Averroes On Aristotles Metaphysics

Averroes On Aristotles Metaphysics
PREFACE
The Arab philosopher Abu l-Wald Muhammad Ibn Rushd (112698), among western histori
ans of philosophy better known by his Latinized name Averroes, composed more tha
n thirty commentaries and studies on the works of Aristotle. Although these comm
entaries had an enormous influence on medieval Latin and Hebrew philosophy in ge
neral as well as on the reception and transformation of Aristotelian doctrines i
n particular, a lot of them are still in need of reliable critical editions, and
an even greater number still await complete modern translations in order to be
readily accessible to students and scholars of medieval philosophy unable to rea
d the original Arabic texts. This applies also to the work presented here for th
e first time in a complete English translation for which there is no definitive
critical edition of the Arabic text available. As a matter of fact, the translat
ion was originally supposed to be accompanied by a critical edition of the Arabi
c text itselfa plan that had to be postponed for the time being because it was imp
ossible to obtain copies of all extant medieval and early modern manuscripts of
the work. However, the translation is based not only on the previous editions of
the text, but also on a number of thoroughly collated Arabic manuscripts not ta
ken into consideration in these editions. Thus, the present translation is not o
nly of interest to those engaged in medieval philosophy yet unable to examine th
e Arabic documents, but it might also be helpful for exploring the Arabic manusc
ripts and assaying Averroes intentions more comprehensively and accurately than t
his has been possible on the basis of the previous Arabic editions. The research
toward the present translation and commentary has been supported and facilitate
d by numerous institutions and individuals. Averroes approach to Aristotles Metaph
ysics and in particular his work presented here have been part of a more compreh
ensive project focusing on medieval Arabic metaphysics. During the years 200508,
the Alfried Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach-Stiftung financed a fulltime research p
osition of the present editor for this project. The final
VI
Preface
revision of the translation and the annotations and their appropriate digitizati
on have been supported by funds granted by the Gesellschaft der Freunde und Frder
er der Nordrhein-Westflischen Akademie der Wissenschaften. Furthermore, the Nordr
hein-Westflische Akademie der Wissenschaften und der Knste kindly subsidized the p
rinting of the present volume. It is my great pleasure to express my gratitude t
o these institutions, without whose support I would never have been able to unde
rtake this project. Equally important was the help I have received from a number
of friends and colleagues. F irst and foremost I wish to thank Peter Adamson fo
r his minute corrections of my English and for his incisive criticisms of the tr
anslation and my annotations. Many of his suggestions led me to further reflecti
on on problems concerning the interpretation of the Arabic text or called my att
ention to publications or philosophical questions and contexts I had not been aw
are of before. The second pillar of the project was Horst Schmieja who wrote a s
pecially adapted version of the TUSTEP programme for the preparation of a camera
-ready copy of the present volume and provided technical assistance and advice a
t each stage of the project. I am deeply indebted to him for this friendly help.
Gerhard Endress kindly shared his profound knowledge about the transmission and
interdependence of the Arabic manuscripts containing Ibn Rushds works during the
initial stage of the project. Cecilia Martini Bonadeo and Gerhard Endress lent
me their photographs of some Arabic manuscripts. F irouzeh Saatchian and Jan-Pet
er Hartung helped in obtaining copies of two Iranian and Indian manuscripts. Mau
ro Zonta offered invaluable help and advice regarding the Hebrew transmission of
the text. I am grateful to each of these persons for their willingness to give
a helping hand. Thanks are also due to the personnel of the Thomas Institute of
the University of Cologne, especially to Andreas Speer, its director, and to Wol
fram Klatt, its librarian, who readily provided all necessary research facilitie
s and supported the project in many ways. My gratitude also extends to the gener
al editor of the Averrois Opera series, Gerhard Endress, for his willingness to
include the present volume in this series. Since the initial plan for the publica
tion of a Corpus Commentariorum Averrois in Aristotelem, drafted in 1931 by Harry
Austryn Wolfson, a number of editions and translations of Ibn Rushds
Preface
VII
works have been published by various publishers in this series, which is current
ly being carried on under the aegis of the Union Academique Internationale. Fina
lly, I wish to thank Marwan Rashed, the editor of the excellent newly-introduced
series Scientia Graeco-Arabica, for having invited me to publish the present wo
rk in this series. Autumn 2009 R. A.
CONTENTS
Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
V Translators Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Sigla and Abbreviations Translation Chapter One Chapter Two Chapter Three Chapte
r Four Notes (Chapter One) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . 183 (Chapter Two) (Chapter Three) (Chapter Four) Bibliography Indices Index
of Names Index of Works . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
61 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 368 . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . 256 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 300
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . 95 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . 138 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 339
TRANSLATORS INTRODUCTION
1. Title, nature, and structure of the treatise The treatise presented here is c
ommonly referred to as Ibn Rushds Epitome of Aristotles Metaphysics. Adopting this d
enomination for the sake of convenience, we must be aware of the following two f
acts. F irst, the majority of the Arabic manuscripts (including the oldest manus
cripts Madrid, Biblioteca Nacional, ms. ar. 5000, Cairo, Dar al-Kutub, al-Hikma
wa-l-Falsafa 5, and Cairo, Dar al-Kutub, Coll. Taymur Pasha, Hikma 117) contain
the treatise without displaying any title whatsoever. Ibn Rushd himself does not
refer to the present treatise by any title in his other works. Hence, we cannot
be sure what title Ibn Rushd chose for this work or whether he intended a separ
ate entitlement in its own right at all 1. On the other hand, there can be no do
ubt that Ibn Rushd himself conceived this treatise as a kind of exegetical work
on Aristotles Metaphysics, as he states right at the beginning that in this treati
se, we wish to present scientific doctrines gathered from the treatises Aristotl
e devoted to the science of metaphysics. Secondly, the content and structure of t
he treatise show certain peculiarities not displayed by the other works usually
classified as epitomes (Jawami or Mukhtasar in the Arabic); and even those Arabi
c manu scripts which do display a separate title of the work, do not depict it as
an epitome, but simply call it Book of Metaphysics (Kitab Ma ba d al-tab a). Howe
er, we are relatively safe in grouping together the present treatise with the ot
her epitomes Ibn Rushd composed on various Aristotelian works. Basically, Ibn Ru
shd dealt with Aristotles works in writings of four different literary genres: (i
) literal or so-called long commentaries (Sharh or Tafsr) quoting and commenting up
on the authoritative work section by section in a complete and exhaustive
1
This uncertainty is reflected in the fact that the five modern Arabic editions o
f the work display four different titles (cf. below, section 3).
2
Translators Introduction
manner; (ii) paraphrases (Talkhs), the so-called middle commen taries, i.e. rewordin
gs of the Aristotelian text which avoid for the most part raising any textual pr
oblems or dogmatic inconsistencies and are characterized by the highest degree o
f approval to and coherent representation of the Aristotelian doctrines; (iii) e
pitomes, i.e. abridged introductions or summaries, in which Ibn Rushd breaks awa
y from the authoritative work at a remarkably higher degree than in the two afor
ementioned literary forms, secludes any non-demonstrative sections or excursions
he encountered in the Aristotelian work or in the commentaries thereon he had a
t his disposal, and presents what he conceives as the gist of this work in his o
wn words; and (iv) questions or problems (usually entitled Treatise on..., Maqala
f..., followed either by the problem to be discussed or by the title of the Arist
otelian work in which the relevant question occurs), i.e. treatises focusing on
welldelimited problems raised in a particular Aristotelian writing, which take i
nto consideration all ancient and modern Arabic positions regarding this question2
. That the present work pertains neither to the class of literal commentaries no
r to that of the paraphrases is clear from the fact that both Ibn Rushds literal
commentary on Aristotles Metaphysics as well as his paraphrase are extant and dif
fer substantially from the present text3.
2
3
On these four literary genres and their interrelations cf. J. al- Alaw, Al-Matn a
l-rushd: Madkhal li-qira a jadda, p. 12753; idem, Al-Ghazzal wa-l-khitab al-f
harb al-islam: al-Ghazzal wa-tashakkul al-khitab al-falsaf li-bn
iyyat al-Adab wa-l- Ulum al-Insaniyya 8 (1986), esp. p. 2848. For studies in Euro
pean languages cf. Therese-Anne Druart, Averroes: The Commentator and the Comme
ntators, in Aristotle in Late Antiquity, edited by L. P. Schrenk (Washington: Cat
holic Univ. of America Press, 1994); Miguel Cruz Hernandez, El sentido de las tre
s lecturas de Aristoteles por Averroes, in Ensayos sobre la filosofa en el Al-Anda
lus, edited by A. Martinez Lorca (Bar celona: Ed. Anthropos, 1990). The literal c
ommentary is available in the Arabic edition Averroes: Tafsr ma ba d at-Tab at.
Texte arabe inedit etabli par Maurice Bouyges, 3 vols., Bey routh: Imprimerie Cath
olique, 193842, and in the Latin translation printed by the Giunta brothers in se
veral editions since 1550, reprinted as Aristotelis Opera cum Averrois Commentar
iis, 9 vols. and 3 supplementa, Frankfurt am Main: Minerva 1962. (A new Latin ed
ition is currently being prepared by Dag N. Hasse, University of Wrzburg. For fur
ther partial editions and translations into modern languages cf. www.thomasinsti
tut.uni-koeln.de/averroes db/averrois opera.html.) The paraphrase or middle comme
ntary is ex-
3
Furthermore, it is certainly not an inquiry into a particular topic or problem o

f Aristotles Metaphysics adhering to the genre of Maqalat. In the introduction to
the work, Ibn Rushd states repeatedly that he is addressing here the discipline
of metaphysics in its entirety4. Also, the structure of the work, and especiall
y of the introduction, leaves no doubt that Ibn Rushd does not focus on a partic
ular metaphysical question, but rather approaches this discipline as such in a s
ystematic and comprehensive manner. As in the other epitomes, Ibn Rushds diction
is rather independent from the Aristotelian work dealt with; there are no litera
l quotations of the Metaphysics, only seldom do paraphrases occur. Apart from th
is determination ex negativo, there are certain positive indicators corroboratin
g the assumption that we are faced with Ibn Rushds Epitome of the Metaphysics. Ab
ove all, we may adduce Ibn Rushds own statements in this work and in other epitom
es. In 1159, Ibn Rushd completed his epitomes of four Aristotelian treatises on
natural philosophy (Physics, De caelo, De generatione et corruptione, and Meteor
ologica), which he conceived as a literary unit. In his introduction to this fou
r-part work, which has been preserved in two different versions, Ibn Rushd descr
ibes the aim of these epitomes as presenting the necessary doctrines (al-aqawl al-d
aruriyya) or the scientific doctrines which render Aristotles method a necessary
ethod (al-aqawl alilmiyya allat taqtad madhhabahu) 5. This seems to be exactl
t Ibn Rushd is referring to at the beginning of the treatise presented here, whe
n he says: In this treatise, we wish to present scientific doctrines (al-aqawl alilmiyya) gathered from the treatises Aristotle devoted to the science of metaph
ysics in the manner we have practised generally in the preceding books. That thes
e preceding books alluded to here are none other than these four epitomes is furth
er confirmed by another methodological remark which refers again to the other [th
eoretical] sciences dealt with there and is found
tant in two Hebrew versions edited by Mauro Zonta in his unpublished dissertatio
n La tradizione ebraica del Commento Medio di Averroe alla Meta fisica di Aristo
tele, Universita di Torino, 1995. Cf. p. 2127 of the translation. Cf. J. al- Ala
w, Al-Matn al-rushd: Madkhal li-qira a jadda, p. 161; cf. also the introduction of
Ibn Rushds Epitome of the Organon (the so-called Darur f l-Mantiq), quoted in J. al
- Alaw, Al-Matn al-rushd, p. 50sq.
4 5
4
in almost identical form in the present work and in the Cairo version of the int
roduction to the four epitomes on natural philosophy. It says that the appropria
te method for the acquisition of these sciences is the method of instruction (nah
w al-ta lm/jihat al-ta alm), that is the method which proceeds from things better k
nown-to-us to things better known-by-nature 6. Remarks of this type are, as far a
s I can see, not found at the beginning of any of Ibn Rushds middle commentaries. F
urthermore, there is certain bibliographical evidence for the fact that the trea
tise presented here indeed was conceived as an epitome shortly after Ibn Rushds d
eath. In his Uyun al-anba f tabaqat al atibba , Ibn Ab Usaybi a (d. 1270) mentions
Ibn Rushds Epitomes of on Aristotles Books Natural Sciences and Metaphysics (Ja
kutub Aristutals f l-tab iyyat wa-l-ilahiyyat), in all likelihood referring
resent work and the four epitomes on Aristotles physical works7. Being independen
t from these biographies two medieval catalogues of Ibn Rushds writings mention h
is Epitomes on Philosophy (Jawami f l-falsafa) 8. Taking into consideration that Ib
n Rushd con ceived and introduced the four epitomes on natural sciences as one wo
rk of four parts and that this work is commonly entitled, not as Epitomes on Phi
losophy, but rather as Epitomes on Natural Sciences, this title may be regarded
as further evidence for the fact that the present treatise was grouped together
with the epitomes on natural sciences by Ibn Rushd himself or in an early stage
of its transmission. This is additionally confirmed by the fact that the work ha
s been transmitted in almost all Arabic manuscripts together with these four epi
tomes9.
6 Cf. below, p. 27 of the translation, and Averrois Epitome in Physicorum libros
, ed. Josep Puig. Corpus Commentariorum Averrois in Aristotelem. Series A, vol.
20. Madrid 1983, p. 7sq., apparatus criticus. For the affinity of this method an
d the genre of epitomes cf. J. al- Alaw, Al-Matn al-rushd, p. 5256. The same refere
nce is found in two other biographies dating from the first half of the fourteen
th century, i.e. the Ta rkh al-islam wa-wafayat al-mashahr wal-a lam by Shams al-Dn
al-Dhahab (d. 1348), and the Kitab al-Waf bi-l wafayat by Salah al-Dn al-Saf
363); cf. J. al- Alaw, Al-Matn al-rushd, p. 12, 15. Cf. ibid., p. 11sq., 15
arlier of these catalogues is found in a manuscript dating from Jumada II 637 /
January 1240; cf. Commentaria Averrois in Ga lenum, edidit Mara de la Concepcon Vaz
quez de Benito, p. 281, 283.
7
8
5
As for the above-mentioned peculiarities of the present treatise regarding the g
enre of Ibn Rushds epitomes, this concerns primarily the following two features.
All other epitomes of Aristotelian works composed by Ibn Rushd follow the textua
l order of the authoritative writing by Aristotle. Not so the present work, whic
h re-arranges the materials found in the Metaphysics in an entirely new way. Sec
ondly, while the other epitomes cover the contents of the relevant Aristotelian
works more or less completely, this is not the case with the present work, and t
his in a deliberate manner. As Ibn Rushd explains right at the outset of the wri
ting, he intends, not to provide a complete synopsis of the Aristotelian work, b
ut to present scientific doctrines gathered from (naltaqita min) the treatises Ar
istotle devoted to the science of metaphys ics. In other words, Ibn Rushd does not
claim completeness and proceeds rather selectively. The most striking evidence
for the re-arrangment of the Aristotelian work is supplied by the fact that the
latter is divided into fourteen books, whereas Ibn Rushd explains that its conte
nts can be arranged in three main parts, and divides his treatise into five chap
ters. In the introduction, he says:
We find this [science] unfolded in the [single] treatises [of the Metaphysics] at
tributed to Aristotle. However, it can be reduced to three [major] parts [as fol
lows]. [(I)] In the first part [Aristotle] takes into consideration [(I.a)] sens
ible things inasmuch as they are existents, all their genera which form the ten
categories, and [(I.b)] all their concomitants which adhere to them, and relates
[all] this to what is first in them, as far as this is possible in this part [o
f metaphysics]. [(II)] In the second part he takes into consideration the princi
ples of substancethese are the separate things, explains their mode of existence, re
lates them likewise to their first principle, which is God (exalted is He), expl
ains His specific attributes and acts, and shows also the relationship between H
im and the remaining existents and [the fact] that He is the utmost perfection,
the first form, and the first agent [...].
9
To which, in most manuscripts, also the Epitome on Aristotles De anima has been a
ppended. As a matter of fact, this conjoined manuscript transmission of the pres
ent treatise as a sequel of the epitomes on natural philosophy might be the reas
on for the subheading-like title Book of Metaphysics we encounter in some of the y
ounger manuscripts. This title just assumes as self-evident that in what follows
the series of epitomes is continued. In some manuscripts, such a continuation i
s explicitly stated in the colophon of the preceding epitome.
6
[(III)] In the third part he takes into consideration the subject matters of the
departmental sciences and eliminates the mistakes committed by the ancients on
this [subject], namely in the discipline of logic and in the two departmental di
sciplines, that is physics and mathematics.
From internal references to this division and the following discussion of the Ar
istotelian doctrines it becomes clear how these three main parts relate to the A
ristotelian text. Part I.a comprises Books VII (Z) and VIII (H) of the Metaphysi
cs. In his discussion of these books, Ibn Rushd proceeds here and there rather i
ndependently by grouping together what in his view belongs together (such as VII
[Z] 12 and VIII [H] 6, both of which deal with the unity of definition) or by p
ostponing questions because they require the previous consideration of subsequen
t sections of these books (such as the question whether the three corporeal dime
nsions are substances raised in VII [Z] 2, 1028 b 16sqq., yet explicitly postpon
ed by Ibn Rushd to the end of this part). Part I.b falls into three sections. Th
e first section contains most of Book IX () to be discussed by Ibn Rushd in the f
ollowing order: Chs. 13 (kinds of potencies, the Megarian position), Chs. 58 (actu
alization of potencies, actuality, priority of actuality) including a short excu
rsion on Book II () 1, 993 b 2331, first half of Ch. 9 (good and evil in actuality
and potentiality), Ch. 10 (truth). In the second section, Ibn Rushd treats the
contents of Book X (I) as follows: Chs. 14 (the one and the many, contrariety), C
hs. 710 (intermediates in contrariety, contrariety in species and genus), Ch. 6 (
aporia regarding the opposition of the one and the many), Ch. 5 (aporia regardin
g the opposition of small, great and equal). The third section comprises Aristot
les discourse on the finiteness of causal chains provided in Metaphysics II () 2.
Ibn Rushds explanations on Part II start with a section on Metaphysics XII () 67, w
hich draws intensely on Aristotles Physics VIII 13, and 78. The second section of t
his part is constituted by Book XII () 810, which is discussed in much greater det
ail than the preceding section and by taking into account various works by Alexa
nder of Aphrodisias, al-Farab, Ibn Sna, and others. References to Chs. 15 of thi
ook occur only incidentally and very briefly. The contents of Part III can only
be reconstructed on the basis of internal references and of Ibn Rushds statements
on the structure of the Metaphysics propounded in his Literal Commentary on thi
s work, because the relevant chapter of the present treatise is not extant. In I
bn
7
Rushds conception, this part comprises Book IV ( ) 48 (possibly also the correlate
Chs. 47 of Book XI [K]), Aristotles defense of the validity of the first principl
es of demonstration, and Books XIII (M) and XIV (N) which, in Ibn Rushds view, de
al primarily with the subject matters of mathematics and physics and errors comm
itted by the ancients (i.e. Plato and the Pythagoreans) on this subject10. These
three major parts of the Metaphysics relate to the subdivision of the present t
reatise as follows. Part
I.a I.b II III
Chapter
Two Three Four [Five] (not extant)
Section of Aristotles Metaphysics

VII (Z) and VIII (H) IX (), 13, 58; II () 1; IX (), 910; X (I) 14, 710, 6, 5; II ()
() 610 (occasional ref. to XII [] 15) IV () 48 (possibly XI [K] 47); XIII (M) and XIV
(N) (partially?)
Chapter One of our treatise, which has no correspondence to any of the three mai
n parts, is divided into two sections: (A) an introduction which deals, followin
g the commentary tradition of late antiquity, with the subject matter, aim, and
usefulness of metaphysics, and (B) a glossary of twenty-eight fundamental terms
of metaphysics. The purpose of both sections is described as introductory and pr
eparatory. In the introduction (A), Ibn Rushd considers, in addition to his own
contributions to the topics in question, the following sections of the Metaphysi
cs (in this order): 1. Book IV ( ) 1 (there is a universal science which studies
being qua being). 2. Book VI (E) 1 (metaphysics is one of three theoretical sci
ences, besides physics and mathematics). 3. Book IV ( ) 2 (there are universal c
oncomitants of all existents which cannot be considered by any other science exc
ept the one which has being as such as its subject matter). 4. Book IV ( ) 3 (th
e principles [and subject matters, as Ibn Rushd adds] of the departmental scienc
es must be stud10 I have dealt with Part III of Ibn Rushds division of the Metaphysics and the u
npreserved fifth chapter of the present treatise separately in the article On the
Nature and Fate of Chapter V of Ibn Rushds Epitome of Aristotles Metaphysics.
8
ied and verified by metaphysics). 5. Book VI (E) 1 (metaphysics is the supreme s

cience because it deals with most remote causes the knowledge of which is the en
d and completion of the theoretical sciences). The following glossary (B) deals
with twenty-five notions explained in the thirty chapters of Book V (). In additi
on, Ibn Rushd includes three paragraphs on notions not discussed in this book of
the Metaphysics, namely thing, matter, and form. The paragraph on being of this sect
is the only part of the treatise which draws additionally on Metaphysics VI (E)
24. In view of the fact that what Ibn Rushd calls Part I of the Metaphysics is n
ot dealt with until Chapter Two of the treatise, and that the contents of Chapte
r One are characterized as preliminary, we are thus quite safe in judging that B
ooks IV ( ) 13, V (), and VI (E) were conceived by Ibn Rushd as a sort of logical
and epistemological propaedeutics and introduction to the major concepts of what
he considered as metaphysics proper11. The selective and independent approach t
o the contents and structure of the Metaphysics comes also to the fore in the wa
y Ibn Rushd deals with Book III (B). Obviously, Ibn Rushd did not consider the c
atalogue of metaphysical aporiae presented there as a map or program for the Met
aphysics. He follows Ibn Sna12 in transposing selected aporiae into the relevant
contexts of his discussion. The dialectical character of this book did not fit i
nto Ibn Rushds program of the purely demonstrative structure of the epitomes. 2.
Transmission, revision, and completeness of the treatise The present treatise is
preserved in 17 Arabic manuscripts dating from the thirteenth to the nineteenth
centuries. During the first half of the thirteenth century it was translated in
to Hebrew twice: the translation prepared by Moses Ibn Tibbon is preserved in at
least 14 manuscripts, while another, anonymous, translation is quoted in books
IX and X of
11 The same approach is displayed in the introductions to Books IV ( ) and XII ()
of Ibn Rushds Literal Commentary (Tafsr) on the Metaphysics. It is heavily influe
nced by Alexander of Aphrodisias conception of metaphysics, as I try to show in m
y Ibn Rusd on the Structure of Aristotles Metaphysics. 12 And Nicolaus of Damascus,
cf. A. Bertolacci, The Reception of Aristotles Metaphysics in Avicennas Kitab alSifa , p. 40940, Arnzen, Ibn Rusd on the Structure of Aristotles Metaphysics.
9
Ibn Falaqueras De ot ha-filosofim, of which we have two manuscripts. The Hebrew v

ersion by Ibn Tibbon was translated into Latin by the famous Italian physician a
nd translator Iacob Mantino ben Samuel and printed for the first time in 1523 in
Bologna. As mentioned above, the treatise as we have it today is incomplete. Al
l versions transmit unanimously Ibn Rushds declaration in the introduction that h
e had divided the work into five chapters, as well as his repeated references to
the fifth chapter. However, all versions break off after the end of the fourth
chapter. It is not clear whether the absence of Chapter Five was caused by a cod
icological mishap in an early stage of the transmission or by Ibn Rushdsunrealizedpla
n to revise or entirely re-write this chapter. What can be excluded with certain
ty is that its absence was caused by Ibn Rushds deliberate decision either never
to compose it or to delete an early version without any substitute, as claimed i
n the colophon of some manuscripts13. That Ibn Rushd indeed revised the present
treatisepresumably several timescan be inferred from the following observations. F i
rst, in all probability he began working on it shortly after having completed th
e Epitomes on Natural Philosophy14, that is in the early sixties of the twelfth ce
ntury. As already recognized by al- Alaw15 the treatise as we have it today conta
ins a reference to Ibn Rushds Long Commentary on the Metaphysics. This reference
occurs in a section transmitted in two versions the earlier of which lacks the r
eference16. Accordingly, the second version including the reference must have be
en added during or after the composition of the literal commentary on the Metaph
ysics, which dates from a late period, probably from the years 11929417.
13 This problem is discussed in detail in my article On the Nature and Fate of Ch
apter V of Ibn Rushds Epitome of Aristotles Metaphysics, cf. also below, note 688.
14 Cf. M. Alonso, Teologa de Averroes p. 56, 67sq., J. al- Alaw, Al-Matn al rushd, p
. 57sq. 15 Cf. ibid., p. 58. 16 Cf. p. 73, l. 57 of the translation, and note 254
. 17 Cf. J. al- Alaw, Al-Matn al-rushd, p. 109sq., M. Bouyges, NOTICE, p. XXV. As
a matter of fact, a reference found in the literal commentary (We have mentioned
... at another place, Tafsr Ma ba d al-tab a, p. 1279, l. 15 p. 1280, l. 1) is i
ll likelihood to the present Epitome of the Metaphysics; cf. below, note 439. If
this is in fact the case, the composition of the literal commentary and the rev
ision of the present treatise must have taken place at least partially at the sa
me time; cf. also p. 259sq., note 352.
10
Other references point in the same direction, e.g. two references to the natural
sciences seem to relate to the paraphrase (Talkhs) of De caelo composed in 117118.
Again another reference, now to what has been discussed elsewhere very likely dir
ects us to Ibn Rushds Tahafut al tahafut, a work he wrote after 1170, in all proba
bility after 118019. Unlike the above-mentioned reference to the Long Commentary
on the Metaphysics, these references do not occur in sections transmitted in mo
re than one version. This may possibly point to the fact that the splitting of t
he transmission testified by sections transmitted in more than one version is to
be dated after approximately 1180. The manuscripts I had at my disposal contain
eight sections of varying length transmitted in more than one version20. In mos
t of these cases, the manuscripts display two versions, in some cases even three
, where the third version consists either in subsequent copies of the two versio
ns transmitted in the other manuscripts or in a hybrid combination of these21. I
n all cases, these sections fit coherently in the overall context. As their cont
ents concern topics which are known to have posed a problem to Ibn Rushd and to
have caused constant grappling and modification of his approach, such as the rol
e of universal forms in the generation of living beings, the spontaneous generat
ion of animals, or the one qua principle of numbers, there can be little doubt t
hat we are faced with authentic revisions by Ibn Rushd himself 22. This assumpti
on is further born out by passages transmitted in one branch of the manuscripts,
yet omitted in the other. As far as the absence of such passages cannot be expl
ained through omission by homoioteleuton, these passages may be considered as la
ter additions by Ibn Rushd23.
18 Cf. below, p. 145, lines 4 and 11 of the translation, and notes 566sq. For th
e date cf. Ibn Rushd, Talkhs al-sama wa-l- alam, ed. J. al- Alaw, p. 46sq. 19 Cf.
below, p. 168ult. of the translation, and note 642. For the date cf. Ibn Rushd, T
ahafut al-tahafut, ed. M. Bouyges, p. XI sq., J. al- Alaw, Al-Matn al-rushd, p. 10
0sq. 20 These sections are found in the translation on p. 37, 65sq., 71, 73, 93s
q., 11214, and 17174, printed in two columns. 21 Whenever the transmission of inte
gral sections splits up into three branches it can thus be reduced to exactly tw
o competing versions. 22 That Ibn Rushd revised the epitomes in later periods of
his project is also known from other works, such as the epitomes on De anima an
d the Physics. 23 Such additions occur on p. 40sq., 60, 61sq., 72sq., 111sq., 11
8, 123sq., 128,
11
Provided the above assumption is correct, the extant manuscripts thus reflect at
least three different stages of Ibn Rushds work on the present treatise, namely
the initial period of the original composition in the early sixties of the twelf
th century, the first stage of revision up to around 1180, and a second stage of
revision contemporaneous with the composition of the Long Commentary on the Met
aphysics 24. The absence of Chapter F ive even points to a third stage of revisi
on, now devoted to the intense revision or complete re-writing of this chapter.
Obviously, Ibn Rushd could not complete this final stage of revision, probably d
ue to the political and biographical turbulences that marked the last years of h
is life and, finally, his death in 1198. 3. Editions and previous translations T
here are five editions of the Arabic text of the present treatise, none of which
meets the requirements of definitive critical editions. In chronological order
these are:
1. Kitab Ma ba d al-tab a. [Edited by] Mustafa al-abban. Cairo: al Matba a

yya, n.d. [1905?]. Al-abbans edition is solely based on ms. Cairo, Dar al-Kutub,
al-Hikma wa-l Falsafa 5. It is marked by misreadings, omissions, and deliberate c
hanges to the wording of the manuscript.
168, and 178 of the translation, as noted in the relevant footnotes to the text.
In most cases, the additions are transmitted in all manuscripts to the exclusio
n of ms. Cairo, Dar al-Kutub, al-Hikma wa-l-Falsafa 5. Hence, we may con clude th
at this manuscript represents an earlier stage of revision of the present treati
se. As this manuscript also lacks the two references to the Long Commentary on t
he Metaphysics and to the Tahafut al-tahafut mentioned above, the manuscript fro
m which it was copied might possibly go back to a version copied before approxim
ately 1180. However, since ms. Cairo, Dar al-Kutub, al-Hikma wa-l-Falsafa 5 is a
lso otherwise unreliable and lacunose, we must be cautious with these kinds of in
ferences. 24 Among the causes that motivated these revisions one might take into
account Ibn Rushds re-consideration of the Aristotelian work during the composit
ion of the paraphrase and the literal commentary on the Metaphysics. The former
possibly dates from the year 1174; cf. M. Alonso, Teologa de Averroes p. 65, 85sq
.
12
2. Compendio de Metafsica. Texto arabe con traduccion y notas de Carlos uiros Ro

drguez. Madrid: Imprenta de Estanislao Maestre, 1919.
This edition is based on two manuscripts, ms. Madrid, Biblioteca Nacional, ms. a
r. 5000 and the Cairo manuscript used by al-abban. It is not free of misreadings
, but much more reliable than al-abbans edition. However, there is no apparatus c
riticus for the numerous discrepancies between the two manuscripts; and in many
cases, uiros Rodrguez has fabricated his own text by mixing up the two manu scrip
ts. The edition has been reprinted twice: 2.1 Averroes. Compendio de Metafsica. P
resentacion Josep Puig Montada. Edicion Pedro Bazan Correa. Cordoba: Universidad
de Cordoba, 1998. 2.2 Abu l-Wald Ibn Rushd. Kitab Ilm ma ba d at-tab a (Compendio
de metafisi ca): Texto arabe de Carlos uiros Rodrguez. Edited by Fuat Sezg
lications
of the Institute for the History of Arabic-Islamic Science. Islamic Philosophy,
vol. 57. Frankfurt am Main: Institute for the History of Arabic-Islamic Science,
1999.
3. Kitab Ma ba d al-tab a li-l-Faqh al-ad al- Allama Ab l-Wald

n Muhammad ibn Rushd al-urtub. Rasa il Ibn Rushd, vol. 6. Hyderabad: Matba at Da
irat al-Ma arif al- Uthmaniyya, 1365/1946.
This edition is based on a manuscript of the Kitabkhana-i Asafya-i Sarkar-i Al in
25 Hyderabad , which sometimes supports the readings of ms. Madrid, Biblioteca N
acional, ms. ar. 5000, sometimes those of ms. Cairo, Dar al-Kutub, al-Hikma wa-l
-Falsafa 5, and at other places proceeds independently. In the margins, the edit
ion occasionally gives the variant readings of ms. Hyderabad, Maktabat Da irat a
l-Ma arif al- Uthmaniyya, Acq[uisition] 665, referred to by the siglum .
4. Talkhs Ma ba d al-tab a. Haqqaqahu wa-qaddama lahu Uthman Amn. Ca

ab al-Halab, 1958. In addition to the twomanuscripts used by uiros Rodrguez, Am
ies on ms.
Cairo, Dar al-Kutub, Coll. Taymur Pasha, Hikma 117, which is certainly a step fo
rward for the constitution of the text. However, Amns choice between variant readi
ngs of the three manuscripts is rather unsystematic. On a number of occasions he
arbitrarily implements modifications to the actual wording of these manuscripts
25 Presumably, this is the undated ms. 597 which contains, according to the libr
ary catalogue, the Rasa il Ibn Rushd; cf. Mr Uthman Alkhan Bahadur, Fihrist-i
b-i arab wa-fars wa-urdu makhzuna-i Kitabkhana-i Asafya-i Sarkar-i Al. 4 vols. Hy
abad: Dar al-Tab Jami a-i Uthmanya-i Sarkar-i Al, 1332/19141355/1936, vol. 4,
8.
13
5. Risalat Ma ba d al-tab a. [Ed.] Jrar Jiham. Taqdm wa-dabt wa ta
a il Ibn Rushd al-Falsafiyya, vol. 6. Beirut: Dar al-F ikr al-Lubnan, 1994.
This edition is basically a reprint of edition # 3, to which the editors supplie
d some corrections and modifications. Furthermore, the segmentation of the text
is different, and sub-headings have been added.
or the order of the text without manuscript evidence (often following suggestion
s by al-abban or by Van den Bergh in the notes to his translation, cf. below, #1
1). Amns edition, which depicts the text erroneously as a Paraphrase (Talkhs), has
been reprinted in Teheran: 4.1 Talkhs Ma ba d al-tab a. Haqqaqahu wa-qaddama lahu
Uthman Amn. Maj mu a-i Ashna ba Falsafa-i Gharb, vol. 9. Teher
at, 1377/1998.
While there is no edition of the medieval Hebrew translations available, Iacob M
antinos Latin translation of Ibn Tibbons Hebrew version has been printed several t
imes. The first edition, not available to me, appeared in 1523 in Bologna, dedic
ated to Hercules (Ercole) Gonzaga, bishop of Mantua. In the following four decad
es, at least four further editions appeared. 6. Averroys Epithoma totius Metaphi
sices Aristotelis in quattuor secatvm tractatvs. Interprete Iacob Mantin Dertvae
nsi Hebreo artivm et medicinae Doctore ad Ill.m Principem ac D.R.D. Hercvlem Con
sagam, electvm Mantvanvm. Ad instantiam heredum Benedicti Hectoris, bibliopolae
Bononiensis, anno Domini 1523, die 3 decembris26. 7. Epithoma Averrois in Librum
Metaphysicae. Iacob Mantin medico hebreo interprete. In Averrois Cordvbensis Epit
homa totius Metaphysices Aristotelis. Prohemium duodecimi libri Metaphysices. Ei
vsdem Paraphrases in Libris quatuor de Clo, & duobus de Generatione & corruptione
Aristotelis. Venetiis apud Hieronymum Scotum, 1542, p. 2156 27. 8. Averrois Cordv
bensis Epitome in librvm Metaphysic Aristotelis. Iacob Mantino hebro medico interp
rete. In Aristotelis Metaphysicorvm libri XIIII. Cum Averrois Cordvbensis in eosd
em commentariis, et Epitome. Theophrasti Metaphysicorum liber. Vol. 8 of Aris26 Cf. Index Aureliensis # 109.809. 27 Cf. Index Aureliensis # 109.818. A scan o
f this edition is accessible online via www.thomasinstitut.uni-koeln.de/averroes
db/links.html.
14
totelis Opera cum Averrois Commentariis. Venetiis apud Iunctas, 1562, fol. 356r39
7r 28.
Reprinted, with identical foliation, in: 8.1 Aristotelis Opera cum Averrois Comm
entariis. 9 vols. and 3 supplementa. Frankfurt am Main: Minerva, 1962.
There are three previous modern translations of the Arabic text. Hortens translat
ion is based on ms. Cairo, Dar al-Kutub, al-Hikma wa-l Falsafa 5. The other two t
ranslations have been prepared from this Cairo manuscript plus ms. Madrid, Bibli
oteca Nacional, ms. ar. 5000. Van den Bergh also takes the Latin translation by
Mantino into consideration. 9. Die Metaphysik des Averroes (1198). Nach dem Arabi
schen bersetzt und erlutert von Max Horten. Abhandlungen zur Philosophie und ihrer
Geschichte, vol. 36. Halle an der Saale: Max Niemeyer, 1912. Reprint, Frankfurt
am Main: Minerva, 1960. 10. Compendio de Metafsica. Texto arabe con traduccion y
notas de Carlos uiros Rodrguez. Madrid: Imprenta de Estanislao Maestre, 1919. R
eprinted in # 2.1. 11. Die Epitome der Metaphysik des Averroes. bersetzt und mit
einer Einleitung und Erluterungen versehen von Simon Van den Bergh. Verffentlichun
gen der De Goeje-Stiftung, vol. 7. Leiden: Brill, 1924. 4. The present translati
on and notes The present translation is based on a complete collation of eight A
rabic manuscripts and edition # 3, which represents a ninth manuscript, otherwis
e not accessible to me29. Additionally, the Arabic manuscripts have been complet
ely collated with I. Mantinos Latin translation. It goes without saying that a de
finitive constitutio textus is not possible until the remaining Arabic manuscrip
ts, not available to me, have been
28 A scan of this edition is accessible online at http://gallica.bnf.fr. Two fur
ther editions of Aristotelis Opera including Mantinos translation appeared in Ven
ice in 1552 (apud Iunctas) and 1560 (apud Cominum de Tridino Montisferrati); cf.
Index Aureliensis # 108.193 and # 108.423; Ferdinand Edward Cranz, A Bibliograp
hy of Aristotle Editions, 15011600. 2d ed. with addenda and revisions by Charles
B. Schmitt. Bibliotheca Bibliographica Aureliana, vol. 38. Baden-Baden: Valentin
Koerner, 1984, p. 55, 75. 29 For these manuscripts cf. above, note 25, and the
list of sigla, below.
15
collated and considered regarding their filiation. However, the text reconstruct
ible on the basis of these ten testimonies is considerably more reliable than th
e versions accessible in the previous editions. For the constitution of the text
, one has to keep separate, in general, sections revised by Ibn Rushd and transm
itted in more than one version from the remaining text. Sections of this type ar
e printed in the translation in two columns, and their manuscript transmission i
s explained in the relevant footnotes. In some cases, one of the two reconstruct
ible versions has been transmitted in one manuscript only. Accordingly, the degr
ee of uncertainty inherent in such a unique transmission is remarkably higher th
an in the second version. In view of the intense contamination of the transmissi
on, I refrained from attempting to identify and present the other stages of revi
sion as well by specific modes of layout. Instead of this, problems of different
versions and revisions are discussed in the endnotes. As for the remaining text
, the filiation of the manuscripts is divided into two main branches: on the one
side () mss. A, D, H, M, and , on the other side () mss. G, P, R, and T. However
, with the exception of mss. H and M, all testimonies including Mantinos translat
ion are contaminated with variant readings adopted from the other branch of fili
ation. The oldest manuscripts, H, M, and , belong to family () which is thus rec
onstructible in a more reliable way than family (). Ms. is closely related to m
s. H; however, its Vorlage must have been contaminated by ms. M or one of its ap
ographs. Mss. A and D show traces of both lines of family (). The most important
manuscript of family () is ms. P, which stems from an early representative of thi
s family and is less heavily contaminated from the side of family () than the rem
aining mss. of this branch. Mss. G and T are closely related and stem from an an
cestor heavily contaminated by variant readings from ms. . Ms. is also the ma
nuscript which shows the closest relation to the Hebrew manuscript(s) used by I.
Mantino. At some places, edition # 8 of Mantinos translation indicates at the ma
rgins variant readings by the abbreviation a.l. (= alia lectio). In all likeliho
od, such notes point, not to variant readings of the Latin translation, but rath
er to those in the Arabic manuscripts. E.g. the reading genus instead of corpus (fol
. 374rb) suggests the manuscript transmission of jins instead of jism, that of concor
dia instead of copulatiua (fol. 375rb) the reading ijma instead of jima . Some of th
ese variant readings are not attested by any of the Arabic manuscripts at my dis
posal.
16
As the translation below draws on my own reconstruction of the text based on the
collation of these ten testimonies, it often deviates from the wording found in
the above-mentioned Arabic editions. Noting each variant reading would have req
uired a complete apparatus criticus in its own rightan undertaking obviously inapp
ropriate for the publication of a translation. Therefore, information about the
Arabic text has been restricted to three modes of presentation. (i) The most imp
ortant variants of the manuscripts and deviations from the Arabic editions have
been noted in footnotes underneath the translation (referred to by superscript l
etters). (ii) Whenever problems of the transmission concern entire paragraphs of
the text, e.g. sections transmitted in more than one version and similar cases,
the reconstructed Arabic text which served as the basis of the translation is q
uoted in the relevant endnote. (iii) A number of less significant problems of th
e constitutio textus are discussed en passant in the endnotes (referred to by br
acketed numbers). In a few exceptional cases the translation deviates from all t
en testimonies. In these cases, I assume an omission or mistake handed down from
the initial stage of transmission. That the archetype of the ten testimonies wa
s not perfect is clear from two lacunae present in all manuscripts including Man
tinos translation30. In three cases I assume omissions of one or two words31; in
two other cases I assume genuine scribal errors32. Furthermore, a number of devi
ations consist in minor modifications of wrongly dotted Arabic words. In general
, I have tried to translate as literal as possible, to preserve the terminologic
al and phraseological details and peculiarities, to uncover Ibn Rushds intention
as precise as possible, and to be consistent in all this33. The previous modern
translations have been taken into
30 Cf. p. 64, footnote (a), and p. 80, footnote (c). 31 The relevant conjectural
additions are printed in the translation between angle brackets and explained i
n the footnotes; cf. p. 21, footnote (a), p. 44, footnote (a), p. 50, footnote (
a). 32 Cf. p. 97, footnote (a), p. 131, footnote (a), and the related endnotes 3
47 and 506. 33 However, sometimes these aims come into conflict. A good example
is the expression al- ilm al-tab which, in the present treatise, may mean (i) natu
ral as sciences/philosophy a discipline, (ii) Aristotles works on natural philoso
phy, (iii) Ibn Rushds commentaries on Aristotles works on natural philosophy, (iv)
Aristotles Physics in particular, and (v) one of Ibn Rushds writings on Aristotles
Physics. In my translation of this term I discarded terminological
17
account for each part of the work. Van den Berghs notes, though often missing the
mark, provided lots of useful hints. As compared to these earlier works, I had
the great advantage of having at my disposal a number of texts not available at
that time. E.g. the first chapter of the treatise draws heavily on al-Farabs Kitab
al-Huruf the consultation of which helped clarify a number of difficult section
s. Many problems of the constitution of the text and its meaning could be solved
by taking into consideration Ibn Rushds Tahafut al-tahafut and, especially, the
corresponding sections of the Long Commentary on the Metaphysics. The same holds
true for the Arabic versions of works composed by (or ascribed to) Alexander of
Aphrodisias intensely referred to by Ibn Rushd in the fourth chapter, yet unava
ilable to the previous translators. In the translation below, words, phrases, or
paragraph numbers added in order to render the text more fluent and unambiguous
or to make the structure of the argument readily accessible are set between squ
are brackets. The same applies to the translation of personal pronouns replaced
by the relevant word or concept to which they refer and to translations of impli
ed subjects or objects of finite verbs. In order to facilitate the comparison wi
th the Arabic and Latin texts, page and folio numbers of the three most widespre
ad Arabic editions and the Latin edition # 8 (resp. 8.1) are given in the margin
s of the translation. While the footnotes indicate major problems of the constit
ution of the text and of the previous translations, the endnotes aim at other pu
rposes. First, they serve to indicate the relevant sections of Aristotles Metaphy
sics and other works commented upon or referred to by Ibn Rushd. Secondly, I tri
ed there to supply exact references to the available editions for Ibn Rushds refe
rences to other works of his as well as to point out interesting or more detaile
d discussions of a topic in other works. Thirdly, the endnotes discuss and expla
in difficult sections of the treatise and suggest further reading. F inally, spe
cial attention is paid to Ibn Rushds terminology and its roots in the earlier Ara
bic philosophy and in the Graeco-Arabic translations. All translations in the fo
otnotes and endnotes are mine, unless otherwise indicated.
consistency and aimed at precision. In other words, when it was evident that Ibn
Rushd referred to a particular passage in Aristotles Physics or to his epitomes
of Aristotles physical writings rather than to the discipline of natural philosop
hy in general, I made this explicit in the translation.
18
SIGLA AND ABBREVIATIONS

