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. IV. Of Speaking; and, first of all, what the Orator must do to be Heard without Difficulty and Trouble.

THe first thing to be considered in this Treatise is Pronunciation, or Speaking, as it regards the satisfaction of the Ear; which is called the Organ of Learning, or the Sense of Discipline: That is to say; it is the Hearing which conveys the first principles of all Sciences and the praecepts of all Arts to the Ʋnder∣standing.

Give me leave to say then, that the Orators chief business ought to be to Speak, in his Place, so as to be heard and understood with ease. For if he were not heard at all, he'd speak to no purpose; and if he were not well

heard, without difficulty, he'd lay un∣der these two disadvantages. The one is, that People would be unwilling to give themselves the trouble of hearing him; for whatever is difficult to the Ear, must needs be heard with Chagrin and Impatience, because it requires so much attention: And then again, the Audi∣tor that could have the patience for a while, would without doubt be haran∣gued quite out of humour, and dis∣couraged from hearing him out, if this forced attention were to hold for any long time. The other disadvantage would be this; that when the Ear were at so much Pains to make out his words, the mind would be so much the less at∣tentive to the matter of his Discourse, which is always the best worth our while and our hearing.

But to avoid both those inconveni∣encies, he had need have a clear and a strong Voyce: If not to the same de∣gree of Perfection that Trachallus had •• who Quintilian tell us, upon Fou•• Courts sitting all at once in the Julia•• Hall for the hearing of Causes and the dispatch of Justice, was heard and

understood and commended not only by the first where he pleaded, but by all Four; such a Voyce at least he should have, as would fill the place where he speaks. For, St. Austin very well observes, that the Voyce ought to be so loud as to reach the farthest Ear of the Auditory. Some Men have such a Voyce naturally; others have it only partly by Nature and partly by Art, as they perfect the one by the exercice of the other; and some again have it not at all, nor know which way in the world to attain to't. Now he that Nature hath endued with this faculty to a de∣gree of Eminent, has a great gift with∣out question for Speaking, and is in a fair way to make an Eloquent Man; if he do but discharge his own Duty and emprove so good a Talent to the best advantage. But on the other hand, if Nature has given a Man no such bles∣sing, and his Voyce be good for nothing, through some Indisposition of his Organs, either of the Tongue, the Throat, the Breast or the Lungs; or if he have any notorious Lisping and invincible Hesi∣tation or Stammering in his Speech, I cannot advise him better than Apol∣lonius,

the Rhetorician, did those Gen∣tlemen that would have learned this Art of him. For as soon as he saw they wanted the natural Endowments that were absolutely necessary to qualifie them for the work, he pronounced upon their incapacity, and declared for their studying something else; rather than beat their Brains about an exercice which was not in the Art of Man to teach them with Credit or Success, and run the risque of forcing Nature to the prejudice of their Health; which next to their very Being was the most valuable thing under the Sun, and the greatest good they had to Pre∣serve.

However yet, if he have all the o∣ther Parts and Powers of Oratory, and wants only this one Qualification, I would have him make use of his Talent and do as Isocrates did under the same Im∣perfection of Speaking, who excelled in every thing else but his Voyce. I knew, says he, in his PANATHENAICON, that my Nature was too Weak and too Soft for Action, and my Voyce too Feeble and Puny to Speak as I should do upon

Publick Affairs. I found my self unqua∣lified, in this respect, for Harangue; and ye••, me-thought, I was capable of concei∣ving the Truth of Things as well as others th••t bragged more of their Faculties and Knowledge; though not of speaking them so well off the Lip in a Great Assembly. For I want the two main things that do the work of an Orator among us, Voyce and Confidence, as much as my Neighbours; and they that are not furnished-out with these Excellencies, are of no Esteem in the World. However I had so much Courage left yet, that I could not bring my self to resolve upon leading a life of Obscuri∣ty and Dishonour: So that being unfit for managing the business of Law, and no ways qualified for Publick Employment, I be-took my self to the Private Study of Wisdom, and to write my sense of things, not upon such little Subjects as Deeds, Bargains, Covenants or Contracts be∣twixt Man and Man; but upon the State of Greece, upon the Publick Affairs of Government and of Kings.

