A Rhetorical Perspective on the Sentence Sayings of the Book of Proverbs: Dave Bland

A Rhetorical Perspective on the Sentence Sayings of the Book of Proverbs

Dave Bland

A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment

of the requirements for the degree of

Doctor of Philosophy

University of Washington

1994

Approved by John Angus Campbell

(Chairperson of Supervisory Committee)

___________________________

Program Authorized

to Offer Degree Speech Communications

Date January 28, 1994

University of Washington

Abstract

A Rhetorical Perspective on the Sentence Sayings of the Book o Proverbs

by Dave Bland

Chairperson of the Supervisory Committee:

Professor John Angus Cambell

Department of Speech Communication

The dominant perspective of biblical scholarship; is that proverbs are

valued for what they reveal about the wisdom and culture of an ancient

civilization. While they convey insightful information; they are perceived as

mild mannered in spirit. But this perspective is anemic. It eclipses the power

of the proverb. What I have done is to brush away the deposits from the

surface of the proverb and expose the deep structure of its rhetorical shape. I

have demonstrated that far from being harmless cliches, biblical proverbs are

potent rhetorical works of art. What I have discovered is a sharpness about

the proverb that enables it to penetrate the ear and the mind of the listener.

Because of this internal dynamic, the proverb does not lie dormant. It

must have a context in which to work. Even when consigned to a collection,

the proverb seeks out active duty. Contemporary scholarship has of

acknowledged this activity within the book of Proverbs. My work is

distinctive in that it describes the action of the proverb within the collection.

Proverbs do not have to lie around waiting for someone to pluck them from

the loneliness of a collection and appropriate them to a social context before

they experience self-actualization. They have a working context within the

book of Proverbs. Thus, scholarship can no longer be noncritical of the long

standing belief that the texts of Proverbs are randomly Collected. Biblical

scholars must now be more sensitive to macro-structures within Proverbs. I

have shown that the rhetorical power of the proverb enables it not only to

manage individual and social behavior but also to manage texts and ever

changing contexts within the canon of Scripture.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

Chapter One: Introduction: The Rhetorical Foundation 1

The Cognitive Paradigm 3

Constraints of the Cognitive Paradigm 8

The Hermeneutic of the Cognitive Paradigm 11

A Rhetorical Hermeneutic as the Foundation for

Approaching Proverbs 18

Rhetoric and Hermeneutics 20

Characteristics of a Rhetorical Hermeneutic 23

The Hermeneutics of Scripture 42

The Contribution of a Rhetorical Paradigm 47

Selection Criteria for the Biblical Proverbs Studied 50

Conclusion 52

Chapter Two: The Biblical Proverb and its Micro-Dimensional

Influences 54

The Structural Character of Biblical Proverbs 55

Reasoning Patterns 90

Proverbial Content 120

The Situational Character of Biblical Proverbs 127

Chapter Three: The Biblical Proverb and its Macro-Dimensional

Influences 138

The Centrality of Speech in the Wisdom Corpus 139

Two Sample Texts: Proverbs 25:11-28 and 10:13-21 144

Oral Discourse as Art: Proverbs 25:11-28 149

The Role of Mentor in Developing the

Art of Speaking: Proverbs 10:13-21 164

Topoi Related to Oral Discourse 171

Topos: The Ethics of Discourse 171

Topos: The Kairos of Discourse 187

Chapter Four: The Ongoing Influence of Biblical Proverbs in the

Tradition of Scripture 201

Proverbs in Various Contexts in the Book of Proverbs 204

The Phenomenon of the Overlapping Sayings 205

Proverbs in the Context of the Proverbial Poem 214

Proverbs in the Broader Context of Hebrew Scriptures 226

Proverbs in the Context of Israelite Tradition 231

Proverbs in the Context of the New Testament 238

Chapter Five: Conclusion 245

Bibliography 260

Chapter One

Introduction: The Rhetorical Foundation

Though small and innocent in appearance, the Proverb has

demonstrated amazing tenacity in transcending time and influencing

cultures. This unique unit of discourse has been the possession of almost all

cultures in all times and places, being utilized for multivalent purposes and

goals.^l The power of the proverb is linked to its polysemous quaility.² More

easily than other rhetorical genres, the proverb shatter contextual constraints

and transcends the confines of authorial intent unfolding to referents before

it its multiple dimensions. Its perspicuity, brevity, commonness, and

structural quality equip it to penetrate the mind, influencing thought and

action. On the surface, the form and content of the proverb work together to

make its thought something that can be immediately affirmed by the hearer.

