Φυσικὸς λόγος
physical discourse
Translated by Marcelo Boeri19 Sep 2000Vetting: high21 revisions
Translation
[Physical discourse sc. is a term used] among philosophers. After the ethical they expound upon the physical [sc. discourse], that is on bodies, on principles, elements, limits of the world, place, and void; on stars, on the sun, on the commanding part [sc. of the soul]; how we see; what [is] the cause of an image in a mirror; on clouds, thunders, the rainbow.1
"[Note] that there are three [sc. components] in the physical realities: form, matter, and the cause in virtue of which form is in the matter. And five methods of investigation, he [Aristotle] says, are concerned with these: physics, each science in particular, dialectics, mathematics, the first philosophy.2 And [sc. the task] of the natural philosopher is to articulate dialectically on all the parts of the soul mentioned, on matter, on the physical realities, and on the cause of the form.3 For example, that the matter of the celestial bodies is not the four elements, but some other [sc. kind of] body.4 Again, what is the form? That [they are] spherical. And why [are they] spherical?5 Because the circle is the most capacious compared to the other figures in the plane, and the sphere among the solids. And as Plato in the Timaeus has explained, because of this the heaven is spherical,6 so Aristotle too gives the cause for the shape of the heaven: for in the eternal it [sc. the spherical] [is] going to be present, he says.7 And Plotinus (not Plato8) also gives the cause from the condition which it [sc. the heaven] has in relation to things prior to it. The intelligible substances [are] proximate to and beyond the celestial bodies, and that which is caused must be very much like its proximate cause and must convey its image and imitation. Because of this indeed, he says, the heaven moves in a circle, because it imitates the intellect.9 For peculiar to the intellect [nou=s ] [is] to incline [neu/ein ] toward itself; for it [is] the seeing, it [is] the being seen;10 for seeing the forms, it sees itself, and seeing itself, it has contemplated the forms; for it is the fullness of the forms and the form of forms. Thus, the heaven has its spherical shape due to the circular movement,11 and this [is] due to its assimilation to the intellect. And besides, it imitates the intellect, which is everywhere, for its body comes into being everywhere. Thus, by coming to be everywhere, it imitates what exists everywhere, for both the turning inward and the assimilation to the higher things are a fulfillment of the lower things. In this way the natural philosopher will explain the form, the matter, and the cause of natural things. But the craftsman--attending to the particular, and, although concerned himself with these things--differs from the natural philosopher, in that his task concentrates on some individual thing, such as the physician on human bodies, the carpenter on stones and wood. But he [sc. the craftsman] will also provide the definition, encompassing the form, the matter, and the cause. And he differs in other ways.12”
