Etymologies & Works 6

I. ON THE OLD AND NEW TESTAMENT. The Old Testament is so called because, at the coming of the New, it ceased. Of this the Apostle makes mention, saying (2 Corinthians 5:17): 'Old things have passed away, and behold, all things have been made new.' The New Testament, moreover, is so named because it renews. For none learn it except men renewed from their old state through grace, and now belonging to the New Testament, which is the kingdom of heaven. The Hebrews, however, on the authority of Ezra, receive the Old Testament in twenty-two books according to the number of their letters, dividing them into three orders: namely, of the Law, of the Prophets, and of the Hagiographa. The first order, of the Law, is received in five books, of which the first is Bresith, that is Genesis;

the second, Veelle Semoth, that is Exodus; the third, Vaiicra, that is Leviticus; the fourth, Vaiedabber, that is Numbers; the fifth, Elleaddebarim, that is Deuteronomy. These are the five books of Moses, which the Hebrews call Torah, and the Latins the Law. Properly, however, that is called the Law which was given through Moses. The second order is of the prophets, in which are contained eight books, of which the first is Joshua son of Nun, who in Latin is called Jesus Nave; the second, Sophtim, that is Judges; the third, Samuel, which is the first of Kings; the fourth, Malachim, which is the second of Kings; the fifth, Isaiah; the sixth, Jeremiah; the seventh, Ezekiel;

the eighth, Thereazar, which is called the Twelve Prophets, and these books, because on account of their brevity they are joined to one another, are received as one. The third order is of the Hagiographa, that is, of those who write holy things, in which there are nine books, of which the first is Job; the second, the Psalter; the third, Masloth, that is the Proverbs of Solomon; the fourth, Coheleth, that is Ecclesiastes; the fifth, Sir hassirim, that is the Song of Songs; the sixth, Daniel; the seventh, Dibre haiamim, that is 'the words of the days,' which is Paralipomenon (Chronicles); the eighth, Ezra; the ninth, Esther; which all together, five and eight and nine, make twenty-two, as they were reckoned above.

Some, however, add Ruth and Cinoth, which in Latin is called the Lamentation of Jeremiah, to the Hagiographa, and make twenty-four volumes of the Old Testament, corresponding to the twenty-four elders who stand before the sight of God. There is a fourth order among us of those books of the Old Testament which are not in the Hebrew canon. Of these the first is the book of Wisdom; the second, Ecclesiasticus; the third, Tobit; the fourth, Judith; the fifth and sixth, the Maccabees; which, although the Jews separate them among the apocrypha, the Church of Christ nevertheless both honors and proclaims among the divine books. In the New Testament, however, there are two orders. The first is the evangelical, in which are Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.

The second is the apostolic, in which are Paul in fourteen Epistles, Peter in two, John in three, James and Jude in one each, the Acts of the Apostles, and the Apocalypse of John. Now the sum of both Testaments is distinguished in a threefold manner: that is, in history, in morals, and in allegory. Again these three are divided in manifold ways: that is, what was done and said by God, what by the angels, or by men; what was announced by the prophets concerning Christ and his body; what concerning the devil and his members; what concerning the old people and the new; what concerning the present age and the future kingdom and judgment. II. ON THE WRITERS AND TITLES OF THE HOLY BOOKS.

According to the tradition of the Hebrews, these are set forth as the authors of the Old Testament. First, Moses published the cosmography of the divine history in five volumes, which is called the Pentateuch. Now the Pentateuch is named from its five volumes; for 'pente' in Greek means five, and 'teuchos' means a volume. The book of Genesis is so named from this, that the beginning of the world and the generation of the age are contained in it. Exodus indeed sets forth the departure from Egypt, or the going out of the people of Israel, and from that circumstance it received its name. Leviticus is so called because it goes through the ministries of the Levites and the various kinds of sacrificial victims, and the whole Levitical order is noted down in it.

The book of Numbers is so called because in it the tribes that had come out of Egypt are numbered, and the description of the forty-two encampments through the wilderness is contained in it. Deuteronomy is named by a Greek word, which in Latin is interpreted as 'second law,' that is, the repetition and the prefiguration of the evangelical law; and it holds those things which are the earlier ones in such a way that nevertheless all the things which are repeated in it are new. The book of Joshua received its name from Jesus son of Nun, whose history it contains; and the Hebrews affirm that the same Joshua was its writer;

in whose text, after the crossing of the Jordan, the kingdoms of the enemies are overthrown, the land is divided among the people, and through the several cities, villages, mountains, and boundaries the spiritual kingdoms of the Church and of the heavenly Jerusalem are prefigured. The book of Judges is named from the leaders of the people who presided over Israel after Moses and Joshua, before David and the other kings came to be. Samuel is believed to have published this book. The book of Samuel describes the birth, priesthood, and deeds of the same Samuel; and for this reason it received its name from him. And although this book contains the history of Saul and David, both are nevertheless referred to Samuel, because he himself anointed Saul as king, he himself anointed David as the future king.

The first part of this book the same Samuel wrote, but the parts following it, right up to the end, David wrote. The book Malachim is so named because it sets forth in order of the times the kings of Judah and of the Israelite nation and their deeds. For 'Melachim' in Hebrew is interpreted 'of Kings' in Latin. Jeremiah first gathered this book into one volume. For before, it had been scattered through the histories of the several kings. Paralipomenon is a Greek word, which we can render as 'of the things passed over' or 'of the remaining things,' because those matters which in the Law or the books of Kings were either omitted or not fully related are here summarily and briefly explained.

Some suppose that Moses wrote the book of Job, others one of the prophets, while not a few think that the same Job was its writer after the plague of his suffering, judging that he who sustained the contests of the spiritual battle should himself narrate what victories he achieved. Now the beginnings and endings of the book of Job among the Hebrews are woven together in prose speech; but its middle parts, from that place where he says (3:3): 'Let the day perish on which I was born,' up to that place (42:6): 'therefore I reprove myself and do penance,' all run in heroic meter. The book of Psalms is called in Greek the Psalter, in Hebrew nabla, in Latin the organum. And it was called the book of Psalms because, while one prophet sang to the psaltery, the chorus responded in consonance.

Now the Hebrew title in the Psalms is thus: Sepher Thehilim, which is interpreted 'the volume of hymns.' The authors of the psalms who are set down in the titles are: namely Moses, and David, and Solomon, Asaph, Ethan and Jeduthun and the sons of Korah, Heman, the Ezrahites, and the rest, whom Ezra gathered into one volume. Now all the psalms among the Hebrews are agreed to have been composed in metrical song. For after the manner of the Roman Flaccus (Horace) and the Greek Pindar, now some run in iambic, now they resound in Alcaic, now they shine in the Sapphic, advancing in trimeter or tetrameter foot. Solomon, son of David, king of Israel, according to the number of his names, published three volumes, of which the first is Masloth:

which the Greeks call Parabolas, the Latins Proverbs, because in it, under a comparative likeness, he set forth figures of words and images of truth. But the truth itself he reserved for the readers to understand. The second book he called Coheleth, which in Greek is called Ecclesiastes, in Latin Contionator (the Preacher), because his discourse is directed not specially to one, as in the Proverbs, but generally to all, teaching that all the things which we behold in the world are fleeting and brief, and on this account by no means to be sought after. The third book he entitled Sir hassirim, which is turned into the Latin tongue as the Song of Songs, where, through the marriage-song, he mystically sings the union of Christ and the Church.

