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THE 
 
 OCCASIONAL ADDRESS 
 
 ITS COMPOSITION AND 
 LITERATURE 
 
 By 
 
 LORENZO'SEARS, L.H.D. 
 
 Professor in Brown University. Author of " The History of 
 Oratory from the Age of Pericles to the Present Time" 
 
 4$ 
 
 G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS 
 NEW YORK & LONDON 
 
 THE KNICKERBOCKER PRESS 
 1897 
 
 TT 
 
 
1 <b* 
 
 Copyright, 1897 
 
 G P. PUTNAM'S SONS 
 Entered at Stationers' Hall, London 
 
 Ube ftntcftetbocftet press, View H?©tfe 
 
To 
 
 My Classmate 
 
 HON. SIMEON E. BALDWIN, LL.D. 
 
 Professor of Constitutional and Mercantile Law 
 
 in 
 
 Yale University 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 THE design of the following chapters is to 
 present the main requirements for the 
 production of the Occasional Address. A con- 
 sideration of its principal elements of structure 
 is followed by an examination of the forms which 
 it has assumed, thus making possible both the 
 synthetic and the analytic treatment of the 
 subject. In preparing the work I have borne 
 in mind chiefly the needs of students who may 
 be interested in the basis and structure of 
 oratorical composition. Still, I believe that 
 serviceable suggestions may be found by pro- 
 fessional speakers for the extra-professional 
 tasks which they are often asked to perform. 
 Some assistance also may be afforded to a con- 
 siderable number in every vocation, who are 
 from time to time called upon to give effective 
 presentation of their thoughts in public speech. 
 
vi Preface 
 
 Occasions for addresses of various kinds are 
 constantly recurring under the present condi- 
 tions of American life. The ordinary re- 
 sponsibilities of citizenship impose the frequent 
 necessity of recalling and interpreting lessons 
 taught by memorable events and illustrious 
 lives, and of impressing upon the public seri- 
 ous views and recommendations concerning 
 matters of pending policy. Opportunities are 
 also frequently offered to contribute to the en- 
 tertainment of the hour by a few gracefully 
 spoken words. 
 
 Such occasions in the past have evoked a 
 literature corresponding to their diversified 
 character. Reference has been made to the 
 greater part of this literature in the hope that 
 it will be found full of suggestion to those who 
 may be called upon to meet the demands of 
 similar occasions in the future. 
 
 L. S. 
 , Brown University, 
 February , J8g"j % 
 
CONTENTS. 
 PART I. 
 
 ELEMENTS OF STRUCTURE. 
 Chapter I. — Introductory. 
 
 PAGES 
 
 Definition — A feature of our national life — Its value — 
 Comparison with other oratorical forms — The ad- 
 dress of educated leaders — Necessity of cultivating 
 this form — Qualities of demonstrative oratory — Its 
 abundant literature — Divisions and qualities of oc- 
 casional discourse — Treatment of subject outlined . 3-13 
 
 Chapter II. — The Object of Discourse. 
 
 Speaker's object always to be clear to himself — Purpose 
 in different kinds of discourse — Examples — Purpose 
 measured by ability — Estimate of aptitude — Dangers 
 of an overestimate — Advocate to be equal to his 
 cause ........ 14-26 
 
 Chapter III. — The Subject. 
 
 Choice of subject — Statement of subject — Derivation of 
 the theme — Advantage of division — Comprehensive 
 brevity in statement — Expression of leading thought 
 — Reservation of theme 27-43 
 
viii Contents 
 
 Chapter IV. — The Plan. 
 
 PAGES 
 
 Value of a plan — Direction of thought — Ordering of 
 material — Principles of arrangement — Three divi- 
 sions of discourse — Plan prevents digression — Secures 
 proportion — Afterthoughts — The skilled writer's 
 Plan 44-57 
 
 Chapter V. — The Introduction. 
 
 Provisional introduction — Elements of the final intro- 
 duction — Conciliation — Antagonism of prejudice 
 and ignorance — Examples of conciliatory introduc- 
 tions — Indifference and its removal — Establishing 
 importance of subject — The occasion often lends 
 importance — Justification of the speech in introduc- 
 tion — Full statement of subject — Examples . 58-76 
 
 Chapter VI. — The Discussion. 
 
 Discussion in different kinds of discourse — Ancient clas- 
 sification of oratory — Modern classification — Recent 
 classification — Scope of demonstrative oratory — 
 Its theme immaterial and personal — Ethical and 
 political subjects — Range of its topics — Its methods 
 expository — The orator a discoverer — Invention — 
 Among the ancients : in composition — New com- 
 bination demanded — Exposition by representation 
 — Examples of character-portrayal — Words as 
 media 77-100 
 
 Chapter VII. — The Conclusion of an 
 Address. 
 
 Importance of the peroration — An epitome of the dis- 
 course — Recapitulation — Cumulative massing — 
 Brevity, and stopping at the end . . . 101-108 
 
Contents ix 
 
 PART II. 
 
 QUALITIES OF EXPRESSION. 
 Chapter I. — Cardinal Processes. 
 
 PAGES 
 
 Descriptive, narrative, and expository treatment — Ap- 
 propriate argumentative forms — Examples and 
 historical parallels — Limitations in their use — The 
 simpler logical forms — Conviction in order to per- 
 suasion — Motives, low and high — The collective 
 conscience — Persuasion ending in action . 109-120 
 
 Chapter II. — Perspicuity. 
 
 Arrangement of thought and its expression — Preliminary 
 and elementary training — Correct pronunciation — 
 Necessity of clearness — Perspicuity and precision — 
 Clear thought helps clear expression — Concentration 
 of mind — Perspicuous diction — Anglo-Saxon and 
 Romance derivatives — Popular criticism — Breadth 
 and strength of phrase — Figures for clearness — The 
 comparative faculty — The illustrating term — Culti- 
 vation of comparison — Dangers besetting it — Illus- 
 tration of the first use of figures . . . 121-141 
 
 Chapter III. — Energy. 
 
 Force added to perspicuity — Pervasive energy — Em- 
 phasis — Personal force — Strong words — Plain speech 
 — Romance words — Specific terms — Figures for 
 emphasis — Climax — Reserves of power — Modera- 
 tion in statement ...... 142-158 
 
 Chapter IV. — Elegance. 
 
 Relative value of elegance — Elevation of tone in dis- 
 course — Appropriate diction — Euphonious arrange- 
 ment of words — Imagery for beauty — Fitness in 
 thought 159-105 
 
x Contents 
 
 Chapter V. — Adaptation. 
 
 PAGES 
 
 Adaptation a far-reaching principle — Congruity of style 
 and subject — Incongruities apparent to audience — 
 Unsuitableness of subject — Correspondence of dic- 
 tion and theme — Simplicity of style — The dramatic 
 element — Naturalness and imitation — Personality 
 the condition of success — Natural oratory — Liberal 
 studies . 166-184 
 
 Chapter VI. — Personal and Ethical 
 Qualities. 
 
 Nature and art in composition — General qualities — 
 Variety and breadth of treatment — Breadth does 
 not imply inaccuracy — Distinctness of division — 
 The elucidating power — The finding power — Cour- 
 age of convictions — Personal power — The ethical 
 quality 1 85-204 
 
 PART III. 
 
 FORMS OF OCCASIONAL ADDRESS. 
 
 Chapter I. — The Eulogy. 
 
 A primeval form of address — Hebrew, Greek, and Ro- 
 man panegyric — Panegyrists of imperialism — In feu- 
 dal ages — In the reign of Louis XIV. — The eloges of 
 the Academy —Character the subject of eulogy — 
 British eulogy — Eulogy in America — Clerical me- 
 morials — Eulogies upon magistrates — The eulogy as 
 literature — Everett's eulogy upon Washington — 
 Analysis of the oration — Other eulogists — Perma- 
 nence of the eulogy — Principles of its construction — 
 Treatment of defects in character . . . 205-244 
 
Contents xi 
 
 Chapter II. — The Commemorative 
 Address. 
 
 PAG&S 
 
 Events and persons commemorated — Beginnings of com- 
 memorative literature — Historical survey of this 
 literature — Commemoration of events — Interpreta- 
 tion and reminiscence — Early examples. Hebrew 
 — In other nations — Greek — Roman — Mediaeval 
 — In France and England — In America — Web- 
 ster's commemorative orations — Everett's frequent 
 addresses 245-273 
 
 Chapter III. — The Expository 
 Address. 
 
 Exposition and interpretation — Edward Everett — Rufus 
 Choate — The popular lecture and lecturers — Charles 
 Sumner — Robert C. Winthrop — Wendell Phillips — 
 Ralph Waldo Emerson — George William Curtis 274-284 
 
 Chapter IV. — The Commencement 
 Oration. 
 
 Its literature abundant — Its probable permanence — Its 
 representative character — Subject should be interest- 
 ing — Treatment of theme — Making points — Conden- 
 sation and compression — Technical terms to be 
 avoided — Epigramatic style unsatisfactory — Advan- 
 tages of the thesis — Delivery — Methods of composi- 
 tion outlined 285-301 
 
 Chapter V. — The Political Speech. 
 
 Students in a political campaign — Political knowledge of 
 the people — Value of contact with popular criticism 
 — Fairness in discussion — Making most of diversions 
 — Support of speaker's own cause — Clearness and 
 
xii Contents 
 
 PAGES 
 
 strength of diction — Spontaneity — Meeting emer- 
 gencies — The Political Convention — The literature 
 of campaign oratory — Speeches for the constituency 
 — The campaign of 1896 .... 301-318 
 
 Chapter VI. — After-Dinner Remarks. 
 
 Antiquity of the custom — The occasion furnishing ma- 
 terial — Revision and forethought — Preparation and 
 gleaning — Weighty subjects in lighter vein — Enter- 
 tainment essential — Brevity desirable — Requisites of 
 preparation — The literature of after-dinner speech — 
 Value of such opportunities . 319-332 
 
 Index . 333 
 
" Do you think that you could speak yourself if there were 
 a necessity, and if the council were to choose you ? 
 
 "And what would you be able to say if you had to speak ? " 
 The Menexenus of Plato. 
 
 (Jowett's version.) 
 
PART I. 
 
 ELEMENTS OF STRUCTURE. 
 

I. 
 INTRODUCTORY. 
 
 THE comprehensive term, Occasional Ad- 
 dress, is here employed to designate those 
 forms of public speech which are called forth 
 
 by occurrences of unusual import- 
 Definition, 
 ance. It is a custom in our own 
 
 time and nation, as it has been in other nations 
 and times, to interpret in this manner the 
 meaning of events, to recall the teaching of 
 turning-points in history, to commemorate 
 worthy lives, and to enforce the lessons exem- 
 plified in noble characters. As a custom, it has 
 its reason and justification, partly in the remi- 
 niscent disposition common to all people, and 
 also in the willingness and desire to be guided 
 in the larger affairs of personal and national life 
 by the wisdom which is distilled from the ex- 
 perience of the past. Thus the occasional ad- 
 3 
 
4 The Occasional Address 
 
 dress has grown to be a feature in the life and 
 literature of all cultivated nations. 
 
 In our own nation in particular it has be- 
 come prominent, owing to a strong inclination 
 to celebrate anniversary days and, as 
 
 A feature of 
 
 our national a republic, to keep in constant re- 
 membrance the lessons of political 
 wisdom left by its founders. The better senti- 
 ment of the people is, that the continuance of 
 our institutions depends upon an educated pub- 
 lic understanding and conscience. Among the 
 instrumentalities for accomplishing this, — such 
 as the establishing of societies of a commemo- 
 rative character, and the increasing study of 
 our history, and the preservation of memorials, 
 — must be reckoned the occasional address in 
 one or more of its forms. Indeed, it usually 
 accompanies the above-mentioned retrospect- 
 ive acts ; for the foundation or mere continu- 
 ance of any organization or ceremony avails 
 little unless occasionally explained and illus- 
 trated. The spoken word of comment, in- 
 struction, and appeal must pass between the 
 event and the common intelligence or its best 
 significance and its power are ultimately lost. 
 
Introductory 5 
 
 Interpreted rightly, the event, life, or character 
 obtains a widely radiating influence, a renown 
 commensurate with its exposition, and a useful- 
 ness as varied as the diversified views of differ- 
 ent interpreters. 
 
 The value of such occasional address may 
 best be estimated by recalling some example 
 of it. One need go no farther back 
 
 Its value. 
 
 than the centennial of Washington's 
 inauguration as President of the United States. 
 The years since have been prolific in such dis- 
 course. Every intelligent citizen will remem- 
 ber what some instance of it has been to him 
 when he has had set before him higher ideals 
 of citizenship or nobler standards of character 
 than those presented in the ordinary round of 
 daily living. Perchance, the historic spirit may 
 have been stirred and the historic imagination 
 fired — no inferior elements in the education of 
 a man who has other interests than those of 
 finance. Possibly the theme may have been 
 merely literary, scientific, or social in charac- 
 ter ; the departments of taste, knowledge, and 
 good fellowship occupy too large a portion of 
 what is called life to permit the neglect of any 
 
6 The Occasional Address 
 
 method of cultivation so effective as the pop- 
 ular lecture in its earlier or later forms. 
 
 It may be said that the teachings above men- 
 tioned can be had from other sources; those of 
 compared justice, for example, in the courts, 
 with other of th hi her litics in legislative 
 
 oratorical ox o 
 
 forms. assemblies, and of morals and religion 
 
 in the pulpit. But these specialties are each 
 subject to qualifications as methods of in- 
 struction, and their limitations are so obvious 
 as to be an answer to the suggestion to sub- 
 stitute them for the public address as pop- 
 ular educators. Such instruction is in definite 
 lines, often technical, or restricted to narrow 
 bounds by necessity, taste, habit, and class 
 association. Topics that can be discussed be- 
 fore a representative throng of the people are 
 out of place in any and all the departments of 
 instruction just enumerated. Both the audi- 
 ence and the address are more general in char- 
 acter. The one will have a wider scope, and 
 the other will be composed of more hetero- 
 geneous materials. On the other hand, the 
 hearers expect to be instructed in matters of 
 superior interest and importance, or to have 
 
Introductory 7 
 
 inspiring examples set before them, their best 
 motives appealed to, and to hear all in a dig- 
 nified and elevated tone of discourse. 
 
 For this they naturally look to their leaders 
 — men of intelligence, wisdom, and effective 
 speech. As a rule, these are men of 
 
 1 The address 
 
 education and cultivation. Usually of educated 
 
 leaders. 
 
 they belong to the constantly widen- 
 ing circle of the learned professions. As these 
 are becoming more learned and more technical 
 with the growth of specialism, the chances for 
 the best occasional oratory are growing less. 
 The qualities which make men eminent at the 
 bar, in the legislature, in the pulpit, the editor- 
 ial office, the academic lecture-room, must con- 
 verge at one point where each man shall be a 
 recognized authority according to his eminence. 
 He may be an occasional orator, but the occa- 
 sions will be as rare as the demand is infrequent 
 for what he can say best. 
 
 Accordingly there is the greater demand upon 
 professional and educated men to 
 
 Necessity of 
 
 cultivate those faculties which will cultivating 
 
 , r , • i this form. 
 
 be of service in extra-professional 
 
 address, and to make excursions into those 
 
8 The Occasional Address 
 
 fields of knowledge which lie outside their nar- 
 rowing vocations. For in this territory the 
 great multitude of men live and move, with 
 their interests and hopes and fears, their ignor- 
 ance and their shrewd sense, their fickleness 
 and their power, their prejudices and their 
 openness to conviction and persuasion. To 
 nothing are they more obedient than to the 
 skilled speaker who knows whereof he speaks. 
 As intelligence increases and becomes the con- 
 dition of privilege and power, and even of lib- 
 erty, the people will come in greater numbers 
 to hear what the man will say whose knowledge 
 and virtue give him the right to address them. 
 They will listen and pay him their best tribute 
 in adopting his opinions, and possibly in re- 
 peating them as their own on the first oppor- 
 tunity. They may not understand all that he 
 says ; they may recall still less after his speech 
 is ended, but they have received information, 
 impressions, and impulses through the words 
 spoken, and, what is often of equal value, 
 through the speaker's personality and character, 
 evident to the discerning spirit in every audi- 
 ence. 
 
Introductory 9 
 
 Nothing is better adapted to give a speaker 
 the power needed to inform and direct multi- 
 tudes, than a study of the occasional 
 
 Qualities of 
 
 address both in its structure and as demonstrat- 
 
 ive oratory. 
 
 a literary form. In the first respect, 
 it has much in common with other kinds of 
 oratory, as the judicial, the deliberative, and the 
 homiletic. Still, this fourth form, the demon- 
 strative, emphasizes certain methods which give 
 it distinction from the others. Above all it is 
 what the Greeks called " epidictic " — showing 
 forth — and the Romans, " demonstrative," not 
 in the sense of demonstration by logical pro- 
 cesses so much as by expository setting forth 
 and pointing out, as of a thing in itself plain 
 when attention has been directed to it. If this 
 demonstration or exhibition and display of 
 truth is made for the purpose of securing a 
 definite act on the part of those addressed, the 
 discourse becomes " determinative," as direct- 
 ing to a certain end. The same term applies 
 to that address which is intended to result in a 
 change of opinion, belief, or action. In such 
 discourse there is need of clear perception and 
 the power to make evident to others what is 
 
io The Occasional Address 
 
 seen by the speaker. In technical phrase, the 
 speaker should have the qualities of perspicac- 
 ity and perspicuity ; be keen of sight, and 
 plain in speech. So only will he be both a dis- 
 coverer and a revealer. He will also need in 
 their place and time other subordinate qualities 
 which are commonly set down in works upon 
 composition, and cannot safely be omitted in 
 any treatment of methods in the expression of 
 thought. But the widest exposition of effective 
 processes and qualities in occasional oratory is 
 found in its literature, which is abundant and 
 diversified. 
 
 Every nation and century have contributed 
 to it according to their character, taste, and 
 its abundant ability. The Greek gave it a nobly 
 literature. reminiscent and commemorative 
 tone, the Roman a panegyric accent ; the medi- 
 aeval ecclesiastic emphasized the spirit of rever- 
 ence ; the French orators breathed into it a 
 loyalty to imperialism mingled with an unswerv- 
 ing devotion to the King of kings ; the English 
 made it a moderate and just estimate of events 
 and men ; while Americans, the heirs of all, 
 have given it a cosmopolitan character and a 
 
Introductory 1 1 
 
 free treatment. The entire body of this litera- 
 ture in all nations and times is the best of in- 
 structors to any who may have to speak in a 
 similar strain. Its volume is great, but the 
 choicest of it is accessible and sufficient. Full 
 of instruction, suggestion, and inspiration in its 
 matter, and of dignity and beauty in its form, 
 replete with graces of style, the strength of 
 clear presentation, and the force of sympathetic 
 appeal, it is a type of the most effective com- 
 munication, from one man to many, of his per- 
 ceptions and opinions, his sentiments and 
 emotions. What the masters of such speech 
 accomplished in the determinative mode of it, 
 belongs to the history of eloquence and of 
 civilization itself. Therefore any study of de- 
 monstrative oratory should, as far as practica- 
 ble, include reference, at least, to its literature. 
 Extended quotation in any work of moderate 
 compass is impossible, as it is also misleading 
 if fragmentary. Only as illustrating separate 
 divisions of discourse can the discourse itself 
 be divided without marring the effect of its unity 
 and completeness. Accordingly, while sources 
 of instruction and suggestion have been indi- 
 
12 The Occasional Address 
 
 cated here, so much only of extract and analysis 
 has been made as will lead to the synthesis of 
 actual composition. The two processes to- 
 gether constitute the method which contributes 
 to best success in this important phase of public 
 speech. 
 
 Before undertaking an occasional address 
 there will, of course, arise questions as to the 
 Divisions and orator's reason for speaking at all, 
 oc«^ona i f the ob J ect and purpose he has in 
 discourse. m i n d, the end he desires to accom- 
 plish, and his own warrant for the attempt. 
 These interrogatories being answered, matters 
 of construction will demand attention, in the 
 main divisions of introduction, discussion, and 
 conclusion. Qualities which make for effective- 
 ness in presenting thoughts and appealing to 
 motives cannot be overlooked, nor, above all, 
 certain impalpable elements which are gifts 
 rather than acquirements, the greatest of which 
 is the moral strength and earnestness that un- 
 derlie the most effective speech. In demon- 
 strative discourse, more than in any other form, 
 there is a demand for all these and every other 
 resource of oratory, since those who are ad- 
 
Introductory 13 
 
 dressed belong to every grade in the social 
 scale, and hold opinions, sentiments, and beliefs 
 of endless diversity. 
 
 Consequently the study of the occasional 
 address as composition is widely inclusive, as 
 its literature is almost limitless. The 
 
 Treatment of 
 
 following chapters attempt to apply subject out- 
 familiar principles and methods to 
 this single branch of discourse, and also to point 
 out its achievements in several directions, rang- 
 ing from sober commemoration to the lighter 
 speech of social festivities. If, in consequence 
 of this attempt, it shall be easier to keep the 
 occasional address up to the high levels which 
 it has reached in our own and in former times, 
 the purpose of this discussion of its composi- 
 tion and its literature will be accomplished. 
 
II. 
 
 THE OBJECT OF DISCOURSE. 
 
 IT has been observed that the literature of 
 the Anglo-Saxon race has for one of its 
 fundamental characteristics a definite purpose, 
 which in turn becomes the reason of its exist- 
 object in ence and the warrant of its perpe- 
 spea mg. tuity. In some forms of composition 
 this element of purpose will necessarily not be 
 avowed, although even in a novel it is not 
 needful to assent to a recent critical dictum 
 that " a story with a purpose is a violation of 
 the author's unwritten contract with his read- 
 ers." The announcement of the writer's pur- 
 pose is, however, by no means essential. On 
 the contrary, such proclamation of the speak- 
 er's design may be the most direct and speedy 
 means of frustrating it, as the premature publi- 
 cation of a warrant for arrest puts the offender 
 14 
 
The Object of Discourse 15 
 
 on guard and hastens his escape. So far as the 
 audience is concerned, the purpose of a dis- 
 course is sometimes subject to the same law 
 that prevails in the novel or the play, where 
 it would be fatal to the reader's prolonged at- 
 tention to state, as in the ancient prologue, the 
 purpose of the story or the drama. But in the 
 degree that the speaker is at variance with his 
 hearers, it will be politic to keep his intention 
 to himself. The last thing they will wish to 
 hear is, that he purposes to change their way of 
 thinking, and bring them around to a contrary 
 opinion. Consistency is a jewel which every 
 man thinks he possesses, and with which he 
 never parts. Accordingly the skilled orator 
 does not publicly propose to change the opin- 
 ions of his audience. In proportion as he really 
 desires to accomplish this he will avoid pro- 
 claiming his design. 
 
 In just this proportion also, on the other 
 hand, will his object in speaking be clear and 
 definite to himself. This purpose must be the 
 first and clearest thought that he Purpose clear 
 has. It is not to be denied that to himseIf ' 
 there are felicitous speakers to whom sympa- 
 
1 6 The Occasional Address 
 
 thetic assemblies listen with pleasure when 
 there is nothing of great consequence to hear; 
 but the manner in which the little or nothing is 
 said gives pleasure for the time, and in this way 
 becomes the purpose of the hour to the spokes- 
 man. At such a time a serious purpose might be 
 as much out of place as a sermon at a marriage 
 feast. Yet the purpose of the speech in lighter 
 vein may be just as definite and just as appo- 
 site as when graver issues are discussed with 
 the definite aim to win opposing minds to the 
 speaker's own. When, however, serious matters 
 press upon the orator, he will realize the strong 
 necessity of having the purpose of his discourse 
 clearly and definitely in mind. For the very 
 nature of persuasive speech implies an object 
 and end for which it is uttered. Not mainly to 
 instruct, like the essay or the lecture, nor chiefly 
 to please, like the story, the poem, and the 
 play ; but being designed to move the senti- 
 ments toward a higher plane, or the wills of 
 the hearers to determinate action, the end to 
 which such speech is directed must be the 
 plainest, clearest, and earliest thought in the 
 writer's mind. Otherwise his effort will be 
 
 
The Object of Discourse 17 
 
 divided, vague, and uncertain, with correspond- 
 ing results. In nothing is singleness of aim 
 more essential to success, or division and indis- 
 tinctness more fatal. Incidentally it may be 
 remarked here that the objects of speaking may 
 in general be reduced to four : to enlighten the 
 understanding, to please the imagination, to 
 move the passions, and to influence the will. 
 Eloquence itself, in the large significance of the 
 word, denotes " that art or talent by which dis- 
 course is adapted to its purpose." 
 
 The first inquiry, therefore, which the orator 
 makes will be, What is the object of my speech ? 
 What, indeed, is the reason of my 
 
 Purpose in 
 
 speaking at all ? This question is different kinds 
 
 of discourse. 
 
 pertinent whatever may be the na- 
 ture of the discourse. If forensic, the character 
 of the case will furnish the answer, whether 
 prosecution or defence. If deliberative, the 
 measure to be advocated. If political, the end 
 to be gained. If commemorative, the lesson 
 to be inculcated. If inaugural, inceptive, or 
 anticipatory, the promise, the hope, and the 
 expectation will furnish the speaker with a pur- 
 pose to lead his hearers up to the efforts they 
 
1 8 The Occasional Address 
 
 are to make to meet incident obligations. A 
 lecture has its instruction to be conveyed, and 
 a sermon both instruction and persuasion. 
 
 The literature of eloquence affords many ex- 
 amples of such inquiry, which must have been 
 made by orators before their speeches 
 
 Examples. 
 
 were begun, or even planned. io 
 cite an instance which will be recalled by every 
 reader of such literature: In the Bunker Hill 
 oration by Daniel Webster, at the laying of the 
 corner-stone of the monument, his preconceived 
 purpose was plainly to show the results of the 
 Revolutionary war upon civilization, and to 
 urge the people to perpetuate the existing con- 
 dition of prosperity. Charles Summer's object 
 in his oration on " Fame and Glory," delivered 
 before the literary societies of Amherst College 
 in August, 1847, was to establish a higher ideal 
 in the moral life, to emphasize the brotherhood 
 of mankind, and to bring human lives into 
 harmony with the divine will. The object of 
 Wendell Phillips's " Phi Beta Kappa" oration at 
 Harvard, June 30, 1881, was to show that man 
 with a college education may educate and ele- 
 vate the masses. The purpose of William H. 
 
The Object of Discourse 19 
 
 Seward's speech on "The Irrepressible Conflict/' 
 1858, was to encourage the people of the United 
 States in reclaiming ground which had been 
 surrendered to the interests of the South. 
 Robert Toombs, of Georgia, had in mind a 
 purpose to impress the North with the conse- 
 quences of inconsistency to its former doctrine 
 of loyalty to the decisions of the Supreme 
 Court, and to show that secession and an ap- 
 peal to arms would follow. Jefferson Davis in 
 his inaugural address tried to brace the energies 
 of the Confederacy to the responsibility of con- 
 ducting its own affairs, and to securing the 
 perpetuity of the separated government. Carl 
 Schurz in 1864 had, as the end and aim of his 
 Milwaukee speech, the fortifying of the war 
 sentiment and further sacrifice for the cause of 
 Union and Liberty. To emphasize the doctrine 
 that Congress should guarantee republican 
 government in the Southern States after the 
 war, was the purpose of Henry Winter Davis's 
 speech in March, 1864, and Geo. H. Pendle- 
 ton's reply was for the purpose of recalling the 
 old doctrine of the rights of States. In all 
 these instances, if one were asked what was the 
 
20 The Occasional Address 
 
 chief thought of each speaker at the outset, the 
 answer would be, "His purpose." An end is 
 to be secured. A certain man desires to ac- 
 complish it, and determines to make the 
 attempt. This thought is prior to any definite 
 vision of the precise method by which the 
 object is to be gained. The particular line of 
 address is a later decision. To make a speech 
 will certainly not be the first impulse with a 
 man in earnest ; at least not for the sake of 
 speaking. Only as a means to an end will he 
 make a public address ; unless he delights in 
 the inebriety which it sometimes produces — 
 especially in extemporaneous effusions — but 
 with corresponding reactions and disgust on 
 the following day, or even earlier. Accordingly, 
 every speaker who is likely to be heard with 
 interest will have a purpose, or find one, as the 
 justification of his appearing before an audience 
 with a demand upon its time and attention. 
 The age is too busy, and the aggregated hours 
 surrendered by listeners are too many to admit 
 of waste on purposeless talk by which time is 
 lost and energies dissipated. 
 
 In considering the object and purpose of 
 
The Object of Discourse 21 
 
 speaking, the same exercise of judgment is re- 
 quired as in all the serious affairs of 
 
 Purpose 
 
 life. Nowhere is the need greater measured by 
 than here, that the speaker rightly 
 estimate his ability to accomplish his ends and 
 satisfy a laudable ambition. In general it may 
 be affirmed, that an overmastering purpose will 
 give earnestness and sincerity to utterance, but 
 unfortunately these qualities, essential as they 
 are to eloquence, are by no means the whole of 
 it. Many a person who has been stirred by a 
 clear vision of the worthiness of some form of 
 beneficence, or by an oppressive sense of a long- 
 standing wrong, has also felt his powerlessness 
 to " cry aloud and spare not/' The incubus of 
 compelled silence is upon him. He cannot 
 find his voice. Not all, however, are thus 
 choked by an overwhelming sense of inequality 
 to the occasion and the demand. As a conse- 
 quence, many causes have been espoused, and 
 many enterprises undertaken, by zealous but 
 miscalculating champions. This is exemplified 
 in every reform movement. There were many, 
 for instance, who were eager to abolish the 
 slave-trade in England and in this country, but 
 
22 The Occasional Address 
 
 only two or three who were able to be leaders 
 in such a stupendous undertaking. Opportuni- 
 ties for a crusade against permitted wrongs are 
 never wanting, nor is the perception of them 
 long absent from keen sensibilities in every 
 community and age ; but the able are always 
 fewer than the devoted and the valiant. 
 
 It therefore becomes a part of the difficulty 
 and the labor which beset a speaker at the 
 Estimate of outset to estimate with exactness his 
 aptitude. aptitude to achieve a desired end. 
 He will ask : " Am I equal to the enterprise I 
 have in mind ? Can I reasonably expect to ac- 
 complish it? Is my desire a warrant of my 
 success? Can I command the forces requisite 
 to stem opposition, and turn it to my advan- 
 tage ? " Such questions are not so rare or idle 
 as they may seem. Out in the strife of opin- 
 ions, parties, and factions they are constantly 
 presenting themselves to the men who are 
 guiding public sentiment and enlisting forces. 
 Their success depends largely upon the discreet 
 answers they make to the above self-question- 
 ings. Therefore, one lesson to be learned is 
 how to make a wise estimate of what can 
 
The Object of Discourse 23 
 
 safely be undertaken as the object of persuas- 
 ive speech, in order that the purpose to be 
 accomplished be not beyond the ability of him 
 who ardently desires its attainment. 
 
 How is this to be ascertained ? Sometimes 
 by nothing less than the actual trial, in which 
 the speaker may surprise himself and develop 
 unexpected resources. Usually, however, he 
 will need some previous encouragement or dis- 
 suasion. Then reference to past achievements 
 may be helpful. Has a similar task been per- 
 formed with satisfaction ? Would a friend of 
 similar capacity be likely to undertake it or 
 carry it to a successful conclusion ? Has it 
 been taken up before, and by what sort of 
 advocates, and with what result ? Such in- 
 quiries will clarify doubts and settle uncertain- 
 ties. At least they will be likely to indicate 
 the safe side and may prevent disaster. Or, 
 possibly, they may lead to a reasonable assur- 
 ance of success. For example, when Daniel 
 Webster undertook to reply to Hayne's attack 
 upon him and upon New England, it is certain 
 that he had few apprehensions as to his com- 
 petency to meet the charges of his opponent. 
 
24 The Occasional Address 
 
 His entire political education had been fitting 
 him for that day's business. He needed but 
 a few hours to gather up the studies of years. 
 Some colleague of his would have felt called 
 upon to take up the gauge of battle if he had 
 not been present to answer for himself and 
 Massachusetts, but with what inadequacy to 
 the occasion and with what disparity in the 
 result ! No such misgiving crossed Webster's 
 mind as he called for the reading of Foote's 
 resolution, and braced himself for a four-hours' 
 discussion of the principles of union under the 
 Constitution. Neither had Charles Sumner any 
 hesitancy as to his ability to discuss the issues 
 involved in the Kansas-Nebraska bill, nor had 
 Wendell Phillips in any exposition of similar 
 themes before incredulous or hostile throngs. 
 One and all knew their strength, and were reason- 
 ably sure of carrying out their well-formed plans. 
 It is easy to record the instances where 
 failures have been made, but their frequency 
 makes them less remarkable than 
 
 Dangers of 
 
 an overesti- preeminent successes. In general it 
 
 mate. 
 
 may be said, other things being equal, 
 that, whenever a speaker has failed, the primary 
 
The Object of Discourse 25 
 
 cause has been an overestimate of his power to 
 accomplish an object which he had in view. 
 He undertook too much, with the usual and 
 proverbial consequence of not counting the cost, 
 and of not measuring his strength. Therefore 
 the orator will not waste the time which he 
 spends in estimating his ability to cope with 
 the obstacles that lie between him and the at- 
 tainment of his purpose. He will ask if it is 
 within the scope of his ordinary capacity, or at 
 most within the outer circle of his exceptional 
 and extraordinary achievements. Has he a 
 high commission to enter the lists against a 
 gigantic wrong or to defend a just cause, whose 
 advocacy may need still more valor and discre- 
 tion than the arraignment of an unjust one ? 
 Will he, in short, do more harm than good by 
 a weak support, when a strong championship 
 is demanded? 
 
 An affirmative answer does by no means 
 compel total silence and entire withdrawal from 
 a good cause. There are many ways 
 
 Advocate to 
 
 of giving it support and many de- be equal to 
 
 grees of efficacy in each way ; but to 
 
 render the best service in persuasive speech, 
 
26 The Occasional Address 
 
 much counsel with one's self, and perhaps with 
 others, should be taken, in order to establish 
 that conviction which gives the speaker an 
 assured sense of power and reasonable certainty 
 of success ; for these are often of more weight 
 with an audience than what is spoken. Listen- 
 ers are not slow to discover that the undertaking 
 is greater than the man, that the cause is higher 
 and nobler than the advocate. So likewise 
 they are quick to suspect for what reasons his 
 advocacy has been assumed, whether for the 
 advantage it will bring to him, or for the help 
 he can bring to it. In any case, the orator who 
 hopes to succeed will identify himself with the 
 cause he espouses, entirely and without reserve, 
 so far as it commends itself to him. Otherwise 
 he will abandon it, and devote his energies 
 to something into which he can enter with that 
 single-heartedness which is the chief condition 
 of success. For there are enterprises suited 
 to every man's capacity, as there is some one 
 topic on which almost any intelligent person 
 can speak with confidence in private or in 
 public. 
 
III. 
 THE SUBJECT. 
 
 TO choose a subject is often supposed to be 
 the first step in composing an address. 
 The necessity and the purpose of speaking 
 being established, the topic becomes choice of 
 the next consideration. " I must subject, 
 speak : what shall I speak about ? " This often 
 brings with itself more difficulty and perplexity 
 than all subsequent questions, for in one sense 
 it includes them all. A world of topics is 
 known to exist, but in the confusion and the 
 obscurity of chaos. Sometimes there are direct- 
 ing agencies coming, perhaps, from an instructor 
 in college, or from the occasion itself, but at 
 the best the opportunity for selection and re- 
 jection is large, and much must be left to one's 
 own judgment, with the usual chances of mis- 
 take and consequent failure. This must be 
 27 
 
28 The Occasional Address 
 
 charged largely to a neglect of the first ques- 
 tion, already considered in the foregoing chap- 
 ter. If the object of speaking has been clearly 
 determined, the choice of a subject will be at- 
 tended with far less difficulty than if all crea- 
 tion is to be rummaged for something to speak 
 about. The purpose being clear, the question 
 is limited to the most direct method of accom- 
 plishing it. It is simply a matter of the short- 
 est road to a given point, or the one most 
 likely to secure the largest following. The 
 field is narrowed, a hundred other fields are 
 excluded, diverging and enticing paths are dis- 
 missed from consideration, and the general 
 direction determined. There is still-room left 
 for variety of treatment, but the course is plain 
 and, above all, the end of it is fixed. It is 
 with the writer as with the preliminary sur- 
 veyor of a railway route from town to town. 
 He stands here ; he must go yonder ; whether 
 by this mountain and along that stream, or 
 through this hill and over that hollow — it 
 makes little difference. But no questions of 
 another road in another state, nation, or hemi- 
 sphere will disturb and distract him.. The 
 
The Subject 29 
 
 way to take the most people at the least cost 
 from one place to another is all that concerns 
 him now. And all that concerns the man who 
 is to lead others to think as he thinks, to be- 
 lieve as he believes, to do as he does, is to 
 choose that line of discourse which will bring 
 them to the point where he stands. This gen- 
 eral direction will be indicated by what is 
 called the subject of discourse. In substance 
 it includes the entire address, as the acorn in- 
 cludes the oak. It is a seed-truth, or propo- 
 sition from which all succeeding statements, 
 expositions, and illustrations grow as naturally 
 as branches, twigs, and leaves spring from the 
 trunk of a tree. 
 
 In form it is a clause only, according to pres- 
 ent standards of taste Once it was a whole 
 title-page ; but the discourse was of statement of 
 proportionate length. When the subject, 
 sermon was measured by the second or third 
 turning of the hour-glass in New England pul- 
 pits, how could a single sentence of moderate 
 length convey an adequate notion of what that 
 discourse contained? Condensation was not a 
 Puritan accomplishment. There was too much 
 
30 The Occasional Address 
 
 time and too large a territory to encourage re- 
 trenchment. It was two hundred years before 
 cultivation, discipline, and good taste could 
 bring the subject of a two-hour oration into 
 the compass of a single line or clause. " The 
 True Grandeur of Nations " ; " The Character 
 of Washington " ; " Disunion " ; " Reconstruc- 
 tion " ; " The War"; " Idols " ; " Free Trade " ; 
 " The New South," — all these are examples of 
 inclusive and comprehensive statement of the 
 germ idea in as many addresses. Once, the first 
 thought would have been drawn out as follows : 
 " New England Persecutors Mauled with their 
 own Weapons ; Giving Some Account of the 
 bloody laws made at Boston against the King's 
 Subjects that dissented from their way of Wor- 
 ship. Together with a brief Account of the 
 Imprisonment and Tryal of Thomas Maule of 
 Salem for publishing a book entitled, Truth 
 held forth and maintained, etc. By Theo. Phi- 
 lolathes." [T. Maule.] 
 
 " Boanerges, A Short Essay to preserve and 
 strengthen the Good Impressions Produced by 
 Earthquakes on the Minds of People that have 
 been Awakened with them. Addressed unto 
 
The Subject 31 
 
 the Whole People of New England who have 
 been Terrified with the late Earthquakes ; and 
 more especially the Towns that have had a 
 more singular Share in the Terrors of them." 
 By Cotton Mather, Boston, 1727. Once more 
 by the same : " Memorable Providences, Relat- 
 ing to Witchcrafts and Possessions. A Faithful 
 Account of many Wonderful and Surprising 
 Things, that have befallen several Bewitched 
 and Possessed Persons in New England Par- 
 ticularly. A Narrative of the marvellous Trou- 
 ble and Releef, Experienced by a pious Family 
 in Boston, very lately and sadly molested by 
 Evil Spirits." 
 
 Increase, son of the above, justified his name 
 by the length of the following title : " A Relation 
 of the Troubles which have happened in New 
 England, By reason of the Indians there. From 
 the Year 1614 to 1675. Wherein the frequent 
 Conspiracys of the Indians to cutt off the English 
 and the wonderfull providence of God in disap- 
 pointing their devices is declared. Together 
 with an Historical Discourse concerning the 
 Prevalency of Prayer ; shewing that New Eng- 
 land's late deliverance from the Rage of the 
 
32 The Occasional Address 
 
 Heathen is an eminent Answer of Prayer. By 
 Increase Mather, Teacher of a Church in Boston 
 in New England." 
 
 For other and numerous illustrations of 
 early titular expansiveness, the reader is re- 
 ferred to Sabin's Bibliotheca Americana, vol- 
 ume xi. 
 
 Brevity, however, is not the only quality to 
 be sought under all conditions. If, for instance, 
 the topic of discourse is to be announced before- 
 hand, or to be advertised in any way, there will 
 be sought for it an agreeable statement, eu- 
 phonic if possible. Publishers of books under- 
 stand better than authors themselves the 
 value of taking or catching titles. In fiction 
 this is truer than elsewhere, and a book with a 
 rhythm, or a riddle, or a proverb in the title, 
 begins to sell itself, or continues to pass its 
 praise from mouth to mouth. " Murder will 
 Out " ; " Love in Idleness " ; " Foul Play " ; 
 " Hard Cash " ; " What will He Do with It ? " ; 
 " Looking Backward " ; " Barriers Burned 
 Away " ; " Put Yourself in His Place " ; 
 " White Lies " ; " Beside the Bonny Briar 
 Bush "; " With Edge Tools " ; " Green Pastures 
 
The Subject 33 
 
 and Picadilly," — all indicate a taste that has 
 prevailed in titles. 
 
 To a certain extent this is true of the word- 
 ing of the subject of any discourse, especially, as 
 has been remarked, when it is to be announced 
 beforehand. Many a preacher or lecturer has 
 depended as much upon startling or enigmatical 
 topics for an attraction as upon what he was 
 considered likely to say. From a single list 
 of " Sunday Announcements" the following 
 samples of subjects are taken : " Excursion from 
 Joppa to Jerusalem " ; " Equal Rights a Delu- 
 sion " ; " The Measure of a Man " ; " Is He 
 Coming?"; " The Dual Nature of Man" ; 
 "Eyes and Ears"; "The Power of Trifles to 
 Annoy"; "Afraid to Join Them." The per- 
 manent value of such announcements in a con- 
 tinued series of discourses is not to be discussed 
 here. But that it may be done once with ad- 
 vantage shows that there is something in unique- 
 ness of presentation, which draws a crowd. 
 Continuous attraction will depend more upon 
 the speaker than upon his advertisements. 
 
 From these quaint, stilted, and sensational 
 
 statements of the subject of discourse, atten- 
 3 
 
34 The Occasional Address 
 
 tion may be turned to what is of more conse- 
 quence to the speaker, namely, the derivation 
 Derivation of a definite theme from a general 
 
 of the theme. topiCt Re w j U need tQ do ^ fof 
 
 his own purposes in composition as well as for 
 the satisfaction of his hearers, in obtaining a 
 clear understanding of what he has to tell them. 
 The ordinary process is not beyond the possi- 
 bility of tracing. 
 
 Suppose, in illustration, that the occasion be 
 academic and anniversary in character. From 
 the vast departments of human action and 
 knowledge, suggestions may come flocking to 
 one who is looking for a subject, and very likely 
 the most inappropriate and impracticable will 
 be the first to arrive. Rejection, utter and 
 absolute, will be the primary process. Con- 
 sciously or unconsciously, sooner or later, the 
 writer will find himself so dominated by the 
 thought of the occasion, that only those topics 
 which are in harmony with its spirit will be 
 tolerated for an instant. Themes relating to 
 education in its narrow or broader meaning will 
 at last, if not at first, come to the surface in a 
 form as crude as the reflection " I must speak 
 
The Subject 35 
 
 upon some educational topic." Then follows 
 the process which is preliminary to a definite 
 statement of the subject of discourse, namely, 
 the determination of the theme. On such a 
 proceeding much time and thought may be 
 profitably expended. In all the wide range 
 covered by such a subject-general as " Educa- 
 tion " there are a hundred specific topics that 
 can be discussed and, as every practised writer 
 knows, with greater ease and definiteness than 
 the all-including idea of Education in general. 
 By some such operation of division and sub- 
 division, of rejection and selection, it may be 
 imagined that George William Curtis came to 
 his well-known theme at Union College, " The 
 Public Duty of Educated Men." Education 
 might have suggested to him such topics as 
 Liberal, Technical, Classical, or Scientific 
 Training; for scholars, for business men, for 
 officials, for citizens ; for the few, for the many, 
 at great cost and at little ; in relation to home 
 life and to public affairs. It may have suggested 
 a definite or an indefinite conception, relevant 
 or irrelevant, but none satisfactory, until out of 
 the mass is at length extracted a concrete idea 
 
36 The Occasional Address 
 
 of Education embodied in men who have been 
 educated liberally, coupled with the corporate 
 body of citizens called the State. The obliga- 
 tions of such persons to the aggregated as- 
 semblage of all finally finds form in the brief 
 but comprehensive theme, " The Public Duty 
 of Educated Men." A similar procedure 
 brought out of the vast subject of Litera- 
 ture the theme of Edward Everett's first 
 venture in the department of demonstrat- 
 ive oratory — " Circumstances Favorable to the 
 Progress of Literature in America." So, from 
 the general subject of Peace, Charles Sumner 
 drew the lesson that the " True Grandeur of 
 Nations" consists in cultivating and keeping 
 the peace rather than in promoting and practis- 
 ing the arts of war. Slavery in the United 
 States he attacks by a flank movement, when 
 he described the horrors of " White Slavery in 
 the Barbary States." 
 
