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that no one can read properly what he does not understand. Which leads me to obferve, that there are many books much fitter for improving children in reading than moft parts of fcripture, efpecially of the Old Teftament. Because the words of our English Bible are, many of them, objelere; the phrafeology, as of all bare tranflations, fiff; the fubjects not familiar to young perfons, and the characters grave and forbidding. Fables and tales, founded upon good morals, and felect parts of hiftory and biography, and familiar dialagues, are more pleafing and suitable to children under feven and eight years of age. And fuch familiar reading, as coming near to their own chat, is moft likely to keep them from, or cure them of a canting, whining, drawling, or un-animated manner.

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They must be taught, that, in queftions, the voice is often to rife toward the end of the fentence, contrary to the manner of pronouncing most other forts of matter; because the emphatical word, or that, upon which the firefs of the question lies, is often the last in the fentence. Examp. “Can any good come out of Nazareth?" Here the eniphatical word is Nazareth; therefore the word Nazareth is to be pronounced in a higher note than other any part of the fentence. But in pronouncing the following, By what cu"tharity doft thou these things; and who gave thee this "authority?" the emphatical words are authority and who: because what the Jews afked our Saviour was, by what power, or authority, he did his wonderful works; and be he came by that power. And in all queftions, the emphaús muft, according to the intention of the fpeaker, be put upon that word, which fignifies the point, about which he enquires. Examp. "Is it true, that you have feen a noble lord from "court to-day, who has told you bad news?" If the enquirer wants only to know, whether myself, or fome other perfon, has feen the fuppofed great man; he will put the emphafis upon you. If he knows, that I have feen fomebody from court, and only wants to know, whether I have feen a great man, who may be fuppofed to know, what inferior perfons about the court do not, he will put the emphasis upon noble lord. If he wants to know, only whether the great man came directly from court, fo that his intelligence may be depended upon, he will put the emphafis upon court. If he wants only to know, whether I have feen him to-day, or yesterday, he will put the emphafis upon to-day. If he knows, that I have feen a great man from court, to-day, and only wants to know, whether he has told me any news, he wili put the emphafis upon news. If he knows all the reft,

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and wants only to know, whether the news, I heard, was bad, he will put the emphafis upon the word bad.

The matter contained in a parenthefis, or between commas inftead of a parenthefis, which authors and editors often use, and between brackets, [] is to be pronounced with a lower voice, and quicker than the reft, and with a short stop at the beginning and end; that the hearer may perceive where the ftrain of the difcourfe breaks off, and where it is resumed ; as, "When, therefore, the Lord knew, that the Pharisees "had heard, that Jefus made, and baptized more difciples "than Job (though Jefus bimfelf did not baptize, but his "difciples) he departed from Judea, and returned to "Galilee*."

A youth fhould not only be accustomed to read to the mafter, while the general bufinefs of the fchool is going on, fo that none, but the mafter, and thofe of his own clafs, can hear him; but likewife to read, or speak, by himself, while all the rest hear. This will give him courage, and accuftom him to pronounce diftin&tly, fo that every fyllable fhall be heard (though not every fyllable alike loud, and with the fame emphafis) through the whole room. For it is one part of the judgment of a public fpeaker, to accommodate his voice to the place he speaks in, in fuch a manner as to fill it, and, at the fame time not to fun the hearers. It is matter of no fmall difficulty to bring young readers to speak flow enough. There is little danger of their speaking too

. Though that is a fault, as well as the contrary. For the hearers cannot but be difgufted and tired with liftening much longer than is neceffary, and lofing precious time.

In every fentence, there is fome word, perhaps feveral, which are to be pronounced with a stronger accent, or emphafis, than the others. Time was, when the emphatical word, or words, in every fentence, were printed in Italics. And a great advantage it was toward understanding the fenfe of the author, efpecially, where there was a thread of reafoning carried on. But we are now grown fo nice, that we have found, the intermixture of two characters deforms the page, and gives it a fpeckled appearance. As if it were not of infinitely more confequence to make fure of edifying the reader than of pleafing his eye. But to return to emphafis, there is nothing more pedantic than too much laid upon rifling matter. Men of learning, especially phyficians, and divines, are apt to get into a fulfome, bombaftic way of

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uttering themselves on all occafions, as if they were dilating, when perhaps the bufinefs is of no greater confequence than

What's a clock? or how's the wind?
Whose coach is that we've left behind?

SWIFT.

Nor can any error be more ridiculous, than fome that have been occafioned by an emphafis placed wrong. Such was that of a clergyman's curate, who, having occafion to read in the church our Saviour's faying to the difciples, Luke xxiv. 25. " O fools, and flow of heart," [that is, backward] "to believe all that the prophets have written concerning me!" placed the emphafis upon the word believe; as if Chrift had called them fools for believing. Upon the rector's finding fault; when he read it next, he placed the emphafis upon all; as if it had been foolish in the difciples to believe all. The rector again blaming this manner of placing the emphafis, the good curate accented the word prophets. As if the prophets had been perfons in no refpect worthy of belief.

