Brevitas and Facilitas

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Brevitas et Facilitas means “brevity and simplicity”, the hermeneutic method of John Calvin .

In particular, he used this method in the dedication to the Roman Commentary. Calvin presented his own method of hermeneutics of Scripture in his commentary on the apostle Paul's letter to the Romans. It is called the ideal of Brevitas et Facilitas. Calvin was not satisfied with both Philipp Melanchthon's loci method and Bucer's comment on prolixity.

He took a via media approach. Calvin's method was influenced by the rhetoric of Aristotle , Cicero , Quintilian, and John Chrysostom . Calvin, however, confirmed that his own principle came from Scripture itself. Calvin showed that the clarity of writing is related to the ideal of Brevitas et Facilitas.

Method as Brevitas et Facilitas

According to Michael Mewborn, Calvin had a basic approach to scripture, often described as brevitas et facilitas (i.e., in a derivative form - brevitas - to be short and relevant - and to be simple or easy to understand), brevitas for short . Brevitas is an agreement to clear and concise interpretation. Although the Latin terminology of Calvin's approach may seem irrelevant or archaic, the heart of this method is now the basis of evangelical interpretation. Richard Gamble writes about Brevitas: "It can be understood as an attempt to communicate the message of the biblical author as precisely, clearly and precisely as possible ..." That Brevitas et Facilities is a good summary of Calvin's exegetical methodology is hardly disputed ; Battles, Kraus, Higman, Steinmetz, Girardin, Ganoczy / Scheld and Parker have written about it. "Brevitas describes Calvin's predominant disposition to interpretation.

Calvin used this method in his comments. Richard Müller rightly notes that brevitas tended to describe Calvin's comments more than his sermons. This point is well documented and suggests even more convincingly that Brevitas characterizes Calvin's approach to exegesis, since in his study he recognizes biblical significance as well as oratorial influence. Calvin was more inclined to say less when writing than when speaking. Muller writes: "... While the commentaries were held according to the Brevita model, the sermons tended towards a more amplifying oratorio model, which often reached three to four times the length of the commentary on the same text.

But we are less likely to assume that Calvin corrupts the text, or at least his interpretations, through verbal utterances beyond the text. Muller notes that during the oratorio he "used more collateral texts for a wider hortatory, topical, and polemical development." It is a lesson for the exegete that the Holy Spirit not only gives the text understanding in our study rooms, but that he gives us an understanding of the text without material help.

Source and mention of Brevitas et Facilitas

For Calvin, writing wasn't complicated, it was simple. Scripture was simply the eloquent speech of the Holy Spirit to his common people. Therefore, in order to thwart the simplicity of the Scriptures, the whole of the Scriptures should be destroyed. For Calvin, the simplicity of writing was directly linked to his hermeneutic method. This gave Calvin the basis for the principles of Brevitas et Jacilitas as his hermeneutical ideal. Calvin believed that Moses, Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel used a simple and simple style to make it easier for ordinary people to understand God's Word. This led him to believe that the style of Scripture was oriented towards Brevitas et Facilities.

Thus, Calvin, influenced by rhetoricians like Cicero and Quintilian in his ideal of brevitas et facilitas, affirmed that the authors of the scriptures had demonstrated this ideal. Calvin made this ideal part of his own hermeneutic method.

Individual evidence

  1. Myung Jun Ahn. The Ideal of Brevitas et Facilitas: The Theological Hermeneutics of John Calvin, Verbum et Ecclesia; Skrif en Kerk: Vol 20, No 2 (1999), 270-281
  2. Michael Mewborn, "Calvin and His Interpretative Method" ( Memento of the original from September 22, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.reformedblacksofamerica.org
  3. https://repository.up.ac.za/bitstream/handle/2263/20883/Ahn_Ideal%281999%29.pdf?sequence=1 Myung 1un Ahn, "The Ideal of Brevitas et Facilitas: The Theological Hermeneutics of John Calvin ", ISSN 0257-8891 = SKRIF EN KERK Jrg 20 (2) 1999, 273-274