but a university, and the reward of her defense became the light of Europe."

IV. Proportion

Proportion, as a factor of emphasis, requires that we elaborate any given phase of a subject with just consideration for the relative importance which we attach to it. Generally speaking, the more time we devote to a section, the more significant it appears. The failure to observe this principle, a very common occurrence, is apt to ruin the chances for making the best of our opportunity. The causes of most errors of proportion are not far to seek.

a. Causes of Bad Proportion

In the first place, the untried speaker is almost invariably possessed of the idea that he cannot "hold the floor" for any appreciable length of time. This notion results in over-elaboration of the earlier phases of his address, with hasty treatment, or, if time is strictly limited, even total omission of parts intended for later development. Such an outcome is particularly disastrous if the address has been properly planned to discuss the most significant aspects near the close. In view of this common failure it cannot be too strongly urged that time flies when the speaker really has

something to say, and that it is essential to beware of dwelling too long upon the opening phases.

A second cause of bad proportion is the temptation to dilate upon a phase which affords easy or pleasant means of elaboration. Of Of course, if such a section be vital, the circumstance is a happy one; if it concerns a subordinate matter, the misapplied emphasis is unfortunate. Sometimes the unwise elaboration arises from the fact that the speaker happened to unearth an abundance of material on a relatively insignificant point. Again, a story or some other form of illustration may lure the unwary speaker on into an elaboration which eclipses the point under discussion. Whatever the cause, the person who aims at effective speaking must exercise sufficient restraint to keep subordinate features within proper bounds.

b. Emphasis by Proportion

On the other hand, relatively important aspects should be given the emphasis which derives from larger proportions. Beginning with the reading and note-taking, more pains should be taken to secure material which bears upon the most salient points. Next, in planning the development of such points, the speaker should calculate upon a more exhaustive elaboration, utilizing more freely than for the minor phases the various methods,

such as definition, repetition, illustration, and comparison. Finally, in the address itself, the speaker should amplify in keeping with the plan, avoiding the pitfalls of false emphasis, and taking advantage of the force which inheres in relative fulness of treatment. Herein he must use judgment for since every topic and phase of a topic presents its own particular problem, and inasmuch as the attitude of the specific audience addressed may in great measure determine the points for emphasis, no inflexible rule of proportion is feasible. In this respect, consider the recent Presidential campaign. In some parts of the country the slogan, "He kept us out of war," gave the speaker his cue for proportion; in others industrial and social legislation was the issue of paramount significance; in still other parts the tariff question chiefly occupied the people's attention. Clearly, then, regarding proportion, the speaker who would influence such varied attitudes must be flexible, just as is an advertiser who emphasizes quality when appealing to the wealthy, and low prices when offering a cheaper product to the poorer classes.

E. ATTRACTIVENESS-A SPECIAL QUALITY

And now comes a special quality of style, essential to the most effective type of speaking-a quality which will ordinarily be developed as the

speaker grows in self-confidence and power. It is, frankly, more elusive than those fundamentals hitherto presented in that it cannot be wholly devised out of ordinary speech-matter, but must in part spring from a sense cultivated in the speaker himself. Unity, coherence, clearness and force are characteristics which can be given to an address by the good artisan of speech; and if they are observed as set forth in the preceding sections, they are sufficient to carry the speaker's message with not only convincing but also persuasive effect. The quality, however, toward which we are directing our attention contributes a particularly appealing character to style, and calls into play the workmanship of the artist rather than that of the mere artisan. Various names might be applied to this quality-grace, charm, beauty-but these are not sufficiently comprehensive; a more accurate term is attractiveness.

Attractiveness essays especially to add imaginative touches to the speaking, to relieve the prosaic tone, to brighten and decorate the expression— in short, to please the listener. And though I have called it elusive, and coupled it with the artist, it is not altogether vague and beyond the scope of analysis. Some, at least, of the features which make for attractiveness of style in speech. composition can be isolated, classified and put to

use by the student. The chief of these are figures of speech, wit, humor, colorful, suggestive diction, bits of quotation, and variety in sentence structure. These we shall consider in some detail.

I. Figures of Speech

The most useful figures of speech are the simile and the metaphor. While not employed in modern speech with such frequency or elaboration of detail as they were in the earlier and more florid "oratory," an occasional well-chosen figure unquestionably adds grace, succinctness and vividness to expression. When Irving suggests that Ichabod Crane was like "a scarecrow escaped from a neighboring cornfield," he depicts the lanky, loose-jointed, shabby pedagogue at full length and in more striking manner than several sentences could accomplish. If a speaker refers to an official as a "rubber-stamp," he epitomizes a long story in the metaphor. The efficacy of such figures depends upon selecting for the simile or metaphor something which connotes instantly the essential nature or qualities which we would emphasize in the matter under discussion. "Scarecrow," for example, immediately and distinctly calls up an image which such adjectives as "limp," "dangling," "ungainly," and "tattered" characterize only in part. "Rubber-stamp" suggests at once a lack of independence, of originality, a