After considering certain fundamental aspects of Quintilian's conception of rhetoric and that of St. Augustine, and their position on philosophy, especially Stoicism and Platonism, the author of this article analyzes the importance of tropes and figures to both authors, within the con- text of elocutio. Special emphasis is placed on those particular tropes and figures that allow for a better understanding of things and, therefore, are of capital relevance in the realm of philosophical knowledge, as the latter is expressed through language.
