SECTION III.. _spirit._

Spirit.

Is not this word a striking proof of the imperfection of languages; of the chaos in which they still are, and the chance which has directed almost all our conceptions? It pleased the Greeks, as well as other nations, to give the name of wind, breath--"pneuma"--to that which they vaguely understand by respiration, life, soul. So that, among the ancients, soul and wind were, in one sense, the same thing; and if we were to say that man is a pneumatic machine, we should only translate the language of the Greeks. The Latins imitated them, and used the word "spiritus," spirit, breath. "Anima" and "spiritus" were the same thing.

The "rouhak" of the Phœnicians, and, as it is said, of the Chaldæans likewise, signified breath and wind. When the Bible was translated into Latin, the words, breath, spirit, wind, soul, were always used differently. "Spiritus Dei ferebatur super aquas"--the breath of God--the spirit of God--was borne on the waters.

"Spiritus vitæ"--the breath of life--the soul of life. "Inspiravit in faciem ejus spiraculum" or "spiritum vitæ"--And he breathed upon his face the breath of life; and, according to the Hebrew, he breathed into his nostrils the breath, the spirit, of life.

"Hæc quum dixisset, insufflavit et dixit eis, accipite spiritum sanctum"--Having spoken these words, he breathed on them, and said: Receive ye the holy breath--the holy spirit.

"Spiritus ubi vult spirat, et vocem ejus audis; sed nescis unde veniat"--The spirit, the wind, breathes where it will, and thou hearest its voice (sound); but thou knowest not whence it comes.

The distance is somewhat considerable between this and our pamphlets of the Quay des Augustins and the Pont-neuf, entitled, "Spirit of Marivaux," "Spirit of Desfontaines," etc.

What we commonly understand in French by "esprit," "bel-esprit," "trait d'esprit," are--ingenious thoughts. No other nation has made the same use of the word "spiritus." The Latins said "ingenium"; the Greeks, "eupheuia"; or they employed adjectives. The Spaniards say "agudo," "agudeza." The Italians commonly use the term "ingegno."

The English make use of the words "wit," "witty," the etymology of which is good; for "witty" formerly signified "wise." The Germans say "verständig"; and when they mean to express ingenious, lively, agreeable thoughts, they say "rich in sensations"--"sinnreich." Hence it is that the English, who have retained many of the expressions of the ancient Germanic and French tongue, say, "sensible man." Thus almost all the words that express ideas of the understanding are metaphors.

"Ingegno," "ingenium," comes from "that which generates"; "agudeza," from "that which is pointed"; "sinnreich," from "sensations"; "spirit," from "wind"; and "wit," from "wisdom."

In every language, the word that answers to spirit in general is of several kinds; and when you are told that such a one is a "man of spirit," you have a right to ask: Of what spirit?

Girard, in his useful book of definitions, entitled "French Synonymes," thus concludes: "In our intercourse with women, it is necessary to have wit, or a jargon which has the appearance of it. (This is not doing them honor; they deserve better.) Understanding is in demand with politicians and courtiers." It seems to me that understanding is necessary everywhere, and that it is very extraordinary to hear of understanding in demand.

"Genius is proper with people of project and expense." Either I am mistaken, or the genius of Corneille was made for all spectators--the genius of Bossuet for all auditors--yet more than for people of expense.

The wind, which answers to "Spiritus,"--spirit, wind, breath--necessarily giving to all nations the idea of air, they all supposed that our faculty of thinking and acting--that which animates us--is air; whence our "souls are a subtile air." Hence, manes, spirits, ghosts, shades, are composed of air.

Hence we used to say, not long ago, "A 'spirit' has appeared to him; he has a 'familiar spirit;' that castle is haunted by 'spirits;'" and the populace say so still.

The word "spiritus" has hardly ever been used in this sense, except in the translations of the Hebrew books into bad Latin.

"Manes," "umbra," "simulacra," are the expressions of Cicero and Virgil. The Germans say, "geist"; the English, "ghost"; the Spaniards, "duende," "trasgo"; the Italians appear to have no term signifying ghost. The French alone have made use of the word "spirit" (esprit). The words for all nations should be, "phantom," "imagination," "reverie," "folly," "knavery."