CELEBRATED PASSAGES FROM THE BEST ORATIONS ANCIENT AND MODERN (495 B. C.-1900 A. D.) INTRODUCTION HE "Celebrated Passages" which follow cannot be expected to do more than suggest the nature of the complete orations from which they are taken. It is hoped, however, that in what they suggest of the purposes and scope of oratory they will have great educational value, aside from their obvious use for ready and constant reference. While no attempt has been made to give complete speeches, as a rule, the entire text of the "Address of Mazzini to the Young Men of Italy,»* of the "Speech" of Robert Emmet before Lord Norbury, and the celebrated "Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death" speech of Patrick Henry (March 23d, 1775), have been given in full, as illustrations of the natural arrangement of the parts of an oration. In several other instances brief speeches are given in full, but the rule has been to include the largest possible number of celebrated passages at the expense of the exclusion of all passages not celebrated. The work of collection began with the "Oration of Pericles over the Athenian Dead," which, as it is given in Thucydides, may be fairly accepted as the first oration authentically reported. It may have been composed instead of reported by Thucydides, as he certainly did compose others; but Pericles may be credited with it as safely as Patrick Henry may with Wirt's version (the only one on record) of his greatest speech. From Pericles to the twentieth century, the collection gives extracts which it is believed lawyers, clergymen, and all other public speakers, will find permanently useful for reference. The needs of all classes of professional speakers have been kept in view, and the compilation is intended also to give everything necessary to introduce students of law, divinity, and of literature in general to the great masterpieces of the great orators represented. It will be found by reference to Burke, Bossuet, Brougham, Calhoun, Cicero, Chatham, Clay, Curran, Demosthenes, Fénelon, Mirabeau, Webster, and other orators of the first rank, as they follow in alphabetical order, that a special effort has been made to include all those famous sayings and passages which have attained even an approximation to *This is considered by some the best speech of the nineteenth century. It is certainly one of the best ever delivered. general currency. The rule has been to include celebrated passages only from orations (speeches, sermons, lectures, etc.), but in the cases of great orators who are also great writers, celebrated passages from essays or other forms of written prose have not been rigorously excluded. As no such collection as this, covering the entire range of oratory, has been attempted before, it is hoped that, in connection with the department of celebrated passages from poets most generally quoted by public speakers, it will give every student of oratory and every professional speaker what he most needs in the way of suggestion and illustration. The arrangement throughout is alphabetical by authors, so that it will be not less useful for reading than for reference, the great advantage of the arrangement by authors being that it impresses on the memory the name of the author in connection with the source of the thought and the form of its expression. While celebrated phrases are frequently given without their context, the rule has been to give as often as possible with the phrase a representative extract from the original text long enough not merely to explain the phrase, but to suggest the character of the oration, and to show the writer's purpose.* * While many works have been used in preparing this collection, its heaviest obligation is to "The World's Best Orations" (F. P. Kaiser, St. Louis, ten volumes), and to the works of Epes Sargent, - that unpretentious poet and compiler whose work as a student of oratory in the first half of the nineteenth century made him the greatest popular educator of his generation in America. CELEBRATED PASSAGES FROM THE BEST ORATIONS Abélard, Pierre (France, 1079-1142 A. D.) Greatness of Soul-He that fears the death of the body, in whatever part of the body he may suffer, however much he may be ashamed of the disease, makes no delay in revealing it to the physician, and setting it forth, so that it may be cured. However rough, however hard may be the remedy, he avoids it not, so that he may escape death. Whatever he has that is most precious, he makes no hesitation in giving it, if only for a little while he may put off the death of the body. What, then, ought we to do for the death of the soul? For this, however terrible, may be forever prevented, without such great labor, without such great expense. The Lord seeks us ourselves, and not what is ours. He stands in no need of our wealth who bestows all things. For it is he to whom it is said, "My goods are nothing unto thee.» With him a man is by so much the greater, as, in his own judgment he is less. With him a man is as much the more righteous, as in his own opinion he is the more guilty. In his eyes we hide our faults all the more, the more that by confession we manifest them.