biguous punctuations are to be observed likewise in the case of
CHAP. III.] A:\rBIGUITIES OF PEONUXCIATIOX. 83 coinqiiinationc carnis ct spiritus " [let us cleanse ourselves from all filtliiness of the flesh and spirit], in accordance with the passage, " that she may be holy both in body and in spirit," or, " miindcmus nos ah omni coinquinationc carnis " [let us cleanse ourselves from all filtliiness of the flesh], so as to make the next sentence, " ct spiritus perficientcs sanctijicationcm in timorc Dei ccqnte nos " [and perfecting holiness of spirit in the fear of God, receive us]. Such ambiguities of punctuation, therefore, are left to the reader's discretion.
CuAP. III. Hoio ijronnndation serves to remove ainhiguity. Different hinds of interrogation.
6. And .all the directions that I have given about ambiguous punctuations are to be observed likewise in the case of doubtful pronunciations. For these too, unless the fault lies in the carelessness of the reader, are corrected either by the rule of faith, or by a reference to the preceding or succeeding context; or if neither of these methods is applied with success, they will remain doubtful, but so that the reader will not be in fault in whatever way he may pronounce them. For example, if our faith that God will not bring any charges against His elect, and that Christ will not condemn His elect, did not stand in the way, this passage, " Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect ? " might be pronounced in such a way as to make what follows an answer to this question, " God who justifieth," and to make a second question,
" Who is he that condemneth ? " with the answer, " Christ
Jesus who died."^ But as it would be the height of madness to believe this, the passage will be pronounced in such a way as to make the first part a question of inquiry,^ and the second a rhetorical interrogative.* Now the ancients said that the difference between an inquiry and an interrogative was this, that an inquiry admits of many answers, but to an interrogative the answer must be either " No " or " Yes."^ The passage will be pronounced, then, in such a way that after the inquiry, " Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect ? " what follows will be put as an interrogative : " Shall
1 Cor. vii. 34. ^ jjom. viii. 33, 34. 3 Percontatio. * Interrogatio.
Tlie English language has no two words expressing the shades of meaning assigned by Augustine to x>ercontatlo and interrOQcUio respectively.