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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... 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 guise of 22 INAUGURAL ...
... issue of instruction . The doc- trine seems to be not entirely without foundation , but was by them carried in both its parts to an extravagant excess . The foundations for the oratorical talent , as well as those of the poetical ...
... of things , must relate merely to speculative sub- jects . Here is no issue for trial , in which the life or fortune of an individual may be involved . Here is no vote to be taken , upon which 60 [ LECT . II . OBJECTIONS AGAINST.
... issue closer home to your own hearts , when would you so anxiously desire , and so eagerly hail this irresistible power of words , as at the very moment after hearing it perverted by cruelty , hypocrisy , or infidelity , for the ...
... him , to solicit the alliance of the Athenians . His eloquence was admired at Athens no less , than in his own city . It secured a successful issue to his mission ; and some of 11 LECT . III . ] 81 ORIGIN OF ORATORY .