Richard Sherry

“ After lyke maner must be wayed the secondarie endes. Place. An other circumstaunce of a thynge, is the place, whose qualitie oftentimes maketh the faute either greter or lesser: as to steale an holye 85 F.iii. thing out of an holy place, is worse then some other kynde of theft. Tyme. No lesse matter of argumentacion ministreth the qualitie of time, which signifieth two thynges. Time hathe two significacions. Fyrst it is taken playnly for the time present, past, or to come: Seconde it signifieth oportunitie to do a thynge, and so when a man cometh as we wold haue it, we saye he cometh in time. ”

“ But in chosyng them, false perswacion deceyueth manye, whylest by errour they beleue that to be good yt is naughte. ¶ This place therfore serueth for many thynges, to make more or lesse. ¶ Greatly happy shulde men be, if euerye man wolde looke vpon the marke, not the whych desyre hathe sette before hym, but whyche God and honest reason hath prefixed. ¶ And of such strengthe is the ende, that hereof is taken the felicitie of euery thyng. To fast that the body maye obeye the mynde, to do good workes is an holy deede. To fast to be counted holye, is hypocrisie. ”

“ A goodlye example of the moste largest expolicion is rehearsed in Erasmus, whych, because it is very profitable, I wyll wholye rehearse it. A wyse man for the cõmon wealth sake shall eschue no peryll: euen for thys cause that it happeneth oftẽ, that wher he wold not 94 dye for the common wealth, he perysheth yet of necessitie wyth the cõmon wealth. And because all the commodities we haue be taken of our contrey, ther ought no incõmoditie to be counted paynfull, taken for our contrey. ”

“ An other forme is whẽ we fayne persõ, cõmunicacion, or affecte of a man or of a beaste, to a dumme thynge, or that hath no bodye, or to a dead man: as to the Harpies, furies, deuils, slepe hongar, enuie, fame, vertue, iustice, and suche lyke, the poetes fayne a person, and communicacion. This seconde fashion the Poetes do call Prosopopey. Aetopeia. The fyrst kind is called AEtopeia, that is an expressiõ of maners or mylde affeccions, and hath thre kyndes: of the whych the fyrst is a significacion or expression of maners somewhat longer, as of wittes, artes, vertues, vices. ”

“ For more credible is the accusacion of lecherye in a fayre body then in a foule, and violence more probable in the strong, then in the weake. Fortune Fortune perteineth to ryches, kynred, friendes, seruitures, dignities, honours. Condicion. Condicion comprehendeth manye thynges: as whether he be noble or not noble, an officer, or a priuate person, a father or a sonne, a citizen or a straunger, a fre man, or a seruaunt, a maried manne, or a single man, a father or none, hauinge had but one wyfe, or two. The nature of the mynd The nature of the mynde hath manifold varieties in men. ”

“ Amplificacio A greate parte of eloquence is set in increasing and diminyshing, and serueth for thys purpose, that the thyng shulde seme as great as it is in dede, lesser or greater then it seemeth to manye. For the rude people haue commonly a preposterous iudgemẽt, and take the worst thynges for the beste, and the beste for the worst. Al amplificacion and diminucion is taken eyther of thinges, or of wordes. ”

“ Of these thynges that we put in eloquucion, lette thys be the fyrste care, to speake euidentlye after the dignitye and nature of thynges, and to vtter suche wordes, whych as Cicero sayth in hys oratour, no man may iustely reprehende. The playne and euident speche is learned of Gramarians, and it keepeth the oracion pure, and without all faute, and maketh that euerye 20 thyng may seme to be spoken purelye apertlye, and clerelye. Euerye speche standeth by vsuall wordes that be in vse of daylye talke, and proper wordes that belonge to the thinge, of the which we shal speke. ”

“ To muche repetyng of all one letter in the beginning of wordes, to much repeting of one word, and that they ende not to much all alyke, that the sentence be not held on to longe, which werieth the hearer, and the speaker: nor that manye consonãtes run not to harshely together, wyth many other, which Cicero speaketh of in hys thyrde booke of hys oratour, and Quintilian in hys nynth, wherof here to put examples were to longe.
Exornacion is a fyne polyshinge of wordes and sentences by disseueryng thẽ wt diuerse goodly colours and tropes or chaũgings of speach. ”

