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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." 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." 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.
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