- (From a sermon on the "Resurrection of Lazarus." Text from the "World's Best Orations.") Adams, Charles Francis, Sr. 1807-1886.) (American, The Rights of Massachusetts-If I have, in any way, succeeded in mastering the primary elements of our forms of government, the first and fundamental idea is, the reservation to the people of the respective States of every power of regulating their own affairs not specifically surrendered in the Constitution. The security of the State governments depends upon the fidelity with which this principle is observed. Even the intimation of any such interference as I have mentioned by way of example could not be made in earnest without at once shaking the entire foundation of the whole confederated Union. No man shall exceed me in jealousy of affection for the State rights of Massachusetts. Adams, Charles Francis, Jr. (American, 1835-.) The Civil War Generation-Our generation, yes, we ourselves have been a part of great things. We have suffered greatly and greatly rejoiced; we have drunk deep of the cup of joy and of sorrow; we have tasted the agony of defeat, and we have supped full with the pleasures of victory. We have proved ourselves equal to great deeds, and have learnt what qualities were in us, which in more peaceful times we ourselves did not suspect. And, indeed, I would here in closing fain address a few words to such of you, if any such are here, who, like myself, may have been soldiers during the War of the Rebellion. We should never more be partisans. We have been a part of great events in the service of the common country, we have worn her uniform, we have received her pay, and devoted ourselves to the death, if need be, in her service. When we were blackened by the smoke of Antietam, we did not ask or care whether those who stood shoulder to shoulder beside us, whether he who led us, whether those who sustained us, were Democrats or Republicans, conservatives or radicals; we asked only that they might prove as true as was the steel we grasped, and as brave as we ourselves would fain have been. When we stood like a wall of stone vomiting fire from the heights of Gettysburg, nailed to our position through three long days of mortal Hell, -did we ask each other whether that brave officer who fell while gallantly leading the counter-chargewhether that cool gunner steadily serving his piece before us amid the storm of shot and shell-whether the poor wounded, mangled, gasping comrades, crushed and torn, and dying in agony around us,-had voted for Lincoln or Douglas, for Breckenridge or Bell? We then were full of other thoughts. We prized men for what they were worth to the common country of us all, and recked not of empty words. Was the man true, was he brave, was he earnest, was all we thought of then; ;- not, did he vote or think with us, or label himself with our party name? This lesson let us try to remember.- (From the "World's Best Orations.") Adams, John (American, 1735-1826.) May It Please Your Honor, and You, Gentlemen of the Fury: I am for the prisoners at the bar, and shall apologize for it only in the words of the Marquis Beccaria : "If I can but be the instrument of preserving one life, his blessings and tears of transport shall be a sufficient consolation for me for the contempt of all mankind.» As the prisoners stand before you for their lives, it may be proper to recollect with what temper the law requires we should proceed to this trial. The form of proceeding at their arraignment has discovered that the spirit of the law upon such occasions is conformable to humanity, to common sense and feeling; that it is all benignity and candor. And the trial commences with the prayer of the court, expressed by the clerk, to the Supreme Judge of judges, empires, and worlds, "God send you a good deliverance. » We find in the rules laid down by the greatest English judges, who have been the brightest of mankind: We are to look upon it as more beneficial that many guilty persons should escape unpunished than one innocent should suffer. The reason is, because it is of more importance to the community that innocence should be protected than it is that guilt should be punished; for guilt and crimes are so frequent in the world that all of them cannot be punished; and many times they happen in such a manner that it is not of much consequence to the public whether they are punished or not. But when innocence itself is brought to the bar and condemned, especially to die, the subject will exclaim, "It is immaterial to me whether I behave well or ill, for virtue itself is no security." And if such a sentiment as this should take place in the mind of the subject, there would be an end to all security whatsoever.