Rhetoric in Ancient Athens and Rome was characterized by the freedom of speech citizens enjoyed due to the democratic systems of their governments. Rhetoric was used as a tool to encourage public participation in the democratic process, whether it was law making or the judicial system. Although the use of rhetoric by the average citizen was a controversial topic in both Athens and Rome, these citizens continued to seek education in rhetoric. This helped the art of rhetoric develop as more sophists and philosophers emerged and helped spread the various views and teachings of rhetoric throughout the Greek city states and the Roman Republic. When the Roman empire collapsed and Europe splintered, Roman teachings and ideals were cast off as pagan as Christianity rose to prominence in Europe. Among the Roman traditions that were shunned was the art of rhetoric. Rhetoric was generally regarded as an evil pagan technique of persuasion and deceit. Many Christian scholars, such as Tertullian and Jerome, disapproved of Classical teachings, seeing it a sinful and not beneficial to the mission of Christianity. Other scholars however, particularly St. Augustine, believed that rhetoric if separated from the pagan beliefs of Athens and Rome, could prove invaluable to Christianity.

With the teachings of St. Augustine, rhetoric was switched to a focus on the persuasion and understanding of Christian Doctrine. St. Augustine wrote three major works: The City of God, Confessions, and De Doctrina Christiana. These talked about rhetoric’s use for Christianity in secular, Christianity and the soul, and as a guide for how pastors should interpret and convey the Bible. As the major rhetorician of his era, St. Augustine was able to adapt the domain of rhetoric from a democratic and pagan focused practice, to one focused on the development and spread of Christianity. This change in rhetoric’s domain and cultural use was primarily brought on by the strict doctrine and clergy of Christianity that was seen as law to most Europeans who were afraid of condemnation to hell or excommunication from the church. However, rhetoric was able to have various effects on how Christianity was studied and taught throughout Europe. Much like the Works of St. Augustine, rhetoric had a hand in how pastors learned to study and preach rhetoric to the masses. This use of rhetoric in their faith allowed them to better interpret the Bible and more effectively persuade Europeans to convert to Christianity.

Help Received: Augustine’s De Doctrina Christiana excerpt