According to Aristotle’s conception of epideixis, “the present is the most important; for all speakers praise or blame in regard to existing qualities, but they often make use of other things, both reminding audience of the past and projecting the course of the future” ("Rhet." 1358b). Epideixis is Aristotle's least favored and clearly defined topic. Now considered to be the stuff of ceremonies with its exhortations, panegyrics, encomia, funeral orations and displays of oratorical prowess, epideictic rhetoric appears to most to be discourse less about depth and more attuned to style without substance. Still, the "Art of Rhetoric" is cited as an example of epideictic work (Lockwood, 1996).