The Importance of Reading
Let's face it; reading is important to effective writing and public speaking! For instance, in his memoir of the craft On Writing (Scribner, 2000) Stephen King says that, "If you want to be a writer, you must do two things above all others: read a lot and write a lot. There's no way around these two things that I'm aware of, no short cut (p. 145)." He also states that "we read to experience the mediocre and the outright rotten; such experience helps us to recognize those things when they begin to creep into our own work, and to steer clear of them. We also read in order to measure ourselves against the good and the great, to get a sense of all that can be done. And we read in order to experience different styles (p. 147)." And King says that "constant reading will pull you into a place (a mind-set, if you like the phrase) where you can write eagerly and without self-consciousness. It also offers you a constantly growing knowledge of what has been done and what hasn't, what is trite and what is fresh, what works and what just lies there dying (or dead) on the page. The more you read, the less apt you are to make a fool of yourself with your pen or word processor (p. 150)." In short, to be a good writer, one needs to be a prolific reader! This applies to good speaking, too.

In American Public Address 1740 -1952 (McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc., 1956) A. Craig Baird treats thirty-eight speeches delivered by preachers, lawyers, teachers, congressmen, presidents, politicians, popular lecturers, a journalist, a labor leader, and orators of special occasion. Like other speech anthologies, Baird's work can be used "as models for imitation, as a record of important ideas, as materials for criticism, and as starting points for the investigation of the methods by which speechmakers have learned their art (p. v)." Baird contends that these speeches "are a reservoir of American thinking and sentiment, typical of the motives and attitudes of our national scene past and present. The student who absorbs the ideas and spirit of these speeches will, it is believed, gain a clearer appreciation of the traditions and dominant moods that shaped our national deliberations and decisions (pp. v, vi)." Indeed, to be a good speaker one needs to be a prolific reader!

Learning Rhetorical Theory Out of Context
Along with reading many of history's great speeches, students of oratory also need to study the Canons of Rhetoric, namely Inventio (conceptual design, evidence, and argument), Dispositio (major parts, arrangement, and thematic emergence), Elocutio (clarity, correctness, appropriateness, and embellishment of language), and Pronuntiatio (visual and vocal delivery). Learning rhetorical theory often involves textbook reading, taking notes during coaches' lectures, and the like. However, the presentation and learning of rhetorical theory often occurs out of context. The theory is presented and studied by itself; it often is not immediately associated with the context of public address. So, some serious students of oratory may mean well by reading many famous speeches, but while reading what is said they simultaneously fail to apprehend how something is said. In short, they fail to learn to equate message and technique.

Statement of Purpose
The violation of textual integrity can be improved when students are assigned not only to read famous speeches, but also to identify immediately the actual application of the theory employed in the select speeches. One way to equate theory with practice is to have the students have fun trying "to stump" their oratorical colleagues. The following data (1) presents some textbook rhetorical theory, specifically the definitions and valid and invalid use of hypothetical and conjunctive reasoning (the dilemma), and (2) exemplifies an examination-game designed to test the orator's ability to comprehend the above theory as it appears in select passages from some of history's great speeches.

Some Textbook Theory for Hypothetical Reasoning
Hypothetical reasoning expresses condition or implication. It contains two member propositions, the first proposition being the antecedent, and the second proposition being the consequent.

The antecedent usually begins with the word "if," and the consequent usually begins with the word "then." The conjunction of these words, and the words were, would, and should indicate the hypothetical nature of the proposition. The hypothetical proposition as a whole implies the relation of the antecedent to the consequent, and it makes no claim to the truth of either the antecedent or the consequent.

Examples of hypothetical propositions are: "If the overwhelming majority of Afghanistan's eligible voters still aren't registered to cast ballots, then Afghanistan will have to delay its historic elections." "If one of the heart's bottom chambers, or ventricles, becomes too weak, then a ventricular assist device (VAD) should be employed to boost pumping power." "If broadcast speech is issued through the airwaves of public domain, then the public has a right to control it." "If tetrahydrogestrinone (THG) lacks federal permission for sale in the United States, then Major League Baseball should bank it."

The hypothetical proposition claims that the truth of the consequent would follow from the truth of the antecedent, and that the falsity of the antecedent would follow from the falsity of the consequent.. The hypothetical proposition merely asserts that its antecedent is one logical condition of the consequent. Whether other logical indicators of the truth of the consequent exists is not asserted. Therefore, the rejection of the stated condition does not warrant the rejection of the consequent, nor does the acceptance of the truth of the consequent justify the acceptance of the one condition expressed in the antecedent.

