National Republican., 1873-02-11
ORATORS AND ORATORY.
DANIEL puuuHtRr on rHt Ros1aum,

h"h6 NV" FNNttt VI
cnt NatIous-Thc Puirit-Thc Porun,-
The Days Of Orntory Pns-cd-Thc Power
OF the Press
Lincoln hall was 1lled last evening with most
appreclatlye and delighted audience Daniel
DOughcrty, hlmselfa great orator, won additional
and brighter fame, and the mere announce
mcnt Of his name here again will attract marked
attention. We give below a brief synopsis Of
hlI truly eloquent aud instructive lecture:
uIs PURPOSE.
purpose, ladies' and gentlemen, TO give ex.
preston TO some thoughts on oratory. Ny time,
while sufficiently long to test indulgence, Is too
limited to permit more than Passing illusions 10
d few striking points.
am Tar irOm regarding the OmtUr ~ the high
est or most useful type " genius; yet genius can
assume no shape more fascinating to the general
taste than the orator, who, by the simple yet
sublime power Of the human voice, can mold an
audience To hts purpose, touching them with
sympathy for the Innocent Inspiring them with
patriotism, the love Of virtue, or the fear Of uod
rOusing them to anger against the wrOng-dOeT
the nations enemies, the traitor or the tyrant
or nCrving them to adhere to truth, conscience,
country or creed. lie who possesses this rare
gilt, u he does not abuse II, may win enduring
fame.
NOnamcs shine In history with purcr radiance,
nor stir the students heart with lOftier asplra.
tlous, than the ilustriou' orators OF ancient and
modern times.
Tug DgfiSIrION o. An ORATOR.
An orator may he defined as one who IN q pub
lie speech eau persuade an audience to Immediate
action. There are some who regard the thinker
the orator; with them language and manner are
Ut little moment, that thert runs through the
discourse clear stream Of thought appropriate
10 the subject. Others look on the speaker as
perfect whose quiet and conversational tones
embOdy purity Ut lictun, simplicity Of style, aud
fore Of Illustration. Many prefer the debater,
ready on the moment 10 re'utc the arguments Ot
his opponents, and confUund them with the sub.
tlcty Of hl' rcaSonlng. SIN others choose the
scholar who IN the silence Of the study has care
FULLY written every sentence, and rectes u as the
school hoy repeats his lesson, Once AMI again
there are thousands whose iiul Il the decaliner
nucnt In 1pwcry sentences.
NOT TnEsE.
With becoming dlftidence venture TO assert
that none Of these are orators. II these he ora.
tors the land swarnls with them. Every pulpit,
| forum aud rOstTum have their share. Yct there
are now "a In all the past few orators. England,
with all her intellect, has had only four, and In
| the United states, where good speakers abound,
tue names OF our orators may be counted on ones
| fingers,
| An orator, AMI Of course | mean master, one
who has the magnetic power 10 seize the feel.
ings AMI control the actions, Il he who has rare
combination Of intellectual gifts, mind 10 con.
cciye aud shape, the heart 10 feel aud the tongue
| to fire an audience. II II he stated that cumpar.
atlNcly fewnUrtalS ever had these combined gifts,
! then II makes good what have said. History
/ tells OF many distinguished IN most phases Oi
intellectual life, yet passing strange It Is that ~
! lew pre-enlnenuy excel In the faculty OF speech
which Is common 10 all mankind.
| Every speech, the aim OF which Is to persuade,
must be built on the solid basis Of common sense,
reason, an enlightened understanding AMI i
| thorough knowledge Of the subject.
TiiE ORATOR \ SCHOLAR,
! The orator ought to be, as he really was In the
| days Uf Greece and Rome, an accomplished
scholar. The higher the order Of his Intellect
the wider his range Of knowledge; the ,ieepci
his insight into human nature the more perfect
his capacity TO persuade. let u he were :
thorough master OF learning; II his style wer,
pure as Aldison's aud hts thoughts as grand a.
BacOns, these combined would not make him al
orator, II Is In what Is called pronunciation
the delivery OF the discourse, that the real char
acterlstics Of the orator appear. Herein lies thj
difference between the orator and the cssaylst
The orator must have an ardent nature. WIN
this he enkndlts IN the hearts Of his hearers tht
| irp that burns In his own.
OTuEU DEFINITIONS.
! ,NOn Will remember that Dcmosthcnes deClaret
the three requisites Of All orator To lie "aCtiOn
action, action" prefer Bnlwer's lnterpreta
tlon, acting, acting acting" Cicero eNpfessct
the same opinion when he said: "rhcse, then
are the two points chlcny to be regarded by us
in the pleading--1rst what; secondly, how W,
are TO speak, Further quotations were mAdI
from Ciccro.l
snAEsrElREs FLAWS.
