第23章

类别:其他 作者:Baldwin Thomas字数:5518更新时间:18/12/26 16:28:37
Thus,then,arenaturalproductsproduced;allotherproductions arecalled’makings’。Andallmakingsproceedeitherfromartor fromafacultyorfromthought。Someofthemhappenalsospontaneously orbyluckjustasnaturalproductssometimesdo;fortherealsothe samethingssometimesareproducedwithoutseedaswellasfrom seed。Concerningthesecases,then,wemustinquirelater,butfrom artproceedthethingsofwhichtheformisinthesouloftheartist。 (ByformImeantheessenceofeachthinganditsprimary substance。)Forevencontrarieshaveinasensethesameform;forthe substanceofaprivationistheoppositesubstance,e。g。healthisthe substanceofdisease(fordiseaseistheabsenceofhealth);and healthistheformulainthesoulortheknowledgeofit。The healthysubjectisproducedastheresultofthefollowingtrainof thought:-sincethisishealth,ifthesubjectistobehealthythis mustfirstbepresent,e。g。auniformstateofbody,andifthisisto bepresent,theremustbeheat;andthephysiciangoesonthinking thusuntilhereducesthemattertoafinalsomethingwhichhehimself canproduce。Thentheprocessfromthispointonward,i。e。theprocess towardshealth,iscalleda’making’。Thereforeitfollowsthatina sensehealthcomesfromhealthandhousefromhouse,thatwith matterfromthatwithoutmatter;forthemedicalartandthe buildingartaretheformofhealthandofthehouse,andwhenIspeak ofsubstancewithoutmatterImeantheessence。 Oftheproductionsorprocessesonepartiscalledthinkingand theothermaking,-thatwhichproceedsfromthestarting-pointand theformisthinking,andthatwhichproceedsfromthefinalstepof thethinkingismaking。Andeachoftheother,intermediate,thingsis producedinthesameway。Imean,forinstance,ifthesubjectisto behealthyhisbodilystatemustbemadeuniform。Whatthendoesbeing madeuniformimply?Thisorthat。Andthisdependsonhisbeingmade warm。Whatdoesthisimply?Somethingelse。Andthissomethingis presentpotentially;andwhatispresentpotentiallyisalreadyinthe physician’spower。 Theactiveprinciplethenandthestartingpointfortheprocess ofbecominghealthyis,ifithappensbyart,theforminthesoul, andifspontaneously,itisthat,whateveritis,whichstartsthe making,forthemanwhomakesbyart,asinhealingthestarting-point isperhapstheproductionofwarmth(andthisthephysicianproduces byrubbing)。Warmthinthebody,then,iseitherapartofhealthor isfollowed(eitherdirectlyorthroughseveralintermediatesteps)by somethingsimilarwhichisapartofhealth;andthis,viz。thatwhich producesthepartofhealth,isthelimiting-point——andsotoowith ahouse(thestonesarethelimiting-pointhere)andinallother cases。Therefore,asthesayinggoes,itisimpossiblethatanything shouldbeproducediftherewerenothingexistingbefore。Obviously thensomepartoftheresultwillpre-existofnecessity;forthe matterisapart;forthisispresentintheprocessanditisthis thatbecomessomething。Butisthematteranelementeveninthe formula?Wecertainlydescribeinbothwayswhatbrazencirclesare; wedescribeboththematterbysayingitisbrass,andtheformby sayingthatitissuchandsuchafigure;andfigureisthe proximategenusinwhichitisplaced。Thebrazencircle,then,has itsmatterinitsformula。 Asforthatoutofwhichasmattertheyareproduced,some thingsaresaid,whentheyhavebeenproduced,tobenotthatbut ’thaten’;e。g。thestatueisnotgoldbutgolden。Andahealthymanis notsaidtobethatfromwhichhehascome。Thereasonisthat thoughathingcomesbothfromitsprivationandfromits substratum,whichwecallitsmatter(e。g。whatbecomeshealthyis bothamanandaninvalid),itissaidtocomeratherfromits privation(e。g。itisfromaninvalidratherthanfromamanthata healthysubjectisproduced)。Andsothehealthysubjectisnotsaid toheaninvalid,buttobeaman,andthemanissaidtobe healthy。Butasforthethingswhoseprivationisobscureand nameless,e。g。inbrasstheprivationofaparticularshapeorin bricksandtimbertheprivationofarrangementasahouse,thething isthoughttobeproducedfromthesematerials,asintheformer casethehealthymanisproducedfromaninvalid。