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HOW TO MASTER
_The_ SPOKEN WORD
_Designed as a Self-Instructor for all who
would Excel in the Art of Public Speaking_
_By_ EDWIN GORDON LAWRENCE
AUTHOR OF "THE POWER OF SPEECH," "SPEECH
MAKING," "THE LAWRENCE READER AND SPEAKER"
(A. C. McClurg & Co. logo)
_A. C. McCLURG & COMPANY
CHICAGO, NINETEEN THIRTEEN_
Copyright
A. C. McClurg & Co.
1913
----------
Published March, 1913
W. F. HALL PRINTING COMPANY, CHICAGO
To
WILLIAM EDWIN HALL
As a mark of appreciation and affection
I dedicate this book
_"Give me that man
That is not passion's slave, and I will wear him
In my heart's care, ay, in my heart of heart,
As I do thee"_
PREFACE
This work aims to show how to breathe correctly, produce voice
properly, put the meaning into words by aid of inflection, emphasis,
and the tones of the voice; how to improve the memory, acquire
fluency of speech, control an audience, construct speeches, and in
every way become competent to think on one's feet and express thought
vocally in an entertaining, convincing, and moving manner. It is
intended as a text-book to aid in making students proficient in the
art of vocal expression. It aims to cover the field exhaustively,
dealing in a comprehensive manner with all subjects pertaining to the
construction and the delivery of speeches.
There are so many books treating of the subject of oratory that there
would appear scant room for another, but as they all treat mainly of
the way to speak, and only give general instructions as to how to
speak, there is, in the author's opinion, a wide field for a book
that explicitly shows not only what a person should employ in order
to become a ready and effective speaker but also gives specific
instructions as the employment of those means.
This book is intended to take the place of the living teacher
wherever the services of a thoroughly competent one cannot be
secured, or where the student desires to work in the privacy of his
own room, and the aim of the author is to make it more practical and
of greater value than any of the so-called "Personal Correspondence
Courses" now being exploited, and for which exorbitant fees are
charged. It may, however, be used to equal advantage by the teacher
in the class room as a text-book.
No vague instructions such as, "speak in a clear ringing voice," "use
expressive language," "mean what you say," etc., will be given; but
in their place will be found directions as to how to gain a good
voice, how to acquire the power of explaining by the tones of the
voice the meaning of the spoken words, how to secure a delivery that
will carry conviction to the listener, and how to construct speeches.
In short, this book aims not only to tell the essentials of oratory
but also to show the way in which they may be acquired. It contains
the complete course in oratorical training as given in the Lawrence
School of New York. Finally, the book is presented as a _vade mecum_
that will pilot the would-be orator to success.
EDWIN G. LAWRENCE.
FOREWORD
Vital are the questions now confronting man the world over; but
particularly are those questions important to Americans, because the
United States of America is looked upon as the pioneer country of the
world in all matters pertaining to man's emancipation from the
injustice of ages, and that young country is expected to blaze a
trail through the unsolved realm of progress along which the older
nations may travel till they reach the plain of universal justice and
liberty.
Among the problems now confronting the people are those of finance,
labor, religion, conservation of natural resources, and civic
justice. The questions are here, but where are the orators capable of
making those questions clear to the masses? Where are the men to
solve those problems? Some there are who are nobly responding to the
demands of the times, but they are too few successfully to grapple
with the task.
It is claimed that this is the age of the printing-press and that the
necessity for orators no longer exists. This is surely not a valid
claim. The newspaper is doing its work, and in many cases is doing it
nobly, but it can never take the place of the human voice. An article
may be printed in a paper having a circulation running into the
hundreds of thousands, and yet the article will be read by only a
small percentage of those into whose hands the paper falls; and out
of this percentage a still smaller percentage will be influenced by
the printed word. The speaker, on the other hand, addresses an
audience of only a few thousand, but of that number, if the speaker
is deserving of the name, he will influence a majority. Suppose he
convinces and persuades only one hundred, the one hundred are so
thoroughly brought into accord with the speaker that they go out into
the world and, by word of mouth, bring ten times their number to the
same way of thinking. By this means all great movements have
flourished. John the Baptist, with the spoken word, prepared the way
and made straight the path; Jesus of Nazareth taught by spoken
symbols only; Paul of Tarsus carried Christianity into Greece and
Rome by means of speech; Peter the Hermit enthused the Crusaders by
his spoken utterances; Martin Luther brought about a reformation by
his speech before the Diet of Worms; Patrick Henry aroused his
countrymen by his eloquence; Daniel O'Connell accomplished Catholic
emancipation in Great Britain by means of presenting the cause of
religious liberty to friend and foe in the shape of the spoken word;
Daniel Webster expounded the Constitution orally; William Lloyd
Garrison, Wendell Phillips and Abraham Lincoln pleaded for the
enslaved negro by word of mouth; and La Follette, Bryan, and
Roosevelt are expressing the thoughts of the people of today by means
of man's greatest attribute--speech.
