De ordine expositionis.
The Three Layers of Exposition
Exposition comprises letter, sense, and meaning, and while not all three appear together in every narration, every narration must contain at least two.
Exposition contains three things: the letter, the sense, and the meaning. In every narration there is a letter, for the very words are also letters, but sense and meaning are not found together in every narration. Some have only the letter and the sense, some only the letter and the meaning, and some contain all three together. Every narration, however, ought to have at least two.
Letter and Sense Alone
A narration has only letter and sense when its words openly signify something with nothing left to be understood implicitly.
That narration has only the letter and the sense where, through the utterance itself, something is so openly signified that nothing else is left to be understood implicitly.
Letter and Meaning Alone
A narration has only letter and meaning when the listener can conceive nothing from the words alone unless exposition is added.
That narration, however, has only the letter and the meaning where, from the utterance alone, the listener can conceive nothing unless an exposition is added.
Sense and Meaning Together
A narration possesses both sense and meaning when something is openly signified while something else is left implicit, to be unlocked through exposition.
That narration has both sense and meaning where something is openly signified and something else is left to be understood implicitly, which is then unlocked by exposition.
Read the original Latin
Expositio tria continet: litteram, sensum, sententiam. in omni narratione littera est, nam ipse voces etiam litterae sunt, sed sensus et sententia non in omni narratione simul inveniuntur. quaedam habet litteram et sensum tantum, quaedam litteram et sententiam tantum, quaedam omnia haec tria simul continet. omnis autem narratio ad minus duo habere debet. illa narratio litteram et sensum tantum habet, ubi per ipsam prolationem sic aperte aliquid significatur, ut nihil aliud relinquatur subintelligendum. illa vero litteram et sententiam tantum habet, ubi ex sola pronuntiatione nihil concipere potest auditor nisi addatur expositio. illa sensum et sententiam habet, ubi et aperte aliquid significatur, et aliquid aliud subintelligendum relinquitur quod expositione aperitur.
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.
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