tive truth, and has the property of invigorating the hearer; and it conveys a hint of our eternity when he feels himself addressed on grounds which will remain whatever else is shaken, and which have no trace of time or place or party." So, whenever a great theme which offers an opportunity for an appeal to some high and controlling principle presents itself, seize upon this and use it-both for the foundation and the cap-stone, it may be, of the whole argument.

Persuasion in the Introduction.-Turning now to the main divisions of the complete argument, let us see how persuasion may be used to supplement conviction. In treating of the brief, which concerns itself primarily with the reasoning processes, it was said that "the function of the introduction is to prepare the minds of the audience for the subsequent argument by presenting all facts and explanations necessary for understanding the question, pointing out the issues in the discussion, and outlining the proof as to those issues." But in actual debate the function of the introduction is, as Cicero says, "reddere auditores benevelos, attentos, dociles"; it should make the hearers well disposed toward the speaker, stimulate their attention, and prepare their minds for a favorable reception of what is to follow. In other words, the speaker must at the outset ally himself and his subject with the interests of his audience. Nowhere in a speech is greater tact and resourcefulness required than in the opening, for unless the speaker can make the first impressions favorable to himself and his cause,

his subsequent argument is apt to go for naught. If the audience is prejudiced against the speaker's side of a question, the prejudice needs to be dealt with at the outset by the use, it may be, of the argument of antecedent probability, by showing that the prejudice is unfounded, or by pointing out the hearers' misapprehension as to the real merits of the case, and thus making it appear that speaker and hearers are, after all, not so far apart as might seem at first glance. Following is an example of a persuasive introduction occurring in an intercollegiate debate. The first speaker on the negative, arguing before a Southern audience in favor of the continued enlistment of negroes in the United States Army, began as follows:

In view of the unfortunate Brownsville affair that has occurred so recently almost in your very midst, and in the light of what has just been said, it may seem that there is but one side to this question that negroes are unfit to serve in the army and that their enlistment should at once be discontinued. And yet, upon reflection, it will doubtless be conceded that at least something can be said in support of the continuance of a policy that has been followed in this country ever since the birth of our nation. What we ask and what we know we will receive is simply a fair and impartial hearing of a few points which, to us, seem worthy of consideration in a discussion of this question.

It may not be inappropriate to remark at the outset that Missouri is more of a Southern than a Northern State; that the negro problem is present with us as it

is with you; that negroes constitute one-third of the population of the city of Columbia, where the university is located; that Missouri was a slave State; and that it is the son of an ex-Confederate soldier who is speaking to you now. So, in sentiment, tradition, and in opportunities for studying the question the affirmative and negative stand upon common ground. Not as Northerner and Southerner, but as Southerner and Southerner, are we endeavoring to reach the proper solution of the question before us.

We fully agree with the gentlemen of the affirmative that the race question is the most serious problem now confronting the American people; but, as we have faith in the future of American civilization, we believe that time will see this great question satisfactorily settled. Nor do we for a moment believe that its solution will come along the line of social equality or along the line of political equality, but rather along the lines of equality of service and equality before the law. It is because we hope that some day the Anglo-Saxon race will dominate the civilization of the world that we are contending for negro soldiers. If, in this strenuous age of commercial competition and racial rivalry, America is to contribute toward that end, she must use every element of her population to its best possible advantage. Every individual and every class of individuals must perform that work for which they are best fitted, for this way alone lies progress, prosperity, industrial peace, and National success.

Persuasion in the Discussion.-The opening and closing of a speech are the places where persuasion is most needed. The discussion, or body of the

argument, should aim first of all to prove one's case to convince. But it does not follow that persuasion has no place here. Indeed, the ideal method of using persuasion is not to reserve for it a place by itself, but to let it permeate the whole argument. Thus the oral presentation of one's argument should be something more than a mere elaboration of the steps in the proof, as contained in the brief. The skilful debater will always aim to give his reasoning a turn personal to his audience; so that, while in the discussion he is primarily concerned with reaching the understanding, at the same time he does not fail to touch the emotions, whenever his proof affords an opportunity. A few detached sentences in Webster's argument in the White murder trial will illustrate how persuasion may be diffused throughout the body of the discourse:

Should not all the peaceable and well-disposed naturally feel concerned, and naturally exert themselves to bring to punishment the authors of this secret assassination? Was it a thing to be slept upon or forgotten? Did you, gentlemen, sleep quite as quietly in your beds after this murder as before? ... Your decision in this case, they say, will stand as a precedent. Gentlemen, we hope it will. We hope it will be a precedent both of candor and intelligence, of fairness and firmness; a precedent of good sense and honest purpose pursuing their investigation discreetly, rejecting loose generalities, exploring all the circumstances, weighing each, in search of truth, and embracing and declaring the truth when found. . . . I come now to the testimony of the father. Unfortunate old man! Another Lear in the conduct of

his children. Another Lear, I apprehend, in the effect of his distress upon his mind and understanding. . . . It is a point on which each of you might reason like a Hale or Mansfield.

Persuasion in the Conclusion.-Time has not changed the function of the conclusion as stated by Aristotle. He said that the object of the epilogue, or conclusion, was fourfold: First, to conciliate the audience in favor of the speaker and to excite them against his adversary; secondly, to amplify and diminish; thirdly, to arouse the emotions; and fourthly, to recapitulate. Two of these matters belong to conviction, the other two to persuasion. To recapitulate and to "amplify and diminish" are desirable, in order to unify and reinforce the appeal to reason; to gain sympathy and arouse the feelings are desirable, in order to effect the desired action. In any event, it is in the conclusion that the debater should reach the height of persuasion. Here he must aim to leave a lasting impression by marshaling all his forces and making a final appeal.

In an argument of any length, a concluding summary is almost always necessary in order to make the proof clear and forcible. In the first place, it is necessary in order to mass and unify the arguments as a whole; and again, it is necessary in order to recall to the minds of the hearers the various points previously presented, and which without some sort of repetition are likely to be slighted or forgotten. But here an important distinction between the brief and the oral argument is to be