Chapter 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; 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. 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.