IE? y of Cali Southern R egio library p aciJi , A/ 5%^ THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES FREDERIC THOMAS BLANCHARD ENDOWMENT FUND Vtf SOME RULES FOR SPEAKING AND ACTION. 5 2S8R?^s22ffiiSS9sZ - > M I A I VIC) IT A SOME RULES FOR SPEAKING AND ACTION; To be obferved At the BAR, in the PULPIT and the SENATE, and by every one that Speaks in PUBLICK. In a Le.tter to a FRIEND. Eft enim Actio quqfi Corporis quadam Elo- quent i a, cum Conftet e Voce at qui Motu. Vocis Mutationes totidem funt^ quot Ani- morum, qui Maxime Voce Commoventur. Tu L. DUBLIN: Printed for William Brien, Book- fcller in Dame-ftrcet. Mdccli. >! \A T A A q ? r JL JTl. XL w>J. A O O I T A I o C\ f~tf-\ .0.1*13 ' i V \ JL f e \ 41ZI ( 5 ) _Sfc8 SOME RULES FOR SPEAKING AND ACTION. SIR, EVERY Orator fhould form in his Mind a ve- ry ftrong Idea of the Subjed: he is upon, and be firft thoroughly touch'd with his Difcourfe 803783 (6) Difcourfe himfelf, before he can expect to touch and move o- thers. There muft be nothing offensive to the Ear in Pronun- ciation^ nor to the Eye in Acti- on ; but all Speech and Gejiure fhould feem Natural, and the nearer they come to Nature, the nearer they are to Perfection. DEMOSTHENES ex- ercis'd his Voice, and regulated his Action, before a great Glafs ; but you, Sir, may fooner learn to excel, by feeing and hearing good Patterns, imitating what you like, avoiding, or altering, what you diflike in them, and by employ- ing a Faithful and Judicious Friend to correal the Errors in your Gejiure and Accent. A Firm ( 7 ) A F i R m Articulate Voice^ and a ftrong Pronunciation^ are very great Advantages to any Man who fpeaks in publick ; but then an Orator mould take Care to deliver himfelf Clearly y Smooth- ly> and not fo Loud as to put his Voice upon the Stretch : For all boifterous Words and Aclions are unartful and offenfive ; and we may obferve that Stentor is not numbered among Homers fine Speakers ; and that Cicero deri- ded the Rhetoricians of his Time for their Noife and Bawling. Every Man indeed mould Jill the Place where he fpeaks, but if He exceeds the Natural Key of his Voice, it will be nei- ther Sweety nor Softy nor Agree- able y he will not be able to give every (8) every Syllable its full and diftinft Sound> nor to pronounce the Words concluding a Period, which fhould always be fpoke Audibly, fo as to be heard with- out Pain. S o far, S i r, fhould an Ora- tor be from fpeaking in one con- tinued Tone, that he ought above all Things to ftudy the Variation of his Voice ; yet it fhould be done in fuch a regular Manner, as to change with thefeveral dif- ferent Parts of the Subjetl, and yet be always fo equal to it felf as to preferve the Harmony of Speech, But this cannot be pre- ferved, when the Voice is varied with too great a Dijlin&ion ; and therefore it fhould Jlide from one Key to another, and rather glide like (9) like a gentle Stream, than pour down like a rapid Torrent. T h s Art of this Alteration con- fifts in Highnefs and Lownefs, Ve- hemence and Softnefs* Swift ne/s and Slownefs: The lels affected the Va- riation of the Voice is, 'tis the better and more pleafing ; and the eafieft and fureft Way to learn it to Perfection, is by reading A- loud in private Study, minding how we fpeak in Common Con- verfatioK, and repeating of Tra- gedies, where all the various Turns of Humane Paffions are reprefent- ed, and underftanding fomewhat of Singing and Mujick. A Clear and Sedate Voice beft informs the Under/landing, and a Moderate Sound is moft a- greeable to the Ear, if 'as Dif- B tint % (IO ) tin&, and eafie to be heard ; but yet there are fome Cafes, Sir, in which the Voice muft be neither Sedate nor Moderate. For Inftance, All Exclama- tions and Imprecations muft be Violent ; good Actions mould be exprefs'd in a Lofty Accent, bad Ones with a Tone of Anger and Difdainy the Happinefs, or the Mifery of Kingdoms, ought to carry an Higher Air of Regard than that of a private Man ; the Wonders of Providence fliould be mentioned in a Grave Voice, and yet full of Admiration ; Words of Complaint muft be in a Melan- choly Tone, and Words of Leffen- ing in a Low one; when we prefs an Adverfary, the Voice mould be Brisk and {uickj when we ad- drefs to Inanimates, it ought to be Higher ( " ) Higher than when to