Therefore, if any would take part in the glorious work of advancing
the progress of the world, let him fit himself to discuss by word of
mouth the great problems now confronting humanity.
THE VALUE OF ELOQUENCE
Faith cometh by hearing. --ST. PAUL, _Romans X:17_
It is not enough to speak, but to speak true. --SHAKESPEARE
Mend your speech a little
Lest it may mar your fortunes. --SHAKESPEARE
The power of utterance should be included by all in their plans of
self-culture. --WILLIAM ELLERY CHANNING
He is an orator that can make me think as he thinks and feel as he
feels. --DANIEL WEBSTER
A vessel is known by its sound whether it be cracked or not; so men
are proved by their speeches, whether they be wise or foolish.
--DEMOSTHENES
I advocate in its full intent and for every reason of humanity, of
patriotism, of religion, a more thorough culture of oratory.
--HENRY WARD BEECHER
Eloquence has a client which, before all, it must save or make
triumph. It matters little whether this client be a man, a people, or
an idea. --VICTOR COUSIN
It is to this early speaking practice in the great art of all arts,
oratory, that I am indebted for the primary and leading impulses that
stimulated me forward. --HENRY CLAY
Ninety-nine men in every hundred in the crowded professions will
probably never rise above mediocrity because the training of the
voice is entirely neglected and considered of no importance.
--WILLIAM E. GLADSTONE
He who does not use a gift, loses it; the man who does not use his
voice or limbs, loses power over them, and becomes disqualified for
the state of life to which he is called. --CARDINAL NEWMAN
I recognize but one mental acquisition as an essential part of the
education of a lady or gentleman, namely, an accurate and refined use
of the mother-tongue. --CHARLES W. ELIOT
Extemporaneous speaking should be practiced and cultivated. It is the
lawyer's avenue to the public. However able and faithful he may be in
other respects, people are slow to bring him business if he cannot
make a speech. --ABRAHAM LINCOLN
The cultivated voice is like an orchestra. It ranges high,
intermediate or low, unconsciously to him who uses it, and men
listen, unaware that they have been bewitched out of their weariness
by the charms of a voice not artificial, but made by assiduous
training to be his second nature. --HENRY WARD BEECHER
Men forget what they read; some do not read at all. They do not,
however, forget when they are told by a vigorous speaker who means
what he says. --JOHN OLIVER HOBBES (MRS. CRAIGIE)
For who can suppose amid the great multitude of students, the utmost
abundance of masters, the most eminent geniuses among men, the
infinite variety of causes, the most ample rewards offered to
eloquence, there is any other reason to be found for the small number
of orators than the incredible magnitude and difficulty of the art?
--CICERO
CONTENTS
CHAPTER
Preface
Foreword
The Value of Eloquence
I The Making of Oratory
II How to Construct and Deliver Orations
III Construction
IV Composition
V Paraphrasing
VI A Series of Practical Hows
VII The Grecian Orators
VIII The Latin Orators
IX The Modern Orators
X Lesson Talks
Afterword
Guide to the study of the Book
List of Orations
Index
How to Master the Spoken Word
CHAPTER I
THE MAKING OF ORATORY
THE MEANS EMPLOYED BY GREAT ORATORS
The question is often asked, How can I become a public speaker? This
might be aptly answered by putting another question, How did other
men become public speakers? because by a careful study of the means
they employed, others may become equally proficient. From the
beginning of oratory down to the present day orators have made their
effects in composition and delivery by the selfsame means, and if men
of today will apply themselves to a mastery of those means with
perseverance and intelligence equal to that of the men of the past,
there is no reason why they should not meet with equal proficiency.
Let us go back to Gorgias, the Greek rhetorician and teacher of
oratory, who was born about the year 483 B.C., and study the manner
of his workmanship.
