ART. IV. Augustine on thE ART OF PREACHING.

From his Work: "De Doctrina Christiana," Lib. IV. Translated from the Latin, by Oliver A. Taylor, Res. Licent. in the Theol. Sem. Andover.

INTRODUCTION.

THE following treatise, which is a translation of the fourth book of Augustine's work, De Doctrina Christiana,1 and belongs to the department of homiletics, has often been quoted, and recommended to the young minister's attentive perusal."2 This fact alone would furnish a sufficient apology for its appearance in an English dress. There is however no need of such an apology. It may, indeed, have in part derived its celebrity from that of its author, and not altogether from real merit. That it does not contain some things of doubtful utility is not pretended, nor that it contains many specific directions for the composition of a sermon. Taken as a whole, however, it is characterized by good taste and sense, and must be looked upon as a valuable treatise. The author certainly appears to have understood his subject,-far better indeed, than he did that of the three preceding books, and he certainly writes better respecting the rules of preaching, than with all his piety he can be admitted to have preached.3

In addition to this, the treatise derives high value from historical considerations. From the time of Paul down to the reformation, it was the only work that appeared, which, strictly speaking, deserved the name of a homiletical treatise. Much indeed was written which had a greater or less bearing upon the sacred office; but it was generally adapted to a monastic mode of teaching, and contained little or nothing substantial. Chry

The title of the work does not exactly correspond to its contents, as may be seen by comparing it with Augustine's introductory paragraph, below. See Schröckh, Chr. K. G. Th. XV. p. 351.

Also,

2 See Milner's Church Hist. Vol. II. p. 302 sq. Bost. 1822. Fenelon's Dialogues on the Eloquence of the Pulpit, and his Letter to the French Academy, both of which are to be found in the Young Preacher's Manual.

3 See Schröckh, Chr. K. G. Th. XV. VOL. III. No. 11. 73

p.

361 sq.

sostom's six books On the Priesthood, rich as they were in many respects, were mostly destitute of remarks of a homiletical character. The same is true of the work of Gregory the Great, De Cura Pastorali, notwithstanding it enjoyed great popularity in its day, was almost immediately translated into Greek, was circulated throughout the churches, and, in the ninth century, translated into English by Alfred the Great for the use of the English clergy.5 The works which emanated from Arnulph archbishop of Lisieux, William archbishop of Paris, Humbert de Romanis, and John Reuchlin, were still less perfect. Augustine's treatise stood alone, and was the work from which Luther himself drew his first directions respecting preaching.10 It has often been drawn from by writers upon homiletics, since his time, and together with the rest of the work, been translated and published in various modern languages.

So far as I have succeeded in exhibiting the spirit of Augustine in English, the following treatise may be considered as a fair specimen of the writings of him of whom Erasmus says, "Ingenii felicitas, prorsus erat incomparabilis; sive acumen spectes, vel obscurissima facile penetrans, sive capacis memoriae fidem, sive vim quandam mentis indefatigabilem;" and whom in another place he

4 See Opp. Chrysost. Par. 1718, Tom. I. p. 362 sq. Schmid, Anleit. zum Kanzelvortrag, Th. III. p. 141 sq.

5

Schmid, p. 190 sq. Milner, III. p. 72. comp. p. 143 sq. Also Bower's Lives of the Popes, Tom. II. p. 542.

He died about the year 1182. The work of his referred to, is a sermon delivered in a council at Tours. It is to be found in the Biblioth. Max. Pat. T. XXII. p. 1323 sq.

7 He died about the year 1240. The work referred to is called, Rhetorica divina, or Ars oratoria eloquentiae divinae. It was published at Paris, 1516, in 8vo. There is also an old edition extant without date or place.

8 Humbert de Romanis in Burgundy, General of the Dominican order. He died in the year 1274. The work of his referred to, is a treatise in two books, entitled, De eruditione concionatorum, and is to be found in the Bibl. Max. Pat. T. XXV. p. 424 sq.

9 He died in 1521. The work referred to, is entitled, Liber congestorum de arte praedicandi, and has gone through several editions. Comp. Schmid, p. 271 sq.

10 See Schuler, Geschichte der Veränderungen im Predigen, 1 ster Theil, p. 39 sq.

declares, "In docendo sedulus, in redarguendo nervosus, in exhortando fervidus, in consolando blandus, ubique pius, et vere Christianam spirans mansuetudinem." To do this however is not an easy task, for few of the fathers write in a more perplexed style. His long and involved sentences, the incessant and sometimes not very nice use he makes of particles, and the various subtilties and witty turns, render him difficult to be understood; while his numerous quibbles, alliterations, and antithetical expressions, render him difficult to be translated. On this subject let the same author already quoted, be judge. "Habet Augustinus," says he, "suum quoddam dicendi genus, argutum et periodis in longum productis multa convolvens; quod lectorem et familiarem, et acutum, et attentum, et bene memorem requirit, denique taedii laborisque patientem ; quales non ita multos reperias." To obviate some of these difficulties, and exhibit the spirit of the original to as good advantage as possible, several of those passages in which Augustine indulges in a play on words, are inserted in the notes. It is scarcely necessary to add, that the reader who would do full justice to the merits of this treatise, must throw himself into the circumstances of the age in which it was composed.-TRANSLATOR.

