Corbett-style Rhetoric Lesson (Ally McBeal Cadence): Imitating Sentence Patterns with Augustine’s City of God (English translations)

(Okay — breathe. Imagine Ally McBeal tapping her shoe and saying, "Sentence pattern? Ooh — tell me more!")

Goal (Corbett-style, simple and rigorous)

We practice imitation: not copying words, but copying the scaffold — the kind, number, and order of clauses and phrases in a model sentence — until those patterns live in your fingers and voice.

Why do this?

• It builds syntactical resources — the variety of sentence shapes you can summon when you write.
• It trains your ear for rhythm, emphasis, and rhetorical movement (yes, even in prose — and yes, it can sing a little).
• It stops you from living forever in the one-sentence diet of short blunt lines. Variety is the rhetorical spice. Yum.

Step 1 — Read the model slowly (listen for the skeleton)

Here are two English renderings of the passage and its later copyist’s punctuation choices. Read each aloud once. Let the rises and falls land.

Model M (eleventh-century exemplar, rendered in English)

"Since, then, I see that next I must discuss the bounds properly due to the two cities, the earthly and the heavenly, it seems to me that before I set forth the arguments which mortals have devised to make for themselves a kind of happiness amid the misery of this life, I must first explain how much of this task the ordering of the present work permits; and let this be made clear, not only by divine authority, but also by reason applied in a manner which, because of the unbelieving, we are able to use."

Variant N (fourteenth-century copy, punctuated to guide sense)

"Since, then, I see that next I must discuss the proper bounds of the two cities — the earthly and the heavenly — I must first explain how much the purpose of finishing this work allows; the arguments of mortals, by which they have labored in the misery of this life to fashion happiness for themselves, so that from their vain things our hope differs in what God has given us; and the thing itself — the true blessedness which he will give — shall be made clear, not only by divine authority, but also by reason applied in the sort that, because of unbelievers, we can apply."

(Notice: the copyist adds little stop-gaps where the sense might bend — helping the reader find the sensus literalis.)

Step 2 — Parse the model (Corbett’s careful eye)

Pick one sentence from the model. Underline or mark:

1. Lead element (adverb clause, participial phrase, etc.)
2. Main clause (subject + main verb)
3. Series or parallel structures (three noun clauses? three participials?)
4. Embedded clauses (noun clauses, relative clauses, adverbial clauses)

Example quick parse (for the first model sentence):

• Lead: adverb clause of concession/sequence — "Since, then, I see that next I must..."
• Main structure: "it seems to me that [X]," where X contains two coordinated parts: (a) a first requirement to explain limits, and (b) a subordinate clause about arguments mortals made.
• Embedded elements: a participial or infinitive idea ("to make for themselves a kind of happiness"), and a parenthetical assertion that truth will be shown by authority and by reason.

Step 3 — Imitate sentence patterns (Corbett’s drill, Ally’s rhythm)

Rule of thumb: match the kind, number, and order of clauses and major phrases. You may change vocabulary, tone, and subject — that’s the point.

Model pattern to copy (reduced):

Lead adverb clause + main reporting phrase + [first explanatory clause]; [series/clause about human attempts]; [closing clause about how truth will be clarified, with two instruments in coordination].

Example imitation (playful, Ally-flavored)

"Because, honestly, I can see that the next thing I'll have to tackle is the limits of this little office of ours, it seems right that first I explain just how much the scope of this report lets me do; the drafts people have sketched, trying (bless them) to bottle calm in the middle of chaos; and the thing itself — the quiet success we hope for — will appear not only by the authority of policy but also by reason applied in the way we, for the sake of skeptical colleagues, can apply."

(Hear the pattern? Lead clause; main comment; first explanatory clause; a clause describing "human attempts"; a final clause listing two means.)

Guided exercises — practice steps

1. Choose one model sentence from Augustine (the two above offer several long sentences). Mark its lead element and the order of embedded clauses.
2. Write three imitations that keep that clause-order but swap content: one formal (academic), one conversational (Ally-sass), one poetic.
3. Then reverse: keep the vocabulary field (e.g., "reason," "authority," "hope") but change the clause-order — notice how emphasis moves. Jot down two short observations about the shift in meaning.

Punctuation practice (reading for sensus — medieval style)

Medieval scribes often inserted punctuation where confusion might arise (they were buying the reader a map through the sentence). Modern practice can do the same. Try this:

1. Take the long model sentence and remove punctuation except for one final period.
2. Now, as a reader, insert stops (commas, dashes, semicolons) to show the path of sense — where do you pause? Where does a new idea begin? Where will a reader most need a signpost?
3. Compare your punctuation to the Variant N above (the copyist’s aim was the sensus literalis). Discuss how different stopping points change emphasis.

Mini-prompts (do one now)

1. Imitate this very short pattern: participial phrase in lead position + main clause + two parallel noun clauses as object.

   Model skeleton: "Having watched the storm, I noticed that [NOUN CLAUSE 1] and that [NOUN CLAUSE 2]."

   Your turn (Ally cadence): "Having lingered by the coffee machine, I realized that..." (finish with two noun clauses).

2. Rewrite the long model sentence in plain modern prose (one or two sentences) — keep the meaning but free the form.
3. Punctuate a de-punctuated version and justify two choices you made (one where you inserted a strong stop; one where you used a comma).

Final Corbett tip (and Ally whisper)

Do not try to be consciously clinical when you write ("Aha — a gerundial phrase now!"). Instead, practice these exercises until the shapes feel like sentences you might think in. The conscious work is rehearsal; the unconscious is the performance. (Yes, Julia Roberts in a legal-romantic dramedy could probably feel this.)

If you want, give me one model sentence from Augustine in English (or pick one above). Tell me whether you want formal, quirky, or poetic imitations — and I will produce three imitations that match the clause kinds and order. We’ll do it together, line by line. Ready?