11
Another question is naturally raised, viz. what sort of parts
belong to the form and what sort not to the form, but to the
concrete thing. Yet if this is not plain it is not possible to
define any thing; for definition is of the universal and of the
form. If then it is not evident what sort of parts are of the nature
of matter and what sort are not, neither will the formula of the thing
be evident. In the case of things which are found to occur in
specifically different materials, as a circle may exist in bronze or
stone or wood, it seems plain that these, the bronze or the stone, are
no part of the essence of the circle, since it is found apart from
them. Of things which are not seen to exist apart, there is no
reason why the same may not be true, just as if all circles that had
ever been seen were of bronze; for none the less the bronze would be
no part of the form; but it is hard to eliminate it in thought. E.g.
the form of man is always found in flesh and bones and parts of this
kind; are these then also parts of the form and the formula? No,
they are matter; but because man is not found also in other matters we
are unable to perform the abstraction.
Since this is thought to be possible, but it is not clear when
it is the case, some people already raise the question even in the
case of the circle and the triangle, thinking that it is not right
to define these by reference to lines and to the continuous, but
that all these are to the circle or the triangle as flesh and bones
are to man, and bronze or stone to the statue; and they reduce all
things to numbers, and they say the formula of 'line' is that of
'two'.
Pages:
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
187
188
189
190
191
192
193
194
195