SUCCESSFUL METHODS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING

_By Grenville Kleiser_

Inspiration and IdealsHow to Build Mental PowerHow to Develop Self-Confidence in Speech and MannerHow to Read and DeclaimHow to Speak in PublicHow to Develop Power and Personality in SpeakingGreat Speeches and How to Make ThemHow to Argue and WinHumorous Hits and How to Hold an AudienceComplete Guide to Public SpeakingTalks on TalkingFifteen Thousand Useful PhrasesThe World's Great SermonsMail Course in Public SpeakingMail Course in Practical EnglishHow to Speak Without NotesSomething to Say: How to Say ItSuccessful Methods of Public SpeakingModel Speeches for PractiseThe Training of a Public SpeakerHow to Sell Through SpeechImpromptu Speeches: How to Make ThemWord-Power: How to Develop ItChrist: The Master SpeakerVital English for Speakers and Writers

Successful Methods of Public Speaking

BY GRENVILLE KLEISER

_Formerly Instructor in Public Speaking at Yale Divinity School, YaleUniversity. Author of "How to Speak in Public, " "Great Speeches and Howto Make Them, " "Complete Guide to Public Speaking, " "How to Build MentalPower, " "Talks on Talking, " etc. , etc. _

[Illustration: Publisher's logo]

FUNK & WAGNALLS COMPANY

NEW YORK AND LONDON

1919

COPYRIGHT, 1920, BY

GRENVILLE KLEISER

[_Printed in the United States of America_]

Published, February, 1920

Copyright Under the Articles of the Copyright Convention of thePan-American Republics and the United States, August 11, 1910

PREFACE

As you carefully study the successful methods of public speakers, asbriefly set forth in this book, you will observe that there is nothingthat can be substituted for personal sincerity. Unless you thoroughlybelieve in the message you wish to convey to others, you are not likelyto impress them favorably. 

It was said of an eminent British orator, that when one heard him speakin public, one instinctively felt that there was something finer in theman than in anything he said. 

Therein lies the key to successful oratory. When the truth of yourmessage is deeply engraved on your own mind; when your own heart hasbeen touched as by a living flame; when your own character andpersonality testify to the innate sincerity and nobility of your life, then your speech will be truly eloquent, and men will respond to yourfervent appeal. 

 GRENVILLE KLEISER. 

New York City, August, 1919. 

CONTENTS

 PAGE

PREFACE v

SUCCESSFUL METHODS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 11

STUDY OF MODEL SPEECHES 55

HISTORY OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 91

EXTRACTS FOR STUDY, WITH LESSON TALK 117

HOW TO SPEAK IN PUBLIC 145

SUCCESSFUL METHODS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING

You can acquire valuable knowledge for use in your own public speakingby studying the successful methods of other men. This does not mean, however, that you are to imitate others, but simply to profit by theirexperience and suggestions in so far as they fit in naturally with yourpersonality. 

All successful speakers do not speak alike. Each man has found certainthings to be effective in his particular case, but which would notnecessarily be suited to a different type of speaker. 

When, therefore, you read the following methods of various men, askyourself in each case whether you can apply the ideas to advantage inyour own speaking. Put the method to a practical test, and decide foryourself whether it is advisable for you to adopt it or not. 

Requirements of Effective Speaking

There are certain requirements in public speaking which you and everyother speaker must observe. You must be grammatical, intelligent, lucid, and sincere. These are essential. You must know your subject thoroughly, and have the ability to put it into pleasing and persuasive form. 

But beyond these considerations there are many things which must be leftto your temperament, taste, and individuality. To compel you to speakaccording to inflexible rules would make you not an orator but anautomaton. 

The temperamental differences in successful speakers have been verygreat. One eminent speaker used practically no gesture; another was inalmost constant action. One was quiet, modest, and conversational in hisspeaking style; another was impulsive and resistless as a mountaintorrent. 

It is safe to say that almost any man, however unpretentious hislanguage, will command a hearing in Congress, Parliament, or elsewhere, if he gives accurate information upon a subject of importance and in amanner of unquestioned sincerity. 

You will observe in the historical accounts of great orators, thatwithout a single exception they studied, read, practised, conversed, andmeditated, not occasionally, but with daily regularity. Many of themwere endowed with natural gifts, but they supplemented these withindefatigable work. 

Well-known Speakers and Their Methods

_Chalmers_

There is a rugged type of speaker who transcends and seemingly defiesall rules of oratory. Such a man was the great Scottish preacherChalmers, who was without polished elocution, grace, or manner, but whothrough his intellectual power and moral earnestness thrilled all whoheard him. 

He read his sermons entirely from manuscripts, but it is evident fromthe effects of his preaching that he was not a slave to the written wordas many such speakers have been. While he read, he retained much of hisfreedom of gesture and physical expression, doubtless due to familiaritywith his subject and thorough preparation of his message. 

_John Bright_

You can profitably study the speeches of John Bright. They arenoteworthy for their simplicity of diction and uniform quality ofdirectness. His method was to make a plain statement of facts, enunciatecertain fundamental principles, then follow with his argument andapplication. 

His choice of words and style of delivery were most carefully studied, and his sonorous voice was under such complete control that he couldspeak at great length without the slightest fatigue. Many of hisillustrations were drawn from the Bible, which he is said to have knownbetter than any other book. 

_Lord Brougham_

Lord Brougham wrote nine times the concluding parts of his speech forthe defense of Queen Caroline. He once told a young man that if hewanted to speak well he must first learn to talk well. He recognizedthat good talking was the basis of effective public speaking. 

Bear in mind, however, that this does not mean you are always to confineyourself to a conversational level. There are themes which demand largetreatment, wherein vocal power and impassioned feeling are appropriateand essential. But what Lord Brougham meant, and it is equally trueto-day, was that good public speaking is fundamentally good talking. 

_Edmund Burke_

Edmund Burke recommended debate as one of the best means for developingfacility and power in public speaking. Himself a master of debate, hesaid, "He that wrestles with us strengthens our nerves and sharpens ourskill. Our antagonist is our helper. This amiable conflict withdifficulty obliges us to have an intimate acquaintance with our subject, and compels us to consider it in all its relations. It will not sufferus to be superficial. "

Burke, like all great orators, believed in premeditation, and alwayswrote and corrected his speeches with fastidious care. While such menknew that inspiration might come at the moment of speaking, theypreferred to base their chances of success upon painstaking preparation. 

_Massillon_

Massillon, the great French divine, spoke in a commanding voice and in astyle so direct that at times he almost overwhelmed his hearers. Hispointed and personal questions could not be evaded. He sent truth likefiery darts to the hearts of his hearers. 

I ask you to note very carefully the following eloquent passage from asermon in which he explained how men justified themselves because theywere no worse than the multitude:

"On this account it is, my brethren, that I confine myself to you who atpresent are assembled here; I include not the rest of men, but consideryou as alone existing on the earth. The idea which occupies andfrightens me is this: I figure to myself the present as your last hourand the end of the world; that the heavens are going to open above yourheads; our Savior, in all His glory, to appear in the midst of thetemple; and that you are only assembled here to wait His coming; liketrembling criminals on whom the sentence is to be pronounced, either oflife eternal or of everlasting death; for it is vain to flatteryourselves that you shall die more innocent than you are at this hour. All those desires of change with which you are amused will continue toamuse you till death arrives, the experience of all ages proves it; theonly difference you have to expect will most likely be a larger balanceagainst you than what you would have to answer for at present; and fromwhat would be your destiny were you to be judged this moment, you mayalmost decide upon what will take place at your departure from life. Now, I ask you (and connecting my own lot with yours I ask with dread), were Jesus Christ to appear in this temple, in the midst of thisassembly, to judge us, to make the dreadful separation betwixt the goatsand sheep, do you believe that the greatest number of us would be placedat His right hand? Do you believe that the number would at least beequal? Do you believe there would even be found ten upright andfaithful servants of the Lord, when formerly five cities could notfurnish so many? I ask you. You know not, and I know it not. Thou alone, O my God, knowest who belong to Thee. But if we know not who belong toHim, at least we know that sinners do not. Now, who are the just andfaithful assembled here at present? Titles and dignities avail nothing, you are stript of all these in the presence of your Savior. Who arethey? Many sinners who wish not to be converted; many more who wish, butalways put it off; many others who are only converted in appearance, andagain fall back to their former courses. In a word, a great number whoflatter themselves they have no occasion for conversion. This is theparty of the reprobate. Ah! my brethren, cut off from this assemblythese four classes of sinners, for they will be cut off at the greatday. And now appear, ye just! Where are ye? O God, where are Thy chosen?And what a portion remains to Thy share. "

_Gladstone_

Gladstone had by nature a musical and melodious voice, but throughpractise he developed an unusual range of compass and variety. He couldsink it to a whisper and still be audible, while in open-air meetings hecould easily make himself heard by thousands. 

He was courteous, and even ceremonious, in his every-day meeting withmen, so that it was entirely natural for him to be deferential andingratiating in his public speaking. He is an excellent illustration ofthe value of cultivating in daily conversation and manner the qualitiesyou desire to have in your public address. 

_John Quincy Adams_

John Quincy Adams read two chapters from the Bible every morning, whichaccounted in large measure for his resourceful English style. He wasfond of using the pen in daily composition, and constantly committed topaper the first thoughts which occurred to him upon any importantsubject. 

_Fox_

The ambition of Fox was to become a great political orator and debater, in which at last he succeeded. His mental agility was manifest in hisreply to an elector whom he had canvassed for a vote, and who offeredhim a halter instead. "Oh thank you, " said Fox, "I would not deprive youof what is evidently a family relic. "

His method was to take each argument of an opponent, and dispose of itin regular order. His passion was for argument, upon great or pettysubjects. He availed himself of every opportunity to speak. "During fivewhole sessions, " he said, "I spoke every night but one; and I regretthat I did not speak on that night, too. "

_Theodore Parker_

Theodore Parker always read his sermons aloud while writing them, inorder to test their "speaking quality. " His opinion was that animpressive delivery depended particularly upon vigorous feeling, energetic thinking, and clearness of statement. 

_Henry Ward Beecher_

Henry Ward Beecher's method was to practise vocal exercises in the openair, exploding all the vowel sounds in various keys. This practise dulyproduced a most flexible instrument, which served him throughout hisbrilliant career. He said:

"I had from childhood impediments of speech arising from a large palate, so that when a boy I used to be laughed at for talking as if I had apudding in my mouth. When I went to Amherst, I was fortunate in passinginto the hands of John Lovell, a teacher of elocution, and a betterteacher for my purpose I can not conceive of. His system consisted indrill, or the thorough practise of inflections by the voice, of gesture, posture and articulation. Sometimes I was a whole hour practising myvoice on a word--like justice. I would have to take a posture, frequently at a mark chalked on the floor. Then we would go through allthe gestures, exercising each movement of the arm and throwing open thehand. All gestures except those of precision go in curves, the armrising from the side, coming to the front, turning to the left orright. I was drilled as to how far the arm should come forward, where itshould start from, how far go back, and under what circumstances thesemovements should be made. It was drill, drill, drill, until the motionsalmost became a second nature. Now, I never know what movements I shallmake. My gestures are natural, because this drill made them natural tome. The only method of acquiring effective elocution is by practise, ofnot less than an hour a day, until the student has his voice and himselfthoroughly subdued and trained to get right expression. "

_Lord Bolingbroke_

Lord Bolingbroke made it a rule always to speak well in dailyconversation, however unimportant the occasion. His taste and accuracyat last gave him a style in ordinary speech worthy to have been putinto print as it fell from his lips. 

_Lord Chatham_

Lord Chatham, despite his great natural endowments for speaking, devoteda regular time each day to developing a varied and copious vocabulary. He twice examined each word in the dictionary, from beginning to end, inhis ardent desire to master the English language. 

_John Philpot Curran_

The well-known case of John Philpot Curran should give encouragement toevery aspiring student of public speaking. He was generally known as"Orator Mum, " because of his failure in his first attempt at publicspeaking. But he resolved to develop his oratorical powers, and devotedevery morning to intense reading. In addition, he regularly carried inhis pocket a small copy of a classic for convenient reading at oddmoments. 

