The English Secretary; or, Methode of Writing Epistles and Letters (1599) With, a Declaration of Such Tropes, Figures, and Schemes, as Either Usually or for Ornament Sake Are Therein Required

Part 5

Chapter 52,027 wordsPublic domain

=Now these deedes, actions or thinges are by manie |Oratory| partes to bee handled, or commended, according to the matters or occasions whereout their praises are deriued, and because examples are the best I might sort out diuers: as of |Dauid|, I coulde commend his combate against |Goliah|, first _ab honesto_, in that he being the seruant of god fought against a blasphemer, also in his Princes quarell & defence of his countrey: _ab æquo_, because it is meet and conuenient, that in causes so perillous, the strength of each one be applied. _A necessitate_, insomuch as thereon depended the sauegard of the Prince and people. _Ab vtilitate_, for that he killing such an enemie, brought to their owne country peace and quiet, and also draue the other part in subiection to his king and people. _A difficili_, because the vndertaking thereof was so much the more waighty, by howe much himselfe was as it were an infant agaynst a mightie giant, vnarmed against him that was armed, vnfurnished against him that had al maner of complements of warre: weake, where the other was strong: besides that the terrour of his chalenge and hugenes of stature had before daunted the armie, & put them all out of conceit, in so much that the doubt was so generall, as no man dared to vndertake the quarell. Besides, herein is praised of bodily force, his |Actiuitie|, and courage: of |Vertues|, his woonderfull |Magnanimitie|, who by couragious desire durst to vndertake the same: also his affiance in |Iustice|, and equitie of the cause: His |Pietie| to God, his Prince and countrey: Lastly, his |Fidelitie|, whose life was not spared when each one drew backe for feare to be brought in hazard. And as to this action of |Dauid|, I haue vsed all these |Oratorie| parts, so in causes of sway and gouernment, a man might by the like parts and places be praised for his great wisdome, whereby in handling of some notable action in ambassage or consultation, he hath onely by graue aduise, industrie, discreete search, perswasion or circumspection, compassed weightie matters to the common weale, or thence auoyded huge and imminent dangers: |Cicero| in the coniuration of |Catiline|, beeing a mightie enemie agaynst his owne Citie of |Rome|, might herein be an excellent patterne, who without stirring the people at all, without any maner of bodilie resistance or force of armes, without passing by any priuate or indirect means, did by the sole matter of his |wisedome, =waightines of spéech, forcible reasons, enforcements, rebukes, and perswasions driue him cleane out of the Citie, and being expulsed (to the common peace, tranquilitie and surety of the same Citie) did afterwarde by like demeanour, industrie, and circumspection, so preuent his purposes, so circumuent his policies, so turne him vpside downe, as he dared not, he could not, he shamed to perpetrate what so often hee had sworne, and so many wayes intended: in which action of |Ciceroes|, all these |Oratorie| parts are in like maner included. So likewise, for some one rare & singular point of |Iustice| another might be extolled, as beside common expectation exercising the same. A president hereof might bee the L. chiefe |Iustice| of Englande in the time of King |Henrie| the fourth, who was so streictlie bent to the obseruation of iustice, as hauing one of the Princes seruants arraigned before him at the Kings Bench barre, for a fellon, and beeing one that the young Prince greatlie (at that time of his youth) fauoured. The prince came to the barre, and at the Iudges hands required his seruant; who answered that he was the King his fathers prisoner, and stoode there vpon his triall by lawe for his offences, that he could not in iustice, nor would (by his pardon) deliuer him without his triall. The Prince mooued with such deniall, stroke the Iudge on the face, and woulde by force haue withdrawne the prisoner. The Iudge withstoode him, and aduertising him mildlie of the offence he had done to the seate and place wherin he sate of iustice, in such sort to strike him, stoutlie commanded him to Warde, whereunto (uppon such admonition) the Prince obeyed, and accordinglie remayned in durance, attending the aduertisement and knowledge of his fathers pleasure. Here might bee a great contention, whether the worthie Iudge in his equall administration and execution of iustice, without feare, whereon stoode the hazard of his owne life, beeing vpon him that was in succession to become his soueraigne Lord, were more to be commended: or the Prince, in his subiection, and of all other most singular obedience, more highly to bee extolled: the one daring to doe what was lawfull vpon whatsoeuer hazard, the other humbling himselfe to authoritie which he might easilie haue impugned: and yet both actions such, as by many excellent Oratorie parts séeme fit to be inlarged. For no doubt there was as much vertue in the ones obedience, as there was excellency in the others sentence.=

