CHAPTER XIX THE EPISTLES: OR WRITTEN RHETORIC In the sense that THE word 'rhetoric' has several meanings. belongs to its most common usage it has little connection with the purpose of the present work. Questions of Literature of style seem to me to belong to the study of lan- Rhetoric: the guage rather than to the study of literature; unless in such cases as the Book of Wisdom, where we saw a peculiarity of style of sufficient magnitude to make the composition a literary class by itself, the morphological distinctness of which must be kept in mind by one who would appreciate the argument. At present I am using the word 'rhetoric' in a different sense, as the literature of address. The Biblical literature of address falls into two main divisions: the Epistle, or Written Address, and Oratory, the Spoken Address. Epistolary Lit erature: the The Epistolary literature of the Bible constitutes a department of the highest importance as regards its subject-matter. But its treatment need occupy only a small space in a work of which the purpose is to note distinctions of literary form. All that is necessary is to point out that the generic term 'epistle' covers three classes of composition worth distinguishing, without reckoning the Epistle of St. James, which has already been treated as a part of Wisdom literature. written Address The first and largest class is made up of epistles in the strictest sense, the Epistles of Pastoral Intercourse. These have the full form of epistolary correspondence: commencing with a salutation Epistles of Pastoral Intercourse from the Apostle,' with whom other names are joined in some cases, to a distinct church or fellow-worker; ending with further salutations and sometimes an autograph message, and with greetings, general or by name. Sometimes messages to individuals, or about the treatment of individuals, appear in the body of the letter; information is given as to the writer's condition, or his prospective movements and the possibility of personal visits to his correspondents; reference is made to affairs of the church or person addressed, and even to financial questions or to the disposal of articles of luggage left behind. The matter of the epistle, moreover, is called forth by particular circumstances; though in treating the particular the writer can rise or digress to the deepest principles touched in the I Corinthians highest forms of expression. The First Epistle to the Corinthians is an ideal example of this type. Its earlier paragraphs are drawn from St. Paul by tidings he has heard of the Church at Corinth: tidings of factions, of moral laxity, of proceedings against brethren in secular courts. Then he turns to answer questions of principle, or of ecclesiastical policy, which have been conveyed to him on behalf of the Corinthian church; he thus treats of celibacy, of the idol feasts which constituted a burning question in the early days of Christianity, of the relation of the sexes in places of worship; the question of diverse spiritual gifts seems also to be among those put to him, and in treating it he is led to the famous outpouring on 'charity,' or 'love.' He concludes with a summary of the 'gospel' he has preached, but a summary really designed for a single purpose, to meet doubts that had arisen concerning the resurrection doctrine of the Apostles. The other pastoral epistles are, in their general character as a branch of literature, covered by this typical example. The Second Epistle to the Corinthians seems to have been called' forth by the reception of the first. That to the Galatians is a personal remonstrance from St. Paul to churches with which he conceived himself to have a 1 In the case of II, III John the writer appears only as 'The Elder.' Other Pastoral iv. 2 special bond of intimacy, and which had been disturbed by Judaising tendencies such as it was the mission of this Apostle to resist. The epistle to the Philippians was perhaps originated by a desire to heal local differences, if we may judge from an appeal to that effect addressed to individuals by name; but its matter as a whole is general. Those to the Thessalonians have an individual colour given to them by the prominence of discussions touching the expected near 'coming of Christ.' The epistles to Timothy are appeals to a child in the faith' and fellow-worker, touching his personal character as a teacher; but St. Paul also pronounces through him upon questions likely to be disputed by those amongst whom Timothy would labour. The epistle to Titus is a general summary of instruction to one left in charge of a district where much organising was to be done. The epistle to Philemon was a personal appeal sent by St. Paul with a runaway slave, now Christianised, and desiring to return to his master, a convert and friend of the Apostle. Of a similar personal character are the epistles (numbered second and third) of St. John, addressed to an unnamed lady and to Gaius. There is a clear distinction between such epistles of Pastoral Intercourse and two others, which may be designated Epistolary Treatises. The Epistle to the Romans is addressed, Epistolary it is true, to a particular church: but it is the Treatises church of the world's metropolis, and one which Romans the writer has never visited. The formalities of salutation quickly lead the writer to that which is his text: the new conception of a 'righteousness by faith,' which is salvation 'to the Jew first and also to the Greek.' What follows is a formal and ordered exposition of this conception, the writer throughout keeping before him the two parties of Jews and non-Jews, whose attitudes to the new doctrine would be so different. Commencing with first principles he gradually reaches a climax in the idea of a world redemption; if then he passes from argument to exhortation, yet his exhortations are only another form of his argument, and represent the gospel realised in practical life. The con |