Latin — 1533, repaired
Ostensum itaque nunc in animi affectibus magnam residere uirtutem, sciendum insuper est, non minorem inesse uerbis rerumque nominibus, maximam praeterea in sermonibus et orationibus complexis. Quibus potissimum a brutis differimus et rationales dicti sumus, non a ratione quae secundum animam accipitur, quam capacem affectuum appellant, quam Galenus dicit etiam bruta animalia nobiscum habere communem, licet alia magis, alia minus: sed rationales dicimur a ratione quae iuxta uocem in uerbis et sermone intelligitur, quae uocatur ratio enunciatiua, qua parte caeteris animantibus maxime antecellimus: nam λόγος Graecis et rationem et sermonem et uerbum sonat. Est autem uerbum duplex, internum uidelicet et prolatum: internum uerbum est conceptus mentis et motus animae qui in cogitativa potentia sine uoce fit: quemadmodum dum in somniis nobis loqui et disputare uidemur, et in uigilia etiam silentes saepe totam aliquam percurrimus orationem. Verbum autem prolatum quandam in uoce et locutionis proprietate actum habet: et cum anhelitu hominis, oris apertione et sermone linguae profertur: in quo pars natura corpoream uocem et sermonem, menti et intellectui copulauit, enunciatiuam et conceptuum intellectus nostri interpretem illam faciens ad audientes, de quo nobis hic dicendum est. Sunt itaque uerba aptissimum medium inter loquentem et audientem deferentia secum non tantum conceptum, sed et uirtutem loquentis energia quadam transfundentes in audientes, sed etiam alia quaedam corpora et res inanimatas. Illa autem uerba prae caeteris maioris efficaciae sunt, quae res maiores, puta intellectuales, caelestes et transnaturales magis expressius, tum mysteriosius repraesentant: quaeque [in] dignitate maiore linguae, et sanctiori dignitate instituta sunt, haec enim uelut signa quaedam et repraesentationes, seu sacramenta rerum caelestium et supernaturalium uim obtinent, cum ex uirtute rerum explicatarum quarum uehicula sunt, tum ex ui insita illis a uirtute instituentis et proferentis.
Close translation
Now that it has been shown that great power resides in the affections of the soul, it must further be known that no lesser power resides in words and the names of things, and greatest of all in complex speeches and orations. It is by these above all that we differ from brutes and are called rational — not by the reason which is understood according to the soul, which they call capable of affections, which Galen says even brute animals hold in common with us, though some more, some less: but we are called rational from the reason which is understood, alongside voice, in words and speech, which is called the enunciative reason, in which respect we most excel other living things: for λόγος among the Greeks signifies both reason and speech and word. Now word is twofold, namely internal and uttered: the internal word is the concept of the mind and the motion of the soul which occurs in the cogitative power without voice: just as when in dreams we seem to speak and argue, and even waking, while silent, we often run through some entire speech. But the uttered word has a certain act in voice and the property of speech: and it is brought forth with the breath of the man, the opening of the mouth, and the speech of the tongue: in which respect nature has coupled the corporeal voice and speech to the mind and intellect, making it the enunciative interpreter of the concepts of our intellect to those who hear, of which we must speak here. Words, then, are the most fitting medium between the one speaking and the one hearing, carrying with themselves not only the concept, but also transfusing the power of the speaker by a certain energy into the hearers — and not only into hearers, but also into certain other bodies and inanimate things. But those words are of greater efficacy above the rest which represent greater things — that is, intellectual, celestial, and supernatural things — the more expressly and, at the same time, the more mysteriously: and those which are instituted in a tongue of greater dignity, and of holier worth — for these, as it were certain signs and representations, or sacraments of celestial and supernatural things, obtain their force both from the power of the things they unfold, of which they are the vehicles, and from the power inherent in them from the power of the one instituting and uttering them.
Modern rendering
Having shown that great power lies in the soul's affections, we should also recognize that no less power lies in words and the names of things — and the greatest power of all in complex speech and formal orations. It is these, above all, that set us apart from animals and earn us the name "rational" — not by the kind of reason tied to the soul's basic responsiveness, the capacity for feeling that Galen says even animals share with us, some more and some less, but by the reason bound up with voice, words, and speech: what's called discursive reason, the one respect in which we truly outrank every other living thing. The Greek word logos, after all, means reason, speech, and word all at once. Word comes in two forms: internal and spoken. The internal word is a mental concept, a movement of the soul that happens in the thinking mind without any sound — the way we seem to talk and argue in dreams, or run silently through an entire speech while wide awake. The spoken word, by contrast, actually takes shape as voice and speech: produced with breath, an open mouth, and the motion of the tongue. Here nature has linked the physical voice and speech to mind and intellect, turning it into the means by which our inner concepts get interpreted to listeners — and that is our subject here. Words, then, are the ideal go-between for speaker and listener, carrying not just the idea itself but transmitting some of the speaker's own power, through a kind of energy, into whoever hears them — and not only into listeners, but into certain other bodies and lifeless things as well. Some words carry more force than others: those that represent greater realities — intellectual, celestial, beyond-nature things — more precisely and, at the same time, more mysteriously. And words set in a more dignified, more sacred language carry more force still. These function like signs, representations, even sacraments of celestial and supernatural realities, and they draw their power both from the things they unfold and serve as vehicles for, and from a force built into them by whoever established and speaks them.
Editorial flags — draft status
- lacuna: A short stretch bridging the end of one printed page and the start of the next ('Qa< verba J e st es et tranfnaruralesxu expreffius,tu my steriofius rcpraefentant: quaeque / Tndwrisltnt x..... r '. /.... J. r. x i.veffUtcU. a digmorc hngua,et lanctiori dignitate inftituta Iunt') is very badly OCR-mangled — likely a page-break artifact with running head debris mixed in. The Latin given for this stretch is a sense-reconstruction (words representing celestial/supernatural things more expressly and mysteriously; instituted in a more dignified and holier tongue) and should be verified against page images.
- uncertain: 'quibus poriflimum a brutis differimus' — 'poriflimum' restored as 'potissimum' (high confidence, standard word) but flagged for completeness.