_An example of a laudatorie epistle soly touching the person._

[Sidenote: _Exordium_, by insinuation.]

[Sidenote: _Allegoria._]

[Sidenote: _Hyperbole._]

[Sidenote: _Procatalepsis._]

[Sidenote: _Epitheton._]

[Sidenote: _Synonymia._]

[Sidenote: _Anadiplosis._]

[Sidenote: _Narratiō._]

[Sidenote: _Hypotiposis._]

[Sidenote: Praise of the Prince in generall.]

[Sidenote: _Epitheton._]

[Sidenote: _Metanoia._]

[Sidenote: _Metaphora._]

[Sidenote: _Præteritio._]

[Sidenote: Parenthesis.]

[Sidenote: Parabola.]

[Sidenote: _Metapora._]

[Sidenote: _Antimetabole._]

[Sidenote: _Periphrasis._]

The feruent loue, and entire zeale and regarde, wherewith your L. euen in these tender and as yet vnripened yeares, seemeth to pursue the vertues and honourable worthinesse of the most renowned and famous, and the reuerend account, wherewith in your most secret imaginations you haue euer admired, & as it were emulated their highest progressions: hath mooued me in recordation thereof (and the rather to deliuer vnto your L. the verye true image and liuely counterfeit indeede, of vnblemished honour, adorned with all princely and most surpassing noblenes) to propose vnto your view, a paragon so peerlesse, and of so rare and excellent performaunce, as whereof no hystorie hath the semblable, no region the match, nor any worlde hereafter may eftsoones be supposed to produce the like. You shall not neede my L. to ransacke volumes, to search out the liues of the most honoured _Scipio_, amongst the Romanes, nor out of Greece to fetche _Themistocles_ or _Alcibiades_ from Lacedemon or Athens. Let _Haniball_ rest with his predecessors, who sometimes by vnbearded fortune did honor to mightie Carthage, and (before them all) Achilles and Hector, that made the fall of Troy so famous: And come wee into our owne Countrey, the land wherein our selues inhabite, the soyle to vs natiue, and of all others most deerest, and see you here my L. a Prince of so rare and incomparable worthinesse, as your selfe will confesse throughout all the course of his life, to haue beene of all others the moste happie and vertuous. _Edwarde_, my L. young _Edward_ (so helde in his fathers life) vnder whose raigne he died in Englande, surnamed for his noted excellencie, sometymes the _blacke Prince_. This is hee on whome Nature, Fortune and Vertue, to the intent to yeelde some apparaunt shewe of theyr woonderfull and mightie operations, had aboue all others so especially enriched with all kinde of wished and most exquisite perfections, as in that present season, in which the delicacie of his aspiring minde reste vnto himselfe the highest branch of honour from out her loftie seate of dignity, it was denied to any other whatsoeuer, to exceede? nay, but so much as to become partaker with so rare a patterne of the like fruites of vertue and neuer dying glory. And to the ende (in rehearsing some fewe of the many particularities of such sounde and vncorrupted maiestie) the radiant shining beames resiant in so high a personage, may with more facilitie the sooner bee discouered: wee will first beginne with his originall and foremost infancie, that by deducing from thence his complementes of princelie excellencie, euen in the verie mouth of his entombed graue, his bones may not bee reposed without an immortall recordation, and the fame of his vertue celebrated by an endlesse memorie. Needlesse were it my L. that I shoulde tell you of this statelie Prince, that hee were sonne and heire in succession, to the most mightie and most renowmed _Edward_ the thirde, king of this noble realme of _England_, the most regarded vertues and inuincible chiualrie of whome, beeing then euerie where so surpassing, and of