ity
is "spoken" in the Word; and likewise also all creatures: as the
intellect of a man by the word he conceives in the act of
understanding a stone, speaks a stone. Anselm took the term "speak"
improperly for the act of understanding; whereas they really differ
from each other; for "to understand" means only the habitude of the
intelligent agent to the thing understood, in which habitude no trace
of origin is conveyed, but only a certain information of our
intellect; forasmuch as our intellect is made actual by the form of
the thing understood. In God, however, it means complete identity,
because in God the intellect and the thing understood are altogether
the same, as was proved above (Q. 14, AA. 4, 5). Whereas to "speak"
means chiefly the habitude to the word conceived; for "to speak" is
nothing but to utter a word. But by means of the word it imports a
habitude to the thing understood which in the word uttered is
manifested to the one who understands. Thus, only the Person who
utters the Word is "speaker" in God, although each Person understands
and is understood, and consequently is spoken by the Word.

Reply Obj. 4: The term "word" is there taken figuratively, as the
thing signified or effected by word is called word. For thus
creatures are said to do the word of God, as executing any effect,
whereto they are ordained from the word conceived of the divine
wisdom; as anyone is said to do the word of the king when he does the
work to which he is appointed by the king's word.
_______________________

SECOND ARTICLE [I, Q. 34, Art. 2]

Whether "Word" Is the Son's Proper Name?

Objection 1: It would seem that "Word" is not the proper name of the
Son. For the Son is a subsisting person in God. But word does not
signify a subsisting thing, as appears in ourselves. Therefore word
cannot be the proper name of the person of the Son.

Obj. 2: Further, the word proceeds from the speaker by being uttered.
Therefore if the Son is properly the word, He proceeds from the
Father, by way only of utterance; which is the heresy of Valentine;
as appears from Augustine (De Haeres. xi).

Obj. 3: Further, every proper name of a person signifies some
property of that person. Therefore, if the Word is the Son's proper
name, it signifies some property of His; and thus there will be
several more properties in God than those above mentioned.

Obj. 4: Further, whoever understands conceives a word in the act of
understanding. But the