_First Attitude._--This consists in the equal balance of the body upon
its two legs. It is that of a child posed upon its feet, neither of
which extends farther than the other. This attitude is normal, and is
the sign of weakness, of respect; for respect is a sort of weakness for
the person we address. It also characterizes infancy, decay.
[Illustration]
_Second Attitude._--In this attitude the strong leg is backward, the
free one forward. This is the attitude of reflection, of concentration,
of the strong man. It indicates the absence of passions, or of
concentred passions. It has something of intelligence;
[Illustration]
it is neither the position of the child nor of the uncultured man. It
indicates calmness, strength, independence, which are signs of
intelligence. It is the concentric state.
_Third Attitude._--Here the strong leg is forward, the free leg
backward. This is the type of vehemence. It is the eccentric attitude.
[Illustration]
The orator who would appear passive, that is, as experiencing some
emotion, or submitting to some action, must have a backward pose as in
figure 2.
If, on the contrary, he would communicate to his audience the expression
of his will or of his own thought, he must have a forward poise as in
figure 3.
_Fourth Attitude._--Here the strong leg is behind, as in the second
attitude, but far more apart from the other and more inflected.
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