such redoubted force, as (were it not such memorable issue had sprong out of his Kingly loynes, as wherewith the states of the mightie were daunted, and Europe made to woonder) might hitherto haue remained of-fame compotent ynough, to haue bene compared vnto the mightiest: but that I may rather imparte vnto you, that as golde, in the riches and glorie of it selfe, beareth price and value with the most precious, yet hauing annexed vnto his proportion, a Diamonde of inestimable beautie, valour and goodnesse, becommeth thereby farre more excellent then before, more shining and glorious: so this soueraigne and puissant Monarch (admirable no doubt by himselfe) yet hauing thus tied vnto the sunne-shine of his happie raigne, the obscurer and eclipsing glorie of all other nations, the verie Loadstarre and direction of all other Tropheis, the Sunne it selfe of worthinesse, and absolute concluder of euerie honourable enterprise: howe coulde it bee but that this prerogatiue of his must of force exceede, and goe beyonde all others, when himselfe, by the verie chaire of honours selfe was so farre aduaunced aboue any others? And albeit the high and kingly worthinesse of so statelie offspring and parentage, might no question in sundry sortes, yeelde greate and mightie glorie to the issue: yet that it might not bee alleadged that in taking vppon vs to commende the personage of one, wee shoulde intimate the soueraigntie of the other, as it were by a defect of praise sufficient, to supply the wante of our owne, and that the honourable reputation of another cannot fitly bee saide to bee this mans worthinesse, without by the braunch of his owne deserte, hee hadde in his owne proper right most effectually caried the same. Vnderstand you then of him, that which all men deeme most princely and honourable, and there is none, were it the stoutest enemie that euer liued, but will most highlie commende. This Prince, my L. who euen from the verie cradle seemed to bee addicted to the knowledge, and feare of God, and verie pietie of a sincere and Christian religion (besides that hee was naturally so well formed and instructed in good documentes as anie might bee) became in those verie tender yeares also, so apte vnto learning, as the match or like of him therein, was seldome or neuer in those dayes any where found, and in these times also may not easily bee hearde of. Insomuch as of those that then knewe him verie well, it certainely is deliuered, that beeing but the age of twelue yeares, his vnderstanding and knowledge in the Latine tongue, was so perfect, his progression in the Greeke so excellent, his skill and deliuerie of forraigne languages so woonderfull, his _P_rincelie towardnesse in all thinges so rare and so plentiful, as many times mooued all the regarders to admire him, but founde none of all his associates in the same exercises, that were able to follow him.

[Sidenote: Of his adolescence.]

[Sidenote: _Erotema._]

[Sidenote: _Parenthesis._]

[Sidenote: _Meiosis._]

[Sidenote: _Auxesis._]

[Sidenote: _Epanodus._ His mans estate.]

[Sidenote: His outward actions.]

[Sidenote: His inward vertues.]

[Sidenote: _Hypotiposis._]

[Sidenote: His bounty & great humility.]

[Sidenote: His modestie.]

[Sidenote: _Parenthesis._]

[Sidenote: _Sententia._]

[Sidenote: Parenthesis.]

[Sidenote: Merismus.]

[Sidenote: Allegoria.]

[Sidenote: Confirmatiō.]

[Sidenote: Hypotiposis.]

[Sidenote: _Epiphonema._]

[Sidenote: _Emphasis._]

[Sidenote: _Antipophora._]

[Sidenote: _Commoratiō._]

[Sidenote: _Confutatiō._]

[Sidenote: _Synonymia._]

[Sidenote: Praise of his death.]

[Sidenote: _Epiphonema._]

[Sidenote: _Peroratiō._]

[Sidenote: _Ecphonesis._]

[Sidenote: _Articulus._]