Sigla
1. Manuscripts A D (D marg) G (G marg) Hyderabad, Kitabkhana-i Asafya-i Sarkar-i
Al, as printed in edition # 3 (cf. above, p. 12). Dublin, The Chester Beatty Libr
ary, ms. 4523 (marginal corrections in D). Princeton, Yahuda Section of the Garr
et Collection of Arabic Manuscripts in the Princeton University Library, ms. 860
(marginal corrections in G). Cairo, Dar al-Kutub, al-Hikma wa-l-Falsafa 5. Madr
id, Biblioteca Nacional, ms. ar. 5000 (marginal corrections in M). Princeton, Ya
huda Section of the Garret Collection of Arabic Manuscripts in the Princeton Uni
versity Library, ms. 849. Cairo, Dar al-Kutub, Collection Taymur Pasha, Hikma 11
7 (additions and correction by the same hand/by another hand). Rampur, Raza Libr
ary, ms. = 3609 (olim Kitabkhana-i Riyasat-i Rampur, ms. 3905). Teheran, Kitabkh
ana-i Markaz-yi Danishgah-i Tihran, Coll. Mishkat, ms. 275 (marginal corrections
in T).
H M (M marg) P
( 2/ a.m.)
R T (T marg)
2. Editions (page/folio concordance given in the margins) a
Talkhs Ma ba d al-tab a. Haqqaqahu wa-qaddama lahu Uth man Amn. Cairo: Mustafa
b al-Halab, 1958.
Sigla and Abbreviations

19
j
Risalat Ma ba d al-tab a. [Ed.] Jrar Jiham. Taqdm wa-dabt wa-ta lq
il Ibn Rushd al-Falsafiyya, vol. 6. Beirut: Dar al-F ikr al-Lubnan, 1994.
m
Averrois Cordvbensis Epitome in librvm Metaphysic Aristotelis. Iacob Mantino hebro
medico interprete. In Aristotelis Metaphysicorvm libri XIIII. Cum Averrois Cordvb
ensis in eosdem commentariis, et Epitome. Theophrasti Metaphysicorum liber. Aris
totelis Opera cum Averrois Commentariis. Vol. 8. Venetiis apud Iunctas, 1562. Co
mpendio de Metafsica. Texto arabe con traduccion y notas de Carlos uiros Rodrguez
. Madrid: Imprenta de Estanislao Maestre, 1919.
q
Abbreviations
An. post. Aristotle, Posterior Analytics c. cum, used together with CAG Commenta
ria in Aristotelem Graeca Cat. Aristotle, Categories De gen. et corr. Aristotle,
De generatione et corruptione def. Definition ed. Edition, edited by GALex Endr
ess, Gerhard, and Dimitri Gutas, eds., A Greek & Arabic Lexicon (GALex): Materia
ls for a Dictionary of the Medival Translations from the Greek into Arabic. Leide
n: Brill, 2002. K. Kitab Lit. Literally Metaph. Aristotle, Metaphysics ms. (mss.)
Manuscript(s) s.v. sub voce, under the word transl. translation, translated by
vs. versus Ullmann, Manfred, Wrterbuch zu den griechischWGA arabischen bersetzungen
des 9. Jahrhunderts. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 2002; idem, Wrterbuch
20
Sigla and Abbreviations
WKAS
[
]
{ } ...
zu den griechisch-arabischen bersetzungen des 9. Jahrhunderts. Supplement. 2 vols
. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 20062007. Deutsche Morgenlndische Gesellschaft, Wrterbuc
h der Klassischen Arabischen Sprache. Bearbeitet von Manfred Ullmann. Wiesbaden:
Harrassowitz, 1970. Added by the translator, in order to render the text more fl
uent and clear-cut. Translation of a conjectural addition to the text of the man
uscripts. Translation of words found in the manuscripts, which appear to be redu
ndant. Omission in the Arabic manuscripts, which cannot be restored.
[Abu l-Wald Muhammad ibn Rushds So-called Epitome of the Metaphysics]

In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate
CHAPTER ONE a
In this treatise, we wish to present scientific doctrines gathered from [1] the
treatises Aristotle devoted to the science of metaphysics in the manner we have
practised generally in the preceding books [2]. Accordingly, we shall start by s
upplying information on the aim of this science, its usefulness, its parts, its
place [in the order of the sciences] and its relationship [with the other scienc
es], in short, we begin with that the consideration of which may help to get acc
ess to this science [3]. We say: As mentioned elsewhere [4] there are three sort
s of disciplines and sciences: [(i)] theoretical disciplines (these are [the dis
ciplines] which aim at nothing but knowledge), [(ii)] practical disciplines (the
se are [the disciplines] in which knowledge is [sought] for the sake of deeds),
[(iii)] disciplines which serve and guide these [theoretical and practical scien
ces], namely the logical disciplines. Furthermore, it has been mentioned in the
Book of Demonstration that there are two sorts of theoretical disciplines: unive
rsal and departmental [5]. Universal [disciplines] are those which take into con
sideration being as such and its essential concomitants. There are three such [d
isciplines]:
a All manuscripts begin, as usual, with the Basmalah. Only the relatively young
manuscripts D, P, and T display, after the Basmalah, a title in its own right, n
amely Kitab ma ba da l-tab a, Book of Metaphysics. The chapter heading added here i
s omitted in all manuscripts. However, all manuscripts indicate the beginning of
the following chapters, starting with Chapter Two (cf. below, p. 52 of the tran
slation), and Ibn Rushd refers to the present section of the work explicitly as C
hapter One (al-maqala al-ula, cf. below, p. 26). Ms. M adds after the Basmalah It
says the judge Abu l-Wald Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Rushd (may God be p
leased with him).
a 1 j 29 m 356r q 5
a2
q6
22
Translation
j 30
m 356v
a3
q7
dialectic, sophistics, and this science [of metaphysics] [6]. The departmental [
disciplines], on the other hand, take into consideration being in a certain disp
osition. At the same place, it is said that there are only two departmental [dis
ciplines]: physics (this is the [discipline] which takes into consideration chan
geable being) and mathematics (the [discipline] which takes into consideration q
uantity as something separated from matter) [7]. All this has been laid down [ge
nerally] in the Book of Demonstrationa, and we have to take it into consideratio
n in the present context. We say: As for the division of these theoretical scien
ces into these three parts only, this is a necessary consequence of the division
of beings themselves into the three kinds [mentioned above]b. For, if one exami
nes the beings, one finds that some of them are constituted in matter, and conse
quently one takes into consideration this species of beings and their concomitan
ts independently (as is clear to anybody practising physics), and one finds also
some [beings] in the definition of which matter does not occur, though they exi
st in matter (as is clear c to anybody considering mathematics), and consequentl
y all species of these [beings] and their concomitants are taken into considerat
ion again independently. And since in physics there appeared other principles wh
ich are neither [something constituted] in matter nor something that is found wi
th respect to a certain disposition, but rather are existence as such, these [pr
inciples] must be an object of consideration in a general discipline which takes
into consideration beingd in an absolute manner. Furthermore, there are general
things shared by sensible [material] and nonsensible [immaterial] things such a
s oneness, multiplicity, potency, actuality and other general concomitants, and,
in general, things which adhere to sensible things with respect to the fact tha
t they are existents (this respect is peculiar to the things separated [from mat
ter],
a b c After Demonstration ms. M adds wa-l-amru fhi zahirun (and the issue is eviden
, I. Mantino adds & est notum. Lit. into those three kinds. Omitting aydan after b
ayyinun (also clear) as in ms. G and I. Mantino. The other manuscripts have aydan
here due to a misplaced insertion of a marginal note in which the omission of an
other aydan, seven words later (after al nazaru), was corrected. This second (and
correct) aydan having been omitted at early stage of the transmission is absent
in mss. H, M, and I. Mantino. an Al-wujud in all mss. except M and P which read
al-mawjud (the existent).
d
Chapter One
23
as we shall show below). No other discipline can take into consideration things
of this kind except the discipline whose subject matter is beinga as such. Now,
if this is the case, while it has [already] appeared that the theoretical scienc
es are [divided into] two parts, departmental and universal, the departmental on
es having been dealt with in the preceding [treatises], that which remains to be
dealt with is consequently this science. It aims, as has been shown, at conside
ring [(i)] being inasmuch as it is being, [(ii)] all its species up to [that poi
nt] where it reaches the subject matters of the departmental sciences, [(iii)] t
he essential concomitants of [being qua being], and [(iv)] at the completionb of
all this [by considering] the first causes of [being qua being], i.e. the thing
s separated [from matter]. This is why this science states only the formal and t
he final causes, and, in a specific respect, the efficient cause, that is to say
, not in the respect in which the efficient cause is predicated of changeable th
ings, since it is here [in metaphysics] not subject to the condition of being te
mporally prior to its effect as is the case [with efficient causes] in natural t
hings [8]. Whenever causes are stated in physics, this is stated only with respe
ct to nature and natural things. Correspondingly, the causes of the existents [q
ua existents] whose statement is sought here [in metaphysics], are stated only w
ith respect to the divinity and the divine things c. In short, it is [Aristotles]
basic aim in this science to state that which remains [to be stated] scientific
ally with respect to the knowledge of the most remote causes of sensible things
[9], because that which has been shown in this respect in physics are only two r
emote causes, namely the material and the moving [causes]. What remains to be sh
own here [in metaphysics] are their formal and final causes, and [also] the agen
t. For [Aristotle] thinks that that which moves is distinct from the agent inasm
uch as that which moves gives to the movable
a b c Al-mawjud in all mss. except M which reads al-wujud (existence). Reading taw
fiya with almost all manuscripts instead of tarqiya (raising, improving) attested by
ms. M only and adopted by uiros and Amn. Reading min jihat al-ilahi wa-l-ashya
i l-ilahiyya, as in almost all mss., instead of min jihat al-alati wa-l-ashya i
l-ilahiyya (ms. H) or min jihat al-alati wa-l-ashya i l-aliyya (ed. Jiham); cf. a
lso Long Commentary on the Metaphys ics, p. 154, l. 14sq., p. 707, l. 4sqq., p. 1
4211426.
j 31
a4 q8
24
Translation
j 32
a 5 m 357r
q9
only [its] motion, whereas the agent gives the form through which the motion [oc
curs]. This knowledge is peculiar to this science because it is through general
things that one apprehends the existence of these causes; and this still [holds
true] when we take for granted here what became plain in physics: that there is
an immaterial [first] mover [10]. As for the material cause and the most remote
moving cause, premises which facilitate their determination appeared there, I me
an in physics. What is more, a specific demonstration [11] of the two [causes] i
s possible in no other [science], especially [in the case of ] the moving cause.
(The demonstrations employed by Ibn Sna in this science [of metaphysics] in orde
r to show [the existence] of the first principle are, on the other hand, altoget
her dialectical and untrue propositions, which do not state anything in an appro
priate manner [12], as can be seen from the counter-arguments set forth by Abu H
amid [al-Ghazal ] against these [propositions] in his book on The Incoherence [of
the Philosophers]). Therefore, he who practises this science [of metaphysics] ta
kes for granted the existence of the [first mover] from physics, as said before,
and states [only] the mode in which it is the moving [cause], just as he takes
for granted the number of the [celestial] moversa from the discipline of mathema
tical astronomy. What has become plain in physics with respect to the existence
of separate principles is not superfluous in this science [of metaphysics], as I
bn Sna maintains, but rather necessary, because it is employed in this science as
a supposition [13] and as such forms part of its presuppositions [14]. From wha
t has been said so far, the aim and the presuppositions of this science have bec
ome clear. As for its parts, we find this [science] unfoldedb in the [single] tr
eatises [of the Metaphysics] attributed to Aristotle [15]. However, it can be re
duced to three [major] parts [as follows].
a
b
Reading adada l-muharrikna with the Hebrew tradition and Mantinos translation (nume
rum motorum). Most of the Arabic mss. have wujuda adadi l-muharrikna (the existence
of the number of the [celestial] movers) or adada wujudi l-muharrikna (the number o
f the existence of the [celestial] movers), presumably due to an erroneous interp
olation of the variant reading wujud instead of adad. Cf. also the almost identi
cal phrasing in Ibn Rushds Long Commentary on the Metaphysics, p. 1653, l. 1214. N
ajiduhu muntashiran in all Arabic mss., as opposed to inueniuntur (scil. partes i
psius) disseminatae in I. Mantino.
Chapter One
25
In the first part [Aristotle] takes into consideration sensible things inasmuch
as they are existents, all their genera which form the ten categories, and all t
heir concomitants which adhere to them, and relates [all] this to what is first
in them, as far as this is possible in this part [of metaphysics]. In the second
part he takes into consideration the principles of substancethese are the separat
e things, explains their mode of existence, relates them likewise to their first p
rinciple, which is God (exalted is He), explains His specific attributes and act
s, and shows also the relationship between Him and the remaining existents and [
the fact] that He is the utmost perfection, the first form, and the first agent,
until [he finally comes to] other things, [both those] which are specific to ea
ch of the separate things, and [those which] are common to more than one of them
[16]. In the third part he takes into consideration the subject matters of the
departmental sciences [17] and eliminates the mistakes committed by the ancients
on this [subject], namely in the discipline of logic and in the two departmenta
l disciplines, that is physics and mathematics. The reason for [proceeding in] t
his way is that it is inappropriate for the departmental sciences to establish t
he truth of their principles and to eliminate errors occuring about them (as is
shown in the Book of Demonstration [18]). This is rather the task of a general d
iscipline, that is either this discipline [of metaphysics] or the discipline of
dialectic. However, the discipline of dialectic reduces such opinions to absurdi
ty merely through generally accepted statements for which there is no guarantee
that they do not contain any falsehood, whereas this discipline [of metaphysics
does so] through true statements, even if they might accidentally serve as gener
ally accepted [statements]. Accordingly, the verification of the principles of t
he departmental disciplines is not a necessary part of this science [19]. From t
his it is clear that only the first two parts of this science are necessary part
s [of it], whereas the third part [is included] for the purpose of improving [th
e acquisition of the other sciences] [20], since the existence of most of the su
bject matters of the departmental sciences and their mode of existence belong to
what is self-evident, and only the ancients who preceded [Aristotle] lapsed int
o mistakes in this [matter]. On the basis of a complete knowledge of these [thin
gs], however, these aporiai could be solved the way uncertainty occurring in any
thing is resolved, through completing ones knowledge of this [thing] together wit
h acquiring knowledge of its substance [21].
j 33
a6
q 10
26
Translation
j 34
Nevertheless, we decided to arrange the present book in five chapters. In Chapte
r One we present the introductiona, which we are now in the midst of, and explai
n the terms employed in this discipline [of metaphysics] [22]. In Chapter Two we
set forth the things which serve as species for what belongs to the first part
of this discipline. In Chapter Three we set forth the general concomitants of th
ese [things], while the Fourth [Chapter]b contains a lecture on what the second
part of this science includes. Chapter F ive comprises what the third part of th
is discipline contains [23]. The benefit of this science is of the same kind as
that of [the other] theoretical sciences. This has already become clear in the b
ook On the Soul where it has been stated that their aim consists in perfecting t
he rational soul to such an extent that man achieves its utmost perfection [24].
However, although the benefit of this science is of the same kind as that of [t
he other] theoretical sciences, it occupies the highest rank among them in this
[respect], because this science is related to the other theoretical sciences as
an end and completion. For through the knowledge of this [science] one acquires
knowledge of the beings in connection with their most remote causes, which is wh
at human cognition is striving for. Furthermore, it is through this science [of
metaphysics] that the departmental sciences achieve their completion, since it i
s [metaphysics] which verifies their principles and eliminates errors occuring a
bout them, as expounded [above]. As for the position of this [science] in [the c
ourse of ] education, it [comes] after physics because it uses as a supposition
what this science proves about the existence of immaterial potencies c, as said
[before] [25]. Apparently, it is only due to its position in [the course of ] ed
ucation that this science [of metaphysics] is called the science which [comes] a
fter physics, but except for that, it is prior in being and therefore called fir
st philosophy.
a 7 q 11
m 357v
a b c
Pace Van den Bergh, p. 275, the Cairo manuscript reads, as all other manuscripts
, al-sadr. Al-maqala is omitted in the oldest manuscripts (Madrid and Cairo) as
well as in the Hebrew tradition and most later manuscripts. All manuscripts have
quwan, not forms as translated by uiros (p. 15) and Van den Bergh (p. 6).
Chapter One
27
[So far] our discourse has explained the aim of this science, its parts, its ben
efit, its relation and rank [with respect to the other sciences], as well as the
meaning of its name. As for the teaching methods employed in this [science], th
ey are the same as those employed in the other sciences. Furthermore, as far as
the kinds of proofs employed in this [science] are concerned, these are for the
most part proofs [of the existence of something] [26], as we always proceed in t
his [science] from things better known to us to things better known by nature. H
owever, as said [before], the main contents of this science are either evident o
r close to self-evident things, or things that have been shown in physics. Havin
g explained all that we initially intended [to show], we shall soon proceed to a
detailed discourse on what belongs to the first part of this science, after we
have specified in how many ways the terms which signify the objects of this scie
nce and the parts of its objects are predicated, in order to be well prepared fo
r the study of each thing searched for in this [science]. We say: [1] Being is pre
dicated in [various] ways. F irstly, [it is predicated] of each of the ten categ
ories and, thus, belongs to the kinds of namesa which are predicated by order an
d analogy [27], not to those which are predicatedb by pure equivocation or univo
cally. Secondly, it is predicated of that which is true, that is [if ] that whic
h is in the mind is in correspondence with that which is outside the mind, as in
statements on whether nature exists or on whether the void does not exist [28].
Furthermore, [being] is predicated of the quiddity of all that has a quiddity or
essence outside the soul, no matter whether this essence is conceptualized or no
t. Thus, it applies to the ten categories that both of these two meanings of the
term being are predicated of them, the one inasmuch as they have an essence outsi
de the soul, the other inasmuch as they signify the quiddities of these [extrame
ntal] essences. Accordingly, the term being can be reduced to precisely the follow
ing two meanings: that which is true, and that which exists outside the soul,
a Reading with most of the manuscripts (and I. Mantino) wa-huwa min anwa al-asma
instead of wa-huwa/hiya anwa al-asma (and these are the kinds of names), as edite
d by uiros and Jiham. Reading with the oldest Arabic manuscripts (and I. Mantino
) allat tuqalu instead of alladh yuqalu transmitted in some younger manuscripts an
d edited by Jiham.
j 35
a8
q 12
a9
b
28
Translation
j 36
q 13
m 358r
a 10
where the latter is again [divided] into two groups, either species or forms, I
mean the forms and quiddities of speciesa. Accidental being cannot be conceptual
ized as a separately existing [thing] [29], since the essence or quiddity of a t
hing cannot be an accident. Rather [accidental being] can only be conceptualized
in connection with the relation between one existent and another existent. For
if we relate one existent to another and this relation requires that one of the
two [existents] is part of the quiddity of the otherb, as with the existence of
the centre with respect to the circle or of the equality of two right angles wit
h respect to [the sum of ] the angles of a triangle, or [if it requires] that ei
ther of the two [existents] is part of the quiddity of the other, as with father
and son, [then] we say of both of the two [existents] that they are essential e
xistents. But if it does not pertain to the quiddity of at least one of the two
to exist [as] belonging to the other c, [then] it is said that this [exists] acc
identally, as when we say the architect is playing oud, or the physician is white. T
he word being may [also] signify the relation by which the predicate is connected
with the subject in the mind, as well as the words signifying such a relation, n
o matter whether this connecting link is affirmative or negative, true or false,
essential or accidental. Now, these are the most prominent meanings by which th
e term being is predicated in philosophy, [where] it belongs to the terms transfer
red [into technical terminology] [30]. The meaning it has in [the language of ]
the masses is different from what it signifies here [in philosophy], as it signi
fies among the masses merely a certain [accidental] disposition, as when one say
s that a stray animal has been found [31]. In short, among them it signifies somet
hing in a substrate [the meaning of ] which is not quite clear. Therefore, some
of them thought that [the term] signifies not the essence of a thing, but rather
an accident in it, because it is [used] in [the language of ] the masses [like]
derived [forms of ] words [32]. There is no need to take this [meaning further]
into account, rather what has to be understood by this [term]
a
b c
Wa-dhalika aydan ila qismayn imma ila l-anwa wa-imma ila l-suwar a n
a wa-mahiyyatiha, transmitted in all manuscripts except ms. H, is partly or entire
ly secluded in Van den Bergh (p. 7) and Amn. Reading f mahiyyat al-than with mss. H
and M (cf. de quiditate alterius, I. Mantino, fol. 357vb). All manuscripts read l
i-l-akhar, not al-akhar as edited by uiros and Amn.
Chapter One
29
here, when we are using it in order to signify the essence, is the same as that
which is understood by saying thing and essence, and in general as that which is und
erstood by terms which are root morphemes [33]. Therefore, we find some of them
maintaining that the term being as applied toa what is true is the same as [being] a
s applied to the essence; and it is for the same reason that some thought that [
being] is an accident, arguing that if the word being signified the essence, it wo
uld be self-contradictory to say that there is a [certain] being in the substanc
eb. They failed to notice that being in the present [statement] has a meaning diff
erent from that propounded above [34]. Furthermore, if [being] signifies an accide
nt in a thing, as stated repeatedly by Ibn Sna, one of the [following] two cases
must apply to it: this accident is either one of the second intentions or one of
the first intentions. If it is one of the first intentions, it is necessarily o
ne of the nine [accidental] categories, and [consequently] the term being cannot a
pply to the substance and c the remaining categories of the accident, unless thi
s [mode of ] predication is somehow accidental to [all of ] them or there is one
genus of accidents common to [all] ten categories. But all this is absurd and u
nacceptable. According to this [doctrine], if one were asked what each of the te
n categories contains, it would be incorrect to answer [being] [35], but all this
is self-evident. On the other hand, if it is [conceived as] one of the second in
tentions (that is, intentions which exist only in the mind), nothing prevents us
from [holding] this [doctrine of the accidentality of being], for this meaning
is one of [the ones] we enumerated, to which the term being applies, namely that w
hich is synonymous with the true. However, this meaning and the meaning by which
this [term] signifies the essences individually are entirely distinct. All this
becomes clear upon a moment
a
j 37 q 14
a 11
b c
Reading, with mss. , D, T and I. Mantino, al-muntaliq ala instead of al-mutlaq

ala as transmitted in the remaining mss. and adopted by uiros. For Ibn Rushds us
e of intalaqa c. ala cf. his Long Commentary on the Metaphysics, p. 270, l. 13.
Reading innahu f l-jawhari mawjudun instead of f l-jawhari innahu mawjudun; cf. n
te 34. Reading, with mss. A, D, G, H, and T, wa- ala instead of wa-la ala (nor on
transmitted in the remaining mss. and adopted in the editions by uiros (but no
t[!] in uiros translation [no podra aplicarse la palabra ser a la sub stancia y a l
os restantes predicamentos accidentales], p. 20sq.) and Amn.
30
Translation
in reflection, but this is the case with many things presented by this man as be
ing [original inventions] by himself.
j 38
[2] Entity [36] is predicated synonymously of the same thing to which the term bein
g applies with the exception of veridical being. It likewise belongs to the words
transferred [into technical terminology] [37], since it [serves] in [the langua
ge of ] the masses as a particle, but here [in metaphysics] as a noun. According
ly, one attaches to it the prefix which is characteristic of nouns, namely the [
definite article] al-, and derives from it an abstract noun which [expresses] the
act or the form from which the act originatesa, and says entity [derived] from ens s
imilar to the derived forms humanity from human [being] and manhood from man. Some tr
lators [from the Greek] used this [terminology] because they found this [term] l
ess misleading than the term being due to [the fact] that it has the form of a der
ived noun [38]. [3] Substance is predicated first and primarily of the concrete [t
hing] which is not in a substrate and in no way [predicated] of the substrate [3
9]. Secondly, it is predicated of all universal predicates formed by a genus, sp
ecies, or differentia, which make known the quiddity of a concrete [thing]. Thir
dly, it is predicated of all that is signified by the definition, i.e., either t
hat which makes known the quiddity of a substance or in general that which makes
known the quiddity of a certain thingb, no matter to which of the ten categorie
s this thing belongs (this is why definitions are said to make known the quiddit
ies of things). This [third meaning] is called substance in a relational sense onl
y, not absolutely. Having said that substance means primarily the concrete [thing]
which is not in a substrate and not [predicated] of the substrate [40], the phi
losophasters, despite c accepting this [meaning of ] substance unanimously [41], h
eld that that which makes known the quiddity of this concrete [thing] is more ap
propriately called substance. Therefore, he who maintains that it is the universal
s of the concrete thing that make known its quiddity, maintains that they deserv
e most properly [to be
a
q 15
j 39
m 358v
a 12
b c
Alladh huwa l-fi lu awi l-suratu llat yasduru anha l-fi l in all manuscripts exce
t H, secluded by Amn, Horten andVan den Bergh. Following the wording of mss. H, M,
and I. Mantino, adopted by uiros, but not by Amn and Jiham. Reading wa-in instea
d of idh (since); cf. note 41.
Chapter One
31
called by] the term substance, while he who maintains that it is the corporeal tha
t makes known the quiddity of this concrete [thing] and that this [quiddity] is
constituted solely by length, breadth and depth, calls these dimensions substance.
Similarly, he who maintains that the concrete essence is composed of indivisibl
e parts, calls these [atoms] substance, as is among our contemporaries the case wi
th the theologians who call the indivisible part individual substance. Likewise, f
or him who maintains that the concrete [thing] is composed of matter and form, i
t is form and matter that deserve most properly [to be called by] the term substa
nce; and this [position], in turn, [is held] in connection with [various] opinion
s about the matter of each single thing or its form. The only thing they all agr
eed upon is this statement [I mentioned above], namely that the term substance [is
predicated] more properly of that which makes known the quiddity of the concret
e [thing] than of the concrete [thing itself ], as it was [conceived] as unaccep
table and impossible that the principles and elements of the substance should no
t [themselves] be substance, since that which is the cause of another thing dese
rves most appropriately [the name of ] that whose cause it is. E.g., the term hea
t is most properly [predicated of ] the thing which is by itself the cause of hot
things [42]. Therefore, none of those [philosophasters] supposed the accident q
ua accident to be part of the substance, but [this only] inasmuch as it is conce
ived as making known the essence of the concrete substance, as for instance thos
e who took the dimensions as substance. If this is indeed the case [43], and if
it is clear that there is a separate existent which is the cause of the existenc
e of this concrete substance, [then] this [separate existent] deserves most prop
erly [to be called by] the term substance. For this reason, Aristotle called the s
eparate intellects substances. [As employed] among the philosophasters this term
is also transferred [into technical terminology] from the [homonym] jawhar in col
loquial speech, which means expensive stone. The tertium comparationis between the
two terms consists apparently [in the fact] that these [precious stones] are ca
lled jawhar among [the masses] due to their high rank and value with respect to ot
her things one can purchase, while the category substance is the highest among the
categories, and therefore called jawhar.
q 16
a 13
j 40
32
Translation
[4] Accident is predicated of that which does not make known the quiddity of the c
oncrete [thing] which is not in a substrate. It falls into two classes, one whic
h does not make known the essence of [whatever] thing (this is [the accident] qu
a individual), and a second which makes known the quiddity of the individual [ac
cident] (this is [the accident] qua universal) [44]. The term accident is transfer
red [into technical terminology] from that which is signified by its homonym in
[the language of ] the masses, i.e. that which is ephemeral. In general, it is d
ivided into the following nine categories: quantity, quality, relation, where, w
hen, position, having, doing, and being-affected (the meaning of these words has
been explained in the book [entitled] Categories). uantity is predicated of all
that is measurable by a part of it. Primarily [and] properly it is predicated of
number, then [also] of the other genera mentioned in that book [45]. There are
essential as well as accidental quantities. Essential [quantities] are like numb
er and the other species mentioned [in the Categories], accidental [quantities]
are like black and white, since they are measurable inasmuch as they [occur] in
a spatial extension. Essential [quantities] can occur in a thing primarily, like
the measurability of number or spatial extension, and they can occur secondaril
y and by means of something else, like time which is reckoned among quantities s
olely due to [its connection with] motion, and motion [in turn] due to [its conn
ection with] spatial extension. In a yet more extended [sense] heavy and light a
re included among quantities, since they are qualities and measurable only inasm
uch as they [occur] in things with spatial extension. Almost the same applies al
so to other qualities which [occur] in things with spatial extension such as the
large, the small [46], the narrow, the wide, and the deep. Although these are s
imilar to qualities, they are nevertheless reckoned among the quantities because
they are existents which occur primarily in things with spatial extension. uali
ty might be predicated of more [things] than those of which it is predicated in t
he Categories, for it is predicated of the four genera mentioned there [47], but
also of the forms of the species such as humanity and animality. There are [qua
lities] which occur in a substance essentially, such as disposition and state, a
nd others which occur by means of another category such as shape, which occurs i
n a substance by means of a quantity [48].
q 17
m 359r
a 14
j 41
Chapter One
33
Relation applies to all ten categories, for it occurs in substances, such as being
-father and being-son and the like, and [it occurs] in the quantity, such as the
double, the half, and the equal, and in quality, such as that which is similar,
knowledge, and the knowable, and in the [category of ] where, such as to-be-ina-place and place, and in the [category of ] when, such as prior and posterior,
and in the [category of ] position, such as right and left, and in [the categori
es of ] doing and being-affected, such as agent and being-acted-upon [49]. The d
ifference between these [latter] five categories, which are constituted by a cor
relation, and relation [proper], which occurs in correlations, [consists in the
fact] that the correlation which is conceived as relation [proper] is a correlat
ion between two things the predication of each of whose quiddities alludes to th
e other, as in being-father and being-son, whereas [in] the correlation which is
conceived as [pertaining] to the where, the when, and the remaining other [cate
gories], only the quiddity of one of the two [correlatives] is predicated of the
othera [50]. The where, for example, [expresses] a correlation of body with res
pect to place, as mentioned [above], where body is conceived as a necessary part o
f the definition of place, while the definition of body does not necessarily inc
lude place. Accordingly, [body] is not a relative [proper]. But if [body] is conce
ived inasmuch as it is that-whichis-in-a-place, then a relation is attached to i
t, and this category [of the where] falls in a way under the category of relatio
n. The same holds true of the other correlative categories. In general, the cate
gory relation is either attached to the relative essentially, not by means of some
thing else, such as being-son and being-father, right and left, or it is attache
d to something by means of another category as [in the case of ] agent and being
-acted-upon, to which relation is attached by means of the categories doing and being
-affected. [Furthermore], the concomitants of the other categoriesb such as oppos
ition, contrariety, privation and having might apply to
a Reading, with ms. H and I. Mantino, tuqalu mahiyyatu ahadihima.... The remaini
ng mss. have yuqalu ahaduhuma... (only one of the two [correlatives] is predicate
d...) except ms. M which reads tuqalu l-nisbatu baynahuma min tarafi wahid ...iyya
ahaduhum... (partly illegible after wahid, adopted and modified by uiros, p. 18,
l. 6sq., and Amn, p. 15, l. 1sq.). Reading lawahiqu sa iri l-maqulat instead of
a iru lawahiqi l-maqulat (the other concomitants of the categories), as non
ese concomitants has been
q 18
a 15
j 42
b
34
Translation
relation [as well]. In general, it can belong to first intentions as well as to
second intentions [51], as [in the case of ] the relation between genus and spec
ies. [5] Essence is predicated absolutely of the concrete [thing] which is not in
a substrate and not [predicated] of the substrate, i.e. [of ] the individual sub
stance. Furthermore, it is predicated of whatever makes known the substance of t
his concrete [thing], that is, the universals of the substances. Then it is also
predicated of the concrete [thing] which is in a substrate, that is, [of ] the
individual accident, as well as of whatever makes known the quiddity of this [in
dividual accident], that is, the nine [accidental] categories and their species.
Due to [the fact] that this word is predicated primarily of the concrete [thing
] which is not in a substrate, it is applies most appropriately toa that which i
s neither in a substrate nor [itself ] a substrate to whatever thing, provided t
he existence of such a thing is proved. The [term] essence-of-something, where [ess
ence] is used as governing [another substantive], means only the quiddity of that
[other thing] or a part of its quiddity [52]. Essentially is predicated in [vario
us] ways [53], one of which consists in its predication of the concrete [thing]
which is not in a substrate, that is, [of ] the individual substance. Another co
nsists in its predication of whatever makes known the What of this [substance].
In general, [it is predicated] of whatever substance is predicated of absolutely.
That which is essentially can be predicated accidentally of a [certain] opposite
, as explained in detail in the Book of Demonstration [54]. It has been explaine
d there that this [55] occurs in categorical propositions in the [following] two
ways: [(i)] the predicate is [included] in the substance of the subject of pred
ication, such as rationality being part of the substance of man; and [(ii)] the su
bject of predication is [included] in the substance of the predicate, as with th
e equality of [the sum of ] a triangles angles with two right angles [56]. Furthe
rmore, that which is essentially is predicated in [the form of ] predicates whic
h exist in a primary mode of existence in their subjects of predication, for ins
tance the existence of colour in the surface and of life in the soul [57], for
treated so far. For the term concomitants of the categories cf. Talkhs Kitab al-maq
ulat, p. 4, l. 4sq. Yantaliqa ala in all manuscripts, not yutlaqa ala as edited
by Jiham.
q 19
a 16
m 359v
a
Chapter One
35
j 43
colour exists in body by means of the surface and life [exists] in the body [of
living beings] by means of the soul. This is one of the meanings referred to by
the term primary predicate in demonstrative propositions [58]. [Finally], that whi
ch is essentially is also predicated of the existent which has no cause prior to
itself, no matter whether efficient, formal, material or final [cause]. This is
the first mover, according to what has appeared in physics and shall come up be
low. [6 ] As for the word thinga, this is predicated of whatever the word being is p
redicated of. It can also be predicated in a sense wider than that predicated by
the word being, that is, [of ] all things conceptualized in the soul, whether or
not there is such a thing outside the soul (such as the goat-stag and the sphinx
[59]). In this respect, it is true to say this thing is either an existent or a
non-existent. In the latter case, the term thing applies to [that which is stated i
n] untrue propositions, whereas the term being does not apply to this [60]. [7] One
is predicated in one of the ways [we use] terms predicated with reference to one
thing [61]. The primary [way] to predicate [one] in this [sense] is the numerical
one [62], the commonest [use] of which [applies] to the continuous, as in speakin
g of one line, one surface, or one body. What is even more appropriate among the
se [modes of predication] to be called one is that which is perfect, i.e. that whi
ch does not accept any addition or subtraction, such as the circular line and th
e spherical body [63]. The continuous can be continuous by imaginationb [64], li
ke line and surface, or it can be continuous by something in it, as in the case
of homeomeric bodies (in this [meaning] we call a concrete [mass of ] water one) [
65]. We also predicate one of that which is connected and contiguous c (this is th
at which has one motion) [66], and even more so of that which is connected by na
ture (these are
a Most manuscripts display a separate subheading, Al-Shay (Thing), for this section
. I assume that such a subheading has been added by a copyist because the sectio
n does not begin, as the preceding and most of the following sections, with the
term which forms its topic. The subheading is omitted in ms. G and in I. Mantino
. Reading with ms. H bi-l-wahm; cf. note 64. Reading, with mss. H, M, and , al-mu
rtabitatin al-mutamassatin instead of al-murattabatin al-mutamassatin (that which
is ordered and contiguous) of the remaining manuscripts.
q 20
a 17
b c
36
Translation
j 44
q 21
a 18
things grown into one, such as one hand, one leg), and of these [especially] tho
se which have only one motion [67]. In another way, [one] is predicated of that wh
ich is connected by art, such as one chair, one cupboard [68]. Furthermore, one is
predicated of individuals which are one by form, such as Zayd and Amra [69]. No
w, these are the commonest meanings of predication of the numerical one. [In the
language of ] the masses, one generally signifies such things only inasmuch as th
ey are isolated [70] from other things and set apart by their essenceb [71] and
inasmuch as they are indivisible. [This is so] because these are precisely [the
things] one conceptualizes straightaway, from [considering] the meaning of onenes
s and one. Thus, when defining numerical oneness, one says it is that by which each
thing is said to be one. Some of these things are isolated by the places which
encompass them (this is the commonest meaning of being-isolated), others are iso
lated by their limits only (this [applies to] the contiguous), again others are
those which are isolated only by imagination (this is how number is attached c t
o what is continuous). If this is the case, the numerical one in these things si
gnifies with respect to them only [those] things which are extrinsic to their es
sence, in short, [it signifies] accidents attached to them in [our] apprehension
and in the mind.
a
b
c
Furthermore ... Amr (wa-qad ... Amr) is omitted in ms. H (and in the translations
by Horten and Van den Bergh), and transposed after the next sentence in ms. M (c
f. ed. uiros, p. 20), obviously due to a misplaced insertion of a marginal addi
tion of the omitted clause. All other mss. including I. Mantino transmit this se
ntence correctly at the present place. From here on up to p. 38, l. 1 (While the
masses do not know any further meaning of one) of the translation, the text as tra
nsmitted in the manuscripts is heavily confused through misplaced interpolations
of omitted sections, a number of doublets as well as sentences starting or brea
king off right in the middle (the section in question concerns p. 21, l. 222, ui
ros, p. 17, l. 14 p. 18, l. 9, Amn, p. 44, l. 5 p. 45, l. 6, Jiham). The reason fo
r this confusion lies presumably in the fact that one passage of this section ha
s been transmitted in two versions (printed here in two columns), in all likelih
ood due to a revision by Ibn Rushd himself. The reconstructed Arabic text on whi
ch the translation is based, can be found in note 71. Reading, with uiros, yalh
aqu instead of talhaqu edited by Amn and Ji ham. The prefix is undotted in most mss
.
Chapter One
37
m 360r
This then is how the intellect abstracts the meaning of the indivisible one, whi
ch is the principle of number. For the intellect does not apprehend a certain th
ing as being indivisible with respect to this or that disposition, unless it app
rehends in it the meaning of indivisible as such. Likewise, it does not apprehend
that something is discrete with respect to something else, unless it has previou
sly apprehended [the meaning of ] being discrete. When the intellect then uses [
the concept of ] the absolute onea repeatedly, [the concept] of the discrete qua
ntity as such emerges (this is number), and, as a consequence, it attaches a num
ber to whatever it counts by means of [the concept of ] number as such.
This then is how [the concept] one, which is the principle of number, emerges in t
he mind, for when the intellect abstracts from [the apprehension of ] these indi
viduals this meaning which cannot be split upb into two or more individuals, thi
s will be the one which is the principle of number. When the intellect then uses [
this concept] repeatedly, the [concept of ] number emerges.
j 45
This is how number falls among the ten categories under the genus of quantity. O
ne is the principle of [number], because number is nothing else than the set of
units to which this description applies, and it is a measure, because it is thro
ugh the one that number is measured, and it is due to [the one] that measurabili
ty is attached to the things in which there is something first by nature c, I me
an that which is not [further] divisibled within this [genus], such as the first
in the genus of qualities and [in] the genus of measurable things [72].
a b c Reading with ms. G and I. Mantino al-wahid al-mutlaq instead of al-wahid a
l-muntaliq in the remaining manuscripts. with I. Mantino al-ghayr munqasim inste
ad of al-ghayr munfasil Reading which is syntactically impossible. Reading, with
the majority of the manuscripts, awwalun bi-l-tab instead of awwalan wa-bi-l-tab
in ms. M and I. Mantino (adopted by uiros). This lectio difficilior is confirm
ed by the Long Commentary on the Metaphysics, p. 1267, l. 57. Reading with I. Man
tino al-ghayru l-munqasim instead of al-ghayru l-munfasil (which would be in con
tradiction to the entire preceding section; cf. also Long Commentary on the Meta
physics, p. 1267, l. 6).
d
38
Translation
q 22
a 19
j 46
While the masses do not know any further meaning of one, it is employed in this di
scipline [of metaphysics also] as a synonym of the things essence and quidditya [
73]. [Predicated] in this way, the numerical one might signify the individual wh
ich does not admit of division in so far as it is an individual, as when we say o
ne man, one horse. In a similar way, we predicate one of that which is compounded of
a multiplicity of things, such as oxymel which is composed of vinegar and honey.
This meaning of one is different from the one we predicate of the continuous, sin
ce the continuous is by its nature not divisible into a definite number of parts
, as is the caseb with oxymel [74]. Furthermore, isolating continuous magnitudes
is something extrinsic to the substance of that [which is continuous], whereas
this is not the case with isolating an ingredient from that which is compounded
from it. In addition, this kind [of predication] does not apply to that which is
combined from more than one thing, for the parts of that which is combined are
actually existent in the combined, which is not the case with the parts of oxyme
l in the oxymel. It is thus clear that one in this sense (when it means one qua in
dividual) signifies only the isolation of the concrete individual in terms of it
s essence and quiddity, not the isolation of something extrinsic to its essence.
An example [of the latter is] when we say of this concrete [mass of ] water tha
t it is numerically one, since in a case like this the isolation is no more than
something accidental to the water, which is why the water remains the same no m
atter whether isolated or not isolated. [This is] in correspondence with the com
mon characteristic of accidents to occur successively at a substrate without [en
tailing] its substantial change. From this Ibn Sna [derived] his opinion that c t
he numerical one signifies only an accident in the substance or in anything else
that is
a
b c
Reading muradifan li-dhati l-shay i wa-mahiyyatih. Mss. H and have muradifan li

