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: PART II. OF PERSUASION. Chap. I.?Introductory. Persuasion, properly so called, i. e. the art of influencing the Will, is the next point to be considered. And Rhetoric is often regarded (as was formerly remarked) in a more limited sense as conversant about this head alone. But even, according to that view, the rules above laid down will be found not the less relevant; since the Conviction of the understanding (of which 1 have hitherto been treating) is an essential part of Persuasion; and will generally need to be effected by the Arguments of the Writer or Speaker. For in order that the Will may be influenced, two things are requisite; viz. 1. that the pio- posed Object should appear desirable; and 2. that the Means suggested should be proved to be conducive to the attainment of that object; and this last, evidently must depend on a process of Reasoning. In order, e. g. to induce the Greeks to unite their efforts against the Persian invader, it was necessary both to prove that cooperation could alone render their resistance effectual, and also to awaken sucn feelings of patriotism and abhorrence of a foreign ycke, as might prompt them 18 209 to make these combined efforts. For it is evident, that however ardent their love of liberty, they would make no exertions if they apprehended no danger; or if they thought '.hernselves able, separately, to defend themselves, they would oe backward to join the confederacy: and on the other hand, that if they were willing to submit to the Persian yoke, 01 valued their independence less than their present ease, the fullest conviction that the Means recommended would secure their independence, would have had no practical effect. I Persuasion, therefore, depends on, first. Exhortation. ? ' Argument, (to prove the expediency of...