The Art of Rhetoric, Book 3 · Part 1 · Section 1 – Section 3
¶Of apte chusyng and framyng of wordes and sentences together, called Elocucion.
ANd now we are come to that parte of Rhetorique, the whiche aboue al other is most beautifull, wherby not onelyonly wordes are ap…ly vsed, but also sentences are in right order framed. For whereas Inuencion, helpeth to finde matter, and Disposicion serueth to place argumentes: Elocucion getteth wordes to set furthe inuencion, & with suche beautie commendeth the matter, that reason semeth to bee clad in purple, walkyng afore, bothe bare and naked. Therfore Tullie saieth well, to finde out reason, & aptly to frame it, is the part of a wise man, but to commende it by wordes, and with gorgious talke to tell our conceipte, that is onelyonly propre to an Orator. Many are wise, but fewe hauehave the gift to set furthe their wisedome. Many can tell their mynde in Englishe, but fewe can vse mete termes, and apt order: suche as all men should hauehave, and wise men will vse: suche as nedes must be had, when matters should be vttered. Now then what is he, at whom all men wonder, and stande in a mase, at the viewe of his wit? Whose doynges are best estemed? whō do we moste reuerence, and compt halfe a God emong men?Eloquent men moste estemed. Euen suche a one assuredly, that can plainly, distinctly, plē tifully, and aptly vtter bothe wordes and matter, and in his talke can vse suche conposicion, that he maie appere to kepe an vniformitiee, and (as I might saie) a nomber in the vttering of his sentēce. Now an eloquēt man beyng smally learned, can do muche more good in perswading, by shift of wordes, and mete placyng of matter: then a greate learned clerke shalbe able with great store of learnyng, wantyng wordes to set furth his meanyng. Wherfore I muche maruaile that so many seke the only knowlege of thynges, without any mynd to commende or set furthe their entend…ment: seyng none cā knowe either what thei are, or what thei hauehave, without the gift of vtterance. Yea, bryng thē to speake their mynde, and …nter in talke with suche as are said to be learned, & you shal finde in thē suche la…e of vtterance, that if you iudge theim by their tongue, and expressyng of their mynde: you must nedes saie thei hauehave no learnyng. Wherin me thinkes thei do, like some riche snudges, that hauyng great wealth, go with their hose out at heeles, their shoes out at toes, and their cotes out at bothe elbowes. For who can tell, if suche men are worth a grote, when their apparel is so homely, and al their behauior so base? I can call thē by none other name, but slouens, that maie hauehave good geare, and nether cā, nor yet will ones weare it clenly.Barbarous clerkes, no better then slouēs. What is a good thyng to a manne, if he neither knowe thuse of it, nor yet (though he knowe it) is able at all to vse it? If we thinke it comelinesse, and honestie to set furthe the body with handsome apparell, and thynke theim worthie to hauehave money, that bothe can and will vse it accordyngly: I cannot otherwise se, but that this part deserueth praise, whiche standeth wholy in set…yng furthe the matter by apte wordes and sentences together, & beautifieth the tongue with greate chaunge of colours, and varietie of figures.
¶Foure partes belongyng to Elocucion.
j. Plainnesse.
ij. Aptenesse.
iij. Composicion.
iiij. Exornacion.
