CHAP. 1.--THIS WORK NOT INTENDED AS A TREATISE
ON RHETORIC.
1. THIS work of mine, which is entitled On
Christian Doctrine, was at the commencement divided into two
parts. For, after a preface, in which I answered by anticipation
those who were likely to take exception to the work, I said,
"There are two things on which all interpretation of Scripture
depends: the mode of ascertaining the proper meaning, and the
known, the meaning."(1) As, then, I have already said a great
deal about the mode of ascertaining the meaning, and have given
three books to this one part of the subject, I shall only say a
few things about the mode of making known the meaning, in order
if four books.
2. In the first place, then, I wish by this
preamble to put a stop to the expectations of readers who may
think that I am about to lay down rules of rhetoric such as I
have learnt and taught too, in the secular schools, and to warn
them that they need not look for any such from me. Not that I
think such rules of no use, but that whatever use they have is to
be learnt elsewhere; and if any good man should happen to have
leisure for learning them, he is not to ask me to teach them
either in this work or any other.
CHAP. 2.--IT IS LAWFUL FOR A CHRISTIAN TEACHER
TO USE THE ART OF RHETORIC.
3. Now, the art of rhetoric being available for
the enforcing either of truth or falsehood, who will dare to say
that truth in the person of its defenders is to take its stand
unarmed against falsehood? For example, that those who are trying
to persuade men of what is false are to know how to introduce
their subject, so as to put the hearer into a friendly, or
attentive, or teachable frame of mind, while the defenders of the
truth shall be ignorant of that art? That the former are to tell
their falsehoods briefly, clearly, and plausibly, while the
latter shall tell the truth m such a way that it is tedious to
listen to, hard to understand, and, in fine, not easy to believe
it? That the former are to oppose the to melt, to enliven, and to
rouse them, while the latter shall in defence of the truth be
sluggish, and frigid, and somnolent? Who is such a fool as to
think this wisdom? Since, then, the faculty of eloquence is
available for both sides, and is of very great service in the
enforcing either of wrong or right, why do not good men study to
engage it on the side of truth, when bad men use it to obtain the
triumph of wicked and worthless causes, and to further injustice
and error?
CHAP. 3.--THE PROPER AGE AND THE PROPER MEANS
FOR ACQUIRING RHETORICAL SKILL.
4. But the theories and rules on this subject (to
which, when you add a tongue thoroughly skilled by exercise and
habit in the use of many words and many ornaments of speech, you
have what is called eloquence or oratory) may be learnt apart
from these writings of mine, if a suitable space of time be set
aside for the purpose at a fit and proper age. But only by those
who can learn them any one who cannot learn this art quickly can
never thoroughly learn it at all.(1) Whether this be true or not,
why need we inquire? For even if this art can occasionally be in
the end mastered by men of slower intellect, I do not think it of
so much importance as to wish men who have arrived at mature age
to spend time in learning it. It is enough that boys should give
attention to it; and even of these, not all who are to be fitted
for usefulness in the Church, but only those who are not yet
engaged in any occupation of more urgent necessity, or which
ought evidently to take precedence of it. For men of quick
intellect and glowing temperament find it easier to become
eloquent by reading and listening to eloquent speakers than by
following rules for eloquence. And even outside the canon, which
to our great advantage is fixed in a place of secure authority,
there is no want of ecclesiastical writings, in reading which a
man of ability will acquire a tinge of the eloquence with which
they are written, even though he does not aim at this, but is
solely intent on the matters treated of; especially, of course,
if in addition he practise himself in writing, or dictating, and
at last also in speaking, the opinions he has formed on grounds
of piety them, and who speak with fluency and elegance, cannot
always think of them when they are speaking so as to speak in
accordance with them, unless they are discussing the rules
themselves. Indeed, I think there are scarcely any who can do
both things--that is, speak well, and; in order to do this, think
of the rules of speaking while they are speaking. For we must be
careful that what we have got to say does not escape us whilst we
are thinking about saying it according to the rules of art.
Nevertheless, in the speeches of eloquent men, we find rules of
eloquence carried out which the speakers did not think of as aids
to eloquence at the time when they were speaking, whether they
had ever learnt them, or whether they had never even met with
them. For it is because they are eloquent that they exemplify
these rules; it is not that they use them in order to be
eloquent.
5. And, therefore, as infants cannot learn to
speak except by learning words and phrases from those who do
speak, why should not men become eloquent without being taught
any art of speech, simply by reading and learning the speeches of
eloquent men, and by imitating them as far as they can? And what
do we find from the examples themselves to be the case in this
respect? We know numbers who, without acquaintance with
rhetorical rules, are more eloquent than many who have learnt
these; but we know no one who is eloquent without having read and
listened to the speeches and debates of eloquent men. For even
the art of grammar, which teaches correctness of speech, need not
be learnt by boys, if they have the advantage of growing up and
living among men who speak correctly. For without knowing the
names of any of the faults, they will, from being accustomed to
correct speech, lay hold upon whatever is faulty in the speech of
any one they listen to, and avoid it; just as city-bred men, even
when illiterate, seize upon the faults of rustics.
CHAP. 4.--THEDUTY OF THE CHRISTIAN TEACHER.
6. It is the duty, then, of the interpreter and
teacher of Holy Scripture the defender of the true faith and the
opponent of error, both to teach what is right and to refute what
is wrong, and in the performance of this task to conciliate the
hostile, to rouse the careless, and to tell the ignorant both
what is occurring at present and what is probable in the future.
But once that his hearers are friendly, attentive, and ready to
learn, whether he has found them so, or has himself made them so
the remaining objects are to be carried out in whatever way the
case requires. If the hearers need teaching, the matter treated
of must be made fully known by means of narrative. On the other
hand, to clear up points that are doubtful requires reasoning and
the exhibition of proof. If, however, the hearers require to be
roused rather than instructed, in order that they may be diligent
to do what they already know, and to bring their feelings into
harmony with the truths they admit, greater vigor of speech is
needed. Here entreaties and reproaches, exhortations and
upbraidings, and all the other means of rousing the emotions, are
necessary.
7. And all the methods I have mentioned are
constantly used by nearly every one in cases where speech is the
agency employed.
CHAP. 5.--WISDOM OF MORE IMPORTANCE THAN
ELOQUENCE TO THE CHRIST!AN TEACHER.
But as some men employ these coarsely,
inelegantly, and frigidly, while others use them with acuteness,
elegance, and spirit, the work that I am speaking of ought to be
undertaken by one who can argue and speak with wisdom, if not
with eloquence, and with profit to his hearers, even though he
profit them less than he would if he could speak with eloquence
too. But we must beware of the man who abounds in eloquent
nonsense, and so much the more if the hearer is pleased with what
is not worth listening to, and thinks that because the speaker is
eloquent what he says must be true. And this opinion is held even
by those who think that the art of rhetoric should be taught; for
they confess that "though wisdom without eloquence is of little
service to states, yet eloquence without wisdom is frequently a
positive injury, and is of service never."(1) If, then, the men
who teach the principles of eloquence have been forced by truth
to confess this in the very books which treat of eloquence,
though they were ignorant of the true, that is, the heavenly
wisdom which comes down from the Father of Lights, how much more
ought we to feel it who are the sons and the ministers of this
higher wisdom ! Now a man speaks with more or less wisdom just as
he has made more or less progress in the knowledge of Scripture;
I do not mean by reading them much and committing them to memory,
but by understanding them aright and carefully searching into
their meaning. For there are who read and yet neglect them; they
read to remember the words, but are careless about knowing the
meaning. It is plain we must set far above these the men who are
not so retentive of the words, but see with the eyes of the heart
into the heart of Scripture. Better than either of these,
however, is the man who, when he wishes, can repeat the words,
and at the same time correctly apprehends their meaning.
8. Now it is especially necessary for the man who
is bound to speak wisely, even though he cannot speak eloquently,
to retain in memory the words of Scripture. For the more he
discerns the poverty of his own speech, the more he ought to draw
on the riches of Scripture, so that what he says in his own words
he may prove by the words of Scripture; and he himself, though
small and weak in his own words, may gain strength and power from
the confirming testimony of great men. For his proof gives
pleasure when he cannot please by his mode of speech. But if a
man desire to speak not only with wisdom, but with eloquence also
(and assuredly he will prove of greater service if he can do
both), I would rather send him to read, and listen to, and
exercise himself in imitating, eloquent men, than advise him to
spend time with the teachers of rhetoric; especially if the men
he reads and listens to are justly praised as having spoken, or
as being accustomed to speak, not only with eloquence, but with
wisdom also. For eloquent speakers are heard with pleasure; wise
speakers with profit. And, therefore, Scripture does not say that
the multitude of the eloquent, but "the multitude of the wise is
the welfare of the world."(1) And as we must often swallow
wholesome bitters, so we must always avoid unwholesome sweets.
But what is better than wholesome sweetness or sweet
wholesomeness? For the sweeter we try to make such things, the
easier it is to make their wholesomeness serviceable. And so
there are writers of the Church who have expounded the Holy
Scriptures, not only with wisdom, but with eloquence as well; and
there is not more time for the reading of these than is
sufficient for those who are studious and at leisure to exhaust
them.
CHAP. 6.--THE SACRED WRITERS UNITE ELOQUENCE
WITH WISDOM.
9. Here, perhaps, some one inquires whether the
authors whose divinely-inspired writings constitute the canon,
which carries with it a most wholesome authority, are to be
considered wise only, or eloquent as well. A question which to
me, and to those who think with me, is very easily settled. For
where I understand these writers, it seems to me not only that
nothing can be wiser, but also that nothing can be more eloquent.
And I venture to affirm that all who truly understand what these
writers say, perceive at the same time that it could not have
been properly said in any other way. For as there is a kind of
eloquence that is more becoming in youth, and a kind that is more
becoming in old age, and nothing can be called eloquence if it be
not suitable to the person of the speaker, so there is a kind of
eloquence that is becoming in men who justly claim the highest
authority, and who are evidently inspired of God. With this
eloquence they spoke; no other would have been suitable for them;
and this itself would be unsuitable in any other, for it is in
keeping with their character, while it mounts as far above that
of others (not from empty inflation, but from solid merit) as it
seems to fall below them. Where, however, I do not understand
these writers, though their eloquence is then less apparent, I
have no doubt but that it is of the same kind as that I do
understand. The very obscurity, too, of these divine and
wholesome words was a necessary element in eloquence of a kind
that was designed to profit our understandings, not only by the
discovery of truth, but also by the exercise of their powers.