-dhati l-shay i wa-mahiyyatih li-l-mawjudi which makes no sense. The remaining
s. omit li-dhati l-shay i wa-mahiyyatih and have only li-l mawjud ([as a synonym] o
f being), cf. note 73. Reading with, ms. and I. Mantino, ka-l-hal instead of ka
-l-khall (as vinegar) in the remaining mss. For the next eight lines (up to the cat
egory of quantity) the translation follows the edition by uiros (p. 22, l. 20 p.
23, l. 2) which gives the text of ms. M (which in most points is confirmed by I
. Mantino, fol. 360rb-va). All other mss. display a very confused text (as also
the editions by Amn and Jiham).
Chapter One
39
m 360v
isolated, and that it cannot signify the substance of a thing, that is, an isola
tion which is not additional to the concept of the substance. In support of this
he maintains that if one conceded that the numerical one signifies an isolation
which is an accident in an accident or a substance in a substance, number would
be composed of accidents and substances, and it would not fall under a single c
ategory, not even under the category of quantity, which is absurd [75]. He says:
Furthermore, if we suppose that [the numerical one] signifies the substance onl
y, this would entail another absurd consequence, namely that substances would in
here in accidents. Otherwise, how could we say of the concrete accident that it
is numerically one [76]? [Ibn Sna] errs here in so far asa in his [doctrine] the
accidental which is attached to a thing in the intellect is confounded with the
accidental which is attached to it in [extramental] existence, and [because] he
was convinced that one is predicated of all ten genera univocally, not secundum pr
ius et posterius, and that it is [identical with] the numerical one with respect
to what he conceived as its meaning in everyday language. Therefore, he thought
that being isolated and one are accidents in all things that can be isolatedb.
We will clarify this further in our discourse on the one and the many [77]. Furt
hermore, the numerical one is predicated in this discipline of separate substanc
es. Generally speaking, these are the most appropriate [subjects] of which the n
umerical one is predicated, because they are divisible neither by quality (as wi
th the divisibility of the concrete [thing] into matter and form) nor by quantit
y (as with the divisibility of the continuous). Finally, this kind of numerical
one is clearly similar in one way to the individual one, in another way to what
is one in species. It is similar to the individual inasmuch as it is predicated
neither of many [things] nor in any way of the substrate. It is, on the other ha
nd, similar to [the one] in species inasmuch as it is one essentially intelligible
concept c [78]. These, now, are all the ways the numerical one is predicated.
a The following five lines (from in so far as up to the numerical one) are omitted t
hrough homoioteleuton in mss. H and M, hence also in the translations by uiros,
Horten and Van den Bergh. For the Arabic text cf. Jiham, p. 46, l. 1418, Amn, p. 2
0, note 2. The last sentence is omitted in ms. H and in the translations by Hort
en and Van den Bergh. Reading, with the majority of the manuscripts and I. Manti
no, ma nan wahidun ma qulun bi-dhatih (Amn follows ms. H, Jiham follows ms. A).
q 23
a 20
j 47
b c
40
Translation
a 21 q 24
j 48 m 361r
One is predicated of that which is numerically multiplea in five ways: F irstly, on

e in species, as when we say Zayd and Amr are one in humanity. Secondly, one in genus
, as when we say about the individual man and horse that they are one by being l
iving beings. (The genus can be either proximate or remote [genus]. Whatever is
one in species, is also one in genus, but not vice versa. Closely related to the
one in genus is the one in matter.) Thirdly, one in substrate, but many in defini
tion, such as that which has increased or is diminishingb [79]. Fourthly, one by r
elation, as when we say that the relationship between ship and captain and betwe
en king and city-state is one relationship. Fifthly, one by accident, as when we s
ay that snow and camphor are one in whiteness. Now, these are all meanings in wh
ich one is predicated essentially [80]. One is also predicated accidentally in oppos
ition to what [it means] essentially, as when we say the physician and the archit
ect are one and the same, if it happens that a certain architect is [also] a phys
ician. This [kind of oneness] is conceptualized only in combined concepts [81].
In simple [concepts], it does not [occur], since the essence of the concrete thi
ng does not happen [to be one] by accident. Now that it has become clear in how
many ways [the term] one is employed in this discipline, it is [also] obvious that
it is here coextensive with [the term] being, and that in this discipline c there
is no difference between searching for the first existent in each single genus
of existents (and especially in the genus of substance) and searching for the fi
rst one in each single genus [82], except that that which applies to the princip
le [of each genus] qua one is different from that which applies to it qua existe
nt [83]. Accordingly, the term one is predicated
a Reading, with mss. H, P, and I. Mantino, yuqalu l-wahidu ala l-kathrn
In ms. M we read yuqalu l-wahidu ala l-wahidi bi-l-sura (One is predicated of the
one by form); similarlyin mss. D and R yuqalu l-wahidu ala l-wahidi wa-l-sura (
predicated of one and form). Mss. A G T have yuqalu l-wahidu wa-l-sura (One and form
are predicated). Reading ka-l-nam wa-l-naqis with mss. H, M and ; the re
ss. (including I. Mantino) have ka-l-tammi wa-l-naqis (as the perfect and the defi
cient), adopted by Jiham; Amns edition presents a hybrid version; cf. note 79. The
rabic text corresponding to and that in this discipline up to the one in numerical
quantities (p. 41, l. 4) is omitted in ms. H and in the translations by Horten an
d Van den Bergh.
b
c
Chapter One
41
of the indivisible first in each genus by predication with reference to one thin
g, and most appropriately of that which is first in this [way] by being the caus
e of unity in substances and by being that which assesses and measures the one i
n numerical quantitiesa. The numerical one is either indivisible by form and div
isible by quantity, as [in the case of ] one man, one horse, or it is indivisibl
e by quantity and form. The latter [occurs] in two ways: if it has position, the
n it is a point; if it has no position, then it is the universal one [84], which
is the principle of number and the essential notion of all that is countable. F
or all notions similar to this are only analogical [notions], such as measures o
r the weight unit [called] sanj and the like. One has to know that [all meanings
of ] the term one can be reduced to four kinds: [(i)] one in continuity, [(ii)] one q
ua whole and perfect, [(iii)] the simple first of each single genus, and [(iv)]
universal one predicated secundum prius et posterius or with reference to one thin
g of all that has been mentioned in this respect hereb. [8] The same, the opposite, t
he other, difference. [a] The same [85] is predicated in [several] ways which mirror
[86] the ways in which one is predicated. To these belong the same in number (this c
oncerns [things] which have two names, as when we say Muhammad is Abu Abdallah [87
], and, in general, [cases] where one same thing is signified by two signs), the
same c in species, as and the when we say you and I are the same with respect to h
umanity, the same in genus, as when we say this horse and this donkey are the same w
ith respect to [the genus of ] living being, and the same in relation, in substrate
and in accident, all of which have been exemplified above. These [four kinds] a
ll belong to the class of what is essentially [the same], which is an object of
research in this discipline as well as in others [88].
q 25
a 22
a b
c
The Arabic text corresponding to except that (p. 40, l. 25) ... numerical quantit
ies is omitted in Amns edition. This paragraph (One has to know ... here) is omitted
(presumably by homoioteleuton) in ms. H and not taken into account by Horten and
Van den Bergh. It has a close parallel in Ibn Rushds Long Commentary on the Meta
physics, p. 1241, l. 913. Reading huwa-huwa instead of huwa (all mss.)
42
Translation
j 49
q 26
a 23
[The same] is also [predicated] accidentally. This [mode of predication] is only u
sed whenever one speaks about [the same] in a delimited contexta, as when we say
that the musician is a physician, when a musician happens to be a physician [89
]. As for the same in species, if it is [predicated] of a substance one speaks of i
dentical, if it is of a quantity one speaks of equal, and if it is of a quality one
speaks of like [90]. The latter is predicated in [various] ways, e.g. of surfaces
with equal angles and proportional sides; then it is predicated of similar bodi
es, if they have similar [geometrical] forms, bodies, that is, the surfaces of w
hich are equal in number and similar in form. It is [also] predicated of [things
] the forms of [qualitative] affections of which are one and the same, such as t
wo [qualities of ] red being equally red, and even so when the affection is less
in one of them, like when one is redder than the other [91]. Furthermore, it is
predicated of things which have a majority of characteristics in common, as whe
n we say that tin is like silver or lead [92]. [b] As for opposites, this is [used
] to signify the four modes [of opposition] mentioned in the Categories, where y
ou already became acquainted with their description [93]. These are: affirmation
and negation, contraries, [opposition qua] relatives, and having and privation.
The term contrary is often used in a wider sense than [the one explained] there,
for it has been said there that true contraries are those which [belong] to one
and the same genus [94], [yet] contraries may [also] be predicated by analogy to t
hese [true contraries] which never occur simultaneously in one and the same subs
trate, even though they are heterogeneous [95]; furthermore, contraries may be pre
dicated metaphorically in [cases] where one of these [contraries] is the cause of
the otherb or where there is a relation between them in such a way
a
m 361v
b
Reading, with mss. H and M, ala jihat al-tahdd. The other mss. have either ala ji
hat al-tahdhr (by paying attention or in the mode of preservation?) or ala jih
ahdr (in the way of degradation?). I. Mantino combines the first two variant readin
gs (per modum conseruationis vel determinationis); cf. note 89. Reading li-ma kana
min hadhih bi-sababi l-akhar, cf. I. Mantino, fol. 361va: quorum vnum est caus
erius, and Metaph. V () 10, 1018 a 3133: [...]
nahuma which requires two preceding (pro)nouns; cf. also note 96.
Chapter One
43
that something produces these [contraries] or is affected by them [96], and gene
rally [in cases where] there is [some sort of ] relation to such [contraries]. L
ikewise, the term privation is predicated in more ways than those listed there [in
the Categories], for what has been mentioned there about [privation] concerns t
he [following] three kinds only: F irst, when what would naturally occurs in som
ething is absent from it, when it should be present, and cannot occur in that [t
hing] in the future (as [in the cases of ] baldness and blindness) [97]. Secondl
y, when by contrast [what is absent] can occur in that [thing] in the future (as
[in the cases of ] being naked or being poor) [98]. Thirdly, when that which na
turally occurs in a [certain] substrate does not occur in it in its natural disp
osition (such as [in the cases of ] strabismus or crippled limbs). Apart from th
ese [types], the term privation is predicated in the [following] other ways: [(i)]
something which naturally occurs in an existent does not occur in a [certain] t
hing at all, as when we say about God that He is neither mortal nor transient [9
9]. [(ii)] Something which naturally occurs in a genus does not occur in a thing
[belonging to this genus], as when we say that the donkey is not [endowed] with
reason [100]. [(iii)] Something which naturally occurs in a species does not oc
cur in a thing [belonging to this species], as when we say that a woman is not m
ale [101]. [(iv)] Something is absent from a thing in which it occurs naturally
at another time, as when we say of a small child that it is unable to think [102
]. [c] The other is predicated in ways opposite to those in which the same is predic
ated. Such area the other in species, the other in genus, the other in relation, and t
e other with respect to the substrate [103]. [d] Difference is distinct from the oth
er in that that which is other is by itself other [than something else], whereas
that which is different is different [from something] in some respect, so that t
hat which is different must in some respect differ and in some respect be identi
cal [with that from which it differs] [104].
q 27
j 50 a 24
a
Ms. M and I. Mantino add ghayrun bi-l- adad, diuersum numero (the other in number),
for which there is no model in Metaph. nor any testimony in Ibn Rushds Long Comme
ntary.
44
Translation
j 51
q 28 a 25
[9] On potency and actuality. Since being is divided into potency and actuality,
we have to consider in how many ways potency and actuality are said. We say: potency
is predicated in [various] ways, one of which is predicating potencies of that whi
ch causes change in something else in so far as it causes change in something el
se, no matter whether such potencies are physical or rational, such as a hot [th
ing] causing warmth or the physician causing convalescence, and generally all pr
oductive disciplines [105]. [Next] it is predicated of potencies whose nature it
is to be set in motion by something else, e.g. that which is susceptible to the
potencies which cause change. [Then] it is predicated of all that has in itself
a principle of change (in this respect nature is distinct from art [106]). [Fur
thermore] it is predicated of the potency to [perform] a good action, as one say
s that somebody has a [peculiar] ability to speak or to walk or other such [abil
ities] by which a person might be distinguished. [Potency] is also predicated of a
ll that is scarcely affected and not easily destroyeda, e.g. when it is predicated
of [things belonging to] the category of quality [107]. Geometricians employ th
e term potency in other ways, for they say that a certain line has potency over anot
her line, if the square on the one measures that on the other rationallyb [108].
In all these [cases], the term potency is predicated by a sort of similarity [109
]. More frequent in philosophy and more wide-spread among the philosophers is th
e use of the term potency in the sense of that by which a thing is prepared to be
afterwards in actuality. This is the [kind of ]
a
All manuscripts have wa-yaf alu bi-suhulatin (and acts easily) which contradicts b
oth the Aristotelian text as well as Ibn Rushds Long Commentary. The passage Ibn
Rushd is referring to is Metaph. V () 12, 1019 a 2628:

b
as ashya ghayru qabilatin li-l-infi ali wa-l-taghyri wa-la bi-l-jumlati tashulu h

arakatuha [...] ila an tafsuda wa-tanqusa or al-ashya allati la tataghayyaru wa
la yashulu taghayyuruha (p. 583, l. 9sq., 13sq.). This suggests the omission of
a negation through which the following verb, presumably either yafsudu (is destro
yed) or yataghayyaru (is changed) became incomprehensible and, thus, was changed in
to yaf alu. Reading idha qaddara murabba uhu murabba ahu muntaqan instead of idh
a qaddara murabba uhu murabba ahu munqati (mss. A, D, G, P, R, T) and idha qaddar
a murabba uhu murabba ahu (mss. M, , and I. Mantino); cf. H, note 108.
Chapter One
45
m 362r
potency which is predicated of matter, which is, as said before, that of which t
he term potency is predicated most appropriately [110]. For upon reflection all th
e things we listed [above] of which the term potency is predicated, turn out to be
[of such a kind] that potency is predicated of them by similarity to this [mode o
f predication]. For we predicate potencies of dispositions and forms only because
they are sometimes active and sometimes not, that is, as if they were like that
which is potential. Similarly, when we say that a thing has the potency for some
thinga, we mean that it is well prepared [for this]; and the same meaning applie
s to all the [cases mentioned above]. [Furthermore], one says that the parts of
a thing are potentially in that thing; and this [is said] in two different ways:
either qualitative [parts] (these are form and matter) or quantitative [parts]
[111]. When these [latter] are continuous parts, the potentiality [of being part
s of the whole] is pure [potentiality], and when they are actual [parts] of the
thing, but [only] in so far as they are put together with one another or are att
ached [to one another], the term potency is applied secondarily. Closely related t
o this [latter] meaning is the existence of indivisible parts in that which is c
ombined according to those who maintain such [a doctrine of atoms]. To this real
potentiality [112] pertains that which may have an external obstacle which prev
ents it, so that it is possible that it occurs and possible that it does not occ
ur, such as catching fire in grassb, as well as that which has no external obsta
cle, so that it necessarily occurs and changes into actuality, as in the case of
heavenly lots c which sometimes occur in potentiality, sometimes in actuality.
As for being in actuality, this is that which is not in potentiality. Its [vario
us] kinds mirror the kinds of that which is in potentiality [113], and both of t
hem mirror the kinds of categories [114]. In a certain way, potency [means] nonexistence, but only those kinds of non-existence where what is non-existent natu
rally can exist in the future [115].
a
a 26
j 52 q 29
b c
All manuscripts have lahu quwwatun ala l-shay . Taking the above men tioned examp
les into consideration, one would expect lahu quwwatun ala l-mashy (has the poten
cy to walk), as tacitly edited by Amn and translated by Horten (p. 29) and Van den
Bergh (p. 22). Or brushwood; cf. M. Ullmann, WGA, Supplement II, p. 633. Al-nusub
al-samawiyya in all mss. with the exception of ms. M which reads al-nisab al-sam
awiyya (heavenly proportions). Cf. uiros translation, p. 47, note 1, Van den Bergh
, p. 169sq., note 223.
46
Translation
Having explained in how many ways potency and actuality are predicated, [we say that
] incapacity is also predicated in [various] ways which mirror these [modes of pre
dication]. The predication of incapacity is divided into the same classes as [that
of ] privation [116], that is, there is necessary [incapacity], as when we say
that the diagonal has no potency over [117] the side of the square, and there is p
ossible [incapacity], as when we say that the child is incapable of walking [118
]. [10] The complete, the deficient, the whole, the part, the total. [a] Complete
ated in [several] ways, firstly [of ] that outside which it is not possible to f
ind anything [of its parts], as when we say that the world is complete [119], or
, in a closely related meaning, that the circle is complete, since it is not pos
sible to add [something] to it or to take [something] away [from it] [120]. The
straight line, on the other hand, is called deficient, because it is possible to a
dd [something] to it or to take [something] away [from it], while it still remai
ns to be a [straight] line [121]. Similarly, we call body complete, because there
is nothing that could be divided into more dimensions than body, whereas line an
d surface are called deficient because line is divisible into one dimension [only]
and surface into two dimensions [only] [122]. It is also said that three is a com
plete number because it includes beginning, middle and end (this meaning is also
closely related to the [one I mentioned] first) [123]. [Furthermore] complete is
predicated of all that excels in its genus, as when we say a physician is comple
te or an oud-player is complete [124]. Now, this is how we predicate complete of e
xistents as far as they do not lack anything with respect to their perfection. H
owever, this meaning might be transferred metaphorically to bad things, saying a
thief is complete or a swindler is complete [125]. Furthermore, we call complete
that which has reached its completion, when this completion is in itself excelle
nt [126]. In this way we say of the separate things that they are complete and o
f the caused things that they are deficient. What is most appropriately called b
y the term complete in this way is the first principle because it is the cause of
all [that there is], yet not caused by anything else, hence [because] it has att
ained its perfection solely by itself, while all existents attain their perfecti
on through it. Accordingly, it is that which is most complete with respect to pe
rfection [127]. [Finally] complete is predicated metaphorically of whatever has a
relation to one of the [things] to which the term complete applies [in the primary
sense] [128].
a 27
q 30
j 53
m 362v
Chapter One
47
a 28.9
[b]a Whole signifies that which contains all parts [of a thing] in such a way that
nothing is found outside [that thing] [129]. In general, it is synonymous with
what is signified by the first mode of predication of complete [130] (in this way
we say of body that it is divisible into the whole of dimensions). In general, whol
e is predicated in two ways, either of the continuous (i.e. that which has no par
ts in actuality) or of the discrete [131]. Of the latter there are again two typ
es, one in which the parts have positions with respect to one another (as bodily
organs), the second in which the parts do not have position with respect to one
another (as numbers and letters). However, one marks off the first type, which
is predicated of the continuous, by the term whole, and the second type, which is
predicated of the discrete, by the term total [132]. [c] Parts is predicated in two
ways. F irstly, [it is predicated] in a merely quantitative sense. To this [type
] belongs that which measures a thing and that which does not measure [a thing]
[133]. To this [latter] belong that which is in a thing in actuality, that which
is so not in actuality, that which is homeomeric, and that which is not homeome
ric [134]. Secondly, the term part signifies that into which a thing is divisible
with respect to quality and form [135]. In this way we say that bodies are compo
sed of matter and form and [that] the definition is composed of genus and differ
entia. [d] Deficient [136] is predicated in one way of that which is not complete,
as when we say that a number or a pipe-player is deficient [137]. It is also pr
edicatedb of that which[though] in [the state of ] completionis not in itself excell
ent, even though it is complete with respect to its genus. In this way we say of
any existent that it is deficient in relation to the first principle [138]. As
for that which is deficient with respect to quantity, this is not predicated arb
itrarily, but rather is it necessary [(i)] that the thing [of which it is predic
ated] is one of [the things] whose parts are connected with one another, yet wit
hout being homeomeric parts, [(ii)] c that that
a b Amn moves section 10[d] (cf. below) without any evidence in the manu scripts t
o the present place. The Arabic text corresponding to the preceding two lines (f
rom in one way up to is also predicated) is omitted by homoioteleuton in ms. H and i
gnored in all modern translations. Reading, with mss. H, M, P and I. Mantino, wa
- instead of aw in the remaining mss.
q 31
a 29 j 54
a 27.16
c
48
Translation
which is said to be missing is naturally found in the thing in question, and [(i
ii)] that this deficiency does not abolish the substance of this thing [139]. Fo
r a thing whose substance is abolished through the abolition of that [which is m
issing] is not called deficient. Deficient is also predicated of artefacts by compar
ison to this meaning [140]. As for excessive, this is predicated of the opposite o
f deficient.
a 29.7 q 32 j 55
[11] Prior and posterior are predicated in five ways [141]: F irstly, prior in time.
Secondly, prior in order, either with respect toa a determined beginning, or in
speech [142], or in place. Thirdly, prior in nobility. Fourthly, prior in natur
e. F ifthly, prior in terms of causality. As you have already learnt in the Cate
gories what each of these classes signifies, there is no need to reiterate this
[here]. Prior is also predicated in a sixth mode, namely prior in knowledge, for not
all that is prior in knowledge is prior in existence. [12] Cause and reason [143] a
re two synonymous terms, both of which are predicated of the four [types of ] ca
uses, i.e., matter, form, agent and end [144]. [Furthermore, cause] is predicated
analogically of that which is related to these [four types of cause]. As explain
ed elsewhere, there are proximate and remote causes, those which are essential a
nd those which are accidental, particular and universal [causes], as well as com
bined and simple [causes]; and each of these types occurs either in actuality or
in potentiality [145]. Furthermore, causes [are divided] into those which are [
present] in the thing itself, namely matter and form, and those which are outsid
e the thing, namely agent and end [146]. [13] Matter is predicated with respect to
[different] levels. One of these is first matter, i.e. [matter] without form [1
47], another is [matter] with form, as in the case of the four elements which [s
erve as] matter for combined bodies. This kind of matter is of two types, firstl
y the one just mentioned, which is distinguished by [the fact] that the form in
these [elements] is not entirely destroyed when receiving another form, but rath
er the form of the matter is found in them in some intermediate state, as has be
en shown in the book De generatione et corruptione [148]. In the second type, th
e form of the matter remains [the same] when a
m 363r
a 30
j 56 q 33
a
Reading, with ms. M and I. Mantino, min instead of f in the remaining mss.
Chapter One
49
second form occurs in it, such as the disposition to receive soul, which is foun
d in certain homeomeric bodies [149]. It is especially this [type of matter] to
which [one refers by] the term substrate. [Furthermore] the parts of that which is
combined with respect to quantity are called matter for the combined [thing]. I
n this way those who maintain [the doctrine of ] indivisible parts apply the ter
m matter to such [atoms]. Now, these are the modes in which matter is predicated in
philosophy. [14] Form is also predicated in [several] ways. To these belong form of
simple bodies (i.e. of non-organic bodies), form of organic bodies (i.e. soul), an
d form of celestial bodies (these are similar to simple [bodies] inasmuch as they
are non-organic and similar to organic [bodies] inasmuch as they are moved by th
emselves). All this has been shown in the natural sciences [150]. [Furthermore] f
orm is predicated of the quality and the quantity emerging in that which is mixed
in so far it is mixed [151]. In this respect, the forms of homeomeric bodies di
ffer from one another and adopt specific [properties], such as being difficult t
o destruct (which applies to gold) and other specifications. [15] Principle is pre
dicated of all [things] cause is predicated of [152]. [Then] it is predicated of t
hat from which something begins to move, such as the outermost point of a path,
for this is the principle of walking [this path] [153]. [Furthermore] principle is
predicated of that from which a thing would best be originated, as in the case
of teaching, for sometimes one does not start teaching from what comes first by
nature, but rather from what is most easily [comprehensible] [154]. All other [t
hings] of which principle is predicated, are called [principle] merely by analogy to
one of these meanings. E.g., we say of premises that they are the principle of
a conclusion, yet this applies to them only in so far as they are [conceived] ei
ther [as] that which brings about the conclusion or [as] its matter [155]. [16 ]
Element is primarily predicated of that into which a thing may be resolved with r
espect to [its] form. In this way we say of the four bodies, that is water, fire
, air, and earth, that they are elements of all combined bodies [156]. According
to the view of the Atomists, element is also predicated of that which is conceive
d as the smallest part of a thing [157]. Furthermore, one says that universals a
re elements of the particular things based on the assumption that they are the p
rina 31
j 57
q 34
50
Translation
ciples of the things, and that the more universal something is, the more appropr
iate it is to be an element [158].
a 32 m 363v
[17] Necessity is predicated of that without which a thing cannot exist, and this
on account of [its] matter [159], as when we say that living beings which have b
lood necessarily breathe. [Then] necessity is predicated of compulsion, i.e., the
opposite of free choice. For this reason, Greek poets described it as irksome an
d sad [160]. [Furthermore] necessity is predicated of that which cannot be otherwi
se or in a different way [161]. In this way we say that the celestial [bodies] a
re by necessity eternal [162]. [18] Nature is predicated of all four kinds of chan
ge, i.e., comingto-be and corruption, locomotion, growth, and alteration. Furthe
rmore, it is predicated of forms which are the principles of such movements. The
se are most appropriately [called] by the term nature [163], especially those whic
h are simple, for the principles of organic movements are most appropriately called
soul, such as the principle of growtha. In this [mode of ] predication we hear t
he physicians say nature has done this or that implying [by nature] the faculty whic
h manages the body, i.e., the nutritive [faculty], because they conceive it as b
eing more simple than the other faculties, although it is organic (for that reas
on they apply [the term] nature only occasionally to the faculty of the heart). It
belongs to this mode [of predication] that we say
a The transmission of this clause is lacunose in all Arabic manuscripts. As tran
smitted there, it would mean for that which is organic is most appropriately call
ed soul, such as the principle of growth, which makes little sense and obviously
cannot serve as an argument for the preceding statement that form qua principle
of motion, and especially simple forms or principles, are called nature. It is not
the organic body, but rather its form or principle that might be called nature in
this sense. Furthermore, the transmitted wording contradicts the immediately fo
llowing sentence, in which Ibn Rushd mentions the habit of physicians of referri
ng to the nutritive faculty of the soul as nature, although it is organic (wa-in kan
at aliyya), that is, although it does not deserve this name considering its orga
nic nature, but is called so only on the basis of the physicians assumption that
it is the most simple faculty. I therefore propose the following reading, on whi
ch the above translation is based: li-anna mabadi a l-harakati l-aliyyati hiya ahr
a an tusamma nafsan ka-mabda i l-numuw. Cf. also Long Commentary on the Metaphy
ics, p. 514, l. 17 p. 515, l. 4, dealing with the form and the principle of moti
on of growth.
j 58
q 35
Chapter One
51
that a natural act stands in opposition to a rational [act] [164]. Furthermore,
the term nature is applied to the elements things are combined of. In this [way] w
e say that the nature of homeomeric bodies [consists] in water, fire and the oth
er simple [elements] [165]. Nature is also applied to [various] kinds of matter; a
nd it is predicated generally of all kinds of form, matter, and their concomitan
t kinds of change. Having achieved our first goal of explaining the meaning of t
he terms [employed in] this science, we shall now turn to its single objects of
research.
a 33
52
j 59 q 36
Translation
CHAPTER TWO
As said before, being is predicated in [various] ways. However, in the present cha
pter we concentrate on that [meaning] of being which refers to the ten categorie
s which hold the position of species with respect to the subject genus of this d
iscipline. It is clear that being does not signify the [ten categories] by pure eq
uivocation, for, if that were the case, it could not be the subject genus of one
single discipline (i.e., this discipline [of metaphysics]) and there would be n
o essential predicates by which a primary division is establisheda, as when we s
ay that there is being in potentiality and being in actuality or any other essen
tial predicate to be found in [propositions of ] this [kind]. [Besides,] essenti
al predicates are not found in propositions the subject of which is an equivocal
term [166]. All this is clear to anybody who has studied the discipline of logi
c. Nor does the term being signify the [categories] univocally, for if that were t
he case, the ten categories would [form] a single genus or [fall] under a single
genus, while sensation gives evidence of their diversity and multiplicity [167]
. Nevertheless, some of the early ancients held the position that being is one,
yet what led them to this [theory] was the lack of attention they paid to object
s of sensation and their compliance with sophistic doctrines. Aristotle refuted
their [theory] in Book I of the Physics [168], and we ourselves will speak about
them in the discourse on the subject matters of the departmental disciplines [1
69]. Now, if all this is as we say and the term being signifies the ten categories
neither by pure equivocation nor univocally, it cannot signify them other than
by some sort of analogy, that is in the way terms signify things related to one
thing through a relation of priority and posteriority (this will become clear [b
elow]), as when we speak of things related to medicine as being medical or [of t
hings related] to war as being martial [170]. Since it is the task of this scien
ce to set the kinds of being in relation to one another with respect to the [que
stion which] of them are causes of others, up to [the question how] all of them
are related to their most remote causes, as stated above [171], we have to look
carefully at this [question] with regard to all categories and to consider how t
hey are related to one another with respect to being,
a Reading, with most mss. and Amn, yanqasimu biha instead of tanqasimu biha (Jiha
m) and yanqasimu (uiros).
q 37 a 34
m 364r
j 60
Chapter Two
53
which of them is prior to which, whether there is a category through which the r
emaining categories are constituted, and [if so] which category this is and what
it is that in turn constitutes this category [172]. Thereafter, we shall turn t
o stating the causes of the general concomitants of the [categories] in so far t
hey are beings, such as potentiality and actuality and the like [173], as far as
we are able to state all this in this first part of this science. As for the re
maining [task of ] dealing with the most remote causes of these things, we defer
this to the second part of this science [174] where it will become clear. The p
roofs used for [demonstrating] these things are for the most part logical ones.
This is due to [the fact] that that which is proved in the discipline of logic i
s employed in two [different] ways, as stated elsewhere, [i.e.] either as instru
ments, methods and rules which guide the mind and preserve [it] from error (this
is its specific [mode of ] employment), or by taking what is proved there as if
it were part of [any] demonstrative discipline and, hence, can be employed in a
nother discipline as a sort of postulate or supposition in accordance with the c
ommon practice of the demonstrative disciplines to employ in one what has been p
roved in another [175]. E.g., those who practise the discipline of mathematical
astronomy take for granted from the geometer that the half of the radius equals
the side of the [inscribed] hexagon. It has [now] become plain what we aim at in
this part of [our] consideration and which kind of arguments we employ in it. T
hus we shall start the discussion [proper]. We say: As stated in the Categories,
there are two kinds of universal predicates. One kind makes known the quiddity
and essence of an individual substance. The most general universal of this type
is the category called substance. The other [kind] does not make known the quiddit
y and essence of an individual substance, but only that which is not substancea.
In general, this [kind] is found in a substrate only, which is why one states i
n its definition that it is that which is called in-a-substrate [176] (whereas one
says of the
a Reading, with mss. H, P, R, and I. Mantino, ma laysa bi-jawhar. This reading i
s confirmed by mss. G marg and T marg both of which add in margin bi-mahiyyatih l
ahu. Ms. M has ma laysa bi-jawharin lahu wa-la mahiyya (that which is not its
stance nor its quiddity), misrepresented in ms. D as ma laysa bi-jawharin bi-mahi
yyatih lahu (that which is not by its quiddity its substance).
q 38
a 35
j 61
54
Translation
q 39 a 36
m 364v
j 62
substance that it is that which is not predicated of a substratea ) [177]. The m
ost general universals of this type are the nine categories of accident enumerat
ed in that [book], i.e. quantity, quality, relation, where, when, position, havi
ng, doing, and being-affected. Taking this as a basis, it is in general evident
that the category of substance is self-constituted and with respect to its exist
ence independent from any of the accidental categories, while these in turn depe
nd for their existence on substance and are caused by it. However, we have to in
vestigate carefully how things stand with each single category. We say: As will
become evident soon, substance is used in the definitions of three categories, nam
ely where, position, and having. This is shown by their definitions because in a
ll of them body appears, as when we say where is the relation between body and plac
e, and similarly in [the definitions of ] position and having [178]. Regarding th
e category of doing and being-affected, things are clear as far as [doing and be
ing-affected] in substances are concerned. Furthermore, the disposition of [doin
g and being-affected] in quantity and quality is similar to the disposition of t
he categories of quantity and quality [themselves]. [This concerns] especially t
he category of being-affected, for being-affected with respect to quantity alway
s concerns the substance, such as nutrition causing growth or a body moving anot
her body in space [179]. In the [category of ] quality, on the other hand, [bein
g-affected] concerns accidents such as heat causing warming up [180]. As far as
the four categories of quantity, quality, relation, and when are concerned, it i
s clear that they depend on substance for their existence, although the category
of substance does not appear in their definitions. Regarding the category of re
lation it is clear that it is among the [things] which cannot be separated [from
its substrate], since substance is not its sole substrate, but the remaining ca
tegories are [also] found among its substrates, such as an existent of [the cate
gory of ] quantity in the case of double and half, or an existent of [the catego
ry of ] where in the case of above and belowb.
a
b
Reading, with mss. A, G, H, R, and T, alladh yuqalu la ala mawdu . Mss. D,

