Eniered according to Act of Congress, in the year one thousand eight nundreu and fifty-two, by CHAUNCEY A. GOODRICH, in the Office of the Clerk of the District Court of the District of Connecticut. PREFACE. Mr. Hume has somewhere remarked, that “ he who would teach eloquence must do it chiefly by examples.” The author of this volume was forcibly struck with this remark in early life ; and in entering on the office of Pro fessor of Rhetoric in Yale College, more than thirty years ago, besides the ordinary instructions in that department, he took Demosthenes Oration for the Crown as a text-book in the Senior Class, making it the basis of a cours of informal lectures on the principles of oratory. Modern eloquence came next, and he endeavored, in a distinct course, to show the leading characteristics of the great orators of our own language, and the best mode of study. ing them to advantage. His object in both courses was, not only to awaken in the minds of the class that love of genuine eloquence which is the surest pledge of success, but to aid them in catching the spirit of the authors read, and, by analyzing passages selected for the purpose, to initiate the pupil in those higher principles which (whether they were conscious of it or not) have always guided the great masters of the art, till he should learn the unwritten rules of oratory, which operate by a kind of instinct upon the mind, and are far more important than any that are found in the books. Such is the origin of this volume, which contains the matter of the second course of lectures mentioned above, cast into another form, in connection with the speeches of the great British orators of the first and second class. A distinct volume would be necessary for American eloquence, if the lecture: on that subject should ever be published. The speeches selected are those which, by the general suffrage of the English public, are regarled as the master-pieces of their respective authors. They are in almost every instance given entire, because the object is to have each of them studied as a complete system of thought. Detached passages of extraordinary force and beauty may be useful as exercises in elocution ; but, if dwelt upon exclusively as models of style, they are sure to vitiate the taste. It is like taking all one's nutriment from highly-seasoned food and stimulating drinks. As to the orators chosen, CHATHAM, Burke, Fox, and Prrt stand, by universal consent, at the head of our eloquence, and to these Erskine may be added as the greatest of our forensic orators. Every tolerably reported speech from Lord CHATHAM is of interest to the student in oratory, and all that I thoaght such are here inserted, including eight never before published in this country. All of Burke's speeches which he prepared for the press have also found a place, except that on Economical Reforın, which, relating to mere matters of English finance, has less interest for an American In room of this, the reader will find the most striking passages in his works on the French Revolution, so that this volume contains nearly every thing which most persons can have any desire to study in the pages of Mr. Burke. Six of Fox's great speeches are next given, and three of Prrt's, with copious extracts from the early efforts of the latter; together with nine of Erskine's ablest arguments, being those on which his reputation mainly rests. Among the orators of the second class, the reader will find in this volume four speeches of Lord VANSFIELD; two of Mr. GRATTAN's, with his invectives against Flood and Corry ; Mr. SHERIDAN's celebrated speech against Hast ings; three of Mr. CURRAN'S; Sir James Mackintosh's famous specch for Peltior; four of Mr. CANNING's; and five of Lord BROUGHAM's, including his instructive discourse on the study of eloquence in the Greek orators. Some of the most finished letters of JUNIUS are given in their proper place, with remarks on his style as an admirable model of condensation, elegance, and force. In the first fifty pages will be found nearly all the celebrated speeches before the days of Lord Chatham, from Sir ROBERT WALPOLE, Lord CHESTER FIELD, Mr. PulTENEY, Lord Belhaven, Sir John Digby, the Earl of Straf. FORD, and Sir John Eliot. The selections in this volume extend through a period of two hundred years, and embrace a very large proportion of the most powerful eloquence of Great Britain. The following are the aids afforded for the study of these speeches : (1.) A memoir of each orator, designed to show his early training in eloquence, the leading events of his public life, the peculiar cast of his genius, and the distinctive characteristics of his oratory. It onght to be