METHODS OF EXPRESSION ENERGY. Scattering shot do little execution.- REV. E. O. HAVEN. He that hath knowledge spareth his words.-PROVERBS. Speak not at all, in any wise, till you have somewhat to speak; care not for the reward of your speaking, but simply, and with undivided mind, for the truth of your speaking.-CARLYLE. the HERIDAN, returning one morning from the meeting of Parliament, and being asked by a friend for the news of the day, replied that he had enjoyed a laugh over the speeches of Mr. Fox and Lord Stormont, the latter of whom began by declaring in a slow, solemn, nasal monotone, that 'when- he-considered-the enormity—and unconstitutional-tendency-of the measures just-proposed, he was - hurried away in a - torrent of passion and a whirlwind of im-pet-u-os-i-ty.' Mr. Fox was described as springing to his feet, and beginning, lightning-like, thus: Mr. Speaker, such is the magnitude such the importance such the vital interest of the question that I cannot but implore I cannot but adjure the House to come to it with the utmost calmness the utmost coolness the utmost deliberation. Each manner is here significant of the real state of the writer's mind: but the one is characterized by immobility, which is death; the other by movement, which is the effect and evidence of life. Both are clear, but the former is crawling, colorless, feeble; the latter is anxious, active, and hence communicative. A thought may be expressed clearly in the highest degree, yet be capable of more effective presentation. Thus, again, in the following, how much more impressive, though not more perspicuous, is the interrogative than the declarative would be: Can gray hairs render folly venerable?-Junius. -Shakespeare. Energy may therefore be defined as the force, vigor, or strength of expression, whereby the mind addressed is more or less powerfully influenced or interested. In general, it is promoted by whatever promotes clearness, since what is obscure is, in the measure of its obscurity, not felt. Hence in the choice, number, and arrangement of words, many of the principles which render language clear, render it also energetic. A first requisite of vigorous statement is simplicity, which is the economy of means. Its true name, in eloquence proper, in oratory, is popularity, a quality that consists in the use of language composed of expressions familiar to the majority. Popular language is the common ground on which all classes of society meet and communicate with one another. Its best part is Saxon, the strength of which has become one of the truisms of literature. The vernacular carries weight, too, because it is interwoven with the sensibilities of those who use it. Swiss soldiers in the Austrian service used to be forbidden to sing their country's songs in their native tongue because it tempted so many to desertion. Another essential is propriety, or justness, including precision; that is, the choice not only of good English, but of such English as shall express our meaning, no more, no less, no other. Ill-chosen words diminish perspicuity, without which we can never be strong. Says La Bruyère on this subject: 'Among all the different expressions which may render one and the same thought, only one is good; we do not always fall in with it in speaking or in writing. It nevertheless exists, and every other except that is feeble.' That the want of propriety may be felt, it suffices that the exact correspondence of the term to the idea is not felt. If readers or hearers 'do not distinctly notice that the term is improper, they at least do not receive from it the impression, the stroke, so to speak, which they should receive; the hammer has struck by the side of the nail or struck the nail on the side.' 1 Specific, individual words, being more definite and lifelike, are to be chosen in preference to abstract ones. The former give a distinct picture, readily seized; the latter, a vague statement, grasped with difficulty. The great preachers particularize, dealing little in abstractions. When the Savior would express the goodness or the providence of God, he does it in concrete terms: 'Are.not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall to the ground without your Father.' 'Even the very hairs of your head are numbered.' Great orators, great dramatists, are direct, not general. Observe how Shakespeare, his object being to excite horror, puts into the mouth of Antony the most particular expressions: O, pardon me, thou bleeding piece of earth, That ever lived in the tide of times. Woe to the hand that shed this costly blood! A curse shall light upon the limbs of men; Domestic fury, and fierce civil strife, Shall cumber all the parts of Italy; 1M. Vinet. And dreadful objects so familiar, That mothers shall but smile when they behold To economize space so far as this can be done consistently with the adequate expression of the meaningis to economize the recipient's mental energy, and hence to augment the effect; for the more time and power it takes to receive and understand each sentence, the less can be used to realize the thought conveyed. 'As, when the rays of the sun are collected into the focus of a burning glass, the smaller the spot is which receives them, compared with the surface of the glass, the greater is the splendor, so, in exhibiting our sentiments by speech, the narrower the compass of words is, wherein the thought is comprised, the more energetic is the expression. Accordingly, we find that the very same sentiment expressed diffusely, will be admitted barely to be just; expressed concisely, will be admired as spirited.' A word, if apt, may tell more than a sentence. A picture may say more than a volume. What is suggested is more vivid than what is told. Sir Joshua Reynolds says that Titian knew how to place upon the canvas the image and character of any object he attempted, by a few strokes of the pencil, and that he thus produced a truer representation than any of his predecessors who finished. every hair. So the great writers and speakers group instead of analyzing, knowing well that in these days men think and act quickly, with all their faculties on the alert: If thou be'st he but O, how fallen, how changed!-Milton. Richter says, in the Island of Sumatra there is a kind of 'Lightchafres,' large Fire-flies, which people stick upon spits, and illuminate the ways with at night. Persons of condition can thus travel with a pleasant radiance, which they much admire. Great honour to the Fire-flies! But-!-Carlyle. There's no one now to share my cup.-Thackeray. Brevity is misplaced, however, if it involves the omission of words necessary to perspicuity. Nor should it be sought alike on every subject and occasion. The ignorant require more explanation than the intelligent. Writing may be more concise than speaking. A reader can re-peruse a sentence, if necessary, or stop and think. A hearer can scarcely pause, without loss, to catch the meaning. Wherever the purpose is persuasion, a certain time, as the skilful orator well knows, is requisite for working up the feelings. Emphasis is increased both by repetition of words and by varying the form of presentation: Charge, Chester, charge! on, Stanley, on!-Scott. None but the brave, None but the brave, None but the brave deserve the fair.-Dryden. If I were an American, as I am an Englishman, while a foreign troop were landed in my country, I would never lay down my arms never, never, never!-Chatham. 'Educate the people,' was the admonition of Penn to the commonwealth he founded. Educate the people,' was the last legacy of Washington to the Republic of the United States. Educate the people,' was the unceasing exhortation of Jefferson.— Macaulay. A chief excellence of oratory is the power to amplify a thought by unfolding it in diverse directions, presenting it in various lights, each distinct from the other in appearance rather than in reality. Observe, in the following extract, the return to a single, central idea, each time from |