AS oute of lytle springs ariseth greate fluddes: so now these preceptes of grammer finyshed, and the fyrste order of the Rethorical figures: We nowe come vnto that greate declaracion of eloquence, called of Quintilian & Cicero, the ornametẽs of sentence.Figures of sentence.Particio.Particion called alsodiuision&distribucionrethoricall, is when a thing that mai be generally spokẽ, is more largely declared, and diuided into partes. Example: He is perfitely seene in all the sciences. ¶ This sẽtence spoken as it were in a sũme, may be enlarged, if seuerally you reherse vp al the kindes of learning. There is no kynd of doctrine at al but he is exquisitely sene in it.There is no science, but he hathe learned it thorowly, and so learned it, that you wolde thynke he had labored onely in it. So maruelouslye he knoweth all the fables of al the Poetes, he so aboundeth in the floures of the Rethoricians: He hath so boulted oute the paynefullrules of the gramarians. So perfitely knoweth he the subtilnesse of the Logicians, and hath so soughte oute the priuities of natural thynges, and ouercome the harde poyntes of supernaturall wisedome: he hathe passed thorowe the secretes of the diuines, and hath thorowlie perceyued the mathematical demõstracions. He so knoweth the mocions of the starres, the reasons of numbers, the measurynges of the earth, the situacions, names & spaces of cities, mountaynes, fluddes, and fountaynes, he so knoweth the difference and harmonies of tunes: He so remẽbreth all hystoryes olde and late: So knoweth all good authors, all antiquities & nouelties, and also is perfitelye well seene as wel in Greke as latyne. Finallye whatsoeuer learnynge hathe bene found and taught of good authors, al that thorowlye hath he perceyued, knowen and remẽbred. Here these wordes, he is perfitelye seene in all the sciences, bee declared in theyr partes.Enumeracio.Enumeracion is much lyke vnto thys, when not beynge contenteat once to declare the ende of the matter, we rehearse vp all ytwent before it was done.Enumeraciõ of thynges that go beforeExample: Cicero oppressed the mischeuous purposes of Catiline. Thus maye you set it forth: The myscheuous enterpryses of Catiline by most vngracious yonge men, whych went about the destruccion of the citie of Rome, M Tullius the consull dyd quickelye smell out by hys foresyghte, and by hys singuler vigilancye sought thẽ oute, by his hyghe prudence espyed them, by his incredible eloquence conuinced them, and by hys graue authoritie repressed thẽ, by force of armes subdued them, & with great happines toke them quyte awaye.Enumeraciõ of the causes.Hitherto also apperteineth, whẽ we expoũd a thyng not barely, but repete the causes also sumwhat before, and of what begynnynges it came of. As if not contente to haue sayd, that the Frenchmen made bataile with the Neapolitans, we rehearse also what wer the causes of theyr stryfe, who was the setter forward, and what was the occasion of the warre, what hope and trusteeyther of them had to the victorye.Of these ar many examples in Saluste & Liuie.Enumeraciõ of effectes, & consequẽtes.From thys differeth not when we do not simplye shewe forthe the matter, but reherse also those thynges that eyther go with it, or folowe it, as thus: We thanke the of thys warre. Thus maye you dilate the matter. The treasure spente vpon the Barbariens, the youthe broken wyth laboures, the corne troden downe, the catel driuen awaye, stretes and vyllages euery where set on fyre, fieldes lefte desolate, walles ouerthrowen, houses robbed, temples spoyled, so many olde men chylderles, so manye orphanes, so manye wyddowes, so many virgins shamefully defiled, yemaners of so many yong mẽ made worse by leude liberty, so many mẽ slayne, so great mourning, so many good artes loste, lawes oppressed, religion blotted, al thynges of god and man confounded, all good order of the citie corrupted: I say all this heape of myschiefs that riseth of war, we mai thãke the only of it, which wast yebeginner of this warEnergia.Enargia, euidence or perspicuitie called also descripcion rethoricall, is when a thynge is so described that it semeth to the reader or hearer ythe beholdeth it as it were in doyng. Of thys figure ben many kyndes.The fyrste, calledeffiguracionordescripcionof a thynge, whereby the figure and forme of it is set out: as of the vniuersall flud.The seconde, the descripcion of a personne, when a man is described, as are the noble menne in Plutarch, and the Emperours in Suetonius. Howe be it the rethoricianes vse thys wordeProsopopeia, that is descripcion of a personne to comprehende the sixe kyndes folowinge.Charactirismus.The thyrde kinde is calledCharactirismus, that is the efficcion or pycture of the bodye or mynde, as Dauus describeth Crito, & Mitio describeth Demea.Prosopographia.The .iiii. is the fainyng of a persõ calledProsopographia, and is of.ii.sorts. Fyrst yedescripciõ of a fainedperson, as Vyrgyl in the syxt of Eneid, faineth Sibil to be mad, & fayneth the persons in hell. An other forme is whẽ we fayne persõ, cõmunicacion, or affecte of a man or of a beaste, to a dumme thynge, or that hath no bodye, or to a dead man: as to the Harpies, furies, deuils, slepe hongar, enuie, fame, vertue, iustice, and suche lyke, the poetes fayne a person, and communicacion. This seconde fashion the Poetes do callProsopopey.Aetopeia.The fyrst kind is calledAEtopeia, that is an expressiõ of maners or mylde affeccions, and hath thre kyndes: of the whych the fyrst is a significacion or expressionofmaners somewhat longer, as of wittes, artes, vertues, vices. Thus we expresse Thraso a boaster, and Demea a sowre felowe.The seconde forme, is an expression of naturall propensitie, and inclinacions to naturall affeccions, as of the fathers loue toward the chyldren .&c. of fryendshyppe, neyghbourhod & cetr. as you maye se in hystoryes.¶ The thyrd kynde is the expression of lighter affeccions, as when wee go about by fayre meanes to gette the mery affeccions of menne to vs ward or to other, & when the mynd is lyft vp into hope, myrth, & laughter, and as be louyng salutations, promises, & cõmunynges together in familiar epistles and dialogues, and the getting of loue and fauour in the begynnynges, and finallye thys figure doth teach, that Rethorique is a part of flattery.Pathopeia.The sixt kynde of rethoricall descripcion isPathopeia, that is expressyng of vehement affeccions and perturbacions, of yewhych ther be two sortes.The fyrste calledDonysis, or intencion, and some call it imaginacion, wherby feare, anger, madnes, hatered, enuye, and lyke other perturbacions of mynde is shewed and described, as in Ciceros inuectiues.Another forme is calledOictros, or cõmiseracion, wherby teares be pyked out, or pyty is moued, or forgeuenes, as in Ciceros peroraciõs, and complaintes in Poets: And tobe shorte ther is gotten no greater admiracion or commendacion of eloquence then of these two,AEtopeia, andPathopeia, if they be vsed in place.dialogismusThe .vii. kind isDialogismuswhych is how often a short or long communicacion is fayned to a person, accordyng to the comelines of it. Such be the concious in Liuie, & other historians.Mimisis.The .viii. kynd is calledMimisis, that is folowing eyther of the wordes or manoures whereby we expresse not onlye the wordes of the person, but also the gesture: and these foresaydsixekindes Quintiliane dothe put vnderProsopopeia. The .ix. kynde is thedescripcionof a place, as of Carthage in the fyrst of Eneid. Referre hitherCosmographieandGeographie. The .x. kynd is calledTopotesia, that is ficcion of a place, when a place is described such one peraduenture as is not, as of the fieldes called Elisii in Virgil: refer hitherAstrothesiam, that is the descripciõ of starres. The .xi. kinde isChronographia,that is the descripcion of the tyme, as of nyght, daye, and the foure tymes of the yere.AmplificacioA greate parte of eloquence is set in increasing and diminyshing, and serueth for thys purpose, that the thyng shulde seme as great as it is in dede, lesser or greater then it seemeth to manye. For the rude people haue commonly a preposterous iudgemẽt, and take the worst thynges for the beste, and the beste for the worst. Al amplificacion and diminucion is taken eyther of thinges, or of wordes. Of thynges ryse effeccions, of words those fashions that nowe I wyll shewe. The first waye of increasyng or diminishing is by chaungynge the worde of the thynge, when in encreasynge we vse a more cruell worde, and a softer in diminyshynge, as when we call an euyll man a thiefe, and saye he hathe kylled vs, when he hathe beaten vs. And it is more vehemẽte if bycorreccionwe compare greater wordes wyth those that we put before: