READING AND ELOCUTION.—XXV. EXERCISES ON EXPRESSIVE TONE (concluded). THE following is an extract from a debate for young speakers, and forms a useful exercise in elocution : XIX. CHARACTER OF JULIUS CESAR. FIRST SPEAKER.-" Was Cæsar a great man ?"-What revolution has taken place in the first appointed government of the universe-what new and opposite principle has begun to direct the operations of nature-what refutation of their long-established precepts has deprived reason of her sceptre, and virtue of her throne, that a character which forms the noblest theme that ever merit gave to fame, should now become a question for debate ? No painter of human excellence, if he would draw the features of that hero's character, need study a favourable light or striking attitude. In every posture it has majesty; and the lineaments of its beauty are prominent in every point of view. It is a generally-received opinion, that uncommon circumstances make uncommon men: Cæsar was an uncommon man in common circumstances. The colossal mind commands your admiration, no less in the pirate's captive, than in the victor at Pharsalia. Who but the first of his race could have made vassals of his savage masters, mocked them into reverence of a superior nature and threatened, with security, the power that held him at its mercy? Of all the striking incidents of Caesar's life, had history preserved for us but this single one, it would have been sufficient to make us fancy all the rest-at least, we should have said, "Such a man was born to conquest, and to empire !" To expatiate on Caesar's powers of oratory, would only be to add one poor eulogium to the testimony of the first historians. Cicero himself grants him the palm of almost pre-eminent merit; and seems at a loss for words to express his admiration of him. His voice was musical, his delivery energetic, his language chaste and rich, appropriate and peculiar. And it is well presumed that, had he studied the art of public speaking with as much industry as he studied the art of war, he would have been the first of orators. Quintilian says, he would have been the only man capable of combating Cicero; but granting them to have been equal in ability, what equal contest could the timid Cicero-whose nerves fail him, and whose tongue falters when the forum glitters with arms-what equal contest could he have held with the man whose vigour chastised the Belge, and annihilated the Nervii, that maintained their ground till they were hewn to pieces on the spot ? His abilities as a master of composition were undoubtedly of the first order. How admirable is the structure of his Commentaries! What perspicuity and animation are there in the details! You fancy yourself upon the field of action! You follow the development of his plans with the liveliest curiosity! You look on with unwearied attention, as he fortifies his camp or invests his enemy, or crosses the impetuous torrent! You behold his legions, as they move forward from different points to the line of battle! You hear the shout of the onset, and the crash of the encounter; and, breathless with suspense, mark every fluctuation of the awful tide of war! As a politician, how consummate was his address!-how grand his projections!-how happy the execution of his measures! He governs his province with such equity and wisdom, as add a milder but a fairer lustre to his glory, and by their fame prepare the Roman people for his happy yoke. Upon the very eve of his rupture with Pompey, he sends back, on demand, the borrowed legions; covering with rewards the soldiers that may no longer serve him, and whose weapons on the morrow may be turned against his breast-presenting here a noble example of his respect of right, and of that magnanimity which maintains that gratitude should not cease, though benefits are discontinued When he reigns sole master of the Roman world, how temperate is his triumph-how scrupulous his respect for the very forms of the laws! He discountenances the profligacy of the patricians, and endeavours to preserve the virtue of the state by laying wholesome restraints upon luxury. He encourages the arts and sciences, patronises genius and talent, respects religion and justice, and puts in practice every means that can contribute to the welfare, the happiness, and the stability of the empire. It is unnecessary to recount the military exploits of Cesar. Why should I compel your attention to follow him, for the hundredth time, through hostile myriads, yielding at every encounter to the force of his invincible arms? As a captain, he was the first of warriors; nor were his valour and skill more admirable than his abstinence and watchfulness, his disregard of ease and his endurance of labour, his moderation and his mercy. Perhaps, indeed, this last quality forms the most dominant feature in his character; and proves, by the consequences of its excess, that virtue itself requires restraint, and has its proper bounds, which it ought not to exceed-for Cæsar's moderation was his ruin! That Cæsar had a heart