bringing his audience to his object. Sometimes he will have one professed, but quite another real object. By this is not meant that the speaker deals unfairly or dishonestly with his audience, but simply that he uses good judgment in dealing with men and does not betray himself into the hands of his enemies before he has had a chance to fortify himself for their possible opposition. Thus he will take them by guile. For illustration, Shakspere makes Mark Antony, in his speech over the dead body of Caesar, say, "If you have tears, prepare to shed them now;" that is, after the introduction, he avows in the body of his speech, as his object, to make his hearers feel the pathos of "Caesar's fall." His real purpose is revealed after the mob, to whom he has been speaking, rushes off with the frenzied cries: "Revenge! burn! kill!" when he says with great satisfaction: "Now let it work. Mischief, thou art afoot." That is, his avowed object was, "Weep; " his real object, "Riot."

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CHAPTER VII

HOW TO GATHER MATERIAL

FTER he has settled upon his general theme, and has formulated that theme in an imperative sentence, the first thing to be done by the orator who has to prepare a speech is the accumulation of material. There are three especial processes to be pursued in accomplishing this work.

1. The first of these processes to be mentioned is thought. This is placed first, because chronologically it should precede everything else in the work of specific preparation. Usually, likewise, it is first in importance. Was it Richter who said: "Never read till you have thought yourself empty"? By such reflection the maker of a speech will insure an originality of theme and of treatment that otherwise would hardly be possible. His way of looking at his subject will be, above all, his own way. There must be some reasons why he has chosen a given subject and why he holds a given attitude toward that subject. Let him write out those reasons in the briefest possible form. What does he know of the subject? What does he think of it-of its relations to truth, to society, to the state, to mankind, to the highest ideals, and of his prospective audience in relation to these questions? Let him write out all his thoughts, all

his information, all his convictions, as they come to his mind, without special reference to logical order except such as will occur to any clear thinker whose ideas will have a tendency to fall into line even though no conscious attempt be made to marshal them in regular order. Neither need any special effort be made in this preliminary work to secure literary qualities. If a good illustration, or a happy metaphor, or a felicitous expression flashes before him during this process, as probably it will, let him note it with sufficient fullness to enable him to recall and reproduce it when he returns to examine the products of his thinking after they have become cold. Thus he takes snapshots at the mental visions that flit before him, and fixes impressions which he can subsequently develop at his leisure and place in the proper framework of his plan when completed for use.

This process of rumination aids the speaker in digesting and assimilating his knowledge, makes his thought definite, shows him how much he knows of the subject and, especially, how little he knows. His mind may be so full and his knowledge be so extensive and definite and well digested that further accumulation of material will be unnecessary and undesirable. The story of Webster's remark with reference to his preparation for his speech known as the "Reply to Hayne" is well known. A friend expressed surprise that the great expounder of the constitution could make such a speech without opportunity for preparation. "Sir," Webster replied, “I have been preparing that speech forty years." In other words,

he had been, from boyhood, studying the doctrine of nullification and meditating on the constitution as the supreme law of the land, until the whole question saturated every fiber of his being. When the occasion arose, therefore, all that was needed was for him to put his abundant material in proper order. But that was a rare occasion as Webster was a rare orator. With most speakers and for most subjects, more than thought is needed for the highest success. When that process is completed there must follow the second process of gathering material.

2. This second process in the accumulation of material is reading. If Richter laid down the maxim: "Never read till you have thought yourself empty," he also said: "Never write till you have read yourself full." How minute and how extensive this reading should be will depend largely upon the nature of the subject. Reading, moreover, that is a mere cramming process will be of little value to the orator. However broad it be, it must be distilled in the alembic of his own mind before he can make its essence his own.

The order of reading should be, usually, first of a general nature, such as cyclopedia articles. Thus will be gained a comprehensive understanding of the subject. Then should come, say, review articles, and afterward the treatises and original authorities.

For strictly oratorical work minute and exhaustive study on the subject of discourse may not always be an advantage. If it be not thoroughly assimilated, instead of furnishing intellectual and oratorical pabulum it will

clog the free operation of the mind and induce mental dyspepsia. Howsoever complete the reading, it should be, above all things, suggestive and stimulating, setting the speaker's own mind and imagination in motion and arousing the oratorical spirit to action. No more remarkable illustration of vast and exact learning, made available for oratorical purposes, can be found in the literature of eloquence than is furnished by some of the speeches of Edmund Burke, particularly those on "The Nabob of Arcot's Debts," "The East India Bill," and all those on the impeachment of Warren Hastings. But these subjects were exceptional in the nature of their themes as Edmund Burke was himself exceptional among men. He had read, and so every orator should read, broadly enough to cover the ground to be traversed by the speech and thoroughly enough to make him master of the particular phase of the subject to be discussed. Such reading not only increases the speaker's knowledge and supplements his thinking, but modifies or confirms, as the case may be, his views by the results of the labors of others. In any case it gives him greater confidence in the correctness of his conclusions and helps him to feel that he "speaks as one having authority," a consciousness which one must always have if he would speak with power.

3. A third important process in the work of gathering material is found in conversation. Richter might wisely have added to his aphorism: "Never pronounce your speech till you have talked yourself clear." Discussion