our neighbours'; so much in dressing our bodies, and in talking of fashions'; and so much wasted and lost in doing nothing at all.

9. They through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness', obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions', quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword', out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight', turned to flight the armies of the aliens'.

10. If we would have the kindness of others, we must endure their follies. He who cannot persuade himself to withdraw from society, must be content to pay a tribute of his time to a multitude of tyrants; to the loiterer, who makes appointments he never keeps'; to the consulter, who asks advice which he never takes'; to the boaster, who blusters only to be praised; to the complainer, who whines only to be pitied'; to the projector, whose happiness is to entertain his friends with expectations, which all but himself know to be vain'; to the economist, who tells of bargains and settlements; to the politician, who predicts the consequences of deaths, battles, and alliances; to the usurer, who compares the different states of the funds'; and to the talker, who talks only because he loves to be talking`.

THE PARENTHESIS, AND PARENTHETICAL CLAUSES.

GENERAL RULE.

As a Parenthesis is a clause or sentence thrown into another sentence, by way of illustration or modification, it is consequently of secondary or subordinate importance. Hence, it should be read in a lower tone and at a quicker rate than the member of the sentence in which it is inserted. And to enable the hearer more fully to distinguish it from the interrupted sentence, the reader should make a short pause both at the beginning and end of it.*

a. When a parenthesis ends with a strongly emphatic word the falling inflection should be used; but in all other cases it should conclude with the same inflection as the member that immediately precedes it. It should also, in general, end with the same pause as the member that immediately precedes it.

b. When a parenthesis is long it should be read not only in a lower tone and in quicker time than the rest of the sentence, but also, in order to distinguish it more fully, with a certain degree of monotone, or sameness of voice.

c. The general rule for reading a parenthesis is applicable, in a certain degree, to all EXPLANATORY, RELATIVE, and IN

*The length of such PAUSES obviously depends upon the sense. In some cases they should be merely perceptible.

TERMEDIATE clauses, for all such clauses are parenthetic in their nature.*

d. It is also applicable, but in a small degree, to all such intervening phrases, as “said I,” “says he," "replied he," &c.

EXAMPLES.

The man who does not know how to methodize his thoughts has always' (to borrow a phrase from the Spectator) a barren superfluity of words.t

An elevated genius employed in little things appears' (to use the simile of Longinus) like the sun in his evening declination; he remits his splendour, but retains his magnitude; and pleases more, though he dazzles less.

Know then this truth' (enough for man to know')
Virtue alone is happiness below.

The bliss of man' (could man that blessing find')
Is not to act or think beyond mankind.

* A parenthesis, properly so called, may be omitted without affecting either the sense or the construction of the sentence in which it is inserted: whereas, an explanatory, relative or intermediate clause is, in some degree necessary to the meaning of the sentence into which it is thrown. The following are WALKER's observations on this point :

"It may not be improper to take notice of a very erroneous practice among printers, which is, substituting commas instead of the hooks that mark a parenthesis. Slight as this error may appear at first sight, we shall find upon reflection, that it is productive of great inconveniences: for if the parenthesis ought to be read in a lower tone of voice, and these hooks that enclose it are a mark of this tone, how shall a reader be able to understand this at sight, if the marks of the parenthesis are taken away, and commas inserted in their stead? The difficulty of always deciding what is a parenthesis and what is not, may, perhaps, be some excuse for confounding it with other intervening members; but the absolute necessity of reading a real parenthesis with its proper tone of voice, makes it of some importance to distinguish between this and the incidental member which is often confounded with it. The best rule, therefore, to distinguish the member in question is, not merely to try if sense remains when it is left out of the sentence, but to see if the member so modifies the preceding member as to change it from a general to a particular meaning; for if this be the case, the member, though incidental, is absolutely necessary to the sense of the whole sentence, and consequently cannot be a parenthesis."-Elements of Elocution.

+ This sentence is peculiarly well adapted to show the necessity for attending to the rule for reading parentheses and parenthetical clauses. If, for example, the clause, "to borrow a phrase from the Spectator," be read as recommended in the rule, the audience will at once perceive that it is a quotation in illustration of the subject; but if it be read in the same tone as the preceding clause, it will imply that, "The man who knows not how to methodize his thoughts, has always to borrow a phrase from the Spectator," which, it is almost unnecessary to observe, the writer neither meant, nor could have meant.

(a.) On the one hand are the Divine approbation and immortal honour; on the other' (remember and beware!) are the stings of conscience and endless infamy.

Tell them, though 'tis an awful thing to die',

('Twas even to thee!) yet, the dread path once trod,
Heaven lifts its everlasting portals high,

And bids "the pure in heart behold their God."

(b.) For these reasons the senate and the people of Athens' (with due veneration to the gods and heroes, and guardians of the Athenian city and territory, whose aid they now implore; and with due attention to the virtues of their ancestors, to whom the general liberty of Greece was ever dearer than the particular interest of their own state') have resolved that a fleet of two hundred vessels shall be sent to sea, the admiral to cruise within the Straits of Thermopyla.

His spear (to equal which the tallest pine
Hewn on Norwegian hills, to be the mast
Of some high admiral, were but a wand')
He walked with, to support uneasy steps,
Over the burning marl.

(c.) Augustus, the Roman emperor, he who succeeded Julius Cæsar, is variously described.

To hear complaints with patience, even when complaints are vain, is one of the duties of friendship.

The passion for praise, which is so very vehement in the fair sex, produces excellent effects in women of sense.

He then proceeded to Dublin, the capital city of Ireland, and re

mained there for three weeks.