In light of the above explanation, the orator can develop the hypothetical proposition two ways. He or she either must affirm the antecedent, and then affirm the consequent; or must deny the consequent, and then deny the antecedent. These are the only valid ways to develop the hypothetical proposition. The following examples are valid hypothetical syllogisms.

(1.) If John Dokes advertises for sports equipment, then he cannot participate in his high school's athletic competition.

John Dokes does advertise for sports equipment. Therefore, he cannot participate in his high school's athletic competition.

(2) If John Dokes advertises for sports equipment, then he cannot participate in his high school's athletic competition.

John Dokes can participate in his high school's athletic competition. Therefore, he does not advertise for sports equipment.

Both syllogisms are valid. In the first syllogism, the minor premise affirms the antecedent, and the conclusion affirms the consequent. In the second syllogism, the minor premise denies the consequent, and the conclusion denies the antecedent.

Some Textbook Theory for Conjunctive Reasoning (the Dilemma)
Conjunctive reasoning is compound hypothetical reasoning, otherwise known as the dilemma. The major premise contains two hypothetical propositions, and the minor premise is an alternative proposition. To develop the dilemma, the orator must adhere to the rules for hypothetical syllogisms. That is, either the minor premise must affirm the antecedents, and then the conclusion must affirm the consequents; or the minor premise must deny the consequents, and then the conclusion must deny the antecedents.

If the antecedent of the first hypothetical proposition is identical to the antecedent of the second hypothetical proposition, or if the consequent of the first hypothetical proposition is identical to the consequent of the second hypothetical proposition, then the dilemma is simple. If the two hypothetical propositions have different antecedents and different consequents, then the dilemma is complex. A constructive dilemma affirms the antecedents and then affirms the consequents. A destructive dilemma denies the consequents and then denies the antecedents. In short, the words simple and complex deal with quantity, and the words constructive and destructive deal with quality. The following examples are valid dilemmas.

(1) If an Olympic athlete wins a medal, then his country should be proud of him; and if an Olympic athlete does not win a medal, then his country should be proud of him.

Either an Olympic athlete will win a medal, or he will not win a medal. Therefore, his country should be proud of him.

(2) If we continue to give foreign aid, then we will have higher taxes; and if we continue to give foreign aid, then we will have to cut our space program.

Either we will not have higher taxes, or we will not have to cut our space program.

Therefore, we will not continue to give foreign aid.

(3) If I remain an amateur athlete, then I cannot make much money offered by professional teams; and if I don't remain an amateur athlete, then I cannot compete in my Conference's events.

Either I will remain an amateur athlete, or I will not remain an amateur athlete. Therefore, either I cannot make much money by professional teams, or I cannot compete in my Conference's events.

(4) If the speaker intended good will, then he would not lie to his audience; and if the speaker were well educated, then he would not commit many errors in logic. Either the speaker lies to his audience, or he commits many errors in logic. Therefore, either the speaker does not intend good will, or he is not well educated.

The first example above is a simple, constructive dilemma; the second example is a simple, destructive dilemma; the third example is a complex, constructive dilemma; and the fourth example is a complex, destructive dilemma.

In conclusion, hypothetical and constructive propositions are potential generators of persuasion, but orators must make certain that their propositions are valid, or logically developed; that is, the deductive propositions must meet the above guidelines.

Examination-Game Time
To improve their persuasive effectiveness, students of oratory should read many of history's famous orations and should study the rhetorical canons. However, when learning rhetorical theory, the students should be able to recognize when and how the theory they are learning is employed in the historical orations they are reading. An effective and, perhaps, fun-filled way to evaluate one's command of theory and practice is to employ examination-games that equate theory and practice.

The following examination-game is designed to test the reader's command of the aforementioned theory of hypothetical and conjunctive reasoning, including valid and invalid employment. Below are fourteen possible answers and forty passages from famous orations. To the left of each oratorical passage, put the answer that best describes the passage's content. Some passages have more than one hypothetical proposition and, therefore, may appear to warrant more than one answer. However, choose only one answer per passage, namely the one that best describes the overall passage. Answers appear at the end of this article.

