Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers: Series I/Volume II/On Christian Doctrine/Book II/Chapter 3

Chapter 3.—Among Signs, Words Hold the Chief Place.

4.&#160; 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.&#160; 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.&#160; And some convey a great deal by the motion of the hands:&#160; and actors by movements of all their limbs give certain signs to the initiated, and, so to speak, address their conversation to the eyes:&#160; and the military standards and flags convey through the eyes the will of the commanders.&#160; And all these signs are as it were a kind of visible words.&#160; The signs that address themselves to the ear are, as I have said, more numerous, and for the most part consist of words.&#160; 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.&#160; For among men words have obtained far and away the chief place as a means of indicating the thoughts of the mind.&#160; 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. &#160; But the countless multitude of the signs through which men express their thoughts consist of words.&#160; 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.