It is said that he daily practised declamation before a looking-glass, closely scrutinizing his gesture, posture, and manner. He was an earneststudent of public speaking, and eventually became one of the mosteloquent of world orators. 

_Balfour_

Among present-day speakers in England Mr. Balfour occupies a leadingplace. He possesses the gift of never saying a word too much, a habitwhich might be copied to advantage by many public speakers. His habitduring a debate is to scribble a few words on an envelop, and then tospeak with rare facility of English style. 

_Bonar Law_

Bonar Law does not use any notes in the preparation of a speech, butcarefully thinks out the various parts, and then by means of a series of"mental rehearsals" fixes them indelibly in his mind. The result of thisconscientious practise has made him a formidable debater and extemporespeaker. 

_Asquith_

Herbert H. Asquith, who possesses the rare gift of summoning the oneinevitable word, and of compressing his speeches into a small space oftime, speaks with equal success whether from a prepared manuscript orwholly extempore. His unsurpassed English style is the result of manyyears reading and study of prose masterpieces. "He produces, whereverand whenever he wants them, an endless succession of perfectly coinedsentences, conceived with unmatched felicity and delivered withouthesitation in a parliamentary style which is at once the envy and thedespair of imitators. "

_Bryan_

William Jennings Bryan is by common consent one of the greatest publicspeakers in America. He has a voice of unusual power and compass, andhis delivery is natural and deliberate. His style is generally forensic, altho he frequently rises to the dramatic. He has been a diligentstudent of oratory, and once said:

"The age of oratory has not passed; nor will it pass. The press, insteadof displacing the orator, has given him a larger audience and enabledhim to do a more extended work. As long as there are human rights to bedefended; as long as there are great interests to be guarded; as longas the welfare of nations is a matter for discussion, so long willpublic speaking have its place. "

_Roosevelt_

Theodore Roosevelt was one of the most effective of American publicspeakers, due in large measure to intense moral earnestness and greatstores of physical vitality. His diction was direct and his styleenergetic. He spoke out of the fulness of a well-furnished mind. 

Success Factors in Platform Speaking

Constant practise of composition has been the habit of all greatorators. This, combined with the habit of reading and re-reading thebest prose writers and poets, accounts in large measure for thefelicitous style of such men as Burke, Erskine, Macaulay, Bolingbroke, Phillips, Everett and Webster. 

I can not too often urge you to use your pen in daily composition as ameans to felicity and facility of speech. The act of writing out yourthoughts is a direct aid to concentration, and tends to enforce thehabit of choosing the best language. It gives clearness, force, precision, beauty, and copiousness of style, so valuable inextemporaneous and impromptu speaking. 

ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF MEMORIZING SPEECHES

Some of the most highly successful speakers carefully wrote out, revised, and committed to memory important passages in their speeches. These they dexterously wove into the body of their addresses in such anatural manner as not to expose their method. 

This plan, however, is not to be generally recommended, since few menhave the faculty of rendering memorized parts so as to make them appearextempore. If you recite rather than speak to an audience, you may be agood entertainer, but just to that degree will you impair your power andeffectiveness as a public speaker. 

There are speakers who have successfully used the plan of committing tomemory significant sentences, statements, or sayings, and skilfullyembodying them in their speeches. You might test this method foryourself, tho it is attended with danger. 

If possible, join a local debating society, where you will haveexcellent opportunity for practise in thinking and speaking on yourfeet. Many distinguished public speakers have owed their fluency ofspeech and self-confidence to early practise in debate. 

THE VALUE OF REPETITION

Persuasion is a task of skill. You must bring to your aid in speakingevery available resource. An effective weapon at times is a "remorselessiteration. " Have the courage to repeat yourself as often as may benecessary to impress your leading ideas upon the minds of your hearers. Note the forensic maxim, "tell a judge twice whatever you want him tohear; tell a special jury thrice, and a common jury half a dozen times, the view of a case you wish them to entertain. "

THE NEED OF SELF-CONFIDENCE

Whatever methods of premeditation you adopt in the preparation of aspeech, having planned everything to the best of your ability, dismissfrom your mind all anxiety and all thought about yourself. 

Right preparation and earnest practise should give you a full degree ofconfidence in your ability to perform the task before you. When youstand at last before the audience, it should be with the assurance thatyou are thoroughly equipped to say something of real interest andimportance. 

THE POWER OF PERSONALITY

Personality plays a vital part in a speaker's success. Gladstonedescribed Cardinal Newman's manner in the pulpit as unsatisfactory ifconsidered in its separate parts. "There was not much change in theinflection of his voice; action there was none; his sermons were read, and his eyes were always on his book; and all that, you will say, isagainst efficiency in preaching. Yes; but you take the man as a whole, and there was a stamp and a seal upon him, there was solemn music andsweetness in his tone, there was a completeness in the figure, takentogether with the tone and with the manner, which made even his deliverysuch as I have described it, and tho exclusively with written sermons, singularly attractive. "

THE DANGER OF IMITATION

It is a fatal mistake, as I have said, to set out deliberately toimitate some favorite speaker, and to mold your style after his. Youwill observe certain things and methods in other speakers which will fitin naturally with your style and temperament. To this extent you mayadvantageously adopt them, but always be on your guard against anythingwhich might in the slightest degree impair your own individuality. 

Speech for Study, with Lesson Talk

FEATURES OF AN ELOQUENT ADDRESS

You will find useful material for study and practise in the speech whichfollows, delivered by Lord Rosebery at the Unveiling of the Statue ofGladstone at Glasgow, Scotland, October 11th, 1902. 

The English style is noteworthy for its uniform charm and naturalness. There is an unmistakable personal note which contributes greatly to theeffect of the speaker's words. 

This eloquent address is a model for such an occasion, and a goodillustration of the work of a speaker thoroughly familiar with histheme. It has sufficient variety to sustain interest, dignity in keepingwith the subject, and a note of inspiration which would profoundlyimpress an audience of thinking men. It is a scholarly address. 

Note the concise introductory sentences. Repeat them aloud and observehow easily they flow from the lips. Notice the balance and variety ofsuccessive sentences, the stately diction, and the underlying tone ofdeep sincerity. 

Examine every phrase and sentence of this eloquent speech. Study theconclusion and particularly the closing paragraph. When you havethoroughly analyzed the speech, stand up and render it aloud inclear-cut tones and appropriately dignified style. 

SPEECH FOR STUDY

AT THE UNVEILING OF THE STATUE OF GLADSTONE

(_Address of Lord Rosebery_)

I am here to-day to unveil the image of one of the great figures of ourcountry. It is right and fitting that it should stand here. A statue ofMr. Gladstone is congenial in any part of Scotland. But in this Scottishcity, teeming with eager workers, endowed with a great University, acenter of industry, commerce, and thought, a statue of William EwartGladstone is at home. 

But you in Glasgow have more personal claims to a share in theinheritance of Mr. Gladstone's fame. I, at any rate, can recall onememory--the record of that marvelous day in December, 1879, nearlytwenty-three years ago, when the indomitable old man delivered hisrectorial address to the students at noon, a long political speech inSt. Andrew's Hall in the evening, and a substantial discourse onreceiving an address from the Corporation at ten o'clock at night. Someof you may have been present at all these gatherings, some only at thepolitical meeting. If they were, they may remember the little incidentsof the meeting--the glasses which were hopelessly lost and then, ofcourse, found on the orator's person--the desperate candle brought in, stuck in a water-bottle, to attempt sufficient light to read an extract. And what a meeting it was--teeming, delirious, absorbed! Do you havesuch meetings now? They seem to me pretty good; but the meetings of thattime stand out before all others in my mind. 

This statue is erected, not out of the national subscription, but by thecontributions from men of all creeds in Glasgow and in the West. I mustthen, in what I have to say, leave out altogether the political aspectof Mr. Gladstone. In some cases such a rule would omit all that wasinteresting in a man. There are characters, from which if yousubtracted politics, there would be nothing left. It was not so withMr. Gladstone. 

To the great mass of his fellow-countrymen he was of course a statesman, wildly worshipped by some, wildly detested by others. But, to those whowere privileged to know him, his politics seemed but the least part ofhim. The predominant part, to which all else was subordinated, was hisreligion; the life which seemed to attract him most was the life of thelibrary; the subject which engrossed him most was the subject of themoment, whatever it might be, and that, when he was out of office, wasvery rarely politics. Indeed, I sometimes doubt whether his natural bentwas toward politics at all. Had his course taken him that way, as itvery nearly did, he would have been a great churchman, greater perhapsthan any that this island has known; he would have been a greatprofessor, if you could have found a university big enough to hold him;he would have been a great historian, a great bookman, he would havegrappled with whole libraries and wrestled with academies, had the fatesplaced him in a cloister; indeed it is difficult to conceive the career, except perhaps the military, in which his energy and intellect andapplication would not have placed him on a summit. Politics, however, took him and claimed his life service, but, jealous mistress as she is, could never thoroughly absorb him. 

Such powers as I have indicated seem to belong to a giant and a prodigy, and I can understand many turning away from the contemplation of such acharacter, feeling that it is too far removed from them to interestthem, and that it is too unapproachable to help them--that it is likereading of Hercules or Hector, mythical heroes whose achievements theactual living mortal can not hope to rival. Well, that is true enough;we have not received intellectual faculties equal to Mr. Gladstone's, and can not hope to vie with him in their exercise. But apart from them, his great force was character, and amid the vast multitude that I amaddressing, there is none who may not be helped by him. 

The three signal qualities which made him what he was, were courage, industry, and faith; dauntless courage, unflagging industry, a faithwhich was part of his fiber; these were the levers with which he movedthe world. 

I do not speak of his religious faith, that demands a worthier speakerand another occasion. But no one who knew Mr. Gladstone could fail tosee that it was the essence, the savor, the motive power of his life. Strange as it may seem, I can not doubt that while this attracted manyto him, it alienated others, others not themselves irreligious, but whosuspected the sincerity of so manifest a devotion, and who, reared inthe moderate atmosphere of the time, disliked the intrusion of religiousconsiderations into politics. These, however, though numerous enough, were the exceptions, and it can not, I think, be questioned that Mr. Gladstone not merely raised the tone of public discussion, but quickenedand renewed the religious feeling of the society in which he moved. 

But this is not the faith of which I am thinking to-day. What is presentto me is the faith with which he espoused and pursued great causes. There also he had faith sufficient to move mountains, and did sometimesmove mountains. He did not lightly resolve, he came to no hastyconclusion, but when he had convinced himself that a cause was right, it engrossed him, it inspired him, with a certainty as deep-seated andas imperious as ever moved mortal man. To him, then, obstacles, objections, the counsels of doubters and critics were as nought, hepressed on with the passion of a whirlwind, but also with the steadypersistence of some puissant machine. 

He had, of course, like every statesman, often to traffic withexpediency, he had always, I suppose, to accept something less than hisideal, but his unquenchable faith, not in himself--tho that withexperience must have waxed strong--not in himself but in his cause, sustained him among the necessary shifts and transactions of the moment, and kept his head high in the heavens. 

Such faith, such moral conviction, is not given to all men, for thetreasures of his nature were in ingots, and not in dust. But there is, perhaps, no man without some faith in some cause or some person; if so, let him take heart, in however small a minority he may be, byremembering how mighty a strength was Gladstone's power of faith. 

