1
Thingsaresaidtobenamed'equivocally'when,thoughtheyhaveacommonname,thedefinitioncorrespondingwiththenamediffersforeach。Thus,arealmanandafigureinapicturecanbothlayclaimtothename'animal';yettheseareequivocallysonamed,for,thoughtheyhaveacommonname,thedefinitioncorrespondingwiththenamediffersforeach。Forshouldanyonedefineinwhatsenseeachisananimal,hisdefinitionintheonecasewillbeappropriatetothatcaseonly。
Ontheotherhand,thingsaresaidtobenamed'univocally'whichhaveboththenameandthedefinitionansweringtothenameincommon。
Amanandanoxareboth'animal',andtheseareunivocallysonamed,inasmuchasnotonlythename,butalsothedefinition,isthesameinbothcases:forifamanshouldstateinwhatsenseeachisananimal,thestatementintheonecasewouldbeidenticalwiththatintheother。
Thingsaresaidtobenamed'derivatively',whichderivetheirnamefromsomeothername,butdifferfromitintermination。Thusthegrammarianderiveshisnamefromtheword'grammar',andthecourageousmanfromtheword'courage'。
2
Formsofspeechareeithersimpleorcomposite。Examplesofthelatteraresuchexpressionsas'themanruns','themanwins';oftheformer'man','ox','runs','wins'。
Ofthingsthemselvessomearepredicableofasubject,andareneverpresentinasubject。Thus'man'ispredicableoftheindividualman,andisneverpresentinasubject。
Bybeing'presentinasubject'Idonotmeanpresentaspartsarepresentinawhole,butbeingincapableofexistenceapartfromthesaidsubject。
Somethings,again,arepresentinasubject,butareneverpredicableofasubject。Forinstance,acertainpointofgrammaticalknowledgeispresentinthemind,butisnotpredicableofanysubject;oragain,acertainwhitenessmaybepresentinthebody(forcolourrequiresamaterialbasis),yetitisneverpredicableofanything。
Otherthings,again,arebothpredicableofasubjectandpresentinasubject。Thuswhileknowledgeispresentinthehumanmind,itispredicableofgrammar。
Thereis,lastly,aclassofthingswhichareneitherpresentinasubjectnorpredicableofasubject,suchastheindividualmanortheindividualhorse。But,tospeakmoregenerally,thatwhichisindividualandhasthecharacterofaunitisneverpredicableofasubject。Yetinsomecasesthereisnothingtopreventsuchbeingpresentinasubject。Thusacertainpointofgrammaticalknowledgeispresentinasubject。
3
Whenonethingispredicatedofanother,allthatwhichispredicableofthepredicatewillbepredicablealsoofthesubject。
Thus,'man'ispredicatedoftheindividualman;but'animal'ispredicatedof'man';itwill,therefore,bepredicableoftheindividualmanalso:fortheindividualmanisboth'man'and'animal'。
Ifgeneraaredifferentandco-ordinate,theirdifferentiaearethemselvesdifferentinkind。Takeasaninstancethegenus'animal'
andthegenus'knowledge'。'Withfeet','two-footed','winged','aquatic',aredifferentiaeof'animal';thespeciesofknowledgearenotdistinguishedbythesamedifferentiae。Onespeciesofknowledgedoesnotdifferfromanotherinbeing'two-footed'。
Butwhereonegenusissubordinatetoanother,thereisnothingtopreventtheirhavingthesamedifferentiae:forthegreaterclassispredicatedofthelesser,sothatallthedifferentiaeofthepredicatewillbedifferentiaealsoofthesubject。
4
Expressionswhichareinnowaycompositesignifysubstance,quantity,quality,relation,place,time,position,state,action,oraffection。Tosketchmymeaningroughly,examplesofsubstanceare'man'or'thehorse',ofquantity,suchtermsas'twocubitslong'
or'threecubitslong',ofquality,suchattributesas'white','grammatical'。'Double','half','greater',fallunderthecategoryofrelation;'inamarketplace','intheLyceum',underthatofplace;'yesterday','lastyear',underthatoftime。'Lying','sitting',aretermsindicatingposition,'shod','armed',state;
'tolance','tocauterize',action;'tobelanced','tobecauterized',affection。
Nooneoftheseterms,inandbyitself,involvesanaffirmation;itisbythecombinationofsuchtermsthatpositiveornegativestatementsarise。Foreveryassertionmust,asisadmitted,beeithertrueorfalse,whereasexpressionswhicharenotinanywaycompositesuchas'man','white','runs','wins',cannotbeeithertrueorfalse。
5
