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Article TO THE PRINTER OF THE FREEMASONS' MAGAZINE. Page 1 of 1 Article REMARKS ON PULPIT AND BAR ORATORY. Page 1 of 2 →
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To The Printer Of The Freemasons' Magazine.
TO THE PRINTER OF THE FREEMASONS' MAGAZINE .
SIR , ' _ THE following Remarks are submitted to your perusal and consideration , which I hope you will think worthy of a place in your valuable Publication . I am yours , & c . " . CLIO .
Remarks On Pulpit And Bar Oratory.
REMARKS ON PULPIT AND BAR ORATORY .
MR . Addison , in one of his Spectators , ascribes the deficiency of the English in the Art of Oratory to the natural modesty of the people . That we are sadly deficient in the art of pleading must be evident to every person of jud gement who attends the harangues of the pulpit , or the declamations of the bar .
Considering the multi plicity of gentlemen who embrace the profession , of the law , it is somewhat astonishing that so few good pleaders are to be found amongst them . There are no body of men who have more occasion for oratory , yet there are not any who possess it in a less degree . The most eminent of our pleaders are shamefully deficient in the rhetorical art .
The ancient orators never ventured to speak in public , before they had conqueredevery natural oracquired defect . The practice cf Demosthenes is well known . He had acquired an habit of stammering . By persevering art he conquered that defect . The deficiency of English oratory is not solely confined to the bar ; the pulpit is equally defective . In Mr . Addison ' s time , the stood stock still in the
preachers pulpit . In our days they move to so little purpose , that they might as well be motionless . The transcendent joys ofheaven , and the exquisite tortures of hell , are themes on which they discourse with the same tone of voice , and uniformity of language , as if they were reciting an uninteresting narrative . It is true , that their congregations are , in general , even with themWhilst the
. downy Doctor tells his emollient tale , his principal parishioners enjoy the sweets of slumber . Agreeable to the print of Hogarth , the church-warden snores , whilst the parson is exhorting him to watch and pray , Mr . Addison mentions senators in his time , whose custom it was to mould their hats into a thousand forms whilst they were delivering orations in the senate . " A deaf man ( says that elegant writer ) would have conjectured that they had been cheapening a beaver when they were talking of the fate of the British nation , " If Mr .
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
To The Printer Of The Freemasons' Magazine.
TO THE PRINTER OF THE FREEMASONS' MAGAZINE .
SIR , ' _ THE following Remarks are submitted to your perusal and consideration , which I hope you will think worthy of a place in your valuable Publication . I am yours , & c . " . CLIO .
Remarks On Pulpit And Bar Oratory.
REMARKS ON PULPIT AND BAR ORATORY .
MR . Addison , in one of his Spectators , ascribes the deficiency of the English in the Art of Oratory to the natural modesty of the people . That we are sadly deficient in the art of pleading must be evident to every person of jud gement who attends the harangues of the pulpit , or the declamations of the bar .
Considering the multi plicity of gentlemen who embrace the profession , of the law , it is somewhat astonishing that so few good pleaders are to be found amongst them . There are no body of men who have more occasion for oratory , yet there are not any who possess it in a less degree . The most eminent of our pleaders are shamefully deficient in the rhetorical art .
The ancient orators never ventured to speak in public , before they had conqueredevery natural oracquired defect . The practice cf Demosthenes is well known . He had acquired an habit of stammering . By persevering art he conquered that defect . The deficiency of English oratory is not solely confined to the bar ; the pulpit is equally defective . In Mr . Addison ' s time , the stood stock still in the
preachers pulpit . In our days they move to so little purpose , that they might as well be motionless . The transcendent joys ofheaven , and the exquisite tortures of hell , are themes on which they discourse with the same tone of voice , and uniformity of language , as if they were reciting an uninteresting narrative . It is true , that their congregations are , in general , even with themWhilst the
. downy Doctor tells his emollient tale , his principal parishioners enjoy the sweets of slumber . Agreeable to the print of Hogarth , the church-warden snores , whilst the parson is exhorting him to watch and pray , Mr . Addison mentions senators in his time , whose custom it was to mould their hats into a thousand forms whilst they were delivering orations in the senate . " A deaf man ( says that elegant writer ) would have conjectured that they had been cheapening a beaver when they were talking of the fate of the British nation , " If Mr .