¶ The Art or crafte of Rheto­ryke.

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¶ 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.

COnsyderynge my spe­ciall good lorde how great ly and how many ways I am bounden to your lord­shyp / and among all other that in so great a nombre of connynge 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 gra­mer schole / foūded 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 bene­ficiall [Page] fauour towarde me: and of myn in­dustry 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 slouryshynge vn­der 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 those out: non offred it selfe more conue­nyent to the profyte of yonge studentes (which your good lordshyp hath alwayes tenderly fauoured) and also meter to my ꝓfession: than to make som proper werke of the right pleasaunt and persuadible art of Rhetorique / whiche as it is very neces­sary 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 knowledge of Gra­mer ones had to be instructe in this facul tie / without the whiche oftentymes the [Page] rude vtteraunce of the Aduocate greatly hindereth and apeyreth his cliētes cause. Likewise the vnapt disposicion of the pre­cher (in orderyng his mater) confoundeth the memory of his herers / and briefly in declarynge of maters: for lacke of inuen­cion 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 li­tle confusiō: 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 destrouse of this Arte (as all surely ought to be which entende to be re­garded in any comynaltie) I haue parte­ly translated out a werke of Rhetorique wryten in the Latin tongue: and partely compyled of myn owne: and so made a ly­tle treatyse in maner of an Introductyon into this aforesayd Science: and that in our Englysshe tongue. Remembrynge that euery good thyng (after the sayengꝭ of the Philosopher) the more comon it is: the more better it is. And furthermore tru stynge therby to do som pleasure and case to suche as haue by negligence or els fals [Page] 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 / be­sechynge 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 Lord­shyp / and nexte the reders / I trust by the ayde of almyghty god to endyte other werkes bothe in this facul­ty and other to the laude of the hygh godhed / of whome all goodnes doth procede / and to your Lordshyps plea­sure / and to profyte and delectacion of the Reder. ❧

WHo someuer desyreth to be a good Oratour or to dys­pute and commune of any maner thynge / hym beho­ueth to haue foure thinges.

¶ The fyrst is called In­uencion / 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 deserue & iuge whe­ther tho thynges that he hath founde in his mynde be conuenient to the purpose or nat. For oftētymes 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 Dispo­sicion / 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 coun­ted (as the comon prouerbe sayth) to put the carte afore the horse. ¶ The fourth & last is suche thynges as he hath inuen­ted: 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 [Page] by Demosthenes / & syns hath ben a comō prouerbe amonge the Grekes [...] which is as moche to say as (This is he) And this last ꝓperty is called among ler­ned men (Eloquence. ¶ Of these foure the moost difficile or harde is to inuent what thou must say / wherfore of this parte the Rethoricieus whiche be maisters of this Arte: haue writen very moche & diligētly.

¶ Inuencion is comprehended in certayn places / as the Rhetoricieus 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 impro­perly the Anthethem. ¶ The theme pur­posed: we must after the rules of Rheto­rique go to our places that shall anō shew vnto vs what shall be to our purpose.

¶ Example.

IN olde tyme there was greate enuy betwene two noble men of Rome / of whō 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 [Page] 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 double. So than the Theme of Tullies oraciō 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 ꝓue 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 Kyn­ges highnes: I must for the Inuencyon of suche thynges as be for my purpose go to places of Rhetorique / where I shall casely 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 disputaciō. ¶ The seconde is called Demonstratiue. ¶ The [Page] thyrde Deliberatiue. ¶ The fourth Iudi­ciall / and these thre last be properly called spices or kyndes of oracions / whose natu­res 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 thig Iustice is my theme. Or if disputacion be had in company vpon religion / and I wolde declare the very na­ture 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 compoūde / that is to say / Iustice is a vertue / for it is made of two thynges knyt and vn [...]ed togither / Iustice and vertue. ¶ Here must be noted that Logike is a playn & a sure way to in­struct a mā 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 ꝑfectly & ꝓperly knowē 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 / [Page] what proper / what improper.

¶ The places or instrumentes of a simple theme are.

  • The diffinicion of the thynge.
  • The causes.
  • The partes.
  • The effectes.

¶ Exāple. If thou enquire what thig Iu stice is / whereof it cometh / what partes is hath / & what is the office or effect of euery parte / than hast thou diligētly serched out the hole nature of Iustice / & handeled thy simple theme accordyng to the preceptꝭ of Logicians / to whom our auctour leueth suche ma [...]s to be discussed of thē / how beit somwhat y e Rhetoriciās 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 extēded & paynted with many figures & ornamentꝭ belongyng to the science. Neuertheles to satisfie the re­ders 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.

[Page]¶ First to serche out the perfite knowlege of Iustice: I go to my fyrst place [...] on / & fetche from Aristotle in his [...] 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 do [...]e: I serche the causes of Iustice (that is to say) from whens it toke the fyrst begynnyng / and bycause that it is a morall vertue: and Plato in the ende of his Dialogue Menō 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 mānes 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 legiti­me or legal / an other that he called Equi­te.

¶ Iustice legall is that that consysteth in the superiours whiche haue power for to make or statute lawes to the iferiours. And the office or ende of this Iustice is to [Page] make suche lawes as be bothe good and accordynge to right and conscience / & thā 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 where by a man neyther taketh nor gy­ueth lesse nor more than he ought / but in gyuynge taketh good hede that euery mā 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 comen goodes to euery mā accordyng to his deseruyngꝭ 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 Ci­tie accordynge as they are worthy.

¶ In this parte is comprehended the pu­nyshment of mysdoers and trangressours of the lawe / to whome correccion must be [Page] distributed for the comon welth according to theyr demerites / after the prescripcions of the lawes of the contrey / made & deter­mined for the punisshment of any maner of transgressour. ¶ Equity cōmutatiue is a iust maner in the chaungynge of thyng [...] from one to another / whose offyce or effect is to kepe iust dealynge in equytie / as by­enge / sellynge / & all other bargaynes law­full. And so are herewith the spices of Iu­stice 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 a [...]ines and con­traries on this maner.

¶ what is Iustice? A vertue whereby to euery thynge is gyuen that that to it be­longeth.

¶ 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 sub­staunce & wares / or in gentyll and cyuyle conuersacion.

[Page]¶ what thynge is Iustice commutatiue? Right and equitie in all contractes.

¶ what is Iustice distributiue? Iustice of ciuile lyuynge.

¶ How manyfolde is Iustyce dystrybu­tyue? Either it is comon or priuate. The comon is called in latin Pi [...]tas / but in en­glysshe it may be moost properly named good order / which is the crowne of all ver tues conceruynge honest and ciuile con­uersacyon of men togither / as the hedes with the meane comonalty in good vnity and concorde. ¶ Pryuate or seuerall Iu­stice 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 / pro­dygalytie.

