3
We must state whether it belongs to one or to different sciences
to inquire into the truths which are in mathematics called axioms, and
into substance. Evidently, the inquiry into these also belongs to
one science, and that the science of the philosopher; for these truths
hold good for everything that is, and not for some special genus apart
from others. And all men use them, because they are true of being
qua being and each genus has being. But men use them just so far as to
satisfy their purposes; that is, as far as the genus to which their
demonstrations refer extends. Therefore since these truths clearly
hold good for all things qua being (for this is what is common to
them), to him who studies being qua being belongs the inquiry into
these as well. And for this reason no one who is conducting a
special inquiry tries to say anything about their truth or
falsity,-neither the geometer nor the arithmetician. Some natural
philosophers indeed have done so, and their procedure was intelligible
enough; for they thought that they alone were inquiring about the
whole of nature and about being. But since there is one kind of
thinker who is above even the natural philosopher (for nature is
only one particular genus of being), the discussion of these truths
also will belong to him whose inquiry is universal and deals with
primary substance. Physics also is a kind of Wisdom, but it is not the
first kind.-And the attempts of some of those who discuss the terms on
which truth should be accepted, are due to a want of training in
logic; for they should know these things already when they come to a
special study, and not be inquiring into them while they are listening
to lectures on it.
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