His next great force lay in his industry. I do not know if theaspersions of "ca' canny" be founded, but at any rate there was no "ca'canny" about him. From his earliest school-days, if tradition be true, to the bed of death, he gave his full time and energy to work. No doubthis capacity for labor was unusual. He would sit up all night writing apamphlet, and work next day as usual. An eight-hours' day would havebeen a holiday to him, for he preached and practised the gospel of workto its fullest extent. He did not, indeed, disdain pleasure; no oneenjoyed physical exercise, or a good play, or a pleasant dinner, morethan he; he drank in deep draughts of the highest and the best that lifehad to offer; but even in pastime he was never idle. He did not knowwhat it was to saunter, he debited himself with every minute of histime; he combined with the highest intellectual powers the faculty ofutilizing them to the fullest extent by intense application. Moreover, his industry was prodigious in result, for he was an extraordinarilyrapid worker. Dumont says of Mirabeau, that till he met that marvelousman he had no idea of how much could be achieved in a day. "Had I notlived with him, " he says, "I should not know what can be accomplished ina day, all that can be comprest into an interval of twelve hours. A daywas worth more to him than a week or a month to others. " Many men can bebusy for hours with a mighty small product, but with Mr. Gladstoneevery minute was fruitful. That, no doubt, was largely due to hismarvelous powers of concentration. When he was staying at Dalmeny in1879 he kindly consented to sit for his bust. The only difficulty wasthat there was no time for sittings. So the sculptor with his clay modelwas placed opposite Mr. Gladstone as he worked, and they spent themornings together, Mr. Gladstone writing away, and the clay figure ofhimself less than a yard off gradually assuming shape and form. Anythingmore distracting I can not conceive, but it had no effect on the busypatient. And now let me make a short digression. I saw recently in yournewspapers that there was some complaint of the manners of the risinggeneration in Glasgow. If that be so, they are heedless of Mr. Gladstone's example. It might be thought that so impetuous a temper ashis might be occasionally rough or abrupt. That was not so. Hisexquisite urbanity was one of his most conspicuous graces. I do not nowonly allude to that grave, old-world courtesy, which gave so muchdistinction to his private life; for his sweetness of manner went farbeyond demeanor. His spoken words, his letters, even when one differedfrom him most acutely, were all marked by this special note. He did notlike people to disagree with him, few people do; but, so far as mannerwent, it was more pleasant to disagree with Mr. Gladstone than to be inagreement with some others. 

Lastly, I come to his courage--that perhaps was his greatest quality, for when he gave his heart and reason to a cause, he never counted thecost. Most men are physically brave, and this nation is reputed to beespecially brave, but Mr. Gladstone was brave among the brave. He hadto the end the vitality of physical courage. When well on in his ninthdecade, well on to ninety, he was knocked over by a cab, and before thebystanders could rally to his assistance, he had pursued the cab with aview to taking its number. He had, too, notoriously, political couragein a not less degree than Sir Robert Walpole. We read that George II, who was little given to enthusiasm, would often cry out, with colorflushing into his cheeks, and tears sometimes in his eyes, and with avehement oath:--"He (Walpole) is a brave fellow; he has more spirit thanany man I ever knew. "

Mr. Gladstone did not yield to Walpole in political and parliamentarycourage--it was a quality which he closely observed in others, and onwhich he was fond of descanting. But he had the rarest and choicestcourage of all--I mean moral courage. That was his supremecharacteristic, and it was with him, like others, from the first. Acontemporary of his at Eton once told me of a scene, at which myinformant was present, when some loose or indelicate toast was proposed, and all present drank it but young Gladstone. In spite of the storm ofobjurgation and ridicule that raged around him, he jammed his face, asit were, down in his hands on the table and would not budge. Everyschoolboy knows, for we may here accurately use Macaulay's well-knownexpression, every schoolboy knows the courage that this implies. Andeven by the heedless generation of boyhood it was appreciated, for wefind an Etonian writing to his parents to ask that he might go to Oxfordrather than Cambridge, on the sole ground that at Oxford he would havethe priceless advantage of Gladstone's influence and example. Nor didhis courage ever flag. He might be right, or he might be wrong--that isnot the question here--but when he was convinced that he was right, notall the combined powers of Parliament or society or the multitude couldfor an instant hinder his course, whether it ended in success or infailure. Success left him calm, he had had so much of it; nor didfailures greatly depress him. The next morning found him once morefacing the world with serene and undaunted brow. There was a man. Thenation has lost him, but preserves his character, his manhood, as amodel, on which she may form if she be fortunate, coming generations ofmen. With his politics, with his theology, with his manifold graces andgifts of intellect, we are not concerned to-day, not even with his warmand passionate human sympathies. They are not dead with him, but letthem rest with him, for we can not in one discourse view him in all hisparts. To-day it is enough to have dealt for a moment on three of hisgreat moral characteristics, enough to have snatched from the fleetinghour a few moments of communion with the mighty dead. 

History has not yet allotted him his definite place, but no one wouldnow deny that he bequeathed a pure standard of life, a record of loftyambition for the public good as he understood it, a monument oflife-long labor. Such lives speak for themselves, they need no statues, they face the future with the confidence of high purpose and endeavor. The statues are not for them but for us, to bid us be conscious of ourtrust, mindful of our duty, scornful of opposition to principle andfaith. They summon us to account for time and opportunity, they embodyan inspiring tradition, they are milestones in the life of a nation. Theeffigy of Pompey was bathed in the blood of his great rival: let thisstatue have the nobler destiny of constantly calling to life worthyrivals of Gladstone's fame and character. 

Unveil, then, that statue. Let it stand to Glasgow in all time comingfor faith, fortitude, courage, industry, qualities apart from intellector power or wealth, which may inspire all her citizens however humble, however weak; let it remind the most unthinking passer-by of thedauntless character which it represents, of his long life and honestpurpose; let it leaven by an immortal tradition the population whichlives and works and dies around this monument. 

STUDY OF MODEL SPEECHES

MODEL SPEECHES, WITH SUGGESTIONS FOR THEIR STUDY

There is no better way for you to improve your own public speaking thanto analyze and study the speeches of successful orators. 

First read such speeches aloud, since by that means you fit words toyour lips and acquire a familiarity with oratorical style. 

Then examine the speaker's method of arranging his thoughts, and theprecise way in which they lead up and contribute to his ultimate object. 

Carefully note any special means employed--story, illustration, appeal, or climax, --to increase the effectiveness of the speech. 

_John Stuart Mill_

Read the following speech delivered by John Stuart Mill, in his tributeto Garrison. Note the clear-cut English of the speaker. Observe howpromptly he goes to his subject, and how steadily he keeps to it. Particularly note the high level of thought maintained throughout. Thisis an excellent model of dignified, well-reasoned, convincing speech. 

"Mr. Chairman, Ladies, and Gentlemen, --The speakers who have preceded mehave, with an eloquence far beyond anything which I can command, laidbefore our honored guest the homage of admiration and gratitude which weall feel due to his heroic life. Instead of idly expatiating upon thingswhich have been far better said than I could say them, I would ratherendeavor to recall one or two lessons applicable to ourselves, whichmay be drawn from his career. A noble work nobly done always contains initself not one but many lessons; and in the case of him whose characterand deeds we are here to commemorate, two may be singled out speciallydeserving to be laid to heart by all who would wish to leave the worldbetter than they found it. 

"The first lesson is, --Aim at something great; aim at things which aredifficult; and there is no great thing which is not difficult. Do notpare down your undertaking to what you can hope to see successful in thenext few years, or in the years of your own life. Fear not the reproachof Quixotism or of fanaticism; but after you have well weighed what youundertake, if you see your way clearly, and are convinced that you areright, go forward, even tho you, like Mr. Garrison, do it at the riskof being torn to pieces by the very men through whose changed heartsyour purpose will one day be accomplished. Fight on with all yourstrength against whatever odds and with however small a band ofsupporters. If you are right, the time will come when that small bandwill swell into a multitude; you will at least lay the foundations ofsomething memorable, and you may, like Mr. Garrison--tho you ought notto need or expect so great a reward--be spared to see that workcompleted which, when you began it, you only hoped it might be given toyou to help forward a few stages on its way. 

"The other lesson which it appears to me important to enforce, amongstthe many that may be drawn from our friend's life, is this: If you aimat something noble and succeed in it, you will generally find that youhave succeeded not in that alone. A hundred other good and noble thingswhich you never dreamed of will have been accomplished by the way, andthe more certainly, the sharper and more agonizing has been the strugglewhich preceded the victory. The heart and mind of a nation are neverstirred from their foundations without manifold good fruits. In the caseof the great American contest these fruits have been already great, andare daily becoming greater. The prejudices which beset every form ofsociety--and of which there was a plentiful crop in America--are rapidlymelting away. The chains of prescription have been broken; it is notonly the slave who has been freed--the mind of America has beenemancipated. The whole intellect of the country has been set thinkingabout the fundamental questions of society and government; and the newproblems which have to be solved and the new difficulties which have tobe encountered are calling forth new activity of thought, and that greatnation is saved probably for a long time to come, from the mostformidable danger of a completely settled state of society andopinion--intellectual and moral stagnation. This, then, is an additionalitem of the debt which America and mankind owe to Mr. Garrison and hisnoble associates; and it is well calculated to deepen our sense of thetruth which his whole career most strikingly illustrates--that tho ourbest directed efforts may often seem wasted and lost, nothing coming ofthem that can be pointed to and distinctly identified as a definite gainto humanity, tho this may happen ninety-nine times in every hundred, thehundredth time the result may be so great and dazzling that we hadnever dared to hope for it, and should have regarded him who hadpredicted it to us as sanguine beyond the bounds of mental sanity. Sohas it been with Mr. Garrison. "

It will be beneficial for your all-round development in speaking tochoose for earnest study several speeches of widely different character. As you compare one speech with another, you will more readily see whyeach subject requires a different form of treatment, and also learn tojudge how the speaker has availed himself of the possibilities affordedhim. 

_Judge Story_

The speech which follows is a fine example of elevated and impassionedoratory. Judge Story here lauds the American Republic, and employs toadvantage the rhetorical figures of exclamation and interrogation. 

As you examine this speech you will notice that the speaker himself wasmoved by deep conviction. His own belief stamped itself upon his words, and throughout there is the unmistakable mark of sincerity. 

You are impressed by the comprehensive treatment of the subject. Theorator here speaks out of a full mind, and you feel that you wouldconfidently trust yourself to his leadership. 

"When we reflect on what has been and what is, how is it possible not tofeel a profound sense of the responsibilities of this Republic to allfuture ages? What vast motives press upon us for lofty efforts! Whatbrilliant prospects invite our enthusiasm! What solemn warnings at oncedemand our vigilance and moderate our confidence! The Old World hasalready revealed to us, in its unsealed books, the beginning and theend of all marvelous struggles in the cause of liberty. 

"Greece! lovely Greece! 'the land of scholars and the nurse of arms, 'where sister republics, in fair processions chanted the praise ofliberty and the good, where and what is she? For two thousand years theoppressors have bound her to the earth. Her arts are no more. The lastsad relics of her temples are but the barracks of a ruthless soldiery;the fragments of her columns and her palaces are in the dust, yetbeautiful in ruins. 

"She fell not when the mighty were upon her. Her sons united atThermopylę and Marathon; and the tide of her triumph rolled back uponthe Hellespont. She was conquered by her own factions--she fell by thehands of her own people. The man of Macedonia did not the work ofdestruction. It was already done by her own corruptions, banishments, and dissensions. Rome! whose eagles glanced in the rising and settingsun, where and what is she! The Eternal City yet remains, proud even inher desolation, noble in her decline, venerable in the majesty ofreligion, and calm as in the composure of death. 

"The malaria has but traveled in the parts won by the destroyers. Morethan eighteen centuries have mourned over the loss of the empire. Amortal disease was upon her before Cęsar had crossed the Rubicon; andBrutus did not restore her health by the deep probings of thesenate-chamber. The Goths, and Vandals, and Huns, the swarms of theNorth, completed only what was begun at home. Romans betrayed Rome. Thelegions were bought and sold, but the people offered the tribute-money. 

"And where are the republics of modern times, which cluster aroundimmortal Italy? Venice and Genoa exist but in name. The Alps, indeed, look down upon the brave and peaceful Swiss in their native fastnesses;but the guaranty of their freedom is in their weakness, and not in theirstrength. The mountains are not easily crossed, and the valleys are noteasily retained. 

"When the invader comes, he moves like an avalanche, carryingdestruction in his path. The peasantry sink before him. The country, too, is too poor for plunder, and too rough for a valuable conquest. Nature presents her eternal barrier on every side, to check thewantonness of ambition. And Switzerland remains with her simpleinstitutions, a military road to climates scarcely worth a permanentpossession, and protected by the jealousy of her neighbors. 

"We stand the latest, and if we fall, probably the last experiment ofself-government by the people. We have begun it under circumstances ofthe most auspicious nature. We are in the vigor of youth. Our growth hasnever been checked by the oppression of tyranny. Our Constitutions neverhave been enfeebled by the vice or the luxuries of the world. Such as weare, we have been from the beginning: simple, hardy, intelligent, accustomed to self-government and self-respect. 