¶ And this is the maner of handelynge of a symple Theme dialecty call. But yet let nat the reder deceyue hym selfe / and thynke that the very perfyte knowlege is shewyd hym all here. And that whiche [Page] hath bē shewed now: is somwhat general and briefe. ¶ More sure and exact know­lege is conteined in Logike / to whome I wyll aduise thē that be studiouse to resorte & to serche euery thynge in his owne pro­per facultie.

¶ Of a Theme compounde.

EUery Theme compounde: ey­ther it is proued trewe or fals. Now whether thou wylt pu [...] or improue any thyng: it must be done by argument. And yt any Theme compounde: be it Logicall or Rhetorycall / it must be referred to the rules of Logike by thē to be proued trew or fals. For this is the dyfference that is betwene these two sciences / that the Lo­gician in dysputynge obserueth certayne rules for the settynge of his wordes being solicitous that there be spokē no more nor no lesse than the thynge requyreth / & that it be euin as plaily spokē as it is thought. But the Rhethorician seketh about & bo­roweth where he can asmoche as he may for to make the symple and playne Logi­call argumentes gaye & delectable to the [...]. So than the sure iugement of argu­mentes [Page] or reasons must be lerned of the logician / but the crafte to set thē out with pleasaunt figures and to delate the mater belongeth to the Rhetorician. As in Mi­loes 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 s [...]ain Milo / wherfore Clodius might lau­fully be slayne of Milo in Miloes owne defence. And this argument the logicians call a Sillogisme in Dar [...] / 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 Tul­lies argument that he maketh in his ora­cyon 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 impro­uynge of compounde Themes / are these folowynge. [Page]

  • Diffinicion lyke
  • Cause contrary
  • Partes

OF the places of argumen­tes shall be spoken hereaf­ter. For as touchyuge thē in all thynges the Rheto­rician & Logician do agre. But as concernynge the crafte to fourme argumentes whan thou hast foūde them in theyr places / that must be lerned of the Logician / where he trea­teth of the fourme of sillogismes / [...] [...]es and inductions.

¶ Of an oracion demonstratiue.

THe vse of an oracion demon­stratiue is i praise or dispraise / whiche kynde or maner of ora­cion was greatly vsed somtyme in comon accions / as dothe declare the oracions of Demosthenes / and also many of Thucidi­des oracions. And there ben thre maners of oracions demonstratiue.

¶ The fyrst conteyneth the prayse or dys­prayse [Page] 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 ieo­pdy for the safegarde of a true mā / against other theues and murderers / the ꝑson 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 t person saue onely for this dede. The thyrd kynde is: wherin is lauded or blamed no­ther person nor dede / but some other thing as vertue / vice / iustice / iniutie / charite / en­uie / 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 conten­cion.
  • ¶ The conclusion.

[Page]¶ 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 [...]oo partes / and some lesse.

¶ Of the Preamble.

GEnerally the Preamble nat alonly in an oracion demonstratiue / but al­so in the other two is conteyned and must be [...]ched out of thre places / that is to say o [...] beneuolence / attencion / & to make [...] a [...]y to be knowen / whiche the [...]oricians 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 / [...] 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 p̄āble of sait 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 remembraūce of the moost [Page] fayre and excellent vertues that were in hym / and thyrdely that the chyrch myght haue an example of a good and holy Bys­shop. ¶ Trewly by our authours lycence me thynketh that in the preamble Naza­zen doth nat only take beneuolence out of the place of his owne persone / but allo out of the other two / whā he sheweth the cause of his duetye / for in praysynge his frende he dyd but his duetye. In praysynge [...] vertues / he cam to the place of beneu [...]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 de [...]e nat but y t I haue metely excercysed my selfe / or yf any helpe to that science cometh out [Page] of other lyberall artes / in whome I haue occupied al my lyfe / surely I am boūde to no man more for them than to Archias / whiche may lawfully if I may do any m [...] 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 poyn­tes 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 sait Nazianzene beneuolence in his sayd ora­cion for samet Basile.

¶ Also of them afore whome we speke / as if we say / it is for theyr profyte to laude or prayse the ꝑson. And that we knowe very wel howe moche they haue alwayes loued [Page] 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 o­racion that he made for one Aulus Cecin­na / 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 bolde­nesse 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 au­dacite. And these be the cōmune 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 Pon­tus / and kynge Tigraues of Armenie on this maner: howe be it my lordes and mai sters of this noble citie of Rome / I haueal tymes thought it a synguler reioyse to me if I myght ones se you gadred to gyther in a cōpany / to here some publique oracion [Page] of myne / and agayne I iuged no place to be so ample and so honourable to speke in as this is. & [...].

¶ 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 Telius at the tyme / this wise.

¶ If so be it my lordes iuges any mā be now present here that is ignor [...]t of your lawes / of your processe in iugementꝭ / 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 fecst 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 Sertꝰ Roseius / 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 straūge prohemes. And they be taken out of sētences / solēpne peticions / maners or customes / lawes / sta [Page] tutes of nacyons & contreys. And on this maner dothe Aristides begyn his oracion made to the praise of Rome.

¶ Demos [...]henes in his [...]racyon made a­gainst Eschines / toke his preface out of a solempne peticien / besechynge the goddes that he might haue as good fauour in y t cause / as he had soūde 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 Ro­maynes after his retourne from exyle.

¶ He begynneth also an other oracyon / whiche he made as touchynge a lawe de­creed for the diuision of feldes amonge the comunes out of a custome amonge them / on this wyse.

¶ The maner and custome of our olde fa­ders 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 / whā in the begynnyng / yf the mater seme nat lau dable or honest / we find an excuse therfore. [Page] ¶ Example / Homere in his Iliade des­cribeth 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 ma­ny places. And besyde these fautes he was a great folysshe babler / and ryght foule mouthed / and ful of debate and stryfe / [...]ar­tynge alwayes agaynste the heddes and wyse men of the armye.

¶ Nowe if one wolde take vpon hym to make an oraciō to the prayse of this losel / whiche mater is of litle honesty in it selfe / he must vse in stede of a preface an insinu­acion. That what thynge poetes or com­mune fame doth eyther prayse or dispraise ought nat to be gyuen credence to / but ra­ther to be suspecte. For ones it is the na­ture of poetes to sayne and lye / as bothe Homere and Uirgile / which are the prin­ces and heddes of al poetes do witnesse thē selfe. Of whome Homere sayth / that poe­tes make many lies / and Uirgile he saith: The moost part of the sene is but oeceyte. [Page] Poetes haue sene blake soules vnder the [...]rthe / 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 cōmune 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 [...]et out of the decla­macion that Erasmus made to the prayse of folysshenes.

