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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... experience and observa- tion , are therein exhibited . To relieve and ani- mate the discussions , appertaining to his subject , he thought proper frequently to indulge in figu- vii rative expression to a degree , which some may vi.
... thought ; as the means of rational intercourse with his fellow - creature , and of humble communion with his God . It is by the means of reason , clothed with speech , that the most precious blessings of social life are communicated ...
... thought by oratory , like that of embalming bodies by ar- omatics , would have perished , but for the exer- cises of religion . These alone have in the latter ages furnished discourses , which remind us , that eloquence is yet a faculty ...
... thought ; but rhetor- ic alone has access to the lofty regions of fancy . Rhetoric alone can penetrate to the secret cham- bers of the heart . ` If then we adopt the definition of Quinctilian , that rhetoric is the science of speaking ...
... thought , meanness of expression , and many other imperfections , occasionally pass through the orde- al , and never escape the discriminating and accu- rate judgment of Cicero . The acuteness and variety of his remarks are adorned by ...