 While therefore the general subject, as in 
 each of these topics, is briefer in its statement 
 Advantage than the derived theme, the latter so 
 of division, narrows the idea as to make it easier 
 of treatment. Let any one attempt to write 
 
The Subject 37 
 
 upon Education, Literature, Peace, or Freedom, 
 if he wishes to see how elusive and illusive 
 such vast subjects are. At first sight they 
 appear as grand and fine as a sunset cloud. 
 The first plunge into them reveals nothing but 
 gathering mist. A few generalities about the 
 advantages of Education to the man, and of 
 Peace to a nation, are followed by growing 
 darkness, confusion, and early discouragement. 
 Not until one section of the general subject has 
 been separated from the rest, will there be 
 much satisfactory progress. 
 
 This law of division is one of the hardest for 
 the inexperienced writer to understand. To 
 him it seems that the larger and more general 
 the subject, the more there should be to say 
 about it. A book might be written upon 
 Nature, or Art, or Travel, or Genius, or Politics, 
 or Labor, or Character: why not an hour's 
 discourse ? The reply might be made that it 
 would be easier to write the book than the dis- 
 course : for in a book the subject would be 
 treated section by section, while in the discourse 
 there is usually the attempt to swallow it 
 whole and to make others do the same. The 
 
38 The Occasional Address 
 
 writer of either form will have to yield to the 
 unbending law of human infirmity in the mat- 
 ter of apprehension and assimilation. Partial 
 knowledge, discovery of truth step by step, and 
 one step at a time, is the rule for the average 
 understanding, and audience. The speaker 
 will therefore confine himself to one section of a 
 subject, or at the extreme to one at a time, for 
 his own sake, and for the sake of those to whom 
 he is to speak. 
 
 The formal statement of the part of a sub- 
 ject being of necessity longer than that of the 
 whole, another difficulty arises in 
 
 Comprehens- 
 ive brevity making this statement brief enough 
 
 in statement. 
 
 for announcement, and at the same 
 time full enough for adequate comprehension 
 of the theme. It may not be successfully done 
 at the start. Beginning with a statement of 
 some length, a clearer and more compact ex- 
 pression may be gained when the entire com- 
 position is finished. Elements which did not 
 appear at the first outlook may have entered 
 into the discussion, and some that were first 
 to show themselves may be like froth that 
 rises to the seething surface to be cast away. 
 
The Subject 39 
 
 Rather, however, than not to get a clear and 
 definite idea of what he is going to attempt, 
 the writer had best make the first statement 
 of his theme a page in length, if need be, and 
 trust to his later treatment to clarify, condense, 
 and abbreviate it. An example of a short state- 
 ment of a subject that might have been long, 
 which in the mind of the orator must at first 
 have been longer than its present form, is 
 Burke's theme, " To the Electors of Bristol." 
 It might have been expanded in the speaker's 
 mind as follows : " The representative of a con- 
 stituency who is worthy of that constituency 
 and his official position, ought to have some 
 regard to their opinions ; but only to such as 
 are permanent and not shifting, as becomes one 
 who is for the people a pillar of the State, and 
 not a weather vane to show which way the wind 
 of popular whim happens to be blowing at any 
 particular hour." The speech is usually known 
 as that made previous to the Bristol election, 
 but the title might have been : " The Relation 
 of the Representative to his Constituency," 
 or "The Independence of the Representative." 
 In any stated theme the problem will always 
 
4o The Occasional Address 
 
 be to incorporate the main or trunk idea 
 in as few words as will convey its outline 
 Expression t the audience. Its main features 
 
 of leading 
 
 thought. will be enough. More than these 
 belong to the discourse itself. And if these 
 details are stated too fully in the title, so much 
 will be taken from the interest of the speech. As 
 in a novel, there should not be too much antici- 
 patory declaration and revelation giving the plot 
 away too soon. This caution is particularly 
 applicable to those rare occasions when it may 
 be advisable not to indicate the subject too 
 clearly at the outset, or perhaps not at all. In 
 the conflict of opinion and the antagonism of 
 interests it not infrequently happens that preju- 
 dices are so strong, and hostility so violent, 
 that when a speaker announces his subject a 
 part, if not the whole, of his audience is at 
 once in opposition. They wish to hear noth- 
 ing from his side. They do not believe in it 
 and, furthermore, they do not wish to believe 
 in it. To announce, in effect, that the speaker 
 is going to persuade them to his views if he 
 can, is to rouse all their power of resistance, if 
 not to stir up their personal animosity and viol- 
 
The Subject 4 1 
 
 ence against the speaker himself. Some will 
 leave the room, others will stay to stop the 
 speaking. Such demonstration may be occur- 
 ring any day, but in the stormy years of the 
 struggle for the Union there were notable ex- 
 amples which have become historic. Some- 
 times the opposition element was ready to 
 drown a voice which was known to be on the 
 other side, although the subject on which it 
 was to speak had not been announced. Such 
 was the attitude towards Wendell Phillips of 
 the Faneuil Hall mass-meeting, gathered to 
 denounce the murder of Lovejoy,and of a hun- 
 dred other audiences before which he spoke in 
 the days of pro- and anti-slavery sentiment. 
 Such was the uproarious tumult when George 
 William Curtis was escorted by a bodyguard 
 to a platform in Philadelphia in 1859, anc ^ such, 
 once more, was the ruffianly greeting which 
 Henry Ward Beecher received in Liverpool 
 when he essayed to vindicate the North in the 
 Civil War. In all these instances, and others 
 like them, it would be throwing oil on the 
 flame to state the subject which the speaker has 
 most vividly in his own mind. If he must state 
 
42 The Occasional Address 
 
 it at all it will be when some degree of toler- 
 ation has been secured ; but the better place is 
 near the close, when the object and purpose of 
 the speech is accomplished. Up to this con- 
 clusion and end of all persuasion the speaker 
 has been working his way and drawing his un- 
 willing listeners after him. If he has brought 
 them to his own point of view at last, it is 
 soon enough to tell them so, or at least to for- 
 mulate the wording of a subject which has been 
 all along definite and clear in his own mind, 
 and is at length plain to his hearers. 
 
 This reservation of the subject, it is to be 
 borne in mind, is necessary or even justifiable 
 Reservation on *y when an early announcement 
 of theme. Q f j t ma y antagonize an audience. 
 In all other cases it is to the advantage of 
 speaker and hearer alike, that the subject be 
 plainly stated at the beginning of the discourse. 
 By this it is not meant that the theme is to be 
 formulated in the opening sentence or even in 
 the first paragraph. This would savor of a sud- 
 denness and bluntness which belongs neither to 
 good art nor to nature, in both of which there are 
 gradual approaches to any work of dignity and 
 
The Subject 43 
 
 eminence. Every lofty mountain has its foot- 
 hills ; every great river its declining banks, and 
 precipitous surprises are rare. In conversation 
 even, when a person is to be approached on a 
 matter which is uppermost in the speaker's 
 mind, it is kept back until the preparatory 
 commonplaces about the weather or the minis- 
 ter, the crops or the election, business or schools, 
 work or play, shall lead up naturally to the 
 topic of immediate concern. A similar follow- 
 ing of nature will be desirable in deliberate 
 address. 
 
IV. 
 THE PLAN. 
 
 THE object of discourse being clear, the 
 theme being definitely stated for one's 
 self, and concisely worded for the hearers, the 
 natural impulse is to begin at once with what is 
 value of to be said. This, however, does not 
 a pan. m ean taking up the pen to write the 
 
 first sentence, or even the introductory para- 
 graphs. It might be said that it would be very 
 natural for an orator to proceed at once to what 
 first occurs to him, following this with the next 
 thought, and so on to the end. But, unfortu- 
 nately, the best oratory is not meditation, 
 rumination, or monologue. Instead, it is or- 
 ganized, methodically arranged thought, having 
 a purpose to accomplish by the most effective 
 disposition of mental forces and verbal expres- 
 sion. As much skill may be required to deter- 
 44 
 
The Plan 45 
 
 mine the order and sequence of thoughts, or 
 even of words, as in marshalling and directing 
 the divisions of an army for the carrying of a 
 fortification. No military commander attempts 
 this by taking as they come a crowd of civilians, 
 or of soldiers even, and leading them in such 
 an order or disorder against a fortress. Masses 
 of men are efficient and available only as they 
 are skilfully separated, arranged, and brought 
 forward. The same is true of the mental forces 
 which are to carry any stronghold of opinion or 
 belief, of ignorance or prejudice. Out of a 
 medley of thoughts, reflections, facts, reasons, 
 and imaginations, relevant and irrelevant, those 
 available and appropriate are to be chosen, and 
 more rejected, perhaps, than retained. How 
 many will come from all quarters, even when 
 the subject of discourse is clearly in mind, can 
 with difficulty be estimated. Perhaps one in 
 five or ten that flit through the mind is all that 
 can be made useful for the theme in hand. 
 When these are caught and collected there still 
 remains the task of getting them into order, 
 commonly called plan-making. This process 
 has been insisted upon by every writer upon 
 
46 The Occasional Address 
 
 the art of public speech, from Corax to the 
 present day. It is similar to that in any con- 
 structive art, as that of architecture or of 
 mechanical engineering, where a structure is to 
 be built upon the basis of well-known laws of 
 physics, or a machine upon those of force and 
 resistance. No builder of an edifice begins to 
 lay foundations even until he has in mind what 
 is the purpose of the building, whether for 
 amusement, for trade, for education, or for 
 worship. Much less does he attempt to put 
 together such timber and brick and stone as 
 may be lying about in the order that they hap- 
 pen to come to hand. Instead, he has before 
 him an outline at least of the main divisions, 
 apartments, and stories, for ever so simple and 
 plain a house ; and for the more elaborate 
 structure he has drawings in detail and scale 
 dimensions to the fraction of an inch. In ma- 
 chinery construction, minuteness of calculation 
 is still more exact, and all the measurements 
 are from a centre, while the problem of arrang- 
 ing large wheels and small, short shafts and 
 long, for compactness and conservation of force, 
 is akin to that which the commander has with 
 
The Plan 47 
 
 regard to the disposition of his forces on the 
 battle-field. Such minuteness of forethought 
 may not always be possible or advisable to the 
 builder of an oration, but in so far as it is to be 
 an example of constructive art in the depart- 
 ment of thought and its communication, it 
 must conform to that law of prevision which 
 is of essential utility in kindred arts and pur- 
 suits. 
 
 The value of such forethought in all cases is 
 mainly to save ill-directed and hap-hazard toil 
 and wasted labor, contributing as _. .. , 
 
 & Direction of 
 
 they do to ultimate failure. It is thought, 
 possible that the builder of a house by repeated 
 attempts, with much nailing up and pulling 
 down again, with much cutting too long and 
 too short, might at last succeed in putting up a 
 simple shelter without a plan drawn on paper. 
 Without a general idea in his head, however, 
 and adhered to, not much of a result would be 
 secured with a moderate amount of material at 
 hand. Nor will the composer of an address 
 that is to be anything more than a rambling 
 talk to children be likely to distinguish him- 
 self by general remarks made up of such 
 
48 The Occasional Address 
 
 thoughts as come in his way, thrown together 
 in the order in which they happen to arrive. 
 This may answer in the case of the newspaper 
 " notes " which literary men contribute to news- 
 papers and serials, charming in their facile dis- 
 cursiveness, but it will not do for the educated 
 public speaker. Audiences appreciate, as they 
 demand, something of artistic value in dignified 
 address. They can distinguish between slip- 
 shod, careless, ill-arranged, unplanned discourse 
 and that in which the speaker has seen the pur- 
 pose and end of his speech from the beginning, 
 and has ordered his approaches with a view to 
 his object. They may not discover this at first, 
 but they will be sure to know it at last ; just as 
 the passer-by may have little understanding of 
 what a building is to be when he looks at the 
 frame going up, but sees its beauty and pro- 
 portion and design in the finished structure. 
 
 The desirability of a definite plan being ad- 
 mitted, both for the sake of the writer of a dis- 
 course and of those who shall hear it, it will 
 be pertinent to inquire about the principles 
 which should govern its construction. 
 
 Order is the first of these, as distinguished 
 
The Plan 49 
 
 from the greater or less disorder in which 
 thoughts arise. Some order of se- 0rderingof 
 quence they must of necessity have, material, 
 as they are uttered one after another in continu- 
 ous speaking ; but such order may have no 
 other characteristic than that of accidental suc- 
 cession. It may be the order of immigrants 
 coming off a ship. The first to run down the 
 plank may be a Swede, the next an Italian. 
 After him comes a man from Ulster, followed 
 by a Greek. A Dane treads on the heels of a 
 Hungarian, a Frenchman pushes a Polander, 
 and a Russian crowds a Turk. The only order 
 is that of single file, one at a time, with an oc- 
 casional overlapping. A natural order which 
 might be established for a ship's company of 
 such people would be the national, by which 
 all Frenchman should herd by themselves, and 
 Netherlanders by themselves, and so with all 
 the rest ; or again all who are bound for the 
 West, or for the South, by themselves ; or any 
 other principle of division and aggregation 
 might be adopted, which should group individu- 
 als upon some ground common to them. Such 
 
 an order in composition may be termed that of 
 4 
 
50 The Occasional Address 
 
 association, as distinguished from the helter- 
 skelter succession in which unrelated thoughts 
 follow each other in the undisciplined mind, or 
 in any mind when working lazily. The princi- 
 ple of association will be some common prop- 
 erty or logical suggestion, made so plain to the 
 hearer that he can trace the natural connection 
 as easily as he would observe the reason for 
 grouping a company of Mongolians, Caucasians, 
 or Africans by themselves ; and also for not 
 mingling them promiscuously in making a race 
 classification. Thoughts about tariff will not 
 be accompanied by theological views ; coinage 
 arguments will not intrude upon literary criti- 
 cism ; patriotic sentiments will not suggest a 
 study of ancient pottery ; and the lessons of a 
 noble life will not be alloyed with the political 
 prospects of a presidential candidate. 
 
 The same is true of the thoughts upon any 
 subject which come singly or in troops from all 
 principles of °t uarters oi tne universe. They must 
 arrangement. k e marshalled in some order different 
 from that of their arrival. Upon what further 
 principle ? Almost any one, it may be replied, 
 if it is only one, and not two or three. This 
 
The Plan 51 
 
 unity is not so much a principle of order in 
 general as the essential of any and every order 
 in which the thoughts to be communicated can 
 be arranged. As there can well be but one 
 theme of a single discourse, so every branch of 
 it must be in connection with the central idea 
 so intimately that its unity is apparent as well 
 as real. 
 
 It is because of this unity which prevails in 
 the plan of every well-regulated discourse that 
 the customary order of plan-making 
 
 ° Three divi- 
 
 is in the succession of Introduction, sionsof 
 
 Discussion, and Conclusion, which is 
 as natural a sequence as that of morning, mid- 
 day, and evening. Like any other undertaking 
 it must have a beginning, a longer or shorter 
 continuance, and an end. One of these three 
 terms of the proportion may be dropped by 
 the eccentric or the pretentious speaker ; but 
 something will be missed by the hearer who is 
 not quite ready to be plunged into the thick of 
 the argument, or who is left to make his own 
 application of it in an abrupt ending. In spite 
 of all new discoveries and nomenclatures, the 
 human nature which is not new still demands 
 
52 The Occasional Address 
 
 the natural order of growth in discourse from a 
 beginning to an end with increasing volume 
 and power, and expects this as inevitably as it 
 looks for increasing heat and denser foliage 
 with the procession of summer days. 
 
 In the order, then, which is established by 
 Association and Unity will follow next Growth. 
 The opening sentiments of a discourse will be 
 followed by stronger thoughts, and these in turn 
 by the strongest reasons in closing. This, of 
 course, relates only to the large and general 
 outline, the three-fold division which belongs 
 to the conventional and almost universal form 
 of public address in all its history. What 
 maxims shall have weight in the minor divisions 
 and subdivisions of any discourse cannot be the 
 subject of suggestion even. They belong to 
 the realm of topic, and of personal taste, and 
 that domain into which the orator must go 
 without other guide than his own sense of 
 what is fitting. He will be directed by the 
 occasion, the cause, the character, the prospect, 
 the retrospect. On the same occasion and in 
 the same cause one man will proceed in one 
 way, another in another, and both will produce 
 similar results. The law of liberty works in no 
 
The Plan 53 
 
 single direction. Much plan-work, therefore, 
 must of necessity be left to the writer's own 
 invention. After he has determined that his 
 main points shall be referrible to a single prop- 
 osition, and that they shall succeed one another 
 by some law of association and with increasing 
 power, and that the thoughts which belong to 
 the beginning shall be placed there, and those 
 which pertain to the conclusion shall wait their 
 turn, then the writer may use a large liberty in 
 the disposition of his material. Better than 
 minute directions for this or that occasion will 
 be the study of examples of planning by wise 
 speakers on kindred subjects and similar occa- 
 sions. The careful reading and analysis of 
 their discourses will reveal the framework on 
 which they built masterpieces of instruction, 
 argument, and appeal. There is no lack of 
 such literature, and no occasion that is likely 
 to arise is unrepresented in its marvellous va- 
 riety of topic and treatment. 
 
 The time spent in elaborating the outline of 
 discourse is by no means lost. In the first place, 
 a marking out of the general direc- Plan preV ents 
 tion which the discussion is to take di & ression - 
 is preventive of such digressions as are apt to 
 
54 The Occasional Address 
 
 occur when the line of argument is not clearly 
 determined beforehand. Nothing is more un- 
 certain than the suggestions and associations of 
 the cogitating faculty. The ramifying tend- 
 ency of rapid thinking is well known, and 
 nothing is easier than to let one thought throw 
 out a side branch, and this another lateral shoot, 
 and on, and on, until the proper line and axis 
 of growth is deserted and the discourse be- 
 comes like a tree whose branches are all turned 
 aside and still farther away from the perpen- 
 dicular which the main trunk should have 
 followed. Indeed a large part of the discipline 
 of composition is in the constant checking of a 
 straying mind. Accordingly it is a great ad- 
 vantage to have the main line of thought so 
 clearly laid down in advance that the thinker 
 shall know when he is progressing directly, and 
 also when he is off the track and far afield. If 
 he is inclined to wander when planning his 
 speech, it is easier to note any point of depart- 
 ure at a glance by reason of the compactness 
 of his " brief " and to bring himself into line at 
 once. It is very much as in the case of the 
 traveller, who can lay out his journey by the 
 
The Plan 55 
 
 map better than he can discover his best course 
 with the whole unexplored country lying near 
 and far, seen and unseen, before him. In the 
 one case, he is feeling his way from point to 
 point, sometimes taking diverging paths, some- 
 times losing the way altogether. In the other 
 instance, he is careful only to make the best 
 and most of a path which has been indicated 
 in advance. There is no perplexity as to its 
 directness or its termination. It is known how 
 and where it will come out, whatever may be 
 its undiscovered and undeveloped resources. 
 
 Proportion is a further advantage secured by 
 a well-ordered plan. It is easy to fall into 
 the error of disproportionate division secures 
 
 of the main parts of a composition. P r °P° rtlon - 
 With cautious writers it is common to over- 
 load and unduly lengthen the Introduction for 
 fear that the material at hand, or to be gath- 
 ered, will not hold out. The incautious writer 
 is apt to commit the same mistake at the other 
 end of his address, and draw out his Conclusion 
 inordinately because of his improvidence or 
 laziness in previous sections. Or, once more, 
 the body of the discourse may be overstocked 
 
56 The Occasional Address 
 
 or attenuated in ideas, with little introduction, 
 and no conclusion other than a sudden and un- 
 expected stop. Want of time is the customary 
 apology. The true reason is a faulty distribution 
 of time. A ten-minute speech, in its way, can 
 be constructed with as harmonious proportions 
 as one of an hour in length. But whether short 
 or long, the only security for such construction 
 lies in the proper arrangement of the plan, and 
 in strict adherence to its relative allotments. 
 
 An experienced writer will doubtless ask: 
 What is to be done with those suggestions of a 
 After- better way which actual composition 
 
 thoughts. ften inspires ? The general reply 
 is that no first draft of the outlines of a dis- 
 course is to hamper the mind in its reaching after 
 the best plan. The preliminary sketch is rather 
 to aid the writer in finding the best way, that 
 is, the one which is the most direct to its object. 
 But, the general direction being determined by 
 the first sketch, a shorter and better road is not 
 on this account prohibited. Many a surveyor 
 who has submitted his preliminary route-line 
 for a new railway, and has had it accepted, has 
 found a shorter cut still more satisfactory when 
 
The Plan 57 
 
 the road came to be built. And that man who 
 is confident that he will make no change in his 
 house-plan while the house is building, has an 
 uncommonly exalted opinion of his powers of 
 prevision, higher perhaps than he has when the 
 house is finished and he has occupied it awhile. 
 Still, the more devising he does in advance, the 
 better it will be for himself and the builder; 
 and the more forethought the writer gives to 
 his plan, the better will be the composition, and 
 the sooner will he come to the object in view. 
 There must of course be taken into account 
 the plan which the experienced writer may 
 make as he writes, keeping the main The skilled 
 line of his discourse always in view, wnter s plan# 
 and avoiding with a craftsman's intuition the 
 danger of being diverted from his purpose. But 
 this quick discernment and severe control con- 
 stitute one of the late rewards of patient ana- 
 lytic and synthetic labor, — which is the best 
 method of plan-making for a beginner. Its 
 processes may be tedious and seemingly re- 
 tarding, but in the end, when results are com- 
 puted, such forethought will appear among the 
 economies of composition. 
 
V. 
 
 THE INTRODUCTION. 
 
 THE plan being deliberately sketched, and 
 filled in with such minuteness as the time 
 and accumulated material of the writer will per- 
 mit, he will be impatient to construct the com- 
 plete fabric of his discourse section by section. 
 Ordinarily he will wish to begin with the open- 
 ing sentences, whether he afterward keeps them 
 unchanged or not. A provisional or experi- 
 Provisionai mental introduction is better than 
 
 introduction. ^ mu(;h q ^ q ^ thought about the 
 
 initial paragraph, something with which to get 
 under way and to acquire momentum enough 
 to give movement and life to the main body of 
 the discourse. It may be discarded when this 
 is secured and count no more than the prelim- 
 inary " scoring " of the thoroughbred before he 
 crosses the starting line. Still the preparatory 
 58 
 
The Introduction 59 
 
 spin has brought him to his racing pace and 
 therefore has its value. It is much the same 
 with the introduction which is written to give a 
 fair "send-off." 
 
 The final and accepted introduction will, 
 however, have certain qualities that 
 
 Elements of 
 
 are indispensable to so prominent a the final 
 
 .... t^ introduction. 
 
 division. For it is to be observed 
 that this portion of the discourse is probably lis- 
 tened to by a larger part of an audience than 
 any subsequent section, especially if the speaker 
 be a stranger, or if his topic be an unusual one. 
 However much attention may be relaxed, and 
 thoughts wander as the address lengthens, 
 there is a general if not universal listening to 
 the opening sentiments of the speaker. There- 
 fore it is incumbent upon him that his words 
 have at least a negative value, and that he does 
 not violate, in his first paragraph, one or two 
 common principles of good taste and of wise 
 policy. 
 
 The first of these is the maxim of conciliation. 
 It is a commonplace to suggest that 
 
 , , , . „ Conciliation. 
 
 no man can be eloquent to a disaffect- 
 ed audience. He may be as earnest, as logical, 
 
60 The Occasional Address 
 
 as skilful in argument, as elegant in diction, as 
 strong in appeal, as under more propitious cir- 
 cumstances, but he will have none of these 
 virtues in the opinion of a hostile assembly. 
 Nor is it for the orator always to choose his 
 auditory. The advocate at the bar cannot, and 
 he seldom finds listeners entirely with him ; 
 sometimes they are wholly opposed to him. 
 The same is true of the legislative assembly and 
 the political campaign meeting. Even the 
 minister of the Word has in his congregation 
 dissenting elements, or he may easily create 
 them by an unwelcome message, or an unpopu- 
 lar theme. It is, however, to the occasional 
 orator, appearing perhaps as a stranger before 
 an expectant or curious multitude, that the 
 expediency arises of singular wisdom and close 
 adherence to the law of conciliation, both in its 
 positive and negative application, — not to rouse 
 antagonism, and to allay it if already existing. 
 To do this wisely, conciliation must not be 
 overdone. The anxiety or willingness to pro- 
 pitiate is sometimes so great that the audience 
 becomes as conscious of it as the speaker, 
 greatly to his prejudice. There are limits, for 
 
The Introduction 61 
 
 instance, to the amount of flattering things 
 which can safely be said to an assembly as well 
 as to a person. It may listen, and even re- 
 spond with a sort of corporate loyalty when its 
 town, society, or state is excessively praised ; 
 but this is no indication that many do not see 
 through an artifice which is intended to make 
 them well disposed toward the speaker. It 
 becomes therefore a matter of both delicacy 
 and difficulty to secure that good understand- 
 ing between orator and audience which shall 
 preserve the self-respect of the one and win the 
 favor of the other. This is particularly the 
 case when the hearers, as a body or in part, are 
 known to be opposed in sentiment, opinion, or 
 belief to the person who is to address them. 
 Any attempt to conciliate will be regarded with 
 suspicion, and flattery is fatal as indicating arti- 
 fice or cowardice or weakness. Defiance, though 
 bad policy in general, is much more in keeping 
 with the spirit of such an assembly. Savages 
 even have a rude respect for an enemy with 
 bravery enough to taunt them, and a howling 
 mob will sometimes yield to the appeal for fair 
 play, when they would not be soothed by one's 
 
62 The Occasional Address 
 
 praising the spark of decency that may be lurk- 
 ing under many layers of dirt and disagreeable- 
 ness. Political and reform orators have found 
 conciliation the first if not the greatest difficulty 
 in winning audiences over to their cause. Suc- 
 ceeding or failing in this initial step, they have 
 gained or lost their victory from the start. 
 
 It is almost superfluous to state the reason 
 
 why so much importance is attached to the 
 
 good nature of a company of hearers. If it 
 
 were always composed of pure intel- 
 
 Antagonism 
 
 of prejudice lect, with judging and reasoning 
 
 and ignorance. ... , ... , . 
 
 faculties in calm condition, capable 
 of free and untrammelled action, there would 
 be little need of conciliatory words, whatever 
 the sentiments of the speaker might be. But 
 in the natural blending of opinions and feelings, 
 beliefs and motives, doctrines and prejudices, 
 the emotions are the active and controlling 
 elements, with a wonderful facility in passing 
 themselves off as purely intellectual in character. 
 Every observer knows how often opinion is 
 mistaken for absolute fact, belief for truth, wil- 
 fulness for conscientiousness. Accordingly the 
 speaker has to approach the minds of his hearers 
 
The Introduction 63 
 
 in many instances through enveloping mists of 
 opposition, prejudice, and antipathy, to say 
 nothing of ignorance and misinformation. To 
 dispel such misunderstanding, remove prejudice, 
 disarm opposition, and put the hearer on neu- 
 tral ground even is no easy task ; while to win 
 him over into the orator's own province is an 
 achievement which may well gratify one of the 
 highest ambitions which he may cherish. 
 
 If there is a single maxim that applies to the 
 majority of cases, it is one which advises a dig- 
 nified reserve in both commendation and con- 
 demnation when there is extreme opposition, 
 and very little of anything approaching flattery 
 in ordinary circumstances. An audience always 
 respects a speaker who respects himself, and 
 they will pardon him if he does not go far out 
 of the way to propitiate them. This does not 
 imply, of course, that the wise man may not 
 create a sentiment in his own favor by a skill 
 which is so adroit that it shall seem natural and 
 be effective. It will be found, however, that 
 honesty and frankness appear to be, if they 
 are not in reality, the principal features in 
 such an appeal to the good sense of the hearers 
 
64 The Occasional Address 
 
 as the speaker must make in the beginning, if 
 his subsequent discourse is to prosper with 
 Examples of them. A few exemplifications of 
 
 conciliatory x 
 
 introductions, timely and gracious conciliation 
 will illustrate the truth and value of the 
 maxim. 
 
 When Samuel Adams addressed a large audi- 
 encein Philadelphia in August, 1776, he made 
 good terms with his hearers by saying at the 
 outset : 
 
 " Truth loves an appeal to the common sense of mankind. 
 Your unperverted understanding can best determine on sub- 
 jects of a practical nature. Positions above the comprehen- 
 sion of the multitude are apt to be visionary and fruitless. 
 He who made all men hath made the truths necessary to 
 human happiness obvious to all." 
 
 Henry Clay in speaking for a long-established 
 revenue system in 1832 makes common ground 
 with his political opponent by asking, " Can 
 we proceed to this work of destruction without 
 a violation of public faith ? " When Garfield 
 as a Representative was about to tell the House 
 that it had by its action resolved to enter upon 
 a revolution against the Constitution and Gov- 
 ernment of the United States in 1879, ne P re_ 
 faced his speech by saying : " I wish I could 
 
The Introduction 65 
 
 be proved a false prophet in reference to the 
 result of this action. I wish that I could be 
 overwhelmed with the proof that I am utterly 
 mistaken in my views." Similar concession to 
 opposing sentiment won respectful consider- 
 ation for his own reluctant and serious con- 
 viction. One of the most graceful opening 
 sentences is that of Stephen A. Douglas's speech 
 on the war, at Springfield, Illinois, in 1861 : 
 " I am not insensible to the patriotic motives 
 which prompted you to do me the honor to 
 invite me to address you upon the momentous 
 issues now presented in the condition of the 
 country." Two years later, when Abraham 
 Lincoln began his Gettysburg address there 
 was no need of conciliating the listening throng, 
 but if there had been, his reference to the 
 fathers who made a new nation, and to the 
 soldiers who gave their lives that the nation 
 might not die, would have won the multitude. 
 Assuming now that the audience is favor- 
 ably disposed toward the speaker, 
 
 . . - , Indifference 
 
 either because it has no reason to and its re . 
 be otherwise, or because he has suc- 
 ceeded in removing disaffection, there may yet 
 
66 The Occasional Address 
 
 exist, what is of almost equal disadvantage to 
 him, a spirit of indifference whose continuance 
 is destructive of the best oratorial results. In- 
 differentism is better than opposition though 
 worse than favor, it might be urged ; but it is 
 worse than either : for an opposing element 
 rouses the speaker to his best effort to overcome 
 it, but unconcern inspires nothing beyond dis- 
 couragement and despair. It is a dead-weight 
 upon the speaker's spirits. There is no rebound 
 and no response. His words strike as bullets 
 strike earthworks and are lost and wasted. To 
 banish this sluggish indifference becomes, then, 
 the next necessity for an orator. It is not need- 
 ful to ask whence it comes, nor when, nor why. 
 To a greater or less degree it may exist in 
 every assembly ; in some persons by nature, in 
 others by present lack of interest in the theme, 
 or by more immediate concern about some- 
 thing else, or by any diversion and distraction 
 that may arise. Causes do not concern the 
 speaker so much as preventives and remedies. 
 How can interest be roused and attention be 
 secured is the second problem that he is to 
 solve. 
 
The Introduction 67 
 
 The first step towards its solution is to estab- 
 lish the importance of his subject to his hearers. 
 Not until their personal connection 
 
 Establishing 
 
 with his cause is made clear can a importance 
 
 . of subject. 
 
 profitable consideration of his words 
 be depended upon. Therefore he will labor to 
 make the connection clear between his topic 
 and his audience. Its importance may be never 
 so great absolutely. Is it also relatively to 
 the company before him ? If he cannot show 
 that it is, their attention will be only the civil- 
 ity of good breeding, and their patience that of 
 habit. The fact that a number of people have 
 assembled to hear what is to be said on a given 
 topic is a general guarantee of their interest in 
 it. This implies, of course, that the subject is 
 known beforehand, as in a lecture, or an adver- 
 tised address on a public occasion. The same 
 is true, in a measure, of an occasion which limits 
 the speaker to a definite class of subjects, as the 
 Sunday discourse or a course of lectures, scien- 
 tific or literary. The audience is somewhat 
 interested in anything that may be discussed 
 within the customary range of topics. It may 
 be a mild sort of interest, however, bordering 
 
68 The Occasional Address 
 
 on indifference with a large portion of the as- 
 sembly. If it is nothing more than mild, the 
 speaker may need at times to make it more. 
 At times, let it be observed, but not every time ; 
 for it is easy to get into a way of making the 
 present subject the most important of all sub- 
 jects — until the next one is announced. Preach- 
 ers are particularly inclined to fall into this 
 habit of emphasizing unduly the present theme, 
 forgetting how recently they did the same, and 
 that a more important truth may be awaiting 
 them. Other public speakers also have been 
 known to magnify the occasion beyond its 
 relative value. Still there are times and topics 
 of unusual importance of which an audience 
 may not be duly sensible. To make them so, 
 will be a part of the speaker's business. It will 
 not be enough to tell them that the occasion 
 or the subject is momentous. They may as 
 well be told to be good or generous or phil- 
 anthropic, and with a similar result. There 
 must be a general or a specific reason for such 
 effort ; and in like manner the importance of 
 any truth must have more than the assertion 
 of the speaker to impress it upon the hearer. 
 
The Introduction 69 
 
 Therefore considerable skill is requisite to make 
 him understand that the subject in hand is of 
 more than ordinary consequence, or of enough 
 at least to rouse him from the indifference which 
 may be habitual. 
 
 This skill will take such direction as the good 
 sense of the orator dictates. First, the oc- 
 casion may help him. Webster recog- 
 
 J *■ ° The occasion 
 
 nized this in his famous definition often lends 
 
 importance. 
 
 of eloquence, and he himself was im- 
 mensely advantaged in many instances by the 
 associations and suggestions of the hour and 
 the place, notably at Bunker Hill and Plymouth, 
 as Lincoln was at Gettysburg. Such occasions 
 are eloquent in themselves, and the orator has 
 only to interpret their lesson and be their 
 spokesman. They set the current of all 
 thoughts in the same direction, while the 
 speaker makes observations by the way. The 
 importance of what he utters is determined as 
 much by the occasion as by his own efforts, 
 and these in turn are greatly helped by the 
 tide of concordant sentiment which flows along 
 with them. Against this drift of sympathetic 
 feeling none but a simpleton will allow himself 
 
70 The Occasional Address 
 
 to oppose anything discordant, incongruous, or 
 hostile. If he is so disposed, he should hus- 
 band his resources for a more propitious time 
 of neutrality, or of avowed opposition on the 
 part of his hearers, and make the most of the 
 favoring occasion and its present importance. 
 Nothing indeed can be more important at the 
 time than the occasion, not even the man 'who 
 is to interpret and apply its lessons. So thought 
 Judge Brackenridge of Philadelphia, when 
 in 1789 he delivered a eulogy on the brave 
 men who had fallen in the War of the Rev- 
 olution : " I know my abilities rise not to a level 
 with so great a subject, but I love the memory 
 of the men who have risked their lives in the 
 war of America, and it is my hope that the 
 affection which I feel will be to me instead of 
 genius." 
 
 If, however, the speaker be not subordinate 
 to the occasion, and cannot be aided by it, he 
 finds the task of impressing his auditors a more 
 difficult one. A man like Samuel Adams in the 
 beginning of the speech quoted above may ac- 
 complish it in an indirect way by saying : " I 
 would gladly have declined an honor [of speak- 
 
The Introduction 71 
 
 ing] to which I find myself unequal. I have 
 not the calmness and impartiality which the 
 infinite importance of this occasion demands." 
 But if he had opened his address with the state- 
 ment, " This is an infinitely important occa- 
 sion," the effect would have been sadly marred. 
 Chief Justice Oliver Ellsworth, in the Con- 
 necticut Convention of 1788, conveyed the 
 right impression when he began his speech 
 with the words : " Mr. President, this is a most 
 important clause in the Constitution ; and the 
 gentlemen do well to offer all the objections 
 which they have against it." Sheridan, in his 
 speech on the Begum Charge, approaches the 
 topic in a novel way : " I shall not waste time 
 by any preliminary observations on the import- 
 ance of the subject before you. My friend 
 Mr. Burke has already executed the task in a 
 way most masterly and impressive." Lord 
 Chatham did the same when, in his maiden 
 speech, delivered in the House of Commons 
 April 29, 1736, he said : " I am unable, Sir, to 
 offer anything suitable to the dignity and im- 
 portance of the subject which has not already 
 been said by my honorable friend who made 
 
72 The Occasional Address 
 
 the motion." And three years later he began 
 his speech on the Spanish Convention thus: 
 " Sir, there certainly has never been in Parlia- 
 ment a matter of more high national concern 
 than the convention referred to the considera- 
 tion of this committee." And Burke had such 
 a sense of the importance of American affairs 
 to Great Britain that he termed the subject 
 " an awful one, or there is none so on this side 
 of the grave." 
 
 Examples of emphasizing the importance of 
 the speaker's theme might be multiplied be- 
 justification yond the interest of the reader in 
 i°n introduc- h tnem - Indeed, in one way or an- 
 tion. other, it is expedient, to say the 
 
 least, to establish at once the claim which a 
 topic has upon the hearer. If it does not of 
 itself make the demand evident, then the 
 orator's business is to make it plain before 
 he has trespassed long upon time and attention ; 
 and the more adroitly he does this the better 
 will be received what he has to say further in 
 substantiation of this claim. In fact this will 
 become the measure of his right to speak at 
 all. If he have no important message, he has 
 
The Introduction 73 
 
 no call to inflict himself upon an audience, un- 
 less they have come together for diversion or 
 amusement or to be bored. 
 
 The audience being in good humor with the 
 orator, and reasonably impressed with the im- 
 portance of his subject, the introduc- 
 
 1 m m Full state- 
 
 tion may end with a fuller statement mentof sub- 
 of the theme and its division for dis- 
 cussion than it has been thus far convenient 
 to make. In other words, the order and out- 
 line of discourse maybe introduced or formally 
 presented to the listeners. How fully and 
 minutely is another question for the skill, tact, 
 discretion, and wisdom of the speaker to deter- 
 mine. In this, too, he will be governed largely 
 by the law of proportion, by the probable 
 interest and expectancy of the hearer, and by 
 a politic reserve which does not anticipate the 
 discussion too much. Still there should be a 
 fuller statement of the topics to be discussed 
 than can usually be given in the title or theme- 
 wording. These may now be expanded in the 
 statement by enumerating the order in which 
 the principal divisions of the discourse will be 
 taken up, a procedure which is often helpful 
 
74 The Occasional Address 
 
 and gratifying to the attentive hearer. Judge 
 Story's oration at Harvard in 1826, on "The 
 Examples. Characteristics of the Age," illus- 
 trates such enumeration at the close of his 
 introduction where he says : 
 
 "What I propose to myself on the present occasion is to 
 trace out some of the circumstances of the age which connect 
 themselves with the cause of science and letters ; to sketch 
 here and there a light and shadow of our days ; to look some- 
 what at our own prospects and attainments, and thus lay be- 
 fore you something for reflection, for encouragement, and for 
 admonition." 
 
 This is his expanded version of a theme 
 which is simply, " The Characteristics of the 
 Age " : and in this fuller statement he outlines 
 his entire discourse. In his memorial address 
 on the lives of Jefferson and Adams, William 
 Wirt, after alluding to the " consummation 
 of their lives " in an introduction of some 
 length, outlines his oration by saying briefly, 
 " Let us recall the more prominent incidents of 
 these illustrious lives," which were, as he after- 
 ward recounts them, their early studies, politi- 
 cal tendencies, associations, and championships, 
 congressional careers, and presidential admini- 
 strations. In the speech at the trial of Aaron 
 
The Introduction 75 
 
 Burr, 1807, the same orator makes his state- 
 ment in four propositions, corresponding to the 
 four which his opponent had made, and then 
 adds, " I beg leave to take up these propo- 
 sitions in succession and give them those 
 answers which to my mind are satisfactory." 
 This is in accord with Quintilian's assertion 
 that there is much attraction in an argu- 
 ment which derives its substance from the 
 pleading of an opponent, for the reason that 
 it does not appear to have been composed at 
 home but to be produced on the spot. This 
 of course applies more particularly to forensic 
 efforts, although there is much in them that 
 is applicable to public address of every kind, 
 for in a sense each hearer is a judge before 
 whom some sort of a cause is presented. 
 
 Such enumeration of propositions to be 
 discussed should not, however, be too long for 
 modern memories, nor be so minute as to leave 
 nothing that may appear to spring spontane- 
 ously from the course of discussion. It is 
 probable, moreover, that such ordering of the 
 outline has its best use in indicating to the 
 hearer the progress of the speaker as he re- 
 
76 The Occasional Address 
 
 announces the main propositions one after 
 another as his speech proceeds. Like mile- 
 stones, these landmarks of discourse as they are 
 recalled and restated tell the audience how far 
 they have come and how much farther they 
 have to go. Sometimes an assembly is more 
 patient than it would otherwise be when it 
 perceives with evident relief that the last stage 
 is not far away. 
 
 
VI. 
 THE DISCUSSION. 
 
 THIS word, Discussion, primarily denoting 
 debate, will be used as a general term 
 covering the various methods of discourse 
 employed in the body of any public address. 
 The variety of these methods is Discussion 
 necessarily as great as the character ^ds ofdS- 
 of different occasions, subjects, and course, 
 
 speakers can make it. Recognizing this almost 
 infinite diversity, writers upon the art of oratory 
 at an early period attempted to classify the com- 
 monest forms which were constantly recurring 
 in social and civic life. 
 
 Aristotle, twenty-two centuries ago, with 
 full knowledge of all that his prede- 
 
 , . . , t r i • Ancient clas- 
 
 cessors had said and of what opin- S ificationsof 
 
 ions his contemporaries held in an 
 
 age of eloquence, makes a threefold division 
 
 77 
 
78 The Occasional Address 
 
 of orations into deliberative, judicial, and de- 
 monstrative ; or those which relate to the 
 future, the past, and the present, respectively ; 
 things to be accomplished, or already done, or 
 now doing or existing ; matters therefore to be 
 deliberated about, or judged, or condemned, or 
 praised. So also he makes a threefold division 
 of the motive. For deliberative oratory it is 
 the expedient or the inexpedient, with recom- 
 mendation and dissuasion ; for judicial oratory 
 the consideration is that of justice or injustice ; 
 while the end of demonstrative speech is praise 
 or blame resulting in honor or disgrace. Quin- 
 tilian, after noticing different principles and 
 methods of division adopted by Anaximenes, 
 Protagoras, Isocrates, and other Greeks, adopts 
 Aristotle's division with so much change of or- 
 der as to make it, first, demonstrative ; second, 
 deliberative ; third, judicial. He also notices 
 the attempt of some Greek writers, whom 
 Pliny the elder follows in his own day, to 
 make it appear that there are almost innumer- 
 able kinds of oratory. Against this minute 
 division he is driven to say that for himself he 
 might divide oratory into only two kinds, 
 

 The Discussion 79 
 
 judicial and extra-judicial, forensic and all 
 others. But with his customary fairness he 
 finally remarks that it has appeared safest to 
 him to follow the majority of writers, and 
 therefore he adopts the tripartite division just 
 given. In the decline of oratory there was 
 more or less tendency to minute division, es- 
 pecially in scholastic ages, until the revival of 
 learning brought back a wholesome respect for 
 the best methods of antiquity, although it 
 may be said that Aristotle, Cicero, and Quin- 
 tilian were always standards of authority with 
 speakers and rhetoricians who could read the 
 languages in which these authors wrote. 
 
 Sir Francis Bacon, in discoursing of the wis- 
 dom of the ancients, condensed something of 
 it in his " Antitheta," or rhetorical Modern cIas . 
 commonplaces, acute in thought and situations, 
 pointed in their concise expression ; but while 
 he says nothing of the formal order of dis- 
 course he does not depart materially from the 
 decisions of antiquity. Sir Thomas Wilson, 
 who died forty-five years before Sir Francis 
 Bacon, published in 1553, ten years before 
 Shakespeare was born, his Arte of Rhetorique, 
 
80 The Occasional Address 
 
 the first text-book of composition and criticism 
 in our language. The rules in this treatise are 
 derived chiefly from Aristotle through Cicero 
 and Quintilian. Two hundred years later, in 
 1759, Hugh Blair appeared as the next writer 
 of eminence upon the art of discourse, — so emi- 
 nent that King George the Second was induced 
 to establish a professorship of rhetoric and po- 
 lite literature at the University of Edinburgh, 
 and to appoint Dr. Blair as its first professor. 
 In his enumeration of the ancient division he 
 gives a clear definition of each, following Quin- 
 tilian's order. He says " the scope of the 
 Demonstrative was to praise or to blame ; that 
 of the Deliberative to advise or to dissuade ; 
 that of the Judicial to accuse or to defend." 
 Then he adds : " This division runs through all 
 the ancient treatises on Rhetoric and is followed 
 by the moderns. It is a division which com- 
 prehends most or all of the matters which can 
 be the subject of public discourse." It suits 
 his purpose, however, to adopt a division sug- 
 gested by " the three great scenes of modern 
 eloquence, namely, popular assemblies, the bar, 
 and the pulpit," which he qualifies by saying 
 
The Discussion 81 
 
 that " the eloquence of the bar is precisely the 
 same with what the ancients call the judicial; 
 and that of the popular assembly, though 
 mostly what they term the deliberative spe- 
 cies, yet admits also of the demonstrative; 
 while the eloquence of the pulpit is altogether 
 of a distinct nature and cannot be properly 
 reduced under any of the heads of the ancient 
 rhetoricians." In substance, he has not for- 
 saken the division of his Greek and Roman 
 masters. It is a long reach from Quintilian at 
 Rome to George Campbell at Aberdeen, and 
 from the close of the first century of our era 
 to the year 1766 when the Philosophy of Rhet- 
 oric was published. In his preface he remarks 
 that considerable progress had been made by 
 the Greeks and Romans in devising the proper 
 rules of composition not only in the two sorts 
 of poesy, epic and dramatic, but also in the 
 three sorts of orations, the deliberative, the 
 judicial, and the demonstrative. It will be 
 observed here that he follows the order of 
 Aristotle rather than that of Quintilian. He 
 then adds : " And I must acknowledge that, 
 as far as I have been able to discover, there 
 
82 The Occasional Address 
 
 has been little or no improvement in this re- 
 spect made by the moderns." 
 
