Richard Harding Davis - "Cuba in War Time"

Various - "Notes and Queries, Number 190, June 18, 1853"

Andrew Lang - "Myth, Ritual, and Religion, Vol. 1"

Henry Blake Fuller - "Bertram Cope's Year"

Annual Bibliography of Commonwealth Literature 2007
This paper argues that discourses of love in Ghanaian market literature for youth offer a view into complex negotiations of agency and empowerment. Drawing on Deborah Durham's notion of youth as "social `shifters'" and Francis Nyamnjoh's conception of the "interconnectedness" of agency, I take Ghanaian market literature as one specific case of how African literature for youth foregrounds questions of continuity and change as African societies enter into increasingly complex global relations. In this literature for youth, received notions of love, often constructed out of impressions from American pop and hip hop music, carry new notions of agency that compete with existing "domesticated" forms. Authors like Ike Tandoh and Evelyn Tay employ discourses of love to offer youth alternative avenues for empowerment in a context of socio-economic disenfranchizement. In a creative process of "straddling", this writing both reveals and reproduces the contradictions that obtain in youth configurations of agency.

Cicero\'s Brutus or History of Famous Orators; also His Orator, or Accomplished Speaker.

M >> Marcus Tullius Cicero >> Cicero\'s Brutus or History of Famous Orators; also His Orator, or Accomplished Speaker.




But we must now consider what number like so many dashes of purple, should
tincture and enrich the rest, and to what species of style they are each
of them best adapted. The iambic, then, should be the leading number in
those subjects which require a plain and simple style;--the paeon in such
as require more compass and elevation; and the dactyl is equally
applicable to both. So that in a discourse of any length and variety, it
will be occasionally necessary to blend and intermingle them all. By this
means, our endeavours to modulate our periods, and captivate the ear, will
be most effectually concealed; especially, if we maintain a suitable
dignity both of language and sentiment. For the hearer will naturally
attend to these (I mean our words and sentiments) and to them alone
attribute the pleasure he receives; so that while he listens to these with
admiration, the harmony of our numbers will escape his notice: though it
must indeed be acknowledged that the former would have their charms
without the assistance of the latter. But the flow of our numbers is not
to be so exact (I mean in prose, for in poetry the case is different) as
that nothing may exceed the bounds of regularity; for this would be to
compose a poem. On the contrary, if our language neither limps nor
fluctuates, but keeps an even and a steady pace, it is sufficiently
_numerous_; and it accordingly derives the title, not from its consisting
entirely of numbers, but from its near approach to a numerous form. This
is the reason why it is more difficult to make elegant prose, than to make
verses; because there are fixed and invariable rules for the latter;
whereas nothing is determined in the former, but that the current of our
language should be neither immoderate nor defective, nor loose and
unconfined. It cannot be supposed, therefore, to admit of regular beats
and divisions, like a piece of music; but it is only necessary that the
general compass and arrangement of our words should be properly restrained
and limited,--a circumstance which must be left entirely to the decision
of the ear.

Another question which occurs before us, is--whether an attention to our
numbers should be extended to every part of a sentence, or only to the
beginning and the end. Most authors are of opinion that it is only
necessary that our periods should end well, and have a numerous cadence.
It is true, indeed, that this ought to be principally attended to, but not
solely: for the whole compass of our periods ought likewise to be
regulated, and not totally neglected. As the ear, therefore, always
directs it's view to the close of a sentence, and there fixes it's
attention, it is by no means proper that this should be destitute of
_number_: but it must also be observed that a period, from it's first
commencement, should run freely on, so as to correspond to the conclusion;
and the whole advance from the beginning with such an easy flow, as to
make a natural, and a kind of voluntary pause. To those who have been
we'll practised in the art, and who have both written much; and often
attempted to discourse _extempore_ with the same accuracy which they
observe in their writings, this will be far less difficult than is
imagined. For every sentence is previously formed and circumscribed in the
mind of the Speaker, and is then immediately attended by the proper words
to express it, which the same mental faculty (than which there is nothing
more lively and expeditious) instantly dismisses, and sends off each to
its proper post: but, in different sentences, their particular order and
arrangement will be differently terminated; though, in every sentence, the
words both in the beginning and the middle of it, should have a constant
reference to the end. Our language, for instance, must sometimes advance
with rapidity, and at other times it's pace must be moderate and easy; so
that it will be necessary at the very beginning of a sentence, to resolve
upon the manner in which you would have it terminate; but we must avoid
the least appearance of poetry, both in our numbers, and in the other
ornaments of language; though it is true, indeed, that the labours of the
Orator must be conducted on the same principles as those of the Poet. For
in each we have the same materials to work upon, and a similar art of
managing them; the materials being words, and the art of managing them
relating, in both cases, to the manner in which they ought to be disposed.
The words also in each may be divided into three classes,--the
__metaphorical_,--the new-coined,--and the antique;--for at present we
have no concern with words _proper_:--and three parts may also be
distinguished in the art of disposing them; which, I have already
observed, are _juncture_, _concinnity_, and _number_. The poets make use
both of one and the other more frequently, and with greater liberty than
we do; for they employ the _tropes_ not only much oftener, but more boldly
and openly; and they introduce _antique_ words with a higher taste, and
new ones with less reserve. The same may be said in their numbers, in the
use of which they are subjected to invariable rules, which they are
scarcely ever allowed to transgress. The two arts, therefore, are to be
considered neither as wholly distinct, nor perfectly conjoined. This is
the reason why our numbers are not to be so conspicuous in prose as in
verse; and that in prose, what is called a _numerous_ style, does not
always become so by the use of numbers, but sometimes either by the
concinnity of our language, or the smooth juncture of our words.