, and I. Mantino read alladh yuqalu ala mawdu (that which is predicated of a subst
rate); cf. p. 30 and 58 of the translation, also notes 39 and 176. Reading, with
mss. H and and in analogy to the preceding phrase,
Chapter Two
55
Likewise, it is immediately evident in the case of the category of quality that
this is an accident and that it cannot be separated from mattera, let alone [fro
m] other things [181]. Otherwise, affection would occur in what is not affectabl
e, shape in what is not shapeable, state in what cannot be in a state, and natur
al capacity in what cannot have a natural capacity (these being the four major g
enera of quality) [182]. As for the category of quantity, it is not so evident t
hat it depends on substance, especially [in the case of ] the discrete [quantity
]. But also [in the case of ] the continuous [quantity], if we take into conside
ration that one of its kinds is body which may be defined as that which is divis
ible into three dimensions [183]. This is why some thought that the [three] dime
nsions are substances and that they are that which makes known the quiddity of t
he concrete individual substance. This view led some [of them], namely those who
taught that the objects of mathematics are separate [entities], to the doctrine
of separate quantities [184]. But we say that it is immediately self-evident th
at the [three] dimensions are not among [the things] that make known the quiddit
y of the individual substance and that, when they are used to describe the indiv
idual substance essentially, the species or genus of this individual is used in
the definition of this [quiddity] in the way one uses the substrates of accident
s or the genera of their substrates in definitions of the [substances in which t
hey occur]. Such a description is not used in the definition of this individualb
in the way we use predicates [indicating] the causes of the substrates in defin
itions of that [which pertains to this species] [185]. For example, we say of ma
n and many [other] living beings that they are [entities] of such and such a siz
e because each of these [living beings] has a specific spatial extent. However,
it is generally evident with respect to ensouled beings that the dimensions are
posterior to them and that soul and being-ensouled are prior to them. Likewise,
it is also evident that physical entities are prior to the dial-mawjud f l-ayn in
stead of al-mawjudayn f l-ayn ([or as above and below] existing in [the category o
f ] where), since al-mawjud refers to the substrate of the relational existent, n
ot to the two relatives themselves. Reading, with mss. H, M and I. Mantino, al-m
adda instead of al-madda al-ula (prime matter) in the remaining manuscripts. Readi
ng, with mss. H, M, and I. Mantino f haddi dhalika l-shakhs, instead of f haddi na
w i dhalika l-shakhs (in the definition of the species of this individual) transmi
tted in the remaining mss.
a 37 q 40
j 63
a b
56
Translation
a 38 q 41
m 365r
mensions imagined within them. And these together form the entirety of individua
l substances, for all individual substances are either ensouled or physical. As
for the doctrine of a most general genus to be found in substances and [the ques
tions] what this is, whether it is itself body or something to which body is acc
idental, and if the latter, what that is to which corporeal existence is acciden
tal, this will be clarified after it has become clear what the principles of sen
sible substance are and in which way species, genera, and, in general, universal
s exist [186]. As for those who maintain that there are separate quantities, if
they refer [with their doctrine] to the quantity which [exists] in sensible thin
gs, then [we say that] it has already become clear in the Physics that it is imp
ossible to detach prime matter from [quantity] as it is also impossible to detac
h [quantity] from form; otherwise the individual substance would exist without q
uantity, which is absurd [187]. Furthermore, it has been shown in the Physics in
[the context of ] the inquiry on the existence of the void that spatial extensi
on cannot exist separately [188]. Likewise, it has been shown there that time is
in a substrate, namely the celestial body, and from this it is evident that the
category of when is constituted through the substance [189]. For a thing is relat
ed to time only in so far it is changeable or one conceives a process of change
in it. But the changeable is necessarily a body, as has been shown in the Physic
s [190]. Number belongs to discrete quantity, for it is nothing more than the en
tirety of monads, as its common definition goes [191]. As said above [192], unit s
ignifies primarily a general concept adopted by the mind from the isolated [appr
ehension] of things with respect to their places or limits and generally [it sig
nifies] things extrinsic to the essences of things. It is therefore necessarily
an accident [193]. We will show below [194] that it is an act of the soul rather
than an [extramental] existent [195]. From these [considerations] it becomes pl
ain that none of the nine [categories of ] accidents can be separated from subst
ance. On the contrary, substance is prior to each of them in the way cause is pr
ior to that which is caused. And it is not only this mode of priority with respe
ct to the accidents that is found in [substance], but rather [also] priority wit
h respect to time and [priority] with respect to knowledge (in how many ways prio
r and posterior are predicated has been explained earlier).
a 39 q 42 j 64
Chapter Two
57
As for [the question] whether there are separate quantities, which exist distinc
tly from the existence of this sensible quantity, [and] form the subject matter
of the discipline of mathematics, as maintained by the Pythagoreans, this we wil
l investigate in [the chapter on] the verification of the subject matters of the
departmental disciplines [196]. As for [the question] how these nine [accidenta
l] categories exist in substance and whether this [existence] is hierarchically
ordered in such a way that some of them somehow cause the existence of others in
substance, or instead [in such a way that] their existence in [substance] is of
one and the same rank so that none of them is prior to the other, it is evident
a that some of them depend on others existing prior to them in substance. E.g. i
t is evident that quantity is the first among them with respect to prior existen
ce in substance, for there is nothing in which quantityb is found except body [1
97]. Likewise, there is found no place except in that which has body qua body [i
n it] c, and also no position except in that which has place, and neither doing
nor being-affected except by means of position and where. All this is evident fr
om what has been shown in the Physics [198]. And similarly the category of havin
g is found in nothing that is not previously body and has where and position [19
9]. It is not precluded that two of these [accidental categories] exist in a thi
ng equally rankingd. [This occurs], for example, with quality and where, for nei
ther seems to be prior to the other with respect to its existing in substance. F
rom this discussion it has become evident that [all] nine [accidental] categorie
s exist in substance, and it has also be shown in which way some of them are pri
or to others with respect to their existence in substance. Hence, what still has
to be investigated are the elements and principles of substance and, in general
, [the question] whether there are principles of the sensible substance prior to
it, and if so, of what kind
a b Omitting, with I. Mantino, aydan (it is also evident). Reading kammiyya with t
he majority of the manuscripts instead of kayfiyya (quality) transmitted in mss. H
and (adopted by Amn and Horten); cf. note 197. Reading, with mss. M, P, and I.
Mantino, illa li-dh l-jism instead of illa lladh l-jism (except that which is body
in the remaining mss. Reading, with the majority of the manuscripts, f rutbatin
wahidatin li-shay instead of f rutbatin wahidatin transmitted in mss. H and M (ad
opted by uiros and Amn).
a 40 q 43
j 65 m 365v
c d
58
Translation
q 44 a 41
j 66
[200]. This issue was an unresolved problem and [cause of ] severe disagreement
among the ancients. Besides, this investigation precedes the investigation in wh
ich we ask whether or not there is a separate substance which is the principle o
f the sensible substance, and if so, what is its mode of existence [201]. We say
: The term substance is applied in [various] meanings, as explained above [202]. Y
et, the meaning which is most wide-spread and accepted by everybody is the concr
ete individual [thing] which is neither in a substrate nor predicated of a subst
rate, such as the individual man, animal, plant, star, or stone. Accordingly, we
have to direct our investigation to the principle of this sensible substance. W
e have already stated earlier that the opinions of the ancients differed regardi
ng [the question] what it is that constitutes such sensible substances and which
are their parts. Some maintained that they are composed of indivisible parts, e
ither finite or infinite [in number]. Others maintained that corporeality is wha
t constitutes them, and since the meaning of corporeality is divisibility into t
he dimensions [of space], they maintained that the [three] dimensions are what i
s most appropriately [called] by the term substance. [Furthermore], since the dime
nsions are, in the imagination, surfaces [of solids], and [since] surface can be
dissolved into line and line into point, they maintained that points are substa
nces. Again others maintained that the universals which are predicated of [sensi
ble substances] are their principles in the mode of selfconstituted entities [20
3]. They all agreed in general upon [the existence of ] a material cause, except
that some of them called it indivisible parts, others fire or air, and whatever
else each of the ancients regarded as [material cause]. The invalidity of most
of these unsound views has already been shown in the natural sciences. [Moreover
] it became plain there that all sensible existents are composed of matter and f
orm; and it has been shown there how many kinds of matter and form there are, ex
cept that these are considered there only in so far as they are principles of ch
angeable being or, generally speaking, principles of change [204]. Accordingly,
that which is set forth in unsound doctrines on this [topic] is criticized there
from this point of view, as [in the case of ] the doctrine of indivisible parts
and other doctrines this science is responsible for refuting. Here [in metaphys
ics], on the other hand, these [principles] are considered in so far as they are
principles of substance qua substance. By
Chapter Two
59
analogy, that which follows with respect to the [principles] from unsound doctri
nes is criticized here from this point of view, as [in the case of ] those who m
aintain that the universals of substances are their principles or those who main
tain that the [three] dimensions are that which constitutes substance (to be sur
e, this [latter] doctrine might be considered in both modes, [that is] in this s
cience [of metaphysics] as well as in natural sciences, as Aristotle indeed does
in Book III of De caelo [205]). As for Ibn Sna, he erred in this [question] comp
letely, for he thought that he who practises natural sciences cannot show that b
odies are composed of matter and form and that it lies in the responsibility of
the metaphysician to show this [206]. The invalidity of all this is selfevident
to anybody practising the two sciences (i.e., physics and this science [of metap
hysics]). Now, if this is as described, and it is plain which method this scienc
e [uses for] considering this question, we shall proceed in this consideration f
rom what is better known to us. This is definition, for one of the meanings to w
hich the term substance is applied, is definition. This is why [philosophers] say
that definition is that which makes known the substance of a thing [207]. Beside
s, we usually proceed from what is better known to us to what is better known by
nature, as stated elsewhere. Hence, we say once again: Definition is the propos
ition which makes known the quiddity of a thing through the essential constituen
ts of this [thing]. As has already become clear in the discipline of logic, ther
e are two kinds of predicates, one essential, and one accidental kind. Essential
[predicates] are again subdivided into two kinds: F irst, predicates which are
parts of the substance of the subject [of predication] (these are the specific [
predicates] of which definitions are composed), secondly [the case] that the sub
jects [of predication] are [included] in the substance of the predicates (from t
hese [predicates] one cannot compose a definition, since they [refer to] things
posterior to the substances defined) [208]. If you consider the problem from thi
s point of view, it will therefore easily become evident that concrete individua
ls have parts prior to them through which they are constituted and [that] this m
eaning [of definition] is found in substances only becausea the definition of an i
ndia Reading, with the majority of the Arabic manuscripts and I. Mantino, illa
a 42 q 45
m 366r
j 67
60
Translation
q 46
a 43
j 68
vidual accident certainly includes the substance through which the [definition]
is constituted and which is different from this [accident] [209]. Hence, there i
s no definition in the strict sense for [individual accidents]. Nor, in the case
of what is combined of accident and substance, is there the sort of definition
[we have] for what is combined of matter and forma [210], as will become evident
below [211]. Taking this into consideration, it is completely evident that [the
definition of ] the individual substance is not constituted by any of the categ
orial predicates, since having a quality, quantity, relation, where, when, doing
, being-affected, position, or having does not make known the quiddity of the in
dividual concrete substance or any part of its quiddity. This shows the differen
ce between substantial forms and accidents, even though both are predicated of t
he substrateb. If this is as described and it is plain that there are parts of t
he substance prior to it, we should consider in which way these parts exist in t
he substance c and whether that which is universal is accidental to them or rath
er something which is prior to them as maintained by those who teach [the existe
nce of ] Ideas. Generally, we [have to] consider all concomitants adhering to th
em both in so far as they are individual sensible [things] or parts of sensible
things and in so far as they are intelligibles and universals (for the two modes
of existence [have to be] kept apart). Furthermore, if definition is [composed]
of a plurality of parts, [we have to consider] how these parts exist in that wh
ich is combined, whether this is in potentiality or in actuality, and in general
, in which way we say of the definiendum that it is one, while according to [its
] definition it is [composed] of a plurality of parts. [In other words,] we [hav
e to] make known how definition is related to its parts and to the definiendum [
212].
li-l-jawhari faqat li-anna instead of illa li-l-jawhari faqat wa-li-anna ms. M (
adopted by uiros) and li-l-jawhari faqat bal wa- ms. H (adopted by 36). Amn, Hor
ten, p. 52, and Van den Bergh, p. The Arabic text corresponding to certainly incl
udes... up to matter and form is omitted in ms. H, secluded by Amn (p. 42, note 7),
and ignored in the translations by Horten and Van den Bergh. The versions edited
by uiros and Jiham are faulty. The present sentence is omitted in ms. H, seclud
ed by ed. Amn (p. 42, note 11), and ignored in the translations by Horten and Van
den Bergh. Reading, with mss. H, M and I. Mantino, al-jawhar instead of al-jawh
ariyya (substantiality) in the remaining mss.
a
b c
Chapter Two
61
In a certain way, this consideration will comprise substance and accident, provi
ded that we admit that there are certain definitions of accidents. Its primary a
im, however, [consists in] determining substance, and therefore, it is definitio
n which must be considered at the first place. We say: It is evident that defini
tion is found primarily and by priority in substance and that it is found in the
remaining categories, if at all, by posteriority [213]. This [is so] because, e
ven though there are in the remaining categories, as in the case of substance, e
ssential predicates from which one might compose a definition of that [which per
tains to these categories], it is nevertheless necessary to include in its defin
ition additionally a definition of substance, because it belongs to that which i
s not self-constituted. This [inclusion occurs] either by proximate potentiality
or in actuality [214], in potentiality, that is, in the case of categories whos
e definition does not make evident their relation to substance, in the way expla
ined above. [This is] especially [the case] when they are employed [in the defin
ition] as abstract [concepts] in the mind and [when] one refers to them by terms
which are root morphemes, such as whiteness employed [in the definition] as an ab
stract [concept] in the mind, of which one says that it is the separating colour
for vision [215], and even more so [in the case of ] magnitude and shape. But w
hen they are employed [in the definition] by means of paronymous terms, which si
gnify them more properly, then the substance is made evident in their definition
. Simplicter [216] substance is made actually evident in definitions of accident
s only in [the case of ] categories in whose definition substance [has to be] em
ployed, and generally in [the case of ] essential accidents in whose definition
one employs their substrate or the genus of their substrate. Snub nose is in this
way [related] to nose, and laughing to man, which is why the names of these [per se ac
cidents] signify something combined from accident and substance [217]. Combined
[terms] such as thesea, as stated by Aristotle, either have no definition at all
[218] because of that which [has to be] added in their definition [219] and [be
cause their definitions] are tautological (for he
q 47
m 366v
a 44
a
The Arabic text corresponding to the names of these... up to such as these is omitte
d in ms. H, secluded by Amn (p. 44, note 4), and ignored in the translations by H
orten and Van den Bergh.
62
Translation
j 69
who defines snub nose employs in its defintion the definition of nose and the defini
tion of hollowness which is in the [nose], and in the [latter] he employs [again]
the [definition of ] nose; thus he employs in this [definition] nose twice)a [220].
Or else, if there is [a definition for them], it is in a mode posterior to the s
ubstance combined of matter and form [221], since these definitions are in any c
ase definitions of combined [terms]b. Having shown that there are for all catego
ries definitions which signify their quiddities and that it is [only] substance
for which there is definition in the strict sense and which has a substantial qu
iddity c, we shall now consider [the question] whether the quiddities of substan
ces and their universal intelligibles are the individual things themselves (as w
e say that the imagination of a thing is the thing itself and that form of a sen
sible thing means [the same as] sensible [thing]) or whether they are different
from them in some respect, so that they have an existence outside the soul as ma
intained by those who teach the [existence of ] Ideasd [222]. We say: Predicates
e which are the quiddity of a thing, I mean those which serve as notion of the s
ubstance of the individual thing, are the
a The Arabic text corresponding to and [because their definitions] (p. 61, ult.) u
p to nose twice is omitted in ms. H, secluded by Amn, and ignored in the translatio
ns by Horten and Van den Bergh. I follow ms. M, I. Mantino and uiros in reading
ya khudhu instead of yahuddu in the remaining manuscripts (adopted by Jiham and
Amn, p. 44, note4). The second half of this sentence (combined of matter ... combin
ed [terms]) is omitted in ms. H, secluded by Amn (p. 44, note 4), and ignored in t
he translations by Horten and Van den Bergh. The Arabic text corresponding to and
that it is ... substantial quiddity is omitted in ms. H, secluded by Amn (p. 44,
note 5), and ignored in the trans lations by Horten and Van den Bergh. The Arabic
text corresponding to as maintained ... Ideas is omitted in mss. H and M, hence a
lso in uiros and in the translations by Horten and Van den Bergh. It is support
ed by Metaph. VII (Z) 6, 1031 a 30sq., and by Ibn Rushds Long Commentary on the M
etaphysics, p. 823, l. 14sq. I follow the majority of the manuscripts which read
al-mahmulat, ms. H and I. Mantino read al-kulliyyat al-dhatiyya, resp. universal
ia essentialia. This variant reading seems to be caused by the omission through h
omoiarchon of the following qualification of these predicates (i.e. allat hiya mahi
yyat al-shay a n) omitted in ms. H and I. Mantino. Ms. G displays the hybrid vers
ion al-mahmulat al-dhatiyya.
q 48
b
c
d
e
Chapter Two
63
same as the individual thing [itself ] in the sense stated [above], i.e., in so
far as they make known the substance of the individual thing. But predicates whi
ch are accidental are not the same as the thing [itself ]. For, if a physician i
s accidentally an architect, the quiddity of being a physician is not [included]
in [the quiddity of ] being an architect, nor is being a man [the same as] bein
g a white man. In these [cases] the predicate and the subject are one and the sa
me thing only accidentally, as opposed to how things stand with essential predic
atesa. If essential universals of a thing were not the same as the individual th
ing [itself ] (I mean the subject [of which they are predicated]), the quiddity
of a thing would not be [the same as] the thing [itself ]. Hence, the quiddity o
f living being, for example, would not be [the same as] this concrete living bei
ng, and knowledge [of the concrete thing] would become impossible. Even more, th
ere would be no intelligible [concept] for anything at all [223]. Those who assu
me that these universals are self-constitutedb and separate have to admit that t
hey are in some way distinct from the individual things. If this is what [they]
assume they have to admit one of the [following] two consequences: [(i)] Either
these universals are not the intelligible [concepts] of these individual things.
But then they are of no use for conceptualizing these individual [things], whic
h is in contradiction to what they teach, for they introduce and teach [the exis
tence of ] separate universals in order to [explain] knowledge. [(ii)] Or we con
cede to them that such universals are [entities] which make known the substances
of these individual [things] and that the quiddities of the latter are intellig
ible through them. However, even if this is [conceded], necessarily these univer
sals, which are separate in so far as they exist outside the soul and which are
distinct [from one another] in
a Instead of the Arabic text translated here by nor is being a man ... essential
predicates, ms. H reads wa-yushbihu an yakuna l-amru f l-kulliyyati llat bil- aradi
nazra l-amri f l-khayalati l-kadhiba (it seems that the case of acci dental
als is comparable to that of untrue imaginations). This variant reading has been
adopted by Amn and in the translations by Horten (p. 55) and Van den Bergh (p. 38
). All remaining manuscripts (including I. Mantino, with minor variants) transmi
t the text as translated above and supported by Metaph. VII (Z) 6, 1031 a 1925. T
he early testimonies, mss. H, M, and I. Mantino have qa imatan bi-anfusi ha, all
other mss. have jawahira qa imatan bi-anfusiha (are self-constituted substances).
a 45
j 70
b
64
q 49
Translation
m 367r
a 46
j 71 q 50
the way things existing outside the soul are distinct from one another, are like
wise in need of other universals in order to become objects of intellection [224
]. For if there has to exist something outside the soul in order that a thing ex
isting outside the soul can become an object of intellection, then for this form
er is likewise necessary what is necessary for the latter, and this goes on infi
nitely. From this it is plain that [the fact] that we think quiddities of things
does not necessarily presuppose the doctrine of the existence of separate unive
rsals. No matter whether or not they exist, nay, even if they do exist, they are
of no use for thinking the quiddities of things nor, in general, for [the realm
] of sensible existence [225]. As for [the assumption] that these universals of
which definitions are composed are eternal and unchangeable ... a. ... and that,
if they exist by themselves outside the soul, according to the opinion of those
who teach [the existence of ] Ideas, they are, considered as such, of no use for
[the realm] of sensible existence [226]. This is shown by [the fact that] each
[thing] that comes to be is something (I mean form and natural disposition) and
from something (I mean matter) and through something (I mean an agent) [227]. [F
urthermore] it is evident that in whatever comes to be, no matter whether by nat
ure or by art, the agent is necessarily distinct from the effect in number, but
one and the same as the effect in quiddity and definition or by relation [to the
proximate higher genus]. As far as natural combined entities are concerned, thi
s is in most cases evident, e.g. [in the case of ] reproducing animals and plant
s. For either that which produces is of the same species as that which is produc
ed, as man produces man and horse [produces] horse, or it is similar and related
[to one and the same genus], as donkey procreates mule [228]. This is also evid
ent in simple [bodies], for fire in actuality produces fire in actuality. Howeve
r, one might have ones doubts in [the case of ] animals reproducing spontaneously
and plants reproducing in this way, as also [in the case of ] fire, for it migh
t be produced by striking flintstone and, in general, by motion [229]. Similarly
, it is evident that there are movers which do not pertain to the genus of that
which is moved [by them],
a
In all manuscripts the clause breaks off after ghayru mutaghayyira. I. Mantino,
uiros and Van den Bergh do not recognize the lacuna as such. Due to this lacuna
, the beginning of the following sentence is corrupted, too; cf. note 226.
Chapter Two
65
such as semen setting the menstrual [blood] in motion, so that it becomes man, o
r the heat [produced by] incubation which sets the egg in motion, so that it bec
omes a bird. We say, however, that it is evident in most of these moved thingsa
that they are [set in motion] by a combination of more than one mover, such as t
he father sets the semen in motion, and the semen the menstrual blood. And if th
is is as described, the mover, which necessarily must be one and the same as tha
t which is moved, [either] in quiddity or by relation or similarity [to the prox
imate higher genus], is the ultimate mover, since it is this which supplies the
proximate moved [thing] with the potency whereby it moves. Hence, the ultimate m
over of the semen is the father, and [that] of the egg is the bird. However, it
has already been shown that this [explanation] is not sufficient unless [one tak
es into consideration] an [additional] external principleb, as has been shown in
the natural which [consists in] the celestial sciences [230]. bodies according
to Aristotles view (which is correct) or in the active intellect according to the
view of many recent philosophers. As for animals and plants reThe reproduction
of animals producing spontaneously, their uland plants which reproduce spontimat
e movers are, according to taneously [results] from the heat Aristotles doctrine,
the celestial of the stars. However, this heat is bodies [which move] by means
not the ultimate mover of their of the psychic potencies emacoming to be. On the
contrary, it nating from them, or the active has been shown that there is a
a b Reading al-mutaharrikat instead of al-mutakawwinat. The following section ha
s been transmitted in two versions. In the left column I give the translation of
the version transmitted in ms. H (adopted by Amn, p. 47, l. 47, and translated by
Horten and Van den Bergh), in the right column that of the remaining manuscript
s (printed in Jiham, p. 71, l. 1220). uiros edition (p. 50, l. 12 p. 51, l. 4) off
ers an (imaginary) hybrid version based on mss. H and M. The two versions got mi
xed up in the Hebrew tradition which is why I. Mantinos translation (fol. 367 rb)
follows in the first short passage the version given in the right column, then
the version contained in ms. H, to which he adds then also a translation of the
remaining part of the other version; cf. also note 231.
a 47
66
Translation
m 367v j 72
a 48
intellect, according to how the recent philosophers interpret [Aristotle]. Arist
otle[s doctrine] is supported by [the facts] that that which changes and comes to
be is nothing but body or that which is in a body (I mean a corporeal potency),
that the actuality which stands at the end of the [process of ] change is reach
ed only through the agent of the [process of ] change, and that it is impossible
that the agent of the [process of ] change is one thing and the agent of the en
d of this [process of ] change another thing [231]. As for the motion which prod
uces fire, its agent is not the motion [itself ], but rather [something which is
] one and the same in genus, namely the heat diffusing from the heat of the star
s upon the elements and [also] the heat of the air itself. That which is given b
y motion in this [process] is [not the form of fire but] only the disposition wh
ereby the substrate receivesa the form of the fire. You can verify this by [cons
idering] cotton set on fire by the sun through rays [of light] reflected from a
piece of glass. For the only effect [produced] by the rays in this [process] see
ms to consist inb their preparing the air for receiving the heat through which t
he cotton is set on fire (for light is not fire, as has been shown [232]). Furth
ermore, motion is a sort of life for natural things [233]. In a certain way, it
brings the fiery parts which exist in the air in [the state of ] proximate poten
tiality to pure actuality. This is why fanning nourishes the substance of fire.
From this point of view, it is quite possible that that which somehow preserves
the form of fire, which is [located] in actuality in the concave interior of the
lunar
mover related to them [in genus] which gives them their substantial form. The on
ly reason why this mover is not one and the same as that which is moved in quidd
ity is that it is immaterial, as has been shown.
q 51
a
b
Reading, with mss. H, M, , and I. Mantino, yaqbalu instead of fa ala (effects) of
the remaining manuscripts. The Arabic text corresponding to reflected ... consis
t in is omitted in ms. H and in the translations by Horten and Van den Bergh.
Chapter Two
67
sphere, is the motion of the celestial body, as has been shown in the natural sc
iences [234]. For it has been shown there regarding these elements that they are
related to the celestial body as matter is related [to form] and, therefore, ca
nnot [actually] exist without ita, as prime matter cannot [actually exist] detac
hed from forms [235]. The existence of the celestial body, in turn, depends on t
hese [elements] in the way forms depend on matter. We have said that a thing is
produced from something else which is the same in species and quiddity. This is
more evident in things [produced] by art than in natural things, for the convale
scence which emerges in human bodies through the art of healing emerges from the
form of convalescence which is in the soul [of the physician], and similarly th
e form of the house builtb by an architect of stones and bricks necessarily come
s from the form which is in the soul of the [architect] [236]. However, since th
is form necessarily unites a plurality of acts (for in order that there be conva
lescence, it is necessary that there has been purgation, and in order that there
be purgation, a purgative must have been taken), necessarily that among them wh
ich is prior in the soul of him who practises the art is chronologically posteri
or in coming to be [237]. Therefore, one says that the first in thought is the l
ast in action, while the first in action is the last in thought [238]. With natu
ral things it seems to be the same: their most remote principle is intellectual
conceptualization. From where else could it come about that it lies in their nat
ure to be appropriate for being thought by us? For this is essential to them and
found in their nature; and that which is essential to an existent is necessaril
y established in it by some efficient cause. Yet, there is nothing whereby a sen
sible thing could become potentially intelligible, that is [whereby it adopts] i
ts nature of being a [potential] object of thought, except that its coming to be
[originates] from intellectual conceptualization, even if its being a [potentia
l] object of sensation [originates] from its sensory principles. Likea Reading,
with mss. H, , and M, an tujada dunahu. The remaining manuscripts have an yujad
a dunahu, which obviously makes no sense. uiros (transl., p. 81), Horten (p. 59
), and Van den Bergh (p. 41) read an yujada dunaha as a basis for their translat
ions, which makes the following sentence a tautology. Reading alladh yasna uhu in
stead of alladh yada uhu in ms. H and alladh yasna uha in the remaining manus
s.
q 52
j 73
a 49
b
68
Translation
q 53
wise for things [produced] by art, since the water-clocka is intelligible to him
who has not produced it solely due [to the fact] that it is something originati
ng from an intellect, namely [from] the form which was in the soul of him who pr
oduced [it]. Otherwise it would be intelligible [merely] by accident (and this [
holds] likewise [good] of nature and natural things). From this it is in general
evident that there exist separate forms which are the cause of the intelligibil
ity of sensible substances. Yet [such] substantial forms through which sensible
things become potentially intelligible are given to sensible things only by mean
s of nature and the celestial bodies, [i.e.] these forms are forms of the celest
ial bodiesb. This is exactly the meaning [of separate forms] those who taught [the
existence of ] Ideas wished to rule out [239]. But we have digressed from our t
opic proper. So, let us return to where we were. We say: If it is evident that t
hat which comes to be comes to be only from that which is one and the same in sp
ecies and quiddity, as stated above, then it is clear that the quiddity qua quid
dity is not coming to be and transient c, and the same [holds true] for matter,
for it is not brought into being by him who produces [that which comes to be] [2
41]. And if this is the case, it will be the individual [thing] combined from th
ese two that comes to be and corrupts, that is that which is different in number
from that which makes it come to be, but one and the same in form. Taking this
for granted, it is cleard that form and matter qua form and matter are neither c
oming to be nor transient, except accidentally. Form
a Reading, with mss. H and , li-l-minqana. The other manuscripts display either
undotted or foolishly dotted versions (adopted by Jiham, replaced by li-l-sina a
by Amn). Cf. ed. uiros translation, p. 82, note 1. The Arabic text corresponding
to by means ... celestial bodies is omitted in ms. H, secluded by Amn (p. 49, note
5), and ignored in the translations by Horten and Van den Bergh. From here on u
p to p. 69, l. 19 (that he gives the form to it), the text as transmitted in the m
anuscripts is heavily confused through omissions, misplaced interpolations of ma
rginal additions as well as doublets (the section in question concerns uiros, p
. 53, l. 9 p. 54, l. 10, Amn, p. 49, l. 12 p. 50, l. 3, Jiham, p. 73, l. 19 p. 74
l. 20). The reconstructed Arabic text on which the translation is based, can be
found in note [240]. Reading, with mss. H and M marg, fa-bayyinun. Ms. M has fa
-qad tabayyana, the remaining mss. fa-huwa bayyinun.
m 368r
b
c
d
Chapter Two
69
is transient and coming to be and, in general, changeable only in so far as it i
s part of that which comes to be and is transient by [its] essence, that is [of
] the individual [thing] in which matter and form qua form of a concrete thinga
(not qua form as such) come together. The same [holds good] for matter, for it i
s susceptible of change only in so far it is part of that which is changeable, t
hat is [of ] the concrete [things], but not in so far it is matter as such. Now,
if matter is in this way a cause of change [this change being] bound to forms,
then all the more so form. But matter is not intelligible in so far it is matter
[as such] [242], for a thing receives intelligibility only in so far it is in a
ctuality. On the contrary, [matter] is intelligible, as a rule, eitherb by analo
gy (this is [the case] with prime matter) [243] or in so far as it comes to have
a certain actuality [attached to it] c (this [is the case] in matters specific
to this or that existent). That matter is not produced by him who produces [that
which comes to be] is as evident as it is [in the case of ] form as suchd. For
he only produces that in which matter and form are united becausee he produces t
hat which has a form simply by changing the material in such a way that he gives
the form to it [244]. E.g., he who produces a cupboard neither produces the woo
d nor the form of cupboards [as such], but only the form of this particular cupb
oard [made] of this particular [piece of ] wood. If [the form he produces] were
form qua form and if the matter were susceptible to coming to be and corruption,
then coming to bef would be from nothing absolutely, and corruption would be in
to nothing absolutely. Let us suppose, for example, that body qua body comes to
be. [This] will necessarily entail that it comes to be from
a
a 50
j 74 q 54
j 75
b c
d e f
Bi-ma hiya suratun li-shay in musharun ilayhi ms. M, similarly min haythu hiya s
uratu shay in musharun ilayhi mss. A and D marg, omitted in the remaining manusc
ripts. Reading imma instead of innama (only) in mss. A and M, omitted in the remai
ning manuscripts. Reading, with mss. A and D marg, anna fi lan ma , instead of a
l-fi l in ms. M. The section is omitted in the remaining manuscripts. Al-suratu
l-mutlaqa mss. M, D marg, and I. Mantino; al-mutlaqa is omitted in the remaining m
anuscripts. Reading, with mss. H and M, li-annahu instead of a n annahu (I mean th
at) of the remaining manuscripts. Reading al-takawwun. Mss. D, H, and M read al-k
awn, the remaining manuscripts al-mukawwin.
70
Translation
a 51
q 55
m 368v
that which is absolutely incorporeal. Yet, coming to be and corruption [occur] o
nly in that which is combined from these two, i.e., matter and form. From this i
t becomes plain that that which makes an individual [thing] come to be is certai
nly an individual [thing], sincea that which changes the material is an individu
al [thing]. Furthermore, it is evident thatb definitions are not subject to comi
ng to be and corruption, even if the definiendum is generated and corruptible [2
45], as well as how this applies to them. Furthermore, [it is clear] that this d
oes not [entail] the necessity to teach the [existence of ] Ideas (for it is thi
s observation that moved those who taught the [existence of ] Ideas to establish
[the doctrine of ] Ideas). To explain this, the [philosophers] before Plato mai
ntained that knowledge is nothing but knowledge of sensible things. Since they t
aught that sensible things are changeable and unstable, they [thus] denied [the
possibility of ] knowledge absolutely. [This] got to the point that some ancient
s being asked about a [certain] thing [merely] pointed with the finger at it thu
s indicating that it is unstable and not remaining the same and that [all] thing
s are continuously in change and that nothing has any real nature at all [246].
In general, the doctrines emerging from this [view] were sophistical. In the tim
e of Socrates, [philosophers] maintained that there are eternal and universal in
telligibles and taught that they exist outside the soul in the same way as they
exist in the soul, yet simultaneously they maintained that these [intelligibles]
are the principles of sensible substance. It is, however, clear from what we sa
id [before] that, even if these [intelligibles] existed in the way they claim, t
hey would be of no use at all for the existence of that which comes to be, becau
se that which makes a particular [thing] come to be is certainly another particu
lar [thing] of the same species or similar [to it] in the way [explained] above.
Themistius argues in favour of Plato that forms do bring about the existence of
animals generated from putrefaction. He seems to believe that a principle of th
is kind has been acknowledged by Aristotle and
a b Reading, with mss. H, M, P, R, and I. Mantino, idh. The remaining manuscript
s have idha (if). Reading, with mss. H and I. Mantino, wa-yazharu aydan an. Ms. M
has fa-qad zahara aydan an (Furthermore, it has already become evident that). The
remaining manuscripts omit either aydan or aydan an.
Chapter Two
71
that, according to what he believed to be [Aristotles doctrine] in the Book of An