susceptible of friendship, and alive to the finest touches of humanity, is unquestionable. Why does he attempt so often to avert the storm of civil war? Why does he pause so long upon the brink of the Rubicon P Why does he weep when he beholds the head of his unfortunate rival? Why does he delight in pardoning his enemies-even those very men that had deserted him? It seems as if he lived the lover of mankind, and fell-as the bard expresses it-vanquished, not so much by the weapons as by the ingratitude of his murderers. If a combination of the most splendid talents for war with the most sacred love of peace-of the most illustrious public virtue with the most endearing private worth-of the most unyielding courage with the most accessible moderation, may constitute a great man, that title must be Cæsar's ! SECOND SPEAKER.-No change has taken place in the first appointed government of the universe; the operations of nature acknowledge now the same principle that they did in the beginning; Reason still holds her sceptre, Virtue still fills her throne; and the epithet of great does not belong to Cæsar! I would lay it down, as an unquestionable position, that the worth of talents is to be estimated only by the use we make of them. If we employ them in the cause of virtuo, their value is great, if we employ them in the cause of vice, they are less than worthless-they are pernicious and vile. Now let us examine Cæsar's talents by this principle, and we shall find, that neither as an orator nor as a poli. tician-neither as a warrior nor as a friend-was Cæsar a great man! If I were asked, "What was the first, the second, and the last principle of the virtuous mind ?" I should reply, "It was the love of country." It was the love of parent, brother, friend!-the love of MAN!-the love of honour, virtue, and religion!-the love of every good and virtuous deed! I say, then, if I were asked, "What was the first, the second, and the last principle of the virtuous mind?” I should reply, "It was the love of country!" Without it man is the basest of his kind!-a selfish, cunning, narrow speculator!-a trader in the dearest interests of his species!-reckless of every tie of nature, sentiment, affection! What was Cæsar's oratory ?-How far did it prove him to be actuated by the love of country? It justified for political interest the invader of his honour!-sheltered the incendiary!-abetted treason!-flattered the people into their own undoing!-assailed the liberties of his country, and bawled into silence every virtuous patriot that struggled to uphold them! He would have been a greater orator than Cicero ! I question the assertion-I deny that it is correct!-He would have been a greater orator than Cicero ! Well-let it pass-he might have been a greater orator, but he never could have been so great a man. Which way soever he directed his talents, the same inordinate ambition would have led to the same results; and had he devoted himself to the study of oratory, his tongue had produced the same effects as his sword, and equally desolated the human kingdom. But Cæsar is to be admired as a politician! I do not pretend to define the speaker's idea of a politician; but I shall attempt to put you in possession of mine. By a politician, I understand a man who studies the laws of prudence and of justice as they are applicable to the wise and happy government of a people, and the reciprocal obliga. tions of states. Now, how far was Cæsar to be admired as a politician? He makes war upon the innocent Spaniards, that his military talents may not suffer from inaction. This was a ready way to preserve the peace of his province, and to secure its loyalty and affection! That he may be recorded as the first Roman that had ever crossed the Rhine in a hostile manner, he invades the unoffending Germans, lays waste their territories with fire, and plunders and sacks their country. Here was a noble policy!-that planted in the minds of a brave and formidable people the fatal seeds of that revenge and hatred which finally assisted in accomplishing the destruction of the Roman empire! In short, Cæsar's views were not of that enlarged nature which could entitle him to the name of a great politician; for he studied not the happiness and interest of a community, but merely his own advancement, which he accomplished-by violating the laws and destroying the liberties of his country. That Cæsar was a great conqueror, I do not care to dispute. His admirers are welcome to all the advantages that result from such a position. I will not subtract one victim from the hosts that perished for his fame; or abate, by a single groan, the sufferings of his vanquished enemies. But I will avow it to be my opinion, that the character of a great conqueror does not necessarily constitute that of a great man; nor can the recital of Cæsar's victories produce any other impression upon my mind than what proceeds from the contemplation of those convulsions of the earth, which in a moment inundate with ruin the plains of fertility and the abodes of peace; or, at one shock, convert whole cities into the graves of their living population! But Cæsar's munificence, his clemency, his moderation, and his affectionate nature, constitute him a great man! What was his munificence, his clemency, or his moderation?