Authors/Thomas Aquinas/metaphysics/liber12/lect3

Lecture 3

Latin	English
lib. 12 l. 3 n. 1 Postquam philosophus determinavit de materia, hic determinat de forma. Et circa hoc duo facit. Primo determinat de ea secundum se. Secundo per comparationem ad substantiam compositam, ibi, substantiae autem tres sunt et cetera. Circa primum tria facit. Primo proponit formam esse principium; dicens, quod tres sunt causae et tria principia substantiae mutabilis. Duo enim sunt contraria: quorum unum est species, idest forma, et aliud est privatio, quae quodammodo est contrarium; tertium autem est materia. Iam enim ostensum est, quod in omni transmutatione oportet esse subiectum, et duo contraria. Unde necesse est quod in generatione substantiae haec requirantur.	2441. Having stated his views about matter, the Philosopher now considers form, and in regard to this he does two things. First (1035)C 2440, he deals with form in itself; and second (1038:C 2446), with form in relation to the composite (“There are three kinds”). In regard to the first part he does three things. First, he points out that form is a principle. He says that there are three causes, or three principles, of changeable substances. Two of these are contraries: one being “the specifying principle,” i.e., the form, the other privation, which is in a sense a contrary, and the third, matter. For it has been shown already (1029:C 2428-29) that in every change there must be a subject and two contraries, and therefore these are required in the generation of substance.
lib. 12 l. 3 n. 2 Secundo ibi, postea quia ostendit, quod forma non generatur, sicut nec materia; dicens quod materia nec species fit, idest generatur. Sed hoc intelligi oportet de ultima materia et de ultima forma. Nam materia aliqua generatur; scilicet quae est subiectum alterationis; est enim substantia composita.	2442. It should be noted (1036). Second, he shows that neither matter nor form is generated. He says that neither matter nor “form comes to be,” or is generated.—But this must be understood of the last matter and the last form; for some matter is generated, namely, the subject of alteration, since it is a composite substance.
lib. 12 l. 3 n. 3 Quod autem nec forma ultima nec materia ultima generentur, sic probat. In omni transmutatione oportet esse aliquid subiectum transmutationis, quod est materia, et aliquid a quo transmutatur, quod est principium movens, et aliquid in quod transmutatur, quod est species et forma. Si ergo ipsa forma et materia generentur, puta si non solum generetur hoc totum, quod est aes rotundum, sed etiam ipsa rotunditas, et ipsum aes, sequetur quod tam forma quam materia habeant materiam et formam, et sic ibitur in infinitum in materiis et formis; quod est impossibile. Necesse est itaque stare in generatione, ut scilicet ultima forma et ultima materia non generentur.	2443. That neither the last matter nor the last form is generated he proves thus. In every change there must he some subject of the change, which is matter; and something by which it is changed, which is the principle imparting motion; and something to which it is changed, which is the specifying principle or form. Hence if both the form and the matter are generated, for example, if not only this whole—bronze sphere—is generated, but also the sphericity and the bronze, it follows that both form and matter have matter and form; and thus there will be an infinite regress in matters and forms. This is impossible. Hence, in the process of generation there must be some stopping point, so that the last matter and last form are not generated.
lib. 12 l. 3 n. 4 Postea quia tertio dicit, quod res acquirunt formam ex agentibus similibus; dicens, quod quaecumque substantia fit ex agente univoco, idest simili secundum formam. Omnes enim substantiae, quae generantur, generantur aut a natura, aut ab arte, aut a fortuna, aut automato, idest casu, idest per se vano. Differt autem ars a natura, quia ars est principium agendi in alio, natura autem est principium actionis et motus in eo in quo est. Manifestum est autem, quod ea quae generantur ab arte, fiunt ex sibi simili. Aedificator enim, per formam domus quam habet in mente, facit domum quae est in materia. Et idem etiam apparet in natura; quia homo generat hominem. In quibusdam autem hoc non videtur. Non enim generantur ex sibi similibus in specie; sicut calidum in corporibus inferioribus generatur a sole non calido. Sed licet non sit similitudo secundum speciem, oportet tamen esse aliquam similitudinem, sed tamen imperfectam; quia materia inferiorum non potest pertingere ad perfectam similitudinem superioris agentis. Et cum ita sit in his quae fiunt ab arte et natura, manifestum est quod unumquodque generatur a suo simili.	2444. Again, it should be (1037). Third, he points out that things acquire their form from agents like themselves. He says that every substance comes to be “from an agent having the same name,” i.e., an agent similar in form. For all substances which are generated come to be either by nature or by art or by luck or “spontaneously,” namely, by chance; i.e., they are not directly an object of design. Art differs from nature, because art is a principle of action in something other than the thing moved, whereas nature is a principle of action and motion in the thing in which it is present. Now things produced by art obviously come to be from something similar to themselves in form; for it is by means of the form of the house in his mind that the builder causes the house which exists in matter. The same thing is also apparent in the case of natural things, for man begets man. However, this does not seem to be true in some cases, for some things are not generated by agents similar to themselves in species; for example, the heat found in lower bodies is generated by the sun, not by heat. Yet while there is no likeness in species, there must still be some kind of likeness, even though it is an imperfect one, because the matter of lower bodies cannot acquire perfect likeness to a higher agent. And since this is true in the case of things which come to be both by art and by nature, it is evident that each thing is generated by its like.
