第3章
2
WemaydistinguishgenerallybetweenpredicatingBofAbecauseit(A)isitself,andbecauseitissomethingelse;andparticularlybetweenplacewhichiscommonandinwhichallbodiesare,andthespecialplaceoccupiedprimarilybyeach。Imean,forinstance,thatyouarenowintheheavensbecauseyouareintheairanditisintheheavens;andyouareintheairbecauseyouareontheearth;andsimilarlyontheearthbecauseyouareinthisplacewhichcontainsnomorethanyou。
Nowifplaceiswhatprimarilycontainseachbody,itwouldbealimit,sothattheplacewouldbetheformorshapeofeachbodybywhichthemagnitudeorthematterofthemagnitudeisdefined:forthisisthelimitofeachbody。
If,then,welookatthequestioninthiswaytheplaceofathingisitsform。But,ifweregardtheplaceastheextensionofthemagnitude,itisthematter。Forthisisdifferentfromthemagnitude:
itiswhatiscontainedanddefinedbytheform,asbyaboundingplane。Matterortheindeterminateisofthisnature;whentheboundaryandattributesofaspherearetakenaway,nothingbutthematterisleft。
ThisiswhyPlatointheTimaeussaysthatmatterandspacearethesame;forthe"participant"andspaceareidentical。(Itistrue,indeed,thattheaccounthegivesthereofthe"participant"
isdifferentfromwhathesaysinhisso-called"unwrittenteaching"。Nevertheless,hedididentifyplaceandspace。)ImentionPlatobecause,whileallholdplacetobesomething,healonetriedtosaywhatitis。
Inviewofthesefactsweshouldnaturallyexpecttofinddifficultyindeterminingwhatplaceis,ifindeeditisoneofthesetwothings,matterorform。Theydemandaveryclosescrutiny,especiallyasitisnoteasytorecognizethemapart。
Butitisatanyratenotdifficulttoseethatplacecannotbeeitherofthem。Theformandthematterarenotseparatefromthething,whereastheplacecanbeseparated。Aswepointedout,whereairwas,waterinturncomestobe,theonereplacingtheother;andsimilarlywithotherbodies。Hencetheplaceofathingisneitherapartnorastateofit,butisseparablefromit。Forplaceissupposedtobesomethinglikeavessel-thevesselbeingatransportableplace。Butthevesselisnopartofthething。
Insofarthenasitisseparablefromthething,itisnottheform:quacontaining,itisdifferentfromthematter。
Alsoitisheldthatwhatisanywhereisbothitselfsomethingandthatthereisadifferentthingoutsideit。(Platoofcourse,ifwemaydigress,oughttotelluswhytheformandthenumbersarenotinplace,if"whatparticipates"isplace-whetherwhatparticipatesistheGreatandtheSmallorthematter,ashecalleditinwritingintheTimaeus。)
Further,howcouldabodybecarriedtoitsownplace,ifplacewasthematterortheform?Itisimpossiblethatwhathasnoreferencetomotionorthedistinctionofupanddowncanbeplace。Soplacemustbelookedforamongthingswhichhavethesecharacteristics。
Iftheplaceisinthething(itmustbeifitiseithershapeormatter)placewillhaveaplace:forboththeformandtheindeterminateundergochangeandmotionalongwiththething,andarenotalwaysinthesameplace,butarewherethethingis。Hencetheplacewillhaveaplace。
Further,whenwaterisproducedfromair,theplacehasbeendestroyed,fortheresultingbodyisnotinthesameplace。Whatsortofdestructionthenisthat?
Thisconcludesmystatementofthereasonswhyspacemustbesomething,andagainofthedifficultiesthatmayberaisedaboutitsessentialnature。
3
Thenextstepwemusttakeistoseeinhowmanysensesonethingissaidtobe"in"another。
(1)Asthefingeris"in"thehandandgenerallythepart"in"thewhole。
(2)Asthewholeis"in"theparts:forthereisnowholeoverandabovetheparts。
(3)Asmanis"in"animalandgenerallyspecies"in"genus。
(4)Asthegenusis"in"thespeciesandgenerallythepartofthespecificform"in"thedefinitionofthespecificform。
(5)Ashealthis"in"thehotandthecoldandgenerallytheform"in"thematter。
(6)AstheaffairsofGreececentre"in"theking,andgenerallyeventscentre"in"theirprimarymotiveagent。
(7)Astheexistenceofathingcentres"initsgoodandgenerally"in"itsend,i。e。in"thatforthesakeofwhich"itexists。
(8)Inthestrictestsenseofall,asathingis"in"avessel,andgenerally"in"place。
Onemightraisethequestionwhetherathingcanbeinitself,orwhethernothingcanbeinitself-everythingbeingeithernowhereorinsomethingelse。
Thequestionisambiguous;wemaymeanthethingquaitselforquasomethingelse。
Whentherearepartsofawhole-theonethatinwhichathingis,theotherthethingwhichisinit-thewholewillbedescribedasbeinginitself。Forathingisdescribedintermsofitsparts,aswellasintermsofthethingasawhole,e。g。amanissaidtobewhitebecausethevisiblesurfaceofhimiswhite,ortobescientificbecausehisthinkingfacultyhasbeentrained。Thejarthenwillnotbeinitselfandthewinewillnotbeinitself。Butthejarofwinewill:forthecontentsandthecontainerarebothpartsofthesamewhole。
Inthissensethen,butnotprimarily,athingcanbeinitself,namely,as"white"isinbody(forthevisiblesurfaceisinbody),andscienceisinthemind。
Itisfromthese,whichare"parts"(inthesenseatleastofbeing"in"theman),thatthemaniscalledwhite,&c。Butthejarandthewineinseparationarenotpartsofawhole,thoughtogethertheyare。Sowhenthereareparts,athingwillbeinitself,as"white"isinmanbecauseitisinbody,andinbodybecauseitresidesinthevisiblesurface。Wecannotgofurtherandsaythatitisinsurfaceinvirtueofsomethingotherthanitself。(Yetitisnotinitself:thoughtheseareinawaythesamething,)theydifferinessence,eachhavingaspecialnatureandcapacity,"surface"and"white"。
Thusifwelookatthematterinductivelywedonotfindanythingtobe"in"itselfinanyofthesensesthathavebeendistinguished;
anditcanbeseenbyargumentthatitisimpossible。Foreachoftwothingswillhavetobeboth,e。g。thejarwillhavetobebothvesselandwine,andthewinebothwineandjar,ifitispossibleforathingtobeinitself;sothat,howevertrueitmightbethattheywereineachother,thejarwillreceivethewineinvirtuenotofitsbeingwinebutofthewine"sbeingwine,andthewinewillbeinthejarinvirtuenotofitsbeingajarbutofthejar"sbeingajar。Nowthattheyaredifferentinrespectoftheiressenceisevident;for"thatinwhichsomethingis"and"thatwhichisinit"wouldbedifferentlydefined。
Norisitpossibleforathingtobeinitselfevenincidentally:
fortwothingswouldatthesametimeinthesamething。Thejarwouldbeinitself-ifathingwhosenatureitistoreceivecanbeinitself;andthatwhichitreceives,namely(ifwine)wine,willbeinit。
Obviouslythenathingcannotbeinitselfprimarily。
Zeno"sproblem-thatifPlaceissomethingitmustbeinsomething-isnotdifficulttosolve。Thereisnothingtopreventthefirstplacefrombeing"in"somethingelse-notindeedinthatas"in"place,butashealthis"in"thehotasapositivedeterminationofitorasthehotis"in"bodyasanaffection。Soweescapetheinfiniteregress。
Anotherthingisplain:sincethevesselisnopartofwhatisinit(whatcontainsinthestrictsenseisdifferentfromwhatiscontained),placecouldnotbeeitherthematterortheformofthethingcontained,butmustdifferent-forthelatter,boththematterandtheshape,arepartsofwhatiscontained。
Thisthenmayserveasacriticalstatementofthedifficultiesinvolved。
4
Whatthenafterallisplace?Theanswertothisquestionmaybeelucidatedasfollows。
Letustakeforgrantedaboutitthevariouscharacteristicswhicharesupposedcorrectlytobelongtoitessentially。Weassumethen-
(1)Placeiswhatcontainsthatofwhichitistheplace。
(2)Placeisnopartofthething。
(3)Theimmediateplaceofathingisneitherlessnorgreaterthanthething。
(4)Placecanbeleftbehindbythethingandisseparable。Inaddition:
(5)Allplaceadmitsofthedistinctionofupanddown,andeachofthebodiesisnaturallycarriedtoitsappropriateplaceandreststhere,andthismakestheplaceeitherupordown。
Havinglaidthesefoundations,wemustcompletethetheory。Weoughttotrytomakeourinvestigationsuchaswillrenderanaccountofplace,andwillnotonlysolvethedifficultiesconnectedwithit,butwillalsoshowthattheattributessupposedtobelongtoitdoreallybelongtoit,andfurtherwillmakeclearthecauseofthetroubleandofthedifficultiesaboutit。Suchisthemostsatisfactorykindofexposition。
