Quod res etiam significent in divina scriptura.
Things as Signs
In sacred speech, things signify more deeply than words, because their meaning is established by nature and by God rather than by human convention.
It must also be understood that in sacred speech, not only words but also things have the power to signify — a mode not commonly found to the same degree in other writings. The philosopher knows only the signification of words, but the signification of things is far more excellent than that of words, because the former was established by usage, while the latter was dictated by nature. The former is a human voice; the latter is the voice of God addressed to human beings. The one, once uttered, perishes; the other, once created, endures. A spoken word is a faint mark of the senses; a thing is an image of divine reason.
Time, Eternity, and the Inner Word
Just as spoken sound expresses inner thought, the whole span of time expresses eternity, and divine wisdom is made visible through creatures.
Therefore, just as the sound of the mouth, which begins to exist and ceases all at once, corresponds to the reason of the mind, so the whole span of time corresponds to eternity. The reason of the mind is an inner word, which is made known through the sound of a voice — that is, through an outward word. And divine wisdom, which the Father poured forth from his heart, invisible in itself, is recognized through creatures and in creatures.
The Ladder of Sacred Reading
In sacred writings the reader ascends from word to intellect, from intellect to thing, from thing to deeper meaning, and from meaning to truth.
From this, then, it's clear how deeply we must search for understanding in the sacred writings, where through a word you reach the intellect, through the intellect the thing itself, through the thing its deeper meaning, and through that meaning you finally arrive at truth. Because some less learned readers fail to notice this, they judge there's no subtlety in Scripture where their talents might be stretched, and so they shift over to the writings of the philosophers — since, to be sure, they conceive nothing there except the bare surface of the letter, ignoring the power of truth. But that the sacred words use the signification of things too, we'll show with a brief and clear example.
The Lion and the Devil
Scripture's figures work through things, not words: the lion is the animal, but the animal designates the devil, and similarly worm, calf, stone, and serpent all point to Christ.
Scripture says: Watch, because your adversary the devil goes around like a roaring lion.✦ Here, if we say the lion signifies the devil, we should understand not the word but the thing. After all, if these two words — devil and lion — signify one and the same thing, the comparison of a thing to itself is a clumsy one. It remains, then, that the word lion signifies the animal itself, but the animal designates the devil. And everything else of this sort should be taken the same way, so that when we say worm, calf, stone, serpent, and other figures like these, we understand them to signify Christ.
Read the original Latin
Sciendum est etiam, quod in divino eloquio non tantum verba, sed etiam res significare habent, qui modus non adeo in aliis scripturis inveniri solet. philosophus solam vocum novit significationem, sed excellentior valde est rerum significatio quam vocum, quia hanc usus instituit, illam natura dictavit. haec hominum vox est, illa vox Dei ad homines. haec prolata perit, illa creata subsistit. vox tenuis est nota sensuum, res divinae rationis est simulacrum. quod ergo sonus oris, qui simul subsistere incipit et desinit, ad rationem mentis est, hoc omne spatium temporis ad aeternitatem. ratio mentis intrinsecum verbum est, quod sono vocis, id est, verbo extrinseco manifestatur. et divina sapientia, quam de corde suo Pater eructavit, in se invisibilis, per creaturas et in creaturis agnoscitur.
ex quo nimirum colligitur, quam profunda in sacris litteris requirenda sit intelligentia, ubi per vocem ad intellectum, per intellectum ad rem, per rem ad rationem, per rationem pervenitur ad veritatem. quod dum quidam minus docti non considerant, nullam in eis esse subtilitatem aestimant, ubi exerceri possint ingenia, et ob hoc ad philosophorum scripturas se transferunt, quia profecto nil aliud ibi concipiunt, nisi solam litterae superficiem, virtutem veritatis ignorantes. quod autem rerum significatione sacra utantur eloquia, brevi quodam et aperto exemplo demonstrabimus. dicit scriptura: Vigilate, quia adversarius vester diabolus tamquam leo rugiens circuit. hic, si dixerimus leonem significare diabolum, non vocem, sed rem intelligere debemus. si enim duae hae voces, id est, diabolus et leo, unam et eandem rem significant, incompetens est similitudo eiusdem rei ad seipsam. restat ergo, ut haec vox leo animal ipsum significet, animal vero diabolum designet. et cetera omnia ad hunc modum accipienda sunt, ut cum dicimus vermem, vitulum, lapidem, serpentem et alia huiusmodi Christum significare.
Scripture echoes
- ↩1Pet.5.8 — Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.
Didascalicon de Studio Legendi (On the Study of Reading) companion
Hugh said begin with small daily portions. Start tomorrow.
Chosen Portion serves one short, ordered devotional reading each day — the medieval lectio pattern, free on iOS.
Hugh taught that formation comes from ordered, incremental daily reading, and Chosen Portion is that ordered daily portion delivered to your phone.
- A curated daily portion in 2-3 minutes, no decision fatigue about what to read
- Progress through complete historic works in order, the way Hugh prescribed
- Free app plus a weekly email unpacking one reading in depth