The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Art or Crafte of Rhetoryke, by Leonard Cox
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Title: The Art or Crafte of Rhetoryke
Author: Leonard Cox
Release Date: May 26, 2008 [EBook #25612]
Language: English
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[Transcriber's Notes:
About this book: _The Art or crafte of Rhetoryke_ was originally
published c. 1530; the second edition was published in 1532. It is
considered the first book on rhetoric in English.
Typography: This e-book was transcribed from microfiche scans of the
1532 edition. The original line and paragraph breaks, hyphenation,
spelling, capitalization, and punctuation, including the use of a
spaced forward slash (/) for the comma, the use of u for v and vice
versa, and the use of i for j, have been preserved. All apparent
printer errors have also been preserved, and are listed at the end of
this document.
The following alterations have been made:
1. Long-s has been regularized as s.
2. The paragraph symbol, resembling a C in the original, is rendered
as ¶.
3. Superscript letters are preceded by ^.
4. Missing hyphens have been added in brackets, e.g. [-].
5. A decorative capital followed by a capital letter is represented
here as two capital letters, e.g. COnsyderynge.
6. Abbreviations and contractions represented as special characters in
the original have been expanded as noted in the table below. A
"macron" means a horizontal line over a letter. A "cursive semicolon"
is an old-style semicolon somewhat resembling a handwritten z.
"Supralinear" means directly over a letter. "Superscript" means raised
and next to a letter. The "y" referred to below is an Early Modern
English form of the Anglo-Saxon thorn character, representing "th,"
but identical in appearance to the letter "y."
Original Expansion
&c with macron &c[etera]
q with cursive semicolon q[ue]
superscript closed curve [us]
long final s [e]s
crossed p p[er] or p[ar]
p with looped downstroke p[ro]
p with macron p[re]
vowel with macron vowel[m] or vowel[n]
consonant with supralinear upward curve consonant[er]
w with supralinear t w[i]t[h]
y with superscript e y^e (i.e., the)
y with superscript t y^t (i.e., that)
y with macron y[at] (i.e., that)
y with supralinear u y[o]u (i.e., thou)
Greek: Phrases in ancient Greek are transliterated in brackets, e.g.,
[Greek: outos esti].
Pagination: This book was printed as an octavo volume, and was
paginated using a recto-verso scheme. In octavo printing, the printer
uses large sheets of paper folded and cut into eight leaves each,
creating 16 pages. The front of each leaf is the recto page (the
right-hand page in a book); the back of each leaf is the verso page
(the left-hand page in a book). For this book, the printer apparently
used six sheets, lettered A through F, and each leaf is numbered with
a lower-case Roman numeral, i through viii. Thus, for example, the
first leaf (i) from the second sheet (B) is numbered B.i.
In the original, page numbers are printed only on the recto side of
each leaf, and are not printed at all after the fourth or fifth recto
page of each sheet, until the first leaf of the next sheet. For the
reader's convenience, all pages in this e-book, even those without a
printed number in the original, have been numbered in brackets
according to the original format, with the addition of "r" for recto
and "v" for verso. Pages A.i.v and F.viii.r are blank and are not
numbered in this e-book.
Sources consulted: This e-book was prepared from microfiche scans of
the 1532 edition, which can be viewed at the Bibliothèque nationale de
France (BnF/Gallica) website at http://gallica.bnf.fr. The uneven
quality of the scans, and the blackletter font in the original, made
the scans difficult to read in some places. To ensure accuracy, the
transcriber has consulted the following sources:
1. The 2004 electronic transcription by Robert N. Gaines, available in
SGML format from the Arts and Humanities Data Service,
http://ahds.ac.uk. The typography notes above are based in part on the
notes to that transcription.
2. The 1899 reprint edited and annotated by Frederick Ives Carpenter
(University of Chicago Press; facsimile reprint by AMS Press, 1973).]
[A.i.r]
¶ The Art
or crafte of
Rheto-
ryke.
1532
[A.ii.r]
¶ To the reuerende father in god
& his singuler good lorde / the lorde Hugh
Faryngton Abbot of Redynge / his pore
client and perpetuall seruaunt Leonarde
Cockes desyreth longe & prosperouse lyfe
with encreace of honour.
COnsiderynge my spe[-]
ciall good lorde how great[-]
ly and how many ways I
am bounden to your lord-
shyp / and among all other
that in so great a nombre
of counynge men whiche are now within
this region it hath pleased your goodnes
to accepte me as worthy for to haue the
charge of the instruction & bryngynge vp
of suche youth as resorteth to your gra-
mer schole / fou[n]ded by your antecessours in
this your towne of Redynge / I studied a
longe space what thyng I myght do next
the busy & diligent occupienge of my selfe
in your sayd seruyce / to the whiche bothe
conscience and your stipende doth straytly
bynde me / that myght be a significacion
of my faithfull and seruysable hart which
I owe to your lordeshyp / & agayne a long
memory bothe of your singuler and bene-
[A.ii.v] ficiall fauour towarde me: and of myn in-
dustry and diligence employed in your ser-
uyce to some profite: or at the leest way to
some delectacion of the inhabitauntes of
this noble realme now flouryshynge vn-
der the most excellent & victorious prynce
our souerain Lorde kyng Henry the .viii.
¶ And whan I had thus long prepensed
in my mynde what thynge I myght best
chose out: non offred it selfe more conue-
nyent to the profyte of yonge studentes
(which your good lordshyp hath alwayes
tenderly fauoured) and also meter to my
p[ro]fession: than to make som proper werke
of the right pleasaunt and persuadible art
of Rhetorique / whiche as it is very neces-
sary to all suche as wyll either be Aduoca[-]
tes and Proctours in the law: or els apte
to be sent in theyr Prynces Ambassades /
or to be techers of goddes worde in suche
maner as may be moost sensible & accepte
to theyr audience / and finally to all them
hauynge any thyng to purpose or to speke
afore any companye (what someuer they
be) So contraryly I se no science that is
lesse taught & declared to Scolers / which
ought chiefly after the knowlege of Gra-
mer ones had to be instructe in this facul[-]
tie / without the whiche oftentymes the
[A.iii.r] rude vtteraunce of the Aduocate greatly
hindereth and apeyreth his clie[n]tes cause.
Likewise the vnapt disposicion of the pre-
cher (in orderyng his mater) confoundeth
the memory of his herers / and briefly in
declarynge of maters: for lacke of inuen-
cion and order with due elocucion: great
tediousnes is engendred to the multitude
beyng present / by occasion wherof the spe[-]
ker is many tymes ere he haue ended his
tale: either left almost aloon to his no li-
tle confusio[n]: or els (which is a lyke rebuke
to hym) the audience falleth for werynes
of his ineloquent language fast on slepe.
¶ Wyllynge therfore for my parte to help
suche as are desirouse of this Arte (as all
surely ought to be which entende to be re-
garded in any comynaltie) I haue parte-
ly translated out a werke of Rhetorique
wryten in the Latin tongue: and partely
compyled of myn owne: and so made a ly-
tle treatyse in maner of an Introductyon
into this aforesayd Science: and that in
our Englysshe tongue. Remembrynge
that euery good thyng (after the sayeng[e]s
of the Philosopher) the more comon it is:
the more better it is. And furthermore tru[-]
stynge therby to do som pleasure and ease
to suche as haue by negligence or els fals
[A.iii.v] persuacions be put to the lernyng of other
sciences or euer they haue attayned any
meane knowlege of the Latin tongue.
¶ whiche my sayd labour I humbly offre
to your good Lordeshyp / as to the chyefe
maintener & nouryssher of my study / be-
sechynge you / thoughe it be ferre within
your merites done to me / to accepte it as
the fyrst assay of my pore and simple wyt /
which yf it may fyrst please your Lord-
shyp / and nexte the reders / I trust by
the ayde of almyghty god to endyte
other werkes bothe in this facul-
ty and other to the laude of the
hygh godhed / of whome all
goodnes doth procede / and
to your Lordshyps plea-
sure / and to profyte
and delectacion of
the Reder.
[A.iiii.r]
WHo someuer desyreth to be
a good Oratour or to dys-
pute and commune of any
maner thynge / hym beho-
ueth to haue foure thinges.
¶ The fyrst is called In-
uencion / for he must fyrst of all imagin or
Inuent in his mynde what he shall say.
¶ The seconde is named Iugement. For
he must haue wyt to deserne & iuge whe-
ther tho thynges that he hath founde in
his mynde be conuenient to the purpose
or nat. For ofte[n]tymes yf a man lacke this
property / he may aswell tell that that is
against hym as with hym / as experience
doth dayly shew. ¶ The thyrde is Dispo-
sicion / wherby he may know how to order
and set euery thynge in his due place / leest
thoughe his inuencion and iugement be
neuer so good / he may happen to be coun-
ted (as the comon prouerbe sayth) to put
the carte afore the horse. ¶ The fourth
& last is suche thynges as he hath inuen-
ted: and by Iugement knowen apte to his
purpose whan they are set in theyr order
so to speke them that it may be pleasaunt
and delectable to the audience / so that it
may be sayd of hym that hystories make
mencion that an olde woman sayd ones
[A.iiii.v] by Demosthenes / & syns hath ben a como[n]
prouerbe amonge the Grekes [Greek: outos esti]
which is as moche to say as (This is he)
And this last p[ro]perty is called among ler-
ned men ( Eloquence. ¶ Of these foure the
moost difficile or harde is to inuent what
thou must say / wherfore of this parte the
Rethoriciens whiche be maisters of this
Arte: haue writen very moche & dilige[n]tly.
¶ Inuencion is comprehended in certayn
places / as the Rhetoriciens call them / out
of whom he that knoweth y^e faculty may
fetche easely suche thynges as be mete for
the mater that he shall speke of / which ma[-]
ter the Oratours calleth the Theme / and
in our vulgare tongue it is called impro-
perly the Anthethem. ¶ The theme pur-
posed: we must after the rules of Rheto-
rique go to our places that shall ano[n] shew
vnto vs what shall be to our purpose.
¶ Example.
IN olde tyme there was greate enuy
betwene two noble men of Rome / of
who[m] the one was called Milo / & the other
Clodius / which malice grew so ferre that
Clodius layd wayte for Milo on a season
whan he sholde ryde out of the Citie / and
in his iourney set vpon hym / and there as
[A.v.r] it chaunced: Clodius was slayne / where
vpon this Clodius frendes accused Milo
to the Cenate of murder. Tully whiche in
tho days was a great Aduocate in Rome
sholde plede Miloes cause. Now it was
open that Milo had slayne Clodius / but
whether he had slayn hym laufully or nat
was the doubte. So than the Theme of
Tullies oracio[n] or plee for Milo was this /
that he had slayne Clodius laufully / and
therfore he ought nat to be punisshed / for
the confirmacion wherof (as dothe appere
in Tullies oracion) he dyd brynge out of
places of Rhetoryque argumentes to p[ro]ue
his sayd Theme or purpose. And likewyse
must we do whan we haue any mater to
speke or comun of. As if I sholde make an
oracion to the laude & prayse of the Kyn-
ges highnes: I must for the Inuencyon
of suche thynges as be for my purpose go
to places of Rhetorique / where I shall
easely finde (after I know the rules) that
that I desyre. ¶ Here is to be noted that
there is no Theme but it is conteyned vn[-]
der one of the foure causes / or for the more
playnnes foure kyndes of Oracions.
¶ The fyrste is called Logycall / whyche
kinde we call properly disputacio[n]. ¶ The
seconde is called Demonstratiue. ¶ The
[A.v.v] thyrde Deliberatiue. ¶ The fourth Iudi-
ciall / and these thre last be properly called
spices or kyndes of oracions / whose natu-
res shall be declared seperately hereafter
with the crafte that is required in euery of
them. All themes that perteine to Logike
either they be simple or compounde. As yf
a man desyre to know of me what Iustice
is. This onely thi[n]g Iustice is my theme.
Or if disputacion be had in company vpon
religion / and I wolde declare the very na-
ture of religion / my theme shulde be this
simple or one thynge religion. But yf it be
doubted whether Iustyce be a vertue or
nat / and I wolde proue the parte affyrma[-]
tyue / my theme were now compou[n]de / that
is to say / Iustice is a vertue / for it is made
of two thynges knyt and vnied togither /
Iustice and vertue. ¶ Here must be noted
that Logike is a playn & a sure way to in-
struct a ma[n] of the trouth of euery thynge /
& that in it the natures / causes / partes / &
effectes of thynges are by certayne rules
discussed & serched out / so that nothing can
be p[er]fectly & p[ro]perly knowe[n] but by rules of
Logike / which is nothing but an obserua[-]
cyon / or a dylygent markynge of nature.
whereby in euery thynge mannes reason
dothe consyder what is fyrste / what last /
[A.vi.r] what proper / what improper.
¶ The places or instrumentes of a simple
theme are.
The diffinicion of the thynge.
The causes.
The partes.
The effectes.
¶ Exa[m]ple. If thou inquire what thi[n]g Iu[-]
stice is / whereof it cometh / what partes it
hath / & what is the office or effect of euery
parte / than hast thou dilige[n]tly serched out
the hole nature of Iustice / & handeled thy
simple theme accordyng to the precept[e]s of
Logicians / to whom our auctour leueth
suche mat[er]s to be discussed of the[m] / how beit
somwhat y^e Rhetoricia[n]s haue to do with
y^e simple theme / & asmoche as shall be for
theyr entent he wyll shew hereafter. For
many tymes the oratour must vse bothe
diffinicions & diuisions. But as they be in
Logike playne and compendiouse / so are
they in Rhetorike exte[n]ded & paynted with
many figures & ornament[e]s belongyng to
the science. Neuertheles to satisfie the re-
ders mynde / & to alleuiate the tediousnes
of serchynge these places / I wyll open the
maner and facion of the handelyng of the
theme aforsayd as playnly as I can / after
the preceptes of Logike.