Firstthenwemustunderstandthatplacewouldnothavebeenthoughtof,iftherehadnotbeenaspecialkindofmotion,namelythatwithrespecttoplace。Itischieflyforthisreasonthatwesupposetheheavenalsotobeinplace,becauseitisinconstantmovement。Ofthiskindofchangetherearetwospecies-locomotionontheonehandand,ontheother,increaseanddiminution。Forthesetooinvolvevariationofplace:whatwastheninthisplacehasnowinturnchangedtowhatislargerorsmaller。
Again,whenwesayathingis"moved",thepredicateeither(1)
belongstoitactually,invirtueofitsownnature,or(2)invirtueofsomethingconjoinedwithit。Inthelattercaseitmaybeeither(a)somethingwhichbyitsownnatureiscapableofbeingmoved,e。g。thepartsofthebodyorthenailintheship,or(b)
somethingwhichisnotinitselfcapableofbeingmoved,butisalwaysmovedthroughitsconjunctionwithsomethingelse,as"whiteness"or"science"。Thesehavechangedtheirplaceonlybecausethesubjectstowhichtheybelongdoso。
Wesaythatathingisintheworld,inthesenseofinplace,becauseitisintheair,andtheairisintheworld;andwhenwesayitisintheair,wedonotmeanitisineverypartoftheair,butthatitisintheairbecauseoftheoutersurfaceoftheairwhichsurroundsit;forifalltheairwereitsplace,theplaceofathingwouldnotbeequaltothething-whichitissupposedtobe,andwhichtheprimaryplaceinwhichathingisactuallyis。
Whenwhatsurrounds,then,isnotseparatefromthething,butisincontinuitywithit,thethingissaidtobeinwhatsurroundsit,notinthesenseofinplace,butasapartinawhole。Butwhenthethingisseparateandincontact,itisimmediately"in"theinnersurfaceofthesurroundingbody,andthissurfaceisneitherapartofwhatisinitnoryetgreaterthanitsextension,butequaltoit;fortheextremitiesofthingswhichtoucharecoincident。
Further,ifonebodyisincontinuitywithanother,itisnotmovedinthatbutwiththat。Ontheotherhanditismovedinthatifitisseparate。Itmakesnodifferencewhetherwhatcontainsismovedornot。
Again,whenitisnotseparateitisdescribedasapartinawhole,asthepupilintheeyeorthehandinthebody:whenitisseparate,asthewaterinthecaskorthewineinthejar。Forthehandismovedwiththebodyandthewaterinthecask。
Itwillnowbeplainfromtheseconsiderationswhatplaceis。
Therearejustfourthingsofwhichplacemustbeone-theshape,orthematter,orsomesortofextensionbetweentheboundingsurfacesofthecontainingbody,orthisboundaryitselfifitcontainsnoextensionoverandabovethebulkofthebodywhichcomestobeinit。
Threeoftheseitobviouslycannotbe:
(1)Theshapeissupposedtobeplacebecauseitsurrounds,fortheextremitiesofwhatcontainsandofwhatiscontainedarecoincident。Boththeshapeandtheplace,itistrue,areboundaries。Butnotofthesamething:theformistheboundaryofthething,theplaceistheboundaryofthebodywhichcontainsit。
(2)Theextensionbetweentheextremitiesisthoughttobesomething,becausewhatiscontainedandseparatemayoftenbechangedwhilethecontainerremainsthesame(aswatermaybepouredfromavessel)-theassumptionbeingthattheextensionissomethingoverandabovethebodydisplaced。Butthereisnosuchextension。Oneofthebodieswhichchangeplacesandarenaturallycapableofbeingincontactwiththecontainerfallsinwhicheveritmaychancetobe。
Iftherewereanextensionwhichweresuchastoexistindependentlyandbepermanent,therewouldbeaninfinityofplacesinthesamething。Forwhenthewaterandtheairchangeplaces,alltheportionsofthetwotogetherwillplaythesamepartinthewholewhichwaspreviouslyplayedbyallthewaterinthevessel;atthesametimetheplacetoowillbeundergoingchange;sothattherewillbeanotherplacewhichistheplaceoftheplace,andmanyplaceswillbecoincident。Thereisnotadifferentplaceofthepart,inwhichitismoved,whenthewholevesselchangesitsplace:itisalwaysthesame:foritisinthe(proximate)placewheretheyarethattheairandthewater(orthepartsofthewater)succeedeachother,notinthatplaceinwhichtheycometobe,whichispartoftheplacewhichistheplaceofthewholeworld。
(3)Thematter,too,mightseemtobeplace,atleastifweconsideritinwhatisatrestandisthusseparatebutincontinuity。Forjustasinchangeofqualitythereissomethingwhichwasformerlyblackandisnowwhite,orformerlysoftandnowhard-thisisjustwhywesaythatthematterexists-soplace,becauseitpresentsasimilarphenomenon,isthoughttoexist-onlyintheonecasewesaysobecausewhatwasairisnowwater,intheotherbecausewhereairformerlywasthereaisnowwater。Butthematter,aswesaidbefore,isneitherseparablefromthethingnorcontainsit,whereasplacehasbothcharacteristics。
Well,then,ifplaceisnoneofthethree-neithertheformnorthematternoranextensionwhichisalwaysthere,differentfrom,andoverandabove,theextensionofthethingwhichisdisplaced-placenecessarilyistheoneofthefourwhichisleft,namely,theboundaryofthecontainingbodyatwhichitisincontactwiththecontainedbody。(Bythecontainedbodyismeantwhatcanbemovedbywayoflocomotion。)
Placeisthoughttobesomethingimportantandhardtograsp,bothbecausethematterandtheshapepresentthemselvesalongwithit,andbecausethedisplacementofthebodythatismovedtakesplaceinastationarycontainer,foritseemspossiblethatthereshouldbeanintervalwhichisotherthanthebodieswhicharemoved。Theair,too,whichisthoughttobeincorporeal,contributessomethingtothebelief:itisnotonlytheboundariesofthevesselwhichseemtobeplace,butalsowhatisbetweenthem,regardedasempty。Just,infact,asthevesselistransportableplace,soplaceisanon-portablevessel。Sowhenwhatiswithinathingwhichismoved,ismovedandchangesitsplace,asaboatonariver,whatcontainsplaysthepartofavesselratherthanthatofplace。Placeontheotherhandisratherwhatismotionless:soitisratherthewholeriverthatisplace,becauseasawholeitismotionless。
Henceweconcludethattheinnermostmotionlessboundaryofwhatcontainsisplace。
Thisexplainswhythemiddleoftheheavenandthesurfacewhichfacesusoftherotatingsystemareheldtobe"up"and"down"inthestrictandfullestsenseforallmen:fortheoneisalwaysatrest,whiletheinnersideoftherotatingbodyremainsalwayscoincidentwithitself。Hencesincethelightiswhatisnaturallycarriedup,andtheheavywhatiscarrieddown,theboundarywhichcontainsinthedirectionofthemiddleoftheuniverse,andthemiddleitself,aredown,andthatwhichcontainsinthedirectionoftheoutermostpartoftheuniverse,andtheoutermostpartitself,areup。
Forthisreason,too,placeisthoughttobeakindofsurface,andasitwereavessel,i。e。acontainerofthething。
Further,placeiscoincidentwiththething,forboundariesarecoincidentwiththebounded。
5
Ifthenabodyhasanotherbodyoutsideitandcontainingit,itisinplace,andifnot,not。Thatiswhy,evenifthereweretobewaterwhichhadnotacontainer,thepartsofit,ontheonehand,willbemoved(foronepartiscontainedinanother),while,ontheotherhand,thewholewillbemovedinonesense,butnotinanother。Forasawholeitdoesnotsimultaneouslychangeitsplace,thoughitwillbemovedinacircle:forthisplaceistheplaceofitsparts。(Somethingsaremoved,notupanddown,butinacircle;
othersupanddown,suchthingsnamelyasadmitofcondensationandrarefaction。)
Aswasexplained,somethingsarepotentiallyinplace,othersactually。So,whenyouhaveahomogeneoussubstancewhichiscontinuous,thepartsarepotentiallyinplace:whenthepartsareseparated,butincontact,likeaheap,theyareactuallyinplace。
Again,(1)somethingsareperseinplace,namelyeverybodywhichismovableeitherbywayoflocomotionorbywayofincreaseispersesomewhere,buttheheaven,ashasbeensaid,isnotanywhereasawhole,norinanyplace,ifatleast,aswemustsuppose,nobodycontainsit。Onthelineonwhichitismoved,itspartshaveplace:
foreachiscontiguousthenext。
