§ 5. Much need not be said on the subject of Action, which is at present so little approved, or, designedly, employed, in this Action. country, that it is hardly to be reckoned as any part of the Orator's art. Action, however, seems to be natural to man, when speaking earnestly but the state of the case at present seems to be, that the disgust excited, on the one hand, by awkward and ungraceful motions, and, on the other, by studied gesticulations, has led to the general disuse of action altogether; and has induced men to form the habit (for it certainly is a formed habit) of keeping themselves quite still, or nearly so, when speaking. This is supposed to be, and perhaps is, the more rational and dignified way of speaking: but so strong is the tendency to indicate vehement internal emotion by some kind of outward gesture, that those who do not encourage or allow themselves in any, frequently fall unconsciously into some awkward trick of swinging the body," folding a paper, twisting a string, or the like. But when any one is reading, or even speaking, in the Why action is generally dis- Artificial manner, there is little or nothing of this tendency; precisely because the mind is not occupied by that strong internal emotion which occasions it. And the prevalence of this (the artificial) manner may reasonably be conjectured to have led to the disuse of all gesticulation, even in extemporary speakers; because if any one, whose delivery is artificial, does use action, it will of course be like his voice, studied and artificial; and savouring still more of disgusting affectation; from the circumstance that it evidently might be entirely omitted." And hence, the practice came to be generally disapproved and exploded. used. It need only be observed, that, in conformity with the principles maintained throughout this Book, no care should, in any case, be taken to use graceful or appropriate action; which, if not perfectly unstudied, will always be (as has been just remarked) intolerable. But if any one spontaneously falls into any gestures that are unbecoming, care should then be taken to break the habit; and that, not only in public speaking, but on all occasions. The case, indeed, is the same with utterance: if any one has, in common discourse, an indistinct, hesitating, provincial, or otherwise faulty delivery, his Natural manner certainly is not what he should adopt in public speaking; but he should endeavour, by care, to remedy the defect, not in public speaking only, but in ordinary conversation also. And 25 of one of the ancient Roman Orators it was satirically remarked, (on account of his having this habit,) that he must have learned to speak in a boat. Of some other Orators, 26 6 whose favorite action is rising on tiptoe, it · Gratas inter mensas symphonia discors, HORACE Ars Poet. so also, with respect to attitudes and gestures. It is in these points, principally, if not exclusively, that the remarks of an intelligent friend will be beneficial. If, again, any one finds himself naturally and spontaneously led to use, in speaking, a moderate degree of action, which he finds from the observation of others not to be ungraceful or inappropriate, there is no reason that he should study to repress this tendency. § 6. Action naturally precedes the words. It would be inconsistent with the principle just laid down, to deliver any precepts for gesture: because the observance of even the best conceivable precepts, would, by destroying the natural appearance, be fatal to their object: but there is a remark, which is worthy of attention, from the illustration it affords of the erroneousness, in detail, as well as in principle, of the ordinary systems of instruction in this point. Boys are generally taught to employ the prescribed action either after, or during the utterance of the words it is to enforce. The best and most appropriate action must, from this circumstance alone, necessarily appear a feeble affectation. It suggests the idea of a person speaking to those who do not fully understand the language, and striving by signs to explain the meaning of what he has been saying. The very same gesture, had it come at the proper, that is, the natural, point of time, might, perhaps, have added greatly to the effect; viz. had it preceded somewhat the utterance of the words. always the natural order of action. An emotion," struggling for utterance, produces a tendency to a bodily gesture, to express that emotion more quickly than words can be framed; the words follow, as soon as they can be spoken. And this being always the case with a real, earnest, unstudied speaker, this mode of placing the action foremost, gives (if it be otherwise appropriate) the appearance of earnest emotion actually present in the mind. And the reverse of this natural order would alone be sufficient to convert the action of Demosthenes himself into unsuccessful and ridiculous pantomine. 