In his speech "The Encomium on Helen," he arranges his words in
masterly style, making use of all the forms of construction that we
possess at this time. He employs the series, the contrasts (single,
double, and triple), the conditional, the negative, the positive,
and, in fact, all the known forms of arranging words so as to make
them best express the orator's meaning. Here is an effective
concluding series he uses: "A city is adorned by good citizenship,
the body by beauty, the soul by wisdom, acts by virtue, and speech by
truthfulness," and he follows this sentence with the following one:
"But the opposites of these virtues are a disgrace." Note how
effective he makes the first thought by immediately contrasting it
with one that rivets the attention to the graces of good citizenship,
beauty, wisdom, virtue, and truthfulness, by stating that the reverse
of these things are disgraces. Then follows a series of contrasts:
"Man and woman, word and deed, city and government" which, he says,
"we ought to praise," and then qualifies this positive with the
conditional, "if praiseworthy," and then makes a strong contrast by
stating, "and blame" which he qualifies by adding the conditional "if
blameworthy." He then makes a statement very strong by employing a
double contrast, "For it is equally wrong and stupid to censure what
is commendable, and to commend what is censurable." After this clear
reasoning comes another statement: "Now I conceive it to be my duty
in the interest of justice to confute the slanders of Helen, the
memory of whose misfortunes has been kept alive by the writings of
the poets and the fame of her name." He ends his statement with this
strong concluding series, "I propose, therefore, by argument to
exonerate her from the charge of infamy, to convince her accusers of
their error, and remove their ignorance by a revelation of the
truth." Now read the entire paragraph:
A city is adorned by good citizenship, the body by beauty,
the soul by wisdom, acts by virtue, and speech by
truthfulness. But the opposites of these virtues are a
disgrace. Man and woman, word and deed, city and government
we ought to praise if praiseworthy, and blame if
blameworthy. For it is equally wrong and stupid to censure
what is commendable, and to commend what is censurable. Now
I conceive it to be my duty in the interest of justice to
confute the slanders of Helen, the memory of whose
misfortunes has been kept alive by the writings of the
poets and the fame of her name. I propose, therefore, by
argument to exonerate her from the charge of infamy, to
convince her accusers of their error, and to remove their
ignorance by a revelation of the truth.
This is a masterly passage, clear in its statement, logical in its
argument, and sound in its conclusion, making a splendid model for a
student of oratory to follow. True, the mere faculty of arranging
words will not constitute an orator, but it is one of the essentials
that go to the making of one; and this power of arranging words, and
the capacity for electing the appropriate theme, and judgment in
adopting the proper delivery are the principal means that men have
possessed in all times for the making of orators. It is essential
that the arts of construction and composition should be diligently
studied by speakers, for it is as impossible to have oratory without
men who understand the rules of composition as it is to have orators
without oratory. Matter that is to be spoken must not merely be well
written, it must be constructed according to the rules of oratory in
order that it may sound well. Literature is to be read, oratory is to
be spoken; consequently words intended to be spoken must be arranged
in such a manner as to make them more effective when uttered by the
living voice than when they are set in dead type; and this can only
be done by gaining a mastery of the rules of oratory and applying
them correctly. We are now dealing with the creation of oratory;
later, we will consider the making of orators. The example of
Gorgias' oratory cited here gives a clear illustration of the
effective use of words, and in order to emphasize this important
point of the value of words according to their location, other
examples follow.
William H. Seward in his "Plea for the Union" uses this sentence:
If the constellation is to be broken up, the stars, whether
scattered widely apart or grouped in smaller clusters, will
thenceforth shed forth feeble, glimmering, and lurid lights.
He opens with a conditional phrase, "If the constellation is to be
broken up" and then commences his statement with "the stars" which he
interrupts to interject the parenthetical phrase "whether scattered
widely apart or grouped in smaller clusters," goes back to his main
thought with the words "will thenceforth shed forth feeble,
glimmering, and lurid lights." "Feeble, glimmering, and lurid"
constitute a commencing series qualifying "lights," and thus is
brought about an effective close to a well-knit sentence.
Another well-arranged sentence for cumulative force is the following
from the same speech:
After Washington, and the inflexible Adams, Henry, and the
fearless Hamilton, Jefferson, and the majestic Clay,
Webster, and the acute Calhoun, Jackson, the modest Taylor,
and Scott, who rises in greatness under the burden of
years, and Franklin, and Fulton, and Whitney, and Morse,
have all performed their parts, let the curtain fall.
In long sentences, such as this, care should be exercised properly to
group the members composing it, otherwise the force will be lost on
account of a confusion of ideas. In this sentence there are three
groups: Washington, Adams, Henry, Hamilton, and Jefferson
constituting the first; Clay, Webster, Calhoun, Jackson, Taylor, and
Scott the second; Franklin, Fulton, Whitney, and Morse the third.
These, with the phrase "have all performed their parts," constitute a
commencing series, the sense being completed by "let the curtain
fall."
In his address, "The American Scholar," delivered at Cambridge,
Mass., August 31, 1837, Ralph Waldo Emerson employed these words:
The theory of books is noble. The scholar of the first age
received into him the world around; brooded thereon; gave
it the new arrangement of his own mind and uttered it
again. It came into him, life; it went out from him, truth.
It came to him, short-lived actions; it went out from him,
immortal thoughts. It came to him, business; it went from
him, poetry. It was dead fact; now, it is quick thought. It
can stand and it can go. It now endures, it now flies, it
now inspires. Precisely in proportion to the depth of mind
from which it issued, so high does it soar, so long does it
sing.
