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CHAPTER XII

ORATORY.

Definition-Sir John Eliot-Lord Chatham-Dr. Johnson's Version of Pitt's Reply to Walpole-On the Taxation of the American Colonies -Lord Chatham's Last Speech-Character of his Oratory-Edmund Burke-On the Taxation of the American Colonies-The Trial of Warren Hastings-Sheridan's Speech on the Begum Charge-Charles James Fox-On the East India Bill-On the Rejection of Bonaparte's Overtures-William Pitt the Younger-George Canning— Lord Brougham-American Oratory-Patrick Henry-Daniel Webster-The Constitution and the Union-Clay and Calhoun-Everett's Orations-Webster on Eloquence.

ORATORY has been very aptly defined as the art of speaking well, with the primary object to persuade. Thus defined, there are three kinds of oratory, that of the public assembly, that of the bar, and that of the pulpit. The latter, having to deal principally with questions of theology and religion, will be considered separately. Between the two former there is an intimate connection,-most of the speakers who have excelled in the one being also noted for their success in the other. The chief difference lies merely in this, that while one is based mainly upon legal maxims and principles and the supposed interests of a client, the other is usually the result of the speaker's honest convictions of right and wrong, and deals with the interests of a whole class of individuals, often with those of the entire nation.

The literature of every enlightened nation has been graced with many masterly performances in this field. The most famous orators of ancient times-if not, indeed, of all time-were Demosthenes in Greece and Cicero in Rome. In modern times no literature can boast of a

longer or more honorable roll of names in this department than can our own. We must believe, however, that very many of the greatest speeches ever produced, having been written for a temporary purpose only, and then laid aside and forgotten, have never been incorporated in our literature. Such, doubtless, were many of the public addresses and pleas of Lord Bacon and of the eminent lawyer, Sir Edmund Coke. Our study of examples in this department must begin with the seventeenth century, and the period which witnessed the struggles of the Puritans against the arbitrary encroachments of royalty.

Most prominent among the statesmen who resisted the despotic demands of Charles I. and his violations of the rights of Englishmen we find the names of John Hampden and Sir John Eliot. Through the influence of these men, Parliament, early in 1628, drew up and presented to the king a "Petition of Right," which, from the nature of its provisions, is usually referred to as the second Great Charter of the liberties of England. It was merely a reaffirmation of the articles in the Magna Charta, providing that no tax should be levied without the consent of Parliament, that no man should be imprisoned without. due process of law, and that soldiers should not be quartered upon the people in time of peace. The petition. having been returned to the House of Commons without the king's signature or assent, Sir John Eliot delivered a speech in its defense, which, considering the time, may be regarded as one of the most remarkable examples of oratory in our language. "There is in this speech," says Goodrich, "a union of dignity and fervor which is highly characteristic of the man. His whole soul is occupied with the subject. He seizes upon the strong points of his case with such absorbing interest that all those secondary and collateral trains of thought 'with which a speaker like Burke amplifies and adorns the discussion' are rejected as unworthy of the stern severity of the occasion. The eloquence lies wholly in the thought; and the entire bareness of the

expression, the absence of all ornament, adds to the effect, because there is nothing interposed to break the force of the blow. The antique air of the style heightens the interest of the speech, and will recommend it particularly to those who have learned to relish the varied construction and racy English of our early writers." In the beginning of his speech he sums up the dangers which threaten the peace and prosperity of England:

Not so much the potency of our enemies as the weakness of ourselves doth threaten us. Our want of true devotion to heaven —our insincerity and doubting in religion—our want of councils— our precipitate actions-the insufficiency or unfaithfulness of our generals abroad-the ignorance or corruption of our ministers at home the impoverishing of the sovereign-the oppression and depression of the subject-the exhausting of our treasures-the waste of our provisions-consumption of our ships-destruction of our men-these make the advantage of our enemies, not the reputation of their arms; and if in these there be no reformation, we need no foes abroad: Time itself will ruin us.