Animates; when we appeal to Heaven, it muft be in a Loftier Tone than when to Men; Joy and Sorrow, Fear and Boldnefs, Refentment and Com- paflion, Efteem and Contempt, de* mand Different Looks axi&Aclions. We fliould alfo Change the Voice in a Profopopceia, and /peak as the Perfon introduced would ; in an Antithefes, the one Contrary muft be Louder than the other ; in a Climax, the Voice fliould Ri/e with it ; in Dialogue, it fliould Alter with the Parts; in a Repeti- tion, it fliould be Loudefl in the Jecond Place; Emphatical Words, fuch as Certainly^ Ajfuredly, Ne- ce]Jarily 9 mu{\. be pronounced with a Force and DifiinSlion ; Words of Quality, fuch as Grand, High, fliould have a Strefs laid on them ; B 2 and ( 12 ) and fo muft Words of Praife and Difpraife. An Orator, Sir, mould Begin with a low and modeft Voice, Raife it by Degrees as the Subject requires, and Conclude with Joy, and Triumph, and Satisfaction. He muft not fpeak Broad y nor with the Mouth Wide-open ; he fhould not deliver himfelf too Fafty nor too Slow, but in fuch a Manner as the Ear of the Hearer may keep Pace with the Tongue of the Speaker. When zwOrator recovers from a FaJJion, or a Tr an/port y the Voice fhould be Lower d ; and when a following Period needs a greater Elevation than ordinary, he muft fave the Voice before for it. A . . ( *3 ) A Short Period fhould be pronounced in a Breathy and he muft fetch Breath in a long Sen- tence only at Semi-colons. He fhould never Paufe in the Middle of an Expreffion, but at the End of a Period ; and it muft be Short after a Short One, and Long after a .Lo^g* One. These few Hints and Sketches, Sir, well attended to and im- proved, may be fufficient to in- ftrucl an Orator in the Art of Speaking. The next Part of this Letter relates to his A&ion. An Orator fhould never ufe any Low or Mean Actions, and yet all his Adions ought to feem natural; he muft look Mournful on ( *4) on Mournful^ and Chearful on Chearful Subjects. The Life of Action is in the Face, and confifts in the Voice*, Eyes, Brows and Mouth and therefore the whole Face friou'd be adjufted to the Matter in Hand. ABion muft be exactly with Ut- terance, and every Gejlure fhould exprefs the Nature of the Words he is Uttering. When he intro- duces Another fpeaking, he fhould ufe fuch Actions only 33 are pro- per for Him. The Pofture of the Body " fhould not Change every Moment, nor muft it Long keep the fame Pofition. The Mouth mould not be writh'd, the Lips bit or UcKd, the Shoulders Jhruggd, nor the Billy thrufi out. The ft!) The Head rauft not be Lifted up too High, nor Stretch* d out too far, nor Thrown hack, nor Hang on the Breafl, nor always Lean on the Shoulders. In all calm Speeches, it ought to keep its na- tural State, and upright Pofitiofi. It mull not be without Motion^ nor always Moving, but fhould gently Turn to the Neck, fame- times on oneSide, fometimes on the Other, as Occafion requires, that the Voice' may be Heard by all the Audience, and then Return to its natural Pojlure again. The Head fhould be on the fame fide with the AElions of the Body, ex- cept when he exprefies an Aver- fion to any Thing, which is done by Rejecling it with the Right Hand, and Turning the Head to the Left. His (i6) His Eyes mould be always on fome of the Audience, gently turning from fide to fide, with an Air of Re/pecl, and looking them decently in the Face, as in Common Dijcourfe. But in Appeals to Heaven, or when he fpeaks of Heaven, the Eyes muft Turn up; when he mentions Hell, or Earth, or Things Terrejfrial, they mould 'Turn down. He muft alfo look down in Humility, up in Ho- nour-, and Lift up both Eyes and Hands in Atteftations, Vows, Oaths, and Exclamations. The Hands, Sir, need ne- ver be idle. They mould Cor- refpond with each other in all re- gular Geftures, but. if one. Hand is ( I7) is ufed, it muft be the Right* When an Orator fpeaks of him- felf the Right Hand mould be gently laid on the Breajl. All AElions muft pafs from the Left to the Right Hand, and there end. The Motion of the Hands muft juft agree with what he is faying, as either uniting or fepa- rating, inviting or forbidding^ raijing or deprejfing. The Hands mould never be lifted up above the Eyes, nor mould they be much lower; Nei- ther Hand muft hang down, but they mould be always