of some of the sublime hopes of Christianity, after the name of the person and date of his birth and his age, is very appropriate; and even a verse of poetry may sometimes, though seldom, be admissible. We close our remarks on this interesting subject, by expressing our thanks to the writer of this article in the North American Review, for the valuable information he has afforded us, and recommending it to the reader's perusal. ART. V.-Oratory. MUCH as men admire eloquence, its cultivation is generally neglected. While the art of writing is almost universally studied, for ornament and utility, few pursue with corresponding ardor the art of speaking. So many failures have occurred in the attempt, and so rare have been the instances of eminent success, that men have usually been contented to admire in others what seemed to be denied to them. False notions have exaggerated the real difficulties to be overcome. Oratory has been styled "the gift of nature," by which is meant, that it is the innate endowment of a favorite order of minds. By others it has been regarded as a fortuity, the product of an occasional concurrence of circumstances. In either case, it is placed beyond the reach of the ordinary aspirant. It is true, that geniuses have arisen in this, as in all departments, whose extraordinary endowments have given them superior natural advantages; and occasionally they have burst upon the world as though they were the creations of the exigency which called them forth, and required their masterly powers; but such examples are rare, even compared with those who have obtained a like eminence under greater embarrassments, and in a less distinguished way. A few such instances of native oratorical gifts should by no means justify the sweeping conclusion that the orator is bornnot made. Most men are known to be at times eloquent, without pretending to be so; and why deny them the cultivation of what they casually attain when their heads are clear, and their hearts warm? Indeed, as we share in common, to some extent, the requisite faculties as these faculties are found to be susceptible of great improvement and as the prodigies of eloquence are known, in some cases, to have been prodigious in its study, we may safely infer that the foundation for this attainment is laid in the human economy, and that from ordinary constitutional elements education can produce the finished orator. The suggestive mind is already disposed to inquire, What are the requisites to perfection in this art? On this question our further remarks are intended to bear. I. In attempting to give the constituents of the oratorical character we shall purposely omit the intellectual and moral endowments necessary; confining ourselves to those which relate to the expression of the passions in delivery. The object of all public speaking is to persuade, or, which is the same thing, to influence the will. This can never be done but through the medium of the passions. No one, therefore, whatever his theme or purpose-if he does not speak utterly at random-can fail to address them in some form. By exciting these active principles of our nature, he first interests us in his subject, so as to secure our attention; and he utterly fails to induce us to act, until he has aroused and taken them captive by his persuasive powers. It is a secondary part of his work, though it may be equally necessary, to convince the judgment that what he recommends will answer the desire he has awakened, and may be wisely and safely pursued in the way he prescribes. Such is the philosophy of persuasion, and it gives great importance to a good delivery, to the difficulty of attaining which may be chiefly attributed the neglect of the art. Elocution-in which term we comprise all that pertains to delivery-is the chief characteristic of oratory, and the source of its acknowledged influence over the mind. This is seen in the most common-place intercourse between man and man. The voice of an animated speaker in common conversation instantly arrests attention, while that of an ordinary reader is unheeded, or soon wearies us. An earnest harangue will interest and affect a promiscuous audience more than a recited discourse of superior merit. The simple tale of a personal sufferer is far more touching than the embellished relation of the mere spectator. Why this difference? Nature furnishes the answer. She has her own mode of communication, and this is perfect. It follows, that the nearer we approach the natural manner, the more eloquent will be our address, and entire conformity to it would be the perfection of oratory. Hence the importance of elocution as a science. It proposes to detect and rectify, with discrimination and care, every aberration from the original standard-to combine the signs of passion with the signs of ideas and direct in the cultivation and exercise of the requisite faculties. VOL. IV.-7 In calling attention more directly to the endowments which are essential to the orator, we must first consult the human constitution. Here we shall find that the all-wise Creator has established a natural language, of the simplest construction, but admirably ingenious and useful. It is founded on this well-known law of our nature, that, "from the intimate connection between the soul and the body, every agitation in the former produces a visible effect upon the latter." These external indications appear in the countenance, gestures, and voice. They are strikingly expressive of the passions which produce them, and occur with the strictest uniformity. They are, therefore, instantly understood by the observer, and as readily excite corresponding emotions. "For as in water face answereth to face, so does the heart of man to man." This language of nature the orator must have at command. It is a rare qualification, but the secret of some of the mightiest achievements which eloquence can boast. And here we acknowledge that much depends on a richly-endowed constitution. All are not equally favored with that concurrence of choice qualities which gives to genius its singular capabilities. A commanding figure, an open and expressive countenance, with a happy accuracy in the formation of the nicer organs, are no mean accompaniments to an exalted and well-furnished mind. For, if the material mechanism is to be the medium of communication to "the inner man," then how great