p breathing and voice culture; by way of
stimulated thought and expression; and by an increase of self-confidence
and personal power.

Men and women in constantly increasing numbers are realizing the
importance of public speaking, and as questions multiply for debate and
solution the need for this training will be still more widely
appreciated, so that a practical knowledge of public speaking will in
time be considered indispensable to a well-rounded education.

Speech for Study, with Lesson Talk

THE STYLE OF THEODORE ROOSEVELT

The speeches of Mr. Roosevelt commend themselves to the student of
public speaking for their fearlessness, frankness, and robustness of
thought. His aim was deliberate and effective.

His style was generally exuberant, and the note of personal assertion
prominent. He was direct in diction, often vehement in feeling, and one
of his characteristics was a visible satisfaction when he drove home a
special thought to his hearers.

It is hoped that the extract reprinted here, from Mr. Roosevelt's famous
address, "The Strenuous Life," will lead the student to study the speech
in its entirety. The speech will be found in "Essays and Addresses,"
published by The Century Company.

THE STRENUOUS LIFE[2]

BY THEODORE ROOSEVELT

[Footnote 2: Extract from speech before the Hamilton Club, Chicago,
April 10, 1899. From the "Strenuous Life. Essays and Addresses" by
Theodore Roosevelt. The Century Co., 1900.]

In speaking to you, men of the greatest city of the West, men of the
State which gave to the country Lincoln and Grant, men who preeminently
and distinctly embody all that is most American in the American
character, I wish to preach, not the doctrine of ignoble ease, but the
doctrine of the strenuous life, the life of toil and effort, of labor
and strife; to preach that highest form of success which comes, not to
the man who desires mere easy peace, but to the man who does not shrink
from danger, from hardship, or from bitter toil, and who out of these
wins the splendid ultimate triumph.

A life of slothful ease, a life of that peace which springs merely from
lack either of desire or of power to strive after great things, is as
little worthy of a nation as of an individual. I ask only that what
every self-respecting American demands from himself and his sons shall
be demanded of the American nation as a whole. Who among you would teach
the boys that ease, that peace, is to be the first