In my opinion, it was chiefly owing to their deep contemplation in their silent retreats in the days of youth that the old Indian orators acquired the habit of carefully arranging their thoughts. They listened to the warbling of birds and noted the grandeur and the beauties of the forest. The majestic clouds—which appear like mountains of granite floating in the air—the golden tints of a summer evening sky, and the changes of nature, possessed a mysterious significance. All of this combined to furnish ample matter for reflection to the contemplating youth.
A rhetorician is capable of speaking effectively against all comers, whatever the issue, and can consequently be more persuasive in front of crowds about… anything he likes.
Your goodness must have some edge to it -- else it is none.
Today it is not the classroom nor the classics which are the repositories of models of eloquence, but the ad agencies.
Brevity is a great charm of eloquence.
Indeed, there is an eloquence in true enthusiasm that is not to be doubted.
Eloquence is a painting of the thoughts.
False eloquence is exaggeration; true eloquence is emphasis.
Well-timed silence hath more eloquence than speech.
