'Civilisation means a society based upon the opinion of civilians.' BBCThe Oratory Of War: In Search Of The Few -- The Independent
Seventy years after Winston Churchill's greatest wartime address, Robert Fisk reflects on the power of words, the problem with famous speeches – and why the best quotes aren't in history books.
I'm always a little wary of quotations. When did I first hear Churchill's "The Few"? On that wearying BBC Scrapbook for 1940? Certainly my Dad would have been listening. He probably heard it the first time round, in the real 1940. Churchill's portrait (by Karsh of Ottawa) hung in the study of my parents' home until, after my father died, my Mum quietly asked if she could take it down and replace it with a watercolour of All Saints' Church, where she and Bill were married. Of course, it's the balance that does the trick. "Never in the field of human conflict ... " kicks off with historical pomposity, before the soundbite to beat them all " ... was so much owed by so many to so few".
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My Comment: For great speeches, my favorite site has always been American Rhetoric. The link is here.
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