 Eighty years later, in 1846, Richard Whately, 
 Archbishop of Dublin, the next prominent 
 
 Recent das- writer u P on Composition, so far as 
 sification. ne nas an y di v i s i on f the oration, 
 
 does not disagree with Aristotle ; but he is 
 more concerned with address to the under- 
 standing and the will, with matters of style 
 and delivery, than about different kinds of 
 speeches. But twenty years after him, 1866, 
 came another Aberdeen professor with a work 
 which he confesses is more allied to Campbell, 
 Blair, and Whately than to lighter works on 
 English Composition. This writer was Alex- 
 ander Bain, who is still held in high repute by 
 the latest authorities in the province of rhet- 
 oric. His classification is "according to the 
 different occasions of oratory " ; each giving 
 rise to a distinct method, and constituting a 
 separate professional study : I. The oratory 
 of the law courts ; II. Political oratory ; III. 
 Pulpit oratory ; IV. Moral suasion. There 
 can be discovered in this nomenclature a sur- 
 vival of Aristotle's and Quintilian's terms, — 
 
The Discussion 83 
 
 Judicial, Deliberative, and Demonstrative, for 
 his two last divisions are practically but one, 
 unless moral suasion be excluded from the 
 pulpit and confined to biography, poetry, and 
 the novel, according to Bain's intimation. A 
 still later division has been made by Professor 
 Genung into I. Determinate, including foren- 
 sic, parliamentary, and pulpit oratory ; II. De- 
 monstrative, or " that which impels toward 
 noble, patriotic, and honorable sentiments and 
 toward a large and worthy life." If, now, two 
 of the three divisions under Determinate be 
 called by their ancient names, we shall have 
 for " forensic," judicial ; and for " parliament- 
 ary," deliberative ; — pulpit oratory not being 
 known until the early Christian centuries. 
 Adding Demonstrative to the other two an- 
 cient divisions, the real permanence of the 
 great Athenian analyst's classification is ap- 
 parent : Judicial, Deliberative, Demonstrative. 
 It is worth observing that Aristotle places 
 Demonstrative oratory last in or- 
 
 Scope of 
 
 der, as addressed to the hearer and Demonstra- 
 
 , . i m T 1 • • 1 tive oratory. 
 
 in the present time, while Judicial 
 
 passes judgment upon what is past, and 
 
84 The Occasional Address 
 
 Deliberative considers what is to come. He 
 also makes praise or blame the object, and 
 honor or dishonor the result of such speech. 
 Now if inquiry be made about the kinds of 
 address which fall within the scope of such 
 oratory, it will be seen that commendation and 
 condemnation must have objects as definite as 
 the personal deeds and character of the man, or 
 the corporate acts of a number of men, or the 
 events which are not beyond human control 
 and responsibility. Discourse of this nature 
 will accordingly be demonstrative or epidictic 
 in the sense of showing forth the true character 
 of persons or actions, in order that such expo- 
 sition may have its influence upon the hearer. 
 In a word, it is the oratory of the object-lesson. 
 This being true, it is pertinent to ask about 
 the nature of the subjects to be discussed in 
 such oratory. Leaving matters of litigation to 
 judicial or forensic speech, and subjects of 
 legislation to deliberative, and also, as a neces- 
 sity, religious instruction to the pulpit, what 
 remains for the occasional oration ? Things, it 
 may be answered, as immaterial as the human 
 soul, and as evanescent as the instantaneous act. 
 
The Discussion 85 
 
 But as the thoughts of the heart issue in deeds, 
 and deeds repeated result in character, and the 
 character of the majority becomes 
 
 J J Its themt im- 
 
 that of a nation or an age, it is im- material and 
 
 , . . personal. 
 
 mensely important that the impal- 
 pable and fleeting forces which are at the found- 
 ation of the social fabric should be discerned, 
 and that communities should be helped to 
 discriminate between the good and the bad, 
 between policy and principle, the honorable 
 and the dishonorable. This they cannot always 
 be expected to do until they are made to see the 
 difference between good and evil. So also with 
 motives and incentives to action. A concrete 
 example effectively presented is worth a dozen 
 precepts. A personal trait of character, illus- 
 trated by a striking instance of its working, 
 inspires respect and provokes imitation and cul- 
 tivation of the same more than many injunctions 
 to obey and follow the abstract truth which it 
 embodies or illustrates. Or, on the other hand, 
 an evil event, an act of fraud, injustice, or in- 
 iquity, divested of its cloak and placed in strong 
 daylight, becomes its own condemnation, and 
 also an admonition to the public. 
 
86 The Occasional Address 
 
 Besides the acts and character of prominent 
 
 individuals, and the enactments of national 
 
 legislatures, and the trend of public 
 
 Ethical and & r 
 
 political opinion, and the high or low level of 
 
 subjects. . .... 
 
 public morals, there is another legiti- 
 mate field for the exercise of criticism by 
 demonstrative oratory in the sphere of general 
 truths which have a present, because an ever- 
 lasting and constant value. What is right or 
 honorable or beneficent or beautiful or gener- 
 ous or self-sacrificing or patriotic has always 
 been recognized as such and always will be in 
 the main features of these virtues. Belonging 
 to a long past and having the promise of a long 
 future, they are emphatically the possession of 
 the present as a moving point in the procession 
 of the years, an eternal Now. By inheritance 
 and by the responsibility of a trust-holder for 
 the future, the present time guards, keeps, and 
 uses these imperishable principles of right and 
 honor, benevolence and generosity. It is by 
 reason of this permanence and continuity of 
 unalterable principles that language, as the ex- 
 pression of common conviction, speaks of them 
 as always in the present, as for example: 
 
The Discussion 87 
 
 " Socrates said that the immortal is indestruct- 
 ible, and that the soul is immortal " — not was ; 
 the present tense, not the past. 
 
 There is, then, no lack of subject-matter in 
 demonstrative oratory. Literally its field is as 
 wide as the world of universal truth Range of its 
 and as specific as personal character. 
 If a speaker can afford to do it, and is able to 
 do it profitably, he may roam at large over a 
 boundless range of universal and timeless truth, 
 or again, if he choose and can do it, he may 
 describe a small circle in this wide field and 
 sink a shaft like a well into the depths of a 
 single character, or of a single act, opinion, 
 sentiment of any community, nation, or age. 
 Extensively, therefore, or intensively he may 
 work according to his will and courage, his 
 choice and ability, or according to the need of 
 the audience and the suggestion of the occa- 
 sion. But he will take care to bring out of the 
 length and breadth of the wide domain of per- 
 petual truth, or out of its heights and depths, 
 things which may be set before his hearers for 
 ideals to follow or for examples to shun. 
 
 The demonstrative treatment of such themes 
 
88 The Occasional Address 
 
 has methods as peculiarly its own as those of the 
 it m th ds court-room, the legislative hall, or the 
 areexposi- pulpit. If the word demonstrative 
 
 tory. x L 
 
 or, as the Greeks had it, epidictic,has 
 a primary meaning not conveyed in our present 
 use of the term, it is the idea and the act of point- 
 ing out and exhibiting, — a sense which is some- 
 times lost in that of demonstration by argument 
 and proof, so called. To exhibit, therefore, what 
 is, or to point out what needs only to be seen in 
 order to be admitted, is the import of the term. 
 Such exhibition and revelation requires meth- 
 ods distinct, definite, and appropriate to the un- 
 dertaking. For there are hundreds of truths 
 clothed in concrete form and existing on every 
 hand which are powerless, or less powerful than 
 they might be, because they are unrecognized 
 and uninterpreted. They pass in and out among 
 men in commonplace disguise. 
 
 A primary qualification, therefore, of the 
 demonstrative orator is that he be somewhat 
 The orator of a discoverer. He must find what 
 a discoverer. j g nQ j. comm only seen, or unveil 
 what is but dimly discerned by the heedless. 
 The ability to do this may be the gift of a seer 
 
The Discussion 89 
 
 only, but, possessed in any degree, it may be 
 cultivated. The sublime vision from the field 
 of Zophim was seen by the diviner of Midian 
 whose eyes had been shut but now were open. 
 So the open vision may come sometimes by 
 diligent cultivation to one who at first saw 
 imperfectly. In some degree, then, the orator 
 must have the perceptive faculty developed, 
 and his success will largely depend upon its 
 exercise. To see the unseen and to find what 
 is hidden from the unobservant is the foundation 
 of demonstrative discourse; for how can the 
 speaker point out what he himself has not 
 found, and what every one sees beforehand 
 needs no exposition. Such discernment is 
 greatly sharpened by the habit of observation. 
 By this is not meant a casual notice of occur- 
 rences and facts, but rather the prolonged 
 study which attends inductive processes, where 
 similarities in things dissimilar are discovered, 
 and causes are traced from effects and results 
 are seen to follow precedent action. It is a 
 searching and investigating process which, pa- 
 tiently pursued, will result in discovery in the 
 fields pertaining to demonstrative speech as 
 
90 The Occasional Address 
 
 surely as in the domain of any other science. 
 Such perception may be intuitive in a great 
 dramatist or a great orator, but in most men it 
 is the result of cultivating the observant and 
 perceptive faculties which are seldom entirely 
 lacking in any person. 
 
 In its operation it is known among rhetori- 
 cians as Invention, a word which to modern 
 invention, understandings has a sense partly of 
 creation and partly of discovery, and is best 
 apprehended when applied to a new com- 
 bination of matter, as in a machine, and is 
 most frequently associated with the modern 
 meaning of patent, as in a patented inven- 
 tion. In Cicero's day, however, and how much 
 earlier it is not easy to say, he who " in- 
 vented " " came upon " an idea, a thought, a 
 perception, a quality, a trait of character in 
 man or race, the meaning of an event, a drift 
 of sentiment, a tendency of an age. He might 
 " meet with " it by chance or more likely " find " 
 it after much searching ; but when found it was 
 his Invention, and the finding process was 
 called by the same name, which altered condi- 
 tions have so changed in meaning as to warrant 
 
The Discussion 9 1 
 
 and perhaps demand this notice of the change 
 in the word itself. Meantime the Latin signi- 
 fication has lived on with the treatises in which 
 the word is embalmed. 
 
 It has been the custom of some writers in 
 recent years to assert that Invention is beyond 
 the limits of rhetoric proper, which, 
 
 1 ii- i • i i Among the 
 
 they add, is concerned with modes ancients in 
 
 r . * #^.1 i j. '. composition. 
 
 of expression only. The best writers 
 of antiquity did not think so. Their large 
 views of the art of rhetoric may indeed be 
 safely narrowed so as not to include the entire 
 circle of human knowledge as they then did ; 
 but in doing this care is to be taken not to 
 eliminate one of the two essential factors in the 
 process of composition. For there must be a 
 thought to communicate antecedent to any 
 method of communication, as a person gen- 
 erally thinks before he speaks. This thought 
 may be called an accumulation from which to 
 select the material of discourse, and not the dis- 
 course itself, or it may be ruled out as antece- 
 dent and preliminary to the act of composition ; 
 but he will be a most remarkable writer who 
 can go far along in his discourse without hav- 
 
9 2 The Occasional Address 
 
 ing to renew his inventive process, however 
 complete his preparation may have been. To 
 separate invention from composition is like 
 separating the gathering of stone, brick, iron, 
 and wood from the building process. Provide 
 beforehand as he may, every builder knows 
 that much more will have to be collected as the 
 edifice goes up, and he does not discriminate 
 between the labor and cost of finding material 
 and incorporating it into the structure. So let 
 any one who is composing say, if he can, that 
 the moments he has spent in finding a thought 
 were no part of the time taken to express that 
 thought, and therefore not to be reckoned as 
 composition, which upon this theory relates en- 
 tirely to words and their arrangement. Instead 
 of this, it is safe to say that invention, or 
 thought-gathering, is the primary if not the 
 principal part of composition, and if done well 
 makes later processes easy and effective. If it is 
 ill done, no choice of words, no elegance of dic- 
 tion, no graces of figurative language can make 
 good the loss, as no elaboration of external 
 ornament can atone for the absence of solid 
 foundations and strong walls in a building. 
 
The Discussion 93 
 
 And as thought and words are inseparably 
 joined together in the mind, and in conversa- 
 tion so intimately connected as to go hand in 
 hand, so in writing and in public speaking, 
 especially in extemporaneous speaking, they 
 cannot be divorced except by a refinement of 
 abstraction which is worthy of an eleventh-cen- 
 tury schoolman. Sir Francis Bacon in the 
 beginning of the seventeenth century did 
 indeed assert in his Advancement of Learning 
 that "to invent is to discover that we know 
 not, and the use of this invention is no other 
 but out of the knowledge whereof our mind is 
 already possessed, to draw forth or call before us 
 that which may be pertinent tothepurposewhich 
 we take into consideration," as a remembrance 
 or suggestion. But practically in almost all high 
 discourse there are many things which were not 
 known or thought when the composition of it 
 was begun, or when the speech was begun, if in 
 any degree extemporaneous. And if there is a 
 stock fund of knowledge that can thus be drawn 
 upon it must have been discovered, invented, 
 or met with as a foundation for subsequent use. 
 Observation, perception, and invention are, 
 
94 The Occasional Address 
 
 then, one and all, the essential preliminaries to 
 demonstrative oratory ; and the ora- 
 
 New combi- 
 nations de- tor must be a discoverer before he 
 
 can find something to exhibit that is 
 worthy of an expenditure of attention and time 
 by the listener. What can you offer us that we 
 have not seen and do not know already ? is the 
 question which every audience has a right to 
 ask of any man who stands before it with the 
 implied offer of something worth the hour sur- 
 rendered, multiplied by the number of his 
 hearers. What new truth have you discov- 
 ered ? or to make a more reasonable request, 
 What new combination or restatement of old 
 truths, or what larger revelation of a hitherto 
 half-perceived truth, can you present ? Or can 
 you bring out into strong relief a fact, trait, or 
 tendency that we have been dimly conscious 
 of, but have passed by unheeded ? Such inter- 
 rogations the speaker should first put to him- 
 self ; for if the audience does not get a satis- 
 factory answer in one way or another, it will 
 have its own revenge in the future and be con- 
 spicuous by its absence when this particular 
 speaker proffers his next invention. 
 
The Discussion 95 
 
 The subjects of demonstrative oratory being 
 of the character intimated above, and the ne- 
 cessity of keen observation and dili- 
 
 . . Exposition 
 
 gent invention being admitted, it will by repre- 
 be in order to ask, What are the 
 modes of composition which best suit the pre- 
 sentation of the orator's findings ? The word 
 which defines this kind of discourse will sug- 
 gest an answer. As the speecn is demonstrat- 
 ive, the method of the discussion must be that 
 which best shows forth its master. Therefore, 
 it will be expository in character, setting out 
 for inspection the truths that have been discov- 
 ered, and literally exposing them to public gaze. 
 This will be the general method. But this ex- 
 position will include processes which precede 
 or follow the technical exposition of the rhet- 
 oricians according to the nature and require- 
 ments of the subject under consideration. In 
 some themes of occasional discourse the orator 
 will need, above all, to exercise the faculty of 
 re-presentation to others. By this is meant the 
 ability to make others see as he sees, and to 
 understand as he understands. In a material 
 way it is the work of the painter who puts upon 
 
96 The Occasional Address 
 
 canvas the picture that is in his mind, the ap- 
 pearance which a landscape or human face has 
 to his vision. He re-presents it to all behold- 
 ers. The orator does the same, with words for 
 media instead of colors. As media, words have 
 the advantage of colors in presenting the sub- 
 jects with which a speaker has oftenest to deal. 
 At least such verbal presentation will be found 
 inseparable from themes as objective as per- 
 sonal character. Let the Memorial Address or 
 Commemorative Discourse be taken as an illus- 
 trative type of the value of descriptive writing. 
 That which is to be re-presented is as intangible 
 and yet as real as personal traits, the like of 
 which every hearer has observed in various de- 
 gree and combination. But the speaker's busi- 
 ness on some particular occasion is to show 
 what traits were predominant in a certain char- 
 acter, and in what degree, and with what result. 
 If he could paint the rainbow he could not de- 
 pict such a character in colors. He may do it 
 in words. 
 
 For instance, when George Bancroft pro- 
 nounced a eulogy on Andrew Jackson, a man 
 whom he admired, he portrayed immaterial 
 
The Discussion 97 
 
 qualities with the fidelity of an artist. Sin- 
 cerity, personal and moral courage, intuitive 
 possession of creative ideas expressed 
 
 Examples of 
 
 with intrepidity and enforced with character 
 
 portrayal. 
 
 dauntless will, nerves of steel, and a 
 steadfast mind were the invisible traits which 
 were known by their outcome in action to all 
 men, but were themselves depicted by the seer 
 who beheld motives and characteristics apart 
 from their outward expression. When George 
 S. Hilliard took up the character of another 
 military man, General Taylor, there was a sim- 
 ilar representation of those qualities which made 
 him great to his eulogist ; " genius and courage 
 in battle, humane ministration when it was over, 
 self-reliance, consciousness of strength, a stony 
 will, an iron purpose, a reanimating spirit, ■ the 
 rock of the battle-field,' " — all these are sketched 
 with a boldness that makes the reader see the 
 man plainer than on canvas : for there the sturdy 
 face and the regulation uniform only are visi- 
 ble, and these in the one mood of repose. No 
 one knows better than the genuine artist the 
 limitations of pencil and brush. His battle- 
 fields are the scenes of one particular instant 
 7 
 
98 The Occasional Address 
 
 in the long day's fighting, and of necessity are 
 the work of memory and imagination, repro- 
 ducing a snap-shot of impression. What could 
 a clicking camera on the field of battle have 
 accomplished in comparison with Victor Hugo's 
 word-picturing of the great conflict of the na- 
 tions at Waterloo, or with Carlyle's description 
 of Torgau, Liegnitz, or Hohenfriedberg, in the 
 second Silesian War ? 
 
 Portraiture is not more satisfactory. Paint- 
 ing is an art which may disclose something of 
 temper and character, but what portrait can 
 compete with a well-written biography in giv- 
 ing the sum and substance of a life? Read, for 
 example, those four sketches which Charles 
 Sumner made of his four friends, Pickering, 
 Story, Allston, and Channing, and then study 
 their portraits to see which will give the better 
 conception of character. Or what more sug- 
 gestive studies of the statesmen of his time can 
 be found than the memorial addresses which 
 the late Senator Anthony made in Congress as 
 one after another of his peers dropped away ? 
 No face is so familiar to all Americans as that 
 of Washington, but it remained for Edward 
 
The Discussion 99 
 
 Everett to set forth traits which all the can- 
 vases together do not reveal. The same may 
 be said of Lincoln when some master hand and 
 pen shall gather into one harmonious and pro- 
 portionate estimate the hundreds of sketches 
 which have been made from as many points of 
 view. 
 
 It may be conceded, then, that the occasional 
 orator has the best medium at his command 
 for the representation and reproduc- words as 
 tion of the immaterial and elusive media, 
 
 elements with which it is his privilege to deal 
 on public occasions. The province is shared 
 only by the biographer, and by him in a differ- 
 ent way and very often with a different result. 
 For it is the eulogist's business to portray the 
 daily deeds and abiding principles in such a 
 manner as to inspire all who listen with a desire 
 to imitate the noble example which has been 
 set before them. The precept is as old as 
 Isocrates's time : " If you emulate a man's fame, 
 copy his actions." The impulse may be slight 
 and the impression trifling, but such exposition 
 of the best in human nature and of its possi- 
 bilities may be one of the shaping forces of 
 
ioo The Occasional Address 
 
 character for some impressible listener. The 
 jar is slight and the angle of deflection is small 
 when a train is turned aside from the line on 
 which it has been running, but the ultimate 
 divergence may be as wide apart as from the 
 Atlantic to the Pacific. It is not improbable 
 that some person who heard Blaine's eulogy on 
 Garfield was diverted from selfish political am- 
 bition to the higher aspiration for a broader 
 and better service of country and humanity. 
 Certainly none could have heard Curtis's eulogy 
 on Wendell Phillips without a thought of the 
 grandeur of consecration to a cause which was 
 none the less worthy because unpopular, and 
 surely not without the impulse to enter upon a 
 crusade against evils which are waiting for some 
 preacher from Picardy or Clairvaux. 
 
VII. 
 
 THE CONCLUSION OF AN 
 ADDRESS. 
 
 IN some particulars the Peroration is the most 
 important division of the discourse. Other 
 portions have their special function — to state, 
 convince, persuade ; this one has 
 
 Importance 
 
 something of the office of every of the 
 
 other. Each section has been work- 
 ing in its own way toward effecting a certain 
 result ; this one is to combine the several efforts 
 in a final and forcible and brief presentation of 
 the whole subject. Therefore, the speaker will 
 have strongly in mind his purpose in speaking. 
 He is approaching the moment when the result 
 he has been aiming at is to be accomplished. 
 Towards this, all that has gone before has been 
 contributing — the truth to be established, the 
 proposition to be proved, the moral to be in- 
 culcated, the memory to be renewed and per- 
 
102 The Occasional Address 
 
 petuated, the new purpose to be instilled, the 
 higher level of living to be commended. In 
 judicial oratory it would be the verdict to be 
 secured ; in deliberative, the vote to be cast or 
 the measure to be adopted. 
 
 As a consequence of a clear view of his ob- 
 ject, in these final paragraphs the orator will 
 also have his subject in mind, all the 
 
 An epitome 
 
 of the more definitely for the full treatment 
 
 discourse. ... TT - 
 
 it has just received. He cannot here 
 be oblivious to the general course of the dis- 
 cussion — its narration, exposition, and argu- 
 ment, nor be unmindful of motives which have 
 been addressed for persuasion to action. Thus 
 the conclusion becomes an epitome and sum- 
 mary of the entire discourse. Accordingly its 
 character will be chiefly retrospective, as what 
 has preceded it has been prospective. But all 
 prospectiveness should be ended by the time 
 the peroration is reached. If fresher or better 
 thoughts arrive late they will be rigorously 
 excluded or crowded back into the body of 
 the discourse, possibly to the crowding out 
 of less valuable material. For if admitted into 
 the peroration their very excellence may ob- 
 
Conclusion of an Address 103 
 
 literate the memory of much that has taken 
 time to speak and pains to hear. Being thus 
 retrospective, the peroration will gather into a 
 brief space the weight of all that has been said. 
 This does not imply repetition, reiteration, and 
 consequent prolixity. It is rather an assem- 
 bling of comprehensive sentences which shall 
 stand for entire sections, like centres of gravity 
 representing at a single point the bulk of bodies. 
 The formal method of doing this is by re- 
 capitulation, enumerating heads and topics, a 
 swift survey of the ground gone R eC apituia- 
 over. Too much formality, how- tlon# 
 
 ever, will be out of place here. The time has 
 passed for statement of plan. Parallel lines of 
 exposition and argument, of illustration and 
 persuasion, have been previously laid ; they are 
 now to converge at one point through which, 
 as through strands twisted together, are to pass 
 united currents of instruction, conviction, and 
 persuasion for final impact and impulse with 
 the concentrated force of a hundred paragraphs. 
 Therefore the speaker's words will be suggest- 
 ive rather than reiterative. It is the place for 
 artistic dealing with the spirit of his discourse 
 
104 The Occasional Address 
 
 rather than with the letter of it. It is the time 
 for employing his best skill and his whole 
 strength in fusing together conclusions and im- 
 pressions, and welding into a single bolt all the 
 facts, reasons, and motives which he has been 
 marshalling in their proper order. 
 
 This massing of forces for a final impression is 
 in accordance with a law of wide application, by 
 cumulative wn i cn tne l ast stage of whatever has a 
 massing. cumulative movement is its most effi- 
 cient stage. Continuous utterance of growing 
 thought with stronger reasons, increasing inter- 
 est, and augmented feeling, acquires a momen- 
 tum analogous to that produced by gravitation. 
 Its final velocity and impact should be equal to 
 the sum of all the forces that have preceded it, 
 accelerated by the sympathy which works to- 
 ward a climax in any receptive and responsive 
 audience that is fairly treated by a speaker. It 
 is also in accord with another law of the human 
 intellect which requires that the discussion of 
 any subject shall increase in interest as it is 
 prolonged. Otherwise there will be nothing to 
 counterbalance the inevitable weariness, rest- 
 lessness, and drowsiness which the act of listen- 
 
Conclusion of an Address 105 
 
 ing induces. The spirit of eloquence is pitted 
 against the spirit of slumber, with the odds in 
 favor of the latter. Doubly fatal is the error 
 of reversing the law of cumulation by being 
 more interesting at the start than afterward, 
 adding to growing weariness of the hearer an 
 increasing tiresomeness of the speaker, ending 
 in listless, uneasy impatience. For every rea- 
 son, then, the orator will see to it that the in- 
 terest in his subject and object is deepest at the 
 close of his discourse. The chief contributor 
 to this will be the condensed force of the entire 
 address culminating in an impression as com- 
 plete and comprehensive as the limitations of 
 language will permit. 
 
 A final excellence in the conclusion is the 
 evidence that the speaker knows 
 
 Brevity, and 
 
 when to stop. The conclusion is a stopping at 
 
 ,-, . the end. 
 
 place of peril. Few things are more 
 exasperating to hearers than to have their ex- 
 pectation of the end of a discourse deferred 
 when the hearer has led them to believe or 
 hope that it is near. The temptation is always 
 great to say one thing more, to add a "lastly," 
 a " finally," and an " in conclusion," with the 
 
io6 The Occasional Address 
 
 "single remark in closing." It is a wise man 
 who knows exactly when it is flood-tide in his 
 speech and can stop before the ebb begins. Of 
 one thing he may be sure, that if at this point 
 his object has not been accomplished he will 
 gain nothing by multiplying words. 
 
 In general, then, the peroration will be rela- 
 tively brief and comprehensively suggestive of 
 the entire speech. It may be needful to crowd 
 it with strong and stirring words appealing to 
 lofty motives. And whatever may have been 
 the taste of the ancients, the modern audience 
 will expect the speaker to stop when he reaches 
 his highest level, rather than to keep on until 
 he has said his last possible word and tired out 
 his last listener. 
 
PART II. 
 
 QUALITIES OF EXPRESSION. 
 
 107 
 
I. 
 
 CARDINAL PROCESSES. 
 
 THE fundamental laws which underlie all 
 composition manifest themselves in vari- 
 ous forms in different kinds of literature, as the 
 principles of life and growth in nature reveal 
 their activity in divers ways. In like manner 
 the creative faculty has one method of pro- 
 cedure in historical writing, another in scien- 
 tific, and still another in imaginative, or in 
 poetic writing. Public address also has its own 
 processes of composition, which it shares with 
 some, and does not share with other Descriptive, 
 departments of literature. With ^"^i^y 
 these cardinal processes should go treatment, 
 those qualities of style which contribute largely 
 to the effectiveness of oral discourse. Differ- 
 ing widely as occasional addresses do in their 
 author, occasion, purpose, and subject, there 
 109 
 
no The Occasional Address 
 
 may nevertheless be found a predominance 
 of descriptive, narrative, and expository treat- 
 ment in most of them. Facts are made to tell 
 their own story, and traits of character are 
 woven into the fabric of eulogy. There may 
 be argument at times, but oftener it is a moving 
 scene on which succeeding events of a life or 
 an age are portrayed, growing in interest and 
 power with the years and the decades. The 
 narrative is not mere recounting and the de- 
 scription mere enumeration. Particulars which 
 by themselves are as bare of interest as those 
 of an abridged biographical dictionary may 
 underlie the eulogy, and annals as dreary as 
 those of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle may form 
 the substratum of a commemorative discourse ; 
 but the compositions themselves may be splen- 
 did as Everett's eulogy upon Washington, or 
 Curtis's upon Phillips, or Webster's orations at 
 Bunker Hill and Plymouth, or Lincoln's epi- 
 taphian discourse at Gettysburg, and worthy of 
 Pericles's funeral oration over the citizens slain 
 in the first year of the Peloponnesian War. 
 
 With the narrative and expository methods 
 there may also be combined such forms of 
 
Cardinal Processes in 
 
 reasoning as may be needed for the conviction 
 which must precede persuasion ; but the far- 
 ther they are removed from all ap- Appropriate 
 pearance of logical formality the argurnenta- 
 
 r to J tive forms. 
 
 more effective will they be. There is 
 always some prejudice against the syllogism 
 and those scholastic subtleties whose value de- 
 pends entirely upon the truth of a premise or 
 the honesty of a conclusion. In case, however, 
 that reasoning processes must be used, they 
 should be of the briefer and plainer sort, easily 
 apprehended by people whose sustained atten- 
 tion to anything cannot be counted upon : testi- 
 mony in its stronger forms, cause and effect, 
 the a fortiori so frequently used in the Bible, 
 analogies for what they are worth as illumi- 
 nators, reduction to a single alternative and to 
 the absurd, and, most pleasing of all to an 
 audience, the destructive dilemma, between 
 whose two horns there is as little choice as 
 remains for the prostrate and disarmed mata- 
 dore in a bull-fight. Any of these are worth 
 more in our day than chains of reasoning which, 
 long drawn out, are by no means " linked sweet- 
 ness " to the ordinary hearer. To the followers 
 
ii2 The Occasional Address 
 
 of Chrysippus there is a peculiar delight in the 
 Epicheirema and the Sorites' progressive or 
 regressive, but the average listener cares little 
 whether the syllogistic mood be Cesare, Ca- 
 mestres, Festino, or Baroco. Probably he 
 would have as much sympathy with the nega- 
 tive figure Bocardo as any : " Some syllogisms 
 are not regular; But all syllogisms are things 
 important ; Therefore, some things important 
 are not regular." Or he might prefer Ferison : 
 " No truth is without result ; Some truths are 
 misunderstood ; Therefore, some things mis- 
 understood are not without results," — a conclu- 
 sion which is often true in logical processes 
 applied to an audience, the result being to 
 mystify, rather than convince, and to tire rather 
 than persuade. 
 
 More agreeable to an assembly and more 
 
 effective, as well as more creditable to the 
 
 speaker, is the citation of examples, 
 
 Examples r r 
 
 and historical or the drawing of historical parallels, 
 
 parallels. . . it, 
 
 a method of conviction that has been 
 employed with great success by the best orators. 
 The appeal to similar cases in the past has all 
 the weight of a historical precedent. It is a 
 
Cardinal Processes 113 
 
 fact, and not a thought-process. The record of 
 it is in the books, often in the memory of the 
 hearer, or if not it has somewhat of the interest 
 of a fresh story, and moreover adds something 
 of weight and authority to the man who has 
 the event in his mind, and who has, further- 
 more, the faculty of associating events far re- 
 moved from each other in time and place. It 
 is an extension of the comparative power which 
 finds similes and metaphors to illumine and en- 
 force, and at the same time avoids the charge 
 of unimaginative minds concerning imaginative 
 discourse by dealing with historic events and 
 persons. Speaking of our Civil War, Phillips 
 said in 1861 : " It finds no parallel nearer than 
 that of the Catholic and Huguenot in France, 
 or that of the Aristocrat and Republican in 
 1790, or of Cromwell and the Irish when victory 
 meant extermination. While it lasts it will 
 have the same effect on the nation as that war 
 between blind loyalty represented by the Stuart 
 family, and the free spirit of the English Con- 
 stitution, which kept England a second-rate 
 power almost a century." 
 
 The difficulty in this method is for the 
 
 8 
 
ii4 The Occasional Address 
 
 speaker to find parallels sufficiently exact, and 
 the danger to the hearer is in not being able 
 Limitations to determine at once whether or 
 not the conditions of similarity are 
 numerous enough to constitute an historical 
 identity in the principles involved. But in 
 honest hands and with an intelligent audience 
 this means of conviction is both effective and 
 interesting. How interesting and how effective 
 let the tradition of the scene in the Virginia 
 House of Burgesses testify, when Patrick Henry 
 exclaimed, " Caesar had his Brutus, Charles I. 
 his Cromwell." The cry of " Treason, Treason " 
 arose on all sides before he could add, " and let 
 George the Third profit by their example." 
 
 In giving preference to the simpler and more 
 obvious methods of proof and refutation, no 
 The simpler slight is intended to the value and 
 logical forms. uti Kty of some logical processes, 
 when they may be needed, as in judicial and 
 deliberative discussion. The plea is instead 
 for the easily understood and readily appre- 
 hended forms of conviction in demonstrative 
 oratory, where the audience expects to be con- 
 vinced or, oftener, to have its convictions forti- 
 
Cardinal Processes 115 
 
 fled and confirmed rather than radically changed 
 by the speaker. If, however, this last course 
 becomes necessary and possible the orator 
 should look over his logical armory with care 
 to see if what he learned in the schools has be- 
 come rusty with disuse. Above all he will see 
 to it that he is not betrayed into the sophistries 
 which have always done much to divorce reason- 
 ing from rhetoric, and to bring discredit upon 
 both the art of thinking and of speaking. 
 Always, too, it is to be borne in mind that 
 positive proof belongs chiefly to mathematical 
 science, and probable proof to everything else, 
 and that every hearer has the personal preroga- 
 tive of reasonable doubt. Accordingly, that 
 form of convincing will often appeal to him 
 most effectually which has the least appearance 
 of art and of strenuous endeavor to convince ; 
 a process of which it may be said once more 
 that it is out of harmony with occasional dis- 
 course, however useful and essential it may be 
 in the courts, in the legislative assembly, and, 
 very rarely, in the pulpit. But the reasonable- 
 ness that appeals to common sense, and abides 
 with the second thought and sober judgment, 
 
n6 The Occasional Address 
 
 which are sure to assert themselves eventually, 
 is always in order. 
 
 It would be possible to say much more with 
 reference to conviction, but its methods must 
 always be largely a matter of individual taste 
 and choice, in which, as in all things relating 
 to discourse, the skill of the speaker will show 
 itself according to his ability. The test of 
 excellence will be in its efficiency, and that 
 method of conviction will be best which best 
 convinces the particular audience addressed. 
 Conviction there must be before per- 
 
 Conviction in . .... . 
 
 order to per- suasion ; that is, if persuasion is a 
 part of the orator's purpose here, as 
 it always is in judicial and deliberative oratory. 
 As all public speech has a purpose to accom- 
 plish, it may be taken for granted that as in 
 the eulogy and commemorative address there 
 is some purpose, so in even the more general 
 discourse there is enough of an end to be se- 
 cured to demand something of the art of per- 
 suasion and its correlative dissuasion. Indeed, 
 this is in many cases the object of all other 
 forms of composition in the entire discourse, 
 as the old rhetoricians asserted. The term 
 
Cardinal Processes 117 
 
 "persuasion" enters into the definitions of 
 Plato, Socrates, Aristotle, Cicero, and Quin- 
 tilian, and their followers in every age agree 
 with these masters. Bacon and Campbell, 
 Blair and Whately insist upon this persuasive 
 element as essential to public speech. Its ob- 
 ject is to direct the opinion and Motives> Iow 
 action of people by addressing mo- and hi s h - 
 tives which move the popular will. To vote 
 for a certain man or measure, to support a 
 given policy, to contribute to a specified char- 
 ity, are examples of objects to which collective 
 or personal action may be directed by persua- 
 sion. To be successful it must be shown that 
 such a vote, support, or beneficence is practi- 
 cable, expedient, desirable, or advantageous. 
 These, to be sure, are inferior motives, but they 
 are the strongest considerations with many 
 persons, and are not without weight with all. 
 At least they may be employed as stepping- 
 stones to the higher motives. That which is 
 reasonable or prudential is strong in commend- 
 ation of itself to all who pride themselves upon 
 being wise and prudent. However irrational 
 and unwise men may be they like to be con- 
 
n8 The Occasional Address 
 
 sidered as the embodiment of fairness and 
 sagacity, and as not much influenced by their 
 emotions. Accordingly, an appeal can be more 
 openly made to their understanding, reason, 
 and judgment than to their sensibilities. 
 None the less, however, may these last mo- 
 tives be addressed if the appeal be adroitly 
 made. They are mighty movers, these emo- 
 tions. The love of friends and home and 
 country ; the hate of the enemies of these 
 sacred things ; the fear of calamity and disas- 
 ter to body, to reputation, and to prosperity, 
 — these are some of the strongest motives to 
 which the speaker may direct the current of 
 his thought. The orator who answers to Cato's 
 definition of " a good man skilled in speaking " 
 will of course keep to the high and noble 
 sensibilities, avoiding the lower. However 
 degraded a hearer may be he does not feel 
 complimented when his revenge, envy, jeal- 
 ousy, avarice, and hatred of good are appealed 
 to. Even thieves and brigands prefer to have 
 their proverbial moiety of honor and their scanty 
 chivalry addressed. 
 
 In this appeal to what is best there will be 
 
Cardinal Processes 119 
 
 a leading up to ethical motives of the highest 
 order which are seldom quite absent from any 
 person, and are abundant and strong with the 
 major part of any audience. The collective 
 conscience is often stronger than The collective 
 its individual elements when dis- conscience, 
 persed and scattered. It is like the sympa- 
 thetic motion of an assembly, created by con- 
 tiguity and multiplied by propinquity, flam- 
 ing as a hundred fagots flame when piled 
 together, which apart, by themselves, flicker, 
 smoulder, and go out. It is in the assembled 
 throng, too, that the conscience of the better 
 element stands for that of all, and the speaker 
 can afford to address the highest motives of the 
 best present. Humanity, philanthrophy, the 
 welfare of others, the service of mankind, rev- 
 erence of the Creator, gratitude for blessings, 
 and a sense of corresponding obligation, culmi- 
 nating in devotion and service, — all these are 
 considerations which may be presented to 
 most persons without fear of repudiation, or 
 of apprehension that they will have little effect 
 at the time in moving the wills of many. 
 Other motives may supplant these subse- 
 
120 The Occasional Address 
 
 quently, for this the orator cannot be held 
 responsible. Only for his hour, and his con- 
 tribution to the aggregate sum of influences, 
 is he answerable, according to his opportunity 
 and his ability. 
 
 Persuasion, then, is in a word the manage- 
 ment of moving principles — the powers which 
 result in action. To make a man 
 
 Persuasion 
 
 ending in choose one course and abandon an- 
 
 action. 
 
 other, to adhere to this company 
 and forsake that one, to vote for this measure 
 and against the other, to adopt this policy and 
 abjure the opposite, to cultivate integrity, truth, 
 sobriety, benevolence, good-will, reverence, loy- 
 alty, gratitude, devotion, and to turn away from 
 their contraries, — all this and more is the legiti- 
 mate object of persuasion, and the highest 
 achievement of the man who speaks to his 
 fellows. 
 
II. 
 
 PERSPICUITY. 
 
 IN the foregoing chapters the Oration has 
 been considered in its main divisions of In- 
 troduction, Statement, Discussion, and Conclu- 
 sion, and by reference to its literature the chief 
 principles which should govern its composition 
 have been illustrated. Meantime, whatever per- 
 tains to the style of oratorical expression has 
 been purposely deferred, for the reason that 
 frame-work construction is better considered by 
 itself and apart from what may be termed, in 
 relation to it, the outer finish. Moreover, it 
 will be observed that what has been Arrangement 
 
 said thus far relates chiefly to the of thought 
 ' and its ex- 
 
 ordering of thoughts in effective ar- pression. 
 
 ray, and belongs to the earlier stages of the 
 orator's work. There is, however, a later pro- 
 cess of almost equal importance — some will 
 
122 The Occasional Address 
 
 say of even greater importance under certain 
 conditions. However this may be, of the two 
 elements of public address — thought and its 
 ultimate expression — the last deserves its own 
 share of attention. 
 
 It must be premised at the start that an ex- 
 haustive treatment of the qualities belonging 
 to oratorical composition would be 
 
 Preliminary 
 
 and element- superfluous for those who have ad- 
 
 ary tra ning. yance( j SQ f ar j n Englfe^ composition 
 
 as to undertake the writing of an extended ora- 
 tion. By that time they have become familiar, 
 through text-books and instructors, with ele- 
 mentary rules and precepts which apply to a 
 correct and clear construction of sentences, 
 paragraphs, and short compositions of various 
 kinds. These fundamental maxims will not of 
 course be disregarded in the higher class of 
 writing. The offence there would be greater. 
 Grammatical errors for instance, like mistakes 
 in spelling, are a blemish, in an essay or story, 
 intended only for the reviser's eye, but when 
 spoken to an audience the mistake is pub- 
 lished to hundreds. It is a severe but true 
 judgment which some one has pronounced, that 
 
Perspicuity 123 
 
 while correct speech is no virtue, incorrect 
 speech is a crime. 
 
 In public address pronunciation also should 
 be included in the above sentence. This is too 
 important a matter to be passed over Correct pro . 
 without emphasizing the demand nunciaticn. 
 that a speaker shall conform to the best 
 standards. By reason of diversity and disagree- 
 ment among authorities, not the best, many find 
 an apology for usages that are more varied than 
 defensible. In the schools there is apt to be less 
 attention paid to this branch of expression than 
 to those which appear in writing and in print, to 
 be seen by the instructor or the reader. When 
 however, the graduate of school or college meets 
 his almost inevitable fate — to speak in public, — 
 he will betray the antecedents of his education 
 in orthoepy within five minutes, possibly five 
 sentences. Correct pronunciation, to be sure, 
 is the attainment of years and the concern of a 
 lifetime, because good usage is not immutable ; 
 but there are those who know what it is in any 
 year. Lexicography as a progressive science 
 is of great value to the student of spoken lan- 
 guage when the orthoepic department of its 
 
124 The Occasional Address 
 
 vocabularies is trustworthy. Still, there is. a 
 choice in dictionaries. Beyond these there is 
 also a shade of expression at times which no 
 key-words can indicate. On the other hand, 
 absolute correctness is not an excellence which 
 Americans need to import from abroad. It is 
 a virtue which can be cultivated at home, as it 
 has been by our best speakers with creditable 
 results. Above all, foreign provincialisms and 
 local accents ought not to be mistaken for 
 standard English, written and spoken. No 
 additions are needed to indigenous growths. 
 
 Taking it for granted, then, that the orator 
 has passed through the primary stages of 
 orthoepy, syntax, and the elemental principles 
 of good usage, the immediately following pages 
 will discuss some of the features which belong 
 particularly to the expression in public of 
 thought which has been previously ordered, 
 arranged, and written out wholly or in part. 
 In doing this it must not be understood that 
 what is recommended may not be of value in 
 other departments of composition as well. For 
 example, the first quality to be commended 
 is so important in every kind of writing 
 
Perspicuity 125 
 
 that to omit its consideration here would be 
 a glaring defect. Clearness or perspicuity 
 ought not to need commendation to any who 
 wish to communicate their thoughts to others ; 
 but there are several reasons for believing 
 that this quality of style cannot be too often 
 recommended. 
 
 Perspicuity as a primary quality of oratorical 
 style has its necessity in the essential conditions 
 of public speech. On the one side Necessity of 
 there is commonly a continuous and clearness, 
 progressive utterance ; on the other a listening 
 with more or less attention, and with no oppor- 
 tunity of requesting a restatement of what has 
 escaped notice or baffled understanding. In 
 so far as a speaker does not command constant 
 attention, or does not make himself clearly 
 understood at once, he fails in that degree of 
 the purpose for which he is speaking. 
 
 With the reader, as contrasted with the 
 hearer, there is always the opportunity of turn- 
 ing back upon an obscurity in diction ; but the 
 listener must catch the speaker's meaning im- 
 mediately, or lose it beyond recall. Therefore, 
 Quintilian's precept will bear quoting once 
 
126 The Occasional Address 
 
 more, to the effect that the audience should not 
 merely be able to understand what is said, 
 but not be able to misunderstand it. This de- 
 gree of perspicuity comes only as the result of 
 much painstaking, so varied is the capacity of 
 hearers, and so many are the distractions to 
 which they are subject. Absolute perfection 
 in this quality is as impossible as in others ; but 
 the advantage of approaching complete clear- 
 ness is greater than similar attainment in some 
 other and less essential features of style. 
 
 It should be remarked here that absolute 
 clearness is one thing to a cultivated auditory 
 Perspicuity anc * another to an uncultivated one. 
 and precision. Q r again the technical diction which . 
 is perspicuous to a professional audience is far 
 from intelligible to laymen, as will be evident 
 by a perusal of the following example : 
 
 " He speaks of hyperschene as abundant and gives extinc- 
 tion angles for the plagioclase from which he concludes that 
 they must be very basic, — ' from labradorite to anorthite. ' Ac- 
 cording to him orthoclase only occurs as the large tabular 
 phenocrysts, which is certainly not the case with my speci- 
 mens." 
 
 Any geologist can render this into intelligible 
 English, but not in as few lines without speci- 
 
Perspicuity 127 
 
 mens at hand. In the next example it may be 
 doubted if clearness would have been profitable 
 to the patient, while the precision of this state- 
 ment must have been fatal if heard by the vic- 
 tim : * 
 
 ' • This man is an octogenarian suffering from spondylar- 
 thritis, mitral regurgitation, oedema and extreme anasarca, 
 who had the following semeiography and applied to the hos- 
 pital for paracentesis. On August 4th he suffered from bor- 
 borygmus, which he attributed to lactic fermentation in the 
 jejunum. On August 8th, however, oedema set in with 
 dyspnoea suggesting the possibility of a complication in tricus- 
 pid insufficiency, or a large serous effusion into the peritoneal 
 cavity for which his only chance of relief lies in the operation 
 of paracentesis, which will now be performed." 
 