"The Atlantic rolls between us and a formidable foe. Within our ownterritory, stretching through many degrees of latitude, we have thechoice of many products, and many means of independence. The governmentis mild. The press is free. Religion is free. Knowledge reaches, or mayreach every home. What fairer prospects of success could be presented?What means more adequate to accomplish the sublime end? What more isnecessary than for the people to preserve what they themselves havecreated?

"Already has the age caught the spirit of our institutions. It hasalready ascended the Andes, and snuffed the breezes of both oceans. Ithas infused itself into the life-blood of Europe, and warmed the sunnyplains of France and the lowlands of Holland. It has touched thephilosophy of Germany and the North, and, moving onward to the South, has opened to Greece the lesson of her better days. 

"Can it be that America under such circumstances should betray herself?That she is to be added to the catalog of republics, the inscriptionupon whose ruin is, 'They were but they are not!' Forbid it, mycountrymen! forbid it, Heaven! I call upon you, fathers, by the shadesof your ancestors, by the dear ashes which repose in this precious soil, by all you are, and all you hope to be, resist every attempt to fetteryour consciences, or smother your public schools, or extinguish yoursystem of public instruction. 

"I call upon you, mothers, by that which never fails in woman, the loveof your offspring, to teach them as they climb your knees or lean onyour bosoms, the blessings of liberty. Swear them at the altar, as withtheir baptismal vows, to be true to their country, and never forsakeher. I call upon you, young men, to remember whose sons you are--whoseinheritance you possess. Life can never be too short, which bringsnothing but disgrace and oppression. Death never comes too soon, ifnecessary, in defense of the liberties of our country. "

You can advantageously read aloud many times a speech like theforegoing. Stand up and read it aloud once a day for a month, and youwill be conscious of a distinct improvement in your own command ofpersuasive speech. 

_W. J. Fox_

The following is a specimen of masterly oratorical style, from a sermonpreached in London, England, by W. J. Fox:

"From the dawn of intellect and freedom Greece has been a watchword onthe earth. There rose the social spirit to soften and refine her chosenrace, and shelter as in a nest her gentleness from the rushing storm ofbarbarism; there liberty first built her mountain throne, first calledthe waves her own, and shouted across them a proud defiance todespotism's banded myriads, there the arts and graces danced aroundhumanity, and stored man's home with comforts, and strewed his pathwith roses, and bound his brows with myrtle, and fashioned for him thebreathing statue, and summoned him to temples of snowy marble, andcharmed his senses with all forms of eloquence, and threw over his finalsleep their veil of loveliness; there sprung poetry, like their ownfabled goddess, mature at once from the teeming intellect, gilt witharts and armour that defy the assaults of time and subdue the heart ofman; there matchless orators gave the world a model of perfecteloquence, the soul the instrument on which they played, and everypassion of our nature but a tone which the master's touch called forthat will; there lived and taught the philosophers of bower and porch, ofpride and pleasure, of deep speculation, and of useful action, whodeveloped all the acuteness and refinement, and excursiveness, andenergy of mind, and were the glory of their country when their countrywas the glory of the earth. "

_William McKinley_

An eloquent speech, worthy of close study, is that of William McKinleyon "The Characteristics of Washington. " As you read it aloud, note theshort, clear-cut sentences used in the introduction. Observe how thelong sentence at the third paragraph gives the needed variation. Carefully study the compact English style, and the use of forcefulexpressions of the speaker, as "He blazed the path to liberty. "

"Fellow Citizens:--There is a peculiar and tender sentiment connectedwith this memorial. It expresses not only the gratitude and reverence ofthe living, but is a testimonial of affection and homage from the dead. 

"The comrades of Washington projected this monument. Their love inspiredit. Their contributions helped to build it. Past and present share inits completion, and future generations will profit by its lessons. Toparticipate in the dedication of such a monument is a rare and preciousprivilege. Every monument to Washington is a tribute to patriotism. Every shaft and statue to his memory helps to inculcate love of country, encourage loyalty, and establish a better citizenship. God bless everyundertaking which revives patriotism and rebukes the indifferent andlawless! A critical study of Washington's career only enhances ourestimation of his vast and varied abilities. 

"As Commander-in-chief of the Colonial armies from the beginning of thewar to the proclamation of peace, as president of the convention whichframed the Constitution of the United States, and as the first Presidentof the United States under that Constitution, Washington has adistinction differing from that of all other illustrious Americans. Noother name bears or can bear such a relation to the Government. Not onlyby his military genius--his patience, his sagacity, his courage, and hisskill--was our national independence won, but he helped in largestmeasure to draft the chart by which the Nation was guided; and he wasthe first chosen of the people to put in motion the new Government. Hiswas not the boldness of martial display or the charm of captivatingoratory, but his calm and steady judgment won men's support andcommanded their confidence by appealing to their best and noblestaspirations. And withal Washington was ever so modest that at no timein his career did his personality seem in the least intrusive. He wasabove the temptation of power. He spurned the suggested crown. He wouldhave no honor which the people did not bestow. 

"An interesting fact--and one which I love to recall--is that the onlytime Washington formally addrest the Constitutional Convention duringall its sessions over which he presided in this city, he appealed for alarger representation of the people in the National House ofRepresentatives, and his appeal was instantly heeded. Thus was he everkeenly watchful of the rights of the people in whose hands was thedestiny of our Government then as now. 

"Masterful as were his military campaigns, his civil administrationcommands equal admiration. His foresight was marvelous; his conceptionof the philosophy of government, his insistence upon the necessity ofeducation, morality, and enlightened citizenship to the progress andpermanence of the Republic can not be contemplated even at this periodwithout filling us with astonishment at the breadth of his comprehensionand the sweep of his vision. His was no narrow view of government. Theimmediate present was not the sole concern, but our future good hisconstant theme of study. He blazed the path of liberty. He laid thefoundation upon which we have grown from weak and scattered Colonialgovernments to a united Republic whose domains and power as well aswhose liberty and freedom have become the admiration of the world. Distance and time have not detracted from the fame and force of hisachievements or diminished the grandeur of his life and work. Greatdeeds do not stop in their growth, and those of Washington will expandin influence in all the centuries to follow. 

"The bequest Washington has made to civilization is rich beyondcomputation. The obligations under which he has placed mankind aresacred and commanding. The responsibility he has left, for the Americanpeople to preserve and perfect what he accomplished, is exacting andsolemn. Let us rejoice in every new evidence that the people realizewhat they enjoy, and cherish with affection the illustrious heroes ofRevolutionary story whose valor and sacrifices made us a nation. Theylive in us, and their memory will help us keep the covenant entered intofor the maintenance of the freest Government of earth. 

"The nation and the name Washington are inseparable. One is linkedindissolubly with the other. Both are glorious, both triumphant. Washington lives and will live because of what he did for the exaltationof man, the enthronement of conscience, and the establishment of aGovernment which recognizes all the governed. And so, too, will theNation live victorious over all obstacles, adhering to the immortalprinciples which Washington taught and Lincoln sustained. "

_Edward Everett_

The following extract from "The Foundation of National Character, " byEdward Everett, is a fine example of patriotic appeal. Read it aloud, and note how the orator speaks with deep feeling and stirs the samefeeling in you. This impression is largely due to the simple, sincere, right-onward style of the speaker, --qualities of his own well-knowncharacter. 

It will amply repay you to read this extract aloud at least once a dayfor a week or more, so that its superior elements of thought and stylemay be deeply imprest on your mind. 

"How is the spirit of a free people to be formed, and animated, andcheered, but out of the storehouse of its historic recollections? Are weto be eternally ringing the changes upon Marathon and Thermopylę; andgoing back to read in obscure texts of Greek and Latin, of the exemplarsof patriotic virtue?

"I thank God that we can find them nearer home, in our own soil; thatstrains of the noblest sentiment that ever swelled in the breast of man, are breathing to us out of every page of our country's history, in thenative eloquence of our mother-tongue, --that the colonial andprovincial councils of America exhibit to us models of the spirits andcharacter which gave Greece and Rome their name and their praise amongnations. 

"Here we ought to go for our instruction;--the lesson is plain, it isclear, it is applicable. When we go to ancient history, we arebewildered with the difference of manners and institutions. We arewilling to pay our tribute of applause to the memory of Leonidas, whofell nobly for his country in the face of his foe. 

"But when we trace him to his home, we are confounded at the reflection, that the same Spartan heroism, to which he sacrificed himself atThermopylę, would have led him to tear his own child, if it had happenedto be a sickly babe, --the very object for which all that is kind andgood in man rises up to plead, --from the bosom of his mother, and carryit out to be eaten by the wolves of Taygetus. 

"We feel a glow of admiration at the heroism displayed at Marathon bythe ten thousand champions of invaded Greece; but we can not forget thatthe tenth part of the number were slaves, unchained from the workshopsand doorposts of their masters, to go and fight the battles of freedom. 

"I do not mean that these examples are to destroy the interest withwhich we read the history of ancient times; they possibly increase thatinterest by the very contrast they exhibit. But they warn us, if we needthe warning, to seek our great practical lessons of patriotism at home;out of the exploits and sacrifices of which our own country is thetheater; out of the characters of our own fathers. 

"Them we know, --the high-souled, natural, unaffected, the citizenheroes. We know what happy firesides they left for the cheerless camp. We know with what pacific habits they dared the perils of the field. There is no mystery, no romance, no madness, under the name of chivalryabout them. It is all resolute, manly resistance for conscience andliberty's sake not merely of an overwhelming power, but of all the forceof long-rooted habits and native love of order and peace. 

"Above all, their blood calls to us from the soil which we tread; itbeats in our veins; it cries to us not merely in the thrilling words ofone of the first victims in this cause--'My sons, scorn to beslaves!'--but it cries with a still more moving eloquence--'My sons, forget not your fathers!'"

_John Quincy Adams_

John Quincy Adams, in his speech on "The Life and Character ofLafayette, " gives us a fine example of elevated and serious-mindedutterance. The following extract from this speech can be studied withprofit. Particularly note the use of sustained sentences, and the happycollocation of words. The concluding paragraph should be closelyexamined as a study in impressive climax. 

"Pronounce him one of the first men of his age, and you have yet notdone him justice. Try him by that test to which he sought in vain tostimulate the vulgar and selfish spirit of Napoleon; class him among themen who, to compare and seat themselves, must take in the compass of allages; turn back your eyes upon the records of time; summon, from thecreation of the world to this day, the mighty dead of every age andevery clime, --and where, among the race of merely mortal men, shall onebe found who, as the benefactor of his kind, shall claim to takeprecedence of Lafayette?

"There have doubtless been in all ages men whose discoveries orinventions in the world of matter, or of mind, have opened new avenuesto the dominion of man over the material creation; have increased hismeans or his faculties of enjoyment; have raised him in nearerapproximation to that higher and happier condition, the object of hishopes and aspirations in his present state of existence. 

"Lafayette discovered no new principle of politics or of morals. Heinvented nothing in science. He disclosed no new phenomenon in the lawsof nature. Born and educated in the highest order of feudal nobility, under the most absolute monarchy of Europe; in possession of anaffluent fortune, and master of himself and of all his capabilities, atthe moment of attaining manhood the principle of republican justice andof social equality took possession of his heart and mind, as if byinspiration from above. 

"He devoted himself, his life, his fortune, his hereditary honors, histowering ambition, his splendid hopes, all to the cause of Liberty. Hecame to another hemisphere to defend her. He became one of the mosteffective champions of our independence; but, that once achieved, hereturned to his own country, and thenceforward took no part in thecontroversies which have divided us. 

"In the events of our Revolution, and in the forms of policy which wehave adopted for the establishment and perpetuation of our freedom, Lafayette found the most perfect form of government. He wished to addnothing to it. He would gladly have abstracted nothing from it. Insteadof the imaginary Republic of Plato, or the Utopia of Sir Thomas More, hetook a practical existing model in actual operation here, and neverattempted or wished more than to apply it faithfully to his own country. 

"It was not given to Moses to enter the promised land; but he saw itfrom the summit of Pisgah. It was not given to Lafayette to witness theconsummation of his wishes in the establishment of a Republic and theextinction of all hereditary rule in France. His principles were inadvance of the age and hemisphere in which he lived. .. . The prejudicesand passions of the people of France rejected the principle of inheritedpower in every station of public trust, excepting the first and highestof them all; but there they clung to it, as did the Israelites of oldto the savory deities of Egypt. 