10. I could, however, if I had time, show those
men who cry up their own form of language as superior to that of
our authors (not because of its majesty, but because of its
inflation), that all those powers and beauties of eloquence which
they make their boast, are to be found in the sacred writings
which God in His goodness has provided to mould our characters,
and to guide us from this world of wickedness to the blessed
world above. But it is not the qualities which these writers have
in common with the heathen orators and poets that give me such
unspeakable delight in their eloquence; I am more struck with
admiration at the way in which, by an eloquence peculiarly their
own, they so use this eloquence of ours that it is not
conspicuous either by its presence or its absence: for it did not
become them either to condemn it or to make an ostentatious
display of it; and if they had shunned it, they would have done
the former; if they had made it prominent. they might have
appeared to be doing the latter. And in those passages where the
learned do note its presence, the matters spoken of are such,
that the words in which they are put seem not so much to be
sought out by the speaker as spontaneously to suggest themselves;
as if wisdom were walking out of its house,--that is, the breast
of the wise man, and eloquence, like an inseparable attendant,
followed it without being called for. (2)
CHAP. 7.--EXAMPLES OF TRUE ELOQUENCE DRAWN
FROM THE EPISTLES OF PAUL AND THE PROPHECIES OF AMOS.
11. For who would not see what the apostle meant
to say, and how wisely he has said it, in the following passage:
"We glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh
patience; and patience, experience; and experience, hope: and
hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad
in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us"?(3) Now
were any man unlearnedly learned (if I may use the expression) to
contend that the apostle had here followed the rules of rhetoric,
would not every Christian, learned or unlearned, laugh at him?
And yet here we find the figure which is called in Greek
12. In the Second Epistle to the Corinthians,
again, he refutes certain false apostles who had gone out from
the Jews, and had been trying to injure his character; and being
compelled to speak of himself, though he ascribes this as folly
to himself, how wisely and how eloquently he speaks! But wisdom
is his guide, eloquence his attendant; he follows the first, the
second follows him, and yet he does not spurn it when it comes
after him. "I say again," he says, "Let no man think me a fool:
if otherwise, yet as a fool receive me, that I may boast myself a
little. That which I speak, I speak it not after the Lord, but as
it were foolishly, in this confidence of boasting. Seeing that
many glory after the flesh, I will glory also. For ye suffer
fools gladly, seeing ye yourselves are wise. For ye suffer, if a
man bring you into bondage, if a man devour you, if a man take of
you, if a man exalt himself, if a man smite you on the face. I
speak as concerning reproach, as though we had been weak.
Howbeit, whereinsoever any is bold (I speak foolishly), I am bold
also. Are they Hebrews? so am I. Are they Israelites? so am I.
Are they the seed of Abraham? so am I. Are they ministers of
Christ? (I speak as a fool), I am more: in labors more abundant,
in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequent, in deaths
off. Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one,
thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I
suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep; in
journeyings often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in
perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in
perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the
sea, in perils among false brethren; in weariness and
painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in
fastings often, in cold and nakedness. Besides those things which
are without, that which cometh upon me daily, the care of all the
churches. Who is weak, and I am not weak? who is offended, and I
burn not? If I must needs glory, I will glory of the things which
concern my infirmities."(3) The thoughtful and attentive perceive
how much wisdom there is in these words. And even a man sound
asleep must notice what a stream of eloquence flows through them.
13. Further stilI, the educated man observes that
those sections which the Greeks call 14. It would be tedious to pursue the matter
further, or to point out the same facts in regard to other
passages of Holy Scripture. Suppose i had taken the further
trouble, at least in regard to the passages I have quoted from
the apostle's writings, to point out figures of speech which are
taught in the art of rhetoric? Is it not more likely that serious
men would think I had gone too far, than that any of the studious
would think I had done enough? All these things when taught by
masters are reckoned of great value; great prices are paid for
them, and the vendors puff them magniloquently. And I fear lest I
too should smack of that puffery while thus descanting on matters
of this kind. It was necessary, however, to reply to the
ill-taught men who think our authors contemptible; not because
they do not possess, but because they do not display, the
eloquence which these men value so highly.
15. But perhaps some one is thinking that I have
selected the Apostle Paul because he is our great orator. For
when he says, "Though I be rude in speech, yet not in knowledge,
(2) he seems to speak as if granting so much to his detractors,
not as confessing that he recognized its truth. If he had said,
"I am indeed rude in speech, but not in knowledge," we could not
in any way have put another meaning upon it. He did not hesitate
plainly to assert his knowledge, because without it he could not
have been the teacher of the Gentiles. And certainly if we bring
forward anything of his as a model of eloquence, we take it from
those epistles which even his very detractors, who thought his
bodily presence weak and his speech contemptible, confessed to be
weighty and powerful.(3)
I see, then, that I must say something about the
eloquence of the prophets also, where many things are concealed
under a metaphorical style, which the more completely they seem
buried under figures of speech, give the greater pleasure when
brought to light. In this place, however, it is my duty to select
a passage of such a kind that I shall not be compelled to explain
the matter, but only to commend the style. And I shall do so,
quoting principally from the book of that prophet who says that
he was a shepherd or herdsman, and was called by God from that
occupation, and sent to prophesy to the people of God. (4) I
shall not, however, follow the Septuagint translators, who, being
themselves under the guidance of the Holy Spirit in their
translation, seem to have altered some passages with the view of
directing the reader's attention more particularly to the
investigation of the spiritual sense; (and hence some passages
are more obscure, because more figurative, in their translation;)
but I shall follow the translation made from the Hebrew into
Latin by the presbyter Jerome, a man thoroughly acquainted with
both tongues.
16. When, then, this rustic, or quondam rustic
prophet, was denouncing the godless, the proud, the luxurious,
and therefore the most neglectful of brotherly love, he called
aloud, saying: "Woe to you who are at ease in Zion, and trust in
the mountain of Samaria, who are heads and chiefs of the people,
entering with pomp into the house of Israel! Pass ye unto Calneh,
and see; and from thence go ye to Hamath the great; then go down
to Gath of the Philistines, and to all the best kingdoms of
these: is their border greater than your border? Ye that are set
apart for the day of evil, and that come near to the seat of
oppression; that lie upon beds of ivory, and stretch yourselves
upon couches that eat the lamb of the flock, and the calves out
of the midst of the herd; that chant to the sound of the viol.
They thought that they had instruments of music like David;
drinking wine in bowls, and anointing themselves with the
costliest ointment: and they were not grieved for the affliction
of Joseph."(1) Suppose those men who, assuming to be themselves
learned and eloquent, despise our prophets as untaught and
unskillful of speech, had been obliged to deliver a message like
this, and to men such as these, would they have chosen to
express themselves in any respect differently--those of them, at
least, who would have shrunk from raving like madmen?
17. For what is there that sober ears could wish
changed in this speech? In the first place, the invective itself;
with what vehemence it throws itself upon the drowsy senses to
startle them into wakefulness: "Woe to you who are at ease in
Zion, and trust in the mountains of Samaria, who are heads and
chiefs of the people, entering with pomp into the house of
Israel!" Next, that he may use the favors of God, who has
bestowed upon them ample territory, to show their ingratitude in
trusting to the mountain of Samaria, where idols were worshipped:
"Pass ye unto Calneh," he says, "and see; and from thence go ye
to Hamath the great; then go down to Gath of the Philistines, and
to all the best kingdoms of these: is their border greater than
your border?" At the same time also that these things are spoken
of, the style is adorned with names of places as with lamps, such
as "Zion," "Samaria," "Calneh," "Hamath the great," and "Gath of
the Philistines." Then the words joined to these places are most
appropriately varied: "ye are at ease," "ye trust," "pass on,"
"go," "descend."
18. And then the future captivity under an
oppressive king is announced as approaching, when it is added:
"Ye that are set apart for the day of evil, and come near to the
seat of oppression." Then are subjoined the evils of luxury: "ye
that lie upon beds of ivory, and stretch yourselves upon couches;
that eat the lamb from the flock, and the calves out of the midst
of the herd." These six clauses form three periods of two members
each. For he does not say: Ye who are set apart for the day of
evil, who come near to the seat of oppression, who sleep upon
beds of ivory, who stretch yourselves upon couches, who eat the
lamb from the flock, and calves out of the herd." If he had so
expressed it, this would have had its beauty: six separate
clauses running on, the same pronoun being repeated each time,
and each clause finished by a single effort of the speaker's
voice. But it is more beautiful as it is, the clauses being
joined in pairs under the same pronoun, and forming three
sentences, one referring to the prophecy of the captivity: "Ye
that are set apart for the day of evil, and come near the seat of
oppression;" the second to lasciviousness: "ye that lie upon beds
of ivory, and stretch yourselves upon couches;" the third to
gluttony: "who eat the lamb from the flock, and the calves out of
the midst of the herd." So that it is at the discretion of the
speaker whether he finish each clause separately and make six
altogether, or whether he suspend his voice at the first, the
third, and the fifth, and by joining the second to the first, the
fourth to the third, and the sixth to the fifth, make three most
elegant periods of two members each: one describing the imminent
catastrophe; another, the lascivious couch; and the third, the
luxurious table.
19. Next he reproaches them with their luxury in
seeking pleasure for the sense of hearing. And here, when he had
said, "Ye who chant to the sound of the viol," seeing that wise
men may practise music wisely, he, with wonderful skill of
speech, checks the flow of his invective, and not now speaking
to, but of, these men, and to show us that we must distinguish
the music of the wise from the music of the voluptuary, he does
not say, "Ye who chant to the sound of the viol, and think that
ye have instruments of music like David;" but he first addresses
to themselves what it is right the voluptuaries should hear, "Ye
who chant to the sound of the viol;" and then, turning to others,
he intimates that these men have not even skill in their art:
"they thought that they had instruments of music like David;
drinking wine in bowls, and anointing themselves with the
costliest ointment." These three clauses are best pronounced when
the voice is suspended on the first two members of the period,
and comes to a pause on the third.
20. But now as to the sentence which follows all
these: "and they were not grieved for the affliction of Joseph."
Whether this be pronounced continuously as one clause, or whether
with more elegance we hold the words, "and they were not
grieved," suspended on the voice, and then add, "for the
affliction of Joseph," so as to make a period of two members; in
any case, it is a touch of marvelous beauty not to say," and they
were not grieved for the affliction of their brother;" but to put
Joseph for brother, so as to indicate brothers in general by the
proper name of him who stands out illustrious from among his
brethren, both in regard to the injuries he suffered and the good
return he made. And, indeed, I do not know whether this figure of
speech, by which Joseph is put for brothers in general, is one of
those laid down in that art which I learnt and used to teach. But
how beautiful it is, and how it comes home to the intelligent
reader, it is useless to tell any one who does not himself feel
it.
