THE NATURE OF ELOQUENCE, AND THE REQUISITES OF AN ORATOR.

[Analysis.-1. Of what Style treats. Objects and aims of figures of speech. To what all that has been said is only preparatory.-2. The object of Eloquence. What eloquence is not.-3. Of what it is the offspring. The man of deep feeling. Who can not be eloquent. Affectation in oratory. A noted rule of the ancients.-4. Why eloquence is a more comprehensive term than oratory. Its true basis. What the orator must do.-5. The three kinds or degrees of eloquence. The first, or lowest. Examples of it. Why its scope is a narrow one.-6. A higher degree of it. The aim of the speaker. What this degree of eloquence amounts to.-7. The objects, ends, and true idea of eloquence in the highest degree.-8. Improvement in elcquence. Who only become great orators. The example of Demosthenes. Of Cicero.-9. The elder Pitt, Earl of Chatham. The younger Pitt.-10. Striking traits in the character of Burke. What is said of the orator Fox.-11. Anecdote of Sheridan, after his first speech in the House of Commons. Byron's eulogy of him.-12. What is said of Lord Mansfield.].

1. We have seen how STYLE treats of correctness, precision, and perspicuity of language; and what qualities of it are adapted to narration, description, and instruction: we have seen how simile, and metaphor, apostrophe, personifi

cation, and other figures of speech, are adapted to arouse emotion, and adorn and enliven style, and thus combine the charms of ornament and depth of feeling with clearness and vigor of thought. But when all has been said that can be said on style, the subject of language has not been exhausted: we are then only prepared to ascend a step higher, and to examine the subjects upon which style is employed,-the greatest of which is ELOQUENCE.

2. It is easier to tell the object of eloquence, than briefly to define the term itself. The object of eloquence is to inform the mind, to convince the judgment, to move the feelings, to influence the conduct, to persuade to action; and he who writes or speaks so as to adapt all his words most ef fectually to these ends is the most eloquent man. Eloquence is no trick of speech; it is not the mere tinsel of words; it is not the art of varnishing weak arguments plausibly, or of speaking so as to please and tickle the ear. These are but counterfeits, and do not attain the end in view.

3. Genuine eloquence is always the offspring of deep feeling. A man who feels deeply, who is moved by strong passion, and who still acts under the influence of reason, utters loftier sentiments, conceives nobler designs, and exerts a far greater influence than he would otherwise be capable of. Hence a skeptical man, a cold man, or a cunning man, whose sincerity is suspected, can not be eloquent: hence labored declamation, and affected ornaments of style, gesture, or pronunciation, fail of their object, because they are not the faithful language of passion. He who is not in earnest need not hope to persuade others. Hence the foundation of that just and noted rule of the ancients: "If you wish me to weep, you must first weep yourself,”—or, as translated from Horace,

"If you would have me weep, begin the strain,

Then I shall feel your sorrows-feel your pain."

4. Eloquence is a more comprehensive term than oratory; for it embraces eloquent writers as well as eloquent speakers; and there is room for eloquence in history, and in philosophy, as well as in orations; and whether the object be to interest, to persuade, or to please. Its true basis is found

in the nature of man; for as man is an instrument moved by many different strings, the orator must play upon them all. Not only must he appeal to the reason to produce conviction', but he must paint to the fancy'; he must touch the heart'; he must address himself to the passions': in fine, he must use all the arts of logic and persuasion of which he can avail himself in the use of language-written, spoken, or acted.

5. Having thus explained the nature of eloquence, it remains to distinguish the three kinds or degrees of it. The first, or lowest, is that ornamental kind of eloquence which aims only to shine to amuse, to entertain, to please the hearers. Such is the eloquence of panegyrics, of inaugural orations, and of most of the formal addresses on public occasions. Noble thoughts and useful sentiments may be, and generally are, mingled with it; but as it is not called forth by any great or noble object, its scope is a narrow one, and there is danger that the art of the orator may be strained into ostentation.

6. We advance a degree higher in the art, and the powers of the speaker are exerted, not merely to please', but also to inform, to instruct, to convince'. He aims, perhaps, to remove prejudices'; he defines his position`; he states his case with clearness'; he chooses the most proper arguments'; arranges them in the best order'; urges them with the greatest force', and leads captive the judgment by such an array of facts and arguments' as can not be gainsaid'. It is the mighty power of reason, employed with skill and effect.