Possible Answers

a. Denial of the consequent

b. Denial of the antecedent

c. A hypothetical premise

d. Affirmation of the antecedent

e. Denial of the antecedent and denial of the consequent

f. Denial of the consequent and denial of the antecedent

g. Affirmation of the consequent and affirmation of the antecedent

h. Major premise of a simple dilemma

i. Affirmation of the antecedent and denial of the consequent

j. Affirmation of the consequent and denial of the antecedent

k. Affirmation of the consequent

l. Major premise of a complex dilemma

m. Denial of the antecedent and affirmation of the consequent

n. Affirmation of the antecedent and affirmation the consequent

Passages from Famous Orations
___1. "If, Romans, every individual among us had made it a rule to maintain the prerogative and authority of a husband with respect to his own wife, we would have less trouble with the whole sex. But now our privileges overpowered by home by female contumacy are, even in the Forum, spurned and trodden under foot; and because we are unable to withstand each separately we now dread their collective body." (From Cato, the Censor's speech supporting the Oppian Law)

___2. If death is a privation of all sensation, as it were, a sleep in which the sleeper has no dreams, then death would be a wonderful gain. But if , on the other hand, death is a removal from hence to another place, and what is said to be true, that all the dead are there, then death would be a wonderful gain. (A paraphrase from Socrates' speech on his condemnation to death)

___3. "Whenever, therefore, Congress shall mediate any infringement of the state constitution, the great body of the people will naturally take part with their domestic representative." (From Alexander Hamilton's speech on the Federal Constitution)

___4. "And Germany? If she knew of the Austrian note, it is inexcusable to have allowed such a step. And if official Germany did not know of the Austrian note, what is her governmental wisdom?" (From Jean Jaures' last speech before his death)

___5. "If we fail, it can be no worse for us. But we shall not fail." (From Daniel Webster's speech on celebrating the American heritage)

___6. "Do not regret my fate; If I have consented to survive, it is to serve your glory. I intend to write the history of the great achievements we have performed together." (From Napoleon Bonaparte's farewell to the Old Guard)

___7. "If March, 1861, does not find one million Italians in arms, than alas for liberty, alas for the life of Italy. Ah, no, far be from me a thought which I loathe like poison. March of 1861, of if need be February, we shall find us all at our post --Italians of Catafani, Palermo, Ancona, the Voltuno, Castelfidaro, and Isernia, and with us every man of this land who is not a coward or a slave." (From Giuseppe Garibaldi's speech to his soldiers in 1860)

___8. "If I am before you, it is because I wished it. I alone decide that this obscure, this abominable affair, should be brought before your jurisdiction, and it is I alone of my free will who chose you -- you the loftiest, the most direct emanation of French Justice -- in order that France might at least know all, and give her opinion." (From Emile Zola's appeal for Captain Alfred Dreyfus)

___9. "Oh Masters, if I were disposed to stir your hearts and minds to mutiny and rage, I should do Brutus and Cassius wrong who, you all know, are honorable men. I will not do them wrong." (From Shakespeare's Julius Caesar)

___10. "'Put them in prison,' they said: 'that will stop it'...They put women in prison for long terms of imprisonment, for making a nuisance of themselves--that was the expression when they took petitions in their hands to the door of the House of Commons; and they thought by sending them to prison, giving them a day's imprisonment, would cause them to all settle down again and there would be no further trouble. But it didn't happen so at all; instead of women giving it up, more women did it until there were three hundred women at a time, who had not broken a single law, only 'made a nuisance of themselves' as the politicians say." (From Emmeline Pankhurst's speech on militant Suffragists)

___11. "If a riot should happen in the court-house, and one should kill another, this may be a murder, or it may not." From Daniel Webster's speech on the Knapp-White Murder Case)

___12. "If we wish to be free--if we mean to preserve inviolate those inestimable privileges for which we have been so long contending--if we mean not basely to abandon the noble struggle in which we have been so long engaged, and which we have pledged ourselves never to abandon until the glorious object of our contest shall be obtained, we must fight! I repeat it, Sir, we must fight! An appeal to arms and to the God of Hosts is all that is left!" (From Patrick Henry's speech on liberty or death)

___13. "If this newspaper clipping were a single or exceptional instance of law less defamation, I should not trouble the Senate with a reference to it. But, Mr. president. It is not." (From Robert M. La Follette's speech on free speech in wartime)

