It requires much and varied knowledge, because it is impossible for a reader to express by his voice the sense of his author unless he apprehends that sense. The due appre- hension of the author's scope and intention is a necessary condition for its accurate expression : and a sound judgment is no less necessary to appreciate the relationship and sub- ordination of the several parts which constitute the author's text. If well stored and trained intellectual powers be so neces- sary in a public reader, no less so are the emotional faculties, duly controlled by a refined taste ; for without these how shall he be able to express the phases of sentiment of the author's text ? And how shall he avoid affectation, on the one hand, and vulgarity on the other ? But whatever the mental constitution may be, and however efficiently it may be trained, but little can be effected in this or any other Fine Art, if the genius of perseverance be lacking : for it is necessary to take, as it were, the principles in one hand and with the other to grasp and struggle with the difficulties, until, by continuous effort, they are overcome. And Sir Joshua Reynolds' dictum on painting holds equally true in public reading, " that but little is denied to well-directed exertion." The art of reading aloud, then, is not so easy an acquisition as many persons suppose it to be. If, however, a low view of the art be taken, such as is commonly gained from the perusal of the popular treatises on Elocution, no doubt such knowledge is easily gained; but, being superficial and vague, it is found to be of little practical value. The mere imitation of some reciter, however able and successful he may be, is not art, it is mimicry and cari- cature. In public reading imitation bars originality, as it does in every other art. The object aimed at in reading aloud, whether in public or private, is the expression of mind. In this general pro- position, what is meant by the term expression of mind ? The mere successive utterance of the author's words, as if they were being read from the columns of a dictionary, with all the accuracy obtained from a finished education, and the usage of good society, is not what is meant. The utterance of the author's words with the most slavish attention to the rules of Walker is not what is meant. But the utterance of the author's text with an intonation of voice appropriate to the sense and sentiment ; separating by the voice what he intends to be kept apart ; connecting by the voice, in that close or remote degree of connection, what he intends to be so con- nected ; making prominent by the voice what he in- tends to claim the attention; throwing into the background what he intends not to be strongly marked ; and the whole to present that unity in the reading which the author has given to his composition ; — this is what is meant by the term expression of mind. And when a reader can effect all this without apparent effort, it will be found that the sense and sentiment of the author have been honestly conveyed to the auditors without drawing their attention to himself. The expression of mind by the voice is a high object. It is unselfish and disinterested. The reader's duty is to convey the ideas and feelings of his author, not his own, to the audience. He must not draw attention to himself ; and should he, from vanity on the one hand, or ignorance on the other, do so, he will fail in accomplishing the object for which he reads aloud. Yes ! all egotism must be in abeyance ; he must remember that he is simply the mouth of another, although he is engaged in the noble work of breathing vitality into the words of his author. The art of reading, then, is essentially an art whose aim is the expression of mind by the voice. The human voice is the noblest and most perfect of musical instruments. It comprises the voice of song and the voice of speech. The two voices have much in common, and yet each has its own peculiarities : and, strange to say, the voice of song, which is only used as a gratification, is cultivated most sedulously for that purpose ; but the voice of speech, which is daily and hourly used in common life, as well as by public speakers and readers, is left uncultivated, or receives only that unscientific training which is given by its untaught exercise in the actual business of life. The advantages of knowledge, and the disadvantages of ignorance, are well exemplified in the case of public singers and readers respectively. The singer is taught to produce pure tone by vocalizing aright, and is well trained to a proper use of the vocal organ, the larynx ; and the result is that he can follow his profession during a long career with ease, and find so much pleasure in the act of singing, that, beyond the demands of his profession, he spends much of his leisure in the practice of vocal music. The public reader is not taught to vocalize aright, and being in ignorance of the use of his vocal organ, the larynx, he frequently, as a habit, misdirects his efforts, and the result is a loss of voice, pain in reading, until a weakened throat entirely disables him. This condition of voice and throat is so common amongst the clergy as to be 6 named the Clergyman's Sore Throat. One basis of the art of reading is to train the speech-voice to produce the greatest possible effect with the least expenditure of power, so that reading may become to the reader as pleasurable an exercise as singing is to the singer. In this course of Lectures I shall describe the vocal