Epilogue

The Epilogue integrates the arguments made throughout the book in order to consider several conclusions and possibilities regarding Augustine’s use of rhetorical economy. It begins by examining the brief period of time between Augustine’s conversion to Christianity and his incorporation of rhetorical economy into his understanding of divine order. Then, by means of a comparison between rhetorical economy and Stoic cosmology, it suggests that Augustine included rhetorical economy in his concept of order because it provided a logical framework which could handle several of his theological commitments without any necessary adjustments to its logic, other than reassigning the model from the arena of speaker and speech to that of God and history. Finally, it concludes the work by considering both possible effects of this study upon future research and Augustine’s understanding of God’s work in arranging all that exists.

Augustine’s Use of Rhetorical Economy in His Scriptural Hermeneutic

Chapters 1–2 form a distinct unit (Part I), establishing several foundations for the arguments in the remaining chapters. Chapter 1 focuses on rhetorical economy, introducing the concept and previous research on Augustine’s incorporation of it into an area which intersects naturally with ideas from literary and rhetorical theory—his scriptural hermeneutic. The final section of this chapter then demonstrates that Augustine utilizes rhetorical economy in his scriptural hermeneutic as early as AD 387–8. Chapter 1 thus establishes that Augustine: (1) utilizes rhetorical economy in his work as a Christian; and (2) does this quite soon after his conversion to Christianity.

Augustine’s Use of Rhetorical Economy in his Theodicy

Chapter 5 demonstrates that Augustine utilizes rhetorical economy to explain God’s providence over that which does not come from God—evil. The first section provides a reading of On Genesis against the Manichaeans 1.3.5 which indicates that part of Augustine’s solution—the separation between the acts of creating and arranging—is a logical separation based upon the first two principal parts of rhetoric, invention (inuentio) and arrangement (dispositio). The second section then argues, by means of a close reading of On Free Choice 3.9.27, that Augustine utilizes rhetorical economy as the logic by which he explains how God’s providence harmonizes with the source of sin, free will, by defining God’s providence according to the divine activity of arrangement rather than production.

Creation, History, and God’s Activity as Speech

Chapter 2 focuses on Augustine’s use of the media of literary and rhetorical theory—namely the book and the speech—to conceive of creation, history, and all divine activity therein. It also demonstrates that Augustine conceives of pieces of creation as functioning in the same manners as words in a book and a speech, that Augustine thinks of God as acting in history according to the rhetorical concept of eloquence, and that he conceives of God as arranging temporal things into the whole of history in the same way that an orator arranges syllables into a single speech.

Introduction

The Introduction orients readers to the book in three ways. It begins by introducing Augustine’s training in rhetoric and the manner in which scholarship has treated Augustine’s use of concepts from that field. It then presents a summary of the chapters, detailing how Part I (Chapters 1–2) and Part II (Chapters 3–5) fit together to form the book’s argument. Finally, it concludes by noting two limitations of this study.

Augustine’s Use of Rhetorical Economy in His Theology of History

Chapter 4 focuses on Augustine’s utilization of rhetorical economy as the logic by which he explains God’s providential ordering of the entire temporal creation as it moves through time. In the first section a close reading of On True Religion 22.42–3 reveals that Augustine utilizes rhetorical economy early in his career as the logic by which he explains the goodness of temporal things against the Manichaean position that evil is substantial. A lengthy analysis of On Music 6.11.29–30 then demonstrates that Augustine continues to utilize rhetorical economy in the mid to late 390s in order to explain how God arranges human beings within history. The final section then shows that Augustine uses rhetorical economy late in his career to explain both the differing methods of worship in the Old and New Testaments and how God incorporates human beings who become evil into the whole of history.

Augustine’s Use of Rhetorical Economy in His Theology of Creation

Chapters 3–5 form a second unit (Part II) which provides insights into fundamental aspects of Augustine’s thought by demonstrating and analyzing his use of rhetorical economy in his theology of creation, his theology of history, and his theodicy. In Chapter 3 close readings of On Genesis against the Manichaeans 1.21.32 and Sermon 29D.4–7 reveal that Augustine utilizes rhetorical economy as the logic by which he justifies his positions on the goodness of all creation and God’s providence over all human affairs against seeming counterevidence from daily life presented by his opponents. An analysis of On Order 1.7.18 then indicates that Augustine’s utilization of rhetorical economy in his theology of creation derives from his integration of rhetorical economy into the heart of his concept of order.