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¹ Whiting describes a broad spectrum of culture and peoples who use

proverbial lore and the variety of ways in which they are employed. He

acknowledges that certain primitive peoples do not seem to have a store of

proverbs. However, he remarks, "It must be borne in mind that it is

impossible to be certain of the complete absence of proverbs, because there is

always the possibility that proverbial sayings have escaped the attention of

foreign observers." See B. J. Whiting, "The Origin of the Proverb," Harvard

Studies and Notes in Philology and Literature 13 (1931): 61.

² Using the semiotic model of Susan Wittig, James William.

demonstrates the polyvalence of Biblical proverbs. Williams concludes his

essay with these words: "The possibility of multiple meanings may be viewed

as unfortunate or as a way of weaseling out of the interpreter's responsibility.

I view it as a challenge to the interpreter to allow the proverb to provoke and

challenge his mind." James G. Williams, "The Power of Form: A Study of

Biblical Proverbs," Semeia 17 (1980) : 55.

But its relatively indeterminate nature also empowers it with a surplus of

meaning.³

A vast amount of material has been written on proverbs, their use in

literature and what they reveal about different peoples. Anthropologists,

folklorists, psychologists, and sociologists have engaged in studying this

elemental form. However, few rhetoricians have entered into the arena to

explore their rhetorical function and influential force.⁴ Neither have

rhetoricians put much effort into historically investigating how proverbs

have been used.⁵ In this study I propose to investigate the rhetorical work of

the proverb as it is used and organized in the book of Proverbs in the Hebrew

Scriptures.

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³ Max Black speaks of the polyvalent quality of a proverb indirectly in

his description of metaphors. Black remarks that "when we speak of a

relatively simple metaphor, we are referring to a sentence or another

expression in which some words are used metaphorically while the

remainder are used nonmetaphorically. An attempt to construct an entire

sentence of words that are used metaphorically results in a proverb, an

allegory, or a riddle." Max Black, Models and Metaphors: Studies in

Language and Philosophy (Ithaca and London: Cornell University Press,

1960) 26.

⁴ One of the few are Goodwin and Wenzel who use Ehninger's and

Brockriede's classification system to analyze how contemporary proverbs

illustrate patterns of reasoning or argument. See Paul D. Goodwin and

Joseph W. Wenzel, "Proverbs and Practical Reasoning: A Study in Socio-

Logic," Quarterly Journal of Speech 65 (1979): 289-302.

⁵ One exception is Gerald Phillips' essay on the dominant role of

speech in the proverbs of Sirach and the Book of Proverbs. See Gerald M.

Phillips, "Rhetorical Gleanings from the Wisdom Literature," Western.

Speech Journal. 26 (1962) : 157-163. Another is an essay by Edd Miller and Jesse

J. Villarreal, "The Use of Cliches by Four Contemporary Speakers," Quarterly

Journal of Speech 31 (1945): 151-155.

This collection has been studied by biblical scholars who have revealed

much about its nature. But such studies have been constrained because of the

way in which the book has been approached. What I propose to do is initially

to examine and critique the traditional paradigm used by biblical scholars.

This examination will also include a description and critique of their

underlying hermeneutic. An alternative rhetorical paradigm and

hermeneutic will be offered that does not eclipse the old model but enables

the proverbial material to have its richest expression. It is this rhetorical

hermeneutic that will serve to inform the direction taken in this dissertation.

The Cognitive Paradigm

The dominant paradigm for studying the collection of proverbs in

Scripture is a cognitive one.⁶ The cognitive paradigm tends to be determinate

and focuses primarily on the content and message of proverbs. Charles

Fritsch's statement that the "way to rescue the valuable teaching of this

collection" is to arrange them according to subject matter, is representative of

this approach.⁷ After the superficial form of the proverb is boiled away, the

residue that remains is its real essence. The most influential scholars in

Wisdom Literature build their research around this perspective.

William McKane, in his monumental commentary on the book of

Proverbs in the Old Testament Library series, classified the proverbs according

___________________________

⁶Arland D. Jacobson has identified this as the paradigm. See Arland

D. Jacobson, "Proverbs and Social Control: A New Paradigm for Wisdom

Studies," Gnosticism and the Early Christian World, eds. J. E. Goehring, C.