But(2)otherthingsareinplaceindirectly,throughsomethingconjoinedwiththem,asthesoulandtheheaven。Thelatteris,inaway,inplace,forallitspartsare:forontheorbonepartcontainsanother。Thatiswhytheupperpartismovedinacircle,whiletheAllisnotanywhere。Forwhatissomewhereisitselfsomething,andtheremustbealongsideitsomeotherthingwhereinitisandwhichcontainsit。ButalongsidetheAllortheWholethereisnothingoutsidetheAll,andforthisreasonallthingsareintheheaven;fortheheaven,wemaysay,istheAll。Yettheirplaceisnotthesameastheheaven。Itispartofit,theinnermostpartofit,whichisincontactwiththemovablebody;andforthisreasontheearthisinwater,andthisintheair,andtheairintheaether,andtheaetherinheaven,butwecannotgoonandsaythattheheavenisinanythingelse。
Itisclear,too,fromtheseconsiderationsthatalltheproblemswhichwereraisedaboutplacewillbesolvedwhenitisexplainedinthisway:
(1)Thereisnonecessitythattheplaceshouldgrowwiththebodyinit,(2)Northatapointshouldhaveaplace,(3)Northattwobodiesshouldbeinthesameplace,(4)Northatplaceshouldbeacorporealinterval:forwhatisbetweentheboundariesoftheplaceisanybodywhichmaychancetobethere,notanintervalinbody。
Further,(5)placeisalsosomewhere,notinthesenseofbeinginaplace,butasthelimitisinthelimited;fornoteverythingthatisisinplace,butonlymovablebody。
Also(6)itisreasonablethateachkindofbodyshouldbecarriedtoitsownplace。Forabodywhichisnextintheseriesandincontact(notbycompulsion)isakin,andbodieswhichareuniteddonotaffecteachother,whilethosewhichareincontactinteractoneachother。
Nor(7)isitwithoutreasonthateachshouldremainnaturallyinitsproperplace。Forthisparthasthesamerelationtoitsplace,asaseparableparttoitswhole,aswhenonemovesapartofwaterorair:so,too,airisrelatedtowater,fortheoneislikematter,theotherform-wateristhematterofair,airasitweretheactualityofwater,forwaterispotentiallyair,whileairispotentiallywater,thoughinanotherway。
Thesedistinctionswillbedrawnmorecarefullylater。Onthepresentoccasionitwasnecessarytorefertothem:whathasnowbeenstatedobscurelywillthenbemademoreclear。Ifthematterandthefulfilmentarethesamething(forwaterisboth,theonepotentially,theothercompletely),waterwillberelatedtoairinawayasparttowhole。Thatiswhythesehavecontact:itisorganicunionwhenbothbecomeactuallyone。
Thisconcludesmyaccountofplace-bothofitsexistenceandofitsnature。
6
Theinvestigationofsimilarquestionsaboutthevoid,also,mustbeheldtobelongtothephysicist-namelywhetheritexistsornot,andhowitexistsorwhatitis-justasaboutplace。Theviewstakenofitinvolveargumentsbothforandagainst,inmuchthesamesortofway。Forthosewhoholdthatthevoidexistsregarditasasortofplaceorvesselwhichissupposedtobe"full"whenitholdsthebulkwhichitiscapableofcontaining,"void"whenitisdeprivedofthat-asif"void"and"full"and"place"denotedthesamething,thoughtheessenceofthethreeisdifferent。
Wemustbegintheinquirybyputtingdowntheaccountgivenbythosewhosaythatitexists,thentheaccountofthosewhosaythatitdoesnotexist,andthirdthecurrentviewonthesequestions。
Thosewhotrytoshowthatthevoiddoesnotexistdonotdisprovewhatpeoplereallymeanbyit,butonlytheirerroneouswayofspeaking;thisistrueofAnaxagorasandofthosewhorefutetheexistenceofthevoidinthisway。Theymerelygiveaningeniousdemonstrationthatairissomething——bystrainingwine-skinsandshowingtheresistanceoftheair,andbycuttingitoffinclepsydras。Butpeoplereallymeanthatthereisanemptyintervalinwhichthereisnosensiblebody。Theyholdthateverythingwhichisinbodyisbodyandsaythatwhathasnothinginitatallisvoid(sowhatisfullofairisvoid)。Itisnotthentheexistenceofairthatneedstobeproved,butthenon-existenceofaninterval,differentfromthebodies,eitherseparableoractual-anintervalwhichdividesthewholebodysoastobreakitscontinuity,asDemocritusandLeucippushold,andmanyotherphysicists-orevenperhapsassomethingwhichisoutsidethewholebody,whichremainscontinuous。
Thesepeople,then,havenotreachedeventhethresholdoftheproblem,butratherthosewhosaythatthevoidexists。
(1)Theyargue,foronething,thatchangeinplace(i。e。locomotionandincrease)wouldnotbe。Foritismaintainedthatmotionwouldseemnottoexist,iftherewerenovoid,sincewhatisfullcannotcontainanythingmore。Ifitcould,andthereweretwobodiesinthesameplace,itwouldalsobetruethatanynumberofbodiescouldbetogether;foritisimpossibletodrawalineofdivisionbeyondwhichthestatementwouldbecomeuntrue。Ifthiswerepossible,itwouldfollowalsothatthesmallestbodywouldcontainthegreatest;for"manyalittlemakesamickle":thusifmanyequalbodiescanbetogether,soalsocanmanyunequalbodies。
Melissus,indeed,infersfromtheseconsiderationsthattheAllisimmovable;forifitweremovedtheremust,hesays,bevoid,butvoidisnotamongthethingsthatexist。
Thisargument,then,isonewayinwhichtheyshowthatthereisavoid。
(2)Theyreasonfromthefactthatsomethingsareobservedtocontractandbecompressed,aspeoplesaythatacaskwillholdthewinewhichformerlyfilledit,alongwiththeskinsintowhichthewinehasbeendecanted,whichimpliesthatthecompressedbodycontractsintothevoidspresentinit。
Again(3)increase,too,isthoughttotakealwaysbymeansofvoid,fornutrimentisbody,anditisimpossiblefortwobodiestobetogether。Aproofofthistheyfindalsoinwhathappenstoashes,whichabsorbasmuchwaterastheemptyvessel。
ThePythagoreans,too,(4)heldthatvoidexistsandthatitenterstheheavenitself,whichasitwereinhalesit,fromtheinfiniteair。Furtheritisthevoidwhichdistinguishesthenaturesofthings,asifitwerelikewhatseparatesanddistinguishesthetermsofaseries。Thisholdsprimarilyinthenumbers,forthevoiddistinguishestheirnature。
These,then,andsomany,arethemaingroundsonwhichpeoplehavearguedforandagainsttheexistenceofthevoid。
7
Asasteptowardssettlingwhichviewistrue,wemustdeterminethemeaningofthename。
Thevoidisthoughttobeplacewithnothinginit。Thereasonforthisisthatpeopletakewhatexiststobebody,andholdthatwhileeverybodyisinplace,voidisplaceinwhichthereisnobody,sothatwherethereisnobody,theremustbevoid。
Everybody,again,theysupposetobetangible;andofthisnatureiswhateverhasweightorlightness。
Hence,byasyllogism,whathasnothingheavyorlightinit,isvoid。
Thisresult,then,asIhavesaid,isreachedbysyllogism。Itwouldbeabsurdtosupposethatthepointisvoid;forthevoidmustbeplacewhichhasinitanintervalintangiblebody。
Butatalleventsweobservethenthatinonewaythevoidisdescribedaswhatisnotfullofbodyperceptibletotouch;andwhathasheavinessandlightnessisperceptibletotouch。Sowewouldraisethequestion:whatwouldtheysayofanintervalthathascolourorsound-isitvoidornot?Clearlytheywouldreplythatifitcouldreceivewhatistangibleitwasvoid,andifnot,not。
Inanotherwayvoidisthatinwhichthereisno"this"orcorporealsubstance。Sosomesaythatthevoidisthematterofthebody(theyidentifytheplace,too,withthis),andinthistheyspeakincorrectly;forthematterisnotseparablefromthethings,buttheyareinquiringaboutthevoidasaboutsomethingseparable。
Sincewehavedeterminedthenatureofplace,andvoidmust,ifitexists,beplacedeprivedofbody,andwehavestatedbothinwhatsenseplaceexistsandinwhatsenseitdoesnot,itisplainthatonthisshowingvoiddoesnotexist,eitherunseparatedorseparated;thevoidismeanttobe,notbodybutratheranintervalinbody。Thisiswhythevoidisthoughttobesomething,viz。becauseplaceis,andforthesamereasons。Forthefactofmotioninrespectofplacecomestotheaidbothofthosewhomaintainthatplaceissomethingoverandabovethebodiesthatcometooccupyit,andofthosewhomaintainthatthevoidissomething。Theystatethatthevoidistheconditionofmovementinthesenseofthatinwhichmovementtakesplace;andthiswouldbethekindofthingthatsomesayplaceis。
Butthereisnonecessityfortherebeingavoidifthereismovement。Itisnotintheleastneededasaconditionofmovementingeneral,forareasonwhich,incidentally,escapedMelissus;viz。
thatthefullcansufferqualitativechange。
Butnotevenmovementinrespectofplaceinvolvesavoid;forbodiesmaysimultaneouslymakeroomforoneanother,thoughthereisnointervalseparateandapartfromthebodiesthatareinmovement。
