The Farmville herald. [volume] (Farmville, Va.) 1890-1934, 1905-07-28
TRUEST ELOQUENCE.
Rev. Dr. Talmage Speaks OF
the Gift OF Oratory.
All May he EiOauens In Behalf OF
Christ and His GospeI-A Great
Plea Must Have Great
Theme.

Copyright 1905 by Louis Klopschl
Los ANGELES. Cal. May In this
sermon the preacher while appreciat
ing at their true value the highe,
flights of Oratory and the famous tri
umphs OF great speakers, shows how
even the humblest may be effective IN
the elOQuence OF Christian conyersa
ton and example. The text IS John
vii, 40. "Never man spake Ike this
man"
What Is true oratory7 Mere conjura-
tion. bewitchery, enchantment. mysti
cism. mesmerism or animal magnet
ism. mere transitory magic spell
with which a great public speaker is
able 70 hypnotic an audience for an
evening or for a night alone3 Is il
few poetic garlands made up Of pretty
wax flowers which never grew In a
garden, which never caught the in
censo laden breath Oi the soil which
cannot stand the light OF the day and
which, like the moon flowers, melt
away as soon as the morning sun has
touched their painted checks; Is II
mere galyanic shock which can make
human corpse tremble for a little
while and even lift a hand or shake a
head and yet a current which can new
CT bring the dead body back 10 life?
Is IL a mere magnetic needle which
will momentarily move an iron heart.
as many magnetic needles can make
nails and screws stand upon their
bends for O few seconds and then fall
back cold, mOtionless screws and nails
ne 5000 as their lifting touch is taken
away2 Oh. no; true oratory is more
than that.
True oratory is one Of the most pO-
tent gifts. II not the most potent gift.
with which God has endowed man. II Is
mighty Cor good or mighty FOR evil. II
is q social factor which creates and
rolds and upbuilds or II Is a social
factor which undermines and destroys
and wrecks. II II were possible for
me 70 believe in the doctrine Of the
transmigrauon Of souls then would
believe ia this doctrine In reference
10 oratory. With mere words a skill
ful orator can have his spirit incar-
mated in the minds and the hearts Of
his hearers. With mere words not
only can the true orator compel his
fellow countrymen 20 think as he
thinks but TO DO as he would have
them DO and as he himself wants 70
DO.
The gift Of true OratOry Is second In
power 10 no other human gift An
Overstatement Is thisi I think not
Andrew Fletcher. the great English
dramatist ana poet once said, Il be-
lieve IL a man were permitted 70 make
all the ballads Of country he need
not care who should make its laws"
A true orator has all the power Of
the sweet singer Of the fields. He has
more than that. In his own realm he
has the power Of personal touch. He
has the influence Of the flashing eye,
Of the Quivering lip, Of the power which
comes from soul on fire, which reach
es forth and as q whirlwind drives op-
position before him or consumes them
as In a mighty connagratiOn. If the
pen be mightier than the sword, then
the orators scepter Is greater than
that Of tho warriors or the writer's.
The Demosthenean tongue compelled
mems ears 10 hear what his pen could
not compel his auditors eyes TO read.
Great Is the eloquent tongue of silver
speech
Great II not the greatest Of all gifts
With which COD has endowed man Is
ofatory. Who but one like Henry
Ward BeecheF could have conquered
England during the dark days Of 1867
Then the British factories had their
cotton supply cut of by northern ships
blockadihg the southern ports. British |
capitalists We're calling out The
American war must stop OF British !
employees must starve and the British
merchants will have no goods % sell"
Not only that but the peerage or the |
landowners almost 10 man hated our
republican form Of government They |
believed the American congress was a
perpetual menace to British interests.
Beecher accomplished With his tongue |
what an invading army Of 10000 |
men could not have accomplished with
bayOnets. Alone he faced audience aft
or audience. bitter IN their hatred to
ward him and his people. He faced
enemias. He left friends. He faced
bis country's censors. He left behind
bin his country's applauders. Henry
Ward Beecher won this victory for his
country by the tongue and the tongue
alone.
Great is the power Of oratory and
eratorsl But ~ u Is great III the pres
ent age how much greater must It
have bosn In the times Of the ancients.
Then the modern printing press bad
not vet been born, and the human mind
co0ld only appeal 10 tbs human mind
through the influence Of the human
tongue HUT. though the generations
preceding Christ sat at the feet Of
some OF tho greatest orators who over
lived though Pericles and Lysias and
Lycurgus aud Eschines had won their
tFiumphs In old Athens,
.hough the mighty Roman orators bad
lived aud. hhe Marcus Tullius Cicero,
had hurled their verbal thundcrboits.
got when Jesus began to speak every
,ne OF his auditors intuitively felt that
, new power Of oratory had been born.
The words of my text prove it With
)ne accord ChPists hearers said,
'Never maH spake like this man"
Why 10 gospel oyatory the subllmest
form Of oratory7 Why does gospel
cuns.oh ,frav o., r,,.. -. -. .....-- |