W. Hedrick, Jack T. Sanders, and Hans Deter Betz, (Sonoma, CA: Polebridge

Press, 1991) 75-88.

⁷ Charles T. Fritsch, "The Gospel in the Book of Proverbs,” Theology

Today 7 (1950) : 170.

to content and the three phases in the development of that content.⁸ His

entire commentary is organized around these phases. The first includes

proverbs that are concerned with the success and harmonious life of the

individual. This is "old wisdom" and these proverbs are the earliest part of

the biblical collection. In the second phase the center of concern shifts from

the individual to the community. And the third phase reinterprets the first

by incorporating "God-language." The proverbs in the third phase are the

latest editions to the collection and are the most theological. The historical

development in this scheme is from the secular to the sacred. And the focus

is solely on content.

Other works on Proverbs follow suit. The foundational work on

Wisdom Literature in ancient Israel by Gerhard von Rad, discusses proverbs

under the heading "The Forms in Which Knowledge is Expressed."⁹ He goes

further and identifies in the Proverbs a "tension between a radical

secularization on the one hand and the knowledge of God's unlimited

powers on the other."¹⁰ Such a division is based on content. The most

renowned scholar of Wisdom Literature in America, James L. Crenshaw,

___________________________

⁸ McKane, Proverbs, A New Approach (Philadelphia: The

Westminster Press, 1970) 11, 415.

⁹ Gerhard von Rad, Wisdom in Israel (Nashville: Abingdon Press,

1972) 24.

¹⁰ Von Rad 98. Claudia Camp takes issue with such a division. She

rightly argues that even though religion is not synonymous with common

sense, common sense is a part of religion. See Wisdom and the Feminine in

the Book of Proverbs (Decatur, GA: Almond Press, 1985) 173-176. Such a

connection is significant for rhetorical theory since endoxa (common or

popular opinion) is crucial for developing any kind of rhetorical argument.

entitles his chapter on the book of Proverbs "The Pursuit of Knowledge.”¹¹

John T. Willis, in his little volume, organizes the proverbs in the book of

Proverbs around the various topics they address.¹² In one of the most recent

books to come out on Wisdom Literature, Roland Murphy subtitles his

chapter on Proverbs "The Wisdom of Words" which implies an interest that

may reach beyond content.¹³ In fact Murphy states that the book of Proverbs

"seeks to persuade, to tease the reader into a way of life . . . ."¹⁴ However, after

only paying lip service to this element, Murphy devotes the chapter to

summarizing the contents of the major blocks of material in the book. These

works are representative of the dominant way in which the book of Proverbs

is approached.

A number of scholars claim that what has contributed most to

perpetuating the cognitive model has been the placing of proverbs in a

collection. In a collection a proverb's performative context is lost and all that

remains is its content. Whenever a proverb is codified it loses its force and

power. Janet E. Heseltine has maintained this: "Looked at in one way, the

history of the use and disuse of proverbs is a progression from the concrete to

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¹¹ James Crenshaw, Old Testament Wisdom: An Introduction,

(Atlanta: John Knox Press, 1981) 66.

¹² John T. Willis, The Old Testament Wisdom Literature: Job,

Proverbs. Ecclesiastes. Song of Solomon (Abilene, TX: Biblical Research Press,

1982) 84-126.

¹³ Roland E. Murphy, The Tree of Life: An Exploration of Biblical

Wisdom Literature, The Anchor Bible Reference Library (New Yok:

Doubleday) 15.

¹⁴ Murphy 15

the abstract."¹⁵ Later she adds, regarding the increased interest in collecting

proverbs in the eighteenth century, "We may take it as a sign that proverbs

were on the wane that they now began to be collected so zealously."¹⁶ The

paroemiologist Wolfgang Mieder affirms that "the proverb in a collection is

dead."¹⁷ Claudia Camp also argues that when a proverb is consigned to a

collection it dies.¹⁸

The literary collection of proverbs robs them of the function that

is essential to their identity, leaving only what paroemiologists

refer to as the Baukern or 'kernel,' the proverb's context-free core

composed of its topic and comment. The 'Baukem' is 'the

ultimate source for all subsequent applications, since this core is

the carrier of the message, however, mundane or profound'

(Fontaine, 165). Insofar as the form of the proverb is determined

by its function . . . and insofar as the proverb is only functioning

qua proverb in a performance context, the form and style of the

proverb in a collection become expendable features, as they are

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¹⁵ Janet E. Heseltine, Introduction, "Proverbs and Pothooks," The

Qxford Dictionary of English Proverbs, comp. William George Smith,

(Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1935) : xii.

