Rather than be guilty of fo foul a Dead, For here the Action must be expreffed by the Left Hand, because the Right is the Member to fuffer. When you fpeak of your felf, the Right not the Left Hand must be apply'd to the Bofom, declaring your own Faculties, and Paffions; your Heart, your Soul, or your Confcience, but this Action generally fpeaking, fhould be only apply'd or exprefs'd by laying the Hand gently on the Breaft, and not by thumping it as fome People do. The Gefture muft pafs from the Left to the Right, and there end with Gentlenefs and Moderation, at least not stretch to the Extremity of Violence. You must be fure as you begin your Action with what you fay, fo you muft end it when you have done fpeaking; for Action either before or after Utterance is highly ridiculous. The Movement or Geftures of your Hands must always be agreeable to the Nature of the Words, that you fpeak; for when you fay, Come in or approach, you must not stretch out your Hand with a repulfive Gesture; nor, on the contrary, when you fay, Stand back, muft your Gesture be inviting; nor muft you join your Hands, when you cominand Separation; nor open then, when your order is clofing; nor hang them down, when you bid raife fuch a thing, or Perfon, nor lift them up, when you fay, throw them down. For all thefe Gestures would J would be fo vifibly against Nature, that you would be laugh'd at by all that faw or heard you. By these Inftances of faulty Action, you may easily fee the right, and gather this Rule, that as much as poffible every Gesture you use should express the Nature of the Words you utter, which would fufficiently and beautifully employ your Hands. It is impoffible to have any great Emotion or Gesture of the Body, without the Action of the Hands, to answer the Figures of Difcourfe, which are made ufe of in all Poetical, as well as Rhetorical Diction ; for Poetry derives its Beauty in that from Rhetoric, as it does its Order and Juftnefs from Grammar; which furprizes me, that fome of our modern taking Poets value themselves on that, which is not properly Poetry, but only made use of as an Ornament, and drawn from other Arts and Sci ences. Thus when Medea says, Thefe Images of JASON, With my own Hands I'll firangle, &c. 'tis certain the Action ought to be exprefs'd by the Hands to give it all its Force. In the lifting up the Hands to preserve the Grace, you ought not to raise them above the Eyes; to ftretch them farther might diforder and distort the Body; nor muft it be very litthe lower, because that Pofition gives a Beauty to to the Figure: Befides, this Pofture being general on fome Surprize, Admiration, Abhorrence, c. which proceeds from the Object, that affects the Eye, Nature by a fort of Mechanic Motion throws the Hands out as Guards to the Eyes on fuch an Occasion. You must never let either of your Hands hang down, as if lame or dead; for that is very difagreeable to the Eye, and argues no Paffion in the Imagination. In fhort, your Hands muft always be in View of your Eyes, and fo correfponding with the Motions of the Head, Eyes and Body, that the Spectator may fee their Concurrence, every one in its own way to fignify the fame thing, which will make a more agreeable, and by Confequence a deeper Impreffion on their Senfes, and their Understanding. Your Arms you should not ftretch out fideways, above half a Foot from the Trunk of your Body, you will otherwife throw your Geflure quite out of your Sight, unless you turn your Head alfo afide to purfue it, which would very. ridiculous. be In Swearing, Atteftation, or taking any fo lemn Vow or Oath, you must raise your Hand; an Exclamation requires the fame Action: But fo that the Gesture may not only answer the Pronunciation, or Utterance, but both the Nature of the thing, and the Meaning of the Words. In public Speeches, Orations, and Sermons, it is true your Hands ought not to be always in Motion, a Vice which was once call'd the Bab ling of the Hands ; and perhaps, it may reach fome Characters, and Speeches in Plays; but I am of Opinion, that the Hands in Acting ought very feldom to be wholly quiefcent, and that if we had the Art of the Pantomimes, of expreffing things fo clearly with their Hands, as to make the Gestures fupply Words, the joining thefe fignificant Actions to the Words and Paffions juftly drawn by the Poet, would be no contemptible Grace in the Player, and render the Diverfion infinitely more entertaining, than it is at prefent. For indeed Action is the Bufinefs of the Stage, and an Error is more pardonable on the right, than the wrong fide. There are fome Actions or Geftures, which you must never make use of in Tragedy, any more than in Pleadings, or Sermons, they being low and fitter for Comedy or Burlesque Entertainments. Thus you must not put your felf into the Pofture of one bending a Bow, prefenting a Mufquet, or playing on any Mufical Inftrument, as if you had it in your Hands. You must never imitate any lewd, obscene or indecent Postures, let your Difcourfe be on the Debaucheries of the Age, or any thing of that Nature, which the Defcription of an Anthony and Verres might require our Difcourfe of. When you fpeak in a Profopopaia, a Figure by which you introduce any (thing or) Perfon fpeaking, you must be fure to ufe fuch Actions only, as are proper for the Character, that you fpeak for. I can't remember at present one in Tragedy, but in Comedy Melantha, when the speaks for a Man, and answers him in her own Perfon, may give you fome Image of it. But thefe feldom happen in Plays, and in Orations not very frequently. Thus I have gone through the Art of Action or Gefture, which tho I have directed chiefly for the Stage, and there principally for Tragedy, yet the Bar and the Pulpit may learn fome Lef fons from what I have faid, that would be of mighty use to make their Pleadings and Sermons of more Force and Grace. But, I think, the Pulpit chiefly has need of this Doctrine, because that converses more with the Paffions, than the Bar ; and treats of more fublime Subjects, meritorious of all the Beauty and Solemnity of Action. I am perfuaded, that if our Clergy would apply themselves more to this Art, what they preach would be more efficacious, and themfelves more refpected; nay, have a greater Awe on their Auditors. But then it must be confefs'd it is next to impoffible for them to attain this Perfe &tion, while that Cuftom prevails of reading of Sermons, which no Clergy in the World do but those of the Church of England. For while they' read they are not perfect enough in what they deliver, to give it its proper Action and Empha→ fis, either in Pronunciation or Gesture. But the Fatler has handled this particular very well; and if what he has faid will have no Influence upon them, it will be much in vain for me to: attempt it. The |