___14. "But the foolish children of men miserably delude themselves in their own schemes, and in confidence in their own strength and wisdom; they trust to nothing but a shadow. The great part of those that heretofore have lived under the same means of grace, and are now dead, are undoubtedly gone to hell; and it was not because they were not as wise as those who are now alive: it was not because they did not lay out matters as well for themselves to secure their own escape. If we could speak with them, and inquire of them, one by one, whether they expected, when alive, and when they used to hear about hell, ever to be the subjects of that misery: we doubtless, should hear one and another reply, 'No, I never intended to come here: I had laid out matters otherwise in my mind; I thought I should contrive well for myself: I thought my scheme good. I intended to take effectual care; but it came upon me unexpected; I did not look for it at that time, and in that manner; it came as a thief: Death outwitted me: God's wrath was too quick for me. Oh, my cursed foolishness! I was flattering myself, and pleasing myself with vain dreams of what I would do hereafter; and when I was saying, Peace and safety, then suddenly destruction came upon me."' (From Jonathan Edwards' speech on sinners in the hands of an angry God)

___15. "If there be any future service that I can render to my country, consistently with these sentiments and opinions, I shall cheerfully render it. If there be not, I shall still be glad to have had an opportunity to disburden myself from the bottom of my heart, and make known every political sentiment that therein exists." (From Daniel Webster's Seventh of March, 1850 speech)

___16. "I look forward to a time when each state shall be allowed to do as it pleases. If it chooses to keep slavery forever, it is not my business, but its own; if it chooses to abolish slavery, it is its own business--not mine." (From Stephen A. Douglas in the Lincoln-Douglas debate at Alton)

___17. "And if I believed that the right to hold a slave in a territory was equally fixed in the Constitution, with the right to reclaim fugitives, I should be bound to give it the legislation necessary to support it. I say that no man can deny his obligation to give the necessary legislation to support slavery in a territory, who believes it is a constitutional right to have it there." (From Abraham Lincoln's First Inaugural Address)

___18. "If a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich." (From John F. Kennedy's Inaugural Address)

___19. "He [Steven A. Douglas] contends that whatever community wants slaves has a right to have them. So they have, if it is not wrong. But if it is wrong, he cannot say people have a right to do wrong." (From Abraham Lincoln in the Lincoln-Douglas debate at Alton)

___20. "I have said, and I repeat it here, that if there be a man amongst us who does not think that the institution of slavery is wrong in any one of the aspects of which I have spoken, he is misplaced, and ought not to be with us. And if there be a man amongst us who is so impatient of it as a wrong as to disregard its actual presence among us and the difficulty of getting rid of it suddenly in a satisfactory way, and to disregard the constitutional obligations thrown about it, that man is misplaced if he is on our platform." (From Abraham Lincoln in the Lincoln-Douglas debate at Alton)

___21. "If by the mere force of numbers a majority should deprive a minority of any clearly written constitutional right, it might, in a moral point of view, justify revolution--certainly would if such a right were a vital one. But such is not our case. All the vital rights of minorities and of individuals are so plainly assured to them by affirmation and negations, guaranties and prohibitions, in the Constitution, that controversies never arise concerning them." (From Abraham Lincoln's First Inaugural Address)

___22. If, Sir, I had adopted what are called Peace principles, I might lament the circumstances of this case. But all you who believe, as I do, in the right and duty of magistrates to execute the laws, join with me and brand as base hypocrisy the conduct of those who assemble year after year on the 4th of July, to fight over the battles of the Revolution, and yet 'damn with faint praise,' or load with obloquy, the memory of this man, who shed his blood in defense of life, liberty, property, and the freedom of the press!" (From Wendell Phillips' speech on the murder of Lovejoy)

___23. "Let's inaugurate a new departure, recognize that we are afloat on the current of Niagra, eternal vigilance the condition of our safety, that we are irrevocably pledged to the world not to go back to bolts and bars,--could not if we would, and would not if we could." (From Wendell Phillips' speech on the scholar in a Republic)

___24. "When I reflect upon the range of the invisible and the silent God, with the vast and well-nigh incomprehensible stretch of time, and of his compassionate waiting and working through illimitable ages and periods, compared with which a million years as marked by the clock are but seconds; when I reflect that the silent stones and the buried strata contain the record of God's working, and that the globe itself is a sublime history of God as an engineer and architect and as a master builder, I cannot but marvel at the indifference with which good men have regarded this stupendous revelation of the ages past, and especially at the assaults made by Christian men upon scientific men who are bringing to light the long-hidden record of God's revelation in the material world." (From Henry Ward Beecher's speech on the two revelations)

