Speaking Delineated; in which I explained it as well as I was able by writing, but referred the reader to some passages where he could scarcely fail to adopt it upon certain words, and perceive the justness of the distinction. I was confirmed in my opinion by reflecting that à priori, and independently on actual practice, these modifications of the human voice must necessarily exist. First, if there was no turn or inflection of the voice, it must continue in a monotone. Secondly, if the voice was inflected, it must be either upwards or downwards, and so produce either the rising or falling inflection. Thirdly, if these two were united on the same syllable, it could only be by beginning with the rising, and ending with the falling inflection, or vice versa; as any other mixture of these opposite inflections was impossible. A thorough conviction of the truth of this distinction, gave me a confidence which nothing could shake. I exemplified it, viva voce, to many of my critical friends, who uniformly agreed with me and this enabled me to conceive and demonstrate the Greek and Latin circumflex, (so often mentioned, and so totally unintelligible to the moderns,) but occasioned not a little surprise (since it is as easy to conceive that the voice may fall and rise upon the same syllable, as that it may rise and fall) why the ancients had the latter circumflex, and not the former. Some probable conjectures respecting this point, as well as the nature of accent, ancient and modern, may be seen at the end of a Work lately published, called A Key to the Classical Pronunciation of Greek and Latin Proper Names, CONTENTS. FIRST PART. A INTRODUCTION, Elocution defined General Idea of the common Doctrine of Punctuation Introduction to the Theory of Rhetorical Punctuation Inconsistencies of the common Doctrine of Punctuation Theory of Rhetorical Punctuation r Practical System of Rhetorical Punctuation Introduction to the Theory of the Inflections of the Voice Of the two simple Inflections of the Voice Method of explaining the Inflections of the Voice Another method of explaining the Inflections of the Voice Utility of a knowledge of the Inflections of the Voice Page PREMONITION ΤΟ THE READER. Ir may not, perhaps, be improper to inform the Reader, that if he wishes fully to understand the following Work, he must first apply himself closely to the acquiring of a just idea of the two radical distinctions of the voice into the Rising and Falling Inflection, as explained, Part I. p. 82 and 84; and Part II. p. 183. If, however, after all his labour, the Author should not have been able to convey an idea of these two distinctions of voice upon paper, he flatters himself that those parts of the Work, which do not depend upon these distinctions, are sufficiently new and useful to reward the time and pains of a perusal. |