If we except the lower kinds of handicraft, nine-tenths of all that is
done in the world is done by means of the voice,--by talking. It is by
talking we buy and sell; by talking, the lawyer, the doctor, the
minister, the teacher perform the chief of their functions; by talking,
the intercourse and machinery of life are chiefly kept in motion. As it
was by a word that creation was accomplished, as the worlds came into
being and were moulded into shape, not by the hand, but by the omnific
voice of God, _saying_, "Let there be light and there was light," so in
this lower sphere of human action, the tongue is mightier than the hand.
The moulding, propelling forces of society come from the use of words.
By words, more than by all other means, we persuade, convince, alarm,
arouse, or soothe, or whatever else leads men to action and achievement;
and while written words are full of power, yet even these are feeble as
compared with spoken words, the living utterances of the human voice.
Not only so, but the manner of speaking, the tone and quality of the
voice influence us quite as much as the words spoken.
Yet how strangely we neglect this wonderful instrument. The mechanic
sees to it that his tools are as keen and strong as it is in the power
of art and labor to make them. The sportsman spares no expense or care
to have the articles that minister to his pleasure in the highest
possible state of finish and perfection. How lavish we are in the
purchase of instruments of music, and in keeping them properly tuned and
cared for. Yet this most wonderful organ, the voice, which God has given
to every one of us, and which is worth more to us than all the
instruments of music, all the inventions of pleasure, all the tools of
trade, that human skill has devised, is left for the most part in utter
neglect, without intelligent guidance, its wonderful powers almost
totally uncultivated and undeveloped. We all feel the sway that a well
cultivated and modulated voice has upon us, its power to give us
pleasure and win our assent, and yet the great majority of us neglect to
cultivate in ourselves that which may give us such a power over others.
We are not oblivious of other advantages. We strive to make ourselves
acceptable and to increase our influence, by attention to dress, by the
adornment of our persons, and by the cultivation of our minds, by stores
of knowledge and by accomplishments of various kinds, while the voice,
which more than anything else is the direct instrument of the soul, is
treated with neglect.
We mumble and mutter what should come out clearly and distinctly; we
speak with a nasal drawl, or in a sharp key that sets all the finer
chords of sympathy ajar; we use just so much of the vocal power that is
given us as is needed to express in the faintest way our most imperative
wants, and indolently leave all the rest of its untold and exquisite
resources to go to waste.
Mrs. Siddons once made a shopkeeper turn pale with affright and
unconsciously drop his goods upon the counter, simply by the tone in
which, by way of experiment, she asked him the price of a pair of
gloves. Undoubtedly Mrs. Siddons had natural gifts of voice which do not
belong to every one. But a great part of the wonderful fascination which
she and the other members of that remarkable family exerted, was due to
cultivation.
If ministers of the gospel, and others who undertake to influence the
minds of a congregation on the side of religion, would give this matter
more attention, they would find it very greatly to their own advantage
and that of others. The manner in which the words of eternal life are
read and uttered from the pulpit is often such as to kill all vitality
out of them. It is not enough that a preacher should be a good
theologian, and that his sermon contain sound and valuable thoughts. The
influence which they are to exert upon the people, is largely dependent
upon the voice which gives them utterance. A competent teacher of
elocution is quite as important a part of the machinery of a theological
seminary, as a teacher of Hebrew. Yet, in organizing our seminaries,
this matter is usually entirely ignored.