Φύσις

nature

Translated by Marcelo Boeri14 Jun 2000Vetting: high6 revisions

4 notes · 246 words
[Nature] is1 that which both holds the world together and which makes things on the earth grow. Or as follows: [nature is] a condition which is moved by itself in accordance with the seminal reasons, that which completes and holds together the things coming from it at determined periods of time, and which performs those activities from which they are distinguished. And nature aims at utility, as is obvious from craftsmanship of heaven.2
Or nature is a principle of the whole, it is both the motion and rest of each existing thing.3 For example, earth is set in motion in the process of growing, breeding and, in general, being altered. However, it is at rest in respect to the change from one place to another, since it is completely immovable and untraveling. Now they call 'nature' the substantial principle (that is to say the 'natural') of such a motion and rest, namely the principle that inheres in earth not incidentally. But they have not called 'nature' the motion itself and the rest of things, but 'principle', that is 'cause', in virtue of which substances are set in motion and rest not incidentally but substantially.
But when the Apostle says 'we were the offspring of anger by nature, just like the rest,4 he does not express in this assertion the meaning of nature (since the accusation would be against the one responsible for doing it); what he means is the abiding, long-lasting, bad disposition: a perverse habit.

Greek original · Adler’s text

Φύσις ἐστὶν ἥ τε συνέχουσα τὸν κόσμον καὶ ἡ φύουσα τὰ ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς. ἢ οὕτως· ἕξις ἐξ αὑτῆς κινουμένη κατὰ σπερματικοὺς λόγους, ἀποτελοῦσά τε καὶ συνέχουσα τὰ ἐξ αὐτῆς ἐν ὡρισμένοις χρόνοις καὶ τοιαῦτα δρῶσα, ἀφ' οἵων ἀπεκρίθη. ταύτην δὲ τοῦ συμφέροντος στοχάζεσθαι, ὡς δῆλον ἐκ τῆς οὐρανοῦ δημιουργίας. ἢ φύσις ἐστὶν ἀρχὴ τῶν ὅλων, τῆς ἑκάστου τῶν ὄντων κινήσεώς τε καὶ ἠρεμίας. οἷον ἡ γῆ κινεῖται μὲν κατὰ τὸ βλαστάνειν καὶ ζῳογονεῖν καὶ τὸ ὅλως ἀλλοιοῦσθαι· ἠρεμεῖ δὲ κατὰ τὴν ἐκ τόπου εἰς τόπον μετάστασιν, ἀκίνητος οὖσα παντελῶς καὶ ἀπόρευτος. τὴν οὖν ἀρχὴν τῆς τοιαύτης κινήσεώς τε καὶ ἠρεμίας οὐσιωδῶς, ἤγουν φυσικῶς, καὶ οὐ κατὰ συμβεβηκὸς τῇ γῇ ἐνυπάρχουσαν, φύσιν καλοῦσιν. οὐ τὴν κίνησιν δὲ αὐτὴν καὶ τὴν ἠρεμίαν τῶν πραγμάτων φύσιν εἰρήκασιν, ἀλλὰ τὴν ἀρχήν, τουτέστι τὴν αἰτίαν, καθ' ἣν οὐ κατὰ συμβεβηκός, ἀλλ' οὐσιωδῶς αἱ οὐσίαι κινοῦνται καὶ ἠρεμοῦσιν. ὅταν δὲ λέγῃ ὁ Ἀπόστολος, καὶ ἦμεν τέκνα φύσει ὀργῆς, ὡς καὶ οἱ λοιποί, οὐ κατὰ τοῦτο τὸ σημαινόμενον τῆς φύσεως λέγει· ἐπεὶ τοῦ ποιήσαντος ἂν ἦν τὸ ἔγκλημα· ἀλλὰ τὴν ἔμμονον καὶ κακίστην διάθεσιν καὶ χρονίαν, πονηρὰν συνήθειαν.

Betacode
*fu/sis e)sti\n h(/ te sune/xousa to\n ko/smon kai\ h( fu/ousa ta\ e)pi\ th=s gh=s. h)\ ou(/tws: e(/cis e)c au(th=s kinoume/nh kata\ spermatikou\s lo/gous, a)potelou=sa/ te kai\ sune/xousa ta\ e)c au)th=s e)n w(risme/nois xro/nois kai\ toiau=ta drw=sa, a)f' oi(/wn a)pekri/qh. tau/thn de\ tou= sumfe/rontos stoxa/zesqai, w(s dh=lon e)k th=s ou)ranou= dhmiourgi/as. h)\ fu/sis e)sti\n a)rxh\ tw=n o(/lwn, th=s e(ka/stou tw=n o)/ntwn kinh/sew/s te kai\ h)remi/as. oi(=on h( gh= kinei=tai me\n kata\ to\ blasta/nein kai\ zw|ogonei=n kai\ to\ o(/lws a)lloiou=sqai: h)remei= de\ kata\ th\n e)k to/pou ei)s to/pon meta/stasin, a)ki/nhtos ou)=sa pantelw=s kai\ a)po/reutos. th\n ou)=n a)rxh\n th=s toiau/ths kinh/sew/s te kai\ h)remi/as ou)siwdw=s, h)/goun fusikw=s, kai\ ou) kata\ sumbebhko\s th=| gh=| e)nupa/rxousan, fu/sin kalou=sin. ou) th\n ki/nhsin de\ au)th\n kai\ th\n h)remi/an tw=n pragma/twn fu/sin ei)rh/kasin, a)lla\ th\n a)rxh/n, toute/sti th\n ai)ti/an, kaq' h(\n ou) kata\ sumbebhko/s, a)ll' ou)siwdw=s ai( ou)si/ai kinou=ntai kai\ h)remou=sin. o(/tan de\ le/gh| o( *)apo/stolos, kai\ h)=men te/kna fu/sei o)rgh=s, w(s kai\ oi( loipoi/, ou) kata\ tou=to to\ shmaino/menon th=s fu/sews le/gei: e)pei\ tou= poih/santos a)\n h)=n to\ e)/gklhma: a)lla\ th\n e)/mmonon kai\ kaki/sthn dia/qesin kai\ xroni/an, ponhra\n sunh/qeian.

Notes (4)

  1. 1The opening lines (up to 'craftsmanship of heaven') reproduce, with slight differences, Diogenes Laertius 7.148-149. The doctrinal content is Stoic. ↩
  2. 2In the Diogenes Laertius version the text reads 'human craftsmanship'. ↩
  3. 3This line paraphrases Aristotle's definition of nature as 'the internal principle of motion and rest': 'nature is a certain principle or, more precisely, a cause of motion (or change) in that where it inheres primarily of itself, that is not incidentally' (see Physics 192b20-23; my translation). For a clear account of this point see Charlton (1992), 88-89. ↩
  4. 4St Paul, Letter to the Ephesians 2:3. ↩

References


William Charlton, Aristotle. Physics. Books I and II. Translated with Introduction, Commentary, Note on recent work, and Revised Bibliography by William Charlton (Oxford: Clarendon Press) 1992

Linked from1 entry

Neighbouring entries

φ862Φυσικὸς λόγοςphysical discourseφ863Φύσιςnatureφ864Φύσιςnatureφ865Φύσκηbowel, gutφ866Φυσκητόενταgutty
Revision history6 revisions · last 12 Apr 2023
  1. more tweaks — Catharine Roth
  2. tweaked translation — Catharine Roth
  3. coding — Catharine Roth
  4. Revised — David Whitehead
  5. another keyword — David Whitehead
  6. cosmetics — David Whitehead
  7. Translated — Marcelo Boeri

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