FORENSIC DECLAMATIONS

THE POWER OF ELOQUENCE

HENRY B. STANTON

Taken from an address on "Ultraists, Conservatives, Reformers," delivered before the Adelphic Union Society of Williams College, at Williamstown, Mass., August 20, 1850.

In every enlightened age, eloquence has been a controlling element in human affairs. Eloquence is not a gift, but an art; not an inspiration, but an aquisition; not an intuition, but an attainment. Excellence in this art is attained only by unwearied practice and the careful study of the best models. The models lie all around us. The rest is within us. Demosthenes and Cicero will be household words, in all climes, to the end of time. But the more one studies the masters of Grecian and Roman eloquence, the more readily will he yield to the growing opinion that England, France, and America, during the last sixty or seventy years, have produced a greater number of eloquent orators than flourished in all Grecian and Roman history. As objects increase in size when seen through

a mist, so men tower into giants when seen through the haze of antiquity.

Without neglecting the ancient models, let us study those of our own times. From both we may catch some of that inspiration which bound the audience to the orator, and bade him play upon their emotions as the master touches the keys of his familiar instrument; which subdued them to tears or convulsed them with laughter; which bore them aloft on the wing of imagination, or blanched them with horror, while narration threw upon the canvas the colors which held the judgment and the fancy captive, as reason forged the chain of argument, and poetry studded its links with the gems of illustration; which poured over the subject a flood of rare knowledge, laden with the contributions of all sciences and all ages; which gamboled in playful humor, or barbed the point of epigram, or sketched the laughing caricature, gliding from grave to gay, from lively to severe, with majesty and grace;-that inspiration which, as Paul reasoned of righteousness, temperance, and the judgment, made Felix tremble; as Demosthenes anathematized Macedonia, made the Greeks cry out, "Lead us against Philip"; at the thrilling tones of Patrick Henry, made America ring with the shout, "Give us liberty, or give us death"; when the thunder of Danton shook the dome of the Convention, roused all Paris to demand the head of Louis; and lashed into fury or hushed into repose acres of wild peasantry, as the voice of O'Connell rose or fell.

COLUMBUS

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COLUMBUS

CHAUNCEY M. DEPEW

An extract from the Columbian Oration, delivered at the Dedication Ceremonies of the World's Fair at Chicago, Ill., October 21, 1892. Printed by permission.

The overthrow of the Mahometan power in Spain would have been a forgotten scene in one of the innumerable acts in the grand drama of history had not Isabella conferred immortality upon herself, her husband, and their dual crown, by her recognition of Columbus. The devout spirit of the queen and the high purpose of the explorer inspired the voyage, subdued the mutinous crew, and prevailed over the raging storms. They covered with the divine radiance of religion and humanity the degrading search for gold and the horrors of its quest, which filled the first century of conquest with every form of lust and greed.

The mighty soul of the great admiral was undaunted by the ingratitude of princes and the hostility of the people, by imprisonment and neglect. He died as he was securing the means and preparing a campaign for the rescue of the Holy Sepulchre at Jerusalem from the infidel. He did not know, what time has revealed, that, while the mission of the crusades of Godfrey of Bouillon and Richard of the Lion Heart was a bloody and fruitless romance, the discovery of America was the salvation of the world. The one was the symbol, the other the spirit; the one death, the other life. The tomb of the Savior was a narrow and empty vault,

precious only for its memories of the supreme tragedy of the centuries; but the new continent was to be the home and temple of the living God.

All hail, Columbus, discoverer, dreamer, hero, and apostle! We here, of every race and country, recognize the horizon which bounded his vision, and the infinite scope of his genius. The voice of gratitude and praise for all the blessings which have been showered upon mankind by his adventure is limited to no language, but is uttered in every tongue. Neither marble nor brass can fitly form his statue. Continents are his monuments, and innumerable millions, past, present, and to come, who enjoy in their liberties and their happiness the fruits of his faith, will reverently guard and preserve, from century to century, his name and fame.

THE CHARACTER OF THE ENGLISH PURITANS

THOMAS BABINGTON MACAULAY

An extract from the conclusion of Macaulay's "Essay on Milton," first published in the Edinburgh Review, August, 1825.

The Puritans were the most remarkable body of men which the world has ever produced. For many years after the Restoration they were the theme of unmeasured invective and derision.

The ostentatious simplicity of their dress, their sour aspect, their long graces, [sic] their contempt of