Substance,inthetruestandprimaryandmostdefinitesenseoftheword,isthatwhichisneitherpredicableofasubjectnorpresentinasubject;forinstance,theindividualmanorhorse。Butinasecondarysensethosethingsarecalledsubstanceswithinwhich,asspecies,theprimarysubstancesareincluded;alsothosewhich,asgenera,includethespecies。Forinstance,theindividualmanisincludedinthespecies'man',andthegenustowhichthespeciesbelongsis'animal';these,therefore-thatistosay,thespecies'man'andthegenus'animal,-aretermedsecondarysubstances。
Itisplainfromwhathasbeensaidthatboththenameandthedefinitionofthepredicatemustbepredicableofthesubject。Forinstance,'man'ispredictedoftheindividualman。Nowinthiscasethenameofthespeciesman'isappliedtotheindividual,forweusetheterm'man'indescribingtheindividual;andthedefinitionof'man'willalsobepredicatedoftheindividualman,fortheindividualmanisbothmanandanimal。Thus,boththenameandthedefinitionofthespeciesarepredicableoftheindividual。
Withregard,ontheotherhand,tothosethingswhicharepresentinasubject,itisgenerallythecasethatneithertheirnamenortheirdefinitionispredicableofthatinwhichtheyarepresent。
Though,however,thedefinitionisneverpredicable,thereisnothingincertaincasestopreventthenamebeingused。Forinstance,'white'beingpresentinabodyispredicatedofthatinwhichitispresent,forabodyiscalledwhite:thedefinition,however,ofthecolourwhite'isneverpredicableofthebody。
Everythingexceptprimarysubstancesiseitherpredicableofaprimarysubstanceorpresentinaprimarysubstance。Thisbecomesevidentbyreferencetoparticularinstanceswhichoccur。'Animal'
ispredicatedofthespecies'man',thereforeoftheindividualman,foriftherewerenoindividualmanofwhomitcouldbepredicated,itcouldnotbepredicatedofthespecies'man'atall。Again,colourispresentinbody,thereforeinindividualbodies,foriftherewerenoindividualbodyinwhichitwaspresent,itcouldnotbepresentinbodyatall。Thuseverythingexceptprimarysubstancesiseitherpredicatedofprimarysubstances,orispresentinthem,andiftheselastdidnotexist,itwouldbeimpossibleforanythingelsetoexist。
Ofsecondarysubstances,thespeciesismoretrulysubstancethanthegenus,beingmorenearlyrelatedtoprimarysubstance。Forifanyoneshouldrenderanaccountofwhataprimarysubstanceis,hewouldrenderamoreinstructiveaccount,andonemorepropertothesubject,bystatingthespeciesthanbystatingthegenus。Thus,hewouldgiveamoreinstructiveaccountofanindividualmanbystatingthathewasmanthanbystatingthathewasanimal,fortheformerdescriptionispeculiartotheindividualinagreaterdegree,whilethelatteristoogeneral。Again,themanwhogivesanaccountofthenatureofanindividualtreewillgiveamoreinstructiveaccountbymentioningthespecies'tree'thanbymentioningthegenus'plant'。
Moreover,primarysubstancesaremostproperlycalledsubstancesinvirtueofthefactthattheyaretheentitieswhichunderlieevery。
else,andthateverythingelseiseitherpredicatedofthemorpresentinthem。Nowthesamerelationwhichsubsistsbetweenprimarysubstanceandeverythingelsesubsistsalsobetweenthespeciesandthegenus:forthespeciesistothegenusassubjectistopredicate,sincethegenusispredicatedofthespecies,whereasthespeciescannotbepredicatedofthegenus。Thuswehaveasecondgroundforassertingthatthespeciesismoretrulysubstancethanthegenus。
Ofspeciesthemselves,exceptinthecaseofsuchasaregenera,nooneismoretrulysubstancethananother。Weshouldnotgiveamoreappropriateaccountoftheindividualmanbystatingthespeciestowhichhebelonged,thanweshouldofanindividualhorsebyadoptingthesamemethodofdefinition。Inthesameway,ofprimarysubstances,nooneismoretrulysubstancethananother;anindividualmanisnotmoretrulysubstancethananindividualox。
Itis,then,withgoodreasonthatofallthatremains,whenweexcludeprimarysubstances,weconcedetospeciesandgeneraalonethename'secondarysubstance',forthesealoneofallthepredicatesconveyaknowledgeofprimarysubstance。Foritisbystatingthespeciesorthegenusthatweappropriatelydefineanyindividualman;andweshallmakeourdefinitionmoreexactbystatingtheformerthanbystatingthelatter。Allotherthingsthatwestate,suchasthatheiswhite,thatheruns,andsoon,areirrelevanttothedefinition。Thusitisjustthatthesealone,apartfromprimarysubstances,shouldbecalledsubstances。
