San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1889-08-30
ORATORY AS A FINE ART.
ELABORATE TRAINING OF A SPEAKER
IN THE OLDeN TIME.
Long windednsss Cultivated as Fine Art.
The Decline Due to the Diffusion Of Cheap
Literature--Good Speaking as Importans
Now as Ever.

fully prepared, with conscientious mi
nuteness of detail. for the great business
Of life, the making of speeches. In his
system of education the development of
the voice naturally held a large place,
and the phonascus, or voice driller, was
an indispensable accessory, not only Of
every school of eratory, but of many
formed orators. OF the methods of the
phonascus we know little, but we find
hints in some of the classical writers that,
like certain of his professional brethren
in more recent days, he was not disin-
oAned to magnify his Office. Seneca, in
one of his letters, warns his friend
against living, vocally speaking, in sub
lection to his phonascus, and implies
that he might as we'll keep another artist
to superintend his walking. In our own
day the phonascus still survives in pub
lie life, though perhaps more as lux
ury than an acknowledged necessity.
SIX HOUR SPEECHES.
A celebrated novelist, dramatic author
and orator, who passed over to the great
majority many years ago, used always
to put himself under the guidance of a
vocal mentor before delivering speech.
Every tone, every pose and every ges-
ture was carefully prepared and indus
triously practiced, under the direction
of Mr.. Frederick Webster, brother of
the celebrated comedian, Benjamin Web
ster. That the elaborate training of the
ancients was eminently successful is
shown by the powers Of endurance
which it is clear they must have pos
sessed. They habitually spoke for five
or six hours, and even longer, and, in
order to appreciate their staying power,
it must be remembered that they spoke
in the open air, amid all the tumult of
the forum, which was capable of hold
ing $4,000 people, and with an amount
of vigor of action of which the gesticu-
lations of an Italian preacher are but a
pale reflex.
Longwindedness was at one time cul-
tivated as fine art by Roman orators,
when they had to plead before a judge
whom they supposed to be in favor of
the other side. These prototypes of our
modern Obstructionists were APPLY termed
mOratores, or delayers, because they
postponed as far as possible the passing
of the sentence. The abuse finally
reached such height that a law had to
be passed limiting the length of plead
ings in public cases to the running out
of one clepsydra. 1t is impossible to say
exactly what period of time this was
equivalent to, as the water clocks of the
Romans were Of different sizes, and the
rapidity of flow must have varied under
different circumstances; from twenty
minutes to half an hour may, however,
be taken as roughly representing the
average length Of speech under this
strict system of "clOsure."
PRESENT NEED OF TRAINING.
If the Romans carried the culture of
the speaking voice to pedantic extreme,
we, on the other hand, undoubtedly neg
lect it too much. 1t is not that we speak
less, but that we have less appreciation
than the ancients had of oratory as
fine art, and we are therefore more toll
Grant of mumbling utterances and SLOW
emily delivery. Many an inarticulate
speaker, who in these days huns and
haws through an hour or two of drearv
platitudes, would have been hooted down
in five minutes by Greek or Roman au.
dience
The comparative decay of orators in
modern times is due to the diffusion of
cheap literature: the function of the
public speaker has been to a great extent
made obsolete by the daily newspapers.
Information and arguments on political
matters, which had formerly to be sup
piled by word Of mouth from the ros-
trums, are now served up, spiced to each
readers taste. by innumerable liable
editors"
But though the necessity for what l
may call professional orators no longer
exists, large part of the business of the
state in free country must still be car
ried on or controlled by talk, and the
living voice must always have power
of stirring and swaying popular senti-
ment-the collective feeling of large
masses of men, which is something more
than the sum of their individual feelings
far beyond the reach of the pen.
John Bright's exquisite purity of style
would have made him most effective
writer, but would his great speeches, if
cut up into leading articles, have stirred
the national heart as did his burning
words, thrown red hot among a living
mass of enthusiastic hearers?
On the whole, think we use the voice
in public even more than the ancients,
md tbara iS tbnrafora oil Tho mona ,oo