The Library of Oratory, Ancient and Modern: With Critical Studies of the World's Great Orators by Eminent Essayists (Classic Reprint) - Softcover

Reseña del editor

Excerpt from The Library of Oratory, Ancient and Modern: With Critical Studies of the World's Great Orators by Eminent Essayists

Real oratory is one of Heaven's gifts which a man may well pray for. The gift of speaking - of being able to make people listen to what you say; of inspiring men with ideals and con incing them of truth - surely than this no more superb work a man can have. The writer hides his face - though not his heart - behind his book. The orator must show his face, and if he be an orator in very deed, his will be a greater triumph than that of the writer, even though it be a more ephemeral one. It is easy to open the soul on paper, but to speak the truth elegantly, forcefully, convincingly before an audience of one's fellow men requires at all times ability and self-control, and, in many cases, courage of a high order.

The orator must speak from a full mind. He must know thoroughly the subject he is discussing; and not only that subject, but the collateral topics which would enliven it, or illustrate it, or make it clearer. Then comes the absolute necessity of lucidity. A man of even less information, with the ability to state his views so that the ordinary understanding immediately comprehends his thought, will distance in debate a very much better-equipped antagonist. The orator must have a natural gift. But most people of quick minds and ripe culture can become good speakers. There is, however, a great difference between good speaking and oratory. There is a personal magnetism about an orator which cannot be defined. It is something in the voice or manner which establishes a connection between the audience and the speaker. The best example of that I have ever seen in America was Wendell Phillips, and in England, Gladstone.

About the Publisher

Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com

This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.