 Clearness of expression is dependent mainly 
 upon clearness of thought. A misty concep- 
 tion can never be made perspicuous 
 
 . , ■ -, Clear thought 
 
 even by simple words. 1 he vague- helps clear 
 ness may be made apparent by them, 
 or possibly be reduced somewhat ; but if the 
 thought is not definite and distinct the expres- 
 sion will not be. Words will not convey more 
 than they are charged with. They often have 
 a suggestive power, but their representative 
 ability at best can never be quite equal to the 
 sight of the eyes and the vision of the mind. 
 
128 The Occasional Address 
 
 Accordingly, these should be clear and strong. 
 And the chief labor for perspicuity will be in 
 the direction of distinct, exact, and definite 
 views of objects and subjects. When these 
 views are obtained the difficulty of unambigu- 
 ous expression is greatly reduced for those who 
 can command a vocabulary of reasonable ful- 
 ness. 
 
 If it be asked how this primary clearness 
 of thought is to be obtained, there is but one 
 concentra- general answer that is applicable 
 tionofmind. to a jj sorts f thinkers ; for there 
 are those who come to a certain conclusion 
 by intuition and quick perception, and others 
 again by slow procession of observation and 
 reasoning. Patient, concentrated, and interested 
 application of the mind is the only process by 
 which its first clouded vision of things can be 
 clarified. This proceeding has its analogy in 
 the sight of the eyes. As soon as one goes 
 beyond things familiar, or into dusk and dark- 
 ness with familiar objects around him, he must 
 gaze long and steadily before he "makes out " 
 their substance and form. It is said that a well- 
 trained burglar has remarkable powers of this 
 
Perspicuity 129 
 
 kind in a dark room. The secret of his skill is 
 in his patient attention to obscurities, and in 
 waiting for such light as may be latent around 
 him, in the absence of any other. By a similar 
 intentness a vague thought will gradually as- 
 sume definiteness, and the truth which was in- 
 complete and indistinct will reveal itself clearly 
 to the patient watcher. In this time of waiting 
 something may be gained by preliminary and 
 experimental use of the pen, especially by those 
 who do not easily hold a continuous thought- 
 process in mind, or prefer to secure each point 
 in black and white as it moves on. Any device 
 or expedient is commendable which contributes 
 to final perspicuity. Among the most service- 
 able is the statement to one's self in the plainest 
 colloquial terms the writer's apprehension of 
 the truth, so far as it has discovered itself to 
 him ; or better still, conversation with a friend 
 about it, with the additional advantage of ob- 
 taining another's views. Daylight and a walk 
 in the open air, amid the forms of nature or the 
 business of a practical world, are often correc- 
 tive of conclusions which have been formed by 
 lamplight and in the seclusion of a study. Books 
 
130 The Occasional Address 
 
 containing permanent values in the clarified 
 thoughts of recognized authorities are not to 
 be overlooked in the search for clear and defi- 
 nite conceptions. But with all these aids to re- 
 flection the distinctness of the final product 
 will depend upon prolonged fixedness of the 
 mind with steadfast gaze upon the growing 
 object before it. In proportion as it becomes 
 clear to the beholder will he find words to 
 make his thought clear to others. 
 
 Still there is a choice in words, and in the 
 felicity of choice lies the second element of 
 perspicuous perspicuity. This, too, is a relative 
 diction. matter according to the intelligence 
 
 of the hearer. It is well to " speak the thoughts 
 of the wise in the language of the simple " if it 
 will convey such thoughts fully and accurately 
 to those who delight in wisdom. Unfortu- 
 nately our mother-tongue in its simplest forms 
 does not adequately represent high thinking. 
 The Northern element in it is good for hearth 
 and home thoughts, for sea-going and sword- 
 wielding, for enterprise and for empire-making 
 — in a word, for action. But the surroundings 
 of the Saxon did not favor conquests in the 
 
 
Perspicuity 1 3 1 
 
 realm of thought, as did those of the Hellenic 
 and Italic races, making these languages vehi- 
 cles of that reflection which succeeds primitive 
 activity. When people pass from the one mood 
 to the other they will repeat the experience of 
 civilization, and require the derived rather than 
 the home-made word to express their grown-up 
 thought. John Bunyan did all that could be 
 done with household words in the domain of 
 Scriptural truth in its application to the per- 
 sonal life. John Milton showed that when these 
 same truths are to be treated on loftier planes 
 all the legacies are needed which the Anglo- 
 Saxon has received from the Mediterranean 
 shores and from the Orient. 
 
 In the diversity of attainment which is found 
 in the ordinary audience the safer 
 
 Anglo-Saxon 
 
 example is doubtless Bunyan's, es- and Romance 
 pecially when Milton's prose is con- 
 sidered, which he himself regarded as his 
 " left-hand writing." So the impersonal audi- 
 tor, who must represent the intellectual centre 
 of the audience, will be the speaker's ideal of 
 the average man. Him he will address in 
 words which will convey with lucidity the 
 
13 2 The Occasional Address 
 
 thought to be communicated. His knowledge, 
 judgment, and good taste will be in demand in 
 every case ; also the good sense always to shun a 
 foreign word as he would a foreign manner and 
 imported accent ; to keep at a distance an 
 intrusive provincialism as he would the dialect 
 of the mountains or the plains ; also to let the 
 obsolete word rest after its usefulness is past 
 and its life over, and to decline to introduce a 
 new word as he would to present a stranger 
 from parts unknown or to pass a coin on which 
 no mint had placed its stamp. The one au- 
 thority in diction for the speaker, more than 
 for all other literary workmen, will be the usage 
 of the best of his craft. 
 
 Accordingly, he is open at one more point to 
 criticism by his hearers, who are continually 
 Po uiar qualifying themselves to be critics of 
 criticism. pronunciation, for instance, by hear- 
 ing other speakers, by consulting authorities, 
 and by discoveries which word-hunters are fre- 
 quently publishing in newspapers for every- 
 body to read, and to apply to the public 
 speaker with the daring of the fish-woman 
 toward the Attic orator who misplaced an 
 
Perspicuity 133 
 
 accent. The diffusion of all kinds of informa- 
 tion has made widespread knowledge almost as 
 dangerous a thing as the proverbial little ; for 
 dispersed acuteness is always skipping here and 
 there to prod superior learning at an unguarded 
 point. 
 
 In the traditional warfare between perspicu- 
 ity and precision the orator will have another 
 opportunity to strike a balance be- 
 
 rr J Breadth and 
 
 tween the exactness which requires strength of 
 
 1 • 1 1 phrase. 
 
 a technical, obscure, or condensed 
 term, and the less precise but more intelligible 
 phrase even though prolix. At one time or 
 another he will find that he can make no state- 
 ment in ordinary words to which some one may 
 not take exception. Young writers are most 
 sensitive to such possible captiousness, and fre- 
 quently attempt to fortify every statement at 
 all points. Hence the temptation to employ 
 incontrovertible terms with the risk of incom- 
 prehensibility. Better is it to take the other 
 risk of being questioned than to be unintelli- 
 gible. For with every precaution of exactness 
 in the speaker's language, the carping critic 
 will find the joints in the harness of mail, or the 
 
i34 The Occasional Address 
 
 vulnerable heel of Achilles. Therefore, the 
 orator who is wise does not take too much 
 pains to hedge his statements and position at all 
 points, but speaks broadly and boldly, regardless 
 of exceptions which may be taken, and of vari- 
 ations from general truths for which he has no 
 time to make provision. He leaves them to 
 those whom they most concern. 
 
 Next to plain English, as tributary to perspi- 
 cuity, comes what is called figurative speech. 
 , It has several uses, but the element 
 
 Figures for ' 
 
 clearness. j n ft wan ted for lucidity is based 
 upon comparison of the less known with the 
 well known, of the obscure with the familiar. 
 There are various opinions in regard to the use 
 of comparisons, but the listener who does not 
 clearly apprehend the meaning of a speaker is 
 usually grateful for the light which comes from 
 a well-chosen simile or metaphor. 
 
 It is not always remembered that the figures 
 
 of comparison are allied to the highest function 
 
 of the mind, the elaborative or dis- 
 
 The compara- ' 
 
 tive faculty. curs ive faculty — the faculty of rela- 
 tions whose exercise results in analysis and 
 synthesis. For if the mind affirms one thing of 
 
Perspicuity 135 
 
 another it joins them in synthesis ; if it denies 
 one thing of another it separates them in analy- 
 sis. Judgment itself is the comparison of two 
 notions directly, and reasoning is the compari- 
 son of two terms with each other through a 
 third, and thus various forms of thought are 
 manifestations of the working of the faculty of 
 comparison. Accordingly, whenever a figure 
 of comparison is used the mind is working in 
 the line of its main activity. What makes it 
 seem to be out of its usual course and a turning 
 aside from it, a trope, is because the skilful and 
 pleasing comparison consists in finding the 
 identity which exists in things apparently un- 
 like in many respects. Ajax and the lion re- 
 semble each other in boldness only, but its 
 prominence in the beast emphasizes the same 
 quality in the man by being made equal or 
 identical. The Scipios and thunderbolts are 
 alike in the destructive quality only ; but the 
 death-dealing element in the men is better un- 
 derstood by identification with lightning. 
 
 The one essential for clearness in all compari- 
 son is, that what may be called the illuminating 
 term be perfectly understood by the hearer, 
 
136 The Occasional Address 
 
 and that it contain a point of identity, with the 
 term to be illustrated, or at least of similarity to 
 
 Theillustra- lt ' ^ OV exam pl e > to HlOSt persons 
 
 ting term. t en years ago it would not have added 
 to clearness of statement if it had been said, that 
 Macaulay's style is as diaphanous as if it were 
 pervaded by the cathode ray, while to affirm 
 that it is as clear as daylight is to identify it in 
 respect of perspicuousness with what everybody 
 accepts as a common symbol of transparency. 
 Upon this feature of their familiarity rests the 
 marvellous fitness of the similitudes in the gos- 
 pel parables of the kingdom. They are all 
 from the common stock of daily sights and 
 sounds, occupations and emotions of human 
 life ; but they throw light upon spiritual truths 
 which were obscure to a generation that was 
 slow of understanding. 
 
 It is sometimes asked how this faculty of 
 comparison can be acquired. One is tempted 
 cultivation of to answer : As the gift of imagina- 
 
 comparison. t j on Qr of vers if y i ng> Q f computing 
 
 or of reasoning, or any other inborn power is 
 acquired. But after all it may be more of a 
 matter of cultivation than of inheritance. 
 
Perspicuity 137 
 
 When it is remembered that our language is 
 a vast fabric of fossil metaphors, over which 
 we trip as unconsciously as a child over the 
 coal measures beneath the turf, it would seem 
 that the comparative faculty belongs in a 
 measure to everybody. Making all allowance 
 for imitation in speech, the constant use of 
 comparison for illustration or emphasis indi- 
 cates how almost universal this power is, and 
 that in some degree it belongs to all who think 
 and speak. But the difference in degree also 
 shows that diversity in gift and in cultivation is 
 also vast. Much may be done by search for 
 similarity in things unlike, by inquiring of every 
 object in nature what immaterial truth it typi- 
 fies, and of every transaction in human life 
 what spiritual process it symbolizes. If these 
 similarities and partial identities should then 
 be stored away as carefully as the ancients laid 
 aside and labelled their commonplaces and their 
 topica for future use, or even as our modern 
 Emerson posted in note-books his day's incre- 
 ment of thought to be torn out and used when 
 he needed it, — if such pains were taken with 
 the fruits of comparison they might be avail- 
 
138 The Occasional Address 
 
 able when wanted. The habit of looking for 
 identical points in things unlike would be cul- 
 tivated, which after all is the main object of 
 exercising this faculty. Of course its free and 
 certain action in composition, or in the stimu- 
 lating moment of extemporaneous speech is a 
 most desirable end to be obtained. 
 
 None will be more ready, however, to admit 
 the dangers which beset the comparative faculty 
 
 Dangers be- tnan those who pOSSeSS it in a re- 
 setting it. markable degree. A great preacher 
 of the last generation used to say, that in the 
 midst of fervid extemporary discourse, all 
 heaven and earth and things under the earth 
 crowded images upon his imagination. Out of 
 such a motley troop it must have been difficult 
 to choose the single metaphor that was both 
 pertinent and also in good taste. Indeed there 
 is evidence that this last quality is often sacri- 
 ficed to the first one, and the dignity of the 
 subject is impaired by the inferiority of the 
 thing with which it is associated. There may 
 occasionally be a necessity for this degrading 
 process, as when Milton likens the fallen arch- 
 angel Satan to a " toad squat by the ear of 
 
 
Perspicuity 139 
 
 Eve " in the character of a seducing tempter. 
 Contrast this with the exalting similitude with 
 which the poet portrays his nobility as a prince 
 of heaven, towering " like Atlas or Teneriffe." 
 Nowhere more than in the use of figurative 
 language is there need to observe carefully 
 the law of eternal fitness. Its range is both 
 high and low, but woe to him who does not dis- 
 tinguish between similes which make clear, and 
 those which degrade a noble thought, or dignify 
 an ignoble one. It were better that he use 
 plain language, and trust to the hearer's good 
 sense, than cause the inevitable discord which 
 the listener will instinctively feel between the 
 two things compared, if they are not in the 
 same plane. The man who illustrated the right 
 to find and assimilate other people's ideas was 
 more effective than elegant when he remarked, 
 " I eat turkey : I do not turn into turkey, the 
 turkey turns into me." This is good enough 
 for plagiarism, but somewhat below the grade 
 of that process by which thoughts are gathered 
 and assimilated as Chaucer and Shakespeare 
 would have conducted the operation. Still, 
 perhaps, it is as apt a resemblance as can be 
 
Ho The Occasional Address 
 
 found to illustrate assimilation as distinguished 
 from appropriation. 
 
 The minting of new coin out of old, stamp- 
 ing it with a new image and superscription ; 
 and out of discarded materials the manufac- 
 ture of new paper, bearing the transformer's own 
 water-mark, are other illustrations of mental 
 assimilating processes. In these comparisons 
 the mixed character of the original material 
 and the high excellence of the final product 
 exhibit a growth toward perfection which saves 
 the degradation of the first part from appear- 
 ing in the last, and leaves an agreeable impres- 
 sion in the end. 
 
 Thus far the figure of speech has been con- 
 sidered as an aid to perspicuity. It has other 
 uses which may be explained in their 
 
 Illustration of j r 
 
 the first use proper place; but its first use and 
 
 of figures. . . 
 
 chief value is to throw light upon 
 the less known by reflection from the well 
 known, as the nature of the spiritual and im- 
 material kingdom of truth is made plain in the 
 Bible by comparisons with the kingdoms of 
 nature and life, with which every one is familiar. 
 The good life, like the good tree, is known by 
 
Perspicuity 141 
 
 its fruit. The power of a germ-truth is like the 
 ferment of yeast. The implanting of evil 
 among the good, like tares sown while men 
 slept. Wisdom is like a treasure hid in a field, 
 to be bought at any cost. Seeing the truth in 
 the familiar instance, the hearer admits it in the 
 unfamiliar as soon as the point of identity 
 which exists between them is shown. 
 
 The chief caution to be observed in the use 
 of illustrative figures for clearness is, that they 
 should be employed only when obscurity or 
 abstruseness of thought requires them. They 
 should never be used to explain obscurity of 
 language, when the same pains that are taken 
 to find an illustration would make expression 
 plain and clear by appropriate words properly 
 arranged. 
 
III. 
 
 ENERGY. 
 
 A SPEAKER'S expression of his thought 
 should always be readily intelligible, but 
 at times it should have added to its perspicuity 
 a quality which has been called by 
 
 Force added • a • i 
 
 to perspi- many names since Aristotle termed 
 cmty. j t Energy. Force, strength, vigor, 
 
 vivacity, power, have represented so many dif- 
 ferent notions of what an oration should have 
 besides clearness. Some of these terms, the 
 lexicographers will say, belong only to the mind 
 and not to its product, while others denote 
 partial activity ; but in spite of verbal, distinc- 
 tions it is possible that the Stagirite's energeia — 
 action, as distinguished from exis — habit, more 
 nearly represents what the orator must add to 
 perspicuity, if he would be effective. For while 
 the habitual speech must be clear, the occasional 
 142 
 
Energy 143 
 
 action in it will be energetic and emphatic. If 
 this last word were not usually restricted to 
 syllables, words, and single sentences, it would 
 express more nearly than any other the stress 
 which is placed upon the more important pas- 
 sages of an oration. There is, of course, the 
 energetic habit of any orator who rises above 
 the monotony of didactic lecturing ; but higher 
 than this upper level should rise at times the 
 forceful assertion and the irresistible appeal 
 which mark the highest attainment of speech. 
 It will be designated here by one and another 
 of the above-mentioned names, but the quality 
 itself will be readily understood by all who 
 have recognized it in the true orator as 
 emphatic. 
 
 It will be admitted that the general tone of 
 an oration should be energetic as distinguished 
 from didactic moderation. Even the D 
 
 Pervasive 
 
 information which is conveyed by nar- energy, 
 rative and exposition will not be in the style of 
 a historical or scientific lecture. It will have 
 an interest and a movement which will compel 
 attention, such as is given to a lecturer often 
 by constraint. On the other hand, the speaker 
 
H4 The Occasional Address 
 
 will not give all his strength to narration, ex- 
 position, or even to argumentation. Vivacity, 
 rapidity, and solidity will be in place here, lend- 
 ing variety to delivery, and affording relief to 
 the hearer ; but emphatic energy will be re- 
 served for its own occasional stages in the pro- 
 gress of discourse. What and where these 
 stages are, will be determined by the nature of 
 the oration and the good sense of the speaker. 
 In general it may be said, that they will be at 
 the close of each main division if, as it ought, 
 the treatment of the several topics is climac- 
 teric. Moreover, the same law of climax will 
 prevail in the succession of emphatic utterances 
 until the end of the discourse is reached, and 
 the final and strongest paragraph is pronounced 
 in the peroration. 
 
 Such occasional emphasis also contributes 
 
 variety to discourse. If a continuous energy 
 
 is put forth the effect will be a 
 
 Emphasis. 
 
 monotony as tiresome as a uniform 
 indifference of manner. For this reason it has 
 been sometimes recommended that the speaker 
 do not try to do his best in every passage, but 
 purposely drop to a lower level in places. A 
 
Energy 145 
 
 better suggestion is that he secure variety by 
 carefully diversifying his composition, bestow- 
 ing as much pains upon subordinate portions 
 to make them interesting as upon the higher 
 flights to make them effective. Variety does 
 not necessitate inferiority. The very fervor of 
 the emphatic passage may hide defects which 
 would be apparent in moderate discourse. It 
 was one of the maxims of a certain popular 
 lecturer that poverty of thought could some- 
 times be compensated by energy of delivery. 
 As a rule, however, he did not attempt to make 
 a dead level of his utterances by filling the 
 valleys with noise, any more than by bringing 
 the mountain-tops low with indifferent elocu- 
 tion. The true orator sees the same necessity 
 of diversity in speech as in the landscape, if he 
 would excite interest and retain the attention 
 of his hearers. An occasional emphasis of 
 energy, then, being admitted, the methods of 
 putting it forth may profitably be considered. 
 
 With the speaker, as distinguished from the 
 writer, his manner will be the main p erson ai 
 exponent of energy and emphasis. force * 
 
 Where the writer must rely upon words and 
 
H 6 The Occasional Address 
 
 their arrangement, the earnest orator can give 
 intensity to simple, or even ineffective, diction 
 by stress of voice. The truth of this is often 
 exemplified in the report of a speech into 
 which the speaker threw his whole soul in de- 
 livery but whose words in print move no one. 
 Much of the oratory which tradition has clothed 
 with great celebrity has lost the power in print 
 that it had on the lips of eloquence incarnate. 
 The philippics no longer fulmine ; the record 
 of the apostolic sermon does not convert thou- 
 sands ; the printed reply to Hayne does not 
 hold listeners breathless when it is read. The 
 energy which is action, divine and godlike, is 
 gone. Its absence is as painfully evident as its 
 presence was once powerfully felt. It may 
 read well, in spite of the old dictum, but it was 
 better spoken, a hundred times better. There- 
 fore the energy which is most effective in an 
 oration will be that of the living, speaking man, 
 in his voice and gesture, and in that earnest- 
 ness of personal conviction and feeling which 
 produce their counterpart in others. No better 
 definition of such energy has ever been given 
 than in Webster's famous characterization of 
 
Energy 147 
 
 true eloquence in his eulogy upon Adams 
 and Jefferson. Every orator who would move 
 an audience should have it by heart. Without 
 the qualities there specified " labor and learn- 
 ing are in vain." With them, as primary condi- 
 tions of effective speech, are associated certain 
 tributary factors which add much to effective- 
 ness. The natural orator is none the less 
 efficient for being also a trained writer. Simple 
 speech vigorously uttered is not of necessity as 
 availing as skilled diction pronounced with 
 equal energy. Accordingly the speaker will 
 rely somewhat upon the words he uses as well 
 as upon the emphasis he gives to important 
 passages of his discourse. 
 
 For forcing a truth upon the average Eng- 
 lish-speaking hearer no diction can compare 
 with the Anglo-Saxon, provided 
 
 ° Strong words. 
 
 that the thought be not philosoph- 
 ical, scientific, or abstruse. If it is, there will 
 be no call for it in demonstrative oratory, which 
 moves upon planes of common sense, and deals 
 with ordinary men and facts, motives and prin- 
 ciples. On such levels the language of every- 
 day life affords the most unobstructed channel 
 
148 The Occasional Address 
 
 for the communication of ideas. No one mis- 
 understands it or has to think twice to com- 
 prehend it. It conveys the thought without 
 diverting attention to the messenger. It does 
 this instantly. Great strength lies in its words. 
 They were born of a strong race ; used by 
 fighting men, hardy explorers, doughty con- 
 querors, enterprising settlers. Their words 
 stood for deeds rather than thoughts, for feel- 
 ing more than for contemplation. Therefore 
 they are eminently useful in stirring those emo- 
 tions which, more than thoughts, determine 
 the language of the orator whose purpose is to 
 evoke impulses in others which shall end in 
 right action. For it is the immediate effect 
 that he is seeking, and directness in language is 
 a principal means to this end. When he is 
 most in earnest and most energetic he will use 
 them most. He will not employ the word 
 " conflagration " when his house is afire, nor 
 " arrest " to stop the thief running down the 
 street. In like manner the speaker who wishes 
 his hearers to give their money, their 
 ' influence, efforts, or themselves to 
 help the cause which he is advocating will not 
 
Energy 149 
 
 " solicit contributions." If he desires to im- 
 press them profoundly and permanently with 
 the lesson of a character or occasion he will not 
 " recommend a favorable consideration of the 
 instruction afforded by the subject we have 
 been contemplating." He will find shorter and 
 stronger words than these — words that strike 
 straight to the head and heart, stir the soul 
 and start the will. 
 
 Not that there is no use for the more deliber- 
 ate and lingering word at times. Not every 
 man or every audience can all at Romance 
 once be roused. There is a deliber- words. 
 
 ate energy and force in the slower movement 
 of the Romance derivatives, which like laggard 
 tides carry their meaning slowly but surely, so 
 slowly that they make time for the sluggish 
 mind to apprehend the drift of thought as they 
 roll leisurely along. They are doing their work 
 in bringing reflection and conviction gradually 
 up to the point of resolution and action. But 
 when that is reached the time has come for 
 short, strong, and forceful words ; and the 
 speaker will go back for them to his old home 
 in the North fast by the fountains of Urd and 
 
150 The Occasional Address 
 
 Mimer, of judgment and of wisdom, on the 
 shores of the Viking seas. 
 
 In obedience to a kindred law he will also 
 employ the specific word for the general term 
 specific when he needs to enforce a thought, 
 terms. The first t h oug h t i s usually individ- 
 
 ual and specific. It certainly is with the child, 
 and with races in their childhood. To the boy 
 the elm is the tree which overhangs his home ; 
 the genus Ulmus is his later generalization, but 
 his quick thought is always of the ancestral 
 roof-tree. Nor does he ever get so old and 
 philosophic that his mind is not distracted in its 
 action when it attempts to include all the in- 
 dividuals of a class in one conception. It is 
 only a limited, indefinite number at best that he 
 can bring together and hold in mind ; and their 
 composite image is more or less confused. On 
 the other hand, the essential representation of 
 the entire class is better afforded by any single 
 member of it, accidental differences being un- 
 important. Accordingly the orator who wishes 
 to make a strong impression in regard to the 
 value of reformers, for example, will instance 
 the work of Martin Luther rather than all the 
 
Energy 151 
 
 achievements of the whole class. He will 
 name Napoleon for generalship, Washington 
 for patriotism, Lincoln for all liberators of the 
 oppressed. Always, too, the concrete will stand 
 for the abstract, the particular for the general. 
 It is the single point that penetrates and not 
 the broad surface. Even water is not much 
 impressed by a flat stroke. So the things by 
 which the hearer is struck and which he retains 
 are the definite points rather than the broad 
 generalities and abstractions, which it is much 
 easier to make than to find their concrete 
 embodiment. 
 
 To this topic belongs the use of certain 
 figures for emphasis, notably those which put 
 for the whole of an object or a class a Figuresfor 
 part of it or its associations. The emphasis, 
 purse for wealth, gray hairs for age, the bench 
 and the bar for judges and advocates, a sail for 
 a ship, a sword for war, the pen for literature, 
 the city for its inhabitants, marble for a statue, 
 and canvas for a portrait, Homer for epic 
 poetry, Hampden for heroism, — all these are 
 more impressive than the names of the classes 
 to which they belong. It would seem easier to 
 
15 2 The Occasional Address 
 
 pitch upon the part at once than to mention 
 the whole. It is not. Generalization becomes 
 the habit of advancing years, and the return to 
 the specific is going back to one of the gifts of 
 childhood, poetic and imaginative, which is 
 sometimes lost through lack of use. There is a 
 kingdom of truth and power into which the 
 mind cannot enter except it become in one 
 respect as a little child. The rhetorical inter- 
 rogation, exclamation, hyperbole, apostrophe, 
 antithesis, and epigram are figures which are 
 impressive, but in proportion as they are spar- 
 ingly employed. When the thought borders 
 upon the inconceivable nothing can be better 
 than the exclamatory " how " which no man 
 can adequately answer. " How momentous 
 this hour ! how tremendous in its consequen- 
 ces ! " But because the orator's business is to 
 deal with ordinary events, and for the reason 
 that extraordinary ones are rare and should 
 have hyperbolical phrases reserved for them 
 and them alone, he will be frugal in his use of 
 these. In close combat with a debatable opin- 
 ion the interrogative challenge to his hearers to 
 deny his proposition if they can is a strongly 
 
Energy 153 
 
 emphatic mode of assertion, and lends variety 
 and animation to discourse. The speaker should 
 always be sure however of the consent of his 
 audience to keep silence, every one of them, 
 and not make an unexpected and confusing re- 
 ply, taking his challenge too literally. Amus- 
 ing and embarrassing examples are on record 
 of too great presumption in this direction. 
 
 Perhaps the figure best suited to give em- 
 phatic force to a thought is the climax. Be- 
 ginning with precise and perspicuous 
 
 Climax. 
 
 statement addressed to the under- 
 standing of the hearer, the speaker will bring 
 it within the circle of the sensibilities and emo- 
 tions, employing those words which reach heart 
 and soul, strengthening the expression and 
 deepening the impression, and quickening the 
 onward movement of discourse until it shall 
 culminate in the best and strongest he can 
 command. Such periodic energy, occurring 
 not too often, but closing each important divi- 
 sion, has a cumulative force greater than any 
 sudden word however incisive, or brief phrase 
 however brilliant. It is rather a steady gather- 
 ing of power, as a billow gathers it, to hurl the 
 
154 The Occasional Address 
 
 fulness of its might upon the shore. Such em- 
 phasis, accumulated at proper intervals, com- 
 ports with the measured dignity of oratorical 
 movement, distinguished as it always should 
 be from the more versatile progress of the essay 
 with its scintillations and pleasant surprises. 
 The climax of all preceding climaxes will occur, 
 of course, in the peroration, which should leave 
 the weight of the entire discourse upon the 
 mind and heart of the hearer. It will be by a 
 skilful disposition of emphasis, energy, and 
 force that this is done. Points are all that the 
 speaker has a right to expect will be remem- 
 bered or recalled. Pages will be forgotten ; but 
 if he has drawn them into concluding points, 
 and forced these into minds and hearts, he will 
 have accomplished all that can be demanded of 
 " winged words." Their power is in the energy 
 and personality of him who speeds them like 
 arrows from the bow of the mighty. It is an 
 instantaneous power, evanescent, or living in 
 fading memory. In either case, that which is 
 most impressive, or best recalled, will be what- 
 ever was most strenuously enforced. As was 
 remarked above, an appreciation of the value 
 
Energy 155 
 
 of becoming and discriminating delivery is 
 essential to a right use of energy and emphasis. 
 This belongs to another branch of the subject 
 to be considered by itself. There must, how- 
 ever, be something to emphasize and enforce, 
 else oratory becomes declamation, a discourse, 
 dull and monotonous, or senseless with sound 
 and fury. Accordingly the energetic thought 
 of the speaker must precede his forcible and 
 emphatic expression. 
 
 There is one phase of energy which is not 
 always given the credit that belongs to it, 
 namely, its reserves. By this is not Reserves 
 meant a lack of force, or even the of P° wer - 
 failure to put it forth when its possession is 
 evident. It is rather the restraint of power 
 somewhat within its utmost limit. It is typi- 
 fied by the powerful engine which does its 
 work with apparent ease, without strain or jar, 
 and is manifestly able to do much more at high 
 pressure. There have been speakers who con- 
 veyed a similar impression. They were speak- 
 ing magnificently, but with apparent ease, 
 without straining or ranting, perhaps without 
 flights of oratory, while the hearers waited for 
 
156 The Occasional Address 
 
 the burst of eloquence which they knew was 
 possible. Such reserve may or may not be 
 satisfactory ; but, all in all, it is preferable to 
 the extreme endeavor which indicates that the 
 orator has reached his highest point and can go 
 no farther without collapse. It may be con- 
 stantly wished that the speaker would do his 
 best here and there, but his restraint may after 
 all be more satisfactory than another man's 
 boisterous rant. The listener never knows how 
 much is reserved ; on the other hand he some- 
 times would like to know what might be done 
 at the speaker's best. The subject is a rare 
 one, and the occasion also when an orator may 
 not find places to exert his utmost power once 
 or twice in the course of his address. The 
 audience is better pleased when they have had 
 at least a glimpse of his highest attainment. 
 Still, restraint is better than extravagance. 
 Those writers who have made eloquence a vir- 
 tue place on a par with temperance and self- 
 control the force of will which prevents the 
 oration from running into an abstract essay on 
 the one hand, or on the other into " an over- 
 ornamented prose-poem." To govern a logical 
 
Energy 157 
 
 propensity, or to restrain a flighty imagination, 
 or to curb an impulse to rodomontade may 
 require as much moral force as to suppress the 
 appetite for any other sort of intoxication. It 
 is the same here as in the exercise of all power ; 
 it must be done discreetly, fittingly, and with 
 nice adjustment to the immediate need. Other- 
 wise it becomes ridiculous in its over exercise, 
 or inefficient in its failure. 
 
 A kindred form of reserve is the understate- 
 ment of a case, which goes with the spirit of 
 moderation and fairness. There Moderation 
 would appear to be nothing emphatic in statement - 
 about it, but it nevertheless sometimes helps the 
 speaker's cause more than violent insistence 
 upon its last claim. By leaving hearers to 
 make a stronger case for him than he has 
 urged, is a generosity which is likely to have 
 its reward, especially if it take the form of fair- 
 ness toward opposing considerations or persons. 
 If suggestion goes half-way there is little need 
 of exhausting the reserves of language, not to 
 say of forestalling the inductive processes of 
 hearers, by making the last demand, for they 
 will supply what has not been said in their 
 
i5 8 The Occasional Address 
 
 sense of justice and fair play. Sometimes in 
 their bountifulness they will accord more to 
 the speaker than he would have asked at the 
 utmost. In such an event, and in every case, 
 the emphasis which an audience can give to 
 his moderate statement far outweighs any 
 vehement and extreme assertion that he him- 
 self might make. It is the world with Athan- 
 asius instead of against him. 
 

 M$4M^M 
 
 
 f>^fttV^ 
 
 1 :■ ■' .:' '■?-'^:-; 
 
 rSlftJ 
 
 IV. 
 ELEGANCE. 
 
 ORAL discourse should always be easily 
 and readily apprehended ; sometimes it 
 should be forcible in its presentation of em- 
 phatic phases of its subject ; it may 
 furthermore gratify a love of excel- value of eie- 
 lence in literary art which most in- 
 telligent hearers possess. Indeed, it would be 
 difficult to find a person willing to listen at all 
 to a speech of an hour in length who does not 
 instinctively know the difference between ele- 
 gance and uncouthness. He may not be able 
 to say precisely in what this difference consists, 
 but he will recognize it, and have his own way 
 of stating his impression. There are compo- 
 sitions, especially of a poetic nature, both in 
 verse and prose, where beauty of diction and 
 wealth of imagery are of the first consequence. 
 159 
 
160 The Occasional Address 
 
 They are essential to that aesthetic pleasure 
 which is the purpose of such composition. 
 But a serious and earnest speech, having a 
 definite object to secure in determining con- 
 viction, belief, or action, will seek the quality 
 of elegance so far only as it will contribute to 
 the purpose of the orator. This purpose being 
 different in character and in importance at dif- 
 ferent times, the degree of elegance sought 
 should vary correspondingly ; and while there 
 may be occasions too momentous for much of 
 it, there will be other occasions when this 
 feature of discourse will be both appropriate 
 and essential. At such times the speaker will 
 ask himself, In what does elegance of composi- 
 tion consist? 
 
 His answer will place it, chiefly, in a general 
 
 elevation of tone comporting with the dignity 
 
 of public address upon a topic which 
 
 Elevation of x x L 
 
 toneindis- will of necessity itself be dignified 
 
 course. . 
 
 by reason of the occasion and of the 
 character of the audience. Unconsciously he 
 will give a corresponding elevation to all that 
 is uttered. Not in stilted and bombastic phrase, 
 but with such sustained diction as exalted 
 
Elegance 161 
 
 sentiments require. It is in this adaptation 
 of words and sentences to thoughts that ele- 
 gance must primarily consist. Without such 
 harmony of correspondence an oration might 
 become a vulgar harangue. Furthermore, this 
 fitness of diction to dignified thought must 
 pervade the entire discourse in all its variety 
 of expression, the humorous as well as the 
 pathetic portions, the narrative as well as the 
 argumentative. It will be like the elegance of 
 a costly house, in its foundation and its walls, 
 in its appointments and its adornments. 
 
 In what particulars this general atmosphere 
 of elegance is to be carried out becomes a 
 question of varied application. As A ro riate 
 all discourse is made up of words and diction, 
 their combination, the first recommendation 
 must be in regard to the kind of words to be 
 used, and also as to the way they are arranged. 
 For every object in the material and immaterial 
 world there are at least two names, one of 
 honor and one of dishonor; for every act a 
 verb which exalts or degrades. In poetry the 
 first class of words is used, and dignified prose 
 should employ a style of its own not inferior. 
 
1 62 The Occasional Address 
 
 The best word is none too good, since language 
 must always lag behind thought and report it 
 imperfectly. Among the multitude of words, 
 as among throngs of men, there are princes by 
 nature and by suffrage, and no decree can make 
 even their brethren equal to them in honor or 
 in worth. " Man " will always be the highest 
 title of a human being, whatever be the quali- 
 fying prefix or added limitation — as nobleman, 
 gentleman, king or general, priest or poet ; for 
 manhood is greater than any sphere of its 
 activity. So of every state and order of crea- 
 tion ; there is the highest stage and the corre- 
 sponding word, instead of which no inferior 
 term is admissible in public speech, however 
 endurable it may be in colloquial parlance, 
 dramatic composition, or familiar correspond- 
 ence. 
 
 As with words, so with their arrangement in 
 sentences. The best of them may be so un- 
 naturally ordered as to lose half their 
 
 Euphonious 
 
 arrangement value. The strong or sonorous word 
 may be weakened or smothered by 
 its inferiors, and these in turn may gain noth- 
 ing by promotion. The laws of rhythm may 
 
Elegance 163 
 
 be violated and the resonance of a period de- 
 stroyed by the misplacing of a syllable. This, 
 of course, is no fatal mistake in the direction of 
 clearness or force, but if elegance is worth seek- 
 ing at all it should be sought diligently. Not 
 as mere ornament, but as an essential part of 
 harmonious construction for the gratification of 
 an artistic sense when this is permissible and 
 commendable. On the contrary the accidental 
 or deliberate introduction of words that jar 
 upon the ear can have for its apology one or 
 two reasons only : an intentional discord in the 
 thought, to which expression is to correspond ; 
 or a harshness of sound designed to serve as a 
 relief to long-sustained harmony. But the 
 harmony itself ought not to be of the kind, nor 
 to be continued so long, as to need a contrast- 
 ing crash to awaken hearers from its drowsy in- 
 fluences. 
 
 The use of imagery for elegance may be 
 mentioned here. The creations of the imagina- 
 tion are as welcome to the hearer as Image for 
 to the reader, and as effective in the beauty, 
 oration as in the poem. The delight of dis- 
 covering the connection between suggested 
 
1 64 The Occasional Address 
 
 similitudes gives the listener a share in the 
 speaker's creative processes, besides stimulat- 
 ing his attention and arousing his mental 
 activities. Sometimes he is started on new 
 and kindred lines of thought by a passage 
 which has stirred him by its beauty. Again, 
 his admiration is won by the power which dis- 
 cerns resemblances in things remote from each 
 other, and apparently incongruous. It is akin 
 to the pleasure which comes from the unex- 
 pected in music and painting and sculpture. 
 
 Elegance, however, can never be a matter of 
 words, sentences, and figures of speech alone. 
 Fitness in Underneath the best expression 
 thought. must a i ways H e t he beautiful 
 thought, as the inner glory of life is behind 
 every outer manifestation of its excellence. 
 No choice expression can gild an ugly fact, as 
 no euphemism can make disease, or death, or 
 crime, a welcome contemplation. On the 
 other hand, if the thought be full of health, 
 and life, and innocence, it will carry the beauty 
 and gladness of these into almost any word 
 that can suggest them. Moreover, there is a 
 great wealth of words for the things which 
 
Elegance 165 
 
 bring joy into human life and peace into hu- 
 man hearts and prosperity to communities. 
 When, therefore, a speaker is discoursing on 
 such topics as make for justice and honor, and 
 through these happiness, he will find the beauty 
 which inheres in his subject growing out into 
 visible forms by the law of a life which cannot 
 be restrained. It will take on its own form 
 and color according to the mind out of which 
 it is springing, as flowers take their hues from 
 the soil and the clime in which they grow. 
 If, united with these natural tastes, there be 
 also a perception of the harmonies of propor- 
 tion and rhythm, of fitness between sound and 
 sense, of correspondence between subject and 
 style, between the speaker and his topic, of 
 concord between the occasion and the orator, 
 and of the sympathy which the audience should 
 have with both, the product in speech cannot 
 be inelegant any more than it can fail to be 
 forcible and clear. 
 
V. 
 ADAPTATION. 
 
 TO the preceding triad of essentials in public 
 discourse should be added a fourth, which 
 is so comprehensive that it may include not 
 only these qualities but other and minor excel- 
 lences discussed at length in books 
 
 Adaptation a 
 
 far-reaching upon composition. If but a single 
 
 principle. . . , , 
 
 maxim were to be given to the begin- 
 ner, or even the adept in oratory, it should be 
 concerning the fitness of things. A trite phrase 
 speaks of this as ' ' eternal, ' ' but the word is not 
 too strong in its expression of an ultimate and 
 universal truth. Exemplifications of it are 
 everywhere apparent in the world of animate 
 being. It is only in unnatural, artificial, and 
 perverted conditions that this law of adapta- 
 tion of means to end, of life to its environ- 
 ment, of creature to the purpose of its creation 
 
 166 
 
Adaptation 167 
 
 is violated. In that department of action 
 which is known as the communication of 
 thought in oral address from man to man, 
 from mind to mind, there is unceasing oppor- 
 tunity to fulfil the requirements of this law. 
 Unfortunately there is equal opportunity to 
 transgress it, as is sometimes seen when a 
 number of speakers address the same assembly. 
 Some will observe the unities and proprieties 
 and some will not. Or with both classes there 
 will be a partial success and a partial failure, 
 notably in the speeches, more or less extempo- 
 raneous and ill-considered, which follow ban- 
 quets. But in the carefully written oration the 
 law of adaptation should be the golden rule of 
 the writer: to count those things important 
 which make for harmony. 
 
 This is a fundamental principle of every kind 
 of composition. It belongs to the poem and 
 the essay, to the historical work and 
 
 Congruity of 
 
 the mathematical treatise, to the di- style and 
 
 e 1 11 . subject. 
 
 gest of laws and the romantic story. 
 To interchange the style of one with another 
 would be like placing the novelist on the bench, 
 and setting the mathematician to write poetry. 
 
1 68 The Occasional Address 
 
 The laws of necessity and common sense permit 
 no such harlequinade in everyday affairs, and 
 in literature such buffoonery is as short-lived as 
 it is amusing. Meantime each department has 
 its own proprieties to which any of its perform- 
 ances are held, and by which they are judged. 
 None are more exposed to this canon of criti- 
 cism than the oral address. Any discords are 
 sure to be detected by some listener, who 
 directly becomes the centre from which con- 
 tagious and rapidly spreading judgment pro- 
 ceeds. Counter currents may meet it, but they 
 as often will be full of added criticism about 
 other discords as denials of the first fault. It 
 does not require an eminent development of 
 acumen to discover an incongruity. Often the 
 hearer cannot give the reason for what he has 
 felt, as he cannot expose a fallacy in argument 
 of which he is sensible. But the discord has 
 jarred upon some auditory nerve, or upon 
 some aesthetic, moral, or religious sensibility. 
 He cannot define or explain it better than he 
 can describe the discord which grated upon his 
 ear out of the tumult of a symphony. Yet he 
 has felt it, and it cannot be beaten out of him 
 
Adaptation 169 
 
 by saying that the discord is a part of the har- 
 mony. Such are the judges which have sat 
 upon oratory since one of the people began to 
 speak to all the people. 
 
 Therefore the speaking man, as the ancients 
 called him, has great need of studying the har- 
 monies of thought and subject, of 
 
 Incongruities 
 
 time and place, of the audience and apparent to 
 
 1 . . ■ * xx . audience. 
 
 his own attitude toward them. His 
 judge is the multitude, many-minded, many- 
 eared, many-tongued. What escapes one will 
 be caught by his neighbor, and the third or 
 tenth man will detect what eluded the two or 
 nine. And the two and nine will hear of it and 
 tell of it as their own discovery, through sheer 
 mortification that they were not the original 
 detectors. On the other hand it should be 
 said just here, that commendation is no less 
 contagious, and that an audience is often more 
 ready to praise a good point than to condemn 
 a bad one. Applause is more frequent than 
 hisses, even in a political convention. So, also, 
 the sense of what is in good taste and what in 
 poor is always inherent in the collective hu- 
 manity which is assembled to listen to what 
 
i;o The Occasional Address 
 
 one of its individuals has to say. Its agreement 
 with him or its dissent will, in nine cases out of 
 ten, be traced to his observance of fitnesses or 
 to his disregard and violation of them. What 
 are some of the directions in which danger lies? 
 The most obvious, though not the most fre- 
 quent source of discord, is the unsuitableness 
 of a subject to an audience. This 
 
 Unsuitable- 
 ness of sub- occurs when some topic is introduced 
 
 which they had no reason to expect. 
 There is always a kind of unwritten agreement 
 between a speaker and his hearers that the gen- 
 eral subject of discussion shall not be offensive 
 and that it shall be of common interest. If 
 this understanding is violated listeners will take 
 their revenge in ways too well known to need 
 enumerating. Nor will they put themselves in 
 the way of a second surprise. 
 
 A similar danger lies in discussing matters 
 unsuited to the occasion. This is the tempta- 
 tion lying in wait for those who once a week, 
 and year after year, are expected to present 
 something fresh and new, or the old truth in a 
 new and attractive form, to their Sunday con- 
 gregations. When the address is out of the 
 
Adaptation 171 
 
 usual line its occasional character is sometimes 
 urged as an apology for an excursiveness in 
 theme which has an element of unexpectedness 
 in it, striking the hearers as incongruous and 
 out of place. The same is true of an absurd or 
 sensational treatment of a well-worn topic. 
 The interest which novelty excites is more 
 than neutralized by the ridiculous blending 
 of the solemn with the ludicrous. A like re- 
 vulsion of feeling follows any incompatibility 
 between a topic and its treatment. Such dis- 
 cussion jars upon that sense of fitness which is 
 a part of men's common sense. If this be 
 lacking to the person who happens to be the 
 speaker, and to a few sympathizers before him, 
 it is not wanting to the aggregate of his hearers. 
 The average taste of a well-informed audience 
 is not far removed from the best standards of 
 criticism. 
 
