Anti-Donatist Polemic and Biblical Hermeneutics: Questions of Ecclesiology in Augustine of Hippo’s De Doctrina Christiana
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Abstract
In this chapter, the author examines the intersection of polemical exegesis and rhetorical praxis in doctr. chr. Set in the light of a broader study on the anti-Donatist exegesis of Augustine in his earliest Tractates on John (Io. eu. tr. 1–16), this contribution questions whether and to what extent Augustine ever offers a normative, ideal theory of combating heresy or schism, and thus of performing polemical exegesis. Through a careful analysis of select passages in Book 3 on Tyconius, Augustine’s principal predecessor in the history of Latin biblical hermeneutics, the author traces how one might attempt to extract such a normative theory. As a result, the author argues that in this respect, Augustine presents his implied teaching on combating heresy through exegesis in a way that appeals to exemplarity. As a model church leader and public authority, Augustine demonstrated throughout his corpus—in his polemical treatises, open letters to representatives of the opposing party, and his sermons and other exegetical works—how to defend the truth in love. As it happens, this method of instruction in the art of effective preaching, biblical interpretation and pedagogy of teaching eloquence also appears as an essential component of doctr. chr., drawing as it does upon the classical exemplars which taught in such a manner.