“ The fyfte an Enthimeme, whyche is a sentence of contraries: as if it be a great praise to please good men, surely to please euyl men it is a greate shame. The syxte called AEnos, that is a saying or a sentence, taken out of a tale, as be the interpretacions of fables, and theyr allegories. The seuen is any answere takẽ out of the mouth of God, or taken out of the cõmaundement of God.
Exergasia. Expolicion is, when we tarye in one thynge, speakynge the same in diuerse wordes and fashions, as though it were not one matter but diuerse. ”

“ As when exhorting men to liberalitie, we shewe howe foule a faute couetousenes is, that the foulnes of the faute being exaggerate, the goodlines of the vertue shulde be more encreased. There is another kynd of amplifiyng called reasonynge, when of those thinges that eyther folowe or go before, the hearer doth gather how great that thynge is that we wolde to be amplified. By thynges that go before, as when Homer armeth Achylles, or Hector to batayle, by the greate preparacion, we gather how sore ye sight shal be. ”

“ And what soeuer is made, is made to a certen ende, and one thynge maye haue diuerse endes: as nature hathe geuen brestes vnto women to geue milke, and also for comlynesse of theyr bodies, neyther doth any man that is of a sounde mynde take vpon hym anye businesse, but for that he desyreth to haue some thynge: nor there is nothynge desyred, but vnder the consideracion of good or profite. ”

“ The forme causeth it to be thys, and not another thynge: as the reasonable soule geueth to the body that it is a man, and the soule because it is a substaunce hathe her vnnamed forme, whereby she is a soule, and not an aungel. ”

“ If you haue forgotten them, when by deede I haue profited nothyng, what good can I do in wordes?
Antitheton. Contentio, contencion, when the reason stãdeth by contrary wordes or contraries be rehearsed by cõparison, thus: Flattery hath pleasaũt begynnynges, but the same hathe verye bytter endynges. Cicero agaynst Catiline: when they coulde not lyue honestlye, they had rather dye shamefully. They that be after the fleshe, care for these thynges yt be of the fleshe. They that be after the spirite, care for the thynges of the spirite. ”

“ These words, Scheme and Trope, are not vsed in our Englishe tongue, neither bene they Englyshe wordes. Vse maketh straũge thinges familier. No more be manye whiche nowe in oure tyme be made by continual vse, very familier to most men, and come so often in speakyng, that aswel is knowen amongest vs the meanyng of them, as if they had bene of oure owne natiue broode. Who hath not in hys mouthe nowe thys worde Paraphrasis, homelies, vsurped, abolyshed, wyth manye other 4 lyke? ”

“ An other kynde is by increase, whyche is when the thynges goyng before beynge exaggerate, we come from them to the hyeste: As agaynste Verres. It is a myscheuous deede to bynde a Citizen of Rome, haynous to beate hym, what? shall I saye to hange hym? An other waye of increase is, when wythoute distinccion in the context and course of the oracion, the circumstaunces sette in order, somewhat alwayes is added bygger then the fyrste, and that we come to the hyest by a swyfte pace. ”

“ As when we prayse chastitie in a yonge man, we go not 74 aboute to perswade that he was chaste, but that that vertue shulde appeare greater in floryshyng age. To lyke vse serue examples and similitudes, as in Esaye: The Oxe knewe hys owner, and the Asse the maunger of hys master, but Israel hathe not knowen me. The example of the Oxe & the Asse is not vsed for this to proue that the Hebrewes dyd not knowe their God, but that the impietie and folishnes of that nacion shulde be amplified. ”

“ Facultie is a power to do the thynge that is taken in hand: and in coniectures two thinges speciallye be considered: whether he could or wold. Wyll is gathered of hope to performe it, and is made more probable whẽ the nature of the mynde is ioyned to it: as it is not like he wyl abide in his 86 glorye, because he is enuious and ambicious. Also when we counsell one to leaue of vayne mournynge, when it is not in his power to get agayne that is gone. ”

