De Abusu linguae Graecae

from symbolon, which, even if it were discovered to have this meaning somewhere, could by no means be said to have it properly. Even if what Donatus writes about that noun—namely, that it was devised by parasites—were not true, at least in the fact that he attributes this to them, he shows that he thinks it was compounded from the noun symbolē, not from symbolon, on account of the reason I have brought forward.

But that I think this error about the word symbolum is ingrained is caused by what is read in Saint Augustine concerning the symbolum creed/token of the Christian faith (which is also called the Apostolic symbol), that the meaning of contribution might be understood here by that word. He says, "Symbolum is a comprehension and perfection of our faith, simple, brief, full: so that simplicity may consult the rusticity of the listeners, brevity the memory, and fullness the doctrine." For what is called symbolum in Greek is called "collation" in Latin. "Collation, therefore, because the faith of the whole catholic law, gathered into one, is collected in the brevity of the symboli."

Perhaps, however, Saint Augustine (though I have observed him elsewhere not to pass on certain things pertaining to the Greek language quite accurately) was not so lapsed in memory while writing these things that he did not remember that symbolē, not symbolon, is what is "collation" to the Greeks; but