In this Case, let him take my Coun∣cil, and follow the Example of that Great Orator; and though he cannot

set-off his Harangues with the Graces of Good Speaking and Gesture, I would advise him to make a mends for that failing by Figures that adorn the Speech and soften the sound of words; by fine Turns of Expression; by the Elegant number of Oratory and the delicate Cadences of his Periods: So that his Discourses, like Isocrates's, may be a∣greeable enough of themselves, with∣out Action; or without being Read with much Art and Study. But the Man that lays under no greater Im∣pediment then of having only a weak Voyce, need not despaire, nor be discouraged from attempting to Speak upon Publick Occasions, but ought to do what he can rather to strengthen it up and accomplish it for that purpose. Demosthenes did so, and gained his point too. However, Plutarch says in his Life, that he had naturally a weak Voyce, an Impediment in his Speech, a Short-Breath; and yet he ventured in spite of Fate and all his failings, to speak publickly twice: But he was hissed both times. He adds also, that the Orator being discountenanced by the bad suc∣cess, made his Complaint to Satyrus,

to this Effect: That he took more pains than any Orator of 'em all, and could never yet please people. Why, says Sa∣tyrus, take no thought, Man: I'll mend that matter presently, I warrant you. Upon this he made him repeat some Verses out of Euripides, or Sophocles; which he did, you must think, with a very ill Grace. But when he had made such stuff on't, Satyrus said the same Ver∣ses after him: and he gave them such an Air in the Repetition; Spake them with an Accent and a Gesture so suitable to the Subject, that Demosthenes himself thought them quite another thing, and discovered his own Failing and Infir∣mity. Eunomus and Andronicus, two Great Masters of Rhetorick, gave De∣mosthenes the same Advice too, and the same Encouragement; and after that, he fell upon the Study of this Art of Speaking and Gesture with the utmost Application and Eagerness. Well then! And what came on't at last? Why, first he built him a little Closet under-ground, and then he went down thither every day to practice his Voyce and manage his Body. He would often stay there two or three months together a-poring

upon this Study: and he would shave his Head half-way on purpose, when he had a mind to go abroad either upon Business or Diversion, that he might not appear in the Condition and Dress he was in there. There did he exercise himself with no little Contention and Force, up∣on speaking what he had read and what he had got by Heart, with a Loud Voyce: So that his Organs open'd by degrees, and his Voyce clear'd-up very sensibly and grew stronger every day than o∣ther. But he had many other great difficulties to encounter yet besides this. His Tongue was so Gross, that he could not speak his words Plain and Distinct, nor pronounce some Letters at all; as the (R) in particular: Which made peo∣ple say in a Joke, that he knew not so much as how to pronounce the first Letter of the name of his Art. He was so short-winded, in the next place, that he could speak but a very few words together without taking his breath up∣on't; which was a Resty and a Broken-winded kind of Pronunciation. The great noise of Assemblies before which he was to speak, was another difficul∣ty he h•••• 〈◊〉〈◊〉 ••urmount. But for all

this, he found out a way to overcome every one of these obstructions. First, he cured the grossness of his Tongue by putting Pebble-stones in his Mouth that he pick't-up out of the purling Stream; which was a very troublesome experi∣ment to him, and hindered his Speech mightily at first; but afterwards, when he came to practice without Pebbles in his Mouth, he found the good effects of it in the Liberty of his Tongue and the Facility of Speaking. He brake himself of breathing-short, in the next place, by running up-hill and repeating over certain Verses or some Sentences of his Harangues that he had by Heart, bolt upright as he went; which strengthen∣ed his Lungs and made him long-winded. And last of all, he conquer'd the cla∣mour of Assemblies, by going now and then to the Sea-shore, when it was most troubled, boysterous, and roaring at Full-Sea; saying off some or other of his Orations there aloud, and striving to raise his Voyce above the murmuring noise of the Waves. So that, in fine, he made himself absolute Master of Speaking. And for Gesture, he took this method, after he was well instructed