¹⁶ Heseltine xvii

¹⁷ Wolfgang Mieder, "The Essence of Literary Proverb Study,"

Proverbium 23 (1974) 892.

¹⁸ Claudia Camp, Wisdom and the Feminine in the Book of Proverbs

(Decatur, GA: Almond Press, 1985): 166.

not in the context of use (p. 124). In the collection, it is only the

kernel, the message, that has any relevance at all.¹⁹

Camp's solution to the loss of a context for the proverbs is to

recontextualize them. She proposes that this is accomplished by framing the

sentence proverbs (chs. 10:1-22:16 and 24:22-29:33) in a narrative within the

wisdom poems (chs. 1-9 and 30-31). Wisdom personified as feminine offers

an interpretive framework for the collection of proverbs. The feminine

image enables the book of Proverbs to be a unified whole and function as part

of a canon of religious literature.²⁰ Camp's approach is creative and

illuminating in many ways. But to say that the prologue and the epilogue

offer the interpretive key to the text of Proverbs is to continue to confine

proverbs to the abstract. Other than transforming the book into narrative,

how does the beginning and ending interpret the whole? How does it

interpret the sentence proverb? Camp does not say. In the final analysis,

Camp's approach as well is primarily interested in the intellectual content.²¹

The interpretive responsibility belongs to the narrative itself. There is little

or no dialogue between text and interpreter. The interpretation takes place

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¹⁹ Camp 171. Camp enumerates three effects of placing proverbs in a

collection: 1) they lose their function as cultural model is (i.e. their capacity to

evaluate and affect change); 2) the removal of the performance context creates

the appearance of proverbial dogmatism; 3) "in Israel the loss of he

performance context also meant the loss of the covenant context. It is this

factor that engenders the appearance, and perhaps also the experience, of a

sacred-secular dichotomy" (p. 177).

²⁰ Camp 182

²¹ Jacobson reaches this conclusion as well when he remarks that

Camp's "model continues to be a primarily cognitive one" (p. 87).

within the text between the feminine image and the sentence proverbs.²² All

of this is to say that Camp's interpretive approach is guided by a cognitive

model and therefore is constrained.²³

It does seem accurate to claim that collections of proverbs have tended

to promote the cognitive paradigm. The collections are perceived by this

model to abstract proverbs from their oral context and focus interest solely on

intellectual content. But even in collections it is, as Jacobson says, a

"mistaken assumption that intellectual content is what proverbs are about.²⁴

Gathering proverbs into collections does not in and of itself bring about their

demise.

Constraints of the Cognitive Paradigm

Even though the cognitive model has much to commend itself and

even though it has yielded rich insights into the meaning of the contents of

the proverbs, there are a number of constraints that must be faced if we are to

advance further in our understanding and appropriation of proverbs. First,

the cognitive model has no interest in the way in which proverbs influence

thought and behavior. The exclusive focus on content has totally eclipsed the

___________________________

²² According to Camp, the feminine image brings to the fore the focus

on the woman and her characteristics throughout the book. The primary

characteristic has to do with the responsibility of the woman to educate and

advice. She is evaluated not by her role as childbearer but by her

responsibility as advisor.

²³ Camp has worked to release her approach from any one method. So

she relies on the use of several including literary, anthropological,

sociological, historical, and canonical (p. 11). Notably absent from her

repertoire is any use of rhetoric.

²⁴ Jacobson 87

vital dimension of how a proverb works rhetorically to accomplish its task.

The internal structure and reasoning pattern used by the proverb along with

its content and the context in which it is used all work together synergistically

to energize it with persuasive power. The traditional approach to proverbs

treats them as inert entities. It lumps the various structural patterns of

proverbs into fixed categories of parallelism such as synonymous, antithetic,

or synthetic, and this does not allow for the subtle but dynamic differences

that characterize the individual proverbs. To investigate the rhetorical

dimension that resides within the proverb will yield rich insight into the way

the proverb works, that is, the way in which it influences thought and action.