Further,primarysubstancesaremostproperlysocalled,becausetheyunderlieandarethesubjectsofeverythingelse。Nowthesamerelationthatsubsistsbetweenprimarysubstanceandeverythingelsesubsistsalsobetweenthespeciesandthegenustowhichtheprimarysubstancebelongs,ontheonehand,andeveryattributewhichisnotincludedwithinthese,ontheother。Forthesearethesubjectsofallsuch。Ifwecallanindividualman'skilledingrammar',thepredicateisapplicablealsotothespeciesandtothegenustowhichhebelongs。Thislawholdsgoodinallcases。
Itisacommoncharacteristicofallsub。stancethatitisneverpresentinasubject。Forprimarysubstanceisneitherpresentinasubjectnorpredicatedofasubject;while,withregardtosecondarysubstances,itisclearfromthefollowingarguments(apartfromothers)thattheyarenotpresentinasubject。For'man'ispredicatedoftheindividualman,butisnotpresentinanysubject:
formanhoodisnotpresentintheindividualman。Inthesameway,'animal'isalsopredicatedoftheindividualman,butisnotpresentinhim。Again,whenathingispresentinasubject,thoughthenamemayquitewellbeappliedtothatinwhichitispresent,thedefinitioncannotbeapplied。Yetofsecondarysubstances,notonlythename,butalsothedefinition,appliestothesubject:weshoulduseboththedefinitionofthespeciesandthatofthegenuswithreferencetotheindividualman。Thussubstancecannotbepresentinasubject。
Yetthisisnotpeculiartosubstance,foritisalsothecasethatdifferentiaecannotbepresentinsubjects。Thecharacteristics'terrestrial'and'two-footed'arepredicatedofthespecies'man',butnotpresentinit。Fortheyarenotinman。Moreover,thedefinitionofthedifferentiamaybepredicatedofthatofwhichthedifferentiaitselfispredicated。Forinstance,ifthecharacteristic'terrestrial'ispredicatedofthespecies'man',thedefinitionalsoofthatcharacteristicmaybeusedtoformthepredicateofthespecies'man':for'man'isterrestrial。
Thefactthatthepartsofsubstancesappeartobepresentinthewhole,asinasubject,shouldnotmakeusapprehensivelestweshouldhavetoadmitthatsuchpartsarenotsubstances:forinexplainingthephrase'beingpresentinasubject',westated'thatwemeant'otherwisethanaspartsinawhole'。
Itisthemarkofsubstancesandofdifferentiaethat,inallpropositionsofwhichtheyformthepredicate,theyarepredicatedunivocally。Forallsuchpropositionshavefortheirsubjecteithertheindividualorthespecies。Itistruethat,inasmuchasprimarysubstanceisnotpredicableofanything,itcanneverformthepredicateofanyproposition。Butofsecondarysubstances,thespeciesispredicatedoftheindividual,thegenusbothofthespeciesandoftheindividual。Similarlythedifferentiaearepredicatedofthespeciesandoftheindividuals。Moreover,thedefinitionofthespeciesandthatofthegenusareapplicabletotheprimarysubstance,andthatofthegenustothespecies。Forallthatispredicatedofthepredicatewillbepredicatedalsoofthesubject。Similarly,thedefinitionofthedifferentiaewillbeapplicabletothespeciesandtotheindividuals。Butitwasstatedabovethattheword'univocal'
wasappliedtothosethingswhichhadbothnameanddefinitionincommon。Itis,therefore,establishedthatineveryproposition,ofwhicheithersubstanceoradifferentiaformsthepredicate,thesearepredicatedunivocally。
Allsubstanceappearstosignifythatwhichisindividual。Inthecaseofprimarysubstancethisisindisputablytrue,forthethingisaunit。Inthecaseofsecondarysubstances,whenwespeak,forinstance,of'man'or'animal',ourformofspeechgivestheimpressionthatweareherealsoindicatingthatwhichisindividual,buttheimpressionisnotstrictlytrue;forasecondarysubstanceisnotanindividual,butaclasswithacertainqualification;foritisnotoneandsingleasaprimarysubstanceis;
thewords'man','animal',arepredicableofmorethanonesubject。
Yetspeciesandgenusdonotmerelyindicatequality,liketheterm'white';'white'indicatesqualityandnothingfurther,butspeciesandgenusdeterminethequalitywithreferencetoasubstance:
theysignifysubstancequalitativelydifferentiated。Thedeterminatequalificationcoversalargerfieldinthecaseofthegenusthatinthatofthespecies:hewhousestheword'animal'ishereinusingawordofwiderextensionthanhewhousestheword'man'。
Anothermarkofsubstanceisthatithasnocontrary。Whatcouldbethecontraryofanyprimarysubstance,suchastheindividualmanoranimal?Ithasnone。Norcanthespeciesorthegenushaveacontrary。Yetthischaracteristicisnotpeculiartosubstance,butistrueofmanyotherthings,suchasquantity。Thereisnothingthatformsthecontraryof'twocubitslong'orof'threecubitslong',orof'ten',orofanysuchterm。Amanmaycontendthat'much'isthecontraryof'little',or'great'of'small',butofdefinitequantitativetermsnocontraryexists。