As thou haste broughte not a thyefe, but an extorcioner, notan adulterer, but a rauysher. &c. ¶ Lyke vnto this isHyperbole, whyche say the more then the truthe is in deede, as when we saye: The crye was hearde to heauen, meanyng it was a greate crye. An other kynde is byincrease, whyche is when the thynges goyng before beyngeexaggerate, we come from them to the hyeste: As agaynste Verres. It is a myscheuous deede to bynde a Citizen of Rome, haynous to beate hym, what? shall I saye to hange hym? An other waye of increase is, when wythoute distinccion in the context and course of the oracion, the circumstaunces sette in order, somewhat alwayes is added bygger then the fyrste, and that we come to the hyest by a swyfte pace. As he was not ashamed to playe at dyce wyth iesters in the common cokerye, beynge a prieste, a Person, a Diuine, and a Monke. There is another kynde of amplyfienge that is bycomparisoncontrary to increase. For as in increase the thynges that go before beyng exaggerat, we go fromthem to the hyest, so comparison taketh increase of the lesser, whych if they be greater in all mens opinions, that must nedes appeare verie greate that we wyll haue amplified: And comparison is made byficcion, & by puttynge to an example.By ficcion, eyther in one degree, or in many. As in the fyrst part of the amplifiyng of Antonies vomite, for he fayneth it had happened vnto hym at supper beyng but a priuate person. If at supper in these great bowles of thine thys happened vnto thee, who wolde not haue counted it a shame: But now in yesyght of the people of Rome beynge a cõmon officer, master of the horse, to whom it was shame once to belch, he wyth hys gobbets of meat that stanke al of wyne, fylled al his lap, and the iudgement seate. Here amplificacion is taken of smaller thinges, and is made by one degree of many degrees, this maye be an example. If a mã gaue the euery yere.xl.poũd, woldest yunot thanke him? If a friend had redemed the out of prison wthys money, woldest thounot loue hym? If eyther in battell or shypwracke a man by hys valiantnes had saued the, woldest thou not worshyp hym as God, and saye thou were neuer able to make hym amendes? What ingratitude is it then that Christ God & man, which hathe made the, to whom thou dost owe al that thou hast, &c. so to dispyse hym, so wyth dayely fautes to anger him, & for so great beniuolẽce to geue hym agayn so great contumelye and despyte? Neyther skylleth it that we haue rehearsed ficcion and comparicion amonge argumentes, for there is no cause why that amplificacion and oruacion shuld not be taken out of the same places from whence ther commeth probacion. Nor it is no newes the selfe same thynges to be applyed to diuerse vses. As of all circumstaunces both of the thyng, and of the person are taken argumentes, but euen oute of the selfe same are set affeccions and exaggeracions, whych is manifest in the kynde demonstratiue: As when we prayse chastitie in a yonge man, we go notaboute to perswade that he was chaste, but that that vertue shulde appeare greater in floryshyng age.To lyke vse serue examples andsimilitudes, as in Esaye: The Oxe knewe hys owner, and the Asse the maunger of hys master, but Israel hathe not knowen me. Theexampleof the Oxe & the Asse is not vsed for this to proue that the Hebrewes dyd not knowe their God, but that the impietie and folishnes of that nacion shulde be amplified.The same may be applied to profe after thys maner. If the Oxe and Asse knowledge theyr masters, of whõ they are norished and do serue them, how much more conueniente is it, that mã shuld knowledge hys maker and norisher, and serue him bothe in bodye and mynd. Contrarye, when Paul sayth: no man serueth in warre on his owne wages, he proueth by similitudes, that it is not comelye, that they that war vnder the gospell, shulde be compelled to be carefull for their liuynge.He shuld haue applied it to amplifiyng, if he had propouned it thus.They that serue vnder a capteine be not careful for their liuyng, but lokinge for the sustenaunce of their capteine, only studye for thys to do hym faythful seruice, howe muche more shame is it that some menne that haue promised to fyght vnder Christ in the gospel, to distrust such a capteyne, and studye all they can to gather riches.Cõparisonby puttyng toexampleis, whẽ by setting out as it were a lyke example, wee brynge to passe that that we exaggerate may be thought either very lyke, eyther equal, either bygger. ¶ And in this kynd both the whole is cõpared to the whole, & the partes to partes: as in the oracion of Cicero for Milo. Did I pray you ytnoble mã Scipio being a priuat persõ kil Tiberius Gracchus whych shaked the cõmõ wealthe but a lytle, & shall wee beynge consulles suffer Catiline, that gothe aboute to wast the whole worlde wyth murther and fyre? Here both Catiline is compared to Gracchus, and the estate of the common wealthe to the whole world, & a lytle shakyngto slaughter, fyer and wastyng, and a priuate person to the consuls. ¶ Ther is anamplificacionalso whẽcontrariesbe set together, wherby bothe the partes seme bygger, and more euidente. As when exhorting men to liberalitie, we shewe howe foule a faute couetousenes is, that the foulnes of the faute being exaggerate, the goodlines of the vertue shulde be more encreased. There is another kynd of amplifiyng calledreasonynge, when of those thinges that eyther folowe or go before, the hearer doth gather how great that thynge is that we wolde to be amplified. By thynges that go before, as when Homer armeth Achylles, or Hector to batayle, by the greate preparacion, we gather how sore yesight shal be. Of thinges ytfolowe: How much wyne Antony dranke, when ythauyng such a strong body he was not able to digeste it, but spewed it vp the nexte daye after. Of thynges ioyned to: as whẽ Maro sayeth to Poliphemus: He had the bodye of a pineapple tree for a staffe in hys hande. Manye otherkyndes ben there of amplifiynge, which who so wyl se more at large, may read that right excellent boke of the famouse doctor Erasmus, whych he intituled the preacher.Theinuencionof manyproposicionsis, when the chyefe state or principalproposionof the cause is declared and proued by manye other proposicions and argumẽtes, so set in iuste order that there be no confusion ofproposions. And proposicions be taken partely of those that be cõmon, and partly of those thynges that belonge properlye to the cause: As if a man wolde counsell Tullye not to take the condicion offered of Antony, that is, that by burnynge of hys bookes called philippia, he shulde haue hys lyfe, hy myght vse commonly these proposicions. Fyrste ytno man oughte to by his life so dere, that therby he shulde lose hys immortall name. ¶ To thys generall may serue a perticuler taken oute of circumstaunces, that it oughte not to be done, inespecialy of Cicero, whych by so many laboures hathe gotten vntohym selfe an excellente and euerlastyng name, and that hath shewed moste eloquently by putting out so manye noble workes that deathe ought to be despised, inespeciallye seynge that now he hath not much tyme to lyue beynge an olde man. ¶ Agayn, another principall proposicion shall be taken of the circũstaũces. That nothynge is worse, then that Cicero beyng a very good mã shulde owe his lyfe to Antonye the worst man of the world. The third proposicion shal be cõiectural: how that Antony craftely goeth about that the bookes beynge burned, in the whych he perceiueth bothe hys owne immortal infamye to be, and the immortal glory of Cicero, whẽ he hath afterwardes taken awaye hys lyfe, he maye vtterlye extinguyshe Cicero.