IN MEMORIAM BERNARD MOSES RHETORIC: A TEXT- BOOK, DESIGNED FOR USE IN SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES, AND FOR PRIVATE STUDY. BY REV. E. O. HAVEN, D.D., LL.D. PRESIDENT Or TUX TTNIVKBfllTY OF MICHIGAN. Imago Aniroi Sermo est. SENECA. NEW YORK: HARPER & BROTHERS, PUBLISHERS, FRANKLIN SQUARE. 1869. Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1869, by HARPER & BROTHERS, In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for the Southern District of New York. POSES '" : / . -'.; ' . ... .;;... ... . . . CONTENTS. INTRODUCTION. PART I. WORDS AND THE MATERIAL OF EXPRESSION. CIIMTF.R PACK I. General Expression of Thought and Feeling 17 II. The Origin and Use of Language- '21 I 1 1. How to acquire the Knowledge of Words 27 I V. Short and expressive Words 80 V. Long Words, and Directions upon the Choice of Words. 37 VI. How to obtain a good Vocabulary 45 VII. Discrimination in the Use of Words 49 VIII. Faults to be avoided 63 IX. Further Directions upon the Choice of Words 60 X. Further Directions continued 66 PART n. FIGURES OF SPEECH AND THOUGHT. I. Tropes 77 II. Comparisons 87 III. Allusions 95 IV. Metaphors ^ 102 V. Antitheses * 113 VI. Allegories and Fables 122 VII. Hyperboles, or Extravagant Expressions 131 VIII. Irony 138 IX. Personification and Prosopopreia 145 X. Apostrophe 156 XI. Sermocinatio, or Dialogue 162 XII. Vision 165 XIII. Wit . 173 XIV. Wit continued..'... . 180 885989 vi CONTENTS. PART HL COMPOSITION AND STYLE. CHAPTER I. Combinations of Words 189 II. Propositions 193 III. Sentences 199 IV. Loose Sentences and Periods 202 V. Interrogations, Exclamations, Climax, Repetition 208 VI. The Melody of Sentences 213 VII. Style 220 VIII. Idioms and Proverbs 228 IX. How to acquire a good Style 237 X. Style adapted to produce Emotion 244 XI. Taste, and its Cultivation 251 XII. Style modified by the Nature of the Production , . . . . 256 XIII. Addresses, Lectures, Orations, Sermons 260 XIV. Epistolary Composition 268 XV. Historical Writing 274 XVI. Representative Writing and Fiction -'7'.' XVII. Poetry 286 XVIII. Species of Poetry 302 PART IV. INVENTION. I. Nature of Invention, and some general Rules 311 II. Invention in Description 316 III. Invention in Narrations 323 IV. Invention in abstract Subjects - 329 V. Invention in Discussions 333 VI. Invention in miscellaneous Productions 343 PART V. ELOCUTION. I. Propriety of the Study of Elocution 351 II. The mechanical Elements of Elocution 355 III. Intellectual and moral Elements of Elocution 366 INDEX.. .. 375 PREFACE. THIS work may be said to have grown, rather than to have been written for the purpose of making a book. Having used in the class-room, in academy and college, many of the text-books on Rhetoric, an- cient and modern, foreign and American, and having instructed some classes without using a text-book, I have been most satisfied with the result when the method herein presented has been pursued. This book is therefore the result of actual experiment. Abstruse arguments about style and oratory, about the conflicting theories of taste and beauty, about con- viction and persuasion, and the laws of mind, and the philosophy of language, are all good and valuable in their place ; but a student may read and repeat them with but little more effect on his own habits of speak- ing or power to write well, than he would receive from an equal amount of study in mathematics, medi- cine, or law, or any other subject. At the same time, mere exercises in composition, on a series of topics presented, with a few outlines and directions, are too superficial to produce the desired result. What the student needs is an orderly and perspicu- viii PREFA CE. ous presentation of the theory, with illustrations and directions how to profit by it. Examples both for imitation and disapproval, in this work, have been drawn from modern as well as ancient writers, American as well as foreign from some not widely known, as well as from the most cele- brated. As it regards the best use to be made of the book, I would respectfully suggest to teachers that students of Khetoric should always combine practice with study, and should be required to produce either original or selected examples of every figure of speech, of every kind of composition, and of every style described. Once a week, perhaps, the class may present in writing specimens or illustrations of what has been studied during the week, and the exercises suggested in Part IV. should all be fairly wrought out after the previous parts have been studied. In this way the science and art are so welded together in the memory as to be of permanent value. It is also an excellent exercise for a student to be required to present written criticisms of some produc- tions, well-known or otherwise, according to the prin- ciples stated in the text-book. It is comparatively easy for a student to write when a definite subject is suggested to him. Khetoric, like music, is eminently practical ; and while theoretic study is indispensable, persistent, careful work is demanded. INTRODUCTION. RHETOKIC is both a science and an art. In this respect, it is like all other subjects which embrace practice, founded upon rules that grow out of certain facts in the nature of things : such as Grammar, Ar- chitecture, Music, Painting, Medicine and Surgery, Laud-surveying, Engineering, Navigation. With reference to all such subjects there are two classes of persons : those who appreciate and approve a proper study of the theory as a basis of actual work, and those who insist that native genius alone is com- petent to reach the desired result. The occasion for this diversity of opinion arises from the fact that there are men who have studied carefully practical sciences, but have not been able to achieve eminent success in actual work; and there are also men who have not studied the theory, who are still remarkably successful. The two extremes may be seen in some profound students ; perhaps teach- ers of elocution, for instance, who can not make an effective extempore speech, or of Rhetoric, who can not write a popular book or essay ; and in some who have never studied the theory of their profession, and are yet eminent as " natural painters," " natural mu- sicians," and " natural bone-setters." X INTRODUCTION. Occasionally, too, we meet with men who hav carefully studied the science underlying some art, and have also become skillful in the practice, who seem to lose* a consciousness of their obligation to study, and who undervalue and, perhaps, decry their own study. It is a great misfortune to a young person to fall under the influence of such men. As Archbishop Hare well said, " It is, indeed, no small satisfaction to think, that whoever attacks learning, if he does it weakly, does it no hurt; and if he does it well, his own performance is a good argument against him; while he shows thereby its usefulness as well as his own ingratitude."* It is not to be denied that, men differ in constitu- tional ability, and that many, without a close and sys- tematic examination of the theory, have exhibited re- markable talent. But at the same time all who de- sire to excel in any art should study the science on which it is based as thoroughly and exhaustively as their opportunities will allow. They should become familiar with principles and with the best examples, and even with associated sciences. This course has been faithfully and laboriously pursued by the strong- est and most efficient men. Thorough study will not restrain native genius, but develop and direct it ; and if for a time it represses extravagance that might -ex- * The works of the late Right Rev. and learned Archbishop Hare, Lord-bishop of Chichester (London, 1746), vol. i. p. 50. This ap- plies to the depreciation of grammar, rhetoric, and logic, by Macaulay, a man who may be said to have been steeped in these sciences from his childhood, and who undervalued them, simply because he had been taught to obey them from his earliest life, and could not appreciate the value of studying them. INTRODUCTION. xi hibit strength, it will only lay the foundation for greater triumph. Especially does this apply to Rhetoric. There have indeed been ignorant orators, but it does not follow that general information is not useful to a speaker. Battles have been fought and victories won with poor armor, and yet good armor is necessary, and for the want of it many a battle has been lost. There are strong temptations to superficiality, and to a spurious and limited facility in practice, that may easily be gained by the poorly prepared. The ends of Rhetoric can not be acquired by the study of grammar alone, nor by general reading, nor by practice. It has rules based on the nature of lan- guage, and on the nature of mind, that have been reach- ed and reduced to a system by the most thorough re- search, which can be mastered and employed only as the result of diligent effort. . Indeed it has been a favorite opinion of the most profound adepts in this science that only a virtuous man, under the noblest impulses of our nature, can attain the highest excellence in the art. It -requires, for the fullest exhibition of its power, not only a well- trained, well-stored mind, but a heart full of generous, healthy emotion. Such was the opinion of Quintilian, antl it has been repeated by many modern writers on Rhetoric. In this book an attempt is made to present the sci- ence naturally, unencumbered by useless technicalities, or by discussions of side issues, that may be interest- ing to mature men, who alone can derive any direct xii INTRODUCTION. advantage from them in the improvement of their style of thought and utterance. Some works on Rhet- oric exert no appreciable practical effect on the style of the student. This is not a work about Rhetoric, but endeavors to present the very elements of effective expression of thought and emotion. Its good results will depend largely upon the care with which the theory is studied, 'and upon the repeated efforts made by the student to produce for himselt the various kinds of figures of speech and styles of composition analyzed and explained. This he should do, partly by the way of rinding examples in his reading, and .analyzing and classifying them, and partly by inventing original specimens. Part I. explains the primary elements which com- position employs : WORDS, with directions how to ob- tiiin a copious, and correct, and efficient vocabulary. Part II. explains and illustrates another and more complicated class of the elements of expression, called FIGURES OF SPEECH AND THOUGHT. 'Part III. shows how these elements are combined and actually employed, and their result, in STYLE, and in the leading kinds of written and oral productions. Long dissertations on the theory of TASTE, and the beautiful and sublime, are intentionally omitted, as be- longing more appropriately to Mental Philosoph}-. The province of Logic, also, is not encroached upon by dissertations on the relations of thoughts to each other, and the laws of Conviction and Persuasion. Often rules are given under these heads that no writer regards in practice. INT MOD UCTION. xiii Part IY. naturally follows as an investigation of INVENTION as an art, showing how material may be best acquired and employed, according to previous di- rections. Part V. contains some general principles and direc- tions pertaining to ELOCUTION. This is believed to comprehend what belongs prop- erly to Khetoric. PART I, RHETORIC, AND ITS RELATION TO LANGUAGE. RHETORIC. CHAPTER I. GENERAL EXPRESSION OF THOUGHT AND FEELING. 1. Definitions. RHETORIC is the science and art of expressing thought and feeling by language in the best possible manner. Aristotle defined Rhetoric to be "the faculty of perceiving all the possible means of persuasion on every subject" The object of a speaker or writer is sometimes, however, not to persuade, but to instruct or to amuse. Quintilian describes Rhetoric as the "science of speaking well;" a concise and beauti- ful definition, if it be understood also to include writ- ing. Speech is primarily uttered, but much is now writ- ten to be printed and read, perhaps silently, and Rhet- oric^ embraces the rules by which language, whether uttered or written, may be the most effective. It is immaterial, generally, whether, in the discussion of these rules, the primary attention be directed to speak- ing or writing. When the nature of the. subject 18 EHETOMKJ. allows, both are included, though but one is men- tioned. .. w . 2, Natural Lant/ange. r Jt$<&ghl: and emotion may be communicaied:bjjene-|>oraon.to. another by signs, such as moti6n3 "of tine ii'ands ; : b inarticulate sounds, such as groans, shouts, sighs, and by touch. Many animals thus communicate with each other. This is called Natural Language. Some of the methods of natural language are high- ly cultivated by men, and the use of some kinds of communication without language is often employed to add efficiency to uttered speech. The practice of impressing other minds by motions of the limbs, the eyes, and the countenance, has been so perfected as to become a good substitute for language in the transac- tion of important business. Navigators are guided into proper channels, and warned against unseen rocks and other dangers, by lights of different colors and shape. The movement and size and intention of armies are communicated by the waving of flags of different form or color, as pre- viously agreed upon. Trumpets, steam- whistles, and whatever makes a noise, maybe used to convey thought. Telegraphy may exist without the use of words. 3. Thought independent of Language. From the above, it is evident that thought and emotion can ex- ist without language. Those who have asserted that man can not think without the use of language either have not comprehended the subject, or they have given to the term language a meaning more than prop- ly belongs to it, and made it embrace all signs of THOUGHT WITHOUT LANGUAGE. 19 thought and feeling. The very brutes feel and think. Mankind can not be inferior to them.* 4. Language necessary to thorough and comprehensive Thought But without articulate language the thoughts of men would be scanty and imperfect, and their emo- tions would be undeveloped and untrained. This is clearly ascertained from facts. The deaf and dumb (speechless because they can * Lord Bacon thus presents his view of the possibility of thought without language : "The notes of things, then, which carry a sig- nification without the help or intervention of words, are of two kinds : one, ex congruo, where the note has some congmity with the motion, the other, ad placitum, where it is adopted and agreed upon at pleas- ure. Of the former kind are hieroglyphics and gestures, of the lat- ter, the real cluirai-tt-rs above mentioned. The use of hieroglyphics is very old. * * * When Periander, being consulted how to pre- serve a tyranny, bade the messenger follow him, and went into his garden and topped the highest flowers, hinting at the cutting off of the nobility, he made use of a hieroglyphic just as much as if he had drawn it on paper. In the mean time it is plain that hieroglyphics and gestures have always some similitude to the thing signified, and are a kind of emblems whence I have called them notes of things bycongruity" (Advancement of Learning, book iv. chap. i.). Sir William Hamilton styles the assertion that man can not think without language " a psychological hypothesis in regard to the ab- solute dependence of the mental faculties on language, once and again refuted " (Ed. Rev. vol. cxv. p. 208). The art of pantomime, or of expressing character, thought, and action by attitudes, gestures, and motions, was highly cultivated by the Romans in their theatres. Some of the thought thus conveyed was instructive and* ennobling, but often it was degrading and inde- cent, and therefore public pantomimic performances were severely denounced by the early Christian preachers. Macrobius, who lived in the early part of the fifth century after Christ, relates that Cicero, the famous orator, and Roscius, a famous actor, would often try to- gether to ascertain which could express a thought the more eloquent- ly, the one by words, and the other by gestures and motions. 20 RHETORIC. not hear), however advanced in years, never have many thoughts till they learn language. They have no idea of life and death, of cause and effect, of reward and punishment. That beautiful system of instruct- ing them, devised in modern times, and which itself is a great honor both to modern science and to Christian- ity, shows how indispensable words are, as the instru- ments of thought ; for those mutes, who have never heard a sound, must learn words before th'ey can pos- sibly receive abstract ideas, such, for instance, as are expressed in the Lord's Prayer, or in the Constitu- tion of the United States. These words they learn, as they learn to think, not imperceptibly, as hearing per- sons do, through articulate language, but slowly and laboriously. No instance has yet been known in the whole his- tory of the world of a human being who was taught to equal the average of children often years of age, in thought and emotion, without a knowledge of words. There have been poets and orators, learned mathema- ticians, ' astronomers, land-surveyors, and machinists without sight, skillful artists without hands, but no men of thought who could not understand and use words. Well did Quintilian exclaim, " How little does man's divine mind avail him if speech is denied !"* Words are the signs of thought. *We learn the thoughts of others by words. We store up thoughts by the memory of words, or by writing them, to be compared, analyzed, and classified at our leisure. The basis of Rhetoric is a knowledge of words. * De fnstitutione Oratoria, lib. ii. cap. xvi. OKI 013 (JV LAX GUAM. 21 CHAPTER II. THE ORIGIN AND USE OF LANGUAGE. 5. The Origin of Language. THE origin of lan- guage can not certainly be ascertained by investiga- tion. The Holy Scriptures represent man as having language from the beginning. The theory that hu- man beings were once a mute and almost thoughtless herd, like the brutes, is a figment of the imagination not based on historic evidence. The various views of those who have endeavored to account for the origin of language may be reduced to these three theories : (1.) It was communicated to man by the Creator. (2.) It was the invention of man, previous to which the race may have lived without it, like dogs or cattle, hundreds and thousands of years. (3.) Man is so constituted that it is as instinctive for him to speak as it is for a beaver to construct a dam, or for a bee to store up honey. The first and third views do not conflict with each other, and may both be correct, but the second is whol- ly imaginary and un philosophical, and all who de- mand a basis of fact for their opinions to rest upon should decline to receive it. It has even been conjectured by some that if a com- 22 RHETORIC. pany of human beings could be left to grow up togeth- er from childhood without hearing a word uttered by any other person, they would naturally themselves con- struct a language. This, however, is only conjecture.* There is a wonderful uniformity in many of the languages spoken by men, and many philologists be- lieve that all are variations from one original com- mon speech. 6. A Variety of Words necessary. Without wander- ing far into the field of conjecture, we can confident- ly assert that words are the necessary vehicles of ma- ture and various thought. As the skillful painter must have on his easel materials for every color, and even every delicate shade, as the accomplished organ- ist must have an instrument well-furnished with notes and stops, so must the speaker or writer have a copi- ous supply of these airy yet permanent representa- tives of mental and moral action words. Words are winged messengers, without which thoughts slumber in a silence that can not be distinguished from death. Without language, the body would be little better than a tomb for the soul. 7. Natural Language itself not diminished, but im- *Rev. Horace Bushnell, D.D., in his work entitled "God in Christ, with a Preliminary Dissertation on Language, " published in Hartford in 1 849, relates an instance of two twin boys in Connecti- cut who constructed a language for each other in infancy, and would not use their mother-tongue. Unfortunately one of them died, " and with him died, never to be spoken again, what, beyond any reason for doubt, was the root of a new original diversity of human speech a new tongue." The instance is not given with sufficient fullness and definiteness to produce conviction. W(JltU-PAINTI.\ 23 proved by Speech. So essential is speech to the thor- ough culture of the mind that it may be doubted whether natural language itself is not rendered by it more efficient than it possibly could have been with- out the cultivation secured by the use of words. The paintings and hieroglyphics of savages are indeed superior to the best pictorial illustrations that could have been produced by human beings wholly desti- tute of language ; but how far short do the pictures made by savages fall of the paintings of a Raphael, or the^ illustrations that accompany modern scientific works ! 7. Word-painting. Word-painting, or the repre- sentation by language of what may be seen by the eye, often produces a more definite and vivid picture of the object than can be presented by sculpture or on the canvas, because, in addition to describing the mere superficial appearance, some words are used which sug- gest the feelings and thoughts both of the objects de- scribed, if they have any, and of the observer. Take, for instance, the following description of a dying gladi- ator, as described by Byron in Childe Harold, canto iv. stanza 140 : '* I see before me the gladiator lie : He leans upon his hand his manly brow Consents to death, but conquers agony, And his drooped head sinks gradually low And through his side the last drops, ebbing slow From the red gash, fall heavy, one by one, Like the first of a thunder-shower ; and now The arena swims around him he is gone, Ere ceased the inhuman shout which hailed the wretch who j \ Rn This beautiful description of a statue conveys more thought than the best executed specimen of sculpture, or even the actual facts presented to our senses, unless our own minds were capable of originating the reflec- tions suggested to us by the writer. 8. Comparative Power of Language and tlic imita- tive Arts in Description. An unprofitable controversy has arisen upon the question whether language, or painting and sculpture, which are called the " imita- tive arts," can afford the most thorough and vivid de- scription of an object. James Barry, in a lecture on painting, delivered before the British Royal Academy, says : " The Medicean Yen us, the Farnese Hercules, and the Fighting Gladiator also, what is there in po- etry (descriptive) that could supply the loss of them ?" He adds: "Words, after all, are but words. They are but symbols formed for the eye out of twenty-four arbitrary scratches, called letters, and certain vibra- tions of the air occasioning certain irritations in our organ of hearing, which by national compacts are made to suggest the idea of existing things, with their several modes and degrees of relation ; and though the communication of all this matter of compact is more or less perfect, according to the degrees of our educa- tion in it, yet how very imperfect it is, even at the best, will soon appear, on attempting to describe in mere words any individual complex forms, as the portrait or likeness of any man's face, and numberless other mat- ters which need not be mentioned. However, what language wants in precision, is abundantly compensa- ted in the facility and extent of what it does commu- NECESSITY OF THOUGHT. 25 nicatc in the whole range of characters, manners, pas- sions, sentiments, and intercourse of society."* No naked description, by words, of a thing seen, can equal in vividness a correct picture, but it may contain much more information than can possibly be received directly through the sense of sight 9. Relation of Language to Mental Culture. Words have many shades and degrees of signification, varying with the mental cultivation of those who employ and hear them. A well-stored mind means more by the same terms than an ignorant one, and receives more meaning from the words of others. The best authors can not be appreciated except by persons equally learned, for the words are clothed with associations, allusions, and suggestions that are wholly invisible to the uneducated. A production, written or spoken, that conveys abundant valuable thought, generally evinces thorough culture. Many animals can be taught at least a small part of the signification of several words when addressed to them. Some animals can be taught to articulate, but never to use language as a vehicle of thought A student may become thoroughly acquainted with the art of elocution, and yet be an inefficient speaker, for the want of knowledge and mental discipline; good elocutionists, so called, are often inefficient original orators, because they have feeble or uncultivated minds, or scanty information, or little genuine feeling ; while writers that violate the fundamental principles * Lectures on Painnng, by the Royal Academicians, Barry, Opie, and Fuseli (London, p. 115). B 26 RHETORIC. of Rhetoric will be read, and speakers that transgress elocution and even grammar will be listened to, simply from their abundance of thought and power. One ac- quainted with the rules of Rhetoric may be incompe- tent to write a valuable essay, or even a good letter to a friend, for the want of mental ability. Rhetoric can not supply the place of intellect and heart, but only shows how to use both most efficiently. An able speaker or writer needs thought, emotion, and lan- guage. ACQUISITION OF WORDS. 27 CHAPTER III. HOW TO ACQUIRE THE KNOWLEDGE OF WORDS. 10. Language learned in Childhood. THE first req- uisite of Rhetoric is to acquire a knowledge of words. This knowledge is obtained, to a great extent, in our childhood from our parents and early companions. We hear words pronounced, we mark their signifi- cance, we imprint them upon our minds ; they thus become vehicles of thought for our own use. Who^ may have uttered those words first is of no practical consequence to us. Some of them may have been used by the Romans two thousand years ago, and therefore be said to be derived from the Latin,; others may have been used by the Greeks; others by the Nor- mans; others by the modern French; others may have been always used from the creation of man till now ; but whoever used them before us, they are now words of our language, and we learn their significance and power by hearing them pronounced. 11. Language acquired by hearing and reading. By the sense of hearing alone it is possible to acquire an extensive and choice vocabulary, and to become ready and expert in the use of language. There have been many eloquent speakers who have thus acquired all their knowledge of language. In past ages, and among 28 RHETORIC. ignorant people, undoubtedly there have been many able orators who could not write their names, and who could not read the alphabet. But the most effi- cient aid of the hearing now is the printed page. Many obtain their knowledge of all but a few common words from books. The words used in good books are more choice and correct, and more numerous than are heard except from the best speakers. 12. The Number of Words in Use. The number of words heard and understood by children and youth generally is small. As the boundaries and the mi- nuteness of their investigations enlarge, the number of words used must increase, to express the new ob- jects and relations discovered, and the new thoughts and emotions awakened. Our knowledge is propor- tional to the number of words that we understand, each conveying a different thought ; and our power of producing thought and feeling in others depends on the number of words that we can properly and promptly use in our addresses to them. How can one who understands only a hundred words make an elo- quent speech on a complicated subject, or write an in- structive essay ? The number of independent wprds in the English language is estimated to be about forty thousand; though if we counted only those in ordinary use by well-educated speakers and writers,' we should find not half so many ; but if we reckon all that have been used by writers within the past two hundred years, we should find many more than that number. 13. Natural and Artificial Modes of learning Lan- METHODS OF LEARNING WORDS. 29 guage. There are two methods of learning the mean- ing of words the natural and the artificial. The natural method is to listen to the words when uttered, and to observe what from their connection and from the appearance of the speaker, and from the consequences that follow, must be their meaning, and then ourselves, when occasion calls, to use the same words. The artificial method is to study the meaning of words by the use of lexicons, grammars, and other books that define words, or to hear them explained by a teacher. Both methods must be practiced to obtain so ex- tensive a knowledge of words as good scholarship re- quires. Both may be combined by reading books written in a good style, and by never passing over an unfamiliar expression without obtaining a correct idea of the author's meaning by consulting a dictionary or some other aid. 30 RHETORIC. CHAPTER IV. SHORT AND EXPRESSIVE WORDS. 14. BY examining the English language closely, we observe that the most of its words are short, con- sisting of one syllable only or two. The most of these short words were used by those early inhab- itants of England that migrated thither from parts of Germany, and were called Anglo-Saxons, and have been derived from the Anglo-Saxon language. Near- ly all the primitive Anglo-Saxon words were short, and the longer words in the language were compound terms. Many of the Anglo-Saxon words are no long- er used, and many other terms similar to them in brev- ity and force have been introduced from other sources. Indeed there seems to have been a great tendency in the formative ages of the English language to reduce long words to shorter and more easily remembered terms. A large stock of these short words are understood by nearly all who speak the English language, and are first learned by children, and by all who become acquainted with the language by actual use. The most common objects have short names. The most highly educated persons, as well as others, employ them. Therefore, if properly and skillfully used in SHORT WOlilts. 31 oratory, poetry, or ordinary speech, they produce upon the people their full effect. The power to appreciate them is -enjoyed by all, while some persons do not fully understand some of the longer and less familiar terms in our language. The exact meaning of these condensed terms should be carefully studied, and the laws of their combina- tion be examined, for a mastery over them gives great power to a writer or speaker. The Anglo-Sax- on element of our language has not been sufficiently studied in our schools. We give a few extracts to show the expressiveness of words of this kind. The first extract is a specimen of excellent composition, though translated from an- other language, in which it was uttered by Him " who spake as never man spake " the Parable of the Prod- igal Son : " A certain man had two sons. And the younger of them said to his father, Give me the portion of goods that falleth to me. And he divided unto them his living. And not many days after, the younger son gathered all together, and took his journey into a far country, and there wasted his substance with riotous living. And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that land ; and he began to be in want. And he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country ; and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. And he would fain have filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat : and no man gave unto him. And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father's have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger ! I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee, and am no more worthy to be called thy son : make me as one of thy hired servants. And he arose and came to his father : But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck and 32 RHETORIC. kissed him. And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son. But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him ; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet: and bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it ; and let us eat and be merry : For this my son was dead, and is alive again, he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry." Every word in this beautiful story is such as a child comprehends. The whole number of words in it is one hundred and forty-one, all of which but perhaps divided, citizen, and compassion, may be described as short, familiar words. Some of the others are indeed derived from the Latin, such as portion, journey, sub- stance, spent, joined, perish ; but these words have al- most and, in some instances, quite supplanted their Anglo-Saxon equivalents, and are to the present gen- eration of English-speaking people as familiar as any words of Saxon origin. It is a characteristic tendency of the English language to clip and shorten words from other languages, and reduce them to the type of simplicity and energy m which it delighta It is not necessary for the speaker to know their origin, that he may appreciate their force, any more than it is to know the origin of grains or fruits in order that they may nourish the body or please the palate. Though the above specimen of composition, the Prodigal Son, has less than one hundred and fifty dif- ferent words, it repeats some of the simplest of them many times, so as to have more than three hundred utterances. And is repeated more than thirty times, he, to, the, have, and other such words, many times. The word living is used in two different significations MONOtiYLLABICS. 33 "And he divided unto them his living" meaning his property. And "wasted his substance with riot- ous living" or manner of life. Careful writers avoid the use of words in different meanings in the same sen- tences, or so near to each other as to lead to confusion of thought* The following poem, written by Professor J. Addi- son Alexander, D.D., shows how much meaning may be conveyed by the skillful use of monosyllabic words alone: "MONOSYLLABICS. "Think not that strength lies in the big round word, Or that the brief and plain must needs be weak. To whom can this be true who once has heard The cry for help, the tongue that all men speak, When want, or woe, or fear is in the throat, So that each word gasped out is like a shriek Pressed from the sore heart, or a strange, wild note, Sung by some fay or fiend? There is a strength Which dies, if stretched too far or spun too fine, Which has more weight than breadth, more depth than length. Let but this force of thought and speech be mine, And he that will may take the sleek fat phrase, Which glows and burns not, though it gleam and shine Light, but no heat a flash, but not a blaze ! * It may be interesting to note that, while in the English of the Prodigal Son about one hundred and fifty different words are employ- ed, the original Greek makes use of less than one hundred ; and while in English there are more than three hundred utterances, ^n the Greek there are less than two hundred and fifty, and yet both cover about the same space, or require the same time for repetition. This illustrates the fact that in English shorter words are used and more frequently repeated, while the Greek varies and compounds its original words more. B2 :U RHETORIC. "Nor is it mere strength that the short word boasts ; It serves of more than fight or storm to tell, The roar of waves that clash on rock-bound coasts, The crash of tall trees when the wild winds swell, The roar of guns, the groans of men that die On blood-stained fields. It has a voice as well For them that far off on their sick beds lie : For them that weep, for them that mourn the dead ; For them that laugh and dance, and clap the hand ; To joy's quick step, as well as griefs slow tread, The sweet plain words we learnt at first keep time ; And though the theme be sad, or gay, or grand, With each, with all, these may be made to chime, In thought, or speech, or song, or prose, or rhyme." In the above remarkable production, consisting of two hundred and eighty syllables, each being a word, one hundred and sixty-six different words are employ- ed, the most of them occurring only once. This serves to show the great power of the monosyllabic part of our language. It does not at all detract from the force of the composition that, while, nearly all of the words are of Anglo-Saxon, or at least Teutonic origin, some arc Celtic, and some are Latin, and some Greek. A child never asks the origin of a word that he hears; but if it is short, and expresses a thought of frequent oc- currence, it is easily remembered. Brief, round, press, strange, force, mere, serves, stain, voice, chime, prose, are from the Latin, phrase and theme are from the Greek ; but they are as forcible as strength, help, speak, and the others of Anglo-Saxon origin. Many of the most highly esteemed writers of tl e English language employ mostly short, simple, and ex- FORCE OF SHORT WORDS. 35 pressive words. We give another brief specimen to illustrate the power of words of this kind. EXTRACT FROM AN ADDRESS 15Y DANII.L WEBSTER TO SOME AGED SOLDIERS OF THE REVOLUTION. " Venerable men ! You have come-down to us from a former generation. Heaven has bounteously lengthened out your lives that you might behold this joyous day. You are now where you stood fifty years ago, this very hour, with your brothers and your neigh- bors, shoulder to shoulder, in the strife for your country. Behold, how altered ! The same heavens arc indeed over your heads ; the same ocean rolls at your feet ; but nil else, how changed !" The simplicity and appropriateness of the language of this address will be appreciated and admired by all persons of good taste. Without caricaturing the opposite kind of style, we will translate the above into language such as many more pompous but feeble speakers would have employed, in order that the superior merits of the simple style, at least for such an occasion as called forth the above, may be observed. "Venerable gentlemen ! You have descended to ns from an an- tecedent generation. Heaven has bounteously prolonged your ca- reer, that your vision might embrace this exultant epoch. You are now where you stood half a century ago, at this very instant, with your fraternal associates and intimate acquaintances, shoulder to shoulder, in the contest for your nation. Behold, how transformed ! The same firmament is indeed over your heads ; the same ocean rolls at your feet ; but all other things, how transformed !" The weakness and flatness of these long words, compared with the nervous original, none can fail to see. 15. Abundant Thought requisite to render a simple Style agreeable. ^.t the same time it should not be for- gotten that one quality is essential to a style ia which /c^.i, f c 36 RHETORIC. these short and familiar words abound, to make the production impressive and valuable, and that is, abun- dance of thought and feeling, or both. Without this, the production is not only uninteresting but puerile. It is only writers who abound in thought that can safely employ a simple style. 16. Scientific Productions in Popular Language. Scientific productions usually employ technical terms, but many of late have been written in popular lan- guage. Professor Agassiz, though his native lan- guage is French, employs a style in English, that may be regarded as a model of simplicity, perspicuity, and force. We give a brief specimen : " Before the year 1800, men had never suspected that their home had been tenanted in past times by a set of beings totally different' from those that inhabit it now ; still farther was it from their thought to imagine that creation after creation had followed each other in successive ages, every one stamped with a character peculiarly its own. It was Cuvier who, aroused to new labors by the hint he re- ceived from Montmartre, to which all his vast knowledge of living animals gave him no clue, established, by means of most laborious in- vestigations, the astounding conclusion that, prior to the existence of the animals and plants now living, this globe had been the theatre of another set of beings, every trace of whom had vanished from the surface of the earth. * * * The solid crust of the earth gave up its dead, and from the snows of Siberia, from the soil of Italy, from caves of Central Europe, from mines, from the rent sides of mount- ains and from their highest peaks, from the coral-beds of ancient oceans, the varied animals that had possessed the earth ages before man was created spoke to us of the past." The basis of the above style consists of plain and purely English words, while those of later origin, and derived from the Latin and other languages, are spar- ingly used, when precision and elegance seem to re- quire them. OUIGIN OF THE LONGER WORDS. 37 CHAPTER Y. LONG WORDS, AND DIRECTIONS UPON THE CHOICE OF WORDS. 17. BESIDES the shorter and, on the average, most expressive words, there are many longer ones which ha,ve been introduced from the Latin, Greek, and oth- er languages. These constitute about one-fourth of the terms found in English dictionaries, but very sel- dom reach so high a proportion in the language of any author. Some of them are the only single terms in the language to express the thoughts for which they stand, and therefore must be used when those thoughts are to be expressed; others bear nearly the same meaning as older and shorter words, but are generally esteemed as more elegant or sonorous, or indicative of higher culture, and are therefore often preferred. The earlier writers of the English language, when it had fairly supplanted the Anglo-Saxon language, were for the most part familiar with the Latin, and in- troduced into their written compositions many words that the people had not been accustomed to hear. The words were mostly English in form, Latin in fact. It was positively necessary either that they should introduce such words, or that they should com- bine the familiar Anglo-Saxon words into new com- 38 RHETORIC. pound terms, for new ideas were awakened which the- old simple words would not express. Many compound words were formed, and many were transferred to our language from the Latin, and subsequently from the Greek, and from other languages. Both as a description, and, to some extent an illus- tration, of this practice, the following extract from a work of Lord Bacon is given, entitled " The Proficience and Advancement of Learning," published first in 1605: " Thereof grew again a delight in this manner of stylo and phrase, and an admiration of that kind of writing which was much furthered and precipitated by the enmity and opposition that the propounders of those primitive, but seeming new opinions, had against the school- men, who were generally of the contrary part, and whose writings were altogether in a different style and form, taking liberty to coin and frame new terms of art to express their own sense, and to avoid circuit of speech, without regard to the pureness, pleasantness, and, as J may call it, lawfulness, of the phrase or word. And again, be- 'ie great labor then was with the people, for the winning and persuading of them, there grew of necessity, in chief price and request, eloquence and variety of discourse, as the fittest and forciblest access into the capacity of the vulgar sort; so that these four causes con- curring, the admiration of ancient authors, the hate of the school-men, the exact study of languages, and the efficacy of preaching, did bring in an affected study of eloquence and copia of speech which then be- gun to flourish." Afterward, on this same subject, Bacon adds: <: How is it possible but this should have an operation to discredit learning, even with vulgar capacities, when they see learned men's works, like the first letter of a patent or limned book, which, though it hath large flourishes, yet it is but a letter ? It seems to me that Pygmalion's frenzy* is a good emblem or portraiture of their variety ; * Pygmalion, a character described in Grecian story, who is said to have made a statue and fallen in love with it after it was endowed with life. THE JOHNSONIAN STYLE. 39 for words arc but the images of matter ; and except they have life of reason and invention, to fall in love with them is all one as to full in love with a picture." "Writings in which long and sonorous terms abound are sometimes said to be in the "Johnsonian style," from the character of the productions of Samuel John- son, LL.D., the author of a " Dictionary of the English Language," whose vocabulary was extensive, and ef- fectively employed. The following sentence illus- trates his style : " That affluence and power, advantages extrinsic and adventitious, and, therefore, easily separable from those by whom they are pos- sessed, should very often flatter the mind with expectations of felicity which they can not give, raises no astonishment; butit seems ration- al to hope that intellectual greatness should produce better effects ; that minds qualified for great attainments should first endeavor to secure their own benefit ; and that they who are most able to teach others the way to happiness should, with most certainty, follow it themselves." Mr. Macaulay, criticising Johnson's style, says: " When he talked, he clothed his wit and his sense in forcible and natural expressions. As soon as betook his pen in hand to write for the public, his style be- came systematically vicious. All his books are written in a learned language in a language which nobody hears from his mother or his nurse in a language in which nobody ever quarrels, or drives bargains, or makes love in a language in which nobody ever thinks. It is clear that Johnson himself did not think in the dialect in which he wrote. * * * . " His constant practice of padding out a sentence with useless epithets till it became as stiff as the bust of an exquisite; his antithetical forms of expression 40 RHETORIC. constantly employed even where there is no apposi- tion in the things expressed ; his big words wasted on little things ; his harsh inversions, so widely different from those graceful and easy inversions which give variety, spirit, and sweetness to the expression of our great old writers all these peculiarities have been imitated by his admirers and parodied by his assail- ants till the public has become sick of the subject."* His definition of "net-work" in his dictionary il-~ lustrates this style as follows : " Any thing reticulated or decussated with interstices at equal distances be- tween the intersections." 18. When the Johnsonian Style is allowable. "When the thought is valuable and impressive, the use of ponderous and majestic words is eminently appropri- ate. The advantages of learning are now so widely disseminated that a much larger proportion of the public appreciate such language. Certain minute shades of thought may be expressed by it alone, and there are occasions when good taste pronounces it ap- propriate and indispensable. Therefore all scholars should obtain a mastery over it. 19. A Variety in tfiis Matter to be cultivated. The best writers employ a great variety of words, not con- fining themselves to the Anglo-Saxon or to the Latin- ized style. Much depends upon the nature of the subject, the character of the audience addressed, and the purpose of the author, whether to instruct, con- vince, or amuse. The most forcible expressions in * Macaulay's Miscellaneous Writings : article, " Boswell's Life of Johnson." MACY AND IDIOMATIC EXPRESSIONS. 41 the language are short and direct; longer words are often more harmonious and elegant. Upon the propriety of using words derived from the Latin and Greek, a great difference of opinion is en- tertained. A modern writer of some notoriety has said : " Our great scholars have corrupted the English language by a jargon so uncouth that a plain man can hardly discern the real lack of ideas which their bar- barous and mottled dialect strives to hide. * * * There can be but little doubt that the principal reason why well-educated women write and converse in a purer style than well-educated men is because they have not formed their taste according to those aflcient classical standards, which, admirable as they are in themselves, should never be introduced into a state of society unfitted for them. To this may be added that Cobbett, the most racy and idiomatic of all our writers, Erskine, by far the greatest of our forensic ora- tors, knew little'or nothing of any ancient language, and the same observation applies to Shakspeare."