To conclude this head; If it should be enquired, "What are the numbers to
be used in prose?" I answer, "_All_; though some are certainly better, and
more adapted to it's character than others."--If "_Where_ is their proper
seat?"--"In the different quantity of our syllables:"--If "From whence
their _origin_?"--"From the sole pleasure of the ear:"--If "What the
method of blending and intermingling them?"--"This shall be explained in
the sequel, because it properly relates to the manner of using them, which
was the fourth and last article in my division of the subject." If it be
farther enquired, "For what purpose they are employed?" I answer,--"To
gratify the ear:"--If "_When_?" I reply, "At all times:"--If "In what part
of a sentence?" "Through the whole length of it:"--and if "What is the
circumstance which gives them a pleasing effect?" "The same as in poetical
compositions, whose metre is regulated by art, though the ear alone,
without the assistance of art, can determine it's limits by the natural
powers of sensation." Enough, therefore, has been said concerning the
nature and properties of _number_. The next article to be considered is
the manner in which our numbers should be employed,--a circumstance which
requires to be accurately discussed.

Here it is usual to enquire, whether it is necessary to attend to our
numbers through the whole compass of a period, [Footnote: Our author here
informs us, that what the Greeks called [Greek: periodos], a _period_, was
distinguished among the Romans by the words _ambitus, circuitus,
comprehensio, continuatio_, and _circumscriptio_. As I thought this remark
would appear much better in the form of a note, than in the body of the
work, I have introduced it accordingly.] or only at the beginning or end
of it, or equally in both. In the next place, as _exact number_ seems to
be one thing, and that which is merely _numerous_ another, it might be
enquired wherein lies the difference. We might likewise consider whether
the members of a sentence should all indifferently be of the same length,
whatever be the numbers they are composed of;--or whether, on this
account, they should not be sometimes longer, and sometimes shorter;--and
when, and for what reasons, they should be made so, and of what numbers
they should be composed;--whether of several sorts, or only of one; and
whether of equal or unequal numbers;--and upon what occasions either the
one or the other of these are to be used;-and what numbers accord best
together, and in what order; or whether, in this respect, there is no
difference between them;--and (which has still a more immediate reference
to our subject) by what means our style may be rendered _numerous_. It
will likewise be necessary to specify the rise and origin of a
_periodical_ form of language, and what degree of compass should be
allowed to it. After this, we may consider the members or divisions of a
period, and enquire of how many kinds, and of what different lengths they
are; and, if they vary in these respects, _where_ and _when_ each
particular sort is to be employed: and, in the last place, the _use_ and
application of the whole is to be fully explained;--a very extensive
subject, and which is capable of being accommodated not only to one, but
to many different occasions. But without adverting to particulars, we may
discuss the subject at large in such a manner as to furnish a satisfactory
answer in all subordinate cases.

