A passage may be written logically, but be perverted in the

way it is read. Often in great poems, such as the Book of Job, it is difficult to make clear the continuity of the thought. The argument of the twenty-eighth chapter is often obscured or perverted. How often are specific ideas given for their own sake? 'There is a path that no fowl knoweth.' What path? Perhaps God's Providence. The whole thought has usually been lost. All the first part of the chapter refers to mining as an illustration of man's power, in contrast to his inability to find ‘wisdom.' This is the centre of the chapter; 'God' is not referred to till the last, and then the word is very emphatic; last of all wisdom is defined as 'the fear of the Lord.' 'Wisdom,' 'God,' 'fear of the Lord,' must stand forth as the great central words, or the passage becomes nonsense. Of course, each successive idea in each clause is to be accentuated, but these are the great centres, and when these are made salient, all is clear and simple. A reading of this passage in two ways will show, more clearly than any discussion can possibly suggest, the great importance of method in Vocal Expression, and the great importance of certain words.

Problem XXVII.

Read a passage so as to show clearly the continuity of the thought, making salient the great central words which show the purpose and which carry the thinking forward, and upon which all other words depend for meaning.

148. SEARCH FOR WISDOM.

SURELY there is a mine for silver, and a place for gold which they refine. Iron is taken out of the earth, and brass is molten out of the stone. Man setteth an end to darkness, and searcheth out to the furthest bounds the stones of thick darkness and of the shadow of death. He breaketh open a shaft away from where men sojourn; they are forgotten of the foot that passeth by; they hang afar from men, they swing to and fro. As for the earth, out of it cometh bread: and underneath it is turned up as it were by fire. The stones thereof are the place of sapphires, and it hath dust of gold. That path no bird of prey knoweth, neither hath the falcon's eye seen it: the proud beasts have not trodden it, nor

hath the fierce lion passed thereby. He putteth forth his hand upon the flinty rock; he overturneth the mountains by the roots. He cutteth out channels among the rocks; and his eye seeth every precious thing. He bindeth the streams that they trickle not; and the thing that is hid bringeth he forth to light.

But where shall wisdom be found? And where is the place of understanding? Man knoweth not the price thereof; neither is it found in the land of the living. The deep saith, It is not in me, and the sea saith, It is not with me. It cannot be gotten for gold, neither shall silver be weighed for the price thereof. It cannot be valued with the gold of Ophir, with the precious onyx or the sapphire. Gold and glass cannot equal it: neither shall the exchange thereof be jewels of fine gold. No mention shall be made of coral or of crystal: Yea, the price of wisdom is above rubies. The topaz of Ethiopia shall not equal it, neither shall it be valued with pure gold. Whence then cometh wisdom? And where is the place of understanding? Seeing it is hid from the eyes of all living, and kept close from the fowls of the air. Destruction and death say, We have heard a rumor thereof with our ears.

God understandeth the way thereof, and he knoweth the place thereof. For he looketh to the ends of the earth, and seeth under the whole heaven; to make a weight for the wind; yea, he meteth out the waters by measure. When he made a decree for the rain, and a way for the lightning of the thunder: then did he see it, and declare it; he established it, yea, and searched it out, and unto man he said, Behold the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding.

Job XXVIII.

Problem XXVIII. Contrast a passage having one intellectual centre, manifested in one word, with one which has a simple situation and is chiefly the movement of passion. (135 and 137 )

149. CONSIDER.

CONSIDER the lilies of the field whose bloom is brief: we are as they; like them we fade away, as doth a leaf. Consider the sparrows of the air of small account: our God doth view whether they fall or mount, — he guards us too.

Consider the lilies that do neither spin nor toil, yet are most fair:what profits all this care and all this toil? Consider the birds that have no barn nor harvest-weeks; God gives them food:-much more our Father seeks to do us good.

Christina Georgina Rossetti.

150 REST is not quitting the busy career; rest is the fitting of self to its sphere. 'Tis the brook's motion, clear without strife, fleeing to ocean after its life. Deeper devotion nowhere hath knelt; fuller emotion heart never felt. 'Tis loving and serving the highest and best: 'tis onward! unswerving-and that is true rest. Dwight.

151 WITH malice toward none; with charity for all; with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in; to bind up the nation's wounds; to care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow, and his orphan — to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and a lasting peace among ourselves, and with all nations.

Lincoln.

