custom himself, by the confused noise of the waters, to the roar of the people, and the tumultuous cries of public assemblies. 5. Demosthenes took no less care of his action than his voice. He had a large looking-glass in his house, which served to teach him gesture, and at which he used to declaim, before he spoke in public. To correct an ill habit which he had contracted, of shrugging up his shoulders, he practised standing upright in a very narrow pulpit, over which hung a sword, in such a manner, that if, in the heat of the action, that motion escaped him, the point of the weapon might serve at the same time, to admonish and correct him. 6. His application to studies was no less surprising. To be the more removed from noise, and less subject to distraction, he caused a small room to be made for him under ground, in which he shut himself up, sometimes for whole months, shaving on purpose half his head and face, that he might not be in a condition to go abroad. It was there, by the help of a small lamp, he composed his admirable orations, which were said by those who envied him, to smell of the oil, to imply they were too elaborate. 7. His pains were well bestowed; for it was by these means, that he carried the art of declaiming to the highest degree of perfection of which it was capable; whence it is plain, he well knew its value and importance. When he was asked three several times, which quality he thought most necessary in an orator, he answered each time, "Pronunciation !" 8. By making the reply three times successively, he insinuated, that pronunciation is the only qualification, of which the want could least be concealed, and which is the most capable of concealing other defects; and, that that alone could give considerable weight, even to an indifferent orator, when without it, the most excellent could not hope for the least success. As to Demosthenes, Cicero tells us that his success was so great, that all Greece came in crowds to Athens to hear him speak; and he adds, that merit so great as his, could not but have the desired effect. Demosthenes the famous Grecian orator was born at Athens, then the rival of Rome, 381 years anterior to the Christian era. He was a pupil of Plato; and so great was the ardor and diligence with which he entered on the study of elocution, under the tuition of that celebrated philosopher and traveller, that almost in defiance of nature herself, we see him "drag up drowned honor by the locks," by the power of that eloquence which prompted his hearers to cry out as one man: "Let us march against Phil ip-let us fight for our liberties-let us conquer or die." When Demosthenes said that pronunciation or action is the first, second, and last quality of an orator, he meant elocution. In his day, those words implied delivery. Had he not included by these words, the voice, as well as gesture, he would not have devoted years to its cultivation. Rather than fall into the hands of Antipater, he took a dose of poison, and expired in his 60th year. Professor Anthon, in his Classical Dictionary, which appeared subsequently to the publication of my first edition, containing the above note, says of Demosthenes :-"His idea was this: a lifeless manner on the part of a public speaker shows that his own feelings are not enlisted in the cause which he is advocating, and it is idle for him, therefore, to seek to make converts of others, when he has failed in making one of himself. On the other hand, when the tone of voice, the gesture, the look, the whole manner of the orator, display the powerful feelings that agitate him, his emotion is communicated to his hearers, and success is inevitable. It was not therefore mere 'action' that Demosthenes required in an orator, an error into which some have fallen, from a mistranslation of the Latin rhetorical term 'actio,' as employed by Cicero in mentioning this incident, but it was an attention to the whole manner of delivery, the look, the tone, the every movement, as so many unerring indications of internal emotion, and of the honesty and sincerity of the speaker." Rollin, author of "Ancient History," was born at Paris, in 1661, and died at the age of 81. 7. CICERO.-N. Amer. Review. 1. In looking back to the great men of antiquity, we know of no one to whom we feel more strongly attracted, or who seems to be more closely connected with the present, than Cicero. His works are more various, as well as extensive, than those of any other ancient writer, and we feel that we know him through these. 2. We are brought nearer to him than to any one of the ancients. It seems as if we had actually listened to his voice in the senate house or the forum, or conversed with him and his friends in his beautiful Tusculan gardens, and gathered from his own lips his deep and pure philosophy. 3. And, more than this, we are sensible of the power of his mind, of its vast range through the past, present, and future. We perceive his capacity for comprehending all the improvements of society, and we feel that if he were brought to life, at present, he would be as one of us. 4. We figure to ourselves the delight with which he would view and understand the advances made since his time, the intuitive readiness with which he would accommodate himsel to the laws of society; the perfect gentleman he would appear, though suddenly placed in a scene so new, so trying, so full of wonders. 5. Cicero's name is identified with eloquence. His great pursuit, the object to which his life was devoted, the passion of his youth, the last and mightiest effort of his old age, was eloquence. The idea of a perfect orator existed in his mind almost from childhood, and was never lost from his view. He looked to it as to a bright beacon advancing constantly before him; never, perhaps, fully reached; but attracting him by its brightness, and alluring him ever onward. 