An essay upon the action of an orator, as to his pronunciation & gesture useful both for divines and lawyers, and necessary for all young gentlemen, that study how to speak well in publick / done out of French.

CHAP. XII. Of Gesture, in General.

'TIS Time now to come to Gesture, which is of no little importance and advantage to a Man that speaks in Publick; for it qualifies the Orator to convey the Thoughts and the Passions of his Mind to his Auditors with greater force and delight; their Senses being far more effectually wrought upon by Pronunciation and Gesture TOGETHER, than by Pronunciation ALONE. For this reason, when a Man is Hearing a Sermon, he desires mightily to see the Face of the Preacher; and if his Pew deprive him of that Happiness, he goes Home with less Satisfaction, let it be never so well spoken. However, these two things are not less important, the one than the other; and as both faculties joyn'd together express a Thought to

perfection, so either of them apart do not fail of expressing it as well too, though with less Power and Vigour. For if it is by Speech alone we converse with the Blind, 'tis by Gesture alone that we can converse also with the Deaf; and without this Faculty, we should have no Commerce or Conversation at all with 'em. Besides Gesture has this advantage above Pronunciation; that, by Speech we are only understood by People of our own Country and Lingua; but by Gesture, we render our Thoughts and our Passions intelligible to all Na∣tions, indifferently, under the Sun. 'Tis as it were the common Language of all Mankind, which strikes the Ʋnder∣standing in at our Eyes as much as Speak∣ing does in at our Ears. And no won∣der things of Movement and Action should touch us so sensibly; since Paint∣ing which has nothing of it, penetrates so far into our Affections, and imprints so strongly, that it sometimes surpasses the very force of Words. Speaking a∣lone does the main Work in the Minds of those that understand it; but when it is destitute of Gesture, which is the

Life of all Speech, (as Asconius says) it makes but a Dispassionate and a Dead Discourse. For this reason, Pliny Junior mentioning the Recitations which People in his Days made of their Orations and Poems to their Friends, either in reading 'em themselves or in having them read by others; says, that this Reading of them was a mighty disadvantage to their E∣loquence and Character, because the main helps of Pronunciation, the Eyes and the Hands were hinder'd by't; and that it was no wonder if the Attention of their Auditors droop'd upon it. But on the contrary, when the Discourse is help'd-on and enforced, not only with a Pronunciation suitable to the Subject, but with an agreeable and powerful Ge∣sture, it appears truly animated to a wonderful degree of Life and Vigour: For then the Orator holds his Auditor (as it were) by the Eyes as well as by the Ears and absolutely engages both his Attention and his Reason at once: And if he speaks thus to an Adversary not so well qualified, he dashes him out of Countenance, he confounds him with fear, and overcomes him with shame. Ci∣cero

discountenanced Cecilius with this Reflexion, when he would have Pleaded against Hortensius in the Accusation of Verres, and his Ambition carried him beyond his Capacity: Consider on't (said he to him) and weigh the thing well; for in my Opinion you are in great Danger, not only to be baffled by his Words and his Pronunciation, but to have your Eyes dazzled too by his Gesture and the Moti∣ons of his Body; lest he should disorder all your Thoughts, amuse you and make you forget whatever you had to say. And when Cicero again represents the matter in his Books of the Orator, how Crassus baffled and fool'd Brutus once at the Barr, when he was a pleading against him; he says, that he pronounced his Words after such a manner that they put him quite out of Countenance; with an Eye so stedfastly fix'd upon him; making-up all his Gesture against him, and confronting him at every turn, as if he would have swallowed him up at a Look, or in a Breath. But that this silent Language of your Face and your Hands may be well understood and move the Affections of those that

see and hear you; it must be well adjust∣ed to the Thing you speak of as well as agreeable to your Thought and Design: besides that it is always to resemble the Passion you have a Mind either to express or to excite. For if you should speak of sad things with a brisk Look and pro∣nounce sorrow with a gay Countenance; or if you should affirm any thing with the Gesture of a Man that were denying it, 'twould take away all Authority and Cre∣dit from your Words: No Body would believe or admire you. You must also have a care there be nothing affected in your Gesture; for, generally speaking, all Affectation is odious: but it must ap∣pear purely Natural, as the very Birth and Result both of the things you ex∣press and of the Affection that moves you to speak them. In fine, the Orator must manage his Gesture so nicely, that there may be nothing, if possible, in all the Dispositions and Motions of his Body, which may offend the Eyes of the Spectators; as well as take care that his Pronunciation have nothing in it, which may grate and disoblige the Ears of the Hearers: Otherwise, his Pre∣sence

will be less agreeable to his Audi∣ence, and his Speech it self will not have all that Grace, Virtue and Influence which it ought to have.

But the Business of Gesture is far more difficult to observe than that of Pronunciation; for a Man may hear his own Voyce well enough when he cannot see his Face at all: and as for the other Parts of his Body, he can but see them imperfectly, how they move and keep-up to the Rules of good Action. This made Demosthenes betake himself to speak his Harangues and his Pleadings before a great Looking-Glass, that he might observe his Gestures the better, and be able to distinguish betwixt Right and wrong, decent and indecent Actions. This method, I think, might be pra∣ctic'd to purpose. There's only this disadvantage in the Glass, that it always represents on the left what is on the right, and on the right what's on the left; so that when you make a motion with the right Hand, you have the re∣flexion of it as if it were made with the left; which confounds the Gesture and appears a little untoward: So that if

to adjust your self to the Glass, you make a motion with the left, 'tis true, it reflects the Gestu••e as if it were made with the right; but then you may chance to get an ill Habit by so doing, which of all things you ought to avoid. However, this inconvenience is abun∣dantly made up to you in the advan∣tage it gives you of seeing not only your Face in all its Countenances, but the state of your whole Body too in all its Postures and Motions: so that you may easily discover by it any thing that is unhandsome and disagreeable, either in your Habit or your Gesture; and any Action again, on the contrary, that adds grace to your Person and force to your Discourse. But for want of a Look∣ing-Glass, you should get some of your Friends to do you this good Office; such an one, I mean, as is capable of judging whether your Gesture be good or not, upon Tryal and frequent Practice. But the most effectual way in the World for a Gentleman to make himself Master of this A••t, is to have some excellent Pat∣tern or other of it always if possible, before his Eyes; as Hortensius was for

Example. He excell'd so much in this mute Eloquence, that two of the famous∣est Comedians in his time, Esopus and Roscius, always made it their Business to find him out where he Pleaded, and ne∣ver fail'd of attending upon his Ha∣rangues, on purpose to improve them∣selves; to carry away his fine Gestures with them, and to practice afterwards upon the Stage what they had learn'd of him at the Barr.