3. There is something inexpressibly beautiful in the early development of the youth of genius. Its lonely musings; its shrinking from the boisterous crowd of young cotemporaries; the contemplative cast of mind; the early indication of a refined taste; its quickness of perception, apparently intuitive; the rapidity with which difficulties are surmounted; the outstripping of boyish competitors; the proud consciousness of superiórity, and the supremacy of mind over måtter. 4. There yet hangs in the inner chamber of my soul, a fadeless picture of the whole landscape. The mountains are as blue, the valleys as soft and dreamy, the river as clear, the cascades as lively, the cottages as white, the hills as green, and the ravines as romantic, as when they all stood within the circle of my visual horizon. 5. How sweetly the old Scotch preacher dwells upon the good Shepherd; how tenderly he depicts the security of the good man;- his reverend look, the tremulous tones of his voice, his Scottish accent, his Scottish phrases, his Scripture quotations, and his oriental cast of mind. 6. These old preachers are like old wine. Their freedom from early ambition, their deep experience of things, their profound acquaintance with the human heart, their evident nearness to heaven, their natural simplicity and authority, invest their preaching with peculiar interest. Other things being equal, old preachers, old physicians, old friends, and old places, possess qualities peculiar to themselves. 7. Mirabeau a had the eye of an eagle, the heart of a lion, the energy of a whirlwind, the voice of thunder, an eloquence that stirred men's souls, commanded the assent of his friends, and terrified his adversaries. ▲ Mirabeau, a French count, distinguished for his influence in the French revolution in 1790. SECTION XII. RULE 12. The emphatic succession of particulars, making an emphatic series, and emphatic repetition, requires the falling inflection. NOTE. In the application of the first part of this rule, in which it has reference to a succession of particulars, or an emphatic series, the two preceding ones, with their notes and exceptions, must be strictly observed. EXAMPLES. Emphatic Succession of Particulars. 1. True gentleness teaches us to bear one another's bùrdens; to rejoice with those who rejòice; to weep with those who weep; to please every one his neighbor for his good; to be kind and tender-hearted; to be pitiful and courteous; to support the weak, and to be patient to all men. 2. No more he enjoys the tranquil scène; it has become flat and insipid to his taste; his books are abàndoned; his retort and crucible are thrown asìde; his shrubbery in vain blooms, and breathes its fragrance upon the àir; he likes it not; his ear no longer drinks the rich melody of músic; it longs for the trumpet's clangor, and the cannon's roar. Increasing Intensity of Falling Inflections. 1. Let no MAN DÀRE impugn my motives, on the peril of his life. 2. I tell you, though you, though all the wÒRLD, though an angel from HEAVEN, should declare the truth of it, I could not believe it. Emphatic Repetition. 1. If I were an American, as I am an Englishman, while a foreign troop was landed in my country, I never would lay down my arms -nèver! NEVER! NÈVER! QUESTIONS. What is the rule for emphatic succession of particulars and emphatic repetition? What other rules, with their notes and exceptions, must be observed in the application of the first part of this one? Does the falling inflection sometimes become more intense on each succeeding particular? Give an example. 2. What, sir, are the constituent elements of society? Persons and property. What are the subjects of legislation? PERSONS AND PROPERTY. What are the subjects upon which the law-making power is called to act? PERSONS AND PROPERTY. EXERCISE I. Emphatic Succession of Particulars. 1. He answered and said unto them, He that soweth the good seed is the Son of màn; the field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one; the enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels. 2. For to one is given, by the Spirit, the word of wisdom; to another, the word of knowledge, by the same Spirit; to another, faith, by the same Spirit; to another, the gifts of healing, by the same Spirit; to another, the working of miracles; to another, pròphecy; to another, discerning of spirits; to another, diverse kinds of tongues; to another, the interpretation of tongues. 3. Nature has laid out all her art in beautifying the face. She has touched it with vermilion; planted in it a double row of ivory; made it the seat of smiles and blushes; lighted it up, and enlivened it with the brightness of the eyes; hung it, on each side, with curious organs of sense; given it airs and graces that cannot be described; and surrounded it with such a flowing shade of hair as sets all its beauties in the most agreeable light. 4. It would be tempting to enlarge on the closing scene of Socrates' a life; a scene which Plato b has invested with such a Socrates, a celebrated heathen philosopher, born at Alopece, near Athens, 470 B. C. b Plato, a heathen philosopher, by descent an Athenian, born 429, B. C. immortal glory; -on the affecting farewell of his judges; on the long thirty days which he passed in prison before the execution of the verdict; on his equanimity, amid the uncontrollable emotions of his companions; on the gathering in of that solemn evening, when the falling of the sunset hues on the top of the Athenian hills, was the signal that the last hour was at hand; on the introduction of the fatal hemlock; his immovable countenance, his firm hand, and the burst of frantic lamentations from all his friends, as, with his habitual ease and cheerfulness, he drained the cup to its dregs; then, the solemn silence enjoined by himself; the pacing to and fro; the strong religious persuasions attested by his last words; the cold palsy of the poison creeping from the extremities to the heart; and the gradual torpor, ending in death. EXERCISE II. Increasing Intensity of Inflection and Emphatic Repetition. 1. This was the honor of the Greek; this was the honor of the Roman; this was the honor of the Jew; this was the honor of the Gentile; a this, too, was the honor of the Christain, till the superstition and barbarity of northern devastators darkened his glóry, and degraded his chàracter. 2. My judgment approves this measure, and my whole heart is in it. All that I have, all that I àm, and all that I hope, in this life, I am now ready to stàke upon it; and I leave off as I began; sink or swim; live or die; survive or perish,I am for the Declaràtion. It is my living sentiment, and, by the blessing of God, it shall be my dying sentiment; — Independence now, and independence - forever! a Gentile, any one not of Jewish descent. 3. There still remains that which is even paramount to the law; that great tribùnal, which the wisdom of our ancestors raised in this country for the support of the people's rights; that tribunal, which has made the law; that tribunal, which has given me you to look at; that tribunal, which is surrounded with a hedge, as it were, set about it; that tribunal, which, from age to age, has been fighting for the liberties of the people. Bàde thee return, and walk in wisdom's ways. Which told the traveler where the dead repose And, at thy father's grave, the filial tear, Which dear remembrance gave, bade thee return, And dwell in Virtue's tents, on Zion's hili! SECTION XIII. RULE 13. Whenever the sense is complete, whether at the close, or any other part of the sentence, the falling inflection should be employed. EXAMPLES. 1. May no sorrow distress thy dàys; may no strife disturb thy nìghts; may the pillow of peace kiss thy cheeks, and the pleasures of imagination attend thy dreams. QUESTION. What is the rule when the sense is complete? |