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CHAP. 5.--WISDOM OF MORE IMPORTANCE THAN ELOQUENCE
TO THE CHRISTIAN 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 <greek>klimaz</greek>
(climax,) and by some in Latin gradatio, for they do not care to call it
scala (a ladder), when the words and ideas have a connection of dependency
the one upon the other, as we see here that patience arises out of tribulation,
experience out of patience, and hope out of experience. Another ornament,
too, is found here; for after certain statements finished in a single tone
of voice, which we call clauses and sections (membra et caesa), but the
Greeks <greek>kpla</greek> and <greek>kommata</greek>,(1)
there follows a rounded sentence (ambitus sive circuitus) which the Greeks
call <greek>periodos</greek>,(2) the clauses of which are suspended
on the voice of the speaker till the whole is completed by the last clause
For of the statements which precede the period this is the first clause,
"knowing that tribulation worketh patience;" the second, "and
patience, experience;" the third, "and experience, hope."
Then the period which is subjoined is completed in three clauses, of which
the first is, "and hope maketh not ashamed;" the second, "because
the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts;" the third, "by
the Holy Ghost which is given unto us." But these and other matters
of the same kind are taught in the art of elocution. As then I do not affirm
that the apostle was guided by the rules of eloquence, so I do not deny
that his wisdom naturally produced, and was accompanied by, eloquence.
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 still, the educated man observes that those sections which
the Greeks call <greek>kommata</greek>, and the clauses and
periods of which I spoke a short time ago, being intermingled in the most
beautiful variety, make up the whole form and features (so to speak) of
that diction by which even the unlearned are delighted and affected. For,
from the place where I commenced to quote, the passage consists of periods:
the first the smallest possible, consisting of two members; for a period
cannot have less than two members, though it may have more: "I say
again, let no man think me a fool." The next has three members: "if
otherwise, yet as a fool receive me, that I may boast myself a little."
The third has four members: "That which I speak, I speak it not after
the Lord, but as it were foolishly, in this confidence of boasting."
The fourth has two: "Seeing that many glory after the flesh, I will
glory also." And the fifth has two: "For ye suffer fools gladly,
seeing ye yourselves are wise." The sixth again has two members: "for
ye suffer, if a man bring you into bondage." Then follow three sections
(caesa): "if a man devour you, if a man take of you, if a man exalt
himself." Next three clauses (membra): if "a man smite you on
the face. I speak as concerning reproach, as though we had been weak."
Then is subjoined a period of three members: "Howbeit, whereinsoever
any is bold (I speak foolishly), I am bold also." After this, certain
separate sections being put in the interrogatory form, separate sections
are also given as answers, three to three: "Are they Hebrews? so am
I. Are they Israelites? so am I. Are they the seed of Abraham? so am I."
But a fourth section being put likewise in the interrogatory form, the
answer is given not in another section (caesum) but in a clause (membrum):(1)
"Are they the ministers of Christ? (I speak as a fool.) I am more."
Then the next four sections are given continuously, the interrogatory form
being most elegantly suppressed: "in labors more abundant, in stripes
above measure, in prisons more frequent, in deaths oft." Next is interposed
a short period; for, by a suspension of the voice, "of the Jews five
times" is to be marked off as constituting one member, to which is
joined the second, "received I forty stripes save one." Then
he returns to sections, and three are set down: "Thrice was I beaten
with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck." Next comes
a clause: "a night and a day I have been in the deep." Next fourteen
sections burst forth with a vehemence which is most appropriate: "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." After this comes
in a period of three members: "Besides those things which are without,
that which cometh upon me daily, the care of all the churches." And
to this he adds two clauses in a tone of inquiry: "Who is weak, and
I am not weak? who is offended, and I burn not?" In fine, this whole
passage, as if panting for breath, winds up with a period of two members:
"If I must needs glory, I will glory of the things which concern mine
infirmities." And I cannot sufficiently express how beautiful and
delightful it is when after this outburst he rests himself, and gives the
hearer rest, by interposing a slight narrative. For he goes on to say:
"The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which is blessed for
evermore, knoweth that I lie not." And then he tells, very briefly
the danger he had been in, and the way he escaped it.
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
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