Building off my post from last week about Quintilian, I saw in Augustine’s writings too an emphasis on imitation; however, it took on a different flavor. For example, with Quintilian, we saw him argue that imitation is not enough and that one should excel those who s/he imitates. Augustine, on the other hand, makes the opposite claim regarding imitation. Specifically, he claims that one should imitate within one’s ability (103). So, here we see an argument for limiting one’s imitations rather than the Quintilian claim to excel those one imitates. However, Augustine does enter an additional variable into the imitative equation that has the potential to allow one to excel in imitation. That variable, God and an understanding of the Scriptures, if studied and understood clearly by an orator, would allow that person to excel anything (except God). Perhaps I’m overstating the ability to excel anything and should describe what an understanding of the Scriptures can do in terms of offsetting a deficiency. Augustine makes this very claim when he writes, “For a person who has to speak wisely on matters which he cannot treat eloquently, close adherence to the words of scripture is particularly necessary. The poorer he sees himself to be in his own resources, the richer he must be in those of scripture (105). So, whatever deficiencies I may have due to a lack in my natural ability, I can offset those with an understanding of scriptures. Put another way, the scriptures act as a supplement to my natural ability. But, as I write this, I have a hard time imagining that Augustine would agree that scriptures are a supplement. Rather, I imagine he would claim that they are primary and as such should guide one’s imitative acts rather than supplement them.
As a final point, I saw in Augustine an effort to make room for alternative grammars/languages. He writes, “What is the use of correct speech if it does not meet with the listener’s understanding…The teacher, then, will avoid all words that do not communicate…He will use words that are less correct, provided that the subject-matter itself is communicated and learnt correctly” (116). I was surprised to find this opening for less correct words and alternative ways of speaking as I already had categorized Augustine more as a current-traditionalist. I can’t explain why I categorized him in this way; I just assumed it for some reason, but can we consider Augustine a forerunner in making the claim for alternative grammars/voices in rhetoric/composition theory?