* The style of Erskine was also complimented by the famous orator, Eufus Choate, who in conversa- tion said : " Erskine got along not by wide scope and reach of rich allusion and thought, but by a beautiful voice, emotional temperament, and the richest English, taken from Shakspeare and Milton."f The following extract from a speech of Mr. Ersldne * History of Civilization in England. By Henry Thomas Buckle (London, 1857, vol. i. p. 744). t Reminiscences of Rufus Choate, the Great American Advocate. By Edward G. Parker (Boston, 1860, p. 2G3). 42 JIHETt.UH' is a good specimen of his style, and shows that he was not by any means limited to common and colloquial terms : "Gentlemen, I can not conclude without expressing the deepest regret at all attacks upon the Christian religion by authors who pro- fess to promote the civil liberties of the world. For under what other auspices than Christianity have the lost and subverted liber- tics of mankind in former ages been reasserted ? Under what other sanctions, even in our own days, have liberty and happiness been spreading to the uttermost corners of the earth? What work of civilization, what commonwealth of greatness has this bald religion \ of nature ever established ?" Careful study will show that the compliments upon the style of Erskine are extravagant. His words were few, and not the best chosen, and a wider range of idy, though he was evidently familiar with Latin, would have much improved both his thoughts and style. Dr. Johnson himself gave perhaps the best defense of his own style that can be given, though in his earn- estness he seems to have deviated from it, when he said, " Big thinkers require big words."* Those who recommend the exclusive employment of either the simpler or the more complex words of our rich English language, both err. The short simple words undoubtedly make the deepest impression, while the longer words contribute to copiousness, ele- gance, and accuracy. The student should obtain a mastery over both. Of the Johnsonian style, Dr. Whately says : " It * See Lord Brougham's Rhetorical Dissertations (London Edi- tion, 1856, p. 206). / WHATELY'S VR1T1CI&M OF JOHNSON. 43 happens, unfortunately, that Johnson's style is particu- larly easy of imitation, even by writers utterly desti- tute of his vigor of thought ; and such imitators are intolerable. They bear the same resemblance to their model that the armor of the Chinese, as described by travellers, consisting of thick quilted cotton covered with stiff glazed paper, does to that of the ancient knights : equally glittering and bulky, but destitute of the temper and firmness which was its sole advan- tage. At first sight, indeed, this kind of style appears far from easy of attainment, on account of its being re- mote from the colloquial, and having an elaborately artificial appearance ; but in reality there is none less difficult to acquire. To string together sMbstaiitiri* connected by conjunctions, which is the characteristic of Johnson's style, is, in fact, the rudest and clumsiest mode of expressing our thoughts: we have only to find names for our ideas, and th* put them together by connectives, instead of interweaving, or rather felt- ing them together, by the admixture of verbs, partici- ples, prepositions, etc. So that this way of writing, as contrasted with the other, may be likened to the prim- itive rude carpentry, in which the materials were united by coarse external implements, pins, nails, and cramps, when compared with that art in its most im- proved state, after the invention of dove-tail joints, grooves, and mortises, when the junctions are effected by forming properly the extremities of the pieces to be joined, so as at once to consolidate and conceal the juncture."* * Whately's Rhetoric, part iii. chap. ii. 8. 44 RHETORIC. On this subject Ralph Waldo Emerson remarks: " In Parliament, in pulpits, in theatres, when the speakers rise to thought and passion, the language be- comes idiomatic ; the people in the street best under- stand the best words."* * Emerson's English Traits, p. 104. REMEMBRANCE OF WORDS. 45 CHAPTER VI. HOW TO OBTAIN A GOOD VOCABULARY. 20. Degrees of Memory in Relation to Language. THERE is a great difference between such a knowl- edge of a word as enables a person to understand its meaning when it is either heard or read, and such a mastery over it as enables the person to command it either in speech or rapid writing. Many persons can understand the most of what is uttered to them in familiar conversation in a foreign language who can not express themselves readily and correctly in that language. Thousands of scholars can read foreign languages who could not write a page of them accu- rately. A speaker who uses many and elegant words will often interest and delight an auditory of unedu- cated persons, not one of whom could use the words which he hears and understands, and some of which perhaps he never heard before. 21. Analysis of Memory. The faculty of memory, when analyzed, is found to embrace acquisition, re^ tention, and repiodliciien. First, the knowledge must be acquired ; second, it must be retained, and, finally, it must be reproduced when needed. Each of these departments of the memory can be strengthened only by attention and exercise. Each 46 RHETORIC. particular department must be specially exercised. The acquisition of words can be secured by a study of dictionaries, by accurately observing every new term that is heard or seen, and particularly by translating from one language into another. It should be heeded by the student that a familiarity with words can not be secured accidentally, any more than any other val- uable power. In like manner words, once comprehended and stored in the memory, must be employed frequently, or they will not be ready to do the bidding of their mas- ter when needed. The frequent and careful use of the pen is a great aid to the memory. The oft-quoted apothegm of Bacon should be regarded : " Beading maketh a full man, conference [conversation or use] a ready man, and writing an exact man." 22. Advice of Bacon. The following advice of this illustrious author, though comprehending more than directly applies to the present subject, is all pertinent to a study of Rhetoric : " If a man write little, he had need have a great memory ; if he confer little, he had need have a present wit ; and if he read little, he had need have much cunning, to seem to know that he doth not. Histories make men wise; poets, witty; the mathematics, subtile; natural philosophy, deep, moral, grave ; logic and rhetoric, able to contend." In the above extract, the careful reader will note that several words are used with a signification that is now either obsolete or not common. They are, " had need have " for needs to have, "confer " for converse, for skill, "that" for tfiat which or what. COMMAND OF A VOCABULARY. 47 This illustrates the changes in the meaning and use of words gradually introduced into the language. 23. Further Advice on Cultivating a Remembrance of Words. To obtain a knowledge of words and a fa- cility in their employment, it is a commendable prac- tice never to pass over a word in reading without a thorough perception of its meaning, and to employ in speaking or writing as great a variety of choice and appropriate terms as can be commanded, provided that none are .used superfluously. Also, while it is profitable to study carefully other languages, no per- son should presume to consider himself well educated, without having spent much time, not only in the study of the grammar, but in the special and severe study of the words of his own language. 2-i. Advice of Choate on Choice of Words. Mr. Choate, whose opinion on the style of Erskine has already been quoted, was himself the master of a rich, copious, and highly - ornamented style, which could not have been acquired without the patient study of words. His opinion on this subject is wor- thy of notice : " The culture of expression should be a specific study, quite distinct from the invention of thought. Language and its elements, words, are to be mastered by direct, earnest labor. A speaker ought daily to exercise and air his vocabulary, and also to add to and enrich it. Translations should be pursued with these tico objects, to bring up to the mind and employ all the words you already own, and to tax and torment invention and discovery, and the very deepest memory, for additional, rich, and admirably-expressive words. In translat- ing, the student should not put down a word till he has thought of at least six synonyms, or varieties of expression, for the idea. Dic- tionaries are of great service in this filling up and fertilizing of die- 48 RHETORIC. tion. You do not want a diction gathered from the newspapers, caught from the air, common and unsuggestive ; but you want one whose even- word is full freighted with suggestions and associations, with beauty and power."* The last suggestion will be felt by every good student. A stream can not rise higher than the fountain. Those who read only inferior productions, and listen only to poorly-educated speakers, will im- bibe their imperfect styla Every student should read the books of classic reputation in his own lan- guage, and laboriously and discriminatingly select words when attempting to express his own thoughts. The young writer should devote time and study to the art of composition, and should write and re- write his productions carefully, and read and repeat them frequently, to acquire correctness, copiousness, and readiness in expression. * Reminiscences of Rafus Choate, pp. 248, 249. SYNONYMOUS WORDS. 49 CHAPTER VII. DISCRIMINATION IN THE USE OF WORDS. 25. Synonymous Words. THE English language is remarkably rich in words. As it readily receives and assimilates terms from any other language with which it comes in contact, it employs many w,ords that have nearly the same signification. Words having pre- cisely the same signification are called synonymous words, and the term is sometimes extended so as to embrace words that differ but slightly in meaning. Su:ijtness and velocity, brotherly and fraternal, yearly and annual, stay and continue, abide and remain, hi/if and suggest, wave and billow, are specimens of words that so closely resemble each other in signification as to be called synonymous. Inferior and careless speak- ers recognize no distinction in the meaning of such words. If we consult our dictionaries, we find that a large majority of the words in the language are de- fined or explained simply by the use of other single words that are supppsed to bear a meaning nearly identical with the words defined. 26. Slight Diversity in the Meaning of /Synonymous Wards. Careful scrutiny will show that in all in- stances these words really differ in meaning, though sometimes by a slight shade, imperceptible to an un- educated mind. As the musical ear is trained to dis- C 50 . RHETORIC. criminate between similar sounds, and the eye of a painter to distinguish similar colors, so an educated mind will recognize a difference in the rank or com- prehensiveness of words called synonymous. Correct and elegant writers and speakers recognize and ob- serve these facts, and even ignorant readers are charmed by this discrimination and accuracy, though they know not the origin of their pleasure, and can not themselves command such power. Swiftness, for instance, is a pure English word, com- ing down from the Anglo-Saxon, and universally un- derstood. It is the exact opposite of slowness. Ve- locity is from the Latin, and is more elegant, but less forcible, and may even apply to objects moving slow- ly. "VVe may say " a slow velocity," but not " a slow swiftness." And yet velocity is used to denote the very greatest degree of swiftness ever exhibited, as when we speak'of the velocity of a cannon-ball, or of lightning, or of the celestial bodies ; velocity is there- fore much more comprehensive than swiftness. Such facts can be learned only by very careful and discrim- inating reading, which is aided by a study of other languages, ancient and modern ; but a close atten- tion to the practice of the most approved authors in our own language will largely ^ supply the want of acquaintance with the Anglo-Saxon, Latin, Greek, and other languages from which the English is de- rived. Brotherly and fraternal are almost exactly the same, the former being Anglo-Saxon, and the latter Latin. If they differ at all, it is in the slightly supe- rior definiteness and force of the former. Horse and TECHNICAL TERMS. 51 steed differ in rank. Horse is the common word, steed is the poetical word. Nay means an inferior horse, or one spoken of familiarly, as of little esteem. It is a profitable exercise to scrutinize words closely, and to note the different effect of a sentence if a few words are exchanged for others of a similar meaning. 27. Technical Terms. Many technical terms, or words used in a very precise sense, in the description of the sciences and arts, have been introduced into the English language, mainly from the ancient languages. In this way our speech has been greatly enriched. No science or art can be studied, or even thoroughly understood, without a knowledge of its technical terms. The common English words nearest in signification to them are too elastic and changeable in their significa- tion to answer the purpose of those who are describing the arts and sciences. Thus, Grammar has such technical terms as parti- ciple, prosody, subject, predicate; Geography such as lat- itude,, longitude ; Astronomy such as nodes, parallax, transit; Geology such as Silurian, carbonaceous, drift ; Metaphysics such as subjective, objective, nominalism, re- alism; Medicine, Law, Theology, Teaching, Painting, Sculpture, Navigation, War, Building, Mining, and all sciences and all practices, make use of a certain set of terms respectively, employed in a definite signification, and which, when used on other subjects, have general- ly a wider or looser signification than when employed technically. 28. Origin of Technical Terms. While the technical terms of the natural sciences are mostly taken from 52 RHETORIC. the Greek, those of war are derived largely from the French, those of music from the Italian, and many oth- ers are from other languages, ancient and modern. In some instances, an English word is selected and close- ly defined in a treatise, and thus becomes technical. 29. How used. No one should presume to write upon any particular science or art without an accurate. knowledge of its technical terms ; and it is well even in unscientific or popular productions to use such terms accurately, if at all. An excessive or unneces- sary use of~them, even in scientific writings, and still more so in those designed for general readers, appears pedantic, and should be avoided. 30. New Words. From time to time new words sprirjg up in the language, and old words die out or become obsolete. The scrutinizing observations of modern science are constantly discovering new objects, which must be named, and therefore scientific terms are constantly added to the language. So new com- binations of men, new actions, or circumstances arise, which demand either an old term used in a new sig- nification or a new term. Such words as caucus, locate, donate, pre-empt, immigrant, skedaddle, telegram, freshet, sleigh, and many others Were used first in America, and some of them are still confined to America. Wigwam, tomahaivk, originated among the aborigines of North America; taboo, tattoo, came from the Pacific Islands. These are but specimens of the foreign words contin- ually admitted into our language. More will be said hereafter about the proper use of new words. PAUCITY OF WORD IS. 53 CHAPTER VIII. FAULTS TO BE AVOIDED. 31. THE faults to be avoided in the use of words are as follows : (1). Paucity. To endeavor to speak or write with- out a good supply of words is as absurd as to endeav- or to till the earth without the necessary implements of agriculture, or to build a house without sufficient material. We need not resume the inquiry whether thought can exist without language, for all will allow that Rhetoric demands words. A writer may endeav- or to make a few words express much thought, and fail either to develop his own thoughts into fullness and accuracy, or to make any but the most indistinct and unsatisfactory impression upon others, for the want of a sufficient copiousness of words. In such a case, the same word, on the same page, or in one pro- duction, is made to bear more than one meaning, some- times several meanings. The emphasis and gesture which might indicate the different meanings when ut- tered, can not be denoted on the silent, passionless page, and the reader, uninstructed and confused, pronounces the writer unskilled and feeble, and probably throws the book down in disgust. Speakers who have but few -words can not interest sensible hearers a long 54 Jt Hi-: TO XIV. time. Always employ words enough to convey your meaning fully and perspicuously, and avoid the use of the same word in different significations. The following may be regarded as examples of a violation of this rule : "A right action being one conformed to the law, we may rightly say the actor had a right to perform it, i. > r Xmber of Words needed. It is possible that some persons may not con- sider the above extract improved by annulling the ital- icized words, but it should be observed that concise productions, if perspicuous, please cultivated minds, * What maybe Learned from a Tree. By Harland Coultas, p. 71. WHEN DIFFUSENESS IS ALLOWABLE. 59 and control the attention better than diffuse ones. The importance of this subject requires discriminating study. In some instances diffuseness, and what might be called tautology, is necessary, as when a subject is difficult to be understood by the persons addressed, or when it is disagreeable, and must be circuitously and slowly approached. A word of many syllables, slowly uttered, may sometimes be more efficient than a short, sharp expression. " He was tremendously alarmed," is more impressive than a shorter expression would be. When the author wishes a subject to be thought of more than it will be with one, even the very best ex- pression, he may use more words than are strictly nec- essary. Every one should be able at pleasure to use a clear, sharp, laconic style. - ( / 4^- t)>-tK ^ OF THOPVS. 79 president's chair. Metonymies are, it will be seen, a little bolder than Synecdoches. 6. Frequency of Tropes. Tropes are of frequent oc- currence in all writings. Sometimes the names of animals are used for men, as "Go tell that fox!" How much more expressive than " Go tell that crafty man /" One inanimate thing is made to stand for another. " We are surrounded by a cloud of witnesses" that is, they are so numerous as to suggest a cloud which shuts out the light of the sun. " The city was over- whelmed in a ihlii'j'' of fire." 7. Tropes must be Employed. Tropes arc absolute- ly indispensable as a part of the material of every author. If words were confined to their first mean- ing, they would be far too few to express the thoughts of men. If every idea had a word, no mortal memory could command sufficient material to express the thoughts of a cultivated mind. Words, like coins of money, must be made to represent successively differ- ent objects, for our convenience. If we examine almost any written production, we shall find many tropes which can not be removed with- out leaving what remains a useless heap of ruins. Let us analyze, for illustration, the opening sentences of the Preface to Bancroft's " History of the United States :" "I have formed the design of writing a History of the United States from the discovery of the American Continent to the present time. As the moment arrives for publishing a portion of the work, I nm impressed more strongly than ever with a sense of the grandeur and vastness of the subject ; and am ready to charge myself with pre- sumption for. venturing on so bold an enterpi'ise," BHMTOSIC. All the words italicized in the above extract (and indeed several others) are tropes. Form meant orig- inally to shape, as with a knife or other instrument. The shoemaker forms a shoe. Design meant original- ly :i plan or map ; discovery was the process of uncov- as potatoes are uncovered to be taken from the ground ; impressed originally meant pressed upon, as the ground is pressed upon by a falling stone ; subject is something placed beneath, as a mat to stand upon ; presumption is the act of taking too soon, as pluck- ing fruit before it is ripe, or taking an object before our turn, or the time allotted to us; an enterprise is something undertaken, has no life, and can not be bold. If we find so many tropes in a few lines of unim- passioned prose, what may we expect in poetry ? "So live, that when thy summons come* to join The innumerable caravan that in To that mysterious realm, where each shall take His chamber in the silent halls of death ; Thou go not like the quarry slave at night, Scourged to his dungeon, but sustained and soothed By an unfaltering trust, approach thy grave, Like one who wraps the drapery of his couch Around him, and lies down to pleasant dreams." Let each of the italic words in the above be carefully examined, and the literal and figurative meanings be compared. 8. Terms to express Mental Qualities and Actions all Tropes. Indeed it becomes evident, by careful exam- ination, that nearly if not quite all the language em- ployed to describe the mind and mental action is EMPLOYMENT OF Tit OPES. 81 figurative. The stock of words first used by man was small, and described only material objects and changes and phenomena. As men gradually ad- vanced to consider and explain mental objects and actions, instead of inventing new words to express them, they used ojd terms in a new sense. They were enabled to do this by the fact that there is a mysterious analogy between matter and mind, and between material and mental operations ; an analogy admirable, and that can not be accidental, which shows that God has made material and spiritual things to exist together and illustrate each other. Neither can be properly understood without studying the other. Language links them together. Physics must always precede metaphysics. Khetoric embraces the presentation of both. 9. The original Meaning of many Tropes lost. Near- ly if not quite all of the terms now used to express mental properties and actions were originally con- fined to material objects and operations. But inas- much as the English language is a modern language, and is made up largely of words transferred from oth- er languages, the most of the words used to describe mental facts and actions have never been used in their literal meaning in the English language. The first meaning of the words learned by those who speak only the English language is that which they now bear, though they were once employed in other lan- guages in a lower sense. We give a few specimens of this kind of word?. Reflect, literally, to throw back, as a mirror reflects D2 82 RHETORIC. the rays of light ; figuratively, to look at a subject on both sides, or to consider or meditate. Educate, liter- ally, to lead out ; figuratively, to instruct and train. Digest, literally, to bear away or dissolve, as water dissolves sugar; figuratively, to reflect upon and study, as to. digest a book. Other .words of this char- acter are, associate, compare, intellect, sincere, consult, re- mark, conclude, and hundreds more. Many tropes have become so common that the secondary sense has act- ually superseded, and in some cases wholly supplant- ed, the primary signification. Ralph Waldo Emerson has well said, " As the limestone of the continent consists of infinite masses of the shells of animalcules, so language is made up of images, or tropes, which now, in their secondary use, have long since ceased to remind us of their poetic origin." 10. New Tropes. As the realm of nature is more widely and accurately explored, and as inventions are multiplied, new tropes are introduced. The material for the expression of mental action is increased. Such words as oui . strata, daguerreotype, in their tropical or figurative sense, are of course more recent than they are in their scientific sense. 11. Advantages of Tropes. The advantages of tropes are groat. (1.) They enable us to express many thoughts by a few words. Our best words have several significa- tions a literal sense and two or more figurative senses. A new tropical sense of an old word is equivalent to the addition of a word to our language, while if the tropical sense is naturally suggested by the primitive CLASSIFICATION OF TROPES. 83 sense, the memory is not burdened, and the imagina- tion is pleased. We can not afford a new word for every thought. (2.) Tropes give new power and beauty to lan- guage. A sentiment tropically expressed is much more forcible, and often much more beautiful, than literally expressed. "The moon climbs up the sky." " Within this wall of flesh There is a soul." "Which angry tides cast up on desert shore." "This is a drowsy night." " Let him keep the keen, deep, and precious hatred, set on fire of hell, alive if be can." 12. Classification of Tropes. Tropes have been care- fully classified by grammarians, though no great prac- tical benefit in speaking arises from a memory of the classification. SYNECDOCHES may be divided into four classes: (1.) Using the Species for the Genus. " Give us our daily bread" Bread, the lower or narrower class, is used for the higher and broader class, food. "He beareth not the sword in vain." Here sword is used for all the means a magistrate has to execute justice. It produces a sharper impression to use limited, definite words, rather than broader, and consequently flatter expressions. Orators spontaneously employ this kind of trope frequently. 84 RHKTURKJ. (2.) Autonomasia (a trope of the same kind), using ime of an Individual for the Class to which he be- longs. " He is the second Washington ;" " A Dan- iel, a second Daniel, come to judgment." How much more forcible than " A wise interpreter of law come to judgment!" Thus a traitor may be called a Cati- line or a Benedict Arnold. A mere stickler for polite forms is, in the following sentence from Lord Brough- am, called a Chesterfi- "Should you feel much soothed by hearing that some opposition Chesterfield had taken alarm at the want of politeness among his brethren, and altered the words, retaining their offensive sense ?" When a sharp impression is to be made, use the most definite terms possible. Instead of war or con- tention, use battle or fight ; instead of passion, use an- ger, fear, covetousness as the case may be. This principle is involved in such tropes as the following: " All hands take hold," instead of " All men take hold ;" " Least among the hundreds of-Judah," instead of "The small villages of Judah ;" " A fleet of fifty sa?7," instead of "fifty ships;" "The debt was paid in green-backs" instead of " in paper-money, consisting of notes with green backs." The Divine One is, on this principle, designated by one of his attributes, "the Almighty," "the All-seeing," "the Judge." Man may be called "the erect animal," "the governor of the world ;" the lion, " the king of beasts ;" the ocean, " the great deep." That which inspires passion may be called by the name of the passion, as, " my love,'' 1 " my defense. 11 (3.) Using tfie Genus for tiie Species. Of course, MKTtiXYMIES. 85 when the object is to soften an impression, a precisely opposite figure may be employed: naming a broader class, or genus, for the narrower class, or species. Instead of saying that a man was executed, we may say that he " lost his life," or " expiated his crime on the gallows." Instead of death, we may use the word sleep. " He rewarded his officers with honors," in- stead of " He made his generals princes and kings." This is often called Euphemism. (4.) Using the Concrete for the Abstract. As in the following instance: "When the magistrate was com- pelled to pronounce condemnation upon his own son, the father was subordinated to the judge, and the cul- prit found no mercy." Here "the father" is put for parental affection, and "the judge" for the duty of a jiul The philosophy of this figure is, that definite ex- pressions are more forcible than indefinite. It is more impressive to say, " Three-fourths or nine-tenths of the people demand this change," than to say, "A large majority desire it." Even in instances where enumeration is impossible similar terms are employ- ed for the sake of a vivid impression. "Ninety-nine hundredths of the prosperity of this people is due to their religion." METONYMIES also may be classified as follows : (1.) The Sign for the Thing signified. Sword, for war; the White House, for the office of President of the United States; the epaulets, for military office; red tape, for the difficulties in obtaining the comple- tion of a work that must pass the inspection of sever- 86 al officers ; a pen, for literature. " The pen is mightier than the sword." (2.) The Container for the Thing contained." The country is jealous of the city." " The army yielded, but the navy resisted." "The mountains may fail, but the prairies will pour out their wealth." (3.) A Cause may be put for an Effect, and an Effect for a Cause. " The savage desolation of war." The cause of the desolation is a savage spirit : here it is transferred to the effect. In an opposite transference, we may speak of pale death, joyful health, & proud testimony. This is some- times called the transferred epithet. (4.) A Man may be named for his Works. Thus we speak of " Shakspeare," meaning his writings, " Black- stone," meaning his work on law. This is akin to personification, to be described hereafter. Notice the tropes italicized in the following sen- tences : " Ye grand inventions of ancient bards ! ye gay creations of mod- ern fancy ! ye bright visions ! ye fervid and impassioned thoughts J e all for no better purpose than the pastime of a single hour? Ah ! not so ; not so. It is yours to stir to the bottom the dull and stagnant souL Ye can carry man out of himself, and make him feel his kindred with his whole race. Ye can teach him to look beyond external nature for enjoyment. Ye rouse him from the deep lethargy of sense, raise him above the worthless thing we are, and reveal to him his capacity for purer purposes, and a nobler state of being." Comparisons and Metaphors are nearly akin to Tropes, and, after their examination, further direc- tions upon the use of them all will be given. 87 CHAPTER II. COMPARISONS. 13. The Foundation of Comparisons. THE first re- sult of careful thought is the classification of objects according to their common nature, and learning the meaning of those words called common nouns. The child arrives at this knowledge gradually, and for a time is inclined to call all men " father," and if he happens to have become acquainted first with ahorse, to call all quadrupeds " horse." As knowledge in- creases, classification becomes more minute. Thus man is divided into Caucasian, Malayan, African. By an exercise of the same kind, the mind takes notice of the differences of individuals that can not be classified together, and of the similarities of individu- als in some respects, that are yet so different in oth- er respects that they can not be classified together. When the attention is called to two objects that are both alike in some particular, and unlike in others, and the likeness is pointed out, a comparison is made. 14. Definition. ^Comparison is the likening of one object to another, from which it also differs in so many other qualities to which the attention is not directed, that it can not properly be said to belong to the same class. "* 88 RHETORIC. 15. Comparisons used to convey Information. Tbe_ first object of comparisons is to convey information. Thus : " Aluminum is a metal with a lustre like that of silver and platinum." This describes the appear- ance of aluminum to one who knows the appearance of silver and platinum. "The soldiers stood like statues, unmoved by the cannons' roar." This sim- ply describes the steady, unmoved position of the soldiers. Nearly all speakers whose object is to im- part information make frequent use of comparisons. This figure of speech, as it is sometimes called, though in reality it is not a figure, but a simple state- ment of a similarity, is the most common of all modes of illustration, and every writer and speaker should study its nature and power. We give a few speci- mens of illustrative comparisons, to show the beauty nii'l impressiveness of this kind of illustration. How sublime the thought in Derzhavin's address to the Deity : "Yes, in my spirit doth thy Spirit shine, As shines the sunbeam in a drop of dew." It will be observed that comparisons are often made without the use of such terms as like, so, as, or any oth- er terms to call attention to them as comparisons. It is easy, however, to see that a comparison of two or more objects is made. "Before the curing of a strong disease, Even in the instance of repair and health, The fit is strongest; * * * Evils that take leave, On their departure most of all show evil." " As seeds lie dormant in the earth for hundreds of years, and then when brought to the influence of air and light, exhibit their vitality. USE OF COMPARISONS. 89 so the germ of the soul may lie concealed and undeveloped during the whole term of human life." " The secret which the murderer possesses soon comes to possess him ; and like the evil spirits of which we read, it overcomes him, and leads him whithersoever it will." Sometimes it is necessary to explain to some extent the nature of the object with which the comparison is made. The following from Rev. Dr. Caird is impress- ive, but expressed in too many words : "Just as in winter the cold may become so intense as to freox flip thermometer, and thereby to leave you without the means of marking the subsequent increases of cold, so there is a point in the lowered temperature of the inward consciousness where the growing coldness, hardness, selfishness of a man's nature can no longer be noted the meehani-m by which moral variations arc indicated becoming itself insensible and motionless." The following from Macaulay, in a plea for thor- ough study, is a comparison which required to be pre- ceded by an explanation, the interest of which justifies its length : "Rumford, it is said, proposed to the Elector of Bavaria a scheme for feeding his soldiers at a much cheaper rate than formerly. Hi^ plan was simply to compel them to masticate their food thoroughly. A small quantity thus eaten would, according to that famous project- or, a fiord more sustenance than a large meal hastily devoured. I do not know how Rurnford's proposition was received ; but to the mind, I believe, it will be found more nutritious to digest a page than to de- vour a volume.'' Comparisons between objects entirely different in their nature often please the mind and aid the memo- ry, as in the instance : "There is something gratejuljn any positive opinion, though in many points wrong, as even weeds are useful that grow on a bank of sand." 16. Elevating Comparisons, and the Opposite. Com- ItHETo, parisons are also used to elevate our estimation of an object, or to degrade it. Byron, describing Henry Kirke White as losing his life by excessive study, uses a comparison that gives an exalted conception of his character : " Oh, what a noble heart was here undone, When Science' self destroyed her favorite son ! Twas thine own genius gave the final blow, And helped to plant the wound that laid thee low. So the struck eagle, stretched upon the plain, No more through rolling clouds to soar again, Viewed his own feather on the fatal dart, Which winged the shaft that quivered in his heart : Keen were his pangs, but keener far to feel, ursed the pinion which impelled the steel; While the same plumage that had warmed his nest Drunk the last life-drop of his bleeding breast." Comparisons used to degrade are a very efficient weapon with which to attack error and folly. "X would be a powerful preacher if he did not drown his thought in a Dead Sea of words. You don't want a drove of oxen to drag a cart-load of potatoes on a smooth road." "Skepticism in an honest and thoughtful young man is like the chicken-pox very apt to come, but not dangerous, and soon over, leaving both complexion and constitution as good as ever." "Toconsort with such company is like playing with pitch; defile- ment is sure to follow." Pope, wishing to undervalue man's power to under- stand God or his works, wrote : "Superior beings, when of late they saw A mortal man unfold all nature's law, Admired such wisdom in an earthly shape, And showed a Neioton as ice show an ape." 17. Comparisons Designed simply ihors. This, and not the warmth of a florid and improved fancy, as is commonly sup- posed, was the true original of figurative expression" (Archbishop Warburton's Divine Legation of Moses, book iv. sect. 4). This fact was stated also by Cicero (De Oratore, capnt. xxiv.), and i-^ now universally acknowledged. METAPlKHi* A M I'l.lb'l A7> 109 blood-red, he hangs in the Old Testament sky, rather burning as a portent than shining as a prophet." A continued succession of metaphors is wearisome. They are a dinner made up wholly of spices. They are pompous ceremonials employed in every-day life. The ablest writers and strongest speakers use them sparingly, and often give us hours of speaking or many pages of writing, without arty metaphors but ordinary tropes. (2.) Metaphors should not generally be dwelt upon long, and run out into comparisons, or too minutely amplified. :! Brougham illustrates, by his own fault, the practice of undue amplification, which he condemns as follows : " In nothing, not even in beauty of collocation and harmony of rhythm, is the vast superiority of the chaste, vigorous, manly style of the Greek orators and writers more conspicuous than in the abstinent use of their prodigious powers of expression. A single phrase some- times a word and the work is done ; the desired impression is made, as it were, with one stroke, there being nothing superfluous interposed to weaken the blow or break its fall. The commanding idea is singled out; it is made to stand forward ; all auxiliaries are rejected : as the Emperor Napoleon selected one point in the heart of his adversary's strength, and brought all his power to bear upon that, careless of the other points, which he was sure to carry if he won the centre, as sure to have carried in vain if he left the centre unsubdued. Far other- wise do modern writers make their onsef. They resemble those cam- paigners who fit out twenty little expeditions at a time, to be a laugh- ing-stock if they fail, and useless if they succeed ; or if they do at- tack in the right place, so divide their forces, from the dread of leav- ing any one point unassailed, that they can make no sensible im- pressing where alone it avails them to be felt. It seems the prin- ciple of such authors never to leave any thing unsaid that can be said on any one topic ; to run down every idea they start ; to let nothing pass; to leave nothing to the reader, but harass him with anticipating every thing that could possibly strike his mind," 110 Had the orator omitted superfluous expressions, he would have imitated what he eulogized, and given us the substance of the above in less than one-fourth of the words. The beauty, however, of his own expressions shows that not always his advice, but sometimes his example, should be followed. Sometimes a metaphor may be dwelt upon and am- plified with good effect s# as to resemble an allegory, from which it differs then only in the fact that the in- terest is confined to the metaphorical idea. The fol- lowing is a good illustration from the pen of Professor Peter Bayne : "Born into the world in ignorance, man is impelled by an impe- rious instinct to know. ' Seek,' whispers a voice in his soul, 'and thou shall find ?' He seeks, he observes, he inquires. He ascends the mountain of knowledge rugged, precipitous ; he climbs with diffi- culty from crag to crag ; on the topmost peak, in the clear evening of an intellectual life, he beholds, not the sterile boundaries of a uni- verse explored, but an ocean of knowledge yet to be traversed a Pacific of truth stretching on and on into the deeps of eternity. The fascination of that placid splendor is as great upon him as when he j.ired to know. lie yearns fo begin a new voyage. He looks into the eyes of his fellows with a ' dumb surmise ' of endless progress, and limitless attainment, and hope sublime. The promise-whisper of his infancy has not deceived him ; he has upon earth made some onward steps, and tasted of the ecstasy of knowledge ; his eyes have been opened, and life has taught him that there is an infinite to be known. And now that transporting whisper is once more at his ear, 4 What thou knowest not now thou shall know hereafter.' Mind, the angel of the universe, ready to soar out of the mists of the earth, prunes her wings for everlasting flight. The instincl which forbids her to close her pinions and to die has been veracious for time, and it is justly trusted for eternity." Such well-sustained metaphors are often exceeding- ly beautiful and impressive, and it would be indeed hypercritical to condemn them. MIXED METAPHORS. Ill (3.) Incongrnous_metaphors should not be employ- ed, except when strong passion will justify them. It has been maintained that no metaphor should be used that is not capable of being presented in a pic- ture. This is too rigid. Shakspeare, in one of his most celebrated passages, has the following : /" Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer The stings and arrows of outrageous fortune, / Or td take arms against a sea of troubles, And, by opposing, end them ?" The " taking arms against a sea " has been con- demned by some who were too cool and hypercritic- al to see the real beauty and force of the expression. Hamlet was represented as alone when he uttered the words, with none to criticise, and so excited as to be querying with himself whether he had not better com- mit suicide. His brain was on fire. Thoughts chased each other through his mind so fast that he was not able to finish one before he attempted to express an- other. He thought of " taking arms" against troub- les that seemed in multitude and power like "a sea," and of using those arms, not against the troubles, but against himself, and thus, by ending his own life, to end them. All these thoughts and more forced them- selves tumultuously into a single utterance. Could a more nervous expression be devised than that of the great poet ? Those who condemn it expose feebleness in themselves, not in Shakspeare. Shakspeare abounds in such " mixed metaphors " when the circumstances justified them. He had no occasion to resort to metaphors from a paucity of 11-J RHETORIC. terms, for he used more than twenty thousand words more perhaps than any other writer in the English language before or since. And yet his writings abound in metaphors. Generally, incongruous metaphors should be avoid- ed. " The corner-stone of this edifice will soon fall prostrate to the earth," is very absurd. Many ludicrous mixed metaphors are thrown off by imaginative speakers which are offensive to good taste, unless the object is to amuse by their extrava- gance. The following are specimens : "The apple of discord is now fairly in our midst, and if not nipped in the bud it will burst forth into a conflagration which will deluge the sea of politics with an earthquake of heresies." "This man, gentlemen of the jury, walks into court like a mo- tionless statue, with the cloak of hypocrisy in his mouth, and is at- tempting to screw three large oaks out of my clients' pockets." "Boyle was the father of chemistry, and brother to the Earl of Cork." " At the same time, on this subject as on others, it is possible to use the pruning-knife too severely. Many eminent writers have been entirely destitute of bold metaphor?, but a talent to employ them should be cultivated by observation and exercise. 113 CHAPTER V. ANTITHESES. 34. The Mind notices both Similarities and Differ- ences of Objects. WE have remarked under Compari- son that it is a law of the mind to observe the simi- larity of objects, in one or more particulars, that differ in other respects. It is also a law of the mind's action to observe the differences of objects, in one or more particulars, that are alike in all other respects. On the action of these laws does the mind depend for the classification of facts and objects. Promptitude and power in this exercise characterize the strongest minds. 35. Definitions and Illustrations. Antithesis (from/ the Greek avr^ against, and ndtj^ to place) is the col- location of two objects together that differ distinctly,! at least in one particular, and agree in others. The simplest antitheses are those in which the at- tention is called to the difference between two objects of the same kind for the purpose of definition. For instance, " The brig is a square-rigged vessel with two masts ; the sloop is a fore-and-aft-rigged vessel with one mast and a jib-stay." " The old Roman had an aquiline nose, the Greek, a nose long and straight," 114 RIIJ-:T <>]{!>. The antithesis becomes more striking and pleas- ing if the contrast exists in more than one particu- lar, while the likeness in other particulars .remains. Thus, " Caesar died a violent death, but his empire remained ; Cromwell died a natural death, but his em- pire vanished." Antithesis is the union of objects by their differ- ences, and exhibits that power of mind without which there can be no correct generalization nor accurate analysis. It should therefore be assiduously cultiva- ted. It sharpens the outline of the objects, whether material or mental, which are at the same time com- pared and contrasted, and makes an impression of their relative character more vivid than could other- wise be produced. The higher exercise of this power is exhibited in detecting and presenting differences between objects that seem, to a casual observer, to be alike ; but the highest of all is the presentation both of differences and of similarities at the same time between objects that were never classified together before. Upon the degree in which these compared and contrasted points exist, and the vividness with which they are express- ed, depend the force and beauty of the antithesis. "Melissa, like the bee, gathers honey from every weed ; while Arachne, like the spider, sucks poison from the fairest flowers." In this instance it will be seen that Melissa and Arachne are alike in nearly all respects, being both girls; but they differ in two re- spects : Melissa gathers instruction as the bee gathers honey, while Arachne gathers bad influences as the PREVALENCE OF ANTITHESIS. H5 spider gathers poison; and Melissa gathers her in- struction from unfavorable sources, " weeds," while Arachne gamers her bad influences from good sources, " the fairest flowers." " The lamb gambols alike through the green pastures or to the place of slaughter. Up to the last flutter of her wings, the bird ceases not to trill her matins upon the air. But the only immortal beinjj upon the earth lives in dread of death. The only being to whom death is an impossibility fears every day that it will come." In this instance, the lamb and the bird, standing for all brute animals, are compared by antithesis with man. Both classes are alike, in being exposed to death, but the differences are, they are mortal, he at once mortal and immortal; and again, they do not fear to die, though death ends them ; he does fear to die, though death does not end him. Who does not see that the idea of both mortality and immortality are rendered more vivid by such an antithesis? " Here lies the great False marble, where ? Nothing but sordid dust lies here !" The antithesis in this consists in the two pictures that the marble monument migbt suggest of the man whose body is buried beneath it either " the great," as he was when living, or " the sordid dust," which the body is now. Many excellent specimens of antithesis are found in the Holy Scriptures. It was often employed by the Saviour in his necessarily condensed expressions, in which the greatest possible amount of thought was stored up for all future generations. " He that hath, to him shall be given ; he that hath not, from him 110 II 11 ET (Jill* shall be taken that which he hath," is antithetical, equivalent to, " He that really hath for improves what he has), shall have more ; while Be that does not really have any thing (that is, does not improve any thing), shall lose what he has." The principle of this antithetical expression is uttered in the prov- erb, " Rivers run to the sea." The prevalence of antithesis is so great in good composition, and it is so mingled with the various figures of speech, that it is exceedingly difficult in some instances to detect it, or to discriminate between it and comparison and metaphor. The following pas- sage undoubtedly owes much of its impressiveness to the antithesis of its thoughts. "The infinity of worlds, and the narrow spot of earth which we call our home the eternity of ages, and the few hours of life the almighty power of God, and human nothingness it is impossible to think of these in succession without a feeling like that which is pro- duced by the sublimest eloquence." It will be seen in the above that, first, " the infin- ity of worlds " and " the narrow spot of earth called home " are supposed to be alike as space, but anti- thetic in size only; then "eternity" and "the few hours" are alike as durufi'"it, antithetic in extent or amount; "almighty power" and "human nothing- ness" are alike as power, for by "nothingness" is really meant only feebleness, but antithetic in degree; and these antitheses are justly pronounced impressive. 