and is generally cruel and aggressive in its flush of victory.

The habit of satirical writing in prose has been much more common in modern times than in poetry, and satire has taken the form, more complex and yet more interesting, of the novel or tale; or of short sketches, with attractive titles and evident aims. Of the satirical novel, the works of Dickens and Thackeray are good examples, and of the humbler forms of prose satire, Thackeray's lighter sketches, such as are found in The Book of Snobs," and the numerous piquant incidents in the English "Punch," are the best illustrations.

The larger poems, the original aim and entire construction of which are satirical, are called philosophical satires; to distinguish them from those in which satire is not the principal object, although it may enter into their composition. On the whole, the philosophical satirist is not to be envied, for he rejects the good things which come within his scope, to dwell constantly upon the evils which abound in society; and the very contemplation must be corrupting and hardening.

There may be a few other forms of poetry growing out of a combination of some of these, forming, so to speak, composite orders; but this division of poetry, made entirely for convenience of arrangement, will be found quite sufficient for rhetorical classification.

CHAPTER V.

OF DISCOURSE IN PROSE.

(40.) Of Oratory.

WE next consider Prose writings, which include by far the most numerous forms of discourse.

The first

division of discourse in prose was, in general terms, into spoken and written discourse; and this was stated to be according to the part which the hearer played, as an element in the construction of the discoursethat is, whether the discourse is to be addressed to him by the voice of the speaker, or whether it is to be written, and thus addressed to the mind through the eye. When the idea of a hearer is present in the mind of the speaker, and when a certain impression or effect is to be produced upon him, not only by the thoughts contained in the discourse,-which might have been written out,-nor by the graces of language, as to its construction and its ornaments,-which might also have been put in the form of writing;—but by the kindling of the eye, the modulations of the voice, the movements and gestures of the hands and arms,

the tension of the nerves, and the action of the whole man; the placing, as it were, of his soul in magnetic contact with the souls of his hearers, so that they read its inmost meaning, then we have Oratory proper-which, in its perfection, is Eloquence.

This, as we have seen, was the primary ground and scope of Rhetoric; and with this it has achieved great historic triumphs in many famous periods. It wrought wonders in the days when Demosthenes thundered his Philippics from the Bema at Athens. It was powerful when Cicero saved Rome from the conspiracy of Catiline. From the lips of Peter the Hermit it roused Europe to the Crusades. It governed England in the days of Chatham, and Burke, and Pitt. It controlled the storms of France, under the powerful appeals of Mirabeau; and in our own revolutionary period our forefathers were strengthened to resist British aggression, by the stirring eloquence of Adams, Otis, and Henry; nor is there to be found a period of historic eloquence more brilliant than that in which Webster, Clay, and Calhoun have given us models of free and classic eloquence, as a noble legacy to American literature. But, in every case, the hearer is chiefly to be considered; and even now, when we read their speeches, we figure to ourselves the circumstances under which they were delivered; the eager auditory; the important issues; the impassioned speaker; and the expected result. We are

not content with the thoughts which lie embalmed in the printed words; we conjure up the glowing form; we hear again the voice, with its thrilling tones; we see the burning eye, the breathing form, the illumined countenance; we turn to the earnest hearers, all on tiptoe with expectation and excitement; and thus the cadences ring in our ears, while memory and fancy stand beside us, and give us their magic assist

ance.

(41.) Modern Divisions of Oratory.

For rhetorical convenience, Oratory, in modern times, has been divided into Academic, Political, and Sacred, a slight deviation from Aristotle's division, but more convenient than his. Here, again, it must be noticed that this is not an exact, but only a convenient distinction, since sacred oratory may sometimes be of an academic character, as is the case at the English Universities; and again it very often turns upon political affairs of moment. It is, indeed, a division rather of the general fields in which Oratory is used, than of Oratory itself.

Thus academic Oratory, having before it the setting forth of some good or knowledge, either for private or public instruction, covers the special topics of orations, dissertations, disquisitions, and lectures.

Political Oratory, having the judgment of a cause, and the administration of justice, either in the limited

sphere of a community, or in international matters, for its aims, is to be found with the judges and counsel, in courts of law; with the senators and representatives in legislative assemblies, and in the speechmaking, which is a part of our system of public elections.

Sacred Oratory is rather of a composite order, and in modern times deals with man in his relations to God and his fellows; thus it includes sermons, homilies, and expository lectures. In these various kinds of oratory, the subject-matter and the language of the discourse may be prepared beforehand; or they may both be left to be drawn out by the occasion. This latter constitutes extemporaneous discourse.

(42.) Academic Oratory.

This kind of Oratory evidently includes not only the course of college instruction, but many forms of discourse connected with polite learning.

Mr. John Quincy Adams has compared the oratory of the college to the drill and the review of troops; a constant practice designed for other hours and sterner uses the eloquence of the senate, the bar, and the pulpit, he likens to duty in the hour of battle, when our tactics and training are put to the sterner test. This is an apt illustration.

Considering College Oratory as one species of that