21. And a number of other points bearing on the
laws of eloquence could be found in this passage which I have
chosen as an example. But an intelligent reader will not be so
much instructed by carefully analysing it as kindled by reciting
it with spirit. Nor was it composed by man's art and care, but it
flowed forth in wisdom and eloquence from the Divine mind; wisdom
not aiming at eloquence, yet eloquence not shrinking from wisdom.
For if, as certain very eloquent and acute men have perceived and
said, the rules which are laid down in the art of oratory could
not have been observed, and noted, and reduced to system, if they
had not first had their birth in the genius of orators, is it
wonderful that they should be found in the messengers of Him who
is the author of all genius? Therefore let us acknowledge that
the canonical writers are not only wise but eloquent also, with
an eloquence suited to a character and position like theirs.
CHAP. 8.--THE OBSCURITY OF THE
SACRED WRITERS, THOUGH COMPATIBLE WITH ELOQUENCE, NOT TO BE
IMITATED BY CHRISTIAN TEACHERS.
22. But although I take some examples of
eloquence from those writings of theirs which there is no
difficulty in understanding, we are not by any means to suppose
that it is our duty to imitate them in those passages where, with
a view to exercise and train the minds of their readers, and to
break in upon the satiety and stimulate the zeal of those who are
willing to learn, and with a view also to throw a veil over the
minds of the godless either that they may be converted to piety
or shut out from a knowledge of the mysteries, from one or other
of these reasons they have expressed themselves with a useful and
wholesome obscurity. They have indeed expressed themselves in
such a way that those who in after ages understood and explained
them aright have in the Church of God obtained an esteem, not
indeed equal to that with which they are themselves regarded, but
coming next to it. The expositors of these writers, then, ought
not to express themselves in the same way, as if putting forward
their expositions as of the same authority; but they ought in all
their deliverances to make it their first and chief aim to be
understood, using as far as possible such clearness of speech
that either he will be very dull who does not understand them, or
that if what they say should not be very easily or quickly
understood, the reason will lie not in their manner of
expression, but in the difficulty and subtilty of the matter they
are trying to explain.
CHAP. 9.--HOW, AND WITH WHOM, DIFFICULT
PASSAGES ARE TO BE DISCUSSED.
23. For there are some passages which are not
understood in their proper force, or are understood with great
difficulty, at whatever length, however clearly, or with whatever
eloquence the speaker may expound them; and these should never be
brought before the people at all, or only on rare occasions when
there is some urgent reason. In books, however, which are written
in such a style that, if understood, they, so to speak, draw
their own readers, and if not understood, give no trouble to
those who do not care to read them and in private conversations,
we must not shrink from the duty of bringing the truth which we
ourselves have reached within the comprehension of others,
however difficult it may be to understand it, and whatever labor
in the way of argument it may cost us. Only two conditions are to
be insisted upon, that our hearer or companion should have an
earnest desire to learn the truth, and should have capacity of
mind to receive it in whatever form it may be communicated, the
teacher not being so anxious about the eloquence as about the
clearness of his teaching.
CHAP. 10.--THE NECESSITY FOR PERSPICUITY
OF STYLE.
24. Now a strong desire for clearness sometimes
leads to neglect of the more polished
forms of speech, and indifference about what sounds well,
compared with what dearly expresses and conveys the meaning
intended. Whence a certain author, when dealing with speech of
this kind, says that there is in it "a kind of careful
negligence."(1) Yet while taking away ornament, it does not bring
in vulgarity of speech; though good teachers have, or ought to
have, so great an anxiety about teaching that they will employ a
word which cannot be made pure Latin without becoming obscure or
ambiguous, but which when used according to the vulgar idiom is
neither ambiguous nor obscure) not in the way the learned, but
rather in the way the unlearned employ it. For if our translators
did not shrink from saying, "Non congregabo conventicula eorum de
sanguinibus,"(2) because they felt that it was important for the
sense to put a word here in the plural which in Latin is only
used in the singular; why should a teacher of godliness who is
addressing an unlearned audience shrink from using assure instead
of os, if he fear that the latter might be taken not as the
singular of ossa, but as the singular of ora, seeing that African
ears have no quick perception of the shortness or length of
vowels? And what advantage is there in purity of speech which
does not lead to understanding in the hearer, seeing that there
is no use at all in speaking, if they do not understand us for
whose sake we speak? He, therefore, who teaches will avoid all
words that do not teach; and if instead of them he can find words
which are at once pure and intelligible, he will take these by
preference; if, however, he cannot, either because there are no
such words, or because they do not at the time occur to him, he
will use words that are not quite pure, if only the substance of
his thought be conveyed and apprehended in its integrity.
25. And this must be insisted on as necessary to
our being understood, not only in conversations, whether with one
person or with several, but much more in the case of a speech
delivered in public: for in conversation any one has the power of
asking a question; but when all are silent that one may be heard,
and all faces are turned attentively upon him, it is neither
customary nor decorous for a person to ask a question about what
he does not understand; and on this account the speaker ought to
be especially careful to give assistance to those who cannot ask
it. Now a crowd anxious for instruction generally shows by its
movements if it understands what is said; and until some
indication of this sort be given, the subject discussed ought to
be turned over and over, and put in every shape and form and
variety of expression, a thing which cannot be done by men who
are repeating words prepared beforehand and committed to memory.
As soon, however, as the speaker has ascertained that what he
says is understood, he ought either to bring his address to a
close, or pass on to another point. For if a man gives pleasure
when he throws light upon points on which people wish for
instruction, he becomes wearisome when he dwells at length upon
things that are already well known, especially when men's
expectation was fixed on having the difficulties of the passage
removed. For even things that are very well known are told for
the sake of the pleasure they give, if the attention be directed
not to the things themselves, but to the way in which they are
told. Nay, even when the style itself is already well known, if
it be pleasing to the hearers, it is almost a matter of
indifference whether he who speaks be a speaker or a reader. For
things that are gracefully written are often not only read with
delight by those who are making their first acquaintance with
them, but re-read with delight by those who have already made
acquaintance with them, and have not yet forgotten them; nay,
both these classes will derive pleasure even from hearing another
man repeat them. And if a man has forgotten anything, when he is
reminded of it he is taught. But I am not now treating of the
mode of giving pleasure. I am speaking of the mode in which men
who desire to learn ought to be taught. And the best mode is that
which secures that he who hears shall hear the truth, and that
what he hears he shall understand. And when this Joint has been
reached, no further labor need be spent on the truth itself, as
if it required further explanation; but perhaps some trouble may
be taken to enforce it so as to bring it home to the heart. If it
appear right to do this, it ought to be done so moderately as not
to toad to weariness and impatience.
CHAP. 11--THE CHRISTIAN TEACHER MUST SPEAK
CLEARLY, BUT NOT INELEGANTLY.
26. For teaching, of course, true eloquence
consists, not in making people like what they disliked, nor in
making them do what they shrank from, but in making clear what
was obscure; yet if this be done without grace of style, the
benefit does not extend beyond the few eager students who are
anxious to know whatever is to be learnt, however rude and
unpolished the form in which it is put; and who, when they have
succeeded in their object, find the plain truth pleasant food
enough. And it is one of the distinctive features of good
intellects not to love words, but the truth in words. For of what
service is a golden key, if it cannot open what we want it to
open? Or what objection is there to a wooden one if it can,
seeing that to open what is shut is all we want? But as there is
a certain analogy between learning and eating, the very food
without which it is impossible to live must be flavored to meet
the tastes of the majority.
CHAP. 12.--THE AIM OF THE ORATOR, ACCORDING
TO CICERO, IS TO TEACH, TO DELIGHT, AND TO MOVE. OF THESE,
TEACHING IS THE MOST ESSENTIAL.
27. Accordingly a great orator has truly said
that "an eloquent man must speak so as to teach, to delight, and
to persuade." Then he adds: "To teach is a necessity, to delight
is a beauty, to persuade is a triumph."(2) Now of these three,
the one first mentioned, the teaching, which is a matter of
necessity, depends on what we say; the other two on the way we
say it. He, then, who speaks with the purpose of teaching should
not suppose that he has said what he has to say as long as he is
not understood; for although what he has said be intelligible to
himself it is not said at all to the man who does not understand
it. If, however, he is understood, he has said his say, whatever
may have been his manner of saying it. But if he wishes to
delight or persuade his hearer as well, he will not accomplish
that end by putting his thought in any shape no matter what, but
for that purpose the style of speaking is a matter of importance.
And as the hearer must be pleased in order to secure his
attention, so he must be persuaded in order to move him to
action. And as he is pleased if you speak with sweetness and
elegance, so he is persuaded if he be drawn by your promises, and
awed by your threats; if he reject what you condemn, and embrace
what you commend; if he grieve when you heap up objects for
grief, and rejoice when you point out an object for joy; if he
pity those whom you present to him as objects of pity, and shrink
from those whom you set before him as men to be feared and
shunned. I need not go over all the other things that can be done
by powerful eloquence to move the minds of the hearers, not
telling them what they ought to do, but urging them to do what
they already know ought to be done.
28. If, however, they do not yet know this, they
must of course be instructed before they can be moved. And
perhaps the mere knowledge of their duty will have such an effect
that there will be no need to move them with greater strength of
eloquence. Yet when this is needful, it ought to be done. And it
is needful when people, knowing what they ought to do, do it not.
Therefore, to teach is a necessity. For what men know, it is in
their own hands either to do or not to I do. But who would say
that it is their duty to do what they do not know? On the same
principle, to persuade is not a necessity: for it is not always
called for; as, for example, when the hearer yields his assent to
one who simply teaches or gives pleasure. For this reason also to
persuade is a triumph, because it is possible that a man may be
taught and delighted, and yet not give his consent. And what will
be the use of gaining the first two ends if we fail in the third?
Neither is it a necessity to give pleasure; for when, in the
course of an address, the truth is clearly pointed out (and this
is the true function of teaching), it is not the fact, nor is it
the intention, that the style of speech should make the truth
pleasing, or that the style should of itself give pleasure; but
the truth itself, when exhibited in its naked simplicity, gives
pleasure, because it is the truth. And hence even falsities are
frequently a source of pleasure when they are brought to light
and exposed. It is not, of course, their falsity that gives
pleasure; but as it is true that they are false, the speech which
shows this to be true gives pleasure.
CHAP. 13.--THE HEARER MUST BE MOVED AS
WELL AS INSTRUCTED.
