Partes of an Oracion.
The partes of an oracion prescribed of Rhetoriciens are these.
The Preamble or exorden.
The Tale or narracion.
The prouinge of the matter or contencion.
The conclusion.
Of the whiche partes mencyon shall be made hereafter in euery kynde of oracions, for they are nat founde generally in euery oracion / but some haue moo partes / and some lesse.
Of the Preamble.
[B ii a] Generally the Preamble nat alonly in an oracion demonstratiue / but also in the other two is conteyned and must be fetched out of thre places / that is to say of beneuolence / attencion / & to make the mater easy to be knowen / whiche the Rhetoricians call Docilite.
Beneuolence is the place whereby the herer is made willyng to here vs / and it is conteyned in the thynge that we speke of / in them whom we speke to / & in our owne person. The easyest and moste vsed place of beneuolence consysteth in the offyce or duety of the person / whan we shew that it is oure duety to do that we be aboute.
Out of this place is let the preamble of saynt Gregory Naza- zene / made to the prayse of saynt Basyll / where he sayth that it is his duety to prayse saynt Basyll for thre causes. For the grate loue and frendeshype that hath ben always betwene them / and agayne for the remembraunce of the moste fayre and excellent vertues that were in hym / and thyrdely that the churche myght haue an exam- ple of a good & holy Bysshop, ¶ Trewly by our authours lycence me thynketh that in the preamble Nazazen doth nat only take beneuolence out of the places[1] of his owne person / but also oute of the other two / whan he sheweth the cause [B ii b] of hys duetye / for in praysynge hys frende he dyd but his duetye. In praysynge his vertues / he cam to the place of beneuolence of hym that he spake of /as touchynge the example that the churche shulde haue / it was for theyr profyte / and concernyng the place of beneuolence / taken of them that he spake to. But our authour regarded chyefly the
- ↑ 1 B. place.
