Volume indicates the relation the will sustains to the thought, that is, whether the will is free in action. Notice the soliloquy of Launcelot Gobbo in the “Merchant of Venice.” The boy’s conscience tells him to serve the Jew, while his inclination prompts him to run away. His voice is squeezed because his will is not free. No man has half a will while there is contention in his mind. When a man serves the good with all his mind, heart and strength, his voice will have no hindrances in it. “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” The voice of the man who lives in obedience to this divine service is free and reports Volume. The impulse springing from the well-formed thought knows how to hold the larynx, the sides of the throat, the soft palate, and the tongue in a way to guide the voice free and unhindered along the prescribed avenue through which it ought to pass.
The fourth chapter is Forming the Elements of speech. The pupil in his study at first considers the various aspects of the whole subject which has been presented. At this point the aim is to impart each separate thought of the various aspects of the subject. In this chapter of Forming the Elements, the pupil’s mind being dominated by the desire to place each thought separately and distinctly in the minds of his hearers, the vocal organs act with great exactness and precision, and in more and more perfect relation with each other. By repeated drill in seeking to fix the attention of the hearers upon each thought, great distinctness of utterance is gained, and the elements of speech become more beautifully and accurately formed.
In Animation we put such thoughts before the student as shall make the tones open and free and full of nerve energy; in Smoothness we give such objects of thought as shall make him sustain the tones; in Volume we give thoughts that will guide the stream of tone through the vocal tube without interference; and in Forming the Elements we help the student by putting such objects of thought before him in connection with the text as shall enable him to concentrate the mind upon each separate idea.
The first volume of Evolution of Expression deals with each composition as a whole in its various aspects. The second volume deals with the _Parts_ of the composition considered as wholes. When the mind in its development in expression is able to deal definitely with each separate part of the discourse by itself, it is revealed by slides in the voice, each new and distinct thought causes the voice to give a new and distinctive slide. I am using the word “Slide” in the same sense in which the word “inflection” is often used.