A Professor of Public Speaking (4)

Yes, my promise goes to that extent in its generosity;[*] but in the name of Friendship[*] do not disbelieve me, when I say that I shall show

you that its attainment is at once easy and pleasant. Why should you? Hesiod was given a leaf or two from Helicon, and at once he became a poet instead of a shepherd and sang the pedigrees of gods and heroes under the inspiration of the Muses.[*] Is it impossible, then, to become a public speaker —something far inferior to the grand style of poetry—in an instant, if one could find out the quickest way?