___25. "The South has nothing for which to apologize. She believes that the late struggle between the States was war and not rebellion, revolution and not conspiracy, and that her convictions were as honest as yours. I should be unjust to the dauntless spirit of the South and to my own convictions if I did not make this plain in this presence. The South has nothing to take back." (From Henry W. Grady's speech on the New South)

___26. "Here is the line of battle, and we care not upon which issue they force the fight; we are prepared to meet them on either issue or on both. If they tell us that the gold standard is the standard of civilization, we reply to them that this, the most enlightened of all the nations of the earth, has never declared for a gold standard and that both of the great parties this year are declaring against it. If the gold standard is the standard of civilization, why, my friends, should we not have it? If they come to meet us on that issue we can present the history of our nation. More than that; we can tell them that they will search the pages of history in vain to find a single instance where the common people have ever declared themselves in favor of the gold standard." (From William Jennings Bryan's speech on The Cross of Gold)

___27. "If they dare to come out in the open field and defend the gold standard as a good thing, we will fight them to the uttermost. Having behind the producing masses of this union and the world, supported by the commercial interest, the laboring interests, and the toilers everywhere, we will answer their demand for a gold standard by saying to them: You shall not press down upon the brow of labor this crown of thorns, you shall not crucify mankind upon a cross of gold." (From William Jennings Bryan's speech on The Cross of Gold)

___28. "The Declaration of Independence does not forbid us to do our part in the regeneration of the world. If it did, the Declaration would be wrong, just as the Articles of Confederation, drafted by the very same men who signed the Declaration, was found to be wrong. The Declaration has no application to the present situation. It was written by self-governing men. It was written by men who, for a century and a half, had been experimenting in self-government on this continent, and whose ancestors for hundreds of years before had been gradually developing toward that high and holy estate. The Declaration applies only to people capable of self-government." (From Albert Jeremiah Beveridge's speech on the Philippine Question)

___29. "If I read the temper of our people correctly, we now realize as we have never before, our interdependence on each other; that we cannot merely take, but we must give as well; that if we are to go forward we must move as a trained and loyal army willing to sacrifice for the good of a common discipline, because without such discipline, no progress is made, no leadership becomes effective. We are, I know ready and willing to submit our lives and property to such discipline because it makes possible a leadership which aims at a higher good." (From Franklin Delano Roosevelt's speech calling for a declaration of war against Japan)

___30. "If they get their way they will lead the people into a deeper pit than any into which they could fall under the present system. If they fail to get their way they will still do incalculable harm by provoking the kind of reaction which in its revolt against the senseless evil of their teaching would enthrone more securely than ever the evils which their misguided followers believe they are attacking." (From Theodore Roosevelt's speech on the man with the muckrake)

___31. If I along have been made the victim of these attacks, I should not take one moment of the Senate's time for their consideration, and I believe that other Senators who have been unjustly and unfairly assailed, as I have been, hold the same attitude upon this that I do...But, sir, it is not along Members of Congress that the war party in this country has sought to intimidate. The mandate seems to have gone forth to the sovereign people of this country that they must be silent while those things being done by their Government which most vitally concern their well being, their happiness, and their lives. Today and for weeks past honest and law-abiding citizens of this country are being terrorized and outraged in their rights by those sworn to uphold the laws and protect the rights of the people. I have in my possession numerous affidavits establishing the fact that people are being unlawfully arrested, thrown into jail, held incommunicado for days, only to be eventually discharged without ever having been taken into court, because they have committed no crime. Private residences are being invaded, loyal citizens of undoubted integrity and probity arrested, crossed-examined, and the most sacred constitutional rights guaranteed to every American citizen are being violated." (From Robert La Follette's speech on free speech in wartime)

___32. "I would be recreant to the great labor movement and all its portends if I did not take you into my confidence, men and women of labor, and tell you what I have told you. I am apprehensive, justly so, justified by every event in the whole history of Labor, that a great mistake may be made, a great injury inflicted upon our fellows, not for a day, not for a year, not for a decade, but perhaps for many, many years to come. I want to present that view to you so that you may understand the situation clearly." (From Samuel Gomper's speech on forming a Labor Party)

___33. "If a man wished to be a Christian he could be a Christian, but if he did not wish to be a Christian he had to be a Christian, and the centuries are sad with the horrors of religious persecution." (From Harry Emerson Fosdick's speech on a Christian conscience about war)

___34. "I owe my advancement entirely to the House of Commons whose servant I am. In my country, as in yours, public men are proud to be the servants of the state, and would be ashamed to be its masters. On any day, if they thought the people wanted it, the House of Commons could by a simple vote remove me from my office. But I am not worrying about it at all." (From Winston Churchill's address to the Congress of the United States)

