There was little evidence that Demosthenes was destined to become the greatest orator in Athens and beyond, for he was born looking weak and sick and he had a debilitating speech impediment.
Woe betided him at 7 when he lost his dad. It is at that painful point when things started going south. People who were to take care of him stole the inheritance left to help him get to join a good school. They also refused to pay his tutors, depriving him of the right to education. Still weak and sick, Demosthenes was also unable to distinguish himself in other critical spheres of Greek life — the floor of the gymnasia.
He was a fearful child. No one understood him. Everyone laughed at him. No one could imagine that in the far future, he would gain great gift of the gab, and manage to move the nation through the puissant power and punch of his voice. Disadvantaged by nature. Abandoned by the people he depended on. The tide of misery and misfortune hang on Demosthenes’ head. None of it was fair. None of it was right. Some of us, if we were in his position, we would have succumbed to the jaws of defeat and despair. Demosthenes fought ferociously. He looked for ways to repair his despair.
Stuck in his incisive mind, was the image of a great orator. A man that would stick out like a sore thumb and scale majestic heights, hence hold people in thrall at the court in Athens. This individual, lonely like a leper, so skilled, electrified mammoth crowds. People hang on every word that dropped from his lips of clay. This happened for several hours. He subdued every opposition with the sound of his majestic voice, excellence of his eloquence, and strength of his good ideas.
To conquer speech impediment, he devised his own unique speech exercises. He would fill his mouth with pebbles and practise speaking with unbridled passion. He rehearsed full speeches into the wind, or while running up steep inclines. He learned to deliver entire speeches with a single breath. Soon, his quiet, weak voice erupted, with booming powerful clarity.
Demosthenes locked himself away underground, literally, in a dug-out he had built in which to study and educate himself. To ward off distractions, he shaved half of his head so that he would be too embarrassed to go outside to meet people. From that point forward, he dutifully descended each day into his painstaking study to work with his voice.
Flavour of facial expressions and dazzling colour of his arguments. When he ventured out, he learned even more. Every moment. Every conversation. Every transaction. He used every opportunity to add heft to this great art. All these aimed at one goal — to face his foes on the awful floors of the Temples of Justice — and win every war. Fortunately, he did. When he came of age, he finally filled suits to right the wrongs and mistakes manufactured by the negligent guardians. They evaded his efforts, and hired their own lawyers, but nothing stopped him.
Flexible, imaginative, creative, innovative and smart, he matched them suit for suit as he delivered several phenomenal speeches. One glad day, Demosthenes won. Only a fraction of the original inheritance remained, but the money had become secondary. His reputation as a public speaker, ability to rule people’s mortal minds through the art of oratory, his peerless knowledge of the intricacies of law, was worth more than whatever remained of a once-great fortune.
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Every speech he delivered made him stronger everyday he grew his muscle of weaving words before plenty of people. He could look at bully bulls straight on the face, and fight fear with every scintilla of his strength.
In the titanic tussle with his unfortunate fate, Demosthenes discovered his true call. He became the true voice of Athens. Its great speaker and conscience. Demosthenes channeled his ire, rage, and pangs of pain into tough training — Discipline. Then, later into his speeches; fueling it with poise, power and punch. Someone asked him what the three most important traits that decorated him as a great orator of his time and dispensation. His reply captures it all: Action! Action! Action!
© Victor Ochieng’
Describe this scribe as a peripatetic speaker. He also rolls out Upskilling Programmes: Training people on the Art of Public Speaking. vochieng.90@gmail.com. 0704420232
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