投诉 阅读记录

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。

13

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。

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