AUGUSTINE ON PREACHING.

THIS work, inscribed De Doctrina Christiana, I divided into two parts, at the very outset. Having in a proem responded to some who would be likely to find fault with it, I proceeded to say: "There are two things in which the proper mode of treating the Scriptures mainly consists; namely, the mode of finding out the things which are to be understood [interpretation], and the mode of exhibiting what has thus been discovered [preaching]. Of each of these we will treat in succession." As I have already had occasion to speak much at large respecting the mode of discovering truth, and have occupied three books, I here propose, with the divine assistance, to say a few things concerning the exhibition of the truth to others, confining myself if possible to one book, that the whole work may be comprised in four parts.

In the first place, I must check the anticipations of the reader, who may suppose that I am about to deliver rhetorical precepts, 11 See Cave's Histor. Literar. Vol. I. p. 292.

such as are learned and taught in secular schools; and must admonish him not to anticipate from me, any thing of the kind. Not indeed because they are of no use; but because, however useful, they are to be learned elsewhere, by those who have leisure to improve by them; but they must not be sought for in this or any other production of mine.

By means of the rhetorical art, men are persuaded of things both true and false. Who then will presume to say that, as opposed to error, truth should rely unarmed upon her defenders? that he indeed, who attemps to persuade his hearers of what is false, may properly have learned how to render them favourably disposed, attentive, and docile, in a proem; while he who desires to persuade them of what is true, must not have learned how to accomplish this? that the former may utter what is false as if it were true, in a brief and perspicuous manner; while the latter must utter what is true, in such a way as to render it tedious to hear, difficult to understand, and unpleasant to believe? that the one may assail the truth with false arguments, and may maintain error; while the other is unable either to defend the truth or refute falsehood? that he whose object it is to move and compel the minds of his audience to embrace error, may terrify, depress, excite, and exhort with fervour ; while the advocate of truth must be sleepy, sluggish, and frigid? Who can be so tasteless as to relish this?* Since then the faculty of eloquence, which proves of such efficacy in inculcating either right or wrong, truth or falsehood, stands thus on common ground, why should it not be employed by the good in contending for the truth, as well as usurped by the bad in sustaining the vain and fatal cause of iniquity and error?

But whatever observations and precepts there are respecting this subject, beyond the scope of the present work ;—precepts, which, in connexion with that skill which results from extensive and habitual exercise in speaking and the constant use of elegant language, go to form what is called eloquence; they are to be learned at a suitable and convenient age and in a time set apart for the very purpose, by those who can learn them with

* Augustine, in all his works, exhibits a fondness for playful turns, alliterations, and antithetical expressions. In the above there is in the original something of his playfulness: "Quis ita desipiat, ut hoc sapiat."-TR.

facility. Indeed, the princes of Roman eloquence have not hesitated to affirm, that whosoever does not acquire this art with facility, will never acquire it at all.1 Whether this be true or not, we need not inquire. Even upon the supposition that it is possible for those who are slow in acquisition, ultimately to become masters of the rules of eloquence, I do not think these rules of so much importance as to render it necessary for men who have arrived at years of maturity, or even the sober period of life, to spend their time in acquiring them. It is enough that they be made the study of youth; not of all those indeed whom we could wish to have educated for the church; but of those among them who are urged by no necessity more pressing, or more deserving of preference. If a man have an acute and fervid mind, he will more easily acquire the art of eloquence by reading and hearing the eloquent, than by following the precepts of eloquence. Nor are there wanting ecclesiastical productions, in addition to the sacred canon savingly deposited in the ark of authority,2 of themselves sufficient, without any such aid, to furnish a man of a ready and capacious mind, with the very eloquence they exhibit ; provided he read them and carefully attend to their contents, uniting therewith exercises in writing, dictating, and speaking, on such subjects as are agreeable to the requisitions of faith and piety. If, on the other hand, a man have not such a mind, he will either be unable to acquire the precepts of eloquence at all; or, if after having been inculcated with much labour, he acquire them in part, he will derive no benefit from them. Of those even who have learned them, and speak with copiousness and elegance, it is not all that can think of them in speaking, and regulate their discourse accordingly, unless these precepts are the very object of discussion. Nay, I imagine there are very few able to speak well, and think at the same time of the rules for doing so; inasmuch as caution must be exercised, lest, while the mind is intent upon speaking by art, it forget what was to be expressed. And yet the speeches and discourses of the eloquent are found full of the precepts of eloquence,-precepts, of which they never once thought for

1 See Cicero, De Oratore, Cap. 25 sq. p. 42 sq. Bost. ed.

2 "Praeter canonem in auctoritatis arce salubriter collocatum;" that is, the authority of councils or the church. The original evidently contains an allusion to the manner in which the law was preserved in the ark.-TR.