Proverbs, as such, are a valuable resource for contemporary rhetorical use.

Thus, a constraining factor of the cognitive model is that it has little interest

in the way in which proverbs act upon their audiences.

Second, the cognitive model is uninterested in and even incapable of

discovering possible macro-structural patterns in the book of Proverbs. The

cognitive model assumes that the proverbs gathered together in the Hebrew

collection are a random collection. In fact, the dominant way of

understanding the book has been to see the collection as quite haphazard and

the surrounding context in which the proverb is placed as irrelevant for its

interpretation. William McKane has made this observation of the sentence

proverbs which is representative of much of biblical scholarship: "there is no

context, for each sentence is an entity in itself and the collection amounts to

no more than the gathering together of a large number of independent

sentences, each of which is intended to be a well-considered and definitive

observation on a particular topic."²⁵ Such an observation is constraining in

that it disregards the possibility of a macro-structure or, at least, certain

clusters of proverbs that are intentionally placed together in a context. In fact

the cognitive model has no tools for investigating such structural

possibilities.

Third, the cognitive perspective does not take seriously the dialogical

dimension of the proverb. The proverb is designed to be used in an

unlimited variety of situations and contexts. In those different contexts a

traditional proverb is immediately recognizable. But at the same time it may

take on a little different meaning or shape. One or both of its parallel lines

are changed or adapted to fit the situation. Generally speaking the cognitive

perspective views proverbs as determinate in both form and content. The

meaning and structure remains constant regardless of the context in which

the proverb is used. The difficulty with this view is that when many of the

proverbs are found in other parts of Scripture, they are not repeated verbatim.

One or the other of their binary lines are changed and various images

substituted in order to fit the context or rhetorical argument of the text. In

Scripture proverbs are dynamic and ever changing. They enter into a kind of

dialogue with the context in which they are placed. The cognitive model does

not acknowledge this quality in its scheme. Its focus is on what the proverb

___________________________

²⁵ McKane 413. Earlier in his work, McKane had set the tone for his

view and approach to Proverbs when he said that "there is, for the most part,

no context in the sentence literature and that the individual wisdom sentence

is a complete entity. The logical outcome of this argument is the allocation of

the sentences to different classes, since the necessity for such a system of

classification follows from the random way in which wisdom sentences

follow one upon another in any chapter" (p. 10).

meant. Therefore it is limited in what it can say about the ongoing function,

the living tradition, of the proverb.

Finally, the cognitive paradigm, even with its topical approach, has

overlooked the primacy that the book of Proverbs has assigned to the role of

discourse and speech. At the heart of sagacity is the ability to use words

effectively. The topical approach can catalog various subjects that are

addressed in Proverbs. But it has no real interest in discovering which ones

are more significant. Central to the texts of Proverbs is a concern for the

proper training in and use of speech. The sage's function appears to be more

rhetorical than cognitive.

My argument in this dissertation is that these four areas are vital to

developing a more holistic understanding of biblical proverbs. These areas

will be addressed in the succeeding chapters of this dissertation. However,

before I can adequately address them, another and more fundamental

problem must be exposed. What lies at the basis of all four of these problem

areas are the hermeneutical presuppositions of the cognitive paradigm. An

exclusively cognitive hermeneutic leads to a restrictive view of proverbs. So,

in addressing this hermeneutical problem, the groundwork for offering a

more productive approach to the study of biblical proverbs is made possible.

The Hermeneutic of the Cognitive Paradigm

Underlying the cognitive paradigm is a hermeneutic that continues to

dominate biblical studies, including the study of biblical proverbs, which has

profoundly influenced the way proverbs are viewed. To briefly explain and

understand this hermeneutic will equip one to understand how proverbs

have been traditionally perceived and will open the door for an alternative

approach.

The cognitive hermeneutic takes a determinate approach to Scripture.

Such a hermeneutic came as a reaction against the interpretive practice of the

medieval period and the common idea of the four senses of Scripture.²⁶ The

criticism of the four senses was that they "could easily breed confusion"²⁷ and

Scripture could come to mean anything anyone wanted it to mean. The

concern of the Reformation was to make the interpretation of Scripture more

"respectable." And the way to do that was to make it more scientific.