"[Note] that there are three [sc. components] in the physical realities: form, matter, and the cause in virtue of which form is in the matter. And five methods of investigation, he [Aristotle] says, are concerned with these: physics, each science in particular, dialectics, mathematics, the first philosophy.2 And [sc. the task] of the natural philosopher is to articulate dialectically on all the parts of the soul mentioned, on matter, on the physical realities, and on the cause of the form.3 For example, that the matter of the celestial bodies is not the four elements, but some other [sc. kind of] body.4 Again, what is the form? That [they are] spherical. And why [are they] spherical?5 Because the circle is the most capacious compared to the other figures in the plane, and the sphere among the solids. And as Plato in the Timaeus has explained, because of this the heaven is spherical,6 so Aristotle too gives the cause for the shape of the heaven: for in the eternal it [sc. the spherical] [is] going to be present, he says.7 And Plotinus (not Plato8) also gives the cause from the condition which it [sc. the heaven] has in relation to things prior to it. The intelligible substances [are] proximate to and beyond the celestial bodies, and that which is caused must be very much like its proximate cause and must convey its image and imitation. Because of this indeed, he says, the heaven moves in a circle, because it imitates the intellect.9 For peculiar to the intellect [
Greek original · Adler’s text
Φυσικὸς λόγος παρὰ φιλοσόφοις. μετὰ τὸν ἠθικὸν διεξέρχονται περὶ τοῦ φυσικοῦ, τουτέστι περὶ σωμάτων, περὶ ἀρχῶν καὶ στοιχείων καὶ περάτων τοῦ κόσμου καὶ τόπου, κενοῦ· περὶ ἀστέρων, περὶ ἡλίου, περὶ τοῦ ἡγεμονικοῦ· πῶς ὁρῶμεν· τίς ἡ αἰτία τῆς κατοπτρικῆς φαντασίας· περὶ νεφῶν, βροντῶν, ἴριδος. ὅτι τρία εἰσὶν ἐν τοῖς φυσικοῖς πράγμασιν, εἶδος, ὕλη καὶ ἡ αἰτία, καθ' ἥν ἐστι τὸ εἶδος ἐν τῇ ὕλῃ. καὶ καταγίνονται, φησί, περὶ ταῦτα μέθοδοι πέντε· ἡ φυσική, ἡ κατὰ μέρος τέχνη, ἡ διαλεκτική, ἡ μαθηματική, ἡ πρώτη φιλοσοφία. ἔστι δὲ φυσικοῦ μὲν περὶ πάντων τῶν εἰρημένων τῆς ψυχῆς μερῶν διαλεχθῆναι, καὶ τῆς ὕλης, καὶ τῶν φυσικῶν πραγμάτων, καὶ τοῦ εἴδους τῆς αἰτίας. οἷον ὅτι τῶν οὐρανίων ὕλη, οὐχὶ τὰ τέσσαρα στοιχεῖα, ἀλλὰ ἕτερόν τι σῶμα. πάλιν, τί τὸ εἶδος; ὅτι σφαιρικά. καὶ διὰ τί σφαιρικά; ὅτι πολυχωρητότατον ἐν ἐπιπέδῳ μὲν τῶν ἄλλων σχημάτων ὁ κύκλος, ἐν στερεοῖς δὲ ἡ σφαῖρα. ὡς καὶ ὁ Πλάτων ἐν Τιμαίῳ διὰ τοῦτο σφαιρικὸν γενέσθαι τὸν οὐρανὸν ἀποδέδωκε. καὶ ὁ Ἀριστοτέλης ἀποδίδωσιν αἰτίαν περὶ τοῦ σχήματος τοῦ οὐρανοῦ· τῷ γὰρ ἀϊδίῳ φησὶν ἐσομένῳ. ἀποδίδωσι δὲ καὶ ὁ Πλάτων αἰτίαν ἐκ τῆς σχέσεως, ἣν ἔχει πρὸς τὰ πρὸ αὑτοῦ. προσεχῶς δέ εἰσιν ὑπὲρ τὰ οὐράνια αἱ νοηταὶ οὐσίαι· δεῖ δὲ τὸ αἰτιατὸν ὅτι μάλιστα ὡμοιῶσθαι τῷ προσεχεῖ αἰτίῳ καὶ τούτου εἰκόνα καὶ μίμημα φέρειν. διὰ τοῦτο οὖν, φησί, κύκλῳ κινεῖται ὁ οὐρανός, ὅτι νοῦν μιμεῖται· ἴδιον γὰρ τοῦ νοῦ τὸ πρὸς ἑαυτὸν νεύειν· αὐτὸς γὰρ ὁ ὁρῶν, αὐτὸς ὁ ὁρώμενος· ὁρῶν γὰρ τὰ εἴδη