in view of the Eyes, and correfponding with the Motions of the Head, Eyes and Body. The Arms mould not ftretch out Sideways above half a Foot from the Trunk of the Body. C The (i8) The Left Hand, Sir, as I hinted before, mould never be ufed Alone ; nor muft either El- bow lean upon the Pulpit or the BaA We fhould avoid all Ac- tion in the Exordium to a Ser- mon or a Speech ; and Begin a Following Period always a De- gree Lower than we Concluded the Former. And- noWj Sir, fince a Gen- teel Motion, a Fine Geflure, the Gallantry and Air of Delivery , mix'd with Courtlinefs and Mo- deration, with Decency and Good Grace, added to the Harmony of a Delicate Voice, charm an Audience more than all the Fi- gures of Rhetorick, fure an Ora- tor mould confider well before he fpeaks, and even whilft he is lpeaking, ( 19 ) (peaking, how to Frame his Voice and Move his Body J he fhould a- void as much as pofTible all Cough- ing and Spittings practife the Rules of Pronunciation and Gef- ture in Ordinary Difcourfe^ to make 'em the more natural to him, and endeavour to Lengthen his Breath by Study and Exer- cife. Nor can I think it any Fault in a young Gentleman of your Profeffion, Sir, to fee fuch a modeft Play as Cato or Abra- mule fometimes. >JJI ftudet opt at am Curfu (Contingere Metam Mult a Tulit, Fecit que Puer; Su- ( davit & Alfit ; Abflinuit Venere Qf Vino, Thus, in Obedience to your Commands, Sir, I have run C 2 over ( 20) over what Books I could in this fhort Time, which lay down Rules for /peaking and AElion in Publick; and though this Letter is an Epitome of Volumes, and may fave you fome Time, and Pains, and Charge, yet it does not pretend to be compieat > nor will any Thing on this Subject, which depends fo much u^on Hu- mour and Fancy, ever be thought ferfeB : But this I can venture to fay> that what I here prefent you with is true Sterling, and you may either keep it thus in Barrs, or draw it out into Wire. I have thrown all the Mat- ter I met with into the fhorteft Compafs% without regarding any Ornaments of Drefs, which could not ( 21 ) not be obferved without fwel- ling my Qbfervations beyond the Size of a Letter. The Books I confulted, indeed, feem'd to me to be like Bladders diftended with Wind ; and I am fure you will forgive me for fqueezing the Wind out of them, and bring- ing more Lines than ever Homer writ into a Nut-JhelL I have long thought every Part of Science in a Dropjie % cumbered with Wens and Swel- lings, and wiflied fome kind Hands would reduce them to natural Shapes ; but I never knew fo well how much a Man muft Read for a little Know- ledge, 'till you were pleas'd to impofe this Task on me. If Ars ( 22 ) Ars longa Vita brevis was the Complaint of Old, how cruel are Ihofe who make Art ftill longer as Life grows Jhorter ? This Abufe, Sir, is chief- ly owing to the Bookfellers, who Buy and Sell by Bulk and Weight. Every Man, fay they, defires to have enough for his Money, and but few Readers mind whether 'tis Lead or Gold: And moll Authors having more Words than Sen/e, they ufe them All to En- hanfe their Price, and fo draw the Shadow much longer than the Sub/lance. Since the Gravity of our i/k, Sir, will not bear much ABion^ we fhould take Gare to fcfeat (23 ) felecT: the Be/i; and I dare pro* mife that if you praclife thefe Hints, and add your own Ob- Jervations to them, you will foon perfeEl your Voice and GeJIure. I n Town, S i r, you have fo many Examples worthy Imita- tion, both in the Senate, on the Bench, at the Bar and in the Pulpit, that if you well attend to them, you can want little other Direction; as Cowper and Harcourt, Hanmer and Lech' mere, Parker and Price, Powis and Vernon, Canterbury and York, Ely and Rochejler, Stan- hope and Mofs ; and therefore I mall Lajlly, refer you to thofe Living Rules y to make up the ( 24 ) Deficiency of Thefey and fub- fcribe my felf, S I R, Your tnojl JlffeBionate Humble Servant. i F I N / i University of California SOUTHERN REGIONAL LIBRARY FACILITY 305 De Neve Drive - Parking Lot 17 Box 951388 LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA 90095-1388 Return this material to the library from which it was borrowed. "I J THE LIBRARY UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES UC SOUTHERN REGIONAL LIBRARY FACILITY A A 000 032192 7 c *lif on