29. But for the sake of those who are so
fastidious that they do not care for truth unless it is put in
the form of a pleasing discourse, no small place has been
assigned in eloquence to the art of pleasing. And yet even this
is not enough for those stubborn-minded men who both understand
and are pleased with the teacher's discourse, without deriving
any profit from it. For what does it profit a man that he both
confesses the truth and praises the eloquence, if he does not
yield his consent, when it is only for the sake of securing his
consent that the speaker in urging the truth gives careful
attention to what he says? If the truths taught are such that to
believe or to know them is enough, to give one's assent implies
nothing more than to confess that they are true. When, however,
the truth taught is one that must be carried into practice, and
that is taught for the very purpose of being practised, it is
useless to be persuaded of the truth of what is said, it is
useless to be pleased with the manner in which it is said, if it
be not so learnt as to be practised. The eloquent divine, then,
when he is urging a practical truth, must not only teach so as to
give instruction, and please so as to keep up the attention, but
he must also sway the mind so as to subdue the will. For if a man
be not moved by the force of truth, though it is demonstrated to
his own confession, and clothed in beauty of style, nothing
remains but to subdue him by the power of eloquence.
CHAP. 14.--BEAUTY OF DICTION TO BE IN KEEPING
WITH THE MATTER.
30. And so much labor has been spent by men on
the beauty of expression here spoken of, that not only is it not
our duty to do, but it is our duty to shun and abhor, many and
heinous deeds of wickedness and baseness which wicked and base
men have with great eloquence recommended, not with a view to
gaining assent, but merely for the sake of being read with
pleasure. But may God avert from His Church what the prophet
Jeremiah says of the synagogue of the Jews: "A wonderful and
horrible thing is committed in the land: the prophets prophesy
falsely, and the priests applaud them with their hands;(1) and my
people love to have it so: and what will ye do in the end
thereof?"(2) O eloquence, which is the more terrible from its
purity, and the more crushing from its solidity! Assuredly it is
"a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces." For to this God
Himself has by the same prophet compared His own word spoken
through His holy prophets.(3) God forbid, then, God forbid that
with us the priest should applaud the false prophet, and that
God's people should love to have and so. God forbid, I say, that
with us there should be such terrible madness! For what shall we
do in the end thereof? And assuredly it is preferable, even
though what is said should be less intelligible, less pleasing,
and less persuasive, that truth be spoken, and that what is just,
not what is iniquitous, be listened to with pleasure. But this,
of course, cannot be, unless what is true and just be expressed
with elegance.
31. In a serious assembly, moreover, such as is
spoken of when it is said, "I will praise Thee among much
people,"(4) no pleasure is derived from that species of eloquence
which indeed says nothing that is false, but which buries small
and unimportant truths under a frothy mass of ornamental words,
such as would not be graceful or dignified even if used to adorn
great and fundamental truths. And something of this sort occurs
in a letter of the blessed Cyprian, which, I think, came there by
accident, or else was inserted designedly with this view, that
posterity might see how the wholesome discipline of Christian
teaching had cured him of that redundancy of language, and
confined him to a more dignified and modest form of eloquence,
such as we find in his subsequent letters, a style which is
admired without effort, is sought after with eagerness, but is
not attained without great difficulty. He says, then, in one
place," Let us seek this abode: the neighboring solitudes afford
a retreat where, whilst the spreading shoots of the vine trees,
pendulous and intertwined, creep amongst the supporting reeds,
the leafy covering has made a portico of vine."(5) There is
wonderful fluency and exuberance of language here; but it is too
florid to be pleasing to serious minds. But people who are fond
of this style are apt to think that men who do not use it, but
employ a more chastened style, do so because they cannot attain
the former, not because their judgment teaches them to avoid it.
Wherefore this holy man shows both that he can speak in that
style, for he has done so once, and that he does not choose, for
he never uses it again.
CHAP. 15.--THE CHRISTIAN TEACHER SHOULD
PRAY BEFORE PREACHING.
32. And so our Christian orator, while he says
what is just, and holy, and good (and he ought never to say
anything else), does all he can to be heard with intelligence,
with pleasure, and with obedience; and he need and so far as
he succeeds, he will succeed more by piety in prayer than by
gifts of oratory; and so he ought to pray for himself, and for
those he is about to address, before he attempts to speak. And
when the hour is come that he must speak, he ought, before he
opens his mouth, to lift up his thirsty soul to God, to drink in
what he is about to pour forth, and to be himself filled with
what he is about to distribute. For, as in regard to every matter
of faith and love there are many things that may be said, and
many ways of saying them, who knows what it is expedient at a
given moment for us to say, or to be heard saying, except God who
knows the hearts of all? And who can make us say what we ought,
and in the way we ought, except Him in whose hand both we and our
speeches are? Accordingly, he who is anxious both to know and to
teach should learn all that is to be taught, and acquire such a
faculty of speech as is suitable for a divine. But when the hour
for speech arrives, let him reflect upon that saying of our
Lord's as better suited to the wants of a pious mind "Take no
thought how or what ye shall speak; for it shall be given you in
that same hour what ye shall speak. For it is not ye that speak,
but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you."(1) The Holy
Spirit, then, speaks thus in those who for Christ's sake are
delivered to the persecutors; why not also in those who deliver
Christ's message to those who are wilting to learn?
CHAP. 16.--HUMAN DIRECTIONS NOT TO BE
DESPISED, THOUGH GOD MAKES THE TRUE TEACHER.
33. Now if any one says that we need not direct
men how or what they should teach, since the Holy Spirit makes
them teachers, he may as well say that we need not pray, since
our Lord says, "Your Father knoweth what things ye have need of
before ye ask Him;"(2) or that the Apostle Paul should not have
given directions to Timothy and Titus as to how or what they
should teach others. And these three apostolic epistles ought to
be constantly before the eyes of every one who has obtained the
position of a teacher in the Church. In the First Epistle to
Timothy do we not read: "These things command and teach?"(3) What
these things are, has been told previously. Do we not read there:
"Rebuke not an elder, but entreat him as a father?"(4) Is it not
said in the Second Epistle: "Hold fast the form of sound words,
which thou hast heard of me?"(5) And is he not be ashamed,
rightly dividing the word of truth?"(6) And in the same place:
"Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove,
rebuke, exhort, with all long-suffering and doctrine."(7) And so
in the Epistle to Titus, does he not say that a bishop ought to
"hold fast the faithful word as he hath been taught, that he may
be able by sound doctrine both to exhort and to convince the
gainsayers?"(8) There, too, he says: "But speak thou the things
which become sound doctrine: that the aged men be sober," and so
on.(9) And there, too: "These things speak, and exhort, and
rebuke with all authority. Let no man despise thee. Put them in
mind to be subject to principalities and powers"(10) and so on.
What then are we to think? Does the apostle in any way contradict
himself, when, though he says that men are made teachers by the
operation of the Holy Spirit, he yet himself gives them
directions how and what they should teach? Or are we to
understand, that though the duty of men to teach even the
teachers does not cease when the Holy Spirit is given, yet that
neither is he who planteth anything, nor he who watereth, but God
who giveth the increase?(11) Wherefore though holy men be our
helpers, or even holy angels assist us, no one learns aright the
things that pertain to life with God, until God makes him ready
to learn from Himself, that God who is thus addressed in the
psalm: "Teach me to do Thy will; for Thou art my God."(12) And so
the same apostle says to Timothy himself, speaking, of course, as
teacher to disciple: "But continue thou in the things which thou
hast learned, and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast
learned them."(13) For as the medicines which men apply to the
bodies of their fellow-men are of no avail except God gives them
virtue (who can heal without their aid, though they cannot
without His), and yet they are applied; and if it be done from a
sense of duty, it is esteemed a work of mercy or benevolence; so
the aids of teaching, applied through the instrumentality of man,
are of advantage to the soul only when God works to make them of
advantage, who could give the gospel to man even without the help
or agency of men.
CHAP. 17.--THREEFOLD DIVISION OF THE VARIOUS
STYLES OF SPEECH.
34. He then who, in speaking, aims at enforcing
what is good, should not despise any of those three objects,
either to teach, or to give pleasure, or to move, and should pray
and strive, as we have said above, to be heard with intelligence,
with pleasure, and with ready compliance· And when he does this
with elegance and propriety, he may justly be called eloquent,
even though he do not carry with him the assent of his hearer.
For it is these three ends, viz., teaching, giving pleasure, and
moving, that the great master of Roman eloquence himself seems to
have intended that the following three directions should
subserve: "He, then, shall be eloquent, who can say little things
in a subdued style, moderate things in a temperate style, and
great things in a majestic style:"(1) as if he had taken in also
the three ends mentioned above, and had embraced the whole in one
sentence thus: "He, then, shall be eloquent, who can say little
things in a subdued style, in order to give instruction, moderate
things in a temperate style, in order to give pleasure, and great
things in a majestic style, in order to sway the mind."
CHAP. 18.--THE CHRISTIAN ORATOR IS CONSTANTLY
DEALING WITH GREAT MATTERS.
35. Now the author I have quoted could have
exemplified these three directions, as laid down by himself, in
regard to legal questions: he could not, however, have done so in
regard to ecclesiastical questions,--the only ones that an
address such as I wish to give shape to is concerned with. For of
legal questions those are called small which have reference to
pecuniary transactions; those great where a matter relating to
man's life or liberty comes up. Cases, again, which have to do
with neither of these, and where the intention is not to get the
hearer to do, or to pronounce judgment upon anything, but only to
give him pleasure, occupy as it were a middle place between the
former two, and are on that account called middling, or moderate.
For moderate things get their name from modus (a measure); and it
is an abuse, not a proper use of the word moderate, to put it for
little. In questions like ours, however, where all things, and
especially those addressed to the people from the place of
authority, ought to have reference to men's salvation, and that
not their temporal but their eternal salvation, and where also
the thing to be guarded against is eternal ruin, everything that
we say is important; so much so, that even what the preacher says
about pecuniary matters, whether it have reference to loss or
gain, whether the amount be great or small, should not seem
unimportant. For justice is never unimportant, and justice ought
assuredly to be observed, even in small affairs of money, as our
Lord says: "He that is faithful in that which is least, is
faithful also in much."(2) That which is least, then, is very
little; but to be faithful in that which is least is great. For
as the nature of the circle, viz., that all lines drawn from the
centre to the circumference are equal, is the same in a great
disk that it is in the smallest coin; so the greatness of justice
is in no degree lessened, though the matters to which justice is
applied be small.
