The role of the orator in the philosophy of Ralph Waldo Emerson

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Abstract
Ralph Waldo Emerson's theory of public address may be characterized as a rhetoric of provocation. Emerson did not see truth as encompassed by the human mind, set down in a book, or defended by logic. It is a state of mind, an attitude of searching for and listening to the voice within, the voice of God. The preacher‐orator cannot communicate truth directly to other men; he can only provoke them into searching for it on their own. The philosopher, orator, or preacher was, for Emerson, “only a more or less awkward translator” of ideas already in the consciousness of his audience. An orator functions as a “divining‐rod” to the deeper nature of men, lifting them above themselves and creating within them as appetite for truth.