A Treatise of Schemes and Tropes Part 5

[Sidenote: Instrument.] Instrument semeth to be a part of facultie: for instrumentes sometyme are cause of oure hablenes to do a thinge: and it is a more mischeuous deede to kyl with venome th? with swearde.

And to instrum?t so nie is the manour of doyng, that almoste it is all one. But more properlye perteyne to the manour or fas.h.i.+on, those thynges that be eyther excused, or made greater by wyl: As lesse faute is it to fall into a vice by ignorance or frailtie, then of a purpose and full deliberacion. The vse of circustances profiteth to amplifie, to extenuate, to euidence, to confirmacion, and probabilitie. And hytherto be referred also the common places that indifferentlye apperteyne to all kyndes and partes of causes, of the whyche Rodulphe entreateth, and Aristotle in his Topyckes. But before we speake of them, it is to be noted, that thys woorde place, is taken foure maner of wayes. They are called common places, because thei be entreated of, of bothe partes, althoughe not in all one cause: as he that is sore spoken agaynste by witnesses, swadeth that we shulde not geue credite to witnesses. Contrarye, he that is holpen by them speaketh in defence of wytnesses, and so of other that we spake of before, when we entreated of vnartificial argumentes. 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.

-- In the third sence places be called seates of argumentes, whyche the Rethoricianes do applie to eche kyndes of causes: As in the kynde suasorie, honest, profitable, pleasaut easye, necessarie. &c. In demonstratiue kynde, kynred, contrey, goodes of the bodye and of the mynde. In the Iudiciall kynde, inespecial deniall, those that we spake of euen nowe.

The fourth places be general, whych declare what belongeth to euerye thynge, and howe oute of eche of them there be taken argumentes, partly necessary, and partlye probable. These be commen to the Oratours with the Logicians, albeit Aristotle hathe seperatelye written of them in hys Topickes; and in his Rethorickes hathe not touched th?, and they profite much both to iudgement, and to endightynge, but the varietie of authors hath made the handlynge of them sumwhat darke, because amonge them selues they can not wel agre, neyther of the names, neyther of the number, neyther of the order.

[Sidenote: Examples.] An example is a rehearsall of a thynge that is done, and an applyynge of it vnto our cause, eyther for similitude or dissimilitude, profitable to perswade, garnyshe, and delyght.

Examples, some be taken out of hystories, some of tales, some of fayned argum?tes, in comedies; and bothe sortes be dilated by parable and comparacion.

Comparacion sheweth it equall, lesse, or bygger.

Parable is a feete similitude, whych sheweth y^e example that is brought, either like, vnlyke or ctrarye. Lyke as Camillus restored the common wealth of the Romaines that was oppressed by the Frenchmen, and when it was brought into extreme losse, by theyr valiauntnesse expelled the Barbariens: So Valla, whan thorowe the ignorce of y^e Barbarians, learnyng was destroyed, restored it agayn, as it wer from death into hys former brightnes. Vnlike. As not lyke thanke is done to Laurence and Camillus, because that the one moued by vertue wyth the ieopardie of hys lyfe deliuered his contrey from the vngracious, that other styrred vp by desyre of fame, or rather wyth an euyll l.u.s.te to checke manye, not restored agayn the latt?

tong oppressed, but brought it as it were into certen rules. Ctrary, Brutus kylled hys chyldren goyng about treason, Manlius punished by death the valiauntnes of hys sonne. Comparacion sheweth y^e thing y^t is brought, eyther equall, lesse, or bigger: Lesse, as our elders haue warred oftentymes, because theyr marchautes and mariners wer euyl entreated. What mynd ought you to be in, so many thousande citizens of Rome slaine at one message, and one time? Equall, as in the same Cicero. -- For it happed vnto me to stand for an offyce wyth two gentlemenne, that one very naughte, that other very gentle, yet ouercame I Catiline by dignitie, and Galba by fauoure. Bygger: As for Milo, they saye he shulde not lyue that confesseth he hathe kylled a man, when M. Horacius was quitte, whyche kylled hys owne syster.

[Sidenote: Parable.] Parable, which some call similitude, some cparacion, is a comparyng of a thyng y^t hath no life, or no bodye to our cause and purpose, for some thyng that is lyke or vnlyke. And as example is taken of y^e dede of a man, and the person of an hystorye, or that is fabulous and fayned, so is comparison taken of thinges that be done, or that be ioyned to them by nature, or by chaunce. -- As Attilius retournyng agayne to hys enemies is an example of kepynge faythe and promise: But a shyp in the whych the sayles be hoysed vp, or tak? down after the blowyng of the winde, is a parable whiche teacheth a wyse man to geue place to tyme, and applye hymselfe to the world that is presente. And lyke fas.h.i.+on is of dilatyng a parable, as we haue shewed in example.

For sometime it is noted in a word as: Doest thou not vnderstand that the sayles muste be turned? Sometyme it is more largelye declared, as in the oracion for Murena. And if vnto menne that sayle out of the hauen.