¶ A copious heaping of probacions.Proues.So when proposicions be found, remaineth argumẽtaciõ or proues, called in GrekePistis, because they make suretye of a doutefull thyng.Two sortes of proues.Of proues some beartificiall, some vnartificial.Vnartificialbe, foreiudgementes,rumoures, tormentes, tabelles, othe, wytnesses, diuinacion, oracles.Signes be referred to proues vnartificial, & why?To these be referred whych the Greekes calSymeiaorsygnes: For they also commonlye are not set by the wytte of hym that disputeth, but are ministred otherwyse.Signes wherfore.They be called signes properlye, whyche rysynge of the thynge it selfe that is in question come vnder the sences of menne,Signes be referred to tyme.as threatninges, whych be of the time that is paste, cryinge herde oute of a place, whyche is of the tyme presente, palenesse of hym whyche is axed of the murther, whyche is of the tyme folowynge, or that bloud leapte oute of the bodye latelye slayne, when he came that dyd the murther.Two maner of signes.Also of signes some bee necessary, as that he liueth whiche dothe breathe, and some probable, as bloude in the garmente, whych myghte also come oute of the nose, or otherwyse.Proues takẽ oute of circũstauces.Also proues and argumentes are taken oute of circũstaunces, partly of the person, partlye of the cause or thyng it self, and be called also of the Rethoriciansplaces, neyther cleane contrarie to those that Aristotle hath taughte, neyther the very same: for some agree wyth them, some be all one, and some diuerse.How proues of circũstaũces differ frõ Aristotels places.Onlye differeth the manour of teachynge, because the Rethoricianes do teache a patrone, the philosopher generally helpeth iudgement.Circũstãces of person.Circumstaunces of the person ben these. Kinred, nacion, contrey, kynde, age, bryngynge vp, or discipline, hauioure of the body, fortune, condicion, nature of the mynde, studies, affectacion, wordes forespoken, & deedes done before, commocion, counsell, name.Kynred.Kynredmonisheth vs to cõsider of what progeny a man dothe come. For it is semely, and happeneth cõmonlye that the sonnes be lyke the forefathers, and thereof procedeth causes to lyue well or euyll:NacionNaciõ sheweth what disposicion and maners euery nacion hath peculiarly of theyr owne.Kynd.The difference of kynde is knowen to euerye man:Age.To diuerse ages diuerse thyngs be conueniente.Educacion.It skylleth more by whom, and by what wayes men bebrought vp, then of whom they be begotten.Hauiour of the bodie.The hauioure of the bodye comprehendeth fayrnes or foulnes, strength or weaknes: For more credible is the accusacion of lecherye in a fayre body then in a foule, and violence more probable in the strong, then in the weake.FortuneFortune perteineth to ryches, kynred, friendes, seruitures, dignities, honours.Condicion.Condicion comprehendeth manye thynges: as whether he be noble or not noble, an officer, or a priuate person, a father or a sonne, a citizen or a straunger, a fre man, or a seruaunt, a maried manne, or a single man, a father or none, hauinge had but one wyfe, or two.The nature of the myndThe nature of the mynde hath manifold varieties in men. Some be fearful, some strong, some gentle, some vehemẽt, chaste, lecherous, glorious, modeste &c.StudiesStudies, for other be the maners of the rustical, then of the lawyer, of the marchaunte, then of the Soldier, of the shipman then of the phisicion.Affectacion.To these they adde affectacion: For it skylleth muche what maner man euerye one wolde semeto be, whether he be yesame or not: as ryche, or eloquent, iuste or mightie, mery or sad, a fauorer of the people, or of the great men.Wordes spoken, & deedes done beforeBoth wordes that be spoken before time, and dedes that be done, be also considered. For of thynges that be paste, the present be estemed, & also thinges that be to come.CommocionCõmocion in thys differeth from the nature of the mynde, because that one is perpetuall, that other for a whyle: as anger is commocion, rancour the nature of the mynde, and feare a cõmocion, fearefulnesse nature.Name.¶ To these they adde the name of the person, of whence many tymes an argument is takẽ: as Cicero iesteth muche vpon Verres, or sweepers name, because beyng a strong thief, he swepte altogether. Thus haue we shewed that much matter may be taken of thynges belongyng to a personne, so maye be also of those that belonge to a thynge or cause, whiche places bee so handeled of Quintiliane, that he myngleth thẽ wyth the places whyche Aristotle hathe comprehended in hys eyghtebookes of Topyckes.Circũstaunces of things be these.Circumstances of the thynges be these: Cause, place, tyme, chaunce, facultie, instrumente, manour. And fyrste of euerye thinge there be foure causes, efficient, materiall, formall and finall. Matter is the receptacle of al formes. The forme causeth it to be thys, and not another thynge: as the reasonable soule geueth to the body that it is a man, and the soule because it is a substaunce hathe her vnnamed forme, whereby she is a soule, and not an aungel.Fine or ende.And what soeuer is made, is made to a certen ende, and one thynge maye haue diuerse endes: as nature hathe geuen brestes vnto women to geue milke, and also for comlynesse of theyr bodies, neyther doth any man that is of a sounde mynde take vpon hym anye businesse, but for that he desyreth to haue some thynge: nor there is nothynge desyred, but vnder the consideracion of good or profite. ¶ So the ende whyche is laste in effecte, and fyrste in intencion, loketh vpon the gettinge of profites, increase, and cõfirmacion of them,and also vpon them, eschuynge of disprofites, diminyshynge, or puttyng them awaye. But in chosyng them, false perswacion deceyueth manye, whylest by errour they beleue that to be good ytis naughte. ¶ This place therfore serueth for many thynges, to make more or lesse. ¶ Greatly happy shulde men be, if euerye man wolde looke vpon the marke, not the whych desyre hathe sette before hym, but whyche God and honest reason hath prefixed. ¶ And of such strengthe is the ende, that hereof is taken the felicitie of euery thyng. To fast that the body maye obeye the mynde, to do good workes is an holy deede. To fast to be counted holye, is hypocrisie. To faste to encrease thy good, is couetousenesse. To faste to be whole in thy bodie is phisycke, and so of praiynge, almose, and other laudable workes. After lyke maner must be wayed the secondarie endes.Place.An other circumstaunce of a thynge, is the place, whose qualitie oftentimes maketh the faute either greter or lesser: as to steale an holyething out of an holy place, is worse then some other kynde of theft.Tyme.No lesse matter of argumentacion ministreth the qualitie of time, which signifieth two thynges.Time hathe two significacions.Fyrst it is taken playnly for the time present, past, or to come: Seconde it signifieth oportunitie to do a thynge, and so when a man cometh as we wold haue it, we saye he cometh in time.And in the seuenth of Ihon, when Christ sayth: My tyme is not yet come, tyme is taken for oportunitie of tyme. And lykewyse in the syxt to the Galat. Therfore whyle we haue tyme. &c.Chaunce.The Rethoricianes put chaunce vnder tyme, because the ende of a thynge perteyneth to the time that foloweth: but of thys wyll we speke in the place called Euent. Facultie is a power to do the thynge that is taken in hand: and in coniectures two thinges speciallye be considered: whether he could or wold. Wyll is gathered of hope to performe it, and is made more probable whẽ the nature of the mynde is ioyned to it: as it is not like he wyl abide in hisglorye, because he is enuious and ambicious. Also when we counsell one to leaue of vayne mournynge, when it is not in his power to get agayne that is gone.Instrument.Instrument semeth to be a part of facultie: for instrumentes sometyme are cause of oure hablenes to do a thinge: and it is a more mischeuous deede to kyl with venome thẽ with swearde. And to instrumẽt so nie is the manour of doyng, that almoste it is all one. But more properlye perteyne to the manour or fashion, those thynges that be eyther excused, or made greater by wyl: As lesse faute is it to fall into a vice by ignorance or frailtie, then of a purpose and full deliberacion.The vse of circũstances profiteth to amplifie, to extenuate, to euidence, to confirmacion, and probabilitie.And hytherto be referred also thecommon placesthat indifferentlye apperteyne to all kyndes and partes of causes, of the whyche Rodulphe entreateth, and Aristotle in his Topyckes. But before we speake of them, it is to be noted,that thys woorde place, is taken foure maner of wayes. They are called common places, because thei be entreated of, of bothe partes, althoughe not in all one cause: as he that is sore spoken agaynste by witnesses, swadeth that we shulde not geue credite to witnesses. Contrarye, he that is holpen by them speaketh in defence of wytnesses, and so of other that we spake of before, when we entreated of vnartificial argumentes. Lyke to thys sorte be sentences, whyche wee exaggerate as it were wythoute the cause, but so that they serue to the cause whiche wee haue in hande: as bee the amplificacions of vertues, and the exaggeracions of vices. As when wee accuse anye manne that by euyll companions he was broughte to do also the mischeuouse deede.¶ A common place shall bee, wyth wordes to exaggerate howe much it profiteth to keepe goodnesse, to bee in companye wyth good men, and contrarye howe greate myschyefe the companye of euyll men dothe cause.