Teaching Christianity
and something is demonstrated with unexpected clarity, when from heaven knows what kind of ship's holds, from where they were quite unhoped for, the speaker hauls up and displays the shrewdest judgments, convicting his opponent of error, and proving that what he seemed to be saying so irrefutably is false; especially when his words have a certain grace that is not contrived but somehow or other quite natural, and a number of rhythmic periods that are not just thrown in to show off, but are almost necessary, and distilled, so to say, from the very matter itself; it frequently happens that such spontaneous applause breaks out on an occasion of this kind that you would scarcely suppose the calm, plain mode was being employed. Just because this style, after all, does not enter the arena either dressed up or armed, but engages the opponent as it were naked, it doesn't follow that it fails to grapple him with its sinewy arms, and to overthrow the falsehood resisting it, and to reduce it to nothing by its sheer strength of muscle. How is it, though, that people speaking in this way are repeatedly and loudly applauded, if not because it is such a pleasure to see truth thus demonstrated, thus defended, thus unbeaten? That is why in this calm, plain mode of speaking too, this teacher and speaker of ours ought so to conduct himself that he is heard with pleasure and with compliance, as well as with understanding.
57. Coming now to eloquence in the moderate mode, the eloquent churchman neither leaves it entirely unadorned, nor adorns it inappropriately, nor seeks simply and solely to delight his audience, which is the one and only thing other orators intend with it. Rather, even in his praising of some things or finding fault with others, he wishes his hearers, surely, to comply with what they hear from him by aiming at the former or holding on to them more firmly, while shunning or ridding themselves of the latter. But if what he says is not understood, it cannot also be heard with any