Chapter 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.”230    Cicero, de Inventione Rhetorica i. 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.”231    Wisd. vi. 24.  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.

CAPUT V. Interest magis ut sapienter dicat christianus orator, quam ut eloquenter. Unde consequi id valeat.

Sed cum alii faciant obtuse, deformiter, frigide; alii acute, ornate, vehementer; illum ad hoc opus unde agimus, jam oportet accedere, qui potest disputare vel dicere sapienter, etiamsi non potest eloquenter, ut prosit audientibus, etiamsi minus quam prodesset, si et eloquenter posset dicere. Qui vero affluit insipienti eloquentia, tanto magis cavendus est, quanto magis ab eo in iis quae audire inutile est, delectatur auditor, et eum quoniam diserte dicere audit, etiam 0092 vere dicere existimat. Haec autem sententia nec illos fugit, qui artem rhetoricam docendam putarunt: fassi sunt enim sapientiam sine eloquentia parum prodesse civitatibus ; eloquentiam vero sine sapientia nimium obesse plerumque, prodesse nunquam (Cicero, lib. 1 de Inventione). Si ergo hoc illi qui praecepta eloquentiae tradiderunt, in eisdem libris in quibus id egerunt, veritate instigante coacti sunt confiteri, veram, hoc est, supernam quae a Patre luminum descendit, sapientiam nescientes; quanto magis nos non aliud sentire debemus, qui hujus sapientiae filii et ministri sumus? Sapienter autem dicit homo tanto magis vel minus, quanto in Scripturis sanctis magis minusve profecit. Non dico in eis multum legendis memoriaeque mandandis, sed bene intelligendis, et diligenter earum sensibus indagandis. Sunt enim qui eas legunt, et negligunt; legunt ut teneant, negligunt ne intelligant. Quibus longe sine dubio praeferendi sunt qui verba earum minus tenent, et cor earum sui cordis oculis vident. Sed utrisque ille melior, qui et cum volet eas dicit, et sicut oportet intelligit.

8. Huic ergo qui sapienter debet dicere, etiam quod non potest eloquenter, verba Scripturarum tenere maxime necessarium est. Quanto enim se pauperiorem cernit in suis, tanto eum oportet in istis esse ditiorem; ut quod dixerit suis verbis, probet ex illis; et qui propriis verbis minor erat, magnorum testimonio quodammodo crescat. Probando enim delectat, qui minus potest delectare dicendo. Porro qui non solum sapienter, verum etiam eloquenter vult dicere, quoniam profecto plus proderit, si utrumque potuerit; ad legendos vel audiendos et exercitatione imitandos eloquentes eum mitto libentius, quam magistris artis rhetoricae vacare praecipio: si tamen ii qui leguntur et audiuntur, non solum eloquenter, sed etiam sapienter dixisse vel dicere veraci praedicatione laudantur. Qui enim eloquenter dicunt, suaviter; qui sapienter, salubriter audiuntur. Propter quod non ait Scriptura, Multitudo eloquentium; sed, Multitudo sapientium sanitas est orbis terrarum (Sap. VI, 26). Sicut autem saepe sumenda sunt et amara salubria, ita semper vitanda est perniciosa dulcedo. Sed salubri suavitate, vel suavi salubritate quid melius? Quanto enim magis illic appetitur suavitas, tanto facilius salubritas prodest. Sunt ergo ecclesiastici viri qui divina eloquia non solum sapienter, sed eloquenter etiam tractaverunt: quibus legendis magis non sufficit tempus, quam deesse ipsi studentibus et vacantibus possunt.