¶ In the third sence places be called seates of argumentes, whyche the Rethoricianes do applie to eche kyndes of causes: As in the kynde suasorie, honest, profitable, pleasaũt easye, necessarie. &c. In demonstratiue kynde, kynred, contrey, goodes of the bodye and of the mynde. In the Iudiciall kynde, inespecial deniall, those that we spake of euen nowe. The fourth places be general, whych declare what belongeth to euerye thynge, and howe oute of eche of them there be taken argumentes, partly necessary, and partlye probable. These be commen to the Oratours with the Logicians, albeit Aristotle hathe seperatelye written of them in hys Topickes; and in his Rethorickes hathe not touched thẽ, and they profite much both to iudgement, and to endightynge, but the varietie of authors hath made the handlynge of them sumwhat darke, because amonge them selues they can not wel agre, neyther of the names, neyther of the number, neyther of the order.Examples.An example is a rehearsall of athynge that is done, and an applyynge of it vnto our cause, eyther for similitude or dissimilitude, profitable to perswade, garnyshe, and delyght. Examples, some be taken out of hystories, some of tales, some of fayned argumẽtes, in comedies; and bothe sortes be dilated by parable and comparacion. Comparacion sheweth it equall, lesse, or bygger. Parable is a feete similitude, whych sheweth yeexample that is brought, either like, vnlyke or cõtrarye. Lyke as Camillus restored the common wealth of the Romaines that was oppressed by the Frenchmen, and when it was brought into extreme losse, by theyr valiauntnesse expelled the Barbariens: So Valla, whan thorowe the ignorãce of yeBarbarians, learnyng was destroyed, restored it agayn, as it wer from death into hys former brightnes. Vnlike. As not lyke thanke is done to Laurence and Camillus, because that the one moued by vertue wyth the ieopardie of hys lyfe deliuered his contrey from the vngracious, that other styrred vp by desyreof fame, or rather wyth an euyll luste to checke manye, not restored agayn the lattẽ tong oppressed, but brought it as it were into certen rules. Cõtrary, Brutus kylled hys chyldren goyng about treason, Manlius punished by death the valiauntnes of hys sonne.Comparacionsheweth yething ytis brought, eyther equall, lesse, or bigger: Lesse, as our elders haue warred oftentymes, because theyr marchaũtes and mariners wer euyl entreated. What mynd ought you to be in, so many thousande citizens of Rome slaine at one message, and one time? Equall, as in the same Cicero. ¶ For it happed vnto me to stand for an offyce wyth two gentlemenne, that one very naughte, that other very gentle, yet ouercame I Catiline by dignitie, and Galba by fauoure. Bygger: As for Milo, they saye he shulde not lyue that confesseth he hathe kylled a man, when M. Horacius was quitte, whyche kylled hys owne syster.Parable.Parable, which some call similitude, some cõparacion, is a comparyngof a thyng ythath no life, or no bodye to our cause and purpose, for some thyng that is lyke or vnlyke.And as example is taken of yedede of a man, and the person of an hystorye, or that is fabulous and fayned, so is comparison taken of thinges that be done, or that be ioyned to them by nature, or by chaunce. ¶ As Attilius retournyng agayne to hys enemies is an example of kepynge faythe and promise: But a shyp in the whych the sayles be hoysed vp, or takẽ down after the blowyng of the winde, is a parable whiche teacheth a wyse man to geue place to tyme, and applye hymselfe to the world that is presente. And lyke fashion is of dilatyng a parable, as we haue shewed in example.For sometime it is noted in a word as: Doest thou not vnderstand that the sayles muste be turned? Sometyme it is more largelye declared, as in the oracion for Murena. And if vnto menne that sayle out of the hauen. &c.Analogie.Icon, called of the latinesImago, an Image in Englyshe, is muchelyke to a similitude, and if you declare it is a similitude: as if you saye: As an Asse wyll not be driuen from her meat, no not with a club, vntyl she be full: no more wil a warriour reste from murther vntyll he hath fylled his mynd with it. This is a similitude: but if you saye that a man flewe vpon his enemies like a dragon, or lyke a lyon, it is an Image. Howbeit an Image serueth rather to euidence or grauitie, or iocunditie, then to a profe. There is also a general comparacion, speciallye in the kynde demonstratiue, person wyth person, and one thing with an other, for praise or dispraiseIndicacio.Indicacio, or authoritie, is the cõparing of an other mans saying or sentence vnto our cause: of the whiche ther be seuen principal kyndes.The fyrst a comonmorall sentence, as a common principle perteyning to maners: as continuall laboure ouercommeth all thynges, and as be the sentences of Salomon and Cato: and all morall philosophy is ful of suche sentences. The seconde arecommon rules, whych be calleddignities in euery science. The .iii. aprouerb. The fourth calledChria, which is a very short exposicion of any dede or worde wyth the name of the author recited. The fyfte anEnthimeme, whyche is a sentence of contraries: as if it be a great praise to please good men, surely to please euyl men it is a greate shame. The syxte calledAEnos, that is a saying or a sentence, taken out of a tale, as be the interpretacions of fables, and theyr allegories. The seuen is any answere takẽ out of themouth of God, or taken out of the cõmaundement of God.Exergasia.Expolicionis, when we tarye in one thynge, speakynge the same in diuerse wordes and fashions, as though it were not one matter but diuerse. A goodlye example of the moste largest expolicion is rehearsed in Erasmus, whych, because it is very profitable, I wyll wholye rehearse it. A wyse man for the cõmon wealth sake shall eschue no peryll: euen for thys cause that it happeneth oftẽ, that wher he wold notdye for the common wealth, he perysheth yet of necessitie wyth the cõmon wealth. And because all the commodities we haue be taken of our contrey, ther ought no incõmoditie to be counted paynfull, taken for our contrey. They therfore that flye that peryll which must be takẽ for the cõmon wealth, do folyshely: for neither can they auoyde it, and they be found vngrate to the citie.But they that by their owne peril put away the perils of their cõtrei, they are to be counted wyse, seyng that bothe they geue to the cõmon wealth that honour ytthey shulde geue, and had rather dye for many, thẽ wtmany. For it is much against reason that receiuing thy naturall lyfe by thy contrey, to deliuer it agayne to nature when she compelleth the, and not to geue it to thy cõtrey when she desyreth the. And where yumayst wyth hye valiauntnes & honour die for thy contrei, to haue rather lyke a cowarde to liue in shame. And for thy fryndes and parentes, and other acquayntance to put thy selfe in peryll: for thecõmon wealth in the whyche both it & that most reuerende name of the contrey is conteyned, not to be willynge to come in ieopardye. Wherfore as he is to be dyspised whyche being vpon the sea had rather haue hym selfe safe, then the ship: so is he to be rebuked, whych in ieopardye of the commen wealthe, prouideth more for his own then for yecõmon wealthe. When the shyppe hathe ben broken, many haue ben saued: But after the shypwrake of the cõtrey no man can escape. Whyche thynge me thynketh Decius dyd wel perceiue, whych reported wholy to haue bestowed hym selfe, and for the sauegard of his men of war to haue run amonge the myddest of hys enemyes. Wherfore he loste not hys lyfe, but let it go: for he redemed for a thynge of verye small pryce, a ryght dere thyng. He gaue his life, but he receiued his contrei.He loste his life, but he inioyed glorye, whyche written to his greate prayse, shyneth euerye daye more and more. Wherefore if we haue proued both by reason & by exãple,that we be bounde to put oure selfe in peryll for the common wealthe, they are to be counted wyse men, whych for the sauegarde of the contrey auoyde no peryll. It wolde be meete to exercyse chyldren in suche themes, wherby shal be gottẽ bothe wysedome and eloquence. And here me thynketh I maye ryghte well ende these Rethoricall preceptes, although I be not ignoraunt that much helpeth bothe to persuasions and copye, the proper handlyng of tales taken oute of the nature of beastes, dreames, fayned narracions, sumwhat lyke vnto the truth, wtallegories much vsed of diuines.But because they requyre a longer treatie, for this tyme I leaue them of, addynge vnto these before written rules of oratory, a declamacionbothe profitable and verye elo-quente, wrytten by Erasmusvnto the moste noble Dukeof Cleue, as here appe-reth after.¶ Impryn-ted at London by Iohn Day,dwellinge ouer Aldersgate, benethsaint Martyns. And are to be soldat his shop by the litle conduitin Chepesyde at the sygneof the Resurrec-tion.Cum priuilegio ad imprimendumsolum. Per septennium.