Omitting, therefore, every other species of composition, we shall attend
to that which is peculiar to forensic causes. For in those performances
which are of a different kind, such as history, panegyric, and all
discourses which are merely ornamental, every sentence should be
constructed after the exact manner of _Isocrates_ and _Theopompus_; and
with that regular compass, and measured flow of language, that our words
may constantly run within the limits prescribed by art, and pursue a
uniform course, till the period is completed. We may, therefore, observe
that after the invention of this, _periodical_ form, no writer of any
account has made a discourse which was intended as a mere display of
ornament, and not for the service of the Forum, without _squaring_ his
language, (if I may so express myself) and confining every sentence of it
to the strictest laws of _number_. For as, in this case, the hearer has no
motive to alarm his suspicions against the artifice of the speaker, he
will rather think himself obliged to him than otherwise, for the pains he
takes to amuse and gratify his ear. But, in forensic causes, this accurate
species of composition is neither to be wholly adopted, nor entirely
rejected. For if we pursue it too closely, it will create a satiety, and
our attention to it will be discovered by the most illiterate observer. We
may add, it will check the pathos and force of action, restrain the
sensibility of the Speaker, and destroy all appearance of truth and open
dealing. But as it will sometimes be necessary to adopt it, we must
consider _when_, and _how long_, this ought to be done, and how many ways
it may be changed and varied.

A _numerous_ style, then, may be properly employed, either when any thing
is to be commended in a free and ornamental manner, (as in my second
Invective against _Verres_, where I spoke in praise of _Sicily_, and in my
Speech before the Senate, in which I vindicated the honour of my
consulship;)--or; in the next place, when a narrative is to be delivered
which requires more dignity than pathos, (as in my fourth Invective, where
I described the Ceres of the Ennensians, the Diana of the Segestani, and
the situation of Syracuse.) It is likewise often allowable to speak in a
numerous and flowing style, when a material circumstance is to be
amplified. If I myself have not succeeded in this so well as might be
wished, I have at least attempted it very frequently; and it is still
visible in many of my Perorations, that I have exerted all the talents I
was master of for that purpose. But this will always have most efficacy,
when the Speaker has previously possessed himself of the hearer's
attention, and got the better of his judgment. For then he is no longer
apprehensive of any artifice to mislead him; but hears every thing with a
favourable ear, wishes the Orator to proceed, and, admiring the force of
his Eloquence, has no inclination to censure it.

But this measured and numerous flow of language is never to be continued
too long, I will not say in the peroration, (of which the hearer himself
will always be a capable judge) but in any other part of a discourse: for,
except in the cases above-mentioned, in which I have shewn it is
allowable, our style must be wholly confined to those clauses or divisions
which we erroneously call _incisa_ and _membra_; but the Greeks, with more
propriety, the _comma_ and _colon_ [Footnote: The ancients apply these
terms to the sense, and not to any points of distinction. A very short
member, whether simple or compound, with them is a _comma_; and a longer,
a _colon_; for they have no such term as a _semicolon_. Besides, they call
a very short sentence, whether simple or compound, a _comma_; and one of
somewhat a greater length, a _colon_. And therefore, if a person expressed
himself either of these ways, in any considerable number of sentences
together, he was said to speak by _commas_, or _colons_. But a sentence
containing more words than will consist with either of these terms, they
call a simple _period_; the least compound period with them requiring the
length of two colons.

Ward's Rhetoric, volume 1st, page 344.]. For it is impossible that the
names of things should be rightly applied, when the things themselves are
not sufficiently understood: and as we often make use of metaphorical
terms, either for the sake of ornament, or to supply the place of proper
ones, so in other arts, when we have occasion to mention any thing which
(through our unacquaintance with it) has not yet received a name, we are
obliged either to invent a new one, or to borrow it from something
similar. We shall soon consider what it is to speak in _commas_ and
_colons_, and the proper method of doing it: but we must first attend to
the various numbers by which the cadence of our periods should be
diversified.

Our numbers will advance more rapidly by the use of short feet, and more
coolly and sedately by the use of long ones. The former are best adapted
to a warm and spirited style, and the latter to sober narratives and
explanations. But there are several numbers for concluding a period, one
of which (called the _dichoree_, or double _choree_, and consisting of a
long and a short syllable repeated alternately) is much in vogue with the
Asiatics; though among different people the same feet are distinguished by
different names. The _dichoree_, indeed, is not essentially bad for the
close of a sentence: but in prosaic numbers nothing can be more faulty
than a continued or frequent repetition of the same cadence: as the
_dichoree_, therefore, is a very sonorous number, we should be the more
sparing in the use of it, to prevent a satiety. _C. Carbo_, the son of
_Caius_, and a Tribune of the people, once said in a public trial in which
I was personally engaged,--"_O Marce Druse, Patrem appello_;" where you
may observe two _commas_, each consisting of two feet. He then made use of
the two following _colons_, each consisting of three feet,--"_Tu dicere
solebas, sacram esse Rempublicam:"--and afterwards of the period,--
"_Quicunque eam violavissent, ab omnibus esse ei poenas persolutas_" which
ends with a _dichoree_; for it is immaterial whether the last syllable is
long or short. He added, "_Patris dictum sapiens, temeritas filii
comprobavit_" concluding here also with a _dichoree_; which was received
with such a general burst of applause, as perfectly astonished me. But was
not this the effect of _number_?--Only change the order of the words, and
say,--"_Comprobavit filii temeritas_" and the spirit of them will be lost,
though the word _temeritas_ consists of three short syllables and a long
one, which is the favourite number of Aristotle, from whom, however, I
here beg leave to dissent. The words and sentiments are indeed the fame in
both cases; and yet, in the latter, though the understanding is satisfied,
the ear is not. But these harmonious cadences are not to be repeated too
often: for, in the first place, our _numbers_ will be soon discovered,--in
the next, they will excite the hearer's disgust,--and, at last, be
heartily despised on account of the apparent facility with which they are
formed.

