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| Examples of the Various Styles Drawn from Scripture.
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Chapter 20.—Examples of the
Various Styles Drawn from Scripture.
39. But now to come to something
more definite. We have an example of the calm, subdued style in
the Apostle Paul, where he says: “Tell me, ye that desire to be
under the law, do ye not hear the law? For it is written, that
Abraham had two sons; the one by a bond maid, the other by a free
woman. But he who was of the bond woman was born after the flesh;
but he of the free woman was by promise. Which things are an
allegory: for these are the two covenants; the one from the Mount
Sinai, which gendereth to bondage, which is Hagar. For this Hagar
is Mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem which now is,
and is in bondage with her children. But Jerusalem which is above
is free, which is the mother of us all;”1975
and so on. And in the same way
where he reasons thus: “Brethren, I speak after the manner of
men: Though it be but a man’s covenant, yet if it be confirmed,
no man disannulleth, or addeth thereto. Now to Abraham and his
seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of
many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ. And this I
say, that the covenant, that was confirmed before of God in Christ,
the law, which was four hundred and thirty years after, cannot
disannul, that it should make the promise of none effect. For if
the inheritance be of the law, it is no more of promise: but God
gave it to Abraham by promise.”1976
And because it might possibly
occur to the hearer to ask, If there is no inheritance by the law,
why then was the law given? he himself anticipates this objection
and asks, “Wherefore then
serveth the law?” And the
answer is given: “It was added because of transgressions, till
the seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was
ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator. Now a mediator is
not a mediator of one; but God is one.” And here an objection
occurs which he himself has stated: “Is the law then against
the promises of God?” He answers: “God forbid.” And he
also states the reason in these words: “For if there had been a
law given which could have given life, verily righteousness should
have been by the law. But the Scripture hath concluded all under
sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to
them that believe.”1977
It is part, then, of the duty of
the teacher not only to interpret what is obscure, and to unravel
the difficulties of questions, but also, while doing this, to meet
other questions which may chance to suggest themselves, lest these
should cast doubt or discredit on what we say. If, however, the
solution of these questions suggest itself as soon as the questions
themselves arise, it is useless to disturb what we cannot remove.
And besides, when out of one question other questions arise, and
out of these again still others; if these be all discussed and
solved, the reasoning is extended to such a length, that unless the
memory be exceedingly powerful and active the reasoner finds it
impossible to return to the original question from which he set
out. It is, however, exceedingly desirable that whatever occurs
to the mind as an objection that might be urged should be stated
and refuted, lest it turn up at a time when no one will be present
to answer it, or lest, if it should occur to a man who is present
but says nothing about it, it might never be thoroughly
removed.
40. In the following words of the
apostle we have the temperate style: “Rebuke not an elder, but
entreat him as a father; and the younger men as brethren; the elder
women as mothers, the younger as sisters.”1978
And also in these: “I
beseech you, therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye
present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God,
which is you reasonable service.”1979
And almost the whole of this
hortatory passage is in the temperate style of eloquence; and those
parts of it are the most beautiful in which, as if paying what was
due, things that belong to each other are gracefully brought
together. For example: “Having then gifts, differing
according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let
us prophesy according to the proportion of faith; or ministry, let
us wait on our ministering; or he that teacheth, on teaching; or he
that exhorteth, on exhortation: he that giveth, let him do it
with simplicity; he that ruleth, with diligence; he that showeth
mercy, with cheerfulness. Let love be without dissimulation.
Abhor that which is evil, cleave to that which is good. Be kindly
affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honor preferring
one another; not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving
the Lord; rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing
instant in prayer; distributing to the necessity of saints; given
to hospitality. Bless them which persecute you: bless, and
curse not. Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them
that weep. Be of the same mind one toward another.”1980
And how
gracefully all this is brought to a close in a period of two
members: “Mind not high things, but condescend to men of low
estate!” And a little afterwards: “Render therefore to all
their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom
custom; fear to whom fear; honor to whom honor.”1981
And
these also, though expressed in single clauses, are terminated by a
period of two members: “Owe no man anything, but to love one
another.” And a little farther on: “The night is far spent,
the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of
darkness, and let us put on the armor of light. Let us walk
honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in
chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying: but put ye
on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to
fulfill the lusts thereof.”1982
Now if the passage were
translated thus, “et carnis providentiam ne in concupiscentiis
feceritis,”1983
| 1983 Instead of “ne feceritis in
concupiscentiis,” which is the translation as quoted by
Augustin. | the ear would no doubt be
gratified with a more harmonious ending; but our translator, with
more strictness, preferred to retain even the order of the words.
And how this sounds in the Greek language, in which the apostle
spoke, those who are better skilled in that tongue may determine.
My opinion, however, is, that what has been translated to us in the
same order of words does not run very harmoniously even in the
original tongue.