36. Effect of Antitheses. Scientific statements ac- quire precision from antithesis. " In the animal body," says Tyndall, in his " Heat and Mode of Mo- ANTITHETICAL PROVERBS. 117 tion," " vegetable substances are brought again into contact with their beloved oxygen, and they burn within us as a fire burns in a grate." This is a com- parison. But he adds: "In the plant the clock is wound up, in the animal it runs down. In the plant the atoms are separated, in the animal they re-com- bine." This is antithesis. Almost every vivid and impressive author makes a judicious use of antitheses. The writings of Mac- aulay, Bancroft, and of many, though not all other emi- nent historians, ancient and modern, sparkle with them. "That there are fifty thousand thieves in London," says Macaulay, " is a very melancholy fact. But look- ed at in one point of view, it is a reason for exulta- tion. For what other city could maintain fifty thou- sand thieves?" The antithesis consists between the first view of a city having fifty thousand thieves as a place of crime and wretchedness, and the second view of the same city as a place able to support fifty thou- sand thieves without perceptibly injuring its pros- perity. 37. Antithetical Proverbs. Antithesis gives beauty and force to many of the most common proverbs in all languages. " {There is that scattereth, and yet increaseth ; and there is that withholdeth more than is meet, but it tendeth to' poverty." " The wicked flee when no man pursueth : but the righteous are as bold as a lion." " Open rebuke is better than secret love." " There is but a step from the sublime to the ridicu- lous." The antithesis in this last proverb consists in 118 RHETORIC. perceiving both a strange likeness and unlikeness in two expressions that would be supposed to have noth- ing in common nearly alike in extravagance or di- vergence from ordinary thought, totally unlike in their nature and effects. 38. Antithetical Descriptions. It is an exercise of thought closely akin to antithesis, and may be re- garded as a department of this rhetorical figure, when seemingly incongruous or widely different qualities are presented as belonging to the same object. This practice calls the attention not to two objects alike in many points and differing in one or more, but to 'i.lities both different and alike, inhering in the same f object. Thus Young says of life : " Life has no value as an end, but means ; An en-1, deplorable ! a means, divine ! When 'tis our all 'tis nothing ; worse than naught ; A nest of pains ; when held as nothing, much." Bulwer says, " The Spartans had no respect for any other cultivation of the mind than that which pro- duced bold men and short sentences." " Sparta be- came a nation of misers precisely because it could not become a nation of spendthrifts."*" This kind of thought and expression is often em- ployed by essayists, historians, and orators. It is apt to degenerate into a mannerism, and, like all antith- esis, should be sparingly used. The excessive use of it may be seen in the writings of Seneca, in such works as Colton's " Lacon," Montesquieu's " Spirit of Laws," Emerson's "Essays," and many others. Vic- * Bulwer's Athens : its Rise and Fall, hook i. chap. ix. ANTITHESES AND COMPARISONS. 119 tor Hugo thus antithetically describes Wellington and Napoleon : "Napoleon and Wellington : they are not enemies, they are oppo- sites. Never has God, who takes pleasure in antithesis, made a more striking contrast and a more extraordinary meeting. On one side, precision, foresight, geometry, prudence, retreat assured, reserves economized, obstinate composure, imperturbable method, strategy to profit by the ground, tactics to balance battalions, carnage drawn to the line, war directed watch in hand, nothing left voluntarily to chance, ancient classic courage, absolute correctness : on the other hand, intuition, inspiration, a military marvel, a superhuman in- stinct, a flashing glance, a mysterious something which gazes like the eagle and strikes like the thunderbolt ; prodigious art in disdainful impetuosity, all the mysteries of a deep soul, intimacy with Des- tiny, river, plain, forest, hill commanded, and in some sort forced to obi-y, thu ilcspot going even so far as to tyrannize over the battle-.field, faith in a star joined to strategic sciemv, increasing if, but disturb- ing it." 39. Antitheses and Comparisons combined. Antithe- ses are sometimes united with comparisons and far extended, in the portraiture of two similar and dis- similar characters, or of two similar ages, or govern- ments, countries, or objects of any kind that will ad- mit of such a description. Such portraitures are usually labored and wearisome ; and among the many that have been attempted, but few are satisfactory. One of the most noted is the comparison of Dryden and Pope, as poets, by Dr. Samuel Johnson. We give two or three sentences as specimens : "Dryden knew more of man in his general nature, and Pope in his local manners. The notions of Dryden were formed by compre- hensive speculation, and those of Pope by minute attention. There is more dignity in the knowledge of Dryden, and more certainty in that of Pope. * * * Dryden is sometimes vehement and rapid ; Pope is always smooth, uniform, and gentle. Dryden's page is n natural field, rising into inequalities, and diversified by the varied 120 RHETORIC. exuberance of abundant vegetation ; Pope's is a velvet lawn, shorn by the scythe, and levelled by the roller. * * * If the flights of Dryden, therefore, are higher, Pope continues longer on the wing. If of Dryden's fire the blaze is brighter, of Pope's the heat is more regular and constant. Dryden often surpasses expectation, and Pope never falls below it. Dryden is read with frequent astonishment, and Pope with perpetual delight." Such antithetical comparisons of two or more sim- ilar characters were often made, especially by writers in the eighteenth century, but too frequently the writer is either tempted to strain the truth for the sake of the contrast, or to make it more verbal than real, while the ostentatious display of art in the style will displease, unless both the sound and sense are unobjectionable. 40. Should Antithesis be cultivated? As it regards the cultivation of this figure of thought and speech, it may be observed that few use it efficiently, and that when well used it is exceedingly pleasing and impressive. It undoubtedly requires patient study. It is a characteristic of the most cultivated ages and authors. Like the most advanced music, it is appre- ciated fully only by the highly educated. The habit of employing it well should be acquired. 41. /ram. Antithesis generally gives point to an Epigram. An Epigram proper is a sentence in prose, or a short poem, treating only of one thing, and embracing some striking or ingenious thought. Usually the thought is antithetically expressed. One of the oldest, translated from the Greek of Callima- chus, on the death of his friend Heiaclitus, a poet, we give as follows : EPIGRAM, AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 121 " I heard thy fate, loved friend, and dropped a tear; Rushed on my mind the scenes of many a year, When on our chat sun after sun went down. But thou hast long been dust thy days are flown { Yet still thy songs survive ; nor these shall Doom, All-spoiler he, with withering touch consume." The epigram is now made to embrace any brief expression of a startling thought. " Silence is the most effective eloquence." "Riches empty the soul and the pocket; poverty replenishes both." Hesiod says : " How often is a half greater than the whole !" "He described the whole world and also the West Indies." Such expressions are allied to wit, in which antith- esis is often employed. 42. Further Examples, and Conclusion. "Is not wild Shakspeare thine and nature's boast?" " He that's convinced against his will Is of the same opinion still." "A fool with judges ; among fools a judge." "Better to reign in hell than serve in heaven." Dr. Campbell justly remarks : " The excess itself," in the use of antithesis, "into which some writers have fallen, is an evidence of its value of the lus- tre and emphasis which antithesis is calculated to give to the expression. There is no risk of intemper- ance in using a liquor which has neither spirit nor flavor." An antithetical form of expression, when there is no contrast in the thoughts, is jejune and displeasing. F RHETORIC. CHAPTER VI. ALLEGORIES AND FABLES. 43. Definition, a, ntions. An Allegory is a fictitious narrative or description so constructed as to suggest thoughts and facts entirely different from those which it appears to relate. The word is de- rived from the Greek aXAoc, another, and ayopeuw to speak, and means literally what speaks another thing ; that is, it speaks one thing, and means another. The nature of it will be best appreciated by study- ing some examples. In the prophesy of Hosea, chap. x. ver. 1, we read, " Israel is an empty vine." This is called either a metaphor or a trope, because " vine " is used in a figurative sense for a " nation " preserved by Jeho- vah as a grape-vine is cared for by a gardener. It will be observed that " Israel " is mentioned, so that no ingenuity is required on the part of the reader to determine what the writer means. Now let us sup- pose that the word " Israel " was not mentioned, but that the writer should describe a " vine," but yet so describe it that the reader should soon perceive that the writer meant to th ink about a nation, which he was describing under the figure of a vine. This would be an Allegory. ALLEGORY AND FABLE. 123 Fortunately we have just such an instance in the eightieth Psalm. "Thou hast brought a vine out of Egypt." [Observe, the writer does not inform us that vine represents the nation of Israel. If he did so, he would begin with a comparison, or he might use a metaphor, but he leaves it to our discrimination to perceive that though he says "vine," he means Israel.] "Thou hast cast out the heathen, and planted it." [It would have been more allegorical to say, Thou hast rooted up the wild vines, and planted it. ] " Thou preparedst room for it, and didst cause it to take deep root, and it filled the land. The hills were covered with the shadow of it, and the boughs thereof were like the goodly cedars ; she sent out her boughs unto the sea, and her branches unto the river. Why hast thou then broken down her hedges, so that all they which pass by do pluck her ? The boar out of the wood doth waste it, and the wild beast of the field doth de- vour it. Return, we beseech thce, O God of hosts, look down from heaven, and behold and visit this vine." This is a beautiful allegory, and the Bible has sev- eral more good specimens. The parable of the Prodignl Son is a pure allegory. No key to its real meaning is given, but every read- er of good sense knows that it is designed to convey a meaning entirely different from the literal signifi- cation of the words. It is so with all the parables of the Saviour, all being allegorical. In the Book of Proverbs, chap, ix., and the first six verses, a short Allegory will be found. 44. The Fable, and Illustrations. The word folk is derived from the Latin fabula, and meant originally nearly the same thing as an allegory, a fictitious nar- rative. But as it is contrary to the genius of the En- glish language to have two words meaning precisely the same thing, fable, by usage, has acquired a differ- ent shade of signification. A Fable is a fictitious story, in itself improbable, RHETORIC. generally impossible, but nevertheless conveying or illustrating some moral instruction, or some opinion. It differs from an Allegory, first, in being improb- able and necessarily fictitious, and second,"in convey- ing generally one simple moral lesson, or opinion, without exhibiting numerous points of similarity, as the Allegory does, between the thing described and the instruction meant In the Second Book of Kings, chap. xiv. ver. 9, we read : "The thistle that was in Lebanon sent to the cedar that was in Lebanon, saying, Give thy daughter to my son to wife: and there passed by a wild beast that was in Lebanon, and trode down the thistle." This of course could not be true, and it is there- fore a/oZ>fe, but the meaning of it was well understood when it was first uttered. No better fables have ever been written than the famous productions commonly called the Fables of ^Esop, which have probably been wrought into their present expressiveness and beauty by many different minds. 45. The Use of Fables. Fables are seldom intro- duced into sober composition to illustrate and enforce truth, on account of the difficulty of constructing one that shall be at the same time dignified and appropri- ate. They are generally composed by writers who have a genius for them, or who study to produce them, and they are often alluded to or quoted by other writers. Among the ancient Athenians it a common amusement for some one at a dinner-table INSTANCES OF ALLEUOliY. 125 to relate a fable for the gratification of his friends. Koman history presents an instance in which a fable was invented and related with good effect. The Ple- beians were in rebellion against the Patricians, when, to appease their violence, Menenius Agrippa is said to have related to the people the following fable : " Once on a time all the members of the body revolted against the Belly, because it received every tiling and contributed nothing. So the Hand said it would no longer carry food to the Mouth ; the Mouth said it would no longer receive it ; and the Teeth said they would no longer chew it. They all declared they would no longer slave, as they had done, for the lazy and ungrateful Belly. So they rose in insurrection , but, lo ! while the rebellious members sought to pun- ish the Belly, they languished and punished themselves."* 46. Further Illustrations of the Allegory. Allegories are much more frequently employed. It would be easy to collect a volume of them from the best authors in the English language. Pla'to, in one of his profound Dialogues, f describes an under-ground cave, having an opening toward the light of a great fire, peopled by persons who have worn chains on their legs and necks all their lives. Between the fire and the miserable creatures is a road, and they are amusing themselves with looking at their own shadows on the opposite wall and listening to words that seem to come from the images, but are only echoes of their own voices. The description is * This story, related in Roman history, has been repeated by many ; among others, by Shakspeare in Coriolanus, act i. scene 1, who has expanded it without improvement. The apostle Paul has presented the same illustration, in the form of a supposition, very forcibly in 1 Corinthians xii. 20. t The Republic, book vii. chap. i. rjti RUI carried out into several pages, and is an allegory de- scribing the miserable condition of men in this world, as it seemed to Plato. Often what may properly be considered an alle- gory is introduced by a few words of explanation that put the reader upon the right track, and make it easy for him to understand the author's real meaning. Thus Coleridge, in his " Biographia Literaria," pro- poses an association of learned men to examine all lit- erary productions as they appear, and decide upon their merits. He calls this proposed association a " critical machine." These words seem to have sug- gested to him such correspondences between the workings of a critical association and a machine as naturally shaped themselves into an allegory, thus: "Should any literary Quixote* find himself provoked by its sounds and regular movements, I should admonish him, with Sancho Panza, that it is no giant, but a windmill ; there it stands on its own place and its own hillock, never goes out of its way to attack any one, and to none and from none either gives or asks assistance. When the public press has poured in any part of its produce between its mill- stones, it grinds it off, one man's sack the same as another, and with whatever wind may then happen to be blowing. All the two-and- thirty winds are alike its friends. Of the whole wide atmosphere it does not desire a single finger-breadth more than what is necessary for its sails to turnVmnd in. But this space must be left free and unimpeded. Gnats, beetles, wasps, bottle-flies, and the whole tribe of ephemerals and insignificants, may flit in and out and between ; may hum, and buzz, and jar ; may shrill their tiny pipes, and wind their puny horns, unchastised and unnoticed. But idlers and bravadoes of larger size and prouder show must beware how they place them- selves within its sweep. Much less may they presume to lay hands * Referring to Don Quixote, who is represented as a crazy knight, in one instance fighting with a windmill, of which fact he is informed by his servant Sancho Panza. OF ALLEGORY. 127 on the sails, the strength of which is neither greater nor less than as the wind is which drives them round. Whomsoever the remorseless arm slings aloft, or whirls along with it in the air, he has himself alone to blame ; though, when the same arm throws him from it, it will more often double than break the force of his fall."* Such allegories have been called continued meta- phors, but incorrectly. A metaphor is a condensed single comparison between two objects, but this is a series of comparisons or strange likenesses between two different objects. Each item in the description, for instance, of the above critical windmill, has some reference to the effect that the association imagined might have. Some good specimens of allegories are, " The Em- pire of Poetry," by Fontenelle (translated from the French) ; " The Hill of Science," by Dr. Aiken, and "The Mountains of Miseries" (and several others, in the Spectator), by Addison; "The Pilgrim's Prog- ress," by Bunyan ; " The Celestial Railroad,". by Haw- thorne, and the "Bream of the Destruction of the Bi- ble," by Rogers. 47. Short Allegories. It must not be supposed that allegories are necessarily long. They are often brief. Thus when Quintilian, pleading for a polished style of writing, makes use of the following expressions, he really employs an allegory, and such allegories are common. " I should prefer a block of Parian marble to a statue, cut even by the hand of a Praxiteles out of a millstone ; but were the same mas- ter to polish that block, it would become more precious, through his art, than its own value." Quintilian here did not intend primarily to express * Coleridge's Complete Works (New York, 1854), vol. iii. p. 454. 128 RHETORIC. any opinion about the comparative value of marble and coarse stones ; but while he used those words he in- tended that his readers should understand that a good thought poorly expressed (a block of marble roughly hewed) is better than a poor thought rhetorically ex- pressed (a statue made of a millstone by Praxiteles) ; but that he would prefer the good thought beautifully expressed (the marble block wrought up and pol- ished). Happy is the author who can judiciously illustrate and ornament his productions with the occasional use of allegory. 48. Relation of Allegory to 'Art The principle of the Allegory is the foundation of a large department of the works of art ; Temperance is represented as a woman with a bridle ; Firmness as a woman leaning against a pillar. Hope, Courage, War, Peace, Com- merce, Life, Death, all have their appropriate emblems. An emblematic painting may be intrinsically beauti- ful, and also strikingly illustrate some passion or the result of some custom, or some law of mind. The " Voyage of Life " has been allegorically presented in a series of pictures. The career of a gambler, a drunk- ard, an ambitious man, a Christian, might be repre- sented in a series of paintings or statues. Even arch- itecture derives an interest from the principle of the Allegory. The heavy Gothic style is felt to symbolize mystery, profundity, and to awaken reverence, and is therefore suited to a house of worship, while the lighter Grecian styles betoken rather cheerfulness and social pleasure. Many of these suggestions may be deemed RULES FOR USE OF ALLEGORY. 129 fanciful, but it will be found that allegory is very prevalent in literature and art, and that its principles will richly deserve careful attention. 49. Elements of a good Allegory. Three qualities are demanded in every written allegory : (1.) The narrative must be so constructed as to please and interest, even if the real lesson designed to be conveyed is overlooked. (2.) The real lesson or object of the Allegory should be easily seen ; and if there would be any doubt about its being understood, let a few words of explanation be prefaced. (3.) Both meanings of the Allegory should, if possi- ble, be valuable. A strict adherence to an order of nature or facts in a long allegory, so that every thing said of the secondary subject should illustrate some truth, is not always possible, and the writer of an allegory or par- able is allowed to combine incidents in any way that imagination, guided by reason, sees conducive to the end in view. EXAMPLES OF ALLEGORY. Inasmuch as this figure is much more frequently employed by some good writers than has been usually supposed, we give a few more specimens. The first two are from Macaulav : "The final and permanent fruits of liberty are wisdom, modera- tion, and mercy. Its immediate effects are often atrocious crimes, conflicting errors, skepticism on points the most clear, dogmatism on points the most mysterious. It is just at this crisis ihtK its enemies love to exhibit it. They pull down the scaffolding from the half- F2 130 RUETUi finished edifice ; they point to the flying dust, the falling bricks, the comfortless rooms, the frightful irregularity of the whole appearance, and then ask in scorn where the promised splendor and comfort are to be found." "A pedestrian may show as much muscular vigor on a tread- mill as on the highway road. But on the road his vigor will as- suredly carry him forward ; on the tread-mill he will not advance an inch. The ancient philosophy was a tread-mill, not a path." "There stands an ancient architectural pile, with tokens of its venerable age covering it from its corner-stone to its topmost tur- ret ; and some imagine these to be tokens of decay, while to others they indicate, by the years they chronicle, a massiveness that can yet defy more centuries than it has weathered years. Its foundation is buried in the accumulated mould and clustered masses of many gen- erations. Its walls are mantled and hidden by parasitic vines. Its apartments are some of them dark and cold, as if their very cement were dissolving in chilly vapors. Others, built against the walls, were never framed into them ; and now their ceilings are broken, their floors are uneven as the surface of a billow, their timbers seem -ustain one another than to break one another's fall. You dig away the mould, and lo ! the foundation was laid by no mortal hand ; it is primitive rock that strikes its roots down an unfathoma- ble depth into the solid earth, so that no frosts can heave it, no con- vulsions shake it. Such an edifice is Christianity" (Dr. A. P. Pea- body's Christianity the Religion of Nature). HYPERBOLE. 131 CHAPTER VII. HYPERBOLES, OR EXTRAVAGANT EXPRESSIONS. 50. Definition. AN expression which, literally un- derstood, means more than the author really intends to utter, is called a Hyperbole. The word is derived from two Greek words which signify to throw beyond. Under the influence of strong emotion, this is the most natural and the most common figure of speech. It abounds in conversation, oratory, poetry, in descrip- tions of persons, places, and events, and indeed is found in almost every species of composition. The last verse of the Gospel according to St. John informs us, "And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written." This can not be supposed to be the literal, arithmetical calculation of the writer, but it is a hyperbolical way of conveying the thought that what he had written was but a scanty description of the deeds and words of the eventful life of Jesus. There are but a few passages of the Bible -undoubtedly hyperbolical. 51. Is Hyperbole morally Wrong? Some critics and moralists have wholly disapproved of its use, but such persons are hypercritical, if not hyperbolical, and, 132 RUETORl* '. upon a narrow, undiscriminating basis of morality and taste, would rob the world of the most of its healthful passion and poetry. One of the chief elements of effi- ciency in oratory, and one of the chief charms of po- etry, is Hyperbole. Language is not always to be un- derstood literally, or according to what the words would mean if employed without passion and with scientific precision, but according to what the speaker may be properly supposed to mean when he uses it. The hearer is presumed to be able to make all due allow- ance for strong emotion, and there is a pleasure in feeling the power communicated to thought even by extravagant expression. Many of the common expressions used in conver- sation and in epistolary writings are not designed to be construed with literal exactness. Washington, when elected Commander-in-chief of the American forces in 1775, wrote to his wife thus : "I should en- joy more real happiness with you at home than I have the mest distant prospect of .finding abroad, if my stay were to be seven times seven .years." Evidently he meant simply to be understood that it was a great sacrifice for him to yield the pleasures of domestic life, to respond to the call of his country: Many years afterward, though his writings are generally very cool and free from extravagance, he wrote to another lady thus: "None of which. events, however, nor all of them together, have been able to eradicate from my mind the recollection of those happy mo- ments. ///' happiest of my life, which I have enjoyed in y:iys the honorable gentleman. If a man were present now at the field of slaughter, and were to inquire for what they were fighting, 'Fighting !' would be the answer ; 'they are not fighting ; they are pausing.' Why is that man expiring ? Win- is that other writhing with agony ? What means this inexplicable fury ? The answer must be, 'You are quite wrong, sir ; you deceive yourself; they are not fighting; do not disturb them ; they are mere- ly pausing! Lord help you, sir, they are not angry with one another ; they have now no cause of quarrel, but their country thinks that there should be & pause ." ' ^ By such expressions as the above, Mr. Fox ridi- culed the idea that had been advanced, that the great events then occurring were simply a " pause " in his- tory. Dr. Johnson, in his indignant letter to Lord Ches- terfield, refusing his patronage and favor which were not offered till he began to be popular and did not need assistance, inquires : " Is not a patron, my lord, one who looks with unconcern on a man struggling for life in the water, and when he has reached ground, encounters him with help ?" Of course Johnson does not ask such a question for information, but intends by his question to intimate precisely the opposite idea as the truth. Shakspeare, that great master of almost every pas- sion, often employs Irony. In King Lear, Cordelia is represented as ridiculing a blunt plain-speaking man as coarse and rude, thus : "This is some fellow, Who, having been praised for bluntness, doth affect A saucy roughness ; and constrains the garb, Quite from his nature. He can not flatter, he! An honest mind and plain, he must speak truth: An they will take it so; if not, 'tis plain." IRONY IN CONTROVERSY. 141 The words printed in italics are a repetition by Cordelia of what the rough man is supposed to say of himself craftily. She repeats them, to show their falsity, simply by a peculiar emphasis. This kind of irony is often prompted by anger. 60. Irony in Controversy. Controversialists some- times resort to Irony to expose the ridiculousness of the errors which they oppose. Thus Henry Kogers* ironically asks deists to construct a book as ingenious and powerful as the Bible. He begs of them, " Do not let your imaginative forms be so exquisite as to make mankind take them for genuine history" [as they have taken the Bible] ; " do not, I warn you, so transcend Homer and Shakspeare, as to make people fancy your fable fact ! Or else not only will you fail of your object, but will have added unexpectedly an- other to the many historical religions !" This is exquisite Irony, as is the whole letter from which it is taken. None can deny the efficiency of this weapon, when properly used, either to expose er- ror, or meanness, or ignorance, or vice. Archbishop Haref has a long argument, in the form of a letter, to dissuade young clergymen from studying the Bible, so written as to show that such a neglect as it pretends to advise would be cowardly and guilty. Such ironical writing, when well done, is exceedingly efficient. * The Greyson Letters : Selections from the Correspondence of R. G. H. Greyson, Esq. Edited by Henry Rogers (Boston, 1857), p. 428. f The Works of Dr. Francis Hare, Lord Bishop of Chichester (London, 1746), vol. ii. p. 1-38. 142 RHETORIC. 61. //v>//// tiitewled to Amuse. The lighter use of Irony, simply to amuse, may be seen principally in humorous productions. Some whole volumes have a vein of irony running through them ; and while to superficial readers they appear to be sober, are really ridiculing some theory or practice. This covert, gen- tle irony, it is, that gives such an inexpressible charm to such works, as "Don Quixote," the "Vicar of Wakefield," and many of the writings of Dean Swift and Sydney Smith. Washington Irving, in his " Knick- erbocker's History of New York," has given us some of the best specimens of this kind of irony. We have room but for a single passage : " Of the creation of the world we have a thousand contradictory accounts ; and though a very satisfactory one is furnished us by di- vine revelation, yet every philosopher feels himself in honor bound to furnish us with a better. As an impartial historian, I consider it my duty to notice their several theories, by which mankind have been so exceedingly edified and instructed." Who does not perceive in this a ridicule of the ab- surd theories of the origin of the world that have been promulgated ? One of the most successful specimens of ironical writing is a pamphlet written by the witty Irishman, Swift, entitled, " A Modest Proposal to the Public for preventing the Children of Poor People in Ireland from being a Burden to their Country, and for making them Beneficial to the Public ?" The " modest pro- posal " is that the little children be fattened and used for food ! He enters into grave statistical calculations of the pecuniary profit of such a course, written with such an appearance of candor and cool brutality, that ILLUSTRATION OF IROXY. 143 it is said a contemporary writer in France was actual- ly deceived by it, and denounced it as horribly inhu- man. The design of Swift was to censure England for an alleged disregard for the rights of the Irish people. Henry Ward Beecher commends fishing thus: "Alas ! that a world should be so barbarous as to condemn piscato- ry sports so long as they contribute to exercise taste, sentiment, and moral enjoyment ; and that all objection ceases when a man can prove that he labored for his mouth alone. It is all right, if it was eating that he had in mind. The frying-pan is in universal favor. This is the modern image that fell down from heaven, which all men hold in reverence !"* In the above, an idea which the author disapproves is first soberly stated. It is then repeated in other forms again and again, till the very strength of state- ment begins to make it ridiculous, and the mind re- coils from accepting it, when it becomes Irony. By the punctuation the author indicates that the last sen- tence alone is ironical. We think the two preceding sentences should be punctuated in the same way. This gradual sliding into irony is common with earn- est, eloquent controversialists who have a vein of wit in their nature. 62. Ironical Questions. Irony is often forcibly ex- pressed in the form of questions: "Can gray hairs render folly venerable?" Hon. Mr. Fessenden, in the Senate, inquired : "Are we not men of some degree of sense and discretion? Are we sent here, senators, chosen men of states, representatives, the se- * Star-Papers ; or, Experiences of Art and Nature. By Henry Ward Beecher (New York, 1855), p. 238. 144 RHETORIC. lectmen of the people in the several districts, without any idea what- ever of a correct course of proceeding in this matter ?" So Hon. Mr. Corwin represented the people of Mexico as saying : "Have you not room in your own country to bury your dead men ? If you come into mine, we will greet you with bloody hands, and welcome you to hospitable graves !" Such questions are not asked because they require an answer, but because the very opposite to what they suggest is true ; they are therefore Irony. 63. Directions upon the Use of Irony. The follow- ing directions on the use of Irony should be observed; (1.) Let it be suited to the subject and occasion. If light and humorous, let it not be associated with grave instruction, or the earnest expression of feel- ing, so as to awaken a sense of inconsistency. If se- vere and sarcastic, be sure that the occasion will justi- fy it. (2.) In oral productions the intonations of the voice should always indicate Irony when it is employed; in written productions be careful, either by giving some intimation of your purpose, or by the punctua- tion, to enable the reader to perceive your meaning, so as not to mistake Irony for the direct expression of sentiment, unless, indeed, it be your sober purpose to leave your expressions obscure, or to test the men- tal ability of your reader. (3.) Do not neglect to cultivate the use of so effi- cient a weapon, but bear in mind that the frequent use of Irony is unpleasant to a well-cultivated taste. PEMS ON1FI CA TION. \ 45 CHAPTER IX. PERSONIFICATION AND PROSOPOPCEIA. 64. Definition. WHEN a lifeless object is represent- ed or addressed as though it had life, it is said to be personified. 65. Philosophy of it. Personification is a natural expression of strong feeling connected with the object personified. A child will often vent his anger upon u stone or stick by which he has been struck, and older persons who have not yet passed out of the childhood stage of development are sometimes betray- ed into similar folly. Many who would not strike an insensible object may often feel an impulse to blame it. When we censure or praise a senseless thing, we fancy it for the time endowed with life. What seems unreasonable in its rudimentary manifestations may, if done in a cultivated manner, please the taste and task the highest mental energy. 66. First Degree of Personification. Personification /exists in three degrees. In Personification of the first /degree the object is presented as having some quali ' ties that properly belong only to living creatures. Thus we speak of an obedient ship, or say that a house befriends a weary traveller. This degree of Personification is most frequently exhibited by the use of some appellative that strictly applies only to G 140 RHET01U* living beings. In many instances this has become so common, and in many others it requires so little effort of the imagination, that it is scarcely noticed. Trees are called majestic, rivers or breezes gentle, the spring is said to smife, and winter is termed frmvn iny, with no conscious excitement or extraordinary effort of the mind. 67. Often indicated by the Use of Personal Pronouns 7 Genders. This degree of Personification is oft- en exhibited by simply using the masculine or femi- nine pronoun instead of the neuter. Thus a boat is represented as a female, war as a male, in these ex- pressions : " Pull a stroke or two away with her into deep water;" "War then showed his devastations." In a well-written review article we read : ' Liberalism was rising steadily on all sides. Was the Church to be a Church, to oppose her advancing enemy, to curse him, to have no terms with himf In this sentence Liberalism is spoken of as a man, or a masculine enemy, the Church (as often in the Bi- ble) is spoken of as a woman. The reviewer adds another sentence, in which he begins with the same personification, but absurdly mixes his metaphors, and metamorphoses the woman into a ship, thus : " Or was she [the Church] to let him [Liberalism] in, to become a mere receptacle for sects, and gradually drift away with the liberal tide from her old orthodox moorings?" It would be strange indeed to see a woman " drift away from her moorings?" An eloquent writer says : " Science can not work with a halter about her neck." INSTANCES OF PERSONIFICATION. 147 Kev. Dr. Hitchcock, in speaking of the effects of old age, says : " The mind, too, dependent on bodily organization by unalterable laws for its free exercise, sympathizes in the decline of the physical powers. The proud heights which she once scaled can no longer be reached ; the heavy blows which she once dealt out can no longer be given. * * * First of all, the memory feels the change, and reels, and staggers, and sinks under her charge. Next, the judgment be- gins to waver ; and, last of all, tire imagination comes fluttering to the earth." Eev. Dr. Bellows, in a sermon, thus represents truth : "Truth is as jealous, capricious, and shy a mistress as was ever wooed. She eludes her lover as a hunted deer her pursuer. Her votary must follow her in all the circuits and involutions of her flight now doubling on her track, now making the North Star, and now the Southern Cross her beacon now on the earth, now in water or wood, and again in the sky, but always having it for her purpose to lead her wooer through every parallel and point of latitude and longitude in her domain, that he may view her and her possessions from all quarters of the moral compass, and see her full shape and whole fortune and so be the more in love with his holy, heavenly bride, his destined partner for eternity.* * Sometimes we meet with her and his instead of its in the English Bible, and in other ancient books, when no personification was in- tended ; for its, the possessive case of it, is a modern word, and be- gan to be used only about the middle of the IGth century, and did not become common till many years after. In such expressions as "It shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel;" "Put up thy sword into fa's place," in the Bible, there is no personification, because the neuter possessive pronoun its was not then used. From an ignorance of this fact, Dr. Jamieson, in his Rhetoric, wrongly charges Milton with using a false gender in this passage : 41 His form Had not lost all Tier original brightness, Nor appeared less than archangel rained." Milton did not wish to use its, which was then a novel word ; in- deed he employed it only two or three times in his "Paradise Lost." In this case, forma, the Latin word for form, being feminine, he Personification by the use of appellatives is very common ; by the use of personal pronouns indicating gender it is less common, and care should be taken not to employ it so frequently as to betray a manner- ism, and offend good taste. 68. Personification of the Second Degree. The sec- lond degree of Personification is the representation of an object as acting, or manifesting emotion, like a thing of life. " Decay stands with tottering limbs and feeble breath, and lisps to us, with dying life, that we draw nigh the gates." then proceeded south, where the six gigantic columns rear- ed their heads above the ruins." How much more forcible is this than to say, " The six gigantic columns extended upward above the ruins." Prescott, in plain narrative style, says : " A river, a chain of mountains, an imaginary line even, parted them [nations] as far asunder as if oceans rolled between." Cowper expressed the same thought far more forci- bly by personification, when he said : " Lands intersected by a narrow frith Abhor each other." " The great watcVstars," says Everett, "shut up their holy eyes." If the student carefully reads the best authors, he will find that personification of this degree is much less common than the first degree. Indeed many vig- orous writers and eloquent orators never employ it. chose her for the possessive case rather than his. Its is found in some copies of the English Bible once, in Leviticus xxv. 5 "that which groweth of its own accord ;" but the translators even here originally used the word it. N FOR CONCISENESS. 149 If used too frequently, the style appears affected and stilted. 69. Sometimes employed for Conciseness and Conven- ience only. There are, however, personifications of this kind, which are employed not as expressions of ex- cited feeling, but as convenient condensations, to avoid circumlocutions, and the frequent repetitions of long descriptions. Thus the word " nature " is used as though it were the name of a person, when evidently the author does not intend to personify any fancied being or power, but it is more convenient to use that appellation than some such expression as " the plan according to which material things act," or " the prop- erties which this subject has ;" and it is more conven- ient to represent it as a person than to speak of the phenomena described as simple effects. "Nature preserves a wonderful harmony among the animal and vegetable kingdoms." That is, the plan on which the universe is constructed is such that a wonderful harmony is preserved. Professor Tyn- dall, in his treatise on " Heat, a Mode of Motion," speaking of the chilling and freezing of the surface of a lake, and the sinking of the cold water to the bot- tom, says : "Supposing this to continue, the ice would sink as it was formed, and the process would not cease until the entire water of the lake would be solidified. Death to every living thing in the water would be the consequence. But just when matters become critical, Nature steps aside from her ordinary proceeding, causes the water to expand by cooling, and the cold water swims like a scum on the surface of the warmer water underneath." This use of the word nature is so common that 150 RHETORIC. another illustration may not be inappropriate, taken from a sermon by Kev. Dr. Huntington. Speaking of Nature, he says : " Just when she discloses to our perceptions any of her grandest pictures, she shuts our lips. Whenever she stirs our sense of the sub- lime, she sternly tells us, ' My children, be dumbl' " This is genuine Personification. But often, as in the former instances, the word is used as a convenient sin- gle term or symbol for " the plan of existing things." If the word God is used instead of Nature, it expresses a different idea, directing the attention to an intelli- gent, powerful person ; but the word " nature " simply indicates that the system of material things is such that the result must follow. In the same way war, peace, commerce, govern- ment, law, education, industry, order, temperance, vir- tue, vice, every particular passion, and almost every complex agency, may be personified, or represented as acting, and producing effects, when the author does not intend to express unwonted emotion, but simply finds it the most convenient in this way to express his views of the influence of the thing considered. We subjoin a few instances: "Logic does not, like philosophy, enunciate any particular truths, hut teaches the principles of universal reasoning." Strictly speaking, this is Personification, which is used to avoid some such circumlocution as this : " In treatises on logic, pupils are not taught," etc. " What tongue shall describe the ravages of the sword ?" "Of the sword" instead of " produced by war." L' OX VISE PERSONIFICATIU.\^ 151 "Photography presents for us the lineaments of our loved ones long since departed." Such an expression might arise frdm strong emo- tion, and a desire to eulogize photography, and might be employed as a convenient single term instead of many, which would be scientifically more correct. Often by a little study a writer may condense his style, and at the same time render it more vigorous, by this kind of personification. Washington gives us a good instance of this kind of personification, which even rises into the higher and genuine figure, when in his first Inaugural Address as President he says : " I was summoned by my country, whose voice I can never hear but with veneration and love, from a retreat which I had chosen, with the fondest predilection and in my flattering hopes, with, an immutable de- cision, as the asylum of my declining years." How much more striking is the following than it would be if for genius, as a person, were substituted the many words necessary to express the same idea scientifically : " Genius has surrounded your homes with comfort, has given you control of the blind forces of nature, and made the flowers of paradise bloom in the poor man's garden." How much thought is condensed into this vigorous expression of Wendell Phillips : " The Press says, It is all right; the Pulpit cries, Amen !" Is not a philosophical truth nervously expressed by these words : " When Feeling comes in at the door, Reason has nothing to do but .to jump out by the win- dow?" 152 KHETOKIC. Let the student carefully notice the prevalence of this figure in good writings, and endeavor to ascertain whether it is resorted to as a result of strong emotion and a lively fancy, or from mere economy of speech, and the study will naturally improve his own style. 70. Used in Allegories, and in Humorous Productions. It is scarcely necessary to add that in allegories Per- sonifications are almost always employed, and that in humorous productions often nations or national char- acteristics are represented as persons. "John Bull" represents England, or an Englishman ; " Brother Jon- athan," the United States, or an American. The an- cients, from their numerous idols and complicated mythology, could employ a kind of personification of this nature more than the moderns. An instance in which Personification is extended, and is by some called an Allegory, is afforded by John Quincy Adams in his description of Eloquence: " At the revival of letters in modern Europe, Eloquence, together with her sister muses, awoke and shook the poppies from her brow. But their torpors still lingered in her veins. In the interval her voice was gone ; her favorite languages were extinct ; her organs were no longer attuned to harmony, and her hearers could no longer under- stand her speech. * * * She ascended the tribunals of justice; there she found her child, Persuasion, manacled and pinioned by the let- ter of the law; there she beheld the image of herself, stammering in , barbarous Latin, and staggering under the lumber of a thousand vol- umes." This long description, of which we have given only a small part, is not an Allegory, as it does not suggest to us any other meaning than that which lies on its surface. It is simply an extended Personification of the second degree. Such long-drawn-out personifica- THIRD DEGREE OF PERSONIFICATION. 153 tions must be executed with great skill, or they weary without instructing. Properly wrought, they relieve didactic writing. 