The advocate. [volume] (Charleston, W. Va.) 1901-1913, 1907-04-25
), Bryce thus describes

-
speech ,sssa tir. Bryce thus describes
NIR& Nhlarly .sgoyerasd conntci ess|
the gENNSStatesman,is ai4iost .of ne.
cessitys orator. though fhiafAmi-
nenca AGAR; speaker may be no true
measarA either OF his momsntary
powerS0N OF, his permanent, fame,
TOT Wi$Q0m, courage and tact bear
little dSTQ0t relation to the gift for
speeoAiSRut whether that gift be
presenG$tA greater or in lesser de-
gree, me- character an ideas OF a
Statesmen are best studied through
his oN3 ords. Thia- is particularly
true of}1dncoln. because he was not
what mAE DO called a professional
oratorSsy There have been famous
oratorsS Whose speeches We may
read MkSthe beauty of their Ian
guaXe$s3F for the wealth OF ideas
they mS4scontain. with comparative
~, little Regard to the circumstances
OF StEnGASAnd place that, led to their.
being AA6vered. Lincoln Is not one
OF thesS His speeches need; to be-
studiedSM close relation Ito the oc-s
casionAssNyhich called; them forth.
They AtS;not philosophical lucuhra,
TONS 6rSbrilliant displays OF rhet-
0rfc. hSy are a part OF his life.
they atathe expression OF his con-
vfcti0AHgN Ind derive no small part
ot thelryMeight and dignity from the
fact thtk@they deal with grave and
urgent &4hestions, and express the
spirit 2tH8Which he approached those
QueStton&s Few great men stand ont
So clearfy, revealed by their words.
whether%sSpoken or written, as he
does" aaka 49,, -
But hihcoln had not the marks OF
the orators Of the past, 'exuberance
OF ideaASor Of phrase" "a COM
mand sof appropriate SMILES OF meta
hors, 'astAe gift Of invention and Of
expOsitf0h.' imaginative flights or
outb9ratS9o of passion At to stir and
rouse aAaudience to like passion"
nor hS1the the Ingenuity and sub
tlety" aRcfibed to the lawyer to ZEN
gage the listeners feelings and dis
tract HIS mind from the real merits
of theNissue. What qualities are
they. then, asks Mr.. Bryce, that
make ehis letters and speeches so
memorabte? =. ~.
Here Mr.. Bryce dlgresses to trace
the factors In Lfncoln,S Hfe.-tha cir
cumstanNss and influences which de-
yelopea the man whose creed and
COUNSEL were of his own heart-the
rude and abject poverty" of his
youth. ghis untutorRd years. till man
hood. hiAa uninspiring associates, and
his native instinct toward self-reli-
ance an14the power Of conviction by
which heSc wrought his own educa-
ton ~andshis own manhood; finally,
that great pepsin of the mind, his
humors s4SThat and. his memory for
anecdotes; ARE qualities which Eu-
rope deems distiactively American,
but nosgreat man OF. action In the
lanetaentA, century, even in Ameri,
ca, nQsasssed them in the. same
measnrSHs Seldom has so2s acute "a
power H0B%. observation been found
united toy SO abundant q power. OF
sympathy We contfne to quote.
What ARE the distinctive merits of
these speeches and letters? There Is
less huna1Rfin themftha his reputation
as a hunlOrist would have led us to
expect. Hhey are serious, grave, prac-
tical. WaSfeel that the man does not
care to-, izasy. over the surface .of the
subject, 0e1 to- use it as way Of dis
playing hisScleverness. He is trying
to get right{down to the very founda-
ton OF the,matter+ and tell us what his
real Thoughts about it are. In this re-
spect he sometimes reminds us of Bis
marck's speeches, which, in their
rude. brokens forthdarting way, always
60 straight to their destined aim, al
ways hitsrthe nail on the head. So,
too, In thefs1fort to grappIe with fun
damental facts. Lincolh's bear a sort
| OF likeness to. CromweIl's speeches,
though Cromwell has far less power
or utterance, and always seems to be
wrestling with the difficulty Of finding
| language To convey to others what ia
plain, true and ,;wetghty to himself.
This difficulty makes the great Pro-
tector, though we can usually see what
he Is driving at, frequently confused
ana OBSCURE. Lincoln, however, Is al
| ways clear. Simplicity, directness and
breadth are the notes of his thought.
AptneSs, cl9arness, and again sinfplic-
ity, are the notes of his diction: The
American speakers of his genSTatjon.
like most OF those Of the PRECEDING
generations; but unlike those of that
| earlier generation. to which Alexander
Hamilton, John Adams, Marshall and
Madison belonged, were generally in
1ected by aoTidity. which made them
byWord I'm Europe. Even men. of
brilliant talent, such as Edward Ever;
EFT, were by NO" means free from this
stralnlng after effect by highly colored
phrases and theatrical effects; Suoh
FAULTS have today, virtually vanished
from the United States; largely fro1,
change tH pHblfe' taste, to which per-
maps the e3emple set by Lincoln him
sell may have contributed. In the for
ties and fftfe8t Horid rhetoric was ram
pant, especially In the West and South.
whose taste was less polished than in
the older States. That Lincoln escap-
ell 1t Is a%striking mark of his indie
pendente aa well az of his. greatness.
There is nd tsuperfuous ornament in
ms orationsf nothing tawdry, nothing
otiose. Fog the most part he address.
ses the reasHn, Of his hearers and cred
It's them WIFI deai rinu t1, ha,.A aa4I,.