CHAPTER I

TIME

Time is the duration of utterance. It relates to the length of vocal sounds, syllables and words, the rests which occur between them, and the rate with which they are uttered. Its subdivisions are (1) Pause, (2) Quantity, and (3) Movement. The relation of these divisions to the triune nature is as follows:

Pause is the time spent between syllables, words, or groups of words in utterance. Pause does not always imply a complete stoppage of sound; the euphony of language often requires a gentle flow of sound between words mentally separated; e.g. "Return to thy dwelling, all lonely return." Nor is the length of a Pause absolute; it is relative, dependent upon the sentiments to be expressed, and must be governed by the individual taste and judgment of the speaker. He who pauses by the stop watch or the counting method of a half century ago will, of course, read in a mechanical, unnatural way; but the places for rhetorical Pauses are inherent in the language itself and may be definitely stated and observed without the slightest loss of individuality on the part of the speaker.

1. The Physical Necessity for Pauses is evident, since they afford the reader or speaker the opportunity to take breath without breaking his sentences at improper intervals.

2. The Mental Necessity for Pauses arises out of the construction of language. A word is "the sign of a conception or idea." A single word or a group of words is necessary to the expression of a complete idea. The mind comprehends ideas only as they

are presented singly and separately, no matter how rapidly they may be given. Hence this process of expression which groups words according to their ideas, making them clear to the understanding, represents the Mental nature of man.

The necessity for grammatical Pauses which convey the thought of the page to the eye of the reader is fully understood, and they are indicated by a well-established system of punctuation marks; were these sufficient for the oral reader or speaker, our treatment of this subject would end here. But there are many more rhetorical than grammatical Pauses, and often the necessities of speech require no cessation of utterance where grammatical Pauses would be placed; for example, the following sentence punctuated grammatically by the usual marks, and rhetorically by rests, shows one of the former (the semicolon) and at least four of the latter.

Shakespeare's attitude toward human life will become again attainable to us only when intelligent people can return to an agreement on first principles; when the common sense of the wisest and best among us has superseded the theorizing of parties and factions. Froude.

In the following the rhetorical Pause comes before "that" instead of after it, as indicated by the grammatical punctuation :

When the child went to his solitary bed, he dreamed about the star; and dreamed that, lying where he was he saw a train of people taken up that sparkling road by angels. - Dickens.

Again the sense is often obscured or the meaning changed by the want of a rhetorical Pause or a misplacing of it. An omission of the Pause before the word "like" in the second line of the following would give a meaning quite opposite to that intended:

And I wonder why I do not care

For the things that are like the things that were;

Does half my heart lie buried there

In Texas down by the Rio Grande? - Desprez.

On the other hand, the rhetorical Pause usually includes the grammatical, and often the two agree throughout an entire sentence, as in the following:

At the dawn of civilization, when men began to observe and think, they found themselves in possession of various faculties, first their five senses, and then imagination, fancy, reason and memory. - Froude.

3. Law of use.

To meet all cases we may here lay down the fundamental law for the use of Pauses: Words necessary to convey each idea of a sentence must be grouped together and separated from adjacent groups by Pauses.

But this general law which underlies all further directions is not sufficiently specific for the younger student of elocution, to say nothing of many older ones. It is, therefore, necessary to know the pausing-places revealed by a closer analysis of language construction. Rhetorical Pauses should be used:

4. Explanation and Illustrations. Whenever there are two connecting words either of which would require a Pause before it only one Pause is necessary and it should be placed before

the first word; this is self-evident since the double influence of the two words would be thus served, e.g.

He is a man
He is a man

whom I have a great admiration for.
for whom I have a great admiration.

NOTE. Only those Pauses which illustrate the particular case under consideration are marked in the following sentences. When the entire list has been gone over the student may be given further drill by marking all the Pauses of the illustrations.

(1) Before.

a. Before Relative Pronouns.

The relative pronouns who, which, what, and that, in their various numbers and cases, both simple and compound, always introduce new ideas and should have rhetorical Pauses before them.

This grave offense becomes a crime that works injury to the helpless of our community; we believe whoever committed it should be punished; we know who did it and what it was done for; we suspect whose influence brought it about and those

on whom the blame should be laid; and we may here pronounce the sentence which an outraged public opinion will administer. b. Before Conjunctive Words (with exceptions).

Whenever a conjunctive word implies a condition or joins "disjunctively " it introduces a new idea in the sentence and therefore takes a Pause before it; but when it is embodied in the idea no Pause is required. The rhetorical rather than the grammatical sense must determine the use of a long list of conjunctions.

Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him; but I will maintain mine own ways before him. — Bible.

Jack and Jill went up the hill

To fetch a pail of water;

But Jack fell down and broke his crown

And Jill came tumbling after.

- Mother Goose Melodies.

c. Before Prepositional Phrases (with exceptions).

Whenever a prepositional phrase introduces a new idea, a Pause should be made before it. In the following illustration the prepositions in and of in the italicized clauses are embodied in the ideas, while with and from introduce new ideas and require Pauses before them :

The foremost tiger, while yet in mid-air, curled itself up with a gurgling cry of utter pain, and with the blood gushing from its eyes, ears, and mouth, fell heavily down dying. — Thompson.

d. Before Infinitive Phrases (with exceptions).

A Pause should be observed before the infinitive except when it is the object of a verb, in which case it does not introduce a new idea; e.g. "I want to hear her because she loves to talk." If the sign of the root infinitive, to, is omitted by ellipsis, as in the last line of the following, the Pause should not be omitted.

Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,
And by opposing [to] end them?

(2) Between.

a. Between Words of a Series.

Shakespeare.

Pauses should be made between a series of words of the same part of speech (nouns, verbs, adjectives, or adverbs). In written or printed language these are marked by the comma if the conjunctions are omitted.

These are the ascending stairs, - a good voice, ▾ winning manners, plain speech. - Emerson.

We will be revenged; revenge, ▾ about, seek, ▾ burn, ▾ fire,
kill, slay, let not a traitor live! Shakespeare.
Clarence is come, false, fleeting, perjured Clarence.
Shakespeare.

The Stamp Act should be repealed, absolutely, totally, and

immediately. Chatham.