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HISTORY
SPEECH ARCHIVE
Browse the Speech Archive
A lot of people said a lot of things
throughout history. Some of the countless lectures, sermons, talks,
discourses, and addresses have been preserved.
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Search here for
great famous speeches in history and their
transcripts. Some files have an additional audio
track, some have a video clip.
Let's kick off
with a Cicero
quote: Nemo umquam neque poeta neque orator fuit,
qui quemquam meliorem quam se arbitraretur.
No poet or orator has ever existed who thought
there was another better than himself. End
quote. Good hunting. |
The Speech Archive
This speech collection is indexed
alphabetically by topic, alphabetically by speaker, and
chronologically.
Terminology
Oratory is the art
of public speaking. Ideally, the orator delivers
his oration with eloquence.
What is the difference between eloquence and
rhetoric?
The word
eloquence stems from the Latin term
eloquentia, referring to the readiness, elegance,
fluency, and persuasiveness of speech. If you
are able to deliver a bombastic and pompous
speech, you are grandiloquent.
The word
rhetoric is equivalent to the Greek word
ritoriki, which in turn stems from the Greek
term ritoras, meaning orator. Rhetoric,
therefore, is the art or method of an orator,
his skill. A master of rhetoric is also called a
rhetor or a rhetorician.
Rhetoric in History
ARISTOTLE 384 - 322 BC
DeA Picture
Library
Already back in
the days of the ancient Greeks rhetoric was a
respected art.
Aristotle wrote on the subject and
titled his work Rhetoric.
 Read
Aristotle's Rhetoric online.
QUINTILIAN TEACHING AT ORATORY BOOT CAMP IN ROME
Copper
engraving by F. Bleyswyk
Quintilian was
professor of Latin Rhetoric from AD 68 to 88. He
wrote the bible for oratory in 12 volumes and
titled it Institutio oratoria which is
Latin and means Institutes of oratory or
Education of an orator.
Read Quintilian online.
ELIZABETH ARRIVING AT OPEN MIC NIGHT IN TILBURY
1588
Life.com
In her
youth,
Queen Elizabeth I of
England had studied rhetoric. Her
Majesty became famous for her captivating
speeches.
JOHN QUINCY ADAMS TO THE HOUSE OF
REPRESENTATIVES 1842
house.gov
John Quincy Adams
taught Rhetoric and Oratory at Harvard 1805 -
1809. John's nickname was Old Man Eloquent.
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