selves. In other words, they supplemented their own natural aptitude by taking advantage of the wisdom and experience of others. If such men thought it worth their while to learn the art of oratory by study, surely no one can safely hope to be beyond the need of such study.

IN

CHAPTER X

QUALITIES OF THE INTRODUCTION

N ESTIMATING the qualities that are particularly useful in developing the different parts of an oration, it is appropriate to consider, first, the features that are peculiarly appropriate to the introduction.

I. The first thing to be said of the introduction is that it should possess the quality of brevity. The young writer and speaker always labors under the temptation to extend this part of his discourse beyond reasonable limits. Whether this fault is because of the fear that he will not find enough to say within the prescribed limit, or whether it is because he thinks he has so much to say, he is in danger of saying more than is necessary or useful in this part of his discourse. It must be remembered that an oration is a work of art and, like other works of art, it must possess the qualities of symmetry and proportion. Otherwise it can have no beauty and little power. The oration should not be a polywog — all head. It may, rather, be likened to a building. The introduction is the front porch; the discussion, with its various divisions, constitutes the body of the house divided into its several rooms; while the conclusion is the back porch. The length suitable for the introduction, in any given

case, will be properly determined by the dignity, nature, and proposed limits of the discourse as a whole. Let no one make the mistake of assuming in this part of his speech that he will "be heard because of his much speaking." Such an assumption would be fatal to success. In proportion to the entire speech, the introduction should be as brief as is consistent with perfect lucidity and with its prime purpose of preparing the audience to listen with intelligence, fairness, and interest to the presentation and amplification of the theme. The front porch should never be larger than the house itself. It should lead as directly, as easily and as charmingly as possible into the main body of the building. It is not made for its own sake, but for the sake of what is to follow.

In harmony with this principle, it follows that the opening sentence of the introduction, that is of the whole speech, should be brief. Blair well says: "A first sentence should seldom be a long, and never an intricate one." As a rule, let this sentence be a simple, declarative, unpretentious statement of a fact or a principle. If the idea is common, the statement of it should not be commonplace. Triteness here may prove disastrous. His opening words give the speaker an opportunity to put himself on good terms with an audience and to convey to them the impression of his good sense, genial spirit, inherent manliness, and perhaps his mastery of the situation and of whatever subject he may have to present. Let him not dissipate the opportunity by frivolousness. It is safe to assume that an audience is comparatively

indifferent to both the speaker and his theme. It is not wise, therefore, to lay a heavy burden upon the attention or the understanding of one's hearers. A brief, modest opening sentence will give them little to do by way of grammatical interpretation, and will help gain their respect for the speaker's sincerity and good sense.

2. The introduction should also possess the quality of simplicity. Good taste requires that this part of the discourse be neither too forcible, too figurative, or too highly illustrated. These qualities are always liable to seem bombastic, and of all places the semblance of bombast in the introduction is ridiculous and repulsive. Only when the circumstances are such that the interest of the audience in the subject is already aroused will very energetic or highly figurative language be an advantage. Attention has already been called to this principle in the discussion of the nature of the introduction, but further emphasis may well be laid upon it in this connection. When a previous speaker has presented the theme, so that it is already in some aspect in the minds of the hearers, or when the course of events has centered the thoughts of the people upon it, so that their interest is kindled and their feelings are excited, the speaker may appropriately in his introduction make use of more picturesque and more impassioned speech than would otherwise be permissible. In a way his theme is already introduced, and what would ordinarily be extravagant is now appropriate.

Examples. (1) An interesting illustration of a simple

yet figurative exordium is found in Webster's famous speech on the Foot Resolution, better known as "The Reply to Hayne":

Mr. President: When the mariner has been tossed for many days in thick weather, and on an unknown sea, he naturally avails himself of the first pause in storm, the earliest glance of the sun, to take his latitude and ascertain how far the elements have driven him from his true course. Let us imitate this prudence, and before we float farther on the waves of this debate, refer to the point from which we departed, that we may at least be able to conjecture where we now are. I ask for the reading of the resolution.

So he brought his hearers back to the point of departure, and especially to the point which he wished them to occupy. He chose his own question rather than let his antagonist choose it for him. The introduction might, possibly, have seemed too figurative had it been pronounced under ordinary conditions; but Webster did not pronounce it under ordinary conditions. When he arose, the debate had been in progress for days. Colonel

Hayne, senator from South Carolina, had made a brilliant speech, characterized by all the fervid eloquence, grace of diction, and intensity of spirit peculiar to some of the southern orators of those days. The admirers of Hayne and the sympathizers with his cause were jubilant. They boasted that he had won a great victory and claimed that he could not be successfully answered. The friends of Webster and the Union, on the other hand, were depressed with anxiety, and feared that even the "Godlike Daniel" might not prove equal to the task of