The text describes the appropriate postures and gestures when delivering different types of speeches, emphasizing the importance of moderation and grace in movements. For common speech, the right arm should be gently outstretched and fingers aligned with the topic, while serious addresses allow for more expressive gestures. Respectable demeanor over erratic boldness is preferred, a sentiment echoed by the ancient orator Cicero, who noted the vulnerability and trembling that can accompany the beginning of a speech.
Actual Observations
It is observed, perhaps rightly, that one calls the finger the Brazen or the Bottom-scratcher in common speech.
When a figure is in a gesture of common address, the right arm should be moderately outstretched, the shoulder slightly at ease, and turning gracefully in its joint; fingers adjusted according to the sense of the speech, whether instructing, commanding, narrating, etc., appropriately distributed.
In a gesture of serious address, or when dealing with an abundance of material for many listeners, the arm may be extended more broadly, showing with the head to either side, and in a lowering gesture, as if to pour his speech in full streams. Thus, the hands should move gracefully according to the matter being spoken about and the urgency that the mind entertains therewith, as if they themselves seem to speak. It is also not inappropriate when an orator at a gathering speaks seriously, or must plead in a passionate manner, that there is not only a certain type of attention, but also a modest restraint in his demeanor is shown: more praiseworthy than an erratic boldness witnessed by any sensible listener. I often feel (says the eloquent Cicero) within myself, that at the beginning of my speeches, I become pale, and a terrible trembling runs through all my limbs. And just as this is most often demonstrated among the wisest and most discerning men, so often the opposite occurs in an overly bold Simpleton.
Translation Notes
"Aars-krabber": Translated as "Bottom-scratcher." This term appears to be colloquial or humorous, carrying a tone of informality.
"Redenaar": This means "orator" or "public speaker."