And when two words are set in contrast, or in opposition to one another, they are both emphatic; as, "He is the tyrant, not the father, of his people;" "His subjects fear him, but they do not love him."

Some sentences are so full and comprehensive, that almost every word is emphatical: as, "Ye hills and dales, ye rivers, woods, and plains:" or, as that pathetic expostulation in the prophecy of Ezekiel, "Why will ye die!" 'In the latter short sentence, every word is emphatical; and on which ever word we lay the emphasis, whether on the first, second, third, or fourth, it strikes out a different sense, and opens a new subject of moving expostulation.

As accent dignifies the syllable on which it is laid, and makes it more distinguished by the ear than the rest; so emphasis ennobles the word to which it belongs, and presents it in a stronger light to the understanding. Were there no accents, words would be resolved into their original syllables: were there no emphasis, sentences would be resolved into their original words; and, in this case, the hearer would be under the painful necessity, first, of making out the words, and afterwards, their meaning.

Emphasis is of two kinds, simple and complex. Simple, when it serves to point out only the plain meaning of any proposition; complex, when, besides the meaning, it marks also some affection or emotion of the mind; or gives a meaning to words, which they would not have in their usual acceptation. In the former case, emphasis is scarcely more than a stronger accent, with little or no change of tone; when it is complex, besides force, there is always superadded a manifest change of tone.

The following sentence contains an example of simple emphasis: "And Nathan said to David, Thou art the mar.' The emphasis on thou, serves only to point out the meaning of the speaker. But in the sentence which follows, we perceive an emotion of the speaker superadded to the simple meaning: "Why will ye die!"

As the emphasis often falls on words in different parts of the same sentence, so it is frequently required to be continued, with a little variation, on two, and sometimes three words together. The following sentence exemplifies both the parts of this position: "If you seek to make one rich, study not to increase his stores, but to diminish his desires." Emphasis may be further distinguished, into the weaker and the stronger emphasis. In the sentence, "Exercise and temperance strengthen the constitution;" we perceive more force on the word strengthen, than on any other; though it is

not equal to the stress which we apply to the word indifferent, in the following sentence: "Exercise and temperance strengthen even an indifferent constitution." It is also proper to remark, that the words exercise, temperance, constitution, in the last example but one, are pronounced with greater force, than the participles and and the; and yet those words cannot properly be called emphatical for the stress that is laid on them, is no more than sufficient to convey distinctly the meaning of each word.-From these observations it appears, that the smaller parts of speech, namely, the articles, conjunctions, prepositions, &c. are, in general, obscurely and feebly expressed; that the substantives, verbs, and more significant words, are firmly and distinctly pronounced; and that the emphatical words, those which mark the meaning of a phrase, are pronounced with peculiar stress and energy, though varied according to the degree of their importance.

Emphasis, besides its other offices, is the great regulator of quantity. Though the quantity of our syllables is fixed, in words separately pronounced, yet it is mutable, when these words are ranged in sentences; the long being changed into short, the short into long, according to the importance of the words with regard to meaning: and as it is by emphasis only, that the meaning can be pointed out, emphasis must be the regulator of the quantity. A few examples will make this point very evident.

Pleas'd thou shalt hear-and learn the secret power, &c. Pleas'd thou shalt hear-and thou alone shalt hear Pleas'd thou shalt hear-in spite of them shǎlt hearPleas'd thou shalt hear-though not behold the fair— In the first of these instances, the words pleas'd and hear, being equally emphatical, are both long; whilst the two intermediate words, thou and shalt, being rapidly passed over as the sense demands, are reduced to a short quantity.

In the second instance, the word thoù by being the most important, obtains the chief, or rather the sole emphasis; and thus, it is not only restored to its natural long quantity, but obtains from emphasis a still greater degree of length, than when pronounced in its separate state. This greater degree of length, is compensated by the diminution of quar tity in the words pleas'd and hear, which are sounded shorter than in the preceding instance. The word shalt still continues short. Here we may also observe, that though thou is long in the first part of the verse, it becomes short when repeated in the second, on account of the more forcible emphaSis belonging to the word alone, which follows it.

In the third instance, the word shall having the emphasis,

(Sect. 3. obtains a long quantity. And though it is impossible to prolong the sound of this word, as it ends in a pure mute, yet in this, as in all similar instances, the additional quantity is to be made out by a rest of the voice, proportioned to the importance of the word. In this instance, we may also observe, that the word shalt, repeated in the second part of the line, is reduced again to a short quantity.

In the fourth instance, the word héar placed in opposition to the word behold, in the latter part of the line, obtains from the sense the chief emphasis, and a proportionate length. The words thou and shalt, are again reduced to short quantities; and the word pleas'd lends some of the time which it possessed, to the more important word hear.

From these instances, it is evident, that the quantity of our syllables is not fixed; but governed by emphasis.—To observe a due measurement of time, on all occasions, is doubtless very difficult; but by instruction, attention, and practice, the difficulty may be overcome.

Emphasis changes, not only the quantity of words and syllables, but also, in particular cases, the seat of the accent. This is demonstrable from the following examples.