But there are several other cadences which will have a numerous and
pleasing effect: for even the _cretic_, which consists of a long, a short,
and a long syllable, and it's companion the _paeon_, which is equal to it
in quantity, though it exceeds it in the number of syllables, is reckoned
a proper and a very useful ingredient in harmonious prose: especially as
the latter admits of two varieties, as consisting either of one long and
three short syllables, which will be lively enough at the beginning of a
sentence, but extremely flat at the end;--or of three short syllables and
a long one, which was highly approved of by the ancients at the _close_ of
a sentence, and which I would not wholly reject, though I give the
preference to others. Even the sober _spondee_ is not to be entirely
discarded; for though it consists of two long syllables, and for that
reason may seem rather dull and heavy, it has yet a firm and steady step,
which gives it an air of dignity, and especially in the _comma_ and the
_colon_; so that it sufficiently compensates for the slowness of it's
motion, by it's peculiar weight and solemnity. When I speak of feet at the
close of a period, I do not mean precisely the last. I would be
understood, at least, to include the foot which immediately precedes it;
and, in many cases, even the foot before _that_. The _iambic_, therefore,
which consists of a long syllable and a short one, and is equal in time,
though not in the number of it's syllables, to a _choree_, which has three
short ones; or even the _dactyl_, which consists of one long and two short
syllables, will unite agreeably enough with the last foot of a sentence,
when that foot is either a _choree_ or a _spondee_; for it is immaterial
which of them is employed. But the three feet I am mentioning, are neither
of them very proper for closing a period, (that is, to form the last foot
of it) unless when a _dactyl_ is substituted for a _cretic_, for you may
use either of them at pleasure; because, even in verse, it is of no
consequence whether the last syllable is long or short. He, therefore, who
recommended the _paeon_, as having the long syllable last, was certainly
guilty of an oversight; because the quantity of the last syllable is never
regarded. The _paeon_, however, as consisting of four syllables, is
reckoned by some to be only a _number_, and not a _foot_. But call it
which you please, it is in general, what all the ancients have represented
it, (such as _Aristotle, Theophrastus, Theodectes_, and _Euphorus_) the
fittest of all others both for the beginning and the middle of a period.
They are likewise of opinion, that it is equally proper at the end; where,
in my opinion, the _cretic_ deserves the preference. The _dochimus_, which
consists of five syllables, (i.e. a short and two long ones, and a short,
and a long one, as in _amicos tenes_) may be used indifferently in any
part of a sentence, provided it occurs but once: for if it is continued or
repeated, our attention to our numbers will be discovered, and alarm the
suspicion of the hearer. On the other hand, if we properly blend and
intermingle the several varieties above-mentioned, our design will not be
so readily noticed; and we shall also prevent that satiety which would
arise from an elaborate uniformity of cadence.

But the harmony of language does not result entirely from the use of
_numbers_, but from the _juncture_ and _composition_ of our words; and
from that neatness and _concinnity_ of expression which I have already
mentioned. By _composition_, I here mean when our words are so judiciously
connected as to produce an agreeable sound (independent of _numbers_)
which rather appears to be the effect of nature than of art; as in the
following passage from Crassus, _Nam ubi lubido dominatur, innocentiae
leve praesidium est_ [Footnote: In the sentence which is here quoted from
Crassus, every word which ends with a consonant is immediately succeeded
by another which begins with a vowel; and, _vice versa_, if the preceding
word ends with a vowel, the next begins with a consonant.]: for here the
mere order in which the words are connected, produces a harmony of sound,
without any visible attention of the Speaker. When the ancients,
therefore, (I mean _Herodotus_, and _Thucydides_, and all who flourished
in the same age) composed a numerous and a musical period, it must rather
be attributed to the casual order of their words, than to the labour and
artifice of the writer.