___35. "I called for reinforcements, but was informed that reinforcements were not available. I made clear that if not permitted to destroy the buildup bases north of the Yalu, if not permitted to utilize the friendly Chinese force of some 600,000 men on Formosa, if not permitted to blockade the China coast to prevent the Chinese Reds from getting succor from without; and if there were to be no hope of major reinforcements, the position of the command from the military standpoint forbade victory. We could hold in Korea by constant maneuver and at an approximate area where our supply line advantages were in balance with the supply disadvantages of the enemy, but we could hope at best for only an indecisive campaign, with its terrible and constant attrition upon our forces if the enemy used his full military potential. I have constantly called for the new political decisions essential to a solution. Efforts have been made to distort my position." (From Douglas McArthur's speech on "Old Soldier Never Die")

___36. "If ignorance and corruption and intrigue control the primary meeting and manage the convention and dictate the nomination, the fault is in the honest and intelligent workshop and office, in the library and parlor, in the church and the school. But let us not be deceived. While good men sit at home, not knowing that there is anything to be done, not caring to know, cultivating a feeling that politics are tiresome and dirty, and politicians vulgar bullies and bravos; half persuaded that a republic is the contemptible rule of a mob, and secretly longing for a splendid and vigorous despotism--then remember it is not a government mastered by ignorance, it is a government betrayed by intelligence; it is not the victory of the slums, it is the surrender of the schools; it is not that bad men are brace, but that good men are infidels and cowards." (From George William Curtis' speech on the public duty of educated men)

___37. "If in the public stations I have filled, I have acquitted myself with zeal, fidelity, and disinterestedness; if in the private walk of life my conduct has been unstained by any dishonorable act, if it has been uniformly consistent with the rules of integrity, I have a right to the confidence of those to whom I address myself. They cannot refuse it to me without justice. I am persuaded they will not refuse it to me." (From Alexander Hamilton's speech on an Act granting to Congress certain imposts and duties)

___38. "If we adopt this mode; if we mean to conciliate and concede; let us see of what nature the concession ought to be; to ascertain the nature of the concession, we must look at their complaint. The colonies complain that they have not the characteristic mark and seal of British freedom. They complain that they are taxed in a parliament, in which they are not represented." (From Edmund Burke's speech on conciliation with the Colonies)

___39. "I have been accused of acting a theatrical poet. A theatrical part may either imply some peculiarities of gesture, or a dissimulation of my real sentiments, and an adoption of the opinions and language of another man. In the first sense, sir, the charge is too trifling to be confuted, and deserves only to be mentioned to be despised. I am at liberty, like every other man, to use my own language; and though, perhaps, I may have some ambition to please this gentleman, I shall not lay myself under any restraint, nor very solicitously copy his diction or his mien, however matured by age, or modeled by experience. If any man shall, by charging me with theatrical behavior, imply that I utter any sentiments but my own, I shall treat him as a calumniator and a villain; nor shall any protection shelter him from the treatment he deserves. I shall, on such an occasion, without scruple, trample upon all those forms with which wealth and dignity entrench themselves, nor shall anything but age restrain my resentment--age, which always bring one privilege, that of being insolent and supercilious without punishment." (From Lord Chatham's defense when attacked by Horatio Walpole)

___40. "If this, then, sir, has been the use made of the trust of political powers, internal and external, given by you in the charter, the next thing to be seen is the conduct of the Company with regard to the commercial trust. And here I will make a fair offer: If it can be proved that they have acted wisely, prudently, and frugally, as merchants, I shall pass by the whole mass of their enormities as statesmen. That they have not done this, their present condition is proof sufficient." (From Edmund Burke's speech on the East India Bill of Charles James Fox)

Concluding Remarks
Students of oratory should read many famous speeches and student rhetorical theory. However, while reading what is said, they should recognize how it is said, for without equating theory and practice, students of oratory may be awed by inspirational passages but fail to comprehend that the latter may be invalid and fallacious. To develop a recognition of theory in practice, students and coaches of oratory should develop their own examination-games. Indeed, these games can enhance learning and promote enjoyment--especially when trying to stump one's students, coaches, and colleagues.

(Dr. Wayne C. Mannebach directed debate and forensics at Ripon College for nine years, and for the past twenty-nine years he has taught English at St. Mary's Central High School in Neenah (WI).