The power of eloquence to move and persuade men is universally
recognized. To-day the public speaker plays a vital part in the solution
of every great question and problem. Oratory, in the true sense, is not
a lost art, but a potent means of imparting information, instruction,
and persuasion.
Eloquence is still "the appropriate organ of the highest personal
energy." As one has well said, "The orator is not compelled to wait
through long and weary years to reap the reward of his labors. His
triumphs are instantaneous."
And again, "To stand up before a vast assembly composed of men of the
most various callings, views, passions, and prejudices, and mold them at
will; to play upon their hearts and minds as a master upon the keys of
a piano; to convince their understandings by the logic, and to thrill
their feelings by the art of the orator; to see every eye watching his
face, and every ear intent on the words that drop from his lips; to see
indifference changed to breathless interest, and aversion to rapturous
enthusiasm; to hear thunders of applause at the close of every period;
to see the whole assembly animated by the feelings which in him are
burning and struggling for utterance; and to think that all this is the
creation of the moment, and has sprung instantaneously from his fiery
brain and the inspiration imparted to it by the circumstances of the
hour;--_this_, perhaps, is the greatest triumph of which the human mind
is capable, and that in which its divinity is most signally revealed."
The aims and purposes of speaking to-day have radically changed from
former times. Deliberative bodies, composed of busy men, meet now to
discuss and dispose of grave and weighty business. There is little
necessity nor scope for eloquence. Time is too valuable to permit of
prolonged speaking. Men are tacitly expected to "get to the point," and
to be reasonably brief in what they have to say.
Under these circumstances certain extravagant types of old-time oratory
would be ineffectual to-day. The stentorian and dramatic tones, with
hand inserted in the breast of the coat, with exaggerated facial
expression, and studied posture, would make a speaker to-day an object
of ridicule.
This applies equally to speech in the law court, pulpit, on the lecture
platform, and in other departments of public address. The implicit
demand everywhere is that the speaker should say what he has to say
naturally, simply, and concisely.
This does not mean, however, that he must confine himself to plain
statement of fact, with no manifestation of feeling or earnestness. Men
are still influenced and persuaded by impassioned speech. There is
nothing incompatible between deep feeling and clear-cut speech. A man
having profound convictions upon any subject of importance will always
speak on it with fervor and sincerity.
The widespread interest in the subject of public speaking has suggested
this adaptation of Quintilian's celebrated work on the education of the
orator. This work has long been regarded as one of the most valuable
treatises ever written on oratory, but in its original form it is
ponderous and inaccessible to the average reader. In the present
abridged and modernized form it may be read and studied with benefit by
earnest students of the art of public speaking.
A brief account of Quintilian says: "Quintilianus, M. Fabius, was born
at Calagurris, in Spain, A. D. 40. He completed his education at Rome,
and began to practise at the bar about 68. But he was chiefly
distinguished as a teacher of eloquence, bearing away the palm in his
department from all his rivals, and associating his name, even to a
proverb, with preeminence in the art. By Domitian he was invested with
the insignia and title of consul, and is, moreover, celebrated as the
first public instructor who, in virtue of the endowment by Vespasian,
received a regular salary from the imperial exchequer. He is supposed to
have died about 118. The great work of Quintilian is a complete system
of rhetoric, in twelve books, entitled _De Institutione Oratoria Libre
XII_, or sometimes _Institutiones Oratoriæ_, dedicated to his friend
Marcellus Victorius, himself a celebrated orator, and a favorite at
Court. This production bears throughout the impress of a clear, sound
judgment, keen discrimination, and pure taste, improved by extensive
reading, deep reflection, and long practise."
The text used for this condensation is from the version of J. Patsall,
A.M., London, 1774, according to the Paris edition by Professor Rollin.
Many parts of the original work have been re-written or abridged, while
several chapters have been entirely omitted.
GRENVILLE KLEISER.
New York City,
August, 1919.