Lord Chesterfield's Advice to His Son on Men and Manners. to Which Are Added, Selections from Colton's 'Lacon'. - Softcover

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This historic book may have numerous typos, missing text or index. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. 1861. Not illustrated. Excerpt: ... multiply the copies. Booksellers are like horsedealers in one respect, and if they buy the devil, they must also sell the devil; but the misfortune is that a bookseller seldom understands the merits of a book so thoroughly as the horse-dealer the merits of a horse, and reads with far less judgment than the other rides. But to return to the speechifiers. An orator who, like Demosthenes, appeals to the head rather than the heart, who resorts to argument, not to sophistry, who has no sounding words, unsupported by strong conceptions, who would rather convince without persuading, than persuade without convincing, is an exception to all rules, and would succeed in all periods. When the Roman people had listened to the diffuse and polished discourses of Cicero, they departed, saying to one another, "What a splendid speech our orator has made!" but when the Athenians heard Demosthenes, he so filled them with the subject-matter of his oration, that they quite forgot the orator, but left him at the finish of his harangue, breathing revenge, and exclaiming," Let us go and fight against Philip." party-leader. He that aspires to be the head of a party, will find it more difficult to please his friends than to perplex his foes. He must often act from false reasons which are weak, because he dares not avow the true reasons which are strong. It will be his lot to be forced on some occasions to give his consideration to the wealthy or the titled, although they may he in the wrong, and to withhold it from the energetic, but necessitous, although they may be in the right. There are moments when he must appear to sympathzie not only with the fears of the brave, but also with the follies of the wise. He must see some appearances that do not exist, and be blind to some that do. To b...