36. And when the apostle spoke about trials in regard to
secular affairs (and what were these but matters of money?), he
says: "Dare any of you, having a matter against another, go to
law before the unjust, and not before the saints? Do ye not know
that the saints shall judge the world? and if the world shall be
judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters?
Know ye not that we shall judge angels? how much more things that
pertain to this life? If, then, ye have judgments of things
pertaining to this life, set them to judge who are least esteemed
in the Church. I speak to your shame. Is it so, that there is not
a wise man among you? no, not one that shall be able to judge
between his brethren? But brother goeth to law with brother, and
that before the unbelievers. Now therefore there is utterly a
fault among you, because ye go to law one with another: why do ye
not rather take wrong? why do ye not rather suffer yourselves to
be defrauded? Nay, ye do wrong, and defraud, and that your
brethren. Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the
kingdom of God?"(3) Why is it that the apostle is so indignant,
and that he thus accuses, and upbraids, and chides, and
threatens? Why is it that the changes in his tone, so frequent
and so abrupt, testify to the depth of his emotion? Why is it, in
fine, that he speaks in a tone so exalted about matters so very
trifling? Did secular matters deserve so much at his hands? God
forbid. No; but all this is done for the sake of justice,
charity, and piety, which in the judgment of every sober mind are
great, even when applied to matters the very least.
37. Of course, if we were giving men advice as to how they
ought to conduct secular cases, either for themselves or for
their connections, before the church courts, we would tightly
advise them to conduct them quietly as matters of little moment.
But we are treating of the manner of speech of the man who is to
be a teacher of the truths which deliver us from eternal misery
and bring us to eternal happiness; and wherever these truths are
spoken of, whether in public or private, whether to one or many,
whether to friends or enemies, whether in a continuous discourse
or in conversation, whether in tracts, or in books, or in letters
long or short, they are of great importance. Unless indeed we are
prepared to say that, because a cup of cold water is a very
trifling and common thing, the saying of our Lord that he who
gives a cup of cold water to one of His disciples shall in no
wise lose his reward,(1) is very trivial and unimportant. Or that
when a preacher takes this saying as his text, he should think
his subject very unimportant, and therefore speak without either
eloquence or power, but in a subdued and humble style. Is it not
the case that when we happen to speak on this subject to the
people, and the presence of God is with us, so that what we say
is not altogether unworthy of the subject, a tongue of fire
springs up out of that cold water which inflames even the cold
hearts of men with a zeal for doing works of mercy in hope of an
eternal reward?
CHAP. 19.--THE CHRISTIAN TEACHER MUST USE
DIFFERENT STYLES ON DIFFERENT OCCASIONS.
38. And yet, while our teacher ought to speak of
great matters, he ought not always to be speaking of them in a
majestic tone, but in a subdued tone when he is teaching,
temperately when he is giving praise or blame. When, however,
something is to be done, and we are speaking to those who ought,
but are not willing, to do it, then great matters must be spoken
of with power, and in a manner calculated to sway the mind. And
sometimes the same important matter is treated in all these ways
at different times, quietly when it is being taught, temperately
when its importance is being urged, and powerfully when we are
forcing a mind that is averse to the truth to turn and embrace
it. For is there anything greater than God Himself? Is nothing,
then, to be learnt about Him? Or ought he who is teaching the
Trinity in unity to speak of it otherwise than in the method of
calm discussion, so that in regard to a subject which it is not
easy to comprehend, we may understand as much as it is given us
to understand? Are we in this case to seek out ornaments instead
of proofs? Or is the hearer to be moved to do something instead
of being instructed so that he may learn something? But when we
come to praise God, either in Himself, or in His works, what a
field for beauty and splendor of language opens up before man,
who can task his powers to the utmost in praising Him whom no one
can adequately praise, though there is no one who does not praise
Him in some measure ! But if He be not worshipped, or if idols,
whether they be demons or any created being whatever, be
worshipped with Him or in preference to Him, then we ought to
speak out with power and impressiveness, show how great a
wickedness this is, and urge men to flee from it.
CHAP. 20.--EXAMPLES OF THE VARIOUS STYLES
DRAWN FROM SCRIPTURE.
39. But now to come to something more definite.
We have an example of the calm, subdued style in the Apostle
Paul, where he says: "Tell me, ye that desire to be under the
law, do ye not hear the law? For it is written, that Abraham had
two sons; the one by a bond maid, the other by a free woman. But
he who was of the bond woman was born after the flesh; but he of
the free woman was by promise. Which things are an allegory: for
these are the two covenants; the one from the Mount Sinai, which
gendereth to bondage, which is Hagar. For this Hagar is Mount
Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and is
in bondage with her children. But Jerusalem which is above is
free, which is the mother of us all;"(2) and so on. And in the
same way where he reasons thus: "Brethren, I speak after the
manner of men: Though it be but a man's covenant, yet if it be
confirmed, no man disannulleth, or addeth thereto. Now to Abraham
and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds,
as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ. And
this I say, that the covenant, that was confirmed before of God
in Christ, the law, which was four hundred and thirty years
after, cannot disannul, that it should make the promise of none
effect. For if the inheritance be of the law, it is no more of
promise: but God gave it to Abraham by promise."(3) And because
it might possibly occur to the hearer to ask, If there is no
inheritance by the law, why then was the law given? he himself
anticipates this objection and asks, "Wherefore then serveth the
law?" And the answer is given: "It was added because of
transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was
made; and it was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator.
Now a mediator is not a mediator of one; but God is one." And
here an objection occurs which he himself has stated: "Is the law
then against the promises of God?" He answers: "God forbid." And
he also states the reason in these words: "For if there had been
a law given which could have given life, verily righteousness
should have been by the law. But the Scripture hath concluded all
under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be
given to them that believe."(1) It is part, then, of the duty of
the teacher not only to interpret what is obscure, and to unravel
the difficulties of questions, but also, while doing this, to
meet other questions which may chance to suggest themselves, lest
these should cast doubt or discredit on what we say. If, however,
the solution of these questions suggest itself as soon as the
questions themselves arise, it is useless to disturb what we
cannot remove. And besides, when out of one question other
questions arise, and out of these again still others; if these be
all discussed and solved, the reasoning is extended to such a
length, that unless the memory be exceedingly powerful and active
the reasoner finds it impossible to return to the original
question from which he set out. It is, however, exceedingly
desirable that whatever occurs to the mind as an objection that
might be urged should be stated and refuted, lest it turn up at a
time when no one will be present to answer it, or lest, if it
should occur to a man who is present but says nothing about it,
it might never be thoroughly removed.
40. In the following words of the apostle we have
the temperate style: "Rebuke not an elder, but entreat him as a
father; and the younger men as brethren; the elder women as
mothers, the younger as sisters."(2) And also in these: "I
beseech you, therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye
pre-service."(3) And almost the whole of this hortatory passage
is in the temperate style of eloquence; and those parts of it
are the most beautiful in which, as if paying what was due,
things that belong to each other are gracefully brought together.
For example: " Having then gifts, differing according to the
grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy
according to the proportion of faith; or ministry, let us wait on
our ministering; or he that teacheth, on teaching; or he that
exhorteth, on exhortation: he that ruleth, with diligence; he
that showeth mercy, with cheerfulness. Let love be without
dissimulation. Abhor that, which is evil, cleave to that which is
good. Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love;
in honor preferring one another; not slothful in business;
fervent in spirit; serving the Lord; rejoicing in hope; patient
in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer; distributing to the
necessity of saints; given to hospitality. Bless them which
persecute you: bless, and curse not. Rejoice with them that do
rejoice, and weep with them that weep. Be of the same mind one
toward another."(4) And how gracefully all this is brought to a
close in a period of two members: "Mind not high things, but
condescend to men of low estate !" And a little afterwards:
"Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is
due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honor to whom
honor."(5) And these also, though expressed in single clauses,
are terminated by a period of two members: "Owe no man anything,
but to love one another." And a little farther on: "The night is
far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the
works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light. Let us
walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not
in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying: but put
ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the
flesh, to fulfill the lusts thereof."(6) Now if the passage were
translated thus, "et carnis providentiam ne in cancupiscentiis
feceritis,"(7) the ear would no doubt be gratified with a more
harmonious ending; but our translator, with more strictness,
preferred to retain even the order of the words. And how this
sounds in the Greek language, in which the apostle spoke, those
who are better skilled in that tongue may determine. My opinion,
however, is, that what has been translated to us in the same
order of words does not run very harmoniously even in the
original tongue.
41. And, indeed, I must confess that our authors
are very defective in that grace of speech which consists in
harmonious endings. Whether this be the fault of the translators,
or whether, as I am more inclined to believe, the authors
designedly avoided such ornament, I dare not affirm; for I
confess I do not know. This I know, however, that if any one who
is skilled in this species of harmony would take the closing
sentences of these writers and arrange them according to the law
of harmony (which he could very easily will learn that these
divinely-inspired men are not defective in any of those points
which he has been taught in the schools of the grammarians and
rhetoricians to consider of importance; and he will find in them
many kinds of speech of great beauty,--beautiful even in our
language, but especially beautiful in the original,--none of
which can be found in those writings of which they boast so much.
But care must be taken that, while adding harmony, we take away
none of the weight from these divine and authoritative
utterances. Now our prophets were so far from being deficient in
the musical training from which this harmony we speak of is most
fully learnt, that Jerome, a very learned man, describes even the
metres employed by some of them,(1) in the Hebrew language at
least; though, in order to give an accurate rendering of the
words, he has not preserved these in his translation I, however
(to speak of my own feeling, which is better known to me than it
is to others, and than that of others is to me), while I do not
in my own speech, however modestly I think it done, neglect these
harmonious endings, am just as well pleased to find them in the
sacred authors very rarely.
42. The majestic style of speech differs from the
temperate style just spoken of, chiefly in that it is not so much
decked out with verbal ornaments as exalted into vehemence by
mental emotion. It uses, indeed, nearly all the ornaments that
the other does; but if they do not happen to be at hand, it does
not seek for them. For it is borne on by its own vehemence; and
the force of the thought, not the desire for ornament, makes it
seize upon any beauty of expression that comes in its way. It is
enough for its object that warmth of feeling should suggest the
fitting words; they need not be selected by careful elaboration
of speech. If a brave man be armed with weapons adorned with gold
and jewels, heat of battle, not because they are costly, but
because they are arms; and yet the same man does great execution,
even when anger furnishes him with a weapon that he digs out of
the ground.(2) The apostle in the following with patience all the
evils of this life. It is "Behold," he says, "now is the accepted
time; behold, now is the day of salvation. Giving no offence in
anything, that the ministry not blamed: but in all things
approving ourselves as the ministers of God, in much patience, in
afflictions, in necessities, in distresses, in strifes, in
imprisonments, in tumults, in labors, in watchings, in fastings;
by pureness, by knowledge, by long-suffering, of God, by the
armor of righteousness on the right hand and on the left, by
honor and dishonor, by evil report and good report: as deceivers,
and yet true; as unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and,
behold, we live; as chastened, and not killed; as sorrowful, yet
alway rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having
nothing, and yet possessing all things."(3) See him still
burning: "O ye Corinthians, our mouth is opened unto you, our
heart is enlarged," and so on; it would be tedious to go through
it all.
