THINKER'S ALMANAC - December 6

How did a Missouri attorney win his case without arguing any of the facts in his case?

Subject:  Rhetoric/Pathos - Vest’s “Eulogy for a Dog”

Event:  Birthday of George Graham Vest, 1830

 

When dealing with people, remember you are not dealing with creatures of logic, but with creatures of emotion.-Dale Carnegie

George Graham Vest, who was born on this day in 1830, served four terms as a U.S. Senator representing Missouri.  Although Vest was known as one of the Senate’s most powerful orators, his best known speech was presented as a part of a court case when he was practicing law in Sedalia, Missouri, in 1869.

Vest was representing a man whose dog, a hunting dog named Old Drum, had been killed by a sheep farmer.  Vest’s client was suing for $150 damages.  The words that became immortal were the words of Vest’s closing argument.  Imagine you were sitting in the jury box, as you read Vest’s summation:

                                                                Image by Péter Göblyös from Pixabay 

Gentlemen of the Jury: The best friend a man has in the world may turn against him and become his enemy. His son or daughter that he has reared with loving care may prove ungrateful. Those who are nearest and dearest to us, those whom we trust with our happiness and our good name may become traitors to their faith. The money that a man has, he may lose. It flies away from him, perhaps when he needs it most. A man's reputation may be sacrificed in a moment of ill-considered action. The people who are prone to fall on their knees to do us honor when success is with us, may be the first to throw the stone of malice when failure settles its cloud upon our heads.

The one absolutely unselfish friend that man can have in this selfish world, the one that never deserts him, the one that never proves ungrateful or treacherous is his dog. A man's dog stands by him in prosperity and in poverty, in health and in sickness. He will sleep on the cold ground, where the wintry winds blow and the snow drives fiercely, if only he may be near his master's side. He will kiss the hand that has no food to offer. He will lick the wounds and sores that come in encounters with the roughness of the world. He guards the sleep of his pauper master as if he were a prince. When all other friends desert, he remains. When riches take wings, and reputation falls to pieces, he is as constant in his love as the sun in its journey through the heavens.

If fortune drives the master forth, an outcast in the world, friendless and homeless, the faithful dog asks no higher privilege than that of accompanying him, to guard him against danger, to fight against his enemies. And when the last scene of all comes, and death takes his master in its embrace and his body is laid away in the cold ground, no matter if all other friends pursue their way, there by the graveside will the noble dog be found, his head between his paws, his eyes sad, but open in alert watchfulness, faithful and true even in death. (1)

Vest won the case, but more important than that fact is how he won the case.  Notice how his closing argument makes no specific references to the specific facts of the case; he doesn’t even mention Old Drum by name.  Instead, his speech is pure pathos -- pure appeal to emotion.  By focusing on one theme, canine fidelity, he is able to stir the emotions of the jury.  Vest’s genius is the use of words to transform one dog, Old Drum, into every unconditionally faithful dog that anyone has ever had the pleasure to know.  

As the philosopher David Hume said, “Reason is, and ought only to be the slave of the passions, and can never pretend to any other office than to serve and obey them.” Vest’s speech is a classic example of how a writer might achieve success by jettisoning reason altogether and going all in with emotion.  

Vest’s strategy of pure pathos is risky.  All it takes is one juror to cry foul.  After all, a key aspect of any court case should be a foundation of facts and evidence that support a claim. 

 

Recall, Retrieve, Recite, Ruminate, Reflect, Reason:  What was Vest’s strategy for persuading the jury in his closing argument?

Challenge - Canine Quotations:  What is the best thing that anyone has ever said about dogs?  Do some research on dog quotations.  Then, pick the one you like the best, write it out, and explain why you like it.

Sources:

1. Safire, William. Lend Me Your Ears:  Great Speeches in History. “Senator George Graham Vest Offers a Tribute to the Dog.” 174-176.