The _Essai sur l'art oratoire_ (1799) is the only treatise on rhetoric published during the French Revolution; in a period of powerful public speech, its actors were suspicious of eloquence and eliminated rhetoric from school curricula. Droz's reflection takes into account political upheaval and tries to establish the conditions, forms and importance of a new democratic speech. This article studies the immediate reaction to the _Essai_ and its practical implications by comparing it to Droz's other revolutionary writings and practice as a teacher at Besançon's Ecole Centrale. The _Essai_, reprinted in 1800, was never republished, in accordance with the author's wishes. His denial of his early writings influenced the way his role during the Revolution was seen in the 19th Century. Two opposing attitudes towards the book had the result of obfuscating its original publication date: the reprint aimed at boosting its sales and Droz's own reticence contributed to the treatise's oblivion.