On the Nature and Utility of Eloquence, 3 1 5 



** cefs, on the great theatre of the world, no 

 ^' lefs than on the ftage, whether you mean to 

 " infpire pity, terror, or any other paflion." 

 It may, perhaps, be objefted, that the word elo- 

 quence has generally been ufed in a more limited 

 fenfe, and to fay the truth, it has by many been 

 applied to denote ornamental compofition only : 

 but has not this arifen from a miftake, by which 

 a part of the art has been taken for the whole ? 

 This has been the cafe with poetry, and it is 

 amufing to obferve the difficulties into which the 

 error has brought many learned men, in their 

 attempts to fettle the nature and effential quali- 

 ties of this noble art. Some have thought it's 

 nature to confill in imagery, feme in imitation, 

 feme in fidion, fome in metre, and in others in 

 paffion J whereas, thefe are only fo many differ- 

 ent means employed by the poet to effedl his 

 purpofes, and are all mere parts of that, of 

 which it has been fuppofed they conftitute the 

 elTence. However, let the common meaning of 

 int term be what it may, we are not now confi- 

 dering the proper acceptation of a word, but the 

 real nature of a ferious art. The exiftence of 

 ^ . fuch an art can hardly be doubted, for that would 

 V- be to queftion whether men fpeak beft by acci- 

 ^ dent or by defign ; when they take no thought, 

 or when they previoufly confider what they are 

 about to do. Nature, it muft be confefled, does 

 much, and will not only lead, but compel us, 



on 



