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In “The Notice to the Reader” of the Introduction to the Devout Life, St. Francis de Sales declares: “When I use the words of Scripture it is not always to explain them, but to explain myself through them, for they are more lovable and venerable.” Such use of the biblical text may come as a surprise. However, when considered in relation to the post-Tridentine struggle against Sola scriptura, the principles of preaching redefined by St. Francis de Sales himself and the emergence of a new personal discourse in the early seventeenth century, this sentence sheds light on how the Bishop of Geneva conceived of Sacred Scripture and his own apostolate.