Take play OF shakespeare, read II iu tht
quletude OF the study. You may fathOn til,
depth Of the authors meaning; you will IL
charmed with tho exquisite conceptions O
human character and enjoy the feast spread Ot
RlOIlOuh page. DUt NlHlt tne tHchlFc, see INT
consummate actor, you forget yourself undu
the spell; you love or hate the character hefOr,
you; your eyes water or your heart 1res; your In
most soul iS stlrrch by the passion depicted
Thus the actor holds you In the grasp OF hi
genius until the curtain falls. This IL akin q
the ruling charm Of the orator.
| ITS TOWER.
This was the power that the Macedonian
! Philip feared more than the Athenlnn arms
This It was that saved Rome from Cataline con
spirators and won for Cicero the title OF III,
I thaF RT liza Nl.N ...
maedlcval ChristendOm anil made the swords Of
million knights flash In the sun as they rode I;
the rescue Of the Holy Scpuchre. II was THU
that thrilled all England IN tue trumpet tones .
Chatham; that In France made Mirabeau NOR
than monarch; that wrang the alarm bell o.
our revolution In the vehement voice Of Patricl
| Henry, the fOrest-bOrn DemOsthenes.
one must be born an orator. An orator mus
possess depth OF feeling. Brinsley sheridan
Ike Demosthenes, failed IN his first Efforts. Eacl
had the divine fccling-thc inward glow SAID
sheridan 10 WOOdfall, at Is In me, amt b,
Heaven, III have II out"
REASON.
The conquest Of the orator must he immediate
or not al a u Is not the reason alone that II Il
he addressed. II Is something more potent thar
reason. IL Is the passions. How often verdict,
are won In despite Of facts, law and OathH. II |,
because even In the solemn surrOunling4 of the
court the feelings are more acute than tAe judg
ment-the heart Is mghtler than the head. WIN
can resist the tears Of true woman, or fail Il
| feel his heart yielding when n child In SORROW
pleads TO him. Here Is natural Uratnry. Yet uuI
Judges are governed 10y precedent, logic and law
! Mr. DOughefty gave many other eloquent den.
| nltiOns aud continued:
1t Is the glory Of Oratory that It's most IIustriuu,
Interpreters have ever spoken the sentiments Of
their souls and unawed by power could neither
be bribcd by kings nor terrified by mObs to he.
| tray their convictions, tltOir country or theiI
Cod.
not rRENEUIIATEp.
ul., suppose, the almost universal opinion
that the ablest efforts OF orators have been writ.
ten beforehand and committed to memory.
take issue with this belief. 1t msy he that the
lest speeches we read were written, but ven.
ture TO say that the grandest efforts have unless
| taken In shorthand, never been preserved
wEBsTKRs REILLY TO uAYSE.
! MI. Curtis, In his recent life OF Webster, rs.
| framed from a few notes. Pitt declared that he
would rather have had preserved one speech OF
Bollngbr0ke than the lost treasures Of the an
clent world.
Is master Gf his time, and Tan model and re-
model, and only give i to the publisher wlien
he regards II as perfect. Not so with the
speaker. There may be time 10 prepare, but not
70 elaborate and beautify. 4 lecture may be de
| livered twenty times before as many different
audiences. \ genuine speech Is intended for
one audience and one occasion.
ORATORS OF DIFFERENT SArIu,s.
| lhe orators OF Greece and Rome used fur more
action than the nlOderns, proving the stress laid
on delivery Cicero, after great speech, was
people, the more susceptible are they to the In
iuenccs Of elOquence. The Latin race, who are
more sensltlfei have produced greater orators
than tie TeutOnlC. The temperament OF
nation IL moulded ly tie important events Of It's
history. The English people have naturally
changed m some Of their charaCteristlcs daring
the last three generations. The uianneT Of
speech prevalent now IN Parliament sets Vt
naught all ideas Of OratOTy.
Here followed limitations Of Mr. DlsraeII, Mr.
Bright, Lord Stanley, Lord CAlrls, Mr.. Lowe,
Mr. Coolidge aul Marl Hunt, given with the
finest eject
InE ruITIT.
The widest field for OratUTy u the pulpit
There everything combines to aid the orator and
wing his genius for Its nercest lights. lie has
ample time for preparation; he Is sure Of large
audience, which Il as necessary 10 the orator as
the Iron track ~ the locomotive; he can choose
his own theme; he Is secure against Interrupt
tiOn. The purity Of the man, the dignity Of the
calling, the sOlemnity Of the subject lend their
powerful aid; anl then the aim Of the discourse,
the most sublime that can interest u1Ortals, the
winning OF souls from sin and Satan TO tile
eternal beatltude OF Heaven and COmpanOnship
with God. Yet, strange as II may seem, II u
rare to hear
An ORATOR N TIE TULrIT.
There are more reasons than one for this,
Most cleTgymen wfitt their s0TmOns, and with
the manuscript before them rgad II on to their
congregations ! declare II Is simply lmpOssi-
bile In reading discourse To exhibit OTatdTs,
There has grown up Of late q class Of preachers
who may be
CALLED SENSATIONAL.