in the Praecepts and Exercice of it: He had a great Looking-glass made him, where he might see all his Shapes at once in full Proportion and Symmetry; and know how to correct every Motion or Posture of his Body, which transgress'd the Rules of Art that his Masters had taught him, by the help of so Just a Reflexion. By this means, he became at last one of the Best Speakers of the Age he liv'd in, for Action as well as for all the other parts of Oratory. Well then Gentlemen! Imitate Demosthenes, towards the accomplishing of this work. Do but give your selves so much trou∣ble as the thing will require, and your Nature will easily bear up to't, and i'll warrant the rest, both for Success and Applause. 'Twill make you as good Orators as the best Favourite of them all at the Barr.

Have you a weak voyce then? Make it your business to fortifie it as much as possible. Whatever you Read or get off-Book, speak it out a loud, and make it your own by Pronunciation. This Ex∣ercice, if it be moderate, is very good for your health; but you must have a

special care at first not to over-strain your Voyce. And therefore Plutarch very well recommends several Exercices of Body to other People, that may conduce to the Health as well as divert; but he appoints no other for those Persons that speak upon publick occasions, than what their Profession obliges them to in course: That is, to be often discour∣sing and haranguing, or at least reading out a loud and raising up the Voyce as High as Nature will well bear. An Exercice, in his Opinion, far more whole∣some and useful for this purpose than all others; for says he, while other mo∣tions only set the Limbs at work and stirr the External Members of a Man, the Voyce exercises a Nobler Part of the Body and strengthens the Lungs that give it breath. It augments the natu∣ral Heat, thins the Blood, cleanses the Veins, opens all the Arteries, prevents every obstruction, and keeps the gross Humours from thickening into a mis∣chief. But if this exercice prove too hard for you; too violent for your Con∣stitution, or too dangerous for your Breast and your Lungs; you may then very well be allowed the conduct of manag∣ing

it as St. Ambrose did; who, St. Austin tells us, used to read low down to himself to preserve his voyce, be∣cause he knew well enough if it▪ had been spent in his private readings, it would have failed him upon his Pub∣lick Performances. However, in the mean time, you would do well to be turning over a Leaf now and then, and Reading some Pages a-loft, to try your strength, and to keep up the vi∣gour of your voyce.

Are you apt to faulter in your Speech•• accustom your self in your private Le∣ctures and Rehearsals, to pronounce your Words and Syllables so distinctly, one after another, that they may all have their full Sound and Proportion. And when once you have got a habit of speaking intelligibly plain, you may af∣terwards express your self more flu∣ently, wihout maffling through a Sen∣tence. But do you find it a difficult matter to avoid this fault of Stammer∣ing in some cases, as upon set forms of Speaking or Phrases that you commonly make use of? Why then, if you can∣not otherwise bring your business about,

as 'tis impossible for some Stuttering Peo∣ple to do't; it is but changing the Order of the words, inserting a smooth Particle or two, and putting a Synonomous word in here and there for that which made you faulter; and you'll gain your point with the greatest facility imaginable.

If you cannot pronounce the Letter (R), after all the pains you have taken to master the weakness, and think it in vain to attempt it against a natural incapacity, you are not to give it over yet for an impossibility, but to use all means within the power of Nature and of Art, to correct the Error and conquer the Difficulty. For although the Athenians, that had so Nice and Delicate an Ear, could endure this Imperfection in Alci∣biades, it was either out of the fond Affection and Favour they had for his per∣son, or because he had some other Charms in his Pronunciation to make amends for't, and they thought that it gave a certain Natural Grace and Attraction to whatsoever he said. But if Stammering be a vice for all that, which very much offends the Ear, ren∣ders the Expression often Ambiguous to

the understanding, and is made the subject of Raillery and Ridicule, (as the Poets of those days give us to under∣stand it was laugh'd at in the Theatre of Athens:) we ought to endeavour the correction of it for our own Interest, and need not despaire either of Power or Capacity to do it, by good Instructi∣on and constant Practice. Thus De∣mosthenes industriously refined his Pro∣nunciation of the (R), and thus may you as well perfect yours too if you please. And if this do not come up to your Poynt of pronouncing that Letter round∣ly, with the utmost Liberty and volu∣bility in the World; provided yet that you do but pronounce it indifferently well, in some degree only of Perfection, it will be sufficient perhaps to estab∣lish you a Reputation of having the Grace on't among some or other of your Hearers.

