f passionate
appeal, when the soul of the preacher would, as it were, leap from its
body in the endeavor to reach men, there must be intensified life and
action--dramatic action.

It is difficult to conceive of a greater tribute to a public advocate
than that paid to Wendell Phillips by George William Curtis:

"The divine energy of his conviction utterly possest him, and his

'Pure and eloquent blood
Spoke in his cheek, and so distinctly wrought,
That one might almost say his body thought.'"

Poise is power, and reserve and repression are parts of the dignified
office of the preacher, but carried too far may degenerate into weak and
unproductive effort. Perfection of English style, rhetorical floridness,
and profundity of thought will never wholly make up for lack of
appropriate action in the work of persuading men.

The power of action alone is vividly illustrated in the touch of the
finger to the lips to invoke silence, or the pointing to the door to
command one to leave the room. The preacher might often find it
profitable to stand before a mirror and deliver his sermon exclusively
in pantomime to test its power and efficacy.

The body must be disciplined and cultivated as assiduously as the other
instruments of the speaker. There is eloquence of attitude and action no
less than eloquence of voice and feeling. A preacher drawing himself up
to his full height, with a significant gesture of the head, or with
flashing eye pointing the finger of warning at his hearers, may rouse
them from indifference when all other means fail.

Sixty years ago the Reverend William Russell emphasized the importance
of visible expression. He said of the preacher:

"His outward manner, in attitude and action, will be as various as his
voice: he will evince the inspiration of appropriate feeling in the
very posture of his frame; in uttering the language of adoration, the
slow-moving, uplifted hand will bespeak the awe and solemnity which
pervade his soul; in addressing his fellow men in the spirit of an
ambassador of Christ, the gentle yet earnest spirit of persuasive action
will be evinced in the pleading hand and aspect; he will know, also, how
to pass to the stern and authoritative mien of the reproved of sin; he
will, on due occasions, indicate, in his kindling look, the rousing
gesture, the mood of him who is empowered and commanded to summon forth
all the energies of the human soul; his subdued and chastene