71. The Third Degree of Personification. The third /degree of Personification is seen when an object is ad- dressed as if alive, and listening to the speaker. When the mind is sufficiently aroused, this boldest kind of Personification is pre-eminently forcible and beautiful. Thus Edward Everett, at the conclusion of an essay on comets, having awakened a great inter- est in the subject, and described glowingly the beau- ties and sublimity of the starry heavens, suddenly makes the following address to one then visible : " Return, thou mysterious traveller, to the depths of the heavens, never again to be seen by the eyes of men now living ! Thou hast run thy race with glory ; millions of eyes have gazed upon tlice with wonder ; but they shall never look upon thee again. Since thy last appearance in these lower skies, empires, languages, and races of men have passed away. * * * Haply when, wheeling up again from the celestial abysses, thou art once more seen by the dwellers on earth, the languages we speak shall also be forgotten, and science shall have fled to the uttermost corners of the earth. But even there His hand, that now marks out thy wondrous circuit, shall still guide thy course, and then as now Hesper unll smile at thy approach, and Arcturus, with his \ sons, rejoice at thy coming." The student will observe that the passages italicized in the above indicate also Personifications of the second degree. 72. When may this Degree be employed? Personifi- cation of this kind need not be confined to the sublim- est subjects or to oratorical writing. It is only need- ful that the circumstances should render it appropri- ate. When Robinson Crusoe is represented as ship- 02 154 JUIETOR1C. \\-rccked and cast on the desolate island, and as finding some money, the narrative thus proceeds : " I smiled to myself at the sight of this money. * Oh, drag !' I ex- claimed, ' what art thou good for ? Thou an not worth to me, no, not the taking off the ground ; one of these knives is worth all this heap ; I have no manner of use for thee ; e'en remain where thou art, and go to the bottom^ as a creature not worth saving.' " This is natural and impressive. 73. How much Used. It would be easy to fill this volume with beautiful specimens of Personification. Especially does it abound in poetry. It is also often found in oratory. Yet many eminent orators never use what we call Personification of the third degree, and you may read hundreds of volumes in prose with- out a single example. Many elegant speakers have never employed it once. How sublime is Milton's oft -quoted address to Light ! " Hail ! holy Light, offspring of Heaven, first-born, Or of the Eternal, co-eternal beam, May I express thee unblamed since God is light, And never but in unapproached light Dwelt from eternity, dwelt thou in thee, Bright effluence of bright essence increate ?" Not less sublime is Byron's address to the Ocean, beginning thus : "Roll on, thou deep and dark blue ocean, roll ! Ten thousand fleets sweep over thee in vain : Man marks the earth with ruin ; his control Stops with thy shore ; upon the watery plain The wrecks are all thy deed, nor doth remain A shadow of man's ravage, save his o\vn, When, for a moment, like a drop of rain, He sinks into thy depths, with bubbling groan, Without a grave, unknelled, uncoffined, and unknown." MULES ON PERSONIFICATION. 155 Oftentimes thus by personification much thought and instruction can be conveyed, under the guise of referring to the qualities and circumstances of the ob- ject addressed. Thus Shakspeare says to Sleep : " Oh, thou dull god ! Why licst thou with the vile, In loathsome beds, and leavest the kingly couch A watch-case, or a common 'larum-bell ? Wilt thou, upon the high and giddy mast, Seal up the ship-boy's eyes, and rock his brains In cradle of the rude, imperious surge? * * * Canst thou, oh, partial sleep I give thy repose To the wet sea-boy in an hour so rude, And, in the calmest and the stillest night, With all appliances and means to boot, Deny it to a king ? Then, happy, low, lie down, J , head that wears a crown." ^tt4 "#<,/ This figure is often used in Wit and Burlesque. 74. Directions cm Use of Personifica (1.) Personification of the higher degrees should be used sparingly, or the style will appear too artistic to please the taste. (2.) The occasion should always justify its use. (3.) Let it not be dwelt upon too long, and the idea of personality be carried out so far as to weary or dis- please the hearer. 75. Prosopopoeia. Personification is sometimes term- ed Prosopopoeia, but, strictly speaking, Prosopopoeia is more general, and includes all kinds of speaking in which the speaker represents for the time either a personified thing or a person absent or deceased. It therefore includes both Personification and Apostro- phe, which is more fully explained in the next chap- ter. 156 RHETORIC. CHAPTER X. APOSTROPHE. 76. Definition, and Examples. A sudden turning away from the current of thought to address another person or party, or an absent or deceased person as though present and alive, is called Apostrophe. This figure of speech is often combined or asso- ciated with Personification. It exhibits intense feel- ing, and, if the occasion justifies it, is impressive and efficient The following, from a prize essay on Education by Dr. Hamilton, is a specimen of an impressive style, and contains an Apostrophe : "The nature of man is the shoal on which all infidel philosophy, and, if it can be, all infidel benevolence, are wrecked. These can not explain him. They mark contrasts in him which they can not reconcile. The great and the little, the strong and the weak, the divine and the infernal, they can not adjust. His origin they can not deduce. His recovery they can not meditate. They may ex- plore all secrete, and master all difficulties but this. Christianity alone makes it plain. Man is great, but fallen ; is strong, but sin- ning; is divine, br: debased: therefore is he spiritually little, weak, infernal. It brings him back to spiritual greatness, strength, and divinity. It shows him all that he was, is, and shall be. It explains the intermediate stages and processes. It accounts for all. Man ! taught by this religion, I can abhor thee, dread thee, reverence thee, be- moan thee, shun thee, Jlee thee ! But oh, fearful, mysterious being, I can not slight thee /"* * The Institutions of Popular Education. An Essay to which tho Manchester Prize was adjudged. By the Rev. Richard Winter Ham- ilton, D.D., LL.D. (London, 1845), p. 34. INSTANCES OF APOSTROPHE. 157 All can see that turning from the descriptive cur- rent of thought to address man, adds great energy to the passage. The following characteristic quotation from Car- lyle's Essay on Sir Walter Scott exhibits the same figure : " To omit mere prurient susceptivities that rest on vacuum, look at poor Byron, who really had much substance in him. Sitting there in his self-exile, with a proud heart striving to persuade itself that it despises the entire created universe ; and far off, in foggy Babylon, let any pitifullest whipster draw pen on him, your proud Byron writhes in torture, as if the pitiful whipster were a magician, or his pen a gal- vanic wire struck into Byron's spinal marrow ! Lamentable, despi- cable, one had rather be a kitten and cry mew ! Oh, son of Adam, great or little, according as thou art lovable, those thou livest with will love thee !" This is a figure frequently employed by Carlyle in his disjointed, jerking style. . Take another specimen from the same essay : "The most famed man, round whom all the world rapturously hnzzahs and venerates, as if his like were not, is the same man whom all the world was wont to jostle into the kennels ; not a changed man, but iu every fibre of him the same man. Foolish world ! what went ye out to see ? A tankard scoured bright ! And do there not lie, of the self-same pewter, whole barrowfuls of tankards, though by worse fortune all in the same state ?" The frequency with which this figure is employed in impassioned oratory will justify the presentation of other illustrations of it. Edward Everett, in a eulogy pronounced on La Fayette, introduces the following apostrophes : "You have now assembled within these sacred walls to perform the last duties of respect and love, on the birthday of your benefac- tor, beneath that roof which has resounded of old with the master- voices of American renown. Listen, Americans, to the lessons which 158 seem borne to us on the very air we breathe, while we perform these dutiful rites. Ye winds, that wafted the Pilgrims to the land of prom- ise, fan in their children's hearts the love of freedom ! Blood, which our father's shed, cry from the ground ! Echoing arches of this re- nowned hall, whisper back the voices of other days ! Glorious Wash- ington, break the long silence of that votive canvas: speak, speak, marble lips, teach us the love of liberty protected by law." Nothing but intense feeling in the speaker, shared by the audience, would justify such an appeal, not sur- passed by any thing in ancient or modern oratory ; but the occasion did justify it, and when Everett ut- tered those words, the audience, swayed by his power, seemed, while in perfect silence they followed the gest- ure of the orator, and gazed first upon the portrait and then upon the statue of Washington, to expect every instant to hear the canvas or the marble speak ! 77. Remarks by Everett upon Apostrophe. Some ex- cellent remarks upon this figure of Rhetoric are given by Edward Everett in his review of the speeches of Webster.* Speaking of an orator, he says : " In those portions of his discourse which are pure- ly didactic or narrative, he will not be apt to rise he will not have occasion to rise above his notes, though even here new facts, illustrations, and suggestions will spring up before him as he moves on. But when the topic rises, and the strain becomes loftier and bolder, the thick-coming fancies can not be repelled; the whole storehouse of the memory is unlocked, its most hidden shrines fly open all that has been seen, heard, read, felt, returns in most vivid colors the cold and premeditated text will no longer suffice for the glow- * See North American Review, voL xli. pp. 231-2.">1. EVERETT ON APOSTROPHE. 159 ing thought the stately-balanced phrase gives place to some fresh and graphic expression that rushes un- bidden to the lips the unforeseen locality or incident furnishes an apt and speaking image and the whole discourse, by a kind of unconscious instinct, trans- poses itself into a kind of higher key. As the best il- lustration of our remark, and proof of its justice, we subjoin one of the most eloquent passages that ever dropped from the lips of man, the address [by Daniel Webster] to the survivors of the battle of Bunker Hill, and the apostrophe to Warren. Those were topics of course too obvious and essential, in an address on lay- ing the corner-stone of the monument, to have been omitted in the orator's notes. But the man who sup- poses that the apostrophe to Warren was elaborated in the closet and committed to memory, may know a great deal about contingent remainders, but his heart must be as dry and hard as a remainder biscuit. He knows nothing of eloquence, or the philosophy of the human mind. We quote it, the rather because in the slight grammatical inaccuracy, produced by passing from the third person to the second in the same sen- tence, we perceive at once one of the most natural consequences, and a most unequivocal proof of the want of premeditation. When the sentence com- menced, c But ah ! him,' it was evidently in the mind of the orator to close it by saying, { how shall I com- memorate him ?' But in the progress of the sentence, forgetful, unconscious of the words, but glowing and melting with the thought ; beholding, as he stood near the spot where the hero fell, his beloved and beauti- 1GU RHETORIC. fill image rising up from beneath the sod 'with the rose of heaven upon his cheek and the fire of liberty in his eye' ' the blood of his gallant heart still pour- ing from his wound ' he no longer can speak ofhim ; he must speak to him. The ghost of Samuel did not more distinctly rise before Saul than the image of War- ren stood forth to the mental perception of the orator. He no longer attempts to tell his audience what War- ren was, but passing from the third person to the sec- ond, he can only say, * How shall I struggle with the emotions that stifle the utterance of thy name !' The sorriest pedant alone would have turned away from that touching appeal to Warren himself, present, visi- ble to the mind's eye, on the spot where he fell, be- cause he had commenced the sentence in the third person. But we quote the whole passage: " * But, alas, you are not all here ! Time and the sword have thinned your ranks. Prescott, Putnam, Stark, Brooks, Read, Pomeroy, Bridge! Our eyes seek for you in vain amid this broken band. You are gathered to your fathers, and live only to your coun- try, in her grateful remembrance and your own bright example. But let us not too much grieve that you have met the common fate of men. You lived at least long enough to know that your work had been nobly and successfully accomplished. You lived to see your country's independence established, and to sheathe your swords from war. On the light of lib- erty, you saw arise the light of peace, like " " 'Another morn Risen on mid-noon ;' " 161 and the sky on which you closed your eye was cloud- less. " ' But ah ! Him ! the first great martyr in this great cause ! Him, the premature victim of his own self-devoting heart ! Him, the head of our councils, and the destined leader of our military bands ; whom nothing brought hither but the unquenchable fire of his own spirit ! Him, cut off by Providence in the hour of overwhelming anxiety and thick gloom ; fall- ing ere he saw the star of his country rise ; pouring out his generous blood like water before he knew whether it would fertilize a land of freedom or of bondage! How shall I struggle with the emotions that stifle the utterance of thy name ! Our poor work may perish, but thine shall endure I This monument may moulder away ; the solid ground it rests upon may sink down to a level with the sea ; but thy mem- ory shall not fail ! Wheresoever among men a heart shall be found that beats to the transports of patriot- ism and liberty, its aspirations shall be to claim kin- dred with thy spirit!'" 78. When it should be Employed. Apostrophe is seldom appropriate except in impassioned oratory and poetry. It should be used sparingly and with dis- crimination. 162 JillT CHAPTER XL SERMOCINATIO, OB DIALOGUE. 79. Definition, and Examples. A FANCIED dialogue carried on in the midst of a speech or other produc- tion was called by the Greek rhetoricians simply a Di- alogue, and by the Latins Sermocinatio* We have no single English word to describe this common figure of speech, which is simply an imagined conversation. It may be carried on with a personified object, with a person absent or deceased, or with some person in the audience who is fancied to converse with the speaker. Thus Edward Everett, in a speech upon the Bun- ker Hill Monument, fancies an objector arguing against it. We punctuate the extract so as to show the dia- logue clearly, italicizing what the objector says : "But I am met with the objection, What good will the monument dot * * * Does a railroad or a canal do good? * Yes.' And how? ' It facilitates intercourse, opens markets, and increases the wealth of * " Ac aunt quidam, qui has demnm Tr/xxrwTroTrotaf dicant, in qui- bus et corpora et verba fingimus ; sermones hominum assimulatos di- cere dm/toyovf malunt, quod Latinorum quidam dixerunt, sermocina- tionem." "But some who call the figure prosopopcria when we imagine both the person and the speech prefer to call imagined speeches dia- logues, which the Latins denominate sermocinatio " (Quintilian, lib. S ER MOC1NATIO. 163 the country.' But what is this good for? ''Why, individuals pros- per and get rich.' And what good does that do ? [Here the dialogue ends.] I should insult this audience by attempting to prove that a rich man, as such, is neither better nor happier than a poor one. [Here it is resumed.] 'But as men grow rich, they live better! 1 Is there any good in this stopping here ? * But these improvements in- crease the population.' And what good does that do?" A speech is very much enlivened by this figure. The conversation must be natural, and well repre- sented in the voice and manner of the speaker. It adds much to the effect if the author represents the character of the person correctly whom he thus sum- mons up before him. If the fancied person is a phi- losopher, he must talk like a philosopher; if a clown, like a clown. The audience will be displeased if any unfairness is shown. A " man of straw," or per- sonage representing baseless objections, must not be called up. We often meet this figure in sermons, especially in the form of supposing some auditor to object to the speaker, or to converse with him. The following is a specimen, slightly abbreviated, from the sermons of John "Wesley : " I ask, What can make a wicked man happy ? You answer, l He has gained the whole world. 1 We allow it ; and what does this imply ? l He has gained all thai gratifies the senses." 1 True ; but can eat- ing and drinking make^a man happy? This is too coarse food for an immortal spirit. l ffe has another re- source applause, glory. And will not this make him happy? It will not ; for he can not be applauded by all men ; no man ever was. It is certain some will blame, and he that is fond of applause will feel more hil BHXTOSIC. pain from the censure of the one, than pleasure from the praise of many." 80. Use of this Figure. To excel in the use of this figure, requires great skill and mental culture. The principles and directions given in the chapter on Rep- resentative Writing are nearly all applicable to it, and should be carefully studied. VISION. 165 CHAPTER XII. VISION. 81. Definition, and Examples. THE representation of what is past, future, or absent, or of a fancied occur- rence, as though it was present, is properly called Vis- ion. Under the influence of a vivid imagination a speak- er fancies what he is describing as now passing before him ; and if he can succeed in producing the same tem- porary illusion in his hearers, the impression made by his description is much stronger than it would other- wise be. In the description of a murder, Daniel Webster em- ployed this figure in a passage of great power. After using the simple narrative style in the beginning of the description, as though the event had long since happened, stating that the " deed was executed with self-possession ;" " deep sleep had fallen on the vic- tim ;" " his sleep was sweet," etc., he immediately changes his narrative into the present tense, as though the thing was happening now, in the presence of the judge and jury, and says : "The assassin enters, through the window already prepared, into an unoccupied apartment. With noiseless foot he paces the lonely hall, half lighted by the moon ; he winds up the ascent of the stairs, and reaches the door of the chamber." 100 RHETORIC. After using the present tense for a few minutes, he returns to the narrative style, and says: "The room was unconsciously open to the admission of light. The face of the innocent sleeper was turned from the murderer," etc. Then he resumes the vision : * c The fatal blow is given ! and the victim passes, without a strug- gle or motion, from the repose of sleep to the repose of death !" How much more impressive is this than the cold narrative style ! Frequent transitions from the past to the present are common in excited narrative, as the nature of the events described often require the narrative style, and will not admit of being represented in Vision. In the well-known description of the battle of Wa- terloo by Byron, this figure is introduced with great effect. We have room only -for a few lines of it. It will be perceived that it begins in the historical style, but the last line of the first stanza employs the figure of Vision. "There was a sound of revelry by night, And Belgium's capital had gathered there Her beauty and her chivalry ; and bright The lamps shone over fair women and brave men ; A thousand hearts beat happily ; and when Music arose with its voluptuous swell, Soft eyes looked love to eyes that spoke again, And all went merry as a marriage bell ; But hush ! hark ! a deep sound strikes like a rising knell." The next stanza describes the consternation of the company, in Vision, as though present, and then the past returns to the narrative style, and does not re- sume the present tense again in the whole description THE HISTORICAL PRESENT. 167 till the very last, when, in describing the field after the battle, he abruptly brings it before us as though we could see it, saying : " The earth 's covered thick with other clay, Which her own chiy shall cover, heaped and pent, Rider and horse friend, foe in one red burial blent !" Such a production shows us the power of this fig- ure of speech. 82. The Historical Present. So common is it in historical writings, that the use of the present tense of verbs for the past tense is by some grammarians called "the historical present." Modern writers do not use it so frequently as the ancient writers. It should be employed sparingly, and only in excited narratives, or it will soon lose all its effect. To show its frequency and power, we briefly refer to a few examples. Everett, in an oration on the Pilgrims, has a very eloquent passage, beginning with these words: "Methinks I see it now: that one solitary adventurous vessel, the Mayflower of a forlorn hope, freighted with the prospects of a fu- ture state, and bound across the unknown sea." The whole passage is one of the sublimest descrip- tions in the English language. At the close of it the student will observe also an excellent specimen of the apostrophe, beginning : "Tell me, man of military science! in how many months were they all swept off by the thirty savage tribes enumerated within the early limits of New England ? Tell me, politician ! how long did the shadow of a colony, on which your conventions and treaties had not smiled, languish on. the distant coast?" 168 RHETORIC. The use of the past tense of the verbs here "were" and "did" introduces another illusion, as though the New England Pilgrims had not succeed- ed, and could not have succeeded, while the hearer, knowing that they did succeed,, has therefore an ex- alted conception of their merit. By such indirect means can a skillful master of thought and speech like Everett impress other minds. A spirited narrative, when Vision is employed, must naturally and gracefully change from the past to the present Sometimes the nature of the events allows it to be abrupt, thus : "Sophia had just gone to bed, and I had thrown off half my clothes, when a cry of Fire! Fire! roused us from our calm content; and in five minutes the whole ship was in flames ! Down with the boats! where is Sophia? Here.' The children? Here. A rope to the side. Give her to me, says one. I'll take her, says the captain. Throw the gunpowder overboard. It can not be got at ; it is in the magazine close to the fire. Water! water! Push off! push off!" A similar style is often employed by Dickens in his liveliest narrative. Thus, in describing the dis- embarking of himself and family from a diligence, or stage-coach, in Italy, he writes : " The door is opened. Breathless expectation. The lady of the family gets out. Ah, sweet lady! Beautiful lady! The sister of the lady of the family gets out. Great Heaven, ma'amselle is charm- ing ! First little boy gets out. Ah, what a beautiful little boy ! First little girl gets out. Oh, but this is an enchanting child ! Second little girl gets out, " etc. 83. Prophetic Vision. The future also is sometimes represented as present. This is a higher flight of the imagination, as it presupposes that the speaker has, or EXAMPLES OF VISION. IG'J professes to have, power to foresee what is yet un- known to all but himself. Unless he has succeeded in obtaining the confidence of his hearers, his efforts will awaken only contempt ; but if he has their re- spect, and has control of their feelings, he may, by the use of this figure, produce a strong impression. Thus Fisher Ames, depicting the dangers of a threatened war with the Indians, exclaimed : " I can fancy that I listen to the yells of savage vengeance and the shrieks of torture ; already they seem to sigh in the western wind ; already they mingle with every echo from the mountains. " 84. Further Examples of Vision. Description of ab- sent objects or of fancy scenes as present, is not un- common, and often enlivens oratory. As a specimen, take the following from a discourse by Kev. Dr. Hop- kins :* " See the eagle as he leaves his perch. He flaps his broad wing, and moves heavily. Slowly he lifts himself above the horizon till the inspiration of a freeer air quickens him. Now there is new light- ning in his eye, and new strength in his pinions. See how he mounts ! Now he is midway in the heavens. Higher he rises still higher. Now his broad circles are narrowing to a point he is fading away in the deep blue. Now he is but a speck. Now he is gone." Often thus an object is fancied to be present, and described for illustration. Thus : "What manner of plant shall this be? See here is a point of green just visible. Look again. It has become a violet, with its eye on the sun, "etc. 85. Conclusion. When this figure is employed it * A Baccalaureate Sermon, delivered at Williamstown, Mass., August 1, 1858, by Mark Hopkins, D.D., President of Williams Col- lege. H 1 70 RHETORIC. should be well done. The descriptions must be spir- ited and accurate. Unimportant particulars or feat- ures must not be mentioned. The description must not be long, or it will become wearisome, and the fig- ure must not be employed often, or it will displease and disgust the hearers. EXERCISES IX FIGURES. Point out and name the various figures in the fol- lowing extracts : " Her voice is but the shadow of a sound." " Destruction and Death say, We have heard the fame thereof with our ears." "The astronomer turns his glass to the heavens, and fixes three little points of the comet's course, and so finds a small arc of its curve. From that arc he can predict the whole. And so from what we have done yesterday, the day before yesterday, and to-day, perhaps our life-path may be settled." " We are riparian proprietors, dwelling on a little bit of the shore, and looking out on a small portion of the sea which bathes all conti- nents." " The gift of speech is to all men common, to man peculiar, prov- ing that man is of one blood, between whom and the very highest of the man co-cerebral mammalia a great gulf is fixed "(Allusion, Meta- phor). "The historical critic who can postpone the Biblo to Manetho surely puts himself out of court on purely literary ground." "Our conscience is the Lydian stone by which we must try the gold of truth." " For thy sake, Tobacco, I Would do any thing but die!" " Each cloud-capped mountain is a holy altar, An organ breathes in every grove ; And the full heart's a Psalter, Rich in deep hymns of gratitude and love." " Steam has married the continents." EXERCISES IN FIGURES. 171 "Even the instrument of murder is altered the stiletto has sunk into a pen 1 Blood is vulgar ! Stab not the body, but ruin the char- acter !" " I would not dissuade a student from metaphysical inquiry ; on the contrary, I would endeavor to promote the desire of entering upon such subjects ; but I would forewarn him, when he endeavors to look down his own throat with a candle in his hand, to take care that he does not set his head on fire." u I can seem to see, as that hard and dark season was passing away, a diminished procession of these Pilgrims following another, dearly loved and newly dead, to that bank of graves. In full view the Mayflower is riding at anchor. The tones of the venerated eld- er's voice is full of trust. 'This spot,' he says, 'is now dear to us, and grows dearer daily, from the precious dust committed to its bo- som. ' " "Far along, From peak to peak, the rattling crags among, Leaps the live thunder." "Though the blood of a Wallace had failed to purchase freedom for his country ; though the short-lived flame which burst from the enthusiasm of Cromwell had only darkened the succeeding night : though the vices of a Stuart had produced, like the pestilential soil of Egypt, swarms of devouring locusts, gilded with titles of nobility, the battles of Saratoga, Monmouth, and Yorktown proclaimed, ' All men are born equal.' " "You fly to arms ; Indignation flashes from each eye ; Revenge gnashes her iron teeth ; hovering Furies darken all the air." "The leopard can not change his spots, but we are to transform ourselves, body and soul, to save our property and lives !" (Allusion, Comparison, Irony). "The Church of God advances unhnrt amid rocks and dun- geons ; she has entered Italy, and appears before the walls of the Eternal City ; idolatry falls prostrate at her approach ; her ensign floats in triumph over the capital ; she has placed upon her brow the diadem of the Caesars." " We charge him with having broken his coronation-oath, and we are told that he kept his marriage-vow ! We accuse him of hav- ing given up his people to the merciless inflictions of the most hot- headed and hard-hearted of prelates, and the defense is, that he took his little son on his knee and kissed him !" "Born into the world in ignorance, man is impelled by an impe- rious instinct to know. 'Seek,' whispers a voice in his soul, 'and 17J RHETORIC. thou shall find.' He seeks, he observes, he inquires. He ascends the mountain of knowledge rugged, precipitous ; he climbs with dif- ficulty from crag to.crag ; on the topmost peak, in the clear evening of an intellectual life, he beholds not the sterile boundaries of a uni- verse explored, but an ocean of knowledge yet to be traversed, a Pa- cific of truth stretching on and on into the deeps of eternity." " .Mind, the angel of the universe, ready to soar out of the mists of earth, prunes her wings for everlasting flight. The instinct which forbids her to close her pinions and to die has been voracious for time, and is justly trusted for eternity." The flower that is out of reach is dedicated to God !" " Who does not despise a silver-slippered religion ?" " In spurring the ardor of youth to studious exertion, it is com- mon to repeat the Homeric maxim, * To supplant every one else, and stand out first.' The stimulating effect is undoubted ; it is strong rhetorical brandy." " Parting day Dies like a dolphin, when each pang imbues With a new color as it gasps away, The last still loveliest, till 'tis gone and all is gray." BYRON. "No other language [than the Greek] has lived so long and died so hard, pang by pang, each with a dolphin color." MRS. BROWMN-;. "The attempt of infidelity to do away with the great doctrines of religion, is the prowess of a dwarf mounting on a giant's shoul- ders to put out his eye." "If the spirits of the illustrious dead participate in the cares of those dear to them in this transitory life, oh, ever dear and venerated shade of my father, look down with scrutiny upon your son !" " A man of capacity undeveloped is an organized day-dream with a skin on it." SATL'ltX OF WIT. 173 CHAPTER XIII. WIT. 86. Definition. WIT brings together thoughts in unexpected associations, which awaken a peculiar feel- ing of pleasure, called the emotion of the ludicrous. 87. The Philosophy of Wit. There is a proper or- der of the parts composing any material structure, and there are certain reasonable and correct associations of thoughts and feelings. The gratification awakened by perceiving any such symmetry is philosophical and perfect A well-formed human body, an exact sphere or square, or other material form, an accurately-adjust- ed 'system of machinery, all gratify the eye ; and so a well-conducted argumentation, a methodically-ar- ranged treatise, or poem, or oration, or even a nicely- rounded period, or a thought in any way properly- expressed, pleases the mind. The reason is pleased with order. It might be supposed, from this fact, that all incon- gruous associations, or associations impossible in fact, would pain the mind. So they do all minds (if any such there are) incapable of appreciating Wit. There is sometimes in disorder a strange, fantastic regularity which pleases ; sometimes the unexpected association of ideas flatters our own self-esteem ; some- 174 RHETORIC. times it awakens an admiration of the author of the wit; sometimes it even startlingly suggests a new truth ; and in some or all of these ways it produces a peculiar pleasure that renders "Wit a very efficient weapon in the hands of a speaker or writer. Thus the picture of a symmetrical human body gratifies us ; but let an artist give to the picture of a human face asinine ears, or a dog's nose, or any other distortion, and so far from the disgust that philosophy might have anticipated, a strange pleasure is excited. This is the foundation of the whole system of carica- turing. Gestures, manner, sentiments, thoughts, can all be caricatured. It can be so done as to suggest other thought, and become thus a difficult and a re- fined art. If it is done improperly, unjustly, it offends our sense of propriety and right, and the pleasure that would be produced by the wit is annihilated, or over- powered by indignation. 88. Difficulty ofillustr'< There lives a man, is another form of the proposi- tion A man lives. In some instances the natural order of words in a proposition may be changed. " He loves my friend," " Loves he my friend," " My friend he loves," all may express the same thought. 10. Variety of Construction. There must be one best order of words for every one shade of thought There is a slight difference between the meaning of " a broad and deep sea," and " a sea deep and broad." In the former we have to retain in the mind the ideas of the qualities " broad " and " deep " until we hear the word " sea," and then we connect them. In the latter, " sea" gives us at once a conception of a thing, and as soon as we hear the word " deep " we join it to the conception " sea," and then add the further qualification '^cop." When several adjectives are VARIETY OF CONSTRUCTION. 195 used belonging to one noun, it is frequently best to employ them after the noun. It is well so to use words that each succeeding clause, and, as far as pos- sible, each succeeding word, may give an additional thought to the hearer. 11. A Variety to be Studied. It is idle^ to maintain that any one of the forms of sentences that express various shades of meaning is the best, or most to be cultivated. In some languages, in the use of a transi- tive verb with both subject and object, it is customary to present the object first, in others the subject first, and sometimes the verb is presented first. We can in our own language say, Nature man admires; but generally, to avoid ambiguity, we are compelled to preserve what from habit seems to us to be the nat- ural order, thus: Man admires nature. But when any other arrangement of the parts of a proposition can be made without rendering the proposition ambig- uous, or meaningless, often vivacity and energy may be thus secured. Thus : " Loud arose the shout above the hum of business, and immediately hushed was every breath," is much more expressive than " The loud shout arose above the hum of business, and every breath was hushed immediately." The supe- rior energy of the former expression arises partly from its novelty or unusual form, and partly from the interest excited at once by the word " loud." Other instances are the following : " Great is Diana of the Ephesians ;" " Turn we now to the holier impulses of our being." This last proposition may be express- ed variously : " Now we turn to the holier impulses 196 RHETORIC. of our being ;" " Now turn we to the holier impulses of our being ;" " To the holier impulses of our being now we turn." It is evident that even in the English language simple propositions will admit of a great variety in the arrangement of their words. 12. Place of Adjectives, Adverbs, and other Words. The natural order in our language is for the adjective to precede the noun the signification of which it lim- its ; but, for variety and vivacity, this order may oft- en be varied. " The reports of the guns, loud, sharp, constant, produced a startling effect." Adverbs should generally be placed immediately before or after the words which they limit, but may sometimes be placed at a great distance from them, and thus become more emphatic. Thus we may say, " Slowly he trudged along, singing, amid all his toil and care, merrily." In the use of qualifying words, clauses, and phrases, an author may show great skill, both in securing a variety of expressions, and in adapting his style to the character of the thought which he intends to ex- press. It becomes a disagreeable mannerism when an au- thor deviates constantly, in one particular way, from the ordinary method of arranging words. 13. A Variety of Construction to be Sought. It is an excellent practical exercise to select some expressive sentence from a good author, and ascertain, by actual trial, in how many different ways the same words may be arranged without materially changing the mean- VARIETY OF CONSTRUCTION. 197 ing. Then let the words and expressions be changed, still preserving the sense. Then let all the forms be scrutinized, and the different degrees of force and beauty be noticed. In this way a writer will guard against monotony or uniformity of method in con- structing sentences, and cultivate a variety of expres- sions. Take, for instance, the following simple statement of Webster: "When public bodies are to be addressed on momentous occa- sions, when great interests are at stake, and strong passions excited, nothing is valuable in speech farther than it is connected with high intellectual and moral endowments." This may be rendered : "When great interests are at stake, and strong passions are ex- cited, and public bodies are to be addressed, nothing in speech is farther valuable than it is connected with high moral and intellectual endowments." Or it might be : "When strong passions are excited, and great interests are at stake, and public bodies are to be addressed on momentous occasions, nothing in speech, farther than it is connected with high intellectual and moral endowments, is valuable." Many other forms could be constructed, but none fully equal to the original. In that the attention is first called to a demand for good speaking, which is evidently the leading idea ; then we have an idea of "momentous occasions," generally expressed, confirm- ed by " great interests are at stake ;" still farther, by " strong passions are excited ;" then we have a very general conclusion, " nothing is valuable in speech," immediately limited by " farther than it is connected with high intellectual and moral endowments." 198 ZUETOXIC. Some sentences are so neatly expressed that the change of a single word would injure them. Take the following from Edward Everett as an instance: "On one occasion a person introduced himself in the following manner : * You see before you a father who has educated his son agreeably to the principles in your Emilc.' Rousseau's reply was, ' So much the worse for you and your son !' " 14. Practical Directions. Elementary treatises on grammar may be studied with great profit to ascer- tain the best directions for the location of adverbs, adjectives, the infinitive mode, and other elements of speech, but a careful writer will need only to observe that perspicuity and force are primarily to be secured, and that a variety in the construction of sentences should be sought. Also guard against a useless expenditure of breath a superabundance of vocables. Scattering shot do little execution. SIMPLE AND COMPOUND SENTENCES. 199 CHAPTER III. SENTENCES. 15. Definition, and Examples. SENTENCES may be 'simple or compound. A simple sentence has but one subject, and one finite verb. Instances : "Man is mortal." "To an American visiting Europe, the long voyage he has to make is an excellent preparative." A compound sentence has more than one finite verb, and is capable of being divided into two or more propositions. Sentences differ much in length. " Beauty is vain," is a short sentence. The following is longer : ** Our immense extent of fertile territory opening an inexhausti- ble field for successful enterprise, thus assuring to industry a certain reward for its labors, and preserving the lands for centuries to come from the manifold evils of an overcrowded, and consequently de- graded population ; our magnificent system of federated republics, carrying out and applying the principles of representative democracy to an extent never hoped or imagined in the boldest theories of the old speculative republican philosophers, the Harringtons, Sydneys, and Lockes of former times ; the reaction of over-political system upon our social and domestic concerns, bringing the influence of popular feeling and public opinion to bear upon all the affairs of life in a degree hitherto wholly unprecedented ; the unconstrained range of freedom of opinion, of speech, and of the press, and the ha- bitual and daring exercise of that liberty upon the highest subjects ; the absence of all serious inequality of fortune and rank in the con- 200 RHETORIC. dition of our citizens ; our divisions into innumerable religious sects, and the consequent co-existence, never before regarded as possible, of intense religious zeal with a degree of toleration in feeling and perfect equality of rights ; our intimate connection with that elder world be- yond the Atlantic, communicating to us, through the press and emi- gration, much of good and much of evil not our own, high science, re- fined art, and the best knowledge of old experience, as well as preju- dices and luxuries, vices and crimes, such as could not have been ex- pected to spring up in our soil for ages ; all these, combined with nu- merous other peculiarities in the institutions, and in the moral, civil, and social condition of the American people, have given to our soci- ety, through all its relations, a character excluMvcly its own." 16. Variety of Taste on this Subject. Some vigorous' and clear writers confine themselves almost entirely to short sentences. Writings of a didactic character sometimes consist of a succession of independent prop- ositions naturally expressed in short sentences. Some writers present us with an almost unbroken succession of long sentences. Either practice as a fixed habit is reprehensible. A continued succession of either short or long sentences wearies the hearer or reader. Short sentences are more forcible and lively, but weary the ear and mind by monotony, unless relieved by the occasional interposition of a long sentence. Long sentences require a more constant attention, and, however well constructed and expressive, soon cease to charm, unless the attention is relieved by shorter expressions. It is evident that he who never constructs a long sentence can not reach a great height in eloquence, though indeed often the strongest emotions and the most heart-stirring appeals are couched in simple lan- guage and short sentences. The thrilling description of a murder given by SHORT SENTENCES. 201 Webster in one of his pleas as a lawyer is a good il- lustration of the power of short sentences. We pre- sent a brief extract to illustrate this fact : " Deep sleep had fallen on the destined victim, and on all beneath his roof. A healthful old man, to whom sleep was sweet, the first sound slumbers of the night held him in their soft but strong em- brace. The assassin enters, through the window already prepared, into an unoccupied apartment. With noiseless foot he paces the lonely hall, half lighted by the moon ; he winds up the ascent of the stairs, and reaches the door of the chamber. Of this he moves the lock, by soft and continued pressure, till it turns on its hinges ; and he enters, and beholds his victim before him. The room was un- commonly open to the admission of light. The face of the innocent sleeper was turned from the murderer; and the beams of the moon, resting on the gray locks of his aged temple, showed him where to strike. The fatal blow is given! and the victim passes, without a struggle or motion, from the repose of sleep to the repose of death ! M In the whole of the plea from which the above is taken, occupying hours in its delivery, not a single long sentence is found. On the other hand, some of the most splendid orations of ancient and modern times abound in long sentences. It requires a highly- cultivated mind to construct a long sentence full of thought, containing no superfluous parts, and so ar- ranged as to interest the mind and not offend the ear. *~ 202 CHAPTER IV. LOOSE SENTENCES AND PERIODS. SENTENCES may be farther divided into Loose Sentences and Periods. 17. Loose, Sentences. A loose sentence consists of parts which may be separated from each other with- out destroying the sense. Sometimes the latter part will make complete sense alone, and sometimes it is necessary to repeat a few words found in the former part EXAMPLES. "It seems, gentlemen, that this is an age of reason ; the time and the person have at last arrived that are to dissipate the errors of past A full pause could be made after " reason," the fol- lowing word could begin with a capital letter, and no change would be made in the sense. The whole is therefore a loose sentence. " He aspired to be the highest ; above the people ; above the au- thorities; above the laws; above his country." The above sentence could close with either of the words, "highest," "people," "authorities," or "laws," and make complete sense. It is therefore a loose sen- tence. LOOSE SENTENCES. 203 Loose sentences are often divided by the writer into their primitive parts, and punctuated as separate sentences ; and, on the other hand, some writers so punctuate their writings as to appear to write very long sentences, which are really only a union of short ones. Occasionally a few connecting words are omitted, so that it is possible to unite short sentences together into one long and loose sentence. The following from Bancroft's " History of the United States " illustrates this practice. By the insertion of a few words in brackets, we show how it might have been cut up into several short sentences : "And man, the occupant of the soil, was wild as the savage scene : [He was] in harmony with the rude nature by which he was surrounded : [He was] a vagrant over the continent, in constant warfare with his fellow-man ; strings of shells [were] his ornament, his record, and his coin ; the bark of the birch [was] his canoe ; the roots of the forest [were] among his resources for food ; his knowl- edge in architecture [was] surpassed both in strength and durability by the skill of the beaver ; bended saplings [were] the beams of his house ; the branches and rind of trees [were] its roof; drifts of forest- leaves [were] his couch; mats of bulrushes [were] his protection against the winter's cold ; his religion [was] the adoration of nature ; his morals [were] the promptings of undisciplined instinct : [He was] disputing with the wolves and bears the lordship of the soil, and di- viding with the squirrel the wild fruits with which the universal wood- lands abounded." Thus it is seen that the above sentence consists of at least fourteen parts, at the end of each of which the sense is complete, and each of which, by the ad- dition of a word or two to supply the place or the punctuation, would make sense by itself. Many writers who abound in long sentences, use 204 RHETORIC. only loose sentences, and might punctuate their writ- ings so as to seem to use only short sentences. There is a great variety of forms in which loose sentences may be constructed, which the careful stu- dent of Rhetoric in his general reading ought to ob- serve. 18. Periods. A Period is a compound sentence not making full sense till closed. EXAMPLES. "Favored child of an age of trial and struggle, carefully nursed through a period of hardship and anxiety, endowed at that time by the oblations of men like Harvard, sustained from its first foundation by the paternal arm of the commonwealth, by a constant succession of munificent bequests, and by the prayers of all good men, the Uni- versity at Cambridge now invites our homage, as the most ancient, the most interesting, and the most important seat of learning in the land." The following sentence from the writings of Rich- ard Hooker, a celebrated divine of the 16th century, is a good specimen of a period : " Now, if Nature should intermit her course, and leave altogether, though it were but for a while, the observation of her own laws ; if those principal and mother elements of the world, whereof all things in this lower world are made, should lose the qualities which now they have ; if the frame of that heavenly arch erected over our heads should loosen and dissolve itself; if celestial spheres should forget their wonted motions, and by irregular volubility turn themselves any way as it might happen ; if the prince of the lights of heaven which now as a giant doth run his unwearied course, should, as it were, through a languishing faintness, begin to stand and to rest himself; if the moon should wander from her beaten way, the times and sea- sons of the year blend themselves by disordered and confused mixt- ures, the winds breathe out their last gasp, the clouds yield no rain, the earth be defeated of heavenly influence, the fruits of the earth pine away as children at the withered breasts of their mothers no longer able to yield them relief: what would become of man himself, whom these things now do all serve?" PERIODS. 