World's Best Orations, Volume 1


Who does not delight in oratory? How we gather to hear even an ordinary speaker! How often is a jury swayed and controlled by the appeals of counsel! Do we not all feel the magic of the power, and when occasionally we are permitted to listen to a great orator how completely we lose ourselves and yield in willing submission to the imperious and impetuous flow of his speech!

We have not confined ourselves to any one profession or field of eloquence. The pulpit, the bar, the halls of legislation, and the popular assembly have each and all been called upon for their best contributions. The single test has been, is it oratory? the single question, is there eloquence? The reader and student of every class will therefore find within these pages that which will satisfy his particular taste and desire in the matter of oratory. - Summary by David J. Brewer

This is volume 1 of 10. (19 hr 20 min)

Chapters

The Resurrection of Lazarus - Pierre Abelard 6:24
The Last Entry into Jerusalem - Pierre Abelard 3:24
The Divine Tragedy - Pierre Abelard 3:15
The States and the Union - Charles Francis Adams 17:15
The Battle of Gettysburg - Charles Francis Adams, Junior 17:37
Inaugural Address - John Adams 20:28
The Boston Massacre, Part 1 - John Adams 29:01
The Boston Massacre, Part 2 - John Adams 33:01
Oration at Plymouth - John Quincy Adams 47:46
Lafayette - John Quincy Adams 16:03
The Jubilee of the Constitution - John Quincy Adams 19:05
American Independence - Samuel Adams 53:55
A Farewell - Aelred 3:47
A Sermon after Absence - Aelred 5:57
On Manliness - Aelred 3:16
Against Crowning Demosthenes - Aeschines 13:32
Defense of Mrs. Mary E. Surratt, Part 1 - Frederick A. Aiken 28:13
Defense of Mrs. Mary E. Surratt, Part 2 - Frederick A. Aiken 28:21
Defense of Mrs. Mary E. Surratt, Part 3 - Frederick A. Aiken 28:06
The Meaning of the Crucifixion - Albert the Great 6:50
The Blessed Dead - Albert the Great 3:02
A Call to Arms - Ethan Allen 14:22
On the British Treaty - Fisher Ames 36:42
The Sea of Life - Saint Anselm 12:26
The Realities of Life and Death - Thomas Arnold 22:40
Inaugural Address - Chester Alan Arthur 6:12
The Divinity of Christ - Athanasius 18:10
The Lord's Prayer - Saint Augustine 31:08
Speech against Dueling - Francis Bacon 36:12
Treaties as Supreme Laws - James Barbour 23:46
Representative Democracy against Majority Absolutism - Antoine Pierre Joseph Ma… 9:00
Commercial Politics - Antoine Pierre Joseph Marie Barnave 3:45
Slander - Isaac Barrow 33:31
On a Recreant Nun - Basil the Great 26:33
Unwillingness to Improve - Richard Baxter 20:39
The Federal Judiciary - James A. Bayard 41:15
Commerce and Naval Power - James A. Bayard 6:37
A Plea for Conciliation in 1876, Part 1 - Thomas F. Bayard 36:43
A Plea for Conciliation in 1876, Part 2 - Thomas F. Bayard 30:10
A Plea for Conciliation in 1876, Part 3 - Thomas F. Bayard 27:59
The Assassination of Lincoln - Lord Beaconsfield 8:21
Against Democracy for England - Lord Beaconsfield 35:40
The Meaning of "Conservatism", Part 1 - Lord Beaconsfield 26:03
The Meaning of "Conservatism", Part 2 - Lord Beaconsfield 35:33
The Meaning of "Conservatism", Part 3 - Lord Beaconsfield 20:42
The Meeting of Mercy and Justice - The Venerable Bede 11:22
A Sermon for Any Day - The Venerable Bede 3:56
The Torments of Hell - The Venerable Bede 5:52
Raising the Flag over Fort Sumter, Part 1 - Henry Ward Beecher 25:56
Raising the Flag over Fort Sumter, Part 2 - Henry Ward Beecher 31:33
Effect of the Death of Lincoln - Henry Ward Beecher 16:22
A Plea for the National Life of Scotland - Lord Belhaven 33:52
Against Extremists, North and South - John Bell 22:59
Transcontinental Railroads - John Bell 26:38
Farewell to the Union - Judah P. Benjamin 24:07
Slavery as Established by Law - Judah P. Benjamin 5:18