Authors/Thomas Aquinas/metaphysics/liber10/lect1

Lecture 1

Latin	English
lib. 10 l. 1 n. 1 Superius in quarto huius philosophus ostendit quod ista scientia habet pro subiecto ens, et unum, quod cum ente convertitur. Et ideo, postquam determinavit de ente per accidens, et de ente quod significat veritatem propositionis, in sexto; et de ente per se secundum quod dividitur per decem praedicamenta, in septimo et in octavo; et secundum quod dividitur per potentiam et actum, in nono: nunc in hoc decimo intendit determinare de uno, et de his quae consequuntur ad unum: et dividitur in duas partes. In prima determinat de uno secundum se. In secunda per comparationem ad multa, ibi, opponuntur autem unum et multa. Prima dividitur in duas. In prima ostendit quot modis unum dicitur. In secunda determinat quamdam proprietatem eius, ibi, maxime vero in eo quod est metrum esse. Prima in tres. In prima determinat quot modis dicitur unum. In secunda reducit omnes illos ad rationem unam, ibi, dicitur quidem igitur unum. In tertia ostendit quot modis unum praedicatur de his de quibus dicitur, ibi, oportet enim intelligere. Circa primum tria facit. Primo ponit duos modos unius. Secundo ostendit rationem unitatis in his duobus modis, ibi, tale vero. Tertio ponit alios duos modos unius, ibi, haec autem.	1920. Above in Book IV of this work the Philosopher showed (548)</a></a> that this science has for its subject being and the kind of unity which is interchangeable with being. Therefore, having drawn his conclusions about accidental being (1172) and about the kind of being which signifies the truth of a proposition, which he does in Book VI (1223), and about essential being as divided into the ten categories, which he does in Books VII (1245) and VIII (1681), and as divided into potency and actuality, which he does in Book IX (1768), his aim in this tenth book is to settle the issue about unity or oneness and the attributes which naturally accompany it. This is divided into two parts. In the first (1920) he establishes what is true of unity in itself; and in the second (1983) he considers unity in relation to plurality. The first part is divided into two members. In the first he explains the different senses in which the term one is used. In the second (1937) he establishes a property of unity or oneness. The first part is divided into three members. In the first he establishes the different senses in which the term one is used. In the second (1932) he reduces all these to one common meaning. In the third (1933) he explains the different ways in which the term one is used of the things of which it is predicated. In regard to the first he does three things. First, he gives two senses in which the term one is used. Second (1927), he exposes the notion of unity contained in these two senses. Third (1929), he gives two other senses of the term one.
lib. 10 l. 1 n. 2 Circa primum primo ponit primum modum dicendi unum; dicens, quod in quinto libro ostensum est, quoties dicantur nomina quae pertinent ad considerationem huius scientiae. Dictum est enim quod unum dicitur multis modis. Sed cum multipliciter dicatur unum, principales modi sunt quatuor: ita tamen quod dicamus modos unius, secundum quos unum dicitur primo et per se, et non per accidens. Nam unum per accidens habet alios suos modos.	1921. In treating the first member of this division he gives, first, the primary senses in which the term one is used. He says that he has explained in Book V (749) the different meanings of the terms which pertain to the study of this science; for it was pointed out there (842) that the term one is used in many senses. And while this is true, there are four principal senses in which it is employed. But let us speak of those senses in which the term one is used primarily and essentially and not accidentally; for what is accidentally one has different modes of its own.
lib. 10 l. 1 n. 3 Et inter modos unius dicti per se, unus modus est secundum quod continuum dicitur unum. Quod quidem accipi potest dupliciter: aut universaliter, scilicet quocumque modo sit aliquid continuum dicatur unum: aut unum continuitate solum quod secundum naturam est continuum, quod maxime continuum est, et non est continuum per violentiam, aut per artem, neque per alium modum contactus, sicut patet in castraturis lignorum, neque per aliquam continuitatem, sicut in his quae continuantur vel ligantur clavo vel quocumque vinculo.	1922. (1) Now one of the senses in which things are said to be essentially one is that in which the continuous is said to be one; and this can be taken in two ways: either (a) the continuous in general (i.e., anything continuous in any way at all) is called one; or only the continuous (b) by nature is called one by continuity. And this latter is what is continuous in the fullest sense of the term, and not that which is continuous by force or by art or by any kind of contact (as is evident in the case of pieces of wood), or by any kind of continuity (as is evident in the case of things which are continuous or held together by a nail or by any other bond).