7. But we must advance farther still if we would rise to a conception of the highest attainments of the art. True eloquence exerts a power beyond conviction,-a power by which we are deeply interested', agitated'. and carried along with the speaker'; by which our passions are swayed at his will'; by which the mind is roused and kindled', so that we enter into all his emotions'; we love, we detest, we resent', as he inspires' us; and we are prompted to resolve, or to act, as he directs us. This latter is the true idea of the Eloquence of Popular Assemblies.

8. But, although eloquence is a high talent, requiring nat

ural genius, it may not only be greatly improved by art, but it is believed that no one ever became a great orator without the most diligent application to study, with oratory in view. The timid, lisping Demosthenes, by study, persevering effort, and daily practice, brought himself to address, without embarrassment, and with complete success, the turbulent multitudes of the Athenian democracy. After Cicero had entered the Roman senate, he listened, and studied, and wrote upon rhetoric and oratory for seven years, before he once ventured to raise his voice in public.

orator.

9. It is said that probably no man of genius, since the days of Cicero, ever submitted to an amount of drudgery in elocutionary training equal to that performed by the elder Pitt-Earl of Chatham; and that he spared no effort to add every thing that art could confer for his improvement as an The whole soul of the younger Pitt, from boyhood, was absorbed in one idea-that of becoming a distinguished orator; and when he heard, at the age of seven, that his father had been raised to the peerage, he exclaimed, “Then I must take his place in the House of Commons." His idea of becoming a great orator was based upon that other requisite-profound and extensive knowledge.

10. Habits of industry and perseverance in study were the most striking traits in the character of Burke, the great philosophical orator of the English language: his whole life was one of the severest mental labor; and he so disciplined his memory that it became a vast store-house of facts, principles, and illustrations, ready for use at a moment's call. It is said of Fox, that his love of argument was the most striking trait of his character; and that, from boyhood, discussion formed the staple of all his thoughts. With such feelings, and with habits of the closest application to study, he rose, says Burke, "by slow degrees, to be the most brilliant and accomplished debater the world ever saw."

11. After Sheridan had made his first speech in the House of Commons, he went into the gallery, and with much anxiety asked Woodfall, the reporter, what he thought of his first attempt. "I am sorry to say," replied Woodfall, "that I don't think this is your line-you had better return to your

former pursuits." Sheridan rested his head on his hand for some minutes, and then exclaimed with vehemence, "It is in me, and it shall come out of me."—And his was the voice which afterward, in the language of Byron, "shook the nations,"

"Till vanquished senates trembled as they praised."

12. Percy, in his sketch of the Scotch jurist, Lord Mansfield, remarks, "It is yet the traditionary tale of the country that gave this great orator and lawyer birth, that almost in infancy he was acccustomed to declaim upon his native mountains, and repeat to the winds the most celebrated speeches of Demosthenes and Cicero, not only in their original text, but in his own translations of them."

LESSON CVIII.

SHERIDAN'S RETORT UPON MR. PITT.

1783.

RICHARD BRINSLEY SHERIDAN was born in Dublin in 1751. He was early known as a dramatic writer, but at the age of twenty-nine was elected to Parliament, and for two-and-thirty years he pursued a splendid parliamentary career, during which he was unrivaled in wit, and had few equals in eloquence. Yet this highly gifted man, at one time the pride of England, died miserably poor, and a victim to intemperance-a melancholy example of brilliant talents sacrificed to a love of display and convivial indulgence.]

[WILLIAM PITT, second son of the great Earl of Chatham, was born in 1759. His father spared no pains to cultivate his talents, and especially to give him habits of self-possession and of public speaking. He was brought into Parliament at the age of twenty-three. He was Prime Minister of England from 1786 till 1801, and again from 1804 until his death in 1806.

1. MR. WILLIAM PITT, one of England's greatest orators and statesmen, coming into the ministry at the age of twentythree, as Chancellor of the Exchequer, soon after undertook to put down Mr. Sheridan by a contemptuous allusion to the early theatrical pursuits of the latter.

2. "No man," said he, "admires more than I do the abilities of that right honorable gentleman-the elegant sallies of his wit, the gay effusions of his fancy, his dramatic turns, and his epigrammatic point. If they were reserved for the proper stage, they would no doubt receive the plaudits of the audience; and it would be the fortune of the right honorable gentleman to exult in the applause of his own theatrea."

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