ap- paratus and its functions in relation to the right formation of the speech- voice, and must therefore request your attention to some anatomy and physiology in connection with acoustics and music. Be not, however, alarmed ; for this description will only be carried so far as is necessary for comprehending the office of the vocal organ in producing the speech- voice, in some degrees of its pitch and some modifications of its loudness. The varieties of sound that we hear in the speech-voice may be classed under a few general heads. The varieties known under the terms high and low belong to the general head, Pitch of Sound. A common noise, such as the collision between my hand and this desk, has no pitch. A sound, to possess pitch, must consist of a certain number of impulses, or common noises, of which the details are given in treatises on physics. The keys of a pianoforte opposite to your left hand, as you stand before it, are for notes or sounds of a low pitch ; and these ascend higher, step by step, towards the right, until you arrive at the top of the compass of the instrument. The human voice, both of song and speech, is capable of these distinctions of pitch. In song and instrumental music a few only of the degrees of pitch are used, but in speech we use all of them. I shall describe some of them as they occur in common con- versation, and in the excitement of the passions, in order that you may observe them as they are displayed in every day life: and I shall endeavour to point out the emotional and the intellectual signification of some of them for your own application to the high purpose of expressing mind by the voice. The expressive power of the seven notes in music — for the eighth, or octave, is a repetition of the first — and the variety of permutations of which they are capable, are themes on which many writers have been eloquent. It will be my duty to shew that the expressive powers of the speech-notes are far greater — the permutations of which they are capable far more numerous: and it would be easy to shew, if this were the proper place for it, that some of the choicest graces of music are borrowed from the expressive powers of the speech- voice — as the shake, for example — which is the tremulous voice of high eulogy, and, modified, of other conditions of mind. The distinctions of sound known in the Musical Academy under the terms piano and forte — soft and loud— belong to the general head, Loudness of Sound. These distinctions belong, also, to speech-sounds. I shall have to draw your attention to loudness of sound as it is heard at the initial, middle, and end of a speech-note in relation to the expressive power it gives to utterance when it characterizes a man's speech. The distinctions of sound known by the term Quality will require some consideration. Every man has three distinct qualities of voice, which he adapts to express the object he has in view. These three qualities are — 1. The Conversational. 2. The Oratorical. 3. The Falsetto. The Conversational, as its name implies, is used in common conversation. The Oratorical is a voice of fuller volume and power, and is well suited to the dignified utterance of oratory. And the Falsetto, voce di testa of the singing school, is adopted in both crying and laughing. When we recognise a friend by his voice, it is the quality of his voice that we recognise. It is quite true that we hear and become familiar with the peculiar use and combination of pitch, loudness, quality, rate of utterance, &c, of our friends, and all concur to produce that style and manner which cha- racterise his speech ; but it will be found, on observation, that the quality of voice plays an important part in our recog- nition. The quality of each human voice is capable of being de- scribed with more or less exactness. The Greek and Roman rhetoricians of antiquity have left us an abundance of terms for that purpose, as may be seen by consulting then' treatises. I am bound, however, to confess that those terms seem to be 8 better adapted for metaphorical description than for the de- mands of accurate modern science. An intelligible description of sounds can be given in no other language than that of acoustics and music ; and even such language is unintelligible to those who are practically unacquainted with sounds, as is shewn by the example of the congenital deaf mute. Sounds must be heard to be known, and can be known in no other way. And this, I believe, is the reason we can make so little practical use of the writings of the rhetoricians of antiquity. All that is audible, then, in the speech-voice may be classed under the general heads of Pitch, Loudness, and Quality ; and such sounds exist in time during a longer or shorter period. In music there is a well-ordered arrangement of the duration of the note. In speech-notes this length depends chiefly on the duration of the syllable, upon which I shall have more to say in the sequel. A speech-note, then, is of some pitch, of some loudness, of some quality, and of some duration in time, all of which may be described — the pitch and duration with mathe- matical exactness, and the loudness and quality with less ex- actness. And every syllable in speech is uttered on such a speech-note, there being a distinct speech-note for each syl- lable. If this description be accurate, the notes employed in speak- ing are capable of receiving a notation, at least, as accurate as that of music. I shall shew you the notation which I have adopted, and exhibit some speech-melodies