The Art of Rhetoric, Book 2 · Part 1 · Section 1
¶An enteraunce, two waies diuided.
THe first is called a plain beginnyng, when the hearer is made apte, to geue good care out of hande, to that whiche shall folowe.A beginnyng, what it is.
The second is a priuey twinyng, or close creping in, to win fauor with muche circūstaunce, called insinuacionInsinuacion.
For in all matters that man taketh in hande, this consideracion ought first to be had, that we first diligētly expend the cause, before wee go through with it, that wee maye bee be assured, whether it be lawfull, or otherwise. And not onelyonly this, but also we must aduisedly marke the menne, before whom wee speake, the men against whom we speake, and all the circumstaunces, whiche belong vntounto the matter. If the matter bee honest, godly, and suche as of righte ought to bee well liked, we maie vse an open beginnyng, and will the hearers to reioyce, & so go through with our parte. If the cause be lothsome, or suche as will not be well borne withall, but nedeth muche helpe, and fauour of the hearers: it shalbe the speakers parte, priuely to get fauour, and by humble talke, to wynne their good willes. Firste, requiryng theim to geue him the hearing, and next, not streightly to geue iudgement, but with merciemercy to mitigate, all rigor of the Lawe. Or in a cōplaint made, whiche the counsail shall greuously stomack, to exaggerate it ye more, if we se iust cause to set it forward. And whereas many often tymes, are suspect to speake thynges of malice, or for hope of gain, or els for a set purpose, as who should saie, this I can do: the wisest will euermore clere themselfes, from all suche offences, and neuer geue any tokē so muche as in them lieth, of any light suspicion.
In accusyng any persone, it is best to heape all his faultes together, and whereas any thyng semeth to make for hym, to extenuate thesame to the outermoste. In defendyng any persone, it is wisedome to reherse all his vertues first and foremest, and with asmuche arte as maie be, to wipe awaie suche faultes, as were laied to his charge. And before all thynges, this would be wel marked, that, whensoeuer we shal largely talke of any matter, wee alwaies so inuent, and finde out our first enteraunce in the cause, that thesame be for euer taken, euen from the nature and bowelles therof, that al thynges, whiche shall first be spoken, maie seme to agree with the matter, and not made as a Shippe mannes hose, to serue for eueryevery legge. Now whereas any long talke is vsed, the beginnyng thereof is either taken of the matter self, or els of the persones, that are there present, or els of theim, against whō the accion is entended. And because the winnyng or victorie, resteth in three poynctes: Firste, in apt teachyng the hearers, what the matter is, next in gettyng them to geue good eare, and thirdly,…re thynges moste mere for eueryevery Orator. in winnyng their fauour: Wee shall make theim vnderstande the matter easely,To make the hearers to vnderstande the matter. if firste of all we begin to expounde it plainly, and in brief woordes, settyng out the meanyng, make them harken to our saiynges. And by no meanes better, shall the standers by, knowe what we saie, and cary awaie that, whiche thei heare, then if at the firste, wee couche together the whole course of our tale, in as smale roume as we can, either by definyng the nature and substaunce of our matter, or els by diuidyng it in an apte order, so that neither the hearers bee troubled with confoundyng of matter, and heapyng one thyng in anothers necke, nor yet their memorie dulled with ouerthwarte rehersall, and disorderly tellyng of our tale. Wee shall make the people attentiue,To make hearers attentiu… ▪ and glad to heare vsus, if wee will promise thē, to speake of weightie matters, of wholsome doctrine, suche as thei hauehave heretofore wā ted: yea, if we promise to tell them thynges, cōcernyng either their awne profite, or thaduauncement of their countrey, no doubte wee shall hauehave theim diligent hearers. Or els if thei like not to heare weightie affaires, wee maie promise theim straunge newes, and perswade them, we wil make thē laugh and thinke you not, that thei wil rather heare a foolishe tale then a wise and wholesome counsail? Demosthenes therfore seyng at a tyme,Demosthenes tale of the Asses shadowe. the fondnes of the people to be suche, that he could not obtein of them, to heare hym speake his mynde, in an earnest cause, concernyng the wealthe of his countrey: required them to …ary, and he would tell them a tale of Robin Hode. Whereat thei all staied, & longed to knowe what that should be. He began streight to tel them, of one that had sold his Asse to another man, whereupon thei bothe went furthe to the next Market toune, hauyng with, them thesaied Asse. And the wether beyng somewhat hotte, the first awner, whiche had now sold his Asse, went of that side the Asse, whiche kept hym best from the heate. The other beyng now the awner, and in full possession, would not suffer that, but required hym to geue place, and suffer him to take the best commoditie, of his awne Asse, that he could hauehave, wherat the other answered and saied, naie by saincte Marie sir, you serue me not so, I sold you the Asse, but I solde you not the shadowe of the Asse, & therfore pike you hence. When the people hard this, thei laughed apace, and likte it very well. Whereupon Demosthenes hauyng wonne theim together, by this merie toye, rebuked their folie, that were so slacke to heare good thinges, and so redy to heare a tale of a Tubbe, and thus hauyng them attentiue, preswaded with them to heare hym, in matters of great importaūce, the whiche otherwise he could neuer hauehave doen, if he had not taken this waie with hym.