"He shall increase, but I shall décrease." "There is a difference between giving and forgiving." "In this species of composition, plausibility is much more essential than probability." In these examples, the emphasis requires the accent to be placed on syllables, to which it does not commonly belong.

In order to acquire the proper management of the emphasis, the great rule, and indeed the only rule possible to be given, is, that the speaker or reader study to attain a just conception of the force and spirit of the sentiments which he is to pronounce. For to lay the emphasis with exact propriety, is a constant exercise of good sense and attention. It is far from being an inconsiderable attainment. It is one of the greatest trials of a true and just taste; and must arise from feeling delicately ourselves, and from judging accurately, of what is fittest to strike the feelings of others.

There is one error, against which it is particularly proper to caution the learner; namely, that of multiplying emphatica! words too much. It is only by a prudent reserve in the use of them, that we can give them any weight. If they recur too often; if a speaker or reader attempts to render every thing which he expresses of high importance, by a multitude of strong emphases, we soon learn to pay little regard to them. To crowd every sentence with emphatical words, is Uke crowding all the pages of a book with Italic characters,

which as to the effect, is just the same as to use no such distinctions at all.

SECTION 4. Of Pauses.

PAUSES or rests, in speaking and reading, are a total cessation of the voice, during a perceptible, and, in many cases, a measurable space of time.

Pauses are equally necessary to the speaker, and the hearer. To the speaker, that he may take breath, without which he cannot proceed far in delivery; and that he may, by these temporary rests, relieve the organs of speech, which otherwise would be soon tired by continued action: to the hearer, that the ear also may be relieved from the fatigue, which it would otherwise endure from a continuity of sound; and that the understanding may have sufficient time to mark the distinction of sentences, and their several members.

There are two kinds of pauses: first, emphatical pauses; and next, such as mark the distinctions of the sense. An emphatical pause is made, after somethin, has been said of peculiar moment, and on which we desire to fix the hearer's attention. Sometimes, before such a thing is said, we usher it in with a pause of this nature. Such pauses have the same effect as a strong emphasis; and are subject to the same rules; especially to the caution just now given, of not repeating them too frequently. For as they excite uncommon attention, and of course raise expectation, if the importance of the matter is not fully answerable to such expectation, they occasion disappointment and disgust.

But the most frequent and the principal use of pauses, is, to mark the divisions of the sense, and at the same time to allow the speaker to draw his breath; and the proper and delicate adjustment of such pauses, is one of the most nice and difficult articles of delivery. In all reading, and public speaking, the management of the breath requires a good deal of care, so as not to oblige us to divide words from one another, which have so intimate a connexion, that they ought to be pronounced with the same breath, and without the least separation. Many sentences are miserably mangled, and the force of the emphasis totally lost, by the divisions being made in the wrong place. To avoid this, every one, while he is speaking or reading, should be very careful to provide a full supply of breath for what he is to utter. It is a great mistake to imagine, that the breath must be drawn only at the end of a period, when the voice is allowed to fall. It may easily be gathered at the intervals of the period, when the voice is only suspended for a moment; and, by this

management, one may always have a sufficient stock for carrying on the longest sentence, without improper interruptions.

Pauses in reading, and public discourse, must be formed upon the manner in which we utter ourselves in ordinary, sensible conversation; and not upon the stiff artificial manner which we acquire, from reading books according to the common punctuation. It will by no means be sufficient to attend to the points used in printing; for these are far from marking all the pauses which ought to be made in speaking. A mechanical attention to these resting-places has perhaps been one cause of monotony, by leading the reader to a similar tone at every stop, and a uniform cadence at every period. The primary use of points is, to assist the reader in discerning the grammatical construction; and it is only as a secondary object, that they regulate his pronunciation.

To render pauses pleasing and expressive, they must not only be made in the right place, but also accompanied with a proper tone of voice, by which the nature of these pauses is intimated; much more than by the length of them, which can seldom be exactly measured. Sometimes it is only a slight and simple suspension of voice that is proper; sometimes a degree of cadence in the voice is required; and sometimes that peculiar tone and cadence which denote the sentence to be finished. In all these cases, we are to regulate ourselves, by attending to the manner in which nature teaches us to speak, when engaged in real and earnest discourse with others.

It is a general rule, that the suspending pause should be used when the sense is incomplete; and the closing pause, when it is finished. But there are phrases, in which, though the sense is not completed, the voice takes the closing, rather than the suspending pause; and others, in which the sentence finishes by the pause of suspension.

The closing pause must not be confounded with that fall of the voice, or cadence, with which many readers uniformly finish a sentence. Nothing is more destructive of propriety and energy than this habit. The tones and inflections of the voice at the close of a sentence, ought to be diversified, according to the general nature of the discourse, and the particular construction and meaning of the sentence. In plain narrative, and especially in argumentation, a small attention to the manner in which we relate a fact, or maintain an argument, in conversation, will show, that it is frequently more proper to raise the voice, then to let it fall, at the end of a sentence. Some sentences a eso constructed, that the last