To prove this, let the student read aloud the two following sentences according to the grammatical pauses marked in the punctuation. READ: 1. Nothing is more prejudicial to the great interests of a nation than unsettled and varying policy. Observe that in this sentence there is no grammatical pause. 2. The people of the United States have justly supposed that the policy of protecting their industry against foreign legislation and foreign industry was fully settled, not by a single act, but by repeated and deliberate acts of government, performed at distant and frequent intervals. If in the reading of this sentence, we adopt the grammatical pauses only, our delivery (especially of the opening part of the sentence up to the first comma) will be embarrassed, uncertain, and indistinct. We shall presently see how easy it will become by the introduction of the rhetorical pauses, in addition to, and in aid of the common ones. I adopt four rhetorical pauses, viz. 1. The short Pause, thus marked, equal, in duration of time, to the Quaver-Rest in music. 2. The middle Pause, –, double the time of the short pause. 3. The Rest, or full pause, double the middle pause, and equal to the Minim Rest in music. 4. The long Pause, I, double that of the rest, and equal to the Bar Rest in music. Of all these, the first, or short pause, is of the greatest importance, on account of its continual use, and its great assistance and relief to the orator,being rather in the nature of a suspension of the breath, than an absolute pause. RULES FOR PAUSE. 1. SHORT PAUSE. The short Pase, or quaver-rest, is used generally 1. The nominative phrase; that is, several words composing one phrase, and standing as the nominative to some verb. After Before 2. The objective phrase, in an inverted sentence. 4. Each member of a series, 5. The infinitive mood. 6. Prepositions (except when part of one phrase.) 7. Relative Pronouns. 8. Conjunctions. 9. Adverbs of time, similitude, and some others. 10. On an Ellipsis. EXAMPLES. 1. The passions of mankind frequently blind them. 2. By the violence of passion we are frequently blinded. 3. Well honor is the subject of my story. 4. Charity joy peace" patience &c. 5. It is prudent in every manˇ to make early provisionTM 6. against the wants of age and the chances of accident. Nations like men fail in nothing" which they boldly attempt when sustained by virtuous purpose and firm resolution. 7. 8. 9. 10. A people once enslaved may groan ages in bondage. NOTE. Never pause between the verb and its objective case, in a direct sentence, unless other words intervene; except for the sake of emphasis. 2. MIDDLE PAUSE, (crotch -rest.) Frequently occurs in the middle of the sentence,which it serves to divide, by separating the opening, or what may be called the incomplete or hypothetical part, from the closing or winding up of the sentence, -where the sense is perfected. EXAMPLES. If the world is not the work of chance it must have had an intelligent Maker. Although you see not many possessed of a good taste yet the generality of mankind are capable of it. Nations, like men, fail in nothing which they boldly undertake, when sustained by virtuous purpose and firm resolution. RULE 1. The middle pause (therefore) precedes and marks the commencement of the climax of the sense of a sentence. And now, applying all the preceding rules for pause, let the student read aloud the two extracts, which he has already read without the rhetorical pauses; and he cannot fail to perceive the advantage he will gain in ease and effect. They would be marked, as to rhetorical pauses, as follows: 1. Nothing is more prejudicial to the great interests of a nation than unsettled and varying policy. 2. The people of the United States have justly supposed that the policy of protecting their industry against foreign legislation and foreign industry was fully settled, not by a single act, but by repeated and deliberate acts of government performed at distant and frequent intervals. RULE 2. The middle pause is also used to mark a parenthesis, or any parenthetical interruption of the sense; unless it be very slight ; in which latter case the short pause is sufficient. EXAMPLES. 1. Men of superior genius while they see the rest of mankind painfully struggling to comprehend obvious truths glance themselves like lightning through the most remote consequences. 2. Genius the pride of man as man is of the creation has been possessed but by few. The judicious use of the short pause and the middle pause, serves also to class and divide members of sentences in logical and clear division, according as they are more or less immediately connected with each other in thought and construction; hence follows as a GENERAL RULE. Branches of sentences having immediate reference to each other, can be divided only by the short pause; while they must be separated from other branches with which they are less connected, by the middle pause. སྐ EXAMPLE. These are the men, to whom, ̃— arrayed in all the terrors of government, I would say,` you shall not degrade us into brutes. If, in this sentence, we make a short pause only after to whom, the next branch of the sentence, arrayed in all the terrors of government, would appear to refer to the men to whom; whereas, being separated, as it is, from those words, by the middle pause, it is assigned to the pronoun I, to which it really belongs. The middle pause is also frequently used in place of the grammatical period or full stop, between two sentences, which are closely allied to each other in relation to the sense which they bear out, as will be presently shown. 3. THE REST, or FULL PAUSE Marks the perfection of the sense, that is, the climax of its force; as, the close of a proposition. The full-stop, which is used in grammatical punctuation to mark the close of a sentence or period, is not a sufficiently distinct guide; for it frequently closes a sentence which is intimately allied, by the |