Editing Hugh M'Neile (section)

== Orator ==
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 |title = Contrast between the Orator and Preacher, [[John Ross Dix]]<ref>Dix (1852), pp.93–94.</ref>
 |quote =&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;But with all our respect and admiration for Dr. M‘Neile, we do not consider him to be a deep thinker: there is great talent, but little profundity, in his verbal discourses; and, popular as he is, we venture to say that he shines less in the pulpit than on the platform.<br />
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;[On the platform] he is at home; for, released from those trammels which the clergyman ''must'' feel around him in the pulpit, he can give a loose rein to his impetuous temper, and allow his eloquence to take broader and bolder flights.<br />
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Who that has seen him on the platform of Exeter Hall, and there witnessed his form dilate, and his eye kindle, as he launched forth the thunderbolts of his eloquent indignation against the Romish Church, will not agree with us in thinking that, great as he is in his church at Liverpool, he is still greater as the orator of the public meeting …
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"His eloquence was grave, flowing, emphatic – had a dignity in delivery, a perfection of elocution, that only [[John Bright]] equalled in the latter half of the 19th century. Its fire was solemn force. McNeile's voice was probably the finest organ ever heard in public oratory. His action was as graceful as it was expressive".<ref>([[Edward Russell, 1st Baron Russell of Liverpool|Sir Edward Russell]], "The Religious Life of Liverpool", ''The Sunday Magazine'', (June 1905); quoted in McNeile, R.J. (1911, pp.265–266).</ref> According to one observer, M‘Neile was "the most brilliant and highly-polished compound of natural and artificial advantages which I have ever beheld"; and, "as a specimen of appropriate action, refined oratory, stern, judicious argument, and commanding talent, all combined in one majestic whole, I may say M‘Neile is incomparable and perfectly unique" (Anon, 1838d).<ref>[https://archive.org/stream/randomrecollect00hallgoog#page/n122/mode/1up ''Random Recollections of Exeter Hall, in 1834–1837; by One of The Protestant Party'', James Nisbet and Co., (London), 1838, p.110.]</ref>
[[File:Hugh Boyd M‘Neile-(at 65yrs).jpg|thumb|200px|Hugh Boyd M‘Neile (at 65 yrs)]]
M‘Neile was a tenacious, dogged, relentless, and formidable foe; and, along with his extreme verbal aggression, he was a man of the most imposing physicality. He was at least 6&nbsp;ft 3in tall, thick-set, and broad shouldered. He walked with a slight stoop:
::He has all the appearance of a man of surpassing muscular power. The very aspect of his countenance bespeaks a person of great mental decision, and of unbounded confidence in his bodily strength. He is just such a person as, were a stranger meeting him in the streets, would be at once set down as a man who could, should ever the occasion arise, distinguish himself in any physical-force exhibition. No footpad would ever think of encountering the reverend gentleman, lest he should come off second best in the scuffle that would be sure to ensue. (Grant, 1841, pp.244–245)