-the automaton of his ambition! It knew no aspiration from the Deity. It was a thing from the hands of the mechanician!-an ingenious mockery of nature! Its action seemed spontaneous-its look argued a soul-but all the virtue lay in the finger of the operator. He could possess no real munificence, moderation, or clemency, who ever expected his gifte to be doubled by return-who never abstained, but with a view to excess; nor spared, but for the indulgence of rapacity.-Knowles. The following tract on the mission and duty of the man of learning affords a fitting conclusion to our Lessons in "Reading and Elocution: XX. THE SCHOLAR'S MISSION. The wants of our time and country, the constitution of our modern society, our whole position-personal and relative-forbid a life of mere scholarship or literary pursuits to the great majority of those who go out from our colleges. However it may have been in other times, and other lands, here and now, but few of our educated men are privileged J "From the loopholes of retreat To look upon the world, to hear the sound Of the great Babel, and not feel its stir." We slightest use; that is, by adhering to the rule laid down by Rousseau, and followed by many of the best of our English choral teachers, of identifying them, not with the fixed sounds, expressed by the letters, but with the intervals of the diatonic scale, 'DOH' in every key representing the key-note 'RE,' the second of the scale, etc. We have already shown that the art of reading music at sight depends upon the ability to recognise at a glance the intervals of the scale, in whatever key they may be written; that is to say, to distinguish at once, not which is A or B, but which is the key-note, which is the 3rd, 5th, 7th, etc. It will therefore at once be seen that Forde, by adopting Rousseau's rule for using the solfeggio syllables, as names for the intervals, converts them into a most profitable exercise, an exercise which compels the pupil to study the intervals in every Great confusion bar he sings, and to give up guessing. Society has work for us, and we must forth to do it. Full early and perplexity are introduced by the opposite method. and hastily we must gird on the manly gown, gather up the loose have pointed out the different properties of the fourth and the leaves and scanty fragments of our youthful lore, and go out among men, to act with them and for them. It is a practical age; and our seventh, the one tending downwards and the other upwards; Wisdom, such as it is, "must strive and cry, and utter her voice in the yet although [the pitch note] F may sometimes be the fourth streets, standing in the places of the paths, crying in the chief place and at other times the seventh, according to the key, and of concourse, at the entry of the city, and the coming in at the doors." although F in the key of c differs half a tone from F in the key This state of things, though not suited to the tastes and qualities of G, it is always, we are told, to be called FA!" of all, is not, on the whole, to be regretted by educated men as such. Two notes OPPOSED to one another in mental effect, and DIFIt is not in literary production only, or chiefly, that educated mind finds fit expression, and fulfils its mission in honour and beneficence.FERING in pitch, yet called by the SAME name, and in connection with a system that prides itself on its educational "METHOD." In the great theatre of the world's affairs, there is a worthy and a sufficient sphere. Society needs the well-trained, enlarged, and cultivated intellect of the scholar in its midst !-needs it, and welcomes it, and gives it a place, or, by its own capacity, it will take a place of honour, influence, and power. The youthful scholar has no occasion to deplore the fate that is soon to tear him from his studies, and cast him into the swelling tide of life and action. None of his disciplinary and enriching culture will be lost, or useless, even there. Every hour of study, every truth he has reached, and the toilsome process by which he reached it; the heightened grace or vigour of thought or speech he has acquired-all shall tell fully, nobly, if he will give heed to the conditions. And one condition, the prime one, is, that he be a true man, and recognise the obligation of a man, and go forth with heart and will, and every gift and acquirement dedicated, lovingly and resolutely, to the true and the right. These are the terms; and apart from these there is no success, no influence to be had which an ingenuous mind can desire, or which a sound and far-seeing mind would dare to seek. Indeed, it is not an easy thing, nay, it is not a possible thing, to obtain a substantial success, and an abiding influence, except on these terms. A factitious popularity, a transient notoriety, or, in the case of shining talents, the doom of a damning fame, may fall to bad men. But an honoured name, enduring influence, a sun brightening on through its circuit, more and more, even to its serene setting-this boon of a true success goes never to intellectual qualities alone. It gravitates slowly but surely to weight of character, to intellectual ability rooted in principle.