Some instructions concerning the art of oratory collected for the use of a friend a young student.

SECT. I.

Nu. 1. THE Parts of Oratory are Invention, ta∣king care for the Matter; and Elocution, for the Words and Style.

[ I] 2. Invention consists in an acute Consideration, and particular

weighing of all circumstances, &c. out of which any argument may be raised to advance the subject in hand. Therefore your Fancy, in this ought not to be committed, and left, to chance; gazing about, and waiting, as it were, what may by sudden Enthusiasm drop into it, but to be excited and guided by Reason; diligently beating and examining the Causes, Effects, Ad∣juncts, and whatever may have re∣lation to your subject, that (at least) some of them may afford materi∣als to your design, Brief Tables of which, and sufficiently exact, in all the three kinds of Discourses, Demonstrative, Judicial, Delibe∣rative, see in Quintil. lib. 5. cap. 10. and in Farnabi's and other Modern, Rhetoricks. A many of which are also rudely put together in these verses:

An? Quis? Quid? Cujus? Cui? Quo? Quibus auxiliis? Cur?

Quomodo? Circa quid? Qualis? Quantum? Ex, In, & à quo? Quamdiu? Ubi? Quando? Quoties? Quotuplex? Quot? & Unde?

Or in that shorter,

Quis? Ubi? Quid? Quibus auxiliis? Cur? Quomodo? Quando? Who? What? How? When? Where? and why?

3. For Example; Common places for Argu∣ments; * To prove any thing to be good, may be such as these;—

—Because tis the chief end, all men, or the wisest of men, aim at—all, or the wisest commend—because it produceth some good—preventeth or remedieth some evil—procures us much pleasure,—profit, —reputation,—honors,—things, we account good. —is rewarded—is difficult to attain—is contrary to all excess, &c.—is dictated by nature—is followed with content—other things for its sake accounted good, &c.

4. * To prove any thing more good, such as these;

—Because tis the end, and so more worthy than the means—chosen for its self, and not for another —conducing to a better, worthier end—conversant about a nobler object—can better be without the o∣ther, than the other without it—is the cause of the other—more beneficial—beneficial to more—more

rare—more beautiful—more lasting—more reward∣ed —more easie to be procured (for on both sides ar∣guments are probable)—more pursued by wise men—better, according to circumstance of person, time, place, action, &c.—Any of whichmediums, caeteris paribus, is perswasive.

5. The contraries serve, * To prove a thing evil, or less good. * To aggravate a Crime, such as these, drawn

—From the greatness of the dammage—the im∣possibility of reparation—from the quality of the per∣son, by whom; to whom—from doing it alone; or first; or often—with no, with small, benefit to him∣self —with a determinate purpose, having no plausible motive toit—not very feasible;—from its being a thing contrary to nature—to express law—savour∣ing of brutishness, and inhumanity—Done in a holy place, in the court, &c.—in such a time—against a Kinsman, a Benefactor, a Magistrate—giving so much scandal—so much encouragement.

6. * To extenuate a fault;

—That it was not done at all—not so done— that it was done so; but that it was well done— not well done; but yet of those things that are usu∣ally pardoned—that it was not an injury—but an er∣ror; a misfortune—not done with an ill mind—not with deliberation—that not a part onely, but the whole action be considered—not that action, but the whole course of his life—what good, as well as what evil, he hath done—not to regard the words of the Law, but

the intent of the Law-giver—not the Law (failing in particulars,) but equity.

7. All Discourses are either of Things; Persons; or Facts: In Persons, considerable are; their De∣scent, Nation, Countrey, Sex, Age, Fortune, Manners, Education, Re∣lations, of Father, Master, Citizen, &c. In facts; The Cause, Time, Place, Instrument, the Manner, &c. In things,(that is, Substances, and Qualities) the An sit, Quid sit, Quale, Quotuplex; its Genus, Spe∣cies, Properties, &c.—In gross, for all subjects (which are most-what mixt of these three, i. e. Persons, Actions, Qualities) Proofs are de∣rived from Persons, Causes, Times, Places, Antecedents, Con∣sequents, Efficients, Effects, E∣vents, Conjugates, Similies, Con∣traries, Contradictories, Compari∣son with Things Greater, Lesser, Equal; from Correlates, Exam∣ples, Suppositions, and Reduction ad absurdum,(as is used in the Ma∣thematicks)

