Constant practise of composition has been the habit of all great
orators. This, combined with the habit of reading and re-reading the
best prose writers and poets, accounts in large measure for the
felicitous style of such men as Burke, Erskine, Macaulay, Bolingbroke,
Phillips, Everett and Webster.
I can not too often urge you to use your pen in daily composition as a
means to felicity and facility of speech. The act of writing out your
thoughts is a direct aid to concentration, and tends to enforce the
habit of choosing the best language. It gives clearness, force,
precision, beauty, and copiousness of style, so valuable in
extemporaneous and impromptu speaking.