Rhetoric in the Augustine Confessions

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Rhetoric in the Augustine Confessions
Rhetoric contributed widely in the ancient Roman world; it is therefore evident that Augustine was committed to the art of learning to speak well. Augustine is one of the many scholars who can be termed as a product of his culture. Throughout St Augustine's life, he was often fascinated with the power of spoken words. After spending his younger years mastering the rhetoric theory, he spent the rest of his life putting it into practice. To Augustine, learning rhetoric was a way to get into the world and earn respect; therefore, he enjoyed being at the top of the rhetoric school. During the period of "oratorical excess," Augustine considered rhetorical education to be immoral content of the material he was compelled to learn. Augustine condemned his teaching of rhetoric in the confessions. Augustine's main goal was to make the scripture both compelling and plain for his audience, therefore, appropriated common rhetoric elements in his teachings. Furthermore, after converting to Christianity in Milan's garden, Augustine later denounced his rhetorical past life. Augustine still found himself having much to do with words as a preacher and an interpreter, even after becoming a bishop. The next session of this essay will formulate an argument about the role of rhetoric in the Confessions, paying attention to Augustine’s ideas about language and literature.
The Confessions was meant to influence his readers and to direct their attitude and conduct through language and form, therefore, teaching and delighting them. Rhetoric is used to bring the truth that has been perceived no matter how difficult it proves to comprehend (31). According to the opinions of several scholars, the Confessions should be understood from a rhetoric perspective. Augustine moves between acceptance, rejection, and modifications of classical eloquence. Augustine is trying to prove that Christian literature is rhetoric, whereby it borrows classical rhetorical practices but is not subject to the failings. In the second book of On Christian Doctrine, Augustine argues that rhetoric is not invented by humans but rather is a part of the nature of things. Augustine's rhetoric in the confessions was therefore motivated by pastoral and charity duty, which is an act of Christian rhetoric of self-donation. In the revelation of the confessions, Augustine uses rhetoric to fulfill his pastoral obligations. He recounts his sin, acknowledges God's power, and shows his powerlessness over sin. Furthermore, Augustine's rhetoric in confessions was to demonstrate a commitment to compellingly communicating truth. When urging a practical truth, an eloquent must teach to give instructions and be pleasing to keep up the attention, but he must also sway the mind to subdue the will.
Augustine uses several literary devices to share his perspectives, which reveals his rhetorical power. The author uses Babylon to symbolize the sinful world and veering away from the creator. Augustine describes Babylon as filthy, and through his description, he shares his perspectives. In book II, he talks about walking in the streets of Babylon wi...