Born at Dedham, Mass., April 9, 1758: died at Dedham, July 4, 1808. A noted American orator, statesman, and political writer. He was graduated from Harvard College in 1774, began the practice of law at Dedham in 1781, was a member of the Massachusetts ratifying committee in 1788, and was a Federal member of Congress from Massachusetts 1789–97. He declined the presidency of Harvard College in 1804. He wrote the “Laocoon” and other essays to rouse the opposition against France.
| The manly genius, ardent thought, | |
| The love of truth and wit refined, | |
| The eloquence that wonders wrought, | |
| And flash’d its light on every mind. | |
| These gifts were thine, immortal Ames! | |
| Of motive pure, of life sublime; | |
| Their loss our flowing sorrow claims,— | |
| Their praise survives the wreck of time. |
His spotless youth brought blessings to the whole remainder of his life. It gave him the entire use of his faculties, and all the fruit of his literary education. Its effects appeared in that fine edge of moral feeling which he always preserved; in his strict and often austere temperance; in his love of occupation, that made activity a delight; in his distaste for publick diversions, and his preference of simple pleasures. Beginning well, he advanced with unremitted steps in the race of virtue, and arriving at the end of life in peace and honour…. Mr. Ames in person a little exceeded the middle height, was well proportioned, and remarkably erect. His features were regular, his aspect respectable and pleasing, his eye expressive of benignity and intelligence. His head and face are shown with great perfection in the engraving prefixed to his works. In his manners he was easy, affable, cordial, inviting confidence, yet inspiring a respect. He had that refined spirit of society, which observes the forms of a real, but not studied politeness, and paid a more delicate regard to the propriety of conversation and behaviour.
His writings sufficiently exhibited him as a most cheerful and fascinating friend, a brilliant political essayist, an eloquent and fearless orator, and a patriot without reproach or suspicion…. In all his private relations, in his friendships, his pursuits, his successes, Mr. Ames had the good fortune which a happy temper, sound judgment, and fidelity are very apt to secure. The friends he had (and of what character they were his letters sufficiently show) he “grappled to him with hooks of steel.” The honors which he won abroad were made thrice dear by the sympathy of a chosen circle at home. Of the law he had a noble conception, yet, on account of his health, he seems to have given himself to the practice of it as a matter of necessity, and with a divided love. Yet he had no reason to be dissatisfied with the results of his labors. His fortune was never ample, yet he became independent, and when he was no longer compelled to labor for his daily bread, his mind instinctively turned to those broad and varied studies whence he could draw the most important lessons for his country.
In person Mr. Ames was above middle stature and well formed. His countenance was very handsome, and his eye blue in colour, and expressive. His features were not strongly marked. His forehead was neither high nor broad. His mouth was beautifully shaped, and was one of his finest features; his hair was black, and he wore it short, and in the latter years of his life unpowdered. He was exceedingly erect in walking, and when speaking he raised his head slightly. It is said that his expression was usually mild and complacent when in debate, and if he meant to be severe, it was seen in good-natured sarcasm, rather than in acrimonious words.
Speeches
Fisher Ames, among the great men of his day, was the orator of genius and elaborate beauty.
He was decidedly one of the most splendid rhetoricians of the age. Two of his speeches, in a special manner—that on Jay’s treaty, and that usually called his “Tomahawk Speech,” (because it included some resplendent passages on Indian massacres)—were the most brilliant and fascinating specimens of eloquence I have ever heard; yet have I listened to some of the most celebrated speakers in the British parliament—among others, to Wilberforce and Mackintosh, Plunket, Brougham and Canning; and Dr. Priestley, who was familiar with the oratory of Pitt the father and Pitt the son, and also with that of Burke and Fox, made to myself the acknowledgement, that, in his own words, the speech of Ames, on the British Treaty, was “the most bewitching piece of parliamentary oratory he had ever listened to.”
Mr. Ames possessed uncommon vigor of mind; his memory was stored with literary treasures; his fancy was active, furnishing illustrative images that were as much to the purpose as his logic. And such was the effect of his oratory, even upon deliberate bodies, that on one occasion Congress adjourned on motion of Ames’s chief opponent in debate, for the alleged reason that the members ought not to be called upon to vote while under the spell of his extraordinary eloquence. The speeches of Mr. Ames that have been preserved fully sustain his great reputation, being vigorous and logical in statement, and adorned with the graces of a lively and learned style. His letters, also, are fresh and charming.
If Ames does not quite rival the sublimest flights of Burke, he never is carried by the pursuit of an apt but offensive metaphor to a point that is scarcely short of the disgusting. His perfect taste is never at fault. In felicity of illustration, in playfulness of fancy, in readiness of wit, in neatness of raillery, in delicacy of irony, and in keenness of sarcasm, he is not unworthy to be placed in the company of the great Irishman.
Though known to us only as a political orator and newspaper writer, was one of the most poetical minds of his age. His language avoids sonorous and pretentious words, but is rich in tropes and metaphors, which stimulate the attention and aid the apprehension of the reader. The simple words are the result of studious self-control; the figurative expression is the native temperament of the man. The effect is of power well in the leash, and more impressive for the restraint…. But, with all his beauty and earnestness, he lacked the massive individuality, the overwhelming torrent of feeling, the towering strength that should be within the scope of the greatest statesman.
Ames, a man of fine mind and high character, hating exaggeration and rant, had an oratorical style that was nervous, tastefully ornate, and intense with restrained passion.
General
The traditional reputation of Ames for eloquence, handed down by his friends and fellow politicians, has not expired in his published writings…. The quick and forgetive fancy of Ames led to that condensation of expression which is the peculiarity of his writings. He thought in figures…. Well grounded in the principles of conservatism, and with a deeply founded respect for the Constitution, Ames mingled with his convictions the restless anticipations of mind given to despondency. For a new state, he was something of a croker; a man constitutionally timid. There were “the fears of the brave” in his composition; but, if he doubted of affairs, it was with a patriotic motive and acute philosophic argument to support him…. The letters of Ames are sharply written, with point and occasional felicities of expression, but they are not elaborate or highly finished compositions, rarely partaking of the essay character of some of Webster’s epistles.
In all the writings of this period, there are none that exceed those of Fisher Ames in vigor of thought and expression. He was remarkable for the aptness of his classical illusions and for the frequency and beauty of his comparisons. These are so numerous, indeed, that the reader would weary of them as needless ornament, were it not for the intense earnestness that everywhere breathes through the glowing periods.
His literary style is quiet, and evidently elaborated with much care.