Andthisisplainevenintherotationofcontinuousthings,asinthatofliquids。
Andthingscanalsobecompressednotintoavoidbutbecausetheysqueezeoutwhatiscontainedinthem(as,forinstance,whenwateriscompressedtheairwithinitissqueezedout);andthingscanincreaseinsizenotonlybytheentranceofsomethingbutalsobyqualitativechange;e。g。ifwaterweretobetransformedintoair。
Ingeneral,boththeargumentaboutincreaseofsizeandthataboutwaterpouredontotheashesgetintheirownway。Foreithernotanyandeverypartofthebodyisincreased,orbodiesmaybeincreasedotherwisethanbytheadditionofbody,ortheremaybetwobodiesinthesameplace(inwhichcasetheyareclaimingtosolveaquitegeneraldifficulty,butarenotprovingtheexistenceofvoid),orthewholebodymustbevoid,ifitisincreasedineverypartandisincreasedbymeansofvoid。Thesameargumentappliestotheashes。
Itisevident,then,thatitiseasytorefutetheargumentsbywhichtheyprovetheexistenceofthevoid。
8
Letusexplainagainthatthereisnovoidexistingseparately,assomemaintain。Ifeachofthesimplebodieshasanaturallocomotion,e。g。fireupwardandearthdownwardandtowardsthemiddleoftheuniverse,itisclearthatitcannotbethevoidthatistheconditionoflocomotion。What,then,willthevoidbetheconditionof?Itisthoughttobetheconditionofmovementinrespectofplace,anditisnottheconditionofthis。
Again,ifvoidisasortofplacedeprivedofbody,whenthereisavoidwherewillabodyplacedinitmoveto?Itcertainlycannotmoveintothewholeofthevoid。Thesameargumentappliesasagainstthosewhothinkthatplaceissomethingseparate,intowhichthingsarecarried;viz。howwillwhatisplacedinitmove,orrest?Muchthesameargumentwillapplytothevoidastothe"up"and"down"inplace,asisnaturalenoughsincethosewhomaintaintheexistenceofthevoidmakeitaplace。
Andinwhatwaywillthingsbepresenteitherinplace-orinthevoid?Fortheexpectedresultdoesnottakeplacewhenabodyisplacedasawholeinaplaceconceivedofasseparateandpermanent;
forapartofit,unlessitbeplacedapart,willnotbeinaplacebutinthewhole。Further,ifseparateplacedoesnotexist,neitherwillvoid。
Ifpeoplesaythatthevoidmustexist,asbeingnecessaryifthereistobemovement,whatratherturnsouttobethecase,ifonethematter,istheopposite,thatnotasinglethingcanbemovedifthereisavoid;foraswiththosewhoforalikereasonsaytheearthisatrest,so,too,inthevoidthingsmustbeatrest;
forthereisnoplacetowhichthingscanmovemoreorlessthantoanother;sincethevoidinsofarasitisvoidadmitsnodifference。
Thesecondreasonisthis:allmovementiseithercompulsoryoraccordingtonature,andifthereiscompulsorymovementtheremustalsobenatural(forcompulsorymovementiscontrarytonature,andmovementcontrarytonatureisposteriortothataccordingtonature,sothatifeachofthenaturalbodieshasnotanaturalmovement,noneoftheothermovementscanexist);buthowcantherebenaturalmovementifthereisnodifferencethroughoutthevoidortheinfinite?Forinsofarasitisinfinite,therewillbenoupordownormiddle,andinsofarasitisavoid,updiffersnowhitfromdown;forasthereisnodifferenceinwhatisnothing,thereisnoneinthevoid(forthevoidseemstobeanon-existentandaprivationofbeing),butnaturallocomotionseemstobedifferentiated,sothatthethingsthatexistbynaturemustbedifferentiated。Either,then,nothinghasanaturallocomotion,orelsethereisnovoid。
Further,inpointoffactthingsthatarethrownmovethoughthatwhichgavethemtheirimpulseisnottouchingthem,eitherbyreasonofmutualreplacement,assomemaintain,orbecausetheairthathasbeenpushedpushesthemwithamovementquickerthanthenaturallocomotionoftheprojectilewherewithitmovestoitsproperplace。
Butinavoidnoneofthesethingscantakeplace,norcananythingbemovedsaveasthatwhichiscarriedismoved。
Further,noonecouldsaywhyathingoncesetinmotionshouldstopanywhere;forwhyshoulditstophereratherthanhere?Sothatathingwilleitherbeatrestormustbemovedadinfinitum,unlesssomethingmorepowerfulgetinitsway。
Further,thingsarenowthoughttomoveintothevoidbecauseityields;butinavoidthisqualityispresentequallyeverywhere,sothatthingsshouldmoveinalldirections。
Further,thetruthofwhatweassertisplainfromthefollowingconsiderations。Weseethesameweightorbodymovingfasterthananotherfortworeasons,eitherbecausethereisadifferenceinwhatitmovesthrough,asbetweenwater,air,andearth,orbecause,otherthingsbeingequal,themovingbodydiffersfromtheotherowingtoexcessofweightoroflightness。
Nowthemediumcausesadifferencebecauseitimpedesthemovingthing,mostofallifitismovingintheoppositedirection,butinasecondarydegreeevenifitisatrest;andespeciallyamediumthatisnoteasilydivided,i。e。amediumthatissomewhatdense。A,then,willmovethroughBintimeG,andthroughD,whichisthinner,intimeE(ifthelengthofBisegualtoD),inproportiontothedensityofthehinderingbody。ForletBbewaterandDair;
thenbysomuchasairisthinnerandmoreincorporealthanwater,A
willmovethroughDfasterthanthroughB。Letthespeedhavethesameratiotothespeed,then,thatairhastowater。Thenifairistwiceasthin,thebodywilltraverseBintwicethetimethatitdoesD,andthetimeGwillbetwicethetimeE。Andalways,bysomuchasthemediumismoreincorporealandlessresistantandmoreeasilydivided,thefasterwillbethemovement。
Nowthereisnoratioinwhichthevoidisexceededbybody,asthereisnoratioof0toanumber。Forif4exceeds3by1,and2
bymorethan1,and1bystillmorethanitexceeds2,stillthereisnoratiobywhichitexceeds0;forthatwhichexceedsmustbedivisibleintotheexcess+thatwhichisexceeded,sothatwillbewhatitexceeds0by+0。Forthisreason,too,alinedoesnotexceedapointunlessitiscomposedofpoints!Similarlythevoidcanbearnoratiotothefull,andthereforeneithercanmovementthroughtheonetomovementthroughtheother,butifathingmovesthroughthethickestmediumsuchandsuchadistanceinsuchandsuchatime,itmovesthroughthevoidwithaspeedbeyondanyratio。ForletZbevoid,equalinmagnitudetoBandtoD。ThenifAistotraverseandmovethroughitinacertaintime,H,atimelessthanE,however,thevoidwillbearthisratiotothefull。ButinatimeequaltoH,A
willtraversethepartOofA。AnditwillsurelyalsotraverseinthattimeanysubstanceZwhichexceedsairinthicknessintheratiowhichthetimeEbearstothetimeH。ForifthebodyZbeasmuchthinnerthanDasEexceedsH,A,ifitmovesthroughZ,willtraverseitinatimeinversetothespeedofthemovement,i。e。inatimeequaltoH。If,then,thereisnobodyinZ,AwilltraverseZstillmorequickly。ButwesupposedthatitstraverseofZwhenZ
wasvoidoccupiedthetimeH。SothatitwilltraverseZinanequaltimewhetherZbefullorvoid。Butthisisimpossible。Itisplain,then,thatifthereisatimeinwhichitwillmovethroughanypartofthevoid,thisimpossibleresultwillfollow:itwillbefoundtotraverseacertaindistance,whetherthisbefullorvoid,inanequaltime;fortherewillbesomebodywhichisinthesameratiototheotherbodyasthetimeistothetime。
Tosumthematterup,thecauseofthisresultisobvious,viz。thatbetweenanytwomovementsthereisaratio(fortheyoccupytime,andthereisaratiobetweenanytwotimes,solongasbotharefinite),butthereisnoratioofvoidtofull。
Thesearetheconsequencesthatresultfromadifferenceinthemedia;thefollowingdependuponanexcessofonemovingbodyoveranother。Weseethatbodieswhichhaveagreaterimpulseeitherofweightoroflightness,iftheyarealikeinotherrespects,movefasteroveranequalspace,andintheratiowhichtheirmagnitudesbeartoeachother。Thereforetheywillalsomovethroughthevoidwiththisratioofspeed。Butthatisimpossible;forwhyshouldonemovefaster?(Inmovingthroughplenaitmustbeso;forthegreaterdividesthemfasterbyitsforce。Foramovingthingcleavesthemediumeitherbyitsshape,orbytheimpulsewhichthebodythatiscarriedalongorisprojectedpossesses。)Thereforeallwillpossessequalvelocity。Butthisisimpossible。
Itisevidentfromwhathasbeensaid,then,that,ifthereisavoid,aresultfollowswhichistheveryoppositeofthereasonforwhichthosewhobelieveinavoidsetitup。Theythinkthatifmovementinrespectofplaceistoexist,thevoidcannotexist,separatedallbyitself;butthisisthesameastosaythatplaceisaseparatecavity;andthishasalreadybeenstatedtobeimpossible。
