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| 9th century Isidore in the Harley Collection of the British Library: |
Isidore took what was natural, such things as astronomy and medicine, and saw these all in the light of God's gifts to humans. Flowers, herbs, gems, games, animals, laws, legal systems, architecture, rural boundaries, measurements, ships, clothing, colors, tools for building, tools for art, household items, food, recipes, vocabulary are all gifts, and he covers them all.
Here is Isidore on the soul, spirit and mind.
7. Soul (anima) takes its name from the pagans, on
the assumption that it is wind – hence wind is called
... Anemoi
in Greek, because we seem to stay alive by drawing air into the mouth. But this is quite clearly untrue,
since the soul is generated much earlier than air can betaken into the mouth, because it is already alive in the
mother’s womb. 8. Therefore the soul is not air, as was
believed by some people who were unable to grasp its
incorporeal nature. 9. The spirit (spiritus) is the same as
what the Evangelist calls the ‘soul’ when he says (John
10:18): “I have the power to lay down my soul (anima),
and I have the power to take it up again.” With regard
to the soul of the Lord at the time of his Passion, the
aforementioned Evangelist wrote in these words, saying (John 19:30): “And bowing his head, he gave up the
spirit (spiritus).” 10. What else can “to give up the spirit”
be if it is not to lay down one’s soul? – for soul is so
called because it is alive: spirit, however, is so called either
because of its spiritual (spiritalis) nature, or because it
inspires (inspirare) in the body.
11. In like manner some people say that the will
(animus) and the soul (anima) are the same, even though
soul is characteristic of life, while will is characteristic of
intention. Whence the philosophers say that life can continue to exist even without the will,
and that the soul can
endure without the mind (mens) – which is why we use
the term ‘the mindless’ (amens). The mind is so called
in that it knows; the will, in that it desires.12. The mind
(mens) is socalled because it is eminent (eminere) in the
soul, or because it remembers (meminisse). This is why
one calls ‘forgetful people’ (immemoris) also ‘mindless’
(amens). Because of this, ‘mind’ is not the word we use
for the soul, but for that which is the superior part in the
soul, as if the mind were its head or its eye. It is for this
same reason also that the human being, due to his mind,
is said to be the image of God. Further, all these things
are adjoined to the soul in such a way that it is one entity.
Different terms have been allotted to the soul according
to the effects of its causes. 13. Indeed, memory is mind,
whence forgetful people are called mindless. Therefore it
is soul when it enlivens the body, will when it wills, mind
when it knows, memory (memoria) when it recollects,
reason (ratio) when it judges correctly, spirit when it
breathes forth, sense (sensus) when it senses something.
Will is said to be sense (sensus) with regard to what it
senses (sentire) –whence also the word ‘idea’ (sententia)
derives its name.
To be continued....
