Language:
English
Year of publication:
2021
Titel der Quelle:
Vigiliae Christianae
Angaben zur Quelle:
75,5 (2021) 556-571
Keywords:
Augustine, Criticism and interpretation
;
Ecclesiasticus Criticism, interpretation, etc.
;
Ecclesiasticus Influence
;
Christian literature, Early History and criticism
;
Donatists History
;
Polemics Early works to 1800
;
Rhetoric
Abstract:
The book of Sirach plays a larger part within Augustine’s theology than has hitherto been appreciated. This article helps fill this lacuna by examining the role of Sir 34:30 – “What does the bath profit one who is baptized by a dead man?” – in Augustine’s conflict with the Donatists. In addition to showing the significance of this verse within the conflict, I further argue that it allows us to espy the forensic rhetoric that shapes much of Augustine’s anti-Donatist polemic. In particular, I point to techniques of inventio that provide not merely stylistic but also argumentative forms and approaches that Augustine deploys on several fronts.
DOI:
10.1163/15700720-bja10032
URL:
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