imals, the need to introduce this [kind of principle] as cause of coming to be i
s evident not only with respect to this genus of animals but also with respect t
o animals reproducing sexually [247].a This whole [part] of Aristotles However, a
ccording to Aristotdoctrine is a matter of dispute. le the proximate principle o
f these [animals] is psychic potency, while the remote [principle] consists in t
he forms of the celestial bodies. It is indeed far-fetched [to ascribe to] Arist
otle the opinion that these separate forms have a general effect on all that com
es to be without an intermediaryb, as maintained by Ibn Sna [248]. On the contrar
y, [what] he thought [was] that with respect to some natural existents one must
introduce separate forms for [a sufficient explanation of ] the coming to be of
the individual (as was his opinion on animals, especially those who reproduce as
exually), while this is not evident with respect to others, in which case this [
assumption] is not necessary as far as their coming to be is concerned [249]. Bu
t when he considers generated forms in so far as they happen to become objects o
f thought and, in general, to have a [certain] order c [250], it becomes evident
that from this point of view these [separate] forms have to be introduced with
respect to all things, as we have explained before. However, this principle is n
ot of the kind postulated by those who teach the [existence of ] Ideas. For they
maintained that the intelligible object horse and the quiddity of horse in so far
it is in matter are one and the same outside the soul.
a The following sentence is again transmitted in two versions. In the left colum
n I give a translation of the version of ms. H (wa-f hadha kullih min madhhabi Ari
stu nazar), which in all likelihood is the earlier version. The right column dis
plays the version of the remaining mss. (except M) (lakinna l-mabda a l-qarba f h
dhih inda Aristu huwa [sic leg. pro hiya] l-quwwatu l-nafsaniyyatu wa-l-ba da huwa
suwaru l-ajsami l-samawiyya). Ms. M and I. then also the earlier version. Manti
no have first the later version, Bi-ghayri wasita omitted in ms. H and in the tr
anslations by Horten and Van den Bergh. Dhata nizam in all testimonies including
I. Mantino, except H and M. Ms. H has bi-sifatin mushtaraka (to have a common ch
aracteristic) which possibly represents again an earlier version (however, the me
aning is not clear). Ms. M contaminates the variants; cf. also note 250.
a 52
j 76
q 56
b c
72
Translation
Consequently, they would have to admit that there is a neighing horse and a burn
ing fire in the [realm of ] immateriality. If this is what they mean, they err c
ompletely. And if they refer [with their doctrine] to the sense in which Aristot
le speaks of the existence of separate things (as is the view of him who sides w
ith them), they err [also] by taking scientific propositions as if they were myt
hical propositionsa employed for the instruction of the masses [251], as will be
shown later. It has become clear from this discussion that universals, even if
they exist as self-constituted [entities] outside the soul, are of no use for co
gnizance, nor for coming-to-be, since essential coming-to-be is only in that whi
chb is individual and particular. As for that which is common [252], which evide
ntly comes to be accidentally (I mean, in so far as it is in the individual [thi
ng]), the cause for its coming-to-be seems to be nature. The cause of [the fact
that] nature acts like an intellective [power] is the movements of the celestial
bodies; and the cause of [the fact that] the movements of the celestial bodies
supply this nature with this power is the separate intelligible forms. Therefore
, Aristotle blames Plato simply because he considers as an essential (i.e., prox
imate) efficient principle of the generated thing that which is [in fact] accide
ntally c an efficient principle of the generated thing. The difference between t
he two doctrines should be understood in this way, [i.e.] not [in the way] thatd
Aristotle denies here generally the [idea] that separate forms are efficient pr
inciples. Rather, [he just denies that they are] in the above-mentioned way in t
he particulars for which they are universals. For this is the sense in which uni
versals are
a Reading, with mss. D and M, al-aqawl al-lughziyya. Ms. H is hardly legible, but
looks like al-aqawl al-lughawiyya. The remaining mss. have either al-aqawl al-shi
riyya, obviously a misreading of the rare term lughziyya, or a combination of b
oth. Cf. also Long Commentary on the Metaphysics, p. 1688sq., where the identifi
cation of celestial forms (suwar falakiyya) with celestial living beings is clas
sified as myth (lughz). Reading, with mss. , T, and I. Mantino, li-l-amr instea
d of al-amr in the remaining manuscripts. Ms. H adds ay ba dan (i.e., in a remote
[way]). uiros and Amn adopt this reading which is not confirmed by any other Arab
ic manuscript nor by I. Mantino. Reading, with mss. H, M, and I. Mantino, la ann
a instead of illa anna (except that) of the remaining manuscripts (adopted by Jiha
m) Amn follows abbans emendation li-anna (because).
a 53
q 57
b c
d
Chapter Two
73
j 77
distinct from Platonic Ideasa. Accordingly, there is in [the field of ] natural
things no need to introduce separate forms in [order to explain the existence of
] whatever generated thing, with the exception of the human intellect [253]. Th
is is the true [meaning] of Aristotles doctrineb, and this has to be preferred. I
t is as we have already shown in thus clear that universal forms are [our] comme
ntary on Aristotles neither coming to be nor transient treatises on this science
[254]. except by accident. Having settled this, we have to consider whether or n
ot it is possible that universals are of such a kind, I mean whether c they can
exist as self-constituted [entities] outside the soul in the particular thingsd,
so that they deserve the name substance with respect to their sensible substances
[255]. We say: If one assumes that these universals exist outside the soul in t
he same way as they [exist] in the soul, this might be understood in two [ways].
[(A)] Either they are self-constituted and absolutely unrelated to individual s
ensible [things]. This would contradict that which is accepted as their definiti
on, since universal, as one says, is that whose nature consists in being predica
ted of many [things]. It follows, thus, from this assumption that the intelligib
le of a thing is not [the same as] the thing, which is altogether impossible. [(
B)] Or we say that a universal is something which exists outside the soul in the
individual [thing]. However, if we suppose this to be the case, it easily becom
es evident that this assumption entails objectionable absurd consequences. For i
f we take as hypothesis that a [unia The section corresponding with in the partic
ulars... up to Platonic Ideas is omitted in ms. H, I. Mantino, and in the translati
ons by Horten and Van den Bergh. The following clause is again transmitted in tw
o versions. While all manuscript except ms. M and I. Mantino contain solely the
late, revised version (printed in Jiham, p. 77, l. 2sq., Amn, p. 53, l. 12, transl
ated here in the right column), we find in ms. M and I. Mantino first the origin
al version (printed in uiros, p. 57, l. 8sq., translated in the left column) fo
llowed by the revised version. Reading, with ms. H and I. Mantino, a n hal instea
d of a n ma in ms. M and a n mithla ma in the remaining manuscripts. The Arabic te
xt corresponding to in the particular things is omitted in mss. H, M, and I. Manti
no and, thus, also in the editions by uiros and Amn as well as in the three prev
ious modern translations.
a 54
m 369r
q 58
b
c
d
74
Translation
j 78
a 55
q 59
versal] exists outside the soul in the individual [things] of which it is [the u
niversal], it must be common to these individuals in one of the [following] two
ways: [(a)] Either a part of it is in each single individual. Then there would b
e only a part of the meaning of humanity in Zayd, and another part in Amr, and, co
nsequently, humanity would not be predicable of either of the two by essential pre
dication referring to the quiddity. For that which has [only] a part of being-ma
n is not man. That this is preposterous is self-evident. [(b)] Or the universal
exists as a whole in each single individual of which it is [the universal]. Yet
this assumption is self-contradictory, for [(i)] either it necessarily entails [
the consequence] that the universal is a multiplicity in itself, with the result
that the universal which makes known the quiddity of Zayd is different from the
one which makes known the quiddity of Amr. Hence, that which is intelligible in
both cases would not be one [and the same], which is preposterous. [(ii)] Or it
is one and the same existing as a whole in a plurality of things, nay, not only
in a plurality but in an infinite [number of things] some of which are coming t
o be, while others are transient. But then it would be coming to be, transient,
one and many in one [and the same] respect, and that is absurd. It would necessa
rily follow that contraries existed simultaneously in it, since many universals
are subdivided by contrary differentiae, and thata [the universal] would exist [
simultaneously] in contrary places [256]. Moreover, if we take for granted that
the [universal] is found in many things in the way one can conceive the one as e
xisting in a multiplicity, that is as being a concrete numerical one existing in
many things (such as the form of the whole in [its] parts)b, then it will follo
w from this that man is combined from donkey, horse, and any other species which
fall under this [universal], and that all [species] would have to be connected
with one another or intermeshed or contiguous [257]. Furthermore, if we suppose
that universals exist outside the soul, there would have to exist other universa
ls for them outside the soul through which these first universals become intelli
gible, then for the second [universals] again third [universals], and so on ad i
nfinitum [258].
a Reading, with the majority of the manuscripts, wa-an. Ms. H has bi-an (through
[the fact] that, in so far as), adopted by Amn, ms. A has in or an (if, or that), I.
tino (fol. 369rb) has simply et. The parentheses is omitted in mss. H and M, hen
ce also in the three previous modern translations.
b
Chapter Two
75
We are not faced with this problem when we assume that universals exist [only] i
n the mind, for that through which the universals [become] universal is, as has
been shown in the book On the Soul [259], a separate substance and one and the s
ame [for all universals], I mean the intelligible of the intelligibles [260]. Al
so, how can the universal be a substance and something selfconstituted as they m
aintain, while it belongs to that which is in a substrate, yet without being [pr
edicated] of a substrate? This is clearly, how it has to be defined; and what is
like this is necessarily an accident [261]. Furthermore, if we take this [doctr
ine of theirs] for granted, there would be no longer any specific substance of w
hat thing soever, but rather the substances of things would be something common,
and the specific substance would be a kind of substrate of an [alleged] general
substance [262]. All these absurdities result from our assumption that these un
iversals are self-constituted [entities] outside the soul. However, if we do not
suppose that universals are of such a disposition, somebody might argue that [u
niversals] are not true [at all], but rather mere deceitful inventions, since th
e true, as it has been defined in the Book of Demonstration, is that which is fo
und in the mind in the same way as it is [found] outside the mind [263]. Many th
eologians of the recent past adopted this [alleged] aporia and transformed exact
ly these words into a refutation of the existence of universals; and from this i
t does not even follow with respect to their assertions that knowledge [as such]
becomes impossible, since they are not supporting syllogisms composed of premis
es or essential predication anyway [264]. We shall reply to them and to others o
n this [issue] in [the chapter on] the verification of the principles of the dis
cipline of logic and of the other departmental disciplines [265]. As for the dou
bt arising in this [context] with respect to the existence of universals, this c
an be solved immediately. We say: Even though the false might consist in [the fa
ct] that something is not in the same way in the mind as it is outside the mind,
as is comprehensible from the inversion of the definition of the true, this (I
mean [the statement that] something is not in the same way in the mind as it is
outside the mind) nevertheless can be conceptualized in [various] ways. [(i)] Th
e thing [in question] exists only in so far it is in the mind and has no existen
ce at all outside the mind. In this case it would clearly fall under or be inclu
ded in the definition of the false. [(ii)] The thing [in question]
a 56
j 79
m 369v
q 60
76
Translation
a 57
j 80
q 61
exists outside the mind, but the disposition in which it is taken up in the mind
is different from its [disposition] outside the mind. This can again be concept
ualized in two [different] waysa. [(a)] F irstly, the disposition it adopts in t
he mind is [a result] of the combination of the corresponding subjects outside t
he mind, but the mutual relation between the things [combined in the mind] is di
fferent from that [between the things] taken by themselves. This is also unquest
ionably a [case of ] falsehood and included in the definition of the false, such
as [in the case of ] the goat-stag or the concept of the void or other similar
things combined in the mind from things which exist outside the mind in a differ
ent mode of combination. [(b)] Secondly, there are things outside the mind which
are essentially distinct, yet inhering in one another or mixed with one another
. Then, the mind distinguishes their essences from one another, puts together wh
at is mutually similar, and discriminates it from what is distinct, until it thi
nks the natures of the things separately and in accordance with their true being
. And this is by no means false and does not fall under the definition of the fa
lse. This is how we abstract the [notion of the] point from the line, in order t
o think it [separately], although the point only exists in the line, and [how we
abstract] line from surface, and surface from body. In general, this is how we
become able to think all things existing in something else by themselves, no mat
ter whether they are accidents or forms. However, [we have to differentiate:] if
the mind abstracts a plurality of these essences and distinguishes them from on
e another, and these [essences] happen to be of such a nature that they exist pr
imarily in something else, it thinks them together with these underlying things,
as is the case with material forms (for these are objects of thought only in so
far as they are material) [266]. But if these essences pertain to that which do
es not exist primarily in something else, but rather are of such a kind that thi
s [kind of existence] belongs to their concomitants (as is the case with the lin
e), [then the mind] thinks it as essentially separate [from matter].
a
The Arabic text corresponding to in [various] ways (p. 75, l. 36) ... up to in two
[different] is omitted by homoioteleuton in ms. H and in the translations by Hort
en and Van den Bergh.
Chapter Two
77
This activity is specific to the rational faculty [of the soul] as has been show
n in the book On the Soul [267]. For the senses perceive forms only in so far as
they are individual and, in general, in so far as they are [forms] in matter an
d concrete [things], although they do not receive them in the material way in wh
ich they exist outside the soul, but rather in a more incorporeal mode as has be
en shown there [268]. The intellect, on the other hand, is capable of abstractin
g the form from the concrete material [thing] and of conceptualizing it separate
ly in accordance with its true being. That this is so, is clear, and it confirms
[the fact] that [the intellect] thinks the quiddities of things. Otherwise, the
re would be no knowledge at all. Hence, if one defines the false as that whose e
xtramental existence is different from its existence in the mind, [this definiti
on] does not include this meaning [of the universal]. Likewise, the definition o
f the true does not weaken [the doctrine that] this is how the universal exists.
For the expressions used in the two definitions belong to [the class of ] equiv
ocal terms (I mean, if we say in the definition of the false that [that which] i
s outside the mind is different from that which is in the mind, and in the defin
ition of the true that it is that which exists in the mind in the same dispositi
on as it exists outside the mind) [269]. Somebody might doubt whether the univer
sal is of this kind, saying that universals must be accidents, if we suppose the
m to be mental things, and [raising the question] how they can make known the se
lfconstituted substances of concrete things, when they are [mere] accidents, hav
ing said that that which makes known the quiddity of a substance is substance. H
owever, this doubt is easily dispelled. For when the intellect abstracts these f
orms from matter and thinks their substances according to their true being, thes
e forms, no matter whether they are substantial or accidental, adopt in that sta
te in the mind the meaning of universals. [This does] not [mean] that the univer
sal is itself the form of these essences. For that reason, universals are second
intentions, while the things of which they are accidents are first intentions (
the difference between first and second intentions has been stated in detail in
the discipline of logic [270]). All this is self-evident for those who practise
this discipline. Having shown that universals are not the substances of sensible
things, we shall now consider what their substance is. We say: That sensible th
ings, i.e. individual substances, are combined from more
a 58
j 81
m 370r
q 62
a 59
78
Translation
j 82
q 63
a 60
m 370v
j 83 q 64
than one thing becomes evident from [the fact] that the method of inquiry we use
for them is that of [asking] why. This method of inquiry is not used for that whi
ch is simple, for one would not ask why the man is man, since the meaning of the
subject is the same as that of the predicate [271]. The question why is appropria
te only with respect to combined [things], as when we say why is the man a physic
ian? to which one might reply because he is a rational being. In that case the answ
er states the form of the thing, in others it might state its matter, as when we
say why is this endowed with sensation? and answer because it is composed of flesh
and bones. In general, each of the four [kinds of ] causes can be stated in answ
ers to [the question] why is...?. Now, if this is the case, it is completely evide
nt that individual substances are composed and that there is potentially a certa
in multiplicity in them, even though they are one in actuality. This [is so] bec
ause they are not one by connection or contiguity as is the case with many thing
s [produced] by art, but rather [inasmuch as] it is impossible that the elements
of a thing exist in that very thing in actuality. Otherwise, that which is comp
osed of elements would be the same as the elements themselves, e.g. if vinegar a
nd honey were in actuality in oxymel, which is composed of them, oxymel would be
nothing else than vinegar and honey. Likewise, water, fire, air, and earth do n
ot exist by themselves [in actuality] in flesh and bones. Otherwise, flesh and b
ones would be [nothing else than] water, fire, earth, and air [272]. From this i
t becomes clear that in that which comes to be there is something else, apart fr
om [its] elements, through which it is what it is. Otherwise, it would be exactl
y the same as that of which it is composed. Or else, we [would have to] say that
there is flesh and bones in actuality in fire, air, and water, but then, in gen
eral, [we would have to assume] an infinite number of things [273], which would
lead us to the [so-called] doctrine of mixture [274]. Moreover, if what is compo
sed is distinct from [its] elements by virtue of something additional, this must
be either [itself ] an element or [composed] of elements. Yet, if it is an elem
ent, the same thing will again follow, I mean that which is composed of this [el
ement] and of the elements which are prior to it will again [have to] be distinc
t from this [and the other elements] by [another] element, and so on ad infinitu
m, with the consequence that there will exist in one thing in actuality an infin
ite number of elements. And if [that which is additional] is itself [composed] o
f elements, there must
Chapter Two
79
again bea something [else] by which it is distinct from the elements of which it
is composed. If this is also [composed] of elements, this goes on ad infinitum.
It is, thus, plain from this discussion that in that which is composed there is
a substance which is different from the substrate, and this is called form. As ha
s been shown in the discipline of logic, definitions are always composed of genu
s and differentia. [Furthermore,] it has become clear from the preceding [sectio
n] that [genus and differentia] qua universals have no extramental existence, an
d [that] they are by no means causes of the definienda. Hence, it is clear that
the genus is nothing else than that which represents [in the definition] the gen
eral form of the definiendum which exists as its matter [275], since this, I mea
n to be common, is the nature of matter. It is, in general, something that is ac
cidental to the general form of a thing, just as the universal is accidental to
the intelligible of a thing. Likewise, it becomes clear by analogy that the diff
erentia is concomitant to the intelligible of somethings specific form in so far
this [form] is in the mind, and that it is, in general, that which represents th
e form just as the genus represents the matter [276]. From this it becomes clear
[how] definition is related to the definiendum; and a number of possible doubts
about [definition] can be solved. Many ancient [philosophers], for example, rai
sed such a doubt concerning [definition] by asking how is it [possible] that livi
ng being, which we use, to give an example, in the definition of man, is more ge
neral than man, even though it is part of [man]? [277]. A similar doubt concerns
[the question] how it is possible to predicate the genusb in a quidditative mode
of the species [278]. All these [difficulties] arose for them only because they
did not differentiate between the two modes of existence, I mean existence in t
he mind and extramental existence. In other words, their doubts arose as it happ
ens when one carelessly speaks about things [only] in one way, [not realizing] t
here are many.
a b Reading, with mss. H, M, and I. Mantino, fa-huna instead of fa-f hadha of the
remaining mss. All Arabic manuscripts read yuhmala l-juz (to predicate the part)
which, as far as I see, makes absolutely no sense. I therefore follow the alia l
ectio noted in the margin of I. Mantino (fol. 370 va ult.) which translates the
reading yuhmala l-jins; cf. note 278.
a 61
q 65
j 84
80
Translation
a 62
q 66 m 371r
If this is the case and it is plain how genus and differentia relate to the part
s of the definiendum, it is clear that the parts of the concrete substance are n
othing else than sensible matter and sensible forma, which we originally wanted
to show. We thus shall consider [the question] what forms of sensible things as
such are (I mean the differentiae of first matter), and what their matters are,
since it has already become clear that [sensible thing] as a total is definable
[279], and that definitions are composed of genus and differentia representing f
orm and matter [of the definiendum]b. We say: Matter is that which is in potenti
ality that which will be in actuality ... {and} the definition c, form is actual
ity and quiddity, and the concrete sensible is composed of these two. As for mat
ter, there is general consensus among the ancients. In addition, it is immediate
ly evident from what has been said in the natural sciences that in all four [typ
es of ] change (which are coming-to-be and corruption, growth and diminution, lo
comotion, and alteration) there [must] be a substrate in which the change occurs
, for in so far as change is an accident, it is plain that it is among the thing
s that need a substrate [280]. Therefore, we do not encounter change in what is
not subject to change. However, [we have to differentiate:] things which are sub
ject to substantial change are necessarily subject to the remaining [types of ]
change, while those which are subject to the remaining [types of ] change are no
t necessarily subject to change in substance, as has been shown, for example, in
the natural sciences with respect to locomotion in the case of celestial bodies
[281]. But as stated above, there is general consensus
a Wa-l-surati l-mahsusa, omitted in uiros and Amn. At this point ms. M adds: Th
ame holds good of accidents as far as it is their nature to be definable and to
have a sensible form; cf. uiros, p. 65, l. 68. The addition seems to be out of pl
ace and is not supported by any other manuscript, nor by the Metaphysics itself
or by Ibn Rushds Long Commentary on the Metaphysics. Ms. M and I. Mantino add: no
matter whether they are substances or accidents; cf. uiros, p. 65, l. 12sq. In t
he manuscripts we read amma l-maddatu fa-hiya l-shay u lladh huwa bi-l-quwwati lshay u lladh sa-yakunu bi-l-fi li wa-l-hadd (+ wa-l-sura ms. M and I. Mantino). A
fter bi-l-fi li (in actuality) a phrase like al-mushara ilayhi lladh yadullu alayhi
(the concrete thing which is signified by) must have dropped out. The wa- (and) bef
ore al-hadd has been added by a copyist in order to compensate this omission; cf
. also Long Commentary on the Metaphysics, p. 1028, l. 1016.
b c
Chapter Two
81
about the fact that matter is substance, while there is a controversy about its
quiddity, I mean prime matter. This issue has already been clarified in the natu
ral sciences [282], and in what follows we will [also] clarify the differentiae
of [matter]. As for form which is actuality, this is what we will have to discus
s first and [of which] we will state the general differentiae by which it is div
ided qua form. We say: Aristotle reports that one of the ancients, namely Democr
itus, reduced the differentiae of things to no more than three genera: firstly s
hape, secondly position, and thirdly order [283]. Apart from [the fact] that thi
s doctrine is not exhaustive with respect to the forms of the sensible things, I
mean those which are employed in their definitions, it leaves out of considerat
ion what is most appropriate to be called differentia, namely the substantial diff
erentiae whose order has been explained in the natural sciences [284]. In any ca
se, it is generally evident that there are many substantial differentiae of thin
gs, and that there are those which are found in the substance and others which a
re found in quantity or in quality, and so, in general, in each of the ten categ
ories. For often it happens that the natural differentiae of substances are not
visible, and then the specific accidents replace them [in our apprehension] as d
ifferentiae, as [in the case of ] shape, position, and order and other such acci
dents. Hence, [even] if one understands this [latter] meaning [of differentia] as
[the one] referred to by Democritus when determining the differentiae of substan
ces as those three [genera], he is not beyond reproach, since we can see many su
bstances whose differentiae are [constituted] by other than these [three acciden
tal] things, such as substances whose differentiae are [constituted] by heat or
cold or other such accidents. Also [many] differentiae of things [produced] by a
rt are accidentsa. Now, since things are composed of form and matter, the most c
orrect definitions are those which connect these two. For he who defines house a
s being bricks and wood, states [what is] house only in potentiality, and likewi
se he who defines it as that which provides shelter and protection for that whic
h is in it, or [as that] which has such and such a shape, states no more than it
s form, yet this not with respect to its true being in which [the form actually]
exists (for it has no existence
a 63 j 85
q 67
a 64
j 86
a
The last sentence is omitted by homoioteleuton in ms. H and not taken into accou
nt by Horten and Van den Bergh.
82
Translation
m 371v q 68
a 65
j 87
except in matter). In short, he states only one part of the definition of house,
not all its constitutive parts. On the other hand, he who connects these two th
ings in the definition stating that [house] is bricks and stones combined in a s
uch and such a way anda arranged for such and such [a purpose], states all thing
s, those which constitute [house] as protecting [facility] as well as the way in
which it is constituted [285]. However, somebody might express doubt about this
saying assuming we take this for granted as far as it concerns definitions of th
ings whose matter is sensible, then what about things in the definition of which
there occurs no sensible matter, such as the definitions of triangle or circle?
[286]. This difficulty can be solved by [considering] that although these things
do not have sensible matter (this is why we said that they are not taken into c
onsideration in so far they are in matter), there is nevertheless something in t
hem which is related to them as sensible matter is related to natural form. E.g.
, we say that circle is a figure encompassed by a single line with a point in it
s interior [such that] all lines drawn from this [point] to the encompassing lin
e have equal [length]. In this definition, what we refer to by figure and by encomp
assed by a single line functions as genus, and the remaining [part of the] propos
ition functions as differentia. These [merely] imagined matters are related to s
ensible matters in such a way that the former exist potentially in the circle wh
ich is how sensible matters of things exist in sensible things. We will clarify
this below when we explain in which way the parts of definition exist in the def
iniendum and how the definiendum is one, while definition includes various parts
[287]. If all this is the case and it is clear that sensible substance is three
fold, matter, form, and the union of both, one might raise the following questio
n: if sensible substances are composed of matter and form, which of the [followi
ng] two is signified by the name, is it the form or the union of these twob ? Ob
viously, the most wide-spread meaning of
a b Reading, with ms. M and I. Mantino, wa- instead of aw (or) of the remaining ma
nuscripts. The translation follows ms. H reading hal ala l-surati awi l-mujtama
i minhuma. All other testimonies (including I. Mantino) read instead of is it the
form is it the form or the matter (or vice versa), which can be ruled out for three
reasons: 1. the preceding clause introduces a twofold alternative, not a threef
old. 2. This twofold alternative corresponds exactly with Metaph. VIII
Chapter Two
83
the name refers only to the union of both, even though it is sometimes predicate
d of the form, sometimes of the union of both. However, the latter is predicated
only secundum prius et posterius, since that which is combined has no existence
qua combined [entity] except through form, and it is [form] to what the name go
es most appropriately. Hence, if we compare these two [modes of ] signification,
[we see that] the one which [refers] to that which is combined is prior in time
and posterior in being, while that which [refers] to form is posterior in time
and prior in being. At the same time [we have to admit that] it is not the task
of the masses to apply such a distinction to the individual substancesa. We must
not fail to notice that these things have two [modes of ] existence, as stated
frequently, [namely] a sensible existence and an intelligible existence, and tha
t intelligible existence is sensible existence in so far [the sensible] is known
to us and [in so far] we grasp its quiddity. In this sense we say that the inte
lligible of a thing is the thing [itself ]. On the other hand, it is absurd [to
maintain] that the intelligible existence is [identical with] the sensible exist
ence in such a way that the sensible [thing] is composed of or essentially produ
ced by intelligible [things], as in the view of those who teach the [existence o
f ] Ideas, or that it is identical with it in any respect whatsoever. For if we
assume that the intelligible of a thing is identical with it in any respect, the
intelligible form of that which is composed will be the composed thing itself,
hence man will be [identical with] soul [288]. And if we assume that sensible su
bstances are composed of intelligible substances, this entails likewise [an absu
rd consequence, namely] that sensible things are not subject to coming-to-be and
corruption, for this, as has been shown earlier, is a characteristic [not of se
nsible things, but] of form as such and matter as such (I mean being free of com
ing-to-be and
(H) 3, 1043 a 29sq.:
support by any other testimony): because they know only that which is combined a
nd equate it with the name. The signification which [refers] to that which is co
mbined is prior in time to the one which [refers] by this name to form because f
orm is what is known last, while form is prior to that which is combined in bein
g.; cf. uiros, p. 68, l. 2023, Amn, p. 65, l. 1214 (where the ms. reads fa-awfaqu
nstead of fa-awqa u, as printed there).
q 69
a 66
84
Translation
j 88
q 70
m 372r
a 67
corruption) [289]. Therefore, the changeable elements of substances [290] are by
necessity changeable in an accidental way, not essentially, e.g. the natural fo
rms are subject to coming-to-be and corruption not essentially, but rather in so
far they form part of that which is essentially subject to coming-to-be and cor
ruption, which is the individual, as shown above. As for [the question] whether
some of the natural forms are separable, this has been clarified in the natural
sciences [291]. Having stated that definition is a statement [composed] of parts
, it is evident that only composite [things] can be defined, and that form and m
atter and, in general, simple things cannot be defined except by something simil
ar [to a definition] [292]. Furthermore, [it is evident] that they erred who mai
ntained that definitions of separate forms are identical with definitions of thi
ngs in matter, as well as those who maintained that the substances of things are
numbers, since they would have to admit that numbers are not [mere] assemblages
of monads, when they are definitions of thingsa and definition is [composed] of
a plurality of parts which are not monadsb [293]. Or else, we [would have to] s
ay that sensible things are simple units, but then there would be no definition
[of sensible things] at all. It is, however, evident that number must be in matt
er and that it has unity only due to form, and multiplicity due to matter, as sh
all be clarified below. To sum up, it has become evident that it is the nature o
f individual sensible [things] to be composed, as they have two clearly distinct
modes of existence, namely sensible existence and intelligible existence. For i
t is impossible that they have these two [dispositions] from one and the same as
pect [of theirs], but rather form is the cause of the things being intelligible a
nd matter [the cause] of its being sensible. Now that it is clear how many prima
ry kinds of sensible forms there are, we should begin with [the inquiry into] th
e differentiae and kinds of material substance [294]. We say: There are four kin
ds of change: change in substance, in quantity, [in] quality, and [in] place c.
That
a
b c
Reading idha kanat [scil. al-a dad] li-l-ashya i hududan instead of idh kana li
l-ashya i hududun (since there are definitionsof things) which contributes in no wa
y to the present argument of Ibn Rushd; cf. note 293. The phrase which are not mo
nads is omitted in ms. H and in the translations by Horten and Van den Bergh. Lit
erally in the where (f ... al-ayn), here and in the following translated by in place.
Chapter Two
85
which is subject to change in place it not necessarily subject to change in subs
tance, quantity, or quality. It is, thus, clear that the [material] substrate of
change in substance can be different from that of the remaining [kinds of ] cha
nge, and especially from [that of ] change in place [295]. Therefore, we obvious
ly speak of matter with respect to celestial bodies and bodies subject to coming
-to-be and corruption in an equivocal way. If this is the case, two kinds of mat
ter [have to be kept apart]: one kind which is the substrate of change in substa
nce (this is what is called matter properly), and one kind which is the substrate
of all other [kinds of ] change (this is what is most properly called substrate).
However, the celestial bodies, as a special casea, must have simple matters diff
erent from that which is combined of matter and form, for the only [kind of ] ch
ange found in them is [change] in place [296]. Change in substance, on the other
hand, requires that the thing is composed of matter and material formb. As for
change qua change, it has been shown in the general statements of natural scienc
e [297] that it can occur only in that which is divisible. A thing is divisible
only in so far it has matter, not in so far it has form c, since form is divisib
le only accidentally. Some things changeable in substance have one common matter
, as is the case with simple bodies which have prime matter in common. What char
acterizes this kind [of changeable things] is [the fact] that each of them has t
he potency to be changed in a reciprocal way into its mutual opposite (e.g. air
has the potency to be changed into water just as water has the potency of being
changed into air). Other things changeable [in substance] have different matters
, such as phlegm the matter of which is fat, or yellow bile the matters of which
are bitter substancesd [298]. What
a Anfusiha (lit. themselves, by their individuality), omitted in ms. H and I. Mantin
o, seems to emphasize the exceptional case of matter qua principle of the potenc
y of locomotion in the celestial bodies. Cf. also below, p. 93sq. The last sente
nce is omitted in ms. H and in the translations by Horten and Van den Bergh. The
translation follows the wording of mss. H, M marg and I. Mantino. The remaining
manuscripts read min haythu huwa jismun la min haythu huwa murakkabun min surat
in wa-madda (in so far it is body, not in so far it is and matter). composed of fo
rm Reading, with mss. H, M, and I. Mantino al-ashya u l-murra instead of al-ashy
a u l-hulwa (sweet substances) as transmitted in the remaining manu
j 89
q 71
a 68
b c
d
86
Translation
q 72
j 90
m 372v a 69
characterizes this kind [of changeable things] is [the fact] that not each of th
em is said to be in a reciprocal way potentially its mutual oppositea. Fat, for
example, is potentially phlegm, but phlegm is not potentially fat in such a way
that it might be changed into the matter of fat. Similarly, the living is potent
ially dead, but the dead is not potentially living in such a way that it might b
e changed into the matter of life [299]. Therefore, not anything comes to be fro
m anything at random, but rather [something comes to be] from the specific contr
ary which has the appropriate matter. As a consequence, things are distinct from
one another not only by form but also by matter, and not only by these two but
also by the efficient and final causes. From this it becomes absolutely plain th
at the four [types of ] causes have to stand in the focus of the investigation o
f all natural things, and that this [investigation] must not be restricted to th
e remote causes but has to state the proximate cause, too [300]. That should be
enough with respect to the principles and differentiae of sensible bodies [301].
As for [the difficulty] how [it is possible that] definitions have many parts w
hile the definiendum is one, this becomes plain, if [we take into account] that
the concrete [thing] is not composed of matter and form in such a way that eithe
r of these is in actuality in it (as is the case with things composed by art), b
ut rather [in such a way that] matter exists in the composite in potentiality an
d form in actuality [302]. To say of [matter] that it is in potentiality in the
individual doesnt mean the same as saying of it that is has potency with respect
to such and such a form. But rather saying of [matter] that it is in potentialit
y in the individual means that form will be detached from it when this individua
l perishes, and [that] it is then actually distinct from the form after having b
een [distinct from it] potentiallyb.
scripts. The replacement of al-murra by al-hulwa is probably caused by the omiss
ion of al-hulwa in the preceding example (cf. Metaph. 1044 a 18sq. [
n of a marginal addition. Reading, with I. Mantino, muqabiluhu (thus also uiros
, p. 71, l. 21) instead of muqabilatun as transmitted in all Arabic manuscripts
(adopted by Amn and Jiham). The phrase after ... in potentiality is omitted in ms
and in the translations by Horten and Van den Bergh.
a
b
Chapter Two
87
Since genus is like matter, it also potentially exists in the definiendum [303].
Accordingly, there is no being-a-living-being [existing] separately in actualit
y but only being-a-living-being of such and such a kind, that is together with a
differentia. The more remote genera are from the sensible forms, the more appro
priate [it] is [to predicate of them] this [mode of ] existence, I mean that the
y are in potentiality [304], such as body [conceived as genus] of the individual
concrete man. Hence, the only [genus] which has to be made explicit in definiti
on is the proximate genus, since all [other] genera of a thing (providing it has
a plurality of genera) are potentially included in this [305]. On the other han
d, when we state in a definition a remote genus (omitting the proximate [genus])
, the proximate one is not included in it. Definitions of this type are, therefo
re, incomplete definitions. The [kind of ] existence which is apprehensible thro
ugh the genera is intermediate between form in actuality and formless prime matt
er [306] and has, as stated, different levels in this respect. This is so becaus
e genera are nothing else than that which makes composed matters apprehensiblea,
[both] in so far as they are actually [in them] as well as in so far as they ar
e potentially [in them]. Therefore [307], there are definitions of genera as wel
l as of [their] last species [308], e.g. man [is defined as] that which is compo
sed of rationality and living being, living being [as] that which is composed of
sensible and nutritive [faculties], and so on, until one reaches finally the la
st genus which is the genus of things closest to prime matter (this is why there
is no definition for this kind of genus as there is none for the last form, unl
ess by imitating [a definition proper] [309]). It is clear that in those cases w
here such genera are predicated univocally, the meaning which is made known by t
he genus is more completely instantiated in that which [belongs] to this genus t
han [in cases] where it is made known by genera predicated with respect to one t
hing [310], such as being or thing. Therefore, the latter can hardly be [classif
ied as] genera, unless we use this term equivocally. The matters
q 73
a 70
j 91
a
Reading, with mss. D and M, mufahhimat al-mawadd al-murakkaba instead of mubhima
t al-mawadd al-murakkaba (that which makes composed matters obscure) as transmitte
d in most manuscripts. Ms. H and I. Mantino read muhakat al-mawadd al-murakkaba
(that which represents composed matters [in thought]).
88
Translation
q 74
a 71
m 373r
made knowna by genera are either sensible, such as the matters of natural things
(these are most properly called matters), or imaginable [and] intelligible, such
as the matters of mathematical objects [311]. For, even though there appear no s
ensible matters in their definitions, there is something in these [mathematical
objects] that resembles matter, as [in the case of ] the circle the genus of whi
ch is figure encompassed by a single line, and it is this what makes definitions o
f mathematical objects possible. From this it is [also] evident that mathematica
l [objects] are not separate [entities], for if triangles were separate, [their]
figure would be separate previously, and if the figure, then also the line, and
if the line, then also the point (but this will be shown later). As for [the qu
estion] whether there are things lacking both sensible as well as intelligible m
atters, such [things] cannot be composed [of matter and form] and, thus, are wit
hout any definition. They have no potential existence, but rather are pure actua
lity, and the cause of their unity is not distinct from their essence; in short,
their quiddity is identical with [their] being [312]. Through this [considerati
on] it becomes evident that they who taught the [existence of ] Ideas erred, for
they equated Ideas and sensible [things] with respect to quiddity and definitio
n. As for [the question] which parts of the definiendum are prior to it by defin
ition and quiddity and which are posterior to it or to be more precise: which pa
rts of the definiendum are those the definitions of which are included in its [o
wn] definition [313], these are the formal parts, I mean the general form which
is the genus, and the specific [form] which is the differentia. For the definiti
ons of these things are necessarily required for the constitution of the definie
ndum, e.g. [considering] the definition of man as rational living being, we find
that the definitions of living being and rational (being the [constitutive] par
ts of man) are prior to [man] (providing there is a definition of the differenti
a [314]); and similarly the figure which is a [constitutive] part of the circle
must be prior to it. On the other hand, that which is part of a thing in so far
as the individual has quantity due to its materiality, this is posterior in defi
nition to the definiendum, e.g. the definition of the segment of a circle, which
is posterior to the definition of circle, or
a Tufahhimuha in all mss. except H, M, and I. Mantino, which have tuhakha (repres
nted).
j 92
a 72 q 75
Chapter Two
89
similarly the definition of the acute angle being posterior to the definition of
the right [angle], or the definition of the human hand or foot being posterior
to the definition of man [315]. From this it becomes evident that they err who m
aintain that sensible bodies are [composed] of indivisible parts, no matter whet
her these are supposed to be finite or infinite [316]. Definitions of accidental
matters seem to have the same relation to the material thing [itself ] as defin
itions of [its] quantitative parts. Copper, wood, and stone, for example, may be
[accidental] matters of the triangle or the circle and, in general, [quantitati
ve] parts of them, yet [their definitions] are not definitions prior to triangle
[317]. The definitions of the essential matters, on the other hand, are necessa
rily prior to the definiendum [318]. Having explained how [it is possible that]
the definiendum is one, while the parts of the definition are many, and [having
explained] the definitions of which parts of the definiendum are prior to it and
which not, it becomes clear that those who taught an extramental existence of t
hese universals could not find a solution for this difficulty. For they had to a
ssume that man [as defined] is combined of many (and even contrary) things and,
accordingly, have not been able to distinguish and explain why certain parts of
the definition are prior to the definiendum, others posterior [319]. [Furthermor
e] its becomes clear what the ancients frequently sought [in vain] asking what is
the cause of the connection of body and soul, and, more generally, of matter an
d form?. As a matter of fact, there are no such causes besides the union of the p
otentiality and the actuality [of matter and form] and the efficient or moving c
ause through which the potentiality becomes actuality. For this reason, there is
neither such composition [as sought by them] in anything which has no matter, n
or any moving [cause] [320]. We still have to consider the question we promised
to investigate [earlier] [321], that is to examine which is the most general gen
us of substances, the usual answer to which is body or the corporeal. We say: So
me [philosophers] made the three dimensions the first thing instilled in formles
s prime matter and the principles of a thing whereby matter receives forma. Furt
hermore, they maintained that the term body siga
j 93 a 73
q 76
m 373v
All manuscripts read wa-annaha [scil. al-ab ada l-thalatha] uwalu shay in yutasa
wwaru biha l-hayula. This has been changed into wa-annaha awwalu
90
Translation
a 74
j 94
q 77
nifies most properly this meaning [of informed matter], since substance signifies
this only qua [abstract] root morpheme [322] because substances are [that which
is] not in a substrate. This is what Porphyry taught, who claimed that this is t
he doctrine of previous philosophers such as Platoa and others, except that thes
e [philosophers] disagreed inasmuch as some conceived the prime matter as such a
s formless, while others such as the adherents of the Stoa conceived it as infor
med by the dimensions [323]. Other [philosophers] maintained that the three dime
nsions are sequels of a simple form which exists in prime matter, and that it is
due to this form that body receives [the properties of ] divisibility and conti
nuity. They [also] claimed that this [form] is one [and the same] and common for
all sensible things just as is the case with prime matter. This position is hel
d by Ibn Sna [324]. This meaning is most appropriately signified by the term corpo
real, since [the latter] is a paronym, and paronyms most appropriately signify ac
cidents. We say now: As for the adherents of the first doctrine, i.e. those who
held that dimensions are principles of a thing through which matter is constitut
ed, they necessarily have to suppose that dimensionsb are substances, since they
are principles through which prime matter is constituted, and that they [are th
at which] makes known c the quiddity of the individual substance. But it is evid
ent that dimensions in so far they are dimensions are far from making known the
quiddity of any individual substance whatsoever. This is so because individual s
ubstances, as shown in the natural sciences, are of [the following] two types [3
25]: either they have simple forms (these are the forms of the four elements), o
r they are composed and have composed forms. The latter are again [subdivided in
to] two kinds: either they are composed of [what pertains to] the genus of simpl
e [elements] [326], such as the forms of homeomeric bodies, or they have souls [
as their forms].
shay in tatasawwaru bihi l-hayula by Amn (p. 73, l. 9) as well as in the three pr
evious modern translations. However, the reading biha (and, consequently, the vo
calization uwalu shay in) is confirmed twice, and this likewise unanimously in a
ll manuscripts, a few lines below. Reading, with ms. and I. Mantino, ka-Aflatu
n instead of Aflatun of the remaining manuscripts. The Arabic text corresponding
to are principles ... that dimensions is omitted by homoioteleuton in ms. H and i
gnored in Van den Berghs translation. Reading, with ms. M and I. Mantino, tu arri
fa instead of Y- -R-F in the remaining mss. (adopted by Jiham) and na rifa edited
by Amn.
a b c
Chapter Two
91
Evidently, dimensions are posterior in predication to any of these kinds [of sub
stances]; rather these [substances] are employed in the definition of the dimens
ions in the way substrates are employed in definitions of accidents (as is clear
to anybody who has studied the discipline of logic). But it is impossible to im
agine dimensions being the first thing to be instilled in prime matter and as be
ing, at the same time, accidents in actualitya. For accidents are in need of a s
ubstrate in another way than forms, since accidents need a substrate in actualit
y which has a form, whereas forms are not in need of a substrate inasmuch as the
y areb actuality. In this respect [we say that] the individual concrete [thing]
is constituted by the form, but not by the accident. In short, the difference be
tween the relation of form and substrate and the relation of accident [and subst
rate] is self-evident to anybody who has studied these issues. However, [we have
to differentiate:] the dimensions which are instilled first in matter c are num
erically one and common to all bodies. They are dimensions in potentiality becau
se they are not determined by any limits before form is established in them. As
soon as form is established in them, they become actually determined according t
o the quantity specific to this form (for forms which are [subject to] comingtobe and corruption have quantities determined by prime matter). These [potential]
dimensions, now, are that which does not exist separated from prime matter and
is subject to more and less only in connection with coming-to-be and corruption.
The ancients agreed that these three dimensions existing in prime matter in thi
s way, are dimensions instilled primarily in matter and that form is instilled i
n it only by means of these dimensions. But [conceived] in this way, these dimen
sions cannot be substances, for if they were substance, they would be [still] su
bstance once turned into actuality by receiving their [actual] limits, instead o
f [being] quantity, which is absurd. In generald, those who maintained that prim
e matter as such is informed and that the dimensions are its form have been prov
ed wrong in
a In actuality (bi-l-fi l) is omitted in mss. H and M and in the editions by uiro
s and Amn, but attested by all other manuscripts (including I. Mantino). Hiya in
all manuscripts except ms. M which reads huwa (it is) adopted by uiros and Amn. Or
which are instilled in prime matter according to mss. M and . The entire precedi
ng section, from However... up to In general, is omita 75
j 95
q 78
m 374r
b c d
92
Translation
a 76
q 79
j 96
the natural sciences [327]. For if things were as they claim, corporeality would
be an individual unit resistant to [change through] the forms of that which com
es to be. Their mistake was to assume that corporeality is generically stable, t
hat is, to think that it is imperishable or stable on the condition that it is a
n accident and to think that it is stable on the condition that it is forma. Acc
ording to this view, it is necessary [to assume] that prime matter is informed n
ot only through the dimensions but rather through a multiplicity of accidents wh
ich are inseparable from prime matter and common to [all] simple bodies. As for
the adherents of the second doctrine, if they mean that there is a simple form i
n actuality other than the forms of the simple bodies, namely gravity, lightness
, and, in general, natural impetus, as it appears from Ibn Snas words, and that th
e composite of this form and prime matter is the substance which has corporealit
y, that is to say the three dimensions, as an accident, and [that] this is what
is signified by the term body, or [rather] corporeality (since a paronymous term, as
said before, is most appropriate to signify this [accidentality] as far as it i
s conceived in this way), then, upon my life, this is a preposterous view, for i
t would necessarily entail that coming-to-be of the elements is [a process of ]
alteration [328]. But if they mean with this conception the nature of the natura
l impetus established in prime matter, which is like a genus of the forms of the
elements, then it is a true doctrine, indeed. In this way, we say that body or
corporeality is the most general genus found in individual substances, and in th
is respect it exists in combined [things] in the mode in which genera exist in s
peciesb, I mean by an existence intermediate between potentiality and actuality
[329].
ted in ms. H and in the translations by Horten and Van den Bergh; cf. p. 93, foo
tnote c. The phrase or stable ... is form is omitted in ms. H and in the translati
ons by Horten and Van den Bergh. After species ms. H adds (without support in any
other manuscript): because we use body in lieu of that which is united of matter an
d general form, which is related to form as living being is related to the form
of the species subsumed under it, in so far that which is united [of matter and
general form] has dimensions as an accident, ed. uiros, p. 79, l. 710, Amn, p. 76,
l. 14sq. Interrupting the flux and syntax of the sentence, this clause is presu
mably an interpolated marginal gloss.
a b
Chapter Two
93
As for corporeality, [being that] which is shared by simple bodies, this is nota
form of the natural impetus in so far as dimensions are accidents of these [sim
ple bodies], but rather the dimensions, which are common to [all] simple bodies,
are numerically one inasmuch as we say that they exist in matter primarily thro
ugh the [natural impetus]b. They are neither genus nor employed in a definition
signifying the general form [330]. This is why the concept of body representing
matter is different from the concept of body representing general form (the diff
erence between genus and matter has been explained elsewhere [331]). The particu
lar matter of the celestial bodies has the specific property that no material di
mensions are instilled in it (I mean [dimensions such as] those which are common
[to simple bodies] and transferred from potentiality to actuality when forms ar
e instilled in them), since they are eternal c. Hence, it is completely evident
that it is in some equivocal way that we predicate the term body or corporeal of the
celestial body and of bodies with a rectilinear motion, since the nature of nat
ural impetus is very much different in these. For the natural impetus found in t
he simple [elements] consists in their contrary forms being found in prime matter
d by means of the existence of from where they receive the accommon dimensions (
this is why cident of corporeality. The meana The negation is omitted in ms. H a
nd in the translations by Horten and Van den Bergh (which is why Van den Bergh,
p. 203, note 662, blames Ibn Rushd for inconsistency). Bih (scil. bi-l-mayl), omi
tted in ms. M and in I. Mantino, secluded by uiros. The Arabic text correspondi
ng to the preceding eleven lines (but rather ... are eternal) is omitted in ms. H
and in the translations by Horten and Van den Bergh. The lacuna has almost exact
ly the same length as the omission mentioned above, p. 91, footnote d, and occur
s roughly one page after the latter. It is therefore not implausible to assume p
hysical damage of the antigraphon of ms. H as potential cause of these omissions
. The following lines are again transmitted in two versions. In the left column
I give a translation of the version of ms. H (min haythu arada laha l-tajassumu
wa-ma na l-mayli f l-jirmi l-samawiyyi ibaratan ani l-jawhari l-mawdu i bi
bi-suratih li-l-harakati lahu wa-huwa lladh qla fhi innahu laysa lahu diddun wa-lidhalika kana bastan la murakkaban), which in all likelihood is earlier version. T
e right column displays the version of the remaining mss. the printed, with mino
r variants, in uiros, p. 80, l. 38, and Jiham, p. 96, l. 2024.
a 77
q 80
b c
d
94
Translation
j 97
a 78 m 374v
their forms are divisiblea through the division of matter [332]). The meaning of
natural impetus in celestial bodies, on the other hand, consists in that there
are non-contrary forms in a matter which is indivisible with respect to dimensio
ns and, by its nature, not detached from form, and this not even in potentiality
, while these [forms] do not subsist in matter in such a way that they would be
divisible through its divisibility, as has been shown in the natural sciences. I
f all this is the case, it is clear that body considered by the mathematicians i
s different from physical body. For mathematicians consider dimensions only as a
bstracted from matterb, whereas the physicist considers only the body which is c
omposed of matter and form, [that is] in so far as dimensions are its accident.
Or else, [he considers] the dimensions [themselves] in so far they are in such a
body inasmuch as it can be the task of two sciences to consider something that
is common to both (as explained in the Book of Demonstration [333]). ing of natu
ral impetus in celestial bodies, on the other hand, is equivalent to the substan
ce which, in actuality and by its form, is the substrate of the movement of [the
celestial body]. This [kind of natural impetus] is said to be without a contrar
y and, therefore, simple and uncombined, With this the inquiries of the present
chapter come to an end. They cover the contents of [Books] VI and VII of the [me
taphysical] books attributed to Aristotle [334].
a b
Munqasima in mss. M, P and I. Mantino, the remaining mss. have ghayra munqasima
(indivisible). Mss. A and P add ala annaha munqasima (yet divisible), which has been
adopted by Amn and Jiham.
95
CHAPTER THREE
Having dealt with the species of sensible being and their principles through whi
ch they are sensible [being], and having determined how these are related to one
another with respect to existence, we have to proceed by treating the things wh
ich are like concomitants with respect to them. Although we make the considerati
on of the one and its species part of the present section, we do not neglect tha
t it belongs [also] to the previous sectiona, since one is employed in this discip
line coextensively with being. However, given that one is the opposite of many, wh
ich itself likewise has concomitants, it falls also in a certain way in this par
tb [of metaphysics]. Therefore, we decided to inquire into the one together with
its concomitants in the present section. Aristotle did the same, I mean he devo
ted a separate book to the inquiry into [the one] and its concomitants, namely t
he ninth book [of the Metaphysics] [335]. However, we shall begin with a discour
se on potency and actuality and with the determination of what potency really is
[336]. We say: Potency is predicated of many things as specified above [337]. How
ever, we have to leave out of consideration [here] that of which the term potency
is predicated equivocally, such as when we say of a certain line that it has pow
er over another line [338]. Those meanings, on the other hand, which are predica
ted not by pure equivocation, but rather by analogy to one principle, will have
to be considered here again. For it is in this respect that a plurality of thing
s is the subject matter of this science, as said above. One [class] of things si
gnified by [the term] potency in this mode [of predication] [339] is [subdivided i
nto] two kinds. The first are the active potencies, those [potencies], that is,
which act on another [thing] qua other. Potencies of this kind may even happen t
o act on themselves, yet this [only] accidentally (as the physician may heal him
self c ) [340]. The
a b Literally the first section, i.e. the first section of the first major part of
metaphysics treated in Chapter II of the Epitome; cf. above, p. 25 and 26. Read
ing, with mss. H, M and I. Mantino, f hadha l-juz instead of f hadha l-hadd (under
this definition) of the remaining manuscripts. In all manuscripts except ms. H th
ere follows: wa-amma l-tab atu wa l-quwa l-tab iyyatu fa-l-amru fha bi-l- a
na fi laha bi-l-dhati (bi l-dhati om. I. Mantino) innama huwa f dhatiha (As for nat
ure and natural
a 79 j 98 q 81
q 82
a 80 j 99
c
96
Translation
m 375r
q 83
a 81
second kind are the passive potencies, i.e. those [potencies] whose nature consi
sts in being acted on by another [thing] qua othera without being potentially ac
ted on by themselves [341]. When we speak of something with no potency of being
acted on by itself we refer, of the [various] kinds of privation, only to natura
l privation, that is the absence of something in what naturally does not have it
, not to privation by violence, that is the absence of something in what natural
ly has it (we have already explained above in how many ways privation is predicate
d) [342]. One might raise the question, why it is that some potencies, whose nat
ure is to be acted on by another thing, are also acted on by themselves (such as
[potential] health which emerges from the art of healing and also from itself )
, whereas this is not possible in other [potencies] (such as the [potential] hou
se, for this [can] not come to be except from the art of building) [343]. The re
ason for this is that the existence of health is accomplished by both art and na
ture. Accordingly, the part of such arts lies in supplying the agent [cause] onl
y, and then to see whether the [desired] result is brought about by the moving [
cause] which is not set in motion by the will [of him who practises this art] [3
44]. As for the house and similar things, on the other hand, everything whereby
their [existence] is accomplished comes from the art and depends on the will [of
him who practises this art]. Since some active potencies are present in ensoule
d [beings], others in soulless [things], some are active by nature and others by
desire and will; and of the latter some are rational, others are non-rational.
Those [potencies] which are non-rational and not [dependent on] desire are
potencies, things are the other way round, I mean their essential activity [cons
ists] only in acting on themselves). I follow ms. H in omitting this phrase, pres
umably an interpolated gloss, which is a blunt contradiction to Ibn Rushds doctri
ne that nothing acts on itself qua same; cf. Tahafut al-tahafut, p. 433, l. 46, a
nd Long Commentary on the Metaphysics, p. 1110, l. 6sq. Ms. M and I. Mantino add
here another interpolation, obviously from the same glossator as the preceding
one: la llat tanfa ilu min dhatiha ka-l-hali f l-tab iyyati bali llat laysa fha
un aslan an tanfa ila min dhatiha bal min ghayriha bi-ma huwa ghayrun wa-khariju
n ani l-munfa il ([i.e.] not those which are acted on by themselves, such as the
natural [potencies], but rather those which have no potency at all for being act
ed on by themselves, but [only for being acted on] by another thing qua other an
d distinct from that which is acted on).
a
Chapter Three
97
characterized by [the fact] that they produce by themselves only one of two cont
rary [effects], e.g. the hot can heat and the cold can cool, yet they have no po
tency other than [producing] one of these [contraries]. (In this context, having
no potency means the [kind of ] privation which consists in the absence of someth
ing from that which naturally does not have it.) As for those [potencies] which
act by desire [345] and will, these include the potency to produce any contrary
[effects] whatsoever. This is why in the productive arts the cognition of contra
ries is part of one and the same knowledge (e.g. the art of healing includes the
knowledge of both health and illness), except that the knowledge of one of the
contraries is what they essentially aim at, whereas [that of ] the other contrar
y is by some sort of accidentality. For these arts do not aim at producing both
contraries (e.g. the art of healing knows illness not in order to produce it, bu
t it knows health in order to produce and preserve it) [346]. A further characte
ristic of the natural potencies consists in [the fact] that as soon as they meet
their [natural] patient, they act [on it] by necessity (as fire ignites wood ne
cessarily as soon as it meets it). That which acts by desire and will, on the ot
her hand, does not have to act by necessity as soon as it meets its patient. For
, if that were the case, it would produce contrary [effects] at the same time, s
ince it is its nature to [be capable of ] producing either or of refraining from
producing anything at all. From this it is evident that that which decides in f
avour of one of the two acts producing contrary [effects must] be another potenc
y, namely the one called desire and will when this potency is in contact with the po
tency of imaginationa, according to what has been shown in the book On the Soul
[347]. If the active and passive potencies are of the kinds described, it is cle
ar that acting or being acted on well or badly is something that follows these [
potencies]. For whenever there is a good acting [348] or being acted on, it is [
necessarily] done or received, but not vice versa (such that that which acts or
is acted on is [necessarily] acting or acted on well) [349].
j 100
q 84
a 82
a
Reading quwwatu l-khayal instead of quwwatu l-ijma (the potency of consensus) in m
ost Arabic manuscripts (also a.l. concordia, in I. Mantino in margine), quwwatu ljima (virtus copulatiua) in I. Mantino, or quwwatu l-ijtima (potency of gathering) i
n ms. T; cf. note 347.
98
Translation
j 101
m 375v
q 85
a 83
Having clarified what sort of potency is predicated of things moving or set in m

