[1041b]
[1]
e.g. when we inquire what man is; because the
expression is a simple one not analyzed into subject and attributes.
We must make the question articulate before we ask it; otherwise we
get something which shares the nature of a pointless and of a definite
question.Now since
we must know that the fact actually exists, it is surely clear that
the question is "why is the matter so-and-so?" e.g. "why
are these materials a house?" Because the essence of house is present
in them. And this matter, or the body containing this particular form,
is man. Thus what we are seeking is the cause (i.e. the form) in
virtue of which the matter is a definite thing; and this is the
substance of the thing.Clearly then in
the case of simple entities1 inquiry and explanation are impossible; in
such cases there is a different mode of inquiry.Now
since that which is composed of something in such a way that the whole
is a unity; not as an aggregate is a unity, but as a syllable is2—the syllable is not the letters, nor
is BA the same as B and A; nor is flesh fire and earth; because after
dissolution the compounds, e.g. flesh or the syllable, no longer
exist; but the letters exist, and so do fire and earth.Therefore the syllable is some
particular thing; not merely the letters, vowel and consonant, but
something else besides. And flesh is not merely fire and earth, or hot
and cold, but something else besides.Since then this something else must be either
an element or composed of elements,
[20]
(a) if it is an element, the same argument applies
again; for flesh will be composed of this and fire and
earth, and again of another element, so that there will be an infinite
regression. And (b) if it is composed of elements, clearly it is
composed not of one (otherwise it will itself be that element) but of
several; so that we shall use the same argument in this case as about
the flesh or the syllable.It would seem, however, that this "something else" is something that
is not an element, but is the cause that this matter is
flesh and that matter a syllable, and similarly in other
cases.And this is
the substance of each thing, for it is the primary cause of its
existence. And since, although some things are not substances, all
substances are constituted in accordance with and by nature, substance
would seem to be this "nature," which is not an element but a
principle.3 An
element is that which is present as matter in a thing, and into which
the thing is divided; e.g., A and B are the elements of the
syllable.
1 Pure forms which contain no matter; in their case the method just described obviously will not apply. They can only be apprehended intuitively (cf. Aristot. Met. 9.10.).
2 This sentence is not finished; the parenthesis which follows lasts until the end of the chapter.
3 i.e. the formal cause. Cf. Aristot. Met. 5.4.4-6.
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