It is high time that we should resume the accent of conviction in our ministrations. Having that, the soul is perfectly at ease, and, feeling sure of its footing, cherishes the widest benevolence. ... Why should it be troubled, knowing that it is secure in the Power on which it relies? It is only those powers which doubt their own strength that are suspicious and wavering. And when God is with us, we cannot fail to entertain profound pity for the weaknesses, the prejudices, the profanities, and the false reasonings of humanity. {254} Chapter X. Action. Action should be: first, true and natural; secondly, concentrated; thirdly, edifying. It should be cultivated. How cultivated by the Society of Jesus. Suggestions. Action is not mere gesture, neither is it motion nor sound. It is the manifestation of the thoughts and sentiments of the soul through the bodily organs. It is the soul which, unable to reveal itself, makes its material exterior the medium of communicating its conceptions of truth and love to the souls of others. The principle of action should be the heart. ... Action itself may be in the voice, in gesture, in the face, in the hand, in demeanor generally, and even in silence. ... Action plays a conspicuous part in eloquence. We are familiar with what Demosthenes said on the subject. Being asked three times what was the first quality in an orator, he thrice replied:--Action. This is an exaggerated judgment; but Demosthenes probably estimated action in proportion to the pains which its acquirement had cost him: nevertheless, it is certain that action adds greatly to the clearness, the weight, the impressiveness, and the power of thought. {255} It is the charm of eloquence. Saint François de Sales writes: "You may utter volumes, and yet if you do not utter them well, it is lost labor, Speak but little, and that little well, and you may effect much." Only a few are capable of appreciating the intrinsic value of a discourse; whereas all can see whether you speak from an inward sense of the truth--from the heart and from personal conviction. It is more especially upon the people that action produces a powerful effect; it attracts, it transports them. A preacher who possesses sterling and noble ideas, who has genuine sentiment and true action, is irresistible with them. Such weapons will assuredly do great havoc among them; or, as I should rather say, will save many. They may not always admit their discomfiture: but they will not hesitate to confess that your words are weighty and true, and tell against them. But in order to be impressive, action must be: first, true and natural; secondly, concentrated; thirdly, edifying. ...