Rhetoric in the Monastic Tradition

Rhetoric in the Monastic Tradition presents a series of test cases in rhetorical theory. John P. Bequette explores several important texts from the Western monastic tradition through the lens of ancient rhetoric, using the figures and topica of the Roman rhetorical tradition to exposit the texts in all their depth. This tradition, filtered through Augustines De Doctrina Christiana, provides a useful hermeneutic to unlock the inexhaustible riches of the texts that comprise the monastic tradition from 500 to 1100 A.D. Each chapter focuses on a specific text to understand the relationship between human language and divine revelation as expressed by the monastic author in question. Texts include the Rule of St. Benedict, Bedes Advent Homily on Mark 1:4-8, Anselms Letter to Lanzo, Peter Damians The Book of The Lord Be with You, and sermons thirty-five through thirty-eight of Bernard of Clairvauxs Sermons on the Song of Songs.