Butevenifweconsideritonitsownmeritstheso-calledvacuumwillbefoundtobereallyvacuous。Foras,ifoneputsacubeinwater,anamountofwaterequaltothecubewillbedisplaced;sotooinair;buttheeffectisimperceptibletosense。Andindeedalwaysinthecaseofanybodythatcanbedisplaced,must,ifitisnotcompressed,bedisplacedinthedirectioninwhichitisitsnaturetobedisplaced-alwayseitherdown,ifitslocomotionisdownwardsasinthecaseofearth,orup,ifitisfire,orinbothdirections-whateverbethenatureoftheinsertedbody。Nowinthevoidthisisimpossible;foritisnotbody;thevoidmusthavepenetratedthecubetoadistanceequaltothatwhichthisportionofvoidformerlyoccupiedinthevoid,justasifthewaterorairhadnotbeendisplacedbythewoodencube,buthadpenetratedrightthroughit。
Butthecubealsohasamagnitudeequaltothatoccupiedbythevoid;amagnitudewhich,ifitisalsohotorcold,orheavyorlight,isnonethelessdifferentinessencefromallitsattributes,evenifitisnotseparablefromthem;Imeanthevolumeofthewoodencube。
Sothatevenifitwereseparatedfromeverythingelseandwereneitherheavynorlight,itwilloccupyanequalamountofvoid,andfillthesameplace,asthepartofplaceorofthevoidequaltoitself。Howthenwillthebodyofthecubedifferfromthevoidorplacethatisequaltoit?Andiftherecanbetwosuchthings,whycannottherebeanynumbercoinciding?
This,then,isoneabsurdandimpossibleimplicationofthetheory。Itisalsoevidentthatthecubewillhavethissamevolumeevenifitisdisplaced,whichisanattributepossessedbyallotherbodiesalso。Thereforeifthisdiffersinnorespectfromitsplace,whyneedweassumeaplaceforbodiesoverandabovethevolumeofeach,iftheirvolumebeconceivedofasfreefromattributes?Itcontributesnothingtothesituationifthereisanequalintervalattachedtoitaswell。[Furtheritoughttobeclearbythestudyofmovingthingswhatsortofthingvoidis。Butinfactitisfoundnowhereintheworld。Forairissomething,thoughitdoesnotseemtobeso-nor,forthatmatter,wouldwater,iffishesweremadeofiron;forthediscriminationofthetangibleisbytouch。]
Itisclear,then,fromtheseconsiderationsthatthereisnoseparatevoid。
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Therearesomewhothinkthattheexistenceofrarityanddensityshowsthatthereisavoid。Ifrarityanddensitydonotexist,theysay,neithercanthingscontractandbecompressed。Butifthiswerenottotakeplace,eithertherewouldbenomovementatall,ortheuniversewouldbulge,asXuthussaid,orairandwatermustalwayschangeintoequalamounts(e。g。ifairhasbeenmadeoutofacupfulofwater,atthesametimeoutofanequalamountofairacupfulofwatermusthavebeenmade),orvoidmustnecessarilyexist;forcompressionandexpansioncannottakeplaceotherwise。
Now,iftheymeanbytherarethatwhichhasmanyvoidsexistingseparately,itisplainthatifvoidcannotexistseparateanymorethanaplacecanexistwithanextensionalltoitself,neithercantherareexistinthissense。Butiftheymeanthatthereisvoid,notseparatelyexistent,butstillpresentintherare,thisislessimpossible,yet,first,thevoidturnsoutnottobeaconditionofallmovement,butonlyofmovementupwards(fortherareislight,whichisthereasonwhytheysayfireisrare);second,thevoidturnsouttobeaconditionofmovementnotasthatinwhichittakesplace,butinthatthevoidcarriesthingsupasskinsbybeingcarriedupthemselvescarryupwhatiscontinuouswiththem。Yethowcanvoidhavealocalmovementoraplace?Forthusthatintowhichvoidmovesistillthenvoidofavoid。
Again,howwilltheyexplain,inthecaseofwhatisheavy,itsmovementdownwards?Anditisplainthatiftherarerandmorevoidathingisthequickeritwillmoveupwards,ifitwerecompletelyvoiditwouldmovewithamaximumspeed!Butperhapseventhisisimpossible,thatitshouldmoveatall;thesamereasonwhichshowedthatinthevoidallthingsareincapableofmovingshowsthatthevoidcannotmove,viz。thefactthatthespeedsareincomparable。
Sincewedenythatavoidexists,butfortheresttheproblemhasbeentrulystated,thateithertherewillbenomovement,ifthereisnottobecondensationandrarefaction,ortheuniversewillbulge,oratransformationofwaterintoairwillalwaysbebalancedbyanequaltransformationofairintowater(foritisclearthattheairproducedfromwaterisbulkierthanthewater):itisnecessarytherefore,ifcompressiondoesnotexist,eitherthatthenextportionwillbepushedoutwardsandmaketheoutermostpartbulge,orthatsomewhereelsetheremustbeanequalamountofwaterproducedoutofair,sothattheentirebulkofthewholemaybeequal,orthatnothingmoves。Forwhenanythingisdisplacedthiswillalwayshappen,unlessitcomesroundinacircle;butlocomotionisnotalwayscircular,butsometimesinastraightline。
Thesethenarethereasonsforwhichtheymightsaythatthereisavoid;ourstatementisbasedontheassumptionthatthereisasinglematterforcontraries,hotandcoldandtheothernaturalcontrarieties,andthatwhatexistsactuallyisproducedfromapotentialexistent,andthatmatterisnotseparablefromthecontrariesbutitsbeingisdifferent,andthatasinglemattermayserveforcolourandheatandcold。
Thesamematteralsoservesforbothalargeandasmallbody。
Thisisevident;forwhenairisproducedfromwater,thesamematterhasbecomesomethingdifferent,notbyacquiringanadditiontoit,buthasbecomeactuallywhatitwaspotentially,and,again,waterisproducedfromairinthesameway,thechangebeingsometimesfromsmallnesstogreatness,andsometimesfromgreatnesstosmallness。Similarly,therefore,ifairwhichislargeinextentcomestohaveasmallervolume,orbecomesgreaterfrombeingsmaller,itisthematterwhichispotentiallyboththatcomestobeeachofthetwo。
Forasthesamematterbecomeshotfrombeingcold,andcoldfrombeinghot,becauseitwaspotentiallyboth,sotoofromhotitcanbecomemorehot,thoughnothinginthematterhasbecomehotthatwasnothotwhenthethingwaslesshot;justas,ifthearcorcurveofagreatercirclebecomesthatofasmaller,whetheritremainsthesameorbecomesadifferentcurve,convexityhasnotcometoexistinanythingthatwasnotconvexbutstraight(fordifferencesofdegreedonotdependonanintermissionofthequality);norcanwegetanyportionofaflame,inwhichbothheatandwhitenessarenotpresent。Sotoo,then,istheearlierheatrelatedtothelater。Sothatthegreatnessandsmallness,also,ofthesensiblevolumeareextended,notbythematter"sacquiringanythingnew,butbecausethematterispotentiallymatterforbothstates;sothatthesamethingisdenseandrare,andthetwoqualitieshaveonematter。
Thedenseisheavy,andtherareislight。[Again,asthearcofacirclewhencontractedintoasmallerspacedoesnotacquireanewpartwhichisconvex,butwhatwastherehasbeencontracted;andasanypartoffirethatonetakeswillbehot;so,too,itisallaquestionofcontractionandexpansionofthesamematter。]Therearetwotypesineachcase,bothinthedenseandintherare;forboththeheavyandthehardarethoughttobedense,andcontrariwiseboththelightandthesoftarerare;andweightandhardnessfailtocoincideinthecaseofleadandiron。
Fromwhathasbeensaiditisevident,then,thatvoiddoesnotexisteitherseparate(eitherabsolutelyseparateorasaseparateelementintherare)orpotentially,unlessoneiswillingtocalltheconditionofmovementvoid,whateveritmaybe。Atthatratethematteroftheheavyandthelight,quamatterofthem,wouldbethevoid;forthedenseandtherareareproductiveoflocomotioninvirtueofthiscontrariety,andinvirtueoftheirhardnessandsoftnessproductiveofpassivityandimpassivity,i。e。notoflocomotionbutratherofqualitativechange。
Somuch,then,forthediscussionofthevoid,andofthesenseinwhichitexistsandthesenseinwhichitdoesnotexist。
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NextfordiscussionafterthesubjectsmentionedisTime。Thebestplanwillbetobeginbyworkingoutthedifficultiesconnectedwithit,makinguseofthecurrentarguments。First,doesitbelongtotheclassofthingsthatexistortothatofthingsthatdonotexist?