 In this treatment of a theme the speaker will 
 also see to it that his diction corresponds to 
 the character of his subject. As this correspond- 
 is commonly dignified, his language ""^and 
 will not be too colloquial, common- theme, 
 
 place, trivial, or diverting. People do not 
 
17 2 The Occasional Address 
 
 come together in these days for this sort of 
 amusement. They can be entertained else- 
 where. Here they expect what is becoming. 
 Grave questions that are always arising in a re- 
 public are not topics to be discussed in the lan- 
 guage of the club and the saloon. Dignified 
 conversation may be the ideal of the speaker 
 in some situations, but he will remember that 
 his partner is a multitude and its voice, as of 
 many waters, expressing many minds if it could 
 be allowed. Some respect is due to numbers, 
 and he will unconsciously give to his address 
 an elevation correspondingly dignified, if he is 
 a man of right instincts. At the same time he 
 will assume no cringing attitude by reason of 
 the great throng before him. It is after all an 
 assemblage of units. It has no higher intellec- 
 tual level than that of the ablest person in it, 
 except in wider information. Addressing this 
 one, the speaker has nothing greater to fear. 
 Mind cannot be multiplied by hundreds and 
 thus be made colossal, and the orator has no 
 reason in the nature of things to fear a thou- 
 sand more than he would the best man of the 
 thousand. Much stage fright would be ban- 
 
Adaptation 1 73 
 
 ished if young speakers could bear this in mind, 
 while genuine respect might often be increased. 
 For, strangely enough, a speaker will boldly 
 utter sentiments to a mixed multitude that he 
 would be slow to announce in conversation 
 with some eminent person whom he discovers 
 in its ranks. His consolation and encourage- 
 ment is that he is talking to the average hearer. 
 It is also safer to address the best intellect in 
 language which this average hearer can com- 
 prehend. 
 
 In this instance of adaptation certain sugges- 
 tions about style will be in place. Simplicity, 
 for example, is not inconsistent with Simplicity of 
 the dignity that has been mentioned. style * 
 
 Clear, straightforward sentences are desirable, 
 out of which parenthetic thoughts have been 
 weeded. These may be transplanted as sepa- 
 rate propositions in distinct sentences if worth 
 keeping and enlarging. Short sentences also 
 are easier retained than long ones, and loose 
 are understood more immediately than periodic. 
 These last have an advantage, however, in re- 
 taining attention to their close, and thus culti- 
 vating the habit of listening — a habit and a 
 
174 The Occasional Address 
 
 power which is being lost by this much-read- 
 ing, impatient generation. Attention, like 
 memory, is becoming one of the lost arts, a 
 gift and a talent which died with the fathers 
 and went out with the hourglass. The long 
 sentence, also, provided it is clear, as it may 
 be, carries a weight of accumulated energy in 
 its culminating forms that cannot be dispensed 
 with in the climaxes of eloquence. 
 
 There is one element which this practical age 
 is trying to eliminate from oratory in order to 
 The dramatic bring it into correspondence with its 
 element. own hard-and -fast theories. Or, per- 
 haps, taking its cue from the British Parlia- 
 ment, as it gets other fashions from across the 
 water, it attempts to lower the standards of 
 genuine eloquence, as they have been lowered 
 to business talk in that body where the delib- 
 erative oratory of the eighteenth century 
 survives only in tradition, or in exceptional 
 instances so notable as to need no mention. 
 Through fear of being considered dramatic, an 
 essential part of the best speaking is con- 
 demned to exile by legislators ; and in this con- 
 demnation the highest attainments of the best 
 
Adaptation 175 
 
 orators the world has known, are incidentally 
 or impliedly included, and their influence on 
 succeeding oratory deprecated. A slight knowl- 
 edge of those periods when the drama has been 
 succeeded by genuine eloquence ought to show 
 the fallacy and the folly of such objections. 
 It was the dramatic spirit passing into the ora- 
 tory of the Greek play before the speech aban- 
 doned the drama — the spirit which it took with 
 itself later into the courts and the agora — that 
 gave the eloquence of Hellas its power. The 
 same gift was conferred by the French drama 
 upon the orators of the golden age of Louis 
 Fourteenth ; and the Elizabethan dramatists, 
 together with Hellenic studies, did as much 
 for the giants of the Hanoverian Parliament in 
 the last century. In general it may be asserted, 
 that in any age where oratory has risen above 
 the discussions of the board of trade, the dra- 
 matic element has been present with its own 
 incomparable power. This is by no means 
 saying that an orator must be an actor in the 
 common acceptation of the term. But he 
 must have what Demosthenes called the first, 
 second, and third requisite- of eloquence — ac- 
 
1 76 The Occasional Address 
 
 tion, in its proper degree resembling the energy 
 and appropriate activity of the dramatic inter- 
 preter and impersonator. Other things being 
 equal, the more of the dramatic spirit that in- 
 spires a speaker the more effective will he be. 
 Such a spirit will compel the speaker to give 
 his utmost expression to thought, knowing as 
 he must that he cannot fully represent any idea 
 in all its possibilities by words alone. The eye 
 sees more than the ear hears. Therefore it 
 also must be addressed. But the dramatic 
 forms of language, the interrogations, the rare 
 exclamation, the reply, the appeal, the affirma- 
 tion, and the denial are all tokens and out- 
 growths of that spirit of action and animation 
 without which oratory becomes the dullest of 
 recitative. Therefore the dramatic spirit should 
 be cultivated; for it will be in accord with the 
 best eloquence, and will lend something to the 
 most commonplace utterances. Like a good 
 manner in other things, it is everything to 
 some people and something to everybody. It 
 is more to the insensible than they can be con- 
 scious of, and for this reason should be encour- 
 aged. One thing is certain, true eloquence 
 
Adaptation 177 
 
 will never be attained by studying restraint, by 
 suppressing the natural exuberance of youthful 
 enthusiasm, and by imitating models of dull 
 and prosy uniformity. Men in the next genera- 
 tion will not be moved by orators who, with 
 hands in pockets, mutter, in monotone, senti- 
 ments that may be apples of gold, but are 
 offered in baskets of silver. 
 
 Besides the forms of adaptation thus far 
 mentioned, there is another not less important 
 of which a speaker might seem to Naturalness 
 need no reminder, namely, congruity*" 161 " 11 *** 1011, 
 between his subject, his audience, his oratorical 
 methods, and himself. In other words he is 
 to adapt himself to these in his own way, to 
 cultivate naturalness and bide the result. If 
 he succeeds it will be because he has been true 
 to himself ; if he fails it will not be because he 
 neglected to imitate some greater orator. This 
 orator did not make himself famous by imita- 
 tion of one greater still. Whatever of distinc- 
 tion he has, represents the difference between 
 himself and all others. It is his own individu- 
 ality improved and raised to the highest power. 
 So, in its own degree, must the personality of 
 
178 The Occasional Address 
 
 every speaker be his own key to success. The 
 secret of cultivating one's originality is the ab- 
 sence of self-consciousness, which is secured by 
 profound absorption in the subject. One may 
 greatly admire another man's way of discussing 
 an interesting question in a heated debate, or 
 of managing a dispute which comes perilously 
 near to blows ; but when he himself is in the 
 quarrel he will conduct it in his own way, 
 good or poor. There is no self-consciousness 
 then. His style is his own and has no affec- 
 tation in it. But the same man will sit down 
 to compose a speech, perhaps on the very issue 
 about which he has been hotly contentious, and 
 will begin to think how Webster, or Sumner, 
 or Phillips would have treated the matter, and 
 forthwith he attempts to adopt the methods of 
 one of these, or possibly of all three at once. 
 The attempt is the limit of his execution. 
 Clever parodies of verse and travesties of prose 
 have been made which preserve the caricature 
 which makes one laugh, but unfortunately 
 serious imitation has the same effect, though 
 undesigned. In so far as the speaker follows 
 the proclivity of the ape he obtains the ape's 
 
Adaptation 1 79 
 
 reward of laughter at his grave and serious 
 mimicry. With this tribute also goes the sen- 
 timent that he ought to know better, and be 
 himself or be nobody. Better be a nonentity 
 than a shadow. No man has arrived at the 
 years of discretion who may not know, if he 
 will, whether there is anything of his own 
 worth cultivating. If there is, it is a waste of 
 time and labor to import, or try to smuggle in, 
 the manner of another. For after all it is noth- 
 ing but the manner that can be copied. Abili- 
 ties are inalienable possessions, and naught but 
 their methods of exhibition can be appropriated. 
 To clothe moderate capacities in the garments 
 of genius suggests the single idea of misfit, of 
 which the illustration is as old as the fable of 
 the lion's skin from out whose shaggy terror 
 proceeded nothing more terrific than a bray. 
 
 If, however, the speaker can determine to be 
 natural, that is, to make the best of such ca- 
 pacities as he possesses in the largest 
 
 ^ Personality 
 
 degree, he will arrive the earlier at the condition 
 
 . . ., of success. 
 
 such eminence as is possible to him. 
 
 Certain it is, he will not arrive by any other 
 
 road. Moreover, it will be his easiest road ; 
 
180 The Occasional Address 
 
 for there is a bent and grain in every nature 
 which it is easy to follow. To cross it may be 
 a waste of well-meant effort. With the man of 
 strong logical powers the ambition to excel in 
 works of the imagination is commendable but 
 unwise. The poet may wish that reasons were 
 as natural to him as rhyme, and still waste half 
 a lifetime in studying syllogisms. So an ora- 
 tor, naturally logical, may aspire to the emo- 
 tional, or if sympathetic to the didactic, or if 
 persuasive to the instructive. His business is 
 to discover the direction in which he can work 
 most easily and naturally, and to go with the 
 current of his nature. It may not run parallel 
 with his ideal orator's drift, but all the better 
 if he cut a fresh channel. Imagine Henry Clay 
 trying to confine the broad floods of his elo- 
 quence within the deep defiles through which 
 Webster's flowed and thundered. Picture 
 Abraham Lincoln in an endeavor to mould his 
 rugged speech after the Greek models which 
 Edward Everett brought from Athens. What 
 a figure the self-contained, and therefore mob- 
 controlling, Phillips would have made if he had 
 imitated the coruscating, impetuous Choate! 
 
 
Adaptation 181 
 
 Fancy any one of these condescending to 
 adapt methods not his own, or to cultivate 
 any talents but those with which he was roy- 
 ally endowed. Each one instinctively knew 
 which way the grain in his communicative 
 nature ran, and he followed it freely, devotedly, 
 and successfully. According to his ability, this 
 is the condition of every speaker's success, so 
 far as the manner of his working is concerned. 
 Other and many requisites lie along his path, 
 but this is the way in which he is to walk. His 
 patient, solitary labor and his public effort are 
 both in the one direction of his natural style, 
 which Buffo n aptly termed, " the man him- 
 self." Therefore in this department of life, as 
 in every other, he will be himself. 
 
 No one of course will suppose that " being 
 natural" signifies continuing in that state of 
 nature which belongs to childhood Natural 
 and youth. This is the mistake of oratory, 
 those who consider themselves or their friends 
 " natural orators." In our present artificial 
 systems of instruction much has to be changed 
 to restore lost naturalness to the child of nature, 
 who remains such from two to three years only 
 
1 82 The Occasional Address 
 
 according to surroundings. Charles Lamb 
 asked in his time, " Is childhood dead ? " and 
 it has been said in ours, that infancy and man- 
 hood are the two ages now remaining out of 
 the original seven. Naturalness is the progress- 
 ive attainment of a lifetime. It is training the 
 growing faculty of speech, for example, to work 
 in its best and freest way, untrammelled by 
 the artificialities of primary instruction, and 
 emancipated from the self-consciousness of 
 subsequent years. It is the perfected nature 
 of maturity, as distinguished from that of child- 
 hood ; nature in cultivation, not running wild ; 
 the naturalness of the fruit-bearing tree, not of 
 the wayside dwarf. This is not to be understood 
 as overlooking the fact that there have been 
 speakers who have moved multitudes by their 
 native eloquence. The gift, like that of verse, 
 is inborn and cannot be destroyed or repressed 
 by lack of culture. On the other hand train- 
 ing and cultivation render such talents pre- 
 eminently effective, to say nothing of calling 
 forth and making useful moderate and some- 
 times unsuspected abilities. 
 
 To the attainment of naturalness the studies 
 
Adaptation 183 
 
 of the orator should be constantly directed. 
 Formerly, and for centuries, all Liberal 
 
 study was pursued with this end studies, 
 in view. Amidst the division and subdivi- 
 sion of curricula in the schools of the present 
 day, courses similar to the mediaeval trivium 
 and qaadrivium, or to the ancient order of 
 instruction, might be selected ; but for the 
 speaker, as for the physician, the architect, 
 or the engineer, and more even than for these, 
 a broad and comprehensive education is the 
 best preparation. There is no branch of liter- 
 ature, science, or philosophy that may not 
 contribute to the enlarged views which the 
 demonstrative orator should be able to take 
 upon occasion. Of all men he needs a world- 
 wide acquaintance with things and men, with 
 facts and principles, with theories and laws. 
 And if, as a professional man, he is dealing 
 daily with the routine of his narrower duty, he 
 should at least know where the larger outlook 
 may be obtained, and what avenues open into 
 fields which he may need to explore upon de- 
 mand. Possessed of this knowledge, he will 
 be able readily to meet such demand with the 
 
184 The Occasional Address 
 
 naturalness with which a busy man turns aside 
 from his vocation to an avocation, from trade 
 or manufacture to a question of literature or 
 good government, bringing into the discussion 
 the results of a large and instructive experience. 
 
VI. 
 
 PERSONAL AND ETHICAL 
 QUALITIES. 
 
 TO give directions that would be satisfac- 
 tory to every writer is as impossible as 
 to say how history or biography, a novel or a 
 poem, is to be written. All good work is a 
 creation and a growth, as difficult to 
 
 ° Nature and 
 
 order as the upspringing of a twig art in com- 
 position, 
 and the subsequent expansion of 
 
 the tree. Thought processes and word-choos- 
 ing are innate gifts, which much practice de- 
 velops, but never bestows. To cultivate 
 thoughtfulness, observation, and reflection, to 
 study the words, sentences, and paragraphs of 
 the best stylists, does much for the original 
 power of thought and expression where it 
 exists. But it must be possessed in some en- 
 couraging degree. If it is, it will generally 
 185 
 
1 86 The Occasional Address 
 
 manifest itself in both the ability and desire to 
 compose. If to these be joined the disposi- 
 tion and habit of natural and free communica- 
 tion, the way is open to success for the speaker 
 who has anything worth telling. Still, it is 
 not to be denied, that beyond natural gifts 
 and graces, which will find an outlet in their 
 own way, there are particular methods that be- 
 long to certain classes of composition, the ora- 
 tion among them. It is well known that even 
 the free spirit of poetry is not beyond the 
 assistance of the schools, and that the rambling 
 pen of the essayist is helped by the suggestions 
 of writers upon rhetoric. By all means, then, 
 so organic and orderly a creation as the public 
 address should not be entirely independent of 
 recommendations, although it should be ex- 
 empt from rules that fetter and hamper. 
 
 The qualities which are suggested in this 
 chapter have a general character, belonging to 
 General what may be regarded as the atmos- 
 quaiities. phere of demonstrative discourse, 
 and are to be distinguished from the specific 
 qualities already mentioned. The former are 
 to the latter what the general bearing of the 
 
Personal and Ethical Qualities 187 
 
 speaker is to his particular methods of address 
 and his personal characteristics of expression, 
 as distinct from his words and oratorical ac- 
 tion. As preliminary to these general qualities 
 it will be remembered that among the funda- 
 mental conditions of demonstrative speech 
 were its unprofessional character; a clear 
 understanding of the reason and purpose of 
 speaking at all ; the subject in relation to the 
 object; the plan, introduction, discussion, and 
 peroration. To these elements of structure 
 certain features of composition were added, 
 tending to make for the ready comprehension, 
 by his hearers, of the speaker's message, such 
 as clearness and force. These are enumerated 
 to make more emphatic the statement that be- 
 yond them all are larger attributes of speech 
 which cannot be overlooked when the best 
 efficiency is to be sought, and the highest and 
 most lasting success achieved. 
 
 With these observations in mind the reader 
 should have some notion of the 
 
 Variety and 
 
 distinctive character of composition breadth of 
 
 ... TT ... treatment. 
 
 in occasional discourse. He will not, 
 
 as in poetry, make expression the main purpose, 
 
1 88 The Occasional Address 
 
 keeping the theme in comparative subordina- 
 tion, unless he intends to compose an epic. 
 Nor will he make information and instruction 
 through exposition the end of his effort, caring 
 little for the manner of conveying truth pro- 
 vided it is clearly stated and firmly lodged in 
 the hearer's understanding. Instead, he will 
 have need of first one and then another method, 
 as statement, exposition, or illustration may 
 be needed in the progress of his discourse. 
 At the same time the statement is not to be 
 that of a scientist elucidating the mysteries of 
 the siderial heavens or of the great deep, nor 
 of the lawyer setting forth his case to a jury, nor 
 will his illustrations be made the stock of a 
 page, as a poet might make them. Rather he 
 is to seize upon what is essential in these pro- 
 fessional forms and the spirit of them to incor- 
 porate into the unprofessional and occasional 
 production, which is unlike any other. His 
 statement, therefore, will be clear and intelligi- 
 ble, but not too minute and prolix; his argu- 
 ment strong, but not too finely drawn; his 
 illustration a flashlight rather than the varie- 
 gated succession of rainbow tints from a re- 
 
Personal and Ethical Qualities 189 
 
 volving prism. This strength and breadth of 
 treatment in the several kinds of composition 
 which will inevitably be required in an oration 
 as the most inclusive of all types of literature, 
 will also be needed in matters of diction and 
 style. In precision, for example, exactness 
 will be sought, but not the nicety of the scien- 
 tific writer who would write larus instead of 
 sea-gull, and goura for pigeon. The popular 
 terminology is sufficiently correct for address 
 to the people on subjects which concern the 
 populace. Such a habit of speech will also 
 ensure that perspicuity without which elo- 
 quence is useless. Even in the energy of 
 speaking there is opportunity to discrimi- 
 nate between an impetuous torrent and a 
 varied flow like that of a stream which has its 
 quiet reaches as well as its rapids and precipi- 
 tous falls. 
 
 From these precepts, having a common basis, 
 may be gathered the principle lying under- 
 neath them all, namely, that breadth 
 
 J Breadth does 
 
 and strength rather than minute ac- not imply 
 
 inaccuracy. 
 
 curacy, niceness, and fineness, should 
 
 prevail in the oral treatment of a theme. This 
 
190 The Occasional Address 
 
 does not imply or excuse inaccuracy and mis- 
 representation and error. Painful precision is 
 better than these. It has the merit of a whole- 
 some respect for the truth, which itself always 
 commands respect. In general, it may be said 
 that the handling of a subject before the people 
 should be with the broad and positive stroke 
 of the scene-painter rather than with the minute 
 pencilling of the miniature artist working upon 
 ivory. But however strong the stroke designed 
 for immediate effect, there must be no faulty 
 drawing and impossible perspectives. There 
 need be little artistic sense in an audience to 
 detect a slanting perpendicular, or an oval 
 where there should be a circle. Hearers are 
 keen to discover obtuse or acute angles where 
 there should be right-angled statements, and 
 to find obliquities in a speaker's disposition 
 where they looked for fairness and integrity. 
 Fallacies and sophistries may pass for a while 
 and with one and another, but not forever and 
 with all. Lincoln's aphorism will already have 
 risen to the reader's lips: " You can fool some 
 of the people all the time, all the people some 
 of the time, but not all the people all the time. " 
 
Personal and Ethical Qualities 191 
 
 Accordingly the wise speaker will be upright 
 and downright in the method of his speech, 
 and also broad and strong in the manner of it. 
 He will strike at centres, and let his critics 
 take care of circumferences ; at the roots and 
 let the branches follow the fortunes of the 
 roots. 
 
 There should also be the same definiteness 
 in the structure of the discourse. The sections 
 of it should be few, but distinct. A Dist inctness 
 continuous monologue is unimpres- ofdlvlslon « 
 sive; so is minute and multitudinous division 
 and subdivision. In neither method is there the 
 possibility to make points that will be remem- 
 bered. Two or three that can be recalled for 
 a week are better than the twenty which are 
 forgotten in an hour. Therefore the fabric of 
 an oral address ought to be woven in broad 
 bands of contrasting color, and not too many 
 of them. The hearer will carry them in his 
 memory as he cannot an intricate pattern. 
 Such simplicity of design is a part of the force 
 which should prevail everywhere, and also is in 
 accord with the law of economizing the mental 
 strain of the hearer. In this way he loses less 
 
19 2 The Occasional Address 
 
 of what has been offered him than if an elabo- 
 rate mosaic had been traced for his comprehen- 
 sion or confusion. 
 
 As a natural sequence to this strength and 
 breadth of treatment, should follow the quality 
 The eiucidat- °f elucidation. This is something 
 mg power. more than clearness. It is possible 
 to be perspicuous and yet leave the subject in 
 a haze. Almost every topic is liable to mis- 
 understanding, and much that is erroneous is 
 mistaken for truth. What is needed by the 
 orator in any case when confusion of right and 
 wrong, the expedient and the inexpedient, may 
 occur, is the power to clear the mists away, and 
 to show things in their true relations. It is the 
 larger exercise of perspicuity, and is to the re- 
 vealing of affairs what right words are to the 
 transmission of thought. How often does it 
 happen in assemblies of men who are ostensibly 
 seeking the same results, but differ in methods 
 advocated, that each speaker adds new compli- 
 cations, and increases the general confusion, 
 begetting distrust and discouragement. At 
 length some speaker with more open vision 
 than the rest will send his clear, well-defined 
 
Personal and Ethical Qualities 193 
 
 conceptions over the turbulent throng, mark- 
 ing out the metes and bounds of the subject, 
 and straightway the drifting, shifting opinions 
 begin to find their own places, and to crystal- 
 lize with mathematical regularity. He has 
 said, " Let there be light," and there is light 
 in the chaos; the waters are divided and dry 
 land appears, and day is no longer as the night. 
 It was this elucidating power which made Peri- 
 cles the commanding orator that he was. Aris- 
 tophanes says of him, that " his eloquence 
 cleared the social atmosphere as thunder and 
 lightning, and stirred up all Greece." He 
 brushed away sophisms, he made those things 
 important that were important, consigned the 
 subordinate to their proper place, and set forth 
 the real and proper relations of truth, justice 
 and liberty. Such a power, joined with verbal 
 power, is the most effective and satisfactory 
 that a speaker can possess — to see the truth, 
 and to make others see it. To acquire this 
 ability is among the possibilities of an ethical 
 education. It implies freedom from inher- 
 ited or adopted prejudices, with the posses- 
 sion of dispassionate judgment, deliberate 
 
i94 The Occasional Address 
 
 consideration, and something of the prophet's 
 vision beyond the veil of immediate surround- 
 ings. It is what every speaker should covet 
 earnestly as one of the best gifts. His highest 
 commendation will be that he makes things 
 clear, that he reveals the truth, exposes error 
 masquerading in the garb of truth, opens men's 
 eyes to deceit, and lets them know on what 
 ground they stand. Then if they go wrong 
 they go with eyes open ; and it cannot be said 
 of him that he has been a blind leader of the 
 blind because he would not take pains to see 
 and to make them see also. 
 
 Such a revealing touch implies a third quality 
 of effectiveness, which may be defined as the 
 The finding power of finding and touching the 
 power. moral sense of the hearer. It is one 
 
 thing to talk about and around a topic, to look 
 at it from a safe and comfortable distance, and 
 another thing to make a listener feel that its 
 practical lesson is not so much other men's 
 business as his own. Unless this conviction 
 prevails at the close of a speech, there has been 
 a waste of time, or else mere entertainment. 
 Immediate action may not be demanded, but 
 
Personal and Ethical Qualities 195 
 
 immediate impulse should be communicated, 
 and the reflective and reformative power set to 
 work. It was said of one among a group of 
 orators that he excelled the rest " because he 
 left his sting in the minds of his hearers." 
 The suggestion may not be so pleasant as it is 
 expressive, but the speaker who does not leave 
 a stimulating or inspiring thought in thought- 
 ful minds has left out of his address another of 
 its cardinal requisites. 
 
 Such a characteristic, however, requires an- 
 other which pertains to the moral constitution, 
 and that is courage. It is a remark- courage of 
 able topic and a singular audience convictlons - 
 where this quality will not be much needed be- 
 fore an orator has properly and thoroughly 
 handled any theme which is worth bringing be- 
 fore the public on the platform in these busy 
 days. He will find in such an assembly much 
 independent thinking and some scepticism. 
 But the last temper which any listener wishes 
 to discover in a speaker is timidity, or fear, or 
 doubt of his own position. The courage of his 
 own convictions is essential to the beginning of 
 communicating them to others. Besides this, 
 
196 The Occasional Address 
 
 there is also a courageous way of doing it. ■ An 
 audience sometimes looks like an army in bat- 
 tle array against the man who is talking to it. 
 Sometimes it is such, silent, sullen, as much on 
 the defensive as if it were intrenched in pits 
 instead of chairs. It is not respectful and 
 temporary silence that can give much boldness 
 to an orator who knows that the return fire is 
 only an hour distant, to be prolonged indefin- 
 itely. His courage should be something that 
 will outlast the present moment. Yet for 
 this moment he needs a good supply to face 
 the dissent, the prejudice, the antagonism, of 
 an opposing public sentiment. The great tri- 
 umphs of oratory have been in this courageous 
 enforcement of an unwelcome message, more 
 than in the voicing of the concordant and agree- 
 ing opinions of a multitude. So Demosthenes 
 spoke to temporizing Athenians ; so Phillips to 
 his fellow-citizens, standing by their cotton 
 trade ; so Beecher to England, fearing its mills 
 would be closed in the cause of freedom. 
 
 Such are some of the essential conditions of 
 a speech that is to be effective. They belong 
 to its general character, but they are not gen- 
 
Personal and Ethical Qualities 197 
 
 eral or indefinite in their own. Lesser things 
 may be overlooked, but the broad and strong 
 lines of construction, clear and satisfactory 
 elucidation of the perplexities that gather 
 about most subjects, a forcing of truth home 
 to the hearers' consideration, and a personal 
 courage of conviction and presentation, are 
 features which an audience will recognize with 
 respect, or miss with dissatisfaction if not con- 
 tempt. 
 
 To these must be added whatever of personal 
 power the speaker may be endowed with. By 
 this power is meant that indefinable personal 
 quality which interests, attracts, fas- power, 
 
 cinates, and commands. Many speakers have 
 all other endowments but this one. A few 
 have it in moderate measure, and fewer still 
 have it in such marvellous degree that it covers 
 many deficiencies, and makes the possessors for 
 the time as princes among their fellow-men. 
 It has various names, of which " personal mag- 
 netism " is the commonest. But whatever it 
 be called, there is no mistaking its presence, 
 and no substitution for its absence. To ana- 
 lyze it is as impossible as to tabulate the sweet 
 
198 The Occasional Address 
 
 influences of Pleiades, to weigh the sunshine, 
 or to measure the storm. It is an ultimate 
 fact, an inheritance, a gift. He who possesses 
 a good voice has one of the priceless gifts; a 
 good presence is another; reasoning powers, 
 imagination, readiness of speech, others still; 
 but like the gift of charity among the virtues is 
 this personal power, the very spirit and soul of 
 eloquence. Sympathy is no doubt its chief 
 constituent: for unsympathetic speakers are 
 known to have little of this magnetic power. 
 It is sure to find expression in sympathetic 
 tones which come from the heart rather than 
 the head. The same sympathetic quality will 
 get into thoughts and words, and find its re- 
 sponse in kindred emotions, which in turn will 
 react upon the speaker, and communicate them- 
 selves like contagion from rank to rank of 
 hearers. Yet after the last analysis there is a 
 residue of power which cannot be accounted for. 
 It is as the mighty remnant which is the con- 
 trolling influence holding the balance of power 
 the world over, — the little salt in the ocean that 
 prevents corruption, the little breeze that pre- 
 vents stagnation, the few righteous men who 
 
Personal and Ethical Qualities 199 
 
 save the city. Such a gift it is that saves some 
 speakers from utter failure, or again gives to 
 pre-eminent talents their crowning perfection. 
 It is the secret of much eloquence which lives 
 only in tradition, because its power can never 
 be discovered in the record itself of the oratori- 
 cal triumphs. Rare as the blooming of the 
 aloe, it is known by the following it draws, and 
 the admiring crowd around it. No age has 
 failed to recognize it when it has appeared, nor 
 to pay it the same homage from the beginning 
 until now. Other means of enlightening, in- 
 structing, and moving the masses have come 
 into competition and are doing their work well 
 and faithfully, but this one is not yet sup- 
 planted. Nothing has hitherto been discov- 
 ered to take the place of the personal power 
 which the eye, the tongue, and the living, 
 speaking presence have over men, to impel 
 them to immediate action, or to inspire them 
 with noble sentiments. Therefore, those who 
 have this gift should cherish it as if it were an 
 occult quality and a magician's rod. Those who 
 have it only in a small degree may increase it 
 by following its evident pointings. By being 
 
200 The Occasional Address 
 
 sympathetic, interested in the affairs which in- 
 terest others, earnest, open minded, and gen- 
 erous hearted, voicing the better thoughts of 
 men as they themselves would utter them if 
 they could, — these are the invisible constitu- 
 ents of a power which is behind all supreme 
 eloquence. 
 
 Yet great as this gift is, it must be accom- 
 panied by what the ancients called the ethical 
 The ethical quality, of which they made the 
 quality. greatest account as an element of 
 power with hearers. For they recognized the 
 instinctive sympathy which an assembly has 
 with what is right. It may be swayed for a 
 short time to the wrong side of a question by 
 artful appeal to its ignorance, prejudice, or 
 passion, but when the right and the wrong are 
 fairly presented the popular conscience springs 
 back to the line of truth and equity, and the 
 sober thought and the impulse of its better 
 sentiment spontaneously applaud the nobler 
 utterance. Therefore in the end the ruling 
 majority demand right thinking and true speak- 
 ing from the orator in whom they are to put 
 their trust for counsel in times of perplexity 
 
Personal and Ethical Qualities 201 
 
 and doubt. They will accept his guidance be- 
 cause he represents what is honorable and just. 
 To ally himself with this fundamental equity, 
 or better still to be true to his own inborn 
 sense of it, is the speaker's citadel of power, 
 the stronghold of his best reserves. From this 
 rock he cannot be permanently driven by in- 
 genious arts of adversaries. Around it the 
 forces that control opinion will rally in critical 
 emergencies. On it the wise speaker will stand 
 because it is greater than his own conviction, 
 stronger than his words, mightier than his per- 
 sonality. These may be mutable, fallible, 
 ephemeral. But fundamental truth and justice 
 are unchangeable, and in their hold upon men 
 are practically constant. To these standards 
 they are naturally loyal, and they will involun- 
 tarily respond to the man who is true to what 
 is best in himself and in them. Herein lies 
 the source of his greatest power. 
 
PART III. 
 FORMS OF OCCASIONAL ADDRESS. 
 
 203 
 
THE EULOGY. 
 
 IN enumerating the methods of discussion ap- 
 propriate to demonstrative oratory in a 
 former chapter, special mention was made of the 
 descriptive and representative modes of por- 
 traying character. Examples were 
 
 A primeval 
 
 also cited of memorial and com- form of 
 
 address. 
 
 memorative addresses in which this 
 method prevails. Still other and more famous 
 memorials of illustrious lives have adorned the 
 record of demonstrative oratory from the earli- 
 est times. For next to the military harangue, 
 before or after a battle, which characterized the 
 early eloquence of nations, especially of the 
 Greeks from the time of Pisistratus to the close 
 of the Persian war, it is probable that the 
 panegyric of the dead is the primeval form of 
 the occasional address. 
 
 205 
 
206 The Occasional Address 
 
 Its germ is seen in such a remote fragment 
 as David's lament for the first king of Israel 
 Hebrew, and his son, slain together on the 
 
 Greek, and , • r p. 1L j ' • • 
 
 Roman mountains of Gilboa; and again in 
 
 panegyric. suc h an apostrophe as that of Demos- 
 thenes to the heroes of Marathon and Platea. 
 Its later and fuller development is symbolized 
 by compositions like the funeral oration of 
 Hyperides over Leosthenes and his comrades 
 who fell in the Lamian war ; or that of Plato 
 and Pericles over those who fell in the first 
 battles of the Peloponesian war, if Thucydides 
 version of them be correct, as given in the 
 second chapter of his history, and in Plato's 
 Menexenus. Indeed, these two examples of 
 epidictic oratory are pre-eminent among the 
 performances of Hellenic speakers. The colos- 
 sal majesty of treatment which the subject re- 
 ceives at the hands of Pericles is characterized 
 by a breadth of view and calmness of judgment 
 which forbids idle intrusiveness, and the im- 
 pertinence of captious criticism. It towers 
 above the distractions of this middle earth in 
 the regions of a supernal atmosphere, making 
 the reader feel that the orator belonged to an 
 
The Eulogy 207 
 
 age when it was believed that gods and men 
 held converse together. More human, but more 
 powerful, is the emotional eulogium of the im- 
 passioned Plato, who allied his countrymen to 
 their native soil — the nourishing mother of 
 heroes, making rival contestants brothers in 
 their concord — and devotion to the land which 
 bore and reared them, outside of which the 
 world was barbarian, but within was to be a 
 united family of one Hellenic purpose and 
 destiny. To such an order of composition 
 must also be referred the panegyrical efforts at 
 a contest instituted by Artemisia in honor of 
 Mausolus, her husband, at which many of 
 Isocrates's pupils contested for the prize which 
 Theopompus won. Also Gorgias' " Epitaph- 
 ian Oration," a fragment of which constitutes 
 all his work now extant, is another example of 
 commemorative eulogium. The so-called 
 " Funeral Oration " of Demosthenes, by whom- 
 soever composed, serves for a type of the 
 panegyric, while the better example by Lysias 
 and, surpassing all, the exalted and eulogistic 
 speeches of Thucydides are a revelation to our 
 time, of the height and depth to which Hellenic 
 
208 The Occasional Address 
 
 speakers carried this branch of demonstrative 
 eloquence. Into this tribute of honor to the 
 worthy dead they wove broad bands of pa- 
 triotism, ancestral pride, national honor, and 
 renewed devotion to ruling ideas, meantime 
 enriching literature by undying models of com- 
 memorative eloquence. 
 
 In a later and Latin age a conspicuous ex- 
 ample of this kind of oratory is found in a pane- 
 gyric addressed to the Emperor 
 
 Panegyrists oy L 
 
 of imperial. Trajan by Pliny the younger. His 
 
 ism. 
 
 letter to the emperor concerning 
 the imperial policy toward Christians is more 
 familiar than this " laudation " of royalty to 
 its face, in return for the appointment of the 
 orator to the governorship of Bythinia. It was 
 a time when kings expected to be praised, and 
 when it was safer to overdo the matter than to 
 fall short. Yet in this case there was evidently 
 good sense on both sides, and the minimum 
 of flattery is bestowed. Felicitous passages 
 abound, and the elegance which was valued in 
 a decadent age is not wanting, — an age whose 
 decline Pliny's better taste and unquestioned 
 authority did much to retard. Looked upon, 
 
The Eulogy 209 
 
 however, from present levels of self-respecting 
 independence, it is easy to pronounce a less 
 charitable sentence, and say with a modern 
 critic, that this effusion is " a piece of courtly 
 flattery, for the fulsomeness of which the only 
 defence is the cringing and fawning manners of 
 the time." But once more it should be re- 
 membered, that the best canons of historical 
 criticism make allowance for a man's environ- 
 ment, whatever may be the proper judgment 
 of absolute right and wrong. It was an age 
 when it was customary to address the emperor 
 as " Your Eternity." Considering that the 
 length of the reigns of Trajan's five predecessors 
 averaged less than ten years each, this pane- 
 gyric of Pliny's was pitched below the cus- 
 tomary tone of court adulation. Moreover, 
 the tribute to Trajan's virtue became proverbi- 
 ally just two and a half centuries after his 
 death. 
 
 Besides the above example there are eulogies 
 on the Roman emperors in the third and fourth 
 centuries. Their chief value is in the light 
 they throw on the literary character of the 
 times rather than in their oratorical excellence : 
 
210 The Occasional Address 
 
 for it was a period of poor taste and subservi- 
 ence to despotism and false ideals. The 
 authors of any note are Claudius Mamertinus, 
 Eumenius, Nazarius, and Latinus Pacatus. 
 Less extravagant, and perhaps even better de- 
 served than most of these, is Ambrose's eulogy 
 upon Gratian and Valentinian, a.d. 392, and 
 incidentally upon the decadent glory of an im- 
 perialism which ended with Theodosius three 
 years later, in so far as the maintenance of the 
 full dignity of the Roman name is concerned. 
 Other examples of commemorative discourse 
 might be cited, and more were delivered than 
 were recorded in ages when oratory was 
 strongly demonstrative, and when the subjects 
 of it were the mighty dead. 
 
 Feudalism was an atmosphere in which the 
 growth of panegyric was rank. The king, the 
 m feudal pope, and the kaiser, the crusader, 
 ages ' the baron, and the liege lord, the 
 
 hermit, the abbot, and the bishop, called forth 
 the loyal tribute of preachers who, for the oc- 
 casion, were the spokesmen of the people and 
 the proclaimers of their allegiance and devo- 
 tion. It is, however, after the revival of learn- 
 
The Eulogy 211 
 
 ing, and in the remarkable age of culture which 
 was coeval with the reign of Louis Fourteenth, 
 that this form of demonstrative eloquence 
 appears as the flower and fruit of antecedent 
 literary achievement. The funeral Inthe reign 
 orations of Flechier, " the Isocrates ofLouisXIV ' 
 of France," are examples whose first oratorical 
 triumph was a discourse on the death of the 
 Duchess of Montausier, followed by the oration 
 upon Turenne. These performances placed 
 him on a level with the illustrious trio who 
 made the age famous for commemorative elo- 
 quence, Bossuet, Bourdaloue, and Massillon. 
 Other examples of his power were the orations 
 upon Lamoignon, Queen Maria Theresa, and 
 the Chancellor, Le Tellier, to which may be 
 added the three volumes of panegyrics of the 
 saints. Three contemporaries of Flechier, 
 mentioned above, were distinguished for their 
 oraisons funebres, Massillon in particular, whose 
 eulogy at the obsequies of Louis le Grand be- 
 came famous for the simplicity of its opening 
 sentence : ' ' Dieu seul est grand, mes amis. 
 Other famous panegyrics of his were the 
 funeral discourses at the death of the Prince of 
 
212 The Occasional Address 
 
 Conti, 1709, of the Dauphin, the following year, 
 and of the Duchess of Orleans in 1723. 
 
 The memorial discourse reached its highest 
 development as literature in the celebrated 
 The eioges of eloges of the French Academy. By 
 
 the Academy. virtue of hig office j t faUs tQ the per _ 
 
 manent secretary to pronounce a eulogy after 
 the death of one of the members of any of the 
 colleges which constitute, after many vicissi- 
 tudes, the present National Institute of France. 
 In the course of its diversified career notable 
 men have been eulogized by others equally 
 famous, and since the first Academy was 
 founded, in 1635, there has been time to amass 
 a literature of the eulogy formidable in its pro- 
 portions. Thirty-three years of Condorcet's 
 service alone fill two volumes ; Fontenelle con- 
 tributes two more, containing the memorial 
 addresses for forty-two years of his distin- 
 guished secretaryship as an eminent savant. 
 Among the illustrious subjects which he com- 
 memorated were Malebranche, Leibnitz, New- 
 ton, Boerhave, Perrault, treating them with a 
 justice which attributed no qualities not pos- 
 sessed, and exaggerated none that were. He 
 
The Eulogy 213 
 
 was content to exhibit the great points in 
 every character, and let the small ones alone. 
 Equally illustrious are the thirty names em- 
 balmed by Louis, and others still by Thomas 
 and by D'Alembert, the last of whom delivered 
 orations upon the lives and characters of Mas- 
 sillon, Boileau, St. Pierre, Bossuet, Cousin, 
 Colbert, Montesquieu, and Saint Cyr. Vicq- 
 d'Azyr recalls the learning, the labors, and 
 the virtues of Duhamel, Bergman, Vergennes, 
 Cuvier, Pariset, Mignet, Dubois, and Flourens. 
 In all these tributes, differing with different 
 eulogists and diverse characters, there will not 
 fail to be found the Gallic sense of fitness and 
 the adaptation of the discourse to its subject. 
 The closing summaries in some of them are 
 graphic delineations, answering to Fenelon's 
 definition of the eulogy as " vivifying the arts 
 and exciting emulation," while they also meet 
 Voltaire's designation of it as a " perfume 
 reserved for embalming the dead." In this 
 place may be cited one or two other estimates 
 of what the eulogy should be, notably Mme. 
 de GlenhVs, who said that the indirect praise 
 is the only one that can make an impression, 
 
214 The Occasional Address 
 
 having all the force of indirect testimony as 
 evidence. Here also it may be well to note 
 the distinctions which a discriminating people 
 like the French make between the funeral 
 discourse, " religious in character," and the 
 eulogy, " not so of necessity, but simple in 
 style " while the panegyric is " pompous with 
 the trappings of a gorgeous rhetoric." 
 
 Sometimes the mania for eulogizing carried 
 panegyrists almost as far as a similar enthu- 
 siasm drove later Romans when they praised 
 " dust and smoke" in Fronto's day; or as 
 when Syenesius, a disciple of Hypatia, extolled 
 poverty in the fifth century, and Favorinus 
 glorified deformity; or as when a thousand 
 years after Erasmus wrote a volume in praise 
 of folly. Of course there is no reason why 
 things may not be eulogized as well as men, 
 especially since, as in the case of 
 
 Character the 
 
 subject of abstract virtues, they present no 
 
 eulogy. 
 
 detracting qualifications, and are 
 therefore easy and safe to praise. On the 
 other hand, the human character, which is the 
 result of native endowments and inheritances 
 placed in a world of good and evil influences, 
 
The Eulogy 215 
 
 becomes a more legitimate subject of praise if 
 it pass through these creditably and honorably. 
 For such attainment and achievement, accord- 
 ing to its degree in each instance, there may be 
 words of commendation in justice to the de- 
 parted, and for an inspiration to the living. 
 According to such a general sentiment it is, 
 therefore, probable that the eulogy in some of 
 its forms — commemorative address, memorial 
 sermon, funeral oration, or panegyric — will 
 always be recognized as an appropriate tribute 
 to be paid to exceptional worth. Whoever 
 may be called upon to perform such an office 
 will find an abundance of suggestion in direc- 
 tions that have been indicated, but by no 
 means exhausted, in one of the most interest- 
 ing phases of demonstrative speech. 
 
 In regard to the eulogy in Great Britain it 
 must be said that while it has had a fair repre- 
 sentation in English literature, es- British 
 pecially in its ecclesiastical portions, eulogy. 
 the nation has provided other memorials for its 
 illustrious departed. There has always been a 
 reverent recognition of ancestral virtues, mili- 
 tary, civil, and domestic, but it has likewise 
 
216 The Occasional Address 
 
 been tempered with modesty, sound judgment, 
 and just criticism. Therefore eminent ex- 
 amples of this form of eloquence are com- 
 paratively infrequent in English literature. A 
 poem, a biographical sketch, or a historical 
 digression commemorating exceptional worth, 
 are oftener found as mementos of departed 
 greatness. Tennyson's " In Memoriam " Mac- 
 aulay's " Essay on Milton," Green's chapters 
 on Edward the Third, or Wolsey, or Thomas 
 Cromwell, are examples of Englishmen's trib- 
 utes to their illustrious countrymen. Or in 
 deliberative capacity, having offered brief and 
 discriminating testimony to the worth of the 
 dead, they turn to discuss matters relating to 
 the commonweal, and leave memorials to be the 
 care of relatives, or place them in the keeping 
 of Westminster Abbey. Burke has a brief 
 characterization of Sir Joshua Reynolds, end- 
 ing with a " Hail and Farewell"; Grattan 
 sums up the abilities and talents of Lord Chat- 
 ham in a few weighty paragraphs ; Sir James 
 Mackintosh performs the same service for the 
 memory of Charles James Fox and for George 
 Canning. Of the last he said : 
 
The Eulogy 217 
 
 " He was a man of fine and brilliant genius, of warm affec- 
 tions, of a high and generous spirit — a statesman who, at 
 home, converted most of his opponents into warm supporters ; 
 who, abroad, was the sole hope and trust of all who sought an 
 orderly and legal liberty, and who was cut off in the midst of 
 vigorous and splendid measures, which, if executed by himself 
 or with his own spirit, promised to place his name in the first 
 class of rulers, among the founders of lasting peace and the 
 guardians of human improvement." 
 
 Such is a moderate and fair encomium upon 
 a distinguished parliamentary orator by one of 
 his peers. It may stand as a type of the gen- 
 eral tenor of British eulogy. With that nation, 
 however, this moderation is more effective than 
 the extravagant laudation which the orators of 
 southern Europe and the East were accustomed 
 to bestow upon their heroes, saints, and kings. 
 In homiletic and forensic literature can be 
 found much commemorative speech that has of 
 necessity a local value. Of greater interest to 
 the Anglo-Saxon race are the eulogistic crea- 
 tions of the English drama, whose exaltation 
 of heroes is in the best spirit and the highest 
 form of brief encomiastic speech. 
 