This powerful passage is effective mainly because of the masterful
arrangement of the words. Emerson opens with the positive statement
that "The theory of books is noble." He follows this with the
concluding series, "The scholar of the first age received into him
the world around; brooded thereon; gave it the new arrangement of his
own mind and uttered it again." Then comes the double contrast, "It
came into him, life; it went out from him, truth." This is followed
by a triple contrast, "It came to him, short-lived actions; it went
out from him, immortal thoughts." Then comes another double contrast,
"It came to him, business; it went from him, poetry." Then another
triple contrast is used, "It was dead fact; now, it is quick
thought." Then comes the positive statement that "It can stand and it
can go." A concluding series then follows, "It now endures, it now
flies, it now inspires," and the paragraph ends with the conditional
phrase and the concluding phrases, "Precisely in proportion to the
depth of mind from which it issued, so high does it soar, so long
does it sing," the concluding clause containing the double contrast,
"so high does it soar, so long does it sing." Few paragraphs of like
length contain so much thought as does this one of Emerson's, and the
immensity of thought could be placed in such a small space only
because of the skilful disposition of the words, the meaning being
made clear by the clever placing of one word against another word,
one idea against another idea. The sentences are short, and while
they may not be particularly beautiful, they are exceedingly strong.
In Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address is this telling sentence:
To strengthen, perpetuate, and extend this interest
[slavery] was the object for which the insurgents would
rend the Union, even by war; while the government claimed
no right to do more than to restrict the territorial
enlargement of it.
The words "strengthen, perpetuate, and extend" are a commencing
series because they act on the word "interest." Slavery was the
object for which the insurgents would separate the Union, even by
going to the extreme of making war; while the Federal Government
claimed merely the right to prevent its spreading into the
territories. What makes this sentence so clear and so forceful is the
manner in which the contrast is brought out regarding the acts of the
insurgents and the claims of the Government.
One of the most expressive and best constructed sentences in English
literature is the following from Lincoln's Gettysburg Address:
The world will little note nor long remember what we say
here, but it can never forget what they did here.
This is a triple opposition, "The world will little note nor long
remember" being contrasted with "but it can never forget," "we" with
"they," and "say" with "did."
Another beautiful specimen of construction is the last paragraph of
Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address:
With malice toward none; with charity for all; with
firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the
right--let us strive on to finish the work we are in: to
bind up the nation's wounds; to care for him who shall have
borne the battle, and for his widow and his orphan; to do
all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace
among ourselves, and with all nations.
Had Lincoln merely said "with malice toward none" it would not have
meant half so much as it does with the words "with charity for all"
added. This example emphasizes the force of contrast, for by stating
the positive "with charity for all" as well as the negative "with
malice toward none," he makes his expressed thought clear, strong,
and comprehensive, clinching the subject and leaving no possible
loophole for a misunderstanding to creep in. "With firmness in the
right" is fittingly qualified by "as God gives us to see the right,"
and the thought is splendidly closed with "let us strive on to finish
the work we are in." Then by means of a concluding series he states
what this work is that we should strive to finish, and he concludes
with the general summing up, "to do all which may achieve and cherish
a just and lasting peace among ourselves, and with all nations."
Daniel Webster, in his address on the occasion of the laying of the
corner-stone of Bunker Hill Monument, used this sentence:
Human beings are composed, not of reason only, but of
imagination also, and sentiment; and that is neither wasted
nor misapplied which is appropriated to the purpose of
giving right direction to sentiment, and opening proper
springs of feeling in the heart.
The orator states that reason is a portion of the composition out of
which human beings are made, but that it is not the only ingredient;
that imagination is a part also, as is sentiment, and that nothing is
either wasted or misapplied which is used in rightly directing
feeling, and freeing the heart of all obstructions in order that its
emotions may come forth. In doing this, Webster uses the qualified
negative "not of reason only," meaning, of course, that human beings
are composed of reason, but stating that they are not composed "only"
of reason, but of reason, imagination, and sentiment, and then, by
means of two negatives, "neither" and "nor," he states that whatever
is used for the object of rightly directing sentiment is not wasted
and not misapplied.
In the same address, he says:
If, indeed, there be anything in local association fit to
affect the mind of man, we need not strive to repress the
emotions which agitate us here. We are among the sepulchers
of our fathers. We are on ground distinguished by their
valor, their constancy, and the shedding of their blood.
The first phrase is conditional, the balance of the sentence is
negative. The orator ably opens with a condition because he is sure
of all his listeners subscribing to it, and then he says that if
there is anything of a local nature that is proper to act
sufficiently on man's mind as to make an impression on it, then
certainly we, standing over the graves of our fathers, and on the
very ground that drank their blood, shed in the cause of liberty,
should not be ashamed to give expression to the emotions these
associations cause us to feel. In constructing these three sentences
Webster uses a conditional clause and a concluding one, and two
positive sentences, the last one consisting of a concluding series.
The last sentence is much stronger and better as a series of three
members than it would be as a sentence containing but one. It is far
better to weld together the three facts that the ground was
distinguished by their valor, their constancy, and the shedding of
their blood, than it would be to state merely that it was
distinguished by their valor.