After discussing, in detail, each of these dangerous elements, the orator concludes:

These, Mr. Speaker, are our dangers, these are they who do threaten us; and these are, like the Trojan horse, brought in cunningly to surprise us. In these do lurk the strongest of our enemies, ready to issue on us; and if we do not speedily expel them, these are the sigus, these the invitations to others! These will so prepare their entrance, that we shall have no means left of refuge or defense; for if we have these enemies at home, how can we strive with those that are abroad? If we be free from these, no other can impeach us. Our ancient English virtue (like the old Spartan valor), cleared from these disorders-our being in sincerity of religion and once made friends with heaven; having maturity of councils, sufficiency of generals, incorruption of officers, opulency in the king, liberty in the people, repletion in treasure, plenty of provisions, reparation of ships, preservation of men— our ancient English virtue, I say, thus rectified, will secure us; and unless there be a speedy reformation in these, I know not

what hopes or expectations we can have..

And therefore I wish it may so stand with the wisdom and judgment of this House, that these things may be drawn into the body of a REMON STRANCE, and in all humility expressed, with a prayer to his Majesty that, for the safety of himself, for the safety of the kingdom, and for the safety of religion, he will be pleased to give us time to make perfect inquisition thereof, or to take them into his own wisdom, and there give them such timely reformation as the necessity and justice of the case doth import.

And thus, sir, with a large affection and loyalty to his Majesty, and with a firm duty and service to my country, I have suddenly (and it may be with some disorder) expressed the weak apprehensions I have; wherein if I have erred, I humbly crave your pardon, and so submit myself to the censure of the House.

The eighteenth century in England was especially prolific in great orators. Prominent among these, and excelling all others in the boldness of his speech and the vigor of his eloquence, was William Pitt, the first earl of Chatham. This eminent statesman was noted while yet a boy at school for his devotion to the classics, and for his easy and animated conversation. While at college, he applied himself to a severe course of training in rhetoric and oratory, and to this fact, no doubt, much of his success as a great public speaker may be attributed. He took Demosthenes as his model, and, as a means of acquiring an easy and forcible style, he translated most of the works of that orator again and again into English. In this he was but imitating the practice of Cicero. As his English model, he chose Dr. Isaac Barrow, whose sermons he read and re-read until he had committed them to memory, and to whom in later life he frequently alluded as the most eloquent of all speakers, ancient or modern. To secure a copiousness of diction and a readiness in the choice of words, he read Bailey's folio dictionary twice through, "examining each word attentively, dwelling on its peculiar import and modes of construction, and thus endeavoring to bring the whole range of our language completely

under his control." Becoming a member of Parliament at the age of twenty-six, it was not long until he had made himself one of the most prominent speakers in the House of Commons, and the leader of the opposition under the Prince of Wales. In 1741, in the debate upon a bill for registering seamen, Horatio Walpole took occasion to taunt him with his youth* and inexperience, and charged him. with "petulancy of invective," "pompous diction," and "theatrical emotion." The reply which Mr. Pitt made to this attack was remarkable for the bitterness of its irony and the keenness of its satire. The substance of this speech was reported to Dr. Johnson, who reproduced it in his own words and in the pompous, sententious style which characterized all his writings. The following, so far as the diction is concerned, is Dr. Johnson's speech, although the sentiments are Mr. Pitt's. It is usually known as Lord Chatham's famous Reply to Walpole:

SIR: The atrocious crime of being a young man, which the honorable gentleman has, with such spirit and decency, charged upon me, I shall neither attempt to palliate nor deny, but content myself with wishing that I may be one of those whose follies may cease with their youth, and not of that number who are ignorant in spite of experience. Whether youth can be imputed to any man as a reproach, I will not, sir, assume the province of determining; but surely age may become justly contemptible if the opportunities which it brings have passed away without improvement, and vice appears to prevail when the passions have subsided. The wretch who, after having seen the consequences of a thousand errors, continues still to blunder, and whose age has only added obstinacy to stupidity, is surely the object of either abhorrence or contempt, and deserves not that his gray hairs should secure him from insult. Much more, sir, is he to be abhorred, who, as he has advanced in age, has receded from virtue, and becomes more wicked with less temptation; who prostitutes himself for money which he cannot enjoy, and spends the remains of his life in the ruin of his country. But youth, sir, is not my only crime; I have

He was then thirty-two years of age.

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