Poverty Bay Herald. PUBLISHED EVERY EVENING. GISBORNE, SAT., APRIL 14, 1928. EXPRESSION

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LIV, Issue 16622, 14 April 1928, Page 4

Poverty Bay Herald. PUBLISHED EVERY EVENING. GISBORNE, SAT., APRIL 14, 1928. EXPRESSION

Facility of expression has its dangers. In speech, in a day when everybody talks, we find men constantly carried away by the inflation of a crowded meeting, and allowing themselves a freedom of tongue which is only excusable on the plea that the speaker does not know the meaning of the words ho makes use of, or that he has missed the mark sadly in aiming at a hyperbole or simile which is quite beyond his powers of expression. Exactly, to express that which it is desired to convey to his audience is the objective, which every speaker aims at. Counsel, to win the jury: the judge, to balance the, evidence fairly; the clergyman, in his pulpit, reasoning of righteousness, temperance and judgment to come; the Minister of State, explaining a great policy to the Nation —one and all, if success is to be assured, must use right words, which express that which it is desired to convey to those who listen; and to draw back frointlicm, almost unconsciously, an assenting mind. Success in expression wins verdicts: failure in expression is the knell of lost causes. The jurists have distinguished between libel and slandcw. An allowance is made for the word spoken in haste, which is not extended to that which is deliberately written down. It should be easier to express accurately what is desired in the quiet of the study than amid the excitement and emulation oj tlie platform. Although this is so safety may be purchased at the price of loss of interest: the writer may be prolix and the writing without sparkle or grace. Here we are on the edge of a discovery. Expression is far, wider . than .tho dictionary. Grace of manner, animation of face, delivery, arrangement of matter, even his silences, all aid and make up that expression of tho cause for which the speaker is pleading. Should then a speaker with a message throw away his paper, burn his boats and trust himself to be.ablc to deliver a well-thought-out ,speech, perfecting expression by the inspiration of the audience and the absence of all those painful pauses and alterations of tone and manner, where a constant effort is being made to follow and conceal care: fully planned sentences. No rule can be laid down." The subject has to bo taken into consideration. This can be said: Expression.is much handicapped when spoken addresses are read, from a paper, but a speech may fail in expression, even though: a paper is not brought on to the platform. , If the speaker is evidently on a '.perpetual strain to remember what in the study he has painfully got up by heart, the effort of case and spontaneity may he altogether lost: it would have been better if he had brought his ■ paper

with him. The attraction of the platform for the public is when the speaker, at case- with his audience) himself is oblivious of the study he has left. It would be to .take a narrow view to confine expression to the use of language. Language perhaps is not the greatest means of expressing new views, or old truths, upon men. But in so far as the compiler of words, be ho writer or speaker, by his art suggests ideas ho may be in line with the greatest work of the painter, the sculptor, or the discoverer of new worlds. TJie great poet or historian may vie with the artist, if his art, as in Milton's case, suggests victories of truth over evil, or, if in his retrospect of the past the historian is able to point to a future where there shall be no slums, and where every man, woman, and child, shall be regarded as one for whom the whole nation is trustee. . Any one who, in his art, sets fire to the best springs of imagination in others 'makes them his debtors. Even the excesses of Gustavo Doro, revelling in the region of the darkness of that which is unTCvealed, and in imagination unveiling the punishment of thrones, dominions, principalities, and powers; or Hogarth, depicting coarsely enough the Rake's progress, as masters:of expression, have had their uses. Expression is more than the work of man. He is set to express himself for good or ill upon his time, or,'if, he bo great enough, upon all time. But there is a wider field of expression, in and around man. He is rather blind .to this wider field because it is ever with him. We, do well to crown our great poetp ■ with imaginary laurel leaves arid to" erect our memorials to great artists and : sculptors. But. after all, although we gladly acknowledge"our debts to:these men",' they have but done what wo ourselves could have done, had wo possessed their insight. They drew from sources which are subject to no patent laws. They had vision and saw: we are just a little blind. They looked around them and saw what they depicted in the glories of creation. On every side they saw povver, beauty, add infinity, expressed. "Day unto day poureth forth speech, and night unto night uttereth knowledge." Here comes in tho great value of public parks and gardens. Every blind roadend, in a town, should be a rosary. A beautiful flower can express itself upon those who pass by, up to the point of their receptivity. The flower tells of order, of purpose, of design, even of futurity, for as wc look closer we sec not only the present beauty but tho promiso of that which is to follow. A country expresses itself upon tho character of its people. We arc now cpnstantly being told by travellers that New Zealand is one of the most beautiful countries in the world. That this truth should sometimes strike New Zealanders as exaggerated is remarkable. Is it possible to live in tho midst of beauty and not be aware of it? Can that which is lovely become commonplace? There is some evidence that this is not so: that the beauty of Now Zealand does express itself upon the character of its people. The evidence is that those who visit our shores go away saying we are more English than English people. No highor tribute could be paid to a people, for it is paid by those who place the English standard of character first. New Zealand is tho world's missionary to express all that is best in English tradition upon the islands of the Pacific. Personal expression is more subtle. Tho gist of personality is self-expression; not the miracle of a day, but tho unfolding of a life. The. scale of progress is of wide range, and the ascent is tantalisingly slow. To express himself to himself, and claim acquittal, he, the judge and jury in his own case, usually ends in the, Scotch verdict of "Not proven." The crux of the difficulty is that everybody starts life with an ideal of some kind, good or bad; selfish or generous; wealth or sufficiency; to serve or to be served. An ideal can never bo overtaken; it is always ahead. Personal self-expres-sion is saved from undue valuation by the kindly attention of friends. They supply the magic mirrors which distort and twist; even through caricature they supply the much nooded discipline. It is not the raucous tones of the platform which' best illustrate vocal expression, but the notes of tho singing birds and the whole minstrelsy of nature, .the gentle flow of the river, or the surf breaking on the shore. But expression is at its best when it is silent. Those who watch the morning as it comes in understand this best.