Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-10-05


completeness of his equipment. He pos
sessed the two things that are absolute
ly essential to effective speaking, name
~, information and earnestness III one
can be called eloquent who knows what
he is talking about and means what ne
says-and I know of no better dernition-
Lincoln's speeches were eloquent He was
thoroughly informed upon the supJect.
he was prepared to meet his opponent
upon the general proposition discussed
and upon any deductions which could be
drawn from il. There was no unexplored
field into which his adversary could lead
him He had carefully examined every
foot of the ground and was not AFRAID
of pitfali or ambush. and, what was
equally important. he spoke from his
own heart to the hearts of those who
listened.
While the printed page cannot fully re-
produce the impressions made by voice
trembling with emotion or tender with
pathos, one cannot read the reports OF the
debates without feeling that Lincoln re-
garded the subject as far transcending
the ambitions OF the personal interests OF
the debaters IT was OF little moment.
he said, whether they voted him or Judge
Douglas up or down, but it was tremen-
dously important that the question should
be decided rightly. His reputation may
have suffered in the opinion of some. be-
cause he, made them think so deeply upon
what he said that they. for the moment.
forgot him altogether, and yet, Is this not
the very perfection Of speechf Ii Is the
purpose Of the orator to persuade, and 10
do this he presents not himsef. but MS
subjects Some one in describing the dill
ference between Demosthenes and Cicero
said that when Cicero spoke. people said:
How we'll Cicero speaks: but when De-
mosthenes spoke, they said, Let US go
against Philip" In proportion as one
can forget himself and become wholly alb
sorbed in the cause which he is present
ing does he measure up to the require
ments of oratory.
In addition to the two essentials. Lin
coin possessed what may be called the
secondary aids to oratory. He was a
master of statement Few have eduaied
him in the ability to strip a truth of sur
plus verbiage and present it in its naked
strength In the Declaration OF INDIE
pendence we read that there are certain
self-evident truths. which are therein
enumerated II / were going to amend
the proposition would say that all truth
is self-evident Not that any truth VIII
be universally accepted. for not all are In
q position or in an attitude to accept any
given truth. In the Interpretation OF the
s'the cares Of this world and the deceitful-
ness of riches choke the TRUTH" and 1t
must be acknowledged that every truth
has these or other difficulties to contend
with But a truth may be so clearly stat
ed that 1t will commend itself to any one
who has not some special reason Tor re-
jecting 1t.
No one has more clearly stated the
fundamental objections to slavery than
Lincoln stated them, and he had a great
advantage over his opponent in being
Able to state those objections frankly.
for Judge Douglas neither denounced nor
defended slavery as an institution-his
plan embodied a compromise, and ne
could not discuss slavery upon It's merits
without alternating either the siaveowner
or the abolitionist.
Rrevity is the soul OF wit, and a part
of Lincoln's reputation for wit Hes in
his ability to condense great deal into
a few words. He was epigrammatic. A
molder of thought IL not necessarily an
originator Of the thought nodded. Just
as lead nodded into the form OF bullets
has its effectiveness increased, SO Thought
may have its propagating power enor-
mously increased by being molded into a
form that the eye catches and the MEM
ory holds Lincoln was the spokesman
of his party--he gave felicitous express
sion to the thoughts Of his followers.
4.
4 4
His Gettysburg speech is not surpass-
ed, if equaled. in beauty, simplicity.
force and appropriateness by any speech
of the same length Of any language. II
is the worlds model In eloquence. ele-
gance and condensation. He might safe
ly rest his reputation as An orator on
that speech alone.
He was apt in illustration-no one more
so. A simple story or smile drawn from
everyday life flashed before his hearers
the argument that he wanted to present.
He did not speak over the heads of his
hearers, and yet his language was never
commonplace. There is strength in
simplicity. and Iincoln's style was SIM
plicity itself.
He understood the power of the inter-
rogatory, for some of his most powerful
arguments were condensed into questions.