Excerpt from Rudiments of Public Speaking and Debate: Or Hints on the Application of Logic Because rhetoric deals so much in forms, it does not follow that it is destitute of principles, and that its foundations do not lie deeper than the drapery of spoken or written discourse. If novices and sophomores treat the powers of oratory as a toy, upright and conscientious speakers should regard it as involving a moral responsibility, such as always accompanies all great powers. Sacred o eloquence especially should be studied and practiced from another standpoint, high, pure, and commanding, like itself, or it will never occupy its true relative position in a course of education. If eloquence in its true character and pur poses does not originate in moral emotions, if it does not deal with the moral element of humanity, if it does not propose moral achievements, we cannot a irm what other branch of science or education does. By what authority then has it been brought down, shorn of its inherent merit, and degraded in scholastic estimation? If it has sometimes been used improperly, to indu ence men against their judgments and interests, that does not show its nature and designs are such, any more than the per version of any other science shows it useless or vicious. But, on the other hand, we claim that there is not in all the wide range of education any other department that leads us so directly into, and takes such a firm hold upon, the highest ele ments of our nature, and in uences so powerft the great interests of humanity, as this. Benevolence and religion covet power to do good; and with men possessed of these qualities, all power will be used exclusively for that purpose, and with this view will be earnestly sought. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works."