"When the principle of hereditary dominion shall be extinguished in allthe institutions of France; when government shall no longer beconsidered as property transmissible from sire to son, but as a trustcommitted for a limited time, and then to return to the people whence itcame; as a burdensome duty to be discharged, and not as a reward to beabused;--then will be the time for contemplating the character ofLafayette, not merely in the events of his life, but in the fulldevelopment of his intellectual conceptions, of his fervent aspirations, of the labors, and perils, and sacrifices of his long and eventfulcareer upon earth; and thenceforward till the hour when the trumpet ofthe Archangel shall sound to announce that time shall be no more, thename of Lafayette shall stand enrolled upon the annals of our race highon the list of pure and disinterested benefactors of mankind. "

I have selected these extracts for your convenient use, as embodyingboth thought and style worthy of your careful study. Read them aloud atevery opportunity, and you will be gratified at the steady improvementsuch practise will make in your own speaking power. 

HISTORY OF PUBLIC SPEAKING

MEN WHO HAVE MADE HISTORY IN PUBLIC SPEAKING--AND THEIR METHODS

The great orators of the world did not regard eloquence as simply anendowment of nature, but applied themselves diligently to cultivatingtheir powers of expression. In many cases there was unusual naturalability, but such men knew that regular study and practise wereessential to success in this coveted art. 

The oration can be traced back to Hebrew literature. In the firstchapter of Deuteronomy we find Moses' speech in the end of the fortiethyear, briefly rehearsing the story of God's promise, and of God's angerfor their incredulity and disobedience. 

The four orations in Deuteronomy, by Moses, are highly commended fortheir tenderness, sublimity and passionate appeal. You canadvantageously read them aloud. 

The oration of Pericles over the graves of those who fell in thePeloponnesian War, is said to have been the first Athenian orationdesigned for the public. 

The agitated political times and the people's intense desire forlearning combined to favor the development of oratory in ancient Greece. Questions of great moment had to be discust and serious problems solved. As the orator gradually became the most powerful influence in the State, the art of oratory was more and more recognized as the supremeaccomplishment of the educated man. 

_Demosthenes_

Demosthenes stands preeminent among Greek orators. His well-knownoration "On the Crown, " the preparation of which occupied a large partof seven years, is regarded as the oratorical masterpiece of allhistory. 

It is encouraging to the student of public speaking to recall that thisdistinguished orator at first had serious natural defects to overcome. His voice was weak, he stammered in his speech, and was painfullydiffident. These faults were remedied, as is well-known, by earnestdaily practise in declaiming on the sea-shore, with pebbles in themouth, walking up and down hill while reciting, and deliberately seekingoccasions for conversing with groups of people. 

The chief lesson for you to draw from Demosthenes is that he wasindefatigable in his study of the art of oratory. He left nothing tochance. His speeches were characterized by deliberate forethought. Heexcelled other men not because of great natural ability but because ofintelligent and continuous industry. He stands for all time as the mostinspiring example of oratorical achievement, despite almost insuperabledifficulties. 

_Cicero_

The fame of Roman oratory rests upon Cicero, whose eloquence was secondonly to that of Demosthenes. He was a close student of the art ofspeaking. He was so intense and vehement by nature that he was obligedin his early career to spend two years in Greece, exercising in thegymnasium in order to restore his shattered constitution. 

His nervous temperament clung to him, however, since he made thissignificant confession after long years of practise in public speaking. "I declare that when I think of the moment when I shall have to rise andspeak in defense of a client, I am not only disturbed in mind, buttremble in every limb of my body. "

It is well to note here that a nervous temperament may be a help ratherthan a hindrance to a speaker. Indeed, it is the highly sensitive naturethat often produces the most persuasive orator, but only when he haslearned to conserve and properly use this valuable power. 

Cicero was a living embodiment of the comprehensive requirements laiddown by the ancients as essential to the orator. He had a knowledge oflogic, ethics, astronomy, philosophy, geometry, music, and rhetoric. Little wonder, therefore, that his amazing eloquence was described as aresistless torrent. 

_Luther_

Martin Luther was the dominating orator of the Reformation. He combineda strong physique with great intellectual power. "If I wish to compose, or write, or pray, or preach well, " said he, "I must be angry. Then allthe blood in my veins is stirred, my understanding is sharpened, and alldismal thoughts and temptations are dissipated. " What the great Reformercalled "anger, " we would call indignation or earnestness. 

_John Knox_

John Knox, the Scotch reformer, was a preeminent preacher. His pulpitstyle was characterized by a fiery eloquence which stirred his hearersto great enthusiasm and sometimes to violence. 

_Bossuet_

Bossuet, regarded as the greatest orator France has produced, was afearless and inspired speaker. His style was dignified and deliberate, but as he warmed with his theme his thought took fire and he carried hishearers along upon a swiftly moving tide of impassioned eloquence. Whenhe spoke from the text, "Be wise, therefore, O ye Kings! be instructed, ye judges of the earth!" the King himself was thrilled as with areligious terror. 

To ripe scholarship Bossuet added a voice that was deep and sonorous, animposing personality, and an animated style of gesture. Lamartinedescribed his voice as "like that of the thunder in the clouds, or theorgan in the cathedral. "

_Bourdaloue_

Louis Bourdaloue, styled "the preacher of Kings, and the King ofpreachers, " was a speaker of versatile powers. He could adapt his styleto any audience, and "mechanics left their shops, merchants theirbusiness, and lawyers their court house" in order to hear him. His highpersonal character, simplicity of life, and clear and logical utterancecombined to make him an accomplished orator. 

_Massillon_

Massillon preached directly to the hearts of his hearers. He was of adeeply affectionate nature, hence his style was that of tenderpersuasiveness rather than of declamation. He had remarkable spiritualinsight and knowledge of the human heart, and was himself deeply movedby the truths which he proclaimed to other men. 

_Lord Chatham_

Lord Chatham's oratorical style was formed on the classic model. Hisintellect, at once comprehensive and vigorous, combined with deep andintense feeling, fitted him to become one of the highest types oforators. He was dignified and graceful, sometimes vehement, alwayscommanding. He ruled the British parliament by sheer force of eloquence. 

His voice was a wonderful instrument, so completely under control thathis lowest whisper was distinctly heard, and his full tones completelyfilled the House. He had supreme self-confidence, and a sense ofsuperiority over those around him which acted as an inspiration to hisown mind. 

_Burke_

Burke was a great master of English prose as well as a great orator. Hetook large means to deal with large subjects. He was a man of immensepower, and his stride was the stride of a giant. He has been creditedwith passion, intensity, imagination, nobility, and amplitude. His stylewas sonorous and majestic. 

_Sheridan_

Sheridan became a foremost parliamentary speaker and debater, despiteearly discouragements. His well-known answer to a friend, who adverselycriticized his speaking, "It is in me, and it shall come out of me!" hasfor years given new encouragement to many a student of public speaking. He applied himself with untiring industry to the development of all hispowers, and so became one of the most distinguished speakers of hisday. 

_Charles James Fox_

Charles James Fox was a plain, practical, forceful orator of thethoroughly English type. His qualities of sincerity, vehemence, simplicity, ruggedness, directness and dexterity, combined with a manlyfearlessness, made him a formidable antagonist in any debate. Facts, analogies, illustrations, intermingled with wit, feeling, and ridicule, gave charm and versatility to his speaking unsurpassed in his time. 

_Lord Brougham_

Lord Brougham excelled in cogent, effective argument. His impassionedreasoning often made ordinary things interesting. He ingratiated himselfby his wise and generous sentiments, and his uncompromising solicitudefor his country. 

He always succeeded in getting through his protracted and parentheticalsentences without confusion to his hearers or to himself. He could seefrom the beginning of a sentence precisely what the end would be. 

_John Quincy Adams_

John Quincy Adams won a high place as a debater and orator in his speechin Congress upon the right of petition, delivered in 1837. A formidableantagonist, pugnacious by temperament, uniformly dignified, a profoundscholar, --his is "a name recorded on the brightest page of Americanhistory, as statesman, diplomatist, philosopher, orator, author, and, above all a Christian. "

_Patrick Henry_

Patrick Henry was a man of extraordinary eloquence. In his day he wasregarded as the greatest orator in America. In his early efforts as aspeaker he hesitated much and throughout his career often gave animpression of natural timidity. He has been favorably compared with LordChatham for fire, force, and personal energy. His power was largely dueto a rare gift of lucid and concise statement. 

_Henry Clay_

The eloquence of Henry Clay was magisterial, persuasive, andirresistible. So great was his personal magnetism that multitudes camegreat distances to hear him. He was a man of brilliant intellect, fertile fancy, chivalrous nature, and patriotic fervor. He had a clear, rotund, melodious voice, under complete command. He held, it is said, the keys to the hearts of his countrymen. 

_Calhoun_

The eloquence of John Caldwell Calhoun has been described by DanielWebster as "plain, strong, terse, condensed, concise; sometimesimpassioned, still always severe. Rejecting ornament, not often seekingfar for illustrations, his power consisted in the plainness of hispropositions, in the closeness of his logic, and in the earnestness andenergy of his manner. "

He exerted unusual influence over the opinions of great masses of men. He had remarkable power of analysis and logical skill. Originality, self-reliance, impatience, aggressiveness, persistence, sincerity, honesty, ardor, --these were some of the personal qualities which gavehim dominating influence over his generation. 

_Daniel Webster_

Daniel Webster was a massive orator. He combined logical andargumentative skill with a personality of extraordinary power andattractiveness. He had a supreme scorn for tricks of oratory, and ahorror of epithets and personalities. His best known speeches are thosedelivered on the anniversary at Plymouth, the laying of the corner-stoneof Bunker Hill monument, and the deaths of Jefferson and Adams. 

_Edward Everett_

Edward Everett was a man of scholastic tastes and habits. His speakingstyle was remarkable for its literary finish and polished precision. Hissense of fitness saved him from serious faults of speech or manner. Heblended many graces in one, and his speeches are worthy of study asmodels of oratorical style. 

_Rufus Choate_

Rufus Choate was a brilliant and persuasive extempore speaker. Hepossest in high degree faculties essential to great oratory--a capaciousmind, retentive memory, logical acumen, vivid imagination, deepconcentration, and wealth of language. He had an extraordinary personalfascination, largely due to his broad sympathy and geniality. 

_Charles Sumner_

Charles Sumner was a gifted orator. His delivery was highly impressive, due fundamentally to his innate integrity and elevated personalcharacter. He was a wide reader and profound student. His style wasenergetic, logical, and versatile. His intense patriotism andargumentative power, won large favor with his hearers. 

_William E. Channing_

William Ellery Channing was a preacher of unusual eloquence andintellectual power. He was small in stature, but of surpassing grace. His voice was soft and musical, and wonderfully responsive to everychange of emotion that arose in his mind. His eloquence was not forcefulnor forensic, but gentle and persuasive. 

His monument bears this high tribute: "In memory of William ElleryChanning, honored throughout Christendom for his eloquence and couragein maintaining and advancing the great cause of truth, religion, andhuman freedom. "

_Wendell Phillips_

Wendell Phillips was one of the most graceful and polished orators. Tohis conversational style he added an exceptional vocabulary, a clear andflexible voice, and a most fascinating personality. 

He produced his greatest effects by the simplest means. He combinedhumor, pathos, sarcasm and invective with rare skill, yet his style wasso simple that a child could have understood him. 

_George William Curtis_

George William Curtis has been described in his private capacity asnatural, gentle, manly, refined, simple, and unpretending. He was thelast of the great school of Everett, Sumner, and Phillips. 

His art of speaking had an enduring charm, and he completely satisfiedthe taste for pure and dignified speech. His voice was of silveryclearness, which carried to the furthermost part of the largest hall. 

_Gladstone_

Gladstone was an orator of preeminent power. In fertility of thought, spontaneity of expression, modulation of voice, and grace of gesture, hehas had few equals. He always spoke from a deep sense of duty. When hebegan a sentence you could not always foresee how he would end it, buthe always succeeded. He had an extraordinary wealth of words and commandof the English language. 

