Summary: Cicero starts off by explaining his views and beliefs on eloquence and the art of rhetoric. He begins with explaining the relationship between wisdom and good rhetoric, good public speaking. He shows in his essay that almost every great moment or catastrophe in the history of man was made by someone with eloquence and great public speaking. On the other side of this, there is a person with great public speaking but does not have the wisdom to go along with it. This person can cause great destruction to our society.
He tells that many good things have come along with eloquent speakers but there is also evil within them. Some speakers have such great eloquence and rhetoric that they can speak about something not relevant at all and a group of people can go along with it. It can be the most ridiculous thing, but because the way it is presented and given, he can pull people in.
The last thing he explains is how to become a great eloquent speaker. He gives different topics to focus on when giving speeches.
Response: This essay definitely describes what I believe when I listen to a speech. Someone that delivers a speech with great eloquence really makes you believe what they are saying. Someone like Barack Obama, who is a great public speaker, got people to go along with some of his ideas when really they made no sense for our country. Others who have wisdom and are great speakers can help our society a great deal. There are many historical events that have been influenced because of great speakers. It is a big part of our society.
I chose to watch the Shuttle “Challenger” Disaster Address by Ronald Reagan. Throughout the speech talks about bringing our nation together in mourning for the 7 astronauts that perished in this terrible disaster. He has a sort of unity message for the country and the way he delivers it makes you believe and buy into it. It makes you feel better and tells the listener that you aren’t alone in your morning. He gives a very good speech and he makes you believe what he is saying.