Substance,again,doesnotappeartoadmitofvariationofdegree。I
donotmeanbythisthatonesubstancecannotbemoreorlesstrulysubstancethananother,forithasalreadybeenstated'thatthisisthecase;butthatnosinglesubstanceadmitsofvaryingdegreeswithinitself。Forinstance,oneparticularsubstance,'man',cannotbemoreorlessmaneitherthanhimselfatsomeothertimeorthansomeotherman。Onemancannotbemoremanthananother,asthatwhichiswhitemaybemoreorlesswhitethansomeotherwhiteobject,orasthatwhichisbeautifulmaybemoreorlessbeautifulthansomeotherbeautifulobject。Thesamequality,moreover,issaidtosubsistinathinginvaryingdegreesatdifferenttimes。Abody,beingwhite,issaidtobewhiteratonetimethanitwasbefore,or,beingwarm,issaidtobewarmerorlesswarmthanatsomeothertime。Butsubstanceisnotsaidtobemoreorlessthatwhichitis:amanisnotmoretrulyamanatonetimethanhewasbefore,norisanything,ifitissubstance,moreorlesswhatitis。Substance,then,doesnotadmitofvariationofdegree。
Themostdistinctivemarkofsubstanceappearstobethat,whileremainingnumericallyoneandthesame,itiscapableofadmittingcontraryqualities。Fromamongthingsotherthansubstance,weshouldfindourselvesunabletobringforwardanywhichpossessedthismark。Thus,oneandthesamecolourcannotbewhiteandblack。Norcanthesameoneactionbegoodandbad:thislawholdsgoodwitheverythingthatisnotsubstance。Butoneandtheselfsamesubstance,whileretainingitsidentity,isyetcapableofadmittingcontraryqualities。Thesameindividualpersonisatonetimewhite,atanotherblack,atonetimewarm,atanothercold,atonetimegood,atanotherbad。Thiscapacityisfoundnowhereelse,thoughitmightbemaintainedthatastatementoropinionwasanexceptiontotherule。Thesamestatement,itisagreed,canbebothtrueandfalse。
Forifthestatement'heissitting'istrue,yet,whenthepersoninquestionhasrisen,thesamestatementwillbefalse。Thesameappliestoopinions。Forifanyonethinkstrulythatapersonissitting,yet,whenthatpersonhasrisen,thissameopinion,ifstillheld,willbefalse。Yetalthoughthisexceptionmaybeallowed,thereis,nevertheless,adifferenceinthemannerinwhichthethingtakesplace。Itisbythemselveschangingthatsubstancesadmitcontraryqualities。Itisthusthatthatwhichwashotbecomescold,forithasenteredintoadifferentstate。Similarlythatwhichwaswhitebecomesblack,andthatwhichwasbadgood,byaprocessofchange;andinthesamewayinallothercasesitisbychangingthatsubstancesarecapableofadmittingcontraryqualities。Butstatementsandopinionsthemselvesremainunalteredinallrespects:itisbythealterationinthefactsofthecasethatthecontraryqualitycomestobetheirs。Thestatement'heissitting'
remainsunaltered,butitisatonetimetrue,atanotherfalse,accordingtocircumstances。Whathasbeensaidofstatementsappliesalsotoopinions。Thus,inrespectofthemannerinwhichthethingtakesplace,itisthepeculiarmarkofsubstancethatitshouldbecapableofadmittingcontraryqualities;foritisbyitselfchangingthatitdoesso。
If,then,amanshouldmakethisexceptionandcontendthatstatementsandopinionsarecapableofadmittingcontraryqualities,hiscontentionisunsound。Forstatementsandopinionsaresaidtohavethiscapacity,notbecausetheythemselvesundergomodification,butbecausethismodificationoccursinthecaseofsomethingelse。Thetruthorfalsityofastatementdependsonfacts,andnotonanypoweronthepartofthestatementitselfofadmittingcontraryqualities。Inshort,thereisnothingwhichcanalterthenatureofstatementsandopinions。As,then,nochangetakesplaceinthemselves,thesecannotbesaidtobecapableofadmittingcontraryqualities。
Butitisbyreasonofthemodificationwhichtakesplacewithinthesubstanceitselfthatasubstanceissaidtobecapableofadmittingcontraryqualities;forasubstanceadmitswithinitselfeitherdiseaseorhealth,whitenessorblackness。Itisinthissensethatitissaidtobecapableofadmittingcontraryqualities。
Tosumup,itisadistinctivemarkofsubstance,that,whileremainingnumericallyoneandthesame,itiscapableofadmittingcontraryqualities,themodificationtakingplacethroughachangeinthesubstanceitself。
Lettheseremarkssufficeonthesubjectofsubstance。
6
Quantityiseitherdiscreteorcontinuous。Moreover,somequantitiesaresuchthateachpartofthewholehasarelativepositiontotheotherparts:othershavewithinthemnosuchrelationofparttopart。
