Augustine: Earlier Writings
THE TEACHER 89 you or another man of discernment, hearing some loquacious lover of verbiage say: "I teach for the sake of talking," would reply: "My man, why don't you rather talk for the sake of teaching." Now if this is right, as you know it is, you see at once how much less value we are to attribute to words than to the things on account of which we use words. The use to which words are put is superior to the words; for words exist to be used, and used to teach. Just as it is better to teach than to talk, so speech is better than words. And knowledge is much better than words. I want to hear if you have any objection to offer.
27. Ad.—I agree that knowledge is better than words. But I am not sure that no objection can be urged against the general rule that everything which is means to an end is inferior to the end it serves. Aug.—We shall have a better opportunity at another time to discuss that problem more carefully. Meantime what you have admitted is sufficient for what I am desirous of establishing now. You grant that the knowledge of things is better than the signs of things. So knowledge of the things signified by signs is preferable to knowledge of their signs. Is it not? Ad,—Surely I have not granted that the knowledge of things is superior to the knowledge of signs, but not superior to the signs themselves. I am afraid to give my assent to what you have said. If the word filth is better than the thing it signifies, knowledge of the word would be preferable to knowledge of the thing. And yet the name itself is inferior to the knowledge. There are four terms here: the name, the thing, knowledge of the name, knowledge of the thing. Why is not the third better than the fourth, just as the first is better than the second? And yet surely it is not to be subordinated?
28. Aug.—I see you have a wonderful memory for retaining your admissions and an excellent way of expounding your views. But take the word "vice" {vitium). When we pronounce the word vi-ti-um you know that it is better than the thing it signifies. And yet mere knowledge of the word is much inferior to knowledge of the vices. Let us consider your four terms: the name, the thing, knowledge of the name, knowledge of the thing. We rightly prefer the first to the second. When Persius used the name in his poem—"This man is stupefied by vice" he committed no fault of versificadon, indeed he added an ornament. And yet the thing signified by the word makes the man in whom it is found necessarily vicious. But there is not the same relation between your third and fourth terms. The fourth is obviously better than the third. Knowledge of the word vice