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Augustine of HippoOn Christian Doctrine
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Book 4Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Book 4 Summary
The focus of Book 4 is rhetoric and Augustine’s views on effective Christian teaching. Augustine begins by discussing how rhetoric is of central importance and admits that while it can occasionally be used for bad ends that does not mean Christians should not develop rhetorical skills to serve good ends. Rather, effective rhetorical practices can aid the spread and understanding of the Christian faith. Augustine urges his readers to read the speeches of famous orators as models for their own oratory.
Augustine also addresses the charge against canonical writers of the Bible. Critics claim that their style is clumsy and inelegant compared to the great writers of the Greek and Roman classical tradition. Augustine offers a firm and lengthy rebuttal by quoting passages of scripture that he believes demonstrate the power and efficacy of the style in scripture, especially the works of St. Paul. He also draws upon the writings of Church Fathers, such as Cyprian and Ambrose, as examples of effective rhetorical technique.
Augustine then lays out the precepts that all Christian teachers should follow to offer engaging and effective instruction in the faith. He stresses that clarity is of the utmost importance and that the purpose of all speeches must be to serve the truth instead of vanity or style. Augustine also urges Christian teachers and orators to pray before delivering their public addresses to ensure that they speak out of a love for their faith and with God’s aid in their delivery. Augustine then explains the different styles of rhetorical speech such as the temperate style, which is moderate and measured in its delivery, and the majestic style, which is more bombastic and which aims to move the audience by stirring up their emotions.
Augustine reminds his readers that the purpose of rhetorical technique is persuasion. If the orator fails in persuading his audience, he has failed in his task. Augustine thus stresses that the orator or teacher must always remember the crucial importance of adapting their methods and style to whichever ones will be most persuasive for their audience.
Finally, Augustine warns Christian teachers against the dangers of hypocrisy. A teacher must practice what they preach if they are to be fully respected and trusted by their audience. It is therefore critical, Augustine says, for teachers to ensure that they live up to their own moral precepts and lead blameless, godly lives.
Book 4 Analysis
It is hard to overstate the importance of rhetoric in the ancient world. It was considered the hallmark of every upper class education and was the cornerstone of all political and legal dealings. Augustine proudly mentions in Book 4 that he has previous experience as a teacher of rhetoric himself and showcases some of his own skills using rhetorical questions and metaphors throughout On Christian Doctrine (see “Literary Devices”). However, rhetoric was also still closely associated with pagan culture, and this is why Augustine makes a point of arguing that Christians can and should learn rhetorical techniques as well: “since, then, the faculty of rhetoric is available for both sides, and is of very great service in the enforcing of either wrong or right […] good men [should] engage it on the side of truth” (300-01).
Likewise, Augustine is insistent in his rebuttals against criticism that suggests the classical pagan writers enjoy superiority of literary style over the canonical writers of scripture. Augustine’s eagerness to draw upon the writings of Saint Paul, and to use the writings of Cyprian and Ambrose as examples of effective rhetoric, speaks to his uneasiness with the suggestion that Christian culture could be inferior to paganism. His attempts to establish the validity of scriptural style, and his argument that “the Canonical writers are not only wise but eloquent also, with an eloquence suited to a character and position like theirs” (332), are Augustine’s attempts at giving weight to what Christians have produced.
Augustine’s precepts for Christian teachers and orators further elaborate his strong belief in the value of education, which he first touched on in the Preface. While Augustine wishes to have Christian teachers be effective rhetoricians, he nevertheless underlines the importance of always serving the truth instead of serving mere style: “[the] teacher will avoid all words that do not teach; and if instead of them he can find words that are at once pure and intelligible, he will take them by preference” (337). Augustine wishes for his teachers to aim for clarity and truth because their ultimate aim is to help believers better understand their faith, instead of speaking just for show.
Because the Christian teacher is a messenger for the meanings of scripture, Augustine also emphasizes the importance of morality for teachers. If a teacher is not moral, Augustine argues, his reputation with his audience may suffer, and his authority will dwindle. Augustine’s emphasis on this point underscores how crucial moral authority is for the reputations of the teachers themselves and the faith they represent. In a similar vein, his insistence that all teachers and orators should pray before addressing their audience lends further weight to the idea that Christian orators speak for God’s glory and that their mission is one of persuading in the name of faith and not for selfish or worldly ends.
Related Titles
By Augustine of Hippo
