JLondon Philosophical Society. 9ig 



With this he concluded the first lecture, which had par- 

 ticularly for its object, to prove that in Britain there is free 

 scope to exercise oratoric genius, and thatBrilons are endowed 

 with everv qualification requisite to form complete orators. 



Mr. Wright commenced his second lecture, by an in- 

 quiry into the instinct voices of animals, which he con- 

 sidered as not analogous to language; proceeding from 

 thence to treat of sensation. " All our sensations,'" says 

 he, " are either p/ea.?wiT or pain/n I ; and doubtless all the 

 passions, emotions, and sentiments, which can possibly 

 agitate the mind of man, are comprised in the two follow- 

 ing, love and hatred." 



Now if we observe the correspondent tones, which uni- 

 formly accompany the expression of any particular modifi- 

 cation or feeling of the human mind, we shall perceive 

 Ihem to be commensurate to our general idea of concord or 

 discord. When the felicity of mind is dimuiished by the 

 presence or recollection of painful sensation, man is em- 

 powered to communicate his feelings by characteristic signs 

 of dissonance ; and the diversified tones and pauses which 

 usually accompany the expression of an agitated mind, 

 naturally suggest the varied state of muscular exertion : 

 but when emotions are excited by the mipression of objects 

 which calm and delight the imagination, in communicating 

 such feeling, the expression of sound, being regulated by 

 consonance of vibration, dwells upon the ear with pleasure 

 and satisfaction. 



Continuing these arguments in an elaborate manner, and 

 advancing well chosen examples to illustrate them, Mr. 

 W. made the following deduction : " that orators, speakers, 

 and readers, who do not display apposite expression of 

 earnestness and feeling in their several ihenif s, discourses, 

 and specimens, must either not be impressed with the 

 truth of what they are advancing, or be ill favoured by na- 

 ture with the usual powers of organic association ; and that 

 they are liable not only to have their arguments confuted, 

 but alsf> to have their characters branded with msinctrity, 

 vice, and falsehood." 



Having ably delineated the character of an orator, and 

 having endeavoured to show, that when the organs of the 

 external senses were naturally insusceptible to the various 

 impressions of objects, or when the clastic fibres of the 

 body were relaxed by partial or general debility in the con- 

 stitulicMi, the mind could not easily be taught sympathy 

 and social affection, — he advanced to another be;iring of the 

 question, scemiiig lo imply, that an individual may be ori- 

 P 3 giually 



