Article
French
ID: <
10.4000/episteme.8542>
·
DOI: <
10.4000/episteme.8542>
Abstract
Simon Vigor (1496-1575) and René Benoist (1521-1608) were two Paris priests with very different personalities and approaches. Vigor was characterised by his vehemency, while Benoist was more prone to compromise. This study of their rhetoric is first based on the way their sermons were published: Vigor’s were published posthumously by Ligueurs who used them; Benoist minimized the importance of his speeches and preferred libelles. Both men combined politics and religious debates, but they differed in their church rhetoric: Vigor wrote elaborate speeches addressed to and engaging with Protestants even though they were not present; Benoist wrote clear didactic texts based on the Scriptures using a more mollifying emotional tone. Both conducted their ministry before Italian rhetoric renewed the art of preaching; both campaigned in favour of a reform of the clergy and believed in the duty of predication. They renewed theological discussions through clarity of speech and patristic evidence, but their different approaches towards their confessional enemy – violence or irenics – changed their connection to their audience and the notion of the authority of the preacher.