-George Putnam. RELATION OF NOTES, ETC. (continued). THE admired glee-writer, Webb, whose name is second to none in the department of popular vocal music, in his solfeggio exercises and instructions in singing, adopts, as a matter of course, the "movable DOH;" Dr. Crotch, a great musical authority, used the same method in his "Elements of Composition," published A.D. 1812; and Mr. W. Forde, author of one of the most popular English works on the "Art of Singing at Sight" (published by Cocks and Co.), follows their example. If other authorities are required, we would gladly leave our appeal with such men as Mr. Graham, of Edinburgh, the author of the article on "Music in the last edition of the "Encyclopædia Britannica;" Mr. Hogarth, distinguished as a writer on musical history; Colonel P. Thompson, the profound writer on musical acoustics; Mr. Hickson, the father of English school music; and Mr. Lowell Mason, the eminent American composer and teacher. Ask any one, who can really sing at sight, how he came to do so, and he will tell you: "By measuring interval from the key-note, and keeping the key-note in the eye throughout the tune." Such a person will at once acknowledge the importance of having a distinct name (DOH) for that keynote, and of naming all the other notes by their relation to it. 6. "In teaching," says Mr. Hickson, "the art of sight-singing, an art rarely taught by Italian professors, whose fashionable pupils only sing to the harp or pianoforte, there is but one mode of using the solfeggio syllables in which they can be of the Fa Fourth of the Scale. Fa Seventh of the Scale. "We think it must be obvious," continues Mr. Hickson, "that the solfeggio syllables, thus employed, tend to mislead the pupil rather than assist him in learning the art of sightsinging. It is using words, as a lawyer would say, in the sense of a suggestio falsi." Perhaps the most marked practical advantage of the tonic (or key-note) method of solfa-ing is that it establishes in the ear of the pupil a complete association of interval and syllable. So that the syllables become not only an unchanging language of interval, useful in connection with the whole study of music, however far it may be carried, but also a guide and prompter in the art of striking interval with accuracy and certainty. Thus, if the syllables ME, FAH are frequently sung to a "semitone" (or tonule), the mind soon learns to associate that interval with those syllables, so that the very attempt to pronounce the syllable shall call up into the mind the interval to which they have so often been sung. In this way our syllables become invaluable aids and interproters. We continually hear from singers in various parts of the country such expressions as this: "When I come to any very knotty passage, or one with difficult transitions in the choral 'part' I have to sing, I invariably, now, translate it into the sol-fa language, and then it is impossible not to sing it correctly." But, on the other, the fixed plan, a pupil is, with great painstaking, through half his course (for full thirty lessons in one book) made to associate ME, FAH with a semitone," and then is made to spend most of the other half of his course in learning to alter that association, and sing ME, FAH in the new keys to a whole tone! First work hard to do a thing, and then work hard to undo it! What a clever and admirably arranged educational method it is! 7. We take this opportunity of giving our reason for accompanying the established notation with a constant interpreter, in the new notation placed between the staves. The truth is that the old notation, being used perhaps chiefly in connection with instruments, sets forth the pitch of a note (the thing the ordinary instrumentalist wants) in a most clear, distinet, and pictorial manner, but leaves key-relationship (that which the vocalist requires to be the first and most obvious thing to meet the eye, and which is by far the most important thing in the science of music itself), but dimly expressed. Hence the vast variety of sol-fa systems, figure systems, tetrachordal systems, etc., which have sprung up, every good teacher feeling the necessity of marking the key-note and the notes related to it more visibly. The most successful modern teachers of sight-singing have adopted a similar plan. Thus the Rev. J. J. Waite, who has taught some thousands of English people how to sing, has done so by means of an interpreting notation of figures placed under the other notes, figure 1 standing for the key-note, 2 for the next, etc. We have watched Mr. Waite's pupils, and have found them singing, not from the crotchets and quavers on the staff, but from the figures