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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... hearers could no longer under- stand her speech . The discordant jargon of feu- dal anarchy had banished the musical dialects , in which she had always delighted . The theatres of her former triumphs were either deserted , or they were ...
... hearers , but upon the issue of the de- liberation . In the only countries of modern Eu- rope , where the semblance of deliberative assem- blies has been preserved , corruption , here in the form of executive influence , there in the ...
... hearers , not for the kingdom of heaven , but for a hospital of lunatics ? Is it even the learned , ingenious , and pious minister of Christ , who , by neglect or contempt of the oratoric- al art , has contracted a whining , monotonous ...
... hearers are left in some sus- pense , and scarcely know which of the two opin- ions to adopt . In this method of treating the sub- ject , Cicero purposely followed the example of Plato ; who in most of his dialogues , after fully ...
... hearers fancied Until then they had themselves in a new world . heard talk of eloquence . He made them feel the powers , of which they had only heard . His ora- tions commanded undivided admiration , because they soared far above the ...