AS oute of lytle springs ariseth greate fluddes: so now these preceptes of grammer finyshed, and the fyrste order of the Rethorical figures: We nowe come vnto that greate declaracion of eloquence, called of Quintilian & Cicero, the ornametẽs of sentence.
Particio.Particion called alsodiuision&distribucionrethoricall, is when a thing that mai be generally spokẽ, is more largely declared, and diuided into partes. Example: He is perfitely seene in all the sciences. ¶ This sẽtence spoken as it were in a sũme, may be enlarged, if seuerally you reherse vp al the kindes of learning. There is no kynd of doctrine at al but he is exquisitely sene in it.There is no science, but he hathe learned it thorowly, and so learned it, that you wolde thynke he had labored onely in it. So maruelouslye he knoweth all the fables of al the Poetes, he so aboundeth in the floures of the Rethoricians: He hath so boulted oute the paynefullrules of the gramarians. So perfitely knoweth he the subtilnesse of the Logicians, and hath so soughte oute the priuities of natural thynges, and ouercome the harde poyntes of supernaturall wisedome: he hathe passed thorowe the secretes of the diuines, and hath thorowlie perceyued the mathematical demõstracions. He so knoweth the mocions of the starres, the reasons of numbers, the measurynges of the earth, the situacions, names & spaces of cities, mountaynes, fluddes, and fountaynes, he so knoweth the difference and harmonies of tunes: He so remẽbreth all hystoryes olde and late: So knoweth all good authors, all antiquities & nouelties, and also is perfitelye well seene as wel in Greke as latyne. Finallye whatsoeuer learnynge hathe bene found and taught of good authors, al that thorowlye hath he perceyued, knowen and remẽbred. Here these wordes, he is perfitelye seene in all the sciences, bee declared in theyr partes.
Enumeracio.Enumeracion is much lyke vnto thys, when not beynge contenteat once to declare the ende of the matter, we rehearse vp all ytwent before it was done.Enumeraciõ of thynges that go beforeExample: Cicero oppressed the mischeuous purposes of Catiline. Thus maye you set it forth: The myscheuous enterpryses of Catiline by most vngracious yonge men, whych went about the destruccion of the citie of Rome, M Tullius the consull dyd quickelye smell out by hys foresyghte, and by hys singuler vigilancye sought thẽ oute, by his hyghe prudence espyed them, by his incredible eloquence conuinced them, and by hys graue authoritie repressed thẽ, by force of armes subdued them, & with great happines toke them quyte awaye.
Enumeraciõ of the causes.Hitherto also apperteineth, whẽ we expoũd a thyng not barely, but repete the causes also sumwhat before, and of what begynnynges it came of. As if not contente to haue sayd, that the Frenchmen made bataile with the Neapolitans, we rehearse also what wer the causes of theyr stryfe, who was the setter forward, and what was the occasion of the warre, what hope and trusteeyther of them had to the victorye.Of these ar many examples in Saluste & Liuie.Enumeraciõ of effectes, & consequẽtes.From thys differeth not when we do not simplye shewe forthe the matter, but reherse also those thynges that eyther go with it, or folowe it, as thus: We thanke the of thys warre. Thus maye you dilate the matter. The treasure spente vpon the Barbariens, the youthe broken wyth laboures, the corne troden downe, the catel driuen awaye, stretes and vyllages euery where set on fyre, fieldes lefte desolate, walles ouerthrowen, houses robbed, temples spoyled, so many olde men chylderles, so manye orphanes, so manye wyddowes, so many virgins shamefully defiled, yemaners of so many yong mẽ made worse by leude liberty, so many mẽ slayne, so great mourning, so many good artes loste, lawes oppressed, religion blotted, al thynges of god and man confounded, all good order of the citie corrupted: I say all this heape of myschiefs that riseth of war, we mai thãke the only of it, which wast yebeginner of this war
Energia.Enargia, euidence or perspicuitie called also descripcion rethoricall, is when a thynge is so described that it semeth to the reader or hearer ythe beholdeth it as it were in doyng. Of thys figure ben many kyndes.
The fyrste, calledeffiguracionordescripcionof a thynge, whereby the figure and forme of it is set out: as of the vniuersall flud.
The seconde, the descripcion of a personne, when a man is described, as are the noble menne in Plutarch, and the Emperours in Suetonius. Howe be it the rethoricianes vse thys wordeProsopopeia, that is descripcion of a personne to comprehende the sixe kyndes folowinge.
Charactirismus.The thyrde kinde is calledCharactirismus, that is the efficcion or pycture of the bodye or mynde, as Dauus describeth Crito, & Mitio describeth Demea.
Prosopographia.The .iiii. is the fainyng of a persõ calledProsopographia, and is of.ii.sorts. Fyrst yedescripciõ of a fainedperson, as Vyrgyl in the syxt of Eneid, faineth Sibil to be mad, & fayneth the persons in hell. An other forme is whẽ we fayne persõ, cõmunicacion, or affecte of a man or of a beaste, to a dumme thynge, or that hath no bodye, or to a dead man: as to the Harpies, furies, deuils, slepe hongar, enuie, fame, vertue, iustice, and suche lyke, the poetes fayne a person, and communicacion. This seconde fashion the Poetes do callProsopopey.Aetopeia.The fyrst kind is calledAEtopeia, that is an expressiõ of maners or mylde affeccions, and hath thre kyndes: of the whych the fyrst is a significacion or expressionofmaners somewhat longer, as of wittes, artes, vertues, vices. Thus we expresse Thraso a boaster, and Demea a sowre felowe.
The seconde forme, is an expression of naturall propensitie, and inclinacions to naturall affeccions, as of the fathers loue toward the chyldren .&c. of fryendshyppe, neyghbourhod & cetr. as you maye se in hystoryes.¶ The thyrd kynde is the expression of lighter affeccions, as when wee go about by fayre meanes to gette the mery affeccions of menne to vs ward or to other, & when the mynd is lyft vp into hope, myrth, & laughter, and as be louyng salutations, promises, & cõmunynges together in familiar epistles and dialogues, and the getting of loue and fauour in the begynnynges, and finallye thys figure doth teach, that Rethorique is a part of flattery.Pathopeia.The sixt kynde of rethoricall descripcion isPathopeia, that is expressyng of vehement affeccions and perturbacions, of yewhych ther be two sortes.The fyrste calledDonysis, or intencion, and some call it imaginacion, wherby feare, anger, madnes, hatered, enuye, and lyke other perturbacions of mynde is shewed and described, as in Ciceros inuectiues.Another forme is calledOictros, or cõmiseracion, wherby teares be pyked out, or pyty is moued, or forgeuenes, as in Ciceros peroraciõs, and complaintes in Poets: And tobe shorte ther is gotten no greater admiracion or commendacion of eloquence then of these two,AEtopeia, andPathopeia, if they be vsed in place.dialogismusThe .vii. kind isDialogismuswhych is how often a short or long communicacion is fayned to a person, accordyng to the comelines of it. Such be the concious in Liuie, & other historians.Mimisis.The .viii. kynd is calledMimisis, that is folowing eyther of the wordes or manoures whereby we expresse not onlye the wordes of the person, but also the gesture: and these foresaydsixekindes Quintiliane dothe put vnderProsopopeia. The .ix. kynde is thedescripcionof a place, as of Carthage in the fyrst of Eneid. Referre hitherCosmographieandGeographie. The .x. kynd is calledTopotesia, that is ficcion of a place, when a place is described such one peraduenture as is not, as of the fieldes called Elisii in Virgil: refer hitherAstrothesiam, that is the descripciõ of starres. The .xi. kinde isChronographia,that is the descripcion of the tyme, as of nyght, daye, and the foure tymes of the yere.
