A speech is poetry: cadence, rhythm, imagery, sweep! A speech reminds us that words, like children, have the power to make dance the dullest beanbag of a heart. — Peggy Noonan
A good speech should be like a woman's skirt: long enough to cover the subject and short enough to create interest — Winston Churchill
Much speech is one thing, well-timed speech is another. — Sophocles
Speech is a powerful master and achieves the most divine feats with the smallest and least evident body. It can stop fear, relieve pain, create joy, and increase pity — Gorgias
No speech can stain what is noble by nature. — Sophocles
Speech gave man a unique power to lead a double life, he could say one thing and do another. — James Harvey Robinson
Short Great Speech Quotes
A speech without a specific purpose is like a journey without a destination. — Ralph C. Smedley
Nothing is so unbelievable that oratory cannot make it acceptable. — Marcus Tullius Cicero
Through words he gave voice to the voiceless. Through deeds he gave courage to the faint of heart. — Barack Obama
All the great speakers were bad speakers at first. — Ralph Waldo Emerson
Well-timed silence hath more eloquence than speech. — Martin Farquhar Tupper
Great Speech Image Quotes
Silence is a source of great strength.
Long Speeches Quotes
Dare to declare who you are. It is not far from the shores of silence to the boundaries of speech. The path is not long, but the way is deep. You must not only walk there, you must be prepared to leap. — Hildegard of Bingen
Human speech is like a cracked kettle on which we tap crude rhythms for bears to dance to, while we long to make music that will melt the stars. — Gustave Flaubert
Every man should study conciseness in speaking; it is a sign of ignorance not to know that long speeches, though they may please the speaker, are the torture of the hearer. — Owen Feltham
As is a tale, so is life: not how long it is, but how good it is, is what matters. I wish you all very good lives. — J. K. Rowling
The principle of free speech is no new doctrine born of the Constitution of the United States. It is a heritage of English-speaking peoples, which has been won by incalculable sacrifice, and which they must preserve so long as they hope to live as free men. — Robert M. La Follette, Sr.
Ministers should not pray so loud, and long, as to exhaust the strength. It is not necessary to weary the throat and lungs in prayer. God's ear is ever open to hear the heart-felt petitions of his humble servants, and he does not require them to wear out the organs of speech in addressing him. — Ellen G. White
This is a long tough road we have to travel. The men that can do things are going to be sought out just as surely as the sun rises in the morning. Fake reputations, habits of glib and clever speech, and glittering surface performance are going to be discovered. — Dwight D. Eisenhower
There are many prices we pay for freedoms secured by the First Amendment; the risk of undue influence is one of them, confirming what we have long known: Freedom is hazardous, but some restraints are worse. — Warren E. Burger
Lebanese freedom of speech : You get to say whatever you like as long as the authorities approve of it... Hilarious. — Ziad K. Abdelnour
Political Speeches Quotes
Hate speech it seems to be is been defined by the political left as anything we don't like, anything that violates social justice doctrines, feminism, Black Lives Matter kind of ideology. It is not something that I have ever heard particularly effectively defined. — Milo Yiannopoulos
We live in a country that talks about being the home of the brave and the land of the free, and we have the highest incarceration rate in the world. — Bryan Stevenson
I had a right to my own political opinions. I am a Southern woman, born with Revolutionary blood in my veins. Freedom of speech and of thought were my birthright, guaranteed, signed and sealed by the blood of our fathers. — Rose O'Neal Greenhow
When even one American - who has done nothing wrong - is forced by fear to shut his mind and close his mouth - then all Americans are in peril. — Harry S. Truman
In our time, political speech and writing are largely the defense of the indefensible... Thus, political language has to consist largely of euphemism, question-begging, and sheer cloudy vagueness... Political language [is] designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable. — George Orwell
The only thing we have to fear is fear itself-and possibly teh bogey man. — Pat Paulsen
Goebbels was in favor of free speech for views he liked. So was Stalin. If you’re really in favor of free speech, then you’re in favor of freedom of speech for precisely the views you despise. Otherwise, you’re not in favor of free speech. — Noam Chomsky
I do not agree with what you have to say, but I'll defend to the death your right to say it. — Evelyn Beatrice Hall
Freedom includes the right to say what others may object to and resent... The essence of citizenship is to be tolerant of strong and provocative words. — John Diefenbaker
Restriction of free thought and free speech is the most dangerous of all subversions. It is the one un-American act that could most easily defeat us. — William O. Douglas
Inspirational Speech Quotes
Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred. — Martin Luther King, Jr.