expressive of several conditions of mind. The fact of an adequate notation to com- pose speech-melodies will gradually become known, and speech- melodies will be composed for reading with expression the works of our great authors. The speech-voice is the raw material of speech, into which it is converted in its passage through the mouth. The Greeks, observing this effect of the movements of the mouth, described man as a voice-divider ; but the Romans, looking more to his power of joining syllables, described man as a voice-articulator. He is both a voice-divider and a voice -joiner. The divisions and junctions of the voice appear to be, and to have been, uni- versally the same, in the main, in every age of human history, as is evident from the circumstance that many of the elemen- tary sounds of our speech are common to all languages. And it must be so, for the human mouth is constructed on the same plan, by means of the same parts, in every variety of the human family. The elementary sounds of English speech, about forty in number, combined in various orders of succession, constitute our phonetic or spoken language. Hence a good utterance must depend on the ability to enounce these component sounds of our speech. And if the utterance is affected by provin- cialism, affection, or imperfection of any sort, recourse must be had to a training on these elementary sounds as a basis for the systematic acquisition of a good utterance. The phonetic or spoken language is a system of audible signs of our ideas. The written language is a system of signs of the audible signs : so that they are two removes from the ideas. In the act of writing from dictation we convert audible into written signs, and are removing our signs one step further from the things signified. In the act of reading aloud we con- vert written into audible signs, and thus remove our signs one step nearer the things signified. The elements of spoken language are sounds, those of written language are letters. The circumstance that the written ele- ments do not agree with the spoken elements, the alphabet with the elementary sounds, is much to be regretted, as it not only occasions much difficulty in our first introduction to let- ters, but continues to present difficulties in after life. It is im- portant to keep in mind the distinction between, sounds and let- ters ; and the mouth should be as well trained to the right utter- ance of the one as the hand is trained to rightly form the other. Sounds are combined into syllables, and syllables are arti- culated into words. The time consumed in uttering a syllable is the sum total of the times consumed in uttering each elemen- tary sound of that syllable. I carefully avoid the term quan- tity, as that invariably suggests to us the proportion of two to one, and other dogmas attributed as excellencies to the Greek and Latin languages. In English our syllables, as read in the columns of a dictionary, differ in duration at least as much as the various notes of music, so that our means for metrical and rhythmical purposes are far greater than those attributed to 10 Greek and Latin, and are equal to those of .music itself. An examination of the following words in this respect will satisfy you on this point : city, invite, require, to be, cork-screw, wild cat, length, chasms. In measuring the duration of the sylla- bles the ear alone, or a metronome, should be employed. With syllables of such varied lengths the English language possesses ample materials for a temporal metric arrangement of its words to adapt it to the highest and widest purposes of the poet. When a word of two or more syllables is uttered, one of them receives an accent, as the first in the substantive " convoy," and the second in the verb "convoy." Now what is the condition of voice called accent ? Do not think this to be a trifling in- quiry. Goodly octavo volumes have been written on it, and much learning was brought to the discussion of the question by keen disputants, who, in the eagerness of the contest, entirely overlooked the fact that it is a question not of classical autho- rity but of acoustics. What is the condition of voice, then, which gives accent to the syllable cus in the word " discussion ?" It must be some condition of pitch, loudness, quality, or dura- tion, for all that is audible in the voice is referrable to one of these general heads. Careful observation will shew you that the special condition of voice on the syllable cus of the word "discussion" is an abrupt or sudden loudness. The syllable may or may not be uttered louder as a whole syllable, but the initial part of the speech-note on which the syllable is uttered starts abruptly into its loudness. We must not^generalise too hastily, and assert that such is the condition of voice on all accented syllables. We ought rather to observe what constitutes accent on many other sylla- bles, and thus make a wide induction before we venture to generalize. You will find the vocal condition producing accent on the syllable al of the word " alien," is an extended duration, and not an abrupt loudness. And you will find syllables in which the accent depends on the combination of a slightly extended duration with a rather abrupt loudness, in which you are unable to decide which plays the more impor- tant part. The condition of voice to produce accent depends on the structure of the syllable, and will therefore be considered 11 under that head. I have thus glanced at some of the promi- nent features of the