Chapter 33

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I have always translated the word νοῦς, “intelligence” or “intellect.” It appears to be the word used by the oldest Greek philosophers to express the notion of “intelligence” as opposed to the notion of “matter.” I have always translated the word λόγος by “reason,” and λογικός by the word “rational,” or perhaps sometimes “reasonable,” as I have translated νοερός by the word “intellectual.” Every man who has thought and has read any philosophical writings knows the difficulty of finding words to express certain notions, how imperfectly words express these notions, and how carelessly the words are often used. The various senses of the word λόγος are enough to perplex any man. Our translators of the New Testament (St. John, c. 1.) have simply translated ὁ λόγος by “the word,” as the Germans translated it by “das Wort;” but in their theological writings they sometimes retain the original term Logos. The Germans have a term Vernunft, which seems to come nearest to our word Reason, or the necessary and absolute truths which we cannot conceive as being other than what they are. Such are what some people have called the laws of thought, the conceptions of space and of time, and axioms or first principles, which need no proof and cannot be proved or denied. Accordingly the Germans can say, “Gott ist die höchste Vernunft,” the Supreme Reason. The Germans have also a word Verstand, which seems to represent our word “understanding,” “intelligence,” “intellect,” not as a thing absolute which exists by itself, but as a thing connected with an individual being, as a man. Accordingly it is the capacity of receiving impressions (Vorstellungen, φαντασίαι), and forming from them distinct ideas (Begriffe), and perceiving differences. I do not think that these remarks will help the reader to theunderstanding of Antoninus, or his use of the words νοῦς and λόγος. The emperor’s meaning must be got from his own words, and if it does not agree altogether with modern notions, it is not our business to force it into agreement, but simply to find out what his meaning is, if we can.Justinus (ad Diognetum, c. vii.) says that the omnipotent, all-creating, and invisible God has fixed truth and the holy, incomprehensible Logos in men’s hearts; and this Logos is the architect and creator of the Universe. In the first Apology (c. xxxii.), he says that the seed (σπέρμα) from God is the Logos, which dwells in those who believe in God. So it appears that according to Justinus the Logos is only in such believers. In the second Apology (c. viii.) he speaks of the seed of the Logos being implanted in all mankind; but those who order their lives according to Logos, such as the Stoics, have only a portion of the Logos (κατὰ σπερματικοῦ λόγου μέρος), and have not the knowledge and contemplation of the entire Logos, which is Christ. Swedenborg’s remarks (Angelic Wisdom, 240) are worth comparing with Justinus. The modern philosopher in substance agrees with the ancient; but he is more precise.