205 19. Value of Periods. Great orators have produced their sublimest impression by the use of the period. Let no student suppose that he can command thoughts worthy of such a dress without much study, or clothe his worthy thoughts in such a stately garb without much careful practice. Lord Brougham, one of the most successful orators of modern times, states that he composed the peroration of a certain speech " twen- ty times over at least, and it certainly succeeded in a very extraordinary degree." To show what kind of sentences were the result of so much labor, we give the peroration to which he referred the close of his speech in behalf of Queen Caroline : " My lords, I pray you to pause. I do earnestly beseech you to take heed ! You are standing upon the brink of a precipice then be- ware! It will go forth your judgment, if sentence shall go against the queen. But it will be the only judgment you ever pronounced which, instead of reaching its object, will return and bound back upon those who give it. Save the country, my lords, from the hor- rors of this catastrophe. Save yourselves from this peril ; rescue that country, of which you are the ornaments, but in which you can flour- ish no longer, when severed from the people, than the blossom when cut off from the roots and the stem of the tree. Save that country, that you may continue to adorn it. Save the Crown, which is in jeopardy the Aristocracy, which is shaken. Save the Altar, which must stagger with the blow that rends its kindred throne ! You have said, my lords, you have willed the Church and the king have will- ed that the queen should be deprived of its solemn service. She Has, instead of that solemnity, the heartfelt prayers of the people. She wants no prayers of mine. But I do here pour forth my humble supplications at the Throne of Mercy, that that mercy may be poured down upon the people in a larger measure than the merits of its rul- ers may deserve, and that your hearts may be turned to justice." It will be observed that it consists of a succession of short sentences, with an occasional longer and loose sentence. 206 HUKTnRIV. 20. The most emphatic Words and Thoughts should be placed at the close. In a well-constructed period, not only is the sense incomplete till the last clause is pro- nounced, but the most emphatic and important thought is in the last expression. We subjoin an eloquent period from the eulogy of Rufus Choate upon Daniel Webster : "And yet, if on some day, as that season " [his college life] " was drawing to its close, it had been foretold to him that before his life, prolonged to little more than three- score years and ten, should end, he should see that country, in which he was coming to act his part, expanded across a continent ; the thirteen States of 1801 multiplied to thirty-one ; the territory of the North-west and the great valley be- tween sown full of those stars of empire ; the Mississippi forded, and the Sabine and Rio Grande, and the Nueces ; the ponderous gates of the Rocky Mountains opened to shut no more ; the great tranquil sea become our sea ; her area seven times larger, her people five times more in number ; that through all experiences of trial, the madness of party, the injustice of foreign powers, the vast enlargement of her borders, the antagonisms of interior interest and feeling, the spirit of nationality would grow stronger still and more plastic ; that the tide of American feeling would run even fuller; that her agriculture would grow more scientific ; her arts more various and instructive, and better rewarded ; her commerce winged to a wider and still wider flight ; that the part she would play in human affairs would grow nobler ever, and more recognized ; that in this vast growth of national greatness time would be found for the higher necessities of the soul ; that her popular and her higher education would go on advancing ; that her charities and all her enterprises of philanthropy would go on enlarging ; that her age of lettered glory should find its auspicious dawn and then it had been also foretold him that even so, with her growth and strength, should his fame grow, and be established and cherished, there where she should garner up his heart ; that, by long gradations of service and labor, he should rise to be, before he should taste of death, of the peerless among her great ones ; that he should win the double honor, and wear the double wreath of professional and public supremacy ; that he should become her wisest to counsel and her most eloquent to persuade ; that he should come to be called the Defender of the Constitution, and the preserver of honorable peace ; that the * austere glory of suffering ' to save the Union should CLIMACTERIC PERIOD. 207 be his ; that his death, at the summit of greatness, on the verge of a ripe and venerable age, should be distinguished less by the flags at half-mast on ocean and lake, less by the minute-gun, less by the pub- lic procession and the appointed eulogy, than by sudden paleness overspreading all faces, by gushing tears, by sorrow, thoughtful, bod- ing, silent, the sense of desolateness, as if renown and grace were dead as if the hunter's path, and the sailors, in the great solitude of wilderness or sea, henceforward were more lonely or less safe than before had this prediction been whispered, how calmly had that per- fect sobriety of mind put it all aside as a pernicious or idle dream !" 208 RHETOMIV. CHAPTER V. INTERROGATIONS, EXCLAMATIONS, CLIMAX, REPE- TITION. 21. Interrogations. THE prime design of a question is to ask for information ; but as a question naturally arrests the attention as if to demand a reply, it is often resorted to in excited feeling to express an assertion, by assuming that no other reply could be given than the one which the speaker believes to be correct. Therefore in oratory the question is often used with great effect. This figure is so natural and so common that we need not illustrate it largely. We subjoin a few speci- mens culled at random from good authors : " Can gray hairs render folly venerable ?" " Is the world to gaze in admiration on this fine spectacle of vir- tue ; and are we to be told that the Being who gave such faculties to one of his children, and provides the theatre for their exercise, that the Being who called this moral scene into existence, and gave it all its beauties, is to be forgotten and neglected, as of no consequence?" " Is talent or genius confined to the rich or powerful ; or is it conferred indiscriminately on poor and rich, on weak and powerful ?" " He clothes the lily ; feeds the dove, The meanest insect feels his care And shall not man confess his love? Man, his offspring, and his heir!" A great part of the speaking and writing of earn- EXCLAMATIONS, INTERJECTION!*, CLIMAX. 209 est men is in the form of interrogatory. He who does not occasionally use it, even when expecting no reply, has reason to suspect that his feelings never rise above a dead level of placid contentment. The only caution needed upon the subject is to avoid so frequent or constant a use of this form of speech as justly to ex- pose one to a charge of mannerism. 22. Exclamations. Exclamations are similar to in- terrogations, and sometimes can scarcely be distin- guished from them. " And may the disciples of Washington thus see, as we now see, the flng of the Union floating on the top of the Capitol ; and then, as now, may the sun in his course visit no land more free, more hap- py, more lovely than this our own country !" "Oh that I possessed the talent of eulogy, and that I might be permitted to indulge the tenderness of friendship in paying the last tribute to his memory ! Oh that I were capable of placing this great man before yon !" 23. Interjections. The frequent use of interjections, such as oh ! ah ! alas ! give an appearance of affecta- tion and frigidity to style, and should be avoided. 24. Climax. In the arrangement of thoughts and expressions, a peculiar force is commanded by securing a gradual increase of interest to the last. Let the feeblest expression come first, the strongest last. Such an arrangement is called a Climax. Something like a gradual increase of assertion ap- pears in the following sentence from Bancroft : "The unparalleled persecution of vast masses of men for their religious creed occasioned but a new display of the power of humani- ty the Calvinists preserved their faith over the ashes of their church- es, and the bodies of their murdered ministers ; the power of a brutal soldiery was defied by whole companies of faithful men that still as- 210 RHETORIC. sombled to sing their psalms ; and from the country and from the city, from the comfortable homes of wealthy merchants, from abodes of an humble peasantry, from the workshops of artisans, hundreds of thousands of men rose up, as with one heart, to bear testimony to the indefensible, irresistible right to freedom of mind." This sentence is pleasantly climacteric, and accom- plished rhetoricians often use this style. A good peri- od is usually a climax. 25. Anti-climax. An Anti-climax is sometimes re- sorted to, to belittle a subject. Hawthorne speaks of a custom, which he intended to ridicule, as "befitting the Christian, the good citi- zen, the horticulturist, and the gentleman." The fol- lowing from Shakspeare is very beautiful : "What must the king do now? must he submit? The king shall do it : must he be disposed ? The king shall be contented : must he lose The name of king ? let it go ! I'll give my jewels for a set of beads ; My gorgeous palace for a hermitage ; My gay apparel for an almsman's gown ; My figured goblets for a dish of wood ; My sceptre for a palmus walking-staff; My subjects for a pair of carved saints ; And my large kingdom for a little grave A little, little grave an obscure grave!" In the use of these two forms of expression, care should be taken to avoid an appearance of art. It is the highest art to conceal art. 26. fiepcfitioti. Repetition may be resorted to with- out tautology when the object is to deepen the im- pression, and the magnitude of the theme will justi- fy it. ' ' lie aspired to the highest ! above the people ! above the au- thorities ! above the laws ! above his country !" REPETITION. 211 The peculiarity of repetition is to seize upon the most prominent thought and hold the attention upon it a long time. If the attention is not wearied, the impression is greatly deepened. Pope, to awaken compassion for the fate of an un- fortunate lady, says : "By foreign hands thy dying eyes were closed, By foreign hands thy decent limbs composed, By foreign hands thy humble grave adorned, By strangers honored, and by strangers mourned." Paul emphatically urges his argument in the form of interrogatories with repetition, thus : "Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they ministers of Christ ? I am more." He adds to this still another series of climacteric repetitions, 2 Corinthians xi. 23. Observe how the impression of the value of science is increased by the following repetition of the word in Spencer's able work on education : "Thus to the question with which we set out What knowledge is of most worth ? the uniform reply is Science. This is the ver- dict on all the counts. For direct self-preservation, or the main- tenance of life and health, the all-important knowledge is Science. For that indirect self-preservation which we call gaining a livelihood, the knowledge of greatest value is Science. For the due discharge of parental functions, the proper guidance is to be found only in Science. For that interpretation of national life, past and present, without which the citizen can not rightly regulate his conduct, the indispensable key is Science. Alike for the most perfect production and highest enjoyment of art in all its forms, the needful preparation is Science. And for purposes of discipline intellectual, moral, religious the most efficient study is, once more, Science."* * Education, Intellectual, Moral, and Physical, by Herbert Spen- cer (New York, 1861), p. 93. KUETORIC. It would be impossible, were the attempt made, to express all the forms in which thought and emo- tion may clothe themselves. Careful observation, when reading or listening to speakers, will enable the student to secure a great variety in his own expres- sions. RHYTHM. 213 CHAPTER VI. THE MELODY OF SENTENCES. 27. Rhythm. IN what may be called the orator- ical style, a style particularly pleasing when pro- nounced, a peculiar balance of sentences is often pre- served. Prose has its rhythm as well as poetry, only it is less restrained, less artificial, and more varied. A rhythm is often secured by a proper admixture of long sentences and short, loose sentences and peri- ods, interspersed with various forms of expression, such as interrogations, exclamations, repetitions, and climaxes ; but also a single long sentence may have a rhythmical balance of its parts. For instance, ob- serve the following : "As we perceive the shadow to have moved along the dial-plate, but did not perceive it moving ; and it appears that the grass has grown, though nobody ever saw it grow : so the advances we make in knowledge, as they consist of such minute steps, are only perceiv- able by the distance." "And the king was much moved, and went up to the chamber over the gate, and wept ; and as he went up, thus he said : O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom ! Would to God I had died for thee, O Absalom, my son, my son !" " It is sown in corruption ; it is raised in incorruption. It is sown a natural body ; it is raised a spiritual body." " The ocean may roll its waves, the warring winds may join their forces, the thunder may shake the skies, and the lightnings pass swiftly from cloud to cloud ; but not the forces of the elements com- 214 RHETORIC. bincd, not the sound of thunders, nor of many seas, though they, united in one peal, and directed to one point, can shake the security of the tomb." 28. Advantages of Rhythm. Not only does the harmony of a sentence please the ear, but it com- mands attention, aids the memory, and deepens the impression. It will be observed in the chapter on Antithesis, that the use of this figure of speech is almost invaria- bly accompanied by a balance of words, correspond- ing with the contrasted thoughts. "Gold can not make a man happy, nor rags render him misera- ble." "We charge him with having broken his coronation-oath, and we are told that he kept his marriage vow ! We accuse him of having given up his people to the merciless inflictions of the most hot-head- ed and bard-hearted of prelates, and the defense is, that he took his little son on his knee and kissed him !" " The first sentence which broke the awful silence was a quota- tion from Rousseau : Socrates died like a philosopher, but Jesus < 'i,ri s t like a God !' Never before did I completely understand what Demosthenes meant by laying such a stress on delivery." 29. Rough and Smooth Sounds. Some writers on Rhetoric have recommended a particular attention to the degree of roughness or smoothness of the sounds of various words, and to reject words that are made up of several consonants in succession, such as ad- judged, sixth; to avoid the immediate succession of vowels, such as in lineal, reappear, and to secure a happy combination of sounds. Such rules are more finical than wise. Use words to express thoughts, and pronounce them distinctly. It may be well, however, to observe that sentences THE SOUND OF SENTENCES. 215 closing with unimportant words, and particularly with a succession of unaccented syllables, such as immobil- ity, incompatibility, are not pleasing to the ear. Sentences that interpose expressions between a preposition and its object are often disagreeable. "He was greatly indebted to, and had received many favors/row, and finally was induced to repay, his friend," is awkward. Better recast the sentence thus: . "He was greatly indebted to his friend, having received from him many favors, and was induced to repay him." Sometimes qualifying phrases are inserted, as in- deed single adverbs and adjectives also are, out of their proper place. " They determined to rebel against a nation of which they con- stituted a part, and to which they had sworn fidelity not only, but also to erect a bastard republic in its place." The "not only" should be before "rebel" Such solecisms can be tolerated occasionally, but when seem- ingly from a fondness for the sound a speaker has a peculiarity of this kind, it is an offensive man- nerism. 30. How far should the Sound of Sentences be regard- ed ? There is a power about the mere sound of words, and when a valuable idea is clothed in a melodious expression it lingers long in the memory, and is often repeated. " The old man eloquent," " the almighty dollar," " masterly inactivity," " master of the situa- tion," " Let us have peace," are examples. There is also such a thing as a harmony of the sound with the sense. Scorn hisses, anger jerks its words out abrupt- ly, love chooses smooth and liquid expressions. Mo- 216 RHETORIC. tion also may be imitated. This has been attempted by many in poetry. But little attention should be given to this subject, except by the way of rejecting disagreeable combina- tions of sounds, especially when revising a production. It has been well remarked by John Stuart Mill, of the ancient writers, who are supposed to have been very critical : " The ancients, in the good times of their literature, would as soon have thought of a coat in the abstract, as of style in the abstract : the f a style, in their eyes, was, that it exactly fitted the thought. Their first aim was, by the assiduous study of their subject, to secure to themselves thoughts worth expressing ; their next was to find words which would convey those thoughts with the utmost degree of nicety ; and only when this was made sure did they think of ornament."* Whether " the ancients " did this or not, all ought to do it who seek perfection in style. Probably a larger portion of the moderns than of the ancients succeed in this effort. 31. Is the English Language rough or smootfi ? The English language was originally rough and harsh to the ear, and the disuse of nearly all the old Anglo- Saxon variations of declension and conjugation, and the razeeing of so many polysyllables down into mon- osyllables have, in some instances, made the enuncia- tion still more jerking and harsh. But at the same time many guttural sounds have been dropped out, as from the words daughter, laughter, and some smooth- sounding words and terminations have been adopted from the French and other sources, so that the lan- guage now commands a great variety of roughness * J. Stuart Mill's Dissertations, vol i. p. 137. THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. 217 and smoothness. Byron, eulogizing the Italian lan- guage in a rather loose stanza, unfavorably contrasts with it the English tongue. ** I love the language, that soft bastard Latin, Which melts like kisses from a female mouth, And sounds as if it should be writ on satin, With syllables which breathe of the sweet South ; And gentle liquids gliding all so pat in, That not a single accent seems uncouth, Like our harsh Northern, whistling, grunting, guttural, Which we're obliged to hiss, and spit, and sputter all." On account of the prevalence of the hissing sound of 5 in our language, those who speak to have been called by foreigners a nation of serpents. This sound is much more preyalent in some speakers than in oth- ers. The harshness of the language is alleviatedlby the introduction of many long and*melodious words from the Latin and other languages, and our words may be combined so as to present a succession of remarkably melodious sounds ; also the most of the old guttural pronunciations have been dropped. 32. Elasticity of the English Language. The elastic- ity of the English language is great. It combines harshness, melodiousness, lassitude, and strength. Pas- sages in it are as smooth as any in the ancient Greek or modern Italian ; as majestic as any in the ancient Latin or modern Spanish ; as strong as the German, as precise as the French. Still there are certain par- ticulars in which nearly every language is superior to any other, but it may be doubted whether there is any speech, ancient or modern, which combines so many K 218 RHETORIC. opposite capabilities as the English. Any ambiguity in another language may be directly expressed, or par- alleled, in the English, and at the same time a thought may be so definitely enunciated that none but the willfully blind or perverse can mistake it. Thought can be condensed into a few short words, or spread out over an almost interminable surface. The sub- limest emotion may be uttered, and the most delicate feeling find appropriate dress. 33. Onomatopy. Onomatopoeia, or Onomatopy, is the name given to the figure of speech in which the sound of the^vord indicates either an actual sound or a motion, as rub-a-dub-dub, for the sound of a drum, hiss, crash, quick, lazy. Some believe that the first words spoken were all onomatopoetic, and that gradually, on that narrow foundation, the whole auperstructure of language has been built up. If so, a natural instinct is gratified by onomatopoetic expressions, and by harmonious associ- ations of words and thought Thus, in the descrip- tion of soft plaintive music, a succession of smooth sounds, easily uttered, would charm at once the sense and the judgment, A battle, or a storm at sea, or an earthquake, would require a different dress. Perhaps every Ehetoric in the English language published since Milton wrote has had the two following exam- ples from the Paradise Lost. The first describes the opening pf hell's gates : " On a sodden open fly "With impetuous recoil, and jarring sound, The infernal doors ; and on their hinges grate Harsh thunder." ONONATOPY. 219 Heaven's doors swing open more smoothly, thus : " Heaven opened wide Her ever-during gates, harmonious sound, On golden hinges turning." Motion also can be indicated by the sound of words. Pope excelled in this refinement. " When Ajax strives some rock's vast weight to throw, The line too labors, and the words move slow." Contrast this slow movement with the rapid one which follows : 11 Not so when swift Camilla scours the plain, Flies o'er the unbending corn, and skims along the main." That beautiful poem of Bryant, Thanatopsis, should be read aloud to exhibit its merits, not the least of which is the fitness of the sound to the soothing and triumphant hope which it expresses. Observe the music of the concluding lines, and its correspondence with the quiet close of a good life : " So live, that when thy summons comes to join The innumerable caravan, that moves To that mysterious realm, where each shall take His chamber in the silent halls of death ; Then go not like the quarry slave at night, Scourged to his dungeon, but, sustained and soothed By an unfaltering trust, approach the grave, Like one who wraps the drapery of his couch About him, and lies down to pleasant dreams." 34. Conclusion. It is very easy to carry attention to the sound of sentences to an excess. In the heat of composition, oral or written, it is well to give but little thought to it, but in revision it should not be wholly neglected. In this way appropriate habits will be formed. 220 RHETORIC. CHAPTER VII. STYLE. 35. Definition. THE peculiar mode of expression usually employed by any person is called his style. Styles differ as much as human countenances, so that though millions may exist at once, no two are precisely alike. Still they may be classified in a few general groups. There are many different methods of expressing the same thought or feeling, each of which may be called a different style. The most of authors have a style that is either nat- ural or habitual to them, so that having read a few of their writings, you come to expect that whatever you read from them hereafter will bear a certain sim- ilarity to what you have read. Careful critics will often detect the production of a favorite author in a writing that does not bear his name. How peculiar, for instance, are the styles of Samuel Johnson, Addi- son, Bunyan, Dean Swift, Carlyle, Macaulay, Daniel Webster, Edward Everett, and Charles Dickens. 36. W J/ a f produces Vari't>/^ Peculiarities of style are the outgrowth of an author's nature, or the effect of his habits. If an author has no peculiar style, but seems to write equally well in so great a variety of VAH1KT1KS AV ST }'/./. 221 methods as to have no style of his own, he is likely to be weak in all his methods. "Non omnes omniaposm- mus Every body can not do every thing." Each man should choose his weapons or his tools, and learn to 'work efficiently with them. Fortunate is he who chooses tools suited to his constitution and his genius. And yet it is well for a student to practice for a time many different styles. 37. Some Varieties in Style. Some of the varieties of style are the following: The Saxon style, in which short words, mostly derived from the Anglo-Saxon or the mother-language, are principally employed. The Latin style, in which the long words mostly derived from the Latin language are abundant. Of course there may be an endless variety of styles on this mat- ter alone. The abrupt style, made up entirely or principally of short sentences. The flowing style, made up of long sentences. The loose style, using only loose sentences when long ones are employed. The periodic style, abounding in periods. The dry style, which is destitute of figurative expressions, of wit, and of every thing to please the fancy or interest the mind, except the naked statement of facts and opinions. The florid style, abounding in tropes, met- aphors, and other figures. There may be several sub- ordinate styles under this head, as the tropical style, the metaphorical style, the allegorical style, the hy- perbolical style, and many others. The idiomatic style, abounding in idioms, colloquialisms, and pro- verbial expressions. The scholastic style, in which the sentences are all artificially constructed with t- RHETORIC. great care, so as not to offend the severest grammati- cal rules, and in which the words are used with es- pecial regard to their etymological meaning. The logical style, in which the author frequently argues, introducing syllogisms, or presents conclusions, pre- ceded frequently by such words as " hence," " thence," ''therefore," and "wherefore." The witty style, of which there may be many classes. In some, puns, quirks, singular combinations of words or thoughts are sought. Various applications of any of the particular princi- ples illustrated in the preceding part of this book will cause varieties of style. 38. Variations in Style innumerable. It is unneces- sary to consider all the possible styles, and every in- telligent student perceives that they are innumerable and indescribable. The only practical questions wor- thy of consideration are : Must every style, to be com- mendable, embrace certain qualities? li so, what are they ? What faults should be avoided ? What is the best method to obtain a good style ? 39. No one Style can be pronounced best It would be a serious fault in a Rhetoric to recommend any particular style as essentially the best. No teacher does so much harm, in Rhetoric or Elocution, as one who induces all his pupils to strive to adopt one par- ticular fashion of writing or speaking. Trees may be trimmed into the same shape, but they will not re- main so unless they are dead. No two leading minds in the world ever had the same method of expressing or enforcing thought PERSPICUITY. 223 There are certain qualities that should always be aimed at, which we will mention. 40. Perspicuity. Perspicuity is an essential element of a good style. " Thus let ine drop into each author's ear A piece of counsel : Keep your meaning clear, Your statements lucid ; for of this be sure, That dullness only ever is obscure." This has already been recommended in the exami- nation of words.* It should also be remembered in the construction of sentences. 41. Should it always be particularly Sought? The writer may consider for whom he is writing. If for profound scholars, he need not express his thought more than once, and that in as few words as possible, and may use illustrations and allusions which to other minds would be unintelligible. If he is writing for people unfamiliar with the topic presented, he may re- peat his thoughts in new words and with new illustra- tions, till he is sure that it is understood. Great care will be requisite to hit the happy medium between too great brevity and too great diffuseness. It is a characteristic of the style of the best advo- cates and pleaders before juries, that they dwell upon and repeat their thoughts till they are sure of having made an impression. Tediousness is however to be avoided. 42. Pre-requisite to Perspicuity. It is an infallible pre-requisite to perspicuity that a man should thor- oughly understand and clearly perceive what he is * See pp. 68-70. 224 RHETORIC. trying to state. Muddy thoughts naturally employ uncertain words. Therefore the profoundest think- ers, the best speakers, the ablest writers, are generally perspicuous.* A writer may often improve his style in this re- spect by reading his productions to others, and care- fully noting the expressions which are misinterpreted or not understood, also by reading his own produc- tions a long time after they were written, and by not- ing what appears to himself obscure. 43. Personify violated sometimes by Parentheses. Perspicuity is often violated by the too frequent use of parenthetical clauses or sentences, which, by divert- ing the attention from the main point in view, confuse and befog the hearer. Even some of -the most ele- gant writers in the language err in this respect, aris- ing from the fact, undoubtedly, that their productions were intended to be read, and not to be spoken. The following sentence from Thomas De Quincey, whose style has been much commended by some, is an ex- ample : " The fact really was, that the human intellect had been for some time outgrowing its foul religions ; clamorously it began to demand some change ; but how little it was able to effect that change for itself, is evident from no example more than that of Plato ; for he, while dismissing as fables some of the grosser monstrosities which the pa- gan Pantheon offered, loaded in effect that deity, whom he made a concurrent party to his own schemes for man, with vile qualities quite * "The greatest thinkers and writers tho world has yet seen have not been obscure ; they may give some trouble sometimes, but their meaning for the most part is plain enough, and, with a little extra diligence, even their difficult passages become so" (Rev. Henry Rog- ers's Greyson Letters, p. 571). f . . UNITY. 225 as degrading as any which he removed ; and in effect so much the worse, as regarded the result, because, wanting the childish monstrosi- ties of the mythologic legends, they had no benefit from any alle- goric interpretations in the background."* . 44. Unity Defined. The unity of a sentence is vio- lated in long, complicated, and confused paragraphs. Such a style is not adapted to public speaking, or to be understood from the utterance. One can only com- prehend it with the book before him, allowing him frequently to review what he has read, tlnity re- quires that a sentence should have a leading subject, around which all the subordinate parts naturally clus- ter, and the predicate should clearly belong to the leading subject alone. If this is violated a sentence becornes a mob without a leader, instead of an army in a stately march. Still too much regard must not be paid to this at all times, or the sentences will have an appearance of uniformness and stiffness. 45. 'Perspicuity may be Intentionally Violated. It has been taken for granted, in the recommendation of perspicuity, that the object of the author is to con- vey information ; if he has another object, his style must be adapted to accomplish his purpose. He may intend to conceal thought, or simply to pass away time, or to excite feeling, or to suggest more than he says, or to astonish by a strange use of language ; and in such productions perspicuity may be of no value, and may be even a blemish. This thought naturally suggests another element of a good style. * De Quincey's Historical and Critical Essays (Boston, 1853), vol. i. p. 195. K2 226 RHETORIC. 46. Style should be adapted to its Purpose. A good style is always adapted to the purpose in view. If an address is made to children, such language as they can be expected to appreciate is employed. To use recondite terms, long involved sentences, argu- ments requiring close attention and careful ratiocina- tion, in an address to children, would be very absurd. Witticisms in a funeral oration, short, abrupt ex- pressions in the description of a beautiful landscape, poetical terms in a scientific treatise, quotations from the Bible in a burlesque performance, would all offend a man of good sense. The style will correspond with the thought if the writer is a man of power and culture. When he rea- sons, he will use a clear, logical style ; when he per- suades, he will repeat and enforce his views by many illustrations, according to the abundance of his in- formation and the vigor of his mind. Sometimes he will use many short sentences, sometimes perhaps a flowing period ; sometimes he will question, some- times command. Sometimes his connected thoughts will flow out in a stream that would, properly print- ed, form a paragraph covering many pages, and some- times the thoughts will find their most adequate ex- pressions in disconnected sentences, each a paragraph. 47. A Variety should be sought If a young writer finds himself falling into a monotonous style of ex- pressing his thoughts, he should make assiduous ef- forts to break it up. The best of styles wearies us if a speaker or writer always uses the same. Even such a work as Gibbon's "Decline and Fall of the Koman i SPECIFIC STYLE POOH. 227 Empire" would be more interesting if its style was more varied. On this subject Mr. Herbert Spencer has well said : "To have a specific^tyle is to be poor in speech. If we remem- ber that in the far past men had only nouns and verbs to convey their ideas with, and that from then to now the growth has been to- ward a greater number of implements of thought, and consequently toward a greater complexity and variety in their combinations, we may infer that we are now, in our use of sentences, much what the primitive man was in his use of words; and that a continuance of the process that lias hitherto gone on must produce heterogeneity in our modes of expression." UHSTO&IQ. CHAPTER VIIL IDIOMS AXD PROVERBS. CRITICS often characterize some particular author as employing an idiomatic style, but what is properly meant by the phrase has perhaps never been accu- rately defined. 48. Definition. An Idiom is a collection of words justified by custom, and yet used so peculiarly that other words, meaning nearly or quite the same thing, ' can not with propriety be used in the same way. It is also applied to expressions in which the strict rules of general grammar are not obeyed, so that they can not be translated literally into another language and be understood. " Not at all " is an Idiom. Substitute neither for not, and the phrase " neither at all " be- comes unpleasant, though perhaps in some combina- tions it might barely be excused. Substitute for "aW" every one, and "not at every one" becomes absurd ; nor can " not at all " be translated literally into any other language. And yet this unconstruable expression is so convenient and strong that we can not at all think of sparing it from our language. 49. Every Language has peculiar Idioms. Every language has its own stock of idioms. The Latins, instead of saying with their own words " I have a ANCIENT IDIOMS. 229 book," would generally have said "To me is a book " (mihi est liber). The Greeks, though very critical in the use of words, still allowed their best speakers to use two negatives in one expression without destroy- ing each other, such as, " He was not able neither to speak nor to act," meaning, as we should say, "He /was able neither to speak nor to act." 50. Idioms abound in our ancient best Writings. En- glish idioms abound in our oldest authors. We sub- join a few: "Get you gone," for "Begone, or take yourself away:" " You had best," or " You were best," for " It would be t^st for you," as "Answer every man directly, Ay, and truly, you were best. " " The onset was so terrible that the soldiers could not stand their ground." Substitute abide for " stand," or place for "ground," and observe at once the anom- aly of the expression, and yet shall "stand your ground " be banished from our language ? The "Pilgrim's Progress" contains many such idioms as "hold me to it," "be of good cheer," "all this while," " come to a point," " you lie at the catch," " let us mend our pace," etc. Montaigne says, " To know by heart is not to know," in which " to know by heart " means merely to have in the memory, and not to think out as an original thought. " He is an out and out gentleman." " I will come by-and-by" which used to mean immediately, but now means some little time hence. In Matthew xxi. 13, we read, " When trib- ulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by- and-by he is offended," meaning immediately. The 230 HHETORIC. signification has degenerated to " before long." So careful a writer as Marsh, when writing on the English language, said, "The project took air," for the project became public. " Get out of the way," " Made over his property ;" " He sings a good song," for he sings well, " Our debts and our sins are generally greater than we think for" are expressions that we cull from the classic writers of the English language. "A good character should be employed as a means of doing good," instead of a mean of doing good, though such a writer as Sir William Hamilton, and* many others, have lately revived the old custom of using mean for means in similar expressions. "In our midst " is an expression justified by honorable usage, but the prun- ing and hypercritical spirit of modern times begins to discard it. Cowper wrote, "I had much rather be my- self the slave;" and Shakspeare wrote, "Had you rather Caesar were living, and die all slaves, than that Caesar were dead, to live all freemen ?" A modern American would write, " Would you rather choose that Caesar should live, and you all die slaves, or that Caesar should die, and you all live freemen?" But which is the more nervous? "As it were" is used for "if you will allow the expression or thought." " When saw we thee a hungered, and fed thee?" " No matter what fields are desolated, what fortresses sur- rendered," etc. The phrase no matter is an English idiom, forcible, and that can not be spared. " Methi/tk* I see it now," said Everett, in introducing a vision of the Mayflower, with its cargo of Puritans, using an old Anglo-Saxon idiom, meaning something more than / ID 10 MX AND PROVERBS. 231 think, and similar to " it occurs to me," " it rises invol- untarily to my sight." "The more he knows, the more he is desirous of knowing." " The words took effect." " Who is as often out in his encomiums as in his censure," says Sir William Hamilton. Observe the idiomatic strength of the following from a justly admired passage of Milton : " Though all the winds of doctrine were let loose to piny upon the earth, so Truth be in the field, we do injuriously by licensing and pro- hibiting her. Let her and Falsehood grapple. Who ever knew Truth put to the worse in a free and open encounter ?" Take another much-admired passage from the same author : " As good almost kill a man as kill a book ; who kills a man, kills a reasonable creature God's image ; but ho who destroys a good book kills reason itself; kills the imago of God, as it were, in the eye." 51. An Idiomatic Style. A writer who uses freely and naturally the idioms of the English language may with propriety be termed an idiomatic writer. It will be found, however, that the oldest writers in the lan- guage use the most of them, and that as grammatical cultivation is attended to, there are more of the writers who, either from a fear of criticism or from disinclina- tion, seldom or never use a good, strong, healthy idi- om. Their expressions are toned down to such gram- matical accuracy that they could be literally translated into any other language without exciting any more attention than they do in their own ! 52. Proverbs. But, besides idioms, there are prov- erbs, many of which are peculiar in style as well as in thought. A proverb is a sententious expression, 232 ItllETORIC. weighty in meaning, and which is frequently repeated without reference to its origin. We say an expression has " passed into a proverb," when it is often quoted as common property. Such proverbs as "Honesty is the best policy," " Live while you live," " Give an inch, and he will take an ell," " There is but a step from the sublime to the ridiculous," are well known. Some proverbs are recognized as vulgar, others are el- evated and noble. One book in the Bible is entitled a " Book of Proverbs," and contains some which are in common use, though the verbal beauty and force of a proverb are generally destroyed by translation from one language to another. Each language has its own ; there are but few common to two or more languages. Languages, like other clothes, vary in fashion. Ches- terfield, who was more finical than wise, and who had not merit enough to achieve high success as an author without the peculiar advantages of his hereditary po- sition, discountenanced the use of proverbs, simply be- cause the uneducated use them. The fact that these repositories of thought and wit are in the possession of both the unlearned and the learned, renders them doubly valuable to one who would address a general audience in speech or writing. Such writers as Cob- bett and Benjamin Franklin never shrink from a pop- ular idiom or proverb. 53. New Idioms and Proverbs. It should not be forgotten that both new idioms and new proverbs are continually arising. A strong mind often throws out a new verbal expression of perhaps an old, per- haps a new thought, so felicitous that it is caught MODERN IDIOM*. 233 up at once, and either embalmed as a proverb, or fre- quently employed as a new idiom. The power of originating forcible or beautiful expressions is a rare gift, and he who exercises it well is a public bene- factor. Such writers as Walter Savage Landor and Ealph Waldo Emerson have thus enlarged the verbal machinery of a people. " Murder will out " is a mod- ern proverb. "The sum of all villainies" was origi- nated'by John Wesley. What may be termed mod- ern idioms are many of them metaphors drawn from occupations, customs, or modes of action common in these times, and, in proportion to their character and use, may be regarded as degraded or honorable. A few instances will illustrate our meaning. So critical a writer as Thomas de Quincey, in an article on " Homer and the HomeridoB," writes : " As if it were possible that a coarse, clumsy hulk like the ship Argo, at ^ which no possible Newcastle collier but would have sneezed, could obtain an everlasting mem- ory in the starry heavens 1" So the Kev. F. D. Maurice, an accurate and vigor- ous writer, uses such expressions as, " He has not a right to say that he has found a man that will run in the same team with Sir William Hamilton ;" " You and I are not school-men, we are roughing it in the world." 54. How much should these Idioms and Proverbs be employed? The taste must not be cultivated to such a squeamish ness as to sacrifice all strength of thought. Jefferson maintained that grammatical accuracy might be surrendered for independence and vigor. It can not be denied that some modern grammarians would 234 R1IETOIU< . refine all vigor out of speech. We can not afford to ostracize all the idioms and proverbs and nervous ex- pressions of our mother-tongue, and we should not be shocked at new ones. An anecdote illustrating this subject is related by Jefferson, describing the criticisms that were made on his original draft of the Declaration of Independence by the Congress of 1776, which debated three days before adopting the paper. " I was," says Mr. Jefferson, " sitting by Dr. Franklin, who per- ceived that I was not insensible to the mutilations. 'I have made it a rule,' said Dr Franklin, whenever in my power, to avoid be- coming the draftsman of papers to be reviewed by a public body. J took my lesson from an incident which I will relate to you. When I was a journeyman pi -inter, one of my companions, an apprentice hat- ter, having served out his time, was about to open shop for himself. His first concern was to have a handsome sign-board, with a proper inscription. He composed it in these words : ''John Thompson, hatter, makes and sells hats for ready money," with a figure of a hat subjoin- ed. But he thought he would submit it to his friends for their amend- ments. The first he showed it to thought the \vor^hatter tautologous, because followed by the words makes hats, which showed he was a hatter. It was struck out. The next observed that the word makes might as well be omitted, because his customers would not care who made the hats ; if good, and to their mind, they would buy. He struck it out. A third said he thought the words for ready money were useless, as it was not the custom of the place to sell on credit. Thoy were parted with. The sign now stood : " John Thompson sells hats." "Sell* h:r .is next friend; "why nobody will ex- pect you to give them away; what then is the use of that word?" stricken out, and then "hats" followed, as there was one painted on the board. So his inscription was reduced ultimately to " John TJiO>iij>fon, " with the figure of a hat subjoined." 55. Good Taste should be our Guide. Good taste and sound judgment will be required to teach when to use, if ever, the vigorous expressions originating among the people which for a long time wear the garb of IDIOMATIC CHANGES. 235 vulgarity, such as to "flash in the pan," to "pull up stakes," to "fizzle out," to "cotton." The changes which gradually take place in language usually orig- inate among those who are least trammelled by law and precedent. 56. The indefinable idiomatic Character of every Lan- guage. Every language has not only a peculiar stock of idioms, but also its own peculiar way of expressing thought ; wherefore to translate a forcible and idiomat- ic production into another language is very difficult. It is seldom that one man obtains an extensive com- mand over the idioms of more than one language. 57. Changes in Language. As we have shown, in our examination of words, languages are constantly changing. A writer in the Westminster Review well remarks : " Dictionaries contain only selections from the language ; the number of words in them by no means rendering them worthy to be considered col- lections of the language. The English of grammars and schools is but a chosen portion of an existing whole. In fact, the English language, as learned by foreigners, is by no means the language of England. 