lib. 10 l. 1 n. 4 Continuum autem secundum naturam dicitur dupliciter: scilicet, quod est totum uniforme, ut linea recta, aut etiam circularis: et quod non est totum uniforme, sicut duae lineae constituentes angulum in quo continuantur. Maxime autem horum est unum et per prius unum, quod dicitur linea recta vel circularis, quam lineae angulum constituentes. Nam linea recta oportet quod habeat unum motum. Non enim potest esse quod una pars eius moveatur et alia quiescat, nec una sic moveatur, alia vero aliter; sed tota simul et uno motu movetur. Et similiter etiam in circulari est.	1923. And the phrase continuous by nature designates two things: what is a (+) uniform whole, as a straight line or even a circular one, and what is not a (~) uniform whole, as two lines which constitute the angle in which they are connected. And of these, lines which are said to be straight and those which are said to be circular are one to a greater degree than those which form an angle, and they are one anteriorly. For a straight line must have one motion, since one part cannot be moved and another at rest, or one be moved in this way and another in that; but the whole must be moved simultaneously and by one motion. The same holds true of a circular line.
lib. 10 l. 1 n. 5 Sed in duobus continuis constituentibus angulum, hoc non convenit. Possumus enim imaginari quod una linea quiescat, et altera moveatur ei appropinquans, et minorem angulum constituat; aut ab ea elongata, et constituens angulum maiorem. Vel etiam quod utraque moveatur in diversas partes. Et ideo dicit quod illud continuum est magis unum, cuius motus est indivisibilior, et magis simplex.	1924. But this does not apply to two continuous quantities which form an angle; for we can imagine either that one line is at rest and the other is moved closer to it so as to form a smaller angle, or that it is moved away from it so as to form a larger angle, or even that both lines are moved in opposite directions. Hence he says that a continuous quantity whose motion is more indivisible and simpler is one to a greater degree.
lib. 10 l. 1 n. 6 Secundo cum dicit amplius tale ponit secundum modum: in quo quidem consideratur non solum quod id quod dicitur unum, sit tale, idest continuum; sed et quod plus habeat, scilicet quod sit quoddam totum habens aliquam formam aut speciem; sicut animal est unum, et superficies triangularis est una. Hoc igitur unum supra unitatem continuitatis addit unitatem quae est ex forma, secundum quam aliquid est totum, et speciem habens.	1925. And not only (815). (2) Then he gives a second sense in which things are said to be essentially one; and here we must consider that what “is such,” i.e., continuous, is not only said to be one but also has something more; i.e., it is a whole having some form or specifying principle, just as an animal is one, and a triangular surface is one. Hence this sense of one adds to the oneness of continuity the kind of unity which comes from the form by which a thing is a whole and has a species.
lib. 10 l. 1 n. 7 Et quia aliquid est totum per naturam, aliquid vero per artem, addidit, quod maxime est unum, siquidem est unum per naturam, et non per violentiam. Sicut per violentiam ad aliquod totum constituendum coniunguntur quaecumque uniuntur aut visco aut aliqua tali coniunctione. Sed id quod est coniunctum per naturam est magis unum, quia scilicet est sibiipsi causa quod sit continuum, quia per suam naturam est tale.	1926. And since one thing is a whole by nature and another by art, he added that “a thing is one to the greatest degree” if it is such by nature and not by force. For example, all those things which are united by glue or by some such bond so as to become a whole are joined by force. But whatever is joined by nature is one to the greatest degree, because it is clearly the cause of its own continuity; for it is such by its very nature.
lib. 10 l. 1 n. 8 Deinde cum dicit tale vero ostendit rationem unitatis in istis duobus modis; dicens, quod aliquid est tale et continuum et unum, eo quod motus eius est et unus et indivisibilis, loco et tempore. Loco quidem, quia versus quamcumque partem loci movetur una pars continui et alia. Tempore vero, quia quando movetur una, et alia.	1927. And a thing is such (816). Then be clarifies the meaning of unity contained in these two senses of the term one. He says that a thing is such, i.e., continuous and one, because its motion is one and indivisible both as to place and to time; as to place, because whithersoever one part of a continuous thing is moved another part is also moved; and as to time, because when one part is moved another is also moved.