[A.vi.v]
¶ First to serche out the perfite knowlege
of Iustice: I go to my fyrst place diffinici[-]
on / & fetche from Aristotle in his Ethik[e]s
the Diffinicion of Iustice / which is this.
¶ Iustice is a morall vertue / wherby men
be the werkers of rightfull thynges (that
is to saye) whereby they bothe loue & also
do suche thynges as be iust. This done: I
serche the causes of Iustice (that is to say)
from whens it toke the fyrst begynnyng /
and by cause that it is a morall vertue: and
Plato in the ende of his Dialogue Meno[n]
concludeth that all vertue cometh of god:
I am assured that god is the chief cause of
Iustice: declaryng it to the worlde by his
Instrument ma[n]nes wyt / whiche the same
Plato affyrmeth in the begynnyng of his
lawes. The Diffinicion and cause had: I
come to the thyrde place called partes to
knowe whether there be but one kynde of
Iustice or els many. And for this purpose
I fynde that Arystotle in the fyfte of his
Ethikes deuideth Iustice in two speces or
kyndes. One y^t he calleth Iustice legiti-
me or legal / an other that he called Equi-
te. ¶ Iustice legall is that that consysteth
in the superiours whiche haue power for
to make or statute lawes to the i[n]feriours.
And the office or ende of this Iustice is to
[A.vii.r] make suche lawes as be bothe good and
accordynge to right and conscience / & tha[n]
to declare them / & whan they are made &
publisshed as they ought to be / to se that
they be put in vre / for what auaileth it to
make neuer so good lawes: yf they be nat
obserued and kept. ¶ And finally that the
maker of the lawe applye his hole studie &
mynde to the welthe of his subiectes and
to the comon profyte of them. The other
kynde of Iustice whiche men call Equitie
is whereby a man neyther taketh nor gy-
ueth lesse nor more than he ought / but in
gyuynge taketh good hede that euery ma[n]
haue accordynge as he deserueth. This
Equitie is agayne deuyded into Equitie
distributyue of comon thynges & Equitie
Commutatiue. By Equitie distributyue
is distributyd and giuen of comon goodes
to euery ma[n] accordyng to his deseruyng[e]s
and as he is worthy to haue. As to deuide
amonge suche as longe to the Chyrche of
the Chyrche goodes after the qualitie of
theyr merytes: and to them beynge Ciuil
persones of the comon treasour of the Ci-
tie accordynge as they are worthy.
¶ In this parte is comprehended the pu-
nyshment of mysdoers and trangressours
of the lawe / to whome correccion must be
[A.vii.v] distributed for the comon welth according
to theyr demerites / after the prescripcions
of the lawes of the contrey / made & deter-
mined for the punisshment of any maner
of transgressour. ¶ Equity co[m]mutatiue is
a iust maner in the chaungynge of thyng[e]s
from one to another / whose offyce or effect
is to kepe iust dealynge in equytie / as by-
enge / sellynge / & all other bargaynes law-
full. And so are herewith the spices of Iu-
stice declared theyr offices / which was the
fourth & last place.
¶ Our auctour also in a great worke that
he hath made vpon Rhetorike / declareth
the handelynge of a theme symple by the
same example of Iustice / addynge two pla[-]
ces mo / whiche are called affines and con-
traries on this maner.
¶ What is Iustice? A vertue whereby to
euery thynge is gyuen that that to it be-
longeth.
¶ What is the cause thereof? Mannes
wyll consentynge with lawes & maners.
¶ How many kyndes? Two.
¶ Whiche? Commutatiue & Distributiue /
for in two maners is our medlynge with
other men / eyther in thynges of our sub-
staunce & wares / or in gentyll and cyuyle
conuersacion.
[A.viii.r]
¶ what thynge is Iustice commutatiue?
Right and equitie in all contractes.
¶ what is Iustice distributiue? Iustice of
ciuile lyuynge.
¶ How manyfolde is Iustyce dystrybu-
tyue? Either it is comon or priuate. The
comon is called in latin Pietas / but in en-
glysshe it may be moost properly named
good order / which is the crowne of all ver[-]
tues conceruynge honest and ciuile con-
uersacyon of men togither / as the hedes
with the meane comonalty in good vnity
and concorde. ¶ Pryuate or seuerall Iu-
stice dystrybutyue is honest and amyable
frendeshyp & conuersacion of neighbours.
¶ What are the offyces? To do for euery
man / ryche or pore / of what estate so euer
he be / and for our contrey / for our wyues /
chyldren / and frendes / that that ought to
be done for euery of them.
¶ Affynes or vertues nigh to Iustice are
constancy / lyberalytie / temperaunce.
Thynges contrary are fere / couetyse / pro-
dygalytie.
¶ And this is the maner of handelynge
of a symple Theme dialectycall. But yet
let nat the reder deceyue hym selfe / and
thynke that the very perfyte knowlege is
shewyd hym all here. And that whiche
[A.viii.v] hath be[n] shewed now: is somwhat general
and briefe. ¶ More sure and exact know-
lege is conteined in Logike / to whome I
wyll aduise the[m] that be studiouse to resorte
& to fetche euery thynge in his owne pro-
per facultie.
¶ Of a Theme compounde.
EUery Theme compounde: ey-
ther it is proued trewe or fals.
Now whether thou wylt p[ro]ue
or improue any thyng: it must
be done by argument. And yf
any Theme compounde: be it Logicall or
Rhetorycall / it must be referred to the
rules of Logike by the[m] to be proued trew
or fals. For this is the dyfference that is
betwene these two sciences / that the Lo-
gician in dysputynge obserueth certayne
rules for the settynge of his wordes being
solicitous that there be spoke[n] no more nor
no lesse than the thynge requyreth / & that
it be euin as plai[n]ly spoke[n] as it is thought.
But the Rhethorician seketh about & bo-
roweth where he can asmoche as he may
for to make the symple and playne Logi-
call argumentes gaye & delectable to the
eare. So than the sure iugement of argu-
[B.i.r] mentes or reasons must be lerned of the
logician / but the crafte to set the[m] out with
pleasaunt figures and to delate the mater
belongeth to the Rhetorician. As in Mi-
loes cause / of whome was made mencion
afore. ¶ A logician wolde briefly argue /
who so euer violently wyll slee an other /
may lawfully of the other be slayne in his
defence. Clodius wolde vyolently haue
slain Milo / wherfore Clodius might lau-
fully be slayne of Milo in Miloes owne
defence. And this argument the logicians
call a Sillogisme in Darii / whiche Tully
in his oracion extendeth that in foure or
fyue leues it is scant made an ende of / nor
no man can haue knowlege whether Tul-
lies argument that he maketh in his ora-
cyon for Milo / be a good argumente or
nat / and howe it holdeth / excepte he can
by Logyke reduce it to the perfecte and
briefe forme of a Sillogisme / takynge in
the meane season of the Rhetorycyans
what ornamentes haue ben cast to for to
lyght and augment the oracyon / and to
gyue it a maiestie.
¶ The places out of whome are founde
argumentes for the prouynge or impro-
uynge of compounde Themes / are these
folowynge.
[B.i.v]
Diffinicion lyke
Cause contrary
Partes
OF the places of argumen-
tes shall be spoken hereaf-
ter. For as touchynge the[m]
in all thynges the Rheto-
rician & Logician do agre.
But as concernynge the
crafte to fourme argumentes whan thou
hast fou[n]de them in theyr places / that must
be lerned of the Logician / where he trea-
teth of the fourme of sillogismes / enthime[-]
mes and inductions.
¶ Of an oracion demonstratiue.
THe vse of an oracion demon-
stratiue is i[n] praise or dispraise /
whiche kynde or maner of ora-
cion was greatly vsed somtyme in comon
accions / as dothe declare the oracions of
Demosthenes / and also many of Thucidi-
des oracions. And there ben thre maners
of oracions demonstratiue.
¶ The fyrst conteyneth the prayse or dys-
[B.ii.r] prayse of persones. As yf a man wolde
prayse the kynges hyghnes / or dysprayse
some yll persone / it must be done by an ora[-]
cion demonstratiue. The seconde kynde of
an oracion demonstratiue is: where in is
praysed or dyspraysed / nat the persone but
the dede. As if a thefe put hym selfe in ieo-
p[ar]dy for the safegarde of a true ma[n] / against
other theues and murderers / the p[er]son can
nat be praysed for his vicious lyuyng / but
yet the dede is worthy to be commended.
Or if one shulde speake of Peters denyeng
of Christ / he hath nothyng to disprayse y^e
person saue onely for this dede. The thyrd
kynde is: wherin is lauded or blamed no-
ther person nor dede / but some other thing
as vertue / vice / iustice / iniurie / charite / en-
uie / pacience / wrathe / and suche lyke.
¶ Partes of an Oracion.
¶ The partes of an oracion prescribed of
Rhetoriciens are these.
¶ The Preamble or exorden.
¶ The tale or narracion.
¶ The prouynge of the matter or conten-
cion.
¶ The conclusion.
[B.ii.v]
¶ Of the whiche partes mencyon shall be
made herafter in euery kynde of oracions /
for they are nat founde generally in euery
oracion / but some haue moo partes / and
some lesse.
¶ Of the Preamble.
GEnerally the Preamble nat alonly
in an oracion demonstratiue / but al-
so in the other two is conteyned and
must be fetched out of thre places / that is
to say of beneuolence / attencion / & to make
the mater easy to be knowen / whiche the
Rhetoricians call Docilite.
¶ Beneuolence is the place whereby the
herer is made willyng to here vs / and it is
conteyned in the thynge that we speke of /
in them whom we speke to / & in our owne
persone. The easyest and moost vsed place
of beneuolence consysteth in the offyce or
duety of the person / whan we shew that it
is our duety to do that we be about.
¶ Out of this place is fet y^e p[re]a[m]ble of sai[n]t
Gregory Nazazene / made to the praise of
saynt Basyll / where he saith that it is his
his duety to prayse saynt Basyll for thre
causes. For the great loue and frendeshyp
that hath ben always betwene them / and
agayne for the remembrau[n]ce of the moost
[B.iii.r] fayre and excellent vertues that were in
hym / and thyrdely that the chyrch myght
haue an example of a good and holy Bys-
shop. ¶ Trewly by our authours lycence
me thynketh that in the preamble Naza-
zen doth nat only take beneuolence out of
the place of his owne persone / but also out
of the other two / wha[n] he sheweth the cause
of his duetye / for in praysynge his frende
he dyd but his duetye. In praysynge his
vertues / he cam to the place of beneuole[n]ce
of hym that he spake of / as touchyng the
example that the chyrche shulde haue / it
was for theyr profite / and concernyng the
place of beneuolence / taken of them that
he spake to. But our authour regarded
chiefly the principall proposicion / whiche
was that saynt Gregory Nazazene was
bounde to praise saint Basyll.
¶ A lyke example of beneuolence taken
out of the place of office or dutie / is in the
oracyon that Tully made for the Poete
Archias / whiche begynneth thus.
MY lordes that be here iuges / yf there
be in me any wyt / whiche I knowe
is but small / or yf I haue any crafty vse of
makynge an oracion / wherein I denie nat
but y^t I haue metely excercysed my selfe /
or yf any helpe to that science cometh out
[B.iii.v] of other lyberall artes / in whome I haue
occupied al my lyfe / surely I am bou[n]de to
no man more for them than to Archias /
whiche may lawfully if I may do any ma[n]
any profite by them / chalenge a chiefe por[-]
cion for hym therin.
¶ Out of this place dyd this same Tully
fetche the begynnyng of his fyrste epistle /
in whome he wrytethe to one Lentule on
this maner: I do so my deutie in al poyn-
tes towarde you / and so great is the loue
and reuerence that I bere vnto you that
all other men say that I can do no more /
and yet me semeth that I haue neuer don
that that I am bounde to do / eyther to
you or in your cause.
¶ We may also get beneuolence by reason
of them / whome we make our oracion of:
As yf we saye that we can neuer prayse
hym to hyghly / but y^t he is worthy moch
more laude and prayse. And so taketh sai[n]t
Nazianzene beneuolence in his sayd ora-
cion for sainct Basile.
¶ Also of them afore whome we speke / as
if we say / it is for theyr profyte to laude or
prayse the p[er]son. And that we knowe very
wel howe moche they haue alwayes loued
[B.iiii.r] hym / and that he ought therfore to be prai[-]
sed the more for theyr sakes. The maner
is also to get vs beneuolence in the preface
of our oracion / by pynchyng and blamyng
of our aduersarie. As doth Tullie in the o-
racion that he made for one Aulus Cecin-
na / wherin he begynneth his proeme thus
If temerite and lake of shame coulde as
moche preuayle in plees afore the iustices /
as doth audacite and temerarious bolde-
nesse in the feldes and deserte places / there
were no remedie but euen so muste Aulus
Cecinna be ouercome in this matter by
Sextus Ebucius impudence / as he was
in the felde ouercome by his insidious au-
dacite. And these be the co[m]mune formes of
beneuolence.
¶ A man may also fetche his proeme out
of the nature of the place wher he speketh /
as Tullie dothe in the oracion made for
Pompeius for the sendynge of hym into
Asie agaynst kynge Mithridates of Pon-
tus / and kynge Tigraues of Armenie on
this maner: howe be it my lordes and mai[-]
sters of this noble citie of Rome / I haue al
tymes thought it a synguler reioyse to me
if I myght ones se you gadred to gyther
in a co[m]pany / to here some publique oracion
[B.iiii.v] of myne / and agayne I iuged no place to
be so ample and so honourable to speke in
as this is. &c[etera].
¶ Or he may begyn at the nature of the
tyme that is than / or at som other cyrcum[-]
staunce of his mater / as Tully taketh the
begynnynge of his oracion for Celius at
the tyme / this wise.
