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

Circumstances to be observed in the exordium. Attributed to persons are goods of the mind, body, and fortune: but to things, place, time, cause, manner. Quinctil. book 4. ch. 1.

increasing them gradually. We will use these more conveniently when there is a need, in the peroration, and sometimes also in contention while confirming or refuting. What must be observed in exordiums. First, a diligent account must be taken of those qualities which he calls circumstances: of which some belong to persons, such as nation, fatherland, sex, age, education, fortune, occupation, etc. Others belong to things, such as cause, place, occasion, instrument, time, manner. One must see here what must be said, before whom, for whom, against whom, at what time, in what place, in what state of affairs, and according to what public reputation.

What vices must be avoided in the exordium.

However, one must ensure that the exordium is not too long: that it is not vulgar, and that it could not be accommodated to many causes: that it is not common to both you and the adversary: that it is not interchangeable, such that it could be used by the adversary with a few words changed: that it is not too elaborate and splendid: that it is not contrary to the precepts, for example, if docility is prepared when there is a need for goodwill or attention, or if the listeners are made neither well-disposed, nor attentive, nor docile: that it is not separate and alien to the cause: that it is not marked by insolent words, audaciously translated, taken from obsolete antiquity, or poetic license.

What exordiums are to be commended.

The best exordiums are those which appear to be woven from the cause itself: for which the manner of the beginning is to be established, whether shorter or longer. Those that are modest and unassuming are also commended above all: those that are swollen and grand are criticized.

Narration is the historical commemoration of a deed, whether true or probable.

NARRATION is the commemoration of things done, or as if they were done, useful for persuading what you have intended: by which, with the cause and the matters pertaining to the cause