There are some persons again that are affected with another vice, which the Greek Rhetoricians call Plateasm: That is to say; a Broad way of Speaking with the mouth wide open, and of bellow∣ing out a great sound, but nothing so

confused and inarticulate as the noise of it: Insomuch that a Man may hear them a great way off with ease, but understand no more of their Bawling than of the Bruit of Wild Beasts. Now this is not Nature's Fault, but a Vice of meer Affectation and Conceit. For these noisy People affect to speak open-mouth, and phancy that this thunder∣ing Clatt of theirs gives Power and Majesty to their Speech: But, on the contrary, 'tis this deprives it of it's greatest Virtue and Perfection, which is to be well Heard every word on't, and well understood in all it's Parts. Be∣sides that it robs it of it's very Being a Speech too; for there's not a Word in it, but only an Inarticulate Huddle of Sound and Voyce. And where's the E∣locution of unintelligible Gibberidge? We must therefore take care to avoid this way of Speaking that renders a Discourse as contemptible to the hear∣ing as it is Unprofitable to the Ʋnder∣standing. For five or six Words pro∣nounced O'this fashion must needs make us lose the Sense of a whole Sentence, and many Sentences so ill Spoken and so ill Heard must needs endanger the Under∣standing

of a whole Discourse: So that a Man can carry nothing away with him, either of neat or of perfect, from such a Clamorous Harangue and so Clownish a piece of Jargon.

There's another vice of Speaking yet quite contrary to the former, which the Graecians have called Coelostomy. It consists in Mumbling, when a Man does not open his mouth wide enough for his Words. He makes a confounded noise rumbling about the Roof of his Mouth, as if he were speaking out of a Cave or a Churn, but hardly ever sends forth one distinct Sound all the while on this side his Teeth, or conveys you one Articulate Word farther than his Lips: And this hollow way of Speaking is no less troublesome and disagreea∣ble than that above mention'd.

I am now to advance only two words more upon the Orators Care to be Heard and Ʋnderstood without difficulty. First, there are two things requisite to quali∣fie a Man for this Work: That is, a very Distinct and Articulate Voyce, and a very Strong and Vigorous Pronunciation;

but the former is the more important and necessary of the Two. For a Man that has only an indifferent Voyce, if his Pronunciation be but Distinct, he shall be understood with far more ease than another that has a stronger and more Audible Faculty of Speaking, but does not articulate his words so well. For the purpose, I have the Honour to be acquainted with a Worthy Person of a∣bout Threescore years of Age or upwards, that speaks in a Publick Character; and though he always had but a very mean Voyce, yet because he pronounces his Words so distinctly, without losing the Sound of a Syllable, he's always Heard with Admiration, and understood with the greatest facility in Nature: And that to this day too, unless his Organs have failed him very much within these few years, and be grown too weak for an Auditory, through the Infirmities of Old Age. Secondly, the next thing required is an Aud••ble and a strong Voyce; and we must not think to acquire it all on a sudden nei∣ther by main strength or intemperate violences upon Nature, but to come to't by degrees. For so the Voyce which

at first was Faint, Low, or Weak, will become Louder by little and little, and grow Stronger insensibly, by accustom∣ing our selves to the moderate exerci∣ses of Art; without doing any prejudice either to the Breast or the Lungs. By this means, in short, a Man may bring his Voyce at last to that Pitch of Per∣fection; which he never thought him∣self able to Accomplish.