And similarly in all other cases. And this is the substance of each
thing (for this is the primary cause of its being); and since, while
some things are not substances, as many as are substances are formed
in accordance with a nature of their own and by a process of nature,
their substance would seem to be this kind of 'nature', which is not
an element but a principle. An element, on the other hand, is that
into which a thing is divided and which is present in it as matter;
e.g. a and b are the elements of the syllable.
Book VIII
1
WE must reckon up the results arising from what has been said, and
compute the sum of them, and put the finishing touch to our inquiry.
We have said that the causes, principles, and elements of substances
are the object of our search. And some substances are recognized by
every one, but some have been advocated by particular schools. Those
generally recognized are the natural substances, i.e. fire, earth,
water, air, &c., the simple bodies; second plants and their parts, and
animals and the parts of animals; and finally the physical universe
and its parts; while some particular schools say that Forms and the
objects of mathematics are substances. But there are arguments which
lead to the conclusion that there are other substances, the essence
and the substratum. Again, in another way the genus seems more
substantial than the various spccies, and the universal than the
particulars.
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