(d.) Thus then, said he, since you are so urgent, it is thus that I conceive it: the sovereign good is that, the possession of which renders us happy. And how, said I, do we possess it? is it sensual or intellectual? There you are entering, said he, upon the detail.

You perceive then, said I, that the cause is a hopeless one. How can that be? said he. It is obnoxious to the ministry, replied I. Justice, exclaimed he, will carry it.

CLIMAX.

A Climax is a kind of series which rises, as it were, by regular steps, from one circumstance to another, till it seems impossible to carry the thought to a greater elevation. As each circumstance added is of greater importance than the one that precedes it, the climax should be read with a gradually increasing swell of the voice on each succeeding member, accompanied with such a degree of animation and energy as the subject and the occasion require.

*The increasing swell of voice required in reading a climax does not necessarily imply increasing height or loudness. Increased force may be imparted by adopting a low, strong tone.

EXAMPLES.

After we have practised good actions a while, they become easy; and when they are easy, we begin to take pleasure in them; and when they please us, we do them frequently; and by frequency of acts, a thing grows into a habit; and a confirmed habit is a kind of second nature; and so far as any thing is natural, so far it is necessary, and we can hardly do otherwise; nay, we do it many times when we do not think it.

Since concord was lost, friendship was lost, fidelity was lost, liberty was lost, all was lost.

What a piece of work is man! How noble in reason! how transcendant in faculties! in form and moving, how express and admirable! in action how like an angel! in apprehension, how like a God!

I conjure you by that which you profess,
(Howe'er you came to know it) answer me;
Though you untie the winds, and let them fight
Against the churches; though the yeasty waves
Confound and swallow navigation up;

Though bladed corn be lodged and trees blown down:
Though castles topple on their warders' heads;

Though palaces and pyramids do slope

Their heads to their foundations; though the treasures
Of Nature's germins tumble altogether,
Even till destruction sicken, answer me
To what I ask you.

RHETORICAL PUNCTUATION.

Besides the usual GRAMMATICAL STOPS, to which the pupils should be accustomed to pay the same attention as to the words, there are what are called RHETORICAL pauses or stops, which should, by no means, be neglected. These pauses are not, like the ordinary stops in reading, depicted to the eye, nor is it necessary that they should; for in all cases where a pause of this kind is necessary, a judicious reader will instinctively make it that is, if he is attending to the great and fundamental rule for GOOD READING, which we have so frequently mentioned.

The following passage from Mr. J. Sheridan Knowles' “Elocutionist” expresses our opinion on this subject :—

"I am convinced that a nice attention to rhetorical punctuation has an extremely mischievous tendency, and is totally inconsistent with nature. Give the sense of what you read: MIND is the thing. Pauses are essential only where their omission would obscure the sense. The orator who, in the act of delivering himself, is studiously solicitous about parcelling out his words, is sure to leave the best part of his work undone. He delivers words, not thoughts. Deliver thoughts, and words will take care enough of themselves. I repeat it-BE IN EARNEST."

E

In most compilations of this kind there are several rules laid down with regard to rhetorical punctuation; the following are the principal:

1. Pause after the nominative to a verb when it consists of more words than one, or even after a nominative consisting of a single word, when it is important or emphatic; as, "The fashion of this world/ passeth away. "And Nathan said unto David, Thou art the man." 2. Before and after all intermediate, explanatory, or parenthetical clauses; as, "Trials/ in this state of being/ are the lot of man.' 3. Before a relative pronoun;* as, The man who feels himself ignorant, should at least be modest." "Hypocrisy is the tribute/ which vice pays to virtue." "It is the mind that makes the body rich." 4. Before that also when it is used as a conjunction; as, "It is in society only/ that we can relish those pure, delicious joys which embellish and gladden the life of man. 5. After words in apposition: as, "Hope/ the balm of life, soothes us under every misfortune." (But if the two words are single, no pause should be made: as, "Paul the apostle.") 6. After words in opposition, or contrasted; as, "Prosperity/ gains friends, adversity/ tries them." "Some/ place their bliss in action, some/ in ease." 7. Wherever an ellipsis takes place; as, "Life is precarious, and death/ certain." 8. Between all adjectives, except the last, applied to one substantive; and all adverbs, except the last, which qualify one verb; as, "Let but one brave great/ active/ disinterested man arise, and he will be received, followed, and venerated." "Wisely/rationally/ and prudently to love, is, in the opinion of lovers, not to love at all." 9. Between all the nouns and pronouns which constitute the nominative to a verb; as, "Riches/ pleasure/ and health/ become evils to those who do not know how to use them." "He/ and they were present.” 10. After, and generally before, emphatic words or phrases.

The following sentences will exemplify these rules generally, and will also serve to show the impossibility of carrying them into practice, without betraying a studied and artificial manner of reading.

At the same time/ that I think discretion/ the most useful talent/ a man can be master of, I look upon cunning, to be the accomplishment/ of little, mean, ungenerous minds. Discretion/ points out the noblest ends to us, and pursues the most proper/ and laudable method/ of atttaining them: cunning/ has only private selfish aims, and sticks at nothing/ which may make them succeed. Discretion/ has large and extended views, and, like a well-formed eye, commands a whole horizon; cunning/ is a kind of short-sightedness, that discovers the minutest objects/ that are near at hand, but is not able to discern things/ at a distance.

*This rule extends to several words usually called ADVERBS; such as, when, why, wherefore, where, whether, whither, whence, while, how, till or until. These words include in their meaning the force of relative pronouns. Thus, WHEN is equivalent to the time at which; WHY or WHEREFORE is equivalent to the reason for which; and so of the rest.