fon may we cenfure those who reprefent perfons as thinking and fpeaking in a manner unfuitable to any character, or any circumstances whatever? Among thefe unnatural fentiments we may rank the avowing, or open undisguised propofal, of wicked purposes: because human nature is fo conftituted, that direct vice and wickednefs is univerfally fhocking. For this reafon men feldom entertain the thought of it in their own minds, much lefs propose it to others, but either under the appearance of virtue, or of fome great advantage, and with fome falvo for the immorality of it.

With admirable propriety doth King John hint to Hubert how much he would oblige him if he would remove prince Arthur out of his way. But the following foliloquy of the Bastard Falconbridge, in the fame play, is certainly unnatural

Well, while I am a beggar I will rail,
And fay there is no fin but to be rich:
And being rich, my virtue then fhall be
To say there is no vice but beggary,
Since kings break faith upon commodity,
Gain be my lord, for I will worship thee.

KING JOHN, A& II. Scene 6

In a much more unnatural and extravagant manner is Lady Macbeth represented talking to herself when he is projecting the death of the king, Macbeth, A&t I. Scene 7.

Inftances of the most absurd rant, and fuch extravagance as is incompatible with every character, and with every paffion, abound in Dryden's plays, particularly in the part of Almanzor in the Conqueft of Granada.

It is impoffible not. to fmile when Moliere makes Harpagus (when he is about to examine upon the rack all his family, fer

vants, fons, and daughters) fay he would apply the torture himself, "et a moi auffi."

Very extravagant likewife is the following fpeech, which Shakespeare puts into the mouth of Ligarius:

Now bid me run,

And I will strive with things impoffible,

And get the better of them.

JULIUS CÆSAR, A& II. Scene 3.

P 2

LECTURE

LECTURE XV.

Of Forms of Address adapted to gain BELIEF; and, firft, of those that imply PRESENT THOUGHT, and an UNPREMEDITATED EXPRESSION.

AVING obferved what I think most important relating

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to the passions, I proceed to confider what relates to the judgment, in affenting to what is proposed to it.

Independent of the power of arguments, there are several forms of address adapted to engage belief, which abound in the works of orators. These it is in the power of every speaker to adopt at pleasure, as they are, each of them, nothing more than a different manner in which arguments may be introduced and expreffed. Since, however, they do contribute greatly to the fuccefs of an orator, I shall enumerate the principal and most striking of them, and endeavour to fhew the cause of the influence which they have upon our minds.

Every art of perfuafion founded upon nature, and really tend-ing to engage belief, muft confift of fuch forms of addrefs as are natural to a person who is himself strongly convinced of the. truth and importance of what he contends for; who is confcious that he is perfectly master of his fubject, and acquainted with every thing that can be advanced for or against the question in.

debate';

debate; who is poffeffed even of a redundancy of proof for what he advances; and who is, moreover, perfectly candid and unprejudiced, willing to allow all the weight he can to the pleas of his adverfaries.

From the principle of fympathy, which is natural to the human mind, we univerfally feel ourselves difpofed to conform to the feelings, the fentiments, and every thing belonging to the fituation of those we converse with, and particularly of all those perfons who engage much of our attention. If, therefore, no prejudice intervene, we always feel ourselves more or lefs difpofed to adopt the opinions of those persons with whom we have frequent intercourfe. Confequently, we are, in all cafes, more difpofed to give our affent to any propofition, if we perceive that the person who contends for it is really in earnest, and believes it himself. Indeed,, prior to our hearing any arguments, we are naturally inclined to fuppofe, that a strong conviction and perfuafion in other perfons could not be produced without a fufficient caufe; from being fenfible that a like ftrong perfuafion is founded upon fufficient reasons in ourselves. The ideas of trong perfuafion and of truth being, on this account, intimately affociated together, the one will introduce the other, fo that whatever manner of addrefs tends to demonftrate that the advocate for any opinion is really convinced of it himself, tends to propagate that conviction..

A person shews that he is fully perfuaded of the truth of what he contends for, and his confidence in the goodness of his caufe, when he is willing to appeal to the judgment and confcience of other perfons, and particularly when he dare appeal to his adversary himself. For no perfon would feriously make fuch an appeal, who did not believe his caufe to be fo clear that all the

world,.

world, if they confidered it, would concur with him in it. This formal appeal, therefore, to a perfon's judges, his hearers, and his adversary, is a figure of the first rank in oratory, and greatly conducive to the purpose of perfuafion.

It hath ftill a ftronger effect of the fame kind when an orator breaks out into an exclamation, expreffing his wonder, aftonishment, and indignation, that his opinion fhould be controverted, or his cause opposed; and a ftronger ftill, when not only visible but invisible powers, when not only rational beings, but things inanimate are invoked, to attest the truth of what is advanced. All paffions are communicative, and are univerfally propagated by the genuine expreffions of them.

Many happy inftances of these forms of address are found in the orations of Cicero, particularly in his invectives against Verres, Catiline, and Antony. The very first words of his first oration against Catiline, which was delivered in the fenate, when Catiline himself was prefent, confist of a very vehement exclamation and expoftulation. "How long, O Catiline, will you "abuse our patience? &c." In a speech ascribed to Furius Capitolinus, in which he expoftulates with the plebeians upon the encroachments they were perpetually making upon the privileges of the patricians, is the following noble and spirited appeal: "In the name of the immortal gods, what is it, Romans, you would have? You defired tribunes; for the fake of peace we granted them. You were eager to have decemvirs; we "confented to their creation: you grew weary of these decem"virs, we obliged them to abdicate, &c."

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In Cicero's oration for Milo, he exclaims, "O that happy ་་ country which shall receive this man! Ungrateful this if it "banish him! miferable if it lofe him!" Declaiming in praise