lib. 12 l. 3 n. 5 Nam reliquae causae, scilicet fortuna et casus, sunt quasi defectus et privationes naturae et artis. Nam fortuna est intellectus agens praeter intentionem, et casus natura agens praeter intentionem. Unde ea quae fiunt a fortuna et casu, non assimilantur suis agentibus, cum fortuna et casus non sint causae per se, sed per accidens: et ideo quodammodo animalia, quae generantur ex putrefactione, videntur fieri casu, inquantum non fiunt ex sibi similibus secundum speciem. Neque etiam habent causam determinatam agentem in istis inferioribus, sed solum causam agentem superiorem.	2445. For “the remaining causes,” luck and chance, are defects and privations as it were of nature and of art; for luck is intellect producing an effect over and above the one at which it aims; and chance is nature producing an effect over and above the one at which it aims. Hence those things which come to be by luck and by chance are not similar to their agents in form, since luck and chance are not causes in the strict sense but only accidentally. Therefore in a sense animals which are generated from decomposed matter seem to come into being by chance inasmuch as they are not generated by agents similar to themselves in species. Nor do they have a definite efficient cause in the realm of lower bodies, but only a higher efficient cause.
lib. 12 l. 3 n. 6 Deinde cum dicit substantiae autem determinat de forma per comparationem ad substantiam compositam; et circa hoc tria facit. Primo dividit substantiam in materiam et formam et compositum, dicens quod substantiae sunt tres. Materia, quantum ad id quod apparet, videtur esse substantia et hoc aliquid. Unde primi naturales solam materiam posuerunt esse substantiam. Et hoc ideo quia viderunt quod in artificialibus quae fiunt per contactum, et non per naturalem unionem, sola materia et subiectum videtur esse substantia: nam formae artificiales sunt accidentia. Item natura rei videtur esse substantia et hoc aliquid; natura autem rei est in quam terminatur naturalis generatio, idest forma, quae est quasi habitus quidam. Item tertia substantia est illa, quae componitur ex materia et forma, sicut sunt singularia, ut Callias et Socrates.	2446. There are three kinds (1038). Then he establishes what is true of form in relation to the composite substance, and in regard to this he does three things. First, he divides substance into matter, form and composite. He says that there are three kinds of substance. First, according to appearances, matter seems to be substance and a determinate thing; and it was for this reason that the first natural philosophers claimed that matter alone is substance. They did this because they saw that in the case of artifacts, which come to be by contact and not by natural union, only the matter or underlying subject seems to be substance; for artificial forms are accidents. Second, the nature of a thing also seems to be substance and a determinate thing—the nature of a thing being that in which the process of natural generation is terminated, i.e., the form, which is as it were a kind of permanent state. The third kind of substance is the composite of matter and form, for example, singular things such as Callias and Socrates.
lib. 12 l. 3 n. 7 Secundo ibi, in quibusdam dicit, quod in aliquibus formis manifestum est, quod non sunt praeter substantiam compositam; sicut forma domus non est praeter materiam. Forma enim domus est accidens, et materia domus est substantia: accidens autem non est nisi in substantia.	2447. Now in some cases (1039). Second, he says that some forms evidently do not exist apart from the composite substance, for example, the form of a house does not exist apart from matter; for the form of a house is an accident, and the matter of a house is a substance, and an accident exists only in a substance.