below, which they find incomparably easier, because those figures are to them a notation of key-relationship. In Scotland, the well-known educational writer and publisher, Mr. Gall of Edinburgh, has adopted a figure notation for many years; and in Ireland we find Dr. Bryce using both the figures and the sol-fa syllables, in his exercises, to set forth the relation of notes, while the old notation sets forth the pitch. For the present we shall do the same, but soon we shall teach our pupils to do without the syllables, and to use intelligently the established notation alone. We have written these paragraphs in order to set ourselves right with those who have been misled with the false notions of music which are so common among persons who possess that "little knowledge" of it which "is a dangerous thing." We trust that they are at least satisfied that we feel ourselves engaged in a most strenuous and earnest endeavour to diffuse a knowledge of sight-singing by means of the mighty power which the circulation of the POPULAR EDUCATOR gives, and we do not doubt that we shall to a large extent succeed. Our pupils will now study with care the following exercises on the mental effects of DOH, ME, and SOH. Let them be as scru. pulous as ever in the self-discipline of learning the tune, piecemeal, by "heart" (or by "hear it," as Cobbett used to explain the word), until they can sol-fa it all by memory, pointing on the modulator the while. LESSONS IN LATIN.—XXV. ON PARSING. IN the following Latin exercises ascertain, write down, and imprint on your memory the parts of the several verbs-that is, the mood, tense, person, and number-together with the exact English meaning; at the same time tell the person, tense, and mood endings, as well as give the stems. This you should do very completely with each lesson in succession. You thus make a commencement in what is called parsing, that is, telling or assigning the parts (in Latin, pars, a part). Parsing applies to nouns and adjectives, as well as to verbs, indeed, to all parts of speech; it is also concerned with syntax, or the combination of words into sentences; so that you cannot parse your lessons completely until they are terminated. But you have now advanced far enough to begin parsing, and would be rewarded if every day, before you attempt a new lesson, you were to take "a back lesson," and parse it carefully; that is, go over again from the first what you have done with the strictest regard to the forms and rules. I will give you an example of what I mean by parsing :- Tullia patrem amat. sion, consonantal stem patr, in the singular number, accusative case, being the object of the transitive verb amat, by which it is governed, according to the rule, "transitive verbs require their object to be in the accusative case." Observe, that in thus setting before you a specimen of parsing, I have given you two rules in Syntax; thus1. A subject must agree with its verb in number and person. 2. Transitive verbs require their object to be in the accusative case. Of these rules you will forthwith have need to make constant application. Commit them to memory, and repeat them by heart whenever applied. A verbal and exact repetition of them, and of all rules, is desirable at first; afterwards, I wish that you should give the substance rather than the words of a rule, for if you express its substance you show that you understand its import. Comparo, 1, I get to- | gether, acquire. Emigro, 1, I go out, quit (E. R. emigration). Flo, 1, I blow. VOCABULARY. Latro, 1, I bark. Libero, 1, I set free (E. R. liberation). Narratio, -onis,f., a narrative. Ingens, ingentis, very Numero, 1, I number. great. Nuper, adv., lately. Interitus, -ūs, m., ruin. Observo, 1, I keep under (E. R. entrance). Jam, adv., already. Judico, 1, I judge. my eye, observe. Occǎpo, 1, I fall upon, take possession of (E. R. occupation). Placidus, -a, -um, placid, tranquil. Terror, -ōris, m., terror. Timor, -ōris, m., fear (E. R. timid). Vehemens, vehementis, vehement, very strong. Ventus, -i, m., wind. Vigilo, 1, I watch, kuep awake, guard (E. R. vigilant). EXERCISE 81.-LATIN-ENGLISH. The first thing I have to do is to construe it, or put it into Intro, 1, I go into, enter corresponding English words. On looking at it I see that Tullia is in the nominative case. Consequently, Tullia is the subject, and with it I must begin. But patrem comes next: am I to take patrem in the second place? This I cannot do; for patrem is in the accusative case, and consequently must be dependent on some verb. The verb is there. Amat then, comes after Tullia. Putting the two together, I have Tullia amat, Tullia loves. What does Tullia love? Patrem, her father. The whole then is, Tullia loves her father. Here you see a departure in the English from the Latin idiom. With such deviations you should familiarise your mind by constant and careful observation. The departure here is this, that to make good or idiomatic English, I am obliged to add the pronoun her, "her father," there being in the Latin no word