¶ If so be it my lordes iuges any ma[n] be
now present here that is ignora[n]t of your
lawes / of your processe in iugement[e]s / and
of your customes / surely he may well mar[-]
uell what so heynous a mater this shulde
be / that it onely shulde be syt vppon in an
hygh feest daye / whan all the comonaltye
after theyr olde custome are gyuen to the
sight of playes / ordeined after a perpetual
vsage for the nones for them / all maters
of the law laid for the tyme vtterly a part.
¶ He began also an other oracion for one
Sext[us] Roscius / out of the daunger of the
season that he spake in.
¶ One may besyde these vse other maner
of prohemes / whiche by cause they are nat
set out of the very mater it selfe / or els the
circumstaunces / as in these aforsayd they
are called peregrine or strau[n]ge prohemes.
And they be taken out of se[n]tences / sole[m]pne
peticions / maners or customes / lawes / sta[-]
[B.v.r] tutes of nacyons & contreys. And on this
maner dothe Aristides begyn his oracion
made to the praise of Rome.
¶ Demosthenes in his oracyon made a-
gainst Eschines / toke his preface out of a
solempne peticion / besechynge the goddes
that he might haue as good fauour in y^t
cause / as he had fou[n]de in all other maters
y^t he had done afore for the comon welth.
¶ In like maner beginneth Tully the ora[-]
cion that he made for one Murena / & also
the oracyon that he made vnto the Ro-
maynes after his retourne from exyle.
¶ He begynneth also an other oracyon /
whiche he made as touchynge a lawe de-
creed for the diuision of feldes amonge the
comunes out of a custome amonge them /
on this wyse.
¶ The maner and custome of our olde fa-
ders of Rome hath ben. &c. And this is the
maner of prefaces in any oracion / whiche
is also obserued in the making of epistles /
how beit there is farre lesse crafte in them
than is in an oracyon.
¶ There is yet an other fourme & maner
to begyn by insinuacion / wherfore it beho[-]
ueth to know that insinuacion is / wha[n] in
the begynnyng / yf the mater seme nat lau[-]
dable or honest / we find an excuse therfore.
[B.v.v]
¶ Example / Homere in his Iliade des-
cribeth one Thersites / that he was moost
foule and euyll fauored of all the Grekes
that came to the batayle of Troye / for he
was both gogle eyed / and lame on the one
legge / with croked and pynched shulders /
and a longe pyked hede / balde in very ma-
ny places. And besyde these fautes he was
a great folysshe babler / and ryght foule
mouthed / and ful of debate and stryfe / car-
rynge alwayes agaynste the heddes and
wyse men of the armye.
¶ Nowe if one wolde take vpon hym to
make an oracio[n] to the prayse of this losel /
whiche mater is of litle honesty in it selfe /
he must vse in stede of a preface an insinu-
acion. That what thynge poetes or com-
mune fame doth eyther prayse or dispraise
ought nat to be gyuen credence to / but ra-
ther to be suspecte. For ones it is the na-
ture of poetes to fayne and lye / as bothe
Homere and Virgile / which are the prin-
ces and heddes of al poetes to witnesse the[m]
selfe. Of whome Homere sayth / that poe-
tes make many lies / and Virgile he saith:
The moost part of the sene is but deceyte.
[B.vi.r] Poetes haue sene blake soules vnder the
erthe / poetes haue fayned and made many
lyes of the pale kyngdome of Plato / and
of the water of Stigie / and of dogges in
hell. And agayne co[m]mune rumours howe
often they ben vayne / it is so open that it
nede nat to be declared. Wherfore his trust
is that the hearers wyll more regarde his
saynge than fayned fables of poetes / and
fleyng tales of lyght folkes / whiche ar for
the more parte the grounders of fame &
rumours.
¶ An example may be fet out of the decla-
macion that Erasmus made to the prayse
of folysshenes.
¶ An other example hath the same Eras-
mus in his second booke of Copia / which
is this: Plato in the fyfte dialogue of his
communaltie wyllethe that no man shall
haue no wyfe of his owne / but that euery
woman shalbe commune to euery man. If
any man than wolde eyther prayse or de-
fende this mynde of Plato / which is both
contrarie to Christes religion and to the
commune lyuynge of me[n] / he myght as E-
rasmus teacheth / begynne thus.
[B.vi.v]
¶ I knowe very well that this mater
whiche I haue determyned to speke of /
wyll seme vnto you at the fyrste herynge /
nat onely very straunge / but also right ab-
hominable. But that nat withstandynge /
yf it wyll please you a litle while to deferre
you iugement tyll ye haue herde the su[m]me
of suche reasons as I wyll brynge forthe
in the cause / I doubte nothynge but that
I shall make the trouthe so euydent that
you all will with one assent approue it / &
knowlege that ye haue ben hitherto mar-
uelously deceyued in your oppynyon / and
somdele to alleuiate your myndes / ye shall
vnderstande that I am nat my selfe au-
thour of the thynge / but it is the mynde &
saynge of the excellent & moost highly na-
med philosopher Plato / whiche was vn-
doubted so famouse a clerke / so discrete a
man / and soo vertuouse in all his dedes /
that ye may be sure he wold speke nothi[n]g
but it were on a right perfyte ground / and
that the thynge were of it selfe very expe-
dient / thoughe peraduenture it shewe ferre
otherwise at the fyrst herynge.
¶ In all prefaces of preambles must be
good heed taken that they be nat to ferre
fet / nor to longe.
¶ These affectuouse wordes / I reioyce / I
[B.vii.r] am sorye / I meruaile / I am glad for your
sake / I desire / I fere / I pray god / and such
other lyke / be very apte for a preface.
¶ Of the seconde place of a
preface / called Attencion.
THe herers shall be made
attent or diligent to giue
audience / yf the oratour
make promyse y^t he will
shew them new thynges /
or els necessary or profita[-]
ble / or yf he say y^t it is an
harde mater that he hath in handelynge /
or els obscure & nat easy to be vndersta[n]d /
except they gyue right good attendaunce.
¶ wherfore it is expedyent that yf they
wyll haue the percepcion of it / that they
gyue a good eare. But as concernyng the
newnesse or profyte of the mater / it ma-
keth nat all onely y^e herer to gyue a good
ere (which thynge is called attencion) but
also maketh hym well wyllynge for to be
present / whiche is beneuolence.
¶ Docilite.
DOcilite whereby we make the
mater playne & easy to be per-
ceyued / is nat greatly required
in this kynde of oracion / for it
is belonging properly to derke
[B.vii.v] and obscure causes / in whiche we must p[ro]-
myse that we wyl nat vse great ambages /
or to go (as me[n] say) rou[n]de about the bussh /
but to be short and playne.
¶ Of narracion whiche is the se-
conde p[ar]te of an oracion.
¶ The Narracion or tale wherin p[er]sones
are praysed / is the declaryng of theyr lyfe
& doynges after the fasshion of an historie.
The places out of the whiche it is sought
are: The persones byrthe. His chyldhode.
His adolescencie. His mannes state. His
old age. His dethe and what
foloweth after.
IN his byrthe is consydered of
what stocke he came / what chau[n][-]
sed at the tyme of his natiuite or
nighe vpon / as in the natiuite of
Christe shepeherdes hard angelles synge.
¶ In his chyldhode are marked his
bryngynge vp and tokens of wysdome co[m]-
mynge: As Horace in his fourthe Satire
sheweth / how in his chyldhode his father
taught hym by examples of suche as were
than lyuynge to flee from vice and to gyue
hym selfe to vertue.
¶ In adolescencie is considered where to
[B.viii.r] he than gyuethe hym selfe; As in the
fyrst comedie of Tere[n]ce one Simo telleth
his seruau[n]t Sosia / that though all yonge
men for the more parte gyue them selfe to
some peculiare thynge / wherin they sette
theyr chiefe delyght / as some to haue goo-
dely horses / some to cherysshe houndes for
huntyng / & some are gyuen onely to theyr
bookes / his sone Pa[m]philus loued none of
these more one tha[n] an other / and yet in al
these he exercised hym selfe mesurably.
¶ In mannes state and olde age is noted
what office or rule he bare among his citi-
sens / or in his co[n]trey / what actes he dyd /
how he gouerned suche as were vnd[er] him /
howe he p[ro]spered / & what fortune he had in
suche thyng[e]s as he went about. Example
here of is in Saluste / whiche co[m]pareth to[-]
gether Cato and Cesar / sayng that both
theyr stocke / age & eloque[n]ce / were almoost
lyke & egall / theyr excelle[n]cie & greatnes of
spirite & wytte was also lyke & egal / & lyke
fame & worshyppe had they both attayned
howe be it nat by a lyke waye. Cesar was
had i[n] great estimacion for his benefites &
& liberalite. Cato had gotte[n] hi[m] a name for
his p[er]fight & vpright lyuynge. Cesar was
praysed for his gentilnes and pitie. Cato
was honored for his ernestnes and surete.
[B.viii.v]
¶ The tother wanne moche bruyt by gy[-]
uynge large gyftes / by helpynge suche as
were in dystresse / and by forgyuyng of tres[-]
passes done agaynste hym. Catons fame
dyd sprede because he wold neither be for-
gyuen of none offence / neither forgiue non
other / but as any man had deserued / so to
cause him to be delt with. In the one was
great refuge to suche as were in mysery:
In the other was sore punisshment & per-
nicion to mysdoers & euyll transgressours
of the law. Briefly to conclude it was all
Ceazars mynde and pleasure to labour di-
ligently night and day in his frendes cau[-]
ses / to care lesse for his owne busynes tha[n]
for theyrs / to deny nothing that was wor[-]
thy to be asked / his desyre was euermore
to be in warre / to haue a great hoost of me[n]
vnder his gouernaunce / that by his noble
and hardy faictes his valyantnes myght
be the more knowen and spred abrood.
Co[n]traryly all Catons study was on tem[-]
perau[n]ce / and to do in no maner otherwyse
than was conuenient & fyttynge for suche
a man as he was / and chiefly he sette his
mynde to seueryty / he neuer made no com[-]
parison with the riche man in richesse / nor
with the myghty man in power. But yf
nede required / with the hardy ma[n] in bold-
[C.i.r] nes / with the temperate in moderacion /
with the good man in innocency & iust dea[-]
ling. He cared not for the name / it was suf-
ficie[n]t to hym to haue the dede / & so / the lesse
he cared for glorye / the more alwayes he
opteyned. Many suche comparisons ve-
ry profitable for this inte[n]t / are also in Plu[-]
tarche in his boke of noble mennes lyues.
¶ A goodly ensa[m]ple of this place is in the
oracion that Hermola[us] Barbarus made
to the emperour Frederike and Maximi-
lian his son / which for bicause it is so long
I let it passe. ¶ A like ensample is in Tul-
lies oracion / that he made to the people of
Rome for Pompeyus / to be sente agaynst
Mithridates.
¶ Some there be that deuide the landes
of persones into thre kindes of goodes / be-
gynnynge the narracion at them / whiche
thynge our author doth nat greatly com-
mende / but rather in rehersyng of any per[-]
sones dedes / yf there can nat be kept an or-
der of historie / and many thynges must be
spoken. It were after his mynde best to
touche fyrst his actes done by prudence / &
next by iustice / thirdely by fortitude of the
mynde / and last by temperaunce / and so to
gather the narracion out of this foure car-
dinall vertues. As if one shuld praise saint
[C.i.v] Austen / after that he hath spoken of his pa[-]
rentele and bryngynge vp in youthe / and
is come to the rehersale of his actes / they
may be conueniently distributed into the
places of vertues. On this maner did Tul[-]
ly prayse Pompey.
¶ I suppose (sayeth he) that in hym that
shulde be a hed capitayne ouer a great ar-
my / ought to be foure thynges. Knowlege
of werre / valiantnes / auctoritie / & felicitie.
¶ Here is to be noted that in rehersynge
any persons actes / we may haue our chief
respecte to some peculiare and principall
vertue in hym / enlargynge and exaltynge
it by amplificacio[n] in maner of a digressio[n].
¶ Our author in this worke maketh no
mencyon of the last place that is dethe
and suche thynges as folowe after / but in
an other greater work he declareth it thus
briefly. ¶ The dethe of the persone hathe
also his praises / as of suche whiche haue
ben slayne for the defence of theyr contrey
or prince.
¶ A very goodly ensample for the hande-
lynge of this place is in an epistle that An[-]
gele Policiane writeth in his fourth boke
of epistels to Iames Antiquarie of Lau-
rence Medices / howe wysely and deuout-
ly he dysposed hym selfe in his dethe bed /
[C.ii.r] and of his departynge / and what chann[-]
ced at that tyme.
¶ And so to conclude an oracion Demon-
stratiue / wherein persones are lauded / is
an historycall exposicion of all his lyfe in
order. And there is no difference betwene
this kynde and an history / saue that in hi-
stories we be more briefe and vse lesse curi-
ositie. Here all thynges be augme[n]ted and
coloured with as moche ornamentes of
eloquence as can be had.
¶ Confirmacion of our purpose / and con-
futynge or reprouynge of the contrarye /
whiche are the partes of contencion / are
nat requisite in this kynde of oracion / for
here are nat treated any doubtefull ma-
ters / to whome contencion perteineth.
Neuer the lesse / somtyme it happeneth
(how beit it is seldome) that a doubte may
come / which must be either defended / or at
the leest excused.
¶ Example.
THe frenche men in olde tyme
made myghty warre agaynste
the Romaynes / and so sore be-
sieged theym that they were by compul-
cion constrayned to fall to composicion
[C.ii.v] with the frenche men for an huge summe
of golde / to be payed to theym for the bre-
kynge of the siege / but beynge in this ex-
treme misery / they sent for one Camillus /
whome nat very longe afore they had ba-
nisshed out of the citie / and in his absence
made hym dictatour / which was the chie-
fest dignitie amonge the Romaynes / and
of so greate auctoritie / that for the space of
thre monethes / for so long dured the office
moost co[n]ueniently / he might do all thyng
at his pleasure / whether it concerned deth
or no / nor no ma[n] so hardy ones to say nay
against any thyng that he dyd / so that for
the space he was as a kynge / hauynge all
in his owne mere power. Now it chau[n]ced
that while this summe was in payenge / &
nat fully wayed / Camillus of whome I
said afore / that being in exile he was made
dictatour / came with an army / and anone
bad cease of the payment / & that eche par-
ty shulde make redy to bataile / and so he
vainquisshed the frenche men.