speech-voice, and also at the structure of isolated words, ^ich it will be my duty to discuss in the present course as introductory to the object we have in view. And I therefore pass on to offer a few brief remarks on read- ing aloud. The author's connected words and sentences are to be so read that his thoughts and feelings shall be conveyed, honestly conveyed, in their full integrity, without note or com- ment by the reader. This can be done by the judicious use of sound and of silence. And all that silence can effect in the work of expression in reading should be effected by it, as it economises the vocal power of the reader. By silence I mean those pauses which separate the words into distinct groups. But where are we to pause, and on what principle are we to form the words into groups ? The printer has already grouped them by his punctuation. Shall we adopt that grouping, and pause at his stops ? Those who have attempted to do so have failed to convey the sense, and have distressed themselves in reading, in one breath, the large groups of words between the stops. If we consider the object of the punctuation in our books, we shall see that it is placed in entire relation to the written language, to which commas and colons exclusively be- long. Its office is to display the grammatical construction and syntax of the text, so that the eye of the reader may catch that construction, and thereby he may apprehend the sense of the author. Punctuation, then, has no relation to spoken language ; and in attempting to apply it to a purpose it was not intended for, we cannot be surprised at a failure. Thought is expressed in spoken language, and spoken lan- guage is expressed in written. Standing on the platform of spoken language, with written language on the one side and thought on the other, it appears to me that we must take up the written words in groups, in relation to the whole thought and its several component parts. Now the science which deals with thought, which analyses thought, and which shews the connec- tion between thought and thought is Logic ; and to logic we must look for those great principles which will enable us to group the works in relation to thought. 12 The first condition for reading aloud with perspicuity is to present each distinct thought as a unity ; and this can only be accomplished by presenting its successive paj^B, as separate yet component portions of the entire thought. There must be no confusion of the subject and predicate. In whatever order a proposition may be stated, however much the statement of the predicate may be mixed up with that of the subject, their boundaries must be clearly defined, so that each may be duly apprehended as component parts of a distinct thought. The science of logic, then, will yield principles for grouping our text to display the propositions and parts of propositions of which it consists. And as the whole contents of our books, except interrogations and exclamations, is resolvable into pro- positions, there is but a small residuum for us to deal with. But interrogations are framed in relation to the thing sought and inquired for : and however the information given may be expressed, the reply is always an entire proposition, although it may be very defectively stated. And hence the doctrine of the logical proposition is applicable to interrogations, which diminishes our small residuum. But exclamations themselves, perhaps not even excepting the shortest interjections, although not propositions, are so nearly allied to them, that the doctrine of the proposition is applicable also to them, so that our resi- duum has entirely disappeared. In supplying principles to guide us in grouping words toge- ther by the divisional agency of an interposed silence, called pause, logic has not exhausted her power of rendering service to the public reader whose education and ability enable him to receive it. The scholar who is sufficiently acquainted with logic to analyse an argument will appreciate the advantages to be derived from this science in reading aloud ; and having a just notion of the relative value of the terms of a proposition may well smile at the common misreading of the first proposi- tion in the Lord's Prayer, where equal importance is given to the subject, predicate, and copula. The low value of the copula in relation to the subject and predicate, in the large majority of propositions, is familiar to logicians; and, therefore, the error of raising the copula into equal importance in the example, " Our Father which art in heaven ;" is a logical 13 impropriety well calculated to excite a smile. This, and indeed all the faults that occur in public reading, are relative to excel- lencies ; and he who presumes to notice defects ought to be pre- pared to speak of perfections, especially of those in relation to the noticed defects. The Holy Scriptures, like other writings, consist of, or are resolvable into series of logical propositions; and hence the science of logic is applicable as a guide to the public reading of the Bible. There are peculiarities of language and style in the Scriptures which commonly embarrass public readers. These will be found chiefly to belong to a The English diction, grammar, and style of the time when our authorized version was made. /3 The preservation of certain Hebrew and Greek forms of expression, which, being literally translated into English, give us Hebrew and Greek idioms in an English dress. And, y The distinctive peculiarities which belong to each of the