corresponding to her. Do not hence suppose that it would be bad Latin to say "Tullia amat patrem suum," her father; but it is not customary to employ the pronoun in such cases, except it is wanted for the sake of emphasis. Having translated the sentence, I must now parse it. shall take each word in its grammatical order. I Tullia, Tullia, a noun feminine of the first declension, nominative case, the subject to the verb amat. The stem is Tulli (thus Tullia, genitive Tullia, the æ of the genitive being removed, Tulli remains as the stem). After giving the parts and relations of a noun as above, you should" 'go through" or decline the noun. So with all nouns, pronouns, verbs, and adjectives. Amat, from amo, is a verb transitive of the first conjugation, indicative mood, present tense, third person singular, agreeing with its subject Tullia, according to the rule, "a subject must agree with its verb in number and person." The four chief parts of amo are-amo, amavi, amatum, amare. The stem of amo is am, the stem of the present tense is ama, the personendings are -o, -as, -at, -amus, -atis, -ant. Amao is contracted into amo. Then go through the tense uniting the stem with the person-endings. You would act wisely if, in addition, you made amat the subject of inquiry; thus, what would amat be in the subjunctive mood? In the passive voice? In the subjunctive passive? By what change is amat made plural? What is the corresponding second person singular? Plural ? What does amat become in the future tense? In the pluperfect indicative ? Go through the imperfect of amo. Give the perfect subjunctive first person singular; third person plural. These things may seem minute and troublesome to you: they would, however, be required by any good teacher; and attention to them is, I assure you, requisite to make a sound scholar; it is also requisite for that mental discipline which the study of language may give, and which, in its perfect form, is of very high value. Another word remains-patrem; patrem from pater, patris, a parisyllabic noun, of the masculine gender, the third declen 1. Ego te laudabam. 2. Tu me vituperabas. 3. Frater judicabat, 4. Ego te laudabo. 5. Tu me vituperabis. 6. Frater judicabit. 7. Ego ambulavi. 8. Tu vigilavisti. 9. Ventus flavit. 10. Ego ambula veram. 11. Tu vigilaveras. 12. Ventus flaverat. 13. Ego te landavero. 14. Tu me vituperaveris. 15. Frater judicaverit. 16. Quum milites urbem intrabant, omnes cives timoris pleni erant. 17. Quum in silva ambulabamus, vehemens ventus per altas quercus flabat, dum vos pla cidus somnus recreabat. 18. Vos vigilabatis. 19. Quamdiu eris felis, multos numerabis amicos. 20. Bonos semper laudabo, improbos semper vituperabo. 21. Si acriter pugnabitis, O milites, patriam interitu liberabitis. 22. Si virtutem amabis, omnes boni te amabunt. Remark that sometimes an abbrevation takes place in the perfect tense, and the tenses formed from the perfect tense. Thus, instead of saying in full, vigilavisti, as above, the Latins shortened the word into vigilasti, leaving out the vi This process is called syncopation, and verbs thus contracted (drawn together) are said to be syncopated. Other syncepated forms ensue; as laudasti for laudavisti; amasti for amavisti; amasse for amavisse: also in other conjugations, as complesti for complevisti; audieram for audiveram; audierunt for audiverunt. I here resume the exercises, in which instances of syncopation will be found. EXERCISE 82.-LATIN-ENGLISH. magnam vobis laudem comparastis. 2. Cur per totam noctem vigi. 1. Quia semper virtutis præcepta observastis (for observavistis) lasti ? 3. Præceptores meos semper amavi, nonne amasti tnos? 4. Acriter contra hostes pugnastis. 5. Quum milites urbem intraverant, ingens terror omnium civium animos occupabat. 6. Narratio quam mihi nuper narraveras, vehementer me delectaverat. 7. Quum exercitus hostilis urbem oppugnaverat, nos jam emigraverāmus. 8. Si animum virtutibus ornaveris (ornaris) semper beatus eris. 9. Quam hostes urbis nostræ agros devastaverint, urbem ipsam oppugnabunt. EXERCISE 83.-ENGLISH-LATIN. 1. We praised thee. 2. Thou didst blame me. 3. The father was judging. 4. Thou wilt praise me. 5. He will praise thee. 6. The father will judge us. 7. Thou hast walked (syncopated form). 8. I have watched. 9. The winds blew. 10. I will walk abroad. 11. Thou art watching. 12. The wind was blowing. 13. The soldiers will enter the city. 14. The soldiers were entering the city. 15. The soldiers are entering the city. 16. The soldiers have entered the 18. A very strong city. 17. The soldiers had entered the city. 19. Dost thou number many soldiers? wind blows through the house. his country from ruin. 22. Hast thou watched all night? 23. Love 20. I have numbered many friends. 21. He has liberated (set free) thy preceptors. 24. Let them love their parents, 25. O boys, love 26. The narrative delighted my brother. 27. The narrative delights the girls. 28. The narrative will delight father and mother. 29. Thou hast acquired fame by the narrative of the ruin. virtue. |