¶ Now yf one shulde praise hym of his no[-]
ble faites / it shuld seme that this was done
contrary to the law of armes / to defait the
frenche men of the raumsom due to them /
syns the compacte was made afore / wher-
fore it is necessary for the oratour to defe[n]de
[C.iii.r] this dede / & to proue that he did nothynge
contrary to equitie. For the whiche pur-
pose he hathe two places. One apparent /
whiche is a comon sayenge vsurped of the
poete. _Dolus au virtus quis in hoste requirat._
That is to say / who will serche whether y^e
dede of enemy against enemy be either gile
or pure valiantnes? But for that in warre
law is as well to be kept as in other thin-
ges. This sayeng is but of a feble grou[n]de.
The other is of a more stronge assurau[n]ce /
whiche Titus Liuius writeth in his fyfte
boke from the buildynge of Rome / where
he reherceth this history now mencioned /
and that answere is this / that the co[m]pacte
was made to paye the foresayd raunsome
after that Camillus was created dicta-
tour / at what time it was nat lawfull that
they whiche were of ferre lesse auctoritie /
ye & had put them selfe holy in his hande /
shuld entermedle them with any maner of
treatise without his licence / & that he was
nat bounde to stande to theyr bargayne.
The whiche argumente is deducte out of
two circumstaunces / whereof one is the
tyme of the makynge of the compacte / and
the other / the persons that made it / which
two circumstaunces may briefly be called
whan / and who. ¶ Likewise yf an oracion
[C.iii.v] shulde be made to the laude of saint Pe-
ter / it behoueth to excuse his denyenge of
christe / that it was rather of diuine power
and wyll: than otherwise / for a confortable
example to synners of grace yf they repe[n]t.
¶ This is the maner of handelynge of an
oracion demonstratiue / in whiche the per-
son is praised.
¶ The author in his greater worke decla[-]
reth the facion by this example.
¶ If one wolde praise kynge Charles / he
shulde kepe in his oracion this order.
Fyrst in declarynge his parentele / that he
was kynge Pipines sone / whiche was the
fyrste of all kynges of Frannce named the
moost christen kynge / and by whom all af-
ter hym had the same name / and Nephien
to Martell / the moost valiauntest prynce
that euer was. Nexte / his bryngynge vp
vnder one Peter Pisane / of whom he was
instructe bothe in Greke and Latin. Tha[n]
his adolessencie / whiche he passed in excer-
cise of armes vnder in his fader in y^e war-
res of Acquitaine / where he lerned also the
Sarazynes tongue.
¶ Beynge come to mannes state / & now
kyuge of Fraunce / he subdued Aquitayn /
Italye / Swauelande / and the Saxones.
And these warres were so fortunate / that
[C.iiii.r] he ouercam his aduersaries more by aucto[-]
ritie and wisdom than by effusion of blode.
¶ Also many other notable examples of
vertue were in hym in that age / specially
that he edified the vniuersitie of Paris.
¶ Here may by digressio[n] be declared how
goodly a thynge lernynge is in Prynces.
Chiefly suche condicion apperteyneth to
vertue and good lyuynge.
¶ Here may be also made comparison of
his vertues in warre / and of other agre-
ynge with peace / in the whiche (as his hi-
story maketh mencyon) he was more ex-
cellent. For his chiefe delyte was to haue
peace / and agayne he was so gentyll and
so mercyfull / that he wolde rather saue
euyn suche as had don hym great offence:
and had deserued very well for to dye / tha[n]
to dystroye theym / thoughe he might do it
conueniently.
¶ Besyde this / he was so greatly enfla-
med in the loue of god and his holy chirch /
that one Alcuine a noble clerk of England
was continually with hym / in whose prea[-]
chynge and other gostely communicacion
he had a chiefe pleasure. His olde age he
passed in rest and quyetenes fortunately /
saue for one thyng / that his sonnes agreed
euyll betwene them.
[C.iiii.v]
¶ After his decease reigned his son / holy
saint Lewes / and so the folowynges of his
dethe were suche that they could be no bet-
ter / and a very great token of his good and
vertuouse lyuynge. For yf an yll tree can
brynge furthe no good fruite / what shall
we suppose of this noble kynge Charles /
of whome cam so vertuouse and so holy a
son? Truely me thynketh that hither may
be nat inco[n]ueniently applied the sayenges
of the gospell / by theyr fruites you shall
know them.
¶ Of an oracion Demonstratiue /
wherein an acte is praysed.
WHan we wyll prayse any maner of
dede / the moost apte preamble for
that purpose shall be to say that the
mater perteyneth to the commodities of
them whiche here vs.
¶ Example.
WHan the Romaynes had expelled
theyr kynge / whome the historiciens
call Tarquine the proude / out of the
citie / and fully enacted that they wolde ne[-]
uer haue kynge to reigne more ouer them.
This Tarquin[us] went for aide and socour
to the kynge of Tuscaye / whiche whan he
[C.v.r] could by no menes entreat the Romains
to receiue agayn theyr kyng / he cam with
all his puissaunce against the citie / & there
long space besieged the Romaynes / by rea[-]
son wherof / great penury of whete was in
the citie / & the kynge of Tuscay had great
trust / that continuynge the siege / he shulde
within a litle lenger space compell the Ro[-]
maynes thrugh famine to yelde the[m]selfe.
¶ In the meane season a yong man of the
citie named Gaius Mucius / came to the
Senatours and shewed them that he was
purposed yf they wolde gyue hym licence
to go furthe of the citie to do an acte that
shuld be for theyr great profite and welth /
whereupon whan he had obteined licence /
priuely / with weapo[n] hyd vnder his vesture
he cam to the Tuscans campe / & gate hym
among the thickest / nigh to the tent where
as the kyng sat with his chaunceller / pay-
enge the sowdiers the wages. And bicause
that they were almoost of lyke apparell / &
also the chaunceler spake many thynges
as a man beynge in auctoritie / he coulde
nat tell whether of theym was the kynge /
nor he durst nat aske / leest his demaunde
wolde haue bewrayed hym / for as for lan-
guage they had one / & nothyng was diffe-
rent / for bothe Tuscains & Romains were
[C.v.v] all of Italye / as in tymes past / Englande
hathe had many kynges / though the lan-
guage & people were on. And thus beynge
in doubt whether of them he myght steppe
vnto / by chaunce he strake the chaunceller
in stede of the kynge / and slew hym / wher-
fore whan he was taken and brought be-
fore the kynge / for to punysshe his hande
that had failed in takyng one for an other /
and agayn to shew the kynge how litle he
cared for his menaces / he thrast his hande
into the fire / which at that time was there
prepared for sacrifyce / & there in the flame
let it brenne / nat ones mouynge it. The
kynge greatly marueylynge at his audaci[-]
tie & hardy nature / co[m]mended hym greatly
thereof / and bad hym go his way free: For
the whiche (as though he wolde make the
kyng a great amendes) he fayned that .iii.
C. of the noblest yonge men of Rome had
conspyred to gyther in lyke maner euery
one after another vnwar[e]s to slee hym / and
all to put theyr bodies and liues in hasard
tyll tyme shulde chaunce that one myght
acheue theyr entent. For fere whereof the
kynge furthwith fell at a pointement with
the Romaines / and departed. The yonge
man afterwarde was named Sceuola /
whiche is as moche to say in Englyssh as
[C.vi.r] lefte ha[n]ded. For as I haue reherced afore /
he brente his right hande / so that he had
lost the vse therof.
¶ IF any oratour wolde in an oracyon
commende this dede / he myght conueni-
ently make the preface on this facion.
THere is no doubte my lordes
& maysters of Rome: but that
the reme[m]braunce of Sceuolaes
name is very pleasant vnto your audie[n]ce /
whiche with one act that he dyd / endewed
your citie with many and greate commo-
dytees. &c[etera].
¶ This maner of preface is moost conue[-]
nyent and best annexyd to suche maner of
oracyons demonstratiues.
¶ Neuer the lesse it is lawfull for vs to
take our preface (yf it be our pleasure) oute
of some circumstaunce / as out of the place
that our oracion is made in / or out of the
tyme that we speke in / or els otherwyse /
accordynge as we shall haue occasyon /
As Tullie / in the oracyon that he made
for the restitucyon of Marcus Marcel-
lus / in the whiche he praiseth Cezare for
the callyng home of the sayd Marc[us] mar-
cellus out of exyle / he taketh his pream-
ble out of the tyme and Cezares persone /
begynnynge thus.
[C.vi.v]
THis daye my lordes Senatoures
hath made an ende of the longe sci-
lence that I haue kepte a great while / nat
for any fere that I had / but part for great
sorow that was in me / & partly for shame /
this day as I sayd hath taken away that
longe scilence / ye / and besyde that of newe
brought to me lust & mynde to speke what
I wolde / and what I thought moost expe[-]
dient / like as I was afore wont to do. For
I can nat in no maner of wyse refrayne /
but I must nedes speke of the great meke-
nes of Cezare / of the graciousnes that is
in hym / so habu[n]dant and so great withall /
that neuer afore any suche hath ben wont
to be sene or herde of / and also of the excel-
lent good moderacio[n] of all thynges which
is in hym that hathe all in his owne mere
power. Nor I can nat let passe his excelle[n]t
incredible / and diuine wisdome vnspoken
of / afore you at this tyme.
¶ Of the Narracion.
IN this kynde we vse but selden hole
narracions / oneles we make our ora[-]
cion afore them that know nat the history
of the acte or dede whiche we be aboute to
prayse. But in stede of a narracion we vse a
[C.vii.r] proposicion / on this maner.
AMonge all the noble deedes Cezare
that ye haue done / there is non that
is more worthy to be praysed than this re[-]
stitucion of Marke Marcell.
¶ Of Confirmacion / whiche is
the fyrst parte of Contencion.
THe places of confirmacion are
honesty / p[er]fite / lightnes / or har-
dines of the dede. For after the
proheme of the oracion and the narracion /
than go we to the prouynge of our mater.
Fyrst shewynge that it was a very honest
dede. And next / that it was nat all only ho[-]
nesty: but also profitable. Thirdely as con[-]
cernyng the easines or difficulty / the praise
therof must be considered / parte in the do-
er / part in the dede. An easy dede deserueth
no great praise / but an harde and a ieoper[-]
douse thynge / the soner and the lightlier it
is acheued / the more it is to be lauded.
¶ The honesty of the cause is fet from the
nature of the thynge y^t is spoken of / which
place lieth in the wytte of the oratour / and
may also be fet out of the philosophers bo[-]
kes. It is also copiosely declared of Rhe-
toriciens / and very compe[n]diously handled
[C.vii.v] of Erasmus in his boke / entituled of the
maner and crafte to make epistels / in the
chapitre of a persuadyng epistle. The pro-
fyte of the dede / or the commoditie may be
fet at the circumstaunce of it. Circumstau[n][-]
ces are these / what was done / who dyd it /
whan / where it was done / among whom /
by whose helpe.
¶ As if one wolde praise Sceuolaes acte /
of the whiche mencion was made afore /
he may.
¶ Whan he cometh to the places of con-
tencion / shew fyrst how honest a dede it is
for any man to put his lyfe in ieopardy for
the defence of his countrey / whiche is so
moche the more to be commended that it
cam of his owne minde / and nat by the in-
stigacion of any other / and how profitable
it was to the citie to remoue so strong and
puissaunt an enemy by so good and crafty
policy / what tyme the citie was nat well
assured of all mennes myndes that were
within the walles / considerynge that but
a lytle afore many noble yonge men were
detecte of treason in the same busines. And
than also the citie was almoost destitute of
vitailes / & all other commodities necessa-
ry for the defence.
¶ Likewise easynes or difficultie are con-
[C.viii.r] teyned in the circumstaunces of the cause.
As in the example now spoken of / what an
harde enterprise it is for one man to entre
into a kynges armye / and to come to the
kynges pauilion in the face of his souldi-
ers to aduenture to slee hym.
¶ Of the seconde parte of con-
tencion / called confutacion.
COnfutacio[n] is the soilyng of suche
argumentes as maye be induced
agaynst our purpose / which part
is but lytle vsed in an oracion demonstra-
tiue. Neuer the lesse / somtyme may chau[n]ce
a thyng that must be either defended or els
at the leest excused. As yf any man wolde
speke of Camillus dede / wherby he recoue-
red his contrey / and delyuered it from the
handes of the Frenche men. ¶ Here must
be declared that the bargayne made afore
was nat by Camillus violate.
¶ The places of confutacion be contrary
to the places of confirmacion.
¶ Of the conclusion.
THe co[n]clusion is made of a brief
enumeracion of suche thynges
that we haue spoken of afore in
the oracion / & in mouynge of affections.
[C.viii.v]
¶ In delectable thinges or suche thinges
that haue ben well done / we moue our au-
dience to reioice thereat / and to do lyke.
¶ In sad thynges and heuy / to be sory for
them. In yll and peruerse act[e]s / to beware
that they folowe nat them to theyr great
shame and confusion.
¶ Of an oracion demonstratiue / wherein
are praised neither persones nor actes /
but some other thynges / as religion /
matrimony / or suche other.
THe best begynnyng wyll be if it
be taken out of some high praise
of the thynge. But a man may
also begyn otherwyse / eyther at his owne
perso[n] or at theyrs afore whom he speketh /
or at the place in the whiche he speketh / or
at the season present / or otherwise / as hath
afore ben specified / and here must we take
good hede that yf we take vpo[n] vs to praise
any thynge that is no praise worthy / than
must we vse insinuacion / & excuse the turpi[-]
tude / either by examples or by argume[n]t[e]s /
as Erasmus doth in his epistle prefixed a-
fore his oracion made to the prayse of fo-
lisshnes / of the whiche I haue let passe the
tra[n]slacio[n] bicause y^e epistle is so[m]what long.