lib. 12 l. 3 n. 8 Sed hoc dico, nisi accipiatur forma domus, ut ars, idest prout est in mente artificis. Sic enim est praeter materiam. Sed harum formarum artificialium prout sunt in mente artificis, nec est generatio nec corruptio. Domus enim, quae est sine materia in anima, et sanitas, et omnia huiusmodi, alio modo incipiunt esse et desinunt quam per corruptionem et generationem; scilicet per disciplinam, aut per inventionem.	2448. 1 say that this is true unless the form of the house should be taken “as the art,” i.e., as existing in the mind of the artisan, for in this way it does exist apart from matter. But there is neither generation nor destruction of these artificial forms as existing in the mind of the artisan; for the house which exists in the mind without matter, and health, and all things of this kind, begin to be and cease to be in a different way from those things which come to be by generation and destruction, i.e., by teaching or by discovery.
lib. 12 l. 3 n. 9 Sed, si aliquae formae sunt praeter substantiam compositam, hoc erit verum in formis naturalibus, quae substantiae sunt. Unde Plato non male dixit, quod species, idest formae separatae, sunt formae quae sunt per naturam. Dico autem quod non simpliciter bene dixit, sed si sunt species aliae aliquae ab istis sensibilibus, quae sunt caro, caput et huiusmodi, quae sunt materia ultima substantiae particularis compositae, quae est maxime substantia.	2449. But if any forms do exist apart from composite substances, this will be true of those natural forms which are substances. Hence Plato was not wrong in saying “that the Forms,” i.e., the separate Forms, are things which exist by nature. But I say that he was not wrong, not in an unqualified sense, but only if there are other forms which differ from sensible ones, such as flesh, head and the like, which are the last matter of a particular composite substance, which is substance in the fullest sense.
lib. 12 l. 3 n. 10 Tertio ibi, moventes quidem ostendit, quod formae universales non sunt praeter substantiam compositam; et circa hoc duo facit. Primo manifestat propositum, assignans differentiam inter causas formales et causas moventes. Et dicit, quod causae moventes praeexistunt rebus factis. Et hoc necessarium est; quia causae moventes sunt principia motus, qui terminatur ad rem factam. Sed causa formalis, quae est causa quasi ratio rei, simul incipit esse cum re cuius est forma. Tunc enim incipit esse sanitas, quando homo sanatur; et tunc incipit esse figura sphaerae aereae, quando fit sphaera aerea. Unde manifestum est, quod formae non sunt separatae a substantiis compositis; quia si essent separatae, oporteret quod essent sempiternae, cum non sint talium per se neque generatio, neque corruptio, ut ostensum est: et sic praeessent substantiis his, quarum sunt formae.	2450. Hence efficient causes (1040). Third, he shows that there are no universal forms apart from composite substances. In regard to this he does two things. First, he makes his purpose clear by differentiating between formal and efficient causes. He says that efficient causes are prior to their effects; and this must be so because efficient causes are the source of the motion which terminates in the thing made. But the formal cause, which is a cause in the sense of the intelligible structure of a thing, begins to be when the thing of which it is the form begins to be. For health begins to be when a man is healed, and the shape of a bronze sphere begins to be when the bronze sphere comes into being. It is evident, then, that forms are not separate from composite substances; for if they were separate, they would have to be eternal, since of such things there is directly neither generation nor destruction, as has been shown (611:C 1420; 696:C 1687); and thus they would be prior to the substances of which they are the forms.
lib. 12 l. 3 n. 11 Sed quamvis formae non praeexistant substantiis compositis, perscrutandum tamen est, si aliqua forma remaneat posterius, corrupta substantia composita. In quibusdam enim formis nihil prohibet quod remaneant post substantiam compositam. Puta, si dicamus animam esse talem. Non tamen omnis anima, sed solus intellectus. Forsitan enim impossibile est omnem animam esse talem, ut remaneat corrupto corpore; quia aliae partes animae non habent operationem sine organis corporeis, intellectus autem non operatur per organum. Dicit autem, forsan, quia non erat praesentis intentionis hoc demonstrare, sed hoc pertinet ad scientiam de anima. Et sicut aliae partes animae ab intellectu non remanent post substantiam compositam, ita etiam nec aliae formae rerum corruptibilium.	2451. But even though forms are not prior to composite substances, it is still necessary to investigate whether any form remains after the composite substance has been destroyed. For nothing prevents some forms from continuing to exist after the composite ceases to exist; for example, we might say that the soul is of this sort—not every soul but only the intellective. For perhaps it is impossible that every soul should be such that it continues to exist after the body has been destroyed, because the other parts of the soul do not operate without bodily organs, whereas the intellect does not operate by way of a bodily organ. He says “perhaps” because it is not his present intention to demonstrate this point; but this belongs to the science which treats of the soul. And just as the parts of the soul other than the intellect do not continue to exist after the composite substance has been destroyed, in a similar fashion neither do other forms of perishable things.
