Two Books of the Elements of Rhetoric

kind. For it is mostly a definition, but amplified with Oratorical ornaments, so that, like a painting, it can be seen more clearly by the unskilled. For example, if someone praises laws and speaks about the authority of laws, he will define laws and amplify the definition.

109 Psalm 109

The Psalm, The Lord said Psalm 110:1 (Vulgate/Septuagint 109:1), will rightly be placed in this kind, for it praises Christ. And this praise is simply a certain definition, for it describes the person of Christ, commemorates his duties, explains that he is the Lord who sits at the right hand of God, that is, that he reigns with power equal to God. It adds where he will come forth, namely in Zion, that he will overcome his enemies. He will also be a priest, it says, through whom God will be appeased for us. And it adds what kind of priest he will be, namely eternal, not Levitical, but one who blesses, who announces the remission of sins. Then it describes the punishments of the impious who oppose this Lord. In the end, it also indicates that the Lord himself will undergo common afflictions, from which, however, he will revive. If anyone notes in this way that the Psalm is a description of Christ and knows that the individual parts should be referred to Dialectical definitions, he will clearly understand the Psalm, and when there is need, he will easily illustrate and amplify everything from the definitions of the parts. There are many other species of these kinds, which it is not necessary to enumerate. For it is easy to judge