¶ An other example hath the same Eras­mus 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 de­fende this mynde of Plato / which is both contrarie to Christes religion and to the commune lyuynge of mē / he myght as E­rasmus teacheth / begynne thus.

[Page]¶ 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 ab­hominable. But that nar withstandynge / yf it wyll please you a litle while so deferre you iugement tyll ye haue herde the sūme of suche reasons as I wyll brynge forthe in the cause / I double 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 mar­uelously deceyued in your oppynyon / and somdele to alleuiate your myndes / ye shall vnderstande that I am nat my selfe au­thour of the thynge / but it is the mynde & saynge of the excellent & moost highly na­med philosopher Plato / whiche was vn­doubted so famouse a clerke / so discrete a man / and soo vertuouse in all his dedes / that ye may be sure he wold speke nothig but it were on a right perfyte ground / and that the thynge were of it selfe very expe­dient / 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 [Page] am sorye / I uleruaile / I am glad for your sake / I desire / I sere / I pray god / and such other lyke / be very apre 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 orarour 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 vnderstād / except they gyue right good attendaunce.

¶ wherfore it is expedyent that yf they wyll haue the percepcion of it / that they gyue a good care. But as concernyng the newnesse or profyte of the mater / it ma­keth nat all onely y e herer to gyue a good cre (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 per­ceyued / is nat greatly required in this kynde of oracion / for it in belonging properly to derke [Page] and obscure causes / in whiche we must [...] ­myse that we wyl nat vse great ambages / or to go (as mē say) roūde about the bus [...]h / but to be short and playne.

¶ Of narracion whiche is the se­conde ꝑte of an oracion.

¶ The Narracion or tale wherin ꝑsones are praysed / is the declaryng of theyr lyfe & doynges after the fas [...]hion of an historie. The places out of the whiche it is sought are: The persones byrthe. His chyldhode. His adolescencie. His mannes state. His olde age. His dethe and what foloweth after.

IN his byrthe is consydered of what stocke he came / what chaū 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 cō ­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 [Page] he than gyuethe hym selfe: As in the fyrst comedie of Terēce one Simo telleth his seruaūt 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 goo­dely horses / some to cherysshe houndes for huntyng / & some are gyuen onely to theyr bookes / his sone Pāphilus loued none of these more one thā 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 citi­sens / or in his cōtrey / what actes he dyd / how he gouerned suche as were vnd him / howe he [...]spered / & what fortune he had in suche thyngꝭ as he went about. Example here of is in Saluste / whiche cōpareth to gether Cato and Cesar / sayng that both theyr stocke / age & eloquēce / were almoost lyke & egall / theyr excellēcie & 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 great estimacion for his benefites & & liberalite. Cato had gottē hī a name for his ꝑfight & vpright lyuynge. Cesar was praysed for his gentilnes and pitie. Cato was honored for his [...] and surete. [Page] ¶ The tother wanne moche bruyt by gy uynge large gyfres / by helpynge suche as were in dystresse / and by forgyuyng of tres passes done agaynste hym. Cacons fame dyd sprede because he wold neither be for­gyuen 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 gr [...]at refuge to suche as were in mysery: [...] the other was fore pu [...]shment & per­ [...] to mysdoers & euyll transgressours [...] law. Briefly to conclude it was all [...] mynde and pleasure to labour di­ligently night and day in his frendes cau ses / to care lesse for his owne busynes th [...] 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 vnder his gouernaunce / that by his noble and hardy faicies his valyantnes myght be the more knowen and spred abrood.

Cōtraryly all Catons study was on tem peraūce / and to do in no maner other wyse than was conuenient & syctynge for suche a man as he was / and chiefly he sette his myn [...]e to seueryty / he neuer made no com parison with the riche man in richesse / nor with the myghty man in power. But y [...] [...] required / with the hardy mā in bold­nes [Page] / with the temperate in moderacion / with the good man in innocency & iust dea ling. He cated not for the name / it was suf ficiēt to hym to haue the dede / & so / the lesse he cared for glorye / the more alwayes he opteyned. Many suche comparisons ve­ry profitable for this intēt / are also in Plu tarche in his boke of noble mennes lyues.

¶ A goodly eusāple of this place is in the oracion that Hermolaꝰ Barbarus made to the emperour Frederike and Marimi­lian his son / which for bicause it is so long I let it passe. ¶ A like ensample is in Tul­lies orac [...]on / that he made to the people of Rome for Pompeyus / to be sente agaynst [...].

¶ Some there be that deuide the landes of persones into thre [...]noes of goodes / be­gyunynge the narracion at them / whiche thynge our author doth nat greatly com­mende / but ra [...]her in rehersyng of any per sones dedes / yf there can nat be kept an or­der 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 cat­dinall vertues. As if one shuld praise saint [Page] [...]usten / 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 ar­my / 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 amplificaciō in maner of a digressiō.

¶ 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 vrtefly. ¶ 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 hande­lynge of this place is in an epistle that An gele Policiane writeth in his fourth boke of epistels to Iames Antiquarie of Lau­rence Medices / howe wysely and deuout­ly he dysposed hym selfe in his dethe bed / [Page] and of his departynge / and what chann­ced at that tyme.

¶ And so to conclude an oracion Demon­stratiue / 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 hi­stories we be more briefe and vse lesse curi­ositie. Here all thynges be augmēted and coloured with as moche ornamentes of eloquence as can be had.

¶ Confirmacion of our purpose / and con­futynge 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 ma­ters / 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 a [...] the leest excused.

¶ Example. [...]

THe frenche men in olde tyme made myghty warre agaynste the Romaynes / and so sore be­sieged theym that they were by compul­cton constrayned to fall to composicion [Page] with the frenche men for an huge summe of golde / to be payed to theym for the bre­kynge of the siege / but beynge in this ex­treme misery / they sent for one Camillus / whome nat very longe afore they had ba­nisshed out of the citie / and in his absence made hym dietatour / which was the chie­fest digintie amonge the Romaynes / and of so great auctoritie / that for the space of th [...]e monethes / for so long dured the office moost cōueniently / he might do all thyng at his pleasure / whether it concerned deth or no / nor no mā 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 chaūced 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 par­ty 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 / sy [...]s the compacte was made afore / wher­fore it is necessary for the orato [...]r to defēd [...] [Page] this dede / & to proue that he did nothynge contrary to equitie. For the whiche pur­pose he hathe two places. One apparent / whiche is a comon sayenge vsu [...]ped of the po [...]te. [...]osus a [...] virtus qui [...] 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 thin­ges. This sayeng is but of a feble groūde. The other is of a more stronge assuraūce / whiche Titus Liuius writeth in his fyfte boke from the buildynge of Rome / where he reherceth this history now menetoned / and that answere is this / that the cōpacte was made to paye the foresayd raunsome after that Camillus was created dicta­tour / 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 [Page] shulde be made to the laude of saint Pe­ter / 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 repēt.