lib. 10 l. 1 n. 9 Unde si aliquod continuum et totum per naturam dicitur unum quia motus eius est unus, manifestum est quod si aliquod continuum et totum habet in se principium primi motus, hoc erit primum unum in magnitudine. Sicut inter motus, primus motus est localis; et inter motus locales, primus est circularis, ut probatur in octavo physicorum. Et inter corpora, quae moventur motu circulari, aliquod est quod habet principium talis motus, scilicet corpus quod revolvitur et revolvit alia corpora motu diurno. Unde manifestum est, quod haec est prima magnitudo una, quia habet primum principium motus primi. Sic igitur apparent duo modi unitatis: aut sicut continuum dicitur unum, aut sicut totum dicitur unum.	1928. Hence, if a thing that is continuous and whole by nature is said to be one because its motion is one, then it is evident that, if anything continuous and whole has within itself a principle of the primary kind of motion, this will be the primary kind of one in the realm of continuous quantity; for example, of all motions the primary kind is local motion, and of local motions the primary kind is circular motion, as is proved in Book VIII of the Physics. And of bodies which are moved by circular motion there is one which contains the principle of such motion, i.e., the body which is moved circularly and causes the circular motion of other bodies by a daily motion. It is evident, then, that this is, the one primary continuous quantity which contains the first principle of the primary kind of motion. Hence two senses of the term one are evident, namely, that in which the continuous is called one, and that in which a whole is called one.
lib. 10 l. 1 n. 10 Deinde cum dicit haec autem ponit alios modos unius; dicens, quod quaedam alia dicuntur unum non propter motum unum, sed propter rationem unam. Huiusmodi autem sunt quorum intelligentia est una, quae una apprehensione apprehenduntur ab anima. Et dicuntur una apprehensione apprehendi talia, quorum est una apprehensio indivisibilis.	1929. And other things (817). Then he gives the other ways in which things are said to be one. He says that certain other things are said to be one, not because their motion is one, but because their intelligible structure is one. And things of this kind whose concept is one are those which are apprehended by a single intellectual act. And such things as are said to be apprehended by a single intellectual act are those of which there is a single apprehension of an undivided object.
lib. 10 l. 1 n. 11 Quod quidem contingit dupliciter. Aut quia apprehensio indivisibilis est eius quod est unum specie, aut eius quod est unum numero. Numero quidem indivisibile est ipsum singulare, quod non potest praedicari de multis. Specie autem unum, est indivisibile, quod est unum secundum scientiam et notitiam. Non enim in diversis singularibus est aliqua natura una numero, quae possit dici species. Sed intellectus apprehendit ut unum id in quo omnia inferiora conveniunt. Et sic in apprehensione intellectus, species fit indivisibilis, quae realiter est diversa in diversis individuis.	1930. This can be so for two reasons: either (3) because the undivided, object apprehended is specifically one, or (4) because it is numerically one. Now what is numerically undivided is the singular thing itself, which cannot be predicated of many things; and what is specifically one is undivided because it is a single object of knowledge and acquaintance. For in distinct singular things there is no nature numerically one which can be called a species, but the intellect apprehends as one that attribute in which all singulars agree. Hence the species, which is distinct in distinct individuals in reality, becomes undivided when apprehended by the intellect.
lib. 10 l. 1 n. 12 Et quia substantia prior est ratione omnibus aliis generibus, cum unum dicatur his modis propter rationem unam, sequitur quod primum unum secundum hos modos, sit unum substantia; quod scilicet est substantiis causa unius; sicut secundum primos duos modos, primum unum erat magnitudo circulariter mota.	1931. And since substance is prior in intelligibility to all the other genera, and the term one is used in these senses because it has one meaning, then it follows that the primary sort of one in these senses is what is one in substance, i.e., what causes substance to be one, just as in the first two senses the primary sort of one was the continuous quantity which is moved circularly.
lib. 10 l. 1 n. 13 Deinde cum dicit dicitur quidem reducit modos unius supra positos ad unam rationem, colligendo quae supra dixerat. Dicit ergo quod unum dicitur quatuor modis. Primo quidem continuum secundum naturam. Secundo totum. Tertio singulare. Quarto, universale ut species. Et omnia haec dicuntur unum per rationem unam, scilicet per hoc quod est esse indivisibile. Nam proprie unum est ens indivisibile. Sed in primis duobus dicitur unum, quia est motus indivisibilis; in aliis autem duobus, quia est intelligentia, aut ratio indivisibilis; ut sub hoc etiam comprehendatur apprehensio rei particularis.	1932. The term one (818). Here he reduces the senses of one given above to a single meaning by summarizing what he had said above. He says that the term one is used of four things: first, (1) of what is continuous by nature; (2) second, of a whole; (3) third, of a singular thing; and (4) fourth, of the universal, for example, a species. And all of these are said to be one because of one common aspect, namely, being indivisible; for properly speaking, a one is an undivided being. But the term one is used in the first two senses because a motion is undivided, and in the latter two senses because an intelligible structure or concept is undivided, inasmuch as the apprehension of a particular thing is also included under this.
