holiday a year and once in seven years three months-all that his thought and teaching may be oxygenated and the fresh air of Christianity fill the souls of his people.'

991

2. Elocution. A public speaker must have a thorough practical knowledge of the art of elocution. The voice, face, arms, and body should be trained to respond with ease and accuracy. The voice and delivery can be highly developed even where the natural conditions seem unpromising. The great orators of the world have been untiring workers in this art. Demosthenes and Cicero subjected themselves for years to a rigorous course of vocal training. Chatham disciplined himself before a looking-glass. Curran, who stuttered in his speech, through diligent practise became one of the most eloquent forensic advocates the world has ever seen. Henry Clay, from young manhood, read and spoke daily upon the contents of some historical or scientific book. "These off-hand efforts," he says, "were made sometimes in a cornfield, at others in the forest, and not unfrequently in some distant barn, with the horse and ox for my auditors. It is to this early practise in the great art of all arts that I am indebted for the primary and leading impulses that stimulated me forward, and shaped and molded my entire subsequent destiny."

Beecher tells of having been drilled incessantly for three years in posturing, gesture, and voice-culture. He was accustomed to practise in the open air, exploding all the vowels throughout the various pitches; and to this drill he attributes his possession of a flexible instrument that accommodated itself readily to all kinds of thought and feeling.'

1 Ian Maclaren, The Cure of Souls, p. 281.

2 Henry Ward Beecher, Yale Lectures on Preaching, p. 135.

3. Appearance. An attractive personal appearance is of undoubted advantage to a speaker, as even the first impression made by him may determine his subsequent success or failure. Prejudices and preferences are formed by an audience quickly and unconsciously. The speaker who wishes to make the best impression, therefore, should make the most of himself. His clothes should be plain and in good style. Flashy jewelry should not be worn. He should remember that immaculate linen and scrupulous care of the nails, teeth and hair, are unmistakable signs of culture and refinement.

MENTAL

1. General Knowledge. An ideal orator is necessarily a man of extensive knowledge. According to the ancients he should be well-grounded in religion, law, philosophy, history, logic, and numerous other subjects. Cicero, in speaking of the incredible magnitude and difficulty of the art as a reason for the scarcity of orators, says: "A knowledge of a vast number of things is necessary, without which volubility of words is empty and ridiculous; speech itself is to be formed, not merely by choice, but by careful construction of words; and all the emotions of the mind, which nature has given to man, must be intimately known; for all the force and art of speaking must be employed in allaying or exciting the feelings of those who listen. To this must be added a certain portion of grace and wit, learning worthy of a well-bred man, and quickness and brevity in replying as well as attacking, accompanied with a refined decorum and urbanity. Besides, the whole of antiquity and a multitude of examples are to be kept in the memory;

nor is the knowledge of laws in general, or of the civil law in particular, to be neglected.

Modern writers on this subject, however, do not demand so much of an orator. Bautain says: "The orator's capital is that sum of science or knowledge which is necessary to him in order to speak pertinently upon any subject whatever; and science or knowledge is not extemporized. Altho knowledge does not give the talent for speaking, still he who knows well what he has to say, has many chances of saying it well, especially if he has a clear and distinct conception of it."

2. Memory. An orator should have a good memory. If naturally defective, it can be greatly improved by judicious exercise. There are numerous systems for training the memory, but only a few suggestions can be offered here.

Correct methods of study and observation will produce a good memory. The habit of careful selection should be cultivated, as only a limited amount of new material can be assimilated at one time. To read large amounts of matter one does not care to remember is harmful to the memory. The aim should always be to secure distinct images and ideas. There should be a deep interest in what is read. Committing to memory lines of prose and poetry will do much to strengthen a weak memory.

3. Rhetoric. An orator must have a thorough and practical knowledge of rhetoric. Cicero says that writing is the best and most excellent modeler and teacher of oratory. "For," says he, "if what is meditated and considered easily surpasses sudden and extemporary speech, a constant

1 Cicero, On Oratory and Orators.

and diligent habit of writing will surely be of more effect than meditation and consideration itself; since all the arguments relating to the subject on which we write, whether they are suggested by art, or by a certain power of genius and understanding, will present themselves, and occur to us, while we examine and contemplate it in the full light of our intellect; and all thoughts and words, which are the most expressive of their kind, must of necessity come under and submit to the keenness of our judgment while writing; and a fair arrangement and collocation of the words is effected by writing in a certain rhythm and measure, not poetical, but oratorical."

Doctor Channing, in suggesting the use of the pen, says: "We doubt whether a man ever brings his faculties to bear with their whole force on a subject until he writes upon it.. . By attempting to seize his thoughts, and fix them in an enduring form, he finds them vague and unsatisfactory, to a degree which he did not suspect, and toils for a precision and harmony of views, of which he never before felt the need."

One should aim to acquire a wide vocabulary. There is intrinsic pleasure in the study of words and their finer shades of meaning. The consciousness of a thorough mastery of language, too, gives confidence to the speaker, while adding force and accuracy to his utterance. Webster's masterly style is due in large measure to his daily habit of studying the dictionary. For rhetorical and oratorical improvement, one should read and closely analyze the writings of the best authors, then endeavor to write out in one's own words what has been read. Reading aloud every day passages from the masters of oratory will gradually cultivate an oratorical style.

4. Originality. The development of originality does not preclude one from studying the language and thoughts of others. What is read, however, must be sifted through a man's own mental processes before he can truthfully call it his own. Lowell says: "That thought is his who at the last expresses it the best."

The test of originality is whether the thoughts we receive from others are uttered again unchanged, or are assimilated, changed, and amplified in the process. Professor Esenwein suggests as some of the sources of originality:

1. Original minds are observers of nature. About us everywhere are thousands of facts and things waiting to be observed.

2. Original minds have learned to think consecutively. This is simply the ability to think and reflect systematically.

3. Original minds cherish the companionship of great thoughts. In a few great books one will find the epochmaking thoughts of all ages and a close contact with them will fertilize and animate his own mind.

4. Original minds dare to be themselves. Despite the martyrdom, the loss of popularity, or temporary sacrifice, a man must be willing to stand upon his own feet.

An orator must necessarily gather his thoughts from many sources, but originality lies in clothing them in a new dress or giving them a fresh representation. Such thoughts must bear the stamp of individuality.

5. Imagination. An orator must be able to portray scenes and pictures with his voice and language. This ability to represent objects and events not present to the senses is the image-making power.