Chapter 4 (variant)

Being is the common name for all things which are. Now, this is divided into substance and accident. Substance is a thing existing in itself and having no need of another for existence, or, more precisely, that which is in itself and does not have its existence in another. Accident is that which cannot exist in itself, but has its existence in another. For the substance is a subject, just as matter is of the things made out of it, whereas an accident is what is found in a substance, as, for example, the body and its color. Certainly a body is not in the color; rather, the color is in the body. The body, then, is a substance, while the color is an accident. And it is the same way with the soul and prudence, for the soul is not in the prudence; rather, the prudence is in the soul. For this reason the body is not said to belong to the color; rather, the color to the body. Neither is the soul said to belong to the prudence; rather, the prudence is said to belong to the soul. The soul, then, is a substance and prudence is an accident. For, when the soul is taken away, its prudence is likewise taken away, because, if there were to be no soul, in what would the prudence be? However, when prudence is taken away, the soul is not necessarily taken away, for it is quite possible for a soul to be without prudence. And similarly with all others ’beings, that which has existence in itself and not in another is substance, whereas that which cannot exist of itself but has its existence in another is accident.

[03] {Περὶ τοῦ ὄντος οὐσίας τε καὶ συμβεβηκότος.} Τὸ ὂν κοινὸν ὄνομά ἐστι πάντων τῶν ὄντων. Τοῦτο οὖν τὸ ὂν τέμνεται εἰς οὐσίαν καὶ συμβεβηκός. Οὐσία μὲν οὖν ἐστι πρᾶγμα αὐθύπαρκτον μὴ δεόμενον ἑτέρου πρὸς σύστασιν ἤγουν τὸ ἐν ἑαυτῷ ὂν καὶ μὴ ἐν ἑτέρῳ ἔχον τὴν ὕπαρξιν, συμβεβηκὸς δὲ τὸ μὴ δυνάμενον ἐν ἑαυτῷ εἶναι ἀλλ' ἐν ἑτέρῳ ἔχον τὴν ὕπαρξιν. Ἡ μὲν γὰρ οὐσία ὑποκείμενόν ἐστιν ὥσπερ ὕλη τῶν πραγμάτων, συμβεβηκὸς δὲ τὸ ἐν τῇ οὐσίᾳ θεωρούμενον οἷον τὸ σῶμα καὶ τὸ χρῶμα: (v. i. 26_29) οὐ γάρ ἐστι τὸ σῶμα ἐν τῷ χρώματι ἀλλὰ τὸ χρῶμα ἐν τῷ σώματι. Ἔστιν οὖν τὸ μὲν σῶμα οὐσία, τὸ δὲ χρῶμα συμβεβηκός. Ὁμοίως καὶ ἡ ψυχὴ καὶ ἡ φρόνησις: οὐ γάρ ἐστιν ἡ ψυχὴ ἐν τῇ φρονήσει ἀλλ' ἡ φρόνησις ἐν τῇ ψυχῇ. Διὸ οὐδὲ λέγεται τὸ σῶμα τοῦ χρώματος ἀλλὰ τὸ χρῶμα τοῦ σώματος, οὐδὲ ἡ ψυχὴ τῆς φρονήσεως ἀλλ' ἡ φρόνησις τῆς ψυχῆς. Ἔστιν οὖν ἡ μὲν ψυχὴ οὐσία ἡ δὲ φρόνησις συμβεβηκός. Τῆς μὲν γὰρ ψυχῆς ἀναιρουμένης ἀναιρεῖται καὶ ἡ φρόνησις: μὴ οὔσης γὰρ ψυχῆς ἐν τίνι ἔσται ἡ φρόνησις; Φρονήσεως δὲ ἀναιρουμένης οὐ πάντως ἀναιρεῖται ἡ ψυχή: ἐνδέχεται γὰρ ψυχὴν εἶναι ἐκτὸς φρονήσεως. Ὁμοίως καὶ ἐπὶ πάντων τῶν ὄντων τὸ ἐν ἑαυτῷ ἔχον τὸ εἶναι καὶ μὴ ἐν ἑτέρῳ οὐσία ἐστί, τὸ δὲ μὴ δυνάμενον καθ' ἑαυτὸ εἶναι ἀλλ' ἐν ἑτέρῳ ἔχον τὴν ὕπαρξιν συμβεβηκός ἐστι. (v. s. 6_8) (v. s. 12 s.)