3. Is it lawful to do good on the Sabbath days, or to do èvil? to save life, or to kill? Bible. 4. Art thou he that should cóme, or do we look for another? RULE IV. Antithetic terms or clauses usually take opposite inflections; generally, the former has the rising, and the latter the falling inflection. EXAMPLES. 1. It appears more like a dream than real life; more like a rómance than a dreadful reality. 2. By hónor and dishonor, by evil repórt and good repòrt; as decéivers, and yet trùe; as únknown, and yet well known; as dying, and behold, we live; as chástened, and not killed; as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rìch; as having nothing, yet possessing all things. Bible. NOTE I.-When one of the antithetic clauses is a negative, and the other an affirmative, generally the negative has the rising, and the affirmative the falling inflection. EXAMPLES. 1. Aim not to shów knowledge, but to acquire it. 2. Let another man pràise thee, and not thine own mouth; a stranger, and not thine own lips. 3. You should not say goverment, but gòvernment. 4. Show your courage by your deèds, not by your words. RULE V. The Pause of Suspension, denoting that the sense is incomplete, usually has the rising inflection. EXAMPLES. 1. Sír, I implore gentlemen, I adjure them by all they hold dear in this world, by all their love of liberty, by all their veneration for their Repeat Rule IV. Give examples. Repeat Note I., and examples. Repeat Rule V., and examples. áncestors, by all their regard for postérity, by all their gratitude to Him who has bestowed on them such unnumbered and countless blessings, by all the duties which they owe to mankind, and by all the duties which they owe to themselves, to pause, solemnly pause at the edge of the precipice, before the fearful and dangerous leap is taken into the yawning abyss belòw, from which none who ever take it, shall return in safety. NOTE I. The ordinary direct address, not accompanied with strong emphasis, takes the rising inflection, on the principle of the pause of suspension. EXAMPLES. 1. Ye men of Judéa, and all ye that dwell in Jerúsalem, be this known unto you, and hearken to my words. Bible. 2. Fight, gentlemen of E'ngland! fight, bold yeóman! Draw, árchers, draw your arrows to the head. NOTE II.-In some instances of a pause of suspension, the sense requires an intense falling inflection. EXAMPLES. 1. The prodigal, if he does not become a pauper, will, at least, have but little to bestow on others. REMARK.—If the rising inflection is given on pauper, the sense would be perverted, and the passage made to mean, that, in order to be able to bestow cn others, it is necessary that he should become a pauper. RULE VI. Expressions of tenderness, as of grief, or kindness, commonly incline the voice to the rising inflection. EXAMPLES. 1. O my son Ab'salom! my són, my son Ab'salom! Would God I had died for thée, Ab'salom, my són, my són! Bible. Note I., and examples. Repeat Note II., and example. Rule VL, and example. RULE VII. The Penultimate Pause, or the last but one, of a passage, is usually preceded by the rising inflection. EXAMPLES. 1. The changing seasons declare the knowledge, pòwer, wisdom, and. goodness of God. 2. When the savage provides himself with a hut or a wigwam for shelter, or that he may store up his provisions, he does no more than is done by the rabbit, the beaver, the beé, and birds of every species. REMARK.-The rising inflection is employed at the penultimate pause in order to promote variety, since the voice generally falls at the end of a sentence. RULE VIII. Expressions of strong emotion, as of anger or surprise, and also the language of authority and reproach, are expressed with the falling inflection. EXAMPLES. 1. Strike for your homes and liberty, And the Heavens you worship o'er you! 2. O Fools! and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have written concerning me! Bible. 3. Hush! breathe it not aloud, The wild winds must not hear it! Yet, again, I tell thee-we are FREE! 4. Arise! shine! for thy light is come, and the glòry of the Lord is risen upon thee. Bible. RULE IX. An emphatic succession of particulars, and emphatic repetition, require the falling inflection. Rule VII., and examples. Rule VIII., and examples. Repeat Rule IX. 1. EXAMPLES. Hail, holy light! òffspring of Heaven first born, The tear, The groan, the knell, the pall, the bièr, REMARK.-The stress of voice on each successive particular, or repetition, should gradually be increased as the subject advances. The CIRCUMFLEX is a union of the two inflections on the same word, beginning either with the falling and ending with the rising, or with the rising and ending with the falling; as, If he goes to Rome I shall go to Pa ris. RULE I The circumflex is mainly employed in the language of irony, and in expressing ideas implying some condition, either expressed or understood. EXAMPLES. 1. Nero was a virtuous prince! 2. O, excellent interpreter of the laws! 3. Am I a dog, that thou comest to me with staves? 4. If you do that, we will do this. 5. They said, too, as you say: "It is our destiny." 6. That power is used not to benefit mankind, but to crush them. 7. It has been said that this law is a measure of peace! Yes; such peace as the wolf gives to the lâmb—the kite to the dove! 8. They follow an adventurer, whom they fear, and obey a power which they hate; we serve a monarch whom we love,--a God whom we adore. QUESTIONS.-What is the Circumflex? When is the circumflex mainly employed? Give examples. REMARK.-The rising inflection and circumflex are so nearly allied, that, in many instances, it may be difficult to determine which should receive the preference in the reading of a passage. This is particularly the case where intense inflection is not required. But the difference between the circumflex and the falling inflection is so obvious, that no one would be liable to mistake which should be employed. SECTION IV. MODULATION. MODULATION implies those variations of the voice, heard in reading or speaking, which are prompted by the feelings and emotions that the subject inspires. FULL TONE. MIDDLE RXAMPLES. EXPRESSIVE OF COURAGE AND CHIVALROUS EXCITEMENT. Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more, In peace, there's nothing so becomes a man, But when the blast of war blows in our ears, AND QUICK. SHORT HIGH AND LOUD. QUICK AND VERY LOUD. Stiffen the sinews, summon up the blood, Whose blood is fetched from fathers of war-proof! CRY-HEAVEN FOR HARRY! ENGLAND! AND ST. GEORGE! Shakspeare. QUESTIONS.-What is Modulation? Give an example, 2* |