6290. ORATORY, Art in.—
In a republican
nation, whose citizens are to be led by
reason and persuasion, and not by force, the
art of reasoning becomes of first importance.
In this line antiquity has left us the finest
models for imitation; and he who studies and
imitates them most nearly, will nearest approach
the perfection of the art. Among these
I should consider the speeches of Livy, Sallust
and Tacitus as preeminent specimens of logic,
taste, and that sententious brevity which, using
not a word to spare, leave not a moment for
inattention to the hearer. Amplification is the
vice of modern oratory. It is an insult to an
assembly of reasonable men, disgusting and revolting
instead of persuading. Speeches measured
by the hour die with the hour.—
To David Harding. Washington ed. vii, 347.
(M.
1824)
