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in the Forum, in promptness of action, quick discernment, followed by immediate resolution, they each surpassed him. At length he cast his lot with Pompey. Cæsar triumphed and the republic was at an end. Pompey fled to Egypt, where he was ignominiously assassinated, and his great rival was left master of Rome and of the world.

Cicero was again irresolute whether to follow the party of Pompey in its misfortunes or to accept the favor of Cæsar, who more than once endeavored to reconcile and conciliate him. He refused to do either. He remained near Rome, and during Cæsar's absence in Spain showed more and more his distaste for the latter's actions. Marc Antony now began on the scene. He was a devoted follower

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appear of Cæsar and very distasteful to Cicero. The latter remained, however, on good terms with Cæsar after the death of Pompey. He took but little part in public affairs, only speaking once to return thanks for the return of his friend Marcellus.

The assassination of Cæsar threw everything into worse commotion than ever. Cicero, though an intimate friend of Brutus, was not informed of the plot. He immediately foresaw, however, that the bloody deed would not mend matters so far as the restoration of the republic was concerned. It threw the government into the hands of several untried and untrained men, instead of one possessed of skill and experience. Our orator cast a suspicious eye on Marc Antony, and denounced him in a series

of heated addresses. These are known as his Phillipics, taking that name from the efforts of Demosthenes against Phillip of Macedon. Antony, thereupon, like Clodius, cherished feelings of deep revenge, and, as in the case of Clodius, the tide of events soon brought the cherished opportunity to satisfy it to its utmost extent.

Octavius, who afterwards became Augustus, had been a protégé of Cicero's, and for a time he seemed to be a devoted admirer of the great orator. The necessities of the times, however, brought him in close political relations with Antony. The latter placed himself forward as the avenger of Cæsar. With great skill and eloquence he aroused the passions of the Roman populace, who cried loud for the blood of Cæsar's assassins. The forces of Antony and Octavius met those of Brutus and Cassius at Philippi and overcame them. This last act formed the close of the drama begun on the Ides of March. Antony and Octavius had but to agree upon the fate of the then known world and it was determined. Octavius was cold, dissembling, and politic; Antony, passionate, blunt, and stolid. When the question of dividing the spoils of conquest came up between them, Octavius asked for power, Antony for revenge. Cicero was turned over to Antony. The rest is soon told. He was soon made aware of his fate, and the soldiers of Antony were not long in finding their victim, and executing the order of their master in slaying the great orator.

We have given the public lives of both Demosthenes and Cicero for the purpose of showing the scenes in which they lived, that their oratory might the better be judged. Several of the best of Cicero's orations were, in fact, never delivered at all; notably those against Verres, and that in favor of Milo. Their careers show that, like all distinguished excellencies, envy awaits him who possesses the great talent. The lesson should not be forgotten.

The merely political career of Cicero is open to much criticism. The weak points were shown as we described the events of his life; it is his literary character that most concerns the student. In the province of philosophy he ranks high; in the domain of oratory he is supreme. Great, very great speeches have been made by orators since his time; we have not to go far to find them; still his position cannot be shaken. His orations present a systematic, analytical treatment of the subject under his discussion, adorned with a grace of rhetoric polish of diction, and withal an energy of expression, that have never been surpassed. His treatises on the art, such as "The Orator," "Brutus, or the History of Famous Orators," and "De Oratore," not to mention a few others, are eloquence itself. His speeches are not like those of many speakers, a conglomeration of flowery language, or high-piled masses of linguistic garniture, but bright, elegant, well-trimmed oratorical gardens, with smooth walks and babbling fountains, where there is beauty, fresh

ness, order, life. Each can be read with profit, and his oratorical treatises should form the basis of every effort to teach the art. His scheme is quite simple. Cicero's orator should begin at the morning of life, and learn every branch of kindred science, such as philosophy, logic, grammar, rhetoric, law, morals; these, with the proper gift of expression, form his model.

What was so in his day is so in ours. Burke, Webster, Clay, come up to the Ciceronian standard. The same may be said of Lincoln and Douglas. Great men all; not all formed on precisely the same plan, nor having the same advantages, some learning in our colleges, others in the stern warfare of life, but each reaching the same plane, where only sound learning, close reasoning, great experience in public life, profound knowledge of human nature, can long hold high position.

CHAPTER II.

THE EDUCATION OF THE ORATOR.-HIS CHARACTER AS AFFECTING HIS ELOQUENCE.--HIS MOTIVES.-HIS SINCERITY.

THE preceding chapter was devoted to the consideration of oratory in general, the conditions. adapted to its cultivation, its necessity, utility, and importance, with a brief account of two of its most noted exemplars. We shall now proceed to discuss some of the principles of the art itself.

The first thing to be determined is the cducation of the orator. What studies must he pursue, what knowledge must he possess, what must be his leading motives to insure the success of his efforts?

Quintilian, one of the greatest authorities upon the subject, held that the preparation and education of the public speaker should commence at his earliest moments, almost at his birth, and that the perfect orator should also be a perfect man. Theoretically, this may be true; practically, it is impossible. As stated in the opening chapter, there must be something born in the man, in addition to his education and training, to make him a successful advocate, but in what this innate power consists, without which it is difficult to attain distinction, and what should be the precise discipline, without

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