6. Cicero was a remarkable instance of a man who understood himself. He knew his own character thoroughly; he understood wherein his greatest power consisted, and he used every means to cultivate those faculties which he was aware could alone ensure success. He very early in life, formed the conception of that perfect character, which he says an orator ought to be, a man who has cultivated every power to the highest degree, to whom the arts, the ornaments of life, nature itself pays tribute; whose mind is enriched by the knowledge of all science, and the thoughts and imaginings of kindred spirits in all ages; and who gathers into himself the results of genius of every period, country, and form. 7. Upon this model, Cicero formed his character. He was aware that his powers were equal to the task. He knew that he could comprehend all that man had known; that his powers of acquiring and his industry were unsurpassed; and still more, he felt that knowledge in his mind would not be a dead and useless weight, but that he had power to mould and transform, to bring forth new and fairer forms, and to bequeath to all futurity, high and worthy thoughts. 8. From his earliest years, therefore, he devoted himself to literary pursuits. He made himself familiar, not only with the rhetorician's art, but also with the whole science of Roman jurisprudence-two branches which had always been considered as forming distinct professions. After gaining all the knowledge to be found in Rome, he travelled to Greece; he there perfected himself in the language of that country, and became familiar with her rich philosophy and literature. 9. In Asia, he was surrounded by the most distinguished philosophers and orators, with whom he daily conversed and reasoned, and from whom, he probably obtained much of that Knowledge of ancient philosophy, which he displays in his writings. His mind was stored with all human knowledge; the beautiful poetry of Greece was familiar to him; he had walked in the groves of Academus, and the genius of the place had penetrated his soul; he had listened to the various. creeds of the schools, and had boldly formed his own opinions, without suffering the shackles of other minds; and he returned to make all his acquirements contribute to one object,— the profession of eloquence. 10. Of all the manifestations of human power, Cicero regarded that of the orator as the greatest, and as approaching nearest to the divine nature. To this, he made all knowledge and all talent subservient; to this, poetry, philosophy, and history, were but the ministering attendants. We gather from his own writings, his exalted opinion of the eloquent man. 11. "Let us trace the qualifications," says he, "of the orator, such as Mark Antony never saw, nor any other man whom we can, perchance, describe, as he ought to be, though, perhaps, we can neither imitate him, nor show any example of such a man; for these qualities are hardly granted to a god. 12. "The orator must possess the knowledge of many sciences, without which, a mere flow of words is vain and ridiculous; his style of speaking must be formed, not only by a choice of words, but by a skilful arrangement and construction of sentences; he must be deeply versed in every emotion which nature has given to man; for all skill and power in speaking, consist in soothing, or exciting the minds of the audience. 13. "In addition to this, he must possess a ready wit and pleasantry, an amount of erudition such as is becoming to a freeman, and a quickness of repartee, united with a refined elegance and urbanity. He must be familiar with all antiquity, and be provided with a store of examples; nor must he neglect the science of laws and jurisprudence. 14. "What shall I say of action? which depends upon the motions of the body, the gestures, the countenance, the tones, and changes of the voice. The great importance of action may be discovered from the actor's frivolous art; for who is ignorant how few are able to resist its effects? And what shall I say of the memory? that treasure of all learning, without whose aid in preserving the knowledge we have acquired, or the thoughts we have originated, all the most valuable qualities of an 'orator would be lost. 15. "Let us no longer wonder, then, that eloquence is so rare, since it consists of so many accomplishments, each of which, would seem to be the work of life in acquiring." 16. Such was Cicero's notion of the perfect orator, and such he endeavored to render himself. He was undoubtedly correct in regarding eloquence, as the concentration of human genius, the fullest development of all the powers, and the manifestation of the highest qualities of our nature. 17. There is certainly no display of mortal power so imposing as that of the great orator, at the moment of putting forth his energies; when the highest mental faculties are called into action, in concert with those physical powers which are so noble, that the Greeks held them divine; when the "thoughts that breathe" and the "words that burn," are enforced by the graceful and impressive gesture, the form that seems to tower up and dilate, the beaming eye, the voice with its thousand tones, embodying thought in the most resistless forms, and the enraptured crowds are ready to cry out: "It is the voice of a god and not of a man." 18. Cicero loved eloquence as an art; he felt that his capacities were peculiarly adapted to it; and, smitten with the ideal that existed in his mind, he was urged by an irresistible desire to give it expression. He bound himself for life to the pursuit, and no change of circumstance, no danger, no distress could induce him to abandon it. The iron hand of the dicta tor could not crush the growing flower of Roman oratory. 19. The birth-place of art is in the soul; it does not depend upon rules; it exists previously to all theories and sciences; it is a perfect idea, an image of beauty dwelling in the mind. in distinct and radiant traits, which we seek to clothe, in some form that may be comprehended by the senses. 20. The ideal of eloquence existed in Cicero's mind above all rules. It was with him something not acquired by rules, but preexisting in his mind; aided, but not formed by industry; giving birth to rhetoric, not receiving existence from it. To but few individuals has the beautiful conception been granted. 21. Cicero's style belongs peculiarly to himself. Language with him becomes a new thing; it is perfectly transparent and radiant with thought. It seems, when we are reading his works, as if intellect itself had become visible before |