11 That is true ; and still more forcibly may we say, that the English language, as learned out of a few elementary books, is not the language of the United States of America. The people of America would be no better than dead men if they did not change the language which they use. Whatever is alive grows, and throws off effete matter. A living language grows in idioms and figures, as well as in words, and dis- cards what is useless. And yet no sooner does a vig RHETORIC. orous original writer in America appear, than some foreign critics, and their American imitators, charge him with using "Americanisms," as though it were an offense. He does use Americanisms, or he belongs to the class of imitators always a feeble and con- temptible class. The English writer should use An- glicisms, and the American writer Americanisms, and every man should speak out what is in him in a free and independent manner ; thus showing that the cli- max of power is not yet reached, and that those who now live are not mere echo repeaters of the past, or of each other. As has been well said by Buffon : " To write well is at once to think well, to feel rightly, and ren- der properly ; it is to have, at the same tjme, mind, soul, taste. Style supposes the reunion and the exercise of all the intellectual faculties. The style is the man. 1 ' Such are the last words of Buffon's "Maxims." Southey speaks of the same subject in the following passage, from one of his familiar letters : *' A man with a clear head, a good heart, and an honest under- standing, will always write well. It is owing either to a muddy head, un evil heart, or a sophisticated intellect that men write badly, and sin either against reason, or goodness, or sincerity. There may be secrets in painting, but there are none in style. When I have been asked the foolish question, what a young man should do who wishes to acquire a good style, my answer has been, that he should never think about it, but say what he has to say as perspicuously as he can, and as briefly as he can, and then the style will take care of itself." The last direction is a little too sweeping for a stu- dent. Still it is true that a man can not write vigor- ously unless he forgets the rules of style in the fever or strong passion of composition. The time to re- member the rules is when forming habits of style, and when criticising and amending productions after they are written. XJ-'l-'OKTS TO COMMAND A GOOD STYLE. 237 CHAPTER IX. HOW TO ACQUIRE A GOOD STYLE. 58. General Principle. IF a youth of ordinary in- telligence were asked how in his opinion he might make himself an accomplished mechanic, or machin- ist, or painter, or sculptor, he would promptly answer: " By studying the science, by receiving instruction from expert practitioners, by thoroughly examining the best specimens of workmanship, and by continual careful practice." This is felt to be true, and it is only by such a process that any one can become a good speaker or writer. Some persons have a natural fluency and ease in communicating their thoughts, both by speech and by writing. The poets Pope and Watts, and many others, wrote verses*while they were yet, according to common law, to be regarded as infants. Others, who have become equally eminent afterward, wrote at first with great difficulty, and not till they had reached maturer years. The best writers and ablest speakers have devoted great labor (consciously or un- consciously) to the improvement of their style. 59. Efforts of Gribbon to command a good Style. That ripe scholar and profound historian, Gibbon, the author of the "Decline and Fall of the Roman Em- 238 RHETORIC. pire," details in his autobiography the care and im- mense study with which he formed his style; and when, in the prime of his life, he came to write the first volume of his great work, he says : " The style of an author should be an image of his mind, but the choice and command of language is the fruit of exercise. Many ex- periments were made before I could hit the middle tone between a dull chronicle and a rhetorical declamation : three times did I com- pose the first chapter, and twice the second and third, before I was tolerably satisfied with their effect.' * This, too, was after he was already an author of writ- ings both in the French and English languages that had elicited commendations from the best judges. Many have written history with less care, but how few read their productions, compared with the readers of Gibbon ! 60. Example of Prescott Prescott's histories have been highly eulogized as models of good style. It is instructive to learn that after he was twenty-five years old, he resumed the study of Khetoric with assiduous perseverance, and that when he began to write for the public, he examined and re-examined his own pro- ductions with great care. Some*of his earlier chap- ters he re-wrote several times, always striving to im- prove them. He says of himself, after having written several chapters of his "Ferdinand and Isabella," " Two or three faults of style occur to me in looking over some former compositions. Too many adjectives; too many couplets of substantives ns well as adjectives, and perhaps of verbs ; too set ; sen- tences too much in the same mould ; too formal periphrasis instead * Miscellaneous Works of Edward Gibbon, Esq., with Memoirs of his Life and Writings. DE QUINCE? AND WEBSTER. 239 of familiar ; sentences balanced by ands, buts, and semicolons ; too many precise, emphatic pronouns, as these, those, which, etc., iustead of Jhe particles the, a, etc."* After he had fully formed his style he became less particular. This is natural. The time to be particu- lar is when young, and when habits and powers of perception are both forming for life. 61. Example of De Quincey.T)Q Quincey, a master of a style which has been highly eulogized, even to the last persisted in revising and even re-writing his productions with great care, before he would allow them to go before the public. Such also is the prac- tice of Victor Hugo and many other eminent writers. 62. Webster as an Example. The style of Daniel Webster was very terse and vigorous. Generally simple, but occasionally highly ornamented, and re- markable for expressing strong thought and earnest feeling in what seems the best possible manner. Mr. Webster, in a conversation with friends in his old age, while modestly lamenting his own ignorance, as it seemed to him, when he looked out upon the bound- less field of thought, expressed a fear that his style would degenerate, and added : "My style was not formed without great care, and earnest study of the best authors. I have labored hard upon it, for I early felt the importance of expression to thought. I have re-written sentence after sentence, and pondered long upon each alteration. For, de- pend upon it, it is with our thoughts as with our persons their in- trinsic value is mostly undervalued, unless outwardly expressed in an attractive garb. Longinus tells us that the most sublime passage to be found in any language is this in the Bible: "Let there be * Life of William Hickling Prescott, by George Ticknor (Boston, 1864), p. 219. 240 RHETORIC. light, and there was light :' the greatest effort of power in the tersest and fewest words the command and the record one exertion of thought. So should we all aim to express things in words."* ^ After such examples, it is superfluous to recom- mend to young writers great care and study in form- ing their style. 63. A Study of good Authors recommended. Fa- miliarity with the best authors is indispensable. Lan- guage and manner are largely learned by unconscious imitation. It is not well to waste time in the society of inferior writers, and listening to inferior speakers. Always choose the best you can command. Prefer the decisions of those whose position entitles them to authority, to your own. A book that pleases you much may be very faulty. The standard English and American authors should be read thoroughly. Eead much, rather than many books. Discard inferior and too often illiterate newspapers, and select for your in- formation a single newspaper of high literary merit, and spend the rest of your time devoted to reading with the best books you can command. 64. Translations from one Language into Another. Frequent translation from another language, ancient or modern, into English, or the translation of choice passages in our language into some other language, and then back again into English, with a comparison of the result with the original, is a good exercise. 65. Frequent Composition. Write as often as you can, and, if possible, something every day, at least ev- * Harper's New Monthly Magazine (New York), vol. xiii. p. 221. The sentiment of Longinus is not quite accurately stated in the above. RATE OF COMPOSITION. 241 ery week. Whenever an error is detected, whether from a criticism of another person or by your own in- creasing familiarity with language and thought, dis- card it, and never repeat it. 66. Slowness and Rapidity of Composition. Perhaps the most valuable direction is the favorite motto of Erasmus, " Festina lentz" "HASTEN SLOWLY!" Write slowly at first, studiously, thoughtfully. A good stu- dent should write at least one exercise, and it would be well if he would write several exercises, on all the diiU'rent kinds of composition required, for instance, in Part II. of this book. After such careful exercise it will be proper for him to write rapidly, and with little or no thought about rules of Khetoric, and with little revision. 67. Discard Imitation. Take no writer or speaker for your model. If so, you will be likely to surpass him in his faults, and fall below him in his merits. Intentionally imitate no one, except it may be for a rhetorical pastime, to see what you can do. In your genuine productions, write from your own mind and heart. Prescott well says on this subject : "Indeed, it is impossible to separate language from thought in that delicate blending of both which is called style ; at least, it is im- possible to produce the same effect with the original by any copy, however literal. We may imitate the structure of a sentence, but the ideas which gave it its peculiar propriety we can not imitate."* Lessing well says that " Every man should have his own style as he has his, own nose." * Biographical and Critical Miscellanies, by William H. Prescott (Boston, 1861), p. 271. L _'4'J RHETORIC. 68. Opinion of Carlyle on the Mode of acquiring a good Style. Carlyle, whose style is very labored, but is very excellent, according to Coleridge's test " un- translatableness in words of the same language, with- out injury to the meaning" has given some excel- lent advice on rapid writing. He says : "The adroit, sound-minded man, will endeavor to spend on each business approximately what of pains it deserves; and with a con- science void of offense will dismiss it then And yet, on the other hand, it shall not less but more strenuously be inculcated, that in the way of writing, no great thing was ever, or will ever be done with ease, but with difficulty. Let ready writers, with any faculty in them, lay this to heart. Virgil and Tacitus, were they ready writers? The whole Prophecies of Isaiah are not equal in extent to this cob- web of a Review Article. Shakspeare, we may fancy, wrote with rapidity, but not till he had thought with intensity. No easy writer he, or he had never been a Shakspeare. Neither was Milton one of the mob of gentlemen that write with ease ; he did not attain Shakspcarc's facility, one perceives, of even writing fast after long preparation, but struggled while he wrote. Goethe also tells us he 4 had nothing sent him in his sleep,' no page of his but he knew well how it came there. It is reckoned to be the best prose, accordingly, that has been written by any modern."* 69. Further Advice. Such also is the opinion of Brougham, and indeed of nearly if not quite all men competent to judge of the subject AVrite carefully then. Eemember the example of such men as Plato, whose style the ancients thought worthy to be called divine, and who, it is said, wrote the beginning of his " Republic " many times in a great variety of ways before he was satisfied, and yet the words, as they now stand, seem very simple, and their order the most natural that could be chosen. The best style is like "* Critical and Miscellaneous Essays: collected and rcpul by Thomas Carlyle (Boston, 1860), vol. iv. p. 242. EARNESTNESS COMMENDED. 243 the best glass, so clear as not to be noticed but how difficult it must be to produce perfectly faultless glass! 70. Interlineations to be Avoided. After, however, good habits of composition are formed, much interlin- eation and Change of words ought, if possible, to bo avoided. "Writers who discipline themselves the most severely at first, generally arrive at the habit of ready, and correct, and appropriate writing. The same prin- ciples also apply to extemporaneous speaking. 71. Earnestness Necessary. It should also be re- membered that earnestness 'is a prime excellence in a speaker or writer. Though we have already quoted Carlyle in this chapter, yet his advice is so appropriate on this subject that we present it : " Sweep away utterly all frothiness and falsehood from yonr heart ; struggle unweariedly to acquire what is possible for every God-creu- tetl man, a free, open, humble soul : speak not at a//, in any it't.ve,'till you have somewhat to speak ; care not for the reward of your speaking, but simply, and with undivided mind, for the truth of your speaking."*/ * Carlyle's Miscellanies, vol. iii. j>. (J7. 244 KHJETO&IC. CHAPTER X. STYLE ADAPTED TO EXPRESS EMOTION. 72. Nature of Emotion, and its Place in Rhetoric. WE have defined Rhetoric as the science and art of ex- pressing thought and emotion by language in the best manner. Emotion is as essential as thought, and has its own laws, and its own modes of expression. Mental philosophers have differed in the terms em- ployed to describe that part of our nature exercised when we feel emotions, but all persons are conscious of the meaning oi such words as sensibility, appetite, af- fection, and desire nor is it necessary, for the purposes of a Rhetoric, that we should be minute in the classi- fication of the passions. All affection is preceded by some degree of thought. 73. A Sense of Duty. The noblest affections are those growing out of the idea of duty, or the recogni- tion of the right or wrong of some act. No man can plead with peculiar earnestness to produce conviction, unless he has not only a firm belief himself in the truth of the proposition which he is endeavoring to estab- lish, but also that it will lead to just action, and will prevent injustice. He then becomes zealous for the right. A man. may be zealous for truth alone, but it ! VALUE OF SINCERITY. 245 communicates zest to his arguments and pleadings, if he believes that the establishment of the truth will lead to right action. 74. Can one plead for a known Falsehood? A man can not plead for a known falsehood except hypocrit- ically, or by producing in himself a temporary false be- lief. The natural indignation of the healthy mind at such a course weakens a man, and if exposed, brings upon him censure and contempt It is the true func- tion .of Ehetoric to overcome and destroy error ; and though falsehood may use it as a weapon, it is only by a perversion of its true purpose. A defender of what is believed to be truth will endeavor to expose hy- pocrisy or dishonesty in an opponent, and awaken in him shame and repentance, and in others toward him indignation, censure, pity, or contempt. These last passions, if persisted in, and if there is no abandon- ment of the wrong by its defenders, will swell into anger and hatred. 75. All Emotions right. All passions are right, to a/ certain degree, when the occasion demands them, and the orator may properly endeavor to excite any one of them. 76. Passiojis of Approval. There are passions of approval, as well as disapproval. Love in all its va- rious forms must have an intellectual basis. It pro- ceeds from thought. There is the love of man, as man ; the peculiar love of the virtuous and noble ; and n love of those who exhibit some good traits, such as generosity, bravery, truthfulness, patriotism, though they may be deficient in other good qualities, and even 246 UIIETOR1C. possessors of some injurious and disagreeable traits of character. Thus the affections excited by the por- traiture of character, or the description of actions, are often very complex, blending approval and disapprov- al, love and hatred, indignation and sympathy, exe- cration and pity. The field, therefore, of the orator is broad, and the language of passion almost infinite. 77. How to awaken Approval. To awaken approval, the good qualities of the action or the character must be dwelt upon, and vividly brought before the mind. Men instinctively love justice, especially when main- taining itself against strong temptations. "What seems to be disinterested benevolence excites the warmest approbation. Instinctively also we sympathize with those who struggle against wrong, even though they yield at last, and the emotion of sympathy may be awakened by a presentation of the extenuating cir- cumstances growing out of temptation, or ignorance, or wrong education, or deception. Suffering endured by the innocent or helpless awak- ens sympathy, more or less intense, according to the degree of the suffering. If this is conjoined with good positive qualities in the sufferer, such as patience, benevolence, disinterested affection, earnest truth, the liveliest compassion is awakened. What a vast field, then, lies open before the orator, who either describes facts, or calls upon his imagina- tion to invent combinations of characters and events surpassing, if possible, any realities in interest and complexity. 78. How to awaken Disapproval. So emotions of VARIOUS EMOTIONS THE PULPIT. 247 disapproval enlarge this field. Pictures of tyranny, whether exercised by a sovereign over a nation, or the head of a family, or the master of servants ; covetous- ness, leading to the violation of right, and of natural affection ; malice, steadily hunting down an innocent victim; envy, hating and slandering and destroying the innocent simply because they prosper; the selfish, ruining the virtuous for personal gratification, animal or mental ; and all kinds of injustice, excite abhorrence, and detestation and revenge. All these chords are to be touched, sometimes singly, sometimes many to- gether, sometimes producing harmony, and sometimes intentional discord, by the skillful orator. 79. Application to the Rhetoric of tiie Pulpit. In this fact lies the boundless power of the oratory of the pul- pit. The preacher of religion deals with all actual human character. It is his business to commend all forms of virtue, and to show the detestable ness of all forms of vice. In addition to all that is human, be has also the supernal emotions of the Supreme Being toward man, the immaculate character of the Saviour in his relations to man, to portray. His subjects, if they lack the vividness of the appeals made by the lawyer, growing out of present and personal circum- stances, and if they are not so direct as the appeals of statesmen on subjects that call for immediate political action, still take hold of the highest and dearest inter- ests of man, and are absolutely boundless in their scope and variety. 80. Degrees of Emotion considered, with Reference to Figurative Language. To awaken gentle emotion, J48 MHXTORIC. pleasing or painful, it is only needful to set before the mind perspicuously the characters, facts, or actions, or thoughts that naturally produce it. The fancy may ornament the description, and figurative language is appropriate. Even a highly ornamented style may not interfere with the impression. But when the pas- sion, painful or pleasing, becomes strong, the language must become more direct. Ornaments will be dis- carded. Figures only the most abrupt and condensed, and perhaps not strictly correct according to severe rule, will be suggested mixed metaphors, if ever, are allowable and the sentences are short and strong. Passion discards superfluities and niceties of expression. Strong passion loses self-consciousness. When a man has time to say that he is angry, or is inclined to think whether he is angry or not, his passion is more senti- mental than real. 81. How far egotistical References are proper. Quiet emotion, held under control by the intellect, is more self-conscious, and often leads to egotistical expres- sions. Thus Henry Clay said in an eloquent speech, properly endeavoring to produce emotion that should lead to action : " I have no desire for office, not even the highest. The most ex- alted is but a prison, in which the incarcerated incumbent daily re- his cold, heart !e-s visitants, marks his weary hours, and is cut oil' from the pnirtiral enjoyment of all the blessings of genuine free- dom. Pass this bill, and I am willing to go home, and renounce pub- lic service forever." So Daniel Webster, in his great speech, full of emo- tion himself, awakened unselfish appreciation of merit anywhere, and produced a contempt for his opponent. EG TISMPA THOU. 249 who had manifested a different sentiment, by exclaim- ing : " When I shall be found, sir, in my place here in the Senate or elsewhere, to sneer at public merit because it happened to spring up be- yond the little limits of my own State or neighborhood ; when I refuse, for any such cause, or for any cause, the homage due to American talent, to elevated patriotism, to sincere devotion to liberty and the country if I see extraordinary capacity and virtue in any son of the South and if, moved by local prejudice, or gangrened by State jeal-- <>u>y, I get up here to abate the tithe of a hair from his just character and fame, may my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth." IIow deep the emotion in the speech of the Irish- man Emmett, when about to receive his sentence of death for what was called treason ! " I have but a few words more to say. I am going to my cold and silent grave ; my lamp of life is nearly extinguished ; my race is run ; the grave opens to receive me, and I sink into its bosom. I hau> but one request to make at my departure from this world : it is the charity of its silence ! Let no man write my epitaph ; for as no man who knows my motives dare now vindicate them, let not prejudice or ignorance asperse them. Let them and me repose in obscurity and peace, and my tomb remain uninscribed until other times and other men can do justice to my character. When my country takes her place among the nations of the earth, then, and not till then, let my epitaph be written. I am done." 82. Pathos. What is commonly called Pathos in a speaker or writer is an emotion of pity or deep inter- est awakened by the suffering of others, generally as- sociated with a respect for their moral character, and perhaps a love of them for some extraordinary excel- lence. It is a sympathetic pain, not wholly without pleasure. Washington Irving's description of the death of the wife of Emmett on account of her grief, and his description of the burial of a mother, are full of pathos. Dickens's description of the death of Little L2 250 RHETORIC. Nell, in the " Old Curiosity Shop," is deeply touching. Pathos is a great element of power in the pulpit. It might be supposed that inasmuch as the passion must exist before it can be expressed, and that if it exists it will naturally clothe itself in appropriate language, no rules of Khetoric will compass it or help the orator. But if its power is known, and the best examples of its expression are studied, its appropri- ate expression will become more natural and easy. 83. A common Fault. The great fault of many writers is an attempt to express pathos that they do not feel, and particularly to overload their productions with empty declamation about passion, instead of en- couraging the true feeling where it should exist, and expressing it in simple language. In such a case the speaker defeats his own purpose, and excites only disgust. TASTE. 251 CHAPTER XL TASTE, AND ITS CULTIVATION. 84. Definition, and Illustrations. TASTE is the sus- ceptibility to pleasure from works of art. The pleasure, however, which is awakened by the utility of a work, is not primarily attributed to the Taste, but particularly the gratification arising from its beauty, or from the qualities which seem designed pri- marily to please. A house may be strong, durable, in a heal thy -location, convenient, and therefore please our judgment on account of its utility ; but it may be at the same time ill-shapen, of a disagreeable color, and so placed, with reference to the streets and the lo- calities around, as to offend our sense of the fitness of things. In such a case we say that, though useful, it is built in poor taste. A written production or speech ought to please us if it accomplishes its end, and so it does in that respect; but if, in addition to accomplishing its main purpose whatever that may be it pleases us by its beauty, ap- propriateness, and conformity to what we think is fit- ting and proper, it is peculiarly commendable. Nor is that all: whatever exhibits good taste is thereby so much the more likely to receive attention, and to exert its full force, perhaps indeed more than it 252 deserves for its intrinsic merit Beauty is desirable in itself, for its own power to please. 85. Essential Beauty in Composition. There is un- doubtedly essential beauty in well-chosen language, well-constructed sentences, well-arranged arguments, a due admixture of plain and figurative expressions, a proper structure of the entire composition. A good taste recognizes genuine beaut}-, and also is displeased at its absence, and pained at deformity. 86. Is there any Standard of Taste? The standard of Taste is inflexible, so far as it regards intrinsic beauty alone, but the mind is influenced by education, so that persons in one age may approve what is dis- approved in another age. A nation may have a pe- culiar standard of Taste on some matters, and to a certain extent. French writers, for instance, usually break up their pages into many paragraphs, and write in a sharp, pointed style; German writers, on the aver- age, make longer paragraphs. This is a mere national fashion, to which there are many exceptions, and in both cases it may prove temporary. There are so many varieties of beauty, esteemed so variously by different persons, and there are so many artificial or cultivated preferences, that it is a recog- nized truth that disputes on matters of taste can not be absolutely settled. 87. Criticism. Criticism is the subjecting of the writings and speeches of others to examination ac- cording to the rules of Rhetoric and Taste, and the as- signing of reasons for their approval or disapproval. It is a healthful practice when not indulged in excess- 253 ively, but a man may be so superfluously critical of others as to intimidate himself. As a matter of fact, the severest critics are often feeble performers. It is easier to destroy, or to find fault with, than to build. 88. How Criticism should be practiced. In the criti- cism of a production, we should first ascertain its ob- ject, and approve or disapprove that according to our judgment.. We should next consider its general drift of character, its strength or feebleness, and whether or not it has attained its purpose. Then it may be ex- amined with reference to its general appropriateness of style of thought, of language, of illustration, of adaptation and, in fact, with reference to any actual or desirable quality. Honest criticisms are valuable, and to criticise exhaustively is a rare art. 89. The Cultivation of Taste. Taste may be culti- vated by familiarity with productions that have borne the test of examination, and are generally approved, by reading critical writings, by making criticisms, and by rigid adherence to rules in our own productions. 90. An Example of Criticism. Would it not en- cumber this book too largely, some specimens of long productions would here be inserted and criticised, but perhaps space may be saved by selecting some book with which all are familiar. Take, then, the Book of Job in the Bible, and examine it simply as a literary document. What is its object? Evidently to present the life and character of Job. But why present his life? Evidently because it was very extraordinary, illustrating most signally the RU' fact that a good man may suffer intensely and for a long time, and yet, if he preserves his integrity, in the end he will be delivered, and his integrity rewarded. The object, then, is good, the theme is sublime. It being in the form of a portraiture of character, and several other personages to be introduced, with conversations, a poetical or dramatic style is rightly chosen. Observe the simplicity of the introduction, the con- ciseness and rapidity of the narrative awakening in- tense interest. When other characters come to be in- troduced, observe how each preserves his own person- al style, and that at the last, previous to the closing up of the narrative, the thoughts and expressions attrib- uted to God are the sublimest ever uttered, and in the most appropriate phrase. This criticism is indeed entirely eulogistic, and but faintly expresses the opinion of every competent judge of the Book of Job, simply as a rhetorical production. 91. Exaggeration a common Fault. A common fault in earnest writers is an over-statement of a thought, which should especially be avoided in deliberative, so- ber productions. We think that Dr. Whately is open to this charge in the second paragraph of Part IV. of his Rhetoric, on Elocution. He says : " Probably not a single instance could be found of any one who has attained, by the study of any system of instruction that has hitherto appeared, a really good delivery ; but there are many probably nearly as many as have fully tried the experiment who have by this means been totally spoiled ; who have fallen irrecoverably into an affected style of sjtouting, worse, in all respects, than their original mode of de- livery." ILLIBERAL CRITICISM. _ 255 Dr. Whatcly was really too strong a writer to re- sort to such extravagant and illogical statements as this. Criticism is often unappreciative and superficial, even when it assumes to be profound and magisterial. A mere mathematician can not properly criticise a poem, nor a mere book-worm an oration. Some speakers will attract large audiences in spite of the violation of many rules of elocution, and some writ- ings will press themselves into extreme popularity in spite of condemnation and ridicule by the critical pro- fession. A truly wise critic will discern the true ele- ments of power in such cases, and make his exposure of the unnecessary defects and blemishes so much the more instructive and efficient JOG RHETORIC. CHAPTER XII. STYLE MODIFIED BY TIIK NATURE OF THE PRO- DUCTION. 92. The Four Objects of Writers and Speakers. ALL the objects of authors may be reduced to these four : tqinstruct, convince, persuade, and amuse. Some pro- ductions may be designed to accomplish several of these objects, some only one ; but nearly all have a leading purpose, belonging to one of these four classes. 93. Didactic Productions. Writings, the prime ob- ject of which is to instruct, may be called didactic, such as text-books describing any science or art, law- books, scientific treatises, cy clopa3dias, many books of travels, guide-books, reports of investigating commit- tees, deeds, and many other legal papers. In didactic writings perspicuity is particularly essential, and orna- ment is generally superfluous. Lord Brougham says on this subject: " I have been somewhat mortified of late years at perceiving a ten- dency tu line writing and declamation among our men of science, and I ascribe it, in some degree, to the more general diffusion of scientific knowledge, which naturally introduces the more popular style of compo- sition. * * * In truth, however, that vile florid style darkens i of illustrating ; and while we can never write too clearly to the j we never can write too simply, if our design be to write plainly and intelligibly. * * * I have seen a mathematical discussion, by a very able and learned man, in two consecutive pages of which I reckoned ADAPTATION OF STYLE. 257 up above twenty metaphors all tending to darken the subject, to say nothing of poetical quotations without mercy."* Disraeli well remarks that such writings admit of but little ornament, but the attention may be relieved by introducing other thoughts, suggested by associa- tion. As a good example of this, he refers to a work of Dr. Arbuthnot on " Coins, Weights, and Measures," which he has managed to make interesting as well as instructive, by such remarks as that " the polite Au- gustus, the emperor of the world, had neither any glass in his windows, nor a shirt to his back." Lord Stanley, President of the Statistical Section of the British Scientific Association, remarked : " You can all say what you have to say in a few words if you will think it over beforehand. In addressing an educated audience, a good deal may be taken for granted." 94. Logical Productions. When the object of the writer is to convince, the rules of logic must be ob- served, and the graces of style must be subordinate to strength and correctness of thought. Keports of committees, pleas, controversial articles, defenses against charges, and other purely argumenta- tive productions, belong to this class. 95. Persuasion. Persuasion, which is designed to add to conviction an impulse toward action, may make use of all the graces and arts of composition, accord- ing to the ability and judgment of the author. Ad- * Dialogues on Instinct ; with an Analytical View on the Researches on Fossil Osteology, by Henry, Lord Brougham, F.R.S., etc. (Phila- delphia), pp. 90, 91. 258 RHETORK dresses, sermons, orations, essays, illustrations of all kinds, and almost every species of composition, may be devoted to this purpose. 96. 1 J 'riiu-ifjs designed simply to Amuse. Bu t besides the above-mentioned objects, many productions are designed simply to amuse. This object, in its place, is as laudable as any other. Not only many humor- ous and witty productions belong to this class, but also many essays, descriptions, discussions, and even ad- dresses seek to interest and entertain, not by present- ing new information, not by showing the rightfulness of any opinion or course of action, but simply by ex- pressing thoughts in such a way as to occupy the mind and please the reader or hearer. 97. A mixed Object. It should also be noticed that few productions are purely didactic, or logical, or hor- tatory, or amusing. In some all these purposes are blended, and few are destitute of more than one of them. It is superfluous to enumerate all the various kinds of productions, but a few of the leading classes will be noticed. 98. Morality of Rhetoric. One principle ought, however, to be understood by every writer. It is not a worthy object simply to produce a good specimen of composition of any kind. Ehetoric is not an end, but a means. We do not write that we may make books, nor speak that we may pronounce orations, but to produce thought and feeling in others. We can never properly appreciate Rhetoric unless we under- stand its true aim. While, however, it is a means of exerting influence on other minds, it also tends, re- MOltALfTY OF RHETORIC. 259 flexively, to strengthen and discipline the mind of one who studies it and obeys its principles. It is a legiti- mate and proper thing for one mind to influence an- other. It was by rhetoric as well as by logic, that such men even as Paul, and Augustine, and Bacon, and Newton, created so great an impression upon other minds. But they spoke and wrote, not to make good compositions, but to influence their fellow-men. RHETORIC!. CHAPTER XIII. ADDRESSES, LECTURES, ORATIONS, SERMONS. 99. Definition and Description. SPEAKING precedes writing, and therefore a consideration of speeches naturally takes the first place. Any expression of thought or feeling by words may be called a speech. Conversation is a series of speeches. Any one who can converse accurately, in- telligently, and readily, can, by exercise, speak well in public. The daily practice of conversing correctly lays a broad and sure foundation for success, both in writing and in public speaking. All the principles of Rhetoric may be more or less applied in conversa- tion. Addresses are of an almost infinite variety in length, subject, character, and style. It is difficult to lay down any general rules for their construction, still some considerations on the subject may be of practical value. 100. Addresses should have sufficient Material. Ad- dresses are often deficient in fact and sentiment. The most common fault in them is too great diffuseness of style and repetition of thought. The introduction, or first, part of the address, should be so constructed as naturally to enlist the favorable attention of the audi- ADDRESSES SHOULD BE WRITTEX. 261 ence ; and if any argument or statement of opinions or facts is necessary, which it is thought may be uninterest- ing or distasteful, it should be given after the attention and good-will of the audience are conciliated. The con- clusion of an address ought to be forcible. There is room often for wit, illustration, argument, and the display of almost every kind of power of thought' and feeling, in this kind of composition. 101. Should be Written. It is an excellent practice for young speakers to write out their addresses in full, and commit them to memory, though, after some prac- tice, it will be easy to pronounce the address alter having memorized only the order of the thoughts, trusting to the activity of the mind at the time to suggest proper words, and even additional thoughts. Finally, one may often speak efficiently without pre- viously writing on the subject, though very few per- sons can excel as speakers who do not write much, and often write their speeches. 102. Opinion of Brougham on this Subject. The opinion of that successful orator, Lord Brougham, on this subject, is worthy of consideration. In his Inau- gural Discourse, when elected Lord rector of the Uni- versity of Glasgow, delivered to the students, he said : " I should lay it down as a rule, admitting of no exception, that a man will speak well in proportion as he has written much, and that, with equal talents, he will be the finest extempore speaker, when no time for preparing is allowed, who has prepared himself the most sed- ulously when he had an opportunity of delivering a premeditated speech. All the exceptions which I have ever heard cited to this principle are apparent ones only ; proving nothing more than that some few men of rare genius have become great speakers without prepara- tion ; in no wise showing that with preparation they would not have 262 KHETOR1C. readied a much higher pitch of excellence. The admitted superiority of the ancients in all oratorical accomplishments is the best proof of my j>osition ; for their careful preparation is undeniable ; nay, in De- mosthenes (of whom Quintilian says that his style indicates more premeditation than Cicero's) we can trace, by the recurrence of the same passage, with progressive improvements, in different speeches, how nicely he polished the more exquisite parts of his compositions. I could point out favorite passages, occurring as often as three several time-, with variations and manifest amendment. " I am now requiring not merely great preparation while the speak- er is learning his art, but after he has accomplished his education. The most splendid effort of the most mature orator will be al \\a\s finer for being previously elaborated with much care. "Such preparation is quite consistent with the introduction of passages prompted by the occasion, nor will the transition from the one to the other be perceptible in the execution of an accomplished master. I have known skillful and attentive hearers completely de- ceived in this matter, and taking for extemporaneous passages what i.iu-ly existed in the manuscript, and were pronounced without the variation of a particle or pause." 103. Manuscript Addresses. These directions are ap- plicable in some extent even to those who habitually use the manuscript when addressing an audience, for there are careless habits of writing as well as of speak- ing. But it is to be regretted that so many public speakers are binding themselves to this slavish habit. The memory should be trained till he who aspires to accomplish the greatest effect can deliver easily what he has previously wrought out, and add efficiently what the inspiration of the hour suggests. \". Lectures. A Lecture is generally a written pro- duction upon some particular topic of value, designed to be read before an audience, though lectures are sometimes given from memory. Lectures may be very various in character, but gen- erally they should preserve unity. Some one central . t ORATIOX*. 263 topic should be presented in a lecture, and though others may be introduced for illustration, all should be subordinate to the main subject. A lecture should be carefully written. Offenses against grammar, or style, or even good taste, are not excusable in a lect- ure. Generally, a good lecture will be found to consist of the following parts : an introduction, a statement of the subject, a discussion or full exhibition of the lec- turer's views on the subject, and a conclusion. The highest kind of eloquence is not to be aimed at in a lecture, as its object is either to please or in- struct, rather than to persuade or move to immediate action. Inasmuch as the oration is similar to the lecture, much of *what is said upon the latter will also apply to the former. 105. Orations. An Oration is a speech of the very highest order. An oration, to have its greatest effect, should not be read, but pronounced without manuscript, and from a full heart. Its object is not primarily to instruct, for, aiming at that, it would be a lecture ; nor simply to prove a proposition, for it would then be but a part of a discussion ; but to arouse the intellect, to fire the heart, often to move to action. It is evident that no beauty, or elegance, or source of power in expression, is inappropriate in an oration. The most condensed apothegm, the most startling an- tithesis, the most sparkling wit, the most forcible com- parison, the boldest metaphors, the most elaborate pe- 264 RHETOR ! riods, the greatest variety of style, are admissible in the oration. Still the orator must not forget that his production is designed for the ear, and not for the printed page, and he should never forget that an obscurity which would be pardoned in an essay will condemn an ora- tion, and he should not neglect those adaptations of style to the habits and feelings of hearers which cour- tesy and good taste will suggest. An oration has the same parts as a lecture, except that the conclusion is usually called the peroration. No rules can be given for the construction of an oration which are to be universally followed. The in- troduction should usually be pleasing, precise, and brief. Long introductions, and .the formal presenta- tion of a subject after speaking a few minutes, are apt to displease the hearers. The main subject of the oration may be entered upon with or without a formal explication ; bu if one is made, it should be perspicuous. The peroration should be as forcible and impress- ive as the orator can make it. It need not be loud or excited ; it may be pathetic and subdued ; it may be simply decided, or congratulatory, or defiant, but it should be earnest, and express some passion justly ex- cited in both speaker and people. Without this, the oration will be pronounced a failure. 106. Some specimen Orations. There are many speeches which were delivered as pleas, or for the at- tainment of specific purposes, which are dignified by the name of orations, on account of their great excel- PREPARATION OF ORATIONS. 265 lence, such as the " Orations of Demosthenes," designed to stimulate the Athenians against Philip, the " Ora- tions of Cicero," which were either pleas or political speeches ; but the appellation is properly confined to such speeches as addresses pronounced at the funerals of eminent men, the beginning or completion of some great enterprise, the anniversary of some momentous event, or some occasion calculated to awaken deep emotion without exciting differences or hostility of feelings. The addresses of Webster and Everett upon the anniversary of the Landing of the Pilgrims, of Kossuth, the Hungarian refugee, upon arriving at New York, of Choate upon the death of Webster, of Simpson on the death of Abraham Lincoln, are mas- terly specimens of orations. 107. Practical Directions. The first requisite toward the preparation of an oration is a clear understanding of the theme ; for, though no subject is to be presented and formally argued, there must be in every oration one predominant object of thought which by the might of the orator is to be constructed into a temple, with all the proper decorations and surroundings. Though it is designed to be spoken and not read, yet it should be carefully written. It is undeniable that many if not all of the most splendid orations, both of ancient and modern times, have been written out previous to delivery. Barely has a speech de- serving the name been pronounced without having been written. Addresses have been given in debate or under strong excitement, equal in force and beauty to orations, but orations proper presuppose prep;. M RHETORIC. ration. And yet in the noblest exhibitions of oratory the speaker is not confined to the previous production of the pen or of his own mind. Memory is attended by reason and imagination. New views, new images, new feelings may arise and demand expression, and spontaneously clothe themselves in the most appropri- ate garb, and thus the orator combines past and pres- ent energy to produce the result. 108. Pleas. Pleas are a specific kind of addresses varying with the almost infinite diversity of subjects upon which lawyers are called to address, sometimes the judge, sometimes a jury, and sometimes both to gether. Ordinary pleas, designed to produce only a temporary effect, aim simply at perspicuity and force. Pleas made upon very exciting occasions, such as crimi- nal trials which awaken great attention, or legal dis- putes in which great interests are at stake, partake more of the nature of an oration, modified indeed, but admitting a variety of style and the highest eloquence. 109. Sermons. Sermons are often orations, though sometimes lectures, and sometimes simply addresses. They admit every conceivable variety of style, de- pending upon circumstances. Some are didactic and exegetical ; some are controversial ; some are designed to awaken a particular passion, and some are genuine orations. The particular characteristic of a sermon is, that it purports to be a sincere effort to induce the audience to obey the will of the Supreme Being, and should, therefore, always be accompanied by a seri- ousness associated with the object. The same fact requires that an appearance of art, or attempt to dis- SERMONS. 267 play ability, should not be exposed, and whatever tends to withdraw attention from the subject to the speaker should be especially avoided. Many of the best specimens of the oration are sermons, such as some of the discourses of Massillon, Robert Hall, Edward Irving, Melvill, Mason, Olin, Beecher, and others. Farther views upon this subject will be presented when we come to treat of Invention, and Practical Rhetoric and Elocution. 268 RHETORIC. CHAPTER XIV. EPISTOLARY COMPOSITION, ESSAYS, ETC., ETC. 1 110. Letters. VERY few are the persons who do not more or less frequently attempt to express their thoughts and feelings to others by writing letters. It is always regarded as a direct proof of ignorance when an epistle violates the rules of grammar, or is glaringly inconsistent with the primary principles of rhetoric. A letter should, of course, be properly dated, ad- dressed, signed, and superscribed, and the language should be correct Perspicuity is essential, for ambi- guity is vexatious to the recipient, and unpardonable in the writer. No person should presume to write a letter who has not learned to write his name and oth- er words so that other persons can read them. 111. Familiar Letters. Letters of friendship may, of course, be written in a careless, confidential style, partaking much of the character of the conversation common between the parties ; but every scholar should regard it as unbecoming to write what, so far as the form of the composition is concerned, he would be unwilling to see printed for the public eye. 112. Letters for the Public. Letters are sometimes written for the public, and made the vehicle of care- ful, methodical thought. Such letters, though pre- STYLE OF LETTERS. 