Cornelii Valerii Ultraiectini In universam benedicendi [sic] rationem tabula, summam artis rhetoricae complectens

In his petition to Caesar for Ligarius, he praised neither fairness, nor erudition, nor other gifts of nature and fortune, but highlighted only Caesar’s mercy with the highest praise.

From things. Goodwill is captured from things if we praise and exalt our own cause, and diminish those of our adversaries through contempt, or if we affirm that the matter will be useful to the listeners. In this way, we also make them attentive.

Attention. Attention excites the listener; docility instructs them. Both are derived almost from the cause itself. We will secure attention if we promise that we are about to speak about great and illustrious things, unusual or incredible, grave or atrocious, or necessary or useful, and things that pertain to those who are listening. Often, attention is also gained if we ask them to listen attentively, which Cicero does frequently, and is most customary in comic prologues.

Docility embraces the summary of the matter, and shows what we are about to follow. We will prepare for docility if we briefly and clearly set out the summary of the matter about which we are about to speak, especially if it appears to be difficult, or if we remove before all else whatever we think will hinder our cause. Both parts, attention and docility, are often prepared by the proposition and the partition.

We said before that there are three places for exordiums: the first from persons, the second from things, the third from things joined to the person and the cause.

From things joined to the person and the cause.

For it is sometimes allowed to begin in this way, so that the speech does not appear to be premeditated. Quinct. lib. 3.

Nothing should be done by Christian preachers unless the Divine is invoked. For exordiums are not always drawn from those two, but often from these as well, such as from kinship, friendship, time, place, public opinion, the fame of judgments, and the expectation of the masses. Sometimes it is also allowed to draw exordiums from doubt, admiration, a vow, and even from invocation, which was a solemn way of beginning for ancient orators, and which now should be especially solemn for Christian preachers, or from elsewhere, such as