¶ This is the maner of handelynge of an oracion demonstratiue / in whiche the per­son 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 Frannee named the moost christen kynge / and by whom all af­ter 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. Thā his adolessencie / whiche he passed in excer­cise of armes vnder in his fader in y e war­res of Acquitaine / where he lerned also the Sarazynes tongue.

¶ Beynge come to mannes state / & now kynge of Fraunce / he suvdued Aquitayn / Italye / Swauelande / and the Saxones. And these warres were so fortunate / that [Page] he ouercam his aduersaries more vy 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 edifted the vniuersitie of Paris.

¶ Here may by digressiō 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 agre­ynge with peace / in the whiche (as his hi­story maketh mencyon) he was more ex­cellent. For his chiefe delyte was to haue peace / and agayne he was so gentyll and so mercyfull / that he wolde rather saue [...]uyn suche as had don hym great offence: and had deserued very well for to dye / thā to dystroye theym / thoughe he might do it conueniently.

¶ Besyde this / he was so greatly enfla­med 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 betwe [...]e them.

[Page]¶ After his decease reigned his son / holy saint Lewes / and so the folowynges of his dethe were suche that they could be no bet­ter / 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 incōueniently applied the sayenges of the gospell / by theyr fruites you shall know them.

¶ Of an oracion Demenstratiue / wherein an acte is praysed.

WHan we wyll prayse a [...]y 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 hisioriciens call Tarquine the proude / out of the citie / and sully [...]nacted that they wolde ne uer haue kynge to reigne more ouer them. This Tarqumꝰ went for aide and socour to the kynge of Tuscaye / whiche whan he [Page] 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 thē 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 surthe of the citie to do an acte that shuld be for theyr great profite and welth / whereupon whan he had obtained licence / priuely / with weapō hyd vnder his vesture he cam to the Tuscans campe / & gate hym among the thickest / ingh to the tent where as the kyng sat with his chaunceller / pay­enge the sowdi [...]is the wages. And bicause that they were almoost of lyke apparell / & also the chaunceler spake many thynges as a man beynge in auctoritie / he [...] de nat tell whether of theym was the kynge / nor he durst nat aske / leest his demaunde wolde haue bewrayed hym / for as for lan­guage they had one / & nothyng was diffe­rent / for bothe Tuscains & Romains were [Page] all of Italye / as in tymes past / Englande hathe had many kynges / though the lan­guage & 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 / wher­fore whan he was taken and brought be­fore the kynge / for to punysshe his hande that had failed in takyng one for an other / and agayn to shew the kynge how [...] 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 / cōmended 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 vnwarꝭ 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 furth with fell at a pointement with the Romaines / and departed. The yonge man afterwarde was named Sceuota / whiche is as moche to say in Englyssh as [Page] lefte hāded. 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 conueni­ently make the preface on this facion.

THere is no doubte my lordes & maysters of Rome: but that the remēbraunce of Seeuolaes name is very pleasant vnto your audiēce / whiche with one act that he dyd / endewed your citie with many and greate commo­dytees. &c.

¶ 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 Marcel­lus / in the whiche he praiseth Cezare for the callyng home of the sayd Marcꝰ mar­cellus out of exyle / he taketh his pream­ble out of the tyme and Cezares persone / begynnynge thus.

THis daye my lordes Senatoures hath made an ende of the longe sci­lence 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 shanie / 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 woulde / 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 meke­nes of Cezare / of the graciousnes that is in hym / so habūdant and so great withall / that neuer afore any suche hath ben wont to be sene or herde of / and also of the excel­lent good moderaciō of all thynges which is in hym that hathe all in his owne mere power. Nor I can nat let passe his excellēt 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 [Page] 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 / ꝑfite / lightnes [...] or har­dines 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 concernyng the easines or difficulty / the praise therof must be considered / parte in the do­er / part in the dede. An easy dede deserueth no great praise / but an harde and a ieoperdouse thynge / the soner and the lighther 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 Rhe­toriciens / and very compēdiously handled [Page] of Erafmus in his boke / entituled of the maner and crafte to make epistels / in the chapitre of a persuadyng epistle. The pro­fyte of the dede / or the commoditie may be fet at the circumstaunce of it. Circumstan̄ ces are these / what was done / who dyd it / whan / where it was done / among whom / by whose helpe.

¶ As if one wolde praise Seeuolaes acte / of the whiche mencion was made afore / he may.

¶ whan he cometh to the places of con­tencion / 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 in­stigacion 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 necessa­ry for the defence.

¶ Likewise easynes or difficultie are con­teyned [Page] 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 souldi­ers to aduenture to slee hym.

¶ Of the seconde parte of con­tencion / called confutacion.

COnfutaciō is the soilyng of suche argumentes as maye be induced agaynst our purpose / which part is but lytle vsed in an oracion demonstra­tiue. Neuer the lesse / somtyme may chan̄ce a thyng that must be either defended or els at the leest excused. As yf any man wolde speke of Camillus dede / wherby he recoue­red 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 cōclusion is made of a brief enumeracion of suche thynges that we haue spoken of afore in the oracion / & in mouynge of affections.

[Page]¶ In delectable thinges or suche thinges that haue ben well doue / we moue our au­dience to reioice thereat / and to do lyke.

¶ In sad thynges and heuy / to be sory for them. In yll and peruerse actꝭ / to beware that they folowe nat them to theyr great shame and confusion.

¶ Of an oracion demonstratiue / whereu [...] are praised neither persones nor actes / but some other thynges / as religion / matrimony / or suche other. ❧

THe best begynnyng wyll be if i [...] be taken out of some high praise of the thynge. But a man may also begyn otherwyse / eyther at his owne persō 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 vpō vs to praise any thynge that is no praise worthy / than must we vse insinuacion / & excuse the turp [...] tude / either by examples or by argumētꝭ / as Erasmus doth in his epistle prefired a­fore his oracion made to the prayse of fo­lisshnes / of the whiche I haue let passe the trāstaciō bicause y t epistle is sō what long.

¶ The narracion.