Now it is called the Song of Songs, because it is preferred above all the songs which are found in the Sacred Scriptures, just as certain things in the Law are called holy, above which greater are the holy of holies. Now the songs of these three books are set forth as having been composed by them in hexameter and pentameter verses, as Josephus and Jerome write. Isaiah, an evangelist rather than a prophet, published his book, the whole text of whose eloquence proceeds in prose; but the canticle runs in hexameter and pentameter verse. Jeremiah likewise published his book with his threnodies, which we call Lamentations, because they are employed in sadder matters and at funerals;

in which he composed a fourfold alphabet in diverse meter, of which the first two are written as it were in Sapphic meter, because a heroic comma concludes the three little verses which are linked to one another and begin with only one letter each. The third alphabet is written in trimeter, and the same three verses begin, each set of three, with three letters. The fourth alphabet is held to be like the first and the second. Ezekiel and Daniel are said to have been written by certain wise men, of whom Ezekiel has his beginnings and endings wrapped up in many obscurities. Daniel, however, in clear speech proclaims the kingdoms of the world, and notes the time of Christ's coming with a most manifest preaching.

These are the four prophets who are called the Major, because they composed lengthy volumes. The books of the twelve prophets are entitled by the names of their authors; and for this reason they are called the Minor, because their discourses are brief. Hence too, being joined to one another, they are contained in one volume, whose names are: Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi. The book of Ezra is entitled with the title of its author, in whose text the discourses of the same Ezra and of Nehemiah are contained together. Nor let it move anyone that one book is called Ezra's, because the second, third, and fourth are not held among the Hebrews, but are reckoned among the apocrypha.

It is believed that Ezra wrote the book of Esther. In it that same queen is written to have snatched the people of God from servitude and death under the figure of the Church, and, Haman having been killed—whose name is interpreted 'iniquity'—the observance of the day is handed down to posterity. The book of Wisdom is nowhere among the Hebrews, whence too its very title savors rather of Greek eloquence. The Jews affirm this to be Philo's, and it is accordingly named of Wisdom, because in it the coming of Christ, who is the wisdom of the Father, and his passion are evidently expressed.

The book of Ecclesiasticus was most certainly composed by Jesus the son of Sirach, a man of Jerusalem, grandson of Jesus the high priest, whom Zechariah also mentions. Among the Latins this book is entitled with the name of Solomon because of the similarity of its style. It is called 'Ecclesiasticus' because it was issued with great care and reasoning concerning the discipline of religious conduct throughout the whole Church. It is also found among the Hebrews, but is counted among the apocrypha. As for Judith and Tobit, and the books of the Maccabees, it is by no means established by what authors they were written. They bear their titles, however, from the names of those whose deeds they record. The four books of the Gospels were written each separately by the four Evangelists.

First, Matthew composed his Gospel in Hebrew letters and language in Judaea, beginning his proclamation of good news from the human birth of Christ, saying (1:1): 'The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham'; thereby signifying that Christ had descended bodily from the seed of the patriarchs, just as it had been promised in the prophets through the Holy Spirit. Second, Mark, full of the Holy Spirit, wrote the Gospel of Christ in the Greek tongue in Italy, following Peter as his disciple. He made his beginning from the prophetic spirit, saying (1:3): 'The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare the way of the Lord': so as to show that Christ, after taking on flesh, preached the Gospel in the world.

For Christ himself was also called a prophet, as it is written (Jer. 1:5): 'And I have set thee for a prophet among the nations.' Third, Luke, the most learned of all the Evangelists in the Greek tongue—inasmuch as he was a physician in Greece—wrote his Gospel for Bishop Theophilus, beginning from the priestly spirit, saying (1:5): 'There was in the days of Herod, king of Judaea, a certain priest named Zechariah,' so as to make manifest that Christ, after his birth in the flesh and the preaching of the Gospel, was made a victim for the salvation of the world. He is the priest of whom it is said in the Psalms (110:4): 'Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek.' For where Christ came, the priesthood of the Jews fell silent, the Law and prophecy ceased.

Fourth, John wrote his Gospel last of all in Asia, beginning from the Word, so as to show that this same Saviour, who deigned to be born and to suffer for us, is himself the Word of God before the ages, that he himself came down from heaven, and after his death returned again to heaven. These are the four Evangelists, whom the Holy Spirit signified through Ezekiel in the four living creatures. They are four living creatures for this reason: because through the four regions of the world the faith of the Christian religion has been sown abroad by their preaching. They are called 'living creatures' (animalia) because it is for the sake of the soul (anima) of man that the Gospel of Christ is proclaimed.

For they were full of eyes within and without, because the Gospels foresee both what was foretold by the prophets and what he had promised in the former testament. Their legs were straight, because there is nothing crooked in the Gospels; and they had six wings, covering their legs and their faces; for the things that had been veiled were revealed at the coming of Christ. Now 'Gospel' (Evangelium) is interpreted as 'good tidings.' For in Greek 'eu' means 'good,' and 'angelia' is called 'a message.' Hence also 'angel' is interpreted as 'messenger.' The Apostle Paul wrote fourteen Epistles, of which he wrote nine to seven churches, and the rest to his disciples Timothy, Titus, and Philemon.

As for the Epistle to the Hebrews, most Latins doubt that it is his, on account of the difference in style, and some suppose that Barnabas composed it, others that it was written by Clement. Peter wrote two Epistles bearing his name, which are called 'catholic' because they were written not to one people or city only, but generally to all the nations. James and John and Jude wrote their Epistles. The Acts of the Apostles sets forth the first beginnings of the Christian faith among the nations and the history of the nascent Church. Luke the Evangelist is the writer of the Acts of the Apostles, in which work the infancy of the nascent Church is woven together, and the history of the apostles is preserved. Hence it is called the Acts of the Apostles.

The book of the Apocalypse was written by John the Evangelist at that time when, on account of his preaching of the Gospel, he is said to have been banished to the island of Patmos. 'Apocalypse' from the Greek is interpreted in Latin as 'revelation.' For 'revelation' is the manifestation of those things which had been hidden, according to what John himself says (1:1): 'The Apocalypse of Jesus Christ, which God gave to him to make plain to his servants.' These are the writers of the sacred books, who, speaking through the Holy Spirit, composed for our instruction both precepts of living and the rule of believing. Besides these, other volumes are called apocryphal. They are called 'apocrypha,' that is, 'secret,' because they come into doubt.

