The subsequent stages of oratorical study are much plainer than the
commencement. A time comes when the pupil will roam freely over the
great field of oratory, modern and ancient, knowing more and more
exactly what to appropriate and what to neglect. He will be quite aware
of the necessity of rivalling the great masters in resources of
knowledge on the one hand, and of style on the other; but he will look
for these elsewhere, as well as in the professed orators.
[EXAMPLES OF PERSUASIVE ART.]
Moreover, as the persuasive art is exemplified in men that have never
been public speakers, the oratorical pupil will make a selection from
the most influential of this class. He will find, for example, in the
argumentative treatises of Johnson, in the Letters of Junius, in the
writings of Godwin, in Sydney Smith, in Bentham, in Cobbett, in Robert
Hall, in Fonblanque, in J.S. Mill, in Whately, and a host besides, the
exemplification of oratorical merits, together with materials that are
of value. It is understood, however, that the search for materials and
the acquisition of oratorical form, are not made to advantage on the
same lines, and, for this and other reasons, should not go together.
The extreme test of the principle of concentration as against equal
application, is the acquirement of Style, or the extending of our
resources of diction and expression in all its particulars. Being a
matter of endless minute details, we may feel ourselves at a loss to
compass it by the intensive study of a narrow and select example. Still,
with due allowance for the speciality of the case, the principle will
still be found applicable. We should, however, carry along with us, the
maxim exemplified under oratory, of separating in our study, as far as
may be, the style from the matter. We begin by choosing a treatise of
some great master. We may then operate either (1) by simple reading and
re-reading, or (2) by committing portions to memory _verbatim_, or (3),
best of all, by making some changes according to an already acquired
ideal of good composition. This too shows the great importance of
attaining as early as possible some regulating principles of goodness of
style: the action and reaction of these, on the most exemplary authors,
constitute our progress in the art, and, in the quickest way, store the
memory with the resources of good expression.
* * * * *
[ECONOMICS OF BOOK READING.]
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