otion, we now shall discuss that of which the term potency is predicated primarily
. This is what we signify by saying that which is possible [350]. How this meaning
is related to the other things of which the term potency is predicated becomes pl
ain only by determining [the meaning of ] actuality [351]. For besides being opp
osites, potency and actuality belong to the [class of ] relatives, and any relat
ive can be conceptualized only by relating it to its correlate. Also, it is unne
cessary to seek a definition of everything in one and the same manner [352]. For
not everything has genus and differentia, but rather some things are definable
[only] through their opposites, others through their effects, and again others t
hrough their acts and affections, or, in general, through their concomitants [35
3]. In none [of these] is there a vicious circle which, according to Ibn Sna, occ
urs in determining such things [354], because the nature of relatives necessaril
y entailsa that each of two relatives occurs in the conception of the other. Fur
thermore, when either relative is included in the conception of the otherb, this
inclusion is not based on [the fact] that c one of the two is prior to the othe
r, in the way causes of a thing are included in its conception. For neither of t
he two relatives is the cause of the other, but rather they only exist together,
which is why the conception of the one is associated with that of the other. Wh
at Ibn Sna says would necessarily apply only if one conception occurred in the ot
her in so far it is prior to it with respect to beingd and better known with res
pect to conception. But this would necessarily entail that the thing is conceptu
alized on its own, which is not the case. Rather, both [relatives] are simultane
ous in being and in knowledge [355]. The reason for this is that this category i
s something the soul introduces into
a Reading, with ms. M and I. Mantino, fa-inna l-mudafayni yalzamu min tiba ihima
daruratan instead of fa-inna ahada l-mudafayni yalzamu min tiba ih daruratan (becau
se the nature of one of two relatives necessarily en tails) of the remaining manus
ripts. Reading, with ms. M and I. Mantino, fa-inna l-mudafayni mata ... instead
of fa-inna ahada l-mudafayni mata ... of the remaining manuscripts. Following ms
. M (min jihati anna) or ms. H (min anna) instead of the remaining mss. which hav
e only min. Reading, with ms. M and I. Mantino, f l-wujud, omitted in the remaini
ng manuscripts.
b c d
Chapter Three
99
the existents [356]. If there were no soul, there would be no relation, as there
would be no relationship [in general] [357] without there being soul. If one of
the two subjects of such a relationship is conceptualized by [conceptualizing]
this [relationship], by necessity the other subject is [also] conceptualized thr
ough this, since the relationship can only exist through these two subjects. If
this is correct, actuality consists in a things existing differently from the way
[in] which we say of it to exist potentially [358]. This [kind of ] privation c
an be understood in two ways: [i] the absence of a thing from that in which it n
aturally will be found or has been found at another time (this concerns things w
hich are now in actuality, now in potentiality). [ii] The absence of something f
rom that which naturally does not have it (this is how actuality is conceived in
eternal things as privation [of potentiality]). Potentiality, on the other hand
, is a disposition in a thing and its inherent possibility of existing in actual
ity. This meaning of potentiality is different from the one in which we say that t
he infinite existsa in potentiality (as when we say of movement or time that the
y are potentially infinite). For the infinite qua infinite does not turn into ac
tuality in such a way that it exists separated from this potentiality, but rathe
r the meaning of potentially infinite is that the actuality in it is always connec
ted with this potentiality [359]. This has been explained in detail in the Physi
cs [360] (as a matter of fact, much of what is proved in that work is allied to
this science [of metaphysics]). Now, if this is the case and it is plain what po
tentiality and actuality are, it is [also] clear that they are found primarilyb
in substances and secondarily in the remaining categories (i.e. quantity, qualit
y, relation, where, when, having, doing, and being-affected), no matter whether
the affection of a thing is due to an intrinsic principle (as is the case with n
atural things) or [due to] something extrinsic (as is the case with potencies me
ntioned above). Likewise, doing, too, means whatever acts on itself or on another
thing. This [361] is [shown by the fact] that the potentiality of generating man
from [menstrual blood] inherent in
a Reading, with ms. M and I. Mantino (fol. 375vb), inna la mutanahiyan mawjudun,
instead of inna ghayra l-mutanah mutanahin mawjud (that the infinite is finite
d exists) in ms. H and inna l-ashya a hiya mawjuda (that things exist) in the remai
ning manuscripts. Mss. H and M add only (innama).
j 102
q 86
a 84
b
100
Translation
menstrual blood is prior to the potentiality of generating a grammariana inheren
t in it. This is so because the proximate disposition of apprehending grammar is
established only posterior to establishing the form of man. In ancient days as
well as in our time, there were those who denied that the possibility of that wh
ich is possible is prior in time [to actuality] [362], thus making the possible
[something existing] simultaneously with actuality. Negating the nature of the p
ossible as such, these [thinkers] have to admit that the possible is necessary a
nd the necessary is possible. However, our contemporaries postulate possibility
only [as possibility] from the part of the agent [363]. We shall enumerate the a
bsurdities resulting from [the doctrine of ] these people in [our] discourse on
the principles of the departmental disciplines [364], since this is an important
principle of the theoretical disciplines [365]. A mistake in this respect entai
ls many [further] mistakes; in short, it is among the major causes of drifting i
nto sophistry [366]. Those people of our time preclude that man has any capabili
ty or power [to act] [367]. As a consequence [their doctrine] nullifies practica
l philosophyb as well as will and free choice [368] and all productive disciplin
es [369]. However, as I have said repeatedly, those people do not maintain such
things because this is what reasoning led them to, but rather in order to confir
m with such [doctrines other] things the validity of which is their primordial f
undament and to which their convictions cling. In other words, they seek [only]
to falsify what contradicts their [doctrines] and to verify what supports them.
But we have digressed from our subject. So, let us return and say [the following
]: As it has become plain what potentiality and actuality are, we shall now stat
e when each particular thing is in potentiality and when it is not [370]; for no
t anything whatsoever is anything in potentiality [371]. Evidently, there are pr
oximate potentialities as well as remote ones [372]; and if this is the case, th
ere are [correspondingly]
a Nahwiyyun in all mss. The reading lahm (flesh), adopted by Horten (p. 101) and V
an den Bergh (p. 71), is fabricated by M. al-abban. The same applies to al-nahw
(grammar) in the following line. Reading, with mss. D, M, P and I. Mantino, al-hik
mata l- amaliyya instead of al-hikmata l- ilmiyya (scientific philosophy) transmit
ted in the remaining manuscripts.
m 376r
q 87
j 103 a 85
b
Chapter Three
101
remote and proximate substrates. Remote potentialities are not turned into actua
lity until through the establishment of the ultimate substrate the proximate pot
entiality has been establisheda. Hence, if one states that one thing exists in a
nother in potentiality, while this potentiality is a remote [potentiality], this
is stated metaphorically [373], e.g., when we say that man exists in potentiali
ty in earth or, even more remote than this, in the elements, while it is only in
menstrual blood and semen that man exists truly in potentiality [374]. This is
the proximate potentiality occurring in the proximate, ultimate substrate. It do
es not inhere in this substrate in any chance disposition, but only when this is
in a disposition in which it is possibly turned into actuality. E.g. semen is s
aid to be man in potentiality when it is introduced into the uterus without comi
ng into contact with air from outside, so that it might be cooled and changed [3
75]. The case is similar with dispositions [actualized] by the arts, for not eve
ry sick [person] is potentially healthy, but only [he who] is in a disposition i
n which recovery is possible. Hence, the proximate potentiality necessarily requ
ires two things in order to exist at a given time [376], namely the existence of
the proximate substrate, and the disposition in which it is [actually] potentia
l. When these two things are given and the efficient causes are complete and not
hing [external] hinders them, then the thing is turned into actuality by necessi
ty. Such proximate potentialities, especially as far as natural things are conce
rned, are characterized by [the fact] that that which moves and turns them into
actuality belongs always to one species and is numerically one mover [377]. E.g.
that which moves the potentiality for becoming flesh inherent in blood to actua
lity is but one mover, namely the nutritive faculty [of the soul] which [resides
] in the organs [of the body] [378]. On the other hand, the [remote] potentialit
y of bread for becoming flesh requires for its [actualization] more than one mov
er, namely mouth, stomach, liver, and veins. Still more remote than this is the
potentiality for becoming flesh inherent in the elements, for it requires for it
s [actualization] in addition to these movers the [movement of the] celestial bo
dies. A lot of foods require, apart from [these] natural movers, more than one a
rtificial mover, as is the case with bread being moved alternately by more than
one art.
a Al-quwwati l-qarbati bi-husul is omitted by homoioteleuton in ms. H and left ou
t of consideration in the translations by Horten and Van den Bergh.
q 88
a 86
j 104
m 376v
102
Translation
q 89 a 87
j 105
According to the habit of the Greeks, the proximate substrate of a thing, in whi
ch the [relevant] potentiality is [found], is conceived as that [after] which on
e names that which comes to be from it by a derived form of its [name], not by t
he very name itself; for [the Greeks] do not say the casket is wood, but rather [th
e casket is] wooden, because wood is what is a casket by proximate potentiality.
But they do not derive the name of that thing from the remote substrate, that is
, they do not say the casket is earthen or aquatic [379]. However, explaining the [m
eaning of ] remote potentiality by this kind of instruction fell [into disuse] i
n our times as there is no such [mode of ] designation in our language. This [ph
enomenon] occurs in the Arabic language only in [connection with] accidents and
differentiae, for the Arabs do not say the living being isa rationality, but rathe
r [the living being is] rational (from which it becomes evident that form is disti
nct from substrate); nor do they say the body is whiteness, but rather [the body is
] white. Genera, on the other hand, they predicate of species by designating them
through nouns which are root morphemes, thus saying the casket is wood, man is liv
ing being. If then this is the case and it has become plain that particular thing
s are partly in potentiality, partly in actuality, and that most things have mor
e than one potentiality, it is clear that for these [potentialities] there is mo
re than one substrate. And since substrates exist only in so far as they are in
actuality, there is also more than one actuality of a thing. However, since this
cannot go on infinitely in both directions, as will become evident below and ha
s already become plain in physics, it is clear that the ultimate substrate is th
at which exists in pure potentiality, and that it is the cause through which the
remaining substrates acquire potentiality [380]; for this is the nature of thin
gs predicated secundum prius et posterius together with that to which they are r
elatedb. Likewise, the ultimate actuality in each single existent is the cause o
f [the fact] that there are more than one actuality in them. Consequently, one d
oes not say of that which is between these two extremes that it is pure
a Mss. H, M and I. Mantino read some living beings are (inna ba da l-hayawani huwa
), the remaining mss. omit ba d (some). follow uiros in reading alladh tunsabu ilay
hi. This reading is supported I by I. Mantino, whereas all Arabic manuscripts ha
ve either yunsabu or nansibu instead of tunsabu neither of which makes sense.
q 90
b
Chapter Three
103
potentiality or pure actuality. E.g. prime matter is the most remote cause of [t
he fact] that the remaining substrates of man are potentially man, such as the p
otentiality of this inhering in the elements, then in earth, then in blood, then
in flesh, then in each part of the soul. Likewise, the ultimate actuality in ea
ch single existent is the cause of [the fact] that in [man] there are other thin
gs existing in him in actuality. E.g. rationality is one of the causes of [the f
act] that there is being-aliving-being, for being-a-living-being does not exist
absolutely but only as being-this-living-being. Similarly, being-a-living-being
is among the causes of that which is capable of nutrition, for being-body-capabl
eof-nutrition does not exist absolutely but only as being-this-[body] capable-ofnutrition. In short, in each [correlate] pair of actualitiesa there is present [
something] of this relation between simple form and prime matter [381]. As matte
rb does not [actually] exist without formsince if it existed without form, the non
-existent would existso is this the disposition of each single [actuality] of any
pair of actualities displaying such a relation. From this it is evident that pot
entiality, although predicated secundum prius et posterius, is a concomitant and
[inseparable] companion c of matter, as it is also evident that actuality, alth
ough predicated secundum prius et posterius, is among the concomitants of form a
nd its c inseparable companion [382]. As it has become clear that there are form
s existing in pure actuality free from any admixed potentiality, it is clear tha
t these are the cause of the existence of those [things] whose actuality is mixe
dd with potentiality, no matter what [kind of ] potentiality this might be, I me
an [whether it is] the potentiality of change in substance or [that of ] any
a Omitting, with ms. H and I. Mantino, ahadihima ila l-akhar (the one [related] t
o the other) which does not fit into the syntax and is presumably an interpolated
gloss. Omitting, with ms. H and I. Mantino, al-ula (prime, i.e. prime matter). Li
t. shadow (zill). Reading hadhihi l-mashubati as transmitted in all Arabic manuscr
ipts except ms. M which reads hadhihi l-mashub (adopted by uiros and Amn) where
hadhihi seems to be corrected from hal. The clause as edited by uiros and Amn wo
uld mean: that these are the cause of [the fact that] those [things] have an exis
tence [in which] their actuality is mixed with potentiality which hardly hits wha
t Ibn Rushd intends to say, since what makes potentiality admixed to actuality i
s matter rather than these pure actualities; cf. notes 381, 382.
a 88
j 106
m 377r
b c d
104
a 89 q 91
Translation
other [kind of ] change [383]. This must be the case in view of [the fact] that
actuality is found in those things in a certain disposition, whereas [it is foun
d] here absolutely. As has been said repeatedly, that which is found in a certai
n genus absolutely is the cause of existence for that which is found in this [ge
nus] in a certain disposition [384]. E.g. fire, being that of whicha heat is pre
dicated absolutely, is the cause of the existence of heat in every [hot] existen
t [385]. This premise is often used in this science [of metaphysics]; it is an i
mportant principle among the self-evident principles of [metaphysics], and we ha
ve to be well acquainted [386] with this concept to such an extent that it has a
bsolute certainty [for us] [387]. This is why Aristotle postulated it [388], tha
t is, [why] he set it up in Book I [] of his book on this science. It is then cle
ar what potentiality and actuality is, and when each single particular thing is
in potentiality, and when it is not, as well as how [different] potentialities a
re related to one another and [how one] actuality is related [to another]. Hence
, we have to consider now which of the two is prior to the other, that is, wheth
er potentiality is prior to actuality or vice versa [389]. As stated above, prior
is said in [various] ways, [among them] firstly prior in time and secondly prior
in terms of causality [390]. These two meanings of the modes of predication of p
rior are the primary objects of research here in [the context of ] potentiality a
nd actuality. We say: Most, if not all, pre-Aristotelian ancient [philosophers]
maintained that potentiality is prior to actuality in time and with respect to c
ausality [391]. Accordingly, some maintained the [doctrine of ] mixture and an i
nfinite number of [constitutive] parts [of things] [392], others [the doctrine o
f ] an unordered movement [393]. What led them to such [doctrines] is [the fact]
that they did not acknowledge any principle except the principle of matter. Mor
eover, they seem to make a universal judgement upon the parts of the world on th
e basis of their opinion that potentialities of particular things are prior to t
hem in these two meanings (I mean [priority] in time and in causality). However,
when we think about the issue of [potentiality and actuality] appropriately and
consider them in so far they are natural phenomena, it is clear that actuality
is prior to potentiality in both meanings [of priority].
a Reading, with ms. M, wa-hiya llat instead of hiya llat in ms. H. The remaining m
anuscripts omit hiya/wa-hiya entirely.
j 107
a 90
q 92
Chapter Three
105
For it has been shown in the Physics that for everything in change there is some
thing which changes [it], and [that] this holds true in [all] four kinds of chan
ge [394], as it is evident that potentiality does not satisfy [the requirements]
for being turned into actuality by itself. This is clear in the case of three [
kinds of ] change, namely change in substance, in quantity, and in quality, sinc
e in these [kinds of change] the moving cause and the agent are external. As for
change in place, it is not [so] clear. However, this issue has been explained i
n [Books] VII and VIII of the Physics. This now is one [reason] whereby it becom
es evident that actuality is prior to potentiality in causality and time. On the
other hand, it is also evident that potentiality in the case of particular pote
ntialities is posterior with respect to causality, while it is prior to actualit
y in time. This is so because actuality is the entelechy of the potentiality and
that for the sake of which the potentiality exists as well as its final cause [
395], for it is impossible that there is an infinite series of entelechies [of a
n individual], as will become clear below [396]. If this is the case, actuality
is prior to potentiality in so far it is efficient and final cause. The final ca
use is the cause of causes, for those [things] are only for the sake of it [397]
. This [kind of ] priority has to be taken into account in its own right, for pr
iority in time, no matter whether in potentiality or actuality, exists in that w
hich is prior [only] accidentally. In other words, [the fact] that the causes of
a thing are prior in time to that thing is an accident occurring in particular
things subject to coming-to-be and corruption, for if this [priority in time] pe
rtained essentially to the efficient causes, there would be no eternal cause at
all [398]. And if there were no eternal [cause], there would be, by necessity, n
othing that comes to be and corrupts, as has been shown in the Physics [399]. Fu
rthermore, it is clear that causes constitute primarily and essentially only the
essence of that which is causeda [400]. Whether this implies that they are prio
r to that which is caused in time, as claimed by many theologians, is by no mean
s evident. Assuming this, in fact, entails the absurd consequences just mentione
d, I mean, there would not exist any generated thing, not to speak of eternal [t
hings]. For if we suppose this to be the case, the series of causes could go on
infinitely
j 108
a 91 q 93
m 377v
a
Reading, with ms. M and I. Mantino, dhata l-musabbab instead of dhata l-sabab (on
ly the essence of the cause) in the remaining manuscripts.
106
Translation
a 92
q 94
without there being a first cause. And if there is no first, there is no last. B
ut then supposing the causes of the whole world to be prior to it in time, as th
e causes of the parts of the world which are subject to coming-to-be and corrupt
ion are prior [in time] to these, would necessarily entail that this world is a
part of another world, and this would go on ad infinitum [401]. Or else, we woul
d have to assume that this world is transient with respect to its parts, but not
with respect to the whole. Thus, [it is clear that] these and many other absurd
consequences result from positing this assumption. All this results from their
[doctrine] only due to the fact that they impose on the efficient [cause] the co
ndition that it has to be prior in time. Confronting them with the question how
the efficient [cause] of time can be prior to time [itself ] thus bewilders thei
r mindsa, for if they reply [it is prior] by atemporal [priority], they admit that
there is an efficient [cause] prior to its effect without [being prior] in time
, and if they reply [it is prior] in time, they are again faced with the [same] qu
estion with respect to this time. Or else, they might reply that time is self-co
nstituted and uncaused, but this is not part of their teaching. However, all thi
s is more appropriate [to be dealt with] in the third part of this science [402]
. Returning to where we have been, we say: It is also evident that potentiality
is not prior to actuality in time inasmuch as it cannot be separated from actual
ity, as has become clear from [considering] the case of prime matter [403]. More
over, the potentiality of [becoming] something else [found] in many things exist
s in these [things] only inasmuch as there is in these [things] some sort of act
uality of that which it is the potentiality of. E.g. he who is learning, being i
n potentiality a learned [person], reaches the ultimate state of knowledge only
in so far as there is some sort of knowledge in him. Otherwise, there results th
e conundrum of Menob mentioned in [Book] I of the Posterior Analytics [404].
a
j 109
b
Reading, with mss. A, M and P, tahat ru usuhum instead of various readings for t
ahat in the remaining manuscripts. Reading shakku Manun. All Arabic manuscripts
read ma f or similar cor ruptions for the transliterated Greek name. I. Mantino ha
s error Mennonis, fol. 377vb. Shakku Manun occurs as translation of An. post. I 1,
71 a 29 in Ibn Rushd, Talkhs Kitab al-burhan, p. 47, Sha
re the Berlin manuscripts reads likewise Man instead of Manun). Similarly, Ibn Ru
shd refers in his Long Commentary on Metaph. IX () 8, 1049 b 33sq. (p. 1184, l. 5
) to the famous conundrum
Chapter Three
107
Furthermore, it is clear that actuality precedes potentiality, if everlasting th
ings (being things without any potentiality admixed to them) are prior to transi
ent things (being things mingled with potentiality) [405]. That eternal things d
o not contain absolute potentiality, I mean the [potentiality] which is part of
the [compound] substance [406], has been shown in De caelo [407]. The same [hold
s good] for the potentialities of nutrition, growth and passive alteration. Howe
ver, it has not been shown that, in addition [to these], they cannot [contain] t
he potentiality [of change] in place through alteration of position. On the cont
rary, it has been shown that [they] must [have] it, yet [this only] in a certain
manner. For it has been shown there with respect to potentiality [of change] in
place that there is an actuality prior to it in which there is no potentiality
at all. This now is how these things can be stated through specific proofs, as m
any, if not most, of the things searched for in this science [of metaphysics] be
come clear once we use as postulates whata has been shown in the natural science
s, in order to solve the questions arising with respect to these [things] here.
However, it is [also] possible to show this by general proofs here [in metaphysi
cs]. We say: [(i)] Whenever a thing is in potentiality, I mean something that mo
ves or something that is moved, it is capable [both] of being and of not being,
since this is the nature of possibility and potentiality. [(ii)] We say of a thi
ng that it is necessary, if it has not ceased and is never ceasing [to be] and c
an in no way be non-existing and contains no potentiality to be so (e.g. nobody
will think that the triangle is potentially that whose angles are [in sum] equiv
alent to four right angles). [(iii)] In light of this, [it is evident that] the
two natures are fundamentally different and [that] he who maintains that the nec
essary is possible propounds the [possibility of ] change of the [different] nat
ures [into one another]. From this opinion the following results, namely that [t
he necessary] is not necessary [408]. If all this is the case, actuality is nece
ssarily prior to potentiality in every manner of priority [409].
ascribed to Meno (al-shakku l-mashhuru l-mansubu ... ila Manun, where again Manun
is misrepresented in the manuscript); cf. also note 404. Reading, with the majo
rity of the manuscripts, idha sudira alayha ma (for sudira alayha cf. note 388).
Mss. H and M read mimma instead of ma. In addition, ms. M has suwwira (once we c
onceive...) instead of sudira.
a 93
q 95
m 378r
j 110
a
108
a 94
Translation
q 96
A pending question in this [context] is how eternal things can be principles of
transient things. For things which are always [in] actuality necessarily have to
act always (otherwise they existed in potentiality). But if that is the case, t
heir effects [likewise] would exist always, since things which, by their nature,
now exist, now do not, require necessarily that their mover [displays] the same
disposition, I mean that it [now] moves, and [now] not. However, this question
can be solved by what has become clear in the natural sciences with regard to et
ernal locomotion, since motion exists in this way as a sort of intermediate betw
een pure actuality and that which is now in potentiality, now in actuality [410]
. It is similar to what exists in [pure] actuality inasmuch as the eternity [inh
erent] in that [which moves in this way] is part of [its] substance and in so fa
r as that [which moves in this way] does not contain any potentiality for corrup
tion. On the other hand, it is similar to that which is now in potentiality, now
in actuality, on account of the alteration of position [occurring] to it accide
ntally, and, in general, on account of [its] locomotion. Note how [much] care th
e divine providence took in conjoining the two [modes of ] existence with one an
other by establishing this mode of potentiality (I mean the potentiality in plac
e) between pure potentiality and pure actuality, in order that one be connected
with the other for tying togethera eternal and transient existence! Because of a
ll this there is no reason for us to fear, as some people think, that this [kind
of ] motion will ever perish or come to a halt, since there is in them no poten
tiality for [coming to a halt]b [411]. Those who do not maintain [the doctrine]
of eternal motion are not able to set forth the reason why the creator, being et
ernal, became the
a
b
Reading, with mss. D and H, hatta lta ama bi-dhalika hadha li-rtibat. Ms. M read
s likewise li-rtibat, but dha is not quite clear and rather looks like ha manusc
ripts read hadha l-irtibat instead of hadha hadhayni. The remaining li-rtibat (
hich makes, unacceptably, tying together the subject of being connected). Reading,
ith ms. H, laysa fha quwwatun ala dhalika. Ms. reads laysa f muharrikiha quwwatu
n aslan (there is no potentiality at all in their mover). The remaining Arabic mss
. read laysa f taharrukiha (f tahrkiha ms. M) quwwatun aslan (there is no pot
ty at all in their motion). The latter can be ruled outwith certainty, as Ibn Rushd
stated just before (as also in Chapter I) that the motion of the heavenly spher
es is characterized by the potentiality of change in position and/or direction.
The translation of I. Mantino is based on a hybrid version; cf. also note 411.
Chapter Three
109
a 95
efficient [cause] of the world after having been inactive, for they had to admit
necessarily that he is acting in potentiality prior to acting [in actuality], a
nd, [consequently], that [his acting] whenever being in potentiality comes into
actuality only by a mover or, generally, by an agent prior to it (since [any] tr
ansformation of potentiality into actuality is change, and any change [comes] fr
om that which changes) [412]. But all this is evident to him who observes the pr
inciples of natural sciencesa. Having shown that actuality is prior to potential
ity in [terms of ] causality, we shall now consider [the question] which of the
two is prior with respect to actingb and being good [413]. We say: Being bad occ
urs necessarily in privation or in one of two contraries being accidentally depr
ived of its contrary, such as illness which, although being in some way an exist
ent, is an evil only inasmuch as it is the privation of health. Since potentiali
ty is always at once [potentiality] for both opposites, it is not, qua potential
ity, a pure good, but rather [something] mixed [414]. Moreover, a potentiality i
s said to be good or evil only in so far it is related to an actuality. Hence, a
ctuality must be more valuable than potentiality. Since potentiality is the caus
e of the privation which is an evil, there can be no evil at all in those things
in which there is no potentiality, as they are without privation and contrary [
415]. These are the things in which there is always [and] under all conditions t
he good which is the truth. In other words, that which is true in them can never
be false, as it commonly happens with things which are now in potentiality, now
in actuality [416]. However, there is a [certain] aporia in this; for if that w
hich is always true is found only in that which exists always in actuality, ther
e is no proof [of the truth] for things which exist now in actuality, now in pot
entiality. But if there is no proof for these [things], there will be no way eit
her to knowing that there are things existing always in actuality, since necessa
ry knowledge can be achieved as such only from what is necessary, whereas we pro
ceed from [the knowledge of ] these [changeable things] to the
a b Lit. the natural principles. I follow the lectio difficilior bi-l-fi li attest
ed in ms. D, H, and . 2 changed bi-l-fi l into bi-l-fadl, a.m. added bi-fad
l (sic) supra lin. All other manuscripts (including I. Mantino) have bi-l-fadli
([with respect to] excel lence); cf. note 413.
j 111
m 378v q 97
a 96
110
Translation
j 112
q 98
a 97
knowledge of those [eternal things] [417]. [In reply to this] we say: True state
ments are necessarily either affirmative or negative. Affirmation is nothing els
e than combining some things with others, negation is nothing else than separati
ng them. If there are things which do not admit combination, negation is always
true of them. Likewise, if there are things which are always combined, I mean th
ose which cannot exist without such a combination, affirmation applies always ne
cessarily to them. And if there are things which admit both together, I mean now
to be combined, and now to be separated, then there is not always truth in such
things [418]. That these two kinds [of things] do exist in this way is clear. A
s for the things which are now in combination, now in separation, these are the
particulars. For this concrete triangle may be combined, so that having-angles-e
qual-to-two-right-angles is present in it, and it may be separated, so that what
is true of it turns into being false in itself [419]. Therefore, one says that
in such [things] the opposite of that which is true is possible falsehood, [bein
g false only] at the time when this is true [420]. Those things, on the other ha
nd, which are always in combination or always in separation are universal things
in so far they are related to one another; and it is in this respect that there
is necessity in changeable things [421]. E.g. having-angles-equal-to-two-rightangles in so far they are equal to two right [angles] is found always in combina
tion with triangle, while triangle is necessarily [combined] with figure [422].
Similarly, rationality is found necessarily in [combination with]a beingliving-b
eing, being-living-being with nutrition, and nutrition with body. As for havingangles-equal-to-three-right-angles, this is found always separated from triangle
; and similarly rationality is found always separated from donkey and horse. The
refore, there is no falsity in these [things] except in the form of error, that
is by believing that which is combined to be separated or that which is separate
d to be combined [423]. Actuality and endurance are in these [things] only in so
far as they are objects of thought, not in so far as they are [extramental] exi
stents, for otherwise universals would exist separately. Those who taught the [e
xistence of ] Ideas failed to make
a
Ms. M adds humanity, humanity with (al-insaniyyati wa-l-insaniyyatu f); cf. Long Co
mmentary on the Metaphysics, p. 1231, l. 6.
Chapter Three
111
this distinction. However, if one attributes to them such an existence outside t

he mind, [this] can be attributed [to them only] in so far as there is in them t
he potentiality for [becoming objects of thought] [424]. For if there were in th
em no disposition for this, it would be absurd to think this about them. Hence,
truth is predicated of things existing always in actuality outside the mind as w
ell as secundum prius et posterius of these [universals]a. That those are true i
s the reason why these are true, as is the nature of things predicated secundum
prius et posterius [425]. It is in this respect that evil qua falsehood is denie
d of the everlastingb insensible things c, and that [those things] acquire the g
ood qua truth foreverd. Having dealt with potentiality, actuality, and their con
comitants, we shall now deal with the one and the many and their concomitants [4
26]. We say: One is predicated in the different ways mentioned above [427]. These
can be reduced basically to two meanings, firstly the numerical one, and secondl
y one in its universal meaning. As stated [before], one in its universal meaning
is divided into one by species, one by genus, and what else has been enumerated
there. Similarly, the numerical one is predicated primarily of the continuous,
then, secondarily and by way of comparison, of that which has grown into one, fu
rthermore of that which is combinede, and of that which is connected. Then the n
umerical one is also predicated of the concrete individual which is indivisible
in so far it is an individual of a certain species (such as Zayd or Amr); it is
also predicated of what is indivisible with respect to quantityf (this is
a b c Reading, with mss. H, , and I. Mantino, hadhih instead of hadha (this) in t
e remaining manuscripts. Al-abadiyya, omitted in mss. H, M, and I. Mantino. Read
ing, with the majority of the manuscripts, al-ashya i l-ghayri l-mah susati inste
ad of al-ashya i l-mahsusati (sensible things) in ms. H and I. Man and Van den Berg
h, p. 83). tino (adopted by Horten, p. 118, Da iman, omitted in ms. H and I. Man
tino (and in the translations by Horten and Van den Bergh). Reading, with mss. H
, M, and I. Mantino, al-murakkab instead of almurtakiz (that which is implanted) o
f the remaining manuscripts. A number of manuscripts add and with respect to gene
ralness (wa-la bi-l- umumi) which is omitted in I. Mantino and, together with the
entire sen tence, in mss. H and M. There is no corresponding concept in the sect
ion on one in Chapter I of the Epitome or in the Long Commentary.
j 113 q 99
m 379r
a 98
d e f
112
Translation
a 99
the one qua principle of number); and it is predicated of that which is indivisi
ble with respect to formula and definition [428] (to be divisible in this respec
t is a characteristic of combined [units])a. This [latter] deserves most of all
to be called numerically one. In general, the numerical one is predicated of all
that is isolated by itself and set apart from something else either by sense pe
rception or by imagination or in itself. The commonest [way of ] isolating somet
hing consists in isolating it by sense perception, to which pertains isolating t
hings by place, then also by that which encompasses things [429]. Isolating some
thing by imagination is likewise common, and by this [way of isolating something
] one measures lengths and, in general, continuous quantities. Isolating somethi
ng as individual in itself, on the other hand, is far from being common, and eve
n more remote than this is isolating things by their intelligible quidditiesb [4
30]. However, when you take this issue This [latter] is that of which the into c
onsideration thoroughly, [it] term one is predicated with rewill become evident [t
hat] this [is spect to the form. One is also the appropriate] division of the pred
icated in the sense of that meanings in which the one is pred- which is absolute
ly simple [431], in other words that which is indiicated. visible in each genus,
such as the colour white in [the class of ] colours, the unison in [the class o
f ] melodic intervals, and the sonants or consonants in [the class of ] morpheme
s, or as the one in [the category of ] quantity [referring to] that which is ind
ivisible with respect to [quantity] [432]. As there is a first one in each of
a The Arabic text corresponding with the last four lines of the translation (fro
m it is also predicated up to combined [units]) is omitted in mss. H and M and seclu
ded in the editions by uiros and Amn. The manuscript transmission of the followi
ng section up to quantity, quality, and position, p. 113, l. 30, is confused due t
o the fact that parts of this section occur in different versions. The left colu
mn of the translation gives the text of ms. H, the right column that of the seco
nd version as to be reconstructed from the remaining manuscripts; for the texts
and the transmission cf. note 430.
j 114
q 100
b
Chapter Three
113
these genera, so there is also in it number. [Only] the number which is in [the
category of ] quantity is the one considered by the mathematician. It is, thus,
plain that it is predi- It is, thus, plain that one is predcated of the ten catego
ries and that icated of the ten categories and it is coextensive with the term t
hat it is coextensive with the term being, and that both differ only being, and that
both differ only in respect [of the predication]. For in the respect [of the pr
edication]. if one takes quiddity in so far it is For if one takes quiddity in s
o far indivisible, it is one, and if one it is indivisible, it is one, and if ta
kes it in so far it is nothing else one takes it in so far it is nothing than qu
iddity, it is called an ex- else than quiddity, it is called an existent essence
. istent essence. But the one which is the prinIf all this is the case, we have
to ask what the one is which is the ciple of the discrete quantity is principle
of number and in which not the one which is predicated way it exists. For if it
is clear to us secundum prius et posterius of all what this is, the quiddity of
num- genera, neither is number qua ber will also be clear to us, since quantity
the number which exists number emerges only by [cumu- in each single genus [433]
(as will become evident later). The defilative] reiteration of the one. nition
of one as such then consists in saying that it is the measure of number and indivi
sible in any respect of divisibility [434]. We say: One in number is the The numer
ical one is that which is concrete thing in the mind concrete in the mind which
in this [state] is indivisible with respect to quantity, quality, and position.
(We included in [this] definition [indivisible] with respect to position because t
he point is indivisible with respect to quantity and quality, but it has positio
n [435].) Such is the principle of number, yet not number [itself ]a.
m 379v
q 101
a
The following sentence is again transmitted in two versions. The version transla
ted in the left column is found in mss. H and M and printed in uiros, p. 101, l
. 13, Amn, p. 99, l. 10sq., the version in the right column is transmitted
114
Translation
It is due to [the fact that] this one, which falls in the [category of ] quantity,
is denumerablea that one says of anything else of which the term one is predicate
d that it is one.
It is due to [the fact that] this one, which falls in the [category of ] quantity,
measuresb number that in each single of the remaining genera there is measureme
nt through the [kind of ] number of the relevant genus.
a 100
j 115
Correspondingly, it is due to numerical multiplicity that one predicates multipli

