Of Passionate Expressions. Essay 137.
PAssionate Verses or Speeches must not be read in a Treble * 1.1 Note, but in a Tenor, and somtimes full as low as a Base, especialy when the Passion is high ad elevately exprest, for then the Voice must be sad or solemn, which moves in Descending, not Raised Notes, which are Light and Acry, raising their Tone to a whyning Tune, that is like a squeaking Fiddle or a squeaking Voice; but a serious Speech, a Solemn Note, and a Sober Counte∣nance must be joyn'd together to express a sad Passion to the life; besides, the words must be spoke Soft and Gentle, and not prest and struck too hard against the Lips, or Teeth, or Tongue, but they must be pronounced Swiftly and Harmoniously; to move the Heart to pity, the Eyes to be filled with Tears, and to draw the Soul, as it were, through the Ears, to feed on Melancholy.