For their origin is hidden and is not clear to the Fathers, from whom the most certain and best-known authority of the true Scriptures has come down to us by an unbroken succession. In these apocrypha, even if some truth is found, nevertheless, on account of the many falsehoods in them, they have no canonical authority; and they are rightly judged by the prudent not to be believed to belong to those to whom they are ascribed. For many things are put forth by heretics under the names of the prophets, and more recent things under the names of the apostles, all of which have been removed from canonical authority by careful examination under the name of apocrypha. III. ON LIBRARIES. 'Library' (bibliotheca) takes its name from the Greek, because books are stored there. For 'biblion' is interpreted as 'of books,' and 'theke' as 'a repository.'

The library of the Old Testament was restored by Ezra the scribe, after the Law had been burned by the Chaldeans, when the Jews had returned to Jerusalem; being inspired by the divine Spirit, he corrected all the volumes of the Law and the Prophets which had been corrupted by the gentiles, and he arranged the whole Old Testament into twenty-two books, so that there might be as many books in the Law as there were letters. Among the Greeks, however, Pisistratus, the tyrant of the Athenians, is believed to have first established a library; which, having afterwards been enlarged by the Athenians, Xerxes, when he had burned Athens, carried off into Persia, and long afterward Seleucus Nicanor brought it back again into Greece.

From this there arose among kings and other cities a zeal for procuring the volumes of various nations, and for translating them into the Greek language through interpreters. Thereafter Alexander the Great, or his successors, bent their minds to furnishing libraries with books of every kind; especially Ptolemy surnamed Philadelphus, most keen-minded in all literature, who, since in his zeal for libraries he was rivalling Pisistratus, gathered into his library not only the writings of the nations but also the divine writings. For seventy thousand books were found at Alexandria in his times. IV. ON THE TRANSLATORS.

He also, requesting from Eleazar the high priest the Scriptures of the Old Testament, took care to have them translated from the Hebrew language into the Greek tongue by seventy translators, which he kept in the library of Alexandria. Indeed, each one separated in his own cell translated all things by the Holy Spirit in such a way that nothing was found in the codex of any one of them that differed from the rest even in the order of the words. There were also other translators who rendered the sacred words from the Hebrew language into Greek, such as Aquila, Symmachus, and Theodotion, as also that common translation whose author does not appear, and on this account, being without the name of a translator, it is called the Fifth Edition.

Moreover, Origen with marvellous labour discovered a sixth and seventh edition, and compared them with the other editions. The presbyter Jerome too, skilled in three languages, converted these same Scriptures from Hebrew into the Latin tongue, and rendered them eloquently. His translation is deservedly preferred to the rest; for it is both more faithful to the words, and clearer in the perspicuity of its meaning, and, moreover, as coming from a Christian, a truer translation. V. ON HIM WHO FIRST BROUGHT BOOKS TO ROME. The first to bring a supply of books to Rome was Aemilius Paulus, after the Macedonian king Perseus had been defeated; then Lucullus from the Pontic spoils. After these Caesar gave to Marcus Varro the task of constructing as great a library as possible.

Pollio was the first at Rome to make libraries public, both Greek and Latin alike, with the images of authors added in the hall, which he had constructed most magnificently from the spoils of war. VI. WHO ESTABLISHED LIBRARIES AMONG US. Among us too Pamphilus the martyr, whose life Eusebius of Caesarea wrote, strove to be the first to equal Pisistratus in zeal for a sacred library. For in his library he had nearly thirty thousand volumes. Jerome too and Gennadius, seeking out ecclesiastical writers throughout the whole world, pursued them in order, and gathered their works into a single short index of a volume. VII. THOSE WHO WROTE MANY WORKS. Marcus Terentius Varro wrote innumerable books among the Latins.

Among the Greeks too Chalcenterus is extolled with wondrous praises, because he produced as many books as any one of us could scarcely copy in his own hand, even those written by another. Of our own writers too, among the Greeks Origen surpassed both Greeks and Latins in the number of his works in the labour of the Scriptures. Indeed Jerome confesses to have read six thousand of his books. Yet Augustine surpassed the endeavours of all these by his genius and learning. For he wrote so much that not only would it not fall to anyone to copy his books by day and night, but not even to read them. VIII. ON THE KINDS OF LITERARY WORKS. There are three kinds of literary works. The first kind are excerpts, which in Greek are called 'scholia';

in these, those things which seem obscure or difficult are touched upon summarily and briefly. The second kind are homilies, which the Latins call 'a word' (verbum), which are delivered to the people. The third are 'tomes' (tomi), which we call books or volumes. Homilies speak to the common people, but tomes, that is, books, are the greater discussions. A 'dialogue' (dialogus) is a conference of two or more persons, which the Latins call 'conversation' (sermo). For what the Greeks call dialogues, we call conversations. And 'sermo' is so called because it is interwoven (seritur) between the two. Hence in Virgil (Aen. 6:160): 'They wove much conversation between themselves.' A 'treatise' (tractatus) is ***. Now 'conversation,' 'treatise,' and 'word' differ. For a conversation requires a second person; a treatise is directed specifically to oneself;

but a 'word' (verbum) is directed to all. Hence it is said: 'He addressed a word to the people.' 'Commentaries' (commentaria) are so called as if 'with the mind' (cum mente). For they are interpretations, such as commentaries on the law, commentaries on the Gospel. An 'apology' (apologeticum) is an excuse, in which certain persons are wont to reply to their accusers. For it is placed in defence or in denial alone; and it is a Greek word. A 'panegyric' (panegyricum) is a licentious and wanton kind of speech in praise of kings, in the composition of which men flatter with many lies. This evil arose from the Greeks, whose fickleness, equipped with a faculty and incredible abundance of speaking, has stirred up many fogs of lies. 'Books of the Fasti' are those in which kings or consuls are recorded, named from the 'fasces,' that is, from their powers.

Hence too the books of Ovid are called 'Fasti,' because they were issued concerning kings and consuls. A 'proem' (prooemium) is the beginning of a discourse. For proems are the openings of books, which are fitted before the narration of the case to prepare the ears of the hearers. Its name most experts in Latinity have set down without translation. But this word, interpreted among us, is called 'preface' (praefatio), as it were a 'fore-speaking' (praelocutio). 'Precepts' (praecepta) are those which teach either what is to be done or what is not to be done. What is to be done, as: 'Love the Lord thy God,' and: 'Honour thy father and thy mother.' What is not to be done, as: 'Thou shalt not commit adultery,' 'Thou shalt not steal.' Similarly the precepts of the gentiles also either command or forbid. They command what is to be done, as (Virgil, Georgics

1:299): 'Plough naked, sow naked.' They forbid, as (Virgil, Georgics 2:299): 'Neither sow the hazel among the vines, nor reach for the topmost shoots.' Among the Hebrews Moses first wrote precepts; among the Latins the seer Marcius first composed precepts. Among these is that one (1): 'May you speak last, be silent first.' 'Parables' and 'problems' indicate by their very names that they ought to be examined more deeply. A parable indeed carries before it the likeness of some thing. Although this is a Greek word, yet it is now used as if Latin. And it is well known that in parables the likenesses of things which are spoken of are compared to the matters under discussion.

