Christianity effected a change in the course of Western society, requiring a new cultural identity and a new educational curriculum.
With this aim in mind, Emperor Justinian (AD 483–565) cut off all state funding to chairs of rhetoric, essentially bringing the pagan classical tradition to a close.
[1] The Prologue consists of a response to those who would resist Augustine's project of providing rules for interpretation of the Scriptures.
Augustine outlines three possible objections, including those who do not understand his precepts, those who fail to make effective use of his teachings, and those who believe they are already prepared to interpret the Scriptures.
Augustine begins with a discussion of the steps in the interpretive process: discovery of what is to be understood, and a way of teaching what has been discovered.
[2] The discussion of enjoyment and use leads to an extended reflection on motivation, word as flesh, and humanity as image of God.
He also emphasizes studying the Scriptures in their original languages to avoid the problems of imperfect and divergent translations.
[4] Book Four discusses the relationship between Christian truth and rhetoric, the importance of eloquence, and the role of the preacher.
He cautions the reader that he will not discuss the rules of rhetoric here; for though they are acceptable and useful for the Christian speaker, they can easily be learned elsewhere.
[7] Book Four of De doctrina Christiana has sparked a great deal of debate among scholars with regard to the extent to which Augustine's work has been influenced by the rules and traditions of classical rhetoric, and more specifically by the writings of Cicero.
In his introduction to one edition of On Christian Doctrine, D.W. Robertson Jr. states that "the allegorical interpretation of literature itself was a classical practice."
One academic, Stanley Fish, has even gone so far as to claim that "Augustine effectively declares the speaker irrelevant as well when he tells would-be preachers to pray for God to put good speeches in their mouths (38).
In recent years, a number of scholars have made a concerted effort to achieve some degree of compromise or middle ground within this heated debate.
Celica Milovanovic-Barham wrote an article[8] in which she acknowledged this contention, and attempted to argue several places in the text where Augustine agrees or disagrees with Cicero's rhetorical theories.
The article analyzes Augustine's use of ciceronian rhetoric through his discussion of Cicero's three levels of style: plain, middle, and grand.
However, Barham is also quick to note that, "Augustine, after all, does not completely agree with his famous predecessor", in that, he believes that for Christian teachers, nothing they preach would be considered a 'little thing'.
As a result, Barham argues that Augustine is advocating for alternating and blending the various 'styles' of rhetoric all within a single speech.
[9] The issue for Schaeffer lies in the fact that Augustine was trying to bring together the elements of orality and the Christian religion, which was founded primarily upon the written scriptures and called for private introspection and prayer.
Schaeffer says, "book 4 attempts to resolve a central paradox of early Christianity by synthesizing the oral world of public performance with a religion grounded in writing and addressed to the inner person…De doctrina presents Augustine's attempt to bring classical rhetoric…to bear on Christian preaching."