The Osceola times. [volume] (Osceola, Ark.) 1870-current, 1888-07-21
ORATORiCAl lAUR6lS,
Ingersoii's Advice to Young Men Who
May BE In Search of Them.

Ingersoil's Advice to Young Men Who
May BE In Search of Them.
II a young man imagines that ha has
an aptitude for public speaking-that
is, If he has great desire to make his
ideas known to the world-the proba-
bility is that the desire will choose the
way, time and place for him to make
the effort. II he really has something
to say there will be plenty to listen. If
he is SO carried away with his subject,
is so in earnest that he becomes an in
strumentality of his thought-so that he
is forgotten by himself; so that he cares
neither for applause nor censure sim
ply caring to present his thoughts in
the highest and best and most compre-
hensive way, the probability is that he
will be an orator. Otherwise, no.
/ think oratory is something that can
not be taught. Undoubtedly man can
learn to be fair talker. He can, by
practice, learn to present his ideas con-
secutively. clearly and in what you may
call "form;n but there is as much diff.
ference between this and an Grafton az
there is between skeleton and living
human being clad in sensitive, throb-
bling flesh.
There are millions Of skeleton-makers,
millions OF people who can express
what may be called "the bones" of
discourse, but not one in million who
can clothe these bones.
You can no more teach man to be
an orator than you can teach him to be
an artist or a poet OF the first class
When you teach him there is the same
difference between the man who is
taught and the man who is what he is
by virtue OF natural aptitude that
there is between a pump and spring
between a canal and river-between
April rain and water-works. 1t is a
question OF capacity and feeling-not
Of edit cation.
There are some things that you can
tell an orator not TO do. For instance.
he should never drink water while
talking, because the interest is broken,
and for the moment he loses control OF
his audience. He should never look at
his watch, for the same reason. He
should never talk about himself. He
should never deal in personalities. He
should never tell long stories, and II he
tells any story he should never say that
it is true story and that he knew the
parties. This makes it question OF
veracity instead OF question OF art.
He should never clog his discourse with
details. He should never dwell upon
particulars-he should touch univer-
sails, because the great truths are for all
time.
II he wants to know something, IL he
wishes TO feel something, let him read
Shakespeare Let him listen TO the
music of Wagner, OF Beethoven, or
Schubert. II he wishes to express him
self in the highest and most perfect
form, let him become familiar with the
great paintings of the world-with the
great statues-all these will lend grace,
will give movement and passion and
rhythm to his words.
A great orator puts into his speech
the perfume, the feeling, the intensity
of all the great and beautiful and
marvellous things that be has seen and
heard and felt. An orator must be a
poet. a metaphysician, logician-and,
above all, must have sympathy with all.
Robert g. IngersoH, in Chicago Inter-
Ocean.