ing as if moved by the Holy Ghost. So spake the prophets and the apostles before them; so let men speak to-day.

5. Aim or Object.—In all rational speaking there must be an aim, some definite thing to be accomplished. This aim is usually given under four heads: To instruct, to convince, to excite, to persuade. We think one of a lower order, also one of a higher, may be added,- to please, and to stimulate to action. This last is the crowning work of the orator, and is reached through the others, to please or gain good-will, to instruct, to convince, to excite or arouse; then stimulate to action. The last two often blend; sometimes excitation supersedes stimulation to action. Notably was this the case in Antony's oration over Cæsar's body. He first addressed the reason of the mob, presenting argument to show that Cæsar was not "ambitious" as charged by Brutus. He then hastens to show his own grief, and through this to awaken feeling or pity; then moves quickly to "the will," wherein Cæsar has made them "his heirs." This excites their gratitude, which easily ripens into love. He then shows the rent mantle, and reaches his climax by showing the dead body marred by traitors. With this, the excited feelings of his hearers leap into action, as they cry:

66

Revenge! About! Seek! Burn! Fire! Kill! Slay!

Let not a traitor live! "

So thoroughly were they aroused to action, that Antony

stopped them, saying, "Stay, countrymen."

After an

other touch of the magic power of the orator, the reading of the will, he sees victory complete, and so without a word of persuasion, or even a hint as to what they should do, he hears the citizens shout:

"Go! Pluck down benches, forms, windows, any thing!'

وو

He complacently and triumphantly lets us know, in his closing words, that his aim has been reached:

66 Mischief, thou art afoot,

Take thou what course thou wilt!"

The Pulpit.—The pulpit, in revivals, is a good illustration of persuasion. The preacher first instructs as to the law, doctrine, duty,— intensifying, if possible, instruction into conviction, then awakening a desire for a better life. This done, he quickly appeals to action. "Now is the accepted time;" "Now is the day of salvation;" "Turn ye, turn ye; why will ye die?" Thousands upon thousands have felt these distinct steps or stages, as the minister has held the flaming truths before the doubting and the halting. They have also realized keenly the great gulf that lay between conviction and action. The vacillating man has stood for days, months, even years on the very brink of that gulf, and never taken a step toward crossing. Here is often a test of the highest ability of the speaker, namely, to excite, to arouse to action. Victory is, however, won by the speaker and the halting hearer, when

he says in the language of the Prodigal Son, "I will arise and go to my father's house"-action.

In Affairs.—The same steps, in affairs of life. A new enterprise is proposed in the community; a meeting is called, speeches are made, informing the people as to demand, cost, practicability. Sometimes the information produces conviction. If so, the next step is to awaken desire. This desire may lie in utility, pride, or benevolence. If all these are strong enough, action follows; but if not, excitation and persuasion must be used.

In the greater part of speaking, the aim is action. Before a court, it is a verdict for your client-the action of the judge or jury. In the legislature, it is the passage or the defeat of a bill — a vote of that body. In a political campaign, it is the election of one man or party, and the defeat of the other, by the action of the people, viz., their votes.

In view of the above, it is obvious that the speaker must clearly know his aim and the means to secure that aim. While every speaker has to deal more or less with all of these, many succeed in certain ones better that in others. While Daniel Webster and Chief Justice Marshall succeeded much better in instruction and in conviction, Rufus Choate and Patrick Henry excelled in excitation and in persuasion. With the professional speaker a grave question arises here, Which is my field? To enter a discussion

of individual temperaments, tastes, and talents, would lead us too far from our line of work, so we can only echo with the Greeks and the wise men of all ages: "Know thyself." Pope expresses it more fully, thus:

"Know then thyself, presume not God to scan;

The proper study of mankind is man."

CHAPTER VIII.

VARIETY, AND PREPARATION FOR DELIVERY.

THERE are two additional elements in public speaking that we have not yet considered, but which go toward completing the intellectual ensemble, viz.: variety, and final preparation for delivery.

I. VARIETY.

Variety is of wide range, relating alike to persons, matter, and manner. Nature illustrates this. She is full of variety-hill and dale, flower and fruit, sunshine and shadow, spring and autumn, all proclaiming change, variety. Life is the same-to-day joy, to-morrow sorrow, to-day prosperity, to-morrow adversity, on through the diverse range of human experience. Hence the speaker gets his law; doubly so when it is remembered that he is sweeping that "mystic harp of a thousand strings,” the human soul, and that each chord must receive a different touch from the player's hand, to bring forth the hidden music. The speaker is that player. What a wide variety is needed!

Among the multiplied elements under this head, we notice only a few:

1. Illustration.- Few things so interest the average hearer as an apt illustration. Facts and arguments may