Speech
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“the outward expression of an inward grace.” ... The best school for
this language study is the home
Kind words are as dew and gentle showers to the soul. The Scrip-
ture says of Christ that grace was poured into His lips, that He might
“know how to speak a word in season to him that is weary.” And the
Lord bids us, “Let your speech be alway with grace,” “that it may
minister grace unto the hearers.
Voice Culture Should Be Given in the Home—Instruction in
vocal culture should be given in the home circle. Parents should teach
their children to speak so plainly that those who are listening can
understand every word that is said. They should teach them to read the
Bible in clear, distinct utterance, in a way that will honor God. And
let not those who kneel round the family altar put their faces in their
hands and in their chair when they address God. Let them lift up their
heads and, with holy awe and boldness, come to the throne of grace
Be pure in speech. Cultivate a soft and persuasive, not a harsh and
dictatorial, tone of voice. Give the children lessons in voice culture.
Train their habits of speech, until no coarse or rough words will come
spontaneously from their lips when any trial comes to them
Voice culture is a subject that has much to do with the health of
students. The youth should be taught how to breathe properly and how
to read in such a way that no unnatural strain shall come on the throat
and lungs, but that the work shall be shared by the abdominal muscles.
Speaking from the throat, letting the sound come from the upper part
of the vocal organs, impairs the health of these organs and decreases
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their efficiency. The abdominal muscles are to do the heaviest part of
the labor, the throat being used as a channel. Many have died who
might have lived had they been taught how to use the voice correctly.
The right use of the abdominal muscles in reading and speaking will
prove a remedy for many voice and chest difficulties and the means of
prolonging life
The Effect of Harsh, Scolding Words—In a home where harsh,
fretful, scolding words are spoken, a child cries much; and upon
6
Education, 235
.
7
The Youth’s Instructor, March 31, 1908
.
8
Manuscript 4, 1901
.
9
Manuscript 60, 1903
.
10
Counsels to Teachers, Parents, and Students, 297
.