ghtful reader
to put behind the recorded words the living force and power. In this
we shall fill a vacant place in literature. There are countless books
of poetry in which the gems of the great poets of the world have been
preserved, but oratory has not been thus favored. We have many
volumes which record the speeches of different orators, sometimes
connected with a biography of their lives and sometimes as independent
gatherings of speeches. We have also single books, like Goodrich's
'British Eloquence,' which give us partial selections of the great
orations. But this is intended to be universal in its reach, a
complete encyclopedia of oratory. The purpose is to present the best
efforts of the world's greatest orators in all ages; and with this
purpose kept in view as the matter of primary importance, to
supplement the great orations with others that are representative and
historically important--especially with those having a fundamental
connection with the most important events in the development of
Anglo-Saxon civilization. The greatest attention has been given to
the representative orators of England and America, so that the work
includes all that is most famous or most necessary to be known in the
oratory of the Anglo-Saxon race. Wherever possible, addresses have
been published in extenso. This has been the rule followed in giving
the great orations. In dealing with minor orators, the selections
made are considerable enough to show the style, method, and spirit.
Where it has been necessary to choose between two orations of equal
merit, the one having the greater historical significance has been
selected. Of course it would not be possible, keeping within
reasonable limits, to give every speech of every one worthy to be
called an orator. Indeed, the greatest of orators sometimes failed.
So we have carefully selected only those speeches which manifest the
power of eloquence; and this selection, we take pleasure in assuring
our readers, has been made by the most competent critics of the
country.

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