Deliberative eloquence comprehends a most extensive field, embracing as its ob ject the whole extent of public affairs ; such, for instance, as war, and peace, political negotiations, domestic interests, foreign alliances, the regulation of trade and commerce, and in general all matters connected with legislation and govern ment. This species of eloquence cannot be cultivated in any other than a free state. The will of an arbitrary monarch supersedes its use, or terrifies it to silence. It is therefore to the " high and palmy state" of Athens and of Rome that we must look for its energies as exhibit ed in ancient times, and we shall find its proudest memorials in the works of De mosthenes and Cicero. In more modern times, it has, by the operation of political causes, been almost exclusively confined to the limits of our own island. And whilst the parliamentary speeches of Cha tham, of Burke, of Fox, and of Pitt, re main upon record, Britain may dispute the meed of deliberative eloquence with either of the haughty republics of anti quity.
Judicial eloquence comprehends in its purview the whole extent of judicial pro ceedings, both civil and criminal ; that is to say, the attack and defence of persons and of property. In ancient times the business of judicial pleading was not con fined to one class of men. The Roman orator was at all times ready to impeach a state criminal, or to plead in defence of the life, the honour, or the fortune of his friend. These were the illustrious days of forensic eloquence, when the first cha racters of -the republic displayed their abilities at the bar ; when Cicero and Hortensius, in amicable rivalry, gave full scope to their superlative talents. But degraded as the profession of an advo cate is now in some respects acknowledg ed to be, yet in the proceedings of a Bri tish court of justice, there have for a long series of years, been evinced proofs of the most searching sagacity, the soundest judgment, and the most ready wit.
In regular orations of every species there will generally be found the follow ing subdivisions. The exordium, or in troduction ; the statement of the subject ; the narrative, or explanation ; the rea soning, or argument ; the pathetic part ; and, lastly, the peroration, or conclusion.
The object of the exordium is to con ciliate the good will of the hearers, to awake their attention, and to render them open to persuasion. The topics by which these purposes may best be ef fected will suggest themselves to the good sense of the speaker, as arising from the character and peculiar preju dices of his auditors, from his own re lative situation, from the peculiar circum stances of the times, or from the nature of his cause.
In the proposition of the subject, the qualities chiefly to be aimed at are clear ness and distinctness. These qualities are indeed of the most essential import ance, and the attainment of them is well worth the utmost care and pains. In debates of every kind, that speaker is listened to with the greatest pleasure, who is able briefly and plainly to give the most accurate account of the points principally in question.
As the narrative, or explanation of facts, is to be the ground-work of all the future reasonings of the orator, it is ob viously his duty to recount them in such a manner as may be most favourable to his cause ; to place in the most striking light every circumstance which is to his advantage, and to soften such as make against him He must also exercise con summate judgment, so that his narration may be at once concise and full, copious and distinct. In short, a perfect narra-
tion is one, from which nothing can be taken without rendering it obscure, and to which nothing can be added without weakening its force.
In his arguments, a speaker should, as Quintilian expresses it, possess logic as a philosopher, and employ it as an orator. He should follow the lucid order of na ture in their disposition, and express them in such a style and manner as to give them their full force. He should take care not to multiply them to too great an extent, and to bring into a conspicuous point of view those which are the most weighty and cogent.
In the pathetic part of his discourse, which generally introduces and pervades the peroration, the ancient orator col lected all the might of his abilities to strike as it were a finishing stroke. But Quintilian, with his usual judgment, warns his pupil against dwelling upon this topic too long. "'Time," says he, "soon calms real griefs ; how much more easily must it dissipate the illusory im pressions which act only upon the imagi nation. Let not then the pathetic strain be too long continued. If this precept be not well observed, the auditor is fatigued ; he resumes his tranquillity, and recovering from the transitory emotion, he returns under the influence of reason. We ought not, then, to suffer his feelings to cool; and when we have carried them as far as they can go, we ought to stop, and not to deceive ourselves with the idea, that the mind will for any long space of time be sensible to emotions which are foreign to it." When Roman eloquence was in its most flourishing state, this oratorical sub division was an object of assiduous study ; and in order to excite the feelings of the audience, the orator had frequent re course to sensible objects. The weeping relatives of the defendant, the wounds which an accused person had received in fighting the battles or his country, a dagger, or a bloody 'robe : these exhibi tions were frequently resorted to, in or der to excite compassion, or to rouse in dignation. They are, however, so incon sistent with modern usages, and especi ally with the cool and phlegmatic tempe rament of our countrymen, that the most consummate prudence and skill can alone adopt any of them with effect. Where a Burke has failed, be must be a bold man who would repeat the experi ment.
The precise nature of the conclusion of any discourse must be determined in a great measure by the nature of that dis course, and the circumstances in which it is delivered. Sometimes it may be ex pedient to compress in it a repetition of the substance of a long train of antecedent argument ; on some occasions it should assume the humble tone of pathos, and on others it should rise into the dignity of confidence : but in all cases, as Dr. Blair properly remarks, " it is a matter of importance to bring our discourse just to a point ; neither ending abruptly and unexpectedly, nor disappointing the hearers, when they look for the close, and continuing to hover round the con clusion till they become heartily tired of us. We should endeavour to go off with a good grace ; not to end with a Ian guishing and drawling sentence ; but to close with dignity and spirit, that we may leave the minds of the hearers warm, and dismiss them with a favourable im pression of the subject and of the speaker."