Instancesofdiscretequantitiesarenumberandspeech;ofcontinuous,lines,surfaces,solids,and,besidesthese,timeandplace。
Inthecaseofthepartsofanumber,thereisnocommonboundaryatwhichtheyjoin。Forexample:twofivesmaketen,butthetwofiveshavenocommonboundary,butareseparate;thepartsthreeandsevenalsodonotjoinatanyboundary。Nor,togeneralize,woulditeverbepossibleinthecaseofnumberthatthereshouldbeacommonboundaryamongtheparts;theyarealwaysseparate。Number,therefore,isadiscretequantity。
Thesameistrueofspeech。Thatspeechisaquantityisevident:
foritismeasuredinlongandshortsyllables。Imeanherethatspeechwhichisvocal。Moreover,itisadiscretequantityforitspartshavenocommonboundary。Thereisnocommonboundaryatwhichthesyllablesjoin,buteachisseparateanddistinctfromtherest。
Aline,ontheotherhand,isacontinuousquantity,foritispossibletofindacommonboundaryatwhichitspartsjoin。Inthecaseoftheline,thiscommonboundaryisthepoint;inthecaseoftheplane,itistheline:forthepartsoftheplanehavealsoacommonboundary。Similarlyyoucanfindacommonboundaryinthecaseofthepartsofasolid,namelyeitheralineoraplane。
Spaceandtimealsobelongtothisclassofquantities。Time,past,present,andfuture,formsacontinuouswhole。Space,likewise,isacontinuousquantity;forthepartsofasolidoccupyacertainspace,andthesehaveacommonboundary;itfollowsthatthepartsofspacealso,whichareoccupiedbythepartsofthesolid,havethesamecommonboundaryasthepartsofthesolid。Thus,notonlytime,butspacealso,isacontinuousquantity,foritspartshaveacommonboundary。
Quantitiesconsisteitherofpartswhichbeararelativepositioneachtoeach,orofpartswhichdonot。Thepartsofalinebeararelativepositiontoeachother,foreachliessomewhere,anditwouldbepossibletodistinguisheach,andtostatethepositionofeachontheplaneandtoexplaintowhatsortofpartamongtheresteachwascontiguous。Similarlythepartsofaplanehaveposition,foritcouldsimilarlybestatedwhatwasthepositionofeachandwhatsortofpartswerecontiguous。Thesameistruewithregardtothesolidandtospace。Butitwouldbeimpossibletoshowthattheartsofanumberhadarelativepositioneachtoeach,oraparticularposition,ortostatewhatpartswerecontiguous。Norcouldthisbedoneinthecaseoftime,fornoneofthepartsoftimehasanabidingexistence,andthatwhichdoesnotabidecanhardlyhaveposition。
Itwouldbebettertosaythatsuchpartshadarelativeorder,invirtueofonebeingpriortoanother。Similarlywithnumber:incounting,'one'ispriorto'two',and'two'to'three',andthusthepartsofnumbermaybesaidtopossessarelativeorder,thoughitwouldbeimpossibletodiscoveranydistinctpositionforeach。Thisholdsgoodalsointhecaseofspeech。Noneofitspartshasanabidingexistence:whenonceasyllableispronounced,itisnotpossibletoretainit,sothat,naturally,asthepartsdonotabide,theycannothaveposition。Thus,somequantitiesconsistofpartswhichhaveposition,andsomeofthosewhichhavenot。
Strictlyspeaking,onlythethingswhichIhavementionedbelongtothecategoryofquantity:everythingelsethatiscalledquantitativeisaquantityinasecondarysense。Itisbecausewehaveinmindsomeoneofthesequantities,properlysocalled,thatweapplyquantitativetermstootherthings。Wespeakofwhatiswhiteaslarge,becausethesurfaceoverwhichthewhiteextendsislarge;wespeakofanactionoraprocessaslengthy,becausethetimecoveredislong;thesethingscannotintheirownrightclaimthequantitativeepithet。Forinstance,shouldanyoneexplainhowlonganactionwas,hisstatementwouldbemadeintermsofthetimetaken,totheeffectthatitlastedayear,orsomethingofthatsort。Inthesameway,hewouldexplainthesizeofawhiteobjectintermsofsurface,forhewouldstatetheareawhichitcovered。Thusthethingsalreadymentioned,andthesealone,areintheirintrinsicnaturequantities;nothingelsecanclaimthenameinitsownright,but,ifatall,onlyinasecondarysense。
