exordium

Their invitation Dr. Fosdick expressed in a great exordium: The great east window of Chicago's Fourth Presbyterian Church has long needed proper furbishing in stained glass.

From Time Magazine Archive

I trembled violently at his exordium, and my father continued—

From "Frankenstein" by Mary Shelley

The purpose of the exordium is to put the audience into a receptive and attentive frame of mind.

From "Words Like Loaded Pistols" by Sam Leith

Wilkes used to narrate his dread, as he heard the awful tone of Pitt's exordium, lest the thunder that he saw was gathering should fall on him.

From Lord Chatham His Early Life and Connections by Archibald Phillip Primrose Rosebery

He ended his exordium by invoking with impassioned phrases the aid of this Sacred Heart in letting his discourse bring forth fruit.

From The Marquis of Pe?alta (Marta y Mar?a) A Realistic Social Novel by Armando Palacio Vald?s

I imagine that this sacred influence, under the name of Amphi, is often alluded to in the exordia of Poets, especially by the writers in Dithyrambic measure, when they address Apollo.

From A New System; or, an Analysis of Antient Mythology. Volume I. by Jacob Bryant

Matteo is valuable for the general reflections which form exordia to the eleven books that bear his name.

From Renaissance in Italy, Volume 1 (of 7) The Age of the Despots by John Addington Symonds

They were seeking to catch some lyric exordia as they flew by immersed in the billows of the air.

From The Eleven Comedies, Volume 1 by Aristophanes

But in the exordia and perorations to the several books, as well as in sundry digressions, may be found matter of greater value, embodying the poet's views on the great questions of philosophy.

From The History of Roman Literature From the earliest period to the death of Marcus Aurelius by Charles Thomas Cruttwell

In that highflown oratory, with its carefully studied exordiums, periods and perorations can be clearly discerned the reverence given to power as embodied by possession of property.

From History of the Great American Fortunes, Vol. I Conditions in Settlement and Colonial Times by Myers Gustavus

In his hortatory asides and didactic moralizings with their thees and thous and yeas, he is still the fine essayist, like Fielding in his eighteenth century prefatory exordiums.

From Masters of the English Novel A Study of Principles and Personalities by Richard Burton

As therefore all orators make use of introductory remarks to get the benevolent attention of their audience, so our poet makes use of exordiums fitted to move and reach the hearer.

From Complete Works of Plutarch — Volume 3: Essays and Miscellanies by Plutarch

In exordiums are we not most commonly modest, except when in a cause of accusation we strive to irritate the minds of the judges?

From The Training of a Public Speaker by Grenville Kleiser

Cold in his extemporaneous effusions, artificial in his exordiums, trifling in his strained raillery, and tiresome in his digressions.

From Curiosities of Literature, Vol. 1 by Isaac Disraeli