269 serving the form of a personal address, and often inter- spersed with merely personal matters, are much like essays, and may be written in the most elevated and labored style. Such are many of the letters of John Foster. Many biographies abound in the letters of the persons whose characters are described. The let- ters of George Washington are written in a noble classical style, almost invariably correct in expression, and always dignified and perspicuous, though often written in great haste. Correspondents of scientific and other societies often embody their views upon some subject in the form of a letter designed to be read to the whole society, or printed in their transactions. Such writings, though carefully preserving the form of letters in the ad- dress and signature, may be written in the style of didactic writings, and yet advantage may be taken of the letter form to express more personal feeling than would be proper in an essay. Correspondents of newspapers often employ the form of letter-writing in this way. The bulletins of military and naval officers are generally in the form of letters. Happy is the commander who, in addition to efficiency and success, can command a brief and vig- orous style. Napoleon was as successful with the pen as with the sword. The reports of Washington were such as might have been expected from his dignified, noble character. 113. Specimen Letter from Writings of Washington. The following private letter from Washington to Franklin may not be out of place as a specimen. Dr. 270 RHETORIC. Franklin, in the 84th year of his age, wrote a letter to President Washington, in which he spoke of his own excruciating bodily pain, but congratulated the President on the success of his administration, and averred that in whatever state he might be in a future life, he should retain esteem and affection for him, to which Washington tkus replied : New York, 23 September, 17S9. " DEAR SIR, The affectionate congratulations on the recovery of my health, and the warm expressions of personal friendship which were contained in your letter of the 10th instant, claim my gratitude. And the consideration that it was written when you were afflicted with a painful malady, greatly increases my obligation for it. ' ' Would to God, my dear sir, that I could congratulate you upon the removal of that excruciating pain under which you labor, and that your existence might close with as much ease to yourself, as its con- tinuance has been beneficial to our country and useful to mankind; or if the united wishes of a free people, joined with the earnest prayers of every friend to science and humanity, could relieve the body from pains or infirmities, that you could claim an exemption on this score. But this can not be, and you have within yourself the only resource to which we ran confidently apply for relief, a philosophic mind. " If to be venerated for benevolence, if to be admired for talents, if to be esteemed for patriotism, if to be beloved for philanthropy, can gratify the human mind, yon must have the pleasing consolation to know that you have not lived in vain. And I flatter myself that it will not be ranked among the least grateful occurrences of your life to be assured, that, so long as I retain my memory, you will be recol- lected with respect, veneration, and affection by " Your sincere friend, GEORGE WASHINGTON. " ESSAYS, TREATISES, DISSERTATIONS, REVIEWS. Didactic productions not designed to be pronounced by their authors, but written for the press, claim at- tention. Under this head must be classed Essays, Tracts, Dissertations, and kindred productions, vari- ously styled views, thoughts, etc. CH A HA < TER OF ESS A TS. 271 114. Essays. An Essay is a production attempting to present any subject whatever to the reader. Short productions, like many articles in newspapers, and like the papers in Addison's " Spectator," the " Atlan- tic Monthly," and similar periodicals, are essays. Sometimes the name is given to a long and labored writing. Thus Locke modestly styled his immortal work an " Essay on the Human Understanding," though in fact it is a treatise. As essays vary in length, subject, and pretension, few general rules on their style can be given. Some of the best specimens of English writing are in this form. It was indeed by this kind of writing that a taste for reading was first cultivated among the peo- ple, and some of the earliest essays, such as those found in the " Spectator," " Kambler," etc., are justly ranked among the English classics. In them largely our language was reduced to grammatical correctness and rhetorical force ; and though they are often now over-estimated, and perhaps surpassed, yet it should not be forgotten that many of the ablest productions are in this form. Editorials in our best periodicals are often able essays. An essay should generally have one leading sub- ject, one prominent thought or fact to state, or error to controvert, or end to accomplish. The style should correspond with its purpose, and may vary from the simple and colloquial to the most condensed, abstruse, and profound. It should not be so direct as in the ad- dress, and usually the third person should be employed in preference to the first to denote the author ; or if 272 RHETORIC. the first person is preferred, the plural number is pref- erable to the singular. In this way the character of impersonality is preserved in the author. 115. Reviews. Reviews are a species of essays that have sprung up in modern times. The first publication formally devoted to this kind of writing was the " Ed- inburgh Review," established in 1817. This species of writing seems to have grown out of a desire to exer- cise a kind of literary and moral censorship over the press, by which to stamp as current works truly val- uable, and thus to introduce them to public favor, and to condemn to oblivion the unworthy. Also they aim often to give an abstract of the most valuable thoughts of the various works published, and to present other opinions upon the same subjects. This censorship has often exerted a great power. Some valuable works have been for a long time doomed to neglect, and in- ferior works puffed into undeserved notoriety by re- views. The young poet Keats was so affected by the condemnation of his writings by the " Edinburgh Re- view " that it is said his death was hastened, while on the other hand Byron, when receiving like treatment, retorted so violently in his " English Bards and Scotch Reviewers," as to humble the reviews and permanent- ly weaken their power. Of late, as the public have become more intelligent, and the number of independent readers has increased, many a work condemned by reviews has achieved great popularity, and many works highly commended have soon sunk to merited oblivion. Still much of the best writing in the language is in the form of re- views. THE A TISES TRAC TS. 273 116. Dissertations and Treatises. Dissertations are essays on specific subjects. Treatises are more thor- ough, methodical, and extended. More elevated than the essay, they aspire to more than a temporary influ- ence. Such works as " Bacon's Organon " and " Ed- wards on the Will " are treatises. The style of such a work should be dignified and strong. Allusions to temporary phases of fashion, and even to current history, should be sparing. The writer should divest himself of the prejudices of his time and place, and look into the common heart of human nature, and present the permanent instead of the transitory, the pure metal without dross. 117. Tracts. A Tract is literally a writing drawn out, or thoroughly presenting the subject considered, like Milton's " Tractate on Education ;" though strange- ly enough, in modern times, the term is chiefly used to denote a brief presentation of a subject on one or two pages, usually printed alone on a single sheet of paper. Neatness and completeness, and point and power, should be aimed at in such productions. M2 RHETORIC. CHAPTER XV. HISTORICAL WRITING. 118. Anecdotes. THE simplest form of history is the Anecdote. An anecdote meant originally a fact not published. The incident was called by that name because it was considered either too trivial to become a part of dignified history, or of such a character that it ought not to be given to the public eye. The word is now used to denote any particular fact or incident that may be detached from its connection with other facts, and related either to illustrate a principle or to amuse the hearer. An anecdote should always have a point, or ex- press a definite and singular fact, and should be so related as to bring out that central thought clearly. All extraneous matter and uninteresting incident should be omitted. If an anecdote claims to be true, it should have that character, otherwise it becomes a mere supposition or fancy sketch. Many so-called anecdotes are simply founded on truth. It is a happy art to relate an anecdote well. The most dignified addresses will admit them, if they are appropriate and well told. *' A story should, to please, at least seem true, Be apropos, well told, concise, and new. " MEMOIRS AND BIOGRAPHIES. 275 A statement of a fact for illustration may be term- ed an anecdote. Thus Warburton, in a " Discourse against Free-thinkers," after attempting to show by argument that all their efforts had inured to the ad- vantage of Christianity, concludes with the following anecdote : " Herodotus tells us, that at what time their deity, the Nile, re- turns into his ancient channel, and the husbandman hath committed the good seed to the opening glebe, it was their custom to turn in whole droves of swine to range, to trample, root up, and destroy at 'pleasure. And now nothing appeared but desolation, while the ravages of the obscene herd had killed every cheerful hope of futmv plenty ; when, on the issue, it was seen that all their perversity and dirt v tn-to had effected was only this : that the seed took better root, incorporated more kindly with the soil, and at length shot up in a more luxuriant and abundant harvest." 119. Memoirs and Biographies. Memoirs are a branch of literature extensively cultivated in modern times. They are informal and incomplete, and some- times unmethodical recollections and descriptions of remarkable persons or events. The order and dignity of regular biography or narrative are not required. Biographies are more thorough and minute than Memoirs, being descriptions of the lives and charac- ters of individuals. To write the life of a remarkable person well is a very difficult matter, and requires a high order of tal- ent. The biographer must be able to appreciate the actions and motives of the person whose life he is de- lineating, besides having the power to describe cor- rectly and vividly, omitting all that is unnecessary or uninstructive. Boswell's "Life of Dr. Samuel John- son " has been extravagantly commended by Macau- 276 RHETUR1''. lay, who expressed himself on this subject as usual by an antithesis: "Many of the greatest men that ever lived have written biographies. Bos well was one of the smallest men that ever lived, and he has beaten them all." His sentiment has been repeated by many others, who find it convenient to echo what a great writer has carelessly expressed. His work partakes more of the character of memoirs than of a genuine biography, and is valuable for the simplicity and free- ness with which it describes the very words and actions of hs hero. Sparks's "Life of Washington " would have been more valuable, voluminous as it is, had it been more free and unrestrained. The lives of vari- ous Americans written by James Parton, Esq., are ex- cellent specimens of this kind of writing. 120. Autobiographies. Autobiographies are Me- moirs, or more complete Biographies, written by the individuals themselves whose lives are portrayed. These are apt to be partial, prolix, and unfair. Still they may abound in gossip, and they may reveal secrets of action and of character that no second per- son could learn. Therefore some of the best speci- mens of this kind of writing have been very popular. Good taste will be required to avoid offense by an exhibition of undue self-esteem. 121. Jv .) It is unfortunate, however, that they were divided into tribes or sections, sometimes inten>ely hostile to each other. They never, in fact, became one nation till their liberties were hopelessly lost (0.) The ancient Greeks were famous for their literature. Their language was rich and beautiful, and they have furnished to the world many of the ablest philosophers and orators. We need but mention Socrates, the martyr. 1'latoand Aristotle, as philosophers, and Demos- thenes, the most famous of orators. (7.) This people, though dwelling in so small a country, maintained themselves against all foes for many centuries, for they were extraor- dinarily brave and successful in war. s /.v Modern Greece is an interesting country. The people are not so strong and remarkable as in ancient times, but they speak a similar language, and are very proud of the fame of their ancestors. All the civilized world would rejoice to see them equal and surpass, if possi- ble, ancient Greece in its palmiest days. We give this brief and simple specimen to show the process of Invention. Its laws are simple and uniform. 12. Another Statement of the Process of Invention. First there must be a therne, around which thoughts will cluster. Second, the thoughts must be gathered. If already in the mind, they must be collated accord- ing to the laws of association, by which the memory works. If not all there, then the few thoughts which led to the selection of the theme must show the writer where to go, or what to do, to collect thoughts. Com- parisons, metaphors, allusions, and all other figures of speech arising, must be noticed ; if counted worthy or appropriate, they should be used. If not, let them be rejected. 13. Importance of Thoroughness in acquiring Infor- mation. It is well to use the pen freely in gathering information. Sometimes a good writer will spend hours, ancl days, and even weeks, in collecting thoughts and illustrations on a subject, and then spend hours in arranging them into an outline, and finally write out the essay, or oration, or book, in a much shorter time than was spent collecting the material. The great fault of young writers is that they do not learn to invent. They try to write or speak, with noth- ing to speak or write about. Gather abundant ma^e- rial first. Do not say that this is impossible. It is not so. 320 RHETORIC. Would you write about the town or city in which you reside ? Take a note-book and travel about the town, and make memoranda of what you see. Read what others have written about it, if you wish to. Seek comparisons, metaphors, etc., that you can appropri- ately use. You will probably surprise yourself, and your friends, by the abundance and accuracy of your information. 14. Value of Descrip' Descriptions are the kind of productions upon which the young should write, until they acquire facility in the construction of outlines, and in filling them up. Sometimes speeches, dialogues, and other kinds of composition can be in- troduced, in the midst of descriptions. 15. Common Themes may be chosen. In the selection of Themes it would be well not to slight common sub- jects near at hand. An old oak tree, or any other particular tree ; a street, or square, or hotel, or factory, in the place where you live, would richly repay ex- amination ; and of course a long and minute exami- nation must precede a description. Why do young writers, or indeed any but the best-informed minds, find it so difficult to describe the ocean, spring, sum- mer, etc., the sun, the starry heavens ? It is because they know so little about them. Why not select sub- jects that they do understand? No teacher of youth can fail to have noticed many aspiring young men who were very anxious to study elocution before they had ajy thing to speak about, and rhetoric, without laying the proper foundation. 16. Opinions of Bacon upon the proper Time to study WHEN SHOULD RHETORIC BE STUDIED. 321 Rhetoric. Lord Bacon, in his "Advancement of Learn- ing" Book I., says: "Scholars in universities come too soon and too unripe to logic and rhetoric-, arts fitter for graduates than children and novices ; for these two, rightly taken, are the gravest of sciences, being the art }f arts ; the one for judgment, the other for ornament ; and they be the rules and directions how to set forth and dispose matter, and therefore for minds empty and un- fraught with matter, and which have not gathered that which Cicjro calleth sylva and supellex, stuff and va- riety, to begin with those arts (as if one should learn to weigh, or to measure, or to paint the wind), doth work but this effect, that the wisdom of those arts, which is great and universal, is almost made contemptible, and is degenerated into childish sophistry and ridiculous affectation." It does not follow that young pupils should not be trained to write and speak. It is an idle theory, and pernicious in its effects, to postpone all study of rhet- oric till the conclusion of education but early should all learn the fact, that the collection of information, and of thought, is the greatest and most essential work of a writer and speaker. 17. Themes in Description. For practical exercise we subjoin a' list of subjects upon whyjh students may exercise their ingenuity, and would recommend that each person collect information and classify it in an outline or sketch, and complete an essay on at least two of the following themes. It would be well to write on all of them. 1. A Description of my Native State. O2 2. The Great American Desert. 3. The Mississippi Valley. 4. The Falls of Niagara. 5. The White Mountains. 6. The Gulf of Mexico. 7. Relics of Pre-historic Men in America. 8. Oak Trees. 9. The City of Washington. 10. The Supreme Court of the United States. 11. The largest Railway in the Country. 12. The Bible. 13. A Hive of Honey-bees. 14. Beavers and their Customs. 15. Ancient Babylon. 16. A Ship of War. 17. The Steam Engine. 18. The Pyramids. 19. The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. /.V CASSATION. 323 CHAPTER III. INVENTION IN NARRATIONS. 18. Definition. NARRATIONS embrace historical writings of every grade. The highest talent has found full scope in this kind of writing. It naturally follows, if indeed it does not accompany, Descriptions. * Hav- ing described an object as it is at one moment, it is natural to describe the changes which it undergoes. Narration deals principally with persons, though it embraces only actions and things, 19. Laws vf Invention applicable, to Narrations. The laws of Invention with reference to Narration are, in principle, precisely the same as with reference to De- scription. In both, great care must be taken not to dwell too much on unimportant facts or objects, and not to neglect what is really essential. If a painter en- deavors to crowd too much on the canvas, he confuses the attention and spoils the picture. Great skill can be acquired by practice in making a narrative vivid. 20. Some Practical Directions. It is a profitable ex- ercise to narrate occurrences in one's own history or under his own observation. Has the school with which he is connected had no history ? Could he not learn a series of facts about it, by study, that would be in- 324 RHETORIC. teresting to all? Why not write the history of the town for just ten years ? It is well to read the history of some personage, take abundant notes, and then write out a sketch without once consulting the book during the writing. In a previous part of the book we have spoken of the severe labor of some historians in gathering ma- terial and in forming their style. Some of them have spent many years, and many thousands of dollars, in what may be called the process of Invention in find- ing, not making, the information, and in originating and preparing the illustrations which they employed. The of material is the most important part of the work of a writer or speaker. In arranging the material he may follow the chrono- logical order of events, if he pleases, or he may arrange what he has to say so as to prove some one principle, and neglect all the facts that do not apply to that, or he may select some one prominent character and make all the events cluster about him. 2 1 . A Specimen of In* 'on from Mac- aulay. As a specimen of life-like narrative, we give a brief extract from Macaulay, in which he commences the relation of the great trial of Lord Hastings. We have no means of knowing whether he previously formed an outline of this narrative or not, but if not written, it must have existed in his mind, in some such form as this: 1. The place. What had happened before in this great hall. 2. Surrounding circumstances military pomp the peers royal- ty, etc. 3. The galleries ladies queen, etc. EXAMPLE FROM MACAULAT. 325 4. How Hastings looked little man a great man, etc. 5. The trial. Burke's speech its effect. The impeachment. We give now a few paragraphs of Lord Macaulay's filling out of this sketch. " The place was worthy of such a trial. It was the great hall of William Rufus ; the hall which had resounded with acclamations at the inauguration of thirty kings ; the hall which had witnessed the just sentence of Bacon, and the just absolution of Somers ; the hall where the eloquence of Stafford had for a moment awed and melted a vic- torious party inflamed with a just resentment ; the hall where Charles had confronted the high court of justice with the placid courage which has half redeemed his fame. " Neither military nor civil pomp was wanting. The avenues were lined with grenadiers. The streets were kept clear by cavalry. The peers, robed in gold and ermine, were marshalled by the heralds under the garter king-at-arms. The judges in their vestments of state, at- tended to give advice on points of law. Near a hundred and seventy lords, three-fourths of the upper house, as the upper house then was, walked in solemn order from their usual place of assembling to the tribunal. * * * * 44 The gray old walls were hung with scarlet. The long galleries were crowded by such an audience as has rarely excited the fears or the emulation of an orator. There were gathered together from all parts of a great, free, enlightened, and prosperous realm, grace and female loveliness, wit and learning, the representatives of every science and of every art. There were seated around the queen the fair-haired daughters of the house of Brunswick." Then follows a long description of Reynolds the painter, and Parr the classical scholar, and several other noted personages who were present all of which shows the wondrous amount of information which Macaulay stored up on a subject before he be- gan to write about it. He then adds : "The sergeants made proclamation. Hastings advanced to the bar and bent his knee. The culprit was indeed not unworthy of that great presence. He had ruled an extensive and populous country, had made laws and treaties, had sent forth armies, had set up and pulled down princes. And in his high place he had so borne himself that all RHETORIC. had feared him, that most had loved him, and hatred itself could deny him no title to glory, except virtue. He looked like a great man, and not like a bad man. A person small and emaciated, yet deriving dig- nity from a carriage which, while it indicated deference to the court, indicated also habitual self-possession and self-respect ; a high and in- tellectual forehead, a brow pensive, but not gloomy, a mouth of in- flexible decision, a face pale and worn, but serene, on which was writ- ten, as legibly as under the great picture in the council-chamber, ' a mind calm amid difficulties. ' Such was the aspect with which the great proconsul presented himself to the judges. " The charges and the answers of Hastings were first read. This ceremony occupied two whole days, and was rendered less tedious than it otherwise would have been by the silver voice and just empha- sis of Cowper, the clerk of the court, a near relative of the amiublc poet. 4 * On the third day Burke rose." After a long description of his speech and its effects, the narrative thus closes: " At length the orator concluded. Raising his voice till the old arches of Irish oak resounded, 'Therefore,' said he, 'hath it with all confidence been ordered by the Commons of Great Britain, that I impeach Warren Hastings of high crimes and misdemeanors ; I im- peach him in the name of the Commons House of Parliament, whose trn-t he has betrayed. I impeach him in the name of the English nation, whose ancient honors he has sullied. I impeach him in the name of the people of India, whose rights he has trodden under foot, and whose country he has turned into a desert. Lastly, in the name of human nature itself, in the name of both sexes, in the name of :^e, in the name of every rank, I impeach the common enemy and oppressor of all" 22. Remarks on the above Example. In examining carefully this, one of the most impressive narratives in the language, observe the fullness of information gar- nered up by the historian. lie weaves in numerous little incidents and facts, and makes them all tell. How much he knows about the old hall! All who were present, their previous lives, the size of the gal- leries, the dress of the ladies, the appearance of the DR. FRA.SKL1X** I'll ACTIVE. 327 motto under one of his pictures at Calcutta, and the words of Burke in making the impeachment nothing escaped his eye} and all are marshalled in their proper order. Suppose he had undertaken to write a de- scription, without first gathering the material he would have done as feeble writers generally do, and succeeded no better. 23. The Practice of Dr. Franklin. Dr. Benjamin Franklin made himself a correct and eloquent and prolific writer by following the course recommended above. In a letter dated Nov. 2, 1789, written to Ben- jamin Vaughan, he gives the following advice : " What I would therefore recommend to you is, that before you sit down to write on any subject you would spend some days in considering it, putting down at the same time, in short hints, every thought which occurs to you as proper to make a part of your in- tended piece. When you have thus obtained a col- lection of the thoughts, examine them carefully with this view, to find which of them is properest to be presented first to the mind of the reader, that he, being possessed of that, may be better disposed to receive what you intend for the second ; and thus I would have you put a figure before each thought to mark its future place in your composition. For so every preceding composition preparing the mind for that which' is to follow, and the reader often anticipating it, he proceeds with ease and pleasure and approbation, as seeming continually to meet his own thoughts. In this mode you have a chance for a perfect production ; because, the mind attending first to the sentiments alone, next 328 RHETORIC. to the method alone, each part is likely to "be better performed, and, I think, too, in less time." 24. Subjects for Exercise. We subjoin a list of sub- jects for practice in narrative. 1. The Discovery of America by Columbus. 2. The Landing of the Pilgrims at Plymouth. 3. The Detection, Trial, and Execution of Major Andre. , 4. The Passage of the Declaration of Independ- ence, in 1776. 5 . The Battle of Waterloo. 6. The Death and Funeral of Abraham Lincoln. 7. The Battle of Bunker Hill. 8. The Burning of Moscow. 9. The Discussion between Hayne and Webster in the American Senate. 10. The Salem Witchcraft. 11. The Battle of New Orleans. ABSTRACT SUBJECTS. 329 CHAPTER IY. INVENTION IN ABSTRACT SUBJECTS. 25. Difficulty in the Investigation of Abstract Subjects. WHEN we pass from subjects that may be denomi- nated external, the facts concerning which are obtained by an exercise of the senses, to those of a purely men- tal character, we enter a range of thought which is de- veloped later in life, and not very largely, except in those who acquire a liberal education, either by special effort or as the result of their occupation. 26. ^Requisites for Invention on such Subjects. The great requisite is close and connected thought upon the subject ; and the proper methods of thought are taught, not in a Rhetoric, but in the sciences respect- ively that embrace the subject. How could one write or speak extensively or vigorously on memory, men- tal association, volition, or any such theme, who had not studied Mental Philosophy ? How could one treat in a masterly manner such a subject as electricity, me- chanical motion, or machinery, who had not studied Natural Philosophy ? How could one write or speak ably upon food, poisons, health, disease, diet, who had not investigated Physiology ? How could one write an able dissertation on insanity, or idiocy, who did 330 if lit: TO inc. not understand both Physiology and Mental Philoso- phy ? Ignorance is the great foe of efficiency. Abun- dant knowledge is the exhaustless fountain of a good speaker or writer. That the fountain should be ex- haustless, streams must run inward as well as outward. Theje must be faithful, constant industr}-. Invention can not create raw material, and raw material is always used up by actual labor. 27. More than Information necessary. Still there are some men, encyclopaediac in information, who can not command their resources and put their information into shape, and this is often the result of not knowing how to use information, so as to bring it to bear on an end in view. 28. Practical Directions. In considering a subject, it is well to inquire first, ichere it resides, how far it ex- tends, how long it has existed. Then, how great is its power. Is it useful or pernicious ? If both, when and why is it the one, and when and why the other ? Is it often confounded with some other subject ? If so, what, and why, and how ? Has it any special ap- plication to any end you have now in view ? Is it connected with human conduct? Can you make it appear attractive, or disagreeable, by any comparisons or illustrations? Is there any method by which you can in the prosecution of the subject appeal to the pas- sions of your hearers? These are but a few of the many questions that a writer may bear in mind when he is collecting informa- tion and thoughts, and arranging them, preparatory to the construction of his production. 331 29. Example. Let the abstract theme, patriotism, for instance, be selected as the subject of an essay, and examined according % to the above questions, and an outline like the following could be constructed. PATRIOTISM. Patriotism, or the love of one's own country, is nearly if not quite a universal passion. It has been manifested from the earliest times [Hebrews, Grecians, Romans, French, Swiss, English, Americans or any others]. Its power, as evinced in war, in diplomacy. Even among savages. [Look up some instances in history to illustrate this.] Its good effects in leading every nation to try to excel. Show some bad effects when not regulated. [Caesar crossing the Rubicon. Napoleon's campaigns in Russia and Egypt.] True patriotism should not be confounded with ambition, nor with attempt to exalt a part of a nation over other parts. Speak of re- bellion and civil war. Compare it to love for members of the same family to coherence of the parts of one structure together, as of a house to the union between different organs of the same body to the blood circulating through the body giving life to the whole, etc. Refer to monuments erected to honor brave patriots and useful men and women, by nations. Find some, and give the inscriptions on them. Show how one may feel and manifest patriotism in peace, as well as in war. Was Franklin a patriot ? Was Howard a patriot ? etc. Close with an application of the subject to present circumstances. 30. The Writer should invent new Modes in the Pre- sentation of Subjects. It is not well for a writer or speaker to confine himself to any model in forming a plan of hjs production. But the above will show that the questions recommended will put the mind upon a track that will be likely to lead to a thorough treatment of a theme. 31. A List of Subjects for Practice. We subjoin a brief list of abstract subjects in which the student can 332 RHETORIC. exercise his powers of invention. In all cases let a full outline be prepared, and give much attention to the collection of information an4 illustrations. 1. The Power and Abuses of Faith. 2. The Effects of Labor. 3. A Republican Form of Government. 4. The Invention and Use of Steam-power. 5. Moral Courage. 6. The English Language. 7. The Magnetic Telegraph. 8. The Missionary Enterprise. 9. The Power of Music. 10. The Effects of War. 11. Ancient and Modern Oratory. 12. The Importance of Restraining the Passions. 13. Mental Refinement. 14. Radicalism. 15. Value of Health. 16. Power of Heat 17. Military Ambition. 18. Enthusiasm. INVENTION IN DISCUSSIONS. 333 CHAPTER V. INVENTION IN DISCUSSIONS. 32. Prevalence of Discussions. MUCH of the writing and speaking of men in actual life is argumentative, and a large part of this is discussion in courts, or de- liberative or legislative bodies. Even when an ad- dress is made, or a sermon is preached, very frequently it is argumentative, attempting to prove what is known to be disputed, and it partakes, therefore, of the charac- ter of a discussion, in which one party only is present. It becomes a matter of great importance to know how most efficiently to investigate a subject upon which diverse opinions are entertained. 33. The First Requisite in a Discussion. In a discus- sion, the first requisite is a clear understanding of the question at issue. Many questions are so loosely and ambiguously stated that no thorough discussion of them is possible. Disputants, even defending the same side, are not considering the same subject,' and may be diametrically opposed to each other. When duty re- quires the discussion of any such proposition, an effort should be made to show the ambiguity or incoherency of the theme, and to put it into definite shape, and de- termine just what you propose to affirm, and what you 334 RHETORIC. propose to deny. A critically correct use of language is essential to the proper statement and enforcement of truth. 3-i. Discussions nevertheless possible, wiik a clear understanding of Terms. Some questions are an- swered by strict definition, but there are many ques- tions upon which a diversity of opinion exists, and upon which there may be profitable discussion even though both parties understand the terms in the same sense. 35. Example. Suppose, for instance, the question arises, as it often has before legislative, and judicial, and military bodies: Shall duelling be regarded as murder ? It is necessary first to define duelling ac- curately, so as to distinguish it from ordinary quar- relling, even though with an intention to kill ; from assault and battery ; from a malicious plotting secretly to take the life of another; and the element of the voluntary exposure of both parties to death must not be left out of account. Then murder must be defined with equal care. If both parties can agree on the definitions, it is well ; if not, each party must endeavor to show that his view of the meaning of the question is correct, and carry conviction on that point to his hearers, if possible. Should an agreement exist on the meaning of the terms, there would still be room, on this subject, for a discussion that would involve many nice and profound investigations in morals, politics, and religion. It is the province of logic, not of rhetoric, to clas- sify the kinds of argumentation. To find or invent RULES TO BE OBSERVED. 335 arguments, no rule can be given. It is the product of pure thought. An understanding of the subject implies their existence. 36. The Second Rule in Discussions. The second rule in discussion is to endeavor to survey, as widely and thoroughly as possible, all the arguments you can command on the question, both for and against the proposition which you intend to maintain, before you construct your own brief, or order of argumentation. Feeble reasoners plunge into a discussion before they have surveyed the other side. The consequence is that they are often surprised and confounded and overwhelmed by opposition, which, if they had an- ticipated it and thoroughly surveyed it, might easily have been removed. It would be well even to make out an outline of the arguments on both sides of the question, and then espouse and defend what you know to be right. 37. The Third Rule. It is proper to take advan- tage of passions, temperaments, circumstances, and even prejudices, to conciliate the favor of opponents, and to enlist the attention of the audience, provided that no falsehood be maintained. Arguments, therefore, should be skillfully and ar- tistically arranged. If there is some one consideration that, though true and weighty, your audience will not listen to, or duly examine, keep it back till you have conciliated their approval. If there is a feeble argu- ment that nevertheless has here superior influence, bring it into the foreground. In the general, strong arguments should be used 336 RHETORIC. first, and the very strongest perhaps last, to leave a profound impression upon the mind. If questionable arguments are to be employed, let it be distinctly understood that the conclusion is not to be based on them, so that, if refuted, the cause is not lost 38. The Burden of Proof. In all practical discus- sions it is well primarily to determine with which side , "the burden of proof" lies. If a change in action is advocated, the burden of proof, or the necessity of making out his case, lies with the affirmative ; the con- testant has nothing to prove but the falsity or weak- ness of the arguments adduced in favor of change. Every man is to be esteemed innocent till shown to be guilty. The burden of proof is with the complain- ant No one should allow himself to be required to prove what need not be proved to sustain his cause. 39. Allowance to Opponents. In refutation, a truly strong reasoner, who is confident of right, and confi- dent of a mastery of his subject, can afford to allow all that is undeniably true in the statements of his op- ponent ; but he will carefully separate the true from the false, and show that the acknowledgment of the one does not carry with it the other. 40. Personal Abuse. The personal abuse of an op- ponent, however common in feeble reasoners, and how- ever many examples of it may be found even of a high character, should not be resorted to. It almost always betrays a want of confidence in the righteous- ness of a cause, and seldom aids in producing convic- tion. The habit of offensive personalities in debate EXAMPLE. 337 almost invariably weakens the influence of an ora- tor. 41. Example of Invention in Discussion. To show how the mind works in inventing argumentation let us look at an actual instance, instead of undertaking a description of the theory. In 1829 a debate arose in the United States Senate, on a subject upon which opinions seemed to be nearly equally divided, and which was postponed without decision, after calling forth several able speeches. Let us notice briefly how the senators " invented " or formed and arranged their arguments on this occasion. The question in dispute was, whether a committee should " inquire into the expediency of limiting for a period the sales of public lands to such as had already been offered for sale, and of abolishing the oflice of surveyor-general." Al- though nearly half of the members participated in the discussion, and many days were spent upon it, the chief interest centres in the speeches of Senator Kob- ert Y. Hayne of South Carolina, and Senator Daniel Webster of Massachusetts. Mr. Hayne advocated the proposed resolution by asserting, (1.) The importance of the public land question it deserved investigation ; (2.) There were two great parties in the country on the subject one favoring giving lands to actual settlers, and the other desiring to make money by their sale, and this party oppressed actual settlers ; (3.) The na- tion had been too niggardly and oppressive to settlers hitherto, and especially the Northern States were open to this charge ; (4.) Obtaining a fund by the sale of lands would lead to extravagance and corruption ; (5.) P 338 RHETORIC. Selling the public lands would consolidate the States too much and destroy the independence of the sepa- rate States ; (6.) Finally, some way should be ascertain- ed to arrest threatened evils. These propositions were expanded into an impress- ive speech of more than an hour. Mr. Webster, in reply, was aided in his invention of arguments by the course already pursued, as it was his purpose to weaken the effect of Mr. Hayne's argu- ments. An abstract of his speech may thus be drawn up : (1.) A denial of the importance of the inquiry, be- cause all who needed land could purchase it cheaply. (2.) A denial that any party had advocated an oppression of new settlers. (3.) An assertion that the nation asked for its lands only enough to pay for the actual expense of surveying them and protecting the settlers. (4.) An assertion that the present system led to the rapid growth of new and prosperous States. (5.) That there was an actual compact entered into by which the pro- ceeds of lands sold were to be devoted to the payment of the national debt. (6.) It was necessary that the nation should be consolidated. (7.) A defense of the course pursued by the Northern States with reference to the West. These arguments were expanded into an eloquent speech of about two hours in length. To this Mr. Hayne rejoined in a speech that was thought at the time to be overwhelming and unai able. Much of a personal character was mingled with the debate, but the leading propositions of the speech were as follows : SPEECH OF MR. WEBSTER. 339 (1.) An assertion that Mr. Webster had adroitly changed the subject of debate, and had made against the South a false charge of injustice toward the West- ern States ; (2.) That his present doctrine was incon- sistent with what he had formerly maintained ; (3.) That his doctrine that the wild lands were the prop- erty of the nation was inconsistent with his willing- ness, elsewhere shown, to vote for giving portions of them for the building of roads, constructing canals, and other internal improvements; (4.) That the friendliness of the North with the West was the result of a cor- rupt political bargain ; (5.) That the Southern States were unjustly traduced ; (6.) That his State had shown singular devotion to the Union, while men in Massa- chusetts had plotted against the country ; and (7.) That the doctrines which he proclaimed had been advocated by the fathers. This somewhat meagre skeleton was clothed with such earnest, fervid appeal and profuseness of ill-ustra- tion as to create a deep impression. The rejoinder of Daniel Webster is perhaps the most eloquent, certainly it is the most celebrated ora- tion ever delivered in the American Senate. It ranks with the master-pieces of oratory in ancient and modern times. Like the oration of Demosthenes on the Crown, its occasion seemed trivial, but really it embraced in its range the great subjects of dissension between the rival systems of civilization in this country. The ora- tion deserves to be studied as a model. The impress of genius is on ever}' paragraph. The introduction was novel and striking : 340 RHETORIC. "Mm. PRESIDENT. 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 this debate, refer to the point from which we departed, that we may at least be able to conjecture where we now are. I ask for the reading of the resolution before the Senate." No summary of the arguments which followed would do justice to the subject It was severely argu- mentative, rhetorically beautiful. Not a paragraph, not a sentence, scarcely a word is superfluous. The peroration is one of the most eloquent passages ever uttered. Though a summary of the leading thoughts of the oration can give no adequate idea of its power, yet to show how simple and yet logical the frame-work was, upon which the structure was built, we give the lead- ing thoughts. After the exordium, given above, and the reading of the resolution, Mr. Webster stated, (1.) The main subject had been neglected by his opponent, and all who had advocated the other side of the question. They had wandered widely, and brought in much that was totally irrelevant (2.) He repelled all personal attacks on himself, in the course of which he quoted some remarks of his opponent, and used them so as to show his own real or assumed superiority of purpose. (3.) He then vindicated his section of the country from the charges made against it, in the course of which he adroitly used some allusions made by his opponent, so as to turn their force against him. A long historical S UBJE V TS FOli l.\ \- i:XTION. 34 1 argument is here introduced. (4.) He repelled and dis- proved the alleged "corrupt political bargain." (5.) He denied any prejudice or unfairness toward the South. (6.) He then advocated a liberal policy toward the new States, and entered into a long constitutional argument that can not well be condensed. (7.) He closed with an eloquent plea for the permanency of the Union. This admirable oration was not written in full till after it was pronounced. It was, however, the result of long and careful study, the author having frequently presented all the arguments and facts in previous dis- cussions, and in conversation, and could never have been invented but by a man thoroughly conversant with the subject, and one who had disciplined himself to accuracy of thought and expression by long and severe practice. Besides, the oration is instinct with genius in all its parts. 42. Exercises in Invention in Discussion. Draw up an abstract of arguments on both sides of each of the following questions, and arrange the arguments so as to make the strongest possible impression. Then show your reasons, in conclusion, for preferring that side which you believe to be correct. Which are more valuable to a country, navigable rivers or railways? Is life in the city or country preferable ? Should the sale of intoxicating drinks for a bev- erage be prohibited by law ? Was the purchase of Alaska by the United States of America a wise measure ? RHETORIC. Ought parents to be compelled by law to give their children (unless sickness prevents) a certain amount of literary education ? Ought the printing and sale of bad books to be for- bidden by law? Which was the greater man, "Washington or Na- poleon ? Which did the most for his country, Franklin or Washington ? Have wars been productive of greater good or evil ? Is the civilized preferable to the savage state ? Ought the right of suffrage in a republic to be limited by an educational provision? Are newspapers, on the whole, productive of good or evil ? Is a hilly and mountainous country preferable to one that is level ? Have we reason to expect as great improvements in the useful arts during the next hundred years as during the past hundred ? Was Demosthenes the greater orator, or Webster? Is the sense of sight of more value to man than the sense of hearing ? Do savage nations possess a full right to the soil ? Is the world advancing in mental and moral charac- ter? Which should the Government encourage, com- merce or manufactures? ADVICE ON INVENTION. 343 CHAPTER VI. INVENTION IN MISCELLANEOUS PRODUCTIONS. 43. General Principles. THE general principles of Invention will be easily seen from what has already been stated. To invent addresses, essays, criticisms, letters, dialogues, tales, poems, select the best models and study them, gather material, arrange, reject, modi- fy, and improve it, until a satisfactory outline is made, and then patiently complete the work. Practice alone makes perfect. 44. Invention in Style. This also should be sedu- lously cultivated. No one should be contented with a fair mastery of one style. His own most natural and efficient style will be improved by attempting many others. Let the writer who finds all his sentences short and crispy, by sheer resolution write some long and periodic sentences. Let the writer who finds the use of metaphors unnatural, seek out comparisons and invent metaphors, however tedious the effort. 45. How Invention is acquired. The art of Inven- tion can not be learned from a text-book. Science teaches only how to use material already existing. The student who forms the habit of reading with his pencil in hand, and who frequently expresses what thoughts he has on paper, will not long need to study the art of Invention. Severe study and abundant prac- U44 UHBTO&IO. tice, with the special object of self-improvement, are indispensable to the highest success ; but in the busi- ness of actual life, when writing and speaking cease to be an end, but are employed as a means, then one must be able to forget himself, to forget rule (except so far as not outrageously to violate it), and aim only to ac- complish his main purpose. 