Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: It is true that we sometimes seem to lay claim to such control, as when we praise an orator or writer for his
command of language. But there is, in fact, no such command. There is an amazing and an even contented subserviency and helplessness, leading too often to inexcusable defect or deviation of sense. We conceive that the nearest approach to the mastery which is our true birthright was achieved in what we call the classical era. And we are still living in an almost literal sense on its legacy. But the spirit of its conquests and domination is lost, and with that the lesson of its effective greatness. To a large extent, though in varying degrees in different races, we avail ourselves of attitude, gesture, and tone by these primitive means, shared in varying (and often to us imperceptible) modes and degrees by the whole organic world. But our speech constantly mocks us and our interest. This is not the fault of Expression itself in any form, least of all of articulate expression, that loyal creation andunfailing servant of Man, ready and untiring as inexhaustible, waiting only for our recognition, and for that commanding guidance which only in the most important case of all we have failed to apply. No: it is our own fault. The idea that such neglect and helplessness are inherent in the case is peculiarly inept. Articulate expression is the elaborated and transfigured form of attitude, gesture, and tone; and more yet, of the marvellous skill of hand directed by creative brain, of the inventor and worker, the representative of imagination and reason. Why do we only ‘ invent’ mechanical instruments, when the greatest instrument of all lies in comparative neglect, as a thing with which we have nothing to do beyond doing what we v can with it as it is ? Speech gives our ‘ …
