Master class in public speaking from Demosthenes
The name of Demosthenes has long become a household name. Descendants remember him primarily as a stubborn young man with burning eyes, who, by the power of his desire, perseverance and self-discipline, achieved the impossible and became a person who realized his almost unrealizable dream, and is rightfully considered a symbol of perseverance and the will to win.
The battlefield, the death sentence of the great king, false accusations, the death of a beloved daughter, an unjust sentence, prison, exile, broken hopes, betrayal and, finally, suicide … All this gives the life of Demosthenes a tragic tone.
And yet, descendants remember him primarily as a stubborn young man with burning eyes, who, by the power of his desire, perseverance and self-discipline, achieved the impossible and became a person who realized his almost unrealizable dream. But almost every owner of a developed anal and / or skin vector is capable of this. It is enough to truly desire your goal and know that its achievement is possible.
The name of Demosthenes has long become a household name - this man, who became famous as one of the greatest orators of ancient Greece, is rightfully considered a symbol of perseverance and the will to win.
Had he been born in Russia, he would have been called Demosthenes Demosthenich, for the name was given to him in honor of a priest, a wealthy craftsman, owner of a weapons workshop in which slaves worked. Demosthenes would have skated like cheese in butter, if Father had not suddenly died suddenly, when the future speaker was only 7 years old, and his sister was even less. The inherited fortune did not bring happiness to the children - the capital fell into the possession of the guardians, who did not even think to allocate at least part of the money for the maintenance of the children, corresponding to their position in society. The unscrupulous trinity, whom Demosthenes' father entrusted on his deathbed with the care of his family, has plundered almost all of his fortune during ten years of guardianship …
Anal justice is the best motivation
They say that hardships temper. But sometimes the acute sense of injustice, which Demosthenes had to taste from childhood, also temperes. As for a real analist, the desire to restore trampled justice became for Demosthenes a powerful incentive to reach the heights of public recognition, thanks to which we know about him.
Despite the greed of the guardians, Demosthenes had the means to train and educate, however, according to some reports, his mother was always afraid for his health and constantly took care of the boy, preventing him from exercising. So I would have raised a soft and pliable anal-visual boy out of him, if not for the skin and sound vectors in him, which largely determined his fate.
And the famous Greek's anal vector was well developed, endowing him with high morality and spiritual purity. The fact that an undeveloped person would have gone into a long-term resentment, with Demosthenes resulted in a struggle to restore justice - for almost six (!) Years he was suing his guardians. Obeying the will of the law, they gave him a part of the inheritance upon reaching the age of majority, but so miserable that it looked more like a mockery. Anal resentment and a desire for justice mixed with a skin desire to act according to the law, according to the rules, through legal proceedings. Demosthenes argued in court his right to the funds appropriated by his mother's brothers persistently and stubbornly, setting himself the goal of achieving condemnation of the offenders in accordance with the law. What did the "uncles" not invent for five long years to evade responsibility - even the will itself was destroyed!Another would have lost patience long ago and waved his hand, but not Demosthenes.
Many historians, describing the life of Demosthenes, often argue that it was precisely the many years of litigation with guardians that tempered his character, developing his tenacity and perseverance. From the standpoint of system-vector psychology, everything looks exactly the opposite - it was the innate tenacity and perseverance inherent in people with an anal vector that helped Demosthenes to survive in this long-term litigation.
How could he study so much without the anal vector? Would I have read countless volumes of works by the most famous writers and philosophers of my time, without the reading vector itself? Could he have been able to memorize so much information without the phenomenal memory that he got along with the anality?..
Respect for authorities is as much an integral part of the anal vector as the desire to collect and accumulate knowledge. Demosthenes had his own authorities, above all, the great orators of his time - Callistratus and Pericles, whom he considered to be role models. In addition, Demosthenes was truly impressed and fascinated by the "History" of the famous historian of those times Thucydides and was so imbued with his talented and graceful style of presentation that he personally rewrote the book eight (!) Times, memorizing it almost by heart. Yes, it is not in vain that the anal vector is given perseverance - the ability to sit for hours on a book of interest to them, or to pore over a letter, or to compose a long written speech full of carefully constructed arguments and skillfully selected epithets … Just imagine how much time and effort it takes to rewrite a fat volume of other people's writings!.. In our age of computers and voice recorders, this is difficult to imagine.