ἑαυτὸν ὁρᾷ, καὶ ἑαυτὸν ὁρῶν τὰ εἴδη τεθέαται· πλήρωμα γάρ ἐστι τῶν εἰδῶν καὶ εἶδος εἰδῶν. ἔχει οὖν ὁ οὐρανὸς τὸ σφαιρικὸν σχῆμα διὰ τὴν κύκλῳ κίνησιν· ταύτην δὲ διὰ τὴν πρὸς τὸν νοῦν ἐξομοίωσιν· καὶ ἄλλως μιμεῖται τὸν νοῦν πανταχοῦ ὄντα· καὶ γὰρ καὶ τὸ σῶμα πανταχοῦ γίνεται. τῷ οὖν πανταχῆ γίνεσθαι τὸ πανταχοῦ ὂν μιμεῖται· τελείωσις γὰρ τῶν χειρόνων ἡ πρὸς τὰ ὑπέρτερα ἐπιστροφή τε καὶ ἐξομοίωσις. οὕτω μὲν ὁ φυσικὸς τῶν φυσικῶν ἀποδώσει καὶ τὸ εἶδος καὶ τὴν ὕλην καὶ τὸ αἴτιον· ὁ δὲ κατὰ μέρος τεχνίτης καὶ αὐτὸς μὲν περὶ τῶν αὐτῶν διαλαμβάνει, διαφέρει δὲ τοῦ φυσικοῦ, ὅτι περὶ μερικόν τι γίνεται πρᾶγμα, οἷον ὁ ἰατρὸς περὶ τὰ ἀνθρώπεια σώματα, ὁ τέκτων περὶ λίθους καὶ ξύλα. ἀποδώσει δὲ καὶ οὗτος τὸν ὁρισμόν, περιλαμβάνων καὶ τὸ εἶδος καὶ τὴν ὕλην καὶ τὴν αἰτίαν. διαφέρει δὲ κατὰ ἄλλους τρόπους.
Betacode
*fusiko\s lo/gos para\ filoso/fois. meta\ to\n h)qiko\n diece/rxontai peri\ tou= fusikou=, toute/sti peri\ swma/twn, peri\ a)rxw=n kai\ stoixei/wn kai\ pera/twn tou= ko/smou kai\ to/pou, kenou=: peri\ a)ste/rwn, peri\ h(li/ou, peri\ tou= h(gemonikou=: pw=s o(rw=men: ti/s h( ai)ti/a th=s katoptrikh=s fantasi/as: peri\ nefw=n, brontw=n, i)/ridos. o(/ti tri/a ei)si\n e)n toi=s fusikoi=s pra/gmasin, ei)=dos, u(/lh kai\ h( ai)ti/a, kaq' h(/n e)sti to\ ei)=dos e)n th=| u(/lh|. kai\ katagi/nontai, fhsi/, peri\ tau=ta me/qodoi pe/nte: h( fusikh/, h( kata\ me/ros te/xnh, h( dialektikh/, h( maqhmatikh/, h( prw/th filosofi/a. e)/sti de\ fusikou= me\n peri\ pa/ntwn tw=n ei)rhme/nwn th=s yuxh=s merw=n dialexqh=nai, kai\ th=s u(/lhs, kai\ tw=n fusikw=n pragma/twn, kai\ tou= ei)/dous th=s ai)ti/as. oi(=on o(/ti tw=n ou)rani/wn u(/lh, ou)xi\ ta\ te/ssara stoixei=a, a)lla\ e(/tero/n ti sw=ma. pa/lin, ti/ to\ ei)=dos; o(/ti sfairika/. kai\ dia\ ti/ sfairika/; o(/ti poluxwrhto/taton e)n e)pipe/dw| me\n tw=n a)/llwn sxhma/twn o( ku/klos, e)n stereoi=s de\ h( sfai=ra. w(s kai\ o( *pla/twn e)n *timai/w| dia\ tou=to sfairiko\n gene/sqai to\n ou)rano\n a)pode/dwke. kai\ o( *)aristote/lhs a)podi/dwsin ai)ti/an peri\ tou= sxh/matos tou= ou)ranou=: tw=| ga\r a)i+di/w| fhsi\n e)some/nw|. a)podi/dwsi de\ kai\ o( *pla/twn ai)ti/an e)k th=s sxe/sews, h(\n e)/xei pro\s ta\ pro\ au(tou=. prosexw=s de/ ei)sin u(pe\r ta\ ou)ra/nia ai( nohtai\ ou)si/ai: dei= de\ to\ ai)tiato\n o(/ti ma/lista w(moiw=sqai tw=| prosexei= ai)ti/w| kai\ tou/tou ei)ko/na kai\ mi/mhma fe/rein. dia\ tou=to ou)=n, fhsi/, ku/klw| kinei=tai o( ou)rano/s, o(/ti nou=n mimei=tai: i)/dion ga\r tou= nou= to\ pro\s e(auto\n neu/ein: au)to\s ga\r o( o(rw=n, au)to\s o( o(rw/menos: o(rw=n ga\r ta\ ei)/dh e(auto\n o(ra=|, kai\ e(auto\n o(rw=n ta\ ei)/dh teqe/atai: plh/rwma ga/r e)sti tw=n ei)dw=n kai\ ei)=dos ei)dw=n. e)/xei ou)=n o( ou)rano\s to\ sfairiko\n sxh=ma dia\ th\n ku/klw| ki/nhsin: tau/thn de\ dia\ th\n pro\s to\n nou=n e)comoi/wsin: kai\ a)/llws mimei=tai to\n nou=n pantaxou= o)/nta: kai\ ga\r kai\ to\ sw=ma pantaxou= gi/netai. tw=| ou)=n pantaxh= gi/nesqai to\ pantaxou= o)\n mimei=tai: telei/wsis ga\r tw=n xeiro/nwn h( pro\s ta\ u(pe/rtera e)pistrofh/ te kai\ e)comoi/wsis. ou(/tw me\n o( fusiko\s tw=n fusikw=n a)podw/sei kai\ to\ ei)=dos kai\ th\n u(/lhn kai\ to\ ai)/tion: o( de\ kata\ me/ros texni/ths kai\ au)to\s me\n peri\ tw=n au)tw=n dialamba/nei, diafe/rei de\ tou= fusikou=, o(/ti peri\ meriko/n ti gi/netai pra=gma, oi(=on o( i)atro\s peri\ ta\ a)nqrw/peia sw/mata, o( te/ktwn peri\ li/qous kai\ cu/la. a)podw/sei de\ kai\ ou(=tos to\n o(rismo/n, perilamba/nwn kai\ to\ ei)=dos kai\ th\n u(/lhn kai\ th\n ai)ti/an. diafe/rei de\ kata\ a)/llous tro/pous.
Notes (12)
- 1This section of the entry paraphrases (with slight variations) a Stoic doxography on physics: see Diogenes Laertius 7.132-133 (web address 1) and Hicks (236-239). The immediate source then becomes John Philoponus, Commentary on Aristotle's de anima 55.26-29, 55.31-57.7; cf. Hayduck in CAG XV. ↩
- 2See Aristotle's distinction of the different sciences in Metaphysics 6.1. In this passage three of the methods of investigation are at least mentioned: physics, mathematics, and the first philosophy. Aristotle calls them 'sciences' or 'forms of knowledge' (epistemai; Met. 1025b18ff.), but to some extent they are also 'methods of investigation' (methodoi) in a specific field of research. Mathematics, physics and the first philosophy are included within what Aristotle calls 'theoretical sciences'. This passage is taken from John Philoponus, Commentary on Aristotle’s de anima 55.26-29; cf. van der Eijk (73). Philoponus here comments on Aristotle, de anima 403a29. ↩
- 3Aristotle in fact first presents dialectically the views of previous philosophers and then argues for his own thesis. ↩
- 4That is, the ether (see Aristotle, de caelo 1.2-3). To account for the change in the domain of the sphere under the moon Aristotle posits four elements (fire, air, water, earth), whose movements are toward their 'proper or natural' place: for fire and air, upwards, for water and earth, downwards. Thus all the bodies and natural magnitudes, Aristotle says, move by themselves according to place, for nature is for them the principle of movement (de caelo 268b14ff.). Since Aristotle thinks that the natural bodies are composed of these terrestrial four elements, their natural movement will be the 'proper movement' of the predominant element, that is, that element which is present in the object in a higher degree (see Physics 212b29-213a10; de caelo 301a20-302a9). By contrast, the heavenly bodies are just composed of ether, 'the fifth element', whose only movement is the circular one. The celestial bodies composed of this element undergo neither generation nor destruction (for the Aristotelian arguments in favor of this thesis, see de caelo 1). ↩
- 5This passage follows Philoponus, op. cit., 55.31-56.4. ↩
- 6Plato, Timaeus 38c-40c. ↩
- 7Aristotle, de caelo 286b10ff. This portion of the entry is abstracted from Philoponus, op. cit., 56.4-20. ↩
- 8Philoponus names Plotinus, not Plato as the lexicographer transmits. ↩
- 9Plotinus 2.2.1.1. Here the entry follows Philoponus, op. cit., 56.21-26; cf. van der Eijk (73-74). ↩