AmplificacioA greate parte of eloquence is set in increasing and diminyshing, and serueth for thys purpose, that the thyng shulde seme as great as it is in dede, lesser or greater then it seemeth to manye. For the rude people haue commonly a preposterous iudgemẽt, and take the worst thynges for the beste, and the beste for the worst. Al amplificacion and diminucion is taken eyther of thinges, or of wordes. Of thynges ryse effeccions, of words those fashions that nowe I wyll shewe. The first waye of increasyng or diminishing is by chaungynge the worde of the thynge, when in encreasynge we vse a more cruell worde, and a softer in diminyshynge, as when we call an euyll man a thiefe, and saye he hathe kylled vs, when he hathe beaten vs. And it is more vehemẽte if bycorreccionwe compare greater wordes wyth those that we put before: As thou haste broughte not a thyefe, but an extorcioner, notan adulterer, but a rauysher. &c. ¶ Lyke vnto this isHyperbole, whyche say the more then the truthe is in deede, as when we saye: The crye was hearde to heauen, meanyng it was a greate crye. An other kynde is byincrease, whyche is when the thynges goyng before beyngeexaggerate, we come from them to the hyeste: As agaynste Verres. It is a myscheuous deede to bynde a Citizen of Rome, haynous to beate hym, what? shall I saye to hange hym? An other waye of increase is, when wythoute distinccion in the context and course of the oracion, the circumstaunces sette in order, somewhat alwayes is added bygger then the fyrste, and that we come to the hyest by a swyfte pace. As he was not ashamed to playe at dyce wyth iesters in the common cokerye, beynge a prieste, a Person, a Diuine, and a Monke. There is another kynde of amplyfienge that is bycomparisoncontrary to increase. For as in increase the thynges that go before beyng exaggerat, we go fromthem to the hyest, so comparison taketh increase of the lesser, whych if they be greater in all mens opinions, that must nedes appeare verie greate that we wyll haue amplified: And comparison is made byficcion, & by puttynge to an example.By ficcion, eyther in one degree, or in many. As in the fyrst part of the amplifiyng of Antonies vomite, for he fayneth it had happened vnto hym at supper beyng but a priuate person. If at supper in these great bowles of thine thys happened vnto thee, who wolde not haue counted it a shame: But now in yesyght of the people of Rome beynge a cõmon officer, master of the horse, to whom it was shame once to belch, he wyth hys gobbets of meat that stanke al of wyne, fylled al his lap, and the iudgement seate. Here amplificacion is taken of smaller thinges, and is made by one degree of many degrees, this maye be an example. If a mã gaue the euery yere.xl.poũd, woldest yunot thanke him? If a friend had redemed the out of prison wthys money, woldest thounot loue hym? If eyther in battell or shypwracke a man by hys valiantnes had saued the, woldest thou not worshyp hym as God, and saye thou were neuer able to make hym amendes? What ingratitude is it then that Christ God & man, which hathe made the, to whom thou dost owe al that thou hast, &c. so to dispyse hym, so wyth dayely fautes to anger him, & for so great beniuolẽce to geue hym agayn so great contumelye and despyte? Neyther skylleth it that we haue rehearsed ficcion and comparicion amonge argumentes, for there is no cause why that amplificacion and oruacion shuld not be taken out of the same places from whence ther commeth probacion. Nor it is no newes the selfe same thynges to be applyed to diuerse vses. As of all circumstaunces both of the thyng, and of the person are taken argumentes, but euen oute of the selfe same are set affeccions and exaggeracions, whych is manifest in the kynde demonstratiue: As when we prayse chastitie in a yonge man, we go notaboute to perswade that he was chaste, but that that vertue shulde appeare greater in floryshyng age.To lyke vse serue examples andsimilitudes, as in Esaye: The Oxe knewe hys owner, and the Asse the maunger of hys master, but Israel hathe not knowen me. Theexampleof the Oxe & the Asse is not vsed for this to proue that the Hebrewes dyd not knowe their God, but that the impietie and folishnes of that nacion shulde be amplified.The same may be applied to profe after thys maner. If the Oxe and Asse knowledge theyr masters, of whõ they are norished and do serue them, how much more conueniente is it, that mã shuld knowledge hys maker and norisher, and serue him bothe in bodye and mynd. Contrarye, when Paul sayth: no man serueth in warre on his owne wages, he proueth by similitudes, that it is not comelye, that they that war vnder the gospell, shulde be compelled to be carefull for their liuynge.He shuld haue applied it to amplifiyng, if he had propouned it thus.They that serue vnder a capteine be not careful for their liuyng, but lokinge for the sustenaunce of their capteine, only studye for thys to do hym faythful seruice, howe muche more shame is it that some menne that haue promised to fyght vnder Christ in the gospel, to distrust such a capteyne, and studye all they can to gather riches.Cõparisonby puttyng toexampleis, whẽ by setting out as it were a lyke example, wee brynge to passe that that we exaggerate may be thought either very lyke, eyther equal, either bygger. ¶ And in this kynd both the whole is cõpared to the whole, & the partes to partes: as in the oracion of Cicero for Milo. Did I pray you ytnoble mã Scipio being a priuat persõ kil Tiberius Gracchus whych shaked the cõmõ wealthe but a lytle, & shall wee beynge consulles suffer Catiline, that gothe aboute to wast the whole worlde wyth murther and fyre? Here both Catiline is compared to Gracchus, and the estate of the common wealthe to the whole world, & a lytle shakyngto slaughter, fyer and wastyng, and a priuate person to the consuls. ¶ Ther is anamplificacionalso whẽcontrariesbe set together, wherby bothe the partes seme bygger, and more euidente. As when exhorting men to liberalitie, we shewe howe foule a faute couetousenes is, that the foulnes of the faute being exaggerate, the goodlines of the vertue shulde be more encreased. There is another kynd of amplifiyng calledreasonynge, when of those thinges that eyther folowe or go before, the hearer doth gather how great that thynge is that we wolde to be amplified. By thynges that go before, as when Homer armeth Achylles, or Hector to batayle, by the greate preparacion, we gather how sore yesight shal be. Of thinges ytfolowe: How much wyne Antony dranke, when ythauyng such a strong body he was not able to digeste it, but spewed it vp the nexte daye after. Of thynges ioyned to: as whẽ Maro sayeth to Poliphemus: He had the bodye of a pineapple tree for a staffe in hys hande. Manye otherkyndes ben there of amplifiynge, which who so wyl se more at large, may read that right excellent boke of the famouse doctor Erasmus, whych he intituled the preacher.
Theinuencionof manyproposicionsis, when the chyefe state or principalproposionof the cause is declared and proued by manye other proposicions and argumẽtes, so set in iuste order that there be no confusion ofproposions. And proposicions be taken partely of those that be cõmon, and partly of those thynges that belonge properlye to the cause: As if a man wolde counsell Tullye not to take the condicion offered of Antony, that is, that by burnynge of hys bookes called philippia, he shulde haue hys lyfe, hy myght vse commonly these proposicions. Fyrste ytno man oughte to by his life so dere, that therby he shulde lose hys immortall name. ¶ To thys generall may serue a perticuler taken oute of circumstaunces, that it oughte not to be done, inespecialy of Cicero, whych by so many laboures hathe gotten vntohym selfe an excellente and euerlastyng name, and that hath shewed moste eloquently by putting out so manye noble workes that deathe ought to be despised, inespeciallye seynge that now he hath not much tyme to lyue beynge an olde man. ¶ Agayn, another principall proposicion shall be taken of the circũstaũces. That nothynge is worse, then that Cicero beyng a very good mã shulde owe his lyfe to Antonye the worst man of the world. The third proposicion shal be cõiectural: how that Antony craftely goeth about that the bookes beynge burned, in the whych he perceiueth bothe hys owne immortal infamye to be, and the immortal glory of Cicero, whẽ he hath afterwardes taken awaye hys lyfe, he maye vtterlye extinguyshe Cicero.