said, in justice to the author, that these sketches were completed in every essential particular, long before the publication of Lord Brougham's work upon British Statesmen. (2.) A historical introduction to each of the speeches, explaining minutely the circumstances of the case, the state of parties, and the exact point at issue, being intended to place the reader in the midst of the scene as an actual spectator of the contest. These introductions, with the memoirs just mentioned, form a slight but continuous thread of political history, embracing the most important topics discussed in the British Parliament for more than a century. (3.) An analysis of the longer speeches in side-notes, giving the divisions and subdivisions of thought, and thus enabling the reader to perceive at once the connection and bearing of the several parts. (4.) A large body of explanatory notes, bringing out minuter facte. A few of these, on Chatham's early speeches, are from the Modern Orator, and also some definitions of law terms in two of Erskine's, p. 637–83. (5.) Critical notes, as specimens of the kind of analysis which the autho has been accustomed to apply to the several parts of an oration, and which every student in oratory should be continually making out for himself. (6.) Translations of the passages quoted from the ancient and foreign languages, with the poetry rendered into English verse. The passages are usually traced to their sources, and the train of thought given as it appears in the original, without a knowledge of which most quotations have but little force or beauty. For the same reason, the classical and other allusions are traced out and explained. (7.) A concluding statement of the way in which the question was de. cided, with occasional remarks upon its merits, or the results produced by the decision. Great compression has been used in preparing this volume, that all who are interested in the study of eloquence may be able to possess it. Each page contains the matter of three ordinary octavo pages in Pica type ; and the whole work has in it one sixth more than Chapman's Select Speeches, or Willison's American Eloquence, in five octavo volumes each. In conclusion, the author may be permitted to say, that while he has aimed to produce a volume worthy of lying at all times on the table of ev. ery one engaged in speaking or writing for the public, he has hoped it might prove peculiarly useful to men of his own profession ; since nothing is more iesirable, at the present day, than a larger infusion into our sacred eloquence of the freedom, boldness, and strength which distinguish our secular oratory for 1st, 1852. CON T E N T S. Page 76 Page 1 Walpole, ib.; deprived of his commission, ib., become llis earlyuife, 1; elected to the House at the opening of leader of the Opposition, 54-5; comparison between him and Lord Mansfield, 55; gains a complete ascend. ancy in the House, 56; unites with Mr. Pelham, and in made Paymaster of the Forces, ib.; exhibition of dig. interestednese, 56-7; on the death of Pelham comes out against Newcastle, his successor, 58; attack on Mans field, “ Felix trembles," ib.; attack on Fox, "conflux of SPEECH on the Petition of Right. the Rhone and Soane,” 59; drives Mansfield out of the House, ib. ; is made Prime Minister on Newcastle's res. ignation, 60; dismissed soon after, and all England in 9; description of the trial, ib. France sues for peace, 63; Spain joins her, ib.; he pro. SPEECH when Impeached of High Treason.......... 11 poses war against her, but overruled by Lord Bute, ib.; resigns, ib. ; makes his "Sitting Speech" against Lord 15 Bute's peace, 64; attack on Mr. Grenville, “Gentle Shep herd," 65; opposes the King respecting John Wilkes and His early life, 15 : enters the House as an opponent of the American taxation, ib.; contemptuous retort on Justice government, ib.; employed against Buckingham, ib. ; appointed one of the managers for the impeachment of Moreton, 66; withholds his support from the Rocking: ham administration, ib.; forms his third ministry, and Strafford, ib.; changes sides and comes out against the is raised into the House of Lords, 67 ; his loss of health and inability to administer the government, 68; resigns against the Grafton ministry, 69; it falls before him, ib.; 19 support of America, 70; declines in health, ib., his 'Tis extraction and character, 19; evils resulting from a death, 71 ; characteristics of his eloquence, 71-5. SPEECH on a Motion for an Address on the Marriage of 77 area of the Scotch, ib.; plan of a Legislative Union, 20; Speech on the Impressment of Seamen. violent hostility against it in Scotland, ib.; circumstan. SPEECH in reply to Horatio Walpole. ces of Lord Belhaven's speech against it, ib. SPEECH in favor of Inquiring into the conduct of Sir SPEECH against the Legislative Union of England and Robert Walpole... 