RHETORIC. 
seai'cWng sagacity, the soundest judgment, 
and the most ready wit. 
In regular orations of every species there 
■will generally be found the following sub- 
divisions. The exordium, or introduction ; 
the statement of the subject ; the narrative, 
or explanation ; the reasoning, or argument ; 
the pathetic part ; and, lastly, the perora- 
tion, or conclusion. 
The object of the exordium is to concili- 
ate the good will of the hearers, to awake 
their attention, and to render them open to 
persuasion. The topics by which these; 
purposes may best be effected will suggest 
themselves to the good sense of the speaker, 
as arising from the character and peculiar 
prejudices of his auditors, from his own re- 
lative situation, from the peculiar circum- 
stances of the times, or from the nature of 
his cause. 
In the proposition of the subject, the 
qualities chiefly to be aimed at are clear- 
ness and distinctness. These qualities are 
indeed of the most essential importance, 
and the attainment of them is well worth 
the utmost care and pains. In debates of 
every kind, that speaker is listened to with 
the greatest pleasure, who is able briefly 
and plainly to give the most accurate ac- 
count of the points principally in question. 
As the narrative, or explanation of facts, 
is to be the ground-work of all the future 
reasonings of the orator, it is obviously his 
duty to recount them in such a manner as 
may be most favourable to his cause; to 
place in the most striking light every cir- 
cumstance which is to his advantage, and 
to soften such as make against him. He 
must also exercise consummate judgment, 
so that his narration may be at once concise 
and full, copious and distinct. In short, a 
perfect narration is one from which nothing 
can be taken without rendering it obscure, 
and to which nothing can be added without 
weakening its force. 
In his arguments, a speaker should, as 
Quintilian expresses it, possess logic as a 
philosopher, and employ it as an orator. 
He should follow the lucid order of nature 
in their disposition, and express them in 
such a style and manner as to give them 
their full force. He should take care not 
to multiply them to too great an extent, 
and to bring into a conspicuous point of 
view those which are the most weighty and 
cogent. 
In the pathetic part of his discourse, 
which generally introduces and pervades 
She peroration, the ancient orator collected 
all the might of his abilities to strike as it 
were a finishing stroke. But Quintilian, 
witlt his usual judgment, warns his pupil 
against dwelling upon this topic too long. 
“ Time,” says he, “ soon calms real griefs; 
how much more easily must it dissipate the 
illusory impressions which act only upon 
the imagination. Let not then the pathetic 
strain be too long continued. If this pre- 
cept be niot w'ell observed, the auditor is 
fatigued; he resumes his tranquillity, and 
recovering from the transitory emotion, he 
returns under the influence of reason. We 
ought not, then, to suffer his feelings to 
cool; and when we have carried them as 
far as they can go, we ought to stop, and 
not to deceive ourselves with the idea, that 
the mind will for any long space of time be 
sensible to emotions 'which are foreign to 
it.” 
When Roman eloquence was in its most 
flourishing state, this oratorical subdivision 
was an object of assiduous study; and in 
order to excite the feelings of the audience, 
the orator had frequent recourse to sensible 
objects. The weeping relatives of the de- 
fendant, the wounds which an accused per- 
son had received in fighting the battles of 
his country, a dagger, or a bloody robe : 
these exhibitions were frequently resorted 
to, in order to excite compassion, or to 
rouse indignation. They are, however, so 
inconsistent with modern usages, and espe- 
cially with the cool and phegmatic tempe- 
rament of our countrymen, that the most 
consummate prudence and skill can alone 
adopt any of them with effect. Where a 
Burke has failed, he must be a bold man 
who would repeat the experiment 
The precise nature of the conclusion of 
any discourse must be determined in a great 
measure by the nature of that discourse, 
and the circumstances in which it is deli- 
vered. Sometimes it may be expedient to 
compress in it a repetition of the substance 
of a long train of antecedent argument ; ou 
some occasions it should assume the humble 
tone of pathos, and on others it should rise 
into the dignity of confidence : but in all 
cases, as Dr. Blair properly remarks, “ it is 
a matter of importance to bring our dis- 
course just to a point ; neither ending 
abruptly and unexpectedly, nor disappoint- 
ing the hearers, when they look for the 
close, and continuing to hover round the 
conclusion till they become heartily tired 
of us. We should endeavour to go off with 
a good grace ; not to end with a languish- 
ing and drawling sentence; but to close 
