A Study of the Rhetoric of the Early Sermons of St. Augustine

Abstract

This examination of the first five years of his preaching identifies key ways in which Augustine of Hippo transformed classical rhetoric into the pattern he would later outline in De doctrina christiana. This thesis argues that Augustine began his career as a priest giving sermons in line with the sophistic speeches he had taught before his conversion, but that by 396 he had "redeemed" his rhetoric to fit the new purposes of the Christian church. During these early years, Augustine reduced or removed the classical exordia and perorations in order to meld his sermons into the liturgy. He also humbled, but did not eliminate, his rhetorical polish as he shifted the main purpose of rhetoric from pleasing the elites to teaching the masses.