lib. 10 l. 1 n. 14 Deinde cum dicit oportet enim ostendit quo modo unum praedicetur de his quae dicuntur unum; dicens, quod oportet intelligere quod non similiter sumendum est unum, cum aliqua res dicitur una, et cum dicitur quod quid est unum, quod est ratio unitatis. Sicut etiam non hoc modo dicitur lignum esse album, quia lignum sit hoc ipsum quod est album; sed quia album accidit ei.	1933. Here he shows how the term one is predicated of things which are said to be one. He says that it must be borne in mind that the term one should not be taken to mean the same thing when a thing is said to be one and when someone expresses the essence of oneness, which is its intelligible structure; just as wood too is not said to be white in the sense that whiteness is the essence of wood, but in the sense that it is an accident of it.
lib. 10 l. 1 n. 15 Hoc autem quod dixerat sic manifestat. Quia unum dicitur multis modis, ut dictum est, quaelibet res dicitur esse una ex eo, quod inest ei aliquis istorum modorum; puta vel continuum, vel totum, vel species, vel singulare. Sed hoc ipsum quod est unum, quandoque quidem accipitur secundum quod inest alicui dictorum modorum, puta ut dicam quod unum secundum quod est continuum, unum est. Et similiter de aliis. Quandoque autem hoc ipsum quod est unum, attribuitur ei quod est magis propinquum naturae unius, sicut indivisibili, quod tamen secundum se potestate continet praedictos modos: quia indivisibile secundum motum, est continuum et totum. Indivisibile autem secundum rationem, est singulare et universale.	1934. Then he gives the following explanation of a statement which he had made, saying that, since the term one is used in many senses (as has been stated), a thing is said to be one because some one of these senses applies to it, i.e., continuous, whole, species, or singular thing. But the essence of oneness sometimes applies to something that is one in some one of the foregoing senses, as when I say that what is one in continuity is one (and the same holds true of the others); and sometimes it is attributed to something which is nearer to the nature of one, for example, what is undivided but contains within itself potentially the senses of one given above; because what is undivided as regards motion is continuous and whole, and what is undivided in meaning is singular or universal.
lib. 10 l. 1 n. 16 Et ad hoc subdit exemplum de elemento et causa, quae quidem accipiuntur secundum determinationes ad res, prout dicimus rem talem esse elementum vel causam, assignando definitionem nominis, prout dicimus causam hoc ipsum quod est esse causam. Quo modo dicimus quod ignis est elementum, aut etiam infinitum secundum se, idest hoc ipsum quod est infinitum, quod Pythagorici ponebant separatum, et elementum omnium, vel aliquid aliud tale, propter quod potest dici elementum esse. Sed quodammodo ignis non est elementum neque infinitum. Non enim ignis est hoc ipsum quod est elementum, quia non est eadem ratio ignis et elementi; sed quantum in re est et in natura, ignis est elementum. Sed nomen elementi cum de igne praedicatur, significat aliquid accidisse igni, scilicet quod ignis sit ex quo aliquid est, ut ex primo interius existente, quod est ratio elementi. Dicit autem inexistente, ad removendum privationes.	1935. He adds to this the example of elements and causes, viewed in the problem of identifying them in things, as when we say that such and such a thing is an element or cause by defining the term; for example, we say that that is a cause which has the essence of a cause. And in this way we say that fire is an element or “the indeterminate itself,” i.e., what is unlimited in itself (which the Pythagoreans posited as a separate entity and the element of all things), or anything else of this sort for whatever reason it can be called an element. But in a sense fire is not an element, and neither is the indeterminate; for fire does not constitute the essence of an element, because the notion of fire is not the same as that of an element. It is an element, however, as existing in reality or in the natural world. But when the term element is predicated of fire, it signifies that something “has become accidental to fire,” i.e., that fire is that of which something is composed as a primary constituent, and this is the formal note of an element. He says “constituent” in order to exclude privations.
lib. 10 l. 1 n. 17 Sicut autem dictum est de elemento, sic est in causa, et uno et omnibus talibus; quia res de quibus dicuntur non sunt hoc ipsum quod significant nomina: sicut homo albus, non est hoc ipsum quod significat hoc nomen album. Album enim significat qualitatem. Propter quod et hoc unum esse est indivisibile esse. Quod quidem competit enti, quod est inseparabile loco et specie, vel quocumque alio modo.	1936. What has been said about an element also applies to cause and to one and to all such terms; because the things of which they are predicated are not the very things which the terms signify; for example, white man is not the very thing which the term white signifies, for white signifies a quality. Hence the essence of oneness consists in being undivided, i.e., in being an individual thing; and this is proper to a thing which is inseparable as to place or to form or in whatever other way it is inseparable.