Thensecondly,whatisitsnature?Tostart,then:thefollowingconsiderationswouldmakeonesuspectthatiteitherdoesnotexistatallorbarely,andinanobscureway。Onepartofithasbeenandisnot,whiletheotherisgoingtobeandisnotyet。Yettime-bothinfinitetimeandanytimeyouliketotake-ismadeupofthese。Onewouldnaturallysupposethatwhatismadeupofthingswhichdonotexistcouldhavenoshareinreality。
Further,ifadivisiblethingistoexist,itisnecessarythat,whenitexists,allorsomeofitspartsmustexist。Butoftimesomepartshavebeen,whileothershavetobe,andnopartofitisthoughitisdivisible。Forwhatis"now"isnotapart:apartisameasureofthewhole,whichmustbemadeupofparts。Time,ontheotherhand,isnotheldtobemadeupof"nows"。
Again,the"now"whichseemstoboundthepastandthefuture-doesitalwaysremainoneandthesameorisitalwaysotherandother?
Itishardtosay。
(1)Ifitisalwaysdifferentanddifferent,andifnoneofthepartsintimewhichareotherandotheraresimultaneous(unlesstheonecontainsandtheotheriscontained,astheshortertimeisbythelonger),andifthe"now"whichisnot,butformerlywas,musthaveceased-to-beatsometime,the"nows"toocannotbesimultaneouswithoneanother,buttheprior"now"mustalwayshaveceased-to-be。
Buttheprior"now"cannothaveceased-to-beinitself(sinceitthenexisted);yetitcannothaveceased-to-beinanother"now"。Forwemaylayitdownthatone"now"cannotbenexttoanother,anymorethanpointtopoint。Ifthenitdidnotcease-to-beinthenext"now"butinanother,itwouldexistsimultaneouslywiththeinnumerable"nows"betweenthetwo-whichisimpossible。
Yes,but(2)neitherisitpossibleforthe"now"toremainalwaysthesame。Nodeterminatedivisiblethinghasasingletermination,whetheritiscontinuouslyextendedinoneorinmorethanonedimension:butthe"now"isatermination,anditispossibletocutoffadeterminatetime。Further,ifcoincidenceintime(i。e。beingneitherpriornorposterior)meanstobe"inoneandthesame“now“",then,ifbothwhatisbeforeandwhatisafterareinthissame"now",thingswhichhappenedtenthousandyearsagowouldbesimultaneouswithwhathashappenedto-day,andnothingwouldbebeforeorafteranythingelse。
Thismayserveasastatementofthedifficultiesabouttheattributesoftime。
Astowhattimeisorwhatisitsnature,thetraditionalaccountsgiveusaslittlelightasthepreliminaryproblemswhichwehaveworkedthrough。
Someassertthatitis(1)themovementofthewhole,othersthatitis(2)thesphereitself。
(1)Yetpart,too,oftherevolutionisatime,butitcertainlyisnotarevolution:forwhatistakenispartofarevolution,notarevolution。Besides,ifthereweremoreheavensthanone,themovementofanyofthemequallywouldbetime,sothattherewouldbemanytimesatthesametime。
(2)Thosewhosaidthattimeisthesphereofthewholethoughtso,nodoubt,onthegroundthatallthingsareintimeandallthingsareinthesphereofthewhole。Theviewistoonaiveforittobeworthwhiletoconsidertheimpossibilitiesimpliedinit。
Butastimeismostusuallysupposedtobe(3)motionandakindofchange,wemustconsiderthisview。
Now(a)thechangeormovementofeachthingisonlyinthethingwhichchangesorwherethethingitselfwhichmovesorchangesmaychancetobe。Buttimeispresentequallyeverywhereandwithallthings。
Again,(b)changeisalwaysfasterorslower,whereastimeisnot:
for"fast"and"slow"aredefinedbytime-"fast"iswhatmovesmuchinashorttime,"slow"whatmoveslittleinalongtime;buttimeisnotdefinedbytime,bybeingeitheracertainamountoracertainkindofit。
Clearlythenitisnotmovement。(Weneednotdistinguishatpresentbetween"movement"and"change"。)
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Butneitherdoestimeexistwithoutchange;forwhenthestateofourownmindsdoesnotchangeatall,orwehavenotnoticeditschanging,wedonotrealizethattimehaselapsed,anymorethanthosewhoarefabledtosleepamongtheheroesinSardiniadowhentheyareawakened;fortheyconnecttheearlier"now"withthelaterandmakethemone,cuttingouttheintervalbecauseoftheirfailuretonoticeit。So,justas,ifthe"now"werenotdifferentbutoneandthesame,therewouldnothavebeentime,sotoowhenitsdifferenceescapesournoticetheintervaldoesnotseemtobetime。If,then,thenon-realizationoftheexistenceoftimehappenstouswhenwedonotdistinguishanychange,butthesoulseemstostayinoneindivisiblestate,andwhenweperceiveanddistinguishwesaytimehaselapsed,evidentlytimeisnotindependentofmovementandchange。
Itisevident,then,thattimeisneithermovementnorindependentofmovement。
Wemusttakethisasourstarting-pointandtrytodiscover-sincewewishtoknowwhattimeis-whatexactlyithastodowithmovement。
Nowweperceivemovementandtimetogether:forevenwhenitisdarkandwearenotbeingaffectedthroughthebody,ifanymovementtakesplaceinthemindweatoncesupposethatsometimealsohaselapsed;andnotonlythatbutalso,whensometimeisthoughttohavepassed,somemovementalsoalongwithitseemstohavetakenplace。
Hencetimeiseithermovementorsomethingthatbelongstomovement。
Sincethenitisnotmovement,itmustbetheother。
Butwhatismovedismovedfromsomethingtosomething,andallmagnitudeiscontinuous。Thereforethemovementgoeswiththemagnitude。Becausethemagnitudeiscontinuous,themovementtoomustbecontinuous,andifthemovement,thenthetime;forthetimethathaspassedisalwaysthoughttobeinproportiontothemovement。
Thedistinctionof"before"and"after"holdsprimarily,then,inplace;andthereinvirtueofrelativeposition。Sincethen"before"
and"after"holdinmagnitude,theymustholdalsoinmovement,thesecorrespondingtothose。Butalsointimethedistinctionof"before"and"after"musthold,fortimeandmovementalwayscorrespondwitheachother。The"before"and"after"inmotionisidenticalinsubstratumwithmotionyetdiffersfromitindefinition,andisnotidenticalwithmotion。
Butweapprehendtimeonlywhenwehavemarkedmotion,markingitby"before"and"after";anditisonlywhenwehaveperceived"before"
and"after"inmotionthatwesaythattimehaselapsed。NowwemarkthembyjudgingthatAandBaredifferent,andthatsomethirdthingisintermediatetothem。Whenwethinkoftheextremesasdifferentfromthemiddleandthemindpronouncesthatthe"nows"
aretwo,onebeforeandoneafter,itisthenthatwesaythatthereistime,andthisthatwesayistime。Forwhatisboundedbythe"now"isthoughttobetime-wemayassumethis。
When,therefore,weperceivethe"now"one,andneitherasbeforeandafterinamotionnorasanidentitybutinrelationtoa"before"
andan"after",notimeisthoughttohaveelapsed,becausetherehasbeennomotioneither。Ontheotherhand,whenwedoperceivea"before"andan"after",thenwesaythatthereistime。Fortimeisjustthis-numberofmotioninrespectof"before"and"after"。
Hencetimeisnotmovement,butonlymovementinsofarasitadmitsofenumeration。Aproofofthis:wediscriminatethemoreorthelessbynumber,butmoreorlessmovementbytime。Timethenisakindofnumber。(Number,wemustnote,isusedintwosenses-bothofwhatiscountedorthecountableandalsoofthatwithwhichwecount。Timeobviouslyiswhatiscounted,notthatwithwhichwecount:therearedifferentkindsofthing。)Justasmotionisaperpetualsuccession,soalsoistime。Buteverysimultaneoustimeisself-identical;forthe"now"asasubjectisanidentity,butitacceptsdifferentattributes。The"now"measurestime,insofarastimeinvolvesthe"beforeandafter"。
