Alex Damm, «Ancient Rhetoric as a Guide to Literary Dependence: The Widow’s Mite», Vol. 97 (2016) 222-243
This essay applies conventions of ancient rhetoric to the analysis of the literary sequence of Mark and Luke’s Gospels. With an eye on basic and more advanced rhetorical handbooks, I outline two significant rhetorical conventions for improving upon literary sources: clarity (perspecuitas) and propriety (aptum). When we ask whether the evangelist Mark has applied these principles to the adaptation of Luke's Gospel (following the Griesbach Hypothesis), or whether Luke has applied these principles to the adaptation of Mark (following the Two-Document and Farrer Hypotheses) in the pericope of the Widow's Mite, we find that the latter scenario is more plausible.
AnCiEnT rHETOriC AS A GUiDE TO LiTErAry DEPEnDEnCE 243
intolerable given his otherwise zealous effort to foster a starker contrast
between the rich and the poor. mark’s alleged work suggests that if
he did edit Luke, he did so in a circuitous, rather roundabout manner.
in all, then, our work shows that rhetorical conventions for effective
composition can indeed help us to surmise which of these two evan-
gelists has more plausibly edited the other.
Wilfrid Laurier University Alex DAmm
75 University Ave W.
Waterloo, On n2L 3C5
Canada
Summary
This essay applies conventions of ancient rhetoric to the analysis of the literary
sequence of mark and Luke’s Gospels. With an eye on basic and more advanced
rhetorical handbooks, i outline two significant rhetorical conventions for improv-
ing upon literary sources: clarity (perspecuitas) and propriety (aptum). When
we ask whether the evangelist mark has applied these principles to the adaptation
of Luke’s Gospel (following the Griesbach Hypothesis), or whether Luke has
applied these principles to the adaptation of mark (following the Two-Document
and Farrer Hypotheses) in the pericope of the Widow’s mite, we find that the latter
scenario is more plausible.