Can the Rhetoric be Useful in the Monastic Conversion? A Case of Hilary, Bishop of Arles

Abstract

The paper deals with the rhetorical structure of the monastic conversion of St. Hilary as depicted by Honorat of Marseille in Vita Hilarii, episcopi Arelatensis (4, 13 – 5, 28). The part of this picture is a soliloquium in which Hilary, employing devices of classical oratory and even strictly technical terms of rhetoric, convinces himself to undertake the monastic way of life. This inner dialogue of the protagonist can be perceived as a kind of author’s play with a motive of declarative rejection of rhetoric, very conventional for the early Christian literature, or even an appreciation of the art of persuasion, which was very unusual for this cultural circle.