Here is another of Webster's grand and expressive periods:
On this question of principle, while actual suffering was
yet far off, they raised their flag against a power, to
which, for purposes of foreign conquest and subjugation,
Rome, in the height of her glory, is not to be compared--a
power which has dotted over the surface of the whole globe
with her possessions and military posts, whose morning
drumbeat, following the sun, and keeping company with the
hours, circles the earth with one continuous and unbroken
strain of the martial airs of England.
This is a long sentence but a strong one and it is constructed so as
to bring to the mind of the listener the picture which the speaker
possessed. Notice that if the parenthetical phrases, which aid so
much in picturing the scene, were omitted, the sentence would not be
more than half its present size, but the vividness of the picture
would disappear with the curtailing of the sentence. Here is the main
idea: "On this question of principle they raised their flag against a
power to which Rome is not to be compared--a power which has dotted
over the surface of the whole globe with her possessions and military
posts, whose morning drumbeat circles the earth with one continuous
and unbroken strain of the martial airs of England." This example is
cited to show that what are called loose sentences are necessary to
beauty of expression and vivid picturing. Notice how the
parenthetical clauses amplify and explain the thought--"while actual
suffering was yet far off," "for purposes of foreign conquest and
subjugation," "in the height of her glory," "following the sun, and
keeping company with the hours." Without these coloring clauses the
sentence would be strong, but it would lose much of its beauty.
Let us examine here an extract from the oratory of the ancients.
Demosthenes, in his speech, "Against the Law of Leptines," delivered
in 355 B.C., uses this language:
If now you condemn the law, as we advise, the deserving
will have their rights from you; and if there be any
underserving party, as I grant there may be, such a one,
besides being deprived of his honor, will suffer what
penalty you think proper according to the amended statute,
while the commonwealth will appear faithful, just, true to
all men. Should you decide in its favor, which I trust you
will not, the good will be wronged on account of the bad,
the underserving will be the cause of misfortune to others,
and suffer no punishment themselves, while the commonwealth
(contrary to what I said just now) will be universally
esteemed faithless, envious, base. It is not meet, O
Athenians, that for so foul a reproach you should reject
fair and honorable advantages. Remember, each of you
individually will share in the reputation of your common
judgment. It is plain to the bystanders and to all men that
in the court Leptines is contending with us, but in the
mind of each of you jurymen generosity is arrayed against
envy, justice against iniquity, all that is virtuous
against all that is base.
The above is a literal translation of a portion of a speech that was
delivered more than twenty-two centuries ago, and yet, in its
construction, it does not differ in any material manner from a well
constructed speech of today. Notice the conditional, "If now you
condemn the law," followed by the parenthetical, "as we advise," and
the concluding, "the deserving will have their rights from you," and
compare the passage with any modern expression of a like nature. They
will be found to correspond in every manner so far as the
construction is concerned. Examine the extract in its entirety and
you will see that a skilful use is made of negatives, positives,
parentheses, conditionals, oppositions, series, and all the many
forms of arranging words for an effective conveyance of thought which
are possessed by speakers of the present time. In the manner of its
construction, this extract from the speech of Demosthenes does not
differ from the speeches of Seward, Webster, Emerson, and Lincoln
which are here quoted, as they all depend for their effectiveness on
the proper use of the rules of apposition, opposition, series,
inflection, and emphasis; and all students of oratory are urged to
study closely the chapters of this book which are devoted to these
subjects.
Coming down to our own day, we find in the utterances of Roosevelt,
Taft, Bryan, Watterson, La Follette, and many others the selfsame
means of construction as were employed by Gorgias, Demosthenes, and
Cicero. Theodore Roosevelt, in his address delivered at Chicago,
April 10, 1899, used this forceful language:
As it is with the individual, so it is with the nation. It
is a base untruth to say that happy is that nation that has
no history. Thrice happy is the nation that has a glorious
history. Far better is it to dare mighty things, to win
glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure, than
to take rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much
nor suffer much, because they live in the gray twilight
that knows neither victory nor defeat.
Col. Roosevelt first compares the individual with the nation. He then
employs an emphatic contradiction, following it with a short positive
sentence. Then comes an effective contrast, separated to allow the
use of a parenthetical phrase which amplifies the statement, and the
end is a picture drawn with a few words--"because they live in the
gray twilight that knows neither victory nor defeat."
William H. Taft, speaking at the unveiling of Lincoln's statue at
Frankfort, Kentucky, on November 8, 1911, summed up the character of
Abraham Lincoln in these well-chosen words:
With his love of truth, the supreme trait of his intellect,
accompanied by a conscience that insisted on the right as
he knew it, with a great heart full of tenderness, we have
the combination that made Lincoln one of the two greatest
Americans.
President Taft uses a commencing series and a parenthetical clause
for conveying his thought. The series consists of three phrases:
"With his love of truth," "accompanied by a conscience that insisted
on the right as he knew it," and "with a great heart full of
tenderness," the sense being completed by "we have the combination
that made Lincoln one of the two greatest Americans." The phrase,
"the supreme trait of his intellect," is parenthetical.