[D.i.r]
¶ The narracion.
IN this maner of oracio[n] is no nar[-]
racion / but in stede therof the Rhe[-]
toriciens all only propose the ma[-]
ter. And this proposicion is in the stede of
the narracion.
¶ A very elega[n]t example is in the oracion
that Angele Policiane made to the laude
of histories / whiche is this. Among all ma[-]
ner of wryters by whom either the Greke
tongue or the latine hath ben in floure and
excellence / without doubte me semeth that
they dyd moost profyte to mankynde / by
whom the excellent dedes of nacions / prin-
ces / or valiant men haue ben truely descri-
ued and put in cronicles.
¶ Likewise yf a man praise peace / & shewe
what a commodiouse thynge it is / he may
make suche a proposicion.
AMonge all the thynges whiche per[-]
teine to ma[n]nes commoditie / of what
someuer condicion or nature so euer they
be / non is so excellent and so worthy to be
had in honour and loue / as is peace.
¶ The confirmacion.
THe places of confirmacion be in
this oracion. The same y^t were
in the other ( of whome mencion
[D.i.v] was made afore / honesty / profite / easynes /
or difficulty. Honesty is considered in the
nature of the thynge / also in the persones
that haue excercysed it / and the inuenters
thereof. And in the auctour of it. As in the
laude of matrimony be considered the auc[-]
tour thereof / whiche was god hym selfe /
the antiquite that it was made in the fyrst
begynnynge of the worlde / and continued
(as reason is) to this hour in great honour
and reuere[n]ce. The persones that haue vsed
it / were bothe patriarches / as Abraham.
Prophetes / as Dauyd. Apostels / as saynt
Peter. Martyrs / saynt Eustache. And co[n]-
fessours / as saynt Edwarde. And (whiche
thyng was fyrst proposed) the nature ther-
of is suche / that without it: man shulde be
like vnto beest / oneles all generacion shuld
be put aparte. And the commau[n]dement of
almighty god nat regarded / who bad man
and woman shulde engender & multiply.
¶ Profite and easines is considered in the
circumstaunces. Examples may be taken
out of Policians oracio[n] / made to the laude
of histories--And two oracions of Erasm[us] /
one to the laude of phisike / and an other to
the laude of matrimony.
¶ Of confutacion.
[D.ii.r]
Confutacion hath contrary places to con-
firmacion.
¶ Of the conclusion.
THe periode or conclusion stan-
deth in the briefe enumeracion
of thinges spoken afore / and in
mouyng the affections / as hath ben aboue
expressed.
¶ Of an oracion deliberatiue.
AN oracio[n] deliberatiue is by the
which we persuade or dissaude
any thyng / & by the whiche we
aske / or whereby we exhort any man to do
a thynge / or els to forsake it / and this kyn-
de of oracion is moche in vse / nat onely
in ciuil ematers: but also in epistels.
¶ Of the preamble.
WE may begynne our oracion in this
kynde / euyn lyke as we dyd in an ora[-]
cion demonstratiue / but moost aptly
at our office or duety / leest some men wolde
thynke that we dyd it more of a priuate af-
fection for our owne commoditie and plea[-]
sure: than for any other mannes profyte.
[D.ii.v]
¶ And in this maner Salust in his boke
of Catheline bringeth in Cezare / beginnyng
an oracion. But let vs here now what Ce[-]
zar sayeth.
ALl men my lord[e]s Senatours which
syt concellynge vpon any doubtfull
mater / must be voyde of hatred / frendshyp /
anger / pitye / or mercye. For where any of
these thynges bere a rule / mannes mynde
can nat lightely perceyue the truthe. &c[etera].
¶ Or els we may begyn at the greatenes
of the mater / or daunger of the thyng that
we speke of / as in the fyfte boke of Liuius.
Camillus maketh the preamble of his ora[-]
cion thus.
MY maysters of this Citie of Ardea /
which haue ben alwayes myne olde
frendes / and now (by reason of myne exyle
out of Rome) my new neighbours and ci-
tizens. For I thank you of your goodnes
you haue promysed that it shuld so be / and
on the other side my fortune hath constray[-]
ned me to seke som new dwellynge out of
the citie where I was brought vp & enha-
bited. I wolde nat that any of you shulde
thynke that I am now come amonge you
nat remembrynge my condicion and state /
but the como[n] ieopardy that we be all now
in / wyll compell euery man to open and
[D.iii.r] shew the best remedy that he knoweth for
our socoure in this greate fere & necessity.
¶ Nat withstandynge this / a man may
take his begynnynge otherwyse / after any
of the facions afore recited / if he lyst.
¶ Tully in the oracion / wherin he aduised
the Romaynes to make Pompey theyr
chiefe capitaine against Mithridates and
Tigranes / kynges of Ponthus & Arme-
ny / taketh in the preface beneuolence from
his owne persone / shewynge by what oc-
casion he myght laufully gyue councell to
the Romaines / bycause was electe Pretor
of the citie. we may also touche our aduer-
saries in the preface / or els we may touche
the maners / either of som seuerall persons /
or of the commons in generall. As in the
oracion that Porci[us] Chato made agaynst
the sumptuousnes of the women of Rome /
thus begynnynge.
IF euery man my lordes and maisters
of this citie wolde obserue and kepe
the ryght and maiestye of a man agaynst
his owne wife / we shuld haue ferre lesse en-
combrance now with the hole thronge tha[n]
we haue. But now our fredome and lyber-
tie is ouercome within our owne dores by
the importunatnes of our wyues / & so au-
dacitie taken therof here troden vnder the
[D.iii.v] fete / and oppressed in the parliame[n]t house:
And bycause we wold nat displease no ma[n]
his owne wyfe at home: here are we now
combred with all / gathered to gyder on a
hepe / and brought in that takynge that
we dare nat ones open our lyppes against
them. &c[etera].
¶ We may also begyn at the nature of the
tyme that we speke in / or at the nature of
the place / or at any other circumstaunce or
thynge incident. As Liuius in the .ix. boke
of his fourthe decade agaynste the feestes
that the Romaynes kept in the honour of
the ydolyssh god Bacchus / begynneth his
oracion at prayenge on this wyse.
THe solempne makynge of prayers
vnto the goddes was neuer so apte
nor yet so necessary in any oracion as it is
in this / whiche shall shew and admonysshe
you that they be very and ryght goddes /
whom our elders haue ordeyned to be wor[-]
shypped / adoured / and prayed vnto.
¶ Briefly in all prefaces belongynge to
oracions deliberatiues the office of the per[-]
sone: and the necessytye or commodytye
of the matter that we treate of are consy-
dered.
¶ The narracion.
[D.iiii.r]
IN oracio[n]s deliberatiues we vse very
seldome narracions / but for the more
parte in stede of them we make a brief pro[-]
posicion co[n]teinyng the su[m]me of our entent.
As now adayes nothing is so necessary as
to labour to brynge these dissencions that
be in the chyrche to a perfecte vnity & con-
corde / that accordyng to Christes sayng[e]s /
there be but one shepeherde and one folde.
Neuertheles we vse somtyme briefe narra[-]
ciions / wha[n] y^t som thyng hath ben don all
redy of y^t that we giue our cou[n]cell vpo[n] / as
in the abouesayd oracion y^t Tuli made for
Po[m]pey / where he maketh this narracion.
GReat & very perillous warre is made
bothe agaynst your tributours / and
also the[m] that bothe co[n]federate with you: &
by you called your felowes / whiche warre
is moued by two ryght myghty kynges /
Mithridates & Tigranes. &c. ¶ After this
maner is a narracion in the oracio[n] y^t Ha-
niball made to Scipio / & is co[n]teined in the
x. boke of y^e .iii. decade of Liui[us] / right pro-
per & elegant / without any preface begyn-
nyng his narracion thus. [hand symbol] ¶ If it hath
ben ordeyned by my fortune and desteny
that I whiche first of all y^e Carthaginors
began warre with the Romayns / & which
haue almoost had the victory so often in
[D.iiii.v] myne ha[n]des / shuld now com of myne owne
mynde to aske peace. I am glad that for-
tune hathe prepared that I shulde aske it
of you specially. And amonge all your no-
ble landes this shall nat be one of the leest
that Haniball gaue ouer to you / to whom
the goddes had gyuen afore the vyctorye
ouer so many capitains of the Romayns /
& that it was your lucke to make an ende
of this warre / in the which the Romayns
haue had farre mo euyll chaunces tha[n] we
of Carthagene. And whether it were my
desteny or chau[n]ce y^t ought me this skorn-
full shame. I which began the warre wha[n]
your father was Consull / and after ioyned
bataile with hym whan he was made Ca-
pitayne of the Romayns army / must now
come vnarmed to his son to aske peace of
hym. It had ben best for bothe parties yf
it had pleased the goddes to haue sent our
fore faders that mynde / that you of Rome
wolde haue ben content with the Empyre
of Italy / and we Carthaginoys with Af-
frike. For neither Sicil nor Sardinia can
be any suffice[n]t amendes to either of vs for
so many naueis / so many armies / so many
and so excellent capitaines lost in our war-
res betwene vs / but thynges passed / may
soner be blamed than mended. We of Car-
[D.v.r] thagene (as touchynge our parte) haue so
couetyd other dominions / that at lengthe
we had busines ynough to defende our pos[-]
sessions. Nor the warre hath nat ben only
with you in Italy or with vs onely in Af-
fryke: but at the pleasure of fortune / som-
tyme here and som there / in so moche that
you my maisters of Rome haue sene y^e sta[n][-]
derdes and armes of your enemies harde
at your walles and gates of the citie. And
we on the other syde haue herde the noyse
out of your campe into our citie.
¶ After the narracion ought to folowe
immediately the proposicion of our coun-
cell or aduise. As after the narracio[n] of Ha-
niball afore reherced / foloweth the propo-
sicion of his purpose thus.
THat thynge is now entreated while
fortune is fauourable vnto you / that
we ought moost to abhorre / and you sure-
ly ought aboue all thynges to desyre / that
is to haue peace. And it is most for the pro[-]
fyte of vs two / whiche haue the mater in
handelyng that peace be had. And sure we
be / that what so euer we agree vppon / our
cities wyll ratifie the same.
¶ Next foloweth the confirmacion of tho
thynges y^t we entende to persuade / which
must be fet out of the places of honesty / pro[-]
[D.v.v] fite / easines / or difficulty. As if we will per[-]
suade any thynge to be done / we shall shew
that it is nat only honest & laudable: but al[-]
so profytable & easy ynough to perfourme.
Or if we can nat chose but grau[n]t that it is
harde / yet we shall shew that it is so honest
a dede / so worthy praise / & besydes so great
co[m]modity wyll come therof / that the hard-
nes ought in no wise to fere vs: but rather
be as an instigacion to take the thynge on
hande / remembrynge the greke prouerbe.
_Scisnola ta nala_ / that is to say / all excellent
& co[m]me[n]dable thyng[e]s be hard & of difficulty.
¶ In honesty are co[m]prehe[n]ded all vertues /
as wysdo[m] / iustice / due loue to god / & to our
parentes / liberality / pity / consta[n]ce / tempe-
rance. And therfore he that wyll for the co[n][-]
fyrmyng of his purpose declare & proue y^t
it is honest & co[m]mendable y^t he ente[n]deth to
persuade hym: behoueth to haue perfyte
knowlege of y^e natures of vertues. And al[-]
so to haue in redy remembrau[n]ce sentences
bothe of scripture & of philosophy / as ora-
tours & poetes / & besyde these / examples of
historyes / for garnyssshyng of his maters.
¶ As co[n]cernynge the place of vtilitie / we
must in all causes loke if we may haue any
argume[n]tes wherby we may p[ro]ue that our
cou[n]cell is of suche necessity / that it can nat
[D.vi.r] be chosen but they must nedes folow it / for
tho argume[n]tes be of farre greater stre[n]gth
than they y^t do but onely proue the vtility
of y^e mater. But if we ca[n] haue no suche ne-
cessary reaso[n]s / tha[n] we must serche out ar-
gume[n]tes to p[ro]ue our mynde to be p[ro]fitable
by circu[m]stances of the cause. In like maner
to persuade a thyng by the easines therof /
or dissuade it by the difficulty of the thing /
we must haue respect to possibility or i[m]possi[-]
bilite / for these p[ro]ues are of strenger nature
tha[n] the other / & he y^t wyll shew y^t a thyng
may be done easely: must presuppose y^e pos[-]
sibilite therof. As he on the other side that
wyll p[er]suade a thyng nat to be done / yf he
shew & manifest y^t it is impossible / argueth
more stro[n]gely tha[n] if he could but only p[ro]ue
difficulty in it / for as I sayd / many thyng[e]s
of difficulty yet may be the rather to be ta-
ken on hande / that they may get the[m] that
acheue them the greater fame and prayse.
And these argumentes be fet out of the cir[-]
cu[m]stances of y^e cause / y^t is to say / the time /
the place / the doers / the thynge it selfe / the
meanes whereby it shulde be done / the cau[-]
ses wherefore it shulde be done or nat / the
helpes or impedime[n]tes that may be ther-
in. In this purpose examples of histories
are of great efficacy.
[D.vi.v]
¶ The confutacion is the soilynge and re-
fellyng of other me[n]nes sayeng[e]s that haue
or might be brought against our purpose /
wherefore it consisteth in places contrary
to the places of confirmacio[n] / as in p[ro]uyng
the sayenges of the contrary part / neither
to be honest nor profitable / nor easy to per-
forme / or els vtterly impossible.
