❝ does not any way confift in uncommon thoughts, "but in a certain natural air, in an easy, elegant, "and delicate fimplicity, which does not force "attention; but prefents common, yet lively and "agreeable images; and which knows fo happily "how to follow all the impulfes of the mind, that it "never fails of offering fuch fubjects to it, on every "subject, as may affect it; and to express all the "passions and emotions, which the thing it repre"fents ought to produce in it. Terence and Virgil "are famous for this fort of beauty; from whence "we may observe, that it is more difficult than the "other, fince these two authors are much the hardest "to imitate. ' "If we have not the art of blending this natural "and fimple beauty with that of noble thoughts, the "more we endeavour to excel in writing and fpeak❝ing, the worse we shall probably fucceed; and the "the more genius we have, the more apt we shall be "to fall into a vicious kind of eloquence. For hence "it is we give into points and conceit, which is a "very bad fpecies of writing. And, though the "thoughts fhould be just and beautiful in themfelves, "they yet would tire and opprefs the mind, if tooʻng"merous, and applied to fubjects which do not rc"quire them. Seneca, who is extraordinary when "we confider him feparately or in parts, wearies the "mind, if we read much of him; and I believe, that "if Quintilian had reafon to fay of him, that he is "full of pleafing faults, abundat dulcitus vitiis, we might "justly say of him, that he is full of beauties, which "are difagreeable by being too much crouded; and "because he feemed refolved to say nothing that was "plain, but to turn every thing into point and con"ceit. There is no fault we must endeavour to make "children who have made fome advances in fludy "more fenfible of, than this, because none contri"butes more towards depriving us of the fruits of our ftudies, with regard to language and eloquence." VOL. II. G Tie The reading of Seneca may however be very heneficial to youth, when their taste and judgment begin to be formed by the ftudy of Cicero. Seneca is an original, capable of giving wit to others, and of making invention eafy to them. A great many paffages may be borrowed from his treatife of clemency, and from that of the fhortnefs of life, wich will accuftom youth to find thoughts of themfelves. This ftudy will likewife teach them to diftinguifh the good from the bad. But the mafter muft direct them in it, and not leave them to themselves, left they fhould mistake the very faults of Seneca for beauties; which are the more dangerous to them, as they are more conformable to the genius of their age, and have charms in them, as we before obferved, capable of feducing the most judicious. XX ARTICLE the THIRD. Of the Choice of Words. W E have feen by all the examples hitherto cited, how useful the choice of words is in reprefent ing thoughts and proofs to advantage, and giving a clear idea of their beauty and force. Expreffions inindeed give things a new grace, and communicate that lively colouring, which is fo well adopted to form rich paintings and speaking pictures: So that by the changing and fometimes by the irregular placing of the words only, almoft the whole beauty of a difcourfe fhall appear. One would think, that the chief ufe a man fhould make of his reafon should be to attend only to the Verum fic quoque jam robuftis, & feveriore genere fatis firmatis, legendus, vel ideo, quod exercere poteft utrinque judicium. Quint, 1, 10. c. I. things which are faid to him, without giving himfeif any trouble about the manner in which they are propofed. But we experience the contrary every day, and its perhaps one of the effects of the corruption and degeneracy of our nature, that, being immerfed in fenfible pleasures, we are fcarce affected with any thing but what ftrikes and moves the fenfes; and that we feldom judge either of thoughts or of men, otherwise than by their drefs and ornament. Not that I think it a fault to prefer what is embellished to what is not fo. We have a ftrong bials and inclination not only for what is good and true, but likewife for what is beautiful; and this attraction is derived to us from the Creator, who scarce presents any thing to our eyes that is not lovely and amiable. The vicioufnefs in this is, that we are either more touched with outside and ornament, than truth; or are affected with embellishments, only, without any regard to things themselves. But it is agreeable to the primary defign of the Creator, that external beauty and agreeablenefs fhould be of fervice to fet off and recommend what is otherwife good and true. An orator is therefore under the abfolute neceffity of being particularly careful and ftudious of elocution, which may inable him to produce his thoughts in their full