Eloquence

Statue of Eloquence at the Palais du parlement de Bretagne, Rennes

Eloquence (from French eloquence from Latin eloquentia) is fluent, elegant, persuasive, and forceful speech, persuading an audience. Eloquence is both a natural talent and improved by knowledge of language, study of a specific subject to be addressed, philosophy, rationale and ability to form a persuasive set of tenets within a presentation.

"True eloquence," Oliver Goldsmith says, "Does not consist ... in saying great things in a sublime style, but in a simple style; for there is, properly speaking, no such thing as a sublime style, the sublimity lies only in the things; and when they are not so, the language may be turgid, affected, metaphorical, but not affecting."[1]

  1. ^ Goldsmith, Oliver (1759). Of Eloquence.