¶ The conclusion standeth in two thyn-
ges / that is is to say / a briefe and compen-
diouse repetyng of all our reasons that we
haue bronght for vs afore / and in mouyng
of affections. And so dothe Ulysses con-
clude his oracion in the .xiii. boke of Oui-
des metamorphosy.
¶ Of the thyrde kynde of ora-
cions / called Iudiciall.
ORacions iudiciall be that longe
to controuersies in the lawe and
plees / which kynde of oracion in
olde tyme longed onely to Iudges & men
of law / but now for the more parte it is ne-
glecte of them / though there be nothynge
more necessarye to quicken them in crafty
and wyse handelynge of theyr maters.
¶ In these oracions the fyrste is to fynde
out the state of the cause / whiche is a short
proposicion / conteynynge the hole effect of
all the controuersies. As in the oracion of
[D.vii.r] Tulli / made for Milo / of y^e which I made
mencion in the begynnynge of my boke.
The state of the cause is this. Milo slewe
Clodius lawfully / whiche thynge his ad-
uersaries denyed / and yf Tully can proue
it / the plee is wonne.
¶ Here must be borne away that there be
thre maner of states in suche oracions.
¶ The fyrst is called coniecturall. The se-
conde / legitime. The thirde / iudiciale / and
euery of these hathe his owne proper pla-
ces to fet out argumentes of them / where-
fore they shall be spoken of seuerally. And
fyrste we wyll treate of state coniecturall /
whiche is vsed whan we be certayne that
the dede is done / but we be ignorant who
dyd it / and yet by certayne coniectures we
haue one suspecte / that of very lykelyhode
it shulde be he that hathe commytted the
cryme. And therfore this state is called con[-]
iecturall / bicause we haue no manifest p[ro]fe /
but all onely great lykelyhodes / or as the
Rhetoriciens call them / coniectures.
¶ Example.
THere was a great contencion in the
Grekes army afore Troye betwene
Ulisses and Aiax / after the dethe of Achil-
les / which of them shulde haue his armour
as nexte to the sayd Achilles in valiaunt-
[D.vii.v] nes. In whiche controuersye whan the
Grekes had Iuged the sayd armour vnto
Ulisses / Aiax for very great disdayne fell
out of his mynde / & shortly after in a wode
nygh to the hooste / after he had knowen
(whan he cam agayne to hym selfe) what
folyssh prankes he had played in the tyme
of his phrenesy / for sorow & shame he slewe
hym selfe. Sone vpon this dede cam Ulis-
ses by / whiche seynge Aiax thrust thrughe
with a swerde: cam to hym / and as he was
about to pull out the swerd / the frendes of
Aiax chau[n]ced to com the same way / which
seynge theyr frende deed / and his olde ene-
my pullyng out a swerde of his body / they
accused hym of murder.
¶ In very dede here was no profe. For of
truthe Ulisses was nat gylty in the cause.
Neuer theles the enuye that was betwene
Aiax and hym: made the mater to be nat a
lytle suspect / specially for y^t he was fou[n]de
there with the sayd Aiax alone / wherefore
the state of the plee was coniecturall / whe[-]
ther Ulisses slew Aiax or nat.
¶ The preface.
THe preface is here euyn as it is in
other oracions. For we begyn accor[-]
dyng to the nature of the cause y^t we haue
on ha[n]de / either in blamyng our aduersary /
[D.viii.r] or els mouynge the herers to haue pity on
our client. Or els we begyn at our owne p[er]-
sone / or at the prayse of the Iuge. &c[etera].
¶ The narracion.
THe narracio[n] or tale is the shewynge
of the dede in maner of an historye /
wherin y^e accuser must craftly enterme[n]gle
many suspicions which shall seme to make
his mater p[ro]uable. As Tulli in his oracion
for Milo / where in his narracion he inten-
deth by certayn co[n]iectures to shew y^t Clo[-]
dius laye in waite for Milo / he in his sayd
narracion handeleth that place thus.
¶ In the meane season wha[n] Clodius had
knowlege that Milo had a lawfull & neces[-]
ry iourney to the city of Lauine y^e .xiii. day
afore the kalendes of Marche / to poynte
who shuld be hed preest there / which thing
longed to Milo because he was dictatour
of that towne: Clodius sodaynely the day
afore departed out of Rome to set vppon
Milo in a lordeshyp of his owne / as after
was well perceyued. And suche haste he
made to be goyng that were as the people
were gadered y^e same day for mat[er]s wher-
in also he had great adoo hym selfe / & very
necessarye it had ben for hym to haue ben
there / yet this nat withstandyng / all other
thynges aparte: he went his way / whiche
[D.viii.v] you may be sure he wold neuer haue done /
saue onely that he had fully determined to
preuent a tyme and place conuenient for
his malicius ente[n]t afore Miloes comyng.
¶ In this pece of Tullies narracion are
entermengled fyrst that Clodius knew of
Miloes goynge / whiche maketh the ma-
ter suspecte y^t Clodius went afore to mete
with him / for this was well knowen afore
that Clodi[us] bare Milo great grudge and
malice. Next is shewed the place where as
Clodius met Milo / whiche also gyueth a
great suspicion / for it was nygh Clodius
place / where he myght sone take socour / &
the tother was in leest assurau[n]ce. Thyrdly
that he departed out of the city / what tyme
it had ben most expedient / ye / & also great-
ly requisite for hym to haue ben at home.
And that again maketh the mater suspect /
for surely he wold nat (as Tully hym selfe
saieth) in no wise haue ben absent at suche
a busy tyme / onles it had ben for som great
purpose / and what other shulde it seme tha[n]
to slee Milo. As surely euident it was that
they buckled to gyther / and this was well
knowen that Milo had a necessary cause
to go furth of Rome at that tyme. Contra[-]
ryly in Clodius coulde be perceyued non
other occasion to departe than oute of the
[E.i.r] citie: but of lykelyhood to lye in wayte
for Milo.
¶ The proposicion.
OUt of the narracion must be ga-
deryd a briefe sentence / wherein
shall stande the hole pithe of the
cause / for Rhetoriciens put incontinent af[-]
ter the narracion diuision / which is a part
of contencion / & dothe bryefly shew wherin
the controuersy doth stande / or what thin-
ges shall be spoken of in the oracion. This
diuision is deuyded into seiunction and di-
stribucion.
¶ Seiunction is whan we shew wherein
our aduersaries and we agree / and what it
is / whereupon we stryue. As they that ple-
dyd Clodius cause agaynst Milo / myght
on this maner haue vsed seiunction. That
Milo slew Clodius: our aduersaries can
nat denaye / but whether he myght so do
lawfully or nat / is our controuersy. Distri-
bucion is the proposicion wherein we de-
clare of what thynges we wyll speke / of
whiche yf we propose how many they be /
it is called enumeracion / but yf we do nat
expresse the nombre / it is called exposicion.
¶ Example of bothe is had in the oracion
[E.i.v] that Tully made to the people that Pom-
peyus myght be made chiefe capitayne of
the warres agaynst Mithridates and Ti-
granes / where after the preface and narra[-]
cion he maketh his proposicion by exposi-
cion thus.
Fyrste, I thynke it expedyent to speke
of the nature & kynde of this warre /
and after that of the greatnes thereof / and
than to shewe how an hede or chiefe capy-
tayne of any army shulde be chosen.
Whiche last membre of his exposicion he a-
gayne distributeth into foure partes thus
as foloweth.
TRuely this is myne opinion / that he
whiche shall be a gouernour of an
hoost / ought to haue these foure property-
es in hym. The fyrste is / that he haue per-
fyte knowlege of all suche thynges as lon-
geth to warre. The seconde is that he be a
man of his handes. The thyrde that he be
a man of suche auctority: that his dignity
may cause his souldiers to haue hym in re-
uerence and awe. The fourth is that he be
fortunate and lucky in all thynges that he
goeth about.
¶ Tully in the oracion for Milo / propo-
seth all onely shewynge wherin the contro[-]
uersy of the plee dyd stande on this maner
[E.ii.r] as foloweth.
IS there than any thynge els y^t must
e tryed and iudged in this cause saue
this: whether of them bothe beganne the
fraye and entended to murder the tother?
No surely. So that yf it can be founden
that Milo went about to distroye Clodi-
us / than he be punysshed therefore accor-
dyngly. But yf it can be proued that Clo-
dius was the begynner and layed wayte
for to slee Milo / and so was the sercher of
his owne dethe / and that what Milo dyd
it was but to defende hym selfe frome the
treason of his enemy and the sauegarde of
his lyfe: that than he may be delyuered
and quyt.
¶ Of confirmacion.
THe confirmacion of the accu-
ser is fetched out of these pla-
ces / wyll / and power. For these
two thynges wyll cause the persone that
is accused to be greatly suspect that he had
wyll to do the thyng that he is accused of /
and that he myght well ynoughe brynge
it to passe.
[E.ii.v]
¶ To proue that he had wyll therto: you
must go to .ii. places. The one is y^e qualite
of the persone / & the other is the cause that
meuyd him to the dede. The qualitie of the
person is thus handled. First to loke what
is his name or surname / and if it be nough[-]
ty to saye that he had it nat for nothynge:
but that nature had suche pryue power in
men to make them gyue names according
to the maners of euery person. Than next
to behold his contrey. So Tulli in his ora[-]
cion made for Lucius Flaccus / to unproue
the witnes that was brought against him
by Grekes / layeth vnto them the lightnes
of theyr contrey. This (sayeth Tulli) do I
say of the hole nacion of Grekes. I grau[n]t
to them that they haue good lernyng / and
the knowlege of many sciences. Nor I de-
nye nat but that they haue a pleasant and
marueylouse swete speche. They are also
people of high and excellent quicke wyt / &
thereto they be very facundiouse. These &
suche other qualities wherein they booste
the[m] selfe greatly: I wyll nat repyne agai[n]st
it that they bere the maistry therein. But
as concernyng equitie and good conscie[n]ce /
requisite / in berynge of recorde / or gyuyng
of any wytnes / & also as touchynge faith-
fulnes of worde and promyse: truely this
[E.iii.r] nacion neuer obserued this property / nei-
ther they knewe nat what is the strength /
auctoritye / and weight therof.
¶ So to Englysshmen is attributed su[m]p-
tuousnes in meates & drinkes. To French
men / pryde / & delyte in new fantasyes. To
Flemmynges and Almaynes / great dryn-
kyng / & yet inue[n]tife wittes. To Britayns /
Gascoignes / and Polones / larrecine. To
Spanierdes / agilitye. To ytaliens / hygh
wyt and moche subtilty. To Scottes / bold[-]
nes / to Irissh men / hastines. To Boemes
valiauntnes and tenacite of opinions. &c.
¶ After that to loke on his kynred / as yf
his father or mother or other kynne were
of yll disposicion / for as the tree is: suche
fruite it bereth.
¶ On this wyse dothe Phillis entwyte
Demophon / that his father Theseus vn-
curteysly and trayterously lefte his loue
Ariadna alone in the desert yle of Naxus /
& contrary to his promise stale from her by
nyght / addynge _Heredem patria perfide frau-
dis agis_. That is to saye / vntrew and false
forsworne man / thou playest kyndely the
fathers heyre / in deceytable begylynge of
thy true louer.
¶ After that we must loke vppon the sex /
whether it be man or woman that we ac-
[E.iii.v] cuse / to se yf any argume[n]t ca[n] be deduct out
of it to our purpose. As in men is noted au[-]
dacity / women be comonly tymerouse.
Than nexte / the age of the persone. As in
Therence Simo speketh of his son Pam-
philus / sayeth vnto his man called Sosia /
how couldest thou know his condicions or
nature afore / whyle his age and feare / and
his maister dyd let it to be knowen.
¶ Hipermestra in Ouides epistels ioineth
these .ii. places of sex & age to gyther thus.
¶ I am a woman & a yong maiden / milde
& gentyll / both by nature & yeres. My soft
handes are nat apte to fiers batayles.
¶ After these folow stre[n]gth of body / or agi[-]
lity / & quicknes of wyt / out of whiche may
be broght many reaso[n]s to affyrme our pur[-]
pose. So Tulli in his oracion for Milo /
wyllynge to proue y[at] Clodius was the be-
gynner of the fraye / sheweth that Milo
(whiche was neuer wont but to haue men
about hym) by chaunce at that tyme had
in his company certayne Musiciens and
maydens that wayted on his wyfe / whom
he had syttynge with hym in his wagen.
Contraryly Clodius that was neuer wo[n]t
afore but to ryde in a wagen & to haue his
wyfe with him: at that tyme rode furth on
horsebacke. And where as afore he was al-
wayes accustomed to haue knaues & que-
[E.iiii.r] nes in his company: he had than non but
tall men with hym / & (as who shulde say)
men piked out for the nones. ¶ To this is
added forme / as to assay yf we can haue a-
ny argument to our purpose out of the per[-]
sones face or countenance / & so doth Tully
argue in his oracio[n] agaynst Piso / sayeng.
¶ Seest thou nat now thou beest? doest y[o]u
nat now p[er]ceyue what is mennes co[m]playnt
on thy visage? there is no[n] that co[m]plaineth
that I wote nat what Surrien & of theyr
flocke whiche be but newly crepte vp to ho[-]
nour out of the donghyll is now made con[-]
sull of the city. For this seruile colour hath
nat deceiued vs nor hery cheke balles / nor
rotten & fylthy tethe / thyne iyes / thy bro-
wes / forhed / & hole cou[n]tenau[n]ce / which in a
maner doth manifest me[n]nes co[n]dicio[n]s & na[-]
ture it hath deceiued vs. ¶ This done / we
must consyder how he hath be[n] brought vp
y[at] we accuse / among whom he hath lyued / &
whereby / how he gouerneth his houshold /
& assay if we ca[n] pyke out of these ought for
our purpose. Also of what state he is of / fre
or bond / riche or pore / beryng office or nat /
a man of good name / or otherwise / wherin
he deliteth moost / which places do expresse
ma[n]nes lyuyng / & by his lyuyng: his will &
mynde / as I wold declare more fully / saue
[E.iiii.v] that in introductions men must labour to
be short / and agayne they are suche that he
that hath any perceyuyng may sone know
what shall make for his purpose / & how to
set it furthe. And therfore this shall suffyse
as touchynge the qualitie of the person.