to a Consequence that all grant to be false; from their Genus, Definition, Division, &c. Amongst which * Similitudes (i. e. Like Cases resembling it:) * Contraries (which much manifest one another:)* Examples, Instan∣ces, Suppositions and Reduction ad absurdum, are diligently to be sought out; proving a thing many times much more, than reasons to our Auditory; who, when by the one they see not how it can be done; by the other they easily see that it is done; and therefore Ex∣emplum is not in vain made one species of argumentation.

8. Several Examples of Arguments drawn from such Topicks. As; From effects, Scipio was a better General then Hannibal, he conquered Hannibal.—He is valiant, for he feared not death.—From the Instrument; He killed him, for his weapon was found in the wound— From the Antecedents; He killed him, for hethreatned his death, went out by night armed, way-layd him. —From Circumstances; Cic. Clodius laid wait for Milo, and not Milo for Clodius: He went forth with lusty servants armed; This with a few women; He mount∣ed

on horse-back; This in a Coach.—From the Con∣sequents; Sylla took not up arms for ambition sake, witness the resigned Dictatorship.—A majori; If lawful to kill an Adulterer, tis so to beat him.—Who hath committed sacriledge, will not scruple to commit a theft.—A minori; If Theft a capital crime, much more Sacriledge. From Similies; If Continency be a vertue, then such is Abstīnence.—As Mariners can do nothing without a Pilot, so neither Souldiers without a Commander.—From Conjugates; an honest thing it is to learn, therefore to teach.—From Contra∣ries; If War be the cause of all evils, Peace is the remedy of them.—If he deserve pardon who wrongs one unawares, he merits a reward, who purposely doth one a favor.—From Contradictories; When he refused to entertain him having all mens approbation, would the same entertain him with so many mens of∣fence? —From Division; That any one be a Citizen, he must either be born, or made so; but he neither of these—So from Dilemmas; where either side chosen evinceth the same thing:—Putting a man to the rack, no sure way to discover truth: for either he can endure the pains, and then he will lie amidst his torment; or he cannot endure them, and then he will say any thing, to end them. See concerning these Topicks Quintil. Instit. l. 5. c. 10. &c. and the first and second Book of Aristotles Rhetorick.

9. Now there being infinite other places of Arguments besides these, (especially where the subject is

more complexe) and many of these not furnishing any one subject, ex∣cept with very trivial and common matter (which is to be rejected) they are onely set down to give hints to your invention whilest yet unpractised; which, when more exercised, will presently repair to those chiefly serviceable, and less accommodable to other subjects, without at all saluting the rest.

10. Invention on most subjects is to look two wayes. To prove in the first place; in the second to dis∣prove: to confirm, and then to confute; 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, to state first; and 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, to make and answer objections. (There being nothing, that so much can be said for, but something also may be said against it) which affords a double field of matter to be drawn from these, and such like heads. The first part useth to be more solid; the second, more acute. Hence the natural parts of a dis∣course are, 1. an Exordium or P••e∣face;

2. Declaring and proving our own Positions. 3. Refuting the contrary; 4. A short recapitu∣lation and concluding, called Per∣oratio.

11. In all our Proofs we have re∣course to, either things of sense; or common received Axioms, and Truths, or Laws, and Customes, or the Concessions of our Adver∣sary, or of our Auditors. Neither is it needful to ascend to the ulti∣mate Causes of every thing, but to stay our Probation at our Audi∣tors grants.