sacred writers, and which marks his special mission, his era, and his personal character. a The difficulties presented to the public reader by those peculiarities classed under the first head are scattered through every book of the Holy Scriptures. The occurrence of words which have become, or are be- coming obsolete, grammatical forms which have long passed away from the language, both of our books and conversation, and an antiquated style, present many difficulties to the reader in conveying the sense of the sacred writers to a congregation. I do not draw attention to this subject to supply an argument for a new translation of the Bible, or even for a revision of the present one. My object is not to deal with that question, but to simply point out some peculiar difficulties you will meet with, and must overcome, in order to convey the sense of the sacred writers in the authorized version, for that is the book you will have to read aloud to your congrega- tions. /3 The difficulties presented to the public reader, by the 14 peculiarities classed under the second head, are of two kinds, viz. — (a) the Hebrew idioms of the Old Testament, and (/3) the Greek idioms of the New. There is an example of the first in the record of that ever-memorable event, when Elijah publicly called upon the Israelites assembled at Mount Carmel to declare whether they chose Jehovah or Baal for their God. They chose Jehovah, declaring, in words which are literally rendered in our authorized version, " The Lord, he is the God: the Lord, he is the God," 1 Kings xviii. 39. The repetition of the subject in this proposition is a difficulty to most public readers. The difficulty lies in this, that the repetition, which ought to enhance the first statement, is effected by a word greatly inferior to a noun-substantive, a personal pronoun, the use of which, as stated by grammarians, is to avoid the heaviness and tautology occasioned by repeating the substantive. The pronoun in this sentence not only adds no strength to the substantive, but actually weakens it : and I believe it will be found that this substantive can be strengthened only by being repeated, as perhaps will appear by comparing the two forms of expression — The Lord, he is the God. The Lord, the Lord is the God. Now a knowledge of the Hebrew language will partly remove this difficulty, as it will account for the Hebrew pronoun, by explaining its function in the sentence ; and as the English words, " The Lord, he (is) the God," literally render the Hebrew O^rH^n fc^in TDtX] (Yehovah hoo haelohim), we shall be able to rightly estimate the value of the pro- noun he in our authorized version, "The Lord, he is the God." The Hebrew pronoun WH, (hoo) he, is not placed in the sentence for the purpose of adding strength to the sub- stantive rn^n% " Jehovah," but occurs simply as an idiom of the language for the logical copula. In the Hebrew language the logical copula is seldom stated, as in most cases the mere juxta-position of the subject and pre- dicate is sufficient. And, when necessary, there are two modes of stating it, viz. (a) By a personal pronoun of the third person, which refers to the predicate and connects it 15 with the subject : and (ft), much less frequently the copula is expressed by the substantive verb nVT (hay a). Now in the sentence under consideration, as both subject and predicate are definite, an ambiguity would arise as to which is the subject ; but the insertion of the personal pronoun as a copula shews that 7T)tV> is the subject. The Hebrew word WH, he, stands in the place of the copula, and performs its function in the sentence ; so that the Hebrew pronoun b^Ji in this sentence exactly corresponds, in its office of affirmatively connecting the subject and predicate, to the English verb is. This enables us to rightly understand the value of the word he in our version, " The Lord, he is the God." And, knowing its value, we shall avoid drawing attention to it, as if it were intended to add strength to the sentence by emphatic repetition of the subject. I will not now occupy your attention with more of these examples, as the one cited sufficiently illustrates the character of the difficulty which the idioms present to reading aloud the Holy Scriptures. (7) The difficulties presented to the public reader by the peculiarities classed under the third head are those which specially belong to the writer. The parenthetic style found in the Epistles of St. Paul, the intersecting thoughts which cross the path of his arguments, the digressions in following up a train of thought which one of his own words has sug- gested, are personal peculiarities of the individual. These peculiarities often make it difficult for the reader to keep the thread of the writer's argument before the audience. In illustra- tion of these difficulties I would respectfully direct your atten- tion to the first chapter of the Epistle to the Ephesians, to the fourth chapter of the Epistle to the Hebrews, as far as the eleventh verse, and to the statements and details concerning Melchisedek, which intersect the statement of a proposition concerning his priesthood, and which occur in the first three verses of the seventh chapter of the same Epistle. These in- stances do not exhaust the examples in his writings, but are simply referred to as specimens of the class of difficulties under consideration. 