BOOK II.
ARGUMENT.
HAVING COMPLETED HIS EXPOSITION OF THINGS, THE AUTHOR NOW PROCEEDS TO DISCUSS THE SUBJECT OF SIGNS. HE FIRST DEFINES WHAT A SIGN IS, AND SHOWS THAT THERE ARE TWO CLASSES OF SIGNS, THE NATURAL AND THE CONVENTIONAL. OF CONVENTIONAL SIGNS (WHICH ARE THE ONLY CLASS HERE NOTICED), WORDS ARE THE MOST NUMEROUS AND IMPORTANT, AND ARE THOSE WITH WHICH THE INTERPRETER OF SCRIPTURE IS CHIEFLY CONCERNED. THE DIFFICULTIES AND OBSCURITIES OF SCRIPTURE SPRING CHIEFLY FROM TWO SOURCES, UNKNOWN AND AMBIGUOUS SIGNS. THE PRESENT BOOK DEALS ONLY WITH UNKNOWN SIGNS, THE AMBIGUITIES OF LANGUAGE BEING RESERVED FOR TREATMENT IN THENEXT BOOK. THE DIFFICULTY ARISING FROM IGNORANCE OF SIGNS IS TO BE REMOVED BYLEARNING THE GREEK AND HEBREW LANGUAGES, IN WHICH SCRIPTURE IS WRITTEN, BY COMPARING THE VARIOUS TRANSLATIONS, AND BY ATTENDING TO THE CONTEXT. IN THE INTERPRETATION OF FIGURATIVE EXPRESSIONS, KNOWLEDGE OF THINGS IS AS NECESSARY AS KNOWLEDGE OF WORDS; AND THE VARIOUS SCIENCES AND ARTS OF THE HEATHEN, SO FAR AS THEY ARE TRUE AND USEFUL, MAY BE TURNED TO ACCOUNT IN REMOVING OUR IGNORANCE OF SIGNS, WHETHER THESE BE DIRECT OR FIGURATIVE. WHILST EXPOSING THE FOLLY AND FUTILITY OF MANY HEATHEN SUPERSTITIONS AND PRACTICES, THE AUTHOR POINTS OUT HOW ALL THAT IS SOUND AND USEFUL IN THEIR SCIENCE AND PHILOSOPHY MAY BE TURNED TO A CHRISTIAN USE. AND IN CONCLUSION, HE SHOWS THE SPIRIT IN WHICH IT BEHOVES US TO ADDRESS OURSELVES TO THE STUDY AND INTERPRETATION OF THE SACRED BOOKS.
CHAP. 1.--SIGNS, THEIR NATURE AND VARIETY.
As when I was writing about things, I introduced the subject with a warning against attending to anything but what they are in themselves,(1) even though they are signs of something else, so now, when I come in its turn to discuss the subject of signs, I lay down this direction, not to attend to what they are in themselves, but to the fact that they are signs, that is, to what they signify. For a sign is a thing which, over and above the impression it makes on the senses, causes something else to come into the mind as a consequence of itself: as when we see a footprint, we conclude that an animal whose footprint this is has passed by; and when we see smoke, we know that there is fire beneath; and when we hear the voice of a living man, we think of the feeling in his mind; and when the trumpet sounds, soldiers know that they are to advance or retreat, or do whatever else the state of the battle requires.
Now some signs are natural, others conventional. Natural signs are those which, apart from any intention or desire of using them as signs, do yet lead to the knowledge of something else, as, for example, smoke when it indicates fire. For it is not from any intention of making it a sign that it is so, but through attention to experience we come to know that fire is beneath, even when nothing but smoke can be seen. And the footprint of an animal passing by belongs to this class of signs. And the countenance of an angry or sorrowful man indicates the feeling in his mind, independently of his will: and in the same way every other emotion of the mind is betrayed by the tell-tale countenance, even though we do nothing with the intention of making it known. This class of signs, however, it is no part of my design to discuss at present. But as it comes under this division of the subject, I could not altogether pass it over. It will be enough to have noticed it thus far.
CHAP. 2.--OF THE KIND OF SIGNS WE ARE NOW CONCERNED WITH.
3. Conventional signs, on the other hand, are those which living beings mutually exchange for the purpose of showing, as well as they can, the feelings of their minds, or their perceptions, or their thoughts. Nor is there any reason for giving a sign except the desire of drawing forth and conveying into another's mind what the giver of the sign has in his own mind. We wish, then, to consider and discuss this class of signs so far as men are concerned with it, because even the signs which have been given us of God, and which are contained in the Holy Scriptures, were made known to us through men--those, namely, who wrote the Scriptures. The beasts, too, have certain signs among themselves by which they make known the desires in their mind. For when the poultry-cock has discovered food, he signals with his voice for the hen to run to him, and the dove by cooing calls his mate, or is called by her in turn; and many signs of the same kind are matters of common observation. Now whether these signs, like the expression or the cry of a man in grief, follow the movement of the mind instinctively and apart from any purpose, or whether they are really used with the purpose of signification, is another question, and does not pertain to the matter in hand. And this part of the subject I exclude from the scope of this work as not necessary to my present object.
CHAP. 3.--AMONG SIGNS, WORDS HOLD THE CHIEF PLACE.
4. Of the signs, then, by which men communicate their thoughts to one another, some relate to the sense of sight, some to that of hearing, a very few to the other senses. For, when we nod, we give no sign except to the eyes of the man to whom we wish by this sign to impart our desire. And some convey a great deal by the motion of the hands: and actors by movements of all their limbs give certain signs to the initiated, and, so to speak, address their conversation to the eyes: and the military standards and flags convey through the eyes the will of the commanders. And all these signs are as it were a kind of visible words. The signs that address themselves to the ear are, as I have said, more numerous, and for the most part consist of words. For though the bugle and the flute and the lyre frequently give not only a sweet but a significant sound, yet all these signs are very few in number compared with words. For among men words have obtained far and away the chief place as a means of indicating the thoughts of the mind. Our Lord, it is true, gave a sign through the odor of the ointment which was poured out upon His feet;(1) and in the sacrament of His body and blood He signified His will through the sense of taste; and when by touching the hem of His garment the woman was made whole, the act was not wanting in significance.(2) But the countless multitude of the signs through which men express their thoughts consist of words. For I have been able to put into words all those signs, the various classes of which I have briefly touched upon, but I could by no effort express words in terms of those signs.
5. But because words pass away as soon as they strike upon the air, and last no longer than their sound, men have by means of letters formed signs of words. Thus the sounds of the voice are made visible to the eye, not of course as sounds, but by means of certain signs. It has been found impossible, however, to make those signs common to all nations owing to the sin of discord among men, which springs from every man trying to snatch the chief place for himself. And that celebrated tower which was built to reach to heaven was an indication of this arrogance of spirit; and the ungodly men concerned in it justly earned the punishment of having not their minds only, but their tongues besides, thrown into confusion and discordance.(3)