27"Format enim Natura prius nos intus ad omnem Post effert animi motus interprete lingua.” HORACE, Ars Poet. That is APPENDIX. [A.] Pages 20, 115, OMNINO hoc volumus, locos omnes, quorum frequens est usus (sive ad probationes et refutationes, sive ad suasiones et dissuasiones, sive ad laudes et vituperia spectent) meditatos jam haberi, eosque ultimis ingenii viribus, et tanquam improbe, et prorsus præter veritatem, attolli et deprimi. Modum autem hujus collectionis, tam ad usum, quam ad brevitatem, optimum fore censemus, si hujusmodi loci contrahantur in sententias quasdam acutas et concisas; tanquam glomos quosdam, quorum fila in fusiorem discursum, cum res postulat, explicari possint. * * * Ejus generis, cum plurima parata habeamus, aliqua ad exemplum proponere visum est. Ea autem ANTITHETA rerum nominamus. [It is worth observing that several of these commonplaces of Bacon have become PROVERBS; and others of them are well calculated to become so. And most of the Proverbs that are in use in various languages are of a similar character to these. Considering that Proverbs have been current in all ages and countries, it is a curious circumstance that so much difference of opinion should exist as to the utility, and as to the design of them. Some are accustomed to speak as if Proverbs contained a sort of concentrated essence of the wisdom of all Ages, which will enable any one to judge and act aright on every emergency. Others on the contrary represent them as fit only to furnish occasionally a motto for a book, a theme for a schoolboy's exercise, or a copy for children learning to write. To me, both these opinions appear erroneous. That Proverbs are not generally regarded, by those who use them, as, necessarily, propositions of universal and acknowledged truth, like mathematical axioms, is plain from the circumstance that many of those most in use, are— -like these commonplaces of Bacon,-opposed to each other; as e. g. "Take care of the pence, and the pounds will take care of themselves;" to "Be not penny-wise and pound-foolish;" and again, "The more haste the worse speed;" or, "Wait awhile, that we may make an end the sooner;" to "Take time by the forelock," or "Time and tide for no man bide," &c. It seems, I think, to be practically understood, that a Proverb is merely a compendious expression of some principle, which will usually be, in different cases, and with or without certain modifications, true or false, applicable or inapplicable. When then a Proverb is introduced, the speaker usually employs it as a Major-premise. and is understood to imply, as a Minor, that the principle thus referred to is applicable in the existing case. And what is gained by the employment of the Proverb is, that his judgment, and his reason for it, are conveyed-through the use of a well-known form of expression, clearly, and at the same time in an incomparably shorter space, than if he had had to explain his meaning in expressions framed for the occasion. And the brevity thus obtained is often still further increased by suppressing the full statement even of the very Proverb itself, if a very common one, and merely alluding to it in a word or two.) Proverbs accordingly are somewhat analogous to those medical Formulas which, being in frequent use, are kept ready-made-up in the chemists' shops, and which often save the framing of a distinct Prescription. And the usefulness of this brevity will not be thought, by any one well conversant with Reasoning, to consist merely in the saving of breath, paper, or time. Brevity, when it does not cause obscurity, conduces much to the opposite affect, and causes the meaning to be far more clearly apprehended than it would have been in a longer expression. More than half the cases probably, in which men either misapprehend what is said, or confuse one question with another, or are misled by any fallacy, are traceable in great measure to want of sufficient conciseness of expression.] PRO. NOBILITAS. Nobilitas laurea, qua tempus homines coronat. Antiquitatem etiam in monumentis mortuis veneramur : quanto magis in vivis ? CONTRA. Raro ex virtute nobilitas: rarius ex nobilitate virtus. Nobiles majorum deprecatione, ad veniam, sæpius utuntur, quam suffragatione, ad honores Tanta solet esse industria hominum novorum, ut nobiles præ illis Nobilitas virtutem invidiæ sub- tanquam statuæ videantur. ducit, gratiæ tradit. PRO. Nobiles in studio respectant nimis sæpe quod mali cursoris est. ["Nobilitatem nemo contemnit, nisi cui abest: nemo jactitat, nisi cui nihil aliud est quo glorietur."""] JUVENTUS. CONTRA. Juventus pœnitentiæ can.. Ingenitus est juvenibus senilis 1 This observation, in substance, is attributed to Bishop Warburton. |