many of them. The parts of the human figure which are brought into action, cannot in truth be considered separate; for every muscle, every nerve, over which we can exercise voluntary action, contributes in some measure to the perfection of gesture. The most distinguished parts of the body, however, which affect the principal gestures may be considered the following, viz. 1. The Heal. 2. The shoulders. 3. The trunk or body. 4. The arms. 5. The hands and fingers. 6. The lower limbs and knees. 7. The feet. The orator should pay great attention to his whole outward appearance. Every position should be manly, graceful, and dignified: every thing that is awkward and rustic should be carefully avoided.-The gracefulness of motion in the human form, or perhaps in any other, consists in the facility and security with which it can be executed. And the gracefulness of any position, consists in the apparent facility with which they can be varied. Hence in standing, the position is graceful, when the weight of the body is principally supported on one leg; whilst the other is so placed, as to be ready to relieve it promptly and without effort. And as the legs are formed for a mutual share of labour and of honour, so their alternation in position and in motion is agreeable and graceful. The foot which sustains the weight of the body must be so placed, that a perpendicular line let fall from the hole of the neck, shall pass through the heel of that foot. The other foot is merely for the purpose of keeping the body properly balanced in this position. The orator is to adopt such attitudes and positions only, as consist with manly and simple grace. The toes are to be moderately turned outwards, but not constrained; the limbs are to be disposed so as to support the body with ease, and to change with facility. The sustaining foot is to be planted firmly; the leg and thigh braced, but not contracted, and the knee straightened: the other foot must press lightly and generally at the distance at which it would fall, if lifted up and allowed to drop by its own gravity. The trunk of the body is to be well balanced, and sustained erect upon the supporting limb; except in such attitudes as particularly require its inclination; as veneration, supplication, fear, &c. In changing the positions of the feet, the motions are to be made with the utmost simplicity, and free from the parade and sweep of dancing. The speaker must advance, retire or change, almost imperceptibly, except only when particular energy requires that he should stamp with his foot, that he should start back or advance with marked precision.-The general rule for changing in the position of the feet is, that it should take place after the first gesture or preparation of the changing hand, and coincide with the finishing gesture: and it is to be particularly observed, that the changes should not be too frequent. The positions and motions of the hands are so numerous, and may be so exceedingly varied by minute changes, that it would perhaps be impossible, and certainly would be a useless labour to attempt to describe them all. I shall only mention some of the most prominent, and such as are of most common use in public speaking. Quintilian considers the gestures of the hands of such importance for illustration and enforcement, that he even attributes to them the faculty of universal language. Without the aid of the hand, says he, action would be mutilated, and void of energy; but it is hardly possible, since they are almost as copious as words themselves, to enumerate the variety of motions of which they are capable. The action of the other parts of the body assists the speaker, but the hands (I could almost say) speak themselves. Do we not by them, demand, promise, call, dismiss, threaten, supplicate, express abhorrence and terror, question and deny? do we not by them express joy and sorrow, doubt, confession, repentance, measure, quantity, number and time? do they not also encourage, supplicate, restrain, convict, admire, respect? and in pointing out places and persons, do they not discharge the office of adverbs and pronouns so that in the great diversity of languages, which obtain among all kingdoms and nations, theirs appears to me the universal language of mankind.-Cresollius goes far beyond Quintilian; the very contents or title of the chapter in which he treats of the hands, are in this spirit:-"The hand, the admirable contrivance of the Divine Artist.-The minister of reason,-Without the hand no eloquence !"-"Man, I say, full of wisdom and divinity, could have appeared nothing superior to a naked trunk or a block, had he not been adorned with this interpreter and messenger of his thoughts." Every thing, it must be confessed, depends on the hand it gives strength and colouring to eloquence, and adds force and nerves to the riches of thought, which, otherwise languid, creeping on the ground, and deficient in vigour, would lose all estimation. In my judgment, therefore, the hand may properly be called a second tongue, because nature has adapted it by the most wonderful contrivance for illustrating the art of persuasion. The positions of the hand are determined by four different circumstances. 1st. By the disposition of the fingers. 2d. By the manner in which the palm is represented. 3d. By the combined disposition of both hands. 4th. By the part of the body on which they are occasionally placed. FIRST LINE. I Downwards across. 3 Downwards oblique. Position of the Arms. SECOND LINE. I Horizontal across. 2 Horizontal forward. 3 Horizontal oblique. 4 Downwards extended. 4 Horizontal extended. 5 Downwards backwards. 5 Horizontal backwards. THIRD LINE. I Elevated across. These fifteen positions, arising from three original directions, downwards, horizontal, and elevated, will be found sufficient to represent most of the ordi nary gestures. They contain a great variety; for when they are performed by the right, by the left, or by both together, they produce forty-five positions. Each of these positions may be varied, almost ad infinitum when we consider all the degrees and kinds of tone, passion and emotion which occur in public speaking: all of which influence the character of the gesture, in the same manner they do the expressions of the voice. As the head gives the chief grace to the person, so does it principally contribute to the expression of grace in delivery. It must be held in an erect and natural position. For when hung down, it is expressive of humility; when turned upwards, of arrogance; when inclined to one side, it expresses languor; and when stiff and rigid, it indicates a degree of barbarity in the mind. Its movements should be suited to the character of the delivery; they should accord with the gesture, and fall in with the action of the hands, and the motions of the body. When the hand approaches the head, the head bends forward to meet it; when the hand moves from the head, the head is in general held back or averted. In submission, when the hands are prone and the arms descend, it bends downwards, and accords with the movements of the hands and arms. The eyes, which are of the utmost consequence to the orator, are always to be directed as the gesture points; except when we have occasion to condemn, or refuse, or to require any object to be removed; on which occasion we should at the same movement express aversion in our countenance, and reject by our gesture. The sides should also bear their part in gesture. The motions of the body contribute, says Cicero, much to the effect in delivery. Indeed he is of opinion that they are not inferior to the hands. In his work De Oratore, he says, No affected motions of the finger, no measured cadence of their articulation. Let the gesture rather regulate itself by the movements of the whole trunk, and by the manly in flexion of the sides.-The raising up or shrugging of the shoulders in order to express indifference or contempt, is merely theatrical, and should be sparingly used even on the stage. Quintilian condemns it altogether in an orator. The Stroke and Time of Gesture. The arm, the hand, and the fingers united in one flexible line of several joints, which combine together their mutual action, form the grand instrument of gesture, or, as Cicero calls it, "the weapon of oratory." The centre of motion of this combined line, is the shoulder, which does not move altogether in the form of an inflexible line; but each joint becomes often a new centre of motion, for the position between it and the extremity. Accordingly in directing the gesture to any particular point, the upper arm first arrives at its proper position, then the fore arm turning on the joint of the elbow, and lastly the hand moving on the joint of the wrist; and in some cases there is a fourth motion of the fingers from the knuckles next the palm; this last motion is the expanding of the collected fingers. The stroke of the gesture is analogous to the im pression of the voice, made on those words, which it would illustrate or enforce; it is used for the same purpose and should fall precisely on the same place, that is, on the accented syllable of the emphatical word, so that the emphatical force of the voice, and the most lively stroke of the gesture, co-operate in order to present the idea in the most lively and distinguished manner, as well to the eye as to the ear of the hearer. The stroke of the gesture is to the eye, what emphasis and inflexions of voice are to the ear, and it is capable of equal force and variety.-When there is little effort or variety of expression of voice, such as in the simple and narrative parts of a discourse, the gesture in such cases, if any be used, ought to be tame and simple; but in the more impas |