EMong al other lessons, this should first be learned, yt we neuer affect any straūge y…kehorne termes, but so speake as is commonly receiued: neither sekyng to be ouer fi…e, nor yet liuyng ouer carelesse, vsyng our speache as most men do, & ordryng our wittes, as the fewest hauehave doen.Plaines what it is. Some seke so farre for outlādishe Englishe, that thei forget altogether their mothers lāguage. And I dare swere this, if some of their mothers were aliue, thei were not able to tell, what thei say, & yet these fine Englishe clerkes, will saie thei speake in their mother tongue, if a mā should charge thē for coūterfeityng the kynges English. Some farre iorneid ientlemē at their returne home, like as thei louelove to go in forrein apparell, so thei wil pouder their talke wt ouersea lāguage. He that cometh lately out of France, wil talke Frēche English, & neuer blushe at the matter. Another choppes in with Angleso Italiano: the lawyer wil store his stomack with the pratyng of Pedlers. The Auditour in makyng his accompt and rekenyng, cometh in with sise sould, and cater de…ere, for vi. s iiij.d. The fiue Courtier wil talke nothyng but Chaucer. The misticall wise menne, and Poeticall Clerkes, will speake nothyng but quaint prouerbes, and blynd allegories, delityng muche in their awne darkenesse, especially, when none can tell what thei dooe saie. The vnlearned or foolishe phantasticall, that smelles but of learnyng (suche felowes as hauehave seen learned men in their daies) will so latine their tongues, that the simple cannot but wonder at their talke, and thynke surely thei speake by seme Reuelacion. I knowe them that thynke Rhetorique, to stande wholy vponupon darke woordes, and he that can …atche an ynke horne terme by the taile, hym thei compt to bee a fiue Englishe man, and a good Rhetotician And the rather to set out this folie, I will adde here suche a letter, as Willyam Sommer himself, could not make a better for that purpose. Some will thinke & swere it to, that there was neuer any suche thyng writtē, well I wil not f…rce any man to beleue it, but I will saie thus muche, and abide by it to, the like hauehave been made heretofore, and praised aboue the Moo…e.
Ponderyng expēdyng, and reuolutyng with my self your ingent affabilitee, and ingenious capacitee, for mundane affaires: I cannot but celebrate and extolle your magnificall dexteritee, aboue all other. For how could you hauehave adepted suche illustrate prerogatiue, and dominicall superioritee, if the fecunditee of your ingenie had not been so fertile, & woū derfull pregnaunt.An ynkehorne letter. Now therfore beeyng accersited, to suche splendent renoume, & dignitee splendidious: I doubt not but you will adiuuate suche poore adnichilate orphanes, as whilome ware cōdisciples with you, and of antique familiaritie in Lincolne shire. Emong whom I beeyng a Scholasticall panion, …btesiate your sublimitee to extoll myne infirmitee. There is a sacerdotall dignitee in my natiue countrey, contiguate to me, where I now contemplate: whiche your worshipfull benignitee, could sone impetrate for me, if it would like you to extend your scedules, and collaude me in them to the right honorable lorde Chauncellor, or rather Archigrā macian of Englande. You knowe my literature, you knowe the pastorall promocion, I obtestate your clemencie, to inuigilate thus mu…he for me, accordyng to my confidence, and as you know my condigne merites, for suche a compendious liuyng. But now I relinquishe to fatigate your intelligence with any more friuolous verbositie, and therfore he that rules the climates be euermore your beautreux, your fortresse, and your bulwarke. Amen.
What wise mā readyng this letter, will not take him for a very Caulfe, that made it in good earnest, & thought by his ynkepot termes, to get a good personage. Doeth wit reste in straunge wordes, or els standeth it in wholsome matter, and apt declaryng of a mannes mynd? Do we not speake, because we would hauehave other to vnderstande vsus, or is not the tongue geuē for this ende, that one might know what another meaneth? And what vnlearned man can tell, what half this letter signifieth? Therfore, either we must make a difference of Englishe, and saie some is learned Englishe, and oth…r some is rude Englishe, or the one is courte talke, the other is coū trey speache, or els we must of necessitee, banishe al suche affected Rhetorique, and vse altogether one maner of lāguage. When I was in Cambrige, and student in the kynges College, there came a man out of the toune, with a pinte of wine in a pottle pot, to welcome the prouost of that house, that lately came from the courte. And because he would bestow his present like a clerke, dwellyng emong the schoolers: he made humbly his thre curtesies, and said in this maner. Ch… good …uen my good lorde, and well might your lordship vare: Understandyng that your lordeship was come, & knowyng that you are a worshipfull Pilate, and kepes a bominable house: I thought it my duetie to come incantiuantee, & bryng you a pottell a wine, the whiche I beseche your lordeship take in good worthe. Here the simple man beyng desirous to amend… his mothers tongue, shewed hymself not to bee the wisest manne, that euer spake with tongue.
