Liberty first, and Union afterward: but every where, spread all over in characters of living light, blazing on all its ample folds, as they float over the sea and over the land, and in every wind under the whole heavens, that other sentiment, dear to every true American heart-Liberty and Union, now and forever, one and inseparable."

LESSON CXVIII.

THE PERFECT ORATOR.

SHERIDAN.

1. IMAGINE to yourselves a Demosthenes addressing the most illustrious assembly in the world upon a point whereon the fate of the most illustrious of nations depended. How awful such a meeting! how vast the subject! And yet the augustness of the assembly is lost in the dignity of the orator, and the importance of the subject is for a while superseded by admiration for his talents.

2. With what strength of argument, with what powers of the fancy, with what emotions of the heart, does he assault and subjugate the whole man, and at once captivate his reason, his imagination, and his passions! Not a faculty that he possesses but is here exerted to its highest pitch. All his internal powers are at work; all his external testify their energies.

3. Within, the memory, the fancy, the judgment, the passions, are all busy; without, every muscle, every nerve is exerted;—not a feature, not a limb, but speaks. The organs of the body, attuned to the exertions of the mind, through the kindred organs of the hearers instantaneously vibrate those energies from soul to soul. Notwithstanding the diversity of minds in such a multitude, by the lightning of eloquence they are melted into one mass; the whole assembly, actuated in one and the same way, become, as it were, but one man, and have but one voice. The universal cry is, Let us march against Philip! let us fight for our liberties! let us conquer or die!

NATURE OF THE SUBJECT, AND REQUISITES FOR A GOOD LAWYER.

[Analysis.-1. Eloquence of the Bar compared with that of Popular Assemblies.2. The aims of the popular orator.-3. The aims and objects of the eloquence of the Bar. Requisites for success.-4. Advice of the ancient rhetoricians. The practice adopted by Cicero.-5. Wherein the advocate may still fail. The advantages of eloquence to the lawyer.-6. Management of the pleadings in a criminal case:-What the ancients advise in relation thereto. The point at which the prosecutor aims.— 7. The business of the defending attorney:-the points at which he aims.-8. Subjects of controversy in civil cases. The more extensive field which is here opened to the lawyer.-9. Treatment of the arguments of an adversary.-10. Policy of Mr. Fox in this respect. Mr. Butler's description of him.-11. The degree of zeal appropriate to an advocate.-12. Policy to be observed in the management of odious and unjust causes.-13. Concluding remarks. Nature of the field that is open to the advocate. His advantages. His success.]

1. MUCH of what is peculiar to the eloquence of popular assemblies is also applicable to the eloquence of the Bar: but there is, nevertheless, a broad distinction between the

ends at which they severally aim. In the former, the great object is to persuade; in the latter, to convince.

2. Where the end is persuasion, the orator aims to influence his hearers to some choice of conduct, as good, fit, or useful; and hence he applies himself to all the principles of action in our nature.. Although he would convince the understanding, yet he aims, also, to move the feelings, and to excite, or appease, and sway the passions to his will, because through their influence human conduct is controlled.

3. Where the end is to convince-to prove or to disprove a charge or an accusation, the speaker's business is not to persuade judges or jury to what is good, or useful, or expedient, but to show them what is just and true-what is equity and law. Hence the eloquence of the Bar is to be chiefly, if not solely, addressed to the understanding. Facts, and the best mode of using them, are here the great instruments of the orator's power; and the foundation of his reputation and success must always be laid in a knowledge of his own profession.

4. The ancient rhetoricians not only urge upon the young lawyer a profound knowledge of the law, but they dwell at great length upon the importance of making himself fully acquainted with all the circumstances of every case presented to him. Thus Cicero tells us that he always conversed at great length with every client in private; that he was wont to start every objection, and to plead the cause of the adverse party with him, that he might come at the whole truth, and be fully prepared on every point that might arise; and that, after his client had retired, he would balance all the facts with himself, from three different positions-from his own view of the case, from that of the judge, and from that of the advocate on the opposite side.

5. But, although an advocate be well grounded in a knowledge of the law in general, and with its application to the case in hand, yet, if opposed by a wily adversary, he may still fail, even with a good cause, if he can not present his case fairly and forcibly to the judge and jury. In an intricate case, much will depend upon the clearness with which all the points, on either side, are presented; and here the

truly eloquent man, who pleads a cause with elegance, order, strength, and yet with modesty, and with a manner that carries conviction of his sincerity, will have all the advantage; and he who fails as a speaker will often fail in doing justice to his client.

6. The ancients, whom the moderns have wisely copied, dwell at length upon the proper management of the pleadings in a criminal case when it comes to trial. They advise that the prosecutor should first clearly define and explain the nature of the charge or accusation; that he should next consider the motives that may have led to the crime,—such as avarice, an old grudge, resentment of an injury, or a desire of revenge; that he should, in the third place, consider if the accused could have committed the deed—that is, if the place, the time, and the circumstances were favorable to it; and, fourthly, that he should weigh well all the circumstances and bearings of the evidence, and see if they be such as to fix upon the accused positively, or beyond a rational doubt, the commission of the crime. From such topics the prosecutor takes his arguments; and from a large circle of facts and probabilities brings every thing to bear upon the one point, conviction, according to the law and the testimony, which are the square and the compass by which his pleadings are measured.

7. The business of the defending attorney is to invalidate the positions and arguments of the prosecutor, and thus refute the charge brought against his client. He therefore endeavors to show that the alleged motives were wanting, or so weak as to merit very little regard: he perhaps endeavors to prove that his client had neither the opportunity nor the ability to commit the deed,-that neither the place nor the time was suitable, or that the accused was in another place when the deed was committed. In like manner he will endeavor to explain away the circumstances, if they can not be directly denied; or he may attribute them to other causes; or he may charge the crime upon some other person; and, finally, he may caution against conviction upon doubtful, unreliable, or false testimony.

8. In civil cases, the chief subjects of controversy are writ

N

ten laws', wills', contracts', and other legal documents'; and here the field is still wider than in the department of criminal law. Inquiries into the true meaning and proper application of either statutory or common law`; the resolving of ambiguities in wills and contracts`; the reconciling or explaining of conflicting judicial decisions, and of disagreements between the words and supposed intentions of parties'; and inferences to be drawn from the general spirit of the law', will ever continue to be fruitful topics of litigation`, and keep open the broadest arena for the display of genius', learning', and eloquence', on the part of those who make the law their profession.

9. When, in either civil or criminal cases, the pleader comes to set forth the arguments employed by his adversary in order to refute them, he should be on his guard not to do them injustice by disguising them, or placing them in a false light. Deceit in this matter, as it will not fail to be discovered, will tend to impress judge and jury with distrust of the speaker's discernment or fairness; whereas, when they see that he states with accuracy and candor the arguments of his adversary, they are naturally led to think that he has a clear and full conception of all that can be said on both sides of the case, and entire confidence in the goodness of his own cause.

10. It was a peculiarity of the English orator, Mr. Fox, that he always did full justice to his opponent, and abated nothing from the force with which he had stated his case. "The moment of his grandeur," says Mr. Butler, "was when, after he had stated the argument of his adversary with much greater strength than his adversary had done, and with much greater than any of his hearers had thought possible, he seized it with the strength of a giant, tore it in pieces, and trampled on it to destruction."

11. While a degree of warmth is always appropriate, inasmuch as the advocate stands in the place of his client, yet he should beware of engaging with equal, and, consequently, frequently assumed zeal, in every cause intrusted to him. There is a dignity of character which it is of the utmost importance for him to maintain'; for there is no instrument