Rhetoric Class Notes on Augustine

(Originally written January 24, 2007 in Book 12)

Class Notes

Augustine of Hippo

Definition of Rhetoric
- Eloquence with wisdom
- good teaching and correcting the wrong
- the means of instruction

The function of discourse
- conciliate the hostile
- arouse the careless
- inform the ignorant

Augustine states that we must make truth:
1) Clear
2) Appealing
3) Convincing

Why do we need rhetoric?
- Godliness
- To move people to God
-To make obscure things clear
- To be able to respond to the audience

Augustine is more interested in teaching, rather than persuasion in rhetoric.

Style

The way you speak ought to be proper to the subject matter.

Be careful not to make the audience weary of a point.

The point of the speech is to make the listener understand.

The most important thing is clarity.

Augustine is primarily concerned with rhetoric in dealing with ecclesiastical oratory.

Augustine's emphasis of prayer
- One ought to pray before speaking
- One should pray in labor to make himself understood
- One ought to pray to God to put a good speech upon one's lips

Role of the Holy Spirit

use Pathos & Ethos

Augustine's usage ethos as the life
- live in a way that cannot be condemned
- the life of the speaker is most persuasive
- How can one express in words what they do not do in deeds?
- An ecclesiastic orator must have a godly life

Augustine is the first to advocate the usage of vernacular. It doesn't matter how eloquent you are if the audience can't understand you.

Important ideas:
- Clarity, not victory is the goal of rhetoric
- Using Scripture as proof
- teaching emphasis
- 3 Styles in the same speech

In the process of learning rhetoric, Augustine follows Cicero's method of imitation, theory and practice.

The goal of rhetoric is the glorification of God.

(I am so BoReDeDeD!)