Exergasia (ex-er-ga’-si-a): Repetition of the same idea, changing either its words, its delivery, or the general treatment it is given. A method for amplification, variation, and explanation. As such, exergasia compares to the progymnasmata exercises (rudimentary exercises intended to prepare students of rhetoric for the creation and performance of complete practice orations).
“Tomorrow, tomorrow, tomorrow.” This was Little Orphan Annie’s mantra. So much for “Carpe Diem.” I guess Annie was posing as optimistic. But “loving tomorrow” may be the road to failure and even death. Anticipating a bed of roses may blind you to signs of the times predicting what’s next—like the weather forecast. A blizzard with five feet of snow is coming tonight. Do you still love tomorrow? If you do, you’re mentally ill.
I used to love tomorrow until my girlfriend broke up with me, I rolled my truck over, and got a hernia. All those things happened “tomorrow” and eventually today and yesterday. So then, I started thinking. Tomorrow never comes! This doubles Annie’s delusion. Maybe loving tomorrow involves a spiritual leap—maybe a leap toward the afterlife. That’s the “Big Tomorrow.”
Depending on your religion, you’ve got two places you can go: Heaven or Hell. You land in one or the other depending on what you do today. If you’re good, you go yo heaven. If you’re bad you go to hell. These destinations are eternal—you can’t leave. Hell is a world of eternal pain. Heaven is a world of eternal bliss.
The heaven/hell destinations may provide an incentive to be good. So, even though tomorrow does not exist, I’m going to bet on being good.
So, I’ve started a charity called “Bootstraps.” It helps losers become winners—to be self sufficient, functioning members of the community. We get significant donations from the community’s businesses. Lately, I’ve been embezzling from “Bootstraps.” I have doubled my income and there’s no risk of getting caught. I also collect 10% of my clients’ income from their bootstrapping—doing odd jobs. I make pretty good money there too. I am pretty sure I’m going to hell, but I don’t know for sure. That gives me an opening for my illegal activities. That, and temptation, the king of evil impulses. But like everything, it isn’t totally bad. For example, you may be temped to help an elderly person across the street.
But, there’s always tomorrow. Most things can be put off until tomorrow. So relax.
Definition courtesy of “Silva Rhetoricae” (rhetoric.byu.edu)
The Daily Trope is available on Amazon in paperback under the title of The Book of Tropes for $9.95. It is also available in Kindle format for $5.99.
The Daily Trope 