We want deeper sincerity of motive, a greater courage in speech and earnestness in action. — Sarojini Naidu
Everyone you will ever meet knows something you don't. — Bill Nye
I say to you today, my friends, so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. — Martin Luther King, Jr.
We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men and women are created equal. — Elizabeth Cady Stanton
We are each other's harvest; we are each other's business; we are each other's magnitude and bond. — Gwendolyn Brooks
Never follow anyone else's path, unless you're in the woods and you're lost. — Ellen DeGeneres
When I was in New York after I left the Army, I studied for two years at the American Theater Wing, studied acting, which involved dance and fencing and speech classes and history of theater, all that. — James Earl Jones
Silence is the Mother of Truth, for the silent man was ever to be trusted, while the man ever ready with speech was never taken seriously. — Luther Standing Bear
I have often regretted my speech, never my silence. — Xenocrates
The great questions of the day will not be settled by means of speeches and majority decisions but by iron and blood. — Otto von Bismarck
Christianity is not a matter of persuading people of particular ideas, but of inviting them to share in the greatness of Christ. So pray that I may never fall into the trap of impressing people with clever speech, but instead I may learn to speak with humility, desiring only to impress people with Christ himself. — Ignatius of Antioch
The man who says his wife can't take a joke, forgets that she took him. — Oscar Wilde
In some not too distant tomorrow the radiant stars of love and brotherhood will shine over our great nation with all their scintillating beauty. — Martin Luther King, Jr.
Manchester is a city which has witnessed a great many stirring episodes, especially of a political character. Generally speaking, its citizens have been liberal in their sentiments, defenders of free speech and liberty of opinion. — Emmeline Pankhurst
Great wisdom is generous; petty wisdom is contentious. Great speech is impassioned, small speech cantankerous. — Zhuangzi
If I lived in China or even Russia, or any totalitarian country, Maybe I could understand some of these illegal injunctions. ... But somewhere I read of the freedom of assembly. Somewhere I read of the freedom of speech. Somewhere I read of the freedom of the press. Somewhere I read that the greatness of America is the right to protest for right. — Martin Luther King, Jr.
After reading hundreds of e-mails, I have made MY decision. By pulling my opening Oct 3rd, You (ESPN) stepped on the Toes of The First Amendment Freedom of Speech, so therefore Me, My Song, and All My Rowdy Friends are OUT OF HERE. It's been a great run. — Hank Williams, Jr.
Freedom of thought and freedom of speech in our great institutions are absolutely necessary for the preservation of our country. The moment either is restricted, liberty begins to wither and die. — John Peter Altgeld
When a legislature undertakes to proscribe the exercise of a citizen's constitutional right to free speech, it acts lawlessly; and the citizen can take matters into his own hands and proceed on the basis that such a law is no law at all. — William O. Douglas
India is, the cradle of the human race, the birthplace of human speech, the mother of history, the grandmother of legend, and the great grand mother of tradition. our most valuable and most instructive materials in the history of man are treasured up in India only. — Mark Twain
The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist. — Dwight D. Eisenhower
Making others happy, through kindness of speech and sincerity of right advice, is a sign of true greatness. To hurt another soul by sarcastic words, looks, or suggestions, is despicable. — Paramahansa Yogananda
When I read great literature, great drama, speeches, or sermons, I feel that the human mind has not achieved anything greater than the ability to share feelings and thoughts through language. — James Earl Jones
I learned many great lessons from my father, not the least of which, was that you can fail at what you don't want so you might as well take a chance on doing what you love — Jim Carrey
Freedom of speech is the great bulwark of liberty; they prosper and die together: And it is the terror of traitors and oppressors, and a barrier against them. It produces excellent writers, and encourages men of fine genius. — Benjamin Franklin
It is a great thing to know the season for speech and the season for silence. — Seneca The Elder
Silence is the element in which great things fashion themselves together ... Speech is too often ... the act of quite stifling and suspending thought, so that there is none to conceal ... Speech is of Time, silence is of Eternity ... It is idle to think that, by means of words, any real communication can ever pass from one man to another. — Maurice Maeterlinck