¶ If we bere away this for a generall rule
(that what maketh for the accuser euer-
more the contrary) is sure staye for the de-
fender / yf he can proue it / or make it of the
more lykelyhood. As Tully in defendynge
Milo / layeth to Clodius frendes charges
that he had non about hym but chose[n] me[n].
And for to clere Milo he sheweth the con-
trary / that he had with hym syngyng lad-
des and women seruantes that wayted on
his wyfe / whiche maketh it of more likely-
hood y^t Clodius went about to slee Milo:
than Mylo hym.
¶ The cause that moueth to the mischiefe
lyeth in two thynges. In naturall impul-
sion / and racionacion.
¶ Natural impulsion is angre / hatred / co[-]
uetyse / loue / or suche other affections.
So Simo in Therence / whan he had sayd
that Dauus (who[m] he had poynted to wayt
vppon his sone Pamphilus) wolde do all
that myght lye in hym bothe with hande
and fote / rather to dysplease hym: than to
[E.v.r] please Pamphilus mynde. And Sosia de-
maunded why he wolde do so. Simo made
aunswere by raciocinacion / sayenge / doest
thou aske that? mary his vngracious and
vnhappy mynde is the cause therof.
Oenon in Ouides epistles ioyneth to gy-
ther qualitie and naturall impulsion / say-
enge. _A iuuene et Cupido credatur reddita vir-
go?_ whiche is in Englysshe. Thynke you
that she that was caried awaye of a yonge
man / and hote in loue / was restored agayn
a mayde?
¶ Tulli in the oracion for Milo / amonge
other argume[n]tes bryngeth in one against
Clodius by naturall impulsion of hatred /
shewynge that Clodius had cause to hate
Milo fyrst / for he was one of them that la[-]
boured for the same Tullyes reuocacyon
from exyle / whiche Tulli Clodius malici-
ously hated. Agayne that Milo oppressyd
many of his furiouse purposes. And final-
ly by cause the sayd Milo accused hym and
cast hym afore the Senate and people of
Rome.
¶ Raciocinacio[n] is that cometh of hope of
any commodity / or to eschew any discom-
modity. As Tully argueth in his oracion
for Milo agaynst Clodius by raciocinaci-
on to proue that it was he that layde wayt
[E.v.v] for Milo on this maner.
IT is sufficient to proue that this cru-
ell and wicked beest had a great cause
to slee Milo / yf he wolde brynge his ma-
ters that he we[n]t about to passe / and great
hope if he were ones gone / nat to be letted
in his pretenced malyce.
¶ After raciocinacion foloweth compro-
bacion / to shewe that no man els had any
cause to go there about / saue he whome we
accuse / nor no profite could com to no man
thereof: saue to hym.
¶ These are the wayes whereby an
oratour shall proue that the persone
accused had wyll to the thynge
that is layd to his charge.
TO proue that he might do it: ye
must go to the circumstance of
the cause / as that he had leyser
ynough thereto / and place conuenient and
strength withall. ¶ Also you
shall proue it by signes / whiche are of mer-
uaylouse efficacye in this behalfe / where-
fore here must be noted that sygnes be ey-
ther wordes or dedes that either did go be-
fore or els folow the dede. As Tully in his
oracion now often alleged argueth against
Clodius by signes goynge afore the dede /
as that Clodius sayd thre dayes afore Mi-
[E.vi.r] lo was slayne: that he shulde nat lyue thre
dayes to an ende. And that he went out of
the city a lytle afore Milo rode furth with
a great companye of stronge and mysche-
uous knaues.
¶ Signes folowynge are as yf after the
dede was done he fled / or els whan it was
layed to his charge: he blusshed or waxed
pale / or stutted & coulde nat well speke.
¶ The contrary places (as I sayd afore)
long to the defender / saue that in signes he
must vse .ii. thinges / absolucion & inuercio[n].
¶ Absolucio[n] is wherby the defendour she-
weth that it is laufull for hym to do that
what the aduersary bringeth in for a signe
of his malice.
¶ Example.
¶ A man is founde couerynge of a dede bo[-]
dy / & therupon accused of murder / he may
answere that it is laufull to do so for y^e pre-
seruacion of his body from rauons & other
that wolde deuoure hym / tyll tyme he had
warned people to fetche and bury hym.
¶ Inuercion is wherby we shew that the
signe whiche is brought agai[n]st vs: maketh
for vs. As I wolde nat haue taryed to co-
uer hym yf I had done the dede my selfe:
but haue fled and shronke a syde into some
other way for feare of takynge.
[E.vi.v]
¶ Of the conclusion.
THe co[n]clusion is as I haue said
afore in briefe repetynge of the
effecte of our reasons / & in mo-
uynge the Iudges to our purpose. The ac[-]
cuser to punysshe the persone accused. The
defender / to moue hym to pity.
¶ Of the state iuridiciall / and
the handelynge thereof.
AS state coniectural cometh out
of this questyon (who dyd the
dede) so whan there is no doubt
but that the dede is done / and who dyd it /
many tymes controuersy is had / whether
it hath ben done laufully or nat. And this
state is negociall or iuridiciall / whiche con[-]
teyneth the right or wronge of the dede.
As in the oracyon of Tully for Milo / the
state is iuridiciall / for ope[n] it was that Clo[-]
dius was slayn / and that Milo slew hym /
but whether he kylled hym laufully or nat:
is the controuersy and state of the cause /
as I haue afore declared.
¶ The preamble and nar-
racion as afore.
[E.vii.r]
THe confirmacion hath certayn
places appropred thereto / but
here must be marked that state
negociall is double / absolute / & assu[m]ptyue.
¶ State negociall absolute is whan the
thynge that is in controuersy is absolute-
ly defended to be laufully done. As in the
oracio[n] of Tulli for Milo / the dede is styfly
affirmed to be lawfully done in sleyng Clo[-]
dius / seynge that Milo dyd it in his owne
defence / for the law permitteth to repell vi-
olence violently.
¶ The places of confirmacion in state ab[-]
solute are these / nature / law / custome / equi[-]
ty or reason / iugeme[n]t / necessity / bargayne
or couenant. ¶ Of the whiche places Tul[-]
ly in his oracion for Milo bryngeth in the
more parte to gyther in a cluster on this
maner.
IF reason hath prescrybed this to ler-
ned and wise men / and necessity hath
dryuen it into barbarous and rude folke / &
custome kepeth it among all nacions / and
nature hathe planted it in bruite beestes /
that euery creature shuld defende hym selfe
and saue his lyfe and his body from all vi-
olence by any maner of socour / what mea-
nes or way so euer it were. you ca[n] nat iuge
this dede euyll done / except you wyll iudge
[E.vii.v] that whan men mete with theuys or mur-
derers / they must either be slayne by the
wepons of suche vnthryfty and malicious
persones: either els perysshe by your sen-
tence gyuen in iugement vpon them.
¶ State assumptiue is whan the defence
is feble of it selfe / but yet it may be holpen
by some other thynge added to it. And the
places longynge to this state are graun-
tynge of the faute / remouynge of the faut /
or (as we say in our tongue) layeng it from
vs to an other / & tanslatynge of the faute.
¶ Grauntyng of the faut is whan the per[-]
son accused denieth nat the dede / but yet he
desyreth to be forgyuen / & it hath .ii. places
mo annexyd to it / purgacion & deprecacio[n].
¶ Purgacion is whan he sayeth he dyd it
nat maliciously: but by ignora[n]ce or mishap
whiche place Cato vseth ironiously in Sa[-]
lust / thus. My minde is that ye haue pyty
with you / for they that haue don amysse be
but very yonge men / and desyre of honour
draue them to it.
¶ Deprecacio[n] is wha[n] we haue non excuse:
but we call vpon the Iustices mercy. The
handelynge whereof Tulli wryteth in his
boke of inuencion thus.
HE that laboreth to be forgyue[n] of his
faut / must reherce (yf he can) som be-
[E.viii.r] nefytes of his / done afore tyme / and shew
that they be farre greater in theyr nature
than is the cryme that he hathe commyt-
ted / so that (how be it he hath done great-
ly amysse) yet the goodnes of his fore me-
rites are farre bygger / and so may well op-
presse this one faut. Nexte after that it be-
houeth hym to haue refuge to the merytes
of his elders / yf there be any / and to open
them. That don / he must retourne to the
place of purgacion / and shewe that he dyd
nat the dede for any hate or malyce / but ei-
ther by folysshnes / or els by the entisement
of som other / or for some prouable cause.
And than promise faithfully that this faut
shall teche hym to beware fro[m] thens forth /
and also that theyr benefytes that forgyue
hym shal bynde hym assuredly neuer to do
so more / but perpetually to abhorre any
suche offence / and with that to shewe some
great hope ones to make them a great re-
co[m]pence & pleasure therfore agayne. After
this let hym (yf he can) declare som kynred
betwene the[m] & hym / or frendshyp of his el-
ders / & amplifye the greatenes of his ser-
uice & good harte towarde them / yf it shall
please them to forgiue this faut / & adde the
nobility of theym that wolde fayne haue
hym delyuered. And than he shall soberly
[E.viii.v] declare his owne vertues and suche thyn[-]
ges as be in hym perteynyng to honesty &
prayse / that he may by these meanes seme
rather worthy to be auaunced in honour
for his good qualities / than to be punished
for his fall.
¶ This done / let hym reherce some other
that haue be forgyuen greater fautes than
this is. It shall also greatly auayle yf he
can shewe that he hathe in tyme afore ben
in auctoritie and bare a rule ouer other / in
the whiche he was neuer but gentyll and
glad to forgyue them that had offended vn[-]
derneth hym. And than let hym extenuate
his owne faute / and shew that there folo-
wed nat so great damage therof / and that
but lytle profyte or honesty wyll folowe of
his punysshment. And finally than by co-
mon places to moue the iudge to mercy &
pitie vpon hym.
¶ The aduersary must (as I haue shewed
afore) vse for his purpose contrary places.
¶ Some Rhetoriciens put no mo places
of deprecacion than only this that is here
last reherced of Tulli / that is to do our best
to moue the iustice to mercy and pity.
¶ Remocion of the faute is whan we put
it from vs and lay it to another.
¶ Example.
[F.i.r]
THe Venecians haue commannded
certayne to go in ambassade to En-
glande / and thereuppon appointed theym
what they shal haue to bere their charges /
whiche money assigned: they can nat get
of the treasourer: At the daye appoynted
they go nat / whereupon they are accused
to the Senate. Here they must ley the faut
from them to the treasourer / which dispat-
ched them nat accordyng / as it was ordey[-]
ned that he shulde.
¶ Tra[n]slacion of the faut is / whan he that
co[n]fesseth his faut sayeth that he dyd it: mo[-]
ued by the indignacion of the maliciouse
dede of an other.
¶ Example.
KYnge Agamennon / which was chief
capitayne of the Grekes at the siege
of Troye / whan he cam home was slayne
of Egist[us] by the treason of Clitenestra his
owne wyfe / which murder his son Orestes
seynge / whan he cam to mannes state / re-
uenged his fathers dethe on his mother / &
slew her / whereupon he was accused. Here
Orestes can nat deny but he slew his mo-
ther: But he layeth for hym that his mo-
thers abhominable iniury co[n]strayned him
thereto / bycause she slew his father.
And this is the handelynge of confirmaci-
[F.i.v] on in state assumptiue.
¶ The conclusions in these oracions are
lyke to the conclusions of other.
¶ Of state legitime / and
the handelyng therof.
STate legitime is whan the con-
trouersy standeth in definicion or
contrary lawes / or doutfull wry-
tynges / or raciocinacion / or translacion.
¶ Of definicion.
DEfinicion (as Tully wryteth) is
whan in any wrytynge is some
worde put / y^e significacio[n] wher-
of requireth exposicion.
¶ Example.
A Lawe may be made that suche as
forsake a shyppe in tyme of tempest
shulde lese theyr ryght y^t they haue / either
in the shyppe or in any goodes within the
same vessell / & that they shal haue the shyp
& the goodes that abyde styll in her.
¶ It chau[n]ced .ii. men to be in a lytle cray-
er / of the whiche vessell the one man was
both owner and gouernour / and the other:
possessour of the goodes. And as they were
[F.ii.r] in the mayne see / they espied one that was
swymmynge in the see / and as well as he
coulde holdyng vp his handes to them for
socour / wherupon they (beyng moued with
pitie) made towarde hym / & toke hym vp.
Within a lytle after arose a greate tempest
vpon them / and put them in suche ieopar-
dy that the owner of the shyp (which was
also gouernour) lepte out of the shyp into
the shyp bote / and with the rope that tyed
the bote to the shyp: he gouerned the shyp
as well as he coulde. The marchant that
was within the shyp / for greate dispayre of
the losse of his goodes / wyllyng to slee him
selfe: threst hym selfe in w[i]t[h] his owne sword /
but as it chaunced the wounde was ney-
ther mortall nor very greuouse / but nat-
withsta[n]dyng for that tyme he was vnable
to do any good in helpyng the shyp against
the impetuousnes of y^e storme. The thyrd
man (whiche nat longe afore had suffered
shyp wracke) gate hym to the sterne / and
holpe the vessell the best that laye in hym.
At lengthe the storme seaced / and the shyp
came safe into the hauen / bote & all. He y^t
was hurt (by helpe of chirurgiens) recoue[-]
red anon. Now euery of these thre chale[n]ge
the shyp & good[e]s as his owne. Here euery
man layeth for hym the lawe aboue reher-
[F.ii.v] ced / and all theyr controuersy lyeth in the
expoundynge of thre wordes / abydynge in
the shyp / and forsakynge the shyp / & what
we shal in suche case call the shyp / whether
the bote as part of the shyp: or els the shyp
it selfe alone.
