The Strenuous Life

By: Theodore Roosevelt

Narrated by: Adriel Brandt

Theodore Roosevelt began this 1899 speech with his thesis: “I wish to preach, not the doctrine of ignoble ease, but the doctrine of the strenuous life.” He discusses how the many hardships of his life shaped him for the better. Roosevelt believed that if Americans wished to succeed in the world, they would need to embrace the virtue of hard work. He applied this same belief to foreign affairs, stating that America must establish itself as a powerful military force and exert this power when necessary.

Public Domain (P)2018 Audio Sommelier

Great performance!

This is one of my favorite speeches in history. I give the speaker much credit in nailing the delivery of it! He definitely gave the strenuous speech and did not shrink to timidity. :)

Very Sincere and Passionate Arguments

A passionate message from a passionate American delivered by a passionate narrator. I strongly support every citizen to listen to this half hour title. The specifics of the political issues he outlines are so distant and abstract that we will not get caught up in the specifics, but rather will see the argument at several levels of abstraction. His arguments are simple…
1. Prepare to fight now so you are ready when called upon.
2. When the battle of good and evil demands action we must fight for democracy and civilization.
3. Don’t be misguided by arguments for peace at all costs. They are seductive but flawed.

Those who preach peace now above all else are misguided. His example of the North sitting out the civil war in favor of peace is one of the best articulated intuitive arguments I can remember. This passage is from 5:20 to 7:26.

The argument is mostly about what the citizenry should ask if it’s nation to make the nation strong and meaningful. But in the first 5.5 minutes he argue what makes a hearty and meaningful citizen. That part is very helpful for outlining a course for one’s own life. In an age when church-going is waning, TR gives a secular message of meaning that will ring true to many in modern life.

Now as for the narrator….

A ‘professional narrator’, he is not.
A ‘passionate narrator who breathes life into the speech’, he definitely is.

The narrator does a pretty good job communicating the passionate tone that Roosevelt intended, It is clearly an amateur recording, especially in the editing. I cut him a lot of slack. He is using his time and effort and resources to bring to life a recording that is essential to American revitalization.

—— End of Review ——

——A Message for the Narrator——
(and the sound engineer if he is reading)…

TR would have been very proud of your American spirit and he would have sought better from those who deride you for imperfection. Keep up your excellent effort. It brings important public domain publications to a wide modern audience.

Short but didn't enjoy the narration

The narrator sounded too formal and unrelatable. It's an extremely short and fast read.

***This is only the speech***

There is a book by Kathleen Dalton named after this speech. This is not that book.