43. And in the same way, writing to the Romans,
he urges that the persecutions of treats this subject with both
power and beauty: "We know," he says, "that all things work
together for good to them that love God, to them who are the
called according to His purpose. For whom He did foreknow, He
also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of His Son,
that He might be the first-born among many brethren. Moreover,
whom He did predestinate, them He also called; and whom He
called, them He also justified; and whom He justified, them He
also glorified. What shall we then say to these things ? If God
be for us, who can be against us? He that spared not His own Son,
but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also
freely give us all things ? Who shall lay anything to the charge
of God's elect ? It is God that justifieth; who is he that
condemneth ? It is Christ that died, yea, rather, that is risen
again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh
intercession for us. Who shall separate us from the love of
Christ ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or
famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword ? (As it is written, For
Thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as
sheep for the slaughter.) Nay, in all these things we are more
than conquerors, through Him that loved us. For I am persuaded,
that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor
powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor
depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from
the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."(1)
44. Again, in writing to the Galatians, although
the whole epistle is written in the subdued style, except at the
end, where it rises into a temperate eloquence, yet he interposes
one passage of so much feeling that, notwithstanding the absence
of any ornaments such as appear in the passages just quoted, it
cannot be called anything but powerful: "Ye observe days, and
months, and times, and years. I am afraid of you, lest I have
bestowed upon you labor in vain. Brethren, I beseech you, be as I
am; for I am as ye are: ye have not injured me at all. Ye know
how, through infirmity of the flesh, I preached the gospel unto
you at the first. And my temptation which was in my flesh ye
despised not, nor rejected; but received me as an angel of God,
even as Christ Jesus. Where is then the blessedness ye spake of ?
for I bear you record, that, if it had been possible, ye would
have plucked out your own eyes, and have given them to me. Am I
therefore become your enemy, because I tell you the truth ? They
zealously affect you, but pot well; yea, they would exclude you,
that ye might affect them. But it is good to be zealously
affected always in a good thing, and not only when I am present
with you. My little children, of whom I travail in birth again
until Christ be formed in you, I desire to be present with you
now, and to change my voice; for I stand in doubt of you."(2) Is
there anything here of contrasted words arranged antithetically,
or of words rising gradually to a climax, or of sonorous clauses,
and sections, and periods ? Yet, notwithstanding, there is a glow
of strong emotion that makes us feel the fervor of eloquence.
CHAP. 21.--EXAMPLES OF THE VARIOUS STYLES,
DRAWN FROM THE TEACHERS OF THE CHURCH, ESPECIALLY AMBROSE AND
CYPRIAN.
45. But these writings of the apostles, though
dear, are yet profound, and are so written that one who is not
content with a superficial acquaintance, but desires to know them
thoroughly, must not only read and hear them, but must have an
expositor. Let us, then, study these various modes of speech as
they are exemplified in the writings of men who, by reading the
Scriptures, have attained to the knowledge of divine and saving
truth, and have ministered it to the Church. Cyprian of blessed
memory writes in the subdued style in his treatise on the
sacrament of the cup. In this book he resolves the question,
whether the cup of the Lord ought to contain water only, or water
mingled with wine. But we must quote a passage by way of
illustration. After the customary introduction, he proceeds to
the discussion of the point in question. "Observe" he says, "that
we are instructed, in presenting the cup, to maintain the custom
handed down to us from the Lord, and to do nothing that our Lord
has not first done for us: so that the cup which is offered m
remembrance of Him should be mixed with wine. For, as Christ
says, 'I am the true vine,'(3) it follows that the blood of
Christ is wine, not water; and the cup cannot appear to contain
His blood by which we are redeemed and quickened, if the wine be
absent; for by the wine is the blood of Christ typified, that
blood which is foreshadowed and proclaimed in all the types and
declarations of Scripture. For we find that in the book of
Genesis this very circumstance in regard to the sacrament is
foreshadowed, and our Lord's sufferings typically set forth, in
the case of Noah, when he drank wine, and was drunken, and was
uncovered within his tent, and his nakedness was exposed by his
second son, and was carefully hidden by his elder and his younger
sons.(4) It is not necessary to mention the other circumstances
in detail, as it is only necessary to observe this point, that
Noah, foreshadowing the future reality, drank, not water, but
wine, and thus showed forth our Lord's passion. In the same way
we see the sacrament of the Lord's supper prefigured in the case
of Melchizedek the priest, according to the testimony of the Holy
Scriptures, where it says: ' And Melchizedek king of Salem
brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most
high God. And he blessed Abraham.'(5) Now, that Melchizedek was a
type of Christ, the Holy Spirit declares in the Psalms, where the
Father addressing the Son says, 'Thou art a priest for ever after
the order of Melchizedek.'(6)"(7) In this passage, and in all of
the letter that follows, the subdued style is maintained, as the
reader may easily satisfy himself.
46. St. Ambrose also, though dealing with a
question of very great importance, the equality of the Holy
Spirit with the Father and the Son, employs the subdued style,
because the object he has in view demands, not beauty of diction,
nor the swaying of the mind by the stir of emotion, but facts and
proofs. Accordingly, in the introduction to his work, we find the
following passage among others: "When Gideon was startled by the
message he had heard from God, that, though thousands of the
people failed, yet through one man God would driver His people
from their enemies, he brought forth a kid of the goats, and by
direction of the angel laid it with unleavened cakes upon a rock,
and poured the broth over it; and as soon as the angel of God
touched it with the end of the staff that was in his hand, there
rose up fire out of the rock and consumed the offering.I Now this
sign seems to indicate that the rock was a type of the body of
Christ, for it is written, 'They: drank of that spiritual rock
that followed them, and that rock was Christ;'(2) this, of
course, referring not to Christ's divine nature but to His flesh,
whose ever-flowing fountain of blood has ever satisfied the
hearts of His thirsting people. And so it was at that time
declared in a mystery that the Lord Jesus, when crucified, should
abolish in His flesh the sins of the whole world, and not their
guilty acts merely, but the evil lusts of their hearts. For the
kid's flesh refers to the guilt of the outward act, the broth to
the allurement of lust within, as it is written, 'And the mixed
multitude that was among them fell a lusting; the angel, then,
stretched out his staff and with the Spirit of God, should burn
up all the sins of the human race. Whence also the lord says 'I
am coe to send fire on the earth."(4) And in the same style he
pursues the subject, devoting himself chiefly to proving and
enforcing his point.(5)
47. An example of the temperate style is the
celebrated encomium on virginity from Cyprian: "Now our discourse
addresses itself to the (virgins, who, as they are the objects of
higher honor, are also the objects of greater care. These are the
flowers on the tree of the Church, the glory and ornament of
spiritual grace, the joy of honor and praise, a work unbroken and
unblemished, the image of God answering to the holiness of the
Lord, the brighter portion of the flock of Christ. The glorious
fruitfulness of their mother the Church rejoices in them, and in
them flourishes more abundantly; and in proportion as bright
virginity adds to her numbers, in the same proportion does the
mother's joy increase. And at another place in the end of the
epistle 'As we have borne,' he says, ' the image of the earthly,
we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.'(7) Virginity bears
this image, integrity bears it, holiness and truth bear it; they
bear it who are mindful of the chastening of the Lord, who
observe justice and piety, who are strong in faith, humble in
fear, steadfast in the endurance of suffering, meek in the
endurance of injury, ready to pity, of one mind and of one heart
in brotherly peace. and every one of these things ought ye, holy
virgins, to observe, to cherish, and fulfill, who having hearts
at leisure for God and for Christ, and having chosen the greater
and better part, lead and point the way to the Lord, to whom you
have pledged are younger, wait upon the eiders, and encourage
your equals; stir up one another by mutual exhortations; provoke
one another to glory by emulous examples of virtue; endure
bravely, advance in spirituality, finish your course with joy;
only be mindful of us when your virginity shall begin to reap its
reward of honor."(8)
48. Ambrose also uses the temperate and
ornamented style when he is holding up before virgins who have
made their profession a model for their imitation, and says: "She
was a virgin not in body only, but also in mind; not mingling the
purity of her affection with any dross of hypocrisy; serious in
speech; uncertain riches, but in the prayer of the poor; diligent
in labor; reverent in word; accustomed to look to God, not man,
as the guide of her conscience; injuring no one, wishing well to
all; dutiful to her elders, not envious of her equals; avoiding
boastfulness, following reason, loving virtue. When did she wound
her parents even by a look ? When did she quarrel with her
neighbors ? When did she spurn the humble, laugh at the weak, or
shun the indigent ? She is accustomed to visit only those haunts
of men that pity would not blush for, nor modesty pass by. There
is nothing haughty in her eyes, nothing bold in her words,
nothing wanton in her gestures: her bearing is not voluptuous,
nor her gait mo free, nor her voice petulant; so that her outward
appearance is an image of her mind, and a picture of purity. For
a good house ought to be known for Such at the very threshold,
and show at the very entrance that there is no dark recess
within, as the light of a lamp set inside sheds its radiance on
the outside. Why need I detail her sparingness in food, her
superabundance in duty,--the one falling beneath the demands of
nature, the other rising above its powers ? The latter has no
intervals of intermission, the former doubles the days by
fasting; and when the desire for refreshment does arise, it is
satisfied with food such as will support life, but not minister
to appetite." I Now I have died these latter passages as examples
of the temperate style, because their purpose is not to induce
those who have not yet devoted themselves to take the vows of
virginity, but to show of what character those who have taken
vows ought to be. To prevail on any one to take a step of such a
nature and of so great importance, requires that the mind should
be excited and set on fire by the majestic style. Cyprian the
martyr, however, did not write about the duty of taking up the
profession of virginity, but about the dress and deportment of
virgins. Yet that great bishop urges them to their duty even in
these respects by the power of a majestic eloquence.