William Tyndale in explaining the four senses of Scripture, "wrote the first

actual discussion of the nature of a proverb which is to be found in

English:"²⁸

They divide the scripture into four senses, the literal,

tropological, allegorical, and anagogical. The literal sense is

become nothing at all: for the pope hath taken it clean away, and

hath made it his possession. . . . The tropological sense

pertaineth to good manners (say they), and teacheth what we

ought to do. The allegory is appropriate to faith; and the

anagogical to hope, and things above. . . .

Thou shalt understand, therefore, that the scripture hath but

one sense, which is the literal sense. And that literal sense is the

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²⁶ The four senses are the literal, allegorical, moral, and anagogical.

For a nice summary of this hermeneutic see Harry Caplan, "The Four Senses

of Scriptural Interpretation and the Mediaeval Theory of Preaching,"

Speculum 4 (1929) : 282-290.

²⁷ Caplan 287

²⁸ B. J. Whiting, "The Nature of the Proverb," Harvard Studies and

Notes in Philology and Literature (1932): 292.

root and ground of all, and the anchor that never faileth,

whereunto if thou cleave, thou canst never err or go out of the

way. And if thou leave the literal sense, thou canst not but go

out of the way. Neverthelater, the scripture useth proverbs,

similitudes, riddles, or allegories, as all other speeches do; but

that which the proverb, similitude, riddle, or allegory signifieth,

is ever the literal sense, which thou must eek out diligently: as

in the English we borrow words and sentences of one thing, and

apply them unto another, and give them new significations. We

say . . . "Look er thou leap": whose literal sense is, "Do nothing

suddenly, or without advisement." "Cut not the bough that thou

standest upon": whose literal sense is, "Oppress not the

commons.". . . All fables, prophecies, and riddles, are allegories;

as AEsop's fables, and Merlin's prophecies; and the

interpretation of them are the literal sense.

So in like manner the scripture borroweth words and

sentences of all manner things, and maketh proverbs and

similitudes, or allegories.²⁹

For the Reformation leaders, proverbs, along with the rest of Scripture had

just one plain determinate meaning, and that was the literal meaning.

Such a view dominated the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The

hermeneutical perspective of John Locke heavily influenced the way in

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²⁹ William Tyndale, "Obedience of a Christian Man," Doctrinal

Treatises, ed. H. Walter (Cambridge, Parker Society, 1848) 303-305. Quoted by

B. J. Whiting, "The Nature of the Proverb," 292-293.

which Scripture was interpreted. Locke's approach was inductive and the

truth of Scripture could be empirically verified:

The scriptures consist of datum exterior to man, and man

receives its truth in the same manner in which the scientist

learns the truth of nature. Through induction one derives

spiritual truth in precisely the same manner as material truth.³⁰

Locke believed that by following the commands of Scripture anyone who

really desired to could be able to see plainly what God required. Scottish

Common Sense Realism and its method of Baconian scientific induction also

had a profound influence on the way in which Scripture was interpreted.

The scientific method of Baconian induction was the means

used by the Scottish Common Sense Realist philosophers to

construct their philosophy. These philosophers believed that

careful generalizations should be built upon an inductive

accumulation of "facts."³¹

Such a scientific hermeneutic is still dominant in many religious circles

today.³²

___________________________

³⁰ Thomas H. Olbricht, "The Bible as Revelation," Restoration,

Quarterly 8 (1965) : 213.

³¹ Michael Casey, "The Origins of the Hermeneutics of the Churches of

Christ Part Two: The Philosophical Background," Restoration Quarterly 31

(1989): 199.

³² The growing ranks of fundamentalism witnesses to the popularity

of this approach to Scripture. For a description of the tenants of this

hermeneutic see J. I. Packer, Fundamentalism" and the Word of God, (Grand

Rapids: Eerdman's Publishing Co., 1967). For a critique of the hermeneutic of

fundamentalism see Kathleen C. Boone, The Bible Tells Them So: Discourse

The central concept related to this scientific hermeneutic is that of

determinism and objectivity. Emilio Betti is the philosopher who has

championed this hermeneutic today. Richard Palmer observes that Betti's

primary concern is with objectivity. Betti, himself states his intention clearly:

