CHAPTER II.

ACTION.

By Action we understand that part of Elocution which speaks to the eye.

CICERO, perhaps the greatest orator that ever lived, says on this subject: "It is of little consequence that you prepare what is to be spoken, unless you are able to deliver your speech with freedom and grace. Nor is even that sufficient, unless what is spoken be delivered by the voice, by the countenance, and by the gesture in such a manner as to give it a higher relish." And again: "It is hardly possible to express of how great consequence is the manner in which the orator avails himself of tones of voice, gesture, and the expression of the countenance. For even indifferent speakers, by the dignity of their action, have frequently reaped the fruits of eloquence; whilst those whose language is that of an orator, often on account of the awkwardness of their action, have been reckoned indifferent speakers.

QUINTILIAN says: "If delivery can produce such an effect as to excite anger, tears, and solicitude in subjects we know to be fictitious and vain, how much more powerful must it be when we are persuaded in reality? Nay, I venture to pronounce that even an indifferent oration, recommended by the force of action, would

have more effect than the best, if destitute of this enforcement." ST. FRANCIS OF SALES, who by his preaching of the word of God drew tens of thousands into the true fold of Christ, gives studicd delivery a very decided commendation when he says, "that the most eloquent composition, badly delivered, will produce little or no effect; whilst a very mediocre speech, eloquently delivered, will often be attended with the most striking results." And this is only natural, for good delivery makes the impression deeper and more lasting.

Many labor under the false idea, that the orator is born, not made. They proclaim against all attempts at acquiring oratory. They say it makes one artificial; and still there is not a single orator af any renown who was not aided by art. The greatest orators of ancient times were CICERO and DEMOSTHENES. Both of these were assiduous in the study of the minutest details of 1eart. DEMOSTHENES was not gifted by nature. The pre-eminence he acquired in a nation of orators was the work of years of close application. His practice and belief agreed with CICERO'S,-that to be an orator something more was needed than to be born. With regard to the idea that the study of Elocution tends to create an unnatural mode of delivery, we hold that it is only true where the art is imperfectly acquired. It is the same in all the arts. The man who has taken but a few lessons in painting, will not be true to nature in his pictures. No one condemns the pictorial art on this account. It is just as inane to condemn elocution on a judgment formed from hearing one who is yet in the primer of Elocution. The real art of elocution lies in concealing art. Following up a line of argument based on the assertions of some, DEMOS

THENES should have been the worst of orators, since he pursued this study further than any other ancicnt or modern speaker.

Amongst modern orators, we may point with national pride to HENRY CLAY, the prince of American speakers. He early began to prepare for the success he afterwards attained. He acknowledges the pains he took to acquire oratory. "I owe my success in life," he says, "to one single fact, namely, that at an early age I commenced and continued for some years, the practice of daily reading and speaking the contents of some historical or scientific book.....It is to this early practice of the art of all arts that I am indebted for the primary and leading impulses that stimulated my progress, and have shaped and moulded my whole destiny." In short, no man who has attained even passing renown as an orator, will admit that the study of action is not a positive necessity for success in oratory.

These remarks are inserted here, as the hue and cry of ignorance has arisen against this part of the study of oratory in particular. Let the student of oratory heed rather the words of Shakespeare than those of men whose delight is to carp:

"Pleads he in earnest! Look upon his face,

His eyes do drop no tears; his prayers are jest;

His words come from his mouth, ours from our breast;
He prays but faintly and would be denied;

We pray with heart and soul."

We will treat this division of Elocution under the following heads,-Position, Relaxation, Delsarte's Laws, and Planes of Gesture. To these we subjoin a few re

marks on the limits of Personation.

The study of Position is the first point we call »ttention to, as it is the first point which catches the eye when a speaker appears. Is he ungraceful in his bearing? If so, he has implanted in the minds of the audience a point against him at the very start. The old saying has it, "first impressions are generally lasting." It holds good here as well as anywhere-hence, the importance of this subject.

In laying down rules for Position, elocutionists have in view two points the correct and expressive balance, or poise of the body, and a becoming appearance.

There are Three Positions. We shall call them the Unexcited, the Excited, and the Military. Each of thes forms the basis of one or more attitudes. By Attitude is meant the enlargement of a Position. In the Unexcited Position, the speaker stands erect in an easy, dignified manner, with the hands hanging naturally at the sides, and the feet nearly together. The weight of the body should be principally on the ball of the left foot, and the right should be three or four inches in advance. The left limb is straight; the right, slightly bent at the knee. As a change and rest, reverse the position, throwing the weight on the right and placing the left in advance.

It is used in all unexcited speech, such as narration and the portrayal of the gentler emotions. In the following examples the unexcited position is employed.

From Education and the Higher Life.

Nature is neither sad nor joyful. We but see in her the relection of our own minds. Gay scenes depress the melan

choly, and gloomy prospects have not the power to rob the happy of their contentment. The spring may fill us with fresh and fragrant thoughts, or may but remind us of all the hopes and joys we have lost; and autumn will speak to one of decay and death, to another of sleep and rest, after toil, to prepare for a new and brighter awakening. All the glory of dawn and sunst is but etheric waves thrilling the vapory air and impinging on the optic nerve; but behind it all is the magician who sees and knows, who thinks and loves. "It is the mind that makes the body rich." If we could live in the company of those who are dear, the source of our happiness would still be our own thought and love; and if they are great and noble, we cannot be miserable however meanly surrounded. What is reality but a state of soul, finite in man, infinite in God? Theory underlies fact, and to the divine mind all things are godlike and beautiful.-J. L. Spalding.

Duke S. Now, my co-mates and brothers in exile,
Hath not old custom made this life more sweet
Than that of painted pomp? Are not these woods
More free from peril than the envious Court?
Here feel we not the penalty of Adam,
The seasons' difference, and the icy fang
And churlish chiding of the Winter's wind,-
Which, when it bites and blows upon my body,
Even till I shrink with cold, I smile, and say,
This is no flattery,-these are councillors
That feelingly persuade me what I am.
Sweet are the uses of adversity;

Which, like the toad, ugly and venomous,
Wears yet a precious jewel in his head:

And this our life, exempt from public haunt,

Finds tongues in trees, books in the running brooks,
Sermons in stones, and good in every thing:

I would not change it.

Shakespeare.