This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1874 edition. Excerpt: ... that the sonority observed in the speech of an Italian is.owing to the "tonicity" having been retained, for vowels do not necessarily cause the tone, but they allow true vocal tone to grow simultaneous with, and correlative to, the growth of speech. In English, on the other hand, the induced weakness of the adductor muscles forces a compensating obstruction to grow with the growth of our words, so that, considered phonetically, the preponderating vowel sound in English is e; physically, smashed air in the mouth gives our Anglican hue. However great a paradox it may seem, it remains true to all time, that the more beautiful a word as a sound, the more such word frustrates its true function by clinging as a pleasing sensation in transit, for so clinging, it does not use its full force to awaken or to evoke an idea; this is because the direction of thought, as embodied in spoken words, is always to hide or sink the material in the purely abstract spiritual. But when man.speaks, the self-contained force conveyed by the "letter" is modified by an outer manifestation of "spirit," shown through other channels beside that of words. All liberty is dependent upon obedience; man's response to volition is ever restricted within a small compass, in one direction for his advancement, in another for his retrogression. Within this limitation he has freedom of action, and he may change the scale forward or backward, but under every condition the ultimate outlines are sternly defined. Being so, the effect produced by an actor influencing a recipient may be twofold--(1) acute, (2) massive; if the Stimulus be in words alone as such, then it is "acute, but to be effectual in such case, the recipient must be in his desire of advancement, in his power of...