Possessing all the reading vectors, Demosthenes was obsessed with a thirst for knowledge. For four years he took lessons from Isei, the best inheritance lawyer at the time. Following the example of his teacher, Demosthenes began writing court speeches to order, honing his nascent skill of addressing the public. The texts of the speeches were well paid by the customers, and Demosthenes began to earn good money - he supported himself, his sister and mother, paid for eloquence lessons for Isei and even managed to make some savings. And when he realized that he could and wanted not only to write for others, but also on his own speak, with a confident step went to court.
Competitive spirit. How to restore justice
Demosthenes had been to the courts before, as a spectator. In those days in Athens, almost every citizen had to appear from time to time in court or in the people's assembly, which often gathered on various occasions. Being an orator in Athens was not only honorable, but also profitable - the most outstanding and talented orators held influential positions and participated in the government, they were often sent to other states with diplomatic missions or as ambassadors.
The cutaneous vector undoubtedly played a role in Demosthenes' ambition to become one of the best (and perhaps the best!) Orator of Athens. Or was it a sound that felt subconsciously destined for great things? The visual vector helped Demosthenes to take possession of not only the mind, but also the soul and heart of the audience. It all happened like this.
Once, while still quite a boy, Demosthenes and his teachers came to a court hearing, where the famous orator Callistratus spoke. His speech so captivated the young man that he could not take his eyes off the protruding one. He was admired and surprised by the power of eloquence, which forced the judges to change their minds, and the audience in the hall to applaud and enthusiastically support the arguments of the speaker.
The performance was stunningly bright, and Demosthenes was overwhelmed with emotion. Delight, admiration, desire to stand in the center of the applauding crowd … The absolutely tangible power of the speaker over the crowd struck him in the very heart. “I want that too,” a thought was born somewhere inside, forever changing the fate of Demosthenes.
As the German researcher of antiquity Heinrich Wilhelm Stoll wrote, "the example and fame of the remarkable orator and statesman Callistratus aroused surprise and competition in Demosthenes early on."
The eloquent orator, who turned the course of the trial in the direction he needed, was accompanied by the incessant applause of the people, and the echo of these applause sounded for a long time in Demosthenes's ears … …
Now imagine what strength this determination was if Demosthenes had no natural data for oratory. It’s not bad if he was shy or tongue-tied. Alas, everything was much more serious. Firstly, he had a weak voice and slurred speech, he stuttered slightly and lisped, not uttering the sound "r" at all. He had short breathing and often in the middle of a sentence he had to stop to take a breath and start talking again; in addition, he placed the stress incorrectly. Secondly, he absolutely did not know how to stand in front of the public, did not know what to do with his hands and even from time to time involuntarily twitched his shoulder … If there was a person in Athens least endowed with oratorical abilities, then this person was Demosthenes.
Master class in public speaking from Demosthenes
Demosthenes' inner determination was stronger than all the shortcomings of his speech. Skin ambition, anal tenacity, sound ideas and visual memory helped him to carry out his plans, despite all the obstacles. How? Through the most severe self-discipline. After observing the famous speakers, Demosthenes drew up a lesson plan for himself, each of which necessarily began with exercises to correct pronunciation. There were no speech therapists then, so Demosthenes had to develop his own program, to which he devoted several hours daily. This is developed skin!
So that he would not be tempted to give up everything, he shaved his half of his head and sat at home for two or three months, continuously studying, until his hair grew back. In the house, he arranged for himself a special underground room, where no one could interfere with his studies. He filled his mouth full of small stones or shards and tried to speak clearly and clearly, uttering whole phrases and even speeches on various topics. He overcame his burr, learning to pronounce the rolling "rrrr" from … a puppy. He teased him, and when the puppy began to growl, he repeated after him.
Rigid self-discipline coupled with a determination to get things done paid off. Having defeated speech defects, Demosthenes tried to speak to the people, however, his first two speeches were not successful, his speech was interrupted by noise and hiss every now and then. Demosthenes fell, was, in spirit, however, one of his friends, the famous Athenian actor Satyr, told him how to cope with this misfortune.