IN this maner of oraciō is no [...]at 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 elegāt example is in the oracion that Angele Policiane made to the laude of histories / whiche is this. Among all m [...] ner of wryters by whom either the Breke 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 / prin­ces / or val [...]ant men haue ben truely descri­ued 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 pe [...] teine to mānes commoditie / of what someuer condicion or nature so euer they be / non is so excellent and so worthy to b [...] [...]ad 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 [Page] was made afore / houesty / 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 au [...] 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 reuerēce. The persones that haue vsed it / were bothe patriarches / as Abraham.

Prophetes / as Dauyd. Apostels / as saynt Peter. Martyrs / saynt Eustache. And cō ­ [...]essours / as saynt Edwarde. And (whiche thyng was fyrst proposed) the nature ther­of is suche / that without it: man shulde be like vnto beest / oneles all generacion shuld be put aparte. And the commaūdement 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 oraciō / made to the laude of histories-And two oracions of Erasmꝰ / one to the laude of phisike / and an other to the laude of matrimony.

¶ Of confutacion.

[Page]Confutacion hath contrary places to con­firmacion.

¶ Of the conclusion.

THe periode or conclusion stan­deth in the briefe enumeracion of thinges spoken afore / and in mouyng the affections / as hath ben aboue expressed.

¶ Of an oracion deliberatiue.

AN oraciō deliberatiue is by the which we persuade or dissuade any thyng / & by the whiche we aske / or whereby we exhort any man to do a thynge / or els to forsake it / and this kyn­de 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 or a cion demonstratiue / but moost aptly at our office or duety / leest some men wolde thynke that we dyd it more of a priuate af­fection for our owne commoditie and plea sure: than for any other mannes profyte.

[Page]¶ And in this maner Salust in his boke of Catheline bringeth in Cezare / beginnyng an oracion. But let vs here now what Ce [...]ar sayeth.

ALl men my lordꝭ Senatours which syt concellynge vpon any douvtfull mater / must be voyde of hatred / frendshyp / anger / pitye / or met [...]ye. For where any o [...] these thynges bere a rule / mannes mynde can nat lightely perceyue the truthe. [...].

¶ Or els we may begyn at the greatene [...] of the mater / or daunger of the thyng tha [...] we speke of / as in the fyfte boke of L [...]us▪ Camillus maketh the preamble of his [...] 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 ci­tizens. 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 & enha­bited. I wolde nat that any of you shulde thynke that I am now come amonge you nat remembrynge my condicion and state / but the comō reopardy that we be all now in / wyll compell euery man to open and [Page] shew the best remedy that he knoweth for our socoure in this great 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 Withridates and Tigranes / kynges of Ponthus & Arme­ny / taketh in the preface beneuolence from his owne persone / shewynge by what oc­casion he myght laufully gyue councell to the Romaines / by cause was electe Pretor of the citie. we may also touche our aduer­saries 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 Porciꝰ Chato made agaynst the sumptuous [...]es 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 ferte lesse en­combrance now with the hole thronge thā we haue. But now our fredome and lyber­tie is ouercome within our owne dores by the importunatnes of our wyues / & so au­ [...]acitie taken therof here troden vnder the [Page] fete / and oppressed in the parliamēt house: And bycause we wold nat displease no mā 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. [...].

¶ 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 L [...]us 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 [...]racions deliberatiues the office of the per sone: and the necessytye or commodytye of the matter that we treate of are consy­dered. ❧

¶ The narracion.

[Page]IN oraciōs deliberatiues we vse very seldome narracions / but for the more parte in stede of them we make a brief pro posicion cōteinyng the sūme of our e [...]tent. As now adayes nothing is so necessary as to labour to brynge these dissencions that be in the chyrche to a perfecte vnity & con­corde / that accordyng to Christes sayngꝭ / there be but one shepeherde and one tolde. Neuertheles we vse somtyme briefe narra c [...]ons / whā y t som thyng hath ben don all redy of y t that we giue our coū [...]ell vpō / as in the abouesayd oracion y t Tult made for Pōpey / where he maketh this narracion.

GReat & very perillous warre is made bothe agaynst your tributours / and also thē that bothe cōfederate with you: & by you called your felowes / whiche warre is moued by two ryght myghty kynges / Withridates & Tigranes. &c. ¶ After this maner is a narracion in the oraciō y t Ha­niball made to Scipio / & is cōteined in the x. boke of y e. 111. decade of Liuiꝰ / right pro­per & elegant / without any preface begyn­nyng his narracion thus. ☞ ¶ 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 [Page] myne hādes / shuld now com of myne owne mynde to aske peace. I am glad that for­tune hathe prepared that I shulde aske it of you specially. And amonge all your no­ble 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 thā we of Carthagene. And whether it were my desteny or chaūce y t ought me this skorn­full shame. I which began the warre whā 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 Af­frike. For neither S [...]cil nor Sardinia can be any sufficēt amendes to either of vs for so many naue [...]s / so many armies / so many and so excellent capitaines lost in our war­res betwene vs / but thynges passed / may soner be blamed than meuded. [...]e of Car­thagene [Page] (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 Af­fryke: but at the pleasure of fortune / som­tyme here and som there / in so moche that you my maisters of Rome haue sene y e stā 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 coun­cell or aduise. As after the narraciō of Ha­niball afore reherced / foloweth the propo­sicion of his purpose thus.

THat thynge is now entreated while fortune is fauourable vnto you / that we ought moost to abhorre / and you sure­ly 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 set out of the places of honesty / pro [Page] fite / casines / 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 graūt that it is harde / yet we shall shew that it is so honest a dede / so worthy praise / & besydes so great cōmodity wyll come therof / that the hard­nes ought in no wise to fere vs: but rather be as an iustigacion to take the thynge on hande / remembrynge the greke prouerbe. Scisno [...]a ta nasa / that is to say / all excellent & cōmēdable thyng; be hard & of difficulty.

¶ In honesty are cōprehēded all vertues / as wysdō / iustice / due loue to god / & to our parentes / liberality / pity / constāce / tempe­rance. And therfore he that wyll for the cō fyrmyng of his purpose declare & proue y t it is honest & cōmendable y t he entēdeth to persuade hym: behoueth to haue perfyte knowlege of y e natures of vertues. And al so to haue in redy remembraūce sentences bothe of scripture & of philosophy / as ora­tours & poetes / & besyde these / examples of historyes / for garnyssshyng of his maters.

