Words, for Good and Ill

"Voices of History: Speeches that Changed the World" is a celebration of, and a warning against, the power of oral rhetoric.

Review of: Voices of History: Speeches that Changed the World by Simon Sebag Montefiore.

Most speechwriters would likely not know the name Mettius Pompusianus, but perhaps they should. Mettius was one of many potential opponents summarily sentenced to death in the late first century AD by the Roman emperor Domitian. What was Mettiusโ€™ crime?  According to ancient historian Cassius Dio, Domitian took exception to reports โ€œthat [Mettius] had excerpted and was wont to read the speeches of kings and other leaders that are recorded in [the works of Roman historian] Livy.โ€

Did Domitian believe that the close study of such a speech anthology meant Mettius was training himself as a speaker, perhaps to try to become emperor? Or was Domitian somehow annoyed or angered by Mettiusโ€™ conspicuous public veneration of past speeches (perhaps inviting unkind comparisons with Domitianโ€™s style of speaking)? The written record does not shed much light on the emperorโ€™s motives.  All we can surmise is that Mettiusโ€™s speech anthology, in some way, seems to have expressed sort of power that Domitian found threatening. 

As its title implies, Voices of History: Speeches that Changed the World begins with the premise that words do indeed have great powerโ€”and demonstrates this through excerpts from more than 80 historically-significant speeches. Simon Sebag Montefioreโ€™s introduction the book notes that it is false to assume that โ€œthe speeches that changed the world were the most poetic, truthful and decent; hymns of liberty, paeans of tolerance.โ€ The uncomfortable truth is that:

โ€ฆthe most powerful speeches are not all about love, beauty and poetryโ€”they are often atrocious projections of naked power, of lies, hatred and calumny, dehumanizing so-called โ€˜enemiesโ€™ with cruel hyperbole. Such speeches move worlds just as much as those of the noblest spirit and heroic courage. This collection includes the best and worstโ€ฆ Above all, I include these wicked speeches because in our own times, the very truth of these events has been challenged in an age of historical ignorance, resurgent hatreds and conspiracy theories. It has never been more important to see and hear the evidence, more essential to know such things, and realize there were times when mere words helped make violence and hatred not just normal and acceptable but desirable.

And it is a sweeping collection of oratorical highs and lows, with excerpts from speeches by numerous Soviet, Nazi and terrorist leaders side-by-side with remarks from speakers representing the great democratic and activist surges of the last 250 years. Through this single volume we can sample words from Cleopatra all the way to Greta Thunbergโ€”from Alexander the Great to Kamala Harris, from the ancient world to the current day. 

And thereโ€™s also Genghis Khanโ€ฆRonald Reaganโ€ฆEva Peronโ€ฆSocratesโ€ฆMichelle Obamaโ€ฆPope Urban IIโ€ฆ.General George Pattonโ€ฆSusan B. Anthonyโ€ฆas the Hollywood publicists used to proclaim about old historical movies: โ€œA Cast of Thousands!โ€ Only a trained historian like Montefiore could summon together such a wide-ranging set of speakers; and only a lively writer like him could put them so ably into context with his accompanying notes on each speech. 

The story of the unfortunate Mettius Pompusianus shows us that speech anthologies are a surprisingly ancient form of literature. (Some historians believe the first speech anthologies consisted of selections from the wartime orations that populate the Athenian historian Thucydidesโ€™ Peloponnesian War.) Whatever age in which they collected speeches for publication, the typical anthologistโ€™s goals have been fairly straightforward over the centuries, at least in the English-speaking world. One speech compiler might be motivated by a desire to preserve โ€œthe bestโ€ or โ€œthe greatestโ€ speeches for posterity, perhaps according to literary or rhetorical merit. Another might focus on collecting speeches that help explain key political/religious/military/etc. turning points in a society or civilizationโ€™s evolution. Yet another might weigh speeches by their โ€œinstructionalโ€ or moral value for the next generation.

By resisting the urge to profile only โ€œgreatโ€ speeches, Simon Sebag Montefiore has, commendably, found a unique way to breath new life into the speech anthology as a genreโ€”one that opens new perspectives for his readers, while handily showcasing his skills as a researcher. His Voices of History helps us better understand the role of โ€œthe best and worstโ€ of โ€œthe power of wordsโ€ in shaping human events and action. Anyone who wants to learn more about the relationship between leadership, rhetoric and political action will draw both new knowledge and great enjoyment from Montefioreโ€™s book. 

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