&c. a.n.a.logie.

_Icon_, called of the latines _Imago_, an Image in Englyshe, is muche lyke to a similitude, and if you declare it is a similitude: as if you saye: As an a.s.se wyll not be driuen from her meat, no not with a club, vntyl she be full: no more wil a warriour reste from murther vntyll he hath fylled his mynd with it. This is a similitude: but if you saye that a man flewe vpon his enemies like a dragon, or lyke a lyon, it is an Image. Howbeit an Image serueth rather to euidence or grauitie, or iocunditie, then to a profe. There is also a general comparacion, speciallye in the kynde demonstratiue, person wyth person, and one thing with an other, for praise or dispraise

[Sidenote: Indicacio.] _Indicacio_, or authoritie, is the cparing of an other mans saying or sentence vnto our cause: of the whiche ther be seuen princ.i.p.al kyndes. The fyrst a comon morall sentence, as a common principle perteyning to maners: as continuall laboure ouercommeth all thynges, and as be the sentences of Salomon and Cato: and all morall philosophy is ful of suche sentences. The seconde are common rules, whych be called dignities in euery science. The .iii.

a prouerb. The fourth called _Chria_, which is a very short exposicion of any dede or worde wyth the name of the author recited. 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 tak? out of the mouth of G.o.d, or taken out of the cmaundement of G.o.d.

[Sidenote: Exergasia.] Expolicion is, when we tarye in one thynge, speakynge the same in diuerse wordes and fas.h.i.+ons, as though it were not one matter but diuerse. A goodlye example of the moste largest expolicion is rehea.r.s.ed in Erasmus, whych, because it is very profitable, I wyll wholye rehea.r.s.e it. A wyse man for the cmon wealth sake shall eschue no peryll: euen for thys cause that it happeneth oft?, that wher he wold not dye for the common wealth, he perysheth yet of necessitie wyth the cmon wealth. And because all the commodities we haue be taken of our contrey, ther ought no incmoditie to be counted paynfull, taken for our contrey. They therfore that flye that peryll which must be tak? for the cmon wealth, do folyshely: for neither can they auoyde it, and they be found vngrate to the citie. But they that by their owne peril put away the perils of their ctrei, they are to be counted wyse, seyng that bothe they geue to the cmon wealth that honour y^t they shulde geue, and had rather dye for many, th? w^t many. For it is much against reason that receiuing thy naturall lyfe by thy contrey, to deliuer it agayne to nature when she compelleth the, and not to geue it to thy ctrey when she desyreth the. And where y^u mayst wyth hye valiauntnes & honour die for thy contrei, to haue rather lyke a cowarde to liue in shame. And for thy fryndes and parentes, and other acquayntance to put thy selfe in peryll: for the cmon wealth in the whyche both it & that most reuerende name of the contrey is conteyned, not to be w.i.l.l.ynge to come in ieopardye. Wherfore as he is to be dyspised whyche being vpon the sea had rather haue hym selfe safe, then the s.h.i.+p: so is he to be rebuked, whych in ieopardye of the commen wealthe, prouideth more for his own then for y^e cmon wealthe. When the shyppe hathe ben broken, many haue ben saued: But after the shypwrake of the ctrey no man can escape. Whyche thynge me thynketh Decius dyd wel perceiue, whych reported wholy to haue bestowed hym selfe, and for the sauegard of his men of war to haue run amonge the myddest of hys enemyes. Wherfore he loste not hys lyfe, but let it go: for he redemed for a thynge of verye small pryce, a ryght dere thyng. He gaue his life, but he receiued his contrei. He loste his life, but he inioyed glorye, whyche written to his greate prayse, shyneth euerye daye more and more. Wherefore if we haue proued both by reason & by exple, that we be bounde to put oure selfe in peryll for the common wealthe, they are to be counted wyse men, whych for the sauegarde of the contrey auoyde no peryll. It wolde be meete to exercyse chyldren in suche themes, wherby shal be gott? bothe wysedome and eloquence.

And here me thynketh I maye ryghte well ende these Rethoricall preceptes, although I be not ignoraunt that much helpeth bothe to persuasions and copye, the proper handlyng of tales taken oute of the nature of beastes, dreames, fayned narracions, sumwhat lyke vnto the truth, w^t allegories much vsed of diuines. But because they requyre a longer treatie, for this tyme I leaue them of, addynge vnto these before written rules of oratory, a declamacion bothe profitable and verye elo- quente, wrytten by Erasmus vnto the moste n.o.ble Duke of Cleue, as here appe- reth after.

-- Impryn- ted at London by Iohn Day, dwellinge ouer Aldersgate, beneth saint Martyns. And are to be sold at his shop by the litle conduit in Chepesyde at the sygne of the Resurrec- tion.

_c.u.m priuilegio ad imprimendum solum. Per septennium._