'Problems' (problemata), which in Latin are called 'propositions' (propositiones), are questions having something to be resolved by discussion. A 'question' (quaestio) is an inquiry, when it is asked whether a thing is, what it is, of what kind it is. An 'argument' (argumentum) is so called as if 'sharp' (argutum), or because it is shrewdly (argute) devised for proving matters. Properly the Greeks call it an 'epistle' (epistola), which is translated into Latin as 'something sent' (missa). For 'stola' or 'stoloi' means 'sent' or 'the things sent.' Before the use of paper and parchment, the discourses of letters were written on little tablets of wood shaped with an adze, whence they also called the carriers of them 'tablet-bearers' (tabellarios). IX. ON WAX TABLETS. Wax is the material of letters, the nurse of little children, they themselves (Dracontius, Satisfactio 63): 'Give talent to boys, the first beginnings of understanding.'

The Greeks are said to have first handed down the study of these. But the Greeks and Tuscans first wrote on wax with iron; afterward the Romans decreed that no one should have an iron stylus. Hence too it was said among the scribes: 'Do not cut the wax with iron.' Afterward it was established that they should write on the wax with bones, as Atta indicates in his Satire, saying (12): 'Let us turn the ploughshare on the wax and plough with a point of bone.' The 'graphium' in Greek is called in Latin a 'writing-instrument' (scriptorium). For 'graphe' is 'writing.' X. ON PAPER. Egypt first furnished the use of paper, begun at the city of Memphis. For Memphis is a city of the Egyptians, where the use of paper was first invented, as Lucan says (4:135): 'The Memphitic paper is made from the thirsty papyrus.'

He called the papyrus 'thirsty' because it drinks up moisture. Now 'paper' (carta) is so called because the covering of the papyrus, plucked off piece by piece (carptim), is glued together. Of it there are very many kinds. The first and foremost is the royal Augustan, named of a larger format in honour of Octavian Augustus. The second is the Libyan, in honour of the province of Libya. The third is called 'hieratic' because it was chosen for sacred books, similar to the Augustan, but slightly coloured. The fourth is the Taeneotic, from a place at Alexandria which is so called, where it was made. The fifth is the Saitic, from the town of Sais. The sixth is the Cornelian, first made by Cornelius Gallus, prefect of Egypt. The seventh is the 'emporetic' (packing paper), because merchandise is wrapped in it, since it is less suitable for writing. XI. ON PARCHMENTS.

The kings of Pergamum, since they lacked paper, first devised parchment (membrana). Hence too the name of 'parchments' (pergamena) has been preserved even to this day, posterity handing it down to itself. These are also called 'membrana,' because they are drawn off from the members (membris) of beasts. At first they were made of a yellow, that is, saffron colour, but afterward white parchments were discovered at Rome; which proved to be unsuitable, because they both easily grow dirty and injure the eyesight of readers; since the more skilled architects think that neither gilded ceilings should be placed in libraries, nor floors of any other than Carystean marble, because the gleam of gold dulls the eyes and the greenness of the Carystean refreshes them.

For those too who learn the money-changer's trade place myrtle-green cloths beneath the shapes of the coins, and the engravers of gems from time to time gaze at the backs of beetles, than which nothing is greener, and painters do the same, that they may restore the labour of their sight by greenness. Parchments, moreover, are either white or yellow or purple. White ones exist naturally. Yellow parchment is two-coloured, because it is dyed on one side by the maker, that is, it is made saffron. Of this Persius says (3:10): 'Now the book, and the two-coloured parchment with the hairs removed.' Purple ones are dyed with a purple colour, on which melting gold and silver may show plainly in the letters. XII. ON MAKING BOOKS. Certain kinds of books among the gentiles were made in fixed formats.

Poems and letters were written in a smaller format. But histories were written in a larger format, and not only on paper or parchment, but also on the entrails of elephants and on the woven leaves of mallows and palms. Of this kind Cinna makes mention thus (11): 'These poems, much watched over for you by Aratean lamps, by which we came to know the fires of the air, written on a little book of dry mallow, I brought as gifts on a Prusiac skiff.' The trimming of books first became common in Sicily. For in the beginning they were smoothed with pumice. Hence Catullus too says (1:1): 'To whom do I give this charming new little book, just now polished with dry pumice?' XIII. ON THE TERMS FOR BOOKS. A 'codex' is of many books; a 'book' (liber) is of one volume.

And it is called 'codex' by a transfer from the trunks (codicibus) of trees or vines, as if 'stock' (caudex), because it contains within itself a multitude of books, as it were of branches. A 'volume' (volumen) is a book so called from 'rolling' (volvendo), as among the Hebrews the volumes of the Law, the volumes of the Prophets. 'Liber' is the inner tunic of bark, which clings to the wood. Of this Virgil speaks thus (Ecl. 10:67): 'The bark clings to the lofty elm.' Hence too that in which we write is called 'liber' (book), because before the use of paper or parchment, volumes were made from the barks of trees, that is, they were pieced together. Hence too scribes named copyists 'book-men' (librarios) from the barks of trees. XIV. ON COPYISTS AND THEIR INSTRUMENTS. Copyists were formerly called 'bibliopolae.' For the Greeks call a book 'biblon.'

But copyists (librarii) are also called 'antiquarii'; yet 'librarii' are those who write both new things and old, while 'antiquarii' are those who write only old things, whence they took their name. From 'writing' (scribendo) the scribe (scriba) received his name, expressing his office by the quality of the term. The instruments of the scribe are the reed (calamus) and the quill (pinna). For by these words are fixed onto the pages; but the reed is of a tree, the quill of a bird; whose point is divided into a pair (dyade), unity being preserved in the whole body—I believe on account of a mystery, that in the two points the Old and New Testament might be signified, by which is expressed the sacrament of the Word poured forth in the blood of the Passion. The reed (calamus) is so called because it sets down (ponat) liquid. Hence too among sailors 'to set down' (ponere) is called 'calare.' The quill (pinna) is named from 'hanging' (pendendo), that is, from flying.

For it is, as we have said, of birds. The 'leaves' (foliae) of books are so named either from the likeness of the leaves of trees, or because they are made from 'bellows' (follibus), that is, from skins, which are wont to be drawn off from slaughtered beasts; whose parts are called 'pages' (paginae), because they are joined together (conpingantur) with one another. 'Verses' (versus) are commonly so called because the ancients wrote just as the earth is ploughed. For they first drew the stylus from left to right, then turned back from below, and again the verse toward the right; which even today the country folk call 'versus.' A 'sheet' (scheda) is what is still being corrected, and has not yet been reduced into books; and it is a Greek word, as is also 'tome' (tomus). XV. ON THE CANONS OF THE GOSPELS.

The Canons of the Gospels were first devised by Ammonius of Alexandria, whom Eusebius of Caesarea afterward followed and composed more fully. They were made for this reason: that through them we might be able to find and know which of the Evangelists said things similar to, or proper to, the others. They are ten in number, of which the first contains the numbers in which four said the same things: Matthew, Mark, Luke, John. The second, those in which three: Matthew, Mark, Luke. The third, those in which three: Matthew, Luke, John. The fourth, those in which three: Matthew, Mark, John. The fifth, those in which two: Matthew, Luke. The sixth, those in which two: Matthew, Mark. The seventh, those in which two: Matthew, John. The eighth, those in which two: Luke, Mark.