46. Whately's Advice. Dr. Whately has well re- marked : " The safest rule is, never, during the act of compo- sition, to study elegance, or think about it at all. Let an author study the best models mark their beauties of style and dwell upon them, that he may insensibly catch the habit of expressing himself with elegance ; and when he has completed any composition, he may revise it, and cautiously alter any passage that is awk- ward and harsh, as well as those that are feeble and obscure ; but let him never, while writing, think of any beauties of style, but content himself with such as may come spontaneously." The secret of efficient speaking is, first, to have some- thing to say, and second, to express it fully and exact- iy- 47. BoUngbrokds Opinion. Though the sentiment has already been expressed, we give the opinion of Bolingbroke, who illustrated in his own life the power of eloquence. " Eloquence," he says, " has charms to lead mankind, and gives a nobler superiority than power, that every dunce may use, or fraud, that every knave may employ. But eloquence must flow like a stream that is fed by an abundant spring, and not spout SUBJECTS FOR 1NVENTIOX. 345 forth like a frothy water on some gaudy day, and re- main dry the rest of the year. The famous orators of Greece and Rome were the statesmen and ministers of those commonwealths. The nature of their govern- ments, and the humor of those ages, made elaborate orations necessary. They harangued oftener than they debated ; and the ars dicendi required more study and more exercise of mind, and of body too, among them, than are necessary among us. But as much pains as they took in learning how to conduct the stream of eloquence, they took more to enlarge the foundation from which it flowed." 48. Milton 1 s Opinion. We add a few weighty words from Milton : " True eloquence I find to be none but the serious and hearty love of truth ; and that whose mind soever is fully possessed with a fervent desire to know good things, and with the dearest charity to infuse the knowl- edge of these things into others, when such a man would speak, his words, like so many nimble and airy servitors, trip about him at command, and in well- ordered files, as he would wish, fall aptly into their own places." 49. Examples for Practice. We subjoin a few sub- jects, simply as specimens, to write upon. Whatever subject be chosen, if, instead of the vain attempt to write at once, without thought, suitable efforts be made to collect information, an interest will be aroused which will make it comparatively easy to write. Letter to a Friend describing a severe Snow-storm. Letter describing a severe Drought. P2 :U6 RHETORIC. Letter describing a Fire. Address to a Popular Assembly on Universal Education. Speech in Favor of a more reasonable Observance of the Sabbath. Lecture on the Art of Printing. Anniversary Address on the 4th of July. Oration on Washington, for February 22d. Oration on Christianity in America. An Anecdote. Journal of a Week's Residence at Home. Journal of a Week's Travel. Description of a Presidential Inauguration. A Review of " The Pilgrim's Progress." A Book Notice of a new Edition of " Robinson Crusoe." Utility of such a Book as " The Arabian Nights' Entertainments." Letter to the N. Y. Day Star (a newspaper) describ- ing a Revolution in Mexico. Letter from one of a Party saved from Shipwreck. Communication to a Paper describing a great Flood. Description of an Accident on a Railway. Dialogue between a Republican and a Monarchist. Dialogue between a Farmer and a Lawyer. North and South America compared. An Allegory : The European Sisters (Nations). An Allegory : Contest between the Virtues and the Vices. Contrast between Ancient Greece and Modern China. SUBJECTS FOR INVENTION. 347 Impulse and Principle. New England and Old England. Effects of the Discovery of America. Proceedings o a Public Meeting called to consider the propriety of building a new School-house. Eeport of a Committee appointed to draft Reso- lutions at a Meeting held to prevent Intemperance. A Petition addressed to the Legislature of this State for the enactment of a Law the more effectually to prevent Gambling. Report of a Committee appointed to visit the Schools of this State, and to examine their Condition, and suggest what Improvements are needed. Reform Schools : their Character and Usefulness. The Magnetic Needle and the Bible. The Telescope and the Microscope. The Slavery of Evil Habits. Prospects of the English Language. The Chinese in America. The Effects of Music and Painting compared. Socrates and Franklin compared. Importance of Agricultural Colleges. A Poem : America in the 19th Century. A Poem : The Last Red Man. A Poem : The Submarine Telegraph. PART V, ELOCUTION. ELOCUTION. 351 CHAPTER I. PROPRIETY OF THE STUDY OF ELOCUTION. 1. Definition. ELOCUTION teaches how most effect- ively to pronounce or speak any production, original or borrowed. In a practical Rhetoric we are compelled often to observe the distinction between productions that are designed to be printed and read, and those which are designed to be spoken. The former must be written, the latter may be pronounced either with or without having been written. 2. How to make a Production impressive. An au- thor's interest in his productions does not usually cease with their creation ; he desires to introduce them favor- ably. If they are to be printed, much depends on the vehicle chosen. Shall they be published as a book, or in some periodical? Shall they be illustrated by pic- tures? Shall they appear in an expensive or cheap form ? A poor production may borrow a temporary popularity from an attractive dress, or from undeserved eulogy, and a meritorious work might sink into obliv- ion from an unfavorable presentation. The art of pub- lishing, however, can not here be investigated. But Elocution, the art of speaking well, claims attention in a treatise on Rhetoric, and is intrinsically valuable. 3. Opposite erroneous Views on the Power of Elocu- 352 ItHKTORIC. tion. Before examining its elements, it may be well to expose an unworthy prejudice against it, and also to guard against extravagant ideas of its value. Dr. Whately, in his Rhetoric, pronounces unquali- fied condemnation on all practical treatises on the sub- ject, and on all modes of instruction adopted previous to his time, and contents himself with recommending a " natural manner of speaking," to be cultivated simply by private attention to the subject, aided by friendly criticisms. He expressly discountenances special efforts to cultivate the voice, and the recitation, from memory, of the productions of others. On the other hand many seem to believe that ora- tory, in the highest sense, is easily within the reach of all ; that men unqualified by previous culture, with a narrow range of thought, need only to study and prac- tice "Elocution," to make themselves attractive and successful speakers. Also many already engaged in public speaking, but not meeting with the success which they anticipated, have studied Elocution a few weeks, perhaps under the direction of some uncultivated dog- matist, who promised to exhaust the subject of oratory in from six to twelve lessons, and not finding any in- crease in ability, are ready to coincide with Dr. Whate- ly, in the opinion that the study is practically useless, if not pernicious. Both these extremes are absurd. i. Elocution u an Art. Elocution is, in fact, a com- plex art, based on inflexible science, and worthy of careful and exhaustive study. Elocution is impos- sible, or would be useless, without expression ; ex- pression is impossible, or would be useless, without ELOCUTION A FINE ART. 353 thought. Parrots may be trained to articulate, but speech is valueless without intellect and heart. Good declaimers of the productions of others are often poor original speakers, because they have nothing valuable of their own to say. You can not put the polish of steel on iron. Genuine coins are distinguished from counterfeit by their ring. Young men can not expect to become good speakers by the study of elocution unless their minds are disciplined and stored with thought. Eloquence deserves to be ranked among the fine arts. Like her sisters, Painting, Sculpture, Architec- ture, and Music, she aims both to please and profit ; and as her territory is the widest, so is she the most useful of the family. Oratory is as capable of culti- vation as any of the sister arts ; and is as rigidly sub- ject to laws which can be investigated and obeyed. If all men had a perfect elocution, their comparative in- fluence on others would depend solely upon the power of their thoughts and emotions. There would still be strong and feeble speakers. But in fact many clear thinkers and warm-hearted speakers produce but little effect, on account of their defective and vicious elocu- tion ; while some speakers, feeble in mind and heart, exert superior influence, from their attractive and effi- cient style of oratory. It is unreasonable and false to assert that this grace, however subtle and mysteri- ous its qualities, can not be analyzed and mastered, and cultivated. 5. Elocution, as an Art, can be cultivated. There is no other art in which the good effect of study and :*54 RHETORIC. careful practice has been so frequently and so clearly demonstrated as in oratory. Comparatively few of the greatest orators gave promise of their future suc- cess in their first efforts at public speaking. Oratory requires such a combination of faculties and energies, that only after much study and care, as a usual thing, can it be successfully practiced. If we select at ran- dom a dozen out of the most eminent speakers in the world, we shall probably find that, in a majority of in- stances, their earliest efforts at speaking were, in their own estimation, failures. Those who are so destitute of sensibility that they speak passably well without effort seldom improve much upon their juvenile per- formances.* A moderate, endurable style of speaking is easily attainable, especially to a man of fair intelligence and industry, but superiority is seldom manifested, and never long maintained without careful study. * The best speakers never lose this sensibility. It is said of the great actor Garrick,, that having been summoned to give his testimony before a court, though he had been in the habit of speaking before thousands of people for more than thirty years, he was so embarrassed \>\ hi> >tran^e situation that the judge in pity di-mi-sed him, as a man from whom no testimony could be obtained. Without such sensibility would he have been Garrick ? ARTICULATION. 355 CHAPTER II. THE MECHANICAL ELEMENTS OF ELOCUTION. 6. Articulation. ELOCUTION is partly mechanical. There is a certain amount of machinery to be employed in the expression of the language chosen to convey thought and emotion. We must make use of the words agreed upon as symbols of thought. These may be perfectly or incorrectly uttered. In fact, but a small minority of the people, thus far, are in the habit of uttering properly all the sounds belonging to their own language. Some omit some sounds, others other sounds ; and the hearer is compelled often to guess out a part of the meaning of the speaker, or to supply the blanks by his own mental effort. Often whole words are lost, still more frequently syllables and parts of syllables are lost, or incorrectly pronounced. A good articulation, or enunciation, is the first me- chanical requisite of Elocution. By a good articulation we mean the actual audible pronunciation of every sound that properly belongs to the word, or collection of words, purporting to be uttered. 7. Good Articulation often imperceptibly acquired, and its Absence often unnoticed. Fortunate are they who have enjoyed the advantages of good society in child- hopd, and have thus imperceptibly acquired a correct MHJ pronunciation ; still more fortunate they who have enjoyed good, rigid instruction in early life, in the elements of correct speaking. In no art are the ices of a teacher more necessary. Not one person in twenty, who has a defective articulation, seems to be aware of it, or perceives it even after bis attention is directed to it. To illustrate what we mean we give an extract from the Bible properly printed, and the same extract as it would be pronounced by some per- sons who think that they speak the English language. "To whom host thou uttered words ? and whose spirit came from thee ? Dead things are formed from under the waters, and the inhabit- ants thereof. I Ml i- naked before him, and destruction hath no cover- ing. He stretcheth out the north over the empty place, and hangeth the earth upon nothing." Many would read or speak the above thus : * ' Toom 'sthou uttered wnds ? ndtoose spi't came fum thee ? Dead things are fo'med fmunder th' waters, ml thnhahitns throf. Hell's naked beforem 'nd 'struction hath no coverin. He stretcheth out th' north over themty place 'nd hangth th' earth upon nuthng." Few, perhaps, would make all the errors indicated in the above passage, but many would make some of them, and many a tolerable speaker would be aston- ished to see his speech phonetically reported in print. 8. A Common Fault. Defective articulation is the most common fault of public speakers. Audiences are obliged to guess the meaning of a large part of what they endeavor to hear, through the ignorance or care- lessness of speakers in this particular. Loudness of voice will not compensate for this evil. A man with a correct articulation can be understood almost as far as his voice can be heard. Nothing is more common PRACTICE IN ARTICULATION. 357 than for public speakers to complain of the difficulty of being heard in a room that will not hold more than from five hundred to a thousand people ! In all such instances the speakers betray their defective articula- tion. They show their incompetency for the profes- sion they have chosen. The average voice of a boy twelve years old will make a thousand people hear distinctly, if all the syllables are correctly and evenly pronounced ; and any man who professes to be a public" speaker ought to be able to make from three to five thousand people hear without difficulty. Men should not presume to address a congregation till they have themselves learned how to talk. A student of music spends much time in playing or singing the scales in all the keys. He can never depend on his ability to strike all the notes in a complicated and rapid combi- nation, unless he has trained himself by this previous practice. So public speakers should keep their vocal organs under control, by practice in actually making all the sounds in the language. If combinations of words or sentences difficult to pronounce, such as are given in many elementary works on Elocution, are not at hand, the end can be attained by the careful loud reading of miscellaneous passages, with special refer- ence to this object. The practice of dictating a cata- logue of miscellaneous words to another person some good distance off, to be written, is valuable. Defective or erroneous articulation can not be broken up without the most assiduous effort. If possible, every candidate for public speaking should subject himself to a trust- worthy teacher on this subject, to be sure that he is 358 ERETORll'. not the victim of some erroneous habits. With the effort, almost any lisp or improper articulation can be avoided or overcome. 9. All the Words should be distinctly littered. Upon this subject of distinct speaking it should be observed that the excellency should be exhibited throughout the entire speech. As no chain is stronger than its weakest link, so if a speaker is remarkably distinct in some passages, and inaudible, or his syllables are un- distinguishable, in others, the good effect of the whole be marred. A hearer has a right to claim that a speaker should utter all his words so as to be heard. This first principle of Elocution is the one most fre- quently and inexcusably violated, and if the study of the art can accomplish nothing else, it can certainly attain to distinct enunciation. On this subject Sheri- dan well remarks: " A good articulation consists in giving every letter in a syllable its due proportion of sound, according to the most approved custom of pronouncing it ; and in making such a distinction between the syllables of which words are composed, that the ear shall, without difficulty, acknowledge their number, and perceive at once to which S3'llable each letter belongs. Where these particulars are not observed the articulation is defec 10. Proper Rapidity of Speech. After one is sure that he can make all the sounds properly belonging to the language, and with sufficient distinctness, then he should discipline himself to rapid speaking, and to a graceful and indefinable distribution of the voice upon the syl- VOICE HEALTH. 359 Ijibles and words, according to their relative value. Some speakers are so careful to secure a distinct ar- ticulation that the least valuable syllables have too much attention. The pronunciation becomes artificial and offensive. It attracts the attention of the hearer as peculiarly precise, and thus defeats its own end. It is the height of art to conceal art. The best pronun- ciation, like the best style, is that which, like the best window glass, is least noticed. But rapid utterance should never be attempted till correct utterance is per- fectly mastered. Every speaker should be able, at will, to speak with great rapidity, or to speak grace- fully, very slowly. The rate of speaking varies from about eighty to one hundred and fifty words, on the average, in a minute. "Where the thought is easily apprehended and the feelings are excited, there are in- stances in which the highest effect requires that the words should be poured out in a torrent. In some instances the utterances should be slow, and with long pauses between. 11. Range of Voice. The mechanical part of Elocu- tion requires also a wide range of voice, both in loud- ness and in pitch. 12. Good Health required. In this respect much depends on the physical constitution. No occupation more requires good health than public speaking. The lungs and throat will not usually be healthy and strong unless the whole bodily system is vigorous. The sim- ple exertion of standing an hour or two is not small ; but when to this are added the rapid and almost in- cessant articulation of words, in various degrees of 360 RHETORIC. loudness, and with various tones of voice, and the ges- tures or movements of body which the expression of thought and emotion suggests and requires, and the exercise of the brain and the nerves which they demand, we see that good sound health is essential. Public speakers can not keep themselves in proper condition without obedience to the laws of life in food, and clothing, and exercise. There are innate peculiarities of voice that can not be overcome by training. ^ A tenor voice, for instance, can not be transformed into a bass voice, nor the con- trary. No one should seek to change his constitutional peculiarities. Oratory is possible with any voice that can be heard by a sufficient number. If smooth, me- lodious voices have at first an advantage, a rough voice may be so modulated that all disagreeable impressions from it may disappear, and it is likely, when well trained, to excel a naturally smooth voice in compass. But every speaker may, by appropriate and persever- ing exercise, increase the range and volume of sound under his command, and also the power to make pre- cise and nice distinctions of tone, appropriate to the various shades of thought and the kind and degrees of feeling. 13. Adaptation of Voice. A public speaker should adapt the amount of voice, and somewhat the distinct- ness of articulation, to the requirements of the occa- sion. It betrays an intentional rudeness, or a want of sound sense, for a speaker to address an assembly so as not to be distinctly heard. Many preachers betray their want of training, if not of good judgment, or po- TOO LOUD A VOICE. 361 liteness, by beginning their speaking, or reading, or even public prayers, in so low a voice that many in the assembly might as well be elsewhere. All such persons insult a large part of the assembly, unless their voice is too feeble to reach them, in which case self- respect should -compel them to refuse to speak. Of course, it is an exception to this rule when the congre- gation is too large to be reached by a good voice, or, as is often the case in court, when the speaker intends to be heard only by those in his immediate vicinity. This requirement of good sense is violated so often that students of Elocution should give it especial at- tention. All persons who are invited to listen to a public speaker have a right to expect that every word will be uttered with sufficient distinctness and power to be heard by every one of average ability to hear and understand; and a failure to accomplish this shows the speaker not only to be incompetent for his place, but impertinent. 14. Too loud a Voice. The opposite extreme of too loud a voice is not uncommon. The consequences are evil to the speaker, and unpleasant to the hearers. Uniform or protracted loudness wearies the lungs, and unfits the throat for nice variations of tone. It is an effort which nature intends should be made only rarely and briefly. It degenerates usually, if prolonged, into a falsetto screech, or a howl. Only undiscrirninating speakers make the mistake of supposing that a very loud sound is needed for the greatest effect. Deep passion seldom so exhibits itself. The engine when most noisy is not accomplishing the most work. Q 362 RHETORIC. 15. A N'.it"r>///////>/?. Gesticulation may, to a narrow QESTUUX. 365 extent, be an element of natural language. There are gestures instinctively acknowledged to be significant. The open hand betokens generosity and favor; the clenched hand earnestness, sometimes defiance ; the quivering hand excitement and zeal. No explana- tion is needed of such gestures as pointing in any di- rection, looking upward or downward, striking with the hand, or stamping with the foot. If \>y private practice the student has disciplined himself to a va- riety of movements, not constrained but free and easy, the motions that will be spontaneously assumed under the influence of excited feeling will be the best for him to employ. An impassive, immobile style of speaking is the most reprehensible. The speaker is not a machine to grind out words mechanically. There should be some good reason why the people would rather hear than read his speech. If he has earnestness, or any emotion, it will show itself in the voice, the eye, the position, the movements of the hands, and arms, and feet, and the whole body. The body of an orator should be, for the time, an obedient servant of the mind. It should not be trammelled by any awkward habits, but yield itself to the expression of thought and emotion. At the same time excessive gesture is more disa- greeable than deficiency. It soon satiates and dis- gusts. It reacts against the speaker, and calls atten- tion away from the words uttered to the manner, which is fatal to all genuine eloquence. 366 RHETORIC. CHAPTER III. INTELLECTUAL AND MORAL ELEMENTS OF ELO- 10N. 21. Intellectual Character of Elocution. ELOCUTION is far more comprehensive and subtle in its laws and powers than would appear simply from those me- chanical elements already described. It is pre-emi- nently intellectual and emotional. It is the art by which mind and heart produce the greatest effect on mind and heart. It is almost inexhaustible in its re- sources, and makes subservient to its purposes nearly all modes of acting upon the human soul. 22. Relation of Sound to Thought. Consider first its relation to sounds. Some sounds intrinsically suggest certain thoughts and feelings. It is not a matter of association, but of intuition. Even a young animal can distinguish between a call, and a cry of alarm and warning, made by its mother. Is a human being in- ferior, in this matter, to a brute ? Does a child need to be taught that the roar of a lion or the barking of a dog is disagreeable, that the hissing of a snake is hateful, or that the singing of a bird is melodious? How early does an infant distinguish the meaning of the various voices of the mother ! In these facts we see the germ of music, whose wondrous power has been the theme of many an oration and poem. EFFECT OF VAUlul'* XOUXJJS. 367 But, developed in a different direction, sounds made by the human voice become significant, wholly inde- pendent of the meaning arbitrarily associated with words. There is a certain amount of vocal language without articulation. A man who speaks only a for- eign language can communicate many ideas by his voice. A new word invented for the occasion, or a word of another language not understood, may be so uttered, or intoned, as to indicate successively a re- quest, a command, pleasure, pain, laughter, indigna- tion, and scorn. Indeed were men confined to inar- ticulate language, it might, by culture, become no mean vehicle of thought and emotion. It is said that a noted actor,, by the repetition of the word Mesopota- mia, could make many of his hearers shed tears. Sounds alone, especially musical notes, can awaken, or subdue, or modify passion. It is not a matter of i'ashion or caprice, that public prayers are intoned, or uttered in a peculiar voice, which would be ridicu- lously inappropriate in conversation or in a secular oration. There are peculiar tones of voice appropri- ate to the expression, respectively, of plaintive emo- tion, entreaty, love, reverence, fear, anger, authority, surprise, .awe, instruction, suggestion, denial, resolu- tion, and almost all other passions and states of the mi rid. 23. Employment of this Principle by Oratory. The accomplished orator uses these various tones and kinds of voice, and blends their influence with the meaning of the words which he utters. A sentence uttered by him means little or much, as he desires to have it. It 368 may communicate a thrill of emotion to an audience that can not be seen in the mere words spoken. The speeches of good orators, when printed, seldom show the secret of their power. 24. Slides, Accents, Tones of Voice. In speech this power of impressing others by the voice is not lost, but should be legitimately exercised. This is the foundation of the various slides and stresses and ac- cents and tones of the voice, which are detected in the most efficient speaking, and are systematically de- scribed in elementary treatises on Elocution. The voice, it is evident, must preserve one uniform monotone, or slide up ward, or slide down ward in speech. In fact, when wjell employed, in the utterance of thought and emotion, it maintains, at intervals, all these three modes. In the use of direct questions, that can be answered by Yes or No, it properly assumes the rising inflection ; but if the question is- not designed to be answered, nor even to suggest any want of in- formation or any doubt on the part of the speaker, it assumes the falling inflection. Observe the very dif- ferent sentiment expressed by this question : " 'Will you cut down this tree ?" when uttered first with the nsing inflection and then with the falling inflection. 25. Emphatic Pauses. The slides, whether upward or downward, tend to lengthen the syllable on which they are uttered, and are consequently followed by a pause, longer or shorter, according to their frequency and the emotion of the speaker. Pauses of suspen- sion, or when the sense is not complete, or, in a long sentence, the last pause but one, and expressions of RULES NEED NOT EMBARRASS, 369 tender emotion, all naturally assume the rising inflec- tion. Indirect questions, the completion of the sense, all expressions that do not suggest a continuance of expression to bring out the thought, require a falling inflection. It would be useless to present a thorough analysis of this subject without many examples, but all who purpose to excel as public speakers should thoroughly practice the examples given by some extended work on this subject, and test for themselves the effect on their own mind and heart of the directions given. Practice is needed to give compass to the voice in its intonations as well as in its volume, for if all the vari- ous modulations of voice have been once thoroughly made in practice, they will be likely spontaneously to arise in actual work. 26. Attention to Rule need not embarrass a Speaker. Whately says that, a speaker's " attention being fixed on his own voice, the inevitable consequence would be that he would betray more or less his studied and artificial delivery." Not at all. Apprentices are al- ways awkward till they become familiar with their tools. No man is a first-class speaker till he becomes so absorbed in his subject as to lose all active self- consciousness, but then, in the highest heat of earnest- ness, he will act not only according to nature, but ac- cording to previously-formed habits of position, voice, intonation, gesticulation, and all other modes of ex- pression. It would be well therefore to study and execute all the variations of voice pointed out in some elementary treatise on the subject, repeatedly and Q2 370 RHETORIC. thoroughly, till the vocal apparatus is rendered flexi- ble and manageable, and then, when actually speaking an original production, utterly to abandon all thought of intonation.* The great deficiency of many speak- ers arises from the fact that they have never actually made all the various sounds that full speaking re- quires, and therefore when a passion is excited it has no adequate mode of representation. In this sense many public speakers are partially dumb. Their vo- cabulary of intonation is narrow. Their voice and body are poor and inefficient machines. They may have power, but it is concealed from others, perhaps from themselves. As gymnastic exercises train the body for any demand for exertion that may arise in practical life, so a rigid and thorough investigation and practice of all the various kinds and degrees of voice secures to the speaker an exhaustless reservoir from which he may draw as the occasion demands. It would be well even for accomplished and successful speakers frequently to review the elements of Elocu- tion, and to keep themselves in practice, just as the most successful musicians do in their art. 27. True Eloquence requires a noble Character. But Elocution embraces an element still higher than the mechanical part, and an intellectual appreciation of the power of voice and manner. It is pre-eminently a virtue, and summons to its aid all modes of legiti- mate influence by which mind acts upon mind. A * Part I. of the " Fifth Reader of the School and Family Series, by Marcius Willson," contains an excellent summary and illustration of the elements of Elocution. OPINIONS OF WEBSTER AND MILTON. 371 speaker needs to be respected by his hearers for sin- cerity, ability, earn'estness, and power, He must be, or be believed to be, what he seems. Otherwise he is only an actor, and though he may be eloquent as such, the people are merely amused or entertained. Words spoken stammeringly and awkwardly by a man of solid worth have great power which no graces of enunciation can communicate to a man of intellect- ual imbecility or moral unworthiness. On this subject Daniel Webster well said : 28. Opinion of Webster on this Subject. 11 When pub- lic bodies are to be addressed on momentous occasions, when great interests are at stake, and strong passions excited, nothing is valuable in speech, further than it is connected with high intellectual and moral endow- ments. Clearness, force, and earnestness are the qual- ities which produce conviction. True eloquence in- deed, does not consist in speech ; it can not be brought from far. Labor and learning may toil for it, but they toil for it in vain ; words and phrases may be mar- shalled in every way, but they can not compass it ; it must exist in the man, in the subject, and in the oc- casion. Affected passion, intense expression, the pomp of declamation all may aspire after it ; they can not reach it : it comes, if it come at all, like the outbreaking of a fountain from the earth, or the burst- ing forth of volcanic fires, with spontaneous, original, native force." 29. Opinion of Milton. Milton also, whose train- ing in the schools was the best that his country and age could afford, eloquently says : 372 RHETORIC. " For me, readers, although I can not say that I am utterly untrained in those rules which best rhetoricians have given, or unacquainted with those examples which the prime authors of eloquence have written in any learned tongue ; yet true eloquence I find to be none but the serious and hearty love of truth ; and that whose mind soever is fully possessed with a fer- vent desire to know good things, and with the dearest charity to infuse the knowledge of them into others, when such a man would speak, his words (by what I can express), like so many nimble and airy servitors, trip about him at command, and in well-ordered files, as he would wish, fall aptly into their own places." 30. Extemjxrranecnis Speaking. Here may be a proper place again to urge the value of extemporane- ous speaking. Reading should not encroach upon the domain of oratory. Good extemporaneous speaking requires thorough preparation. It is well, in the proc- ess of training for it, to write out, in full, passages, if not entire addresses, to be spoken, and thoroughly to commit them to memory. Soon it will be easy to commit to memory the thoughts and facts, leaving the language to be at least partly spontaneous, and also to interpolate entirely extemporaneous passages. Thus the art can be acquired by study and practice. Kxtemporaneous speakers will be likely occasion- ally to fail, and often to fall below their desires and what they believe to be their ability, but the joys and influence of success will more than compensate for these disappointments. Too great facility in extemporaneous speech often PRACTICAL RULES. 373 defeats the highest success. Naturally easy speakers, as they are termed, who extemporize volubly without study, are usually narrow in their range, shallow in their thoughts, and repetitious, and bring a reproach on their art. Speakers who discard the use of the man- uscript before the audience should spend more labor in preparation than would be necessary previously to write out their addresses. 31. Practical Rules of Elocution. The following rules embrace the most valuable general principles of Elocution : (1.) Be thoroughly prepared for the work which you intend to perform. If to read the production of another person, let it be studied beforehand, so that you are sure of comprehending and feeling fully the thoughts and emotions of the author. If to read your own production, be as independent as possible of the manuscript. If to speak from memory, let it be so well committed as to require no conscious effort to re- call it. If to speak extemporaneously, be sure that you have an abundant supply of material on hand, with the general arrangement or order thoroughly at command. Whoever faithfully obeys this rule, when possible, will be ready to make an efficient speech, even when he has no opportunity to prepare for it. (2.) As far as possible be unwearied, and in good physical and mental condition, and be deliberate and self-possessed, remembering that if you have a right to speak, it is too late when on the floor to entertain any doubts about the matter, and that self-possession is a prime requisite of successful oratory. 374 JlHKTnRIC. (3.) Enunciate distinctly and loud enough, in all you say, to be heard by all whom you wish to ad- dress, and do not allow yourself to speak for a long time with such excessive energy of voice and manner as to react on yourself, and loosen your hold upon the audience, and remember the advantage of speaking with fully inflated lungs. {4.) Be thoroughly in earnest. Avoid unnecessary repetitions, and seek brevity. (5.) Though entirely absorbed in the subject, and unconscious of rules, except only so far as to prevent you from glaringly violating them, still persistently oppose and break up any known evil habit of posi- tion, gesture, or intonation. INDEX. A. Accent, 294. Adams, John Quincy, Personifica- tion, 152. Addresses, 260. Adjectives and adverbs, place of, 196. Agassiz, specimen of style of, 36. Alexander, Dr. J. A., quoted, "Mon- osyllabics," 33. Alexandrine Verse, 296. Allegories, 1 _'_>. , personification used in, 152. , relations of, to art, 128. Alliteration, 298. Allusions, 95. Ambiguity, 68. , intentional, 70. Americanisms, 66, 236. Anapest, 295. Anecdotes, 27-1. Anglo-Saxon language, 30. Aiiti-i-limax, 210. Antithesis, 113. combined with Comparison, 119. . connected with Rhythm, 214. Apostrophe, 156. , Edward Everett on, 158. Arguments, arrangement of, 335. Art, relation of, to Allegory, 128. Articulation, denned bv Sheridan, 358. , importance of distinct, 355. Autonomasia, 84. B. Bacon, Lord, advice of, on writing, 46. Bacon, Lord, on language and thought, 19. , on style, 38. , on time to study Rhetoric, 320. , wit of, 183. Bancroft, George, climax from, 209. , Loose Sentences, 203. , Metaphor, 105. , Tropes, 79. Barry, James, on language and painting, 24. Bayne, Peter, metaphors quoted from, 110. Beecher, Henry Ward, illustration of Irony, 143. Bethune, Rev. Dr., metaphor from, 104. Biographies, 275. Bolingbroke, Lord, on Eloquence, 344. Boswell as a biographer, 275. Brougham, Lord, on Amplification, 109. , on ancient oratory, 106. , on style of scientific papers, 256. , on writing speeches, 261. , sentences by, written twenty times, 205. Buckle, H. T., on style of educated women, 41. Buffon on style, 236. Burke, illustration of Burlesque, 181. Burlesque, 181. Bushnell, Rev. Dr. H., allusion from, 98. , on a new language, 22. Byron, Lord, description of Poetry, 286. , illustrates Comparison, 90. 370 1XDEX. Byron, Lord, illustrates Personifica- tion, 154. . ViMon, 166. , Word-painting, 23. a Caird, Rev. Dr., illustration of Com- parison, 89. Callimachus, epigram from. ! Campbell, Dr.. on Antithesis, 1'Jl. oinas, Apostrophe from, , on earnestness, 243. , on rij.iil \\r Chest- rm-M. Lord, on proverbs, 232. >ice of words, 47. , hvpcrlx>le. from, 134. , long sentence from, 199. . p ri.Kl from, 206. , style of I : r- k: Choice of subjects, 315. Cicero, figurative language, 106. Climax, 209. Coleridiro, S. T., illustration of Alle- gory Comparisons, 87. , combined with antitheses, 119. Construction of Sentences, 195. Corwin, illustration of Irony, 144. Coultas, H., illustration of Redun- dancy, 58. Cowper, illustration of Personifica- ti.. n.148. . illustration of Idiomatic Style, 230. Curran, illustration of Wit, 175. D. Deaf and dumb, lancniage of, 20. Defoe (Robinson Crusoe), quoted, 154. Demosthenes, simplicity of style, 106. Derzhavin, comparison from, 88. Description, Invention in, 316. Dialogues, 279. in History, 282. Diaries, 276. Dickens quoted, to illustrate Vision, 168. Didactic production - Discussion, rules for, 333. Doddridge, epigram quoted, 179. Earnestness, 243. i,248. Elocution, advantage of practice in, 369. an art. defined, 351. , iim-Ilcctual character of, 366. , mechanical elements of, 355. .opinion of Whai'-ly <>n. , opinion of Webster on, 371. , pr .< ik-al rules of. 373. , defined by Bolingbroke, 344. , Milton, 345, 372. requires a good character, 370. Emerson, R. W., on short words, 44. , on Trop r.mmi'it. Pathos illustrated, 249. j Emotion. Jl. Emphatic Pauses, 368. h Language, elasticity of, 217. , euphony of, 216. , not learned from dictionaries, 235. :n, 120. hry Composition, 268. nus, quoted by Bacon, 184. . language of, 42." ;t, Edward, Apostrophe ex- plained, 158. , Apostrophe illustrated from, 157. , Historical Present illustrated, 167. , choice sentence from, 198. , Personification, 153. , Sermocinatio, 162. Exaggeration, 254. Exclamations, 209. Extemporaneous speaking, 261, 265, 372. 1SDEX. 377 F. Fables, 122. Falsehood, can one plead for? 245. Feet, in poetry, 295. Fessenden, W. D., quoted to illus- trate Irony, 143. Fiction, 283. Figurative Language and Emotion, 247. Figures, miscellaneous examples of, 170. Franklin, Benjamin, anecdote of, 234. , quoted to illustrate Exaggera- tion, 133. , practice of, in Invention, 327. , witticism of, quoted, 178. Froude, quoted to illustrate Argu- mentative Comparison, 91. G. Garrick, sensibility of, 354. Gaussen, quoted to illustrate Exag- geration, 133. Gesticulation, 364. Gibbon, quoted to illustrate Meta- phors, 105. - , labors of, to acquire a good style, 237. Goethe, quoted to illustrate Allusion, 96. Grammar, general. 189. Greek language, 33. Greeley, H., quoted to illustrate Comparisons, 93. H. Hamilton, Dr. R. W., quoted to il- lustrate Apostrophe, 156. Hamilton, Sir Wm., on relation of words to thought, 19. , use of idioms by, 230, 231. Hare, Archbishop, ironical writing of, 141. Hayne, R. Y., speech of, in Senate, 337. Health, importance of, to a speaker, 359. Henry, Patrick, scriptural allusion by, 95. Hexameter Verse, 297. Historians, style of, 278. Historical Present, 167. History, 277. , Invention in, 324. Hitchcock, Rev. Dr., to illustrate Personification, 147. Holland, Dr. J. J., on value of words, 71. Holmes, Dr. 0. W., on morality of words, 71. Hood, Thomas, to illustrate Allu- sions, 99. Hooker, Rev. R., a period quoted from, 204. Hopkins, Rev. Dr., to illustrate Vis- ion, 169. Hugo, Victor, to illustrate Antithet- ical Comparison, 119. Humor, 182. Huntmgton, Rev. Dr., quoted to il- lustrate Personification, 150. Huxley, Prof., quoted to illustrate Repetition, 55. Hyperbole, 131. I. Idiomatic Style, 231. Idioms, 228. , new, 232. Imagination should be cultivated, 291. Information, importance of, to a writer, 319. Innuendo, 100. Interjections, 209. Interrogation, 208. Invention, definitions of, 311. , explanations of, 319, 329, 343. , in abstract subjects, 329. , in descriptions, 316. , in discussions, 333. , in miscellaneous productions, 343. , in narration, 323. 378 INDEX. Invention in style, 343. , rules on, 312. Irony. Irving, Washington, quoted to illus- trate Irony, 142. Its, pronoun, when first used, 1 17. J. Jefferson, Thomas, anecdote of Dr. Macaiilay. T. B., specimen of Inven- tion from, 324. Maurice, Kev. F. D., illustrates Idio- matic Style, 233. Haoorj Merivale. allusion from, 99. M't:i],lmrs. 102. , examples of, 104. , origin of. I 1 '7. , Shakspeare's, 111 , specimens, 170. Motonoiny, 78, 85. Mill, John Stuart on Invention, 311. Franklin. Job, Book of. Johnson, Samuel, quoted to illus- trate Antithesis, 119. Milton, John, number of words used , quoted to illustrate Irony, 140. by, 55. Johnsonian stylo, 40, 42. Journals, 276. Laboulaye, misunderstands an En- glish pun, 178. Language, changes in, 235. , Englisli. , Greek, 33. , how acquired, 27. , morality of, 71. , natural," 18. , origin of, 21. , Painting, Sculpture, and, 24. Lecture Lessing on style, 241. Letters, 268. Liptotes, 137. Longfellow, quoted to illustrate Al- IUMOIIS, 98. , quoted to illustrate Hex Verse, 297. Lungs, proper inflation of, when speaking, 362. Macaulay, T. B., criticism of Dr. Johnson's style, 39. , quoted to illustrate Compar- ison, 89. , remark of, on Bacon's wit. is I. opinion of, on eloquent , quoted to illustrate Onomato- py- , quoted to illustrate Personifica- tion, 154. Mim.>yllal,i. Morality of Language. 71. Motley ,'th ; > historian, alluded to, 278. N. Natural language, 18. Natural manner in speaking, 352, 362. Nouns or verbs first, 190. a Objects of writers and speakers, 256. Obsolete words, 63. Olin, Rev. Dr. S., to illustrate Met- aphors, 104. Onomatopy, 218. i Orations, 263. Oratory, 367. , metaphors in, 106. requires virtue, 370. P. Painting, Sculpture, and Language, Jl. INDEX. 379 Pantomime, 19. Parable of Prodigal Son, 31. Parallelism in poetry, 293. Parentheses, 224. Parodies, 180. Paronomasia, 175. Pathos, 249. Paucity of words, 53. I'uiisi-s in poetrv, 295. Pauses, emphat'ic*368. Pedantic allusions, 100. Periods, 204. Personalities in debate, 336. Personification, 145. of second degree, 148. of third degree, 153. sometimes employed for con- . ciseness, 149. Perspicuity, 68, 223. intentionally violated, 225. I'lu-i.m-m, 314. Pleas, 266. Plato, fable from, quoted, 125. Poetical Feet, 295. Poetry and Prophecy, 291. Poetry, definition o 286, 300. , Dramatic, 305. , Epic, 304. , forms of, 292. , Humorous, 306. , modified by science, 290. , one of the Fine Arts, 288. , Religions and Lyric, 302. , species ofj 302. Pope, to illustrate Repetition, 211. Positions of body in speaking, 364. Prescott, on imitation, 241. , quoted, Argumentative Com- parison, 91. , labors of, to acquire a good style, 238. , quoted, Personification, 148. , quoted, use of foreign words, 61. Prodigal Son, Parable of, quoted, 31. Pronouns of Gender and Personifica- tion, 146. Prophetic Vision, 168. Propositions, 193. Prosopopoeia, 155. Proverbs, 231 Proverbs, Antithetical, 117. , New, 232. Provincialisms, 66. Pulpit, rhetoric of the, 247. Puns, 176. , suggesting two languages, 177. , untranslatable, 178. Purity of words, 60. Quintilian, allegory from, quoted, 127. , quoted on Sermocinatio, 162. , quoted on value of words, 20. Quincey, De, idiomatic style of, 233. , efforts to improve his style, 239. , on Perspicuity, 224. R. Randolph, quoted to illustrate Hv- berpole, 134. Redundancy, 56. Repetition, 211. Representative writing, 279. Reviews, 272. Rhetoric defined, 17. , morality of, 258. Rhyme, 298. Rhythm, 213, 294. Ridicule, test of truth, 185. Roche, Sir Boyle, quoted, 175. Rogers, Prof. H., quoted, Irony, 141 S. Sarcasm, 178, 182. Satires, 182. Scientific productions, style of, 36. Scott, Walter, use of foreign words, 61. Sculpture, Painting, and Language 24. Senate, U. S., discussion in, 337. Sentences, loose, 202. 380 Sentences, short and long, 199. Sermocinatiu. 1 >'._'. Sermons, 266. Sbakspeare, his description of poetrv, 286. , mixed metaphors of, 111. , number of words l>\ , quoted to illustrate Irony, 139, 140. , quoted to illustrate Personifica- tion. 155. , soliloquies of, 282. Soliloquies, 281. Songs, 303. Sonnet, 298. Sound, relation of, to thought, 366. , rough and smooth. South, Dr., metaphor from, 102. South. -y. l:.lert, on styl- . Speech" rate of, 358. Speeches should be written, 261. Spencer, Herbert, quoted to illustrate Repetition, 211. , opinion of, on styl--. Stanley. A. P.. metaphor from, 104. Stanley, Lord, on style. Stanza- Stowe. Mrs. II. B., writings of, 285. Style. I , appropriate to fiction, 284. , how to acquire a good, I , idiomati , opinion of Spencer on, 227. , should be adapted, 226. , simple, requires thought, 35. Subjects, choice of, 315. Summerfield, Rev. John, wit of, 183. Synechdoche, 78, 83. Synonymes, 49. T. Taste, 251. Technical terms, 51. Themes in abstract subjects, 332. in description. in discussion, 341. in miscellaneous subjects, 345. in narration, 328. , what to write upon, 320. Tilton, Theodore, on word-, 71. Tracts. Translations recommended, 240. Travel, books of, 277. . 180. Treatise Tropes. 77. , classification of, 83. , new, 82. that express Cental action, 80. Tyndall, Prof., antithesis from, quo- ted, 116. U. Unity defme.l. Unit'ies, the three, 282. V. Verbs or nouns first, 190. Verse, 294, 296. , advantage of writing, 307. , nonsensical, 301. , without true poetry, 219. Vision, 165. Vocal >ulary, 28 , how to obtain a, 45. , natural limit to, 189. Voice, accents, slides, etc., 368. , adaptation of. 360. , peculiarities of, 360. , range of, 359. . relation of, to thought, 366. , too loud, 361. Vulgarisms, 67. W. Warburton, Archbishop, anecdote from. , on origin of metaphors, 107. Washington, George, a letter from, , to illustrate Hyperbole, 132. . to illustrate Personification, 151. Watts, Isaac, referred to, 302. INDEX. 381 Wuhster, Daniel, quoted, Classical Allusion, 99. , quoted, Metaphors, 104, 107. , Pathos, 249. , Short Sentences, 201. , Simple Words, 35. , Vision, 165. , opinion of, on eloquence, 371. , remarks of, on style, 239. , speech of, in Senate, 337. , style of, criticised by Everett, 158. , transposition of a sentence of, 197. Wesley, John, quoted, Sermocinatio, 163. , maxim originated by, 233. Wesley, Charles, referred "to, 302. Whately, Archbishop, exaggeration by, 254. , on elocution, 352, 369. , on styk Whedon, D.D., classical allusion by, 97. White, J. Blanco, sonnet of, 298. Wit, 173. , directions upon use of, 185. , in thought, 180. Women, well-educated, style of, 41. Words change their meaning, 190. , degeneracy of, 64. , compound, 191. , foreign, 61. , grouping of, 189. , long, 37. , morality of, 71. , new, 52". , number of, in ordinary use, 55. , purity of, 60. , short, 30. , symbolically employed, 70. , synonymous, 49. Word-painting, 23. Written addresses, 261, 372. VALUABLE STANDARD WORKS FOR, PUBLIC AND PRIVATE LIBRARIES, PUBLISHED BY HARPER & BROTHERS, NEW YORK. For a full List of Books suitable for Libraries, see HARPER & BROTHERS' TRADE-LIST and CATALOGUE, which may be had gratuitously on appli- cation to the Publishers personally, or by letter enclosing Five Cents. HARPER & BROTHERS will send any of the following works by mail, postage prepaid, to any part of the United States, on receipt of the price. MOTLEY'S DUTCH REPUBLIC. The Rise of the Dutch Republic. A History. By JOHN LOTHROP MOTLEY, LL.D., D.C.L. 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