Book 1, Chapter 18, 28

After Augustine tells how he wasted his talents on vanities such as reciting poetry (not because it was poetry, but because it was pagan fiction), he offers an explanation as to why he did so.

But it is no wonder that I was thus carried toward vanity and was estranged from thee, O my God, when men were held up as models to me who, when relating deeds of theirs - not in itself evil - were covered with confusion if found guilty of a barbarism or a solecism; but who could tell of their own licentiousness and be applauded for it, so long as they did it in a full and ornate oration of well-chosen words.

Form over substance.

It was no less a problem in the past than it is now. Today, many people decide to choose their favorite preachers or favorite politicians based on how they make them “feel”, or how well they speak. Substance is often ignored, and we just enjoy getting caught up in the sweeping emotions that are engorged by choice words and phrases that are picked precisely for that reason.

• “Support the troops.”
• “They hate us because of our freedoms.”
• “One nation under God, indivisible…”
• “I believe that we have a righteous wind at our backs…”
• “…and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”

It’s like focusing on and praising the paint job on the exterior of a house when the roof is in the process of collapsing.

And if anyone can guess who said the last phrase in the list, they get bonus points.

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