advantage must the perfection of the instrument give to the artist? How various the expressions which play lightly over the mirrorlike face, or repose on its yielding texture? Each feature bears its part in the dramatic representation. The lip must rise with scorn, or shrink with grief-the cheek crimson with shame or anger, the ear turn at the voice of jealousy or fear, and the eye pass through every phase of brilliancy, from the dumb look of mopish melancholy to the vivacity of celestial joy. The gestures of which the body is capable are equally the promptings of passion, and add largely to the vocabulary of nature. The movements of the head are dignified and characteristic. Veneration is expressed by bowing it: arrogance by throwing it back. It is depressed by humility, elevated by joy, and inclined on one side by languor or despondency. Its more violent motions are exceedingly forcible and commanding. The expressions of the arm and hand are yet more various and common; and even the foot, in its application singly to the purpose of gesturing, or in giving attitude and dignity to the entire figure, is no mean auxi liary. It has been said of a living orator that the manner in which he takes or changes his position on the floor is eloquent, and heightens the effect of his thrilling execution. But it is on the voice that the orator must chiefly rely. This grand endowment requires those finely-wrought organs, which give to it volume, force, and modulation. Let it not be supposed that the articulation of words is the only service it is to render. It is the instrument of passion as well as thought. By distinct and significant sounds-corresponding to certain signs-the several passions are betrayed; and when these sounds reach the ear simultaneously with the appeals of the looks and gestures to the eye, the effect is irresistible. There is often heard from the finished and cultivated organs of voice, in harmony with articulated speech, an undertone of emotion, constituting an exquisite accompaniment to the leading measure of eloquence. The orator must also learn that even silence may be eloquent, more expressive than words, more thrilling than action. The sequestered vale, the pathless wood, the echoless summit, and "old ocean's gray and melancholy waste," are more eloquent of God in their speechless grandeur than though they had a thousand voices to ring his name, and proclaim his praise. Sometimes an impressive reference to a profound or sublime subject may be made with the best effect. There is a knowledge too high for us, and he was eloquent who said, "I cannot attain unto it." The apostle heard things in the third heaven unlawful to utter, and the announcement of the secret is more eloquent than an unequal disclosure would have been. The conduct of Job and his three friends who sat down together seven days and seven nights, and none spake a word unto him, is more eloquent of their mutual anguish than all their subsequent complainings. Intense feeling often paralyzes energy, and refuses any active expression. The Bible refers to a joy unspeakable, groans which cannot be uttered, and a voiceless praise. Grief has no tongue to proclaim its keenest sorrows. Despair is speechless and torpid. Horror is dumb. Any attempt at expression by motion, sound, or verbal communication, abates the violence of these passions, and diminishes sympathy. The rhetorical pause is therefore founded in nature; and, when properly observed, is like its original-silent eloquence. II. Having glanced at the natural powers requisite to delivery, we proceed to consider the cultivation they require. Any cultivation of these native endowments has often been strenuously opposed. It is said, that in attempting to improve we shall but pervert nature; that the speaker will be trammeled by rules, become affected in manner, and lose his native fervor and force, under the training of art. This alarm is founded on a twofold error. It is assumed that the pupil will be natural without instruction and correction; and that the cultivation proposed is founded on arbitrary principles and rules. Both these assumptions are fallacious. When we say to the young orator, "Be natural," we give him a lesson which he cannot even comprehend without study, and we task him to a work of long and difficult practice. Who has not marked the tendency, even in our experienced speakers, in a set address, to exchange the natural for an artificial manner; and what an utter sacrifice of its simple and agreeable attributes is generally made by the unpracticed declaimer? Nor does habit and experience avail much toward improving him, for though his growing self-possession may render him less awkward, great defects will remain. He may the less offend, but will hardly better follow nature. The resemblance which startled the celebrated painter, Benjamin West, when he first saw the Apollo on canvass, between that paragon of the art and a young Mohawk, shows how true genuine art is to nature. Perhaps it was in such an original as the obscure son of the forest that the painter found his Apollo, and transferred him to the canvass. And could an equally perfect orator be found in nature, elocution would acknowledge his perfection, and make him her model. But this is not to be expected. There are causes which are always acting upon the human constitution in respect to both mind and body, which materially affect the oratorical character. This is especially true in civilized life, and more so in modern than in primitive times. The physical and mental powers suffer even in childhood, by the restraints unwisely imposed, the inveterate customs to which we are bound, and the enervating luxuries by which we are reduced to effeminacy and inaction. With such disadvantages the young aspirant undertakes an art which requires the utmost symmetry, vigor, and vivacity. In addition to this, the want of early elementary culture, and the tendency to servile imitation, militate yet more against the completeness of the oratorical character. The education to which it is subjected is generally too superficial and inconstant to counteract the casual influences by which it suffers and increases the evils which a wiser course would prevent. It is not strange, then, that with the exception of an occasional genius, who, by a systematic and thorough course of training, has overcome the depravities of |