The ninth, those in which two: Luke, John. The tenth, those in which each of them said certain things proper to himself. Their explanation is this. For throughout the individual Evangelists a certain number lies affixed to the chapters, beneath which numbers is placed a certain figure marked in red, which indicates in which canon the number is placed to which the figure is subjoined. For example: if the figure is '1,' it is in the first canon; if the second, in the second; if the third, in the third; and so on in order until it reaches the tenth. If therefore, when any Gospel has been opened, it pleases one to know which of the other Evangelists said similar things, you will take the adjacent number of the chapter, and you will look for that same number in its canon which it indicates, and there you will find how many and which said it;

and thus at last, having sought out in the body of the text the places which are indicated by those very numbers, you will find that they said the same things throughout the several Gospels. XVI. ON THE CANONS OF THE COUNCILS. 'Canon' in Greek is called in Latin 'rule' (regula). And a 'rule' is so called because it leads rightly (recte), nor ever draws aside in another direction. Others have said that a rule is so called either because it governs (regat), or because it furnishes a norm of living rightly, or because it corrects (corrigat) whatever is distorted and crooked. The canons of the general councils began from the times of Constantine. For in the preceding years, while persecution raged, there was by no means the opportunity for teaching the peoples.

Thence Christianity was rent into diverse heresies, because there was no liberty for the bishops to come together into one, except in the time of the aforesaid emperor. For he himself gave to Christians the faculty of assembling freely. Under him too the holy Fathers, coming together from the whole world in the Council of Nicaea, in accordance with the evangelical and apostolic faith, handed down the second creed after that of the Apostles. Now among the other councils there are four venerable synods which chiefly comprehend the whole faith, like the four Gospels or as many rivers of paradise. The first of these, the Synod of Nicaea, of three hundred and eighteen bishops, was accomplished while Constantine Augustus was reigning.

In it the blasphemy of the Arian faithlessness was condemned, which the same Arius asserted concerning the inequality of the Holy Trinity; and the holy synod defined through the creed that God the Son is consubstantial with God the Father. The second synod, of one hundred and fifty Fathers, was gathered at Constantinople under Theodosius the elder, which, condemning Macedonius, who denied that the Holy Spirit is God, demonstrated that the Holy Spirit is consubstantial with the Father and the Son, giving the form of the creed which the whole confession of Greeks and Latins proclaims in the churches.

The third synod, the first of Ephesus, of two hundred bishops, was issued under Theodosius the younger Augustus, which condemned with a just anathema Nestorius, who asserted two persons in Christ, showing that the one person of our Lord Jesus Christ remains in two natures. The fourth synod, that of Chalcedon, of six hundred and thirty priests, was held under the emperor Marcian, in which, by one sentence of the Fathers, it condemned Eutyches, abbot of Constantinople, who pronounced one nature of the Word of God and of the flesh, and his defender Dioscorus, formerly bishop of Alexandria, and Nestorius himself again together with the remaining heretics;

the same synod proclaiming that Christ the Lord was so born of the Virgin that in him we confess the substance of both the divine and human nature. These are the four principal synods, most fully proclaiming the doctrine of the faith; but also, if there are any councils which the holy Fathers, full of the Spirit of God, have ratified, they remain established with full vigour after the authority of these four, whose acts are contained set down in this work. 'Synod' (synodus) is interpreted from the Greek as 'company' or 'assembly.' But the name 'council' (concilium) is drawn from Roman custom. For in the time when cases were pleaded, all came together into one and treated of matters with a common purpose. Hence too 'council' is so called from a common purpose, as it were 'concilium.' For 'cilia' are of the eyes.

Hence too 'consilium' (counsel) comes from 'considium' (sitting together), the letter D passing over into L. But 'assembly' (coetus) is a gathering or congregation, from 'coming together' (coeundo), that is, from meeting together into one. Hence too 'convention' (conventus) is named, just as 'assembly,' 'gathering,' or 'council,' from the fellowship of many into one. XVII. ON THE PASCHAL CYCLE. The bishop Hippolytus first composed the paschal cycle in the times of the emperor Alexander. After him the most approved authors Eusebius of Caesarea, Theophilus of Alexandria, Prosper too, by nation an Aquitanian, and Victorius, having amplified the reckonings of the same festival, issued manifold cycles.

Indeed the most blessed Cyril, bishop of the city of Alexandria, with the utmost brevity noted the reckoning of this over ninety-five years, calculating by five times nineteen, as to on which day of the Kalends or on which moon the paschal solemnity ought to be celebrated. It is called a 'cycle' (cyclus) because it is arranged in a circle, and comprehends the order of years as if disposed in a ring, without variation and without any artifice. Hence it came about that poems of any subject-matter, made in a simple uniformity, were called 'cyclic.' Hence too a 'laterculum' (calendar) is so called, because it holds the order of years laid out. [The moons and dates of Easter follow:] B. In the second common year, the 2nd day before the Ides of April, moon 20. C. The 6th before the Kalends of April, moon 16. Em. The 16th before the Kalends of May, moon 17. C. The 6th before the Ides of April, moon 20. B. C. The 9th before the Kalends of April, moon 15. E. The 2nd before the Ides of April, moon 16. C. The 2nd before the Nones of April, moon 19.

[The paschal cycle table continues:] E. The 8th before the Kalends of May, moon 20. B. C. The 5th before the Ides of April, moon 15. C. The 2nd before the Kalends of April, moon 18. E. The 12th before the Kalends of May, moon 19. C. The Nones of April, moon 15. B. C. The 5th before the Kalends of April, moon 17. E. The 16th before the Kalends of May, moon 18. C. The 6th before the Ides of April, moon 21. C. The 9th before the Kalends of April, moon 17. B. E. The 11th before the Ides of April, moon 17. C. The 2nd before the Nones of April, moon 20. E. The 8th before the Kalends of May, moon 21. C. The 5th before the Ides of April, moon 18. B. C. The 2nd before the Kalends of April, moon 20. E. The 12th before the Kalends of May, moon 21. C. The Nones of April, moon 17. C. The 5th before the Kalends of April, moon 20. B. E. The 16th before the Kalends of May, moon 20. C. The Kalends of April, moon 16. E. The 11th before the Kalends of May, moon 17. C. The Ides of April, moon 20. B. C. The 5th before the Kalends of April, moon 15. E. The 15th before the Kalends of May, moon 16. C. The 5th before the Ides of April, moon 19. C. The 8th before the Kalends of April, moon 15. B. E. The Ides of April, moon 15. C. The Nones of April, moon 18. C. The 5th before the Kalends of April, moon 21. E. The 4th before the Ides of April, moon 15. B. C. The Kalends of April.

