The Art of Rhetoric, Book 1 · Part · Section 10 – Section 12
¶Good hede to bee taken at the firste, vponupon the handelyng of any matter in Iudgement.
NOT onelyonly it is necessarie to knowe, what maner of cause wee hauehave taken in hande, when wee firste enter vponupon any matter, but also it is wisedome to consider the tyme,Circūstaunces necessary in al causes to bee noted. the place, the man for whom we speake, the man against whom we speake, the matter whereof we speake, and the iudges before whom we speake, the reasons that best serue to further our cause, and those reasons also, that maie seme somewhat to hynder our cause, and in no wise to vse any suche at all, or els warely to mitigate by protestacion, the euill that is in theim, and alwaies to vse whatsoeuer can bee saied, to wynne the chief hearers good willes, and perswade theim to our purpose.Fauoure wynnyng, and affeccions mouyng, when thei are moste necessarie. If the cause go by fauour, and that reason cannot so muche auaile, as good wil shalbe able to do: or els if mouyng affecciōs can do more good, then bryngyng in of good reasons, it is meete alwaies to vse that waie, whereby we maie by good helpe, get the ouer hand. That if mine aduersariesAduersaries reasons, when thei shuld best be confuted. reasons, by me beyng cō futed, serue better to help forward my cause, then mine awn reasons confirmed, can be able to doe good: I should wholy bestowe my tyme, and trauaill to weaken and make slender, all that euer he bringeth with hym. But if I can with more ease, proue myne awne saiynges, …ither with witnesses, or with wordes, then be able to cōfute his with reason, I must labour to withdrawe mennes myndes,Argumentes whō thei shuld chiefly be vsed from myne aduersaries foundacion, and require thē wholy to herken vntounto that whiche I hauehave to saie, beyng of it self so iust and so reasonable, that none can rightly speake against it, and shewe theim that greate pitie it were, for lacke of the onelyonly hearyng, that a true matter, should want true dealyng. Ouer and besides all these, there remain twoo lessons, the whiche wisemenne hauehave alwaies obserued, and therefore ought of all men, assuredly to be learned. The one is, that if any matterMatters, hard to auoide, shuld alwaies bee past ouer, as thoughwe saw them not at al be laied against vsus, whiche by reason can hardely bee auoyded, or the whiche is so open, that none almoste can deny, it were wisedome in confutyng all the other reasons, to passe ouer this one, as though we sawe it not, and therefore speake neuer a worde of it. Or els if necessitie shall force a man to saie some what,Good to bee bolde in moste daungier, if otherwise wee cannot escape. he may make an outward bragge, as though there wer no matter in it, euer so speakyng of it, as though he would stande to the triall, makyng men to beleue, he would fight in the cause, whē better it were (if necessitie so required) to run clene awaie. And herein though a man do flie and geue place, euermore the gladder, the lesse rauyng there is or stirryng in this matter: yet he flieth wisely, and for this ende, that beyng fensed otherwise, & strongly appoyncted, he maie take his aduersary at the best aduauntage, or at the least, werie hym with muche lingeryng, and make hym with oft suche fliyng, to forsake his chief defence.