Quantitieshavenocontraries。Inthecaseofdefinitequantitiesthisisobvious;thus,thereisnothingthatisthecontraryof'twocubitslong'orof'threecubitslong',orofasurface,orofanysuchquantities。Amanmight,indeed,arguethat'much'wasthecontraryof'little',and'great'of'small'。Butthesearenotquantitative,butrelative;thingsarenotgreatorsmallabsolutely,theyaresocalledratherastheresultofanactofcomparison。Forinstance,amountainiscalledsmall,agrainlarge,invirtueofthefactthatthelatterisgreaterthanothersofitskind,theformerless。Thusthereisareferenceheretoanexternalstandard,foriftheterms'great'and'small'wereusedabsolutely,amountainwouldneverbecalledsmalloragrainlarge。Again,wesaythattherearemanypeopleinavillage,andfewinAthens,althoughthoseinthecityaremanytimesasnumerousasthoseinthevillage:orwesaythatahousehasmanyinit,andatheatrefew,thoughthoseinthetheatrefaroutnumberthoseinthehouse。Theterms'twocubitslong,"threecubitslong,'andsoonindicatequantity,theterms'great'and'small'indicaterelation,fortheyhavereferencetoanexternalstandard。Itis,therefore,plainthatthesearetobeclassedasrelative。
Again,whetherwedefinethemasquantitativeornot,theyhavenocontraries:forhowcantherebeacontraryofanattributewhichisnottobeapprehendedinorbyitself,butonlybyreferencetosomethingexternal?Again,if'great'and'small'arecontraries,itwillcomeaboutthatthesamesubjectcanadmitcontraryqualitiesatoneandthesametime,andthatthingswillthemselvesbecontrarytothemselves。Forithappensattimesthatthesamethingisbothsmallandgreat。Forthesamethingmaybesmallincomparisonwithonething,andgreatincomparisonwithanother,sothatthesamethingcomestobebothsmallandgreatatoneandthesametime,andisofsuchanatureastoadmitcontraryqualitiesatoneandthesamemoment。Yetitwasagreed,whensubstancewasbeingdiscussed,thatnothingadmitscontraryqualitiesatoneandthesamemoment。Forthoughsubstanceiscapableofadmittingcontraryqualities,yetnooneisatthesametimebothsickandhealthy,nothingisatthesametimebothwhiteandblack。Noristhereanythingwhichisqualifiedincontrarywaysatoneandthesametime。
Moreover,ifthesewerecontraries,theywouldthemselvesbecontrarytothemselves。Forif'great'isthecontraryof'small',andthesamethingisbothgreatandsmallatthesametime,then'small'or'great'isthecontraryofitself。Butthisisimpossible。Theterm'great',therefore,isnotthecontraryoftheterm'small',nor'much'of'little'。Andeventhoughamanshouldcallthesetermsnotrelativebutquantitative,theywouldnothavecontraries。
Itisinthecaseofspacethatquantitymostplausiblyappearstoadmitofacontrary。Formendefinetheterm'above'asthecontraryof'below',whenitistheregionatthecentretheymeanby'below';andthisisso,becausenothingisfartherfromtheextremitiesoftheuniversethantheregionatthecentre。Indeed,itseemsthatindefiningcontrariesofeverykindmenhaverecoursetoaspatialmetaphor,fortheysaythatthosethingsarecontrarieswhich,withinthesameclass,areseparatedbythegreatestpossibledistance。
Quantitydoesnot,itappears,admitofvariationofdegree。Onethingcannotbetwocubitslonginagreaterdegreethananother。
Similarlywithregardtonumber:whatis'three'isnotmoretrulythreethanwhatis'five'isfive;norisonesetofthreemoretrulythreethananotherset。Again,oneperiodoftimeisnotsaidtobemoretrulytimethananother。Noristhereanyotherkindofquantity,ofallthathavebeenmentioned,withregardtowhichvariationofdegreecanbepredicated。Thecategoryofquantity,therefore,doesnotadmitofvariationofdegree。
Themostdistinctivemarkofquantityisthatequalityandinequalityarepredicatedofit。Eachoftheaforesaidquantitiesissaidtobeequalorunequal。Forinstance,onesolidissaidtobeequalorunequaltoanother;number,too,andtimecanhavethesetermsappliedtothem,indeedcanallthosekindsofquantitythathavebeenmentioned。
Thatwhichisnotaquantitycanbynomeans,itwouldseem,betermedequalorunequaltoanythingelse。Oneparticulardispositionoroneparticularquality,suchaswhiteness,isbynomeanscomparedwithanotherintermsofequalityandinequalitybutratherintermsofsimilarity。Thusitisthedistinctivemarkofquantitythatitcanbecalledequalandunequal。
7