¶ As cōcernynge the place of vtilitie / we must in all causes loke if we may haue any argumētes wherby we may ꝓue that our coūcell is of suche necessity / that it can nat [Page] be chosen but they must nedes folow it / for tho argumētes be of farre greater strēgth than they y t do but onely proue the vtility of y e mater. But if we cā haue no suche ne­cessary reasōs / thā we must serche out ar­gumētes to ꝓue our mynde to be ꝓfitable by circūstances 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 īpossibilite / for these ꝓues are of strenger nature thā the other / & he y t wyll shew y t a thyng may be done easely: must presuppose y e possibilite therof. As he on the other side that wyll ꝑsuade a thyng nat to be done / yf he shew & manifest y t it is impossible / argueth more strōgely thā if he could but only ꝓue difficulty in it / for as I sayd / many thyng; of difficulty yet may be the rather to be ta­ken on hande / that they may get thē that acheue them the greater fame and prayse. And these argumentes be fet out of the cir cūstances 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 impedimētes that may be ther­in. In this purpose examples of histories are of great efficacy.

[Page]¶ The confutacion is the soilynge and re­ [...]llyng of other mēnes sayengꝭ that haue or might be brought against our purpose / wherefore it consisteth in places contrary to the places of confirmaciō / as in ꝓuyng the sayenges of the contrary part / neither to be honest nor profitable / nor easy to per­forme / or els vtterly impossible.

¶ The conclusion standeth in two thyn­ges / that is is to say / a briefe and compen­diouse repetyng of all our reasons that we haue bronght for vs afore / and in mouyng of affections. And so dothe Ulysses con­clude his oracion in the. xiii. boke of Oui­des metamorphosy.

¶ Of the thyrde kynde of ora­cions / 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 ne­glecte 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 [Page] 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 ad­uersaries 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 se­conde / legitime. The thirde / iudiciale / and euery of these hathe his owne proper pla­ces to fet out argumentes of them / where­fore they shall be spoken of seuerally. And fyrste we wyll treate of state coiecturall / 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 ꝓfe / 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 Achil­les / which of them shulde haue his armour as nexte to the sayd Achilles in valiaunt­nes. [Page] 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 Ulis­ses 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 chaūced to com the same way / which seynge theyr frende deed / and his olde ene­my 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 the [...]es the enuye that was betwene Aiax and hym: made the mater to be nat a lytle suspect / specially for y t he was foūde 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 hāde / either in blamyng our aduersary [...] [Page] or els mouynge the herers to haue pity on our client. Or els we begyn at our owne ꝑ­ [...]one / or at the prayse of the Iuge. &c̄.

¶ The narracion.

THe narraciō or tale is the shewynge of the dede in maner of an historye / wherein y e accuser must craftly entermēgle many suspicions which shall seme to make his mater ꝓuable. As Tulli in his oracion for Milo / where in his narracion he inten­deth by certayn cōiectures to shew y t Clo dius laye in waite for Milo / he in his sayd narracion handeleth that place thus.

¶ In the meane season whā 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 ma [...]s wher­in 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 [Page] 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 entēr afore Miloes comyng.

¶ In this pece of Tullies narracion are entermengled fyrst that Clodius knew of Miloes goynge / whiche maketh the ma­ter suspecte y t Clodius went afore to mete with him / for this was well knowen afore that Clodiꝰ 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 assuraūce. Thyrdly that he departed out of the city / what tyme it had ben most expedient / ye / & also great­ly 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 thā to [...]ce 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 [Page] citie: but of lykelyhood to lye in wayte for Milo.❧

¶ The proposicion.

OUt of the narracion must be ga­deryd 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 thin­ges shall be spoken of in the oracion. This diuision is deuyded into seiunction and di­stribucion.

¶ Setunction is whan we shew wherein our aduersaries and we agree / and what it is / whereupon we stryue. As they that ple­dyd Clodius cause agaynst Milo / myght on this maner haue vsed setunction. That Milo slewe Clodius: our aduersaries can nat denaye / but whether he myght so do lawfully or nat / is our controuersy. Distri­bucion is the proposicion wherein we de­clare 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 [Page] that Tully made to the people that Pom­peyus myght be made chiefe capitayne of the warres agaynst Mithridates and Ti­granes / where after the preface and narra cion he maketh his proposicion by exposi­cion 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 a [...] hede or chiefe capy­tayne of any army shulde be chosen. whiche last membre of his exposicion he a­gayne 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 property­es in hym. The fyrste is / that he haue per­fyte knowlege of all suche thynges as lon­geth 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 re­uerence and awe. The fourth is that he be fortunate and lucky in all thynges that he goeth about.

¶ Tully in the oracion for Milo / propo­seth all onely shewynge wherin the contro uersy of the plee dyd stande on this maner [Page] as foloweth.❧

IS there than any thynge els y t must t tryed and iudged in this cause saue this: whether of them bothe beganne the [...]raye and entended to murder the tother [...] No surely. So that yf it can be founde [...] that Milo went about to distroye Clodi­us / than he be punysshed therefore accor­dyngly. But yf it can be proued that Clo­dius 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 accu­ser is fetched out of these pla­ces / 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.❧

[Page]¶ To proue that be had wyll therto: you must go to. [...]. places. The one is y e qualite of the persone / & the other is the cause that me [...]yd 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 Flaceus / to unproue the witnes that was brought against him by Brekes / layeth vnto them the lightnes of theyr contrey. This (sayeth Tulli) do I say of the hole nacion of Brekes. I graūt to them that they haue good lernyng / and the knowlege ot many sciences. Nor I de­nye 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 thē selfe greatly: I wyll nat repyn [...] agaīst it that they here the maistry therein. But as concernyng equitie and good consciēce / requisite / in berynge of recorde / or gyuyng of any wytnes / & also as touchynge faith­fulnes of worde and promyse: truely this [Page] nacion neuer obserued▪ this property / nei­ther they knewe nat what is the strength / auctoritye / and weight therof.

¶ So to Englysshmen is attributed sūp­tuousnes in meates & drinkes. To French men / pryde / & delyte in new fantasyes. To Flemmynges and Almaynes / great dryn­kyng / & yet inuētife 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 cntwyte Demophon / that his father Theseus vn­curteysly 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 fran­dis 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 se [...] / whether it be man or woman that we ac­cuse [Page] / to se yf any argumēt cā 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 Pam­philus / 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. [...]. 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 strēgth of body / or agi lity / & quicknes of wyt / out of whiche may be broght many reasōs to affyrme our pur pose. So Tulli in his oracion for Milo / wyllynge to proue y t Clodius was the be­gynner 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 wōt afore but to tyde in a wagen & to haue his wyfe with him: at that tyme rode furth on horsebacke. And where as afore be was al­wayes accustomed to haue knaues & que­nes [Page] 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 a­ny argument to our purpose out of the per sones face or countenance / & so doth Tully argue in his oraciō agaynst Piso / sayeng.