We shall get the good willes of our hearers,To gett… the hearers good will. foure maner of waies, either beginnyng to speake of our selfes, or els of our aduersaries, or els of the people, and company present, or last of all, if we begin of the matter it self, and so go thorowe with it. We shall get fauour for our awne sakes, if we shall modestly set furthe our bounden dueties, and declare our seruice doen, without all suspicion of vauntyng, either to the common weale, as in seruyng either in the warres abrode, or els in bearyng some office at home, concernyng the tranquilitie of our coūtrey: or in helpyng our frendes, kynsfolkes, and poore neighbours, to declare our goodnes, doen heretofore towardes them: and lastly, if wee shewe without all o…tentacion, aswell our good willes towardes the iudges there, as also pleasures doen for theim in tymes paste, to the outermoste of our power. And if any thyng seme to lette our cause, by any misreport, or euil behauior of our partes heretofore: best it were in moste humble wise to seke fauour, and sleightly to aduoyde all suche offences, laied to our charge.
We shall get fauoure, by speakyng of our aduersaries, if we shall make suche reporte of theim, that the hearers shall either hate to heare of them, or outerly enuy them, or els altogether despise theim. We shall sone make our aduersaries to be lothed, if we shewe and set furth, some naughtie deede of theirs, and declare how cruelly, how vilie, and how maliciously thei hauehave vsed other men heretofore.
We shall make theim to be enuied, if we reporte vntounto the Iudges, that thei beare theimselfes haulte, and stoute vponupon their wealthy frendes, and oppresse poore men by might, not regardyng their honestie, but sekyng alwaies by hooke and croke, to robbe poore men of their Fermes, Leases, and money. And by the waie declare some one thyng, that thei hauehave doen, whiche honest eares would scant abide to heare.
We shall make theim to bee sette naught by, if we declare what luskes thei are, how vnthriftely thei liue, how thei do nothyng from daie to daie, but eate, drinke, and slepe, rather sekyng to liue like beastes, then myndyng to liue like men, either in profityng their coūtrey, or in tenderyng their awne commoditie, as by right thei ought to do.
We shall gette good will, by speakyng of the Iudges and hearers: if we shall commende their worthy dooynges, and praise their iust dealyng, and faithfull execucion of the law, & tel them in what estimacion the whole country hath them for their vpright iudgyng and determinyng of matters, and therfore in this cause needes must it be that they must aunswere their former doynges, and iudge so of this matter, as all good men hauehave opinion they wil do.
We shal finde fauor by speakyng of the matter, if in handlyng our owne cause, we commende it accordyngly, and dispraise the attēpt of our aduersarie extenuatyng al his chief purposes, so muche as shalbe necessarie.
Now resteth for me to speake of the other parte of Enteraunce into an Oration,Insinuacion. whiche is called a close, or priuie gettyng of fauour when the cause is daungerouse, and cannot easely be heard without displeasure.
A priuy begynnyng, or crepyng in, otherwyse called Insinuation must then, and not els be vsed, when the iudge is greaued with vsus, and our cause hated of the hearers.
The cause selfe oftentymes is not lyked for thre diuerse causes▪ if either the matter selfe be vnhonest, and not meete to be vtterd before an audience, or els if the iudge hymselfe by aformer tale be perswaded to take part against vsus, or last if at that tyme we are forced to speake, when the iudge is weried with hearyng of other. For the iudge hymself beyng weried by hearyng, wil be muche more greeued if any thyng be spoken either ouermuche, or els against his likyng. Yea, who seeth not that a weried man will soone mis…ke a right good matter? Yf the matter be so hainouse that it cannot be hearde without offence, (as if I shoulde take a mans parte, who were generally hated) wysedome were to lette hym go and take some other whom al men liked: or if the cause were thought not honest, to take some other in stede therof which were better lyked, til they were better prepared to heare the other: so that euermore nothyng shoulde bee spoken at the firste, but that whiche might please the iudge, and not to be acknowen ones to thynke of that, whiche yet we minde most of al to perswade. Therfore when the hearers are somwhat calmed, we may entre by litle and litle into the matter, and saie that those thynges whiche our aduersarie doth mislyke in the person accused, we also do mislyke the same.