XVIII. METHOD IN NARRATION.

THE simplest sequence of ideas or example of method is furnished in narration. A good story-teller is one who can present such ideas as will suggest events, and give movement to the mind. All vocal expression is in time, so that movement or progression is its fundamental law. To be able to tell a story, therefore, is very important. The ability to state ideas simply in relation to events is the highest characteristic of a strong, logical mind, and is a mark of the highest literary excellence. As an illustration of the method of the mind, and the modes by which the voice reveals the successive ideas in narration, take a short story from the greatest prose writer of America.

152. THE WRECK.

WE one day descried some shapeless object drifting at a distance. At sea, everything that breaks the monotony of the surrounding expanse attracts attention. It proved to be the mast of a ship that must have been completely wrecked; for there were the remains of handkerchiefs, by which some of the crew had fastened themselves to this spar, to prevent their being washed off by the waves. There was no trace by which the name of the ship could be ascertained. The wreck had evidently drifted about for many months; clusters of shell-fish had fastened about it, and long sea-weeds flaunted at its sides. But where, thought I, are the crew? Their struggle has long been over; they have gone down amidst the roar

of the tempest; their bones lie whitening in the caverns of the deep. Silence, oblivion, like the waves, have closed over them, and no one can tell the story of their end.

What sighs have been wafted after that ship! what prayers offered up at the deserted fireside at home! How often has the wife, the mother, pored over the daily news to catch some casual intelligence of this rover of the deep! How has expectation darkened into anxiety, anxiety into dread, and dread into despair! Alas! not one memento shall ever return for love to cherish. All that shall ever be known is, that she sailed from her port, "and was never heard of more."

"The Voyage."

Washington Irving.

We assume that we are on shipboard. What is the central idea? If I read and accentuate day,' "We one day descried some shapeless object?" I set your mind to comparing day and night. If I accent descried,' I awaken a false antithesis; it is only used in a general sense,-saw' would do as well. To accentuate 'shapeless' causes the mind to compare kinds of objects. Why not drifting?' Because at sea of course it would drift. 'Object' is the only word the accentuation of which concentrates the mind, holds it 'in the frame,' and does not carry the thought upon a tangent. The effort of the discovery of this object is shown by 'attention.' We may, however, previously to this, concentrate the mind upon the word 'sea,' for the sake of contrast, implying that it is not so by land, which is true. Others, implying the sea, prefer to emphasize 'everything.' There are always such possible steps in the logical action of different minds. Attention is kept constantly upon the object until they discover what it is, the mast of a ship.' After a certain fact is observed, it is natural for the mind to make an inference, and this inference is shown by the word 'wreck.' We then proceed to give the reason for this conclusion, handkerchiefs.' The attention of the mind is directed wholly to facts, and immediate and necessary conclusions; then the crew is kept in the background. The immediate cause of the handkerchiefs is waves.' The mind seeks naturally for

the 'name' of the ship. If a name can be found, definite news can be reported, which will be of great consequence. To report a mere piece of any ship, floating about on the ocean, would be very indefinite. The mind logically seeks after something definite, and the voice reveals the object of the search. The word which indicates a definite point of progress, or advancement toward a purpose, is emphasized, while that which is vague and indefinite is subordinated. The next advance in observation regards time, indicated by months.' Then the reasons, 'shellfish' and 'sea-weed,' are added. It is just as logical to give the conclusion first, and the reasons afterward, as it is to give first the reasons and then the conclusion. All possible facts of the wreck have now been observed. As the wreck drifts away, the mind takes in the whole situation, and naturally turns to the crew. Emphasis upon 'where' would be ambiguous. The logical action of the mind emphasizes the word containing least ambiguity. The central point is not the place, but the men.

There have been three methods by which what is known as the emphatic word can be found. Professor Bell taught that the principle is novelty; that is to say, "the word is emphatic that contains the additional or new idea." Professor Monroe taught that it was utility; taking, for example, the question in this extract, you find that you can throw away all except the word 'over,' which alone will answer the question. "Emphatic words are those which are most necessary to the sense." fessor Raymond always reduced everything to conversation. He said in substance, "turn the sentence into your own words, and observe, when you are talking naturally, where you centre the voice; this shows the emphatic word."

Pro

The principle beneath all these methods is the logical action of the mind. They are simply modes of testing the mind's action or method. Why not study the process of thinking itself, find that which is fundamental and natural, train the penetrative action of the mind, and secure confidence in its method