E340 Copyright, 1894, by WEBSTER'S ORATIONS EC. ENG. CLAS. W. P. 6 Printed by permission of MESSrs. LITTLE, BROWN, & Co., the authorized publishers of Webster's works. INTRODUCTION. It is a fact worthy of notice that, among all the masters of eloquence known to history, only four have produced works which have been generally recognized as contributions to the permanent literature of the world. These were Demosthenes in ancient Athens, Cicero in old Rome, Edmund Burke in Great Britain, and Daniel Webster in America. A comparison of the public discourses of these four great orators reveals, of course, many differences resulting from the diversity of race, time, circumstance, and the character of the audiences to whom they were addressed. A closer examination, however, will disclose numerous similarities in their fundamental construction, going far to show that the principles of true eloquence are always and everywhere the same, and that the art which swayed the minds of multitudes of men twenty centuries ago remains in essential points as unchanged as human thought itself. Between the orations of Demosthenes, so distinctively ancient and Grecian, and those of Webster, so distinctively modern and American, one may detect a striking resemblance. Both are characterized by the same sustained appeal to the understanding and by the same clear-cut, vigorous, and perfectly intelligible course of reasoning. In their unadorned simplicity each is the work of a sculptor rather than painter. "To test Webster's oratory, which 5 has ever been very attractive to me," said the late Dr. Francis Lieber, “I read a portion of my favorite speeches of Demosthenes, and then read, always aloud, parts of Webster; then returned to the Athenian: and Webster stood the test." This resemblance was not the result of any study of ancient models on Mr. Webster's part, nor of any conscious or unconscious effort to imitate the masterpieces of Athenian eloquence. It was due rather to a similarity of intellectual powers wholly independent of time, or race, or other environment. The quality of Webster's imagination, which was of an historical rather than poetic cast, had much to do with the power and peculiar charm of his oratory. But it was his simplicity of diction, and his perfect mastery of pure, idiomatic English, which gave to his discourses their distinctive classic elegance, and made them worthy of a permanent place in our literature. As specimens, therefore, of a correct, clear, and vigorous style of composition, full of warmth and vitality, these orations are worthy of the most careful attention of every one who would perfect himself in the use of the English tongue; as notable examples of persuasive discourse, logical, forcible, and convincing, they especially commend themselves to those who aspire to distinction as public speakers; as containing lessons of the purest and most disinterested patriotism, they appeal to Americans everywhere, and should be read and studied by every American youth. Daniel Webster was born in Salisbury (now Franklin), N.H., Jan. 18, 1782. His father, who was a farmer, had served as a soldier in both the French and Indian and the Revolutionary Wars, and later became a member of the State Legislature, and judge of the county court. Being brought up in poverty, in a region at that time the very outskirts of civiliza tion, the boy had none of the opportunities which are now supposed to be indispensable to the making of a great man. His mother taught him to read, and as the schools which he attended during his childhood were extremely inefficient, it is probable that the best part of his early education was acquired at home. Being a delicate child, he was generally exempt from the hard tasks required of other boys in his condition of life, and, while much of his time was devoted to play, he developed a passionate eagerness for books. "I read what I could get to read," he says, "went to school when I could, and when not at school was a farmer's youngest boy, not good for much, for want of health and strength, but expected to do something. In those boyish days there were two things which I did dearly love,—reading and playing, passions which did not cease to struggle when boyhood was over, (have they yet altogether ?) and in regard to which neither cita mors nor the victoria laeta could be said of either." When fourteen years of age, he was sent to the Phillips Exeter Academy. There he made his first acquaintance with the world, suffering much from the ridicule of his schoolmates, to whom his rustic clothes and uncouth manners were a source of great merriment. Although he made rapid progress in his studies, his lack of self-confidence was such, that he found it impossible to stand up and "speak a piece" before the school. At the end of nine months it was thought best that he should return home; and his father made arrangements whereby he should continue his studies under the tuition of a clergyman, the Rev. Samuel Wood, at Boscawen. This change was made in order that the lad might the more quickly complete his preparation for college; for, notwithstanding the poverty of the family, his father had decided to give him as thorough an education as was then available. He |