A total want of energy in expreffing pathetic language is equally blameable. I have often been amazed how public fpeakers could bring out the strong and pathetic expreflions, they have occafion to utter, in fo cold and un-animated a manner. I happened lately to hear the tenth chapter of Joshua read in a church in the country. It contains the history of the miraculous conqueft of the five kings, who arose against the people of Ifrael. The clergyman bears a very good character in the neighbourhood. I was therefore grieved to hear him read fo ftriking a piece of fcripture-hif tory in a manner fo un-animated, that it was fit to lull the whole parish to fleep. Particularly I fhall never forget his manner of expreffing the twenty-fecond verfe, which is the Jewish general's order to bring out the captive kings to Slaughter. "Open the mouth of the cave, and bring out "thofe five kings to me out of the cave;" which he uttered in the very manner, he would have expreffed himself, if he had faid to his boy, "Open my chamber door, and bring "me my flippers from under the bed."

CICERO very judiciously directs, that a public Ipeaker remit, from time to time, fomewhat of the vehemence of his

DE ORAT, L. III. p. 144. Tom. I." Habeat tamen illa in # dicendo," &c,

action,

action, and not utter every paffage with all the force he can ; to fet off, the more ftrongly, the more emphatical parts; as the painters, by means of fhades properly placed, make the figures ftand off bolder. For if the speaker has uttered a weaker paffage with all the energy he is mafter of, what is he to do, when he comes to the most pathetic parts?

The ease, with which a speaker goes through a long difcourfe, and his fuccefs with his audience, depend much upon his fetting out in a proper key, and at a due pitch of loudnefs. If he begins in too high a tone, or fets out too loud, how is he afterwards to rife to a higher note, or fwell his voice louder, as the more pathetic ftrains may require? The command of the voice, therefore, in this refpect, is to be ftudied very early.

The force or pathos, with which a speech is to be delivered, is to increase, as the speech goes on. The speaker is to grow warm by degrees, as the chariot-wheel by its continued motion + ; not to begin in a pathetic strain; because the audience are not prepared to go along with him.

Falfe and provincial accents are to be guarded againft, or corrected. The manner of pronouncing, which is ufual among people of education, who are natives of the metropolis, is, in every country, the Aandard. For, what Horace fays, of the choice of words, viz. that the people, by their practice, eftablia what is right, is equally true of the pronunciation of them.

Nature has given to every emotion of the mind its proper outward expreffion, in fuch manner, that what fuits one, cannot, by any means, be accommodated to another. Children at three years of age exprefs their grief in a tone of voice, and with an action totally different, from that which they ufe to express their anger; and they utter their joy in a manner different from both. Nor do they ever, by mistake, apply one in place of another. From hence, that is, from nature, is to be deduced the whole art of speaking properly. What we mean does not fo much depend upon the words we fpeak, as off our manner of speaking them; and accordingly,

The word key (taken from mufic) means that note, in the scale, which is the loweft of those that are used in a particular piece, and to which the others refer; and has nothing to do with loudness, or foftnefs. For a piece of mufic may be fung or played louder or fofter, whatever its key is. "Quid infuavius, &c. What is more offenfive to the ear than for a pleader to open his cause in a boisterous manner." AUCT. AD HEREN. L. III. N. XII.

"Quen penes arbitrium eft, et jus et norma loquendi.”
Hor. ART, POET.

in life, the greatest attention is paid to this, as expreffive of what our words often give no indication of. Thus nature fixes the outward expreffion of every intention or fentiment of the mind. Art only adds gracefulness to what nature leads to. As nature has determined, that man fhall walk on his feet, not his hands: Art teaches him to walk gracefully.

Every part of the human frame contributes to exprefs the paffions and emotions of the mind, and to fhew, in general, its present state. The head is fometimes erected, fometimes bung down, fometimes drawn fuddenly back with an air of difdain, fometimes fhews by a nod, a particular perfon, or object; gives affent, or denial, by different motions; threatens by one fort of movement, approves by another, and expresses fufpicion by a third.

The arms are fometimes both thrown out, fometimes the right alone. Sometimes they are lifted up as high as the face, to exprefs wonder, fometimes held out before the breast, to fhew fear; fpread forth with the hands open, to exprefs defire or affection; the hands clapped in Jurprize, and in sudden joy and grief; the right hand clenched; and the arms brandifhed, to threaten; the two arms fet a-kimbo, to look big, and exprefs contempt or courage. With the hands, as Quintilian fays, we folicit, we refufe, we promife, we threaten, we difmifs, we invite, we intreat, we exprefs averfion, fear, doubting, denial, afking, affirmation, negation, joy, grief, confeffion, penitence. With the hands we defcribe, and point out all circumstances of time, place, and manner of what we relate; we excite the paffions of others, and foothe them; we approve and difapprove, permit, or prohibit, admire, or defpife. The hands ferve us instead of many forts of words, and where the language of the tongue is unknown, that of the hands is understood, being univerfal, and common to all nations.

The legs advance, or retreat, to expreís defire, or averfion, love, or hatred, courage, or fear, and produce exultation, or leaping in fudden joy; and the ftamping of the foot expreffes earneftness, anger, and threatening.

Especially the face, being furnished with a variety of mufcles, does more in expreffing the paffions of the mind than the whole human frame belides. The change of colour (in white people) fhews by turns, anger by redness, and fometimes by palenefs, fear likewife by paleness, and shame by blushing. Every feature contributes its part. The mouth, open, fhews one ftate of the mind, hut, another; the gnashing of the teeth another. The forehead fmooth, and eyebrows arched

INST. ORAT. p. 455. "Annon his pofcimus," &c.

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