Proues.So when proposicions be found, remaineth argumẽtaciõ or proues, called in GrekePistis, because they make suretye of a doutefull thyng.Two sortes of proues.Of proues some beartificiall, some vnartificial.Vnartificialbe, foreiudgementes,rumoures, tormentes, tabelles, othe, wytnesses, diuinacion, oracles.Signes be referred to proues vnartificial, & why?To these be referred whych the Greekes calSymeiaorsygnes: For they also commonlye are not set by the wytte of hym that disputeth, but are ministred otherwyse.Signes wherfore.They be called signes properlye, whyche rysynge of the thynge it selfe that is in question come vnder the sences of menne,Signes be referred to tyme.as threatninges, whych be of the time that is paste, cryinge herde oute of a place, whyche is of the tyme presente, palenesse of hym whyche is axed of the murther, whyche is of the tyme folowynge, or that bloud leapte oute of the bodye latelye slayne, when he came that dyd the murther.Two maner of signes.Also of signes some bee necessary, as that he liueth whiche dothe breathe, and some probable, as bloude in the garmente, whych myghte also come oute of the nose, or otherwyse.Proues takẽ oute of circũstauces.Also proues and argumentes are taken oute of circũstaunces, partly of the person, partlye of the cause or thyng it self, and be called also of the Rethoriciansplaces, neyther cleane contrarie to those that Aristotle hath taughte, neyther the very same: for some agree wyth them, some be all one, and some diuerse.How proues of circũstaũces differ frõ Aristotels places.Onlye differeth the manour of teachynge, because the Rethoricianes do teache a patrone, the philosopher generally helpeth iudgement.Circũstãces of person.Circumstaunces of the person ben these. Kinred, nacion, contrey, kynde, age, bryngynge vp, or discipline, hauioure of the body, fortune, condicion, nature of the mynde, studies, affectacion, wordes forespoken, & deedes done before, commocion, counsell, name.Kynred.Kynredmonisheth vs to cõsider of what progeny a man dothe come. For it is semely, and happeneth cõmonlye that the sonnes be lyke the forefathers, and thereof procedeth causes to lyue well or euyll:NacionNaciõ sheweth what disposicion and maners euery nacion hath peculiarly of theyr owne.Kynd.The difference of kynde is knowen to euerye man:Age.To diuerse ages diuerse thyngs be conueniente.Educacion.It skylleth more by whom, and by what wayes men bebrought vp, then of whom they be begotten.Hauiour of the bodie.The hauioure of the bodye comprehendeth fayrnes or foulnes, strength or weaknes: For more credible is the accusacion of lecherye in a fayre body then in a foule, and violence more probable in the strong, then in the weake.FortuneFortune perteineth to ryches, kynred, friendes, seruitures, dignities, honours.Condicion.Condicion comprehendeth manye thynges: as whether he be noble or not noble, an officer, or a priuate person, a father or a sonne, a citizen or a straunger, a fre man, or a seruaunt, a maried manne, or a single man, a father or none, hauinge had but one wyfe, or two.The nature of the myndThe nature of the mynde hath manifold varieties in men. Some be fearful, some strong, some gentle, some vehemẽt, chaste, lecherous, glorious, modeste &c.StudiesStudies, for other be the maners of the rustical, then of the lawyer, of the marchaunte, then of the Soldier, of the shipman then of the phisicion.Affectacion.To these they adde affectacion: For it skylleth muche what maner man euerye one wolde semeto be, whether he be yesame or not: as ryche, or eloquent, iuste or mightie, mery or sad, a fauorer of the people, or of the great men.Wordes spoken, & deedes done beforeBoth wordes that be spoken before time, and dedes that be done, be also considered. For of thynges that be paste, the present be estemed, & also thinges that be to come.CommocionCõmocion in thys differeth from the nature of the mynde, because that one is perpetuall, that other for a whyle: as anger is commocion, rancour the nature of the mynde, and feare a cõmocion, fearefulnesse nature.Name.¶ To these they adde the name of the person, of whence many tymes an argument is takẽ: as Cicero iesteth muche vpon Verres, or sweepers name, because beyng a strong thief, he swepte altogether. Thus haue we shewed that much matter may be taken of thynges belongyng to a personne, so maye be also of those that belonge to a thynge or cause, whiche places bee so handeled of Quintiliane, that he myngleth thẽ wyth the places whyche Aristotle hathe comprehended in hys eyghtebookes of Topyckes.Circũstaunces of things be these.Circumstances of the thynges be these: Cause, place, tyme, chaunce, facultie, instrumente, manour. And fyrste of euerye thinge there be foure causes, efficient, materiall, formall and finall. Matter is the receptacle of al formes. The forme causeth it to be thys, and not another thynge: as the reasonable soule geueth to the body that it is a man, and the soule because it is a substaunce hathe her vnnamed forme, whereby she is a soule, and not an aungel.Fine or ende.And what soeuer is made, is made to a certen ende, and one thynge maye haue diuerse endes: as nature hathe geuen brestes vnto women to geue milke, and also for comlynesse of theyr bodies, neyther doth any man that is of a sounde mynde take vpon hym anye businesse, but for that he desyreth to haue some thynge: nor there is nothynge desyred, but vnder the consideracion of good or profite. ¶ So the ende whyche is laste in effecte, and fyrste in intencion, loketh vpon the gettinge of profites, increase, and cõfirmacion of them,and also vpon them, eschuynge of disprofites, diminyshynge, or puttyng them awaye. But in chosyng them, false perswacion deceyueth manye, whylest by errour they beleue that to be good ytis naughte. ¶ This place therfore serueth for many thynges, to make more or lesse. ¶ Greatly happy shulde men be, if euerye man wolde looke vpon the marke, not the whych desyre hathe sette before hym, but whyche God and honest reason hath prefixed. ¶ And of such strengthe is the ende, that hereof is taken the felicitie of euery thyng. To fast that the body maye obeye the mynde, to do good workes is an holy deede. To fast to be counted holye, is hypocrisie. To faste to encrease thy good, is couetousenesse. To faste to be whole in thy bodie is phisycke, and so of praiynge, almose, and other laudable workes. After lyke maner must be wayed the secondarie endes.Place.An other circumstaunce of a thynge, is the place, whose qualitie oftentimes maketh the faute either greter or lesser: as to steale an holyething out of an holy place, is worse then some other kynde of theft.Tyme.No lesse matter of argumentacion ministreth the qualitie of time, which signifieth two thynges.Time hathe two significacions.Fyrst it is taken playnly for the time present, past, or to come: Seconde it signifieth oportunitie to do a thynge, and so when a man cometh as we wold haue it, we saye he cometh in time.And in the seuenth of Ihon, when Christ sayth: My tyme is not yet come, tyme is taken for oportunitie of tyme. And lykewyse in the syxt to the Galat. Therfore whyle we haue tyme. &c.Chaunce.The Rethoricianes put chaunce vnder tyme, because the ende of a thynge perteyneth to the time that foloweth: but of thys wyll we speke in the place called Euent. Facultie is a power to do the thynge that is taken in hand: and in coniectures two thinges speciallye be considered: whether he could or wold. Wyll is gathered of hope to performe it, and is made more probable whẽ the nature of the mynde is ioyned to it: as it is not like he wyl abide in hisglorye, because he is enuious and ambicious. Also when we counsell one to leaue of vayne mournynge, when it is not in his power to get agayne that is gone.
Instrument.Instrument semeth to be a part of facultie: for instrumentes sometyme are cause of oure hablenes to do a thinge: and it is a more mischeuous deede to kyl with venome thẽ with swearde. And to instrumẽt so nie is the manour of doyng, that almoste it is all one. But more properlye perteyne to the manour or fashion, those thynges that be eyther excused, or made greater by wyl: As lesse faute is it to fall into a vice by ignorance or frailtie, then of a purpose and full deliberacion.The vse of circũstances profiteth to amplifie, to extenuate, to euidence, to confirmacion, and probabilitie.And hytherto be referred also thecommon placesthat indifferentlye apperteyne to all kyndes and partes of causes, of the whyche Rodulphe entreateth, and Aristotle in his Topyckes. But before we speake of them, it is to be noted,that thys woorde place, is taken foure maner of wayes. They are called common places, because thei be entreated of, of bothe partes, althoughe not in all one cause: as he that is sore spoken agaynste by witnesses, swadeth that we shulde not geue credite to witnesses. Contrarye, he that is holpen by them speaketh in defence of wytnesses, and so of other that we spake of before, when we entreated of vnartificial argumentes. Lyke to thys sorte be sentences, whyche wee exaggerate as it were wythoute the cause, but so that they serue to the cause whiche wee haue in hande: as bee the amplificacions of vertues, and the exaggeracions of vices. As when wee accuse anye manne that by euyll companions he was broughte to do also the mischeuouse deede.¶ A common place shall bee, wyth wordes to exaggerate howe much it profiteth to keepe goodnesse, to bee in companye wyth good men, and contrarye howe greate myschyefe the companye of euyll men dothe cause.¶ In the third sence places be called seates of argumentes, whyche the Rethoricianes do applie to eche kyndes of causes: As in the kynde suasorie, honest, profitable, pleasaũt easye, necessarie. &c. In demonstratiue kynde, kynred, contrey, goodes of the bodye and of the mynde. In the Iudiciall kynde, inespecial deniall, those that we spake of euen nowe. The fourth places be general, whych declare what belongeth to euerye thynge, and howe oute of eche of them there be taken argumentes, partly necessary, and partlye probable. These be commen to the Oratours with the Logicians, albeit Aristotle hathe seperatelye written of them in hys Topickes; and in his Rethorickes hathe not touched thẽ, and they profite much both to iudgement, and to endightynge, but the varietie of authors hath made the handlynge of them sumwhat darke, because amonge them selues they can not wel agre, neyther of the names, neyther of the number, neyther of the order.
