Augustine in His Own Words
the fundamentals of good communication, namely, that the speaker be attuned to spontaneous reactions from his audience and respond accordingly. From On Christian Teaching, Book 4:
(10.25) In ordinary friendly conversations everyone has the chance to ask questions, whereas during a sermon everyone quiets down and turns their faces in rapt attention in order to listen to the one speaking. And so it is neither customary nor appropriate for someone to interrupt and ask a question about what he does not understand. The speaker should, therefore, be especially attentive to come to the aid of the silent. Now an enthusiastic crowd, eager to learn, usually shows by its behavior whether it has understood things, and, until it does, the speaker needs to keep going over and over whatever he is discussing in a whole variety of different ways. Now those who get up and deliver what they have previously prepared and memorized wordfor-word cannot do this. However, once a speaker makes himself understood, he should either bring his sermon to an end or move on to other matters. For just as a speaker who sheds light on what needs to be known is appreciated, so one who pounds away on what is already known is annoying—at least to those whose whole expectation depends on his dissolving those [knotty scriptural problems] that are unraveled only with difficulty.24
Beating Breasts
Augustine's crowd-watching eye can be seen in action in the following sermon. During liturgy, North Africans sometimes beat their breasts as a sign of repentance. Augustine notes here how they had misinterpreted the biblical text. He uses their miscue to explore the dual meaning of the word "confession." From Sermon 67:
(1) When the holy Gospel was read, we heard how the Lord Jesus exulted in the Spirit and said: "I confess to you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden things from the wise and the prudent and have revealed them to the little ones" (Mt 11:25). To begin with, let's consider the Lord's words, taking them with great seriousness, with real care, and, above all, with great piety. And at the outset, we find that whenever we read the word "confession" in the Scriptures, we ought not always to understand it as the voice of sinners. Now this especially needs to be said, to alert your Charitableness25 from now on about this. Because no sooner did this word come
24. Doc. Chr. 4.10.25 (Green, 226–28); my trans. 25. In Augustine's day, it was part of etiquette to address noble individuals using certain abstract adjectives: "Your Excellency," "Your Illustriousness." There are remnants of this today in the way we address