And when the hearers are thus wonne, we may saie, that all, whiche was saied, nothyng toucheth vsus, and that wee mynde to speake nothyng at al against our aduersaries, neither this waie, nor that waie. Neither were it wysedome openly to speake against theim, whiche are generally well estemed and taken for honest menne. And yet it were not amisse for the furtheraunce of our owne causes …losely to speake our fantasie, and so, streighte to aulter their hartes. Yea & to tel the iudges the like in a like matter, that suche & suche iudgement hath bene geuen: And therfore at this time consyderyng the same case, and the same necessitie, lyke iudgement is looked for. But if the aduersarie hauehave so tolde his tale that the iudge is wholy bent to geue sentence with hym, and that it is well knowne vntounto what reasons the iudge most leaued and was perswaded: we may first promise to weaken that, whiche the aduersarie hath made moste strong for hym selfe, and confute that parte whiche the hearers didde most esteme, and best of all lyke. Or elles we may take aduauntage of some part of our aduersaries tale, and talke of that firste, whiche he spake last: or elles begynne so, as though wee doubted what were best firste to speake, or to what parte it were moste reason firste of all to aunswere, wonderyng, and takyng GOD to wittenesse at the straungenesse of his reporte, and confirmacion of his cause. For when the standorsby perceiue that the aunswerer (whome the aduersaries thought in their mind was wholly abashed) feareth so litle the obiections of his aduersarie, and is ready to aunswere Ad omnia quare, with a bolde contenaunce: they wil thynke that they themselues rather gaue rashe credite, and were ouerlighte in beleuyng the firste tale: than that he whiche nowe aunswereth in his owne cause, speaketh without grounde, or presumeth vponupon a stomacke to speake for hym selfe without iust consideracion.
But if the tyme bee so spente, and the tale so long in tellyng, that a menne b… almost weried to heare any more: than we must make promise at▪ the first to be very shorte, and to lappe vp our matter in fewe wordes.
And if tyme may so serue it were good when men bee weried to make them somewhat merie,Myrth makyng good at the begynning and to beginne with some pleasaunt tale, or take an occasion to iest wittely vponupon some thyng then presently doen.
Or if the tyme wil not serue for pleasaunt tales, it were good to tell some straunge thyng,Straung thinges some tyme nedeful to be tolde at the first. some terrible wonder that they all may quake at the onelyonly hearyng of the same. For lyke as when a mannes stomacke is full and can brooke no more meate, he may stirre h…s appetite either by some Tarte sawce, or elles quicken it somewhat by some sweate dishe: euen so when the audience is weried with weightie affaires, some straunge wounders maye call vp their spirites, or elles some merie tale may cheare their heauie lookes.
And assuredly it is no small con…yng to moue the hartes of menne either to mirthe, or saddenesse: for he that hath suche skill, shal not lightely faile of his purpose whatsoeuer matter he taketh in hande.
Thus hauehave I taught what an Enteraunce is, and howe it shoulde be vsed. Notwithstandyng I thynke it not amisse often to reherse this one poincte, that euermore the begyn…ng be not ouermuche laboured, nor curiously mad…, but rather apte to the purpose,Enteraunces apt to the purpose. seemyng vponupon present occasion, euermore to take place, and so to be deuised, as though we speake all together without any great studie, framyng rather our tale to good reason, than our toungue to vaine paintyng of the matter.
In all whiche discourse, whereas I hauehave framed all the Lessons and eueryevery Enteraunce properly to serue for pleadyng at the Barre: yet assuredly many of theim ma…e well helpe those that preache Goddes truthe, and exhorte men in open assemblies to vpright dealyng.
And no doubte many of theim hauehave muche neede to knowe this Arte, that the rather their tale maye hange toguether, where as oftentymes they begynne as muche from the matter, as it is betwixte Douer and Barwyke, whereat some take pitie, and many for werines can skante abyde their begynnyg, it is so long or they speake any thyng to the purpose.…nteraunces apt for Preache…s. Therefore the learned Clerkes of this our tyme, hauehave thought it good that al Preachers shoulde take their begynnyng vponupon the occasion of suche matter as is there written, declaryng why and wherfore and vponupon what consideracion suche wordes were in those daies so spoken, that the reason geuen of suche talke then vtterde, might serue wel to begynne there Sermon. Or els to gather some seueral sentence at the firste, whiche brifely comprehendeth the whole matter folowyng, or elles to begynne with some apte similitude, example, or wittie saiyng. Or lastely to declare what wente before, and so to showe that whiche foloweth after. Yea sometimes to begynne lamentablie with an vnfained bewailyng of sinne, and a terrible declaryng of Goddes threates: Sometymes to take occasion of a matter newly done, or of the company there present, so that alwaies the begynnyng be aunswerable to the matter folowyng.