- 10Plotinus 5.1.7 reads:
a)ll' ou) nou=s e)kei=no. pw=s ou)=n nou=n genna=|; h)\ o(/ti th=| e)pistrofh=| pro\s au(to\ e(w/ra. h( de\ o(/rasis au(/th nou=s. This could be translated as "But Intellect is not that [sc. Good]. How then does it generate Intellect? Because by its return to itself it sees, and this seeing is Intellect." This rendering conforms to Philoponus's interpretation as something inclining toward itself:to\ pro\s e(auto\n neu/ein . Despite the rough breathing in the Loeb text, Armstrong interprets (32-35) the Plotinean passage as not reflexive and as signaling an abrupt change of subject: "Because by its return to it it sees, and this seeing is Intellect". ↩ - 11See Aristotle, de caelo 285a32, 286b10, 286b18-25, 291b11. ↩
- 12The entry follows, with some paraphrasing, Philoponus, op. cit., 56.26-57.8; cf. van der Eijk (74). The Suda abruptly concludes the entry. Philoponus, however, goes on (57.8-15) to explain that, whereas the craftsman offers only proximate causes, the natural philosopher will explain the primary causes and provide both the matter and the form pertinent to the causal account. ↩
References
R.D. Hicks, trans., Diogenes Laertius: Lives of Eminent Philosophers, vol. II, (Cambridge, MA, 2000)
M. Hayduck, ed., “Ioannis Philiponi in Aristotelis De Anima Libros Commentaria,” Commentaria in Aristotelem Graeca, vol. XV, (Berlin, 1897)
P.J. van der Eijk, trans., Philoponus On Aristotle’s On the Soul 1.1-2, (Ithaca, NY, 2005)
A.H. Armstrong, trans., Plotinus: Ennead V, (Cambridge, MA, 1984)
M. Hayduck, ed., “Ioannis Philiponi in Aristotelis De Anima Libros Commentaria,” Commentaria in Aristotelem Graeca, vol. XV, (Berlin, 1897)
P.J. van der Eijk, trans., Philoponus On Aristotle’s On the Soul 1.1-2, (Ithaca, NY, 2005)
A.H. Armstrong, trans., Plotinus: Ennead V, (Cambridge, MA, 1984)
External resources
- Web address 1 perseus.tufts.edu
Neighbouring entries
Revision history21 revisions · last 15 May 2023
- cosmeticule — Catharine Roth
- expanded n.10, added to bibliography — Ronald Allen
- added note — Ronald Allen
- tweaked translation — Catharine Roth
- corrections and improvements suggested by Catharine Roth — Ronald Allen
- further translation tweaks, added another note — Ronald Allen
- tweaked translation again — Ronald Allen
- augmented n.1, added to bibliography, added link — Ronald Allen
- more tweaks — Ronald Allen
- more translation tweaks, yet another note — Ronald Allen
- further tweaked translation, added another note — Ronald Allen
- further tweaked translation, added footnote — Ronald Allen
- tweaked translation in consultation with Managing Editor Catharine Roth, added bibliography — Ronald Allen
- more tweaks — Catharine Roth
- tweaked translation — Catharine Roth
- cosmetics — Catharine Roth
- coding — Catharine Roth
- Revised — David Whitehead
- more keywords — David Whitehead
- added keyword — Catharine Roth
- augmented n.1, with consequent adjustment to other notes; multiple cosmetics — David Whitehead
- Translated — Marcelo Boeri