Andso,asthere alsoathingisnotsaidtobethatfromwhichitcomes,herethe statueisnotsaidtobewoodbutissaidbyaverbalchangetobe wooden,notbrassbutbrazen,notgoldbutgolden,andthehouseis saidtobenotbricksbutbricken(thoughweshouldnotsaywithout qualification,ifwelookedatthemattercarefully,eventhata statueisproducedfromwoodorahousefrombricks,becausecomingto beimplieschangeinthatfromwhichathingcomestobe,andnot permanence)。Itisforthisreason,then,thatweusethiswayof speaking。 Sinceanythingwhichisproducedisproducedbysomething(and thisIcallthestarting-pointoftheproduction),andfrom something(andletthisbetakentobenottheprivationbutthe matter;forthemeaningweattachtothishasalreadybeenexplained), andsincesomethingisproduced(andthisiseitherasphereora circleorwhateverelseitmaychancetobe),justaswedonotmake thesubstratum(thebrass),sowedonotmakethesphere,except incidentally,becausethebrazensphereisasphereandwemakethe forme。Fortomakea’this’istomakea’this’outofthe substratuminthefullsenseoftheword。(Imeanthattomakethe brassroundisnottomaketheroundorthesphere,butsomething else,i。e。toproducethisforminsomethingdifferentfromitself。 Forifwemaketheform,wemustmakeitoutofsomethingelse;for thiswasassumed。E。g。wemakeabrazensphere;andthatinthe sensethatoutofthis,whichisbrass,wemakethisother,whichisa sphere。)If,then,wealsomakethesubstratumitself,clearlywe shallmakeitinthesameway,andtheprocessesofmakingwill regresstoinfinity。Obviouslythentheformalso,orwhateverwe oughttocalltheshapepresentinthesensiblething,isnot produced,noristhereanyproductionofit,noristheessence produced;forthisisthatwhichismadetobeinsomethingelse eitherbyartorbynatureorbysomefaculty。Butthatthereisa brazensphere,thiswemake。Forwemakeitoutofbrassandthe sphere;webringtheformintothisparticularmatter,andthe resultisabrazensphere。Butiftheessenceofsphereingeneral istobeproduced,somethingmustbeproducedoutofsomething。For theproductwillalwayshavetobedivisible,andonepartmustbe thisandanotherthat;Imeantheonemustbematterandtheother form。If,then,asphereis’thefigurewhosecircumferenceisat allpointsequidistantfromthecentre’,partofthiswillbethe mediuminwhichthethingmadewillbe,andpartwillbeinthat medium,andthewholewillbethethingproduced,whichcorrespondsto thebrazensphere。Itisobvious,then,fromwhathasbeensaid, thatthatwhichisspokenofasformorsubstanceisnotproduced,but theconcretethingwhichgetsitsnamefromthisisproduced,andthat ineverythingwhichisgeneratedmatterispresent,andonepartof thethingismatterandtheotherform。 Isthere,then,asphereapartfromtheindividualspheresora houseapartfromthebricks?Ratherwemaysaythatno’this’would everhavebeencomingtobe,ifthishadbeenso,butthatthe ’form’meansthe’such’,andisnota’this’-adefinitething;butthe artistmakes,orthefatherbegets,a’such’outofa’this’;andwhen ithasbeenbegotten,itisa’thissuch’。Andthewhole’this’, CalliasorSocrates,isanalogousto’thisbrazensphere’,butmanand animalto’brazensphere’ingeneral。Obviously,then,thecausewhich consistsoftheForms(takeninthesenseinwhichsomemaintainthe existenceoftheForms,i。e。iftheyaresomethingapartfromthe individuals)isuseless,atleastwithregardtocomings-to-beand tosubstances;andtheFormsneednot,forthisreasonatleast,be self-subsistentsubstances。Insomecasesindeeditisevenobvious thatthebegetterisofthesamekindasthebegotten(not,however, thesamenoroneinnumber,butinform),i。e。inthecaseof naturalproducts(formanbegetsman),unlesssomethinghappens contrarytonature,e。g。theproductionofamulebyahorse。