Gladstone has been described as having eagerness, self-control, masteryof words, gentle persuasiveness, prodigious activity, capacity for work, extreme seriousness, range of experience, constructive power, mastery ofdetail, and deep concentration. "So vast and so well ordered was thearsenal of his mind, that he could both instruct and persuade, stimulatehis friends and demolish his opponents, and do all these things at anhour's notice. "

He was essentially a devout man, and unquestionably his spiritualcharacter was the fundamental secret of his transcendent power. A keenobserver thus describes him:

"While this great and famous figure was in the House of Commons, theHouse had eyes for no other person. His movements on the bench, restlessand eager, his demeanor when on his legs, whether engaged in answering asimple question, expounding an intricate Bill, or thundering in vehementdeclamation, his dramatic gestures, his deep and rolling voice with itswide compass and marked northern accent, his flashing eye, his almostincredible command of ideas and words, made a combination ofirresistible fascination and power. "

_John Bright_

John Bright won a foremost place among British orators largely becauseof his power of clear statement and vivid description. His manner was atonce ingratiating and commanding. 

His way of putting things was so lucid and convincing that it wasdifficult to express the same ideas in any other words with equal force. One of the secrets of his success, it is said, was his command ofcolloquial simile, apposite stories, and ready wit. 

Mr. Bright always had himself well in hand, yet his style at times wasvolcanic in its force and impetuosity. He would shut himself up for dayspreparatory to delivering a great speech, and tho he committed manypassages to memory, his manner in speaking was entirely free fromartifice. 

_Lincoln_

Lincoln's power as a speaker was due to a combination of rugged gifts. Self-reliance, sympathy, honesty, penetration, broad-mindedness, modesty, and independence, --these were keynotes to his great character. 

The Gettysburg speech of less than 300 words is regarded as the greatestshort speech in history. 

Lincoln's aim was always to say the most sensible thing in the clearestterms, and in the fewest possible words. His supreme respect for hishearers won their like respect for him. 

There is a valuable suggestion for the student of public speaking inthis description of Lincoln's boyhood: "Abe read diligently. He readevery book he could lay his hands on, and when he came across a passagethat struck him, he would write it down on boards if he had no paper, and keep it there until he did get paper. Then he would rewrite it, lookat it, repeat it. He had a copy book, a kind of scrap-book, in which heput down all things, and thus preserved them. "

_Daniel O'Connell_

Daniel O'Connell was one of the most popular orators of his day. He hada deep, sonorous, flexible voice, which he used to great advantage. Hehad a wonderful gift of touching the human heart, now melting hishearers by his pathos, then convulsing them with his quaint humor. Hewas attractive in manner, generous in feeling, spontaneous inexpression, and free from rhetorical trickery. 

As you read this brief sketch of some of the world's great orators, itshould be inspiring to you as a student of public speaking to knowsomething of their trials, difficulties, methods and triumphs. They haveleft great examples to be emulated, and to read about them and to studytheir methods is to follow somewhat in their footsteps. 

Great speeches, like great pictures, are inspired by great subjects andgreat occasions. When a speaker is moved to vindicate the nationalhonor, to speak in defense of human rights, or in some other greatcause, his thought and expression assume new and wonderful power. Allthe resources of his mind--will, imagination, memory, and emotion, --arestimulated into unusual activity. His theme takes complete possession ofhim and he carries conviction to his hearers by the force, sincerity, and earnestness of his delivery. It is to this exalted type of oratory Iwould have you aspire. 

EXTRACTS FOR STUDY, WITH LESSON TALK

EXAMPLES OF ORATORY AND HOW TO STUDY THEM

It will be beneficial to you in this connection to study examples ofspeeches by the world's great orators. I furnish you here with a fewshort specimens which will serve this purpose. Carefully note thesuggestions and the numbered extract to which they refer. 

1. Practise this example for climax. As you read it aloud, graduallyincrease the intensity of your voice but do not unduly elevate the key. 

2. Study this particularly for its suggestive value to you as a publicspeaker. 

3. Practise this for fervent appeal. Articulate distinctly. Pause aftereach question. Do not rant or declaim, but speak it. 

4. Study this for its sustained sentences and dignity of style. 

5. Analyze this for its strength of thought and diction. Note theeffective repetition of "I care not. " Commit the passage to memory. 

6. Read this for elevated and patriotic feeling. Render it aloud indeliberate and thoughtful style. 

7. Particularly observe the judicial clearness of this example. Note thefelicitous use of language. 

8. Read this aloud for oratorical style. Fit the words to your lips. Engrave the passage on your mind by frequent repetition. 

9. Study this passage for its profound and prophetic thought. Render italoud in slow and dignified style. 

10. Practise this for its sustained power. The words "let him" should beintensified at each repetition, and the phrase "and show me the man"brought out prominently. 

11. Study this for its beauty and variety of language. Meditate upon itas a model of what a speaker should be. 

12. Note the strength in the repeated phrase "I will never say. " Observethe power, nobility and courage manifest throughout. The closingsentence should be read in a deeply earnest tone and at a graduallyslower rate. 

13. Read this for its purity and strength of style. Note the effectiveuse of question and answer. 

14. Study this passage for its common sense and exalted thought. Notehow each sentence is rounded out into fulness, until it is imprest uponyour memory. 

Extracts for Study

SPECIMENS OF ELOQUENCE

_A Study in Climax_

1. My lords, these are the securities which we have in all theconstituent parts of the body of this House. We know them, we reckonthem, rest upon them, and commit safely the interests of India and ofhumanity into your hands. Therefore it is with confidence that, orderedby the Commons, I impeach him in the name of all the Commons of Great Britain inParliament assembled, whose parliamentary trust he has betrayed. 

I impeach him in the name of the Commons of Great Britain, whosenational character he has dishonored. 

I impeach him in the name of the people of India, whose laws, rights, and liberties he has subverted, whose properties he has destroyed, whose country he has laid waste and desolate. 

I impeach him in the name and by virtue of those eternal laws of justicewhich he has violated. 

I impeach him in the name of human nature itself, which he has cruellyoutraged, injured, and opprest in both sexes, in every age, rank, situation, and condition of life. --_Impeachment of Warren Hastings:_EDMUND BURKE. 

_Suggestions to the Public Speaker_

2. I am now requiring not merely great preparation while the speaker islearning his art but after he has accomplished his education. The mostsplendid effort of the most mature orator will be always finer for beingpreviously elaborated with much care. There is, no doubt, a charm inextemporaneous elocution, derived from the appearance of artless, unpremeditated effusion, called forth by the occasion, and so adaptingitself to its exigencies, which may compensate the manifold defectsincident to this kind of composition: that which is inspired by theunforeseen circumstances of the moment, will be of necessity suited tothose circumstances in the choice of the topics, and pitched in the toneof the execution, to the feelings upon which it is to operate. These aregreat virtues: it is another to avoid the besetting vice of modernoratory--the overdoing everything--the exhaustive method--which anoff-hand speaker has no time to fall into, and he accordingly will takeonly the grand and effective view; nevertheless, in oratorical merit, such effusions must needs be very inferior; much of the pleasure theyproduce depends upon the hearer's surprize that in such circumstancesanything can be delivered at all, rather than upon his deliberatejudgment, that he has heard anything very excellent in itself. We mayrest assured that the highest reaches of the art, and without anynecessary sacrifice of natural effect, can only be attained by him whowell considers, and maturely prepares, and oftentimes sedulouslycorrects and refines his oration. Such preparation is quite consistentwith the introduction of passages prompted by the occasion, nor will thetransition from one to the other be perceptible in the execution of thepractised master. --_Inaugural Discourse:_ LORD BROUGHAM. 

_A Study in Fervent Appeal_

3. It is in vain, sir, to extenuate the matter. Gentlemen may cry, peace, peace--but there is no peace. The war is actually begun! The nextgale that sweeps from the north will bring to our ears the clash ofresounding arms! Our brethren are already in the field! Why stand wehere idle? What is it that gentlemen wish? What would they have? Is lifeso dear or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains andslavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others maytake, but as for me, give me liberty, or give me death!--_The WarInevitable:_ PATRICK HENRY. 

_A Study in Dignity and Style_

4. In retiring as I am about to do, forever, from the Senate, suffer meto express my heartfelt wishes that all the great and patriotic objectsof the wise framers of our Constitution may be fulfilled; that the highdestiny designed for it may be fully answered; and that itsdeliberations, now and hereafter, may eventuate in securing theprosperity of our beloved country, in maintaining its rights and honorabroad, and upholding its interests at home. I retire, I know, at aperiod of infinite distress and embarrassment. I wish I could take myleave of you under more favorable auspices; but without meaning at thistime to say whether on any or on whom reproaches for the sad conditionof the country should fall, I appeal to the Senate and to the world tobear testimony to my earnest and continued exertions to avert it, and tothe truth that no blame can justly attach to me. --_Farewell Address:_HENRY CLAY. 

_A Study in Strength and Diction_

5. For myself, I believe there is no limit fit to be assigned to it bythe human mind, because I find at work everywhere, on both sides of theAtlantic, under various forms and degrees of restriction on the onehand, and under various degrees of motive and stimulus on the other, inthese branches of the common race, the great principle of the freedom ofhuman thought, and the respectability of individual character. I findeverywhere an elevation of the character of man as man, an elevation ofthe individual as a component part of society. I find everywhere arebuke of the idea that the many are made for the few, or thatgovernment is anything but an agency for mankind. And I care not beneathwhat zone, frozen, temperate, or torrid; I care not of what complexion, white, or brown; I care not under what circumstances of climate orcultivation--if I can find a race of men on an inhabited spot of earthwhose general sentiment it is, and whose general feeling it is, thatgovernment is made for man--man, as a religious, moral, and socialbeing--and not man for government, there I know that I shall findprosperity and happiness. --_The Landing at Plymouth:_ DANIEL WEBSTER. 

_A Study in Patriotic Feeling_

6. Friends, fellow citizens, free, prosperous, happy Americans! The menwho did so much to make you are no more. The men who gave nothing topleasure in youth, nothing to repose in age, but all to that countrywhose beloved name filled their hearts, as it does ours, with joy, cannow do no more for us; nor we for them. But their memory remains, wewill cherish it; their bright example remains, we will strive to imitateit; the fruit of their wise counsels and noble acts remains, we willgratefully enjoy it. 

They have gone to the companions of their cares, of their dangers, andtheir toils. It is well with them. The treasures of America are now inheaven. How long the list of our good, and wise, and brave, assembledthere! How few remain with us! There is our Washington; and those whofollowed him in their country's confidence are now met together with himand all that illustrious company. --_Adams and Jefferson:_ EDWARD EVERETT. 

_A Study in Clearness of Expression_

7. I can not leave this life and character without selecting anddwelling a moment on one or two of his traits, or virtues, orfelicities, a little longer. There is a collective impression made bythe whole of an eminent person's life, beyond, and other than, and apartfrom, that which the mere general biographer would afford the means ofexplaining. There is an influence of a great man derived from thingsindescribable, almost, or incapable of enumeration, or singlyinsufficient to account for it, but through which his spirit transpires, and his individuality goes forth on the contemporary generation. Andthus, I should say, one grand tendency of his life and character was toelevate the whole tone of the public mind. He did this, indeed, notmerely by example. He did it by dealing, as he thought, truly and inmanly fashion with that public mind. He evinced his love of the peoplenot so much by honeyed phrases as by good counsels and useful service, _vera pro gratis_. He showed how he appreciated them by submitting soundarguments to their understandings, and right motives to their free will. He came before them, less with flattery than with instruction; less witha vocabulary larded with the words humanity and philanthropy, andprogress and brotherhood, than with a scheme of politics, aneducational, social and governmental system, which would have made themprosperous, happy and great. --_On the Death of Daniel Webster:_RUFUS CHOATE. 

_A Study of Oratorical Style_

8. And yet this small people--so obscure and outcast in condition--soslender in numbers and in means--so entirely unknown to the proud andgreat--so absolutely without name in contemporary records--whosedeparture from the Old World took little more than the breath of theirbodies--are now illustrious beyond the lot of men; and the Mayflower isimmortal beyond the Grecian Argo or the stately ship of any victoriousadmiral. Tho this was little foreseen in their day, it is plain now howit has come to pass. The highest greatness surviving time and storm isthat which proceeds from the soul of man. Monarchs and cabinets, generals and admirals, with the pomp of courts and the circumstance ofwar, in the gradual lapse of time disappear from sight; but the pioneersof truth, the poor and lowly, especially those whose example elevateshuman nature and teaches the rights of man, so that government of thepeople, by the people, and for the people shall not perish from theearth, such harbingers can never be forgotten, and their renown spreadscoextensive with the cause they served. --_The Qualities that Win:_CHARLES SUMNER. 