This contention which raises a completely new problematic and

which would lead to the negation of objectivity, we, as

historians, have to oppose with all firmness. Our outline has

shown that the subjectivist position rests on a shift of meaning

which identifies the hermeneutical process of historical

interpretation with a situationally determined meaning-

inference . . . and which has the effect of confounding a

condition for the possibility with the object of that process; as a

result, the fundamental canon of the hermeneutical autonomy

of the object is altogether removed from the work of the

historian.³³

There are a number of derivative principles in this hermeneutic

stemming from the canon of objectivity. First is the canon of the autonomy

of the object.³⁴ That is, the object has its own existence. The primary way in

which an interpreter respects an object's autonomy is to focus on authorial

intention. For E. D. Hirsch, authorial intention is the norm for validity of

___________________________

of Protestant Fundamentalism (Albany: State University of New York Press,

1989).

³³ Emilio Betti, "Hermeneutics as the General Methodology of the

Geisteswissenschaften," The Hermeneutic Tradition: From Ast to Ricoeur,

eds. Gayle L. Ormiston and Alan D. Schrift (Albany: State University of New

York Press, 1990) : 177.

³⁴ Betti 164

interpretation.³⁵ According to Gadamer, Spinoza argued that "everything

important can be understood if only we understand the mind of the author

'historically'--i.e., overcome our prejudices and think of nothing but what

the author could have had in mind."³⁶

The second canon, according to Betti, is the coherence of meaning or

"the principle of totality."³⁷ Betti argues that one must understand the text in

context. There is "an inner relationship of coherence between individual

parts of a speech because of the overarching totality of meaning built up of the

individual parts."³⁸

The third canon is the "actuality of understanding."³⁹ With this canon

the interpreter reverses the creative process that produced the object in the

first place; the process and message is reconstructed. Understanding involves

the re-construction of a meaning.⁴⁰ Betti, who adamantly opposes Gadamer's

idea that the interpreter produces messages, claims that the interpreter's

responsibility is to reproduce the message. The concern is with an accurate

___________________________

³⁵ E. D. Hirsch, Validity in Interpretation (New Haven: Yale

University Press, 1967) 27, 38.

³⁶ See Hans-Georg Gadamer, Truth and Method, 2nd rev. ed., trans.

Joel Weinsheimer and Donald G. Marshall (New York: Crossroad Publishing

Corp., 1991) 181.

³⁷ Betti 165

³⁸ Richard Palmer, Hermeneutics: Interpretation Theory in,

Schleiermacher, Dilthey. Heidegger and Gadamer (Evanston: Northwestern

University Press, 1969) 57.

³⁹ Betti 167

⁴⁰ Betti 163

reconstruction of the meaning of the text. In this regard Hirsch makes the

following observation:

If a meaning can change its identity and in fact does, then we

have no norm for judging whether we are encountering the real

meaning in a changed form or some spurious meaning that is

pretending to be the one we seek. Once it is admitted that a

meaning can change its characteristics, then there is no way of

finding the true Cinderella among all the contenders. There is

no dependable glass slipper we can use as a test, since the old

slipper will no longer fit the new Cinderella.⁴¹

The hermeneutic of Betti, Hirsch, Locke and those traditions stemming

from the Reformation movement is concerned primarily with determinacy.

A determinate hermeneutic views a symbol as having univocal meaning that

does not change when the symbol is applied to new objects or in new

situation. Determinacy in texts implies an arbitrary and coercive imposition

of meaning. This leads to the interpreter exerting a tyrannical hold over the

interpretation of a text. But what is needed is a hermeneutic that will allow

the text to be heard. What I want to argue is that a rhetorical perspective does

just that. It enables the interpreter to hear the text on its own terms. Such a

hermeneutic, then, needs fuller elaboration.

___________________________

⁴¹ Hirsch 46

A Rhetorical Hermeneutic as the Foundation for Approaching Proverbs

Paul Ricoeur maintains that when discourse moves from speaking to

writing it is liberated from its author and original setting.⁴² This

phenomenon Ricoeur refers to as distanciation is a phenomenon that works

as a positive value in the process of interpretation. It enables the interpreter

to approach the text and its structural nature as fixed and at the same time to

enter into a dialogue with the text and appropriate it to the present situation

rather than confining the meaning of the text only to the past and to

authorial intent. Such a hermeneutic is rhetorical because it views both the

interpreter and his or her audience as active agents in the interpretive

process.