But there are likewise certain forms of expression, which have such a
natural concinnity, as will necessarily have a similar effect to that of
regular numbers. For when parallel circumstances are compared, or opposite
ones contrasted, or words of the same termination are placed in a regular
succesion, they seldom fail to produce a numerous cadence. But I have
already treated of these, and subjoined a few examples; so that we are
hereby furnished with an additional and a copious variety of means to
avoid the uniformity of cadence above-mentioned; especially as these
measured forms of expression may be occasionally relaxed and dilated.
There is, however, a material difference between a style which is merely
_numerous_, (or, in other words, which has a moderate resemblance to
_metre_) and that which is entirely composed of _numbers_: the latter is
an insufferable fault; but our language, without the former, would be
absolutely vague, unpolished, and dissipated.

But as a numerous style (strictly so called) is not frequently, and indeed
but seldom admissible in forensic causes,--it seems necessary to enquire,
in the next place, what are those _commas_ and _colons_ before-mentioned,
and which, in real causes, should occupy the major part of an Oration. The
_period_, or complete sentence, is usually composed of four divisions,
which are called _members_, (or _colons_) that it may properly fill the
ear, and be neither longer nor shorter than is requisite for that purpose.
But it sometimes, or rather frequently happens, that a sentence either
falls short of, or exceeds the limits of a regular period, to prevent it
from fatiguing the ear on the one hand, or disappointing it on the other.
What I mean is to recommend an agreeable mediocrity: for we are not
treating of verse, but of rhetorical prose, which is confessedly more free
and unconfined. A full period, then, is generally composed of four parts,
which may be compared to as many hexameter verses, each of which have
their proper points, or particles of continuation, by which they are
connected so as to form a perfect period. But when we speak by _colons_,
we interupt their union, and, as often as occasion requires (which indeed
will frequently be the case) break off with ease from this laboured and
suspicious flow of language; but yet nothing should be so numerous in
reality as that which appears to be least so, and yet has a forcible
effect. Such is the following passage in Crassus:--"_Missos faciant
patronos; ipsi prodeant_." "Let them dismiss their patrons: let them
answer for themselves." Unless "_ipsi prodeant_" was pronounced after a
pause, the hearer must have discovered a complete iambic verse. It would
have had a better cadence in prose if he had said "_prodeant ipsi_." But I
am only to consider the species, and not the cadence of the sentence. He
goes on, "_Cur clandestinis consiliis nos oppugnant? cur de perfugis
nostris copias comparant contra nos_?" "Why do they attack us by
clandestine measures? why do they collect forces against us from our own
deserters?" In the former passage there are two _commas_: in the latter he
first makes use of the _colon_, and afterwards of the _period_: but the
period is not a long one, as only consisting of two _colons_, and the
whole terminates in _spondees_. In this manner Crassus generally expressed
himself; and I much approve his method. But when we speak either in
_commas_, or _colons_, we should be very attentive to the harmony of their
cadence: as in the following instance.--"_Domus tibi deerat? at habebas.
Pecunia superabat? at egebas_." "Was you without a habitation? You had a
house of your own. Was your pocket well provided? You was not master of a
farthing." These are four _commas_; but the two following members are both
_colons_;--"_Incurristi omens in columnas, in alienos insanus insanisti_."

"You rushed like a madman upon your best supporters; you vented your fury
on your enemies withput mercy." The whole is afterwards supported by a
full period, as by a solid basis;--"Depressam, caecam, jacentem domum,
pluris quam te, et fortunas tuas aestimasti." "You have shewn more regard
to an unprosperous, an obscure, and a fallen family, than to your own
safety and reputation." This sentence ends with a _dichoree_, but the
preceeding one in a _double spondee_. For in those sentences which are to
be used like daggers for close-fighting, their very shortness makes our
numbers less exceptionable. They frequently consist of a single number;--
generally of _two_, with the addition perhaps of half a foot to each: and
very seldom of more than three. To speak in _commas_ or _colons_ has a
very good effect in real causes; and especially in those parts of an
Oration where it is your business either to prove or refute: as in my
second defence of Cornelius, where I exclaimed, "O callidos homines! O rem
excogitatam! O ingenia metuenda!" "What admirable schemers! what a curious
contrivance! what formidable talents!" Thus far I spoke in _colons_; and
afterwards by _commas_; and then returned to the colon, in "_Testes dare
volumus_," "We are willing to produce our witnesses." This was succeeded
by the following _period_, consisting of two _colons_, which is the
shortest that can be formed,--"_Quem, quaeso, nostrum sesellit ita vos
esse facturos?_" "Which of us, think you, had not the sense to foresee
that you would proceed in this manner?"

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