Thosethingsarecalledrelative,which,beingeithersaidtobeofsomethingelseorrelatedtosomethingelse,areexplainedbyreferencetothatotherthing。Forinstance,theword'superior'isexplainedbyreferencetosomethingelse,foritissuperiorityoversomethingelsethatismeant。Similarly,theexpression'double'hasthisexternalreference,foritisthedoubleofsomethingelsethatismeant。Soitiswitheverythingelseofthiskind。Thereare,moreover,otherrelatives,e。g。habit,disposition,perception,knowledge,andattitude。Thesignificanceofalltheseisexplainedbyareferencetosomethingelseandinnootherway。Thus,ahabitisahabitofsomething,knowledgeisknowledgeofsomething,attitudeistheattitudeofsomething。Soitiswithallotherrelativesthathavebeenmentioned。Thoseterms,then,arecalledrelative,thenatureofwhichisexplainedbyreferencetosomethingelse,thepreposition'of'orsomeotherprepositionbeingusedtoindicatetherelation。Thus,onemountainiscalledgreatincomparisonwithsonwithanother;forthemountainclaimsthisattributebycomparisonwithsomething。Again,thatwhichiscalledsimilarmustbesimilartosomethingelse,andallothersuchattributeshavethisexternalreference。Itistobenotedthatlyingandstandingandsittingareparticularattitudes,butattitudeisitselfarelativeterm。Tolie,tostand,tobeseated,arenotthemselvesattitudes,buttaketheirnamefromtheaforesaidattitudes。
Itispossibleforrelativestohavecontraries。Thusvirtuehasacontrary,vice,thesebothbeingrelatives;knowledge,too,hasacontrary,ignorance。Butthisisnotthemarkofallrelatives;
'double'and'triple'havenocontrary,norindeedhasanysuchterm。
Italsoappearsthatrelativescanadmitofvariationofdegree。For'like'and'unlike','equal'and'unequal',havethemodifications'more'and'less'appliedtothem,andeachoftheseisrelativeincharacter:fortheterms'like'and'unequal'bear'unequal'bearareferencetosomethingexternal。Yet,again,itisnoteveryrelativetermthatadmitsofvariationofdegree。Notermsuchas'double'admitsofthismodification。Allrelativeshavecorrelatives:
bytheterm'slave'wemeantheslaveofamaster,bytheterm'master',themasterofaslave;by'double',thedoubleofitshall;by'half',thehalfofitsdouble;by'greater',greaterthanthatwhichisless;by'less,'lessthanthatwhichisgreater。
Soitiswitheveryotherrelativeterm;butthecaseweusetoexpressthecorrelationdiffersinsomeinstances。Thus,byknowledgewemeanknowledgetheknowable;bytheknowable,thatwhichistobeapprehendedbyknowledge;byperception,perceptionoftheperceptible;bytheperceptible,thatwhichisapprehendedbyperception。
Sometimes,however,reciprocityofcorrelationdoesnotappeartoexist。Thiscomesaboutwhenablunderismade,andthattowhichtherelativeisrelatedisnotaccuratelystated。Ifamanstatesthatawingisnecessarilyrelativetoabird,theconnexionbetweenthesetwowillnotbereciprocal,foritwillnotbepossibletosaythatabirdisabirdbyreasonofitswings。Thereasonisthattheoriginalstatementwasinaccurate,forthewingisnotsaidtoberelativetothebirdquabird,sincemanycreaturesbesidesbirdshavewings,butquawingedcreature。If,then,thestatementismadeaccurate,theconnexionwillbereciprocal,forwecanspeakofawing,havingreferencenecessarilytoawingedcreature,andofawingedcreatureasbeingsuchbecauseofitswings。
Occasionally,perhaps,itisnecessarytocoinwords,ifnowordexistsbywhichacorrelationcanadequatelybeexplained。Ifwedefinearudderasnecessarilyhavingreferencetoaboat,ourdefinitionwillnotbeappropriate,fortherudderdoesnothavethisreferencetoaboatquaboat,asthereareboatswhichhavenorudders。Thuswecannotusethetermsreciprocally,fortheword'boat'cannotbesaidtofinditsexplanationintheword'rudder'。Asthereisnoexistingword,ourdefinitionwouldperhapsbemoreaccurateifwecoinedsomewordlike'ruddered'asthecorrelativeof'rudder'。Ifweexpressourselvesthusaccurately,atanyratethetermsarereciprocallyconnected,forthe'ruddered'thingis'ruddered'invirtueofitsrudder。Soitisinallothercases。A
headwillbemoreaccuratelydefinedasthecorrelativeofthatwhichis'headed',thanasthatofananimal,fortheanimaldoesnothaveaheadquaanimal,sincemanyanimalshavenohead。
Thuswemayperhapsmosteasilycomprehendthattowhichathingisrelated,whenanamedoesnotexist,if,fromthatwhichhasaname,wederiveanewname,andapplyittothatwithwhichthefirstisreciprocallyconnected,asintheaforesaidinstances,whenwederivedtheword'winged'from'wing'andfrom'rudder'。
Allrelatives,then,ifproperlydefined,haveacorrelative。I