city of the remaining things. That the one qua principle of number belongs to tha
t which is in a substrate is clear. This is why one says in the definition of on
eness that it is that with respect to which one calls things one. Likewise, it is
self-evident that mathematics abstracts this meaning from the individual substra
te and considers it in its own right (just as it abstracts line, surface, and bo
dy). In this [respect] the consideration of the [one] by him who practises this
science [of metaphysics] is different from that by the mathematician. For he who
practises this science considers it in so far it is one quantity or one substan
ce c, while the mathematician considers it only in so far it is one quantity, ab
stracting [it] from any substrated, just as the physicist considers line and sur
face in so far they are the limits of the physical body, while the mathematician
considers them only in so far they are line and surface. If this is the case, o
ne and multiplicity pertain to the objects of consideration of both him who prac
tises this science as
in the remaining Arabic manuscripts and printed in Jiham, p. 114, l. 1416. I. Mant
ino (fol. 379va) has first a (lacunose) translation of the version of mss. H and
M, thenconnected by velthe other version. (The previous modern translations follow ms
s. H and M.) Ta dd ms. M, omitted in ms. H, taqdr (measures) in I. Mantino, fol. 37
6. Reading, with ms. and I. Mantino, fol. 379va11, taqdr. The remaining mss. ha
ve ta dd (cf. the preceding footnote). Reading, with mss. M, , T and I. Mantino,
wahidu kammin aw wahidu jawharin. The remaining mss. have various combinations
of wahidun f /min al-kammi aw wahidun f /min al-jawhar (one in/of quantity or one
/of sub stance). The phrase abstracting [it] from any substrate occurs in mss. A, D,
H, and P before or one substance and in mss. G, , and T only in margine. The tra
nslation follows ms. M and, partly, I. Mantino (who, in turn, omits the precedin
g one quantity, fol. 379va 32sq.).
a
b c
d
Chapter Three
115
well as the mathematician, while their considerations of these differ in respect
(as is the case with different disciplines considering one and the same subject
matter). Since the numerical one, when conceived in so far it is one, does not
seem to require a substrate, and [since] this is the only respect whereby it fal
ls under the category of quantitya (that is by conceivingb the meaning of the co
ncrete thing as separated from divisibility with respect to quantity, quality, a
nd position ) c, it is the principle of numerical multiplicity; and numerical mu
ltiplicity thus falls under the category of quantity, too. On the other hand, wh
en it is conceived with respect to the [different] thingsd of which one says tha
t they are in themselves one, one attains a classification of all monads of the
ten categories, and thus multiplicity pertains also in this respect to the conco
mitants of the ten categories. This [must be so], when we assume that the substr
ate of the one as such consists in nothing else than the [members of the] ten ca
tegories, that is in the units found in the ten categories which are that which
is counted [436] (as the line considered by the mathematician is nothing else th
an the line found in bodies). If this is the casee, the substrate of the one as
suchf must be either [(i)] something common to all ten categories, as taught by
Ibn Sna, or [(ii)] coextensive with the term being, I mean [in such a way] that it
is predicated secundum prius et posterius, not [in such a way] thatg it
a b The section does not seem ... the category of quantity is based on ms. M and I
. Mantino. The remaining manuscripts omit the corresponding Arabic text. I follo
w Amns proposal (ed. Amn, p. 100, note 7) to read here akhdh which is the only plau
sible reading for both semantical as well as syntactical reasons. Ms. H has -KHD, ms. M and Mantinos Vorlage read ahad, while the remaining manuscripts are lacu
nose at the present place. The translation of the parentheses is based on mss. H
, M and I. Mantino. The remaining manuscripts omit the corresponding Arabic text
. Lit. if it is divided into the [different] things. If ... case in almost all testi
monies (including I. Mantino). Only mss. H and M omit the phrase which is seclud
ed by uiros and Amn. Reading, with the majority of the manuscripts and I. Mantin
o, al-mawdu u li-l-wahidi l-mutlaq instead of the following variant readings: li
-l-wahidi l- adamu wa- (the one [must be] non-existent or) ms. H; al-mawdu u li
ahidi l- adad (the substrate of the numerical one) ms. M; al-mawdu u li-l-wahidi
amm (the substrate of the universal one) ms. 2 supra lin. (with the mark ). Readi
ng, with ms. G marg and I. Mantino, la annahu instead of li-annahu
q 102
a 101
c d e f
g
116
Translation
m 380r
a 102 j116 q 103
serves to signify a common accident, as maintained by Ibn Snaa, or else [(iii)] i