lib. 12 l. 3 n. 12 Considerandum autem hanc sententiam esse Aristotelis de anima intellectiva quod non fuerit ante corpus, ut Plato posuit, neque etiam destruitur destructo corpore, ut antiqui naturales posuerunt, non distinguentes inter intellectum et sensum. Non enim excipit animam intellectivam a generalitate aliarum formarum, quantum ad hoc quod formae non praeexistunt substantiis compositis; sed solum quantum ad hoc quod non remanent post substantias compositas.	2452. Now we should observe that it is Aristotle’s view regarding the intellective soul that it did not exist before the body as Plato claimed, and also that it is not destroyed when the body is, as the ancient philosophers held inasmuch as they failed to distinguish between intellect and sense. For he did not exclude the intellective soul from the generality of other forms as regards their not existing prior to composite substances, but only as regards their not continuing to exist after the composite substances have been destroyed.
lib. 12 l. 3 n. 13 Ex quo etiam patet quod non potest hoc depravari, sicut quidam depravare conantur dicentes intellectum possibilem tantum, vel agentem tantummodo esse incorruptibilem. Tum quia ponunt intellectum, quem dicunt esse incorruptibilem, sive sit intellectus possibilis sive agens, esse quamdam substantiam separatam, et sic non est forma. Tum etiam quia si sit forma, sicut remanet corrupto corpore, ita etiam praeexistit corpori. Et quantum ad hoc non esset differentia inter ponentes intellectum separatum esse formam hominis, et ponentes species separatas esse formas rerum sensibilium. Quod Aristoteles hic excludere intendit.	2453. From this consideration it is also evident that one cannot degrade the intellective soul as some men attempt to do, saying that the possible intellect alone or the agent intellect alone is imperishable. For these men claim not only that the intellect which they say is imperishable (whether it be the possible or the agent intellect) is a separate substance and thus not a form, but also that, if it is a form of the kind which remains after the body has perished, it must exist prior to the body. And in this respect there would be no difference between those who hold that a separate intellect is the form of man and those who hold that separate Forms are the forms of sensible things. This is the view which Aristotle aims to reject here.
lib. 12 l. 3 n. 14 Palam itaque secundo excludit rationem propter quam ponebant ideas separatas. Ad hoc enim dicebant Platonici esse necessarium ponere ideas, ut substantiae particulares sensibiles ad earum similitudines formarentur. Sed hoc non est necessarium; quia in istis inferioribus invenitur causa sufficiens formationis omnium eorum quae fiunt. Nam agens naturale agit sibi simile. Homo enim generat hominem; non quidem universalis singularem, sed singularis singularem. Unde non est necessarium ponere hominem universalem esse separatum, a quo hic homo singularis formam speciei accipiat vel participet. Et similiter manifestum est in his quae fiunt secundum artem; quia ars medicinalis est quaedam ratio sanitatis et similitudo in anima, ut etiam supra ostensum est.	2454. It is evident (1041). Second, he rejects the argument by which they maintained that there are separate Ideas. For the Platonists said that it was necessary to posit Ideas in order that particular things might be formed in likeness to them. But this is not necessary, because in the realm of lower bodies one finds an adequate cause of the formation of everything that comes to be. For a natural agent produces something like itself. For man begets man; but it is not the universal man who begets a singular man, but the singular man begets a singular man. Hence it is not necessary to hold that there is a separate universal man by reason of which the singular man here receives, or shares in, the form of the species. The same thing is evident of those things which come to be by art, because the medical art is the formal determinant and likeness of health in the mind, as has also been shown above (1040:C 2450).