Col. Henry Watterson, on the same occasion, spoke thus:
Called like one of old, within a handful of years he rose
at a supreme moment to supreme command, fulfilled the law
of his being, and passed from the scene an exhalation of
the dawn of freedom. We may still hear his cheery voice
bidding us to be of good heart, sure that "right makes
might," entreating us to pursue "with firmness in the right
as God gives us to see the right."
Here we have the thought expressed by means of a concluding series of
four members, and two positive statements reënforced by two
quotations from Lincoln's Cooper Union Speech.
WORD-PICTURES
Besides the use of inflection, emphasis, and the arrangement of
words, orators use word-pictures for conveying their ideas; as,
When I look around and see our prosperity in
everything--agriculture, commerce, art, science, and every
department of education, physical and mental, as well as
moral advancement, and our colleges--I think, in the face
of such an exhibition, if we can, without the loss of
power, or any essential right or interest, remain in the
Union, it is our duty to ourselves and to posterity to--let
us not too readily yield to this temptation--do so. Our
first parents, the great progenitors of the human race,
were not without a like temptation when in the garden of
Eden. They were led to believe that their condition would
be bettered, that their eyes would be opened, and that they
would become as gods. They, in an evil hour, yielded.
Instead of becoming gods, they only saw their nakedness.
--ALEXANDER H. STEPHENS
The illustration commences with "Our first parents" and continues to
the end. It is more effective in pointing out the danger besetting
the South in listening to the temptation to sever the Union than is
all the rest of the paragraph. The prophecy as to the effect of
listening to the voice of the tempter is forcefully summed up in the
sentence: "Instead of becoming gods, they only saw their nakedness."
By means of directing the thought to the dire consequences attending
the fall of Adam and Eve through listening to temptation, the orator
magnifies the effects that would follow a dissolution of the union of
the states. The object in employing word-pictures is to convey an
idea by means of suggestion, and, when so used, they become powerful
weapons in the hands of a speaker. Here is another excellent
illustration:
Books are for the scholar's idle times. When he can read
God directly the hour is too precious to be wasted in other
men's transcripts of their readings. But when the intervals
of darkness come, as come they must--when the sun is hid
and the stars withdraw their shining--we repair to the
lamps which were kindled by their ray, to guide our steps
to the East again, where the dawn is. We hear, that we may
speak. The Arabian proverb says, "A fig tree, looking on a
fig tree, becomes fruitful." --RALPH WALDO EMERSON
Pictures are powerful means of conveying thoughts, and often more can
be expressed by deftly painting a word-picture than could be imparted
by a lengthy narration. Here is a good example:
Let me picture to you the footsore Confederate soldier, as,
buttoning up in his faded jacket the parole which was to
bear testimony to his children of his fidelity and faith,
he turned his face southward from Appomattox, in April,
1865. Think of him as ragged, half-starved, heavy-hearted,
enfeebled by want and wounds, having fought to exhaustion;
he surrenders his gun, wrings the hands of his comrades in
silence, and lifting his tear-stained and pallid face for
the last time to the graves that dot the old Virginia
hills, pulls his gray cap over his brow and begins the slow
and painful journey. --HENRY W. GRADY
This certainly brings the whole scene before us in a moment. We see
the hills of Virginia, dotted over with the graves of the dead
soldiers; groups of grizzled veterans, the remnant of that wonderful
fighting machine that had followed the ill-starred flag of the
Confederacy under its beloved leader; the typical southern soldier
wringing the hands of his comrades, and sorrowfully, but manfully,
turning his face towards home. The picture, as presented by Henry W.
Grady, is more eloquent than the narration of the story would have
been.
Henry Watterson, a lover of oratory, and himself an orator of no mean
ability, speaking at the unveiling of Lincoln's statue at Frankfort,
Kentucky, on November 8, 1911, spoke thus of the great American:
Reviled as the Man of Galilee, slain even as the Man of
Galilee, yet as gentle and unoffending, a man who died for
men! Roll the stone from the grave and what shall we see?
Just an American. The Declaration of Independence his
Confession of Faith. The Constitution of the United States
his Ark and Covenant of Liberty. The Union his redoubt, the
flag his shibboleth.
Here is presented a striking picture by means of the simile. With the
charm and skill of a true orator, Colonel Watterson employs the lowly
Nazarene to symbolize the portraiture of one who, like Himself, "went
about doing good," and he does it so delicately as in no manner to
jar or hurt the religious sensibilities of the most devout follower
of the Man of Galilee. All the orator's references are biblical, and
eminently fitting. The mention of the Man of Galilee, the manner of
His death, the rolling of the stone away, the Ark and the Covenant,
and the shibboleth,--all these keep the mind of the reader or the
listener on the picture as presented by the orator, and cause the
great Emancipator to stand forth clothed in the splendor of his
glorious attributes, which are colored and magnified through being
likened reverently to the character of Jesus.
