[70] Two gifts have been already spoken of, which are these, a hope held out of a life of contemplation, and progress towards abundance and “greatness” of things fair and beautiful. A third gift is “blessing” or excellence of reason and speech, and apart from this it is not possible to make the former gracious gifts secure. He says “And I will bless thee,” i.e. “I will endow thee with excellent reason and speech.” “Blessing” or “eulogy” is a word compounded of “well” and “logos.”
[71] Of these, “well” connotes nothing but excellence: “logos” has two aspects, one resembling a spring, the other its outflow; “logos” in the understanding resembles a spring, and is called “reason,” while utterance by mouth and tongue is like its outflow, and is called “speech.” That each species of logos should be improved is vast wealth, the understanding having good reasoning at its command for all things great and small, and utterance being under the guidance of right training.
[72] For many reason excellently, but find speech a bad interpreter of thought and are by it betrayed, through not having had a thorough grounding in the ordinary subjects of culture. Others, again, have shewn great ability in expounding themes, and yet been most evil thinkers, such as the so-called sophists; for the understanding of these men is wholly untrained by the Muses, whose united voice is heard in the output of the vocal organs.
[73] But God bestows on those who obey Him no imperfect boon. All His gifts are full and complete. And so, in this case also, He does not send the blessing or “logos-excellence” in one division of logos, but in both its parts, for He holds it just that the recipient of His bounty should both conceive the noblest conceptions and give masterly expression to his ideas. For perfection depends, as we know, on both divisions of logos, the reason which suggests the ideas with clearness, and the speech which gives unfailing expression to them.
[74] Do you not notice Abel, whose name stands for one to whom things mortal are a grief and things immortal are full of happiness, how, though he has the advantage of a faultless understanding, yet through lack of training in speaking he is worsted by Cain, a clever wrestler able to prevail by skill rather than strength?
[75] Wherefore, admiring as I do his character for its rich natural endowment, I find fault with him in so far as, when challenged to a contest of words, he came forward to engage in it, whereas he ought to have maintained his wonted quietude, totally disregarding his quarrelsome brother; and, if he was quite bent on fighting it out, not to have entered the lists until he had had some practice in scientific grips and tricks; for village sages usually get the worst of it when they encounter those who have acquired the cleverness of the town.