[The paschal cycle table continues:] moon 17. E. The 11th before the Kalends of May, moon 18. C. The 8th before the Ides of April, moon 15. C. The 4th before the Kalends of April, moon 18. B. E. The 15th before the Kalends of May, moon 18. C. The 5th before the Ides of April, moon 21. C. The 8th before the Kalends of April, moon 17. E. The 18th before the Kalends of May, moon 18. B. C. The Nones of April, moon 20. E. The 7th before the Kalends of May, moon 16. C. The 4th before the Ides of April, moon 22. C. The 6th before the Nones of April, moon 20. B. E. The 11th before the Kalends of May, moon 20. C. The 8th before the Ides of April, moon 16. C. The 4th before the Kalends of April, moon 19. E. The 14th before the Kalends of May, moon 20. B. C. The 4th before the Nones of April, moon 15. C. The 8th before the Kalends of April, moon 18. E. The 18th before the Kalends of May, moon 18. C. The 3rd before the Kalends of April, moon 19. B. E. The 14th before the Kalends of May, moon 15. C. The 2nd before the Ides of April, moon 19. C. The 7th before the Kalends of April, moon 15. E. The 17th before the Kalends of May, moon 16. B. C. The 8th before the Ides of April, moon 18. C. The 4th before the Kalends of April, moon 21. E. The 3rd before the Ides of April, moon 15. C. The 3rd before the Nones of April, moon 18. B. E. The 10th before the Kalends of May.

[The paschal cycle table continues:] moon 18. C. The 18th before the Kalends of May, moon 21. C. The 3rd before the Kalends of April, moon 17. E. The 13th before the Kalends of May, moon 18. B. C. The 4th before the Ides of April, moon 20. C. The 7th before the Kalends of April, moon 16. E. The 17th before the Kalends of May, moon 16. C. The 7th before the Ides of April, moon 20. B. C. The 11th before the Kalends of April, moon 15. E. The 3rd before the Ides of April, moon 16. C. The 3rd before the Nones of April, moon 19. E. The 9th before the Kalends of May, moon 20. B. C. The 7th before the Ides of April, moon 16. C. The 3rd before the Kalends of April, moon 19. E. The 13th before the Kalends of May, moon 20. C. The 2nd before the Nones of April, moon 16. B. C. The 7th before the Kalends of April, moon 17. E. The 18th before the Kalends of May, moon 19. C. The 2nd before the Kalends of April, moon 15. E. The 12th before the Kalends of May, moon 16. B. C. The 3rd before the Ides of April, moon 18. C. The 3rd before the Nones of April, moon 21. E. The 16th before the Kalends of May, moon 15. C. The 6th before the Ides of April, moon 18. B. C. The 3rd before the Kalends of April, moon 20. E. The 13th before the Kalends of May, moon 21. C. The 2nd before the Nones of April, moon 17. C. The 6th before the Kalends of April, moon 20. B. E. The 17th before the Kalends.

[The paschal cycle table concludes:] Of May, moon 20. C. The 2nd before the Kalends of April, moon 16. E. The 12th before the Kalends of May, moon 16. After the completion of this, one must return to the first beginning. [From the foundation of the world up to this most recent cycle the years are reckoned.] In antiquity the Church celebrated Easter on the fourteenth moon together with the Jews, on whatever day it might fall. The holy Fathers prohibited this rite in the Synod of Nicaea, establishing that not only should the paschal moon and month be inquired after, but that the day of the Lord's resurrection should also be observed; and on this account they extended Easter from the fourteenth moon to the twenty-first, so that the Lord's Day should not be omitted. Now the word 'Pascha' is not Greek, but Hebrew;

It is not named from 'suffering,' although PASCHEIN in Greek means 'to suffer,' but from the Hebrew word for 'passing over,' pascha, because at that time the people of God passed over out of Egypt. Whence also in the Gospel (John 13:1) it says: 'When Jesus knew that his hour was come that he should pass out of this world to the Father.' Its night is therefore kept as a vigil, on account of the coming of our King and God, so that the time of his resurrection may find us not sleeping but watching. Of this night there is a twofold reckoning: either because in it he then received life again, since he had suffered; or because afterward, at the same hour at which he rose, he is to come to judge.

We celebrate the Pasch in such a manner that we not only recall to memory the death and resurrection of Christ, but also consider the other things which are attested concerning him, unto the signification of the sacraments. For on account of the beginning of a new life, and on account of the new man which we are bidden to put on—while putting off the old and purging out the old leaven, that we may be a new lump, since Christ our Pasch is sacrificed—on account of this newness of life, therefore, the first month of the new produce was mystically assigned among the months of the year to the paschal celebration.

That the Pasch is celebrated on a day of the third week—that is, the day that falls between the fourteenth and the twenty-first—signifies this: that in the whole time of the world, which is reckoned by the sevenfold number of days, it is now the third age that has laid open this mystery. For the first age is that before the Law, the second under the Law, the third under grace, wherein now is made manifest the mystery formerly hidden in the prophetic riddle. Therefore also, on account of these three ages of the world, the resurrection of the Lord occurred after three days. And that the paschal day is sought from the fourteenth moon up to the twenty-first, through seven days, is on account of that very sevenfold number by which the signification of universality is often figured;

which number is also attributed to the Church itself on account of its likeness to universality, whence too the Apostle John in the Apocalypse writes to seven churches. But the Church, still set in this mortality of the flesh, is signified in the Scriptures by the name of the moon, on account of that very changeableness. Now the varied observance of opinions concerning the paschal festival at times begets error. For the Latins seek the moon of the first month from the third day before the Nones of March up to the third day before the Nones of April; and if the fifteenth moon should fall on a Sunday, they defer the Pasch to another Sunday. The Greeks observe the moon of the first month from the eighth day before the Ides of March up to the day of the Nones of April; and if the fifteenth moon should fall on a Sunday, they celebrate the holy Pasch.

This sort of disagreement between the two parties, therefore, disturbs the paschal rule. That is called a common year which has only twelve moons, that is, three hundred and fifty-four days. And it is called 'common' because often two such are joined and proceed together, so that they follow one another in the paschal solemnity. For the embolismic year is always alone. An embolismic year is one which is shown to have thirteen lunar months, that is, three hundred and eighty-four days. This is the year divinely revealed to holy Moses, in which those who dwelt farther off are commanded to celebrate the Pasch in the second month. Now 'embolismus' is a Greek word, which is rendered in Latin as 'super-increment,' because it fills up the number of the common years, in which eleven lunar days are seen to be lacking.

Now embolismic and common years are found out thus. For if from the fourteenth moon of the preceding Pasch up to the fourteenth of the following there be three hundred and eighty-four days, it is an embolismic year; if three hundred and fifty-four, it is common. The bissextile is one day added over four years. For a fourth part of a whole unit grows through each single year. But when in the fourth year it has completed a whole unit, it makes one bissextile day. And it is called 'bissextile' because, being reckoned twice-sixfold, it makes a whole unit, which is one day; just as also the 'quadrant' is named from being reckoned fourfold; which is the bissextile day that the sun makes over the course of days in a year.

