1. SPECIFIC MATTER AND GENERAL MATTER

The following passage from William Wirt's Eulogy of Jefferson and Adams (delivered October 9, 1826, in the House of Representatives) will serve to illustrate, within the limits of a paragraph, the two kinds of matter which are presented to an audience:

Man has been said to be the creature of accidental position. The cast of his character has been thought to depend upon the age, the country, and the circumstances in which he has lived. To a considerable extent, the remark is, no doubt, true. Cromwell, had he been born in a republic, might have been guiltless of his country's blood; and, but for those civil commotions which wrought his mind into a tempest, even Milton might have rested "mute and inglorious." The occasion is, doubtless, necessary to develop the talent, whatever it may be; but the talent must exist, in the embryo at least, or no occasion can quicken it into life. And it must exist too under the check of strong virtues, or the same occasion that quickens it into life will be extremely apt to urge it on to crime. The hero who finished his career at St. Helena, extraordinary as he was, is a more common character in the history of the world than he who sleeps in our neighborhood, embalmed in his country's tears, or than those whom we have now met to mourn and honor.

The direct thought expressed by the orator in this passage is somewhat as follows: Although time, place, and occasion have much influence in determining a man's character, still, to develop great talent, an embryo of greatness must first exist; furthermore, true greatness requires that talent be checked by virtue. This specific message, however, is very compact and difficult to understand for the first time in the form just stated by us. To make the meaning more open and clear, to adapt it to the particular audience, general, illustrative matter is called into service. Wirt's first principle, that circumstances tend to develop the man, is made concrete by recalling the lives of two men-Cromwell and Milton. Similarly, Napoleon is a particular illustration of the truth that talent unchecked by virtue results in evil. On the other hand, Washington is a noble type where talent and virtue go hand in hand. Now these happened to be the illustrations chosen by Wirt. But he could have found others. No matter. Whatever he might have found and might

have used would have been drawn from his general stock of information and would have been used to make clear a particular thought.

To the particular audience Wirt was addressing, it was perfectly clear that Washington was meant by "he who sleeps in our neighborhood, embalmed in his country's tears." But these references to great men do not exhaust the general material drawn upon by the speaker. The very use of such expressions as "republic," "guiltless of his country's blood," "those civil commotions," and "embalmed in his country's tears" imply a very extensive and versatile mentality and give some hint of the vast general field upon which the speaker drew. Indeed it is almost impossible to express the simplest thought without calling into use many supplementary ideas in the light of which its meaning is made clear. The very related nature of our knowledge makes it necessary for us to express a single idea in terms requiring information of many others.

No doubt we have explained the nature and purpose of these two kinds of matter; next, one might ask in what proportions they occur. This varies in different sorts of speeches. In eulogies, commencement addresses, and occasional speeches of all kinds, the general matter, as a rule, preponderates; but in technical, legal, and argumentative speeches, the specific matter is of greater importance.

2. GENERAL MATERIAL

It was no doubt a realization of the importance of the general matter which made the ancients insist that the public speaker should be a man who had mastered all human knowledge. While today we do not require such an enormous prerequisite, we do believe that the orator should be a man of exceptionally wide, general information and a complete master of the particular topic on

which he expresses a direct message. This means that a man's general preparation must have given him wide culture, while his specific preparation for a particular speech must have equipped him to speak with authority on a definite subject.

Of the necessity and advantage of broad culture which renders its contributions of general information, there can be no doubt. It enables a speaker to think more clearly on any particular subject which he may wish to discuss. We often hear it said that this is the age of specialization and that the man who would succeed must know one thing thoroughly. All very true, but it is also true that the broader the man's culture, the better able he is to become a specialist in some limited field. His information gained from wide experience prepares him to see a particular subject in its proper proportion and in relation to other things. With this sense of relationship there comes the possibility of keener analysis. Seeing the bearing upon his immediate subject of a considerable field of human knowledge, the man is able to recognize points of likeness and difference which would be obscured to a less widely informed person. But not only does general culture improve one's thinking on a particular problem; it also aids in the expression of the results of that thinking. It provides many illustrations and equivalent forms of expression to meet the varying needs of individuals in the audience.

This matter of expression leads us to turn our attention, in passing, from the influence of general information upon the mental power of the speaker to its influence upon his style. What a person thinks and what he says, as well as how he says it, are most intimately connected. Whenever a speaker attempts to illustrate or amplify an idea, he reveals his limitations and colors his message. The engineer may have to restrict his illustrations to the field of engineering; the doctor talks in terms of illness

and drugs; the nature poet gets his similes from the flowers of the plains and the torrents of the mountains. Fortunate indeed is he who is at home in all fields. The more catholic his taste, the better for him as a speaker, and the better for his audiences. Richness of style comes from breadth of general resource.

The speech of a cultivated gentleman abounds in pleasing and illuminating references to works of the world's best literature, to the wonders of nature, to the joys and sorrows of the human heart. The many sources from which he draws his illustrations enable him to appeal to minds of various natures and capacities. Deficiency here is sometimes so telling in its effect that a specialist in a particular branch is unable to communicate his expert knowledge to others. Many a clever and profound engineer has failed to impress others because he knew engineering only and could not make his ideas plain to those who did not have particular knowledge identical with his own. Such men not only lose in pleasingness; they also lose in simple lucidity.

(a) General Preparation

How to acquire the general material, how to retain impressions from many experiences, and how to systematize those experiences, is the problem of general education. What is acquired represents the whole man, intellectually. We cannot here outline an entire system of education calculated to develop the well-rounded man. Yet a few special hints with reference to the special needs of a speaker may be given with propriety.

1. The sense perceptions should be increased and the special senses trained. In Lesson 9, page 163, we remarked that many people are one-sided in their sense development, that some are impressed with the sight elements of a total situation, some with the sound ele

ments and so on. Read once more pages 163 to 167 for method directions for sense-training.

Travel when possible and observe accurately all with which you come in contact. Very often it is well to recline quietly in the evening, when alone, and try to revive the impressions of the day, gained in new surroundings.

2. Study men, not only as an exercise in sense perception, but also for the ideas and ideals they express. Cultivate acquaintances and encourage those whom you meet to talk about the things they know best, sympathetically responding to their enthusiasm about the hobbies they love. Through the conversation of others, much is learned about external facts and a keen insight is had into the feelings of human beings. Of course, modes of expression are there also for observation and analysis.

3. Then the speaker should not forget the great company of silent friends, his books. They present the whole range of knowledge, arranged, classified, and expressed by masters. Like friends, they should be selected with care and appreciated for their worth; their excellencies should be separated from their faults and emulated.

4. All this observation and study of observable and readable things must be supplemented by careful criticism. Accept only what is verifiable as fact and valid as reasoning. See Lessons 13 (especially the passage beginning on page 245) and 14.

5. It is difficult to say just what books are most necessary for general reading. President Eliot, of Harvard, has prepared a list of books which may be held on a shelf five feet long and which, he says, give an adequate treatment of the essentials of a liberal education. We shall not give a list here but suggest that the student apply to his instructor for advice which will meet his individual needs. No man who wishes to be a good speaker should ever cease his systematic reading. General preparation