¶ Seest thou nat now thou beest? doest y u nat now ꝑceyue what is mennes cōplaynt on thy visage? there is nō that cōplaineth 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 bro­wes / forhed / & hole coūtenaūce / which in a maner doth manifest mēnes cōdietōs & na ture it hath deceiued vs. ¶ This done / we must consyder how he hath bē brought vp y t we accuse / among whom he hath lyued / & whereby / how he gouerneth his houshold / & assay if we cā 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 mānes lyuyng / & by his lyuyng: his will & mynde / as I wold declare more fully / saue [Page] 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 euer­more the contrary) is sure staye for the de­fender / 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 chosē mē. And for to clere Milo he she weth the con­trary / that he had with hym syngyng lad­des and women seruantes that wayted on his wyfe / whiche maketh it of more likely­hood y t Clodius went about to slee Milo: than Milo hym.

¶ The cause that moueth to the mischiefe lyeth in two thynges. In naturall impul­sion / and racionacion.

¶ Natural impulsion is angre / hatred / co [...]etyse / loue [...] or suche other affections.

So Simo in Therence / whan he had sayd that Dauus (whō 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 [Page] please Pamphilus mynde. And Sofia de­maunded 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 gy­ther qualitie and naturall impulsion / say­enge. A [...] et [...]upido credatur reddita [...]ir­go? 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 argumētes bryngeth in one against Clodius by naturall impulsion of hatred / she wynge 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 malici­ously hated. Agayne that Milo oppressyd many of his furio [...]se purposes. And final­ly bycause the sayd Milo accused hym and cast hym afore the Senate and people of Rome.❧

¶ Raciocinaciō is that cometh of hope of any commodity / or to [...] any discom­modity. As Tully argueth in his oracion for Milo agaynst Clodius by raciocinaci­on to proue that it was he that layde wayt [Page] for Milo on this maner.

IT is sufficient to proue that this cru­ell and wicked beest had a great cause to slee Milo / yf he wolde brynge his ma­ters that he wēt about to passe / and great hope if he were ones gone / nat to be letted in his pretenced malyee.

¶ After raciocinacion foloweth compro­bacion / 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 conuement and strength withall. ¶ Also you shall proue it by signes / whiche are of mer­uaylouse efficacye in this behalfe / where­fore here must be noted that sygnes be ey­ther wordes or dedes that either did go be­fore 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 Milo [Page] 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 mysche­uous 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 & inuerciō.

¶ Absoluciō is wherby the defendour she­weth that it is laufull for hym to do that what the aduersary bringeth in for a signe of his malice.

¶ Erample.

¶ 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 warued people to fetche and bury hym.

¶ Inuereion is wherby we shew that the signe whiche is brought agaist vs: maketh for vs. As I wolde nat haue taryed to co­uer hym yf I had done the dede my selfe: but haue fled and shronke a syde into some other way for feare of takynge.

¶ Of the conclusion.

THe cōclusion is as I haue said afore in briefe repetynge of the effecte of our reasons / & in mo­uynge 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 opē 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 nar­racion as afore. ❧

[Page]THe confirmacion hath certayn places appropred thereto / but here must be marked that state negociall is double / absolute / & assūptyue.

¶ State negociall absolute is whan the thynge that is in controuersy is absolute­ly defended to be laufully done. As in the oraciō of Tulli for Milo / the dede is styfly affirmed to be lawfully done in s [...]eyng Clo dius / seynge that Milo dyd it in his owne defence / for the law permitteth to repell vi­olence violently.

¶ The places of confirmacion in state ab solute are these / nature / law / custome / equi ty or reason / iugemēt / necessity / bargayne or couenant. ¶ Of the whiche places Tul ly in his oracion for Milo bryngeth in the more parte to gyther in a clust [...]r on this maner.❧

IF reason hath prescrybed this to ler­ned 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 vi­olence by any maner of socour / what mea­nes or way so euer it were. you cā nat iuge this dede euyll done / except you wyll iudge [Page] that whan men mete with theuys or mur­derers / they must either be slayne by the wepons of suche vnthryfty and malicious persones: either els perysshe by your sen­tence gyuen in iugement vpon them.

¶ State assumptiue is whan the defence is feble of it selfe / but yet it may be holpeu by some other thynge added to it. And the places longynge to this state are graun­tynge of the faute / remouynge of the faut / or (as we say in our tongue) layeng it from vs to an other / & tanslatynge of the fau [...]e.

¶ Brauntyng of the faut is whan the per son accused denteth nat the dede / but yet he desyreth to be forgyuen / & it hath. ii. places [...] anneryd to it / purgacion & deprecaciō.

¶ Puxgacion is wha [...] he sayeth he dyd it nat maliciously: but by ignorāce 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.

¶ Deprecaciō is whā 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 forgyuē of his faut / must reherce (yf he can) som be­nefytes [Page] of his / done afore tyme / and shew that they be farre greater in theyr nature than is the cryme that he hathe commyt­ [...]ed / so that (how be it he hath done great­ly amysse) yet the goodnes of his fore me­rites are farre bygger / and so may well op­presse this one faut. Nexte after that it be­houeth 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 ei­ther 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 frō 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 re­cōpence & pleasure therfore agayne. After this let hym (yf he can) declare som kynred betwene thē & hym / or frendshyp of his el­ders / & amplifye the greatenes of his ser­uice & 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 [Page] declare his owne vectucs and suche thyn­ges as ve in hym perteynyng to honesty & prayse / that he may by these meanes seme rather worthy to be auauticed 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 vu derneth hym. And than let hym crtenuate his owne faute / and shew that there folo­wed nat so great damage therof / and that but lytle profyte or honesty wyll folowe of his punysshment. And finally than by co­mon places to moue the iudge to mercy & pitic 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.

[Page]THe Uenecians haue commaunded certayue to go in ambassade to En­glande / and thereuppon appointed theym what they shal haue to bere their charges / whiche money assigned: they can nat get of the treasouter: At the daye appoynted they go nat / whereupon they are accused to the Senate. Here they must ley the fau [...] from them to the treasoucer / which dispat­ched them nat accordyng / as it was ordey ned that he shulde.

¶ Trāslacion of the faut is / whan he that cōfesseth his faut sayeth that he dyd it: mo ued by the indignacion of the maliciouse dede of an other.

¶ Example.

Hynge Agamennon / which was chief capit ayne of the Grekes at the siege of Troye / whan he cam home was slayue of Egistꝰ by the treason of Clitenestra his owne wyfe / which murder his son Orestes seynge / whan he cam to mannes state / re­uenged his fathers dethe on his mother / [...] slew her / whereupon he was accused. Here Orestes can nat deny but he slew his mo­ther: But he layeth for hym that his mo­thers abhominable iniury cōstrayned him thereto / by cause she slew his father.

