English poetry -- History and criticism; Poetry -- Early works to 1800
dispatcher of all euils; as a great number of his hearers destroyed
themselues, some with weapon, some with poyson, others by drowning and
hanging themselues to be rid out of this vale of misery, in so much as it
was feared least many moe of the people would haue miscaried by occasion
of his perswasions, if king _Ptolome_ had not made a publicke
proclamation, that the Oratour should auoyde the countrey, and no more be
allowed to speake in any matter. Whether now perswasions, may not be said
violent and forcible to simple myndes in speciall, I referre it to all
mens iudgements that heare the story. At least waies, I finde this
opinion, confirmed by a pretie deuise or embleme that _Lucianus_ alleageth
he saw in the pourtrait of _Hercules_ within the Citie of Marseills in
Prouence: where they had figured a lustie old man with a long chayne tyed
by one end at his tong, by the other end at the peoples eares, who stood a
farre of and seemed to be drawen to him by the force of that chayne
fastned to his tong, as who would say, by force of his perswasions. And to
shew more plainly that eloquence is of great force (and not as many men
thinke amisse) the propertie and gift of yong men onely, but rather of old
men, and a thing which better becommeth hory haires then beardlesse boyes,
they seeme to ground it vpon this reason: age (say they and most truly)
brings experience, experience bringeth wisedome, long life yeldes long vse
and much exercise of speach, exercise and custome with wisedome, make an
assured and volluble vtterance: so is it that old men more then any other
sort speake most grauely, wisely, assuredly, and plausibly, which partes
are all that can be required in perfite eloquence, and so in all
deliberations of importance where counsellours are allowed freely to opyne
& shew their conceits, good perswasion is no lesse requisite then speach
it selfe: for in great purposes to speake and not to be able or likely to
perswade, is a vayne thing: now let vs returne backe to say more of this
Poeticall ornament.
_CHAP. III._
_How ornament Poeticall is of two sortes according to the double vertue
and efficacie of figures._
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