Oratory Sacred and Secular: Or, The Extemporaneous Speaker, With Sketches of the Most Eminent Speakers of All Ages - Softcover

Pittenger, William

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1976422965 ISBN 13: 9781976422966

Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2017

Synopsis

"He brings to his work a mind matured by years of experience in the very field of which he treats." -The Round Table

"A clear and succinct Exposition of the Rules and Methods of practice by which Readiness of Thought may be acquired, and an acceptable style both in composition and gesture obtained." -The American Phrenological Journal and Life

When we first began to speak in public, we felt the need of a manual that would point out the hindrances likely to be met with, and serve as a guide to self-improvement. Such help would have prevented many difficult and painful experiences, and have rendered our progress in the delightful art of coining thought into words more easy and rapid. In the following pages we give the result of thought and observations in this field, and trust it will benefit those who are now in the position we were then.

We have freely availed ourself of the labor of others, and would especially acknowledge the valuable assistance derived from the writings of Bautain, Stevens and Holyoake. Yet the following work, with whatever merit or demerit it may possess, is original in both thought and arrangement.

We have treated general preparation with more than ordinary fullness, for although often neglected, it is the necessary basis upon which all special preparation rests.

As the numerous varieties of speech differ in comparatively few particulars, we have treated one of the most common—that of preaching—in detail, with only such brief notices of other forms as will direct the student in applying general principles to the branch of oratory that engages his attention.

PREFACE.—Objects of the Work stated

INTRODUCTION—By Hon. John A. Bingham, Member of Congress

PART I.—GENERAL PREPARATIONS.

CHAPTER I. The Written and Extempore Discourse Compared—Illustrative Examples

CHAPTER II. Prerequisites—Intellectual Competency; Strength of Body; Command of Language; Courage; Firmness; Self-reliance

CHAPTER III. Basis of Speech—Thought and Emotion; Heart Cultivation; Earnestness

CHAPTER IV. Acquirements—General Knowledge; of Bible; of Theology; of Men; Method by which such Knowledge may be obtained

CHAPTER V. Cultivation—Imagination; Language; Voice; Gesture; Confidence; References to Distinguished Orators and Writers.

PART II.—A SERMON.

CHAPTER I. The Foundation for a Preacher—Subject; Object; Text; Hints to Young Preachers

CHAPTER II. The Plan—Gathering Thought; Arranging; Committing; Practical Suggestions; Use of Notes CHAPTER III. Preliminaries for Preaching—Fear; Vigor; Opening Exercises; Requisites for a Successful Discourse

CHAPTER IV. The Divisions—Introduction, Difficulties in Opening; Discussion, Simplicity and Directness; Conclusion

CHAPTER V. After Considerations—Success; Rest; Improvement; Practical Suggestions

PART III.—SECULAR ORATORY.

CHAPTER I. Instructive Address—Fields of Oratory; Oral Teaching; Lecturing

CHAPTER II. Miscellaneous Address—Deliberative; Legal; Popular; Controversial; the Statesman; the Lawyer; the Lecturer; the Orator

PART IV.

Eminent Speakers Described—St. Augustine; Luther; Lord Chatham; William Pitt; Edmund Burke; Mirabeau; Patrick Henry; George Whitefield; John Wesley; Sidney Smith; F. W. Robertson; Henry Clay; Henry B. Bascom; John Summerfield; C. H. Spurgeon; Henry Ward Beecher; Anna E. Dickinson; John A. Bingham; William E. Gladstone; Matthew Simpson; Wendell Phillips; John P. Durbin; Newman Hall, and others

APPENDIX.

The Chairman’s Guide—How to Organize and Conduct Public Meetings and Debating Clubs in Parliamentary style

About this title

About the Author:

William Pittenger (1840 - 1904) was a Union Army soldier during the American Civil War. He was one of the first recipients of the Medal of Honor. John Armor Bingham (January 21, 1815 – March 19, 1900) was an American Republican Representative from Ohio, an assistant to Judge Advocate General in the trial of the Abraham Lincoln assassination, and a prosecutor in the impeachment trials of Andrew Johnson. He is also the principal framer of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. (Wikipedia)

About this edition

• Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
• Publication date: 2017
• ISBN 10: 1976422965
• ISBN 13: 9781976422966
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 254