16 I have briefly stated these peculiar difficulties which lie in the way of perspicuity in reading, and I shall now make a few remarks on overcoming them ; and first, of obsolete words. The difficulty occasioned by these words is less in the mouth of the reader than in the mind of the hearer. It resolves itself into a question of the knowledge of the signification of words ; and no kind of verbal utterance that I am acquainted with will confer on the hearer this knowledge. The obsolete or dead words will be heard and generally not understood, so that their occurrence will occasion blanks in the sense of the writer. The other difficulties are all such as encumber more or less, in one way or another, the statement of propositions, and thus present serious obstacles to the reader. But I now suppose the reader to have overcome all these difficulties in the way of his own apprehension .of the sense, and to see his way quite through all the maze which bewildered him, with clearness and far-sighted vision. The next question is, How is he to manage his voice to make it all equally clear to his audience ? How shall he distribute his emphasis to effect all these various ends ? It is evident that this question can only be solved by solving all those contained in it. The question of emphasis, its objects and means, must find a large place in a course on public reading. The definition of emphasis must be much extended to embrace the wide range of function it has in dis- course. And the description of the condition of voice which, laid on a syllable, gives emphasis to a sentence, as found in the books on Elocution, must be extended to embrace every pos- sible condition of voice, which can be given to a syllable to distinguish it from its fellows. It must even go further, for it must include the use of silence itself, which is so frequently placed in juxta-position to a word to enhance its value by giving it prominence. A popular error on the subject of emphasis is to suppose it to be additional loudness. Perhaps the common expression, to lay emphasis on a word, has sug- gested that emphasis is something additional to the ordinary current of voice laid on a particular word or syllable. Such may have been the origin of the error. The condition of voice which makes a syllable important by standing out from its fellows, is always a condition of voice different from its fellows. 17 The emphatic syllable is distinguished from its neighbours by some condition of pitch, or loudness, or quality, or duration of voice different from theirs. If it had the same pitch, the same loudness, the same quality, and the same duration as its neighbours, it would not be distinguished from them. Hence, the speech-note of the emphatic syllable differs in some respects from its adjoining speech-notes. And this difference may be chiefly a greater or less loudness, a different form of loudness, a higher or lower pitch, or a greater or less duration of time. Every word in a discourse is in relation to other words, so that they each possess a relative value to each other, and to the group of which they are constituents. This relationship can- not be displayed by the voice, by drawing attention to a word here and there in the sentence, according to the rules laid down in elocution books ; for according to these rules a vague direction is given for the utterance of the two or three words, while that of every other in the sentence is left to chance. Such meagre directions leave at least three-fourths of the words totally unprovided for ; and the consequence is, suppos- ing the rules to be good so far as they go, that a mere harshly" correct outline is given, reminding one of those rude efforts at portrait-painting in which some hard lines suggest a likeness of the original, but in which the relationship of the various parts to each other is lacking ; in which we seek in vain for that due gradation of colour, of light, of shadow, of linear and aerial perspective, and consistency of parts, by which the regu- lated diversity of the constituent elements combine into a unity. In reading aloud, then, every word, aye, every syllable, must have its degree of pitch, its amount and character of loudness, its duration, its rate of utterance, and every other vocal acci- dent in due relation to its own value in the sentence. The diversity of each must be so regulated as to conduce to the unity of the whole. And those who have erected for them- selves this high standard of excellence seek a kind of public reading, able to satisfy the requirements of an enlightened understanding, a refined taste, and an ear trained to demand a full, flexible, and pure tone of voice. An essential condition for becoming such a reader is the cultivation of the voice, to develop its excellencies, correct 18 its faults, enlarge its compass, increase its powers, and subject it entirely to the will. By vocalizing aright the organ is strengthened for its work, as is familiarly known in the school of music, and the strength that is given by a proper cultivation of the speech-voice forbids the approach of Clergyman's sore throat. When the organ of voice is properly used its exercise in public reading becomes, not distressing, but healthy and pleasant. We each have our own individuality of mind. Much of our general education is common to us all; much of the professional education, mode of life, and after career, is common to groups of us, yet we each maintain our own individuality of mind throughout life. It is in this respect " The child is father of the man." This individuality of mind, this sub- jectivity of the German school, imparts its own hue to all external