“ Lyke to thys sorte be sentences, whyche wee exaggerate as it were wythoute the cause, but so that they serue to the cause whiche wee haue in hande: as bee the amplificacions of vertues, and the exaggeracions of vices. As when wee accuse anye manne that by euyll companions he was broughte to do also the mischeuouse deede. ¶ A common place shall bee, wyth wordes to exaggerate howe much it profiteth to keepe goodnesse, to bee in companye wyth good men, and contrarye howe greate myschyefe the companye of euyll men dothe cause. ”

“ The common scholemasters be wont in readynge, to saye vnto their scholers: Hic est figura: and sometyme to axe them, Per quam figuram? But what profit is herein if they go no further? In speakynge and wrytynge nothyng is more folyshe than to affecte or fondly to laboure to speake darkelye for the nonce, sithe the 13 proper vse of speach is to vtter the meaning of our mynd with as playne wordes as maye be. A figure not to be vsed but for a cause. ”

“ Contrarium, contrary is, that of two diuerse thynges confirmeth ye one bryefely and easelye, thus: For he that alwayes wyll be an enemy to hys owne rekenyngs, how shuld a man trust that he wold be a frind to other mens matters? ”

“ For the myghte and power of eloquucion consisteth in wordes considered by them selues, and when they be ioyned together. Apt wordes by searchyng muste be founde oute, and after by diligence conueniently coupled. For there is a garnyshynge, euen when they be pure and fyne by them selues, and an other, whẽ they be ioyned together. To chose thẽ oute finely, and handsomlye to bestow them in their places, after the mynde of Cicero and Quintilian, is no easy thynge. ”

“ Contrarye, when Paul sayth: no man serueth in warre on his owne wages, he proueth by similitudes, that it is not comelye, that they that war vnder the gospell, shulde be compelled to be carefull for their liuynge. ”

“ Garnishyng as the word it selfe declareth, is whẽ the oraciõ is gaylye set oute and floryshed wt diuerse goodly figures, causyng much pleasauntnes and delectaciõ to the hearer: and hath two kyndes, composicion, and exornacion.
Sinthesis. Composicion is an apte settinge together of wordes, whych causeth all the partes of an oracion to bee trymmed al alyke. And in it muste be considered that we so order our wordes, that the sentence decrease not by puttynge a weaker word after a stronger, but that it styl go vpwarde and increase. ”

“ Of thynges ryse effeccions, of words those fashions that nowe I wyll shewe. The first waye of increasyng or diminishing is by chaungynge the worde of the thynge, when in encreasynge we vse a more cruell worde, and a softer in diminyshynge, as when we call an euyll man a thiefe, and saye he hathe kylled vs, when he hathe beaten vs. And it is more vehemẽte if by correccion we compare greater wordes wyth those that we put before: As thou haste broughte not a thyefe, but an extorcioner, not 71 E.iiii. an adulterer, but a rauysher. ”

“ Fygure, of Scheme ye fyrst part, is a behaueoure, maner, or fashion eyther of sentence, oracion, or wordes after some new wyse, other thẽ men do commenlye vse to wryte or speake: and is of two sortes. ”

“ Fyrste yt no man oughte to by his life so dere, that therby he shulde lose hys immortall name. ¶ To thys generall may serue a perticuler taken oute of circumstaunces, that it oughte not to be done, inespecialy of Cicero, whych by so many laboures hathe gotten vnto 78 hym selfe an excellente and euerlastyng name, and that hath shewed moste eloquently by putting out so manye noble workes that deathe ought to be despised, inespeciallye seynge that now he hath not much tyme to lyue beynge an olde man. ”

“ He is an harlot of hys owne bodye, he lyeth in wayte for others, gredy, intemperate, wanton, proud, vnnatural to his parentes, vnkynd to hys frindes, troubleous to hys kynsefolke, stubborn to hys betters, dysdaynful to his equals, cruel to hys inferiours, finally, intollerable to all men. ”

“ Interrogacio, Euerye interrogaciõ is not of grauity, neither yet a Scheme, but thys whyche when 52 those thinges be rehearsed vp whiche hurte oure aduersaryes cause, strengthneth that thynge that is gone before, thus seynge then that he spake all these wordes, and dyd all these thynges, whether dyd he put away our felowes myndes frõ the cõmon wealthe or not? ”