Daniel Webster delighted in the use of pictures. Here is one from his
address delivered at the laying of the corner-stone of the Bunker
Hill Monument, at Charlestown, Mass., June 17, 1825:
We do not read even of the discovery of this continent,
without feeling something of a personal interest in the
event; without being reminded how much it has affected our
own fortunes and our own existence. It is more impossible
for us, therefore, than for others, to contemplate with
unaffected minds that interesting, I may say that most
touching and pathetic scene, when the great discoverer of
America stood on the deck of his shattered bark, the shades
of night falling on the sea, yet no man sleeping; tossed on
the billows of an unknown ocean, yet the stronger billows
of alternate hope and despair tossing his own troubled
thoughts: extending forward his harassed frame, straining
westward his anxious and eager eyes, till Heaven at last
granted him a moment of rapture and ecstasy, in blessing
his vision with the sight of the unknown world.
Here is another example taken from his speech in what is known as the
White Murder Case:
An aged man, without an enemy in the world, in his own
house, and in his own bed, is made the victim of a
butcherly murder, for mere pay. The deed was executed with
a degree of self-possession and steadiness equal to the
wickedness with which it was planned. The circumstances,
now clearly in evidence, spread out the whole scene before
us. Deep sleep had fallen on the destined victim, and on
all beneath his roof. A healthful old man, to whom sleep
was sweet, the first sound slumbers held him in their soft
but strong embrace. The assassin enters through the window,
already prepared, into an unoccupied apartment. With
noiseless foot he paces the lonely hall, half-lighted by
the moon--he winds up in the ascent of stairs, and reaches
the door of the chamber. Of this he moves the lock, by soft
and continued pressure, till it turns on its hinges without
noise; and he enters, and beholds his victim before him.
This is certainly vividly drawn, and it shows the effectiveness of
stating important things by means of pictures. Writers of good prose,
as well as poets, use the figure of speech for creating mental images
by means of the written word, and the speaker who employs the spoken
word for producing like results will surely meet with like success.
Emerson, in writing on this subject, produces a striking picture. In
his essay on "Poetry and Imagination," he says:
The poet gives us the eminent experiences only--a god
stepping from peak to peak, nor planting his foot but on a
mountain.
Shakespeare creates a marvellous picture thus:
Look here, upon this picture, and on this,
The counterfeit presentment of two brothers.
See what a grace was seated on this brow;
Hyperion's curls, the front of Jove himself,
An eye like Mars, to threaten and command;
A station like the herald Mercury
New-lighted on a heaven-kissing hill;
A combination and a form indeed,
Where every god did seem to set his seal
To give the world assurance of a man.[1]
Note the ascending force of this extract from Hamlet. The drawing of
the picture, delineating the brow, hair, eyes, etc., the description
of the bearing, and the final summing up,
A combination and a form indeed,
Where every god did seem to set his seal
To give the world assurance of a man.
It would seem to be impossible for mortal man to make a picture more
vivid than is the one here presented in words by the magic art of
Shakespeare.
THE USE OF WORD-PICTURES
_What benefit is to be derived from the use of word-pictures?_
An illustration, or picture, is quickly comprehended, and will abide
with the hearer when plain facts and colorless words are forgotten.
Christ did the most of His teaching by means of similitudes: "The
sower and the seed," "The laborers in the vineyard," "The ten
virgins," are but instances of His employment of this means of
conveying an insight into difficult problems. In fact, in the Gospel
according to St. Matthew, xiii:34, it is stated:
All these things spake Jesus unto the multitude in
parables: and without a parable spoke he not unto them.
Henry Ward Beecher, in his sermon, "Poverty and the Gospel," used
this figure of speech:
On the Niagara River logs come floating down and strike an
island, and there they lodge and accumulate for a little
while, and won't go over. But the rains come, the snow
melts, the river rises, and the logs are lifted up and
down, and they go swinging over the falls. There is a
certain river of political life, and everything has to go
into it first or last; and if, in the days to come, a man
separates himself from his fellows without sympathy, if his
wealth and power make poverty feel itself more poor and
men's misery more miserable, and set against him the whole
stream of popular feeling, that man is in danger.
_From what source is the speaker to take his illustrations?_
From all sources: history, books, his own experience, and, best of
all, nature. Emerson states the matter in this comprehensive manner:
I had rather have a good symbol of my thought, or a good
analogy, than the suffrage of Kant or Plato. If you agree
with me, or if Locke or Montesquieu agree, I may yet be
wrong; but if the elm-tree thinks the same thing, if
running water, if burning coal, if crystals, if alkalies,
in their several fashions, say what I say, it must be true.
_How is the speaker to make the picture so vivid that it will be
immediately seen and comprehended by the listener?_
By seeing it himself. The speaker must see with his mind's eye the
complete picture before he utters the first word descriptive of it.