 When, however, English literature is trans- 
 planted to American soil it begins to take on 
 new characteristics. A stimulating climate, a 
 large freedom, and a generous hospitality tow- 
 
218 The Occasional Address 
 
 ard all climes and ages give it at length a 
 cosmopolitan receptivity and a wide adaptation. 
 Eulogy in ^ * s not afraid to follow French taste 
 America. j n inters, nor Greek, nor Roman, 
 nor what of Italian or Spanish or German is 
 worth absorbing and recreating. Therefore 
 so important an element as the eulogistic could 
 not escape appropriation by a people which felt 
 itself to be the inheritor of treasures that had 
 been accumulating in all lands for centuries. 
 There was, accordingly, in the early oratory of 
 our country an almost boyish frequency of 
 reference to classical antiquity. But there was 
 also a familiar acquaintance with its literature 
 and laws which surpassed that of recent gen- 
 erations of educated men, who have so many 
 things to learn that they cannot acquire much 
 knowledge of any one thing. Among the lit- 
 erary acquisitions of the fathers was some idea 
 of the proper nature and limits of the eulogy. 
 
 It began with the beginnings of our own lit- 
 erature, in a time when all compositions were 
 ciencai almost endless in their continuance 
 memorials. and f ear f u i fa their solemn tedious- 
 ness. Nevertheless they met the demand of a 
 
The Eulogy 219 
 
 much-enduring and patient-listening people ; as 
 is evident from the account that when a 
 preacher, being ill, shortened his discourse to 
 two and a half hours, one of the brethren 
 apologized by saying, " We have a strong 
 weakness here in New England that when we 
 are speaking we know not how to conclude. 
 We make many ends before we end." But it 
 should be added that the Sunday sermon was 
 the chief entertainment of all the week in 
 Plymouth Colony and Massachusetts Bay. 
 Accordingly, when a man like John Cotton 
 became a subject of panegyric, the performance 
 was co-extensive with the industry of a scholar 
 who could study twelve consecutive hours each 
 day, and " sweeten his mouth with a piece of 
 John Calvin before he went to sleep." Upon 
 the admirable accomplishments and acquire- 
 ments of such a " universal scholar and walk- 
 ing library," it is marvellous that his grandson, 
 Cotton Mather, of Magnalian prolixity, could 
 ever have made an end of his laudation. Judg- 
 ing by his customary " longitude in speech," 
 as Nathaniel Ward terms it, he must have 
 occupied all the hours " from morn till noon, 
 
220 The Occasional Address 
 
 from noon to dewy eve "in an exposition of 
 his ancestor's orthodoxy and his unparalleled 
 1 ' gift of continuance. ' ' For a typical and cleri- 
 cal eulogy of the time the reader is commended 
 to " The Departure and Character of Elijah 
 Considered and Improved — after the decease 
 of the learned and Very Reverend Cotton 
 Mather, D.D. and F.R.S., and Minister of the 
 North Church in Boston. By Samuel Mather, 
 M.A., Boston, 1726." Of such memorial dis- 
 courses on the ministers of New England there 
 are twenty octavo volumes extant, and five 
 more on the ministers of Boston alone. In 
 them may be traced the slow deliverance of 
 American thought and expression from the 
 painful cramps of seventeenth-century Puri- 
 tanism ; but still more evident is its lingering 
 tenacity to ways that were both strait and 
 angular. Now and then some bolder spirit 
 struggles for elbow-room, as when in "A 
 Plain Memorative Account of Mr. Thomas 
 Symmes " one happens upon a note of slow 
 progression as follows: " He thought it was 
 high time that our Common Custom of Read- 
 ing the line in Singing should be laid aside, be- 
 
The Eulogy 221 
 
 cause of its very much interrupting the Melody 
 and sometimes the Sense, and because the 
 Reason of it now ceases, there being plenty of 
 Psalm Books." But this is a digression from 
 the customary and monotonous " exercising " 
 upon the public and private ministrations and 
 the circumspect virtues of several generations 
 of religious teachers. 
 
 Among the four hundred and forty-three 
 commemorative discourses, preserved in the 
 Metcalf collection in the library of Brown Uni- 
 versity, one name or the other of the following 
 pairs stands forth from a great company of for- 
 gotten worthies as not yet entirely lost in a fast 
 gathering oblivion. Increase Mather is borne 
 up by the family name, while Michael Wiggles- 
 worth, his subject, will have an immortality of 
 his own by reason of his priority as an Ameri- 
 can versifier, established during a twenty-years' 
 retirement for his health in the West Indies. 
 Amid tropical scenes his stern spirit was melted 
 into poetic mood, and the long-restrained muse 
 of Massachusetts Bay burst forth into the 
 ravishing strains of a poem called " The Day 
 of Doom," once the most popular verse in 
 
222 The Occasional Address 
 
 New England. The most cheerful passage in 
 it is that in which unbaptized infants are ac- 
 corded " the easiest room in hell." In later 
 days, Jonathan Edwards, whose theology was 
 more fiery than his spirit, memorialized the 
 saintly Branierd ; Channing discoursed on 
 Worcester, Ware on Prentiss, Stiles on Whit- 
 tlesey, Dwight on Goodrich, Onderdonk on 
 White, Jarvis on Seabury, Wainwright on 
 Duffie, Hobart on Moore, Manning on Estlin, 
 Tyng on Milnor, Sears on Allen, Garnet on 
 Peabody, Storrs on Park, Doane on Winslow, 
 Frothingham on Gay, Park on Stuart, Bacon 
 on Dutton, Seabury on White, Coxe on Sea- 
 bury, Gano on Snow, Eastburn on Bristol, and 
 Woodbridge on Williston. There are others 
 among the four hundred and forty pairs re- 
 maining equally memorable, but " time would 
 fail me to tell of the Gideons and Baraks and 
 Samsons, of the Jephthahs, the Davids, the 
 Samuels, and the prophets " in the long suc- 
 cession of New England worthies. Besides 
 these there were eighty-eight Boston ministers 
 who have five octavo volumes of commemora- 
 tion all to themselves. Some have more than 
 
The Eulogy 223 
 
 one discourse in their praise : Griswold three, 
 Crosswell four, and Channing no less than 
 eleven. Eighty-three wives of ministers are 
 similarly honored, as they ought to have been, 
 not only for sharing their husbands' trials, but 
 also for the added trial of clerical husbands, 
 themselves sorely tried by parochial infelicities. 
 Mather Byles, of loyalist and literary fame, 
 friend of Pope and Swift, heads the list with a 
 funeral discourse on Anna his wife, taking a 
 text from the Epistle to the Philippians, and a 
 motto from Boethius's Consolations of Philoso- 
 phy. Other worthy women are commemorated 
 to the number of one hundred and forty-six in 
 this epitaphian collection. Twenty-five vol- 
 umes are filled with the memorials of the lesser 
 lights of New England, six hundred and forty- 
 five in all, classed " Miscellaneous." 
 
 Not in this class by any means are the eulo- 
 gies upon colonial magistrates, who ranked 
 next to the ministers on one side or 
 
 Eulogies 
 
 the other of them, both orifices be- upon magis- 
 trates, 
 ing sometimes merged in one per- 
 sonage. How important figures they were in 
 early colonial days, and even in later, may be 
 
224 The Occasional Address 
 
 understood by reading Rev. William Cooper's 
 discourse on William Tailer, " Lieutenant 
 Governor of the Province of Massachusetts 
 Bay in New England " — so his title ran in 
 1 73 1 ; or Mr. Appleton's on " Lieutenant Gov- 
 ernor Spencer Phipps, and Commander-in-chief 
 of his Majesty's forces," 1757; or Thomas 
 Thacher's on Governor Bowdoin; or Peter 
 Thacher's on Governor John Hancock, or on 
 Samuel Adams; or Abiel Holmes's (Oliver 
 Wendell's father) on Governor Sumner 
 (Charles's grandfather), 1799; or President 
 Dwight's on Governor Trumbull, 1809. The 
 tone of them all is symbolized by the words of 
 Buckminster on Governor Sullivan : 
 
 " When I look back upon the successive generations of men 
 and see how painfully they have been climbing to the heights 
 of temporal grandeur, and observe the little brief authority, 
 the panting ambition, the pitiable pride, the wreaths withered 
 as soon as plucked, the grave opening under the very chair of 
 supreme authority, I am ready to cry, God have mercy on the 
 great, and forgive the pride of shortlived man when the naked 
 spirit shall stand trembling in thy presence, and it is no longer 
 remembered whether it expired on a scaffold or on a throne ! " 
 
 Of course there was due praise for what was 
 worthy, but this sentiment underlay all else, as 
 became men who feared God more than they 
 
The Eulogy 225 
 
 feared the king. For the king they had loy- 
 alty so long as he was reasonable, and when he 
 died he did not lack respectful mention. Ac- 
 cordingly, there were four moderate panegyrics 
 on George the Second; three also on Queen 
 Caroline, four on Frederick, Prince of Wales, 
 and two on Princess Charlotte. Encomiums 
 on the succeeding Georges would naturally be 
 confined to loyalists after 1776, and the tributes 
 of the majority be transferred to Washington 
 and his successors. The first President was 
 eulogized throughout the new nation in at least 
 129 sermons which were deemed worthy of pub- 
 lication, while the almost simultaneous death of 
 Adams and Jefferson called out a multitude of 
 addresses upon one or both, and the demise of 
 President William Henry Harrison so soon 
 after his inauguration elicited another flood of 
 addresses, two volumes of which have been 
 collected and preserved. Subsequent to the 
 death of all the above dignitaries and of others, 
 there have been estimates at different times of 
 their lives and characters, one of the most cele- 
 brated being Edward Everett's famous oration 
 upon Washington. 
 
226 The Occasional Address 
 
 The foregoing outline of eulogistic literature 
 might be considered as a qualification upon the 
 The eulogy character of demonstrative oratory if 
 as literature. ^ were not remembered that, in any 
 age, it equalled and sometimes surpassed other 
 literary ventures. Compared with early at- 
 tempts at historical, biographical, and espe- 
 cially poetical composition, it will not suffer. 
 Polemical theology and controversy alone 
 ranked with it in ability, while falling far be- 
 hind it in more attractive elements of composi- 
 tion. And as the generations went by, com- 
 memorative speech improved with advancing 
 literary taste, until in the last fifty years some 
 of the best examples in the history of occa- 
 sional oratory appear. Everett's oration upon 
 Washington has been mentioned as the final 
 term in an ascending series, an achievement 
 which has not been since surpassed. There is 
 abundant reason for calling it the perfect fruit 
 of eulogistic speech, which had been ripening 
 for two hundred years. 
 
 A brief examination of its origin and charac- 
 ter will show why it holds this supreme place 
 in our eulogistic literature. First, the writer 
 
The Eulogy 227 
 
 himself had made demonstrative oratory the 
 principal purpose of his literary career. Similar 
 achievements had been accomplished 
 
 1 Everett's 
 
 by him with unusual credit, but this eulogy upon 
 
 Washington. 
 
 was his greatest success. Fitted by 
 familiarity with the best of classic eloquence, 
 himself possessing the spirit of its masters, en- 
 dowed with its graces and imbued with patriotic 
 zeal for the unity of the nation, whose history 
 he knew by heart, and whose founders had but 
 just passed from view, as historical eras are com- 
 puted, Edward Everett was the man of all men 
 to depict the character and virtues of Washing- 
 ton. Besides, the subject of his eulogy belonged 
 to the entire community of States, and to all 
 their inhabitants — a person of whose praises no 
 section could tire. Add to this the object of 
 the speaker — the purchase of Mount Vernon, to 
 which the proceeds of this address, delivered 
 without charge, and many times repeated North 
 and South and West, contributed over fifty- 
 three thousand dollars — ten thousand more 
 being added by the earnings of the author's 
 pen. The man, the subject, the object, and one 
 hundred and fifty occasions conspired to give 
 
228 The Occasional Address 
 
 this production a prominence which no other 
 eulogy has had in all the course of time. There- 
 fore it is eminently proper to look for a mo- 
 ment at its structure as a work of art. 
 
 The occasion. — Often the anniversary of 
 Washington's birthday precluded the need of 
 Analysis of an y extended insistence upon the 
 the oration, importance of his theme, and accord- 
 ingly three lines suffice for the announcement 
 of his subject. 
 
 The introduction is proportionably brief in its 
 allusion to the recommendation of Congress (in 
 1799), " that the people of the United States 
 testify their grief for the death of General 
 George Washington, by suitable eulogies, ora- 
 tions, and discourses." This furnishes an 
 opportunity to mention the illustrious orators 
 who have preceded him, Fisher Ames, Web- 
 ster, and Winthrop, whose performances had 
 taken an abiding place in the literature of the 
 country, leaving little to be discussed anew. 
 Therefore he craves permission to approach a 
 familiar subject in a different direction. Thus 
 he incidentally arouses a fresh interest in a 
 well-worn topic, as has been shown above. 
 
The Eulogy 229 
 
 A statement follows of what he proposes to 
 do, — " to offer some views of the relation of 
 Washington, not merely to the United States, 
 but to the age in which he lived, and then to 
 point out the true nature and foundation and 
 distinctive character of his greatness. " Grant 
 me, my friends, your candor, your indulgence, 
 and your sympathy." 
 
 The narration of Washington's early career 
 in border hostilities, the approbation he re- 
 ceived in Virginia and Massachusetts, his wait- 
 ing in watchful retirement at Mount Vernon 
 for his high commission as leader of the colonial 
 forces is graphic in an assured certainty which 
 marks the master : 
 
 " Years pass by ; the august plan of Providence ripens ; 
 the beloved and revered chieftain, aided by his patriotic asso- 
 ciates, carries the bleeding country through another seven 
 years' war, — hard apprenticeship of freedom, . . . thir- 
 teen independent State governments succeed to as many 
 Colonies, — peace crowns the work. . . . America takes 
 her place in the family of nations." 
 
 With a tribute to his compatriots, among 
 whom, however, he was as " fixed and con- 
 stant as the Northern Star," he passes directly 
 to the first year of his administration as Presi- 
 
230 The Occasional Address 
 
 dent of the new Union under the Constitution, 
 at the age of fifty-seven and in the year 1789. 
 
 The character portrait which he is going to 
 paint has a background which the speaker de- 
 picts with strong and free hand — the age in 
 which he lived, 
 
 " a period," he remarks, "which in many respects stands first 
 in the annals of our race for great names, great events, great 
 reforms, and the general progress of intelligence, the age of 
 wonders in the history of mankind." 
 
 With equal rapidity and precision the orator 
 then proceeds to fill in the sketch by grouping 
 the mighty men of Europe and the East, and 
 enumerating events in the manner of a philo- 
 sophic historian from cause to effect, from the 
 Sclavonic movements in the steppes of North- 
 western Asia and the conquest of Hindoostan, 
 to the English victory on the heights of Que- 
 bec, and the American triumph at Yorktown ; 
 from Peter the Great and Catherine the Second, 
 from Clive and Wolfe to him who was greater 
 than all, the brightest ornament of an age 
 that therefore should be called the Age of 
 Washington. 
 
 By comparison he then proceeds to give the 
 measure and stature of the man, choosing three 
 
The Eulogy 231 
 
 standards of estimation which the world has re- 
 garded as the greatest of that time — Peter the 
 Great, Frederick the Second, and Napoleon. 
 The greatness of each he shows was qualified 
 by notorious defects, and lacked the symmetry 
 which signalizes the character of Washington. 
 
 Emphasis is laid upon this harmonious de- 
 velopment of all virtues by asserting that it was 
 original, not borrowed, having no illustrious 
 example of this kind of excellence to follow in 
 a crude age and in a land without great tradi- 
 tions and institutions and characters. " Like 
 Columbus, Washington and his compatriots 
 were compelled to sound their way along un- 
 visited coasts of republican government and 
 constitutional liberty." He had to be a leader 
 with no pioneer breaking the way before him, — 
 without precedent or beacon in the ancient or 
 modern world to guide him. " I see many who 
 deserved well of their country, . . . but I 
 behold in the long line no other Washington, 
 solitary in his eminence among the great and 
 good." 
 
 A definition follows of what this eminence 
 consisted in, or rather the admission of inability 
 
232 The Occasional Address 
 
 to describe that impalpable essence and latent 
 power which marks supreme character. Other 
 men have confessed to the same inability " to 
 paint the sunbeam with a brushful of flake 
 white." He falls back on the tradition of " a 
 serene dignity which both charmed and awed 
 the boldest who approached him." 
 
 An answer is here interposed to the qualify- 
 ing and faint praise of those foreign critics who 
 deny the crown of genius to Washington, while 
 they accord him eminent rank asa u chieftain, 
 magistrate, and patriot." If he could conduct 
 the nation through the war of the Revolution, 
 and the period of no government which fol- 
 lowed it, and through his two administrations 
 set an example for all future presidents to fol- 
 low ; if he could do this without genius, then 
 its possession would have been of little conse- 
 quence. But so far from being a defect, the 
 excellence of his character consists in the ex- 
 clusion of inordinately developed traits, which 
 usually constitute genius, and destroy the sym- 
 metry of a well-rounded character in its per- 
 fection of proportion and balance. This ideal, 
 to be sure, is one of which the populace has 
 
The Eulogy 233 
 
 little apprehension, while for prudence, justice, 
 modesty, and good sense, it has little admira- 
 tion and no great liking. This criticism is then 
 made with true Parthian skill to contribute to 
 the eulogist's vindication and laudation of his 
 subject in the words: " Instead, therefore, of 
 being a mark of inferiority, this sublime adjust- 
 ment of powers and virtues in the character of 
 Washington is in reality its glory." 
 
 A comparison with four military geniuses — 
 Alexander, the Duke of Marlborough, and 
 Napoleon Bonaparte — strengthens and illus- 
 trates the position he has taken on the su- 
 premacy of a well-balanced character over 
 one-sided though dazzling brilliancy. Folly, 
 avarice, and rashness were successively the ruin 
 of three men of genius, and ambitious usurpa- 
 tion the death of Julius Caesar, the fourth. 
 Fontanes, whom Napoleon selected to eulogize 
 Washington in France, called him truly " the 
 pure, the just, the humane, the unambitious." 
 Four words could not have been better chosen, 
 though unconsciously, to show that Washing- 
 ton was strong where the others were despicably 
 weak or unwise. 
 
234 The Occasional Address 
 
 The conclusion begins with a continuance of 
 testimony to his greatness, of which Hamilton 
 said, that " the voice of praise would in vain 
 endeavor to exalt a name unrivalled in the lists 
 of true glory"; and Fox, voicing English 
 sentiment, said, " A character of virtues so 
 happily tempered by one another, and so 
 wholly unalloyed with any vices, is hardly to 
 be found on the pages of history." Therefore 
 it belongs to Americans to show respect for 
 Washington by obedience to his words in the 
 Farewell Address exhorting them to preserve 
 the Union in its integrity — the hope of the 
 Republic. 
 
 An appeal follows which recalls the adjura- 
 tion of Demosthenes, remembering Marathon, 
 beginning: " No, by the glorious nineteenth of 
 April, 1775; by the precious blood of Bunker 
 Hill, of Princeton, of Saratoga, of King's 
 Mountain, of Yorktown ; by the undying 
 spirit of f y6; by the sacred dust enshrined 
 at Mount Vernon; by the dear immortal 
 memory of Washington, that shame and sor- 
 row shall never be." And with a strain of 
 prophecy, " that ever, as the twenty-second of 
 
The Eulogy 235 
 
 February returns, the memory of the greatest 
 man of a great age shall be renewed and 
 cherished in all the land/' the eulogy, which 
 is worthy of its theme, comes to an end. 
 
 To recapitulate its divisions : they are, — In- 
 troduction, Statement, Narration, Portraiture, 
 Comparison, Main Proposition, Definition, 
 Refutation by Contrast, Conclusion. To ap- 
 prehend how much hangs upon these points, 
 or even upon the preceding outline, the whole 
 oration should be read. It will be seen that 
 while there have been as eloquent productions, 
 even upon less distinguished subjects, none 
 have surpassed this one in adaptation to the 
 character eulogized and in the classic severity 
 and harmonious proportion of treatment. It 
 will always stand as another monument to 
 Washington, as worthy a memorial as is the 
 shaft which perpetuates his memory in the city 
 that bears his name. 
 
 There are passages of rare beauty in this 
 eulogy which it would be pleasant to note ; but 
 such observation must be deferred until minu- 
 ter features of commemorative discourse are 
 considered. 
 
236 The Occasional Address 
 
 The Eulogy as a form of demonstrative ora- 
 tory might be dropped here, were it not that a 
 few other examples would be missed by any- 
 one expecting a fair enumeration of the best 
 work that has been done in this direction. 
 Everett himself, under the modest title of 
 " Remarks," gave characterizations of Prescott 
 the historian, of Henry Hallam, of Alexander 
 von Humboldt, of Rufus Choate, of Washing- 
 ton Irving, of Nathan Appleton, Professor 
 Felton, Nathan Hale, Josiah Quincy, and 
 President Lincoln, and others. More elab- 
 orate efforts were pronounced in memory of 
 Thomas Dowse, showing what he could do 
 with a humble subject; of Daniel Webster, a 
 great one; and in the " Vindication of Ameri- 
 can Institutions," a broad one; and, at the 
 Consecration of the National Cemetery at 
 Gettysburg,— an oration in which the heroic 
 memories of Marathon are revived once more, 
 and the spirit of Hellenic eloquence, always 
 latent in this orator, finds an inviting oppor- 
 tunity for utterance. 
 
 Amongst the judicial and deliberative 
 speeches of Daniel Webster his commemora- 
 
The Eulogy 237 
 
 tive addresses on Washington, and on Adams 
 and Jefferson, show what he could do in 
 the direction of demonstrative elo- other 
 
 quence. Robert C. Winthrop, an eulogists, 
 occasional orator, and during his active life a 
 speaker on almost every public occasion, adds to 
 his numerous short addresses longer memorials 
 of the life of James Bowdoin, and of Barnas 
 Sears, and a eulogy on George Peabody ; while 
 his oration at the laying of the corner-stone of 
 the national monument to Washington in 1848, 
 and another on its completion in 1885, partake 
 of the nature of commemorative discourse. His 
 frequent brief addresses in memory of one and 
 another celebrated man of his time as they 
 passed away, are models of their kind in a diffi- 
 cult branch of public speech. In the midst of 
 forensic labors, such as fall to the fortune of 
 few eminent lawyers, Rufus Choate made room 
 for eulogies of rare beauty and truth upon 
 President William Henry Harrison in Faneuil 
 Hall in 1841, and on Daniel Webster before 
 the faculty and students of Dartmouth College 
 in 1853. 
 
 In addition to those already enumerated 
 
238 The Occasional Address 
 
 elsewhere may be mentioned among note- 
 worthy eulogies, memorial and commemora- 
 tive addresses that of George Bancroft upon 
 the life and character of Abraham Lincoln, de- 
 livered before both Houses of Congress on the 
 1 2th of February, 1866; the eulogy of William 
 M. Evarts upon William H. Seward ; of James 
 G. Blaine upon James A. Garfield ; Senator 
 Lamar's tribute to Charles Sumner; William 
 C. Bryant's addresses on Cooper, Halleck, and 
 Irving; Emerson's memorial of Thoreau ; 
 Robert C. Winthrop's of George Peabody; 
 Oliver Wendell Holmes's of Motley and 
 Emerson; George William Curtis's eulogies 
 upon Sumner, Phillips, Bryant, and Lowell; 
 Parke Godwin's on Curtis, Edwin Booth, 
 Kossuth, Audubon, and Bryant; and others 
 by other distinguished men, often in composi- 
 tions of equal excellence, until the last orator 
 who maintained the high place of the eulogy 
 became silent. This was George William 
 Curtis, whose eulogies on Charles Sumner, 
 James A. Garfield, Wendell Phillips, William 
 C. Bryant, and James Russell Lowell are, 
 taken together, unsurpassed by any similar 
 
The Eulogy 239 
 
 number in the entire literature of eulogistic 
 speech. 
 
 Judging, then, by recent example it is evi- 
 dent, that its day has not passed. Compared 
 with judicial and deliberative ora- Permanence 
 tory, as they are found in the courts ofthe eulogy - 
 and the legislative assemblies of the land, the 
 quality of demonstrative speech in its com- 
 memorative phase will hold its own. Nor is 
 there immediate likelihood that the custom of 
 honoring the praiseworthy, and commemorat- 
 ing good in human lives, will be discontinued. 
 In particular, the acts and character of memor- 
 able and distinguished persons will be a subject 
 of demonstrative discourse. If, as is usually the 
 case when such addresses are delivered, the life 
 here has ended, such discourse will assume 
 naturally the tone of eulogy. It is the good 
 in men's lives that should live after them, and 
 it becomes the office of the memorial address 
 to drop the evil, the imperfections, the venial 
 faults, and to perpetuate the virtues, the noble 
 aspirations, and the higher ideals toward which 
 endeavor was made in spite of weights which 
 dragged, and burdens which bowed down the 
 
240 The Occasional Address 
 
 spirit. Such eulogy has often been condemned 
 as partiality and one-sided unreality; but it 
 may be questioned if it is not in harmony with 
 that law which tends to slough off the old and 
 put on the new, to drop the crude and assume 
 the ripening state, to leave that which is tem- 
 poral and mortal for the immortal and spiritual. 
 To drag up to public gaze the imperfect and 
 the incomplete side of a person's life is con- 
 trary to this law. The only apology for this 
 sort of candor is in cases where the bad pre- 
 ponderates, and is to be shown up for admoni- 
 tion. But, the subject being a worthy one, it 
 is only just that its fair side be presented, as 
 one would wish his friend's portrait painted, 
 not in a moment of perplexity, trouble, or pas- 
 sion, but in an hour of serenity, perhaps of 
 gladness or bright anticipation. 
 
 Assuming that so much will be granted for 
 
 the tone of discourse, it may be asked if any 
 
 directions can be gathered from the 
 
 Principles of 
 
 its construe- literature of eulogistic speech for the 
 
 guidance of those who may be called 
 
 to perform this kindly office for one who is 
 
 worthy of it. The first suggestion has been 
 
The Eulogy 241 
 
 made already concerning fidelity of portraiture. 
 It should be faithful indeed, but faithful to the 
 best phases of character rather than the worst, 
 to the ideal or better thought and sober inten- 
 tion and considerate action. 
 
 The next precept that may be gathered from 
 the words of great panegyrists is, that the 
 main and strong features of character are to be 
 emphasized, rather than insignificant traits. 
 Common sense dictates such a treatment, but 
 its suggestions are not always followed. Then, 
 too, the lesser traits are sometimes purposely 
 magnified, in order to destroy the due balance 
 and proportion of all, which is in effect a falsi- 
 fication, as far as it goes. It cannot be called 
 idealization, which is making the best of the 
 man as he was in the true relation and perspec- 
 tive of all his traits. To destroy that relation 
 and distort the perspective is worse than noth- 
 ing for him who is commemorated. The 
 Chinese landscape painting, which puts insig- 
 nificant and distant objects in the foreground, 
 is neither ideal nor real art. It is simply a 
 ridiculous distortion. There is, moreover, in 
 
 everv character a ruling purpose, ambition, or 
 
 16 
 
242 The Occasional Address 
 
 principle. Around this as a centre of grav- 
 ity every other motive revolves at a greater 
 or less distance. The entire life and char- 
 acter becomes the outgrowth of such a central 
 fact. The poise and equipoise of impulse 
 and purpose gather about it, and in turn the 
 ruling principle becomes the index of a life. 
 Therefore it is to be sought and seized upon as 
 a key to character. In most men it is some 
 form of ambition, according to their natural 
 bent. Where there is no sort of ambition 
 there will be little to commemorate when life 
 is ended. And some ambitions are not worth 
 commemorating at all. The memorialist will 
 accordingly ask in the beginning, What does 
 this completed life stand for ? What cardinal 
 and ruling idea does it represent with more or 
 less intensity and fulness ? This central prin- 
 ciple once determined, it becomes easier to 
 range other prominent traits in their proper 
 order, so many of them as it may be needful 
 to dwell upon, and the rest it may be sufficient 
 simply to enumerate. 
 
 It would not be fair to avoid the question 
 which is always arising in regard to the treat- 
 
The Eulogy 243 
 
 ment of disagreeable features and character- 
 istics. In full view of what has been said 
 already about the universal tendency 
 
 , . re . . e Treatment of 
 
 of nature to throw oft the imperfect defects in 
 and the bad, it may nevertheless be 
 admitted that some recognition of it, as an 
 element with which a conflict was waged, gives 
 to the eulogy a flavor of honesty and fairness 
 that otherwise might be lacking. Virtues are 
 also brought out into stronger relief by their 
 propinquity to defects and faults. The diffi- 
 culty is always to keep the right relation 
 between the evil and the good. Here, as 
 everywhere, the taste of the eulogist will be the 
 test of his fitness for his task. That it is a 
 difficult task any one who undertakes it will 
 find before it is finished, unless it be a labor of 
 love, admiration, or devotion. But the com- 
 pensations may be greater than the labor. In 
 any case, the examples of satisfactory achieve- 
 ment in this difficult and delicate sphere of 
 public address are so many and so instructive 
 that the well-informed man need not feel that 
 he must pursue an untrodden path. His main 
 inquiry will be only as to the direction he is to 
 
244 The Occasional Address 
 
 take in the particular instance before him, what 
 way-marks he is to observe, what points he is 
 to linger over and lovingly portray, and what 
 ones he can pass lightly by. And at the end 
 he will ask, Have I sketched truly and boldly 
 the strong features of a completed character, as 
 those who knew it best will recall it when the 
 future shall eliminate the petty and the imper- 
 fect, and leave only the best and the imperish- 
 able ? For such is the sentiment of the living 
 who remember their dead. The imperfections 
 and faults which annoyed and sometimes ex- 
 asperated, are forgotten as the oblivious years 
 move on, while what was best in life and char- 
 acter brightens in blessed remembrance — a re- 
 flection perhaps from the radiant cloud on some 
 mount of transfiguration in the world beyond. 
 
II. 
 
 THE COMMEMORATIVE 
 ADDRESS. 
 
 DEMONSTRATIVE oratory has for its 
 proper subject-matter both persons and 
 things. In this last general term may be in- 
 cluded a wide range of themes not strictly pro- 
 fessional in character. Events im- 
 
 Events and 
 
 portant or memorable, truths of persons com. 
 
 . , , 1 . memorated. 
 
 present value and emphasis, princi- 
 ples which may need stating, restating, or 
 enforcing, — these all are appropriate topics of 
 occasional discourse. Sometimes these two 
 branches of demonstrative speech are unavoid- 
 ably mingled, as when a person's life is shown 
 to be the symbol of some virtue or general 
 truth, or again where a far-reaching principle 
 is illustrated by pertinent biographical example 
 and incident. In this second class of discourse, 
 245 
 
246 The Occasional Address 
 
 however, there is less occasion to commingle 
 the personal and the general in large proportions 
 of each, and the separation between the two 
 becomes distinct. Moreover, the treatment of 
 subjects in the general or abstract form will of 
 necessity differ somewhat from that of the con- 
 crete and personal embodiment of them. To 
 unfold and illustrate this mode of discussion 
 will be the object of the present chapter. 
 
 As in the case of the eulogy, the literature 
 of this form of the occasional address is abun- 
 dant ; and the inductive method which teaches 
 one how to proceed in constructive processes 
 by examples of what has been done by others 
 is as available in this section of the subject as 
 in the other. 
 
 The beginnings of this literature also are re- 
 mote. After the prowess and glory of the 
 Beginnings of chieftain had been extolled, came 
 «vT m«a- ra " the celebration of the event in which 
 ture - he took so great a part. But, as the 
 
 individual came to be of less and less account 
 and the multitude of more and more, the event 
 and the wide-prevailing movement, the princi- 
 ple of action, or the repetition of history made 
 
The Commemorative Address 247 
 
 themselves the objects of thought and the sub- 
 jects of speech. Such transition from the per- 
 son to the event is often apparent in primitive 
 literatures, the Hebraic for example. From 
 discourse about the individual, his ancestor, or 
 son, his own tribe, its leader, or champion, the 
 address soon takes up laws, civil and cere- 
 monial, the rewards of obeying them, and the 
 penalty for breaking them ; or, as has already 
 been said, the speaker turns from the warrior 
 to the war, from the king to his acts, his policy, 
 his government, and in later times to their 
 consequences as foretold in prophecy mingled 
 with praise and blame, with assurances of per- 
 petuity or with predictions of calamity, cap- 
 tivity, and destruction. The same tendency is 
 observable in " the bible of the nations/' the 
 Homeric literature, coincident with the Davidic 
 period of our own Scriptures. Achilles' wrath 
 is for a time soon left, like himself, upon the 
 shore, in his own hut, and by his own black ship, 
 while the fortunes of the well-greaved Achaeans 
 occupy the poet's pen. And on the other side 
 of the Dardan plain it is not Paris nor even 
 Helen, but the fate of the horse-taming Tro- 
 
248 The Occasional Address 
 
 jans concerning whom those harangues are 
 made which, with Argive speeches, fill the 
 greater half of the Iliad. In succeeding ora- 
 tory, as recorded by the historians who followed 
 the epic poets, there is a similar turning from 
 persons to events, from military chieftains to 
 their victories or defeats, and the consequences 
 that ensued; from rulers to statecraft, from 
 legislatures to legislation, from Xerxes and 
 Philip and Alexander to the many heroes of 
 Marathon, Platea, and Salamis first, and then 
 to the endangered liberties of Greece, the policy 
 of union against Persian invasion, and of resist- 
 ance to Macedonian encroachment. 
 
 The same drift from the individual and per- 
 sonal concern and attention, to the general and 
 national, took place in Latin discourse so long 
 as liberty lasted, and until a despot drew all 
 speech back to himself in the form of open adu- 
 lation or secret malediction. The movement 
 itself is in accord with that of all true advance 
 in the social and civil life of men and nations, 
 from the particular to the general, from the 
 importance of the personage to the greater im- 
 portance of the community and the state. It 
 
The Commemorative Address 249 
 
 is also in harmony with the movement and 
 growth of the human intellect from its observa- 
 tion of the single instance to the perception of 
 the general law, and from the concrete example 
 to the abstract principle. 
 
 In accordance with this general tendency it 
 will be in order to observe with some care the 
 literature of this class of demonstrative speech, 
 as preparatory to the derivation from it of 
 sundry principles and precepts which may 
 guide one in the construction of an occasional 
 oration or address upon a subject which is 
 general rather than personal in character. The 
 difference between such subjects will be seen 
 the easier, if illustrated by the examples of 
 Curtis's eulogy on Bancroft or Lowell, and the 
 same speaker's oration upon "The American 
 Doctrine of Liberty, or The Leadership of Edu- 
 cated Men." 
 
 In a historical view of this literature from the 
 age where literary history begins to be con- 
 tinuous and definite, the oration, as 
 
 Historical 
 
 distinguished from the eulogy, ap- survey of this 
 
 . . literature. 
 
 pears with increasing frequency. It 
 
 may be not without interest to note, however, 
 
250 The Occasional Address 
 
 that at the point of departure in Greek elo- 
 quence, it is mingled with the eulogy. If the 
 celebrated funeral oration which Thucydides 
 attributes to Pericles be taken as the first 
 example of a fairly reported speech in the 
 literature of Hellenic oratory, then it may be 
 conceded that the first example also of the oc- 
 casional oration is to be found in this masterly 
 discourse. For besides eulogizing the brave 
 men who were slain in the first year of the 
 Peloponesian war, the orator unfolds his con- 
 ception of "an ideal civilization, and a fully 
 accomplished and established imperial city," 
 which should be the Periclean Athens. Here 
 then we have a transition resembling other 
 transitions in literature, — Theodectes', for in- 
 stance, already mentioned. It occurs in the 
 speech of an orator who discourses not only of 
 the heroic dead, but also of an ideal civiliza- 
 tion, illustrated and enforced by the contrast 
 between Athens and Sparta. The Athenian 
 system, he asserted, set an example to the 
 other Hellenic states in the way of national 
 power, and also in the development of the in- 
 dividual. Frankness and liberality were traits 
 
The Commemorative Address 251 
 
 of its democracy ; and public dignities were not 
 dependent upon social grades, while every citi- 
 zen was to concern himself about the laws. 
 The amenities of life were to be cultivated, 
 irksome discipline minimized without making 
 men unequal to the demands of conflict or fear- 
 ful of danger. Open-mindedness towards the 
 stranger, publicity in discussion, promptness 
 in legislation, courage in action, guided by rea- 
 son in counsel, were all Athenian characteris- 
 tics, substantiated by the fact that Athens 
 proved always superior to her reputation when 
 the trial came. 
 
 Not remotely related to the eulogy, then, is 
 what, for the sake of distinction from it, may 
 be called the Commemorative Ad- 
 
 Commemora- 
 
 dress. The one is a memorial of a tion of 
 
 events. 
 
 person, the other of an event. Both 
 aim at perpetuating something which is worth 
 saving from oblivion, and extending into the 
 future what is too valuable to be restricted to 
 the brief period when it was present among 
 mankind. As between the two, the event is 
 often of less duration than a lifetime ; but as 
 the issue of causes that have been long in 
 
252 The Occasional Address 
 
 operation, and as a result of vast consequence 
 to multitudes, the event may assume an im- 
 portance out of all proportion to the time occu- 
 pied in its actual occurrence. Even so long and 
 tedious and calamitous an event as either of 
 the two great wars in our own country is short 
 when compared with the entire life of any one 
 of the principal men engaged in it ; but the re- 
 sults of such wars are beyond computation in 
 their enduring importance. Therefore the 
 commemoration of an event may well tax the 
 best abilities of an orator. 
 
 The kind of event which is usually com- 
 memorated is one to which a people may refer 
 with pride. Not always with un- 
 
 Interpreta- x J 
 
 tionand mixed gladness ; for sad memories 
 
 reminiscence. . . 
 
 to the individual are almost always 
 inseparable from any great gain that accrues to 
 the community or the nation, according to a 
 well-known law of sacrifice. But the defeat, 
 the misfortune, and the disaster, seldom call 
 for commemoration. The labor of the speaker, 
 accordingly, in this class of demonstrative 
 speech is even pleasanter than in the eulogistic 
 class. No qualification or criticism is expected. 
 
The Commemorative Address 253 
 
 Panegyric would be more excusable. The 
 event is impersonal, and commendable; often 
 a source of gratification and of honest, honor- 
 able pride. The speaker's business is to show 
 why it is, and to derive from it legitimate les- 
 sons which shall strengthen, encourage, and 
 inspire. Reminiscence is the chief burden and 
 purpose of such discourse. By recalling the 
 high achievement of those times and seasons 
 when the people and their leaders have risen to 
 the level of a great demand or a great oppor- 
 tunity, their successors are made familiar with 
 attainments above the ordinary doings of 
 everyday life, and are prepared for similar 
 achievements when their opportunity also shall 
 arrive. It is the oratory of the ideal founded 
 upon the real ; the eloquence of romance rest- 
 ing upon fact, 
 
 The earliest examples in the literature of 
 such eloquence are full of reminiscence as an 
 inspiring motive. " Remember the 
 
 r te Early 
 
 day when thou earnest forth out of examples : 
 
 . Hebrew. 
 
 Egypt is the burden of Moses 
 encouraging exhortation to Israel in the days 
 of their despair and fear before their enemies ; 
 
254 The Occasional Address 
 
 and the prophets after him are continually re- 
 viving the memory of the nation's deliverance. 
 In all prophetic oratory there is a retrospective 
 element as well as a prospective, a constant 
 mindfulness of glorious events and of the 
 greater glory of prosperous ages in the history 
 of the nation. The leadership of Moses, and 
 Samuel, and David ; the wisdom of Solomon, 
 and the splendor of the first temple linger in 
 the memory of Hebrew orators as inspiring 
 records of a nation's possibilities, so long as it 
 kept in the right way, and turned not aside 
 from truth and equity and righteousness. 
 This reminiscent tendency took on an expres- 
 sion stronger than words in the anniversary 
 feast-days such as the three great festivals of 
 the ancient Jewish people, or like that of 
 Purim, kept until the present day in memory 
 of the nation's deliverance from Haman's 
 malicious plot in the reign of Ahasuerus. But 
 it is more than probable that no such com- 
 memorative festival ever passed without the 
 commemorative discourse, explaining the 
 meaning of the feast to the young, and en- 
 forcing its lessons for the old. Israel had not 
 
The Commemorative Address 255 
 
 yet escaped from Pharaoh when by special 
 command of its great law-giver such instruc- 
 tion was enjoined in connection with the feast 
 of the Passover, as may be seen in the twelfth 
 chapter of the book of Exodus: " And it shall 
 come to pass when your children say unto you, 
 What mean ye by this service ? that ye shall 
 say, It is the sacrifice of the Lord's passover, 
 who passed over the houses of the children of 
 Israel in Egypt when He smote the Egyptians 
 and delivered our houses." To this day the 
 event is explained to successive generations of 
 Hebrews, as also the meaning of the greater 
 Christian feast of Easter, in memory of a greater 
 deliverance than that from Egyptian bondage, 
 is set forth every year in all Christendom. 
 
 Among the nations outside the narrow strip 
 of Palestine it is certain that a similar habit of 
 commemoration prevailed. The In other 
 multitude of memorial festivals nations ' 
 which grew up with mythological forms of re- 
 ligion or superstition attests the hold which 
 reminiscence had upon the mind of antiquity. 
 It was always turning toward a golden or heroic 
 age, as is the bent of the human mind at all 
 
256 The Occasional Address 
 
 times. Not to mention the festivals for the 
 purpose of honoring or supplicating the gods, 
 those for commemorating persons and events 
 grew increasingly numerous as luxury and 
 wealth increased. This multiplicity is espe- 
 cially evident at Athens, because the record of 
 it survives ; but there is no reason to suppose 
 that a similar abundance of such festivals did 
 not prevail in the Egyptian or Assyrian em- 
 pires. The very general commemoration of 
 whatever the names of Adonis or Thammuz 
 represented is one of the earliest examples of 
 the retrospective tendency; as are also the 
 festivals of Bacchus, Diana, Aphrodite, Ceres, 
 Apollo, and Jupiter, emblematical all of some 
 power or phase of nature, which it is reasonable 
 to suppose was not unexplained to the partici- 
 pants. It was, however, at the most distin- 
 guished of the four grand and solemn games 
 of the Greeks that the literature of commemo- 
 ration would be most likely to be cultivated : 
 for at Olympia the contests in poetry, history, 
 and oratory could not fail to perpetuate the 
 meaning and memory of the festival itself, 
 whatever else they celebrated. 
 
The Commemorative Address 257 
 
 When Greek oratory began to be cultivated as 
 a fine art it took on a practical character, grow- 
 ing out of the necessities of litigation 
 and legislation. Therefore commemo- 
 rative speech is not so common as judicial and 
 deliberative, but now and then the memorial 
 element appears in speeches, as might be ex- 
 pected among a people who dwell with fond 
 pride upon a creditable antiquity. If, how- 
 ever, the entire class of epidictic oratory be 
 considered, it will be found that it was a more 
 powerful factor in the formation of a national 
 literature than either the judicial or the de- 
 liberative. For its best work was written to be 
 read, as well as to be spoken, and its compos- 
 ers labored as long and carefully over an ora- 
 tion as the poets over a drama. Isocrates was 
 employed ten years on his famous Panegyric, 
 whose central thought is Hellenic unity against 
 the barbarian, radiating into a widening circle 
 of subordinate propositions. The followers of 
 Isocrates also did much to establish a prose lit- 
 erature which was more to the popular taste 
 than the judicial or deliberative styles of ora- 
 tory. Its influence passed even into the com- 
 
258 The Occasional Address 
 
 position of historical works. Other orations 
 of Isocrates which may be classed as demon- 
 strative are the Areopagiticus, containing the 
 contrast between the former social life and the 
 later; also "The Encomium of Helen," with its 
 praise of beauty in the abstract. Lysias also 
 delivered epidictic speeches before the great 
 Panhellenic assembly at the Olympic festival, 
 as Hippias, Gorgias, and the Sophists had done 
 in earlier times, in accordance with the idea 
 that there should be open competition in every 
 art and exercise. Gorgias's Pythian oration in 
 particular was renowned in its treatment of the 
 subject of Hellenic Unity, reminding one of 
 our own great advocate's plea for Union under 
 the Constitution. In the Olympiacus of Lysias 
 the same thought is enforced of the political 
 unity of Hellas against the barbarian. The 
 funeral oration ascribed to Lysias, whether 
 spoken by him or not, is another example of 
 the demonstrative speech, which was cele- 
 brated in Aristotle's time, as was also the 
 Epitaphius of Gorgias. 
 
 A prolongation of the form of Greek elo- 
 quence, after the departure of the spirit of 
 
The Commemorative Address 259 
 
 liberty from it, tended to produce many ora- 
 tions which re-echoed the former eloquence and 
 revived old issues, or invented less 
 
 Roman. 
 
 important topics for discussion. So 
 in Rome, as there was at first an oratory which 
 dealt with momentous questions until these 
 began to be settled by imperial absolutism, 
 there also followed a period when men who 
 could speak found that they must confine 
 themselves to subjects of a general nature. No 
 doubt, in these periods of declining freedom, 
 the occasional oration, dealing with harmless 
 generalities, abounded ; but it was composed 
 under such restrictions, and in such a lifeless 
 or corrupt style, that it could have only a brief 
 existence. Such ephemeral productions van- 
 ished, with a hundred other fungi, in the 
 general decay of the declining empire. 
 
