Lectures on Rhetoric and Oratory: Delivered to the Classes of Senior and Junior Sophisters in Harvard University, Volume 1Before becoming President of the United States, John Quincy Adams was a Harvard professor of language, rhetoric and oratory, with this book comprising his lectures. Published in 1810 when Quincy Adams was in his forties, this work is a collection which demonstrates the breadth of knowledge which he passed to students eager to learn about the arts of speaking. The early lectures cover the basic principles of oratory and eloquence in the context of public speaking, and the origins of rhetoric as a celebrated art form in ancient Greece and Rome. It is clear that the author possesses an intense knowledge of the subject and its professional application. Later on in the text are more specific lectures, such as the importance of perfecting oratory for the courtroom, and the personal qualities a good speaker should cultivate. Keeping tight control of one's emotions when speaking or debating with others, and delivering compelling lectures from the church pulpit, are also discussed at length. Although this material is well over 200 years old with much of the language archaic by modern standards, the ideas and principles espoused by Quincy Adams remain both relevant and important to students and those working in fields where speech is vital. |
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... less the result of deliberation , than of taste . He considered his auditory ; that impression was in- dispensable ; and regarded the intimation of Quinc- tilian , Studium discendi voluntate constat . It is certain that his success , in ...
... less distin- guished by stations of splendor , than by deeds of virtue ; and better known to this people by bless- ings enjoyed , than by favors granted ; a name , in fine , which , if not encircled with the external radi- ance of ...
... less difficulty and delica- cy , than that of oratory itself ; yet , as the career must necessarily be new , by whomsoever it should here be explored , and as it leads to a course of pleasing speculations and studies , I shall rely up ...
... less scrupulous in its adherence to the niceties of etymology . It has admitted the term oratory , which the Romans so fastidiously excluded , and annexes to it a modification of idea , distinct from that of the Grecian term , which has ...
... less to be mispent upon any mischievous pursuit . In the observations , which I shall now submit to you , it is my intention to suggest the peculiar utility of the art , in the situation of this country , and adapt- ed to the ...