He must first see the picture in its entirety and be sure of his
application of it before starting on the word-picturing, and as he
develops the picture step by step, or phrase by phrase, he must keep
in mind not only that portion of the picture he is then describing
but must retain the picture in its entirety. This will cause his
mentality to go into his voice, help him to hold on to his thought,
and stamp the picture upon the minds and hearts of his listeners.
THE USE OF STORIES
Stories introduced into speeches, if really introduced and not
dragged in, serve many useful purposes. They attract the attention of
the audience and secure for the speaker an opportunity entertainingly
to commence his remarks instead of abruptly jumping into them, like a
speaker bounding upon the platform instead of walking gracefully upon
it; they often express in a few words what otherwise would require a
long explanation; and they also permit a speaker to retire in an
effective manner from an awkward or embarrassing situation. This last
point is illustrated in the following story told by Rev. Joseph
Parker and used by him as a wedge to get out of a meeting without
offending the feelings of the other members. It created a
good-natured laugh, and this made the opening that permitted the
reverend gentleman gracefully to retire.
"Now, my dear children," said the good priest, "where shall
we put St. Patrick? Shall we put him where the sapphire
river rolls around the throne of the Almighty? No; we will
not put him there. Shall we put him where the golden light
plays around the golden city? No; we will not put him
there. Shall we put him in a boat sailing over the golden
lake when the angels are calling? No; we will not put him
there." For a fourth time he demanded in a loud voice:
"Where shall we put St. Patrick?" Then at that moment a
peasant called out: "Well then, shure, you can put him
here, for I'm going."
Robert Browning, in a most entertaining letter addressed to Elizabeth
Barrett, under date of April 8, 1846, discoursed on several subjects,
among them being the proposition that repentance must precede
forgiveness, and to illustrate his idea he narrated the following
story, which might be used effectively in a speech:
Some soldiers were talking over a watch fire abroad. One
said that once he was travelling in Scotland and knocked at
a cottage-door. An old woman with one child let him in,
gave him a supper and a bed. Next morning he asked her how
they lived, and she said, the cow, the milk of which he was
drinking, and the kale in the garden, such as he was
eating--were all her "marlien" or sustenance--whereon,
rising to go, he for the fun, "killed the cow and destroyed
the kale"--"the old witch crying out she should certainly
be starved"--then he went his way. "And she was starved, of
course," said a young man; "do you rue it?"--The other
laughed, "Rue aught like that!"--The young man said, "I was
the boy, and that was my mother--now then!"--(pierces him
with his sword). "If you had rued it"--the youth said--"You
should have answered it only to God!"
John P. Curran, at the trial of the Drogheda Defenders, April 23,
1794, told this story, in order to make clear his views regarding the
strength that exists in unity:
Upon this principle acted the dying man whose family had
been disturbed by domestic contentions. Upon his death-bed
he calls his children around him; he orders a bundle of
twigs to be brought; he has them untied; he gives to each
of them a single twig; he orders them to be broken--and it
is done with facility. He next orders the twigs to be
united in a bundle, and orders each of them to try their
strength upon it. They shrink from the task as impossible.
Thus my children, continued the old man, it is union alone
that can render you secure against the attempts of your
enemies, and preserve you in that state of happiness which
I wish you to enjoy.
In the celebrated case of _People vs. Durant,_ tried in San
Francisco, Cal., in the year 1895, the district attorney, William S.
Barnes, as demonstrating the fallacy of direct evidence where the
witness endeavors to "back up" that evidence with circumstances which
existed only in the fancy of the witness, or were "manufactured out
of whole cloth," used this effective illustration:
There is a time-honored story which is commonly used as an
illustration in the trial of cases. It is of a will case,
that contest being over its probate. Counsel asked the
proponent who sealed the will and she said the testator
did. She had provided the material for the sealing, but the
deceased had placed the wax in the candle and had pressed
the seal in her presence. Counsel then turned to the Court
and said: "Your worship, it is a wafer." This is the wafer
in the case.
SUMMARY
Do not the citations given in this chapter show conclusively that
modern and ancient modes of constructing orations are identical, and
that it would be well for all who would attain distinction as
speakers to study the means employed by those who have gone before?
The author replies in the affirmative, and he reiterates his advice
to all students of oratory to study faithfully the productions of the
great orators of all times. In doing this, the student should be
careful not to be a mere copyist; he must not make an echo of
himself, repeating the forms of others, but he should study the
principles underlying the arts of construction and delivery as
employed by the masters who preceded him, and then apply the
principles in his own individual manner. A student who is taught
parrot fashion--that is, by imitation--will never equal his teacher,
because he will lack the one great thing of value in every
art--individuality; but one who is taught by principle, as well as by
example, may far excel his preceptor. Issues and problems change,
orators pass into the realm of shade; but the principles of oratory
continue practically the same through all climes and ages.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] Hamlet, Act III, Scene IV.