Ancient Eloquence [pp. 703-706]

Ancient Eloq-uence.
ced its stupendous achievements, and even the
haughty and imperious Philip of Macedon trem bled at its power. When Demosthenes —' the ora tor by entinence'-was thundering( his patriotism
over the country of his birth, and summoning the
' band of the faithful' to resist the encroachments
of a foreign and merciless usurper, he made this
proud and unfeeling monarch quake to the very
centre of his iron heart. That this faculty was
soon extensively cultivated in ancient Greece, be sides a vast quan,tity of evidence derived from
other sources, not only from historians, but, like wise, from actual specimens of oratory yet extant,
we may infer from the poems of H-omer. This
' Prince of Poets' invests his heroes with all the
charmi of eloquence, and in the thi r d b ook of th e
I lia d there is a beauti ful comparison between the
oratory of Ulyssns and that of Menelaus. This
c ompar iso n c annot be more happily expressed
tha n in the languager of the admirable translation,
by the illustrious poet of Twickenham.
"' When Atreus' son harangued the listening train,
Just was his sense, and his expression plain;
His words sulccinct yet full, without a fault,
TIe s pok e no more than just the thinol he ought.
B ut. w hen Uly sses rose, in thought profound,
His modest eyes he fixed upon the ground;
As one unskilled or dumb, he seemed to stand,
Nor raised his head, nor stretched his sceptered hand.
But, when he speaks, what elocution flows!
Soft as the fleeces of descending snows,
The copious accents fall, with easy art,
Melting they fall and sink into the heart.
Wondering we hear; and fifed in deep surprise,
Our ears refute the censure of our eyes."
The eloquence of Nestor, of Diomede, of Hector, and of Agamemnon is truly preeminent. Of
each of these men it may be said, with emphasis,
that in this department, at least, he was unsurpassed
if not unequalled. Their oratory embraces a union
of the most polished elegance, the most glossy
neatness, and the most exquisite modulation, with a
remarkable purity and originality of mind, and
strength and pomp of diction. The reply of Diomede to Agamemnon, in the ninth Iliad, displays
the highest order of intellect and sentiment; and
it is worthy of frequent and attentive perusal, so
rich is it in sublimity and noble pathos.
" When kings advise us to renounce our fGtme,
First let him speak, who first has suffered shame.
If I oppose thee, prince, thy wrath withhold,
The laws of council bid mry tongue be bold;
Thou first, and thoul alone, in field of fight
Durst brand my courage, an~d defame mly migh~t:
Nor from a friend th' unkind reproach appeared,
The Greeks stood witness, all our army hleard,
The Gods, 0 Chief! from whom our honors spring,
The Gods have made thee but by halves a king.
The noblest power, that might the world control,
They gave thee loot, —a brave and virtuous soul.
Is this a general's voice, that would suggest
Years like his ownl to every Grecian breast?
Confiding in our want of worth he stands;
And if we fly,'tis what ot kins g commands.
Go thou, inglorious! fiom the embattled plain;
Ships thou hast store, and nearest to the main.
A nobler care the Grecians shall employ,
To combat, conquer, and extirpate Troy.
Ifere Greece shall stay; or if all Greece retire,
Myself will stay,'till Troy or t expire;
Myself and Sthenelus will fight for fame;
God bade us fight; and'twas with God we came."
It is, in truth, a rare and delicious treat to sit down
at that intellectual banquet, whose sumptuous pro visions comprise the few but precious remnants of
the oratory of those "old men of renown," whose
memories will live and flourish forever in the un rivalled poems of the " blind bard of Scio."
Nor is it surprising that the seeds of eloquence
should take such deep root, and live and flourish in
such unequalled beauty and verdure on the shores
of Greece. The soil was admirably adapted to its
successful cultivation. There were many and va rious circumstances on the side of the Grecian,
which were peculiarly favorable to the nurture and
perfection of this glorious art. Their separate
states were free and independent, and deliberation
and debate were unrestrained. Frequent councils
were convoked for the discussion of topics of na tional interest. The Amrnphictyonic was often the
theatre of forensic oratory. The Persian war pro duced a powerful excitement on Grecian mind; and
the dynasty of the Pisistradae encouraged elo quence. The H-omeric poems also were made a
study to foster a martial and republican spirit. Great
W rachievements in war, and fervid eloquence in peace
were the two modes by which men acquired the
most prominent ascendency. These circumrnstan ces, with a variety of others, too numerous for re petition, were, indeed, a prolific source —an inspira tion of genuine eloquence.
Their direct tendency was to awaken in the bosom emotions of the purest patriotism, and thus to
prepare the individual for the most brilliant and
effective displays of oratory.
In closing this essay, it will be interesting to
take a hurried view of one of the ablest statesmen
and orators of antiquity. Of that bright constellation of orators, whose names are chronicled in
characters of light on the paces of Grecian history, and whose resplendent rays, like the jewelled
radiance of Messiah's throne bid darkness flee and
beam in unfading brilliance the immortal "Hero of
Salamis" sustains an elevated rank. This illustrious commander was born of parents too deeply imrnersed in obscurity and want to assist him in
emerging to any distinction in society, and it was,
by the magic of his own genius alone, that he so
successfully attained the proud eminence to which
his ambition had ardently aspired. When quite a
youth his soul was fired with the spirit and passion,
and patriotism, which invariably actuate to bold
attempts and predict, with infallible certainty, subsequent supremacy.
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105
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