Rhetoric
The Word and Rhetoric
“In
the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was
God. The same was in the beginning with God…And the Word was made
flesh, and dwelt among us (and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the
only begotten of the Father), full of grace and truth…No man hath seen
God at anytime; the only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the
Father, He hath declared Him.”
This passage, one of
the most sublime in all of Scripture, found in the first chapter of
John’s Gospel, was certainly not included in Holy Writ to provide us
with an apologetic for the study of rhetoric. However, in the art of
rhetoric—in the use of language to inform, persuade, and motivate—we
perhaps most clearly reflect the Word our Creator, our Redeemer, our
Sanctifier, our Glorifier. The Second Person of the Triune Godhead is
called the Word because it is He who gives expression to the divine
will—it is His special function to reveal God to men.
“Rhetoric
is the art or the discipline that deals with the use of discourse,
either spoken or written, to inform or persuade or motivate an
audience, whether that audience is made up of one person or a group of
persons” (Edward Corbett, Classical Rhetoric for the Modern Student).
The earliest foundation for rhetoric is established in the
School
of
Grammar
where students learn how language functions. There they also learn the
great stories of history. A successful orator is one who has a vast
wealth of stories, metaphors, and analogies secured in his memory.
Man
is a speaking being and the foundation for an intelligent use of
language is logical thought. An orator who loves the truth will not be
satisfied with crass emotionalism. He instead desires that persuasion
follow upon rational consideration of sound arguments.
Throughout
the Schools of Grammar and Logic students practice the progymnasmata.
The progymnasmata was designed by the ancients to be a preparation for
rhetoric. Students learn and master skills through these exercises that
are invaluable for the orator. For all of these reasons, therefore, the
study of rhetoric follows the mastery of grammar and logic.
Students in the
School
of
Rhetoric
study the art as it was developed in the classical world. Specifically,
students read the rhetoric manuals of Aristotle (On Rhetoric) and
Cicero (Ad Herennium). Modern texts based upon the ancient rhetorics
are used for the help they supply by elucidating the ancient masters
and harmonizing the differences between them.