Sanders' Union Fourth Reader Part 7

BRYANT.

4. A _false balance_ is _abomination to the Lord_; but a _just weight_ is _his delight_.

BIBLE.

5. A _friend_ can not be _known_ in _prosperity;_ and an _enemy_ can not be _hidden_ in _adversity_.

6. It is my _living sentiment_, and, by the blessing of G.o.d, it shall be my _dying sentiment:_ INDEPENDENCE NOW, and INDEPENDENCE FOREVER.

WEBSTER.

7. We live in _deeds_, not _years_,--in _thoughts_, not _breaths_,--in _feelings_, not in _figures on a dial_. We should count time by _heart throbs_. He _most lives_, who THINKS THE MOST,--FEELS THE n.o.bLEST,--ACTS THE BEST.

8. _You_ have done the _mischief_, and _I_ bear the _blame_.

9. The _wise man_ is happy when he gains his _own_ approbation; the _fool_ when he gains that of _others_.

10. We must hold _them_ as we hold the _rest_ of mankind--_enemies_ in _war_,--in _peace, friends_.

JEFFERSON.

NOTE IX.--The sense of a pa.s.sage is varied by changing the place of the emphasis.

EXAMPLES.

1. Has _James_ seen his brother to-day? No; but _Charles_ has.

2. Has James _seen_ his brother to-day? No; but he has _heard_ from him.

3. Has James seen _his_ brother to-day? No; but he saw _yours_.

4. Has James seen his _brother_ to-day? No; but he has seen his _sister_.

5. Has James seen his brother _to-day_? No; but he saw him _yesterday_.

REMARK.--To determine the emphatic words of a sentence, as well as the _degree_ and _kind_ of emphasis to be employed, the reader must be governed wholly by the _sentiment_ to be expressed. The idea is sometimes entertained that emphasis consists merely in _loudness_ of tone. But it should be borne in mind that the most _intense_ emphasis may often be effectively expressed, even by a whisper.

SECTION III.

INFLECTIONS.

INFLECTIONS are turns or slides of the voice, made in reading or speaking; as; Will you go to New [Transcriber's Note: Two missing lines in printing, page 25 in original.] or to [Transcriber's Note: Remainder of paragraph is missing.]

All the various sounds of the human voice may be comprehended under the general appellation of _tones_. The princ.i.p.al modifications of these tones are the MONOTONE, the RISING INFLECTION, the FALLING INFLECTION, and the CIRc.u.mFLEX.

The Horizontal Line (--) denotes the Monotone.

The Rising Slide (/) denotes the Rising Inflection.

The Falling Slide () denotes the Falling Inflection.

The Curve (_/) denotes the Circ.u.mflex.

The MONOTONE is that sameness of sound, which arises from repeating the several words or syllables of a pa.s.sage in one and the same general tone.

REMARK.--The Monotone is employed with admirable effect in the delivery of a pa.s.sage that is solemn or sublime.

EXAMPLES.

1. O thou that rollest above, round as the shield of my fathers: whence are thy beams, O sun, thy everlasting light? OSSIAN.

2.

'Tis midnight's holy hour, and silence now Is brooding, like a gentle spirit, o'er The still and pulseless world. Hark! on the winds The bells' deep tones are swelling; 'tis the knell Of the departed year.

PRENTICE.

3. G.o.d came from Teman, and the Holy One from Mount Paran. Selah. His glory covered the heavens, and the earth was full of His praise.

4. Before Him went the pestilence, and burning coals went forth at His feet. He stood and measured the earth: He beheld, and drove asunder the nations; and the everlasting mountains were scattered, the perpetual hills did bow: His ways are everlasting. BIBLE.

5. The heavens declare the glory of G.o.d, and the firmament showeth His handy work. Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night showeth knowledge. There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard. ID.

6.

How brief is life! how pa.s.sing brief!

How brief its joys and cares!

It seems to be in league with time, And leaves us unawares.

7. The thunder rolls: be hushed the prostrate world, While cloud to cloud returns the solemn hymn. THOMSON.

REMARK.--The inappropriate use of the monotone,--a fault into which young people naturally fall,--is a very grave and obstinate error. It is always tedious, and often even ridiculous. It should be studiously avoided.

The RISING INFLECTION is an upward turn, or slide of the voice, used in reading or speaking; as,

s?

n/ o/ s/ s/ e/ Are you prepared to recite your l/

The FALLING INFLECTION is a downward turn, or slide of the voice, used in reading or speaking; as,

d o i n What are you g?

In the falling inflection, the voice should not sink below the _general pitch_; but in the rising inflection, it is raised above it.

The two inflections may be ill.u.s.trated by the following diagrams:

1.

i m y, p p l/ r r t/ u u n/ d d e/ e e d/ n n u/ t t r/ l l Did he act p/ or y? He acted y.

2.

u n y, w w l/ i i g/ l l n/ l l i/ i i l/ n n l/ g g i/ l l Did they go w/ or y? They went y.

3.

r, e/ h/ g/ i/ If the flight of Dryden is h/ Pope continues longer on the