objects we observe and contemplate. Like poetry, in the poetical language of Lord Bacon, u it conforms the shows of things to the understanding" It gives its own tinge to the sense and sentiment of every author we read, every con- versation we hear. It displays itself in the voice both of speaking and reading. It is this last circumstance that enables a man to read a text, in which one class of sentiment prevails, better than another text which is marked by a different sentiment : and it is this which appears in and characterizes each man's reading. Now the cultivation of voice I re- commend will enable the reader most fully to stamp his reading with his own individuality of mind ; because his voice, in all its capabilities, is brought more completely under subjection to his will: and the individuality of mind will manifest itself by the voice in as spontaneous a manner as it does now. APPENDIX. ON CLERGYMAN'S SORE THROAT. This condition of throat, so common amongst the clergy, is produced either by excessive use of the voice in continuously severe duty, or by misdirected effort in the art of vocalization. Barristers endure without ill consequences more severe and continuous vocal exercise than the clergy. The chief dis- tinction is, that the voice of the barrister is produced for speak- ing, that of the clergyman for reading. If this malady were simply the result of overworking the voice, barristers ought to suffer from it as much as the clergy, nay more, for the rate of utterance being far greater in speaking than in reading, it is evident that the organ of voice performs more work in a given time in public speaking than in public reading. From this circumstance it might be inferred that the organ of voice is able to do more work in speaking than in reading. If all the clergy, and if all other public readers suffered from this malady, such an inference might be valid : but some public readers only suffer ; and those are commonly not the men who read aloud most, or those who are weak of constitution. The organ of voice, it is true, like every ^other organ, may be overworked, and very often is tasked beyond its powers by singers, speakers, and readers. Long-continued overwork induces great fatigue, with a sense of exhaustion in the throat, and then pain is experienced in every attempt to vocalize. Morbid conditions of the throat, familiar to medicine, are found in connection with this state of the voice. Medical treatment, how- ever, is capable of removing these ill effects of overwork, and the voice again becomes able to perform its usual amount of work. The case, however, is different in regard to Clergyman's sore throat ; for although the morbid condition of the throat may yield to medical treatment, yet the voice is seldom able to perform its usual amount of work for long together, in con- sequence of the occurrence of pain and distress in the act of producing voice to read aloud : and not only is vocalization painful, but the voice is found to be less under control than formerly, and, as a consequence, the character of the reading is deteriorated. Rest, continued cessation from vocal effort, which is so bene- 20 ficial to the overworked voice (whether in singing, speaking, . or reading) in regaining its power, seems to give but little power to the reader suffering from Clergyman's sore throat. All these circumstances concur in confirmation of the view that Clergyman's sore throat is not the result of excessive, but of misdirected effort in producing voice. < The song-note and speech-note are essentially different, yet each may be produced in their respective work of singing and speaking for several hours daily without injury to the throat. It is only the speech-note, as produced for reading, that induces this condition. I observe that the highly culti- vated voice of the singer, and the instinctively produced voice of spontaneous speaking, can alike be exercised without fatigue and without pain. Thus art successfully competes with nature. The voice instinctively produced for spontaneous speaking is equalled by the highly cultivated voice of the singing school — the pure tone of the Italian system. This is indeed a triumph of art : and we see the voice of reading, which is not instinctive, on the one hand, nor cultivated on the other, is unable, in most cases, to effect its purpose, and fre- quently breaks down under moderate work. This suggests that the voice must be either instinctively produced like the one, or highly cultivated like the other, in order to last. But in reading it cannot be instinctive ; for even in those cases where the language is recited from memory, as many clergymen go through our Morning Service, we find that the close connection of the thought, language, and voice of spontaneous speaking does not exist. The alternative, therefore, of a highly cultivated voice must be adopted : and by this term I do not mean the application of those rules of reading which are taught by Elocution masters, but a cultiva- tion of the voice on sound acoustic and physiological principle analogous to those which are so eminently successful in culti- vating the voice of song. This is not mere theory. Voices have been cultivated on such principles with great success. Weak ones have been strengthened, and greatly improved in flexibility and tone : and even those supposed to be permanently silenced by long- continued Clergyman's sore throat have been restored to public usefulness. —— ™""^riiiiimimnffnifiwnf L'BRARY OF CONGRESS P % I u I