Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1872-01-04
TrUTTUW TTFTT TTLIIL u IN ~
Lord Brougham ON Public Speak


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The following are the closing passages
of a letter written by Broughem TO the
elder Macauley, and intended as advice
to Thomas Babbington Macauleyi his
son. They are valuable as containing
the views Of their distinguished author
iii .yTSe.Srss po;ss... e Elhiss- -itbn Begin.
ming of the art is to acquire habit Of
easy speaking, and in whatever way this
can be had (which individual inclination
or accident will generally direct, and
may safely be allowed todo sol, u must
be had. Now, | differ from all other
doctors Of rhetoric in this. | say let
him first of all learn y speak easily and
Huentiy, as well and sensibly a. he cap
no doubt; but at any rate let him learn
to speak. This is to eloquence, or good
pubiic speaking, what the being able to
sneak in 4 child is 10 correct grammati-
cal speech. 1t is the requisite founda-
ton, and on it you must build. More
over, it can only be acquired young,
therefore let il by all means and at any
sacrifice be gotten hold, Of forthwith
Bat in ACQUIRING it every sort Of sloven-
ly error will also be acquired. 1t must
be got by habit Of easy writing (Which,
as Wyndham said, proved hard reading)i
by custom of talking much in compa-
ny; by speaking in debating societies,
with little attention to rule, and more
love of saying something at any rate
than of saying anything well. can
even suppose that more attention is paid
10 the matter in such discussions than
TO the manner of saying it; yet still to
say it easily ad Gbitnm, to be able to
say what you choose, and what you have
TO say-this is the first requisite to ac-
quire which everything else must for the
present be sacrificed llo WUAA 'A
The next step is the grand one-to
convert this style of easy speaking into
chaste eloduence. And here there is
but one rule. ! do earnestly entreat
your son to set daily and mighty before
him the Greek models. First of all
he NAV look to the best modern speeches
las he probably. has already; Burke's
best compositions, as the Thoughts on
the Cause OF. the Present Diseontents;.,
speech con the American Conciliation,
and "On the Nabob or Arcots Debt
Fox's Speech on the Westminster Scru-
tiny" (the first part of which he should
pore over till he has 1t by heart); "On
the Russian Armament" and "On the
War" 1908 with one or two of Wynd-
hams hest and very few, or rather
none. Of Sheridan 8; but he piust by. no
means stop here. If he would be
great orator, he must go at once to the
fountain-head, and be familiar with
every one of the great orations of De-
mosthenes. ! take it for granted that he
knows those of Cicero by heart; they are
very beautiful but not very useful, ex
cept, perhaps, the Milo pro Ligarfo, and
one or two more; but the Greek must
positively be the model; and merely
reading il, as Boys do, TO know the lam
guage, won't do at ALL he must enter
into the spirit of each speech, thoroughly
know the position Of the parties, follow
each turn of the argument and make
the absolutely perfect and most chaste
and severe competition familiar to his
mind. His taste will improve every time
he reads aud repeats to, himself for he
should have the 'hne passages by heaft3i
and he will learn how much may be done
lJy a skillful use of few words, and a
rigorous rejection of all superiiulties.
In this view hold familiar knowledge
of Dante 10 be next TO Demosthenesy lt
is-yain TO say that imitatiohs.of these
models won't do for our times. First, l
do not counsel any initiating, but only
an imbibing Of the same spirit. Sec
ondly, | know from experience that moth
ing is half so successful in these times
ibad though they bel as what has been
formed on the Greek models. III use a
very poor Instance in giving my own ex-
perience, but | do assure you that both
in courts of law and parliament, and
even to mobs, have never made
so much play-to use very mod
ern phrase--as when l was almost
translating from the Greek. | composed
the peroration, of my speech, tor the
Queen in the Lords after reading and re-
peating Demosthenes for three or four
weeks, and | composed it twenty times
over at least, and II certainly succeeded
in a very extraordinary degree, and far
above any merit of its own. This leads
me to remark that though speaking with
wiring beforehand is very well until the
habit Of easy speech is Acquired, yet
after that he can never write too much;
this is quite clear. 1t is laborious, no
doubt, and it is more difficult beyond
comparison than speaking off hand but
it is necessary to perfect oratory, and at
any rate is necessary, to acquire The
habit bf correct diction.. Bot l'go fur
ther, and say even to the end of man $
life he must prepare word for word,
most of his finer passages. Now, would
he be a great orator or MOI In other
vOrds would he have almost sbsolute
power of doing good to mankind in a
free country or ne2 So he wills this, he
must follow these rules Believe me,
.rulv vours ''' III. BBOUGHAM.