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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