“True eloquence makes a mock of eloquence.”Luc de Vauvenargues · Reflecții și maxime · 1746 · Maxima 287
When the art of persuading becomes visible, the message itself becomes doubtful.
Eloquence as technique — figures, rhythmic flourishes, calculated effects — is a surrogate that betrays the absence of real conviction. When someone truly has something to say and says it plainly, the listener is moved without noticing any art. Vauvenargues suggests that brilliant rhetoric often substitutes for weak thought or false feeling: the more visible the effort to persuade, the more suspect the message. Sincerity beats spectacle.
Why it matters A warning for business decks, speeches, and effect-laden posts: if you have something to say, say it plainly.