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Rhetoric and Poetry in the Renaissance - A Study of Rhetorical Terms in English Renaissance Literary Criticism by Donald Lemen Clark
page 56 of 193 (29%)
extremes of rhetoric he shows by denying to oratory any aim of pleasing
and moving. Of Cicero's threefold purpose, to teach, to please, and to
move, he retains only teaching as pertinent to effective public speech.
"Docere," to teach, he uses in the classical sense which includes proof as
well as instruction. Thus he says it has two parts: exposition and
argument.[138] The parts of a speech he reduces to the minimum proposed by
Aristotle: the statement and the proof. Thus although Agricola admits that
rhetoric is most beautiful, he will have none of her.

Following this lead, Thomas Wilson, the English rhetorician and statesman,
defines logic and rhetoric as follows:

Logic is occupied about all matters, and doeth plainlie and nakedly set
forth with apt wordes the sum of things, by way of argumentation.
Rhetorike useth gaie painted sentences, and setteth forthe those matters
with freshe colours and goodly ornaments, and that at large.[139]

According to Agricola and Wilson logic has supplanted rhetoric in finding
all possible means of persuasion in any subject. Following Peter
Ramus,[140] Wilson finds that logic has two parts: _judicium_, "Framyng of
thinges aptlie together, and knittyng words for the purpose accordynglie,"
and _inventio_, "Findyng out matter, and searchyng stuffe agreable to the
cause."[141] Hermagoras and others had in antiquity considered _judicium_,
or judgment, as a part of rhetoric,[142] although Quintilian thought it
less a part of rhetoric than necessary to all parts.[143] _Inventio_, of
course, has always been the most important part of rhetoric. This same
carrying over of the content of classical rhetoric into logic is further
illustrated by Abraham Fraunce, who divides his _Lawiers Logic_ (1588)
into two parts: invention and disposition.

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