 For centuries after the fifth it is difficult to 
 find forensic or deliberative or much demon- 
 strative oratory outside ecclesiastical 
 
 Mediaeval. 
 
 precincts. The pulpit in the church 
 or market-place or open field has a monopoly 
 of eloquence, in a style which varied with the 
 place and the man, and sometimes included 
 
260 The Occasional Address 
 
 the demonstrative phase, if not the judicial and 
 deliberative, in court and council. As it may 
 be safely asserted that there were many eulo- 
 gies spoken, so it may be inferred that many 
 subjects of a general character were unfolded. 
 Great events were commemorated, and import- 
 ant anniversaries were celebrated by clerical 
 orators — the coronation of kings, the institu- 
 tion of orders, the consecration of bishops, the 
 founding of religious houses, the dedication 
 of temples, sacred and secular. There was all 
 the greater need of the occasional orator in the 
 ages when oral communication of knowledge 
 was the only method of reaching multitudes 
 who could not read and had nothing to read. 
 In the meantime there was no printer's art to 
 preserve what might have been worth preserv- 
 ing, nor any reporter who could put into man- 
 uscript whatever might be worth saving. A 
 few written sermons have survived the general 
 destruction, but they belong mostly to the 
 distinct branch of homiletic oratory. 
 
 It is long after the revival of letters that 
 what may be called the occasional oration, 
 outside the eulogy, begins to appear in litera- 
 
The Commemorative Address 261 
 
 ture. A few instances in the reign of Louis 
 Fourteenth, on the occasion of some royal or 
 ecclesiastical solemnity, a few more In France 
 apostrophes to learning or liberty in and En ^ land - 
 later ages, some stated academic performances 
 in the universities of the continent and in Eng- 
 land are about all that can be excavated from 
 the literary accumulations of the renaissance 
 centuries. They are chiefly valuable as signs 
 and tokens of what was current in their age 
 rather than as instructive examples for our 
 own. Not much will be lost if they are passed 
 over, and we come directly to our own century 
 and country where abundant examples may 
 be found of what is most needed in the study 
 of the memorial address. 
 
 It may seem to be an unpardonable over- 
 sight to pass by the eloquence of Great Britain 
 in the last century without enumerating at 
 length examples of commemorative speech ; but 
 the overwhelming mass of deliberative oratory, 
 supplemented by forensic argumentation, nearly 
 hide the remnant that may be called occasional. 
 Of this a number of eulogistic instances have 
 been already cited under the appropriate title. 
 
262 The Occasional Address 
 
 For the rest, the civil and ecclesiastical records 
 furnish abundant material that has had a local 
 and temporary interest and value. 
 
 There is no lack of this kind of discourse in 
 our own land and literature. In the same col- 
 lection where so many examples of 
 
 In America. 
 
 the eulogy are found there is a simi- 
 lar abundance of commemorative orations. 
 Beginning with those of an academic character : 
 there is a volume containing perhaps only a 
 hundredth part of all that have been delivered ; 
 but in these eighteen chance specimens there 
 are addresses to alumni associations by Joseph 
 Story, Robert C. Winthrop, Henry J. Ray- 
 mond, and Nicholas Biddle. This collection, it 
 should be said, is aside from the Phi Beta Kappa 
 anniversary addresses at many colleges in many 
 years, which themselves constitute a small li- 
 brary. Here anticipatory mention may be made 
 of three notable addresses which were made in 
 commemoration of the founding of as many 
 universities ; that of President Barnas Sears on 
 the one hundreth anniversary of the founding of 
 Brown University in 1867; that of James Rus- 
 sell Lowell on the two hundred and fiftieth anni- 
 
The Commemorative Address 263 
 
 versary of the founding of Harvard University 
 in 1886; and that of Grover Cleveland, Presi- 
 dent of the United States, on the two hun- 
 dredth anniversary of the founding of Princeton 
 University in 1896. There are also four vol- 
 umes of anniversary discourses, mostly by 
 ministers, and thirteen volumes of centennial 
 discourses, in which the settlement of one 
 town or city after another is celebrated, not to 
 mention at length Jeremy Belknap's commem- 
 oration of the discovery of America (1792), or 
 John Quincy Adams's (1-843) on the- New Eng- 
 land Confederacy of 1643. Ralph Waldo 
 Emerson and John Gorham Palfrey did not 
 hesitate to follow, in 1835, and 1839, respect- 
 ively, upon a lesser theme, as John Hancock 
 had spoken in 1739 upon no greater theme 
 than the Settlement of Braintree. Seventeen 
 volumes of election sermons, four hundred and 
 seventy-five in all, testify to the importance 
 which early republicanism had in New Eng- 
 land. The Fourth of July has already inspired 
 eight volumes of addresses deemed worthy of 
 publication, two hundred and twenty-five in 
 number, besides sixty-five delivered in Boston 
 
264 The Occasional Address 
 
 which have also found their way into print. It 
 should be borne in mind that this collection is 
 only one out of many that are in existence, 
 and that a complete list of all that have been 
 spoken or printed, would itself make a volume 
 of no inconsiderable size. Enough, however, 
 have been cited to show that the literature of 
 the commemorative address in this country is 
 extensive. It is also creditable. Compared 
 with contemporaneous efforts in other depart- 
 ments of literature the oration does not suffer. 
 To emphasize this statement it may be well to 
 cite examples which best illustrate this branch 
 of oratory. 
 
 As has been observed, there were instances 
 of commemorative speech from the first settle- 
 ment of New England; but it was 
 
 Webster's & 
 
 commemora- just two hundred years from the 
 
 tive orations. ' 
 
 landing at Plymouth before the per- 
 fected flower of eloquence blossomed in the 
 commemorative discourse of Daniel Webster, 
 recalling the virtues of the pilgrims and review- 
 ing the growth of the State they founded. It 
 is one of the greater achievements of a great 
 orator. With calm and philosophic survey he 
 
The Commemorative Address 265 
 
 traces the course of a new empire from its ob- 
 scure fountain in a Yorkshire village — a few 
 families escaping in a stormy night to a deso- 
 late coast, and in a frail craft crossing the 
 North Sea to a foreign land, more hospitable 
 than their own, where they waited for another 
 removal to the bleak wilderness across the 
 Atlantic. The colonial life of the new country 
 is then compared with that of other people and 
 times ; its marvellous prosperity, its independ- 
 ence, its devotion to learning and religion, its 
 public spirit, wise legislation, love of literature, 
 all contributing to make a nation exceptional 
 in the advantages which it affords for the de- 
 velopment of what is best in human life and 
 character. Five years later the address de- 
 livered at the laying of the corner-stone of the 
 Bunker Hill Monument presented another ex- 
 ample of what the new nation could produce 
 in the way of demonstrative eloquence. It 
 was a memorial of a struggle for liberty, as the 
 other was a commemoration of the planting of 
 a new people. As such a memorial it recalled 
 the scenes enacted on that consecrated Hill 
 fifty years before, in which the little group of 
 
266 The Occasional Address 
 
 venerable men before the speaker had taken 
 part. His address to them and to their com- 
 rades who fell in battle as if present, is worthy 
 of the epitaphian eloquence of the best Hellenic 
 orators or of the eulogists of Louis Fourteenth's 
 reign. His encomium of Lafayette has all the 
 grace without the qualifications of Pliny's ad- 
 dress to Trajan. Following this is the account 
 of cordial sympathy and co-operation which 
 made thirteen separate colonies one in purpose 
 and action, with a review of the prosperity 
 which had attended the first half century of 
 the nation's existence. Its advance in wealth 
 and knowledge, the sciences and the arts are 
 portrayed with vividness and power. The 
 consequent obligations of a free and prosper- 
 ous people are not forgotten, and the duty of 
 defence and preservation is enforced with 
 words of courage and hope, " that the country 
 itself may become a vast and splendid Monu- 
 ment of Wisdom, Peace, and Liberty." 
 
 The next year Mr. Webster delivered the 
 most eloquent of all the memorial addresses 
 which were pronounced throughout the land 
 on the death of Adams and Jefferson, fifty 
 
The Commemorative Address 267 
 
 years from the Declaration of Independence. 
 It was an occasion which was its own inspira- 
 tion, conveying its own lesson ; but this great 
 orator was the man to interpret it to his con- 
 temporaries in the old Cradle of Liberty, full 
 of historic memories. The key-note of his 
 masterly eulogium is the sentiment, that 
 though dead they live to their country in their 
 imperishable work for that country. 
 
 "Like the benignity "of a summer's day, they have gone 
 down with slow-descending, grateful, long-lingering light to 
 cheer with good omens from beyond the visible margin of 
 the world." 
 
 Similarities in the lives and fortunes of these 
 great men are then traced, and afterward an 
 account of the life of each is given in bold out- 
 line. The point where they converge and 
 mingle in the Declaration of Independence is 
 made the occasion for noting the part each bore 
 in this momentous proceeding — the one draw- 
 ing up and the other defending the charter of 
 American liberties promulgated by the new 
 nation for itself, to be established by its own 
 arms, and sealed with its own blood. The 
 merits of Jefferson's noble Composition are 
 
268 The Occasional Address 
 
 emphasized, while Adams's advocacy of it is 
 made the inspiration of the famous definition 
 of eloquence beginning: " When public bodies 
 are to be addressed on momentous occasions," 
 and ending with the assertion that " it is some- 
 thing greater than eloquence; it is action, 
 noble, sublime, godlike action." Contempo- 
 raneous testimony asserts that the speaker him- 
 self was the best illustration of his statement. 
 In the speech which he attributes to Adams, 
 notwithstanding its dramatic fidelity, there is 
 much of Mr. Webster's own personality. The 
 words " Sink or swim, live or die, survive or 
 perish," have a pre-revolutionary tone; but 
 the imputed sentiments are such as the eulo- 
 gist himself would have uttered had he lived 
 in that period which tried men's souls. 
 
 After a tribute to the zealous attachment of 
 both to the cause of sound learning, which 
 their own lives and characters illustrated, pass- 
 ing judiciously over controversies which be- 
 longed to the administration of each, he gathers 
 up the instruction of two illustrious lives, and 
 enforces the obligation of following such worthy 
 examples. 
 
The Commemorative Address 269 
 
 " This lovely land, this glorious liberty, these benign institu- 
 tions are ours ; ours to enjoy, ours to preserve, ours to transmit. 
 Let not the blood of the fathers have been shed in vain ; the 
 great hope of posterity, let it not be blasted. Beneath the illu- 
 mination of our own stars in the firmament let us walk the 
 course of life, and at its close commend our beloved country 
 to the Divine Benignity." 
 
 In 1843, eighteen years from the laying of 
 the corner-stone, Mr. Webster delivered the 
 address of dedication of Bunker Hill Monu- 
 ment. It is marked by the same nobleness of 
 sentiment and grace of diction that character- 
 ized the first address, and conveys the same 
 lessons of devoted patriotism. The two to- 
 gether doubtless did much to inspire that gen- 
 eration and the succeeding one with loyalty to 
 the Union and with gratitude to the founders 
 and defenders of national liberty. These, and 
 the Plymouth oration will remain pre-eminent 
 as master-pieces of commemorative eloquence. 
 Their best passages have been learned by the lads 
 of three generations, and their sound political 
 teachings have been absorbed with the studies 
 of the schools ; contributing in no small degree 
 to good citizenship and patriotism throughout 
 the land. Great judicial arguments and greater 
 deliberative speeches were made by Mr. Web- 
 
270 The Occasional Address 
 
 ster and his contemporaries, but it is his un- 
 equalled achievements in demonstrative oratory 
 that have been the educators of the people in 
 the principles of constitutional freedom. How 
 much they have done also in forming a sound 
 taste in public speech can be estimated only by 
 probabilities; but it is safe to say, that his 
 sturdy Anglo-Saxon vocabulary, his vigorous 
 diction, strong in the power of the common 
 word rightly placed, dependent for its effective- 
 ness upon no fanciful arrangement or far- 
 fetched device, his sustained discourse, moving 
 always with imperial dignity and apparent ease, 
 contributed largely to the character of public 
 speech in the age succeeding his own. The 
 best of this is not widely diverse from its great 
 exemplar. It could not be without unfavorable 
 comparison with the people's standard. Other 
 orators might have more classic elegance, more 
 vivid imagination, more sparkling wit, more of 
 the spoils of antiquity, and more graceful flexi- 
 bility, but none more of strong sense, profound 
 reason, and weighty diction. Nor were any 
 endowed with the irresistible force of his ma- 
 jestic presence, which is said to have towered 
 
The Commemorative Address 271 
 
 like a mountain over his hearers. Aside from 
 these efforts Mr. Webster did not deliver many 
 commemorative addresses or turn much away 
 from professional and senatorial duties. These 
 few examples, however, show that he was equal 
 to the greatest occasions. 
 
 The orator who made the occasional address 
 almost the vocation of his life was Edward 
 Everett. In his works, evidently 
 
 J Everett's 
 
 published under his immediate super- frequent 
 
 addresses. 
 
 vision, six orations out of the first 
 seven are commemorative in character. The 
 first of these is at Plymouth, two years after 
 Webster's, the next at Concord, another at 
 Cambridge, two more at Charlestown, and the 
 sixth at the erection of a monument to John 
 Harvard. All these were delivered within the 
 first four years of his public life. Others fol- 
 low at an interval of about a year between 
 them, — orations and speeches signalizing some 
 occurrence; eulogies and memorial addresses 
 commemorating one event or life and another. 
 The entire collection constitutes almost a 
 branch of American literature in itself. Based 
 upon classic foundations these productions 
 
272 The Occasional Address 
 
 might pass for the work of an Attic orator if 
 they had been rendered into the Greek lan- 
 guage, — as this eminent scholar could have 
 rendered them if he had chosen. There were 
 allusions in them which would have been at 
 home in the Greek tongue and country, while 
 the liberty he lauded and inculcated would 
 have harmonized with Hellenic discourse. 
 " Olympia" closes the first paragraph of his 
 first oration, " Panegyric of Isocrates " Occurs 
 on the first page of it, and few leaves can be 
 turned in any address without betraying his 
 familiarity with ancient oratorical literature 
 and his fondness for what is best and noblest 
 in it. On a page which happens to lie open 
 the first words are " Homer and Cicero," and 
 within a little more than its extent is a com- 
 parison of the literatures of the Alexandrian 
 and Periclean ages, of the Roman and the 
 Italian, of Dante, Boccacio, and Petrarch; of 
 Spanish, French, and English writers. Tasso, 
 Cervantes, Corneille, Shakespeare, Milton, 
 Johnson, Burke, and many another are cited 
 to show of how little value is the patronage of 
 letters by governments. Following these ora- 
 
The Commemorative Address 27$ 
 
 tions were others upon " The Boyhood and 
 Youth of Franklin," " The Second Century of 
 Harvard College," a " Eulogy on John 
 Adams," " The Battle of Bunker Hill," " The 
 Dedication of Boston Public Library." Other 
 notable addresses are those upon Benjamin 
 Franklin, Daniel Webster, Washington Irving, 
 " The Vindication of American Institutions," 
 " Causes and Conduct of the Civil War," and 
 " The National Cemetery at Gettysburg." In 
 addition to these there were short speeches on 
 public occasions when Mr. Everett's absence 
 would have been counted as something want- 
 ing to the completeness of the arrangements. 
 The entire collection of his occasional addresses 
 fills five large volumes, giving him the prece- 
 dence, if not the primacy, so far as numbers 
 go, among the occasional orators of this cen- 
 tury, and, perhaps, in all centuries. 
 18 
 
III. 
 
 THE EXPOSITORY ADDRESS. 
 
 IT is with Edward Everett also that a type of 
 the occasional address became prominent 
 which can be considered as more general in 
 character than either the eulogy or commemo- 
 rative oration, its purpose being to 
 
 Exposition x l 
 
 and interpre- set forth or interpret the suggested 
 
 tation. . 
 
 topic of the hour. The subject 
 itself may belong to the wide domain of gen- 
 eral truths and principles, and the object of the 
 speaker may be equally large and comprehen- 
 sive. Occasions will arise of a literary, social, 
 or civil nature which demand appropriate cele- 
 bration or recognition without the necessary 
 discussion of a ' ' burning question of the hour, 
 and when such discussion would be entirely 
 out of place and foreign to the spirit of the 
 occasion. There might be a violation of the 
 274 
 
The Expository Address 275 
 
 social compact in bringing the neediest of 
 causes before the audience. The orator's ob- 
 ject at such a time may be no more defined 
 than to meet the demand for a speaker who 
 shall help to secure an hour of good feeling, 
 peace, and harmony among a great assembly of 
 people having diverse interests and dispositions, 
 opinions, and beliefs. Indeed, one who shall 
 induce such a symphony of souls for an hour 
 has. for that space of time, accomplished the 
 end and purpose of all laudable speech and 
 labor towards anticipating the millennium. It 
 is because such desirable states are not yet per- 
 manent that more aggressive words and more 
 violent action are resorted to in order to hasten 
 the coming of the kingdom which mankind 
 always believes is in the future. It is there- 
 fore no ignoble undertaking to make of one 
 heart and one mind even a hundred hearers for 
 as many minutes. 
 
 The power to do this and the way to do it 
 were both exemplified in the oratory of Mr. 
 Everett on numerous occasions. A Edward 
 man of peace himself, he was an Everett, 
 orator to speak peace to either discordant or 
 
276 The Occasional Address 
 
 harmonious assemblies. Signal examples of 
 this conciliatory tone of address were the three 
 speeches delivered on the occasion of public 
 festivities as he was travelling through Tennes- 
 see, Kentucky, and Ohio the year after his 
 memorial address upon John Harvard. The 
 Union is the burden of his thought, and the 
 increasing confederation of States extending 
 itself westward with prosperity assured in the 
 fertile fields of a new country. No note of 
 possible antagonism or rival interests was ut- 
 tered on an " occasion consecrated to the 
 oblivion of every topic of party strife." A 
 projected National Road was to bind the States 
 together ; the news of the battle of Lexington 
 in Massachusetts had given the name to the 
 capital of Kentucky; and this was in the " era 
 of good feeling," which no one did more to 
 promote than the peace-loving advocate of 
 harmony, even at the expense of subserviency 
 to sectional domination in politics, as some 
 thought. A discourse on the " Importance of 
 Scientific Knowledge to Practical Men " is an- 
 other example of a theme of general applica- 
 tion. The diffusion of useful knowledge among 
 
The Expository Address 277 
 
 the working classes, the improvement of their 
 minds, and the consequent elevation above 
 things altogether sordid, was a subject in which 
 the large benevolence and profound learning of 
 the speaker found an opportunity to mingle for 
 the general welfare without disturbing the pre- 
 judices of many hearers. There is a pleasant 
 wholesomeness about such discourse which 
 commends itself to a mixed multitude of skilled 
 mechanics, who are not without their fixed 
 opinions and ready criticisms, but, as the 
 speaker remarked, " never vicious or indolent 
 as a class." Before these he held up the ex- 
 ample of the world's great workers, many of 
 them men of genius. An essential part of this 
 he showed to consist in the capacity and dispo- 
 sition for persistent and persevering toil. 
 
 It may be surprising to those who know of 
 Mr. Everett chiefly by traditions of his classic 
 stateliness, that he could thus interest the 
 masses. One who knew him well and heard 
 him often once wrote : 
 
 " Because he was naturally reserved and shy, and took no 
 pains to invite a following of the young men of his day, they 
 in turn took on a critical tone in speaking of him which has 
 
278 The Occasional Address 
 
 been continued to the present time. It is easier to call him 
 ' frigid and artificial, priggish and pedantic ' than to account 
 for those qualities to which his contemporaries cordially bear 
 witness ; qualities which in some way made his audiences take 
 the roof off in their wild enthusiasm when he led them up 
 and on as hardly any other speaker I have ever seen. He had 
 extraordinary power in absolutely extemporary discourse more 
 than any man I ever knew." 
 
 The fact that he trained no school of followers, 
 should in no degree qualify an eloquence which 
 it is easier to dispute than to rival. 
 
 Rufus Choate was another master of the in- 
 terpretative address. Amidst the occupations 
 Rufus °f an extremely crowded professional 
 
 choate. life he f ounc j t j me f or t h e cultivation 
 
 of literature, and for the exposition of its best 
 lessons to the people. As indicating the range 
 of his studies may be cited the titles of his 
 addresses on " The Importance of Illustrating 
 New England History by a Series of Ro- 
 mances," " The Colonial Age of New Eng- 
 land," " The Heroic Period of Our History," 
 " The Power of a State Developed by Mental 
 Culture," " The Eloquence of Revolutionary 
 Periods," " The Position of the American Bar 
 as an Element of Conservatism in the State," 
 and " Amercan Nationality." To these may 
 
The Expository Address 279 
 
 be added " A Discourse Commemorative of 
 Daniel Webster," delivered at Dartmouth Col- 
 lege, the alma mater of both Mr. Webster and 
 Mr. Choate. 
 
 It was with Mr. Everett and Mr. Choate 
 that the occasional address sometimes passed 
 into the form of the popular lecture, 
 
 The popular 
 
 itself to assume an important place lecture and 
 
 lecturers. 
 
 in the more general education of the 
 people. Combining entertainment with in- 
 struction, it became a field into which entered 
 the best literary and oratorical ability of the 
 nation for a period of forty years. Every 
 Northern city had several courses each winter, 
 and every town of considerable importance 
 secured such talent as it could afford. Churches, 
 lyceums, and speculators went into the lecture 
 business for the good of the community, and 
 incidentally for the emolument of the parties 
 undertaking it. But, strictly speaking, the 
 lecture was not an occasional address, as 
 it was not mainly didactic. Often it did 
 interpret some truth, or discuss a question of 
 morals, politics, or philosophy; but the occa- 
 sion was almost as frequent and regular as the 
 
280 The Occasional Address 
 
 Sunday, and the subject had sometimes the 
 flavor and treatment of a sermon. Like homi- 
 letic literature, that of the lecture was generally 
 ephemeral, and is largely lost or scattered in 
 biographies and collected works of one and an- 
 other of its once famous authors. Of these, 
 among the best known at the height of the 
 lecture period were Chapin, Beecher, Gough, 
 Emerson, Phillips, Curtis, and Holmes. With 
 the departure of these men, the glory of the 
 popular lecture passed away. Strenuous en- 
 deavors were made here and there to preserve 
 its usefulness and power, but with little success. 
 It had come and gone with the orators and the 
 issues that grew into importance together, and 
 with the increasing thoughtfulness of a people 
 who listened to the speakers and meditated upon 
 their presentation of momentous questions. 
 When these were settled the surviving lecturers 
 themselves found little stimulus in subordinate 
 themes, and the people, relieved from a pro- 
 tracted strain, turned to lighter diversions or 
 plunged into special and technical studies. 
 
 Charles Sumner added to his eulogistic and 
 commemorative orations already mentioned 
 
The Expository Address 281 
 
 others of an interpretative character, as, for ex- 
 ample, the lectures on the " Employment of 
 Time," on " Slavery and the Mexi- charies 
 can War," " White Slavery in the Sumner ' 
 Barbary States," " Fame and Glory," " The 
 Law of Human Progress." These are but a 
 small fraction of his declarations on similar 
 themes ; but such utterances were largely in the 
 United States Senate, or before political meet- 
 ings. His speeches and addresses are those of 
 a statesman, although upon occasions of a liter- 
 ary character he was surpassed by few. 
 
 Robert C. Winthrop began his public career 
 with occasional addresses upon " The Pilgrim 
 Fathers," " The Influence of Com- Robert c. 
 merce," " The National Monument winthr °P- 
 to Washington," " Free Schools and Free 
 Governments," and " The Bible." Then his 
 congressional life began, and speeches and re- 
 marks are the rule with him rather than the 
 more formal occasional address. Memorable 
 exceptions are the addresses on " The Obliga- 
 tions and Responsibilities of Educated Men " ; 
 an address at the laying of the corner-stone of 
 Boston Public Library, 1855, and another at 
 
282 The Occasional Address 
 
 its dedication, 1858; on the " Two Hundred 
 and Fiftieth Anniversary of the Landing of 
 the Pilgrims "; an oration on " Colonel Wil- 
 liam Prescott," at Bunker Hill; another, at 
 Yorktown, Virginia, on " Cornwallis's Surren- 
 der," and another at the unveiling of the statue 
 of Daniel Webster in New York, and the 
 " Centennial Oration " in Boston, 1876. 
 
 Wendell Phillips's contributions to the liter- 
 ature of the expository address can best be 
 wendeii known by an examination of his 
 Phillips - works. His public life was filled 
 with such addresses, many of which he passed 
 as lectures upon willing audiences. " Public 
 Opinion," " The Pilgrims," " Idols," " The 
 Lost Arts," " Disunion," " Progress," " The 
 Education of the People," " The Scholar in a 
 Republic," are examples of themes which he 
 developed for the instruction of his fellow-citi- 
 zens in their manifold duties. In these subjects 
 and through them often ran the current of his 
 antagonism to slavery, and in some of them 
 this was the main thought and purpose; but 
 aside from this he had much to say to his lis- 
 teners about a wide variety of truths. How 
 
The Expository Address 283 
 
 wide, a reading of the addresses themselves 
 will best show. 
 
 Ralph Waldo Emerson found the lecture 
 platform a movable bema from which he 
 uttered things not heard in the pul- Ralph Wa i do 
 pits of his forefathers for seven gen- Emerson, 
 erations. But such was the charm of his voice 
 and personality that his sphinx-like, oracular 
 epigrams delighted listeners. What they could 
 not understand they called heresy, and what 
 they did not believe they supposed to be 
 transcendentalism, and invited him to come 
 again the next winter. 
 
 George William Curtis was another who was 
 a clear interpreter of events and affairs as they 
 succeeded one another in the stirring 
 
 George 
 
 times before and after the Civil War. wiiiiam 
 By pen and tongue he made plain 
 the duty of American patriots and philanthro- 
 pists, of citizens and scholars. It was his good 
 fortune to be able to do this through influen- 
 tial journals as well as on the platform, and in 
 himself to represent a transition of literary 
 effort from the latter to the former, which took 
 place in the last quarter of the century. 
 
284 The Occasional Address 
 
 Taken together, the second and third quar- 
 ters of it produced a group of orators who 
 illustrate the value of the expository and inter- 
 pretative address as a public educator in life, 
 letters, and politics beyond any former com- 
 pany of speakers in modern times. There 
 have been coteries of great orators who were 
 advocates, statesmen, and preachers; but for 
 men who combine with their professional abil- 
 ity the versatility and broad culture that en- 
 ables them to explore and reveal other fields of 
 knowledge, the group just mentioned stands 
 pre-eminent if not supreme. 
 
IV. 
 
 THE COMMENCEMENT 
 ORATION. 
 
 FOR two hundred and fifty years this form 
 of the occasional address has been the 
 most familiar, because the most frequent one 
 in this country. At each academic anniversary 
 there has usually been delivered a i ts literature 
 learned and somewhat stately pro- abundant - 
 duction by a distinguished speaker before some 
 association. The entire collection of such ad- 
 dresses form a literature unsurpassed in volume 
 for profundity of erudition and elegance of ex- 
 pression. One has only to inquire at any col- 
 lege library for as much of this as he will need 
 to peruse to get into the current of thought 
 and style in any year of the last two centuries. 
 He will find many notable examples of elo- 
 quence and wisdom which are worth reading 
 285 
 
286 The Occasional Address 
 
 for their practical value, and as examples of the 
 English style prevailing at the time. Some 
 of them are the best fruit of culture in their 
 respective generations. The oration of the 
 graduating student is, however, the main topic 
 in this chapter. That it is a subject worth 
 considering may be inferred from the fact that 
 there are about as many colleges in the land as 
 there are days in the year. Allowing the usual 
 number of speakers to each graduating class, 
 there cannot be less than three thousand ora- 
 tions delivered during the annual Commence- 
 ment season. Counting professional schools, 
 this number will be greatly increased. 
 
 In this computation a small deduction may 
 be made for the universities which have grown 
 its probable to such dimensions that Commence- 
 permanence. men |. exercises must consist in func- 
 tions belonging to university rather than to 
 collegiate affairs. But the numerical ratio of 
 students in the Amerian college has not so 
 greatly increased in the last half-century as to 
 justify a demand for general change in the 
 time-honored method of closing the academic 
 year. Eight colleges in New England, for in- 
 
The Commencement Oration 287 
 
 stance, average but a little over two hundred 
 students each ; and although there have been 
 many changes in matters of instruction and 
 equipment, there appears to be little need to 
 discard the representation of the college by 
 speakers on Commencement Day, and little 
 likelihood that this custom will be discon- 
 tinued for some time to come. Not because 
 it is a venerable custom, nor because colleges 
 are conservative ; but because the community, 
 and especially the alumni, have a natural de- 
 sire to know what a college is doing for its 
 students, as indicated by their performance on 
 the only day in the year when they appear in 
 public in a literary character. It will be an 
 evil day for any college when, without good 
 and sufficient reason, it is unwilling to submit 
 to this test of the work its pupils are doing, or 
 when the students themselves are unwilling. 
 
 In regard to the oration itself, let the above 
 remark suggest the first condition of it, 
 namely, that it should be repre- 
 
 . Its represen- 
 
 sentative in character. The objec- tative 
 
 tion sometimes urged, that these c arac er ' 
 academic productions are not of great value in 
 
288 The Occasional Address 
 
 themselves, has nothing to do with the ques- 
 tion of abolishing them altogether. Many 
 sermons, and other addresses, fall under the 
 same condemnation ; but all preaching and 
 public speaking are not on this account to be 
 done away with. Moreover, people do not 
 attend Commencements to be instructed, al- 
 though it may be said that they do sometimes 
 get more than they look for. Their chief in- 
 terest in a speaker, aside from a personal 
 interest, is to observe what present methods 
 of education have done for the graduates of 
 any year, as shown in a fair presentation of it 
 by the best of the class, as other bodies are 
 represented by their best. Therefore it will 
 be the first thought of the Commencement 
 speaker to see that he adequately represents 
 his college in his day. 
 
 Accordingly he will not begin to look for a 
 
 topic among the programmes of former years. 
 
 There is no particular interest in 
 
 Subject r 
 
 should be themes which were full of sugges- 
 
 interesting. 
 
 tivenesss a hundred years ago. Such 
 as " The French Revolution," or "The Im- 
 portance of Encouraging Genius," or " The 
 
The Commencement Oration 289 
 
 Comparative Advantages of the Civilized and 
 Savage State"; "The Happiness of Amer- 
 ica"; "The Importance of Education to a 
 Republican Government "; " Anticipation as 
 Preferable to Enjoyment " ; " The Superiority 
 of Agriculture to Other Arts"; " The Bad 
 Effects of Party in a State. ' ' All these themes, 
 taken from programmes yellow with the dust 
 of a hundred years, have an ancient and musty 
 flavor about them, suggesting the infancy of 
 our Republic, and of American letters. In a 
 similar category may be classed certain ab- 
 struse philosophical and metaphysical subjects 
 often supposed to be of universal and eternal 
 interest because perennially interesting to 
 students in the last year of their college course, 
 when they pursue such studies. They should 
 be sparingly introduced into any Commence- 
 ment list, and mainly to satisfy the demand of 
 a department. This, however, is only a single 
 phase of the larger temptation to which gradu- 
 ating students are subject — that is, the desire 
 to discuss in public, as they have discussed in 
 class, the scholastic themes of their senior 
 year. As has been remarked, such presenta- 
 
290 The Occasional Address 
 
 tion will doubtless show what their proficiency 
 is, and perhaps this is all that an audience has 
 a right to expect; but the speaker must not 
 suppose that one tenth of his hearers are going 
 to be interested in this sort of themes. If he 
 is debating whether to write of things scholas- 
 tic, fresh in his own mind, or of things occupy- 
 ing the popular mind, the latter will be safe. 
 A subject of present interest need not be re- 
 jected because the speaker cannot say anything 
 new or the last word about it. And if the 
 pleasure of the audience be taken into account, 
 and their consequent attention, it will be better 
 to choose a theme appropriate to the beginning 
 of a new century than to go back to earlier dec- 
 ades ; to speak, for instance, of currency ques- 
 tions rather than of the Missouri Compromise ; 
 or again, of " New Methods in Criminology " 
 than of " The Limits of the Conditioned." 
 Of all the topics which a speaker can appropri- 
 ately select, possibly one which presents valu- 
 able or inspiring instruction in a personal form 
 is safest to choose ; linking it with the charac- 
 ter and life of a man not too generally known, 
 but who has made an honorable place for him- 
 
The Commencement Oration 291 
 
 self by worthy if not conspicuous attainment. 
 Such examples are often full of interest and 
 encouragement, and afford opportunity to 
 clothe abstract truth in attractive garb. On 
 the other hand, there is no subject however 
 abstruse which cannot be made clear and inter- 
 esting if the writer knows how to make it so. 
 
 Treatment, then, will perhaps be of more 
 consequence in some instances than choice of 
 subject. This is not saying that Treatment of 
 style is of more value than thought. theme. 
 
 It is the prolonged, patient, and therefore the 
 eventually clear thought that is the next obli- 
 gation of the Commencement orator. Misty 
 rumination, clothed in ambiguous and vague 
 phraseology does not pass for profoundity be- 
 cause uttered in the dialect of erudition. The 
 higher the theme, the simpler and plainer 
 should be the diction, and the more illuminat- 
 ing the figures of speech. 
 
 In these thought processes it will accordingly 
 be of the greatest value if they can be made to 
 crystallize around two or three defl- Making 
 nite points. It is a frequent charac- points, 
 
 teristic of academic orations that they exhibit 
 
292 The Occasional Address 
 
 a uniformity of production from beginning to 
 end. They lack the variety of emphasis. 
 They are apt to be a series of statements in- 
 stead of a cumulative treatment of a few propo- 
 sitions ending in points so clearly made that 
 the listener cannot escape them. Points, too, 
 are all that he can be expected to remember ; 
 the fewer and stronger the better. Perhaps 
 one point, well made, is enough; if so, let it 
 be approached by a diversified path rather than 
 on the uniform level of a railway track. If 
 more than one are attempted let them be made 
 so few and plain that they will not be forgotten 
 when the topic and the speaker are remem- 
 bered. Generally it is the impression only, 
 good or poor, that can be carried away after 
 several have spoken. 
 
 Another tendency in preparation is to under- 
 take too much for a ten-minute speech. It is 
 not borne in mind that an audience 
 
 Condensation 
 
 and compres- does not expect a speaker to tell all 
 he knows, and to give the total re- 
 sult of a four-years' course of study in a thou- 
 sand words. To be sure, it is not an easy task 
 to compress all that can be said upon an inter- 
 
The Commencement Oration 293 
 
 esting topic within these limits and do it justice. 
 This is not demanded. All that is wanted is 
 to see what the speaker might do if he had 
 more time. It is the few paces that show the 
 gait, the few minutes the man, the few men 
 the college. The speaker who has spoken ten 
 minutes may be sure that his hearers will credit 
 him with much more than he has had time to 
 say, and for more knowledge than he has ex- 
 hibited. Condensation will be of value. No 
 one knows the compressibility of thought and 
 of language so well as those who are limited in 
 the space and time at their command. Con- 
 densation is the student's bane, the last accom- 
 plishment he acquires. " How can I condense 
 these twenty pages into ten ? " asked a pupil. 
 " An easy matter," replied the professor, 
 " paste them together." The result could 
 doubtless have been accomplished more satis- 
 factorily by cutting down each sentence to its 
 essential length and without the loss of a single 
 thought. It is the qualification of statements 
 and their needless fortification that most often 
 fill the page and tire the listener. 
 
 After blocking out and clearing up the 
 
294 The Occasional Address 
 
 thought, absorbing or rejecting such material 
 
 as has been gathered in preparation, there will 
 
 be some choice in the kind of dic- 
 
 Technical 
 
 terms to be tion to be employed when much is 
 
 avoided. . 
 
 to be said in a short time. The 
 natural propensity is to fly to technical terms 
 with their precise comprehensiveness. This 
 will do in some places and with some hearers. 
 In an academic audience it is a nice question 
 about the currency of scholastic terms. The 
 faculty will understand them ; the graduating 
 class, if they have all elected the subject ; those 
 of the alumni who have not forgotten it, and 
 sundry ambitious readers, constituting all 
 together perhaps one third the average Com- 
 mencement audience. The orator or his in- 
 structor must decide whether it is better not 
 to be understood by the other two thirds than 
 to lose time in making a technical subject clear 
 by circumlocutory phrases. It is not so grave 
 a fault to use the technical term as if the audi- 
 ence before him were a political one. Even 
 there also can be found technical terms, and 
 who but the initiated can understand the lingo 
 of athletics, or for that matter all the English 
 
The Commencement Oration 295 
 
 of the college precincts ? Still the benevolent 
 speaker will be " altruistic " enough to remem- 
 ber that in the " solidarity " before him there" 
 are some who have no more " cognition " of 
 his meaning when he indulges in the abstruse 
 terminology of the classroom than when he is 
 sporting the dialect of the ball-field or of the 
 college grounds. He will therefore try to 
 speak English as it is understood by the great- 
 est number on all occasions — Commencement- 
 Day among the rest. 
 
 The desire and the necessity to condense 
 may betray the writer of an oration into a fault 
 of diction indicated by the word 
 
 Epigrammatic 
 
 " choppy." Epigrammatic sen- style unsatis- 
 
 , . <• , 1 factory. 
 
 tences, containing the gist of whole 
 paragraphs, and following one another without 
 apparent connection, cannot carry the mean- 
 ing of ten times their volume, for which the 
 speaker finds he has no room. This may do 
 for the essayist's printed page, when the reader 
 has time to construct bridges from one isolated 
 dictum to another. But the hearer has not 
 this advantage. Accordingly, the only re- 
 source left to the speaker is to give a reason- 
 
296 The Occasional Address 
 
 able fulness to his diction, and not undertake 
 to exhaust his subject. He will lay off a small 
 plat for thorough tillage rather than stake out 
 acres to ramble over. 
 
 For this reason he will better attempt some- 
 thing in the line of a thesis than the conven- 
 Advantages tional oration. This is indeed the 
 of the thesis. best form of an aca demic production 
 
 for the Commencement stage. It does not 
 require the oratorical construction and expres- 
 sion, to which students are naturally averse on 
 account of their inexperience and the limited 
 time allowed for speaking. It is, moreover, the 
 form in which a thorough exposition of one 
 segment of a general subject can be presented 
 or a single proposition be maintained. Further- 
 more, it has the sanction of antiquity, from the 
 time when students presented their theses for 
 degrees in mediaeval universities, and it is to- 
 day the customary graduating exercise in pro- 
 fessional schools, and in one at least of the 
 larger universities lately established. In 
 method, it develops a single point of a subject 
 as fully as time will allow, without undertaking 
 to trace all the ramifications. It may thus be 
 
The Commencement Oration 297 
 
 scholarly without pedantry, and interesting 
 without an attempt at eloquence or elocution. 
 By this it is not intended to cast any slight 
 upon good delivery. This part of the address 
 needs more attention, rather than 
 
 Delivery. 
 
 less, as the composition becomes less 
 oratorical in character, or the place less favor- 
 able to elocutionary exhibition. A good de- 
 livery is more difficult to acquire than good 
 composition. It is a natural gift, but one that 
 may be wasted and lost or increased tenfold. 
 Usually there is no lack of opportunity to make 
 the most of one's ability in this direction while 
 in college. Still the conception of what is fit- 
 ting in each speaker may vary, and other quali- 
 fications intervene to such an extent that it is 
 only one in a hundred who meets with excep- 
 tional success. A recent mistaken sentiment 
 with regard to the value of a good delivery has 
 also militated against vocal culture. But a reac- 
 tion is sure to come, and the human voice will 
 once more be recognized as one of the high- 
 est endowments bestowed upon man for his 
 influence over his fellows. This gift, like other 
 allotments, is not always placed where it will 
 
298 The Occasional Address 
 
 be most serviceable, nor is it always accom- 
 panied by due appreciation and cultivation on 
 the part of the possessor; but conjoined with 
 mental power and improved by training, a good 
 vocalization is worth a fortune to a public 
 speaker. As a surpassing accomplishment, 
 however, the price of it is in long and faithful 
 practice, and more tedious labor than most 
 men are willing to bestow in these driving 
 times. In college, if one half the time that is 
 bestowed on other athletic exercise were given 
 to vocal gymnastics, the effect would be as 
 creditable to the college on Commencement 
 days, as is the ball game. The results in im- 
 proved health would also be no less than in 
 other forms of exercise, without the dangers 
 attendant upon some of them, and with more 
 value in after life. 
 
 It would be more agreeable, no doubt, to 
 
 read directions for writing an effective oration, 
 
 if they could be given here at length, 
 
 Methods of J s & v 
 
 composition but such details belong to college 
 
 outlined. 
 
 courses in composition. Matters of 
 choosing a subject, extracting a theme, finding 
 first what one can himself say about it, and 
 
The Commencement Oration 299 
 
 then what others have said, making notes of 
 reading, distributing material in proper order, 
 keeping the divisions distinct from each other, 
 and separate points in mind, making the plan 
 and filling it in, writing the first draft, revising, 
 condensing, abridging, omitting, — all this is 
 the daily work of one who expects to become 
 an effective speaker. Something, too, will be 
 caught from acquaintance with the literature 
 of oratory, and something more from such 
 suggestions as instructors may give. Chiefly, 
 however, the good writer and speaker will be 
 self-made. No amount of instruction will 
 make a good mathematician out of a poor head 
 for figures, or a poet out of a person in whom 
 there is not an inborn aptitude for rhyme and 
 metre. Neither can it be expected that one 
 who has not the literary faculty will attain 
 eminence in letters, or that one who has not 
 the oratorical gifts will sway listening crowds. 
 But it should be within the power of almost 
 any educated man to state clearly and definitely 
 whatever thoughts or information he may have 
 upon ordinary subjects. According to his 
 talents he should be able to do this upon the 
 
300 The Occasional Address 
 
 day of his graduation, if asked. It is a duty 
 he owes to his college, and to the men who 
 have endowed it. Possibly he owes it to those 
 who have given him golden opportunities of 
 education. If he has earned these by his own 
 efforts he owes it to himself to take advantage 
 of every occasion which shall place him before 
 an assembly of his fellow-men, as one who 
 has a message from his alma mater to the 
 community in which it stands as an uplifting 
 force. It may be for him the first of a series 
 of messages which he shall utter in after life. 
 It will be a help to him then if he make a 
 creditable beginning now, as many distin- 
 guished men have made, on the day of their 
 graduation. Certainly he will seldom find an 
 occasion more trying, or again, hearers more 
 appreciative and charitable and attentive than 
 on the day when he delivers his Commence- 
 ment oration. 
 
V. 
 
 THE POLITICAL SPEECH. 
 
 THIS chapter is not intended for veterans. 
 They have learned things which it is not 
 necessary to tell them ; things which would be 
 of great value if they could be recorded here 
 for the benefit of the less experienced. It is 
 this class that is addressed, with the remem- 
 brance fresh of a campaign year in college days. 
 A few students, full of zeal for the 
 
 Students in 
 
 party with which they had just cast a political 
 
 t . n • . i iit campaign. 
 
 their first municipal vote, had been 
 promised chances to speak before the impend- 
 ing election took place. It was a rare oppor- 
 tunity to put in practice rhetorical and oratorical 
 theories they had learned in college. They 
 also possessed some partisan enthusiasm which 
 they called patriotism, and they had a share of 
 that self-confidence which helps one to take 
 301 
 
302 The Occasional Address 
 
 sanguine views. Like Archimedes they said, 
 " Give us where to stand," although in justice 
 it must be added that they did not promise to 
 move the world. But there were country vil- 
 lages not far away which had suffered many 
 things from student preachers, and it was 
 hoped that they would not despise similar per- 
 formances of a political character. Accordingly 
 vacation days were given to sundry theoretical 
 and practical studies in politics, preparatory to 
 stump speaking in the autumn. It is not nec- 
 essary to prolong the story of that campaign. 
 Results proved the supposition true, that there 
 is no better field for a collegian, or any young 
 man, to test the value of his knowledge, and 
 his estimate of his own powers and resources, 
 than in a political campaign. He will learn 
 some things not taught in the schools, and be- 
 come rapidly acquainted with human nature 
 and himself. It may be worth the while to 
 mention a few particulars which readily trans- 
 late themselves into maxims of value to the 
 beginner in this kind of occasional oratory. 
 
 One of the first things he will discover is, the 
 unsuspected amount of information possessed 
 
The Political Speech 303 
 
 by an audience of ordinary people. He does 
 not recognize this latent knowledge as he looks 
 them over. He concludes that he is 
 
 Political 
 
 going to win an easy victory, if he knowledge of 
 
 the people. 
 
 can succeed in bringing his argu- 
 ments down to the level of their intelligence. 
 Getting under way with his speech, and won- 
 dering if he is talking over his hearers' heads, 
 he may be interrupted with a question which 
 all at once makes him doubt if he fully un- 
 derstands every side of his topic. How did the 
 knowledge requisite to ask that question get into 
 this secluded town ? He begins to suspect 
 that somebody must take the other party's 
 paper, which he himself has neglected to read 
 on the supposition that all truth is the preroga- 
 tive of his own party organs, and all political 
 heresy the invention of opposition sheets. 
 Furthermore, he is in a worse plight than his 
 friend the divinity student, to whom the cus- 
 tomary courtesy of the Sunday congregation 
 permits no open cavil. Not so is it in the 
 campaign meeting ; and if he succeed in reply- 
 ing satisfactorily to himself he may not to the 
 satisfaction of the audience, and certainly will 
 
304 The Occasional Address 
 
 not to that of the questioner. From this mo- 
 ment he will speak with the constant appre- 
 hension of further surprises. But they will do 
 him good if they spring up. They will teach 
 him that knowledge, like water, will leach into 
 remote places, and that under unpromising ap- 
 pearances there is often much shrewd sense 
 that cannot be overwhelmed by the best logic, 
 when convictions are backed by prejudice and 
 supposed interest. These last elements the 
 speaker will find conspicuously present when 
 he transfers his efforts from the country school- 
 house, or town-hall, to the ward room of the 
 city. 
 