12. In inventing take heed of tor∣turing your fancy too much at first; either in the quest of more curious matter, or in setting it down in the most exact form. For, besides that the mind doth more heavily and less accurately, perform many things at once; the Wit especially, is of so delicate a sharpness, that any forcing presently turns the

edge; and where we make too much difficulty, it becomes onely amazed and astonished; and thus circumscribed and limited to none but extraordinary productions, like a pent flame, it blazeth not the more for this, but is rather choked and put out. De ingenio suo pessimè merentur (saith Quintil.) qui diligentiam putant, facere sibi scribendi difficultatem. The best way therefore is, * to give it leave to expatiate it self in its work, and heat, and grow more active by de∣grees; * to take what it sponta∣neously produceth; and pass by, what it doth not readily pass through; which (like the deficient memory) at another attempt, or, by and by, at the same, answereth of its own accord our formerly-frustrated expectation. What order∣ly matter therefore, it shall (un∣forced) offer you, set down; that by this, as a lower step, the Fancy may ascend, and scrue it self up to something more choice; which it

cannot so easily mount unto at the first, without taking, by the way, this meaner rise. But then we must take the pains of twice writing, that the second Copy may cast a∣way (according to its better Provi∣sion) what is ordinary and common in the former.

13. Rather than reserve your com∣positions in your mind, till they are exactly formed, write them down at first without curiosity, and cor∣rect them after in your Paper: Tis said of Virgil, that he drew out his matter first in Prose, then compo∣sed it in verse at large; then again contracted those verses to a smal∣ler number, and better expression. Many things are, as easilier, so sooner, done severally, then at once: as our strength, in parcels, quickly takes up the weight, which united in one it can never move. For the mind travelling with many conceptions at once (undisburdned of any) must needs be much sur∣charged,

retarded and confounded; but she beholds them now much more clearly and distinctly, when thus by writing laid before her face; by this she hath fewer busi∣nesses to attend at once, more room to perfect, and ease to range them, now not so easily skipping and withdrawing themselves out of her sight, or interturbing one ano∣ther, as when they were all confu∣sedly floating in the fancy. * Intel∣lectus (saith Sir Fr. Bacon) cogita∣tionibus gravatus clarescit, &c. si literis mandentur. * Whosoever hath his minde fraught with ma∣ny thoughts, his wits and under∣standing do clarifie and break up [by committing them to writing] He tosseth his thoughts more easi∣ly, he marshalleth them more or∣derly, he seeth better how they look, when they are turned into words; finally he thus waxeth wiser than himself. Though for some smal∣ler pieces of Invention, perhaps Plini's way of composing set

down in his Epistles l. 9. Ep. 36. is not to be disliked.

14. To be furnish'd with variety of good matter (without which change, both the Orators fancy, and the Auditors attention, are soon tired) you must not pursue any one particular Argument too far, and draw it out as it were to the dreggs; for much, upon any one head, cannot be said well: but if well, perchance, by some pre∣gnant wit; yet how much, upon divers objects, will that wit say bet∣ter; and by this advantage, go so much beyond it self, as without it, it doth beyond others? It is con∣venient therefore, often to break off the thread you are spinning; and set your imagination on work afresh, upon some other new cir∣cumstance, as if nothing at all had been meditated before. All which variety of in-cohering matter is to be joynted and set together in the second review.

15. After the exercising of your own thoughts upon your subject (and not before) use the help of o∣ther mens. Whose Writings you find to have handled something pertinent to it. For, if you exer∣cise your own Meditation, after you have read theirs, most-what, the wit is not so active and loving of trouble; but that, like other bodies in motion, it will follow a Track and Rote made before it, rather, than its own Biass, and Force; And as unlikely as it is, before the seeing what others in the first place have done, that your inventions should coincidate with theirs; so difficult it is, after, that yours should vary from them. Be wary therefore of accepting in the first place the auxiliaries of your Books or of your memory: which (doing it without pains) is al∣ways ready with the tendering of her provisions, though never so mean, to prevent the labours of the fancy.

Alter and concoct the matter received from others into your own stile; and improve it, as onely a hint given you, by many additions varying from it.

Notes

• The Parts of Oratory.
• 1. Invention in which
• 1. Of Com∣mon Places of Arguments.
• On these to exercise your own In∣vention fi••st; and in this not to be too curious at first, for your m••tter, or ex∣pression.
• But in a se∣cond copying to reject what is slight, cor∣rect the order, expression, &c.
• To expose them rude in writing, rather than burden the memory.
• Not to prose∣cute long, one argument, but to seek after variety.
• After your own, to make use of other mens Inventi∣ons:
• To alter. To enla••ge them.