- (Exordium of a first day's speech in defense of the British soldiers accused of murdering Attucks, Gray, and others, in the Boston Riot of 1770. By Adams, John Quincy (American, 1767-1848.) Man and His Immortality- Among the sentiments of most powerful operation upon the human heart, and most highly honorable to the human character, are those of veneration for our forefathers, and of love for our posterity. They form the connecting links between the selfish and the social passions. the fundamental principle of Christianity, the happiness of the individual is interwoven, by innumerable and imperceptible ties, with that of his contemporaries. By the power of filial reverence and parental affection individual existence is extended beyond the limits of individual life, and the happiness of every age is chained in mutual dependence upon that of every other. Respect for his ancestors excites, in the breast of man, interest in their history, attachment to their characters, concern for their errors, involuntary pride in their virtues. Love for his posterity spurs him to exertion for their support, stimulates him to virtue for their example, and fills him with the tenderest solicitude for their welfare. Man, therefore, was not made for himself alone. No; he was made for his country by the obligations of the social compact; he was made for his species by the Christian duties of universal charity; he was made for all ages past, by the sentiment of reverence for his forefathers; and he was made for all future times, by the impulse of affection for his progeny. Under the influence of these principles "Existence sees him spurn her bounded reign." They redeem his nature from the subjection of time and space; he is no longer a "puny insect shivering at a breeze"; he is the glory of creation, formed to occupy all time and all extent; bounded, during his residence upon earth, only to the boundaries of the world, and destined to life and immortality in brighter regions, when the fabric of nature itself shall dissolve and perish. -(Exordium of the oration delivered at Plymouth, December 22d, 1802.) Principles as Empire Builders - When the persecuted companions of Robinson, exiles from their native land, anxiously sued for the privilege of removing a thousand leagues more distant to an untried soil, a rigorous climate, and a savage wilderness, for the sake of reconciling their sense of religious duty with their affections for their country, few, perhaps none of them, formed a conception of what would be, within two centuries, the result of their undertaking. When the jealous and niggardly policy of their British sovereign denied them even that humblest of requests, and instead of liberty would barely consent to promise connivance, neither he nor they might be aware that they were laying the foundations of a power, and that he was sowing the seeds of a spirit, which, in less than two hundred years, would stagger the throne of his descendants, and shake his united kingdoms to the centre. So far is it from the ordinary habits of mankind to calculate the importance of events in their elementary principles, that had the first colonists of our country ever intimated as a part of their designs the project of founding a great and mighty nation, the finger of scorn would have pointed them to the cells of bedlam as an abode more suitable for hatching vain empires than the solitude of a transatlantic desert.-(From the "Plymouth Oration.") Adams, Samuel (American, 1722-1803.) Liberty Ordained of God-Truth loves an appeal to the common sense of mankind. Your unperverted understandings can best determine on subjects of a practical nature. The positions and plans which are said to be above the comprehension of the multitude may be always suspected to be visionary and fruitless. He who made all men hath made the truths necessary to human happiness obvious to all. We have explored the temple of royalty, and found that the idol we have bowed down to has eyes which see not, ears that hear not our prayers, and a heart like the nether millstone. We have this day restored the Sovereign to whom alone men ought to be obedient. He reigns in Heaven, and with a propitious eye beholds his subjects assuming that freedom of thought and dignity of self-direction which he bestowed on them. From the rising to the setting sun, may his kingdom come! Were the talents and virtues which heaven has bestowed on men given merely to make them more obedient drudges, to be sacrificed to the follies and ambition of a few? Or, were not the noble gifts so equally dispensed with a divine purpose and law, that they should as nearly as possible be equally exerted, and the blessings of Providence be equally enjoyed by all? Away, then, with those absurd systems which, to gratify the pride of a few, debase the greater part of our species below the order of men. What an affront to the King of the universe, to maintain that the happiness of a monster, sunk in debauchery and spreading desolation and murder among