418 
be encroaching on the valuable pages of 
this literary Journal, were I to offer a de- 
tailed account of the opinions of the vari- 
ous authors wio haye written, by way of 
introduction to the subject which forms 
a part of the present series of Essays. The 
student will be suficiently interested to 
proceed in the cultivation and improve- 
ment of his vernacular tongue, after a 
careful perusal of the valuable philologi- 
cal essays of Mr. Horne Tooke on the 
one hand, and the scientific speculations 
of the late Mr. Thomas Sheridan on the 
other; disquisitions replete with versa- 
tility of proof, and fecundity of observa 
tion, ‘That the language of Great Bri- 
tain tends to the promulgation of know- 
ledge, the advance of science, and the 
regulation of commerce, more than any 
other living language on the globe, is a 
fact not easily to be controverted; and 
we may dare venture to affirm, that what 
was anticipated by Mr. Sheridan in his 
€¢ British Fducation,” in favor of the Eng- 
lish language, has since been exempli- 
fied in the libraries of the Universities, 
and institutions of the kingdom, and is 
now adequately authenticated in the vo- 
cabularies of the present enlightened age. 
_ We have already had cecasion to ex- 
plain, in as concise a form as was in our 
power, the instrument of sound, and its 
adjacent organs of speech; and have also 
attempted to elucidate, by a_philoso- 
phical analysis, the various modifications 
of the human voice, dependent and inde- 
pendent of articulation, of which it is 
known to be susceptive. It remains for 
us next to observe, and then to prove by 
apposite exposition, that the tones of 
voice, instituted by a uniform theory of 
inflexion, are to a certain degree modi- 
fied by the passions or emotions of the 
mind. The mind, toa speaker, is the 
«<codlike spring of action.” The anx- 
jety of man, when communicating his 
ideas, is excited or "appeased in propor- 
tion as he may fancy the picture of them 
to be more or less Laeteniels conveyed. 
This is most peculiarly discernible in that 
species Of discourse called the argumen- 
fative; and, by the oratorical os: te ation 
of voice in the delivery of the syllogism, 
independent of the: other operations of 
the art of reasoning, are we enabled to 
discover this predominant character of 
éxpression. The law of association be- 
teen expression and souN?, is also im- 
ht SeeaBle and, as a fanciful display of 
nivsical modulation, unassisted by arti. 
culated voices, pe not only occasion, at 
stated- intervals, certain emotions in the 
_ | 
Lssays onthe Theory of Inflexion. 
[ Dee. . 
mind, but by the judicious arrangement 
of its "several parts and cadences, the ear 
is prepared to accompapy it through all 
the variety of connecting notes and 
pauses, so the delivery of a well-con- 
celved oration will not only move and 
affect the passions, but, by due obser- 
vance of inflexion, will better enable the 
understanding to draw, from the progres- 
sive classification of qualifying thoughts, 
the suitable deduction. To this may be 
added, that if the artificial progress of 
sound lead us to expect the approaching 
cadence and final close in musical come, 
position, how much must an equal ar- 
rangement of voice, as applied to speak- 
ing, be premoted by the mental assist. 
ance of words, in pointing out the pro- 
gressional advance of thought in the 
protasis and apodosis of comparative 
phraseology. The student wiil take nos 
tice from this (as well as from what I 
have already had oceasion to advance, 
vol. 29, p. 38), that two of the most strik- 
ing beauties in an ora tion, are gradational 
variety of language on the one branch, 
and correspondent suspension of voice 
on the other. But, to understand tho- 
roughly the perfection of the WHOLE, it 
will be requisite first to perceive the 
beauty of apart. We may be aiready 
aware, that in simple analogous compact 
sentences, the noun or substantive, and 
its qualifying word or words, which form 
the subject of a propositior. and the verb 
with its modifications and object, are 
presented in the uniform manner in 
which it may be supposed they first 
occurred to the mind. As therefore the 
noun or subject, and the verb or action, 
with the object to which it refers, are 
modified by every ether word in a sen- 
tence, we may with the greatest pro- 
priety call these parts of speech, with 
their several qualifications and modifica- 
tions, the two capital divisions of a simn- 
ple analogous compact sentence. ‘A 
man seldom detects a pleasing error.” 
We discover that the example placed 
within the signs of quotation, con- 
veys to the mind but one complete 
thought or idea. In the pronunciation 
‘of such passages, we may haye taken 
notice, that, spies to the general 
principle ‘of inflexion aid down in a 
preceding essay, suspension, or the turn 
of voice which signifies incompletion, 
discovers itselF most particularly at the 
nominative case + the slide of voice which 
intimates completion, appears the most 
discernible at the accusative, or ‘object. 
Frou this may be deduced, that the two 
capital 
