fections and paffions,, often fo voluminoufly and obfcurely defcribed. Here is order, plainnefs, fimplicity; from whence it feems agreeable to nature, fimple in caufes, however abundant and various in effects."

Such are our Author's fentiments in regard to the paffions, whether they are fatisfactory or not, the reader will determine for himself. He now lays down the following rules to be observed in addreffing the paffions.-Obferve which, of what kind and turn are the paffages, (we ufe his own words) that moft affect yourselves and others; from thence take your direction. Be yourself poffeffed with the paffion you would excite. Let your addrefs to the paffions be as fhort as it conve niently may for two reafons; that you may bestow more time and care upon the rational part, and because nothing more quickly tires and difgufts than addreffes of this fort. In fpeaking to the paffions, as much as poffible conceal your doing fo.

The fubject of the twelfth leffer is Elocution; and here the Doctor makes a few obvious reflections on perfpicuity and pu rity of ftyle; after which he proceeds, in the thirteenth lecture, to treat of Ornament, in which, we are told, the chief fplendour of eloquence is placed. There are two branches, he ob ferves, from which chiefly all true ornament arifes, viz. Compofition and figures; on thefe he makes only fome preliminary obfervations in this lecture, which he concludes in the following manner. That I may give you in one view, fays he, my whole fenfe of this article, Ornament, I fhall conclude with laying before you an idea of a fpeaker perfect herein.

'He confiders well before-hand the fubject he is about to enter upon; whether it requires to be explained only, or demands proof likewife; or whether needing both thefe, it doth befides intereft the paffions of the hearers. To judge rightly hereof, he substitutes himself in the place of his hearers: if one fhould arife before me to fpeak upon this point, faith he, what would I expect? Explanation, arguments, pathetic, imagination. He proceedeth accordingly.

to

If this fubject be a complex one, he weighs the feveral parts of it diftinctly; here he expounds, there argues, again affects;. in another place, foftens the rigour of reafon and tumult of paffion with the gayer colours of fancy. He is always pure, clear, and harmonious in his ftyle; and is more especially attentive fuit it to the occafion: it feems to fpring from his fubject, and. the words wait ready, without his induftry, to cloath his, thoughts, as faft as they rife in the mind. He is plain and mo-, deft in propofing; diftinct and accurate in unfolding; weighty and preffing in confirming in the application touching, warm

F 4

ing,

Lecture

ing, penetrating. He is clofe, connected, full of dignity and energy in reasoning; clear and diftinct in explaining, lively and Thort in relating; exact, though concife, in defcribing; quick, rapid, animated in paffion,

He mingles the fire of a poet with the fimplicity of a philo fopher, and the grave majefty of the hiftorian; is fparing of digreffions, eafy in tranfitions, accurate in comparifons, weighty in reflexions. Never more artful than in concealing art, Seeming most natural, where moft skilful; most easy, where he had laboured moft; correct with fpirit; entertaining with folidity; with feeming liberty obferving always ftrict method; never appearing to wander, but in order to make his return more effectual; nor feeking to please, but with a view to perfuade. Still gratifying your curiofity with fomewhat new, yet ftill keeping it up by a profpect of more, ever rewarding your attention, at the fame time redoubling it. At every step, as in the afcending a high hill, he presents to you a new profpect, with a glimple of more opening behind. Thus ftill fatisfied, ftill unfatisfied, you are led on from expectation to expectation, and remain in fufpenfe, until you arrive at the fummit, the clofe and winding up of all; from whence you fee the scheme compleat; one juft, well conducted whole; and the mind entirely acquiefceth in it.'

- The Doctor now proceeds, in his fourteenth lecture, to treat of Compofition, by which he means, the due arrangement of words with regard to fignification and found. But he enlarges chiefly upon the latter, viz. the arrangement of words with refpect to found and here he lays down and illuftrates fome general rules, fuch as the following.-Words ought to be placed in fuch a manner, as not to fhock the ear with jarring. founds. Be on your guard against monofyllables; too frequent in our language.Observe a reasonable limit in periods, never exceeding the ufual power of the breath to utter with ease; which may be about the length of fix of our heroic verses.Seldom let two, never three, of this extent fucceed each other. -Avoid no lefs the contrary extreme of fhort fentences, which are unmufical, harth, abrupt. Efpecially ftring not many fuch together. The beft method is, to mingle thole of each kind; for thus the long will derive vigour and vivacity from the fhort, and the fhort, numbers and harmony from the long. As periods confift ufually of feveral members, you should take the fame care in each, as of the whole.-Be careful that weaker expreffions do not follow ftronger; let them rife in energy, clofing with the ftrongeft.-Be fparing in the ufe of epithets, and fynonymous terms, which clog the difcourfe with idle founds,

In the fifteenth lecture the Doctor makes fome obfervations on the ufe of figures. He fets out with enquiring, whence it comes to pafs, that figures render difcourfe more pleasing; and then points out fome abufes neceffary to be avoided iu the use of them. Of these he speaks under three heads; the number, the kinds, and the application of figures. As to the number of figures, he obferves, that multiplying them without measure, introducing them every where, and heaping them up with profufion, produces the worft confequences Nothing fo quickly tires, it takes away credibility from the Speaker; and renders difcourfe obfcure.

In regard to the kind of figures, he obferves that, generally fpeaking, we fhould avoid all fuch as turn merely upon found; that hyperboles are dangerous figures; that oppofition is a figure, which fhould be ufed difcreetly; and that no figure is more commonly used by orators than gradation or climax, yet the frequent ufe of it is faulty; because it favours of affectation, is too artificial, and grows tiresome.