Examples.An example is a rehearsall of athynge that is done, and an applyynge of it vnto our cause, eyther for similitude or dissimilitude, profitable to perswade, garnyshe, and delyght. Examples, some be taken out of hystories, some of tales, some of fayned argumẽtes, in comedies; and bothe sortes be dilated by parable and comparacion. Comparacion sheweth it equall, lesse, or bygger. Parable is a feete similitude, whych sheweth yeexample that is brought, either like, vnlyke or cõtrarye. Lyke as Camillus restored the common wealth of the Romaines that was oppressed by the Frenchmen, and when it was brought into extreme losse, by theyr valiauntnesse expelled the Barbariens: So Valla, whan thorowe the ignorãce of yeBarbarians, learnyng was destroyed, restored it agayn, as it wer from death into hys former brightnes. Vnlike. As not lyke thanke is done to Laurence and Camillus, because that the one moued by vertue wyth the ieopardie of hys lyfe deliuered his contrey from the vngracious, that other styrred vp by desyreof fame, or rather wyth an euyll luste to checke manye, not restored agayn the lattẽ tong oppressed, but brought it as it were into certen rules. Cõtrary, Brutus kylled hys chyldren goyng about treason, Manlius punished by death the valiauntnes of hys sonne.Comparacionsheweth yething ytis brought, eyther equall, lesse, or bigger: Lesse, as our elders haue warred oftentymes, because theyr marchaũtes and mariners wer euyl entreated. What mynd ought you to be in, so many thousande citizens of Rome slaine at one message, and one time? Equall, as in the same Cicero. ¶ For it happed vnto me to stand for an offyce wyth two gentlemenne, that one very naughte, that other very gentle, yet ouercame I Catiline by dignitie, and Galba by fauoure. Bygger: As for Milo, they saye he shulde not lyue that confesseth he hathe kylled a man, when M. Horacius was quitte, whyche kylled hys owne syster.
Parable.Parable, which some call similitude, some cõparacion, is a comparyngof a thyng ythath no life, or no bodye to our cause and purpose, for some thyng that is lyke or vnlyke.And as example is taken of yedede of a man, and the person of an hystorye, or that is fabulous and fayned, so is comparison taken of thinges that be done, or that be ioyned to them by nature, or by chaunce. ¶ As Attilius retournyng agayne to hys enemies is an example of kepynge faythe and promise: But a shyp in the whych the sayles be hoysed vp, or takẽ down after the blowyng of the winde, is a parable whiche teacheth a wyse man to geue place to tyme, and applye hymselfe to the world that is presente. And lyke fashion is of dilatyng a parable, as we haue shewed in example.For sometime it is noted in a word as: Doest thou not vnderstand that the sayles muste be turned? Sometyme it is more largelye declared, as in the oracion for Murena. And if vnto menne that sayle out of the hauen. &c.Analogie.
Icon, called of the latinesImago, an Image in Englyshe, is muchelyke to a similitude, and if you declare it is a similitude: as if you saye: As an Asse wyll not be driuen from her meat, no not with a club, vntyl she be full: no more wil a warriour reste from murther vntyll he hath fylled his mynd with it. This is a similitude: but if you saye that a man flewe vpon his enemies like a dragon, or lyke a lyon, it is an Image. Howbeit an Image serueth rather to euidence or grauitie, or iocunditie, then to a profe. There is also a general comparacion, speciallye in the kynde demonstratiue, person wyth person, and one thing with an other, for praise or dispraise
Indicacio.Indicacio, or authoritie, is the cõparing of an other mans saying or sentence vnto our cause: of the whiche ther be seuen principal kyndes.The fyrst a comonmorall sentence, as a common principle perteyning to maners: as continuall laboure ouercommeth all thynges, and as be the sentences of Salomon and Cato: and all morall philosophy is ful of suche sentences. The seconde arecommon rules, whych be calleddignities in euery science. The .iii. aprouerb. The fourth calledChria, which is a very short exposicion of any dede or worde wyth the name of the author recited. The fyfte anEnthimeme, whyche is a sentence of contraries: as if it be a great praise to please good men, surely to please euyl men it is a greate shame. The syxte calledAEnos, that is a saying or a sentence, taken out of a tale, as be the interpretacions of fables, and theyr allegories. The seuen is any answere takẽ out of themouth of God, or taken out of the cõmaundement of God.
Exergasia.Expolicionis, when we tarye in one thynge, speakynge the same in diuerse wordes and fashions, as though it were not one matter but diuerse. A goodlye example of the moste largest expolicion is rehearsed in Erasmus, whych, because it is very profitable, I wyll wholye rehearse it. A wyse man for the cõmon wealth sake shall eschue no peryll: euen for thys cause that it happeneth oftẽ, that wher he wold notdye for the common wealth, he perysheth yet of necessitie wyth the cõmon wealth. And because all the commodities we haue be taken of our contrey, ther ought no incõmoditie to be counted paynfull, taken for our contrey. They therfore that flye that peryll which must be takẽ for the cõmon wealth, do folyshely: for neither can they auoyde it, and they be found vngrate to the citie.But they that by their owne peril put away the perils of their cõtrei, they are to be counted wyse, seyng that bothe they geue to the cõmon wealth that honour ytthey shulde geue, and had rather dye for many, thẽ wtmany. For it is much against reason that receiuing thy naturall lyfe by thy contrey, to deliuer it agayne to nature when she compelleth the, and not to geue it to thy cõtrey when she desyreth the. And where yumayst wyth hye valiauntnes & honour die for thy contrei, to haue rather lyke a cowarde to liue in shame. And for thy fryndes and parentes, and other acquayntance to put thy selfe in peryll: for thecõmon wealth in the whyche both it & that most reuerende name of the contrey is conteyned, not to be willynge to come in ieopardye. Wherfore as he is to be dyspised whyche being vpon the sea had rather haue hym selfe safe, then the ship: so is he to be rebuked, whych in ieopardye of the commen wealthe, prouideth more for his own then for yecõmon wealthe. When the shyppe hathe ben broken, many haue ben saued: But after the shypwrake of the cõtrey no man can escape. Whyche thynge me thynketh Decius dyd wel perceiue, whych reported wholy to haue bestowed hym selfe, and for the sauegard of his men of war to haue run amonge the myddest of hys enemyes. Wherfore he loste not hys lyfe, but let it go: for he redemed for a thynge of verye small pryce, a ryght dere thyng. He gaue his life, but he receiued his contrei.He loste his life, but he inioyed glorye, whyche written to his greate prayse, shyneth euerye daye more and more. Wherefore if we haue proued both by reason & by exãple,that we be bounde to put oure selfe in peryll for the common wealthe, they are to be counted wyse men, whych for the sauegarde of the contrey auoyde no peryll. It wolde be meete to exercyse chyldren in suche themes, wherby shal be gottẽ bothe wysedome and eloquence. And here me thynketh I maye ryghte well ende these Rethoricall preceptes, although I be not ignoraunt that much helpeth bothe to persuasions and copye, the proper handlyng of tales taken oute of the nature of beastes, dreames, fayned narracions, sumwhat lyke vnto the truth, wtallegories much vsed of diuines.But because they requyre a longer treatie, for this tyme I leaue them of, addynge vnto these before written rules of oratory, a declamacion
bothe profitable and verye elo-quente, wrytten by Erasmusvnto the moste noble Dukeof Cleue, as here appe-reth after.
¶ Impryn-ted at London by Iohn Day,dwellinge ouer Aldersgate, benethsaint Martyns. And are to be soldat his shop by the litle conduitin Chepesyde at the sygneof the Resurrec-tion.
Cum priuilegio ad imprimendumsolum. Per septennium.