ABSTRACT
Whereas most chapters in this volume treat the rhetoric of persecution as that by which a group claims to suffer persecution unjustly, this chapter explores the rhetoric that was used to justify persecution. In particular, it examines Augustine’s claim that not all persecution is bad. By placing Augustine within the context of classical rhetorical theory, especially issue theory, we can see the question of persecution as an issue of quality. That is to say, persecution is only as good or bad as the intended end for which it is pursued. Augustine can thus claim, defending his policy of imperial coercion in religious matters, that his form of persecution is for the spiritual good of the persecuted, and therefore virtuous. This has the effect of innervating his opponents’ claims to suffer persecution while at the same time justifying the use of various types of force by the empire in the name of the church.