21 SECOND SPEECH in favor of Inquiring into the conduct 2 SPEECH on taking the Hanoverian Troops into the pay of His birth and early education, 27; enters Parliament as a Whig, ib. ; early traits of character, ib.; made Prime Speech on a Motion for an Address of Thanks after the Minister, ib.; his extreme jealousy of all who might be. come his competitors, 28; character of the Opposition SPEECH on the Right of Taxing America. and of Bolingbroke as its leader, ib.; Walpole's system Speech in Reply to Lord Mansfield in Relation to the of corruption, ib.; falsely accused as to most of his leading measures, ib.; errors of his ministry, 29; char- SPEECH on a Motion to Inquire into the State of the Na- SPEECH on the Septennial Act.. 31 SPEECH on Addressing the King for his Removal..... Speech against the Quartering of British Soldiers on the SPEECH in favor of an immediate Removal of the British His early life and study of oratory, 43; gradual develop: SPEECH on a Motion for an Address to put a stop to Hos- 132 ib. ; his general unpopularity, ib.; his death, ib. SPEECH against a Motion for adjourning Parliament, De LAST SPEEch upon America, with the circumstances of His birth, 45; early love of polite literature, ib. ; elegance of his manners, ib.; his scuteness and wit as a public His birth, 143; descended from the Stormont family, which 143 adhered to the Stuarts, ib.; sent early to the Westmin. ster school, ib.; his great proficiency, ib. ; removed to Oxford, ib.; his studies in rhetoric, ib.; commences the 46 study of the law, ib.; laborious training in extempora. I.ORD CHATHAM....... neous speaking, ib. ; historical studies, 144; practice in elocution, ib. ; a favorite of Pope, ib.; extent of his ucation at Eaton, ib.; his conversational powers, ib. ; comparison between him and the elder Pitt, ib.; made 35 141 181 188 As Chief Justice at the age of eighty-three, ib.; his death, Sheridan, 230; writes his Rc:lections on the Revolu its errors, ib.; its excellences, 231-32; his separation from Mr. Fox, 232-33; loss of his son, 231-35; pension granted him, 235; his Letter to a Noble Lord on the 152 subject of his pension, ib.; his Letters on a Regicide Peace, ib. ; errors of Mr. Burke respecting the war with 154 l'rance, 235-36; decline of his health, 237; his death, 155 ib.; characteristics of his genius and eloquence, 237-40 Page 241 265 292 310 311 329 EXTRACTS from works on the French Revolution... 36? MISCELLANEOUS 376 378 378 379 382 end of two years, 384; prevails, ib. ; opposed by Mr. voted to the cause of Emancipation, ib.; his death, ib.; SPEECH on moving a Declaration of Irish Right .... 386 SPEECH on making a second motion for a Declaration of 391 INVECTIVE against Mr. Flood 394 396 INVECTIVE against Mr. Corry. 398 399 RICHARD BRINSLEY SHERIDAN 192 dramatic productions, ib.; purchase of Drury Lane 193 Theater, ib.; election to Parliament, ib.; made Under 200 Secretary of State, 400; keen retort on Pitt, ib.; speecb 204 House of Lords under the impeachment, 401; Lord a speaker, 402; his wit and humor, ib.; habits of intem. 206 perance, 403 ; unhappy death, ib. ; personal appearance and character as an orator, 404. 405 437 classical literature, ib.; distinction at Eaton and Oxford, ib.; early extravagance, 439; enters Parliament, iv., first a Tory and in office under Lord North, 440; turp ed out abruptly, ib.; joins the Whigs as a pupil of Burke, 441 ; his labors to form himself as a debater, 443; becomes head of the Whig party, ib.; is made Sec. retary of State under Lord Rockingham, 444; disap- pointed in not becoming Prime Minister on the death of Rockinghara, ib.; forms his Coalition with Lore North, 443; drives out the ministry and becomes Sec- retary of State, ib.; his East India Bill, 446; speech in support of it, 447; carried in the House, ib. ; defeated in the Lords, ib.; his speech against secret influence, 448; displaced and Mr. Pitt made Prime Minister, ib.; unsuccessful corts to drive Pitt from power, ib. ; West- minster election, 449; Mr. Fox's speech on the subject, 450; decision of the House in his favor, ib.; derange- ment of the King, ib.; Mr. Fox asserts the right of the 452 ; Mr. Fox's speech against Mr. Pitt for arming against Russia, 453 ; his Libel bill, ib.; his views of the French Revolution, 454; his speech on Mr. Pitt's rejection of Bonaparte's overtures for peace, 458 ; comes in under Lord Grenville as Secretary of Foreign Affairs, 4539; hia death, personal appearance, 460; characteristics of his 462 481 50x |