_A Study in Profound Thinking_

9. There is something greater in the age than its greatest men; it isthe appearance of a new power in the world, the appearance of themultitude of men on the stage where as yet the few have acted theirparts alone. This influence is to endure to the end of time. What moreof the present is to survive? Perhaps much of which we now fail to note. The glory of an age is often hidden from itself. Perhaps some word hasbeen spoken in our day which we have not designed to hear, but which isto grow clearer and louder through all ages. Perhaps some silent thinkeramong us is at work in his closet whose name is to fill the earth. Perhaps there sleeps in his cradle some reformer who is to move thechurch and the world, who is to open a new era in history, who is tofire the human soul with new hope and new daring. What else is tosurvive the age? That which the age has little thought of, but which isliving in us all; I mean the soul, the immortal spirit. Of this all agesare the unfoldings, and it is greater than all. We must not feel, inthe contemplation of the vast movements in our own and former times, asif we ourselves were nothing. I repeat it, we are greater than all. Weare to survive our age, to comprehend it, and to pronounce itssentence. --_The Present Age:_ W. E. CHANNING. 

_A Study of Sustained Power_

10. Now, blue-eyed Saxon, proud of your race, go back with me to thecommencement of the century, and select what statesman you please. Lethim be either American or European; let him have a brain the result ofsix generations of culture; let him have the ripest training ofuniversity routine; let him add to it the better education of practicallife; crown his temples with the silver locks of seventy years, and showme the man of Saxon lineage for whom his most sanguine admirer willwreathe a laurel, rich as embittered foes have placed on the brow ofthis negro, --rare military skill, profound knowledge of human nature, content to blot out all party distinctions, and trust a state to theblood of its sons, --anticipating Sir Robert Peel fifty years, and takinghis station by the side of Roger Williams, before any Englishman orAmerican had won the right; and yet this is the record which the historyof rival states makes up for this inspired black of St. Domingo. --_Toussaint L'Ouverture:_ WENDELL PHILLIPS. 

_Study in Beauty of Language_

11. He faced his audience with a tranquil mien and a beaming aspect thatwas never dimmed. He spoke, and in the measured cadence of his quietvoice there was intense feeling, but no declamation, no passionateappeal, no superficial and feigned emotion. It was simple colloquy--agentleman conversing. Unconsciously and surely the ear and heart werecharmed. How was it done?--Ah! how did Mozart do it, how Raffael?

The secret of the rose's sweetness, of the bird's ecstacy, of thesunset's glory--that is the secret of genius and of eloquence. What washeard, what was seen, was the form of noble manhood, the courteous andself-possest tone, the flow of modulated speech, sparkling withmatchless richness of illustration, with apt allusion and happy anecdoteand historic parallel, with wit and pitiless invective, with melodiouspathos, with stinging satire, with crackling epigram and limpid humor, like the bright ripples that play around the sure and steady prow of theresistless ship. Like an illuminated vase of odors, he glowed withconcentrated and perfumed fire. The divine energy of his convictionutterly possest him, and his

 "Pure and eloquent blood Spoke in his cheek, and so distinctly wrought, That one might almost say his body thought. "

Was it Pericles swaying the Athenian multitude? Was it Apollo breathingthe music of the morning from his lips?--No, no! It was an Americanpatriot, a modern son of liberty, with a soul as firm and as true as wasever consecrated to unselfish duty, pleading with the Americanconscience for the chained and speechless victims of Americaninhumanity. --_Eulogy of Wendell Phillips:_ GEORGE WILLIAM CURTIS. 

_A Study in Powerful Delivery_

12. I thank you very cordially, both friends and opponents, if opponentsyou be, for the extreme kindness with which you have heard me. I havespoken, and I must speak in very strong terms of the acts done by myopponents. I will never say that they did it from passion; I will neversay that they did it from a sordid love of office; I have no right touse such words; I have no right to entertain such sentiments; Irepudiate and abjure them; I give them credit for patriotic motives--Igive them credit for those patriotic motives which are incessantly andgratuitously denied to us. I believe we are all united in a fondattachment to the great country to which we belong; to the great empirewhich has committed to it a trust and function from Providence, asspecial and remarkable as was ever entrusted to any portion of thefamily of man. When I speak of that trust and that function I feel thatwords fail. I can not tell you what I think of the nobleness of theinheritance which has descended upon us, of the sacredness of the dutyof maintaining it. I will not condescend to make it a part ofcontroversial politics. It is a part of my being, of my flesh and blood, of my heart and soul. For those ends I have labored through my youth andmanhood, and, more than that, till my hairs are gray. In that faith andpractise I have lived, and in that faith and practise I shalldie. --_Midlothian Speech:_ WILLIAM EWART GLADSTONE. 

_A Study in Purity of Style_

13. Is this a reality? or is your Christianity a romance? is yourprofession a dream? No, I am sure that your Christianity is not aromance, and I am equally sure that your profession is not a dream. Itis because I believe this that I appeal to you with confidence, and thatI have hope and faith in the future. I believe that we shall see, and atno very distant time, sound economic principles spreading much morewidely among the people; a sense of justice growing up in a soil whichhitherto has been deemed unfruitful; and, which will be better thanall--the churches of the United Kingdom--the churches of Britainawaking, as it were, from their slumbers, and girding up their loins tomore glorious work, when they shall not only accept and believe in theprophecy, but labor earnestly for its fulfilment, that there shall comea time--a blessed time--a time which shall last forever--when "nationshall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore. "--_Peace:_ JOHN BRIGHT. 

_A Study in Common Sense and Exalted Thought_

14. My countrymen, one and all, think calmly and well upon this wholesubject. Nothing valuable can be lost by taking time. If there be anobject to hurry any of you in hot haste to a step which you would nevertake deliberately, that object will be frustrated by taking time; but nogood object can be frustrated by it. Such of you as are now dissatisfiedstill have the old Constitution unimpaired, and on the sensitive point, the laws of your own framing under it; while the new administration willhave no immediate power, if it would, to change either. If it wereadmitted that you who are dissatisfied hold the right side in thisdispute there is still no single good reason for precipitate action. Intelligence, patriotism, Christianity, and a firm reliance on Him whohas never yet forsaken this favored land are still competent to adjustin the best way all our present difficulty. In your hands, mydissatisfied fellow countrymen, and not in mine, are the momentousissues of civil war. The government will not assail you. You can have noconflict without being yourselves the aggressors. You have no oathregistered in heaven to destroy the government, while I shall have themost solemn one to "preserve, protect, and defend" it. --_The FirstInaugural Address:_ ABRAHAM LINCOLN. 

HOW TO SPEAK IN PUBLIC[1]

BY GRENVILLE KLEISER

[Footnote 1: A talk given before The Public Speaking Club of America. ]

The art of public speaking is so simple that it is difficult. There isan erroneous impression that in order to make a successful speech a manmust have unusual natural talent in addition to long and arduous study. 

Consequently, many a person, when asked to make a speech, is immediatelysubjected to a feeling of fear or depression. Once committed to theundertaking, he spends anxious days and sleepless nights in mentalagony, much as a criminal is said to do just prior to his execution. When at last he attempts his "maiden effort, " he is almost wholly unfitfor his task because of the needless waste of thought and energyexpended in fear. 

Elbert Hubbard once confided to me that when he made deliberatepreparation for an elaborate speech, --which was seldom, --it wasinvariably a disappointment. To push a great speech before him for anhour or more used up most of his vitality. It was like making a speechwhile attempting to carry a heavy burden on the back. 

HOW THE SPEAKER MUST PREPARE HIMSELF

There is, of course, certain preparation necessary for effective publicspeaking. The so-called impromptu speech is largely the product ofprevious knowledge and study. What the speaker has read, what he hasseen, what he has heard, --in short, what he actually knows, furnishesthe available material for his use. 

As the public speaker gains in experience, however, he learns to putaside, at the time of speaking, all conscious thought of rules ormethods. He learns through discipline how to abandon himself to thesubject in hand and to give spontaneous expression to all his powers. 

_Primarily, then, the public speaker should have a well-stored mind. _ Heshould have mental culture in a broad way; sound judgment, a sense ofproportion, mental alertness, a retentive memory, tact, and commonsense, --these are vital to good speaking. 

_The physical requirements of the public speaker_ comprise good healthand bodily vigor. He must have power of endurance, since there will beat times arduous demands upon him. It is worthy of note that most of theworld's great orators have been men with great animal vitality. 

The student of public speaking should give careful attention to hispersonal appearance, which includes care of the teeth. His clothes, linen, and the evidence of general care and cleanliness, will play animportant part in the impression he makes upon an audience. 

_Elocutionary training is essential. _ Daily drill in deep breathing, articulation, pronunciation, voice culture, gesture, and expression, areprerequisites to polished speech. Experienced public speakers of thebest type know the necessity for daily practise. 

_The mental training of the public speaker_, so often neglected, shouldbe regular and thorough. A reliable memory and a vivid imagination arehis indispensable allies. 

_The moral side of the public speaker_ will include the development ofcharacter, sympathy, self-confidence and kindred qualities. To be aleader of other men, a speaker must have clear, settled, vigorous viewsupon the subject under consideration. 

So much, briefly, as to the previous preparation of the speaker. 

HOW THE SPEAKER MUST PREPARE HIS SPEECH

_As to the speech itself, the speaker first chooses a subject. _ Thiswill depend upon the nature of the occasion and the purpose in view. Heproceeds intelligently to gather material on his selected theme, supplementing the resources of his own mind with information from books, periodicals, and other sources. 

_The next step is to make a brief_, or outline of his subject. A briefis composed of three parts, called the introduction, the discussion orstatement of facts, and the conclusion. Principal ideas are placedunder headings and subheadings. 

_The speaker next writes out his speech in full_, using the brief as thebasis of procedure. The discipline of writing out a speech, even tho theintention is to speak without notes, is of inestimable value. It is oneof the best indications of the speaker's thoroughness and sincerity. 

When the speech has at last been carefully written out, revised, andapproved, should it be committed word for word to memory, or only inpart, or should the speaker read from the manuscript?

THE PART MEMORY PLAYS IN PUBLIC SPEAKING

Here circumstances must govern. _The most approved method is to fix thethoughts clearly in mind, and to trust to the time of speaking forexact phraseology. _ This method requires, however, that the speakerrehearse his speech over and over again, changing the form of the wordsfrequently, so as to acquire facility in the use of language. 

_The great objection to memoriter speaking is that it limits andhandicaps the speaker. _ He is like a schoolboy "saying his piece. " He isin constant danger of running off the prescribed track and of having tobegin again at some definite point. 

The most effective speaker to-day is the one who can think clearly andpromptly on his feet, and can speak from his personality rather thanfrom his memory. Untrammelled by manuscript or effort of memory, hegives full and spontaneous expression to his powers. On the other hand, a speech from memory is like a recitation, almost inevitably stiltedand artificial in character. 

THE STUDY OF WORDS AND IDEAS

Those who would become highly proficient in public speaking should formthe dictionary habit. It is a profitable and pleasant exercise to studylists of words and to incorporate them in one's daily conversation. Tenminutes devoted regularly every day to this study will build thevocabulary in a rapid manner. 

The study of words is really a study of ideas, --since words are symbolsof ideas, --and while the student is increasing his working vocabulary, in the way indicated, he is at the same time furnishing his mind withnew and useful ideas. 

_One of the best exercises for the student of public speaking is to readaloud daily, taking care to read as he would speak. _ He should chooseone of the standard writers, such as Stevenson, Ruskin, Newman, orCarlyle, and while reading severely criticize his delivery. Such readingshould be done standing up and as if addressing an audience. This simpleexercise will, in the course of a few weeks, yield the most gratifyingresults. 

