To this cause of the unpopularity of sermons may be added the extremely ungraceful manner in which they are delivered. The English, generally remarkable for doing very good things in a very bad manner, seem to have reserved the maturity and plenitude of their awkwardness for the pulpit.
Sydney Smith (1771-1845) English clergyman, essayist, wit
Memoir of the Reverend Sydney Smith, by His Daughter, Lady Holland, Vol. 1, ch. 3 (1855)
(Source)
Quotations about:
oration
Note not all quotations have been tagged, so Search may find additional quotes on this topic.
Make sure you have finished speaking before your audience has finished listening.
Dorothy Sarnoff (1914-2008) American opera singer, actress, image consultant
Speech Can Change Your Life (1970)
(Source)
Brevity is the best recommendation of speech, whether in a senator or an orator.
Marcus Tullius Cicero (106-43 BC) Roman orator, statesman, philosopher
(Attributed)
(Source)
In Tryon Edwards, A Dictionary of Thoughts (1891).
I must say I’m not very fond of oratory that’s so full of energy it hasn’t any room for facts.
The Foreign Secretary was a quite peerless orator. No matter how low the Government stood in the estimation of everyone, when the Foreign Secretary stood up and spoke — ah! how different everything seemed then! How quickly was every bad thing discovered to be the fault of the previous administration (an evil set of men who wedded general stupidity to wickedness of purpose).
Susanna Clarke (b. 1949) British author
Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell (2004)
Be sincere; be brief; be seated.
Franklin Delano Roosevelt (1882-1945) American lawyer, politician, statesman, US President (1933-1945)
(Attributed)
FDR's son, James, attributed this to his father, and it has frequently since been credited to him (with varying punctuation).The other day James Roosevelt opened a talk he made at Hollywood by saying: “My father gave me these hints on speechmaking. Be sincere … be brief … be seated.”
[Washington Post (1940-01-13)]
But similar sentiments elsewhere make it more likely that this is something FDR picked up and passed on. More research into this quotation (and the similar "Stand up ... speak up ... shut up") here: Quote Origin: Be Sincere; Be Brief; Be Seated – Quote Investigator®.
