Relative and Absolute names.

Univocal and Equivocal names.

'All names are names of something, real or imaginary; but all things

have not names appropriated to them individually'.

While persons, remarkable places and events, have their distinguishing

or singular names, there is a multitude of common objects or ideas to which

we give a general name.  For example, 'book' is a general name; but if I wish

to designate a particular book I must either put together several names, as

'this book', or 'this red book' etc., or use a singular name as 'The Bible',

'An Alphabetical Analysis' etc.

'A general name is familiarly defined; a name which is capable of being

truly affirmed in the same sense, of each of an indefinite number of

things.  An individual or singular name is a name which is only capable

of being truly affirmed in the same sense, of one thing'.

'In the same sense'.  How needful it is before we attempt to teach the

truth of God's Word that we discover the 'sense' of its words, names or

ideas, and then adhere closely to it.  What havoc has been caused by a

failure to define beforehand, and to adhere afterwards, to such terms as

'divine', 'sin', 'faith', 'all', etc.

The second division of names is into those which are concrete and those

which are abstract:

'A concrete name is a name that stands for a thing; an abstract name is

a name which stands for an attribute of a thing'.

Thus 'Scripture' is concrete, while 'holy', being an attribute, is

abstract.  We will not spend time over this obvious division of names,

particularly as the next one demands more care and attention, viz.,

connotative and non -connotative names:

'The word "connote" comes from notare, "to mark"; connotare "to mark

with; to mark one thing with or in addition to another"'.

'A connotative term is one which denotes a subject and implies an

attribute.  Thus John, or London, or England, are names which signify a

subject only.  Whiteness, length, virtue, signify an attribute only.

None of these names, therefore, is connotative.  But, white, long,

virtuous, are connotative, for they denote a subject and imply an

Concrete and general names are connotative.  Take for instance the word

'man'.  It may denote the present writer, the reader, or a number of

individuals that form a definite class:

'It is applied to them because they possess, and to signify that they

possess, certain attributes.  These seem to be corporeity, animal life,

rationality, and a certain external form which for distinction we call

the human.  Every existing thing which possessed all these attributes,

would be called a man'.

There is a great deal more to be learned regarding this division of

names that perhaps will be better appreciated when we can apply ourselves to