The"now"inonesenseisthesame,inanotheritisnotthesame。
Insofarasitisinsuccession,itisdifferent(whichisjustwhatitsbeingwassupposedtomean),butitssubstratumisanidentity:formotion,aswassaid,goeswithmagnitude,andtime,aswemaintain,withmotion。Similarly,then,therecorrespondstothepointthebodywhichiscarriedalong,andbywhichweareawareofthemotionandofthe"beforeandafter"involvedinit。Thisisanidenticalsubstratum(whetherapointorastoneorsomethingelseofthekind),butithasdifferentattributesasthesophistsassumethatCoriscus"beingintheLyceumisadifferentthingfromCoriscus"
beinginthemarket-place。Andthebodywhichiscarriedalongisdifferent,insofarasitisatonetimehereandatanotherthere。
Butthe"now"correspondstothebodythatiscarriedalong,astimecorrespondstothemotion。Foritisbymeansofthebodythatiscarriedalongthatwebecomeawareofthe"beforeandafter"themotion,andifweregardtheseascountablewegetthe"now"。Henceinthesealsothe"now"assubstratumremainsthesame(foritiswhatisbeforeandafterinmovement),butwhatispredicatedofitisdifferent;foritisinsofarasthe"beforeandafter"isnumerablethatwegetthe"now"。Thisiswhatismostknowable:for,similarly,motionisknownbecauseofthatwhichismoved,locomotionbecauseofthatwhichiscarried。whatiscarriedisarealthing,themovementisnot。Thuswhatiscalled"now"inonesenseisalwaysthesame;inanotheritisnotthesame:forthisistruealsoofwhatiscarried。
Clearly,too,iftherewerenotime,therewouldbeno"now",andviceversa。justasthemovingbodyanditslocomotioninvolveeachothermutually,sotoodothenumberofthemovingbodyandthenumberofitslocomotion。Forthenumberofthelocomotionistime,whilethe"now"correspondstothemovingbody,andisliketheunitofnumber。
Time,then,alsoisbothmadecontinuousbythe"now"anddividedatit。Forheretoothereisacorrespondencewiththelocomotionandthemovingbody。Forthemotionorlocomotionismadeonebythethingwhichismoved,becauseitisone-notbecauseitisoneinitsownnature(fortheremightbepausesinthemovementofsuchathing)-butbecauseitisoneindefinition:forthisdeterminesthemovementas"before"and"after"。Here,toothereisacorrespondencewiththepoint;forthepointalsobothconnectsandterminatesthelength-itisthebeginningofoneandtheendofanother。Butwhenyoutakeitinthisway,usingtheonepointastwo,apauseisnecessary,ifthesamepointistobethebeginningandtheend。The"now"ontheotherhand,sincethebodycarriedismoving,isalwaysdifferent。
Hencetimeisnotnumberinthesenseinwhichthereis"number"
ofthesamepointbecauseitisbeginningandend,butratherastheextremitiesofalineformanumber,andnotasthepartsofthelinedoso,bothforthereasongiven(forwecanusethemiddlepointastwo,sothatonthatanalogytimemightstandstill),andfurtherbecauseobviouslythe"now"isnopartoftimenorthesectionanypartofthemovement,anymorethanthepointsarepartsoftheline-foritistwolinesthatarepartsofoneline。
Insofarthenasthe"now"isaboundary,itisnottime,butanattributeofit;insofarasitnumbers,itisnumber;forboundariesbelongonlytothatwhichtheybound,butnumber(e。g。ten)isthenumberofthesehorses,andbelongsalsoelsewhere。
Itisclear,then,thattimeis"numberofmovementinrespectofthebeforeandafter",andiscontinuoussinceitisanattributeofwhatiscontinuous。
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Thesmallestnumber,inthestrictsenseoftheword"number",istwo。Butofnumberasconcrete,sometimesthereisaminimum,sometimesnot:e。g。ofa"line",thesmallestinrespectofmultiplicityistwo(or,ifyoulike,one),butinrespectofsizethereisnominimum;foreverylineisdividedadinfinitum。Henceitissowithtime。Inrespectofnumbertheminimumisone(ortwo);inpointofextentthereisnominimum。
Itisclear,too,thattimeisnotdescribedasfastorslow,butasmanyorfewandaslongorshort。Forascontinuousitislongorshortandasanumbermanyorfew,butitisnotfastorslow-anymorethananynumberwithwhichwenumberisfastorslow。
Further,thereisthesametimeeverywhereatonce,butnotthesametimebeforeandafter,forwhilethepresentchangeisone,thechangewhichhashappenedandthatwhichwillhappenaredifferent。Timeisnotnumberwithwhichwecount,butthenumberofthingswhicharecounted,andthisaccordingasitoccursbeforeorafterisalwaysdifferent,forthe"nows"aredifferent。Andthenumberofahundredhorsesandahundredmenisthesame,butthethingsnumberedaredifferent-thehorsesfromthemen。Further,asamovementcanbeoneandthesameagainandagain,sotoocantime,e。g。ayearoraspringoranautumn。
Notonlydowemeasurethemovementbythetime,butalsothetimebythemovement,becausetheydefineeachother。Thetimemarksthemovement,sinceitisitsnumber,andthemovementthetime。Wedescribethetimeasmuchorlittle,measuringitbythemovement,justasweknowthenumberbywhatisnumbered,e。g。thenumberofthehorsesbyonehorseastheunit。Forweknowhowmanyhorsestherearebytheuseofthenumber;andagainbyusingtheonehorseasunitweknowthenumberofthehorsesitself。Soitiswiththetimeandthemovement;forwemeasurethemovementbythetimeandviceversa。Itisnaturalthatthisshouldhappen;forthemovementgoeswiththedistanceandthetimewiththemovement,becausetheyarequantaandcontinuousanddivisible。Themovementhastheseattributesbecausethedistanceisofthisnature,andthetimehasthembecauseofthemovement。Andwemeasureboththedistancebythemovementandthemovementbythedistance;forwesaythattheroadislong,ifthejourneyislong,andthatthisislong,iftheroadislong-thetime,too,ifthemovement,andthemovement,ifthetime。
Timeisameasureofmotionandofbeingmoved,anditmeasuresthemotionbydeterminingamotionwhichwillmeasureexactlythewholemotion,asthecubitdoesthelengthbydetermininganamountwhichwillmeasureoutthewhole。Further"tobeintime"meansformovement,thatbothitanditsessencearemeasuredbytime(forsimultaneouslyitmeasuresboththemovementanditsessence,andthisiswhatbeingintimemeansforit,thatitsessenceshouldbemeasured)。
Clearlythen"tobeintime"hasthesamemeaningforotherthingsalso,namely,thattheirbeingshouldbemeasuredbytime。"Tobeintime"isoneoftwothings:(1)toexistwhentimeexists,(2)aswesayofsomethingsthattheyare"innumber"。Thelattermeanseitherwhatisapartormodeofnumber-ingeneral,somethingwhichbelongstonumber-orthatthingshaveanumber。
Now,sincetimeisnumber,the"now"andthe"before"andthelikeareintime,justas"unit"and"odd"and"even"areinnumber,i。e。
inthesensethattheonesetbelongstonumber,theothertotime。
Butthingsareintimeastheyareinnumber。Ifthisisso,theyarecontainedbytimeasthingsinplacearecontainedbyplace。
