things in speaking--not the position of a foot or a hand. Simply _put_ your

limbs where you want them to be--you have a will, so do not neglect to use it.

 

Let us reiterate, do not despise practise. Your gestures and movements may be

spontaneous and still be wrong. No matter how natural they are, it is possible

to improve them.

 

It is impossible for anyone--even yourself--to criticise your gestures until

after they are made. You can't prune a peach tree until it comes up; therefore

speak much, and observe your own speech. While you are examining yourself, do

not forget to study statuary and paintings to see how the great portrayers of

nature have made their subjects express ideas through action. Notice the

gestures of the best speakers and actors. Observe the physical expression of

life everywhere. The leaves on the tree respond to the slightest breeze. The

muscles of your face, the light of your eyes, should respond to the slightest

change of feeling. Emerson says: "Every man that I meet is my superior in some

way. In that I learn of him." Illiterate Italians make gestures so wonderful and

beautiful that Booth or Barrett might have sat at their feet and been

instructed. Open your eyes. Emerson says again: "We are immersed in beauty, but

our eyes have no clear vision." Toss this book to one side; go out and watch one

child plead with another for a bite of apple; see a street brawl; observe life

in action. Do you want to know how to express victory? Watch the victors' hands

go high on election night. Do you want to plead a cause? Make a composite

photograph of all the pleaders in daily life you constantly see. Beg, borrow,

and steal the best you can get, _BUT DON'T GIVE IT OUT AS THEFT_. Assimilate it