49. But I shah select examples of the majestic
style from their treatment of a subject which both of them have
touched. Both have denounced the women who color, or rather
discolor, their faces with paint. And the first, in dealing with
this topic, says: "Suppose a painter should depict in colors that
arrival nature's the features and form and complexion of some
man, and that, when the portrait had been finished with
consummate art, another painter should put his hand over it, as
if to improve by his superior skill the painting already
completed; surely the first artist would feel deeply insulted,
and his indignation would be justly roused. Dost thou, then,
think that thou wilt carry off with impunity so audacious an act
of wickedness, such an insult to God the great artificer? For,
granting that thou art not immodest in thy behavior towards men,
and that thou art not polluted in mind by these meretricious
deceits, yet, in corrupting and violating what is God's, thou
provest thyself worse than an adulteress. The fact that thou
considerest thyself adorned and beautified by such arts is an
impeachment of God's handiwork, and a violation of truth. Listen
to the warning leavened. For even Christ our passover is
sacrificed for us: therefore let us keep the feast, not with old
leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but
with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.'2 Now can
sincerity and truth continue to exist when what is sincere is
polluted, and what is true is changed by meretricious coloring
and the deceptions of quackery into a lie ? Thy Lord says, ' Thou
canst not make one hair white or black;'(3) and dost thou wish to
have greater power so as to bring to nought the words of thy Lord
? With rash and sacrilegious hand thou wouldst fain change the
color of thy hair: I would that, with a prophetic look to the
future, thou shouldst dye it the color of flame."(4) It would be
too long to quote all that follows.
50. Ambrose again, inveighing against such
practices, says: "Hence arise these incentives to vice, that
women, in their fear that they may not prove attractive to men,
paint their faces with carefully-chosen colors, and then from
stains on their features go on to stains on their chastity. What
folly it is to change the features of nature into those of
painting, and from fear of incurring their husband's disapproval,
to proclaim openly that they have incurred their own ! For the
woman who desires to alter her natural appearance pronounces
condemnation on herself; and her eager endeavors to please
another prove that she has first been displeasing to herself. And
what testimony to thine ugliness can we find, O woman, that is
more unquestionable than thine own, when thou art afraid to show
thyself ? If thou art comely why dost thou hide thy comeliness ?
If thou art plain, why dost thou lyingly pretend to be
beautiful, when thou canst not enjoy the pleasure of the lie
either in thine own consciousness or in that of another ? For he
loves another woman, thou desirest to please another man; and
thou art angry if he love another, though he is taught adultery
in thee. Thou art the evil promptress of thine own injury. For
even the woman who has been the victim of a pander shrinks from
acting the pander's part, and though she be vile, it is herself
she sins against and not another. The crime of adultery is almost
more tolerable than thine; for adultery tampers with modesty, but
thou with nature."(5) It is sufficiently clear, I think, that
this eloquence calls passionately upon women to avoid tampering
with their appearance by deceitful arts, and to cultivate modesty
and fear. Accordingly, we notice that the style is neither
subdued nor temperate, but majestic throughout Now in these two
authors whom I have selected as specimens of the rest, and in
other ecclesiastical writers who both speak the truth and speak
it well,--speak it, that is, judiciously, pointedly, and with
beauty and power of expression,--many examples may be found of
the three styles of speech, scattered through their various
writings and discourses; and the diligent student may by
assiduous reading, intermingled with practice on his own part,
become thoroughly imbued with them all.
CHAP. 22.--THE NECESSITY OF VARIETY IN
STYLE.
51. But we are not to suppose that it is against
rule to mingle these various styles: taste. For when we keep
monotonously to one style, we fail to retain the hearer's
attention; but when we pass from one style to another, the
discourse goes off more gracefully, even though it extend to
greater length. Each separate style, again, has varieties of its
own which prevent the hearer's attention from cooling or becoming
languid. We can bear the subdued style, however, longer without
variety than the majestic style. For the mental emotion which it
is necessary to stir up in order to carry the hearer's feelings
with us, when once it has been sufficiently excited, the higher
the pitch to which it is raised, can be maintained the shorter
time. And therefore we must be on our guard, lest, in striving to
carry to a higher point the emotion we have excited, we rather
lose what we have already gained. But after the interposition of
matter that we have to treat in a quieter style, we can return
with good effect to that which must be treated forcibly, thus
making the tide of eloquence to ebb and flow like the sea. It
follows from this, that the majestic style, if it is to be long
continued, ought not to be unvaried, but should alternate at
intervals with the other styles; the speech or writing as a
whole, however, being referred to that style which is the
prevailing one.
CHAP. 23.--HOW THE VARIOUS STYLES SHOULD
BE MINGLED.
52. Now it is a matter of importance to determine
what style should be alternated with what other, and the places
where it is necessary that any particular style should be used.
In the majestic style, for instance, it is always, or almost
always, desirable that the introduction should be temperate. And
the speaker has it in his discretion to use the subdued style
even where the majestic would be allowable, in order that the
majestic when it is used may be the more majestic by comparison,
and may as it were shine out with greater brilliance from the
dark background. Again, whatever may be the style of the speech
or writing, when knotty questions turn up for solution, accuracy
of distinction is required, and this naturally demands the
subdued style. And accordingly this style must be used in
alternation with the other two styles whenever questions of that
sort turn up; just as we must use the temperate style, no matter
what may be the general tone of the discourse, whenever praise or
blame is to be given without any ulterior reference to the
condemnation or acquittal of any one, or to obtaining the
concurrence of any one in a course of action. In the majestic
style, then, and in the quiet likewise, both the other two styles
occasionally find place. The temperate style, on the other hand,
not indeed always, but occasionally, needs the quiet style; for
example, when, as I have said, a knotty question comes up to be
settled, or when some points that are susceptible of ornament are
left unadorned and expressed in the quiet style, in order to give
greater effect to certain exuberances (as they may be called) of
ornament. But the temperate style never needs the aid of the
majestic; for its object is to gratify, never to excite, the
mind.
CHAP. 24.--THE EFFECTS PRODUCED BY THE
MAJESTIC STYLE.
53. If frequent and vehement applause follows a
speaker, we are not to suppose on that account that he is
speaking in the majestic style; for this effect is often produced
both by the accurate distinctions of the quiet style, and by the
beauties of the temperate. The majestic style, on the other hand,
frequently silences the audience by its impressiveness, but calls
forth their tears. For example, when at Caesarea in Mauritania I
was dissuading the people from that civil, or worse than civil,
war which they called Caterva (for it was not fellow-citizens
merely, but neighbors, brothers, fathers and sons even, who,
divided into two factions and armed with stones, fought annually
at a certain season of the year for several days continuously,
every one killing whomsoever he could), I strove with all the
vehemence of speech that I could command to root out and drive
from their hearts and lives an evil so cruel and inveterate; it
was not, however, when I heard their applause, but when I saw
their tears, that I thought I had produced an effect. For the
applause showed that they were instructed and delighted, but the
tears that they were subdued. And when I saw their tears I was
confident even before the event proved it, that this horrible and
barbarous custom (which had been handed down to them from their
fathers and their ancestors of generations long gone by and which
like an enemy was besieging their hearts, or rather had complete
possession of them) was overthrown; and immediately that my
sermon was finished I called upon them with heart and voice to
give praise and thanks to God. And, lo, with the blessing of
Christ, it is now eight years or more since anything of the sort
was attempted there. In many other cases besides I have observed
that men show the effect made on them by the powerful eloquence
of a wise man, not by clamorous applause so much as by groans,
sometimes even by tears, finely by change of life.
54. The quiet style, too, has made a change in
many; but it was to teach them what they were ignorant of, or to
persuade them of what they thought incredible, not to make them
do what they knew they ought to do but were unwilling to do. To
break down hardness of this sort, speech needs to be vehement.
Praise and censure, too, when they are eloquently expressed, even
in the temperate style, produce such an effect on some, that they
are not only pleased with the eloquence of the encomiums and
censures, but are led to live so as themselves to deserve praise,
and to avoid living so as to incur blame. But no one would say
that all who are thus delighted change their habits in
consequence, whereas all who are moved by the majestic style act
accordingly, and all who are taught by the quiet style know or
believe a truth which they were previously ignorant of.
CHAP. 25.--HOW THE TEMPERATE STYLE IS TO
BE USED.
55. From all this we may conclude, that the end
arrived at by the two styles last mentioned is the one which it
is most essential for those who aspire to speak with wisdom and
eloquence to secure. On the other hand, what the temperate style
properly aims at, viz., to please by beauty of expression, is not
in itself an adequate end; but when what we have to say is good
and useful, and when the hearers are both acquainted with it and
favorably disposed towards it, so that it is not necessary either
to instruct or persuade them, beauty of style may have its
influence in securing their prompter compliance, or in making
them adhere to it more tenaciously. For as the function of all
eloquence, whichever of these three forms it may assume, is to
speak persuasively, and its object is to persuade, an eloquent
man will speak persuasively, whatever style he may adopt; but
unless he succeeds in persuading, his eloquence has not secured
its object. Now in the subdued style, he persuades his hearers
that what he says is true; in the majestic style, he persuades
them to do what they are aware they ought to do, but do not; in
the temperate style, he persuades them that his speech is elegant
and ornate. But what use is there in attaining such an object as
this last ? They may desire it who are vain of their eloquence
and make a boast of panegyrics, and such-like performances, where
the object is not to instruct the hearer, or to persuade him to
any course of action, but merely to give him pleasure. We,
however, ought to make that end subordinate to another, viz., the
effecting by this style of eloquence what we aim at effecting
when we use the majestic style. For we may by the use of this
style persuade men to cultivate good habits and give up evil
ones, if a good course; we may induce them to pursue a good
course, we may induce them to pursue it more zealously, and to
persevere in it with , constancy. Accordingly, even in the
temperate style we must use beauty of expression not for
ostentation, but for wise ends; not contenting ourselves merely
with pleasing the hearer, but rather seeking to aid him in the
pursuit of the good end which we hold out before him.
CHAP. 26.--IN EVERY STYLE THE ORATOR SHOULD
AIM AT PERSPICUITY, BEAUTY, AND PERSUASIVENESS.
