it down for a wonder, that Caffius Severus retain'd a Sweetness in his Voice, tho it was extremely ftrong and robuft; for it feldom happens, that the fame Voice is both fweet and folid.

The oppofite to this he calls fmall or weak, fuch is their Voice, who feem rather to pip like a young Chicken, than to speak like humane kind.

Strait or flender, which is flenderly melted thro' the narrow Channel of the Throat, and fills not the Ears of the Hearers.

Dufucous, that which is not heard without Difficulty, or that which is very importunately troublesome to the Ears.

That which by Fabius is call'd fubfurd or deafifh, which wanting vocal Emiffion, detains the Sound within; like the Harper Afpendius, who could touch the Harp fo, that no body but himfelf could hear the Sound.

The confus'd, which is not distinguish'd with full articulate Sounds.

The jarring, untuneable, abfonous, and un

harmonious.

Unmelodious, neglected, without Beauty or Grace.

Rude, uncouth, untractable, unmanageable, like unbroken Colts.

Unperfuafive, that is not adapted to Perfuafion, fuch as theirs, who have a perpetual Identity of Tone in Difcourfe; a Monotony.

Rigid, that which with Difficulty admits any Variation.

Hard or barfb, which offends the Ears with a fort of bouncing and cracking Noife.

Defultory or broken, which is when the Dif courfe leaps or bounds, as it were with unequal Diftances and Sounds, confufedly mixing fhort and long, flat and sharp, high and low, fo that the Difcourfe goes lamely on with the Inequa lity of all thefe together; the fame is call'd the fickle or inconftant.

The auftere, four or difmal, which strikes the Ears with an unpleafant Sound, fomething like that of creaking Wheels.

The infirm or feeble, by which the weak and broken Breath is fpread and difpers'd into a hoarfe Smallness.

Brazen, which like the vehement Clinking of Brafs is perpetually affaulting our Ears.

The fharp or acute, which ftrikes and penetrates the Ears with a fhriller Sound, than it ought. For the most acute Sounds are not the moft fit for Speaking in Public; which is made too thin, too cutting, and of too great a Clearnefs.

The contrary Virtues enumerated by the fame Author are these.

The high, which being fent from good Lungs and Chest perfectly fills the Ears.

"

The lofty, that which is not only more fully heard, but by its own Firmness becomes durable.

The

The clear, that founds fprightly, and is not blurr'd with any Defects.

The Smooth, Spreading, explicit.

The grave, bass, or full, fuch as generally is the Voice of the moft manly and robuft Singers, which if mingled with Sweetness is the most valuable Voice, that is, but when it wants this Sweetness, it fcatters and fpreads out into wild and defolate Enormity,

The candid and pure, which affects the Ears, as White does the Eyes, and is therefore contrary to the Vice of Voice call'd the black.

The pure and fimple, and as it were refin'd from all Vices and Defects.

The Sweet, which delights with the Flower, as I may fay, of a good Grace.

The alluring, that abounds in delicate Modu lating, and harmonious Warblings.

The exquifite, polifh'd and rich.

The round and fimple, and moft adapted to Perfuafion.

The tractable or Voice at Command, which cafily rifes from the loweft Note to the higheft, and with as much Eafe falls from the higheft to the lowest, and every where divides it felf into all the pleafing Variety of Notes.

The flexible, that is wholly without Roughnefs, Stiffnefs, that obeys the Modulation, as Wax does the Fingers.

The voluble or fwift, fuch as that of the best Orators, in the clofeft and hotteft of the Argu

ment.

The

The delicious, beautiful in a kind of graceful Softness.

The founding or canorous, fit to fing with Musical Instruments.

The full, perfpicuous, and eafy to be heard. The fplendid, and fbining with an agreeable

Softnefs.

These are the several forts, or kinds of Voices, and their Virtues, which proceed merely from Nature, which yet receive from Art their Brightness, Improvement, and Perfection.

As these are the Virtues and Vices of the Voice, fo we shall now proceed to the Beauties and Defects of Pronunciation: The chief Excellencies of which are agreed by the Masters of the Art to be Purity, Perfpicuity, Ornament, and Hability or Aptitude.

PURITY is, as we may fay, a certain Healthfulness of Voice, which has in it nothing vicious which is obftructed by the Voice we have call'd fubfurd or deafifh, rude, noisy, hard, rigid, inconftant or uncertain, thick or grofs; or by one, that is fmall, ftrait, empty, infirm, foft, or effeminate. On the contrary, a Delivery, which is eafy, open, pleafant, genteel; and in which nothing founds clownish or foreign, is a great Help to Pronunciation, as Quintilian juftly obferves. Cicero, with equal Juftice, and for the fame Reafon, in his Book de Oratore, condemns a Voice, that is foft, womanish, untuneable, abfurd, ungenteel and ruftical. And he directs his Speaker to a Delivery,

that

that is neither harsh, nor disorderly, nor clownish, nor gaping, but clofe, equal, or of the fame Tenor, and fmooth. To these we must add the Tone and Accent, by which Men are known. This Virtue is obtain'd by Nature and Ufe, which is of very great Confequence in thefe Affairs; for which Reafon Boys should inure themselves to a right Pronunciation from the Beginning; fince we find, that in learning foreign Tongues, thofe feldom reach the Purity of them, who apply not themselves to them till in Years.

The PERSPICUITY, and Light of Pronun ciation confifts of a certain articulate Expreffion of all the Syllables, and their proper Points and Stops; of which these are the Precepts of Quintilian.

The Pronunciation will be perfpicuous and clear, firft if the whole Words are entirely founded, part of which is fometimes devoured, part neglected by moft, who by indulging and dwelling too much on the Sound of the foregoing Syllables, exprefs not fufficiently the laft: But as the making Words have a plain Pronunciation is neceffary, fo is it very troublesome and odious to run it to a Computation and Enumeration of every Letter, and we muft obferve nicely in what Place the Difcourfe is to be fuftain'd, and as it were fufpended. And this, as is plain, is to be attain'd by Art.

The ORNAMENT is the cultivating and Clearness of the Voice; and to this a great Help is

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