men, of a Caligula, a Nero, or a Charles, is more precious in his sight than that of millions of his suppliant creatures, who do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with their God! No; in the judgment of heaven there is no other superiority among men than a superiority in wisdom and virtue. And can we have a safer model in forming ours? (From the exordium of his address on the Declaration of Independence delivered at Philadelphia, August, 1776.) "A Nation of Shopkeepers >> - Men who content themselves with the semblance of truth, and a display of words, talk much of our obligations to Great Britain for protection. Had she a single eye to our advantage? A nation of shopkeepers are very seldom so disinterested. Let us not be so amused with words; the extension of her commerce was her object. When she defended our coasts, she fought for her customers, and convoyed our ships loaded with wealth, which we had acquired for her by our industry. She has treated us as beasts of burthen, whom the lordly masters cherish that they may carry a greater load.-(From the address of August, 1776.) * Elred (England, 1109-1166.) Labor in Vice, Rest in Virtue-There is labor in vice, there is rest in virtue; there is confusion in lust, there is security in chastity; there is servitude in covetousness, there is liberty in charity. (From a sermon preached after a pilgrimage to the Holy Land.) Eschines (Greece, 389-314 B. C.) Peroration Against Demosthenes - Remember, then, Athenians, that the city whose fate rests with you is no alien city, but your own. Give the prizes of ambition by merit, not by chance. Reserve your rewards for those whose manhood is truer, whose characters are worthier. Look at each other and judge not only with your ears, but with your eyes, who of your number are likely to support Demosthenes. His young companions in the chase or the gymna *This address was translated into French and published in Paris. In it occurs for the first time, as far as known, the celebrated phrase afterwards used by Napoleon in characterizing England. sium? No, by the Olympian Zeus! He has not spent his life in hunting or in any healthful exercise, but in cultivating rhetoric to be used against men of property. Think of his boastfulness when he claims by his embassy to have snatched Byzantium out of the hands of Philip; to have thrown the Acharnians into revolt; to have astonished the Thebans with his harangue! He thinks that you have reached the point of fatuity at which you can be made to believe even this, as if your citizen were the deity of persuasion instead of a pettifogging mortal! And when, at the end of his speech, he calls as his advocates those who shared his bribes, imagine that you see upon this platform, where I now speak before you, an array drawn up to confront their profligacy,-the benefactors of Athens: Solon, who set in order the Democracy by his glorious laws; the philosopher, the good legislator, entreating you with the gravity which so well became him never to set the rhetoric of Demosthenes above your oaths and above the laws; Aristides, who assessed the tribute of the Confederacy, and whose daughters after his death were dowered by the State,-indignant at the contumely threatened to justice, and asking: Are you not ashamed? When Arthmios of Zeleia brought Persian gold to Greece and visited Athens, our fathers well-nigh put him to death, though he was our public guest, and proclaimed him expelled from Athens, and from all territory that the Athenians rule; while Demosthenes, who has not brought us Persian gold but has taken bribes for himself and has kept them to this day, is about to receive a golden wreath from you! And Themistokles, and they who died at Marathon and Platea, aye, and the very graves of our forefathers,- do you not think they will utter a voice of lamentation, if he who covenants with barbarians to work against Greece shall be-crowned!- (From Professor Jebb's translation of the speech prosecuting Ctesiphon for moving to present Demosthenes with a civic crown.) Aiken, Frederick A. (American, 1810-1878.) The Lawyer's Duty to the Weak- For the lawyer, as well as the soldier, there is an equally pleasant duty-an equally imperative command. That duty is to shelter the innocent from injustice and wrong, to protect the weak from oppression, and to rally at all times and all occasions, when necessity demands it, to the special defense of those whom nature, custom, or circumstance may have placed in dependence upon our strength, honor, and cherishing regard. That command emanates and reaches each class from the same authoritative and omnipotent source. It comes from a superior, whose right to command none dare question, and none dare disobey. In this command there is nothing of that lex talionis which nearly two thousand years ago nailed to the cross its Divine Author. "Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so unto them; for this is the law and the prophets." |