¶ The handelynge hereof is. Fyrst in few
wordes and playne to declare the significa[-]
cion of the worde to our purpose / and after
suche maner as may seme resonable to the
audience. Nexte / after suche exposicion to
declare and proue the sayd exposicion true /
with as many argumentes as we can.
Thyrdely to ioyne our dede with the expo-
sicion / & to shew that we onely dyd obserue
the very entent of the lawe. Than to refell
the exposicion of our aduersaries / & to shew
that their exposicion is contrary to reason
and equitie / and that no wyse man wyll so
take the law as they expounde it / and that
the exposicion is neither honest nor profy-
table / and to conster theyr exposicion with
oures / and to shew that oures conteyneth
the veritie / and theyrs is falce. Oures ho-
nest / reasonable / & profitable: Theyrs clene
contrarye. And than serche out lyke exam-
ples / either of greater maters or of lesse / or
els of egall maters / and to manifest by the[m]
that our mynde is the very truthe.
[F.iii.r]
¶ Contrary lawes are where the tone se-
meth euidently to contrarye the other. As
yf a law were that he who[m] his father hath
forsaken for his so[n]ne / shall in no wyse haue
any porcion of his fathers goodes. And an
other law / that who so euer in tyme of tem[-]
pest abydeth in the shyp: shall haue y^e shyp
and goodes. Than pose that one whiche
was of his father so abiecte and denyed for
his chylde: was in a shyp of his fathers in
tyme of sore wether / & whan all other for
feare of lesynge them selfe forsoke the shyp
& gate them into the bote: he onely abode /
and by chaunce was safe brought into the
hauen / wherupon he chalengeth the vessell
for his / where as the party defendant wyll
lay against hym that he is abdicate or for-
saken of his father / and so can nat by the
law haue any parte of his goodes.
Here must he say agayn for hym that this
law alleged doth all only priuate fro[m] theyr
fathers goodes suche as be abdicate & yet
wolde chalenge a part as his children / but
y^t he doth nat so / but requireth to haue the
shyp / nat as a son to his father: but as any
other straunger myght / seyng the law gy-
ueth him the shyp y^t abideth in her in time
of necessity. And so the handelynge of this
state / either to deny one of y^t lawes & shew
[F.iii.v] that it hath ben afore anulled / or els to ex-
pounde it after the sence that is mete to
our purpose.
¶ Doubtfull writynge is where either the
mynde of the author semeth to be contrary
to that that is wryten / which som call wry[-]
tynge & sentence / or els it is whan the wor[-]
des may be expounded dyuers wayes.
¶ Example of the fyrst.
MEn say it is a law in Caleys that no
straunger may go vppon the towne
walles on payne of dethe. Now than pose
that in tyme of warre the towne beynge
harde besieged / an alien dwellynge in the
towne getteth hym to the walles amonge
the soudiers / & doeth more good than any
one man agayn. Now after the siege ended
he is accused for transgressyng of the law /
which in wordes is euidently against him.
But here the defendaunt must declare the
wryters mynde by circumstaunces / what
straunger he dyd forbyd / and what tyme /
and after what maner / and in what intent
he wolde nat haue any straunger to come
on the walles / & in what intent his mynde
might be vnderstanden to suffre an alien to
go vpon the walles. And here must the ef-
fect of the strau[n]gers wyll be declared / that
he went vp to defend y^e towne to put back
[F.iiii.r] their enemies. And therto he must say that
the maker was nat so vndiscrete & vnreaso[-]
nable that he wolde haue no maner of ex-
cepcion which shuld be to the welth / p[ro]fite /
or preseruacion of the towne. For he that
wyll nat haue y^e law to be vnderstande[n] ac[-]
cordyng to equitie / good maner / & nature /
entendeth to proue the maker therof either
an vniust man / or folyssh or enuiouse.
¶ The accuser contraryly shall praise the
maker of the law for his great wisdom / for
his playne writyng without any maner of
ambiguity / y^t no strau[n]ger shulde p[re]sume to
go vpon the walles / & reherce y^e law word
for worde / & tha[n] shew som reasonable cause
that mouyd the maker of the law that he
wolde vtterly that no straunger shulde as-
cende the walles. &c. Exa[m]ple of the seco[n]d.
A Man in his testame[n]t gyueth to two
yonge doughters that he hathe two
hu[n]dred shepe / to be delyuered at the day of
theyr maryage / on this maner. [hand symbol] I wyll
that myne executoures shall gyue to my
doughters at the tyme of theyr maryage
euery of theym an hundred shepe / suche as
they wyll. At the tyme of maryage they de[-]
maunde theyr cattell / whiche the execu-
tours deliuer nat of suche sort as the may-
de[n]s wold / wherupo[n] the co[n]trouersy ariseth.
[F.iiii.v] For the executours say they are bounde to
delyuer to euery of them an hundred shepe /
suche as they that be the executours will.
Now here standeth the dout / to whom we
shall referre this worde _they_ / to the dought-
ters / or to the executours.
The maydens say nay thereto / but that it
was theyr fathers mynde that they shulde
haue euery of theym an .C. shepe / suche as
they that be the doughters wyll.
¶ The handelyng of doutfull wrytyng is
to shew yf it be possible that it is nat wryte[n]
doutfully by cause it is the comon maner to
take it after as we saye / & that it may sone
be knowen by suche wordes as partely go
before that clause & p[ar]tly folow / & that there
be few wordes / but if they be considered so
alone / they may anon be taken doubtfully.
And first we shal shew if we can y^t it is nat
doubtfully wryten / for there is no reasona[-]
ble ma[n]: but he wyll take it as we say. Tha[n]
shal we declare by that that goeth afore / &
foloweth / that it is clerly euin as we say / &
that yf we consider the wordes of the[m] selfe
they wyll seme to be of ambiguity / but se-
ynge they may by the rest of the wrytynge
be euident ynough / they ought nat to be ta[-]
ken as doubtfull. And than shew that yf it
had ben his minde that made the writyng
[F.v.r] to haue it taken as the aduersarye sayeth:
he neded nat to haue wryte[n] any suche wor[-]
des. As in the example now put / the may-
dens may say that yf it had ben theyr fa-
thers mynde that the executours shoulde
haue delyuered suche shepe as it had plea-
sed them to delyuer: he neded nat to haue
added these wordes _suche as they wyll_. For
yf they had nat ben put / it wolde nat haue
ben dought but that the executours dely-
uerynge euery of them an hundred shepe
(what so euer they were) had fulfylled the
wyll / and coulde haue ben no further com-
pelled / wherfore if his mynde was as they
say / it was a great folye to put in tho wor-
des whiche made a playne mater to be vn-
plaine. And than finally shew it is more ho[-]
nest and conuenient to expounde it as we
say: than as our aduersaries do.
¶ Raciocinacion is whan the mater is in
controuersy / wherupon no law is decreed /
but yet the iugement therof may be fou[n]de
out by lawes made vpon maters somdele
resemblynge thereunto.
¶ As in Rome was this law made / that
yf any persone were distraught / his posses-
sions and goodes shulde come to the han-
des of his next kynne.
¶ And an other law / what any househol-
[F.v.v] der doth ordeyn & make as concernyng his
householde and other goodes / it is appro-
bate and confirmed by the law.
¶ And an other law / if any housholder dye
intestate / his money & other goodes shal re[-]
mayne to his next kyn. ¶ It chau[n]ced one
to kyll his owne mother / wherupo[n] he was
taken & co[n]de[m]pned to deth / but while he lay
in pryson / certayn of his familiare frendes
cam thyder to hym / & brought with them
a clerke to wryte his testament / whiche he
there made / & made suche executours as it
pleased hym. After his deth his kynnesme[n]
chalenge his good[e]s / his executours say the[m]
nay / wherupo[n] ariseth co[n]trouersy afore the
iustice. ¶ There is no law made vpon this
case / whether he y^t hath killed his mother
may make any testame[n]t or nat / but it may
be reasoned on bothe p[ar]ties by the lawes a-
boue reherced. The kynsmen shal allege y^e
law made for the[m] y^t be out of theyr mynd[e]s /
p[re]supposyng hym nat to be in moche other
case / or els he wold nat haue don the dede.
The contrary parte shall allege the other
law / & shew that it was none alienacion of
mynde: but som other cause y^t moued hym
to it / & that he hathe had his punysshment
therfore / whiche he shulde nat haue suffred
of co[n]uenient if he had ben besyde him selfe.
[F.vi.r]
¶ Translacion is whiche the lawyers call
excepcion / as yf the person accused pleade
that it is nat lawfull for the tother to ac-
cuse hym / or that the Iuge can be no iuge
in that cause. &c.
[hand symbol] ¶ The conclusion of the Author.
THese are my speciall and
singuler good Lorde whiche I
haue purposed to wryte as tou-
chyng the chief poynt of y^e .iiii.
that I sayd in the begynnyng to long to a
Rhetoricien / & which is more difficulty tha[n]
the other .iii. so that it ones had / there is no
very great maistry to com by the resydue.
Natwithstandynge yf I se that it be fyrste
acceptable to your good lordship / in whom
next god & his holy saintes I haue put my
chief co[n]fidence & trust / & after y^t yf I fynde
that it seme to y^e reders a thing worthy to
be loked on / & y^t your lordshyp & they think
nat my labour take[n] in vayne: I wyll assay
my selfe in y^e other partes / & so make & ac-
co[m]plyssh y^e hole werk. But now I haue fo[-]
lowed y^e facion of Tulli / who made a seue[-]
rall werke of inuencion. And though ma-
ny thynges be left out of this treatyse that
ought to be spoken of / yet I suppose that
this shall be sufficyent for an introduction
[F.vi.v] to yonge begynners / for whome all onely
this booke is made. For other that ben en-
tred all redy shall haue lytle nede of my la-
bour / but they may seke more meter thyn-
ges for theyr purpose / either in Hermogi-
nes amonge the Grekes / or els Tullie or
Trapesonce / amonge the Latines. And to
them that be yonge begynners nothynge
can be to playne or to short / wherfore Ho-
race i[n] his boke of y^e craft of Poetry sayth.
[hand symbol] _Quicquid precipies esto breuis vt cito dicta
Percipiant animi dociles teneantq[ue] fideles._
[hand symbol] What so euer ye wyll teache (sayeth he)
be briefe therin / that the myndes of the he-
rers or reders may the easiyer perceyue it /
and the better bere it away. And the Em-
perour Iustinian sayeth in the fyrste boke
of his institucions in the paragraph of iu-
stice and right / that ouer great curiosity in
the fyrst principles / make hym that is stu-
diouse of the facultie either to forsake it: or
els to attayne it with very great and tedy[-]
ouse labour / and many tymes with great
dispayre to com to the ende of his purpose.
And for this cause I haue ben farre lesse cu[-]
riouse than I wolde els haue ben / and also
a great dele the shorter. If this my labour
may please your lordeshyp / it is the thynge
that I do in it moost desyre / but yf it seme
[F.vii.r] bothe to you and other a thyng that is ve-
ry rude and skant worthe the lokynge on:
yet Aristotles wordes shal confort me / who
sayeth y^t men be nat onely bounde to good
authors: but also to bad / bicause y^t by their
wrytynge they haue prouoked cunnynger
men to take the mater on hande / whiche
wolde els peraduenture haue helde theyr
peace. Truely there is nothynge that I
wolde be more gladder of / than yf it might
chaunce me on this maner to cause theym
that be of moche better lernynge and excer[-]
cise in this arte than I / of who[m] I am very
sure that this realme hath greate plenty /
that they wold set the penne to the paper /
and by their industry obscure my rude igno[-]
raunce. In the meane space I beseche the
reders / yf they fynde any thynge therein
that may do them any profyte / that they
gyue the thankes to god and to your lord-
shyp / and that they wyll of theyr charitie
pray vnto the blessyd Trinite for me / that
whan it shall please the godhed to take
me from this transitory lyfe / I may
by his mercy be of the nombre of
his elect to p[er]petuall saluacion.
* * * * *
[F.vii.v]
¶ Imprinted at London in Fletestrete
by saynte Dunstones chyrche / at the
sygne of the George / by me Ro-
bert Redman / The yere of our
lorde god a thousande / fyue
hundred and two and
thyrty.
¶ Cum priuilegio.
[Illustration]
[F.viii.v]
[Illustration: Robert Redman]
* * * * *
[Transcriber's Note: The following is a list of printer errors in
the original.]
Page Error Correct
A.iiii.v [Greek: outos] with [Greek: outos] with
medial sigma final sigma
A.iiii.v ( Eloquence / Eloquence
A.viii.r conceruynge concernyng
B.ii.v his his his
B.iiii.r Tigraues Tigranes
B.vi.r Plato Pluto
B.vi.v prefaces of prefaces or
B.viii.r & & &
C.i.r landes laudes
C.ii.r channced chaunced
C.iii.r au aut
C.iii.v Frannce Fraunce
C.iii.v Nephien Nephieu
C.iii.v vnder in vnder
C.vii.r p[er]fite p[ro]fite
D.i.r ( of / of
D.ii.r ematers maters
D.iiii.r narraciions narracions
D.iiii.v landes laudes
D.v.v Scisnola ta nala [Greek: dyskola ta kala]
D.v.v garnyssshyng garnysshyng
D.vi.v is is is
D.vi.v bronght brought
D.viii.r necesry necessary
E.ii.r e tryed be tryed
E.iii.r patria patriae
E.iiii.r E.iii. E.iiii.
E.vii.v tanslatynge translatynge
F.i.r commannded commaunded
F.i.r Agamennon Agamemnon
Note: The following are not typographical errors: "fet" (fetch or
fetched); "nat" (not); "tho" (those); "slee" (slay); "lese" (lose);
"meuyd" (moved).
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