From the strong Will, and the Endeavor That forever Wrestles with the tides of Fate; From the wreck of Hopes far-scattered, Floating waste and desolate ; Ever drifting, drifting, drifting Currents of the restless heart; Household words, no more depart. - LONGFELLOW CHAPTER X ORATORICAL DELIVERY AN oration is a composition expressly intended for delivery before an audience, presumably of considerable numbers, and in a place large enough to accommodate such an audience. Many of the greatest masterpieces of eloquence, like Lincoln's "Gettysburg Speech" or Webster's "Bunker Hill Oration," were delivered in the open air to vast multitudes of people. Under such circumstances, it is evident that the speaker's delivery must be very different from that which he would use in conversation, or in an informal address to a few friends. The orator's voice must reach, if possible, to the farthest listener, and time must be given for this, or his words, which sound clear enough near at hand, will become inextricably jumbled on the way. Again, the speaker must articulate with the utmost distinctness, being especially careful that the final sound of each word is spoken clearly and kept separate from the next. Delicate shades of inflection are inaudible under such circumstances, and the orator must rely more upon enlargement and variety of melody than upon slide. Thus the first words of Lincoln's oration, which might in conversational delivery have a form something like this: There is no need for the speaker to shout himself hoarse. If he will speak slowly and distinctly, using a full, resonant voice and varying the pitch as much as possible without departing from the melody of conversation, he will have little trouble in being heard. A moderately high tone carries farther than a low one. Another prevalent fault in oratorical expression is that, in the effort to make himself understood, the speaker, if he does not shout, makes use of some sort of singsong intonation, half speech, half chant. It is undoubtedly the fact that song may be heard at a greater distance than speech, and, under extraordinary circumstances, monotone may be justifiable; but the effect is wearisome in the extreme to the average listener. On the other hand, a bright, animated, and impressive delivery goes far toward rendering even commonplace ideas attractive. Do The best practice for attaining a conversational style in oratory is to read a passage first in the most colloquial manner possible, then enlarging and energizing it, but keeping as near as possible to the colloquial form. this with all the following selections, as well as with some of those previously studied. One of the best studies for the broader forms of oratorical inflection is Brutus's address on the death of Cæsar (p. 46). ORIENT YOURSELF The Germans and French have a beautiful phrase which would enrich any language that should adopt it. They say: "to orient;" or, "to orient one's self." When a traveler arrives at a strange city, or is overtaken by night or by a storm, he takes out his compass and learns which way is the East, or Orient. Forthwith all the cardinal points-east, west, north, south—take their true places in his mind, and he is in no danger of seeking for the sunset or the polestar in the wrong quarter of the heavens. He orients himself. When commanders of armies approach each other for the battle, on which the fate of empires may depend, each learns the localities of the ground,—how best he can intrench his front or cover his flank, how, best he can make a sally or repel an assault. He orients himself. When a statesman revolves some mighty scheme of administrative policy, so vast as to comprehend surrounding nations and later times in its ample scope, he takes an inventory of his resources, he adapts means to ends, he adjusts plans and movements so that one shall not counter-work another, and he marshals the whole series of affairs for producing the grand result. He orients himself. ! Young man open your heart before me for one moment, and let me write upon it these parting words. The gracious God has just called you into being; and, during the few years you have lived, the greatest lesson you have learned is, that you shall never die. All around your body the earth lies open and free, and you can go where you will; all around your spirit the universe lies open and free, and you can go where you will. Orient yourself! ORIENT YOURSELF! Seek frivolous and elusive pleasures if you will; expend your immortal energies upon ignoble and fallacious joys; but know, their end is intellectual imbecility, and the perishing of every good that can ennoble or emparadise the human heart. Obey, if you will, the law of the baser passions, -appetite, pride, selfishness, — but know, they will scourge you into realms where the air is hot with fiery-tongued scorpions, that will sting and torment your soul into unutterable agonies! But study and obey the sublime laws on which the frame of nature was constructed; study and obey the sublimer laws on which the soul of man was formed; and the fullness of the power and the wisdom and the blessedness, with which God has filled and lighted up this resplendent universe, shall all be yours! -HORACE MANN. DUTY OF THE AMERICAN SCHOLAR GENTLEMEN: Thought, which the scholar represents, is life and liberty. There is no intellectual or moral life without liberty. Therefore, as a man must breathe and see before he can study, the scholar must have liberty first of all; and as the American scholar is a man, and has a voice in his own government, so his interest in political affairs must precede all others. He must build his house before he can live in it. He must be a perpetual inspiration of freedom in politics. He must recognize that the intelligent exercise of political rights, which is a privilege in a monarchy, is a duty in a republic. If it clash with his ease, his taste, his study, let it clash, but let him do his duty. The course of events is incessant, but when the good deed is slighted the bad deed is done. SOU. SCH. SPEA.- -8 |