He invited Demosthenes to read an excerpt from the work of one of the then popular tragedians. After Demosthenes read the passage, the actor repeated it, but so expressively, with such a feeling that it seemed to Demosthenes that these were completely different verses. He realized how beautiful speech can be if you put emotions and expressiveness into it, and continued to work on himself with redoubled zeal.
Alone, he went to the seashore and loudly recited poetry, trying to drown out the sound of the waves. He spoke as he climbed and descended the mountain, trying to speak evenly and without stumbling, despite his interrupted breathing. He spoke and gestured in front of a mirror that reflected his full length. He practiced performing by standing under a dangling sword that stabbed him in the shoulder every time it twitched involuntarily. As a result, he managed to master not only the voice, but also gesticulation, and the emotional content of speech; Demosthenes achieved his goal and became a truly outstanding speaker.
However, lacking orality, which gives its owners verbal intelligence and unlimited possibilities of the most convincing spontaneous speech, Demosthenes was a typical "anal orator": he never spoke without prior preparation and always memorized written speech.
Here is how Heinrich Wilhelm Stoll describes the thorough preparation of Demosthenes for his speeches: “While the other demagogues spent their nights at feasts and drinking parties, he sat with a sober spirit at night in the light of his lamp and thought about what he intended to offer the next day meeting. His enemies laughed at him about this and called him a water-drinker. "Your speeches smell like the lamp of a night lamp," they said to him."
However, even ill-wishers who reproached Demosthenes for lack of inspiration were forced to recognize his skill. Correctly chosen arguments, careful preparation and the strength of feelings that Demosthenes put into his speeches made him understandable and convincing; his speeches influenced both the mind and the feelings of the listeners, really "catching" them; and more than once he managed to convince entire cities with his speeches.
Life full of challenges
Yes, Demosthenes achieved his goal, but his life path was not strewn with roses and lilies. Demosthenes faced many trials: he was the first strategist and stood at the head of the state; He was the ambassador who successfully unified almost all of Greece against Macedonia, and he had the opportunity to challenge the powerful Macedonian king Philip, the father of the famous military leader Alexander the Great. His famous fiery speeches against Tsar Philip have forever remained in the memory of mankind, because even now the word "philippica" is used to refer to a heated and passionate speech, most often denunciatory.
In an analistic straightforward manner, he always spoke the truth, always head-on, denouncing the local supporters of Macedonia … And of course, he made a lot of enemies for himself. His eternal rival and adversary was the famous orator Aeschines, a talented rascal who repeatedly accused Demosthenes of all sins and attacked him in his speeches at the first opportunity. He even had the audacity to accuse Demosthenes of cowardice after he fought against the Macedonian army as a private, and was forced to retreat along with the entire army.
Demosthenes was an extraordinary person. Having received the news of the death of Tsar Philip, he came to the popular assembly in festive clothes and with a wreath on his head, although his own beloved daughter died just a few days ago. The ambitions of the skin leader conquered the grief of the loving anal-visual father … "Position obliges" is the most skinny saying of all.
He took part in the uprising against Alexander the Great, and after the suppression of the rebels, he only miraculously escaped the punishing wrath of the great commander. However, fate did it for Alexander: he was unjustly accused of embezzlement and imprisoned. Friends helped him escape, but in exile Demosthenes suffered terribly because of the unfairness of the sentence: he, an impeccably honest man who never tarnished his honor, was convicted, but the real culprit, some notorious villain, was acquitted! intolerable, and system-vector psychology gives us the answer why the injustice of the sentence tormented Demosthenes more than imprisonment and exile …
He returned to his homeland only after the death of Alexander the Great. But the triumph and popular love were short-lived. Another uprising against Macedonia was suppressed, Demosthenes was sentenced to death in absentia. One of the traitors found his refuge, but, not wanting to return to his hometown as a prisoner, Demosthenes chose to poison himself.
This is how the life of an ancient Greek youth named Demosthenes ended, who achieved almost impossible by persistence and self-discipline, and forever went down in history, immortalizing his name. Life is tragic, but it gives real hope to everyone who sets goals that, at first glance, impossible to achieve.