41. And, indeed, I must confess
that our authors are very defective in that grace of speech which
consists in harmonious endings. Whether this be the fault of the
translators, or whether, as I am more inclined to believe, the
authors designedly avoided such ornament, I dare not affirm; for I
confess I do
not know. This I know,
however, that if any one who is skilled in this species of harmony
would take the closing sentences of these writers and arrange them
according to the law of harmony (which he could very easily do by
changing some words for words of equivalent meaning, or by
retaining the words he finds and altering their arrangement), he
will learn that these divinely-inspired men are not defective in
any of those points which he has been taught in the schools of the
grammarians and rhetoricians to consider of importance; and he will
find in them many kinds of speech of great beauty,—beautiful even
in our language, but especially beautiful in the original,—none
of which can be found in those writings of which they boast so
much. But care must be taken that, while adding harmony, we take
away none of the weight from these divine and authoritative
utterances. Now our prophets were so far from being deficient in
the musical training from which this harmony we speak of is most
fully learnt, that Jerome, a very learned man, describes even the
metres employed by some of them,1984
| 1984 In his preface to Job. | in the Hebrew language at least;
though, in order to give an accurate rendering of the words, he has
not preserved these in his translation. I, however (to speak of
my own feeling, which is better known to me than it is to others,
and than that of others is to me), while I do not in my own speech,
however modestly I think it done, neglect these harmonious endings,
am just as well pleased to find them in the sacred authors very
rarely.
42. The majestic style of speech
differs from the temperate style just spoken of, chiefly in that it
is not so much decked out with verbal ornaments as exalted into
vehemence by mental emotion. It uses, indeed, nearly all the
ornaments that the other does; but if they do not happen to be at
hand, it does not seek for them. For it is borne on by its own
vehemence; and the force of the thought, not the desire for
ornament, makes it seize upon any beauty of expression that comes
in its way. It is enough for its object that warmth of feeling
should suggest the fitting words; they need not be selected by
careful elaboration of speech. If a brave man be armed with
weapons adorned with gold and jewels, he works feats of valor with
those arms in the heat of battle, not because they are costly, but
because they are arms; and yet the same man does great execution,
even when anger furnishes him with a weapon that he digs out of the
ground.1985
| 1985 An allusion to Virgil’s
Æneid, vii. 508: “Quod cuique repertum Rimanti, telum
ira fecit.” | The
apostle in the following passage is urging that, for the sake of
the ministry of the gospel, and sustained by the consolations of
God’s grace, we should bear with patience all the evils of this
life. It is a great subject, and is treated with power, and the
ornaments of speech are not wanting: “Behold,” he says,
“now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.
Giving no offence in anything, that the ministry not blamed: but
in all things approving ourselves as the ministers of God, in much
patience, in afflictions, in necessities, in distresses, in
strifes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labors, in watchings, in
fastings; by pureness, by knowledge, by long-suffering, by
kindness, by the Holy Ghost, by love unfeigned, by the word of
truth, by the power of God, by the armor of righteousness on the
right hand and on the left, by honor and dishonor, by evil report
and good report: as deceivers, and yet true; as unknown, and yet
well known; as dying, and, behold, we live; as chastened, and not
killed; as sorrowful, yet alway rejoicing; as poor, yet making many
rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things.”1986
See him
still burning: “O ye Corinthians, our mouth is opened unto you,
our heart is enlarged,” and so on; it would be tedious to go
through it all.
43. And in the same way, writing
to the Romans, he urges that the persecutions of this world should
be overcome by charity, in assured reliance on the help of God.
And he treats this subject with both power and beauty: “We
know,” he says, “that all things work together for good to them
that love God, to them who are the called according to His
purpose. For whom He did foreknow, He also did predestinate to be
conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the first-born
among many brethren. Moreover, whom He did predestinate, them He
also called; and whom He called, them He also justified; and whom
He justified, them He also glorified. What shall we then say to
these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? He that
spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall
He not with Him also freely give us all things? Who shall lay
anything to the charge of God’s elect? It is God that
justifieth; who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died,
yea, rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of
God, who also maketh intercession for us. Who shall separate us
from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or
persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? (As it
is written, For Thy sake we are killed all the
day long; we
are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.) Nay, in all these
things we are more than conquerors, through Him that loved us.
For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor
principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,
nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to
separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our
Lord.”1987
44. Again, in writing to the
Galatians, although the whole epistle is written in the subdued
style, except at the end, where it rises into a temperate
eloquence, yet he interposes one passage of so much feeling that,
notwithstanding the absence of any ornaments such as appear in the
passages just quoted, it cannot be called anything but powerful:
“Ye observe days, and months, and times, and years. I am afraid
of you, lest I have bestowed upon you labor in vain. Brethren, I
beseech you, be as I am; for I am as ye are: ye have not injured
me at all. Ye know how, through infirmity of the flesh, I
preached the gospel unto you at the first. And my temptation
which was in my flesh ye despised not, nor rejected; but received
me as an angel of God, even as Christ Jesus. Where is then the
blessedness ye spake of? for I bear you record, that, if it had
been possible, ye would have plucked out your own eyes, and have
given them to me. Am I therefore become your enemy, because I
tell you the truth? They zealously affect you, but not well; yea,
they would exclude you, that ye might affect them. But it is good
to be zealously affected always in a good thing, and not only when
I am present with you. My little children, of whom I travail in
birth again until Christ be formed in you, I desire to be present
with you now, and to change my voice; for I stand in doubt of
you.”1988
Is there
anything here of contrasted words arranged antithetically, or of
words rising gradually to a climax, or of sonorous clauses, and
sections, and periods? Yet, notwithstanding, there is a glow of
strong emotion that makes us feel the fervor of
eloquence.E.C.F. INDEX & SEARCH
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