 In either place he will learn one thing, 
 namely, that there is little delicacy and no 
 value of con- circumlocution or euphemism in 
 popular criti- PM* 1 * blunt men who, like the 
 cism. Athenian of old, consider them- 
 
 selves a part of the State because they cast 
 ballots. Their questions are challenges to be 
 met squarely, or with a frank confession of 
 their pertinency and merits. Their value to 
 the speaker is in setting him to dig about the 
 foundations of his belief, and to look for the 
 
The Political Speech 305 
 
 weak places in the oratorical and logical fabric 
 he has been constructing for himself and the 
 good of the country. Incidentally, also, he 
 learns to be interrupted, and meanwhile to 
 keep his temper and self-possession. Advo- 
 cates acquire this useful habit in the courts, 
 and legislators in assemblies ; but it sometimes 
 happens that when they are out of the arenas 
 where combat is according to rule, they meet 
 with an unconventional foe whose uncouth 
 ways play the mischief with forensic and par- 
 liamentary methods. Defeat at such hands is 
 not suggestive of Waterloo so much as of Lex- 
 ington. The ** embattled farmers' " intermit- 
 tent and galling fire is more annoying than the 
 volleys of the regulars. To become accus- 
 tomed to this ambuscade warfare, to learn to 
 take as well as to give, is another acquisition 
 of great value. Much depends upon good 
 humor in this, for a lost temper is an argument 
 lost. It betrays a distrust of one's strength 
 and ability to defend his cause. A good- 
 natured admission of fallibility is a thousand- 
 fold better than petulant chagrin. He is an 
 unarmed campaigner who has not always in 
 
306 The Occasional Address 
 
 expectation the adverse possibilities of the 
 contest. The greatest of modern captains was 
 always thinking not of what he should do when 
 victorious, but of what way to escape the con- 
 sequences of defeat. 
 
 Another precept, which is worth more than 
 at first it seems to be worth, is regarding fair- 
 Faimess in ness toward the opposite party and 
 discussion. riyal candidates> The maxim " all 
 
 is fair in war " is an easy one to apppropriate 
 in political contests, and seemingly justifiable. 
 Ethics are not supposed to enter into such war- 
 fare. Strong convictions must be inspired, and 
 strong methods are requisite. The average 
 political gathering is not likely to have the 
 keenest sense of honorable methods. It ap- 
 preciates success more than any means of win- 
 ning it. Assertion, backed by the similitude 
 of logic, but better by a pointed anecdote at 
 the expense of the other side, is as good an 
 argument as any for a crowd which is running 
 with the speaker. But if the multitude is a 
 mixed one, and there are voters to be concili- 
 ated and won from the opposition, the wise 
 speaker will make a show at least of treating 
 
The Political Speech s°7 
 
 their preconceptions with fairness. He will in 
 this way secure a more favorable hearing when 
 he comes to the statement of his own side. In 
 the great political campaign debate between 
 Stephen A. Douglas and Abraham Lincoln, 
 the fairness of the latter toward his opponent 
 did as much for his ultimate success as what 
 he said for his own side. Frank generosity 
 disarms prejudice and paves the way for an 
 honest presentation of unpalatable considera- 
 tions. Still, there is abundant opportunity for 
 discretion here. There is no call for a ruinous 
 generosity. Political wisdom suggests a be- 
 nevolence toward the opposing side in minor 
 matters, or in undeniable facts, rather than in 
 those radical differences upon which the greater 
 questions turn. 
 
 Akin to this is the sharp practice of making 
 the most of an adversary's weak points, and 
 thus diverting attention from one's Making most 
 own. It is a ruse of the bar and the of diversions - 
 battle-field, and has been known to do yeoman 
 service on the political platform. If its legit- 
 imate result can be immediately secured it will 
 have its own reward. But if there be time for 
 
308 The Occasional Address 
 
 the public press to arraign such methods, their 
 efficiency will be neutralized by the exposure 
 which they are sure to receive. In these days 
 the speaker has it all his own way for an hour. 
 Then he is brought before the people in their 
 cooler moments and finds their judgment pro- 
 nounced in advance by an interpreting press. 
 With varying interpretation, to be sure, but it 
 is not all in any one direction, as may have 
 been the case in the wigwam of his tribe. 
 Therefore it is of great importance that a 
 speaker have a long outlook toward the merci- 
 less judgment which is sure to follow any wide 
 departure from what is fair toward the opposi- 
 tion or from what is true of his own cause. 
 
 But it is entirely in accord with political 
 
 ethics to say that a speaker on the political 
 
 platform will do all that he can for 
 
 Support 
 
 of speaker's his own side. This is expected of 
 
 own cause. 
 
 him. Up to the verge of the line 
 which separates truth from falsehood, person- 
 alities from slander, exaggeration from mis- 
 representation, he will carry his assertions, and 
 most men will think his method legitimate. It 
 will be credited to his belief in his cause and 
 
The Political Speech 3°9 
 
 his devotion to it. A judicial spirit might be 
 taken for indifference and half-heartedness : a 
 concessive temper for trimming and temporiz- 
 ing. It is the last place to show any other 
 than a positive and zealous committal of mind 
 and heart to the doctrines and purposes of the 
 party. Its way is, without doubt, the one 
 way; its triumph the only hope of the com- 
 munity, of the state, of society, of the age, 
 and of humanity. 
 
 To carry such strong personal convictions 
 there will be need of strong language. This 
 can be very strong. It will be full 
 
 Clearness and 
 
 of those potent nouns, verbs, and strength of 
 
 diction. 
 
 idiomatic phrases which the people 
 understand without a dictionary, the Saxon 
 words they use when they are excited. Ex- 
 pletives which are not profane will sometimes 
 creep in, but circumlocutions never, unless for 
 ridicule. Characterization will be with a broad 
 and free stroke, like the charcoal sketch of a 
 master, something that the dullest can see and 
 comprehend, as they might comprehend a car- 
 icature of Nast's. Clear division, like that of 
 the oration, will be doubly valuable here when 
 
3io The Occasional Address 
 
 the audience is mixed, untrained, and unre- 
 strained. Points must be made, barbed points 
 that will fix themselves in undisciplined minds. 
 Therefore words will be sharp and short, not 
 hard to recall. Current and new phrases are 
 admissible here more than elsewhere. 
 
 One advantage the political speaker has over 
 
 all other orators, — he must speak without a 
 
 sign of manuscript or not speak at 
 
 Spontaneity. 
 
 all. Nothing could be more incon- 
 gruous than a written stump speech. The very 
 respectability of form is against it. The spirit 
 of earnest address is hampered by such a token 
 of premeditation. There should be sufficient 
 forethought, all the more that there are no 
 notes to rely upon ; but the appearance should 
 be of spontaneous speech because the head and 
 heart are supposed to be full. When they are 
 overflowing with zeal, exact, correct, and pre- 
 cise terms are not looked for. Syntax can be 
 violated more safely than earnestness ; rhythm 
 and movement than sincerity. The one idea 
 will so possess the speaker that he is sublimely 
 unconscious of slips of tongue, and people will 
 forgive his mistakes by reason of his singleness 
 
The Political Speech 311 
 
 of purpose. He will not add to his verbal 
 errors by going back to correct them. The 
 correction is worse than the blunder; for it 
 calls everybody's attention to what some 
 would not have noticed and others would have 
 soon forgotten. 
 
 Here, too, the value of extemporary speech 
 will be evident in the opportunity it gives to 
 meet emergencies as they arise. Not Meeting 
 merely the interrupting interroga- emer & encies - 
 tories that have been mentioned, but changes 
 in the temper of a crowd always fickle and 
 centrifugal, ready to fly off in unexpected 
 directions on the slightest provocation. The 
 speaker who can ride out their shifting gales is 
 fortunate ; he who can direct the whirlwind is 
 more fortunate still. The throng must not get 
 away with the speaker ; it is worse if they make 
 head against him. But it is one of the crown- 
 ing achievements of the orator to turn back a 
 threatening herd, as Phillips turned them in 
 Faneuil Hall and Curtis in Chicago. To do 
 this is the prerogative of the man whose wits 
 are about him, and who has left his notes at 
 home. He must also have stores of knowledge 
 
3*2 The Occasional Address 
 
 upon which he can draw, and be able to think 
 upon his feet. He will need to break out new 
 paths at short notice, to fight foes in ambush, 
 to be armed at all points, and always to be in 
 command of himself. Otherwise he cannot 
 rule the noise of the people and the madness 
 of a multitude. 
 
 There are many places in which the speaker's 
 prowess is tested, many trying situations, some 
 The political which are more trying than they 
 convention. seem> as j n arguing a case before a 
 committee or a board where the inspiration to 
 eloquence is small. In a political convention, 
 on the other hand, there are the incitements 
 of enthusiasm or even the goads of a hissing 
 opposition; but all in all, there is no greater 
 opportunity for signal success or ignominious 
 failure. It will be the one or the other that 
 will receive attention, since mediocrity gets 
 little notice. Certainly no situation calls for 
 all the faculties of the speaking man to be kept 
 alert and in extreme tension more than when 
 making the platform speech. None requires 
 more general preparation, not only for what is 
 to be said, but also for what may be demanded 
 
The Political Speech 313 
 
 by the other side. Comprehensive study of all 
 sides of the questions at issue, shrewdness to 
 anticipate points of attack, and a thorough 
 acquaintance with lines of defence are the be- 
 ginnings of success. But the ability to turn 
 the tide of battle and divert the headlong rush 
 of sentiment surging hither and thither, ready 
 to precipitate itself into any ditch dug for the 
 unwary ; to control such a rout as is guided by 
 the herdsman when he rounds up ramping 
 cattle, is the privilege and the power of only 
 here and there a man in a century. It has 
 been done three or four times in the nine- 
 teenth : there are likely to be other opportuni- 
 ties in the twentieth. The madness of the 
 people has not been permanently cured ; nor, 
 on the other hand, have they as yet shown 
 themselves independent of the sway exercised 
 by masters of assemblies. 
 
 The literature of this branch of the public 
 address is not comparatively abundant be- 
 cause it is necessarily ephemeral. 
 
 Literature of 
 
 Burke's speech to the electors of campaign 
 
 . . , oratory. 
 
 Bristol is as far back as one need 
 
 turn for a first-class production, and the doc- 
 
314 The Occasional Address 
 
 trine there promulgated of the independence 
 of the representative is a wholesome one for all 
 political candidates to study. After this 
 speech others may be sought among the works 
 of statesmen, but often with little success ; for 
 it is the kind of effort to which they have been 
 least willing to give immortality. Office has 
 often been more creditable than the means 
 necessary to obtain it. Furthermore the issues 
 discussed have been of little importance, and 
 the speeches themselves local and temporary in 
 character, designed to win ballots and nothing 
 more. Newspapers keep in the darkness and 
 dust of their mouldy files the remains of much 
 eloquence that once thrilled enthusiastic 
 crowds. It was not unlike what may be heard 
 in any exciting presidential campaign, a quad- 
 rennial flood which covers the land, and men 
 predict a deluge of disaster and the extinction 
 of the nation in consequence. When the 
 waters subside they always find in some corner 
 of the sky a bow of promise. After all, discus- 
 sion is better than silence, and the information 
 of the people than their ignorance. Therefore 
 it is well that the platform should share with 
 
The Political Speech 3 J 5 
 
 the press the burden of political education, 
 never too thorough among a people politically 
 inclined. But it is to the journalism of the 
 country that we shall always be indebted for 
 preserving the literature of the political plat- 
 form. The making of it is the safety-valve of 
 the Republic. 
 
 There may also be found in dark corners of 
 libraries, public and private, copies of speeches 
 that have been mailed from Wash- speeches for 
 ington regardless of expense — be- tiono/the 
 cause there was none. Many times constituenc y- 
 these are copies of speeches that have actually 
 been delivered. In this case they must be 
 reckoned among the literature of the campaign. 
 Collectors of the curious here and there will 
 have what has been worth keeping; but of it all 
 it is no disparagement to say that its chief value 
 consists in the delivery of it to an audience. 
 
 As confirming this opinion was the proclama- 
 tion by the leaders of the campaign of 1896 
 that it was to be one of political edu- The cam . 
 cation. Its managers on both sides paign of l896 ' 
 professed, to place their dependence for success 
 upon a clear setting forth before the people of 
 
316 The Occasional Address 
 
 the questions at issue, both by speakers and 
 by printed matter, exclusive of the customary 
 support of party journals. More than any re- 
 cent campaign, it was one of instruction by 
 oral address. It was a method demanded by a 
 desperate emergency. 
 
 In a volume mentioned upon the title-page 
 of this book the writer ventured the statement 
 that one of the chief factors in the settlement 
 of political problems in the future will be the 
 power of instructive, reasonable, and persuasive 
 speech, and that the distance is not far to a re- 
 stored oratory, and a revived eloquence which 
 shall be needed again as they have been em- 
 ployed in the past and that men will turn to 
 hear what their leaders will have to tell them, 
 — " and leadership may depend largely upon 
 the manner of the telling." Some months 
 after, the last remark was illustrated in a politi- 
 cal convention held in Chicago. Viewed sim- 
 ply as an oratorical triumph, it may be asserted 
 that notwithstanding all that has been said 
 about it by those who were not present or by 
 those who were — after their enthusiasm had 
 cooled — the fact still remains that when a sub- 
 
The Political Speech 3 X 7 
 
 ject, an occasion, and what antiquity called " a 
 speaking man " conspire to a single purpose, 
 the multitude must follow their leading. To 
 be sure, the atmosphere may be charged with 
 contagious and responsive sentiment and emo- 
 tion, and the wayward currents of opinion may 
 be setting in the same general direction, but it 
 is a magnetic centre to which they converge, 
 itself giving off and receiving back an effluence 
 of power to the admiration and amazement of 
 all beholders. There are plenty of reasons 
 why such a concurrence of forces and favorable 
 conditions may not often occur. Great occa- 
 sions and crises cannot be arranged for like a 
 pyrotechnic display. Auroral lights are not 
 provided to order by the weather bureau. But 
 when all elements happen to be in true con- 
 junction, and the unexpected word is spoken, 
 men recognize and obey a power greater than 
 the multitude because multiplied by its num- 
 bers. They may afterwards laugh at their 
 submission, as they ridicule their timidity 
 after the tempest has blown over, but the fact 
 remains and has become a part of their per- 
 sonal experience. The history of oratory has 
 
318 The Occasional Address 
 
 preserved the record of such episodes, warrant- 
 ing the supposition that there will be more of 
 them in the future. If so, there may be a re- 
 vival of that form of instruction and persuasion 
 which has counted for the most in stirring 
 times. It is the same as at Athens in the fifth 
 century before our era, and at Rome in the 
 first, in crusading Europe in the middle ages, 
 in France in the seventeenth century, in Eng- 
 land in the eighteenth, and in America in the 
 nineteenth. Eloquence will have its depres- 
 sions and may be silent for years and genera- 
 tions ; but when a cause becomes so vital that 
 men can no longer keep silence the prophets 
 will appear from unlooked for quarters, and the 
 nation will listen to their message with more 
 immediate and profound interest than to any 
 other manner of revelation. 
 
VI. 
 
 AFTER-DINNER REMARKS. 
 
 THIS form of the occasional address is by no 
 means modern in its origin. Readers of 
 Homer will recall Argive feasts after which 
 there was much speaking, with a definite pur- 
 pose in view. Indeed it is some- The ant iq U ity 
 times difficult to determine then as ofthecustom - 
 now whether the eating or the speaking was 
 the principal feature of the occasion. The 
 order, however, has always remained the same, 
 and to reverse it would probably be fatal to 
 the total result, however much the speeches 
 might be improved. For with nature's abhor- 
 rence of two such important processes as assim- 
 ilation of food and production of thought being 
 carried on simultaneously a compromise is likely 
 to follow. Either the dinner or the speech will 
 suffer, and sometimes both. In any case " re- 
 319 
 
320 The Occasional Address 
 
 marks " are not made under the most favorable 
 conditions, nor is dining the unalloyed pleasure 
 it might be were there no speech to be made. 
 Of course this does not apply to the rambling 
 talk into which a person may be unexpectedly 
 betrayed at the last moment under the gener- 
 ous influence of meats and drinks; for this 
 after-dinner speaking is very comprehensive, 
 and may include the depth of foolishness and 
 the height of wisdom. What is contemplated 
 here, is the speech for a purpose, which the 
 guest knows he is to be called upon to make, 
 and of which he has had timely warning. As 
 such it is not the easiest oratorical task. To 
 note some of the difficulties and dangers of it 
 will serve to make plain certain needs of the 
 speaker. 
 
 To the inexperienced there is likely to arise 
 
 the dangerous hope that the occasion itself will 
 
 furnish material for remarks ; or that 
 
 The occasion 
 
 furnishing other speakers will suggest trains of 
 
 material. . 
 
 thought which can be seized upon as 
 the flow of soul becomes full and strong. 
 Even an adroit restatement of the common- 
 places of the hour is not impossible, and is far 
 
After-Dinner Remarks 321 
 
 better than the appearance of labor in prepara- 
 tion. Such suggestions should be received as 
 the whisperings of laziness and procrastination. 
 The commonplaces of the occasion belong to 
 the presiding officer as his privilege and duty 
 in his introductory remarks; and as for the 
 suggestions of others, they usually pursue the 
 exhaustive method rather than the suggestive, 
 and make the most of what unused ideas re- 
 main to them. Add to this the difficulty with 
 which cogitations, worth uttering, are pursued 
 amidst entertaining speech and laughter and 
 comment right and left, to say nothing of to- 
 bacco smoke and the effervescence of cham- 
 pagne — if it is that sort of a dinner. If it is a 
 cold lunch there are other impediments to 
 mental activity and creative thought. 
 
 He is not, therefore, a wise man who comes 
 to the feast with no oil for his lamp. He will 
 find that others have brought no Prevision and 
 more than they will be likely to need forethou & ht - 
 for themselves as the hours wear on toward 
 midnight or morning. For what is the real 
 nature of such an occasion but an intellectual 
 tourney disguised, which the uninitiated are 
 
122 The Occasional Address 
 
 apt to take for a post-prandial conversation 
 entirely informal. Suppose it were ; how few 
 can shine in these days which have forgotten 
 Coleridge and Wilson and the famous monol- 
 ogists of their time. Their art of monopoliz- 
 ing table-talk is a lost one, and this is a still 
 higher art in which some of those ancient 
 worthies would make a sorry figure if called 
 upon to stand up and address the crowd after 
 a dozen other wits had improved their chance. 
 The invited " orator of the day " who has 
 the occasion all to himself has an unharvested 
 Preparation ^ e ^ before him, with no one to 
 and gleaning. point out what he has left untouched. 
 
 But the late speaker at a dinner follows a dozen 
 others, a very gleaner, while before the com- 
 pany he must be a competitor for the prize of 
 their attention and applause. Such an occa- 
 sion comes nearer than any other to the literary 
 contests of Olympia. Not with the seriousness 
 and stateliness of its poetic, dramatic, and 
 oratorical competitions ; but in the swift suc- 
 cession of speakers, in the interest to be kept 
 up, in the added difficulty of improvisation, in 
 reference and retort there is often a tourna- 
 
After-Dinner Remarks 323 
 
 ment worthy the best intellects in the best 
 ages. Therefore, if any difficulties and embar- 
 rassments can be forestalled by judicious pre- 
 vision of what is likely to be said, and of what 
 should be said, these ought to be anticipated. 
 Above all a wide and comprehensive survey of 
 the entire range of topics pertinent to the occa- 
 sion will save a speaker from the feeling that 
 he has been defrauded, which is likely to creep 
 over him as he hears one after another of his 
 points taken up by previous speakers. A large 
 shrinkage must be allowed for in the fullest 
 preparation, unless one has an early position 
 or an assigned topic. In this case there will 
 be still less excuse for its indifferent treatment. 
 Here arises another danger, that of over- 
 preparation. It is one of the real difficulties 
 of this kind of address that even 
 
 Weighty 
 
 weighty subjects must be treated in subjects in 
 
 . ., lighter vein. 
 
 lighter vein. Not every one can 
 do this successfully. To draw the line between 
 lightness and levity is as hard as to distinguish 
 between sobriety and dulness. Accordingly, 
 many a man who can write a treatise cannot 
 discuss his favorite theme to the edification of 
 
324 The Occasional Address 
 
 a company indisposed to mental exertion. All 
 the more necessity will there be for such prep- 
 aration as will comport with the spirit of the 
 occasion, and the intellectual condition of his 
 hearers. The speaker is to remember that it is 
 not a meeting of scientists, philologists, bank- 
 ers, or politicians in their professional capacity. 
 Whatever he says is to be made interesting 
 and easy of apprehension. Neither his subject 
 nor himself is to be a bore. 
 
 This suggests two directions which will bear 
 
 stating: first, the prime qualification of an 
 
 after-dinner speaker is that he be 
 
 Enter- r 
 
 tainment entertaining. The form of his 
 
 essential. 
 
 speech may be instructive, remi- 
 niscent, or hortatory, but in spirit it must be 
 interesting. The audience is proverbially 
 good-natured, for the best of reasons. It is also 
 patient — at first ; but it has a right to be enter- 
 tained and even amused, or else to hoard its 
 fleeting moments for the use of those who are 
 able to interest it. There are several ways in 
 which a speaker can be interesting, but perhaps 
 the chief of these is by a judicious use of the 
 good story. It is not every speaker who has 
 
After-Dinner Remarks 3 2 5 
 
 an anecdote to relate, nor every other who can 
 relate one well. A plentifully stocked mem- 
 ory and effective narration commonly go to- 
 gether. When these are combined with a 
 third faculty — the sense of fitness — anecdote 
 becomes a prominent element in the speech 
 that brings down the house. Indeed the house 
 is sometimes kept at the roaring point by a 
 succession of narratives, the application of 
 which it is not always easy to discover. The 
 table has been listening to " Iagoo, marvellous 
 story-teller," and has mistaken a string of 
 mirth-provoking accounts for a good speech. 
 Therein the speaker also has made a mistake ; 
 but the audience is forgiving in this direction 
 because it has been amused. But when anec- 
 dotes are pat, not too numerous, and illustrat- 
 ing sound sense, two principal constituents of 
 an after-dinner speech are present. 
 
 There is one other — brevity. Not every 
 speaker can be wise or witty, but all can prac- 
 tise that virtue which is the soul of Brevity 
 wit. Hearers will excuse dulness, desirable, 
 and even erudition, in speeches if they are 
 brief. But speakers are the worst of time- 
 
3 2 6 The Occasional Address 
 
 keepers. Between their fear lest they betray 
 poverty of thought, and anxiety lest they shall 
 not finish what they have to say, the much- 
 enduring company suffers many things from 
 prolix talkers. It is not an unknown occur- 
 rence that such an one has been vociferously 
 applauded to drown him and " down " him; 
 when, alas, he mistook the purpose of the 
 cheers and stamping, and thought he must 
 continue to be entertaining. The only remedy 
 is the five- or ten-minute rule of the remorse- 
 less gavel. Most speakers are better pleased 
 to be knocked down than to descend with 
 grace, or to collapse before they think their 
 time has expired. 
 
 A good post-prandial speech is therefore no 
 trifling matter, nor a matter to be trifled with. 
 Requisites of T- ne general rather than the minute 
 preparation. p re p ara tion, the extensive rather 
 than the intensive or exhaustive treatment, 
 the abundant rather than the profound re- 
 sources and material, and the art to omit and 
 supply upon need, and above all to illuminate 
 and adorn with appropriate and illustrative an- 
 ecdote, are the chief essentials to success. The 
 
After-Dinner Remarks 327 
 
 reward of it will be evident and speedily forth- 
 coming. Never is an audience more uncritical 
 and responsive. Applause is free and unre- 
 strained, and if it do not throw the speaker 
 off his centre, is helpful and encouraging. He 
 will, nevertheless, need all his discipline as an 
 extemporaneous speaker to carry himself cred- 
 itably, treating his topic in proper proportion, 
 in manner appropriate to the occasion, and with 
 reasonable brevity. After he has done his best 
 he will say with Lowell, returning from a feast 
 (and as Goethe said before him), " I made the 
 best speech of my life to-night — in the carriage 
 as I was coming home, saying over to myself 
 the things I ought to have said, but forgot to 
 say, to the company." 
 
 If the reader wishes to see what a place the 
 after-dinner speech occupies in literature he 
 may begin with the Iliad and Odys- The literature 
 sey; but he will find an abundance of the d ^ n e e r ; 
 of it in the works of our American speech, 
 orators. Their lighter " Remarks " and "Ad- 
 dresses " are interspersed with weightier ut- 
 terances in volume after volume. Brief and 
 ephemeral as many of them were, these lesser . 
 
328 The Occasional Address 
 
 productions have been deemed worthy of a 
 place among the best orations of Webster, 
 Everett, Choate, Winthrop, Phillips, Sumner, 
 and Curtis; while among the publications of 
 scholars and statesmen still living are similar 
 proofs of versatility and talent. These occupy 
 a place in the literature of the occasional ad- 
 dress that can be filled by no other form of it, 
 and have their own value in illustrating the his- 
 tory that was making in the times of their de- 
 livery. To it they give a living reality as of 
 things occurring daily, as viewed by contem- 
 poraries, and as commented upon in the free- 
 dom of good fellowship. 
 
 The custom is an old one, but likely to sur- 
 vive ; and the educated man therefore cannot 
 afford to neglect any means which will assist 
 him in this form of occasional address. Many 
 a noble enterprise has been started at the fes- 
 Vaiue of such ti ye board by men who knew when 
 
 opportunities. the j r f e Jl ows were ; n a mo0( J to take 
 
 large and benevolent views of affairs, and many 
 a just tribute has there been paid to worth, and 
 many a good impulse given to honorable living 
 and earnest endeavor. In some respects it 
 
After-Dinner Remarks 3 2 9 
 
 presents a most favorable opportunity for a 
 speaker effectually to address his fellow-men. 
 There is much to gain in silver speech by one 
 who is equal to the occasion. There are also 
 compensations in golden silence for those who, 
 uncalled and undisturbed, are permitted to lis- 
 ten to the wisdom and the wit of after-dinner 
 speakers. 
 
 A backward glance over the general subject 
 of the Occasional Address in its three divisions 
 of Structure, Qualities, and Forms, reveals 
 much that is common to it and the kindred 
 topics of judicial, deliberative, and homiletic 
 discourse. Much, too, is revealed of still 
 other forms of composition, thoughts, and 
 diction ; their ordering, and the qualities which 
 make them most effective are the properties 
 of every kind of writing, to be distributed ac- 
 cording to its class and purpose. But more 
 than any other, demonstrative oratory deals 
 with the understandings of all men as related 
 to their sensibilities, their affections, and their 
 emotions. The men who have lived lives 
 worth recounting, the events in which human 
 
33° The Occasional Address 
 
 effort has culminated, the present truth which 
 needs enforcing, the studies of the scholar, 
 the science of government, the interchange of 
 kindly feeling, and the promptings of generous 
 sentiment, all these in their manifold phases 
 belong to the sphere of demonstrative speech. 
 It shows forth the worth of virtues, and the 
 significance of occurrences, which otherwise 
 might be passed by unheeded. It records and 
 publishes chapters in the history which is fluid 
 or growing solid ; and it connects present 
 events with past causes and future conse- 
 quences. It is the historian, the instructor, 
 and the prophet of all the people irrespective 
 of caste, creed, or party. Free to all who will 
 listen, it is itself the child of freedom, possible 
 only where speech is untrammelled and criti- 
 cism given without fear and received without 
 resentment. 
 
 Nor can the speaker hide behind the screen 
 of impersonality and give out his utterances 
 from mysterious retreats. Like the legislators 
 of old who proposed laws with halters about 
 their necks, the occasional orator carries into 
 open day his personal responsibility for what 
 
After-Dinner Remarks 331 
 
 he says. His judges are the people, who will 
 not be bribed by flattery as they will not mob 
 him for telling them their faults. If he stand 
 by the truth they will in turn stand by him, 
 and his power will be redoubled by their alle- 
 giance. Therefore his opportunity and his 
 reward are great; the one too rare to be 
 neglected, the other too abundant to be de- 
 spised. It is worth the study and labor of 
 years to do what some have accomplished in 
 this field. Their names are landmarks in the 
 literature and history of eloquence, an honor 
 to their own age and an inspiration to the 
 future. 
 
 THE END 
 
INDEX 
 
 Action in Oratory, 174 
 
 Adams, J., 74, 147 
 
 Adams and Jefferson, eulogies on, 266 
 
 Adams, Samuel, 64-70 
 
 Adaptation and fitness, 166 
 
 Adversary, treatment of, 306 
 
 Advocate, 60 ; to be equal to his cause, 26 
 
 After-dinner remarks, 319 ; literature of, 327 ; ancient cus- 
 tom, 328 ; embarrassments of, 321 
 
 Allston, 98 
 
 Allusions, literary, 272 
 
 Ambiguity, 128 
 
 Ambrose of Milan, 210 
 
 Ames, Fisher, 228 
 
 Analysis and Synthesis, 12 
 
 Anaximenes, 78 
 
 Anecdote, 324 
 
 Anglo-Saxon literature, its purpose, 14 ; words, 130, 149 ; 
 chronicle, no 
 
 Anthony, H. B., memorial addresses, 98 
 
 Anti-climax, 105 
 
 Anxiety, speaker's, 323 
 
 Appeal, example of, 234 
 
 Applause, 326 
 
 Argument, reasonableness in, 115 
 
 Argumentative forms, ill 
 
 Aristophanes, 193 
 
 Aristotle, 78, 79, 81, 82, 142 ; his classification of oratory, 78 
 
 Arrangement, principles of, 50 ; euphonious, 162 
 
 Artemisia, 207 
 
 Attention of hearers, 59, 173 
 
 333 
 
334 Index 
 
 Audience, 94 ; attitude of, toward speaker, 196; contagion of 
 temper in, 197 ; criticism by, 132 ; its interest in subject, 
 290 ; its opposition and prejudice, 40 ; subserviency to, 
 172 ; sympathy of with speaker, 69, 165 ; variance with, 
 15 ; weariness of, 104, 112 
 
 Audubon, 238 
 
 B 
 
 Bacon, Sir Francis, 79, 93 
 
 Bancroft, George, 96, 238 
 
 Beecher, H. W., 41, 196 
 
 Bernard, alluded to, 100 
 
 Blaine, 100, 238 
 
 Blair, Hugh, 80 
 
 Boethius, 223 
 
 Books, value to writer, 129 
 
 Booth, 238 
 
 Bossuet, 213 
 
 Bourdalone, 211 
 
 Brackenridge, 70 
 
 Breadth of treatment, 187 
 
 Brevity in speeches, 325 
 
 Brown University 263 
 
 Bryant, 238 
 
 Bunker Hill Oration, Webster's, 269 
 
 Bunyan, 131 
 
 Burke, 71, 72, 216 
 
 Burr, A., 75 
 
 Campaign, political, of 1896, 315 
 
 Campbell, George, 81, 82 
 
 Carlyle, 98 
 
 Cato's definition of an orator, 118 
 
 Channing, 98, 222 
 
 Character, idealization of, natural, 244 
 
 Character-portrayal, 96 
 
 Characterization, 309 ; by Everett, 227 
 
 Chaucer, 139 
 
 Choate, 180, 236, 278 
 
 Chrysippus, 112 
 
 Cicero, 79 
 
 Clay, Henry, 64, 180 
 
Index 335 
 
 Cleveland, Grover, 263 
 
 Climax, 105, 144, 153 
 
 Coleridge, 322 
 
 Colleges, American, 286 
 
 Commemorative Address, 245 ; beginnings of, 246 ; literature 
 
 of, 246 ; survey of its literature, 249 
 Commemorative Oratory, 252 ; Hebrew, 253 ; Greek, 257 ; 
 
 Roman, 259 ; Mediaeval, 259 ; French and English, 260 ; 
 
 American, 262 ; heathen deities in, 256 
 Commencement Orations, 285 ; literature of, 285 ; represent 
 
 college training, 287, 300 ; composition of, 298 ; subjects 
 
 of, 288 
 Comparative faculty, 113, 134 ; to be cultivated, 136 ; dangers 
 
 of, 138 
 Comparison, 134 ; example of ; 233 
 Concentration, 128 
 Conciliation, 60, 275 
 Conclusion, example of, 234 
 Condensation, 292 
 Condorcet, 212 
 
 Congruity of style and subject, 167 
 Conscience in audience, 119 
 Convention, political, 312 
 Conviction, 114, 116 
 Convictions, courage of, 195 
 Cooper, J. F., 238 
 Corax, 46 
 Cotton, John, 219 
 
 Criticism, historical, 206 ; petty ; 134 ; popular, 132, 302 
 Crusades against wrong, 21 
 Curtis, G. W., 35, 41, 100, no, 238, 249, 311 ; as lecturer, 
 
 283 
 
 D'Alembert, 213 
 
 Davis, Jefferson, 19 
 
 Davis, Henry Winter, 19 
 
 Definition, example of, 231 
 
 Delivery, 155-297 
 
 Demonstrative Oratory 114, 186, 227 329 ; themes in, 85 
 
 Demosthenes, 175, 196, 207, 234 
 
 Description, 109 
 
 Diction, 92, 161 ; clear, 130 ; strong, 133, 147, 309 ; suited to 
 
 theme, 171 
 Dignity of discourse, 172 
 
33 6 Index 
 
 Discord, 163, 168 
 
 Discourse, organized thought, 44 
 
 Diversions, 307 
 
 Division, 192 
 
 Divisions recapitulated, 235 
 
 Douglass, 65, 307 
 
 Drama, Greek, French, and English, 175 
 
 Dramatic, element in discourse, 174 ; spirit, 176 
 
 Dwight, 222 
 
 Education as a subject, 35 
 
 Edwards, Jonathan, 222 
 
 Elegance, its relative value, 159 
 
 Ellsworth, O., 71 
 
 Eloquence, a definition of, 17 ; Webster's definition of, 268 
 
 Elucidation, 192 
 
 Emergencies, meeting, 311 
 
 Emerson, 137, 238, 263, 283 
 
 Emphasis, 144, 292 ; example of, 231 
 
 Energy, 142 ; pervasive, 143 
 
 Entertainment, speech for, 324 
 
 Epidictic oratory, 9, 88, 206, 257 
 
 Epigrammatic style, 295 
 
 Epitaphian orations, 207, 258 
 
 Erasmus, 214 
 
 Estimate of ability, 21, 23, 24 
 
 Ethical quality in discourse, 200 
 
 Eulogies, on magistrates, 223 ; on ministers, 218 ; on ministers' 
 wives, 223 
 
 Eulogists, enumerated, 222 ; American, 222 ; and their sub- 
 jects, 236, 237, 238 
 
 Eulogy, 70, no, 205 ; Primeval form of address, 205 ; 
 Defined by Mme. de Genlis, 213 ; by Voltaire, 213 ; 
 by Fenelon, 213 ; of folly, etc., 214 ; British, 215 ; 
 French Academy's Moges, 212; in reign of Louis XIV., 
 211 ; American, 218 ; character the subject of, 56 ; central 
 point in character, 241 ; candor in, 241 ; distortion in, 241 ; 
 treatment of defects, 243 ; principles of construction in, 
 240 ; permanence as a form of address, 239 
 
 Eumenius, 210 
 
 Euphony, 162 
 
 Evarts, 238 
 
 Events commemorated, 261 
 
Index 337 
 
 Everett, Edward, 36, 99, no, 180, 227 ; oration upon Wash- 
 ington, 227 ; character as an orator, 275 ; his style, 270 
 Exposition, 84, 88, 109 ; and interpretation, 284 
 Expository Address, 274 
 Expression, 187 
 Extemporaneous speech, 93 
 Extemporization, 90 
 
 Fairness in discussion, 306 
 
 Figurative language, 139 
 
 Figures of speech, 113 ; for clearness, 134 ; for emphasis, 151 ; 
 
 for illustration, 140 ; impressive, 152 ; caution in use of, 
 
 141 ; Biblical use of, 140 
 Finding power, 194 
 Flattery of audience, 61 
 Flechier, 211 
 Fontenelle, 212 
 Force, personal, 145 
 Forethought, 321 
 Fourth of July orations, 263 
 Fox, 234 
 Fronto's praise of dust, smoke, 214 
 
 Garfield, 64, 238 
 
 Generalization, 152 
 
 Genung, classification of oratory, 83 
 
 Godwin, Parke, 238 
 
 Goethe, 327 
 
 Gorgias, 207 
 
 Grattan, 216 
 
 H 
 
 Hancock, John, 263 
 
 Harvard College, 18, 74 
 
 Hayne, 23 
 
 Hearer, the average, 171 
 
 Hearers, hostility of, 60 ; good will of, 62 ; prejudice of, 63 
 
 See also " Audience " 
 Henry, Patrick, 114 
 Hilliard, G. S., 97 
 
33% Index 
 
 Historical parallels, 112 
 
 Holmes, Abiel, 238 
 
 Holmes, O. W. t 238 
 
 Homeric literature, 247 ; speeches, 248 
 
 Hugo, Victor, 98 
 
 I 
 
 Illustration, 136 
 
 Imitation, 178 
 
 Incongruities apparent to hearers, 169 
 
 Indifference, 65 
 
 Interpretation and reminiscence, 252 
 
 Introduction, conciliatory, 64 ; provisional, 58 ; final, 59 
 
 Invention, 90 ; among ancients, 90 
 
 Isocrates, 78, 99, 207, 257 
 
 J 
 
 Jackson, A., 96 
 Jefferson, 74, 147 
 
 See " Adams and Jefferson " 
 Judgment, 135 
 
 K 
 
 Kossuth, 238 
 
 Lafayette, 266 
 
 Lamar, 238 
 
 Lamb, Chas., quoted, 182 
 
 Lecture, the lyceum, 279 ; the popular, 279 
 
 Lectures, 67 
 
 Lincoln, A., 65, 69, 99, no, 151, 180, 191, 236, 307 
 
 Logical figures, in, 112, ; limitations in use of, 114 ; forms, 
 
 the simpler, 114 
 Lovejoy, Owen, 41 
 Lowell, J. R., 238, 327 
 Luther, Martin, 150 
 Lysias, 207 
 
Index 339 
 
 Macaulay, T. B., 136 
 
 Mackintosh, Sir James, 216 
 
 Mamertinus, 210 
 
 Massillon, 211 
 
 Material, ordering of, 49 
 
 Mather, Cotton, 31, 219, 220 
 
 Mather, Increase, 31, 221 
 
 Mather, Samuel, 220 
 
 Mausolus, 207 
 
 Memory, 174 
 
 Milton, 131 
 
 Mind, the undisciplined, 50 
 
 Moderation in statement, 157 
 
 Monologue, 322 
 
 Motives, 117 ; low and high, 118, 119 
 
 Motley, 238 
 
 Movement, cumulative, 104 
 
 N 
 
 Napoleon, 151 
 
 Narration, 109 ; example of, 229 
 
 Natural bent, 181 
 
 Naturalness, 177 
 
 Nature and art in composition, 184 
 
 Nazarius, 210 
 
 Objects of speaking, 17 
 
 Occasion, 228 ; and material, 320 
 
 Occasional Address, defined, 3 ; value of, 5 ; compared with 
 other forms, 6 ; feature in national life, 3 ; to be culti- 
 vated, 7 ; literature of, in different nations, 10 ; its quali- 
 ties, 12 ; its study, 13 
 
 Occasions enumerated, 3 ; for addresses, iv 
 
 Olympic festival, 322 
 
 Orator, Cato's definition of, 118 ; the, as a discoverer, 88 ; 
 and painter, 88 
 
 Orator's responsibility, opportunity, and reward, 331 
 
 Oratory, classification of, 78, 80, 82 ; deliberative, judicial, 
 demonstrative, 78 ; forensic, political, commemorative, 17 
 
340 Index 
 
 Oratory, demonstrative, defined, 9 ; qualities of, 94 ; range 
 of topics, 84 ; themes of, 84 ; scope of, 10 
 
 Oratory, determinate, 9 ; special and professional, 7 ; themes 
 of, personal and general, 248 ; natural, 181 
 
 Pacatus, 210 
 
 Palfrey, J. G., 263 
 
 Panegyric, 257 ; Greek, 206, 208 ; Roman, 206, 208 
 
 Panegyrists of imperialism, 208 
 
 Parliament, 175 
 
 Peabody, George, 237 
 
 Pendleton, George H., 19 
 
 Perceptive faculty, 89 
 
 Pericles, no, 193 
 
 Peroration, brevity in, 105 ; importance of, 101 ; epitome of 
 
 discourse, 102 
 Personal and ethical qualities, 184 
 Personal magnetism, 198 ; power, 197 
 Personality, 179 
 Perspicuity, 121, 125, 189, 193 ; devices for obtaining, 129 ; 
 
 depends upon clear thinking, 127 ; and precision, 126 
 Persuasion ending in action, 120 
 Phillips, Wendell, 18, 24, 41, no, 178, 196, 280, 311 
 Plan, value of, 44 ; as in building, 47 ; prevents digression, 
 
 53 ; secures proportion, 55 ; after-thoughts in, 56 ; of 
 
 skilled writer, 57 
 Plato, 206 
 Pliny the Elder, 78 
 Pliny the Younger, 208, 266 
 Points in discourse, 154, 192, 291 
 Political campaign, speeches in, 301 ; students in, 301 ; 
 
 knowledge of the people, 303 ; oratory, literature of, 
 
 313 ; portrayal of character, 96 ; example of, 227 
 Preachers, 60, 68 
 Precision, 189 
 
 Preparation for speaking, 320, 326 ; over-preparation, 326 
 Press, The, 314 
 Princeton University, 263 
 Pronunciation, importance of correct, 123 
 Proof, 115 
 
 Propositions, enumeration of, 75 
 Protagoras, 78 
 
Index 341 
 
 Purpose in discourse, 14, 116 ; to be clear to speaker, 15 ; 
 speaker's, measured by his ability, 21 
 
 Qualities of discourse, general, 186 
 
 Qualities of Occasional Address, Part II., 184 
 
 Quintilian, 75, 78, 79, 82, 125 
 
 Recapitulation, 106 ; example of, 235 ; of " Occasional Ad- 
 dress," 329 
 Relations, faculty of , 134 
 Reserves of power, 155 
 Restraint, 155 
 Romance derivatives. 149 
 
 Schurz, Carl, 19 
 
 Sears, Barnas, 237, 262 
 
 Self-respect of speaker, 61, 63 
 
 Seward, W. H., 19, 238 
 
 Sheridan, 71 
 
 Simplicity, 173 
 
 Sophistries, 115 
 
 Speaker's own cause, 308 
 
 Speech, a ten-minute. 56 ; plain, 148 
 
 Spontaneity, 310 
 
 Statement of subject, 73 ; breadth of, 133 ; exact, impossi- 
 ble, 133 
 
 Story, Judge, 98, 262 
 
 Strength of treatment, 188 
 
 Studies, liberal, of an orator, 183 
 
 Stump-speaking, 310 
 
 Subject, germ of entire discourse, 29 ; importance of, 67 ; 
 unsuitableness to occasion, 170 ; statement of, 29. 73 
 
 Subject, of discourse, choice of, 27 ; division of, 36, 37 ; brev- 
 ity of statement, 38 ; 
 
 Subjects, offensive, 170 ; sensational, 33 ; weighty in lighter 
 vein, 323 
 
34 2 Index 
 
 Suggestion, 157 
 
 Sumner, Charles, 18, 24, 36, 98, 178, 238, 280 
 
 Syllogism, n 1 
 
 Sympathy, 198 
 
 Technical language, 294 ; terms, 126, 127 ; words, 133 
 
 Tennyson, 216 
 
 Terms, specific, 150 
 
 Theme, derivation of, 34 ; development of, 34 ; in demon- 
 strative oratory, 84 ; importance of, 72 ; reservation of, 
 42 ; statement of, 40 
 
 Themes, Commencement, 288 ; ethical and political, 86 ; new 
 and old, 290 ; scholastic, 289 ; worn out, 288 
 
 Thesis for Commencement, 294 
 
 Thomas, French orator, 213 
 
 Thought, fitness of, 92 ; preceding expression, 92 ; primary 
 part of composition, 92 
 
 Thoughts, association of, 52 ; first, 39 ; arrangement of, 122 ; 
 definiteness of, 129 ; haphazard succession of, 49 ; skill 
 in arranging, 45 
 
 Thucydides, 207 
 
 Titles, long, short, and quaint, 30 
 
 Trajan, 209 
 
 Truths, new, 94 
 
 Tone of discourse, 160 
 
 Toombs, Robert, 19 
 
 Topics of discourse, 27 
 
 U 
 
 Undertaking too much in discourse, 25 
 Unity a quality of discourse, 52 
 
 Variety, in discourse, 145 ; and breadth of treatment, 187 
 
 Vicq D'Azyr, 213 
 
 Vocal culture, 297 
 
 Voltaire's definition of eulogy, 213 
 
Index 343 
 
 w 
 
 Ware, William, 222 
 
 Washington, George, 99, no, 151, 225 ; criticism of, an- 
 swered by Everett, 232 
 
 Webster, Daniel, 18, 23, 69, 146, 178, 180, 228, 236 ; Ply- 
 mouth oration of, 264 
 
ORATORY. 
 
 A HISTORY OF ORATORY AND ORATORS. 
 
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