In Philippians 4, Paul addresses
his brethren with joy, beginning the chapter as a sort of encomium as he
praises them and teaches of some ways that they can further unite themselves
with the Lord, Jesus Christ. In verse 8, this is what he says to conclude his
list of suggestions:
(As Dr. Burton did in his
example, I want to rearrange the appearance of this verse to highlight the
anaphora, anastrophe and climax used.)
“Finally, brethren,
whatsoever things are true,
whatsoever things are honest,
whatsoever things are just,
whatsoever things are pure,
whatsoever things are lovely,
whatsoever things are of
good report;
if there be any virtue,
and
if there be any praise,
think on these things.”
Paul could have said, “think on
true, honest, just, pure, lovely, virtuous and praiseworthy things that are of
good report,” however, the fact that he places each adjective in its own line
emphasizes the importance of each quality in anything we associate ourselves
with. By using anaphora to list out these qualities, he creates a pattern so
that the reader can anticipate the next quality while considering the
differences and importance of each.
The list is also arranged to
reach a point of climax—guiding the reader to the ultimate ending. First, Paul
uses adjectives that are easy to grasp (true, honest, just, pure, lovely), then
he introduces an idea that is a little more abstract—of good report. What does
this mean? Individuals must be the ones to judge the validity of a report, so
this idea gives them the agency to decide for themselves what might be in line
with what God wants. After this, the repeated phrase changes to “if there be
any.” Again, this gives the impression that individuals must actively seek and
decide if a thought contains virtue and praise—and, once again, judge if that
praise is valid. This build up moves from general qualities to a more active
approach to considering the things of God.
Because Paul uses anastrophe to exhort his brethren to “think on these
things” towards the end of the verse instead of beginning with the significance
of the list, he builds up this question in a way that allows the reader to
consider the purpose of the attributes that they just read. This might even
cause the reader to go back through the list in order to commit to memory the
qualities they should look for in the things they think about.
Sometimes the wordier the better. I never would have thought of it, but yeah, if Paul had simply given us a list, we may have fallen into the habit of remembering the first and the last. Yet the way that he phrased it makes me feel that each of these is as important as the next, as if all are emphasized, which is probably what he was going for.
ReplyDeleteI love how you commented that his list inspires readers to return to the text in hopes of memorization. I've seen the same thing with President Hinckley's famous "6 B's" talk, and have returned often to these words. He didn't need to restate the verb "Be," but it gave a memorable title and theme.
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