And this is the handelynge of confirmaci­on [Page] 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 con­trouersy standeth in definicion or contrary lawes / or doutfull wry­tynges / or raciocinacion / or translacion.

¶ Of definicion.

DEfinicion (as Tully wryteth) is whan in any wrytynge is some worde put / y e significaciō wher­of 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 shy [...] [...] the goodes that abyde styll in her.

¶ It chaūced. 11. men to be in a lytle cray­er / of the whiche vessell the one man was both owner and gouernour / and the other: possessour of the goodes. And as they were [Page] 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 ieopar­dy 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 [...] his owne sword / but as it chaunced the wounde was ney­ther mortall nor very greuouse / but nat­withstādyng 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 chalēge the shyp & goodꝭ as his owne. Here euery man layeth for hym the lawe aboue reher­ced / [Page] 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. Ner [...]e / 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 expo­sicion / & 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 profy­table / and to couster theyr exposicion with oures / and to shew that oures conteyneth the veritie / and theyrs is falce. Oures ho­nest / reasonable / & profitable: Theyrs clene contrarye. And than serche out lyke exam­ples / either of greater maters or of lesse / or els of egall maters / and to manifest by th [...] that our mynde is the very truthe.

[Page]¶ Contrary lawes are where the tone se­meth euidently to contrarye the other. As yf a law were that he whō his father hath forsaken for his sōne / 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 deuyed for his chylde: was in a shyp of his fathers in tyme of sore wether / & whan all other for feareof lesynge them selfe forsoke the shyp & gate them into the bote: he onely abodc / 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 for­saken 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 frō 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 gy­ueth 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 [Page] that it hath ben afore anulled / or els to ex­pounde 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 ef­fect of the straūgers wyll be declared / that he went vp to defend y e towne to put back [Page] their enemies. And therto he must say that the maker was nat so vndiscrete & vnreaso nable that he wolde haue no maner of ex­cepcion which shuld be to the welth / ꝓfite / or preseruacion of the towne. For he that wyll nat haue y e law to be vnderstandē 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 straūger shulde p̄sume to go vpon the walles / & reherce y e law word for worde / & thā shew som reasonable cause that mouyd the maker of the law that he wolde vtterly that no straunger shulde as­cende the walles. &c. Erāple of the secōd.

A Man in his testamēt gyueth to two yonge doughters that he hathe two hūdred shepe / to be delyuered at the day of theyr maryage / on this maner. ☞ 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 execu­tours deliuer nat of suche sort as the may­dēs wold ▪wherupō the cōtrouersy ariseth. [Page] 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 vere standeth the dout / to whom we shall referre this worde they / to the dough­ters / 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 wrytē 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 & ꝑtly 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 yt it is nat doubtfully wryten / for there is no reasona ble mā: but be wyll take it as we say. Thā shal we declare by that that goeth afore / & foloweth / that it is clerly eum as we say / & that yf we consider the wordes of thē selfe they wyll seme to be of ambiguity / but se­ynge 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 beu his minde that made the writyng [Page] to haue it taken as the aduersarye sayeth: he neded net to haue wrytē any suche wor des. As in the example now put / the may­dens may say that yf it had ben theyr fa­thers mynde that the executours shoulde haue delyuered suche shepe as it had plea­sed them to delyuer: he neded nat to haue added these wordes suche as they wyll. For yt they had nat ben put / it wolde nat haue ben dought but that the executours dely­uerynge euery of them an hundred shepe (what so euer they were) had fulfylled the wyll / and coulde haue ben no further com­pelled / wherfore if his mynde was as they say / it was a great folye to put in tho wor­des whiche made a playne mater to be vn­plaine. 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 deereed / but yet the iugement therof may be foūde out by lawes made vpon maters somdele resemblynge thereunto.

¶ As in Rome was this law made / that yf any persone were distraught / his posses­sions and goodes shulde come to the han­des of his next kynne.

¶ And an other law / what any househol­der [Page] doth ordeyn & make as coueernyng his householde and other goodes / it is appro­bate 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 chaūced one to kyll his owne mother / wherupō he was taken & cōdēpned 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 kynnesmē chalenge his goodꝭ / his executours say thē nay / wherupō ariseth cōtrouersy afore the iustice. ¶ There is no law made vpon this case / whether he y t hath killed his mother may make any testamēt or nat / but it may be reasoned on bothe ꝑties by the lawes a­boue reherced. The kynsmen shal allege y e law made for thē y t be out of theyr myndꝭ / p̄supposyng 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 cōuenient if he had ben besyde him selfe▪ [Page] ¶ Translation is whiche the lawyers call excepcion / as yf the person accused pleade that it is nat lawfull for the tother to ac­cuse hym / or that the Iuge can be no iuge in that cause. &c.

☞ ¶ The conclusion of the Author.

THese are my speciall and singuler good Lorde whiche I haue purposed to wryte as tou­chyng the chief poynt of y e. iiii. that I sayd in the begynnyng to long to a Rhetoricien / & which is more difficulty thā 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 cōfidence & 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 takē in vayne: I wyll assay my selfe in y e other partes / & so make & ac­cōplyssh y e hole werk. But now I haue fo lowed y e facion of Tulli / who made a seue rall werke of muencion. And though ma­ny thynges be left out of this treatyse that ought to be spoken of / yet I suppose that this shall be sufficyent for an introduction [Page] to yonge begynners / for whome all onely this booke is made. For other that ben en­tred all redy shall haue lytle nede of my la­bour / but they may seke more meter thyn­ges for theyr purpose / either in Hermogi­nes 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 Ho­race i his boke of y e craft of Poetry sayth.

☞ Quicquid precipies esto breuis vt cito di [...]
Percipiant animi dociles teneant q fideles.

☞ what so euer ye wyll teache (sayeth he) be briefe therin / that the myndes of the he­rers or reders may the caslyer perceyue it / and the better bere it away. And the Em­perour Iustinian sayeth in the fyrste boke of his institucions in the paragraph of iu­stice and right / that ouer great curiosity in the fyrst principles / make hym that is stu­diouse 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 [Page] bothe to you and other a thyng that is ve­ry 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 nothyuge 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 whō 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 lord­shyp / 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 merey be of the nombre of his elect to ꝑpetuall saluacion.

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¶ Imprinted at London in Fletestrete by saynt Dunstones chyrche / at the sygne of the George / by me Ro­bert Redman. The yere of our lorde god a thousande / fyue hundred and two and thyrty. ❧

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¶ Cum priuilegio.

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❧

[figure]

Robert Redman.

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