light; for without this all his other qualifications how great foever, would be of no ufe. This branch. must be very effential to eloquence, fince it received its name from it. And indeed we find that elocution chiefly distinguishes the merit of an orator; forms the difference of styles, on which the success of an oration generally depends, and which, properly fpeaking, art teaches us; for the reft depends more on genius and We have treated elsewhere of the propriety and perfpicuity of words; and we are now upon their elegance and force. It is furprifing that words, which are common to every one, and have no intrinfic or peculiar beauty, fhould acquire, in a moment, a luftre that alters them intirely, when managed with art, and applied to certain ufes or occafions. Edificare, i. e. To build, when spoke of a house, is a very plain word; but when the poet employs it to exprefs the ornaments with which the women decked the different stages of their head-dreffes : 'Tot premit ordinibus, tot adhuc compagibus altum Edificat caput. It is like a diamond that sparkles with a strong light: Boileau has finely imitated Juvenal's thought and expreffion: Et qu'une main favante, avec tant d'artifice, We may indeed affirm, that words have no value but what is communicated to them, and the art of the workman gives them. As they are intended to exprefs our thoughts, they ought to grow out of them; "for good expreffions are generally affixed to the things themselves, and follow them as the fhadow does the body. It is an error to think we must always fearch for them out of their subject, as though they hid themfelves from us, and we were obliged to employ a kind I Juvenal. Sat. 7. v. 500. m Res & fententiæ vi fuâ verba prient, quæ femper fatis ornata mihi quidem videri folent, fi ejufmodi funt, ut ea res ipfa peperiffe videatur. 2. de Orat. n. 146. Rerum copia verboram copiam gignit. Cic. 3. de Orat. n. 125. Cum de rebus grandioribus dicas, ipe res verba rapiunt, Lib. 3. de fin. a. 19. Verba erunt in officio. ... fic ut femper fenfibus inhærere videantur, atque ut umbra corpus fe qui. Quintil. in Proœm. 1, 8. Plerumque optima rebus cohærent, & cernuntur fuo lumine. At nos quærimus illa, tanquam lateant femper, feque fubducant... Optima funt minime accerfita, & fimplicibus atque ab ipfa veritate profectis fimilia, Ibid. "The most natural are of violence in ufing them. the best. I fuppofe, as I obferved elfewhere, that people have diligently ftudied the language they write in, that they have made a great collection of rich expreffions from a close and serious commerce with good authors; but above all, that they have furnished themfelves with all the knowledge requifite in an orator: then the diction will give them little trouble. It is with words in compofing, as with fervants in a wellregulated family; they don't wait till called for, they come of themselves, and are always ready when wanted. The only difficulty lies in chufing, and knowing how to employ them in their proper places. This choice cofts us more time and trouble in the beginning, we being then obliged to examine, weigh, and compare things; but it becomes afterwards fo cafy and natural, that the words offer themfelves, and rife under the pen, almost without our thinking of them. A nice and exact care is required at first, but it ought to leffen as we improve. There are, however, fome orators, who being always diffatisfied with themfelves, and very ingenious in giving themselves pain, defpife all the expreffions which occur to them at firft, though ever so useful, in order to fearch after the most n' Qui rationem loquendi primum cognoverit, tum lectione multa & ̈ idonea copiofam fiti verborum fupellectilem comparârit.... ei res cum nominibus fuis occurrent. Sed opus eft ftudio præcedente, & acquifita facultate & quafi repofita. Ibid. Onerandum complendumque pectus maximarum rerum & plurimarum fuavitate. copia, varietate, Lib. 3. de Orat. n. 121. rere videantur. Quintil. 1. 10. c. 3. & 1. 8. in Proœm o Verba omnia, quæ funt cujufque generis, maxime illuftria, sub acumen ftyli fubeant & fuccedant neceffe eft. Lib. 1. de Orat. n. 151. p Ifta quærendi, judicandi, ccmparandi anxietas, dum discimus,auhibenda eft, non cum dicimus.... Quibufdam tamen nullus finis caJumniandi eft, & cum fingulis pene fyllabis commorandi, qui, etiara cum optima fint reperta, quærunt aliquid quod fit magis antiquum, remotum, inopinatum... increduli quid-m, & de ingenio fuo peffime meriti, qui diligentiam putant facere fibi fcribendi difficultaten Quintil. in Procem. 1. 8. G 3. Celeritatem dabit confuetudo. Paulatim res facilius fe oftendent, verba refpondebunt, compofitio fequetur: cuncta denique, ut in familia bene inftituta, in officio erunt fic ut ron requifita refpondae, fed ut femper fenfibus inhæ .... beautiful, |