which must be taken notice of before any argument can be entered upon. As when Demofthenes rose up to speak first in the affembly, when he was not of a fufficient age to affume that privilege, and when Cicero engaged in the accufation of Verres, when he had never appeared at the bar before, but in the defence of his clients. In both these cafes thofe accomplished orators endeavoured to fatisfy their audiences with refpect to these unexpected circumftances, before they entered upon any article of the subject in debate.

It is a capital ftroke of eloquence, when an orator is able to retort the objection of his adverfary upon himself; and, allowing the truth of what is objected against him, to fhow that, in reality, it is so far from making against him, that it makes greatly for him, and, in fact, helps to confute his opponent. Thus St. Paul frankly acknowledges the herefy with which his adverfaries charged him; but at the fame time intimates that his was fuch a herefy as was perfectly confiftent with, and even required by the law which they were then endeavouring to prove he had violated, infulted, and apoftatized from. "But this I confefs unto

46

thee, that after the way which they call heresy, "fo worship I the God of my fathers, believing "all things which are written in the law, and the prophets; and have hope towards God, which they themselves alfo allow, that there fhall be "a refurrection of the dead, both of the juft and unjuft." Acts xxiv. 14, 15.

Cicero,

Cicero, though not with the ftricteft regard to truth, endeavours to give a favourable turn of this kind to the objection which was made to his conduct in leaving Rome, during the prevalence of the Clodian faction. "My departure," he fays, "is objected to me; which charge I cannot an"fwer without commending myself. For what "muft I fay? That I fled from a consciousness of "guilt? But what is charged upon me as a crime "was so far from being a fault, that it is the most 'glorious action fince the memory of man. That "I feared to be called to account by the people? "That was never talked of; and if it had been "done, I fhould have come off with double ho"nour. That I wanted the fupport of good and "honeft men? That is falfe. That I was afraid "of death? That is a calumny. I must there"fore fay, what I would not unless compelled to "it, that I withdrew to preferve the city."

In fuch cases as thefe, the pleafing furprise of the audience, from feeing a thing in a light fo different from what they expected, and in which it had been reprefented, and the conviction of the extreme weakness of the adverfary, in laying hold of arguments which really made against him, operate greatly in the orator's favour.

Any thing in an oration which is introduced in this form of objection and anfwer, or any thing fimilar to it, falls properly under the confideration of artificial addrefs; fince nothing of that kind is ab

folutely

folutely neceffary in argumentation. In ftrict fynthetical demonstration there is no part of the whole process which bears that name, or any thing equivalent to it. Every demonftration is built upon felf-evident truths. If a perfon thoroughly understand the procefs as he goes along, no objection will ever occur. If any do occur, it shows that he hath not sufficiently attended to something or other that went before, and he hath nothing to do but revise the steps he hath gone over, for his complete fatisfaction.

1

Facts and circumstances, on which the orator doth not intend to lay the chief stress of his argument, are often employed to good advantage, when they are mentioned only in a flight and incidental manner. By this artifice an orator infinuates, that it was in his power to have said a great deal more upon a fubject than he hath done; and while he seems, out of a redundancy of proof, to felect only a few of the most important arguments, the imagination of the hearer is apt to give more than their just weight to those which he affects to pafs over in filence. Besides, it often happens that there is one point of light in which a fact, or a circumftance, may for a moment be fhewn to advantage; whereas, if the speaker dwelt longer upon it, a closer attention would exhibit views of it unfavourable to his purpose.

By

By this art, circumftances which would have made no figure in a detail, and have even given an idea of the poorness of a cause in which they were minutely infifted on, may contribute very confiderably to the fuccefs of an oration. They are hereby feen in their most favourable light, and exposed to view no longer than they will bear it.

Thus Demofthenes, in recounting the victories of Philip, fays, "I fay nothing of his expeditions "against the Illyrians, and Pannonians, against Arymbas, and others, with which every body "is acquainted." Thus alfo Cicero, in one of his invectives, "I do not mention my adversary's "fcandalous gluttony and drunkenness, I take no "notice of his brutal lufts, I say not a fyllable of "his treachery, malice, and cruelty.” And, in his defence of Sextius, "I might fay many things "of his liberality, kindness to his domeftics, his "command in the army, and moderation during "his office in the province; but the honour of "the itate prefents itself to my view, and, calling "me to it, advises me to omit these leffer matters."

แ

When an orator speaks of himself, this flight mention or pretended omiffion of many particulars hath another advantage, that it carries the appearance of modefty, and on that account contributes not a little to recommend the peaker to the favourable opinion of his audience.

This flight mention of circumftances hath an uncommonly-fine effect when, out of a delicacy of fentiment, and a tenderness, to those he is addreffing, a perfon declines infifting upon what are, in reality, his strongest arguments. Was it poffible for Philemon to infift upon Onefimus's paying what he owed him, after reading the following delicate and moving paffage in Saint Paul's letter to him. "If he hath wronged thee, or oweth thee 66 ought, put that to mine account. I Paul have written it with mine own hand, I will repay it. "Albeit I do not fay to thee, how thou owest "unto me, even thine own felf befides." Phil.

xviii. 19.

t

The fame Saint Paul, fpeaking of himself and the churches of his planting, hath the following exquifite paffage, in his epiftle to the Corinthians, who had liftened to fome unfavourable accounts of him. "In nothing am I behind the very chiefeft apoftles, though I be nothing. Truly the figns "of an apoftle were wrought among you, in all patience, in figns and wonders, and mighty "deeds. For what is it wherein ye were inferior "to other churches, except it be that I myself "was not burdenfome to you? Forgive me this "wrong." I Cor. xii. II, 12, 13.

ons,

It is easy to conceive how, upon many occafiit may be of advantage not to fay, or at least to seem tot to fay, all we might upon a subject, but leave part to be fupplied by the hearer or

reader.