It is true that "All art must be preceded by a certain mechanicalexpertness, " but as the highest art is to conceal art, a student mustlearn eventually to abandon thought of "exercises" and "rules. "

ESSENTIAL QUALITIES OF THE PUBLIC SPEAKER

The three greatest qualities in a successful public speaker aresimplicity, directness, and deliberateness. 

Lincoln had these qualities in preeminent degree. His speech atGettysburg--the model short speech of all history--occupied about threeminutes in delivery. Edward Everett well said afterward that he wouldhave been content to make the same impression in three hours whichLincoln made in that many minutes. 

The great public speakers in all times have been earnest and diligentstudents. We are familiar with the indefatigable efforts of Demosthenes, who rose from very ordinary circumstances, and goaded by the realizationof great natural defects, through assiduous self-training eventuallymade the greatest of the world's orations, "The Speech on the Crown. "

Cicero was a painstaking disciple of the speaker's art and gave himselfmuch to the discipline of the pen. His masterly work on oratory in whichhe commends others to write much, remains unsurpassed to this day. 

John Bright, the eminent British orator, always required time forpreparation. He read every morning from the Bible, from which he drewrich material for argument and illustration. A remarkable thing abouthim was that he spoke seldom. 

Phillips Brooks was an ideal speaker, combining simplicity and sympathyin large degree. He was a splendid type of pulpit orator produced bybroad spiritual culture. 

Henry Ward Beecher had unique powers as a dramatic and eloquent speaker. In his youth he hesitated in his speech, which led him to studyelocution. He himself tells of how he went to the woods daily topractise vocal exercises. 

He was an exponent of thorough preparation, never speaking upon asubject until he had made it his own by diligent study. Like PhillipsBrooks, he was a man of large sympathy and imagination--two facultiesindispensable to persuasive eloquence. 

It was his oratory that first brought fame to Gladstone. He had a superbvoice, and he possest that fighting force essential to a great publicdebater. When he quitted the House of Commons in his eighty-fifth yearhis powers of eloquence were practically unimpaired. 

Wendell Phillips was distinguished for his personality, conversationalstyle, and thrilling voice. He had a wonderful vocabulary, and apersonal magnetism which won men instantly to him. It is said that herelied principally upon the power of truth to make his speakingeloquent. He, too, was an untiring student of the speaker's art. 

As we examine the lives and records of eminent speakers of other days, we are imprest with the fact that they were sincere and earneststudents of the art in which they ultimately excelled. 

LEARNING TO THINK ON YOUR FEET

One of the best exercises for learning to think and speak on the feet isto practise daily giving one minute impromptu talks upon chosensubjects. A good plan is to write subjects of a general character, onsay fifty or more cards, and then to speak on each subject as it ischosen. 

This simple exercise will rapidly develop facility of thought andexpression and give greatly increased self-confidence. 

It is a good plan to prepare more material than one intends to use--atleast twice as much. It gives a comfortable feeling of security when onestands before an audience, to know that if some of the prepared matterevades his memory, he still has ample material at his ready service. 

There is no more interesting and valuable study than that of speaking inpublic. It confers distinct advantages by way of improved health, through special exercise in deep breathing and voice culture; by way ofstimulated thought and expression; and by an increase of self-confidenceand personal power. 

Men and women in constantly increasing numbers are realizing theimportance of public speaking, and as questions multiply for debate andsolution the need for this training will be still more widelyappreciated, so that a practical knowledge of public speaking will intime be considered indispensable to a well-rounded education. 

Speech for Study, with Lesson Talk

THE STYLE OF THEODORE ROOSEVELT

The speeches of Mr. Roosevelt commend themselves to the student ofpublic speaking for their fearlessness, frankness, and robustness ofthought. His aim was deliberate and effective. 

His style was generally exuberant, and the note of personal assertionprominent. He was direct in diction, often vehement in feeling, and oneof his characteristics was a visible satisfaction when he drove home aspecial thought to his hearers. 

It is hoped that the extract reprinted here, from Mr. Roosevelt's famousaddress, "The Strenuous Life, " will lead the student to study the speechin its entirety. The speech will be found in "Essays and Addresses, "published by The Century Company. 

THE STRENUOUS LIFE[2]

BY THEODORE ROOSEVELT

[Footnote 2: Extract from speech before the Hamilton Club, Chicago, April 10, 1899. From the "Strenuous Life. Essays and Addresses" byTheodore Roosevelt. The Century Co. , 1900. ]

In speaking to you, men of the greatest city of the West, men of theState which gave to the country Lincoln and Grant, men who preeminentlyand distinctly embody all that is most American in the Americancharacter, I wish to preach, not the doctrine of ignoble ease, but thedoctrine of the strenuous life, the life of toil and effort, of laborand strife; to preach that highest form of success which comes, not tothe man who desires mere easy peace, but to the man who does not shrinkfrom danger, from hardship, or from bitter toil, and who out of thesewins the splendid ultimate triumph. 

A life of slothful ease, a life of that peace which springs merely fromlack either of desire or of power to strive after great things, is aslittle worthy of a nation as of an individual. I ask only that whatevery self-respecting American demands from himself and his sons shallbe demanded of the American nation as a whole. Who among you would teachthe boys that ease, that peace, is to be the first consideration intheir eyes--to be the ultimate goal after which they strive? You men ofChicago have made this city great, you men of Illinois have done yourshare, and more than your share, in making America great, because youneither preach nor practise such a doctrine. You work, yourselves, andyou bring up your sons to work. If you are rich and are worth your saltyou will teach your sons that tho they may have leisure, it is not to bespent in idleness; for wisely used leisure merely means that those whopossess it, being free from the necessity of working for theirlivelihood, are all the more bound to carry on some kind ofnon-remunerative work in science, in letters, in art, in exploration, inhistorical research--work of the type we most need in this country, thesuccessful carrying out of which reflects most honor upon the nation. Wedo not admire the man of timid peace. We admire the man who embodiesvictorious effort; the man who never wrongs his neighbor, who is promptto help a friend, but who has those virile qualities necessary to win inthe stern strife of actual life. It is hard to fail, but it is worsenever to have tried to succeed. In this life we get nothing save byeffort. Freedom from effort in the present merely means that there hasbeen stored up effort in the past. A man can be freed from the necessityof work only by the fact that he or his fathers before him have workedto good purpose. If the freedom thus purchased is used aright and theman still does actual work tho of a different kind, whether as a writeror a general, whether in the field of politics or in the field ofexploration and adventure, he shows he deserves his good fortune. But ifhe treats this period of freedom from the need of actual labor as aperiod, not of preparation, but of more enjoyment, he shows that he issimply a cumberer on the earth's surface, and he surely unfits himselfto hold his own with his fellows if the need to do so should againarise. A mere life of ease is not in the end a very satisfactory life, and, above all, it is a life which ultimately unfits those who followit for serious work in the world. 

In the last analysis a healthy State can exist only when the men andwomen who make it up lead clean, vigorous, healthy lives; when thechildren are so trained that they shall endeavor, not to shirkdifficulties, but to overcome them; not to seek ease, but to know how towrest triumph from toil and risk. The man must be glad to do a man'swork, to dare and endure and to labor; to keep himself, and to keepthose dependent upon him. The woman must be the housewife, the helpmeetof the homemaker, the wise and fearless mother of many healthy children. In one of Daudet's powerful and melancholy books he speaks of "the fearof maternity, the haunting terror of the young wife of the present day. "When such words can be truthfully written of a nation, that nation isrotten to the heart's core. When men fear work or fear righteous war, when women fear motherhood, they tremble on the brink of doom; and wellit is that they should vanish from the earth, where they are fitsubjects for the scorn of all men and women who are themselves strongand brave and high-minded. 

As it is with the individual, so it is with the nation. It is a baseuntruth to say that happy is the nation that has no history. Thricehappy is the nation that has a glorious history. Far better it is todare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even tho checkered byfailure, than to take rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoymuch nor suffer much, because they live in the gray twilight that knowsnot victory nor defeat. If in 1861 the men who loved the Union hadbelieved that peace was the end of all things, and war and strife theworst of all things, and had acted up to their belief, we would havesaved hundreds of lives, we would have saved hundreds of millions ofdollars. Moreover, besides saving all the blood and treasure we thenlavished, we would have prevented the heartbreak of many women, thedissolution of many homes, and we would have spared the country thosemonths of gloom and shame when it seemed as if our armies marched onlyto defeat. We could have avoided all this suffering simply by shrinkingfrom strife. And if we had thus avoided it, we would have shown that wewere weaklings, and that we were unfit to stand among the great nationsof the earth. Thank God for the iron in the blood of our fathers, themen who upheld the wisdom of Lincoln, and bore sword or rifle in thearmies of Grant! Let us, the children of the men who proved themselvesequal to the mighty days, let us the children of the men who carried thegreat Civil War to a triumphant conclusion, praise the God of ourfathers that the ignoble counsels of peace were rejected; that thesuffering and loss, the blackness of sorrow and despair wereunflinchingly faced, and the years of strife endured; for in the end theslave was freed, the Union restored, and the mighty American republicplaced once more as a helmeted queen among nations. .. . 

The Army and Navy are the sword and shield which this nation must carryif she is to do her duty among the nations of the earth--if she is notto stand merely as the China of the western hemisphere. Our properconduct toward the tropic islands we have wrested from Spain is merelythe form which our duty has taken at the moment. Of course, we are boundto handle the affairs of our own household well. We must see that thereis civic good sense in our home administration of city, State andnation. We must strive for honesty in office, for honesty toward thecreditors of the nation and of the individual, for the widest freedom ofindividual initiative where possible, and for the wisest control ofindividual initiative where it is hostile to the welfare of the many. But because we set our own household in order we are not thereby excusedfrom playing our part in the great affairs of the world. A man's firstduty is to his own home, but he is not thereby excused from doing hisduty to the State; for if he fails in this second duty, it is under thepenalty of ceasing to be a freeman. In the same way, while a nation'sfirst duty is within its own borders it is not thereby absolved fromfacing its duties in the world as a whole; and if it refuses to do so, it merely forfeits its right to struggle for a place among the peoplesthat shape the destiny of mankind. 

I preach to you, then, my countrymen, that our country calls not for thelife of ease, but for the life of strenuous endeavor. The twentiethcentury looms before us big with the fate of many nations. If we standidly by, if we seek merely swollen, slothful ease and ignoble peace, ifwe shrink from the hard contests where men must win at hazard of theirlives and at the risk of all they hold dear, then the bolder andstronger peoples will pass us by, and will win for themselves thedomination of the world. Let us, therefore, boldly face the life ofstrife, resolute to do our duty well and manfully; resolute to upholdrighteousness by deed and by word; resolute to be both honest and brave, to serve high ideals, yet to use practical methods. Above all, let usshrink from no strife, moral or physical, within or without the nation, provided we are certain that the strife is justified, for it is onlythrough strife, through hard and dangerous endeavor, that we shallultimately win the goal of true national greatness. 

ADVERTISEMENTS

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HOW TO Develop Self-Confidence IN SPEECH AND MANNER

By GRENVILLE KLEISER

_Author of "How to Argue and Win. "_

In all fields of endeavor there are thousands of people who are forcedto remain in the background because they lack self-confidence in speechand manner--the very fundamental of success. For just such peopleGrenville Kleiser has written his book "How to Develop Self-Confidencein Speech and Manner. "

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 "Embodies in a most encouraging and practical way all that is needed to make one who is naturally timid or fearful in speech and manner, self-poised, calm, dignified and confident of himself. It must be said that the method proposed is one of sober self-estimate and persistent effort along well considered lines of thought and action, designed to eradicate this uneasiness. "--_Times Dispatch_, Richmond, Va. 

_12mo, Cloth. $1. 50, Net; by mail, $1. 65_

FUNK & WAGNALLS COMPANY, PublishersNEW YORK AND LONDON

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HUMOROUS HITS

AND HOW TO HOLD AN AUDIENCE

By GRENVILLE KLEISER

_Author of "How to Argue and Win. "_

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In this book, Mr. Kleiser also gives practical suggestions on how todeliver humorous or other selections so that they will make thestrongest possible impression on the audience. 

_Cloth 12mo, 316 pages. Price, $1. 25, Net; Post-paid, $1. 37_

FUNK & WAGNALLS COMPANY, PublishersNEW YORK AND LONDON