CLIMAX

climax. Climax, n. a rhetorical figure, gradation, ascent

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Cli″max (?), n. [[L., from Gr. � ladder, staircase, fr. � to make to bend, to lean. See Ladder, Lean, v. i.]] 1. 1. Upward movement; steady increase; gradation; ascent. Glanvill.
2. 2. (Rhet.) A figure in which the parts of a sentence or paragraph are so arranged that each succeeding one rises above its predecessor in impressiveness.
“Tribulation worketh patience, patience experience, and experience hope” — a happy climax. J. D. Forbes. 3. 3. The highest point; the greatest degree.
We must look higher for the climax of earthly good. I. Taylor. To cap the climax, to surpass everything, as in excellence or in absurdity.