SIR CHARLES BELL ON THE ORGANS OF THE HUMAN VOICE. 317 
alters the diameter and form of the glottis, and the length and diameter of the 
pharynx. This minute accommodation of action does not merely evince the 
perfection of the organ, but shows a most surprising command possessed over 
it: and in this respect the muscular apparatus of the throat does not yield in 
comparison with that of the eye itself. 
Struck with the perfection of the human voice, its precision, expression, and 
variety excelling the finest instruments mathematically constructed, we have 
more to admire in the production of those conventional sounds which become 
the instruments of thought and the source of all we know. Articulation re¬ 
sults from a still more complex action of the organs of voice. In speaking, 
the voice is much influenced by the modulation or varying forms of the 
open passages, before it is articulated in the mouth ; whilst with each motion 
of the tongue or lips there is a correspondence in the action of the velum and 
pharynx: so that the compression of the thorax, the adjustment of the larynx 
and glottis, the motions of the tongue and lips, and the actions of the pha¬ 
rynx and palate, must all consent before a word be uttered! 
There is one part of the subject which I have omitted in the body of the 
paper. In speaking, the play of the chest is not the same as in the common 
act of breathing : the diaphragm is used less, and the ribs a great deal more. 
A man, preparing to speak, elevates his chest, whilst the abdomen is drawn 
flatter; the effect of which is to give more play to the elastic cartilages of the 
ribs, and the falling of the elevated chest is easy and unembarrassed ; whereas, 
to expel the breath beyond a certain degree, requires the action of the muscles 
of expiration, and makes the act of speaking still more complicated. 
When we think of the number of parts which must combine in office to pro¬ 
duce the simplest articulate sound, we see the necessity for a corresponding 
intricacy of nervous connexions, and are less surprised to find the voice defec¬ 
tive through derangement of the nervous system. In a person who stutters, 
the imperfection is obviously in the power of combination, not in the defect of 
any single part. Whilst he cannot combine the murmur from the glottis with 
the action of the pharynx, he can speak in a whisper ; that is, he can articulate 
the faint sound of aspiration, whilst he cannot at the same time vocalize the 
breath. So he can sing his words without hesitation, or impediment, or spasm; 
because, in singing, the adjustment of the glottis and the due propulsion of the 
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