[Or because it cannot be introduced into its year unless you reckon the sixth day before the Nones of March twice—that is, both on the first day, the sixth before the Nones of March, and, with the second sixth added, you repeat on another day the sixth before the Nones of March.] Now from the sixth day before the Nones of March up to the day before the Kalends of January, in the course of the moon the bissextile is added and thence subtracted. Intercalary days, moreover, are so called because they are interposed so that the reckoning of the moon and the sun may agree. For 'calare' means 'to place,' and 'intercalare' means 'to interpose.' What the Greeks call 'epacts,' the Latins call 'annual lunar additions,' which through the number of eleven revolve within themselves up to thirty. These the Egyptians add so that the lunar measurement may be made equal to the reckoning of the sun.

For the moon, according to its course, is known to shine twenty-nine and a half days, and there come to be in a year three hundred and fifty-four lunar days; there remain to the course of the solar year eleven days, which the Egyptians add. Whence too they are called 'additions': without these you will not find how old the moon is in any given year and month and day. These epacts are always reckoned on the eleventh day before the Kalends of April, in the same moon that shall have been on that day. And they are contained within the nineteen-year cycle; but when they have reached twenty-nine epacts—which is the nineteenth cycle—then in the following year you shall not add eleven upon twenty-nine, so as to announce ten with thirty subtracted, but from there you shall return, so as to pronounce eleven. XVIII. ON THE REMAINING FESTIVALS.

A festival (festivitas) is so called from festive days (festi dies), as it were 'festiditas,' because on them only divine matters are transacted. Contrary to these are the 'fasti,' days on which right is 'declared' (fatur), that is, spoken. A solemnity (sollemnitas) is named from sacred things, so undertaken that it ought not to be changed for religion's sake, named from 'solitum,' that is, from what is firm and solid. [Or from the fact that it is wont (soleat) to occur in the year.] But a 'celebrity' (celebritas) is so called because there nothing earthly, but only heavenly things are transacted. The Pasch is the first of all festivals, concerning whose name it has already been spoken above. Pentecost, like the Pasch, was a notable day among the Hebrews, because it was kept after five tens from the Pasch; whence too it took its name.

For PENTE in Greek is 'five,' on which day, according to the Law, the loaves of proposition of the new fruits were offered. Of this the jubilee year in the Old Testament bore a figure, which now again through figure prefigures the eternal rest of the promise. 'Epiphany' is Greek, in Latin called 'apparition' [or manifestation]. For on that day Christ appeared to the Magi to be adored, by the sign of a star. This was a figure of the first-fruits of the believing Gentiles. On which day too the sacrament of the Lord's baptism and of the water changed into wine—the beginnings of the signs done by the Lord—came forth. Now there are two epiphanies: the first, in which Christ, being born, appeared to the shepherds of the Hebrews, an angel announcing it;

the second, in which, from among the peoples of the Gentiles, a star pointing the way presented the Magi about to adore the cradle of the manger. Scenopegia, a solemnity of the Hebrews, is rendered from Greek into Latin as 'the dedication of tabernacles'; which was celebrated by the Jews in memory of the journey, when, having been brought forth from Egypt, they lived in tabernacles, and from this comes 'scenopegia.' For SKENE in Greek means 'tabernacle.' This solemnity was celebrated among the Hebrews in the month of September. 'Neomenia' is with us the Kalends, but among the Hebrews—because they reckon the months according to the lunar course, and in Greek MENE means 'moon'—hence 'neomenia,' that is, 'new moon.' For among the Hebrews the very days of the Kalends were solemn by legal institution, concerning which it is said in the Psalter (81:4 [Vulg. 80:4]):

'Blow the trumpet at the beginning of the month, on the notable day of your solemnity.' 'Encaenia' is the new dedication of a temple. For in Greek KAINON means 'new.' For when something new is dedicated, it is called 'encaenia.' The Jews celebrated this solemnity of the temple's dedication in the month of October. The Day of Palms is so called because on it our Lord and Saviour, as the Prophet had sung, making his way to Jerusalem, is recorded to have sat upon an ass's colt. Then, as he went with palm branches, the multitude of the peoples cried out to meet him (John 12:13):

'Hosanna, blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord, the King of Israel.' But the common people call this day 'Capitilavium,' because on it there is a custom of washing the heads of the infants who are to be anointed, lest they should come to the anointing soiled by the observance of Lent. On this day, moreover, the Creed is handed over to the candidates on account of the nearness of the solemnity of the Lord's Pasch, so that those who now hasten to receive the grace of God may acknowledge the faith which they confess. The Lord's Supper (Coena Dominica) is so named because on that day the Saviour kept the Pasch with his disciples; which even today, as it was handed down, is celebrated, and on it the holy chrism is prepared, and the beginning of the new and the ceasing of the old Testament is declared.

The Sabbath is named by the Hebrews, from the interpretation of its own word, 'rest,' because on it God rested, the world being finished. Indeed, on that day too the Lord rested in the sepulchre, that he might confirm the mystery of that rest; which was commanded to be observed by the Jews as a shadow of what was to come. But after Christ, in his burial, fulfilled its figure, its observance came to rest. The Lord's Day is so called because on it the joy of the resurrection of our Lord is celebrated. This day was declared not to the Jews but to the Christians unto the resurrection of the Lord, and from that time it began to have its own festivity. For to them alone the Sabbath was handed down to be kept, because it was formerly the rest of the dead;

but the resurrection was of no one who, rising from the dead, would not die again. But after such a resurrection was accomplished in the body of the Lord, so that in the Head there might go before that which the body of the Church might hope for in the end, then the Lord's Day, that is the eighth, which is also the first, began to be celebrated. XIX. ON THE OFFICES. There are very many kinds of offices, but the chief is that which is held in sacred and divine matters. Now 'office' (officium) is named from 'effecting' (efficiendo), as it were 'efficium,' with one letter changed for the sake of the beauty of the word; or surely so that each may do those things which harm (officiant) no one, but profit all. The evening office (vespertinum officium) is at the beginning of night, named from the star Vesper, which rises when night comes on.

But the morning office (matutinum officium) is at the beginning of light, named from the star Lucifer, which rises as morning begins. By the signification of these two times it is shown that God should ever be praised, by day and by night. The Mass (missa) is at the time of the sacrifice, when the catechumens are sent forth (mittuntur), the Levite crying out: 'If any catechumen has remained, let him go forth outside'; and thence 'missa,' because those who are not yet regenerated cannot be present at the sacraments of the altar. The choir (chorus) is a multitude gathered for sacred rites; and it is called 'chorus' because in the beginning they stood in the manner of a crown (corona) around the altars and thus sang the psalms. Others have said 'chorus' from concord, which consists in charity; because, if one has not charity, he cannot respond fittingly.

But when one sings, it is called in Greek 'monody,' in Latin 'sicinium'; when two sing, it is called 'bicinium'; when many, 'chorus.' For 'chorea' is the sport of a ditty, or the dances of companies. 'Antiphon' from the Greek is rendered 'reciprocal voice'; namely, two choirs singing psalms alternately in changed order, or from one to one. This kind of psalmody the Greeks are said to have invented. The Italians handed down responsories. These they call responsorial chants, because when one ceases, the other responds to it. But between responsories and antiphon there is this difference: that in responsories one man says the verse, whereas in antiphons the choirs alternate the verses. It is called a 'reading' (lectio) because it is not sung, like a psalm or a hymn, but only read.