The other lesson is, that whereas we purpose alwaies to hauehave the victorie, wee should so speake, that we maie labour rather not to hynder, or hurt our cause, then to seke meanes to further it.Better not to hurte a good matter by euil speach, then to further it by good talke. And yet I speake not this, but that bothe these are right necessarie, and eueryevery one that will doo good, muste take peines in theim bothe, but yet notwithstandyng, it is a fouler faulte a greate deale, for an Orator to be founde hurting his awne cause, then it should turne to his rebuke, if he had not furthered his whole entent. Therefore not onelyonly is it wisedome,…arenesse in speakyng, and forbearyng to speake. to speake so muche as is nedefull, but also it is good reason, to leaue vnspoken so muche as is nedelesse, the whiche although the wisest can do, and nede no teachyng, yet these common wittes offende muche nowe and then, in this behalfe.The person before whom we speake, must be well marked. Some man beyng stirred, shall hurt more our cause then twentie other. Tauntyng wordes before some menne, will not be borne at all. Sharpe rebukyng of our aduersary or frumpes geuen before some persones: cannot be sufferd at all. Yea,Tyme must be obserued. sometymes a man must not speake all that he knoweth, for if he doo, he is like to finde small fauour, although he hauehave iuste cause to speake, and maie with reason declare his mynde at large. And albeit that witlesse folke, can soner rebuke that, whiche is fondly spoken, then redely praise that whiche is wisely kept close, yet the necessitie of the matter, must rather be marked, then the fonde iudgement of the people estemed. What a sore saiyng were this? When a lawyer should take in hande a matter, concernyng life and death, and another should aske how he hath sped, to heare tel that the lawyer, hath not onelyonly cast awaie his cliēt, but vndoen hymself also, in speakyng thynges inconsideratly, as no doubt it oftē happeneth, that wise men, and those also that bee none euill men neither, maie vnwares speake thynges, which afterward thei sore repent, & would cal backe again with losse of a greate so…e. Now what a foly it is, not to remember the tyme and the men. Or who will speake that whiche he knoweth will not be liked, if he purpose to finde fauour at their handes, before whom he speaketh, what mā of reason will praise that before the Iudges, (before whom he knoweth the determinacion of his cause resteth) whiche the Iudges self cannot abide to heare spoken at all? Or doeth not he muche hinder his awne matter, that wtthout al curtesie or preface made, will largely speake euil of those men, whom the hearers of his cause, tenderly doo fauour? Or be it that there be some notable faulte in thyne aduersary, with whiche the Iudges also are infected, were it not foly for thee, to charge thyne aduersary with thesame. Cō sideryng the Iudges thereby maie thynke, thou speakest against theim also, and so thou maiest perhappes, lose their fauour in sekyng suche defence, made without all discrecion. And in framing reasons, to confirme the purpose, if any be spoken plainly false, or els contrary to that, which was spoken before, dooeth it not muche hynder a good matter? Therefore in all causes, this good hede ought to bee had, that alwaies we labour to do some good, in furtheryng of our cause, or if we cannot so do, at the least that we doo no harme at all.
¶There are three kyndes of causes, or Oracions, whiche serue for eueryevery matter
NOthyng can be handled by this arte, but thesame is conteined, within one of these .iij. causes.Orations, o… causes of thr…e kyndes, Either the matter consisteth in praise, or dispraise of a thyng, or els in consultyng, whether the cause be profitable, or vnprofitable, or lastly, whether the matter be right, or wrong. And yet this one thyng is to be learned that in eueryevery one of these foure causes, these three seuerall endes, maie eueryevery of them be conteined, in any one of them. And therfore he that shall hauehave cause, to praise any o…e body, shall hauehave iuste cause to speake of iustice, to entreate of profite, and ioyntly to talke of one thyng with another. But because these three causes, are commonly and for the moste part, seuerally parted, I will speake of them, one after another, as thei are sette furthe by wise mennes iudgementes, & particularly declare their properties, all in order
The Oracion demonstratiue,Oracion Demonstratiue. standeth either in praise, or dispraise of some one man, or of some one thyng, or of some one deede doen.
¶The kynde Demonstratiue, wherein chiefly it is occupied.
THere are diuerse thynges, whiche are praised, and dispraised, as menne, Countreis, Citees, Places, Beastes, Hilles, Riuers, Houses, Castles, dedes doen by worthy menne, and pollicies inuented by greate warriers, but moste commonly me… are praised, for diuerse respectes, before any of the other thynges are taken in hande.
Nowe in praisyng a noble personage,Noble personages, howe thei should be praised. and in settyng furthe at large his worthinesse, Quintilian geueth warnyng, to vse this threfolded order.
To obserue thynges.
Before his life.
In his life.
After his death.
Before a mannes life, are considered these places.
The Realme.
The Shire.
The Toune.
The Pareutes.
The Auncestours.
IN a mannes life, praise muste be parted threfolde. That is to saie, into the giftes of good thynges of the mynde, the body, and of fortune. Now the giftes of the body, and of fortune, are not praise worthy, of their awne nature: but euen as thei are vsed, either to, or fro, so thei are either praised, or dispraised. Giftes of the mynde, deserue the whole trumpe and sound commendacion aboue all other, wherein wee maie vse the rehersall of vertues, as thei are in order, and beginnyng at his infā cie, tell all his doynges, till his last age.