Speech is great, but silence is greater. — Thomas Carlyle
The spoken discourse may roll on strongly as the great tidal wave; but, like the wave, it dies at last feebly on the sands. It is heard by few, remembered by still fewer, and fades away, like an echo in the mountains, leaving no token of power. It is the written human speech, that gave power and permanence to human thought. — Albert Pike
Being Kind Not in some great deed of heroism; not in some great speech or act that may be pointed to with pride-but rather in the little kindnesses from day to day. — Edgar Cayce
Marriage is like a golden ring in a chain, whose beginning is a glance and whose ending is eternity. — Kahlil Gibran
We were born to make manifest the glory of God within us. — Marianne Williamson
A political movement must keep in touch with reality and the prevailing conditions. Long speeches, the shaking of fists, the banging of tables, and strongly worded resolutions out of touch with the objective conditions do not bring about mass action and can do a great deal of harm to the organization and the struggle we serve. — Nelson Mandela
Growing up in a family of actors, what's great about it is that they're very supportive and they understand what it's like to be an actor - the rejections, the highs and lows... and having a common language with them is great because you have shorthand speech. — Chris Pine
We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. — Martin Luther
Speeches are not magic and there is no great speech without great policy. — Peggy Noonan
All the words in the English language are divided into nine great classes. These classes are called the Parts of Speech. They are Article, Noun, Adjective, Pronoun, Verb, Adverb, Preposition, Conjunction and Interjection. — Joseph Devlin
Turkey, with its political intolerance, as I have described it, is prepared to march forward, to break with its taboo about the Armenians, and is making great strides with respect to human rights and freedom of speech so that it can join the European Union. This alone shows how powerful the European idea is. — Orhan Pamuk
Hatred paralyzes life; love releases it. — Martin Luther King, Jr.
It takes great labor to uncover the convincing simple speech of the heart. Poetic candor comes with hard labor, so even does impetuosity and impudence. — Kenneth Rexroth
Great ambition, the desire of real superiority, of leading and directing, seems to be altogether peculiar to man, and speech is the great instrument of ambition. — Adam Smith
Love unspoken is the most tremendous force in the world. One is amazed at the way in which people waste their time making speeches, agitating, praying, even. They might save their breath. The great lovers of the world, in silence, rule the world. — Mary Webb
The six great gifts of an Irish girl are beauty, soft voice, sweet speech, wisdom, needlework, and chastity. — Theodore Roosevelt
The greatest and truest models for all oratorsis Demosthenes. One who has not studied deeply and constantly all the great speeches of the great Athenian, is not prepared to speak in public. Only as the constant companion of Demosthenes, Burke, Fox, Canning and Webster, can we hope to become orators. — Woodrow Wilson
The Jesuits were good educators, exceptional teachers. In an era and in a society where freedom of speech was not held in high regard, of course, that the discourse be focused on what they were teaching, but we were able to go beyond this framework without incurring too great a risk. — Pierre Trudeau
Profound ignorance makes a man dogmatic. The man who knows nothing thinks he is teaching others what he has just learned himself; the man who knows a great deal can't imagine that what he is saying is not common knowledge, and speaks more indifferently. — Jean De La Bruyere
There is tonic in the things that men do not love to hear. Free speech is to a great people what the winds are to oceans ... and where free speech is stopped miasma is bred, and death comes fast. — Henry Ward Beecher
A great speech is literature. — Peggy Noonan
The color of the mountains is Buddha's body; the sound of running water is his great speech. — Dogen
This is, in theory, still a free country, but our politically correct, censorious times are such that many of us tremble to give vent to perfectly acceptable views for fear of condemnation. Freedom of speech is thereby imperiled, big questions go undebated, and great lies become accepted, unequivocally as great truths. — Simon Heffer
Your education is a dress rehearsal for a life that is yours to lead. — Nora Ephron
If then the power of speech is as great as any that can be named, — John Henry Newman
In Conclusion
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