Philosophical Society of London, 141 



pearance of the latter. The consideration of this almost 

 inscrutable topic induced the lecturer (whose business onlv 

 was to apply to his present object so much of it as is most 

 easily recognizable) to notice " our habitual propensity to 

 prejudge the appearance of persons, in proportion to our 

 knowledoc of the energies of their minds." From this na- 

 tural (and generally expected) coincidence the lecturer con- 

 cluded with intimating the necessity, " where Nature has 

 been less bountiful of external accoir.plishment than might 

 be desired, of the culture of mind, aird of recourse to all 

 the aids and advantages derivable from art and science, 

 with tenfold ardour and perseverance." 



Having thus discussed the advantages derivable from an 

 intimate acquaintance with the powers of articulate sound 

 and of gesture, as adaptable to the various modifications of 

 passion, Mr. W. advanced more fully into his subject, and 

 proceeded to elucidate the diflerent characters of Expres^ 

 sion ; at the commencement of which elucidation he de- 

 livered a needful (and to us in some measure a novel) defi- 

 nition of the dotinetion between reading and oratory. " In 

 relation to Expression and Feeling," said he, " an orator 

 may occasionally appear in four distinct situations. First, 

 He may be the Actor or Imitator ; secondly, the Describer ; 

 thirdly, the Narrator; and lastly, whether irhitated, de- 

 scribed, or narrated by an author, he may he the Reader of 

 a circumstance : so that one and the same individual pas- 

 sion may assume six different forms or modes of expres- 

 sion." This principle the lecturer ably enforced by his 

 manner of reciting the inspired Ode of Collins on the Pas- 

 sions : in commenting upon which he displayed consider- 

 able critical acumen, while he elucidated the reference it 

 bore to some of his own leading positions. He extolled in 

 strong language the vivid and unequivocal delineations of 

 character exhibited by the poet. " In every picture of pas- 

 sion (said Mr. Wright) therein presented, the prominent 

 and peculiar features of each are so faithfully preserved, that 

 the action almost appears present to the mind. The sloth- 

 like caution of Fear, the pride and impetuosity of Anger, 

 and the long incoherent pause of Desjiair, arc exemplified 

 by the hand of a master : and the sweetly-flowing numbers 

 of Hope, moving like the 'golden hinges' of Milton, 

 are interrupted with almost unequalled force of contrast by 

 the loufl ravings and boisterous exultation of Revenge. 



" The exordium of this ode," continued the lecturer, 

 *< invests the speaker with the character of Describer. Care 

 therefore should betakcin to avoid an actual imitalion of the 



passions 



