Chapter 4.—The Duty of the
Christian Teacher.
6. It is the duty, then, of the
interpreter and teacher of Holy Scripture, the defender of the true
faith and the opponent of error, both to teach what is right and to
refute what is wrong, and in the performance of this task to
conciliate the hostile, to rouse the careless, and to tell the
ignorant both what is occurring at present and what is probable in
the future. But once that his hearers are friendly, attentive,
and ready to learn, whether he has found them so, or has himself
made them so, the remaining objects are to be carried out in
whatever way the case requires. If the hearers need teaching, the
matter treated of must be made fully known by means of narrative.
On the other hand, to clear up points that are doubtful requires
reasoning and the exhibition of proof. If, however, the hearers
require to be roused rather than instructed, in order that they may
be diligent to do what they already know, and to bring their
feelings into harmony with the truths they admit, greater vigor of
speech is needed. Here entreaties and reproaches, exhortations
and upbraidings, and all the other means of rousing the emotions,
are necessary.
7. And all the methods I have
mentioned are constantly used by nearly every one in cases where
speech is the agency employed.