Folio 82r - the nature of man, continued.
these terms and the faculties they represent are united in the soul, so that it is a single thing.
For different names are allocated to the soul in respect of its faculties. The memory, memoria, is also the intellect, mens; for this reason the forgetful are called 'mindless', amentes. When it gives life to the body, it is the soul, anima. When it wills something, it is the mind, animus. When it knows something, it is the intellect, mens. When it remembers, it is memory, memoria. When it judges what is right, it is reason, ratio. When it breathes, it is the life-giving spirit, spiritus. When it perceives or feels anything, it is sense, sensus. For the mind, animus, is called sense, sensus, on account of the things which it senses, sentire. For this reason, it is also known as the opinion, sententia.
The body, corpus, is so called because it perishes in a state of corruption, corruptum. For it can be reduced and die and at some time will decompose.
But flesh, caro, gets its name from creare, to create. For the semen of the male has the power of growth; the bodies of men and animals are conceived from it. For this reason parents are also referred to as 'creators'.
Flesh is composed of four elements. There is earth in the flesh itself, air in the breath, water in the blood, and fire in the living heat. For the elements each have their own part in us; if any part is withheld, the whole dissolves.
Flesh, caro, and the body, corpus, mean different things. There is always a body where there is flesh, but where there is a body there is not always flesh. For flesh is that which lives, the same as the body. But a body which is not alive is not the same as flesh. For we use the word 'body', corpus, to mean either something which, after life, is dead, or something which was created without life. Sometimes also a thing can have life yet be called a body, corpus, not flesh, caro, like grass or wood.
The body has five senses: sight, hearing, taste, smell and touch. Of these, two are opened and closed to sensations, two are always open.
The senses, sensus, are so called because through them the soul very delicately activates the whole body with the force of sensation, sentire. As a result we say things are 'present', presentia, because they are before, pre, the senses, as, for example, they are before the eyes.
Sight, visus, is what philosophers call humor vitreus. For
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Commentary
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Isidore on the body and flesh.
Comment
Quire mark 'M' in top right corner. Folio mark * bottom left.
Folio Attributes
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Transcription
hec nomina adiuncta sunt anime ut una res sit. Pro effi\cientiis enim causarum diversa nomina sortita est anima.\ Nam et memoria mens est. Unde et immemores amen\tes. Dum ergo vivificat corpus anima est. Dum vult\ animus est. Dum scit mens est. Dum recolit memoria est.\ Dum rectum iudicat, ratio est. Dum spirat spiritus est. Dum\ aliquid sentit sensus est. Nam inde animus sensus dicitur,\ pro his que sentit. Unde et sententia nomen accepit. Cor\pus dictum eo quod corruptum perit. Solubile enim atque\ mortale est, et aliquando solvendum. Caro enim a crean\do est appellata. Crementum enim semen est masculi,\ unde animalium et hominum corpora concipiuntur.\ Hinc et parentes creatores vocantur. Caro enim ex quatuor\ elementis compacta est. Nam terra in carne est, aer in alitu,\ humor in sanguine, ignis in calore vitali. Habent enim\ in nobis elementa queque suam partem, cuius quid debetur\ compage resoluta. Caro enim et corpus diversa significant.\ In carne semper corpus, non semper in corpore caro. Nam caro\ est quod vivit, idem et corpus. Corpus quod non vivit\ idem nec caro. Nam corpus dicitur aut quod post vitam est\ mortuum, aut sine vita est conditum. Interdum et eum [etiam]\ vita et corpus et non caro, ut herba et lignum. Sensus cor\poris quinque sunt, visus, auditus, gustus, odoratus et tac\tus. Ex quibus duo aperiuntur et clauduntur, duo semper\ patentes sunt. Sensus dicti, quia per eos anima subtilissime\ totum corpus agitatur, vigore sentiendi. Unde et presentia nun\cupantur quod sint pre sensibus sicut pre oculis. Visus est qui\ a philosophis humor vitreus appellatur. Visum enim\Translation
these terms and the faculties they represent are united in the soul, so that it is a single thing. For different names are allocated to the soul in respect of its faculties. The memory, memoria, is also the intellect, mens; for this reason the forgetful are called 'mindless', amentes. When it gives life to the body, it is the soul, anima. When it wills something, it is the mind, animus. When it knows something, it is the intellect, mens. When it remembers, it is memory, memoria. When it judges what is right, it is reason, ratio. When it breathes, it is the life-giving spirit, spiritus. When it perceives or feels anything, it is sense, sensus. For the mind, animus, is called sense, sensus, on account of the things which it senses, sentire. For this reason, it is also known as the opinion, sententia. The body, corpus, is so called because it perishes in a state of corruption, corruptum. For it can be reduced and die and at some time will decompose. But flesh, caro, gets its name from creare, to create. For the semen of the male has the power of growth; the bodies of men and animals are conceived from it. For this reason parents are also referred to as 'creators'. Flesh is composed of four elements. There is earth in the flesh itself, air in the breath, water in the blood, and fire in the living heat. For the elements each have their own part in us; if any part is withheld, the whole dissolves. Flesh, caro, and the body, corpus, mean different things. There is always a body where there is flesh, but where there is a body there is not always flesh. For flesh is that which lives, the same as the body. But a body which is not alive is not the same as flesh. For we use the word 'body', corpus, to mean either something which, after life, is dead, or something which was created without life. Sometimes also a thing can have life yet be called a body, corpus, not flesh, caro, like grass or wood. The body has five senses: sight, hearing, taste, smell and touch. Of these, two are opened and closed to sensations, two are always open. The senses, sensus, are so called because through them the soul very delicately activates the whole body with the force of sensation, sentire. As a result we say things are 'present', presentia, because they are before, pre, the senses, as, for example, they are before the eyes. Sight, visus, is what philosophers call humor vitreus. For