Scribblings and Dribblings

Alright, the lectures aren’t new, per se, but the text is.

I have begun the task of editing all of John Quincy Adams’ Lectures on Rhetoric and Oratory out of frustration for not having a legible and accurate copy available anywhere other than a scarce hardbound copy of Volume II on my living room shelf. Since this work is in the public domain, I am sharing it freely and asking for feedback to improve it.  It can be found on my web site here.

Why, you might wonder, bother with an obscure volume like this? I would argue that Adams’ eloquence alone is worth the reading. But more than that, writers can benefit from the piece as an example of how to match form to message. Not only are his lectures on rhetoric illuminating, they are themselves rhetorical genius.