55. Now in regard to the three conditions I laid
down a little while ago(1) as necessary to be fulfilled by any
one who wishes to speak with wisdom and eloquence, viz.
perspicuity, beauty of style, and persuasive power, we are not to
understand that these three qualities attach themselves
respectively to the three several styles of speech, one to each,
so that perspicuity is a merit peculiar to the subdued style,
beauty to the temperate and persuasive power to the majestic. On
the contrary, all speech, whatever its style, ought constantly to
aim at, and as far as possible to display, all these three
merits. For we do not like even to, not with intelligence merely,
but with pleasure as well. Again, why do we enforce what we teach
by divine testimony, except that we wish to carry the hearer with
us, that , to compel his assent by calling in the assistance of
Him of whom it is said, "Thy testimonies are very sure"?(1) And
when any one narrates a story, even in the subdued style, what
does he wish but to be believed? But who will listen to him if he
do not arrest attention by some beauty of style? And if he be not
intelligible, is it not plain that he can neither give pleasure
nor enforce conviction? The subdued style, again, in its own
naked simplicity, when it unravels questions of very great
difficulty, and throws an unexpected light upon them; when it
worms out and brings to light some very acute observations from a
quarter whence nothing was expected; when it seizes upon and
exposes the falsity of an opposing opinion, which seemed at its
first statement to be unassailable; especially when all this is
accompanied by a natural, unsought grace of expression, and by a
rhythm and balance of style which is not ostentatiously obtruded,
but seems rather to be called forth by the nature of the subject:
this style, so used, frequently calls forth applause so great
that one can hardly believe it to be the subdued style. For the
fact that it comes forth without either ornament or defence, and
offers battle in its own naked simplicity, does not hinder it
from crushing its adversary by weight of nerve and muscle, and
overwhelming and destroying the falsehood that opposes it by the
mere strength of its own fight arm. How explain the frequent and
vehement applause that waits upon men who speak thus, except by
the pleasure that truth so irresistibly established, and so
victoriously defended, naturally affords? Wherefore the Christian
teacher and speaker ought, when he uses the subdued style, to
endeavor not only to be dear and intelligible, but to give
pleasure and to bring home conviction to the hearer.
57. Eloquence of the temperate style, also, must,
in the case of the Christian orator, be neither altogether
without ornament, nor unsuitably adorned, nor is it to make the
giving of pleasure its sole aim, which is all it professes to
accomplish in the hands of others; but in its encomiums and
censures it should aim at inducing the hearer to strive after or
avoid or renounce what it condemns. On the other hand, without
perspicuity this style cannot give pleasure. And so the three
qualities, perspicuity, beauty, and persuasiveness. are to be
sought in this style also; beauty, of course, being its primary
object.
58. Again, when it becomes necessary to stir and
sway the hearers mind by the maestic style (and this is always
necessary when he admits that what you say is both true and
agreeable, and yet is unwilling to act accordingly), you must, of
course, speak in the majestic style. but who can be moved if he
does not understand what is said? and who will stay to listen if
he receives no pleasure? Wherefore, in this style, too, when an
obdurate heart is to be persuaded to obedience, you must speak so
as to be both intelligible and pleasing, if you would be heard
with a submissive mind.
CHAP. 27.--THE MAN WHOSE LIFE IS IN HARMONY
WITH HIS TEACHING WILL TEACH WITH GREATER EFFECT.
59. But whatever may be the majesty of the style,
the life of the speaker will count for more in securing the
hearer's compliance. The man who speaks wisely and eloquently,
but lives wickedly, may, it is true, instruct many who are
anxious to learn; though, as it is written, he "is unprofitable
to himself."(2) Wherefore, also, the apostle says: "Whether in
pretence or in truth Christ is preached."(3) Now Christ is the
truth; yet we see that the truth can be preached, though not in
truth,--that is, what is right and true in itself may be preached
by a man of perverse and deceitful mind. And thus it is that
Jesus Christ is preached by those that seek their own, and not
the things that are Jesus Christ's. But since true believers obey
the voice, not of any man, but of the Lord Himself, who says,
"All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and
do: but do not ye after their works; for they say and do not;"(4)
therefore it is that men who themselves lead unprofitable lives
are heard with profit by others. For though they seek their own
objects, they do not dare to teach their own doctrines, sitting
as they do in the high places of ecclesiastical authority, which
is established on sound doctrine. Wherefore our Lord Himself,
before saying what I have just quoted about men of this stamp,
made this observation: "The scribes and the Pharisees sit in
Moses' seat."(5) The seat they occupied, then, which was not
theirs but Moses', compelled them to say what was good, though
they did what was evil. And so they followed their own course in
their lives, but were prevented by the seat they occupied, which
belonged to another, from preaching their own doctrines.
60. Now these men do good to many by preaching
what they themselves do not perform; but they would do good to
very many more if they lived as they preach. For there are
numbers who seek an excuse for their own evil lives in comparing
the teaching with the conduct of their instructors, and who say m
their hearts, or even go a little further, and say with their
lips: Why do you not do yourself what you bid me do? And thus
they cease to listen with submission to a man who does not listen
to himself, and in despising the preacher they learn to despise
the word that is preached. Wherefore the apostle, writing to
Timothy, after telling him, "Let no man despise thy youth," adds
immediately the course by which he would avoid contempt: "but be
thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in
charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity."(1)
CHAP. 28.--TRUTH IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN
EXPRESSION.WHAT IS MEANT BY STRIFEABOUT WORDS.
61. Such a teacher as is here described may, to
secure compliance, speak not only quietly and temperately, but
even vehemently, without any breach of modesty, because his life
protects him against contempt. For while he pursues an upright
life, he takes care to maintain a good reputation as well,
providing things honest in the sight of God and men,(2) fearing
God, and caring for men. In his very speech even he prefers to
please by matter rather than by words; thinks that a thing is
well said in proportion as it is true in fact, and that a teacher
should govern his words, not let the words govern him. This is
what the apostle says: "Not with wisdom of words, lest the cross
of Christ should be made of none effect."(3) To the same effect
also is what he says to Timothy: "Charging them before the Lord
that they strive not about words to no profit, but to the
subverting of the hearers."(4) Now this does not mean that, when
adversaries oppose the truth, we are to say nothing in defence of
the truth. For where, then, would be what he says when he is
describing the sort of man a bishop ought to be: "that he may be
able by sound doctrine both to exhort and convince the
gainsayers?"(5) To strive about words is not to be careful about
the way to overcome error by truth, but to be anxious that your
mode of expression should be preferred to that of another. The
man who does not strive about words, whether he speak quietly,
temperately or vehemently, uses words with no other purpose than
to make the truth plain, pleasing, and effective; for not even
love itself, which is the end of the commandment and the
fulfilling of the law,(6) can be rightly exercised unless the
objects of love are true and not false. For as a man with a
comely body but an ill-conditioned mind is a more painful object
than if his body too were deformed, so men who teach lies are the
more pitiable if they happen to be eloquent in speech. To speak
eloquently, then, and wisely as well, is just to express truths
which it is expedient to teach in fit and proper words,--words
which in the subdued style are adequate, in the temperate,
elegant, and in the majestic, forcible. But the man who cannot
speak both eloquently and wisely should speak wisely without
eloquence, rather than eloquently without wisdom.
CHAP. 29.--IT IS PERMISSIBLE FOR A PREACHER
TO DELIVER TO THE PEOPLE WHAT HAS BEEN WRITTEN BY A MORE ELOQUENT
MAN THAN HIMSELF.
If, however, he cannot do even this, let his life
be such as shall not only secure a reward for himself, but afford
an example to others; and let his manner of living be an eloquent
sermon in itself.
63. There are, indeed, some men who have a good
delivery, but cannot compose anything to deliver. Now, if such
men take what has been written with wisdom and eloquence by
others, and commit it to memory, and deliver it to the people,
they cannot be blamed, supposing them to do it without deception
For in this way many become preachers of the truth (which is
certainly desirable), and yet not many teachers; for all deliver
the discourse which one real teacher has composed, and there are
no divisions among them. Nor are such men to be alarmed by the
words of Jeremiah the prophet, through whom God denounces those
who steal His words every one from his neighbor.(7) For those who
steal take what does not belong to them, but the word of God
belongs to all who obey it; and it is the man who speaks well,
but lives badly, who really takes the words that belong to
another, For the good things he says seem to be the result of his
own thought, and yet they have nothing in common with his manner
of life. And so God has said that they steal His words who would
appear good by speaking God's words, but are in fact bad, as they
follow their own ways. And if you look closely into the matter,
it is not really themselves who say the good things they say. For
how can they say in words what they deny in deeds? It is not for
nothing that the apostle says of such men: "They profess that
they know God, but in works they deny Him."(1) In one sense,
then, they do say the things, and in another sense they do not
say them; for both these statements must be true, both being made
by Him who is the Truth. Speaking of such men, in one place He
says, "Whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but
do not ye after their works;"--that is to say, what ye hear from.
their lips, that do; what ye see in their lives, that do ye
not;--"for they say and do not."(2) And so, though they do not,
yet they say. but in another place, upbraiding such men, He says,
"O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good
things?"(3) And from this it would appear that even what they
say, when they say what is good, it is not themselves who say,
for in wil;l and in deed they deny what they say. Hence it
happens that a wicked man who is eloquent may compose a discourse
in which the truth is set forth to be delivered by a good man who
is not eloquent; and when this takes place, the former draws from
himself what does not belong to him, and the latter receives from
another what really belongs to himself. But when true believers
render this service to true believers, both parties speak what is
their own, for God is theirs, to whom belongs all that they say;
and even those who could not compose what they say make it their
own by composing their lives in harmony with it.
CHAP. 30.--THE PREACHER SHOULD COMMENCE HIS
DISCOURSE WITH PRAYER TO GOD.
63. But whether a man is going to address the
people or to dictate what others will deliver or read to the
people, he ought to pray God to put into his mouth a suitable
discourse. For if Queen Esther prayed, when she was about to
speak to the king touching the temporal welfare of her race, that
God would put fit words into her mouth,(4) how much more ought he
to pray for the same blessing who labors in word and doctrine for
the eternal welfare of men? Those, again, who are to deliver what
others compose for them ought, before they receive their
discourse, to pray for those who are preparing it; and when they
have received it, they ought to pray both that they themselves
may deliver it well, and that those to whom they address it may
give ear; and when the discourse has a happy issue, they ought to
render thanks to Him from whom they know such blessings come, so
that all the praise may be His "in whose hand are both we and our
words."(5)
CHAP. 31.--APOLOGY FOR THE LENGTH OF THE WORK.
64. This book has extended to a greater length
than I expected or desired. But the reader or hearer who finds
pleasure in it will pot think it long. He who thinks it long, but
is anxious to know its contents, may read it in parts. He who
does not care to be acquainted with it need not complain of its
length. I, however, give thanks to God that with what lithe
ability I possess I have in these four books striven to depict,
not the sort of man I am myself (for my defects are very many),
but the sort of man he ought to be who desires to labor in sound,
that is, in Christian doctrine, not for his own instruction only,
but for that of others also.