So, Fable and Narrative comprise the first two stages of the Progymnasmata. The next four can be grouped by twos, since they are variations of one another. The first two are:
Chreia & Maxim: in which the writer aims to amplify, uncover, and support truth; isolate an idea
Mode: Exposition
Means: All mentioned in previous stages (Figures of Description, Recognition, Reversal, Paraphrasing, Outlining, Retelling by Condensing, Expanding, Altering Sequence or Changing Viewpoint, Identifying the 6 Essential Elements: Agent, Action, Time, Place, Manner, Cause)
In the two previous stages, students are given an entire story to rewrite using the means mentioned above; however, with Chreia & Maxim, the student is only given a proverb, or wise saying and must utilize the skills mastered in Fable & Narrative to explain why this particular saying is worthy of our consideration. Whereas before, it was important to "isolate an image" in the mind and communicate it clearly, students are now asked to "isolate an idea" and communicate and support it effectively. They are asked to do so by following a pattern of paragraphs (or "heads") which comprise essential elements of advanced rhetoric and which are designed to establish as second nature, certain habits of thinking.
8 Heads:
Encomium - praise the sayer, gain your audience; though you do not need their assent at this point, you DO need their attention
Paraphrase - restate the original saying in different words or phrasing
Cause - narrate the situation or explain facts that underlie the truth of the saying
Converse - develop a contrast based on the "Cause" paragraph; "If this is not true, then...." or "If the opposite happens, then...."
Comparison - create an analogy; an analogy discovers similarities in dissimilar objects or events (i.e. the hard labor of education and the hard labor of farming - dissimilar activities - both produce sweet fruit - similar effects)
Example - provide a particular demonstration of the truth of the saying; examples should be immediately and universally recognizable for the intended audience (well-known persons or events)
Testimony - back up your position by calling on the testimony of "ancients" - quoting well-known sources who are recognized as authoritative lends credence to your position
Epilogue - admonishes the audience to believe and requires their assent
Teaches: This stage teaches how to support a given idea
The following two stages are:
Refutation & Confirmation: in which the writer aims to overturn or secure a given fact
Mode: Argument
Means: All of the above, plus...
Blame or Praise the "teller" of the story
Summarize story
Praise or Discredit the source
Attack/Confirm the narrative, act, fact or detail as:
Obscure / Manifest
Implausible / Probable
Impossible / Possible
Illogical / Logical
Improper / Fitting
Unprofitable / Profitable
Teaches: How to attack or defend a given idea
In these stages, students are asked to argue both sides of the same mythological, historical, or legal facts in a given narrative (i.e. George Washington and the cherry tree incident); they both refute and confirm, as outlined above, the likelihood that this incident occurred in the way we are told it occurred. This exercise requires students to evaluate a situation/idea from more than one perspective. This prepares them to anticipate and answer opposing viewpoints.
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