addthisconditionbecause,ifthattowhichtheyarerelatedisstatedashaphazardandnotaccurately,thetwoarenotfoundtobeinterdependent。LetmestatewhatImeanmoreclearly。Eveninthecaseofacknowledgedcorrelatives,andwherenamesexistforeach,therewillbenointerdependenceifoneofthetwoisdenoted,notbythatnamewhichexpressesthecorrelativenotion,butbyoneofirrelevantsignificance。Theterm'slave,'ifdefinedasrelated,nottoamaster,buttoaman,orabiped,oranythingofthatsort,isnotreciprocallyconnectedwiththatinrelationtowhichitisdefined,forthestatementisnotexact。Further,ifonethingissaidtobecorrelativewithanother,andtheterminologyusediscorrect,then,thoughallirrelevantattributesshouldberemoved,andonlythatoneattributeleftinvirtueofwhichitwascorrectlystatedtobecorrelativewiththatother,thestatedcorrelationwillstillexist。Ifthecorrelativeof'theslave'issaidtobe'themaster',then,thoughallirrelevantattributesofthesaid'master',suchas'biped','receptiveofknowledge','human',shouldberemoved,andtheattribute'master'aloneleft,thestatedcorrelationexistingbetweenhimandtheslavewillremainthesame,foritisofamasterthataslaveissaidtobetheslave。Ontheotherhand,if,oftwocorrelatives,oneisnotcorrectlytermed,then,whenallotherattributesareremovedandthataloneisleftinvirtueofwhichitwasstatedtobecorrelative,thestatedcorrelationwillbefoundtohavedisappeared。
Forsupposethecorrelativeof'theslave'shouldbesaidtobe'theman',orthecorrelativeof'thewing"thebird';iftheattribute'master'bewithdrawnfrom'theman',thecorrelationbetween'theman'and'theslave'willceasetoexist,forifthemanisnotamaster,theslaveisnotaslave。Similarly,iftheattribute'winged'
bewithdrawnfrom'thebird','thewing'willnolongerberelative;
foriftheso-calledcorrelativeisnotwinged,itfollowsthat'thewing'hasnocorrelative。
Thusitisessentialthatthecorrelatedtermsshouldbeexactlydesignated;ifthereisanameexisting,thestatementwillbeeasy;
ifnot,itisdoubtlessourdutytoconstructnames。Whentheterminologyisthuscorrect,itisevidentthatallcorrelativesareinterdependent。
Correlativesarethoughttocomeintoexistencesimultaneously。Thisisforthemostparttrue,asinthecaseofthedoubleandthehalf。Theexistenceofthehalfnecessitatestheexistenceofthatofwhichitisahalf。Similarlytheexistenceofamasternecessitatestheexistenceofaslave,andthatofaslaveimpliesthatofamaster;thesearemerelyinstancesofageneralrule。
Moreover,theycanceloneanother;forifthereisnodoubleitfollowsthatthereisnohalf,andviceversa;thisrulealsoappliestoallsuchcorrelatives。Yetitdoesnotappeartobetrueinallcasesthatcorrelativescomeintoexistencesimultaneously。Theobjectofknowledgewouldappeartoexistbeforeknowledgeitself,foritisusuallythecasethatweacquireknowledgeofobjectsalreadyexisting;itwouldbedifficult,ifnotimpossible,tofindabranchofknowledgethebeginningoftheexistenceofwhichwascontemporaneouswiththatofitsobject。
Again,whiletheobjectofknowledge,ifitceasestoexist,cancelsatthesametimetheknowledgewhichwasitscorrelative,theconverseofthisisnottrue。Itistruethatiftheobjectofknowledgedoesnotexisttherecanbenoknowledge:fortherewillnolongerbeanythingtoknow。Yetitisequallytruethat,ifknowledgeofacertainobjectdoesnotexist,theobjectmayneverthelessquitewellexist。Thus,inthecaseofthesquaringofthecircle,ifindeedthatprocessisanobjectofknowledge,thoughititselfexistsasanobjectofknowledge,yettheknowledgeofithasnotyetcomeintoexistence。Again,ifallanimalsceasedtoexist,therewouldbenoknowledge,buttheremightyetbemanyobjectsofknowledge。
Thisislikewisethecasewithregardtoperception:fortheobjectofperceptionis,itappears,priortotheactofperception。
Iftheperceptibleisannihilated,perceptionalsowillceasetoexist;buttheannihilationofperceptiondoesnotcanceltheexistenceoftheperceptible。Forperceptionimpliesabodyperceivedandabodyinwhichperceptiontakesplace。Nowifthatwhichisperceptibleisannihilated,itfollowsthatthebodyisannihilated,forthebodyisaperceptiblething;andifthebodydoesnotexist,itfollowsthatperceptionalsoceasestoexist。Thustheannihilationoftheperceptibleinvolvesthatofperception。
Buttheannihilationofperceptiondoesnotinvolvethatoftheperceptible。Foriftheanimalisannihilated,itfollowsthatperceptionalsoisannihilated,butperceptiblessuchasbody,heat,sweetness,bitterness,andsoon,willremain。
Again,perceptionisgeneratedatthesametimeastheperceivingsubject,foritcomesintoexistenceatthesametimeastheanimal。
Buttheperceptiblesurelyexistsbeforeperception;forfireandwaterandsuchelements,outofwhichtheanimalisitselfcomposed,existbeforetheanimalisananimalatall,andbeforeperception。
Thusitwouldseemthattheperceptibleexistsbeforeperception。