Plainly,too,tobeintimedoesnotmeantoco-existwithtime,anymorethantobeinmotionorinplacemeanstoco-existwithmotionorplace。Forif"tobeinsomething"istomeanthis,thenallthingswillbeinanything,andtheheavenwillbeinagrain;forwhenthegrainis,thenalsoistheheaven。Butthisisamerelyincidentalconjunction,whereastheotherisnecessarilyinvolved:thatwhichisintimenecessarilyinvolvesthatthereistimewhenitis,andthatwhichisinmotionthatthereismotionwhenitis。
Sincewhatis"intime"issointhesamesenseaswhatisinnumberisso,atimegreaterthaneverythingintimecanbefound。Soitisnecessarythatallthethingsintimeshouldbecontainedbytime,justlikeotherthingsalsowhichare"inanything",e。g。thethings"inplace"byplace。
Athing,then,willbeaffectedbytime,justasweareaccustomedtosaythattimewastesthingsaway,andthatallthingsgrowoldthroughtime,andthatthereisoblivionowingtothelapseoftime,butwedonotsaythesameofgettingtoknoworofbecomingyoungorfair。Fortimeisbyitsnaturethecauseratherofdecay,sinceitisthenumberofchange,andchangeremoveswhatis。
Hence,plainly,thingswhicharealwaysarenot,assuch,intime,fortheyarenotcontainedtime,noristheirbeingmeasuredbytime。Aproofofthisisthatnoneofthemisaffectedbytime,whichindicatesthattheyarenotintime。
Sincetimeisthemeasureofmotion,itwillbethemeasureofresttoo-indirectly。Forallrestisintime。Foritdoesnotfollowthatwhatisintimeismoved,thoughwhatisinmotionisnecessarilymoved。Fortimeisnotmotion,but"numberofmotion":andwhatisatrest,also,canbeinthenumberofmotion。Noteverythingthatisnotinmotioncanbesaidtobe"atrest"-butonlythatwhichcanbemoved,thoughitactuallyisnotmoved,aswassaidabove。
"Tobeinnumber"meansthatthereisanumberofthething,andthatitsbeingismeasuredbythenumberinwhichitis。Henceifathingis"intime"itwillbemeasuredbytime。Buttimewillmeasurewhatismovedandwhatisatrest,theonequamoved,theotherquaatrest;foritwillmeasuretheirmotionandrestrespectively。
Hencewhatismovedwillnotbemeasurablebythetimesimplyinsofarasithasquantity,butinsofarasitsmotionhasquantity。
Thusnoneofthethingswhichareneithermovednoratrestareintime:for"tobeintime"is"tobemeasuredbytime",whiletimeisthemeasureofmotionandrest。
Plainly,then,neitherwilleverythingthatdoesnotexistbeintime,i。e。thosenon-existentthingsthatcannotexist,asthediagonalcannotbecommensuratewiththeside。
Generally,iftimeisdirectlythemeasureofmotionandindirectlyofotherthings,itisclearthatathingwhoseexistenceismeasuredbyitwillhaveitsexistenceinrestormotion。Thosethingsthereforewhicharesubjecttoperishingandbecoming-generally,thosewhichatonetimeexist,atanotherdonot-arenecessarilyintime:forthereisagreatertimewhichwillextendbothbeyondtheirexistenceandbeyondthetimewhichmeasurestheirexistence。Ofthingswhichdonotexistbutarecontainedbytimesomewere,e。g。Homeroncewas,somewillbe,e。g。afutureevent;thisdependsonthedirectioninwhichtimecontainsthem;ifonboth,theyhavebothmodesofexistence。Astosuchthingsasitdoesnotcontaininanyway,theyneitherwerenorarenorwillbe。Thesearethosenonexistentswhoseoppositesalwaysare,astheincommensurabilityofthediagonalalwaysis-andthiswillnotbeintime。Norwillthecommensurability,therefore;hencethiseternallyisnot,becauseitiscontrarytowhateternallyis。Athingwhosecontraryisnoteternalcanbeandnotbe,anditisofsuchthingsthatthereiscomingtobeandpassingaway。
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The"now"isthelinkoftime,ashasbeensaid(foritconnectspastandfuturetime),anditisalimitoftime(foritisthebeginningoftheoneandtheendoftheother)。Butthisisnotobviousasitiswiththepoint,whichisfixed。Itdividespotentially,andinsofarasitisdividingthe"now"isalwaysdifferent,butinsofarasitconnectsitisalwaysthesame,asitiswithmathematicallines。Fortheintellectitisnotalwaysoneandthesamepoint,sinceitisotherandotherwhenonedividestheline;
butinsofarasitisone,itisthesameineveryrespect。
Sothe"now"alsoisinonewayapotentialdividingoftime,inanothertheterminationofbothparts,andtheirunity。Andthedividingandtheunitingarethesamethingandinthesamereference,butinessencetheyarenotthesame。
Soonekindof"now"isdescribedinthisway:anotheriswhenthetimeisnearthiskindof"now"。"Hewillcomenow"becausehewillcometo-day;"hehascomenow"becausehecameto-day。ButthethingsintheIliadhavenothappened"now",noristheflood"now"-notthatthetimefromnowtothemisnotcontinuous,butbecausetheyarenotnear。
"Atsometime"meansatimedeterminedinrelationtothefirstofthetwotypesof"now",e。g。"atsometime"Troywastaken,and"atsometime"therewillbeaflood;foritmustbedeterminedwithreferencetothe"now"。Therewillthusbeadeterminatetimefromthis"now"tothat,andtherewassuchinreferencetothepastevent。
Butiftherebenotimewhichisnot"sometime",everytimewillbedetermined。
Willtimethenfail?Surelynot,ifmotionalwaysexists。Istimethenalwaysdifferentordoesthesametimerecur?Clearlytimeis,inthesamewayasmotionis。Forifoneandthesamemotionsometimesrecurs,itwillbeoneandthesametime,andifnot,not。
Sincethe"now"isanendandabeginningoftime,notofthesametimehowever,buttheendofthatwhichispastandthebeginningofthatwhichistocome,itfollowsthat,asthecirclehasitsconvexityanditsconcavity,inasense,inthesamething,sotimeisalwaysatabeginningandatanend。Andforthisreasonitseemstobealwaysdifferent;forthe"now"isnotthebeginningandtheendofthesamething;ifitwere,itwouldbeatthesametimeandinthesamerespecttwoopposites。Andtimewillnotfail;foritisalwaysatabeginning。
"Presently"or"just"referstothepartoffuturetimewhichisneartheindivisiblepresent"now"("Whendoyouwalk?"Presently",becausethetimeinwhichheisgoingtodosoisnear),andtothepartofpasttimewhichisnotfarfromthe"now"("Whendoyouwalk?"
"Ihavejustbeenwalking")。ButtosaythatTroyhasjustbeentaken-wedonotsaythat,becauseitistoofarfromthe"now"。
"Lately",too,referstothepartofpasttimewhichisnearthepresent"now"。"Whendidyougo?""Lately",ifthetimeisneartheexistingnow。"Longago"referstothedistantpast。
"Suddenly"referstowhathasdepartedfromitsformerconditioninatimeimperceptiblebecauseofitssmallness;butitisthenatureofallchangetoalterthingsfromtheirformercondition。Intimeallthingscomeintobeingandpassaway;forwhichreasonsomecalleditthewisestofallthings,butthePythagoreanParoncalleditthemoststupid,becauseinitwealsoforget;andhiswasthetruerview。
Itisclearthenthatitmustbeinitself,aswesaidbefore,theconditionofdestructionratherthanofcomingintobeing(forchange,initself,makesthingsdepartfromtheirformercondition),andonlyincidentallyofcomingintobeing,andofbeing。Asufficientevidenceofthisisthatnothingcomesintobeingwithoutitselfmovingsomehowandacting,butathingcanbedestroyedevenifitdoesnotmoveatall。Andthisiswhat,asarule,wechieflymeanbyathing"sbeingdestroyedbytime。Still,timedoesnotworkeventhischange;eventhissortofchangetakesplaceincidentallyintime。
Wehavestated,then,thattimeexistsandwhatitis,andinhowmanysenseswespeakofthe"now",andwhat"atsometime","lately","presently"or"just","longago",and"suddenly"mean。