For there melody is sought, here only utterance. A 'canticle' (canticum) is the voice of one singing in gladness. But that is called a 'psalm' (psalmus) which is sung to the Psaltery, which the history sets forth as having been used by David the prophet in a great mystery. Now these two, in certain titles of the Psalms according to the musical art, are alternately set beside one another. For it is a 'canticle of the psalm' when what the instrument plays, the voice of the singer afterward utters. But a 'psalm of the canticle' when what the human voice first speaks, the art of the playing instrument imitates. And 'psalm' is named from the psaltery, whence it is not the custom for it to be composed from any other work. Now there are three grades in singing: the first, of the succentor; the second, of the incentor; the third, of the accentor.

Some would have 'diapsalma' to be a Hebrew word, by which is signified 'always'; that is, that those things among which it is interposed confirm that they are everlasting. But some think it a Greek word, by which is signified an interval in psalmody; so that 'psalma' is what is sung, but 'diapsalma' the silence interposed in the singing: so that, just as 'synpsalma' is called the joining of the voice in singing, so 'diapsalma' is the disjoining of them, where a certain rest, distinct from the continuation, is shown. Whence it is probable that the sentences are not to be joined in psalmody where a diapsalma has been interposed; because it is interposed for this reason, that a turning of the senses or of the persons may be recognized.

A hymn (hymnus) is a canticle of those who praise, which is rendered from Greek into Latin as 'praise,' for the reason that it is a song of gladness and praise. But properly hymns are those containing the praise of God. If then there be praise, and it be not of God, it is not a hymn: if there be both praise and praise of God, and it be not sung, it is not a hymn. If then it be both said in praise of God and sung, then it is a hymn. Contrary to it is the 'threnos,' which is a song of lament and mourning. 'Alleluia' is the interpretation of two words, that is, 'praise God,' and it is Hebrew. For 'Ia' is one of the ten names by which God is called among the Hebrews. 'Amen' signifies 'truly,' or 'faithfully,' which is itself also Hebrew.

These two words, Amen and Alleluia, it is permitted neither to Greeks nor Latins nor barbarians to translate at all into their own tongue or to announce in another language. For although they can be interpreted, yet on account of a more sacred authority the antiquity of their proper tongue has been preserved by the Apostles in them. For so sacred are these names that even John relates in the Apocalypse that, the Spirit revealing it, he saw and heard the voice of the heavenly host, as the voice of many waters and of mighty thunders, saying: Amen and Alleluia; and therefore both ought so to be said on earth as they resound in heaven. 'Hosanna' cannot pass over wholly into the interpretation of another tongue. For 'osi' is interpreted 'save';

'anna' is an interjection signifying a motion of the mind under the affection of one beseeching. But fully it is said 'osianna,' which we, the middle vowel letter being corrupted and elided, say 'osanna,' as happens in verses when we scan. For the first letter of the following word, coming upon the last of the prior word, excludes it, and it is said in Hebrew 'osanna,' which is interpreted 'save,' with either 'thy people' or 'the whole world' understood. The offertory (offertorium) took its name from such a cause. For an offering which is offered on the altar and sacrificed by the pontiffs is called 'fertum,' from which 'offertorium' is named, as it were on account of the 'fertum.' An 'oblation' (oblatio) is so called because it is offered. 'Gifts' (dona) are properly said to be divine, 'presents' (munera) those of men.

For 'presents' (munera) are called the services which the poor render to the rich in place of gifts. And so a 'present' (munus) is given to a man, a 'gift' (donum) to God. Whence too in the temples we speak of 'donaria' (votive offerings). And 'munera' are so called because by the hands (manibus) they are either received or given. Now there are two things which are offered: the gift and the sacrifice. A 'gift' is called whatever is wrought of gold and silver, or of any other kind. But a 'sacrifice' is a victim and whatever is burned or placed upon the altar. Now everything which is given to God is either dedicated or consecrated. What is dedicated is given by declaring (dicendo); whence too it is named. Whence they err who think that 'consecration' is signified by 'dedication.' 'Immolation' was so named by the ancients because the victim, placed upon the mass (mole) of the altar, was slain.

Whence too the 'slaying' (mactatio) comes after the immolation. But now the immolation belongs to the bread and the chalice, whereas the libation is the offering of the chalice only. Hence is that saying (Ecclus. 50:17): 'And he poured out (libavit) of the blood of the grape.' Just as also a certain one of the secular poets (Virgil, Aeneid 7:133) says: 'Now pour out (libate) the bowls to Jove.' 'To libate,' therefore, properly means 'to pour out,' and the name is taken from a certain Liber, who in Greece discovered the use of the vine. Among the ancients, 'hostiae' were called the sacrifices which were made before they went against the enemy (hostem). But 'victimae' were the sacrifices which they immolated after victory (victoriam), the enemies being conquered. And the 'victimae' were greater sacrifices than the 'hostiae.'

Others have thought the 'victima' to be so called because, struck by the blow (ictu), it fell, or because it was led bound (vincta) to the altars. A 'holocaust' is that in which the whole of what is offered is consumed by fire. For the ancients, when they administered the greatest sacrifices, were wont to consume whole victims in the flame of the sacred rites, and these were 'holocaustomata.' For OLON in Greek means 'whole,' KAUSIS 'burning,' and 'holocaust' means 'wholly burned.' Among the Latins, all sacred things are called 'ceremonies' (caerimoniae), which among the Greeks are called 'orgia.' But it seemed to the learned that 'ceremonies' are properly named from 'lacking' (carendo), as it were 'carimoniae'; because of those things which are offered in the divine rites, men would lack them in their own use; which name is also in use in the sacred letters.

Others believe 'ceremonies' to belong properly to the observances of the Jews, namely, abstinence from certain foods according to the old Law, because those who observe them lack (careant) those things from which they abstain. A 'sacrifice' (sacrificium) is so named as 'made sacred' (sacrum factum), because by mystical prayer it is consecrated in memory of the Lord's Passion for us; whence at his bidding we call it the body and blood of Christ. Which, since it is from the fruits of the earth, is sanctified and becomes a sacrament, the Spirit of God working invisibly; the sacrament of which bread and chalice the Greeks call 'Eucharist,' which is interpreted in Latin 'good grace.' And what is better than the blood and body of Christ?

A sacrament (sacramentum) is in some celebration, when a deed is so done that it is understood to signify something which is to be received in a holy manner. Now the sacraments are baptism and chrism, the body and blood [of the Lord]. Which are for this reason called sacraments, because under the covering of corporeal things the divine power more secretly works out the salvation of those same sacraments; whence too they are called 'sacraments' from their secret (secretis) powers or from sacred things (sacris). Which are therefore fruitfully performed within the Church, because the Holy Spirit, abiding in her, works latently that same effect of the sacraments.