(And eventhesecasesaresimilar;forthatwhichwouldbefoundtobe commontohorseandass,thegenusnextabovethem,hasnotreceiveda name,butitwoulddoubtlessbebothinfactsomethinglikeamule。) Obviously,therefore,itisquiteunnecessarytosetupaFormasa pattern(forweshouldhavelookedforFormsinthesecasesifinany; forthesearesubstancesifanythingisso);thebegetteris adequatetothemakingoftheproductandtothecausingoftheform inthematter。Andwhenwehavethewhole,suchandsuchaformin thisfleshandinthesebones,thisisCalliasorSocrates;andthey aredifferentinvirtueoftheirmatter(forthatisdifferent),but thesameinform;fortheirformisindivisible。 Thequestionmightberaised,whysomethingsareproduced spontaneouslyaswellasbyart,e。g。health,whileothersarenot, e。g。ahouse。Thereasonisthatinsomecasesthematterwhich governstheproductioninthemakingandproducingofanyworkofart, andinwhichapartoftheproductispresent,-somematterissuch astobesetinmotionbyitselfandsomeisnotofthisnature,and oftheformerkindsomecanmoveitselfintheparticularway required,whileothermatterisincapableofthis;formanythingscan besetinmotionbythemselvesbutnotinsomeparticularway,e。g。 thatofdancing。Thethings,then,whosematterisofthissort, e。g。stones,cannotbemovedintheparticularwayrequired,exceptby somethingelse,butinanotherwaytheycanmovethemselves-andso itiswithfire。Thereforesomethingswillnotexistapartfrom someonewhohastheartofmakingthem,whileotherswill;formotion willbestartedbythesethingswhichhavenottheartbutcan themselvesbemovedbyotherthingswhichhavenottheartorwitha motionstartingfromapartoftheproduct。 Anditisclearalsofromwhathasbeensaidthatinasenseevery productofartisproducedfromathingwhichsharesitsname(as naturalproductsareproduced),orfromapartofitselfwhich sharesitsname(e。g。thehouseisproducedfromahouse,quaproduced byreason;fortheartofbuildingistheformofthehouse),or fromsomethingwhichcontainsaartofit,-ifweexcludethings producedbyaccident;forthecauseofthething’sproducingthe productdirectlyperseisapartoftheproduct。Theheatinthe movementcausedheatinthebody,andthisiseitherhealth,orapart ofhealth,orisfollowedbyapartofhealthorbyhealthitself。And soitissaidtocausehealth,becauseitcausesthattowhich healthattachesasaconsequence。 Therefore,asinsyllogisms,substanceisthestarting-pointof everything。Itisfrom’whatathingis’thatsyllogismsstart;and fromitalsowenowfindprocessesofproductiontostart。 Thingswhichareformedbynatureareinthesamecaseasthese productsofart。Fortheseedisproductiveinthesamewayasthe thingsthatworkbyart;forithastheformpotentially,andthat fromwhichtheseedcomeshasinasensethesamenameasthe offspringonlyinasense,forwemustnotexpectparentandoffspring alwaystohaveexactlythesamename,asintheproductionof’human being’from’human’fora’woman’alsocanbeproducedbya ’man’-unlesstheoffspringbeanimperfectform;whichisthereason whytheparentofamuleisnotamule。Thenaturalthingswhich(like theartificialobjectspreviouslyconsidered)canbeproduced spontaneouslyarethosewhosemattercanbemovedevenbyitselfin thewayinwhichtheseedusuallymovesit;thosethingswhichhave notsuchmattercannotbeproducedexceptfromtheparentanimals themselves。 Butnotonlyregardingsubstancedoesourargumentprovethat itsformdoesnotcometobe,buttheargumentappliestoallthe primaryclassesalike,i。e。quantity,quality,andtheother categories。Forasthebrazenspherecomestobe,butnotthesphere northebrass,andsotoointhecaseofbrassitself,ifitcomes tobe,itisitsconcreteunitythatcomestobe(forthematterand theformmustalwaysexistbefore),soisitbothinthecaseof substanceandinthatofqualityandquantityandtheothercategories likewise;forthequalitydoesnotcometobe,butthewoodofthat quality,andthequantitydoesnotcometobe,butthewoodorthe animalofthatsize。Butwemaylearnfromtheseinstancesa peculiarityofsubstance,thattheremustexistbeforehandincomplete realityanothersubstancewhichproducesit,e。g。ananimalifan animalisproduced;butitisnotnecessarythataqualityorquantity shouldpre-existotherwisethanpotentially。