Speaking of the application of figures, he obferves, that the fineft embellifhments rhetoric can furnifh, introduced in a caufe which demands only diftin&nefs and perfpicuity, deform, inftead of beautifying. Metaphor, he fays, is one of the greateft fources of beauty in figurative writing; but there are two dangers attending it. One is, the purfuing it too far. A train of metaphors carried on, forms an allegory; which figure, or rather chain of figures, if every part be apt, well connected, and agreeing with the original idea, is juftly pleafing; but purfued too far, errs in one of these two ways. Either the truth fhadowed under it lies too open, and then it becomes fat and tedious; or elfe the refemblance is too remote; in which cafe the allegory degenerates into a riddle, and offends because it puzzles. A fecond danger attending the ufe of metaphors is, the mixing different and inconfiftent ones., Much vigilance, we are told, is requifite, in guarding against this fault, the infection. of which feems to have reached, in fome degree, the best writers, both antient and modern.

In the fixteenth and feventeenth lectures, which are in the way of dialogue, the Doctor confiders the advantages that may be derived, in the ftudy of eloquence, from reading the poets. In the eighteenth he treats of Plato, as a teacher of eloquence. by precept, and as an eloquent writer; and traces out a fhort idea of his Phædrus.

The fubject of the remaining lectures is, the eloquence of the pulpit; and here our Author confines himfelf chiefly to fuch

remarks

remarks and precepts upon the fubject, as appear to him to be moft wanted. He takes a particular view of the chief qualifications requifite in a preacher; leads him through the compofition of his fermon; directs him how to choose his text, how to 'collect his materials, how to fet out, and how to refolve the whole into diftinct heads; confiders him as addreffing himfelf to reafon in his proofs, to paffion in his inferences, or to the imagination by intermingling decent ornament; and concludes with fome reflections on ftyle and pronunciation. As a fpecimen of his manner of 'treating the fubject, we fhall lay before our readers what he fays upon addreffing the paffions.

It is allowed, that a preacher should be able to move the paffions: but the attempt is delicate; if he mifcarry, it is greatly prejudicial; he then becomes difgufting, not feldom ridiculous. What therefore fhall I do? Shall I give up, as defperate, the only way whereby one can greatly excel? Or fhall I run fo great a rifk of contempt?"

In anfwer, the beft advice I can think of is the following: confider well, have you a genius turned to this pathetic? If not; by no means attempt it; for you never can fucceed well; precept, labour, ftudy, all are vain.

"But how fhall I know my own genius i nothing is more “hard, Men misjudge therein every day."

It is true and the following rules may, I think, be of ufe.

Recollect if you can, in the effays of your younger years, which is the course you have taken for at that time genius, lefs altered by imitation of art, difplayeth its innate bent and impulfe,

Obferve afterwards. In thinking of any fubject, what is the parth into which your firft thoughts hurry you, before reflection checks their career? This fpontaneous wandering fheweth the direction of nature.

Again, which are the ftudies you are moft inclined to? Do you lean towards mathematics, or metaphyfics, or works of fancv; and in the mixed, which part draws you moft powerfully? In the writings of others, what is it which pleafeth you molt at firft view this inclination, this preference fpeaks the voice of genius. Suppofe that each of thefe marks fail, that all taken toge ther may; I believe you may ffili judge fecurely, if to them you add thefe others.

Refee, wherein do you make the eafieft and quickest progrefs. Every regular difcourfe "confifleth of feveral kinds; it

world

would be abfurd to make one wholly up of pathetic: now, which of these several kinds do you fall into moft readily, and advance into most swiftly?

If your genius be truly pathetic, you wiH indeed take care of the plain and argumentative parts, because they are necessary to your defign, and to the fuccefs of the whole; but you will

not find them in the fame facility, or delight, as in the others: in them you will go through them, like a traveller in a rugged road, with difcretion and caution; whereas you come to the other as fair champain ground, which you fly over with: pleasure and rapidity.

And lastly, to make this characteristic compleat, take in the fuccefs alfo.

Every perfon may be fure of discovering this by the help of reasonable attention, without imputation of lightness or curious anxiety; efpecially in the point before us. Public mifcarriage herein, affords too great triumph to a revengeful or fatirical perfon, to be long past over in filence. As you find the event, regulate your conduct.

For, if in all cafes, as we before obferved, men ought to be cautious of attempting the pathetic, furely in this, we ought to be more especially fo; because the more important the subject, the more ferious the defign and argument, the plainer hould be the manner, the more remote from all appearance of fkill, or fufpicion of seduction.

So much for the general attempt to address the paffions: particular obfervations are thele.:

• Occasions often occur in every part of your difcourfe, in the explanatory, in the argumentative, where the pathetic may be proper but in those places, it ought to be merely a stroke, a fafh, rapid and inftantly disappearing. Infift upon, lengthen fuch paffages: you foon offend, or fatigue.

The fituation moft fit for, I may fay, peculiar to this kind, is the application. Here it is, that you are to unfurl all the fails, or to raise the metaphor, that you are to pour forth the whole ftorm of your eloquence; to move, to exhort, to comfort, to "terrify, to inflame, to melt. Your thoughts, your language, your voice, your whole form should be animated. You cannot be too foft, too infinuating, too rapid, too various, too fublime. Among others, we fee two caufes, why this (the application) fhould be the peculiar feat of the pathetic.

One is, that before conviction, every avenue through which paffion might reach the mind is thut up, or guarded, and no