Another good felowe in the coūtrey, beyng an officer, and Maiour of a toune, and desirous to speake like a fine learned man, hauyng iust occasion to rebuke a runnegate felow, said after this wise in a greate heate. Thou yngram and vacacion knaue, if I take thee any more within the circumcision of my dampnacion: I will so corrupte thee, that all vacacion knaues shall take ilsample by thee.Roper…pe ch…yng.
Another standyng in muche nede of money, and desirous to hauehave some helpe at a ientlemanns hand, made his complaint in this wise. I praie you sir be so good vntounto me, as forbeare this halfe yeres rent. For so helpe me God and halidome, we are so taken on with contrary Bishoppes, with reuiues, and with subsides to the kyng, that al our money is cleane gone. These wordes he spake for contribucion, relief, and subsidie. And thus we see that poore simple men are muche troubled, and talke oftentymes, thei knowe not what, for lacke of wit and want to Latine & Frenche, wherof many of our straūge woordes full often are deriued. Those therefore that will eschue this foly, and acquaint themselfes with the best kynd of speache, muste seke frō tyme to tyme, suche wordes as are commonly receiued, and suche as properly maie expresse in plain maner, the whole conceipte of their mynde. And looke what woordes wee best vnderstande, and knowe what thei meane: thesame should sonest be spoken, and firste applied to the vtteraunce of our purpose.
Now whereas wordes be receiued, aswell Greke as Latine, to set furthe our meanyng in thenglishe tongue, either for lacke of store, or els because wee would enriche the language: it is well doen to vse them, and no man therin can be charged for any affectacion, when all other are agreed to folowe thesame waie. There is no man agreued, when he heareth (letters patentes) & yet patentes is latine, and signifie…h open to all men. The Communion is a felowship, or a commyng together, rather Latine then Englishe: the Kynges prerogatiue, declareth his power royall aboue all other, and yet I knowe no man greued for these termes, beeyng vsed in their place, nor yet any one suspected for affectacion, when suche generall wordes are spoken. The folie is espied, when either we will vse suche wordes, as fewe men doo vse, or vse theim out of place, when another might serue muche better. Therfore to auoyde suche folie, we maie learne of that most excellent Orator Tullie, who in his thirde booke, where he speaketh of a perfect Oratoure, de lareth vnderunder the name of Crassus, that for the choyse of wordes, foure thinges should Foure thinges obserued, for choyse of wordes.chiefly be obserued. First, that suche wordes as we vse, shuld bee proper vntounto the tongue, wherein wee speake, again, that thei be plain for all men to perceiue: thirdly, that thei be apt and mete, moste properly to sette out the matter. Fourthly, that woordes translated from one significacion to another, (called of the Grecians, Tropes) bee vsed to beautifie the sentence, as precious stones are set in a ryng, to commende the golde.
¶Aptenesse what it is.
SUche are thought apt wordes, that properly agre vntounto that thyng, whiche thei signifie, and plainly expresse the nature of thesame. Therfore thei that hauehave regard of their estimacion, do warely speake, and with choyse, vtter woordes moste apte for their purpose. In weightie causes, graue wordes are thought moste nedefull, that the greatnesse of the matter, maie the rather appere in the vehem…ncie of their talke.Aptnes. So likewise of other, like order muste be taken. Albeit some, not onelyonly do not obserue this kynde of aptnes, but also thei fall into muche fondnesse, by vsyng wordes out of place, and appl…yng theim to diuerse matters without all discrecion. As thus. An ignorant felowe comyng to a ientlemannes place,V…apte vsyng of apt wordes & seyng a greate flocke of shepe in his pastour saied to the owner of theim, now by my truthe sir, here is as goodly an audiēce of shepe, as euer I saw in al my life. Who will not take this felowe meter to talke with shepe, then to speake emong menne? Another likewise seeyng a house faire buylded, saied to his felowe thus: good lorde, what a handesome phrase of buildyng in this? Thus are good wordes euil vsed, when thei are not well applied, and spokē to good purpose. Therfore I wishe that suche vntoward speakyng, maie geue vsus a good lesson, to vse our tongue warely, that our wordes and matter maie still agree together.