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Some of them have, however, succeeded as Rausscau says of the French musical academy, who were advocates for loud and harsh music, "in making a great noise in the world," but we are consoled by knowing that it will be but of short continuance.

It is a discouraging circumstance to see models of eloquence, as of every thing else, sought exclusively in English literature. The English themselves recur to antiquity, as the father of all that is sublime or beautiful in poetry or prose, and the tendency of American taste to a very different style of speaking from that of the best and the worst orators of England, plainly indicates a difference in the national standard of excellence. Nature herself has ordered it, and it is vain for art to resist. Instead of being chilled by the cold damps of a latitude north of 50 degrees, in a sea girt island, we have a warm and genial climate, a bright sun and a blue sky. Our continent is vast, its aspect frequently picturesque and romantic, is often sublime and beautiful. The rills, and basins, and cascades of England seem but the mimicry of nature, when compared with those inland seas which are fed by that huge river, the din of whose thundering cataract peals on every hill for forty miles: or with that father of western waters, who, drawing his torrent from fountains of polar snow, warms his mighty stream in a tropical sun before he reaches the ocean. This magnificent scale of nature, this ethereal sky, will impart their influence to the imagination and feelings. Our poets must feed their lamps from the fires of the father of song, whose eyes yet undazzled "with excess of light" had stored his mind with that sublime scenery, that poetic drapery, with which nature has clothed the countries which dispute the honor of his birth. Lighter bards must drink from the goblet of Anacreon-Orators must pore over the burning page of Demosthenes, or the more luxuriant decoration of Tully. Let them not do this either, to the exclusion of the great masters of their own language; for no one can have a competent knowledge of the copiousness and power of the English tongue, who has not read Spencer, and Shakespear, and Hooker, and Taylor, and the intellectual giants of that wonderful age. It is no objection to what I have here said, that the works of some of these writers abound with figures and passages of the sublimest eloquence, for they saw the

scenery of Greece and Italy irradiated by the genius of Homer and Virgil, and even then, their imaginations retain deep tints of the northern gloom. Hooker and Taylor, whose sacred ministry led them to the study of orien tal learning, have often curiously blended the different shades of eastern and western poetry. Some of the effusions of their "finest phrenzies" call to our minds the idea of Ossian or some northern bard, striking the harp of Isaiah, with instruments tuned to a prophets ear, and swept by a poet's hand, the music must needs be divine, occasionally it is so, but the periods of celestial harmony, are like vidits from the winged hours of bliss, "few and far between."

The second class of men who are speakers by profession, are those, who, from ambition or incompetence to succeed at the bar, devote their lives to politics. Generally educated for the law, they are as ill prepared for the discharge of their duty as the others. They are, howev er, eager to speak on particular occasions, and do speak with all the fatiguing superficiality which results from want of information, and act with confusion for want of concert; and finally leave public life with disgust and disappointment, for want of preliminary preparation. Hence we are so often condemned, to hear from a sanguine youth on the floor of congress, a piece of florid declamation of half an hour's continuance; but the bloom perishes without the fruit ensuing. And hence that crowd of self deluded boys, who think to become orators in a day by celebrating the anniversary of our independence in a few bombastic sentences. I would recommend to their consideration a fine thought beautifully expressed by Lord Bolingbroke: "Eloquence has charms to lend mankind, and gives a nobler superiority than power that any fool may use, or fraud that every knave may employ. But eloquence must flow like a stream that is fed by an abundant spring, and not spout forth a little frothy matter on some gaudy day, and remain dry the rest of the year.”

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Sketches of a. Orators.

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WE come now to speak of oratory, as it is divided into the several parts which constitute the art. These have been generally the following, invention, disposition, style or composition, pronunciation, including gesture.

First. INVENTION. This is nothing else but finding out the sentiments by which a speaker or writer would explain what he has to propose, and the arguments by which he would enforce it. This subject is treated of very largely in most of the books of oratory, in which I think they judge very wrong. In by far the greatest number of cases, there is no necessity for teaching it, and where it is necessary, I believe it exceeds the power of man to teach it with effect. The very first time, indeed, that a young person begins to compose, the thing is so new to him, that it is apt to appear dark and difficult, and in a manner impossible. But as soon as he becomes a little accustomed to it, he finds much more difficulty in selecting what is proper than in inventing some. thing that seems to be tolerable. There are some persons, I confess, whom their own stupidity, or that of their relations, forces to attempt public speaking who are entirely barren, and not able to bring out any thing, either

good or bad; but this is exceedingly rare, and when it does happen, it will be so burdensome to the man himself, that he must speedily give over the attempt. There are infinitely more who have plenty of matter, such as it is, but neither very valuable in itself nor clothed in proper language. I think it happens very generally, that those who are least concise and accurate are most lengthy and voluminous.

I will therefore not spend much time upon invention, leaving it to the spontaneous production of capacity and experience; only observe that it is called a common place, from whence you draw your argument. That principle of law, nature, taste, experience, from which you fetch your topic, and apply it to your particular case, is a common place; as, for example, if I want to prove that a strict discipline in society is best, I say that discipline which will, in the most effectual manner, restrain offences is certainly the best; this is the topic or common place.

It would be needless to point out the sources of invention, or shew from whence arguments may be drawn, for they may be drawn from all the characters or qualities of an action or person, and from all the circumstances that accompany it. If I mean to aggravate a crime or injury, I say it was done deliberately, obstinately, repeatedly, without temptation, against many warnings, and much kindness; that its effects are very bad to a man's self, to others, to the character, the person, the estate, &c. If I want to speak in praise of a free government, I mention its happy effects, in giving security and happiness, proinoting industry, encouraging genius, producing value; and then I apply to experience and shew the happiness of free states, and the misery of those that have been kept in slavery but I repeat the remark that invention need not be taught, unless it be to one that never yet composed a sentence. There have been books of common place, published, containing arguments and topics for illustration, and even similitudes--sayings of the ancients, &c. that has but they are of very little use, unless to a person no fund of his own, and then one that makes use of them is like a man walking on stilts; they make him look very big, but he walks very feebly.

Second. The next division of the oratorial art is disposition or distribution. This is a matter of the utmost

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