t is something separate as it has been the view of many ancients regarding the n
ature of the oneb [437]. As for this [latter] doctrine [(iii)], Aristotle takes
care of its refutation later on c. As for Ibn Snas doctrine [(i)] that the substra
te of the one is some thing additional to the ten categories and that [the one] s
ignifies always and under any condition only a common accidentd of all categorie
s [438], this is preposterous; for if it signified always and under any conditio
n only things extrinsic to the essences of the things of which it is predicated,
there would be neither one qua substance, nor qua individual, nor qua universal
concept (I mean qua form). And the same [would apply] to all categories: the on
e would be accidental to the ten categories such that it would be another thing
distinct from them [yet simultaneously] common to all of them, which is a doctri
ne whose invalidity is self-evident. This might become evident also from the fol
lowing: Supposing the one qua universal concept signifies only a common accident
of the ten categories, the said signification of such an accident inhering in e
ach single [category] must be [either] a univocal signification or the significa
tion of a term [predicated] analogically (I mean that which is predicated secund
um prius et posterius) or a signification by pure equivocation. Now it is clear
that one does not signify the things of which it is predicated by equivocation, si
nce there are no essential
(because) in the remaining manuscripts except mss. H and M which omit the entire c
lause. The section or [(ii)] coextensive (p. 115, l. 20) ... Ibn Sna is omitted by
homoioteleuton in mss. H and M and secluded by uiros and Amn and in the previous
modern translations (although it is exactly this alternative which is adopted b
y Ibn Rushd, cf. p. 117sq.); cf. Jiham, p.115, l. 1315. Mss. H, M, and I. Mantino
add that it is [of ] the separate things (annaha umurun mufariqatun). Ms. M a
the last part of this science (f l-juz i l-akhri min hadha l- ilm). I follow ms. H
and I. Mantino in reading aradin mushtarakin instead of aradin mawjudin f (an acc
ident inhering in) of the remaining manuscripts. Theformer reading is confirmed by
the subsequent refutation, which takes up this expression, as well as by Ibn Rus
hds Long Commentary on the Metaphysics, p. 1268, l. 1.
a
b c
d
Chapter Three
117
predicates among equivocal concepts, nor do these have a unified definition. But
neither does it signifya these [things] univocally, for it is absurd [to assume
] a certain genusb of the category of substance and of the accidental categories
that is predicated of them univocally, since these are clearly distinct. If tha
t were the case, the individual [instantiation] of such an accident should be ap
prehensible by sense perception, as is the case with the remaining categories of
accidents which indeed do exist. This being the case, the only [alternative] le
ft is that [one] signifies these [things] secundum prius et posterius. [However,]
posited in this way, it signifies nothing but the categories themselves, for thi
s is whereby they are analogical to one another; or else it would be necessary t
o invent other categories in the categories c, and so on ad infinitum, which is
preposterous [439]. If this is the case, the only [alternative] left [(ii)] is t
hat the substrate of the one as suchd is the one inhering in each category. Some
body doubting this might ask how [it is possible that] somebody believes that th
e numerical one [is found] in the category of quantity, then [also] that it exis
ts in each single of the categories, [and this] in such a way that it belongs to
these very categoriese rather than to things added to them.
a Reading, with mss. D, G, H, T, wa-la dalalatuhu. Ms. M is hardly legible, ms.
A has wa-dalalatuhu (but it signifies), the remaining mss. read wa-la dalalatun (no
r do they [i.e., these equivocal concepts] signify). Jins in mss. H, M, and I. Ma
ntino, confirmed by Ibn Rushds Long Commentary on the Metaphysics, p. 1267, l. 16
. The remaining mss. have arad (accident), apparently a reconstruction from dhalika
l- arad in the following sentence.
a 103
b
c
d
e
Ms. H adds li-annahu yakunu nisbatu l- aradi lladh f l-kammi ila l- aradi lladh
jawhari nisbata l-kammi ila l-jawhari fa-f l-maqulati maqulatun ukhar (be
[analogical] relation between the accident inhering in the [category of ] quant
ity and the accident inhering in the [category of ] substance is [the same as] t
he [analogical] relation between quantity and substance; hence there [must be] o
ther categories in the categories). This is obviously an explanation of the prece
ding sentence and might have been interpolated from a marginal note. Reading, wi
th the majority of the manuscripts (including I. Mantino), li-lwahidi l-mutlaq.
Ms. H reads li-l-wahidi wa-l- adadi shay an ([that the sub strate] of the one and
of number is nothing else than); ms. M is in accord with the majority of the manu
scripts, yet adds in the margin wa-l- adad (and of number). Reading, with mss. G,
H, and I. Mantino, al-maqulat instead of al-maqula (category) in the remaining mss
.
118
q 104
Translation
j 117
a 104
m 380v
q 105
This is why Ibn Sna deemed it necessary [to assume] that its substrate is an acci
dent existing in all categories. However, it is not as he thought, for the natur
e of the numerical one is different from that of the remaining units. This [is s
o] because numerical one means individual in so far this is separated from quantity
and quality, that is [it means] that through which the individual is an individu
al (for it is individual in the sense of being indivisible). But this [meaning]
is abstracted from matter by the mind and conceived as something separated, for
the numerical one and numerical oneness are something invented by the soul in th
e individual entities. If there were no soul, there would be no numerical onenes
s and no number at all. Things are different in [the case of ] the [individual]
line, surface or, in general, continuous quantity [440]. Therefore, number is mo
re remote from matter [than the quantitative unit]. Ibn Sna confused the nature o
f the one which is the principle of number with the one as such, which is common
to all categories. Since the one which is the principle of number is an acciden
t, he thought that the one as such, which is general [and] coextensive with bein
g, is [also] an accident. In addition, hea aimed at treating this issue with res
pect to number in the same way as with respect to line and surface, I mean [in s
uch a way] that [the former] has [itself ] a nature independent of the existence
of the soul [441]. He thus was forced to assume [that there is] in the categori
es an existence additional to them. [However,] due to [the fact] that the nature
of the numerical one and of numbers combined from [numerical units] is of such
a kind [as described above] the primary conception [of oneness] by nature is fou
nd only in number (that is the [number] one), whereas the remaining conceptions of
the other genera [of oneness] are [merely] posited conceptions [442]. This is w
hy they are countable and measurable only by means of number; and in view of thi
s people aim with respect to the remaining conceptions [of unity] at the greates
t possible similarity with the [numerical] one [443], i.e. at establishing indiv
isible or hardly divisible [conceptions of unity] in the relevant genus. For thi
s reason all nations agree in measuring all [celestial] motions by the diurnal
a
The Arabic text corresponding to confused the nature ... In addition, he is omitte
d in ms. H, secluded by Amn (p. 103, note 11), and ignored in the translations by
Horten and Van den Bergh.
Chapter Three
119
motion, this being the quickest [celestial] motion (I mean, they measure the oth
er motions by the time of this motion); and also the [periods of ] rest of the o
ther movable things are measured only by the time of this motion [444]. The same
idea guided people in [determining] sanj and dhira as the smallest possible [un
its of weight and length]. As for the other things which are measured, yet do no
t pertain to the category of quantity, measuring is applied to them accidentally
and on the basis of this category, such as measuring heavy and light [things],
and even more so measuring black and white [colours]. From this discussion it ha
s become plain what the one qua principle of number is, what kind of nature it h
as, as well as [the fact] that number is the aggregate of such monads and the mu
ltiplicity composed of them. Ibn Sna opposed such a definition of number saying:
How can multiplicity be a genus of number being itself number, since any concret
e multiplicity qua multiplicity is divisible into this and that multiplicity jus
t as number is divisible into these and those countable [units] (I mean sensible
things) [445]? But he is wrong on this [point] because universal multiplicitya
is more general than numerical multiplicity as the one as such is more general t
han the one which is the principle of numberb. Even if it were as he says [446],
it is [nevertheless] possible to imagine number as one of the species of counta
ble things, such that multiplicity [serves] as genus for it and for all that is
multiple. This is not excluded from the acts of the soul; and it applies to numb
er only inasmuch as the soul acts on the countable things [447]. Moreover, [Ibn
Sna] opposed [this] definition of the one and of number in another respect, for h
e says: If the one is employed c in the definition of multiplicity, which is num
ber, while the one is conceived only through the non-existence of multiplicity i
n it, then either is employed in the conception of the other. But this is like b
egging the point at issue [448]. To this I would reply in the same way as in [th
e case of ] the definition of correlates which we have dealt with above [449].
j 118
a 105
q 106
a b c
Al-kathrata l-kulliyya in the majority of the manuscripts. Ms. M and I. Mantino
read al-kathrata l-mutlaqa (multiplicity as such). The last sentence is missing in
ms. H, omitted by Amn, and ignored in the translations by Horten and Van den Ber
gh. Reading, with ms. M and I. Mantino, yu khadhu instead of yujadu (is found) of
the remaining manuscripts.
120
Translation
j 119
a 106 q107
m 381r
But we have digressed from our topic proper. So, let us return to where we have
been. We say: So far it has become plain that one here [in metaphysics] serves to
signify all categories and is coextensive with being. It is thus clear that it is
taken into consideration by this science in this respect only. When the ancients
inquired into this meaning [450] of the oneI mean that it is coextensive with bein
g in so far as both have one [common] subject [of predication] and differ only in
respect [of predication]their views on the first one qua principle of existence a
nd cause of the existence of all remaining existents and of their measurability
qua existents were divided into the [following] two opinions. On the one hand, t
here are the ancient natural philosophers who taught that the particular sensibl
e things are prior to the related universals [451]. This being their position th
ey also held the view that in each genus there must be a first one which is the
cause of existence for each species of the genus in question, as well as the cau
se of [the fact] that these remaining species are measurable and knowable, becau
se they belong to that of which the genus in question is predicated secundum pri
us et posterius (as in the case of the ten categories). E.g. heat is predicated
of fire and of things related to fire secundum prius et posterius, while fire is
the cause of the existence of all hot things and of [the fact] that these are m
easurable and countable. Accordingly, it is impossible to count hot things by a
unit which is white or black, for the measure in each genus necessarily has to b
e of that very genus [452]. [Since] this, I mean being predicated secundum prius
et posterius, is the nature of beings qua beings, they maintained that there mu
st be a first being which is the cause of [the fact] that all beings exist and a
re countable and knowable, just as the one in [the genus of ] numbers is the cau
se of [the fact] that all species of number exist and are countable and knowable
a. And since the material cause is the only [kind of ] cause they were aware of,
they held the view that the one fitted by this description is such a [material]
cause [453]. This is still [true for them] when we take into account the discre
pancy in what they thought about the most remote material cause, for some of the
m maintained that this is water, others that it is fire, and again others identi
fied it with the infinite [454].
a
Wa-ma lumatan (and knowable) is omitted in mss. H, M, and I. Mantino.
Chapter Three
121
The later [generations] of [ancient philosophers] [455], on the other hand, were
aware of [the existence of ] the formal cause, yet conceived it in a way differ
ent from what it [really] is; for they thought that the intelligible [aspect] of
a thing is an extramental existent and has a more eminent [mode of ] existence
than its sensible [aspect]. Therefore, they taught that the universal one, which
is common to all of which it is predicated, is the cause of the existence of al
l beings which are said to be one as well as the cause of their measurability. B
asically, these are the results of the consideration of this question [provided]
by those who preceded Aristotle. Aristotle now distinguisheda between an intell
igible and a sensible existence of formsb and [made clear] that the intelligible
qua intelligible has no extramental existence, but rather exists outside the mi
nd only qua sensible [form], and that the ten categories are the most general se
nsible things. Furthermore, it had already become evident with respect to the ac
cidental categories that in each of their genera there is a one which is the cau
se of existence for all species existing in the genus in question as well as for
their measurability [456]. E.g. whiteness which, in the [genus of ] colours, is
the cause of the existence of the other colours and of their measurability (for
blackness is the privation of whiteness rather than something in itself ), and
similarly in the [genus of poetic] speech the [parts of a foot called] cord and peg
[457] which are metres of speech, or the interval of a quarter tone [458] in the
[genus of ] melodic intervals [459]. Consequently, [Aristotle] maintained that
there must be such a thing in the category of substance, since there are many su
bstances, I mean that there [must] be in this [category] a one which is the caus
e of the existence of the remaining substances, and not only of substances but a
lso of the remaining beings, for these are measurable only in so far as they exi
st in a substance (for they cannot exist other than through substance as has bee
n shown at the beginning of this science [460]).
a b Reading, with ms. H, infasala lahu instead of T-F-S-L lahu or similar un dott
ed versions in the remaining manuscripts. Reading wujudu l-suwari l-ma qulu min
wujudiha l-mahsusi. All manu scripts read wujudu l-suwari l-ma qulati min wujudiha
l-mahsusi which makes no sense, for that which is distinguished must be either
intelligible forms vs. sensible forms (which would require min wujudi l-suwari l
-mahsusati) or in tellectual vs. sensible modes of existence of forms. The contin
uation of the sentence indicates that it is the latter what Ibn Rushd is referri
ng to.
j 120
q 108 a 107
122
Translation
q 109
a 108 j 121
m 381v
If the one to which this description applies is found as [something] separated f
rom matter, the term oneness is most appropriately [predicated] of it, since the t
erm being is most appropriately [predicated] of this. Thus, the present question i
s reduced in itself to the question whose investigation has been pursued since t
he very beginning [of this science] and to which these things were premiseda in
the hope of understanding it [better], that is [the question] whether there is a
separate substance which is the principle of sensible substances, or [whether]
sensible substance is self-sufficient with respect to existence. The two questio
ns [461] are one with respect to the object [of investigation], and two regardin
g the respect [in which this object is investigated]. Hence, clarifying one of t
hem will clarify the other. Furthermore, in case it should turn out that there a
re more than one separate substances, it is, again, necessary that there is a [f
irst] one among them which is the cause of their being multiple and countable. A
ll this will become evident in the second part of this science, for the present
consideration of these things has the function to prepare for this part [of meta
physics] which forms the aim of this [consideration] [462] (in view of the nobil
ity of its [topic] some people thought that the divine science considers the sep
arate things only). So far now for the one in so far it is coextensive with bein
g and for [the question] in which way one has to investigate its relation to the
first one. As the one is opposed to the many, we have to consider [in what foll
ows] in how many ways they are opposed [463]. We say: One and many are opposed i
n many ways one of which is [the opposition] of divisible and indivisible. This
[opposition] seems to be of the [type of ] opposition which is [found] between p
ossession and privation, for the one is that which lacks the divisibility which
is found in multiplicity [464]. Furthermoreb, the one is opposed to the many in
terms of its specific properties [466], for the one has specific properties, nam
ely [being] the
a Omitting, with mss. H, M, and I. Mantino innama kana (simply), which is presumab
ly an addition of a later copyist who read (erroneously) wa-taqaddum hadhihi l-a
shya i instead of wa-tuqaddamu hadhihi l-ashya u and thus deemed it necessary to
add a predicate. The transmission of the following ten lines, up to substance by
necessity, is quite confused and lacunose in the Arabic manuscripts. The reconst
ructed text on which the translation is based can be found in note [465].
b
Chapter Three
123
same in [the category of ] substance, the like in [the category of ] quality, an
d the equal in [the category of ] quantity (in other words, one in substance is
the same, [one] in quality is the like, and [one] in quantity is the equal), and
the many has specific properties opposed to [these] specific properties of one,
namely the other, the unlike, and the unequal. Now that which is opposed to the
one qua same among these [properties] is otherness (for the same and the other
are opposed to each other, which is why everything in the [category of ] substan
ce by necessity is either the same or the other). This still holds good when we
take into account the [different] modes of predication of same and other enumerated
[above] [467]. As we have said [there], the same is predicated of the genus, the f
orm, and the individual (providing it has two names, or the signification of its
name refers [implicitly] to the signification of its definition)a. Furthermore,
[it was said there] that the same by species, if [predicated] of a substance, i
s called identical, if [predicated] of a quantity, it is called equal, and if [predi
cated] of a quality, it is called like (the latter holds good even for the [differ
ent] ways of predication of the term like enumerated [above] [468]). Accordingly,
anything must be eitherb identical or non-identical, or equal or unequal, or lik
e or unlike; and all this amounts to that a thing is either the same or the othe
r, [and this] either absolutely or under a [certain] condition [469]. Difference
is not opposed to the same in the way the other is opposed [to it], for the oth
er need not be other through something c, whereas that which is different is dif
ferent with respect to something. Difference admits more and less, whereas this
is not admitted
a After definition, a number of manuscripts adds and the other is predi cated of the
pposites of these kinds [of predication] (wa-yuqalu ghayrun f muqabilati hadhihi l
-anwa , adopted by Amn and Jiham), which seems to be out of place as Ibn Rushd con
tinues his recapitulation of the modes of predication of the same. The phrase is o
mitted in mss. H, M, and in I. Mantino. After either ms. M adds the same or the oth
er, or (huwa-huwa wa-imma ghayran imma), ms. adds the same (huwa-huwa) neither of
which makes sense in view of the continuation of the sentence. Reading, with ms
. , ghayran li-shay in, similarly ghayran bi-shay in (other in a certain respect)
in ms. P. The remaining mss. have ghayra l-shay i ([need not to be] another thin
g). The same misreading occurs in the Arabic manuscript of Ibn Rushds Long Comment
ary on the Metaphysics, p. 1297, l. 10 (textus), p. 1298, l. 8 (lemma), correcte
d by Bouyges (cf. apparatus criticus).
q 110 j122
a 109
b
c
124
Translation
a 110 q111
by othernessa. This is so because that which is different is different [only] wi
th respect to something, [that is] while being different in some respect, it is
in another respect the same [as that from which it differs] [470]. Hence, multip
licity is not pure other[ness], but rather otherness in a certain respect, that
is differenceb, whereas that which belongs to things which are mutually other ca
nnot come together at the same time in the same respect in one and the same subj
ect [471]. [All] these [things] are opposites, of which there are, in general, f
our types: contraries, possession and privation, affirmation and negation, and [
opposite] relatives (in how many ways contrariety and possession and privation a
re predicated has been stated above). However, true contraries are [only] those
which are found in one and the same genus, being that which is at the greatest [
possible] difference and most remote distance. Things which are other in genus,
on the other hand, despite being distant from one another, do not admit more and
less in distance. Hence, their [way of ] being distant from one another is diff
erent c from that of contraries, as [is shown by the fact] that more than one of
them can come together in one and the same subject (such as things falling unde
r the ten categoriesd which are separated by their genera). As a matter of fact,
when these are said to be distant from one another, then [only] in the sense th
at they neither do come into being from one another nor are found together in an
y genus, but not in the sense that their being distant from one another is a kin
d of contrariety. Contraries, on the other hand, are [things] which belong to on
e and the same genuse, and they are at the greatest [possible] distance and
a The Arabic text corresponding to in the way (p. 123, l. 23) ... by otherness is
omitted in ms. H, secluded by Amn (p. 109, note 1), and ignored in the translatio
ns by Horten and Van den Bergh. The last sentence of this section (Difference ...
by otherness) has been transposed in I. Mantinos translation after the following
sentence. The last sentence (Hence ... difference) is transmitted in mss. H and M
only. The Arabic text corresponding to admit ... different is omitted by homoiotel
euton in ms. H, secluded by Amn (p. 109, note 12), and ignored in the translation
s by Horten and Van den Bergh. Reading, with the majority of the manuscripts, ka
-l-ashya i l-llat tahta l-maqulati l- ashr instead of ka-l-maqulati l- ashr in ms
. M and I. Mantino or ka-l-hali f l-maqulati l- ashr in ms. H (as [in the case of
] the ten categories). Omitting, with mss. M, P, , and I. Mantino, wa-ghayrun bi
-l-surati (and
b c
d
e
Chapter Three
125
difference from one another with respect to form, which is why they cannot come
together in one and the same subject and why the comingto-be of one of them is b
y necessity the corruption of the other. Two things having such a formI mean [thin
gs such that] the coming-to-be of one of which is the corruption of the otherare i
n the most remote distance from one another with respect to being. Therefore, on
e says in defining contraries that they are those two [things] whose subject is
one and the same while they are at the most remote distance from each other with
respect to beinga. From this definition it becomes evident that no contrary has
more than one contrary, for if that which is complete in its genus is that beyo
nd and above which there is nothing, the complete with respect to distance must
be [that] nothing more remote than which exists [in that genus]. For suppose the
re is another thing contrary to it: this [must] be either more contrary to it wi
th respect to being than the first [contrary] or less [contrary]. In the latter
case, it would have the disposition of an intermediate between the two contrarie
s and [thus] it would not be an extreme. But if it is more [contrary than the fi
rst one], then that which has been supposed [as being] at the end of [this] cont
rariety [actually] is not at its end, but rather an intermediate [472]. It is no
t possible that there are two things on one and the same level of contrariety at
the greatest [possible] distance to another thing different from these twob, fo
r there can be no greatest [possible] distance except between exactly two ends w
hich are at the greatest [possible] distance. This is why there can be no more t
han one straight line between two end [points] [473]. Since in the definition of
contraries the [concept of ] distance becomes evident, and [since] the term dist
ance is predicated primarily and secundum prius of quantity, the first contrariet
y must be contrariety in place, and this [contrariety] must be the cause of [the
fact] that the remaining contraries exist in substances and that they exist tog
ether
differ with respect to form) transmitted in mss. G and H in textu, in the remaini
ng mss. in margine. The last sentence is omitted by homoioteleuton in mss. M and
and secluded by uiros. Reading, with all manuscripts except ms. H, li-shay i
n akharihima. Amn follows ms. H which has li-shay in akhara (but omits also the f
irst three words of the following clause), whereas uiros suggests to read li-sh
ay in akhara mimma (to another thing of those which [are at the greatest distance
]).
j 123
m 382r
a b
126
Translation
q 112
a 111
j 124
q 113
[474]. If [there were] no [spatial] extension, it would be impossible that contr
aries such as hot and cold and the like existed simultaneously. Taking this into
consideration, the presence of dimension in prime matter is a prerequisitea for
the existence of contraries [in substances]. There are contraries one [or the o
ther] of which must be [present] in the subject capable of receiving them (such
as even and odd, one [or the other] of which must [apply to] every number), and
there are contraries both of which can be absent from [their] subject (as in [th
e case of ] colours that which as capable of receiving black and white) [475]. A
ccordingly, there are two kinds of contraries, those which have no intermediate,
and those which have an intermediate. Since change is always [change] from one
contrary to the other, as has become evident in the Physics [476], by necessity
there exists [in change] an intermediate between the two contrariesb, for the in
termediate is that into which that which changes from one extreme to the other c
hanges first [477]. E.g. change from black into white does not occur without pre
vious change into one of the intermediates of these two [colours]. The intermedi
ate and the extremes between which the intermediate [lies] must therefore necess
arily belong to one and the same genus. Otherwise the intermediates could not be
the first into which the change passes, for things belonging to distinct genera
do not change into one another [478]. If extremes and intermediates belong to o
ne and the same genus, it is clear that the intermediates are compounded of the
extremes, for if they were not compounded, but rather a sort of combinationI mean,
if the extremes existed in actuality in the intermediate in the way they exist
individually, then the [intermediates] would be identical with the extremes. But w
e have supposed that the intermediates are contraries only inasmuch as they part
icipate in the contrariety of the extremes and, in general, that they are distin
ct from the extremes. All this is evidence of [the fact] that it is not possible
that the intermediates are [themselves] extremes in pure actuality, or that the
extremes inhere in them in pure actuality. Hence, inasmuch as extremes exist in
the intermediates, they can exist simultaneously in one and the same subject,
a b Shartan in all manuscripts except ms. H and I. Mantino which read huwa l-sab
abu (is the cause). The Arabic text corresponding to by necessity ... contraries is
omitted in ms. H, secluded by Amn (p. 111, note 2), and ignored by Horten and Van
den Bergh.
Chapter Three
127
but this is not possible for them inasmuch as they are [actually] extremes and i
n accordance with their ultimate perfection. [Rather] the extremes inhere in the
intermediates in a sort of existence intermediate between pure actuality and pu
re potentiality. Hence, the intermediate cannot exist except in things which are
compoundeda. There is therefore no intermediate between health and sickness bec
ause health is naturally not compounded with sickness, and one [or the other] of
the two must be [present] in the subject capable of receiving them. For sicknes
s is the evident disorder of the active or passive functions of the organs, wher
eas health is the lack of this disorder [480]. Between disorder and lack of diso
rder there is no evident intermediary, even though disorder admits more and less
. Galen used the term intermediate impreciselyb in referring to the state which is
neither health nor sickness [481], for this state is by necessity either health
or sickness (though not in [their] maximum) c. Hence, all that is referred to b
y negating both extremes must be conceived as truly intermediate. E.g. saying of
dust colour that it is neither white nor black means exactly that it is an enti
ty which lacks part of what is present in the two extremes (which are [together
with it] under one and the same genus), while there exists in itd one thing by w
ay of mixture of both extremese. But if one refers by negating both extremes to
a thing which does not [fall] under the same genus as the extremes, then it is n
ot an intermediate [of these extremes], e.g. saying
a b The last sentence is omitted in ms. H, secluded by Amn, and ignored in the tr
anslations by Horten and Van den Bergh; cf. also note [479]. Reading bi-tajawwuz
. The Arabic mss. have either ya/tajuzu (is toler able/possible), which does not fi
t into the syntax of the sentence, or similar undotted versions which admit a gr
eat variety of possible readings none of which seems to make sense. I. Mantino t
ranslates largo modo (fol. 382 va), which possibly points to the reading bi-jawaz
or bi-tajawwuz. Cf. also note [481]. The Arabic text corresponding to for this st
ate ... maximum is omitted in ms. H, secluded by Amn (p. 112, note 6), and ignored
in the translations by Horten and Van den Bergh. Reading, with mss. G and M, wa
-wujida laha instead of wa-wujida lahuma of the remaining mss. and wa-wujudun la
ha edited by uiros. The Arabic text corresponding to while ... extremes is omitte
d in ms. H, secluded by Amn (p. 112, note 10), and ignored in the translations by
a 112
j 125
m 382v
c
d e
128
Translation
q 114
a 113
j 126
q 115
of a stone that it is neither speaking nor mute or of the deity that it is neith
er outside nor inside the world. This proprium marks off contraries from the rem
aining types of opposites, for for none of them there is what is truly intermedi
ate. As for affirmation and negation, this is clear [482]. As for privation, as
far as its [validity] has the same effect as negation, its disposition [with res
pect to intermediates] is the same as that of negation [483]. This concerns priv
ation qua opposite of being, as when we say the existent comes to be from the non
-existent. As for the remaining types of privation, it is possible to imagine an
intermediate between the two [opposites]. However, [this is] not a true [interme
diate], as when we say of a newborn child that it is neither capable of seeing n
or blind, or of a stone that it is neither speaking nor mute (but we have dealt
with such [opposites] [484]). As for [opposition of ] relatives, there is natura
lly no intermediate between them in so far they are relatives, since relatives a
re not subject to the condition of pertaining to one and the same genus [485]. E
.g. acting and being acted on: the one may belong to this genus, the other to th
at genus. However, as far as contrariety is a concomitant of relation, there mig
ht be an intermediate in the [relation], yet this [only] in so far it is a contr
ariety, not in so far it is a relation (e.g. the intermediates between small and
great and between above and below). From these things it has become plain that
these four types of opposites are distinct from one another, while it has [also]
become evident that privation and possession are in a way the principles of con
traries and of affirmation and negation [486]. This is so because coming-to-be i
s either from privation of form or from contrary form, while it is a necessary c
oncomitant of the contrary formdespite being [itself ] a contraryto be deprived of t
he contrary which comes to be, for privation necessarily precedes that which is
coming to be. Therefore, privation is a necessary concomitant of contraries and
prior to them by its nature [487]. Moreover, it is a concomitant of either contr
ary to lack the other, and lacking [something] is being deprived of perfection (
such as hot and cold, wet and dry)a [488]. As for negation, it is clear that it
does not differ from this kind of privation, I mean absolute [privation].
a The Arabic text corresponding to Moreover ... dry is omitted in ms. H, secluded
by Amn (p. 113, note 6), and ignored in the translations by Horten and Van den Be
rgh; cf. note 488.
Chapter Three
129
Since contraries, as explained, differ with respect to form while they are one i
n genus, we have to consider whether all contraries differ in form, or [whether]
this is not necessarily [the case] [489]. We say: All contraries which are nece
ssary concomitants of the things form differ necessarily in form, such as that wh
ich comes to be and corrupts and the eternal; for that which is subject to comin
g-to-be and corruption cannot inhere in the same form as the eternal. Otherwise
there could exist eternal men [490]. On the other hand, contraries present in a
thing because of matter are by no means prevented from inhering in one and the s
ame form, such as male and female inhering in one and the same species, and like
wise white and black [491]. So far, our discourse has made clear what the concom
itants of the one and the many are and that they area the principles of the gene
ra of opposition [492]. What has to be considered, therefore, is [the question]
which kind of opposition is specific for them, for if there were no one, there w
ould be no multiplicity, and if there were no multiplicity, there would be no op
position at all [493]. We say: The one and the many cannot be opposed by contrar
iety, for the contrary of the many is the few, but one is not few, since few is
among the attributes of that which is divisible. Rather being few is an accident
of the one only inasmuch as the one is a divisible thing, but not in so far it
is one. Moreover, if the one were few, two would be many, for the few and the ma
ny are predicated by [mutual] relation [494]. As a result, the one will be a plu
rality [495], but all this is impossible. Also, it has been shown that it is the
nature of contraries to have only one contrary, and that the two [contraries be
long] to one and the same genus. But this does not apply to the one and the many
[496]. As for [the question] whether they are opposed in terms of privation and
possession, this has been a matter of dispute. One may indeed hold that, in so
far the one is something indivisible and the many [something] divisible, the pri
vation of divisibility, which inheres in the many, is the [necessary] concomitan
t of the [one] [497]. However, many of the ancients maintained that things are t
he other way round, I mean they conceived the many as the privation of oneness.
What seduced them to
a Reading, with mss. D, M, and I. Mantino, wa-annahuma, instead of waayyuhuma (an
d which of both are) in the majority of the manuscripts, or wa-ayyuha (and which a
re) in ms. ; cf. also note 492.
a 114
m 383r
j 127
q 116
130
Translation
a 115
q 117
j 128
this [position] was, as far as I can see, their opinion that privation, as a rul
e, is meaner than possession, and possession is nobler, and [that] this fits the
relation of the one and the many, since the former is the cause of existence of
the latter. But taken in this way things rather seem to suggest that the one is
the privation of the many, for a lot of privations are nobler than the inferior
existents, as at certain times not to see may be better than to see [498]. Howe
ver, assuming that [the one and the many] are opposed in this way likewise entai
ls a preposterous absurdity, namely that possession subsists in privation, since
this holds good for the one and the many. Therefore, we deem it more appropriat
e to conceive their opposition as pertaining to the type of [opposed] relatives,
for the one is accidentally that which measures and the many that which is meas
urable, and measure and the measurable belong to the [category of ] relation [49
9]. However, this [kind of ] relation is not a substantial [property] of the one
, but rather accidental to it [500], which is why the one is said to be related
to the many in a way different from predicating [relation] of things mutually re
lated to one another. [Rather,] the situation with this [relation] is similar to
that of cause and effect: fire is the cause of fiery things but its being fire
is different from its being cause. Accordingly, fire [belongs] to the category o
f substance in so far it is fire, and to the category of relation in so far it i
s cause (all this is self-evident). Similarly, the term many does not seem to sign
ify the [relation between the one and the many] in so far it has this relationsh
ip (although it does not subsist other than through this [relation]), but rather
this term is predicated [relatively] only in relation to the few [501]. Hence,
this relation between the many and the one applies to the many only in so far as
this is measurable and to the one [only] in so far as it is that which measures
. Or else, we say that the one is opposed to the many by both modes [of oppositi
on] in different ways [502], such that the many does not subsista [in it] in so
far as the privation of the many is accidental to it, but rather in so far it is
the principle of the many (this being how they are opposed to each other as rel
atives), while the one is also opposed to
a
The Arabic text corresponding to by both modes ... subsist is omitted by homoiotel
euton in ms. H, secluded by Amn (p. 115, note 13), and ignored by Horten and Van
den Bergh.
Chapter Three
131
a 116
the many in so far as this privation, I mean [the privation of ] the divisibilit
y which is found in the many, is accidental to it (this being how the [oppositio
n of ] possession and privation [applies to them]). Furthermore, one may raise t
he following question: If one thing has only one contrary, how can the equal be
opposed to the great and the small [503]? For if one thing has only one contrary
, the equal cannot be a contrary of both. Moreover, the equal is in between the
great and the small, whereas a contrary is not in between, but rather that which
is in between is between contraries. This aporia can be solved by [conceiving]
the equal as being opposed to the great and the small only by [being opposed to]
the unequal, which makes [this opposition] an opposition between privation and
possession [504]. Having dealt with the one and the many and their concomitants,
we have to consider at the present place the finiteness of the four [kinds of ]
causes, i.e. matter, agent, form, and end, because this will be helpful both fo
r proceeding to what we are searching for, I mean [our] search for the principle
s of substance, as well as for [better understanding] a lot of what has preceded
. For this reason Aristotle set up postulates for this [search] in his first boo
k on this science, that is the Book entitled Small Alif [505]. By finishing this
task the first part of this science will come to its end, God willing. We say:
If we assume [a series of ] more than two effects, three and more [than three],
presupposing the finiteness of their causesa, they will evidently consist of thr
ee kinds [of effects]: first, intermediate, and last. To each of these there is
something peculiar: to the last it is peculiar not to be a cause of anything wha
tsoever. To the intermediate it is peculiar to be both cause and effect, effect
of the first, [that is,] and cause of the last (regardless whether the intermedi
ate is supposed to be one or a finite plurality or something else, since it is t
he [peculiar] disposition of the intermediate qua intermediate, not of a particu
lar intermediate, I mean a finite or an infinite [one]). And to the first it is
peculiar to be cause only andqua causenot to be an effect of anything whatsoever. It
s existence is opposed to [that of ] the last, whereas the intermediate is like
that which is compounded [of and] between the extremes. All this is self-evident
.
a Reading wa-faradnaha mutanahiyata l- ilal instead of wa-faradnaha mutanahiyata
l- adad (presupposing their [i.e. the effects] numerical finite ness) in all testimo
nies including I. Mantino; cf. note [506].
m 383v
q 118
j 129
a 117
132
Translation
q 119
j 130
a 118
m 384r
But if we assume an infinite [chain] of causes for a certain last effect, we imp
licitly assumea an infinite [number] of intermediates. Now, intermediates qua in
termediates, no matter whether finite or infinite [in number], require, as state
d [above], a first cause in so far as they are effects. Otherwise, it would be p
ossible that there are effects without a cause. But then assuming these intermed
iates to be infinite [in number] is self-contradictory, for intermediates necess
arily have a first cause, while assuming them to be infinite entails the consequ
ence that there is no first cause [for them] [507]. Furthermore, it is impossibl
e that there is an intermediate without [there being] extremes. Positing [that]
this [is possible] is like positing self-contradictory statements (such as posit
ing an entity which is infinite in actuality). It has already become clear in th
e Sophistical [Refutations] that such [posits] are different from assuming the f
alsehood of the thesis [508]. The above proof, though [holding good] most specif
ically for efficient and moving causes, can be applied generally for the proof o
f the finiteness of [all] four [kinds of ] causes. However, it might be more app
ropriate to prove this for each of the remaining [kinds of ] causes separately b
y specific [arguments]. We therefore begin with the material cause, and say: Thi
ngs are said to come to be from something else in two [different] ways. F irst,
in the way we say that water comes to be from air, air from water, white from bl
ack, and black from white [509]. From in these [cases] does not really mean afterb,
since that from which the coming-to-be actually takes place is the substrate of
water, air, white, and black, not the form of water or the form of air, nor the
white or the black itself. It rather has this meaning [only] in the sense that t
he form of water disappears from the substrate and is followed by the form of ai
r [510]. In such [cases] it is not possible that that from which [a thing] comes
to be is prior to that which comes to be, nor [can this] go on infinitely [511]
, for it is impossible to imagine the form of water as being prior to the form o
f air, or the form of air [as being prior] to the form of water. Rather they are
together on one and the same level. Both have the same substrate, and each of t
hem is in one
a b Lit. we have already assumed. Reading wa-min hahuna f l-haqqati laysa bi-ma
a d instead of wa-min hahuna f l-haqqati hiya (hiya codd. : innama hiya mss. H M)
bi-ma na ba d (From in these [cases] means in reality [+ only, mss. H M] after
note 510.
Chapter Three
133
and the same way in potentiality or by disposition the other, which is why comin
g-to-be in these [things] is reversible. The second way in which we say that one
thing comes to be from another is [as follows]: the thing which is said to be [
that] from which another [thing] comes to be exists actually [512] only in so fa
r as it is disposed for becoming perfect through another thing and through anoth
er form, such that this substrate has existence only in so far it is moved to pe
rfection through this later thing, as long as nothing prevents this [process of
perfection]. E.g. the nutritive faculty which, in the fetus, is disposed to rece
ive [the state] of the animal [soul], likewise the animal [soul] being disposed
for receiving rationality. For in each of these [cases] we say that from the nut
ritive faculty the animal [soul] comes to be, and from the animal [soul] rationa
lity comes to be; and similarly we say that from the boy the man comes to be. Fo
r this class [of things coming to be] it is very well imaginable that that which
comes to be has more than one substrate in actuality. Unlike the first kind [of
coming to be] this kind is characterized by [the fact] that what is later in it
does not belong in potentiality to the substratea [of that from which it came t
o be] and cannot change [back] into this [513]. [This is so] because that which
is prepared is disposed for receiving the end, but the end is not disposed for r
eceiving that which is prepared. This shows that this kind of substrates [of com
ing-to-be] likewise cannot go on infinitely, for if that were the case, [one wou
ld have to assume that] there is an infinite [number of ] things in actuality in
that which is finite, no matter whether the substrates exist in the thing by pu
re actuality (as is the case with the nutritive faculty being the substrate of s
ense perceptionb ), or whether they exist [there] in a state intermediate betwee
n potentiality and actuality (as is the case with the elements in homeomeric thi
ngs). Moreover, it has been shown in the Physics that there is an essentially fo
rmless substrate [514], and such a [thing] cannot have a substrate, unless it ha
d a form [which is selfa Reading, with ms. H and I. Mantino, laysa huwa bi-l-quw
wati li-l-mawdu i subinstead of laysa huwa bi-l-quwwati l-mawdu a (is not in pote
ntiality the strate) of the remaining manuscripts. Reading, with the majority of
the manuscripts, al-mawdu ati li-l-hiss instead of al-mawdu ati li-l-jins (the su
bstrate of the genus) in ms. H and al mawdu ati li-l-jann (the substrate of the fetus
in ms. M (adopted by uiros and n). Am
q 120
j 131
a 119
q 121
b
134
Translation
j 132 a 120
q 122
m 384v
contradictory]. Now, if the first substrate and the last form are those which co
nstitute the finite extremes in all [processes of coming-to-be of ] sensibles, t
hat which is between them must be finite, [too]. For it would make no sense to s
uppose things to be finite with respect to their extremes yet infinite with resp
ect to their intermediates. This would be a self-contradictory thesis, since tha
t which is infinite is infinite in every respect, not in one respect to the excl
usion of another, as is clear when carefully considered. As for causes which are
ends, it is likewise clear that they do not go on infinitely, for positing this
leads back to its negation [515]. [This is so] because if motion or progressing
went on ad infinitum, infinite [meaning here that] the way does not come to an
end, there will be nothing the motion or progressing goes to. Hence, it is futil
e and absurd [516]. This is impossible not only in cases where the end exists as
a sequel of the motion but also in those cases which have an end intrinsic to t
heir existence due to the fact that they are not subject to change, that is [in]
things which are immaterial. As for form [517], it is likewise plain that it ca
nnot go on ad infinitum. As far as this concerns material forms which are in all
parts of the world, it is as clear as is the finiteness of the substrates, for
there cannot be an infinity of forms for a finite thing, nor can there be for it
an infinity of substrates [518]. But the case is also evident with respect to t
he total of the world, for since its simple parts are like forms for one another
, as has become plain in the natural sciences [519], these simple parts, being p
erfections for one another, cannot go on ad infinitum, as also the perfections c
annot go on ad infinitum. E.g. earth exists only due to water, water due to air,
air due to fire, and fire due to the heavens. Such [a series of ] perfections c
annot go on ad infinitum. Also, if we suppose forms other than those combined wi
th matter which are perfections for one another, their finiteness can be shown b
y that very proof, I mean by taking into consideration [the argument] which has
shown the finiteness of the final causes. From this discussion it has become pla
in that the four [kinds of ] causes are finite and that there is a most remote m
atter, a most remote agent, a most remote form, and a most remote end. As for [t
he question] whether the most remote cause in each [type] is one or can be more
than one, this can be clarified as follows. As for prime matter, it has become p
lain in the Physics that it is one for the things subject to coming-to-be and co
rruption [520], and [that it is] due to this [fact that]
Chapter Three
135
simple [bodies] can change into one another. As for the most remote agent, if th
is consisted in more than one agent, the term agent would necessarily be predicate
d of them either univocally or by analogy to a meaning common to them. If it is
predicated of them univocally, there [must] be a genus common to them. Hence, th
e most remote agent would be something material [521], whereas it has become pla
in in the Physics that this is impossible (by agent I mean [here] the most remote
moving [cause])a [522]. If, on the other hand, it is predicated of them by analo
gy to one thing, no matter whether their relation to this is on one level or on
different [levels], this thing to which they are relatedb [must] be the first ag
ent through which each of them becomes an agent. Thus, they would be effects [ra
ther than causes], and none of them would be a most remote agent. Therefore, the
most remote agent must be one by necessity. The same proof shows that this [hol
ds] likewise for the final and the formal causes, I mean that the most remote of
these [kinds of causes] must be numerically one. As it has become plain that th
ere are exactly four most remote causes c, we shall now consider [the question]
whether it is possible that in each of these [most remote causes] the remaining
[three most remote] causes, or some of them, are present [523]. We say: Concerni
ng prime matter it has already become clear in the Physics that it is formless.
Hence, it is not possible that it involves an efficient [cause], since the effic
ient [cause] is exactly that which supplies its effect with form. On the other h
and, it must necessarily involve an end (which consists in form); otherwise ther
e would exist that whose nature is not to exist [524]. As for the most remote ef
ficient [cause], this must be immaterial inasmuch as it has to be eternal. Furth
ermore, it is necessary that it has form. Yet it is a matter of doubt whether it
involves [also] final causality. For if we suppose that it has a final cause [d
istinct from it], it must be an effect of this [final cause], since the end is n
obler than the
a b This parentheses is found in all mss., but omitted in Amns edition. Reading al
ladh tunsabu ilayhi. Some manuscripts read alladh yunsabu ilayhi (this thing to whi
ch it is related), which has been adopted by uiros and Jiham, others are undotted
. Only ms. H reads alladh nisbatuha ilayhi (this thing to which they are related),
adopted by Amn. The Arabic text corresponding to As ... causes is omitted by homoio
teleuton in ms. H and ignored in the translations by Horten and Van den Bergh.
a 121
j 133
q 123
c
136
Translation
a 122
q 124 j 134
m 385r
agent. And since the [most remote agent] is immaterial, the final [cause] could
be nothing else than the cause of its existence. Further, since we had supposed
that the [agent] is the efficient [cause] of [the realization of ] the end, and
hence [that it] is a cause of the end, it would [have to] be the cause of itself
. (This does not apply to material things, for [there] the efficient [cause] is
cause of the end only in so far as these [things] are coming to be or material,
while the [end] is cause of the [agent] in so far it is the end [of their coming
-to-be].) And since [525] this is impossible, the only [alternative] left is tha
t its end is its essence [526], like the scholar whose end in teaching [lies] so
lely in disseminating the good, or [like] the lawa which moves men to virtue wit
hout thereby [itself ] acquiring any virtue. By analogy, it becomes evident too
that the first form has no efficient [cause], for if that were the case, it woul
d not be the most remote form, for it would [have to] exist prior [to being the
most remote form] in the efficient [cause] [527]. [Still] less appropriate is [t
he assumption] that it is material. If the [most remote form] has no efficient [
cause], it [must] be one with the most remote efficient [cause] with respect to
the substrate. Forb if we suppose them to be numerically two, [the most remote f
orm] must be caused by the efficient [cause]. Or else, the latter [must] be caus
ed by the former in so far it has form, but then it would not be a first agent.
Similarly, it cannot have a final [cause] either, for the end has form, so that
there would be a form prior to it, hence it would not be the most remote form. I
f this is the case, its end [must] be its essence. Therefore, it is impossible t
o posit a first final [cause] distinct from a first efficient [cause] and from a
first formal [cause]. This [is so] because the first form and the most remote a
gent are one with respect to the substrate, as has become clear from this discus
sion, and [because] the most remote agent, as stated [above], cannot have an end
distinct from its essence. Thus, this discussion has shown that all things go b
ack to one [ultimate] cause which is end, agent, and form. We will show this, Go
d willing, in a more specific way below.
a
) in I. Mantino (fol. 384vb). The same example, again with reference,
Al-namus in all Arabic manuscripts, but legu institutor (wadi al-namus?,
b
not to the law-giver, but to the law occurs below, p. 153 of the translation. In
stead of li-anna Amn reads wa-ab adu min hadha fa-inna without any manuscript evi
dence.
Chapter Three
137
We have now reached the end of Chapter Three, and with its completion the first
part of this science [of metaphysics] is complete. Praise be to the Lord manifol
dly and eternally.
138
a 123 j135 q 125
Translation
CHAPTER FOUR
So far, it has been said that being is predicated of all ten categories, that it i
s predicated of substance by priority and of the remaining categories by posteri
ority, and that the substance is the cause of the existence of the remaining cat
egories. Furthermore, it has been said above that sensible substance is divided
into matter and form both of which are again substances, in so far as the sensib
le substance is divisible into them with respect to existencea and constituted b
y them. And [it has been said] that the remaining categories are constituted by
the category of substance, that universals and the intelligible [concepts]b of t
hese things have no extramental existence, that universals are not the cause of
existence of their sensible particulars, but rather the particular form and the
particular matter are the sole causes of the existence of the concrete substance
. Furthermore, [it has been said] that that which c is brought about by an indiv
idual is another individual of the same or a similar species, and that the unive
rsal form and the universal matter are not subject to coming-to-be and corruptio
n. This is the level of knowledge about the principles of existenced reached in
the preceding discourse. Since this discipline considers the relation of being t
o its first [and] most remote causes, we must consider [the question] whether th
ese principles whose existence appeared in sensible substance (I mean matter and
form) are sufficient for the existence of sensible substance, such that there i
s no separate substance causing the existence of sensible substancee, or [whethe
r] there is a separate substance which, being eternally in actuality, is the cau
se of existence of the sensible substance. And if so, [we have to ask] what kind
of existence it has and in how many ways it is said to be the principle of sens
ible substance [528]. Moreover, [we have to ask] whetherjust as it has become plai
n in physics that [all kinds of ] matters come to an end in first matter
a b Al-wujud in all Arabic mss., vniuersum esse I. Mantino (fol. 385ra). Reading,
with mss. M, T, and I. Mantino, wa-ma qulatiha instead of wamaqulatiha (and the c
ategories) of the remaining mss. (adopted by Jiham). Reading, with I. Mantino, in
a ma instead of innama (all Arabic mss.). Al-wujud in all Arabic mss., vniuersi I.
Mantino (fol. 385rb). The Arabic text corresponding to such that ... substance is
omitted by homoioteleuton in ms. M and I. Mantino and secluded by Amn (p. 123, n
ote 9).
q 126
a 124
j 136
c d e
Chapter Four
139
existing in somethingso form [too] comes to an end in a first form existing in som
ething, or [whether this is] a separate [form], and similarly [whether] this is
the case with the first end and the most remote agent [529]. The most pertinent
way of attending to this question consists in positing here, like a postulate, w
hat has become clear in physics regarding the existence of immaterial movers [53
0]. In compliance with the [philosophers] habita we have to mention this here as
a reminder, not because it is the task of this science to prove this. So, we say
: It has been shown in physics that each [thing] moved has a mover and that that
which is moved is moved only with respect to something in potentiality, whereas
that which moves moves with respect to something in actuality; and [it has been
shown] that if the mover at one time moves, and at another time does not move,
it is in some sense [itself ] movableb, since there is in it the potency to move
while it does not [actually] move [531]. Therefore, assuming that there is a mo
st remote mover of the world which sometimes moves, and sometimes not, necessari
ly entails [the consequence] that there is another mover prior to it, hence that
it is not the first mover. And when we suppose that this second [mover] too at
one time moves, and at another time does not move, necessarily the same thing wi
ll result for this [mover]. Thus, by necessity, this either goes on ad infinitum
, or else we suppose that there is a mover which is absolutely immovable and whi
ch, by its nature, cannot be moved, no matter whether essentially or accidentall
y. If the latter is the case, this mover must be eternal, and that which is move
d by it must be eternally in motion too. For, if it were set in motion by the et
ernal mover at a certain time in potentiality [only], there would have to be ano
ther mover prior to the eternal mover [532]. This is why the mover whose existen
ce has been shown in [Book] XVI of [Aristotles Book of] Animals is not sufficient
as [sole] cause of motion, without the mover of the cosmos [533].
m 385v
q 127
a 125
a
b
Lit. According to their habit ( ala adatihim), probably referring to the tradition
of Peripatetic commentaries, or else merely performative, in order to indicate
that the following section is, strictly speaking, redundant. Reading, with mss.
H, M, and I. Mantino, mutaharrik instead of muharrik/ muharrak (moving/moved) in t
he remaining mss. (adopted by Amn and Ji ). ham
140
Translation
j 137
q 128
a 126
Now, if it is plain that there is eternal motion, and [if ] eternal motion canno
t exist other than as circular locomotion (as shown in physics [534]), it is cle
ar that this necessarily implies that there is an eternal locomotion [535]. The
only thing perceptible by the senses [fit] by this description is the motion of
the celestial body. Hence, the motion of this body necessarily is an eternal mot
ion, and its mover must be an eternal mover whose existence is [thus] shown by t
he [present] discourse. That there is eternal continuous motion also becomes evi
dent from considering time. For time is one of the concomitants of motion, as ha
s been shown; and not even he who has utmost powera is able to create it. For if
we suppose that it is created, it would be after having been non-existent, and
it would have been non-existent before existing. But before and after are names of p
arts of time, so that time had to exist before it exists [536]. Furthermore, if
time is created, there will be a concrete now prior to which there was no past t
ime. But it is impossible to imagine a concrete now, being in actuality and pres
ent, unpreceded by any past, to say nothing of [the impossibility of ] conceivin
g this by imagining the true nature of time [537]. Errors about this can occur o
nly when we imagine time by its [graphic] illustration, the lineb. For the line,
when actually existing and in so far as it has position, must be finite and, a
fortiori, can be conceived as being finite. Thus, when we conceive time too in t
his way, as if it were a straight line, it cannot be infinite [538]. Among the [
various] kinds of fallacies, this kind of error belongs to the fallacy by infere
nce and substitution [of concepts] [539]. Abu Nasr [al-Farab] argues at length to
this effect in [his treatise entitled] The Changeable Beings [540]. If this is t
he case and it is evident that time is continuous [and] eternal, time must be so
mething that follows one eternal [and] continuous motion, because [only] the mot
ion which is truly one is cona Following I. Mantinos translation in vltimo roboris
(fol. 385va), which points to f ghayat al-quwwa in the Arabic version. All Arabic
manuscripts (pace Amn) read f ghayat al-qiha (utmost impudence). Reading, with m
D, G, M, , T, bi-muhakhi wa-huwa l-khatt instead of muhakhi wa-huwa l-khatt (ed.
uiros), which makes no sense, andbi-muhakhi [graphic] illustration, which
stake) in ms. A, wa-huwa l-khata (by its adopted by Jiham. Amn follows ms. H the
ing of which has the same meaning as translated above.
b
Chapter Four
141
tinuous [541]. And if there is an eternal motion, there must be one eternal move
r; for if there were many, the motion would not be one [and] continuous [542]. T
hat this mover is immaterial becomes evident from [the fact] that the motion it
imparts is infinite in time, whereas any material mover necessarily has quantityit
is body or in a bodya , and each power [inherent] in that which has quantity (I m
ean a body) is divisible through the divisibilty of quantity and adherent to thi
s [quantity] with respect to finiteness or infinity. This has been shown in phys
ics [543], [and it holds good] independently of whether this power is [actually]
diffused through the body and a natural part of it, as is the case with heat in
fire and coldness in water, or [whether] it is [only] somehow dependent on matt
er, I mean dependent [on it] as a necessary [prerequisite] of its existence, as
is the case with soul. Since material forms cannot exist as something infinite i
n quantity, as has been shown in physics [544], it follows that there is no infi
nite material power of motion. All this has been demonstrated in physics, and on
e should take it from there. [However,] it is possible to show this point regard
ing this mover here [in metaphysics] in another way. We say: If we suppose the f
irst mover due to which the celestial body is in motion to be material, it must
be in a substrate different from the substrate it moves, and it must be [moving
this] from outside. If this is the case, this body [(i)] either moves the celest
ial body by being conceptualized and imagined by it, as is the case in living be
ings, or [(ii)] it moves it through a natural power, as is the case [with natura
l movement] in space [545]. [(ii)] But that this [latter] is impossible is likew
ise clear. Let us suppose that the motion of this celestial body consists merely
in being attracted by natural impetus, for somebody might content this, and in
order to refute it, it is not sufficient to say, as Ibn Sna did, that motion by n
atural impetus is nothing but [motion] from a non-natural disposition to a natur
al disposition [546]. For this applies only to the natural impetus of bodies mov
ing in rectilinear motion, which is why rest is for these bodies like [their] na
tural disposition, whereas motion is for them a kind of accident. The natural im
petus of this [celestial] body, on the
a Or in a body is omitted in mss. H, T, and I. Mantino, and in the translations by
j 138
m 386r
q 129
a 127
142
Translation
j 139
q 130
a 128
other hand, clearly [would have to] be indifferent with respect to all direction
s [547], as it circles around a centre (this is why one says that it cannot be a
t rest). This might indeed be considered as a possible cause of this bodys motion
[548]. However, as soon as we suppose that this body cannot be other than anima
ted, the impossibility of this [consideration] becomes evident. The reason why i
t clearly is animated is as follows: This [must be so] because it is evident wit
h respect to this body that it is in eternal motion. Therefore, it must desire e
ither motion itself or a concomitant of motion (namely providence for this world
) or both together. For evidently it does not desire the end of motion, since in
that case it would be at rest. Now, all that desires motion itself or a concomi
tant of motion is animated and desiring [on the basis] of concepts, since motion
is an activity of the soul. Without soul there would be only that which is mova
ble. This is [also] shown by what Alexander [of Aphrodisias] taught, namely that
it is impossible that the noblest among animated [bodies] is non-animated. That
the [celestial body] indeed is the noblest among animated [bodies] is [shown] b
y [the fact] that it governs them and is prior to them in nature; further by [th
e fact] that it is eternal, the eternal being nobler than what is not eternal [5
49]. Apparently, it even conceives that which is here [in the sublunar world], f
or otherwise, how could it possibly have this providence for the things here [in
this world]? For that reason the ancients glorified it and looked upon ita as d
eity [550]. But if it has soul, it certainly is moved by sensation or imaginatio
n or [by] conceptualization performed by the intellect. However, it cannot have
sense perception, since sense perception is bestowed upon living beings for the
sake of preservation [551] only, whereas this body has been shown to be eternal
[anyway]. The same applies to imagination, for this toob is bestowed upon living
beings for the sake of preservation. Moreover, there can be no imagination with
out sense perception [552]. [Furthermore,] if this body were moved by sense perc
eption or imagination, its motion would not be one [and] continuous.
a b Reading, with ms. P and I. Mantino (ipsum, fol. 386rb), annahu instead of anna
ha (upon them) in the remaining manuscripts. Reading aydan with the majority of th
e Arabic manuscripts and I. Mantino (etiam, fol. 386rb). Mss. H and M read innama
(only, preferred by uiros and Amn).
Chapter Four
143
[(i)] This being the case, the only [alternative] left is that it is moved by de
sire [emerging] from intellectual conceptualization [553]. However, when we supp
ose the object of this conceptualization to be a body [554] (just as we say [tha
t] the things here, I mean those below the lunar sphere, [are objects of its con
ceptualization]), this would necessitate that the perfection of that which is su
perior comes about through that which is inferior, which is absurd [555]. Furthe
rmore, it is impossible to posit that its motion is caused by conceptualizing an
other, more superior celestial body, for stating the cause of the motion of that
[other] body will entail the same [aporia] as in [the case] of this body, and,
in consequence, the [number of ] celestial bodies will increase ad infinitum [55
6]. If this is the case, and it is impossible that this celestial body is moved
towards another body, no matter whether this body is supposed [to be] superior o
r inferior, it remains only that it is moved by an object of desire which is sup
erior to it, namely that whose existence is best in itself, for the object of [i
ntellectual] desire is that which is best, and the [celestial bodys] best object
of desire must be the noblest of [all] objects of desire and the most perfect of
all that is good [557]. This psychic motion is supported by the impetus it has
by nature, for there is no obstacle between the natural impetus of this body and
its psychic motion, as has been shown in the natural sciences [558]. So, this i
s another [way]a by which one can prove that this mover must be immaterial. Howe
ver, the most specific and reliable method is the one we went through first, tha
t is Aristotles method. It is thus appropriate to posit here these things on the
whole and to take them for granted from him who practises natural science [559].
What has to be considered at the present place regarding these principles, once
their existence is taken for granted in this way, I mean in so far as they are
immaterial [principles], is this: What kind of existence do they have? How many
are they in number [560]? How are they related to sensible substance, I mean in
how many ways are they the principle of [sensible substance] (for many [differen
t] things are called principles) [561]? Furthermore, we shall consider how they
are related to one another with respect to existence, I mean whether some of the
m
j 140
m 386v
q 131
a 129
a
Lit. one of the [ways].
144
Translation
j 141 q 132
are prior to others or [whether] some of them are independent from others, such
that they have no causal relation between them, and if some of them are found to
be causes of others, in how many ways they are causea [562]. Moreover, we shall
[try to] find out what things are common to [all of ] them, in which way [they]
are common to them, and how, in case we find out that some of them are causes o
f others, they differ in rank with respect to what is common [to them]b. The [ki
nd of ] things which are common to them may be, for example, that each of them h
as intellect and perceives itself, that it is substance, alive, and one, and oth
er such things, as will become evident below. In general, the method of consider
ation here in this part [of metaphysics] will be the same as in the preceding pa
rt. For as we treated there the mutual relation between sensible beings in so fa
r as they are beingsI mean [we proceeded] from the first of them [in knowledge] to
the first [in existence] c and the relation of the things which are like their co
ncomitants, so we will have to consider here this kind of being, then [also] the
relation between that sensible existence and its concomitants and this intellec
tual existence. For if we proceed in this way, we shall have provided knowledge
of beings qua beings and their most remote causes. Among Aristotles treatises on
this science, this part of the inquiry is covered by the one called by the lette
r Lam [564]. From what has been said [so far] it is clear that the knowledge of
this part [of metaphysics] is like the completion and perfection of the first pa
rt of this science.
a b Cause (sababan) is omitted in ms. H and secluded by Amn (p. 129, note 3), while
I. Mantino has the plural causae (fol. 386vb). After common [to them] most manuscri
pts add and if they are causes, in how many ways they are cause(s) (wa-idha kanat
asbaban fa- ala kam jihatan takunu asbaban/sababan) which is obviously a doublet
of the final part of the preceding sentence which has been inserted at the pres
ent place due to a lacuna in an early manuscript. Traces of this lacuna are foun
d in mss. M and which omit, partly or entirely, the present sentence (Moreover
... common [to them]). Mss. H and M add only the last part of this doublet (in how
many ... causes). The doublet has been included in the editions by uiros and Ji
ham, but is secluded in the above translation. This parentheses, a n min qibali lawwali minha ila l-awwal, is omitted in mss. H, M and in I. Mantino, and seclude
d by uiros and Amn, but attested in all other manuscripts. Provided my interpret
ation is correct, it is not very likely that we are faced with an interpolation
by a scribe. However, it may stem from a gloss by a scholar familiar with Ibn Ru
shds Long Commentary on the Metaphysics. Cf. also note [563].
c
Chapter Four
145
Having clarified by this discussion what the present consideration in this part
of the science aims at and what it is searching for, we should now begin with th
e detailed inquiry. We say: It becomes plain from the natural sciencesa that the
principles to which this description applies are more than one. For the mover w
hich has been verified in the preceding discourse is distinct from the mover who
se existence has been shown in [Book] XVI of the Book of Animals [565], since th
e former is prior in nature to the latter. This [is so] because this latter need
s that former in order to set [something] in motion. If the former did not prepa
re for the [latter] its substrates on which it acts, it could not effect anythin
g, as shown in the natural sciences [566], whereas the former is not in need of
the latter in order to set [something] in motion. Moreover, it is evident from s
ense perception that the celestial body performs many [different] motions [which
look] like partial motions of that which is moved by the greatest motion, as if
the moving celestial spheres would be parts or like parts of the greatest celes
tial sphere. As shown in the natural sciences, they [all] pertain to one and the
same substance and are without contrary; hence all of them are necessarily eter
nal [567]. Also, the parts of that which is eternal are [themselves] eternal. No
w, if these celestial spheres, which are part of the greatest body, are eternalfor
it has already been shown that this uniform motion, i.e. the diurnal [motion],
is eternalb , their motions must be eternal too, and the same, I mean that c they
are eternal, [must apply] also to their movers which belong to the genus of the
mover of the cosmos.
a
a 130
m 387r j 142 q 133
b
c
I follow mss. H and I. Mantino which read min al- ilm al-tab . This is confirmed by
the two subsequent references to the natural sciences which seem to point to Ib
n Rushds commentaries on the Physics and De caelo (cf. notes 566, 567). The remai
ning mss. read min al- ilm al-ta alm al-nujum (from mathematical astronomy).
ing has been adopted by uiros and Jiham. The last clause, for ... eternal, stands
in all Arabic manuscripts and in Mantinos translation before Now, if these celesti
al spheres..., thus forming a subordinate causal clause of the preceding sentence
(Also, the parts...) where it makes obviously no sense. This disorder must have b
een caused by the omission of the clause in question through the homoioteleuton
azaliyya and the subsequent misplaced insertion of a marginal correction of this
omission. All editors of the Arabic text followed the corrupt wording of the ma
nuscripts. The Arabic text corresponding to the same, I mean that is omitted in ms
. H and I. Mantino and secluded by uiros and Amn.
146
Translation
a 131 q134
j 143
a 132
As for the number of these motions and [of ] the bodies moved by them, this shou
ld be taken for granted here from the discipline of mathematical astronomy [568]
. Of these [doctrines] we shall assume here those which are most widely accepted
in our days, that is those which are undisputed among the specialists of this d
iscipline, from Ptolemy up to the present time, while we leave [the solution of
] that which is disputed among them to the specialists of that discipline [569].
Actually, a lot of what concerns these motions cannot be determined other than
by employing generally accepted premises, since the determination of many of the
se motions requires a span of time many times as long as a mans life. Generally a
ccepted premises of a discipline are those which are undisputed among its specia
lists, which is why we rely on some of these premises at the present place [570]
. We say: There is a consensus that there are thirty-eight [different] motions o
f celestial bodies [571], namely five each [performed] by the three supra[-solar
] stars, Saturn, Jupiter, and Mars, five by the moon, eight by Mercury, seven by
Venus, one by the sun (provided we regard its course as [pertaining] solely to
an eccentric sphere, not as [pertaining] to an epicyclic sphere [572]) and one b
y the all-embracing sphere, i.e. the sphere of the fixed stars [573]. It is not
clear whether there is a ninth sphere. Ptolemy thinks that there is a slow motio
n of the zodiac different from the diurnal motion [and that] it completes one re
volution in thousands of years. Others maintain that it [performs] a motion of a
ccession and recession, namely our fellow countryman from Andalusia called [Ibn]
al-Zarqala and his adherents, who assume for this [theo ry] an orbit which accou
nts for this motion [574]. What motivated them to establish this [kind of ] moti
on was that they observed the [annual] return of the sun to certain points of th
e zodiac and found that they had changed [575]. Again others maintained that thi
s change is due to an acceleration of the [suns] motion or [a combination of seve
ral] motions in the sphere of the sun [576]. Still others maintained that this [
change] originates from defective instruments or that the instruments as such ar
e insufficient to observe the true nature of this [phenomenon] [577]. On the who
le, I consider the existence of such a ninth, starless sphere as far-fetched, fo
r a sphere exists only for the sake of the star which is the noblest of its part
s. This is why the more stars [a sphere] has, the nobler it is, as explained alr
eady by Aristotle [578]. The noblest sphere is the one which performs the greate
st motion. For that reason, we regard it as unlikely, or rather impossible, that
it is starless. This is one
Chapter Four
147
of the things we have to keep in mind during our investigation of the cause of t
his motion. But we have digressed from our subject. So, let us return to where w
e were. We say: If we suppose the number of motions to be this, there must be an
equal number of movers, since every motion they perform originates from a desir
e peculiar to them, and a peculiar desire is [a desire] for a peculiar object of
desire [579]. Such [is their number], when we suppose that there is [only] one
mover for the diurnal motion of all spheres [together]. But when we regard this
motion in such a way that every single sphere has its [own] peculiar mover for t
his [diurnal motion], the number of [celestial] movers will amount to forty-five
. Prima facie, this seems to be what Aristotle teaches [580]. However, Alexander
[of Aphrodisias] states explicitly a different view in his treatise known as On
the Principles of the Cosmos [where] he considers [only] one mover for these [d
iurnal]a motions of all spheres [together] [581]. And indeed, it is an unsettled
question which of the two views is more appropriate and suitable [582]. For if
one assumes, following the custom of the mathematicians, specific spheres for ea
ch of the seven stars, on which they perform this motion, I mean the diurnal [mo
tion], it will be most appropriate to posit a specific mover for each of them in
thisthe diurnalmotion. Otherwise, nature would have produced [these spheres] in vai
n, for to posit a [specific] sphere without a specific motion performed on it wo
uld be otiose. However, if we assume then this to be the case, this diurnal moti
on is no [longer] a truly uniform [motion], since it does not originate from one
mover, but rather it merely happens to be synchronous, whereas in itself it is
[a combination of ] many motions [performed] at different distances [from the ce
ntre] and [originating] from different movers. According to this assumption [the
motion] would be [only] accidentally one, for [the phenomenon] that motions of
things moved with different acceleration and deceleration are essentially one an
d at the same time, occurs only in parts of spherical solids. [Moreover,] if tha
t which is by accident cannot exist eternally or for the most part in the things
of this world, how much less possible will this be in the case of the celestial
bodies [583]?
a Diurnal is missing in mss. H, M and I. Mantino, but present in all other mss. Po
ssibly it is an addition by a later scribe. In any case, it is exactly what Ibn
Rushd had in mind (cf. some lines below).
q 135 m 387v
j 144
a 133 q 136
148
Translation
j 145
q 137 a 134
m 388r
If all this is the case, a motion which is essentially one occurs [only] in one
[thing] moved, and the one [thing] moved is set in motion by one mover only. Hen
ce, it is most appropriate to regard the celestial sphere in its entirety as one
ball-shaped living being with the sphere of fixed stars as its convex [side] an
d the [sphere] bordering the sphere of fire as its concave [side] [584]. [This l
iving being] has one total motion as well as the motions [performed] by each sin
gle star which exist in it [by way of ] particular motions. Its greatest motion
is like the movement of locomotion in living beings, while its particular [motio
ns]a are like motionsb of the limbs of a living being [585]. This is why these m
otions do not require that the centres around which they revolve are of the type
of the earth [qua centre] of the greatest motion [586], for [as] shown by mathe
matics the centres of most of these motions lie outside the centre of the world,
[furthermore] they do not have the same distance from the earth. Accordingly, w
e must not imagine a multiplicity of mutually discrete spheres concentric with t
he centre of the world and with poles identical with the poles of the world, but
rather we [should] imagine bodies between the specific spheres of each star, su
ch that they are not discrete from one another [587]. [Furthermore, we should im
agine] that they are not moved essentially, but rather due to their being parts
of the whole, and also that the stars perform the diurnal motion on these bodies
. The above assumption does not entail any absurdity, for what prompted those wh
o practise mathematical [astronomy] to posit for each of the seven stars separat
e spheres on which they perform the diurnal motion [and which are] distinct from
the spheres specific to their [individual] motions was their [principle] that o
ne moved thing cannot move with two different motions, being one [thing] moved o
n [an orbit with] one size. And this very [principle] is consistent with the pos
ition we just took into consideration, for these spheres perform motions peculia
r to them on spheres peculiar to them as well as a common motion in so far as th
ey are parts of the greatest body, [and this] not in so far as these parts are m
oved essentially, but rather due to their being part[s of the whole].
a
b
Reading, with ms. H and I. Mantino (eius, fol. 387 vb), wa-l-juz iyyatu minhu inst
ead of wa-l-juz iyyatu minha (while the particular [motions]) of the remaining man
uscripts. Reading, with ms. H, M, and I. Mantino, harakati instead of harakata (t
he motion) of the remaining manuscripts.
Chapter Four
149
As for the question how these parts follow each other [in this motion starting]
from a single moving cause, even though they are distinct, as well as how [it co
mes that] they do not mutually impede [their motions]a, we have addressed this i
n De caelo [588]. [One might ask] whether it is possible, as assumed by some peo
ple, to posit a number of movers less than this, such that we assume only one mo
ver for each sphere by which first the star [of that sphere] is set in motion, f
rom which star powers then emanate appropriate for the [various] motions peculia
r to this star, these [motions] being for the sake of that [single mover] [589].
However, [it is clear] from what has been said before as well as from what foll
ows [that] this is impossible. For when we assume that these spheres are set in
motion solely through conceptualizing immaterial things, clearly the remaining m
ovements found in each of the stars originate neither from conceptualizing [this
] star nor from desiring it, as is clear from what we said [above]. Furthermore,
there are no powers emanating from the star to the remaining parts of its spher
esb, since the only part of the soul found in them is the kind which consists in
intellectual conceptualization. As for [the question] whether the number of the
se substances can be greater than the number of these celestial motions, this is
not impossible. However, when we assume that there is another such principle, o
ther than those enumerated, then this principle must have some proper function.
Either it will be a principle of one or all of those principles, as we will show
later on regarding the first principle, or it will be a principle for some of t
he things of the sublunar sphere, as is the case with the agent intellect. For i
t is impossible that any of these noble principles exists without any activity,
as it is impossible that no ignition originates from the essence of fire. These
principles are by nature active [principles], just as the sun generates light by
its nature. Furthera
j 146
q 138 a 135
b
La tata awaqu, transmitted in mss. M, P, and I. Mantino, seems to be the only read
ing which makes at least some sense (cf. note 588). The remaining manuscripts re
ad la tatafaraqu (they do not separate from each other), except ms. which has la
tata arafu (they do not know each other). Reading, with the majority of the manus
cripts, mina l-kawkabi ila sa iri ajza i aflakih. Ms. M and I. Mantino read mina
l-kawakib (from the stars) instead of mina l-kawkab. This variant was adopted by
uiros and Amn who, as a consequence, had to change, without any manuscript eviden
ce, aflakih into aflakiha (of their spheres).
150
Translation
more, if there were among them a principle without activity, nature would have a
cted in vain [590]; and [this holds good] even if their existence is not by firs
t intention for the sake of their activities, but [only] by second intention [59
1], as will become clear [below]. In any case the same is true [of them], I mean
that there is no inactive principle among them. Hence, we should restrict [our]
discourse here to [stating] that their number is finite and that it is impossib
le for there to be inactive principles.
j 147
q 139 a 136 m 388v
Having clarified this with respect to the numbera of these principles we shall n
ow consider their mode of existence as well as how they cause motion and in how
many ways they are principles of these visibleb divine bodies. The [best] method
for addressing these [questions] is positing here what has been shown in psycho
logy, for most of the principles to be employed in this issue are taken from thi
s science; and obviously there is no way to acquire knowledge of the specifics o
f this type of existence, unless one has previously acquired knowledge of this s
cience [592]. For that reason it says in the divine law Know thyself and thou sha
ll know your creator [593]. We say: It has become clear in that science that form
s have two modes of existence, one sensible or quasi-sensible (this mode of exis
tence they have inasmuch as they are in matter), the other intellectual (this mo
de they have inasmuch as they are separated from matter). Consequently, if there
are forms which have existence inasmuch as they are not in matter, these must b
e separate intellects, since there is no third [mode of ] existence for forms qu
a forms [594]. As it is clear that these moving [causes] c exist only in so far
as they are intellects, we should now consider [the question] how they set the
a As proposed by Van den Bergh and Amn (p. 135, note 8) I follow I. Mantino (de nu
mero, fol. 388rb) in reading adad instead of wujud (existence) transmitted in all A
rabic manuscripts. Mahsusa in all manuscripts except M and I. Mantino which read
samawiyya (celestial). The latter reading is adopted by uiros and Amn, but mahsu
a is the lectio difficilior and supported by what follows. Reading, with mss. D,
G, , and T, hadhihi l-muharrikat. This reading seems to be confirmed by motores
in I. Mantino (fol. 388va). The remaining manuscripts read hadhihi l-harakat (thes
e motions) which makes no sense (nevertheless adopted by uiros and Amn). The reaso
n for the scribal error (or intended correction) is that Ibn Rushd, when speaking
of a plurality of movers, usually employs the pluralis sanus masc. However, the
present formation of
b
c
Chapter Four
151
celestial bodies in motion. There is no way [for this to happen] other than by i
ntellectual conceptualization followed by desire, as the form of the object of d
esire moves the desirer [595]. This being the case, the celestial bodies must ha
ve intellects because they conceptualize [forms]. This [argument] is a demonstra
tion of cause and of existence [596]. Furthermore, as there is no [self-]movemen
t except in association with desire, they must have rational desire; and this wi
ll be the only part of the soul they have. For it is impossible that celestial b
odies have sense perception, because the living being is endowed with sense perc
eption only to guarantee its preservation, whereas these bodies are eternal. Lik
ewise, they have no imaginative faculties, as maintained by Ibn Sna, since imagin
ative faculties cannot occur [in living beings] without sense perception, as has
been shown in psychology [597]. The purpose of the imaginative faculties consis
ts only in moving the living being through objects of sense perception after the
latter have disappeared. In most cases this is for the sake of preservation, to
o. Moreover, if what Ibn Sna says about celestial bodies were true, namely that t
hey imagine the positions to which they change [598], their motion would not be
uniform [and] continuous due to [the fact that] different objects of imagination
and different [correlate] dispositions of theirs succeed one another. Rather, t
he positions are somehow accidental to them and by relation to one another. For
the inclination present in [the plane of ] the suns motion emerges only from the
position of its sphere in relation to the greatest sphere. If, then, it is impos
sible that these bodies have imagination, they will not have particular motions;
rather their motions will be uniform and continuous, as I shall explain [next].
This [must be the case] because when they conceptualize the good whose conceptu
alization constitutes their perfection, they desire to become similar to it in p
erfection, and this in order to achieve the best possible state of existence att
ainable for them. Since being in motion is better for them than being at rest (f
or motion is in a way life for natural things [599]), they are eternally in
the plural is not a unique case, but attested also in other texts, especially in
the wider sense of moving causes, e.g. Talkhs Kitab al-kawn wa-l-fasad, p. 22, l.
11; Long Commentary on the Metaphysics, p. 1653, l. 13; cf. also ibid., p. 1594,
l. 2sq. For further occurrences in the present text cf. uiros, p. 156, l. 2, 15
7, l. 4, Amn, p. 151, l. 3, p. 152, l. 1, Jiham, p. 161, l. 17, p. 162, l. 18, bel
ow, p. 1657 of the translation.
j 148
q 140
a 137
152
Translation
q 141 j 149 m 389r
a 138
motion [600]. However, this does not mean that their conceptualization is for th
e sake of motion, for if that were the case, the better would be for the sake of
the worse. Rather, this means that [their] motion is consequential to this perf
ection, following it in the way ignition follows the form of fire. As it is the
best for us, once we have achieved the utmost perfection, to let benefit others
from this perfection as far as possible, while [seeking] our perfection itself i
s not for the sake of something external, so is the case with the celestial bodi
es with regard to what is below them, as we will explain below [601]. From this
discussion it has become plain what kind of existence these movers have and how
they set [something] in motion. From this it is clear that they not only move th
e celestial bodies but also provide them with their forms through which they are
what they are. For when we deny their existence, there would be no forms of the
rotating bodies, just as there would be no utmost perfection for us, when we de
ny the existence of the intellect in actuality. Consequently, these [movers] are
, from this point of view, in a certain way the efficient [causes] of the [celes
tial bodies], since it is the efficient [cause] which provides the substance of
a thing, no matter whether it acts eternally or discontinuously (to act eternall
y is [of course] better). Meanwhile they are, from another point of view, formal
[causes] for them, for the forms of the celestial bodies are nothing else than
that which the [celestial bodies] think of these [movers]. And [finally] they ar
e also final [causes] for them because the [celestial bodies] are moved by them
by way of desire, as explained [above]. This being the case, these principles se
rve as form, agent, and end of this sensible existence [of the celestial bodies]
. Therefore, sensible existence does not emergea from them in such a way that th
ey are for the sake of this [sensible existence], but rather this is for the sak
e of them, as has become clear from this discussion. And if this is the case, [s
ensible existence] can emergeb from them only by second intention [602]
a Reading, with the majority of the manuscripts, laysa suduru l-wujudi l-mahsus
instead of laysa suwaru l-mawjudi l-mahsus (the forms of sensible being are not
n ms. H, laysa daruriyyu l-wujudi l-mahsus (there is no and M. The latter reading
has been adopted by necessary sensible existence) in ms. uiros, while Amn edits l
aysa suduru l-mawjudi l-mahsus (sensible being does not emerge). Reading, wit
majority of the manuscripts, yakuna suduruhu [i.e. al
b
Chapter Four
153
and in the way we say of the law that it communicates virtue to man without seek
ing to acquire virtue in itself. Evidently, there are two kinds of beings, one p
repared to serve something else, such that the [latter] is its end, and the othe
r completing and perfecting something else by governing [it], not by being for t
he sake of it. These two kinds are found in habitual dispositions and in volunta
ry acts of production [603]. Having clarified in how many ways the separate [ent
ities] are principles of sensible substance and how they are related to it, we m
ust now consider the question how these principles are related to one another an
d whether they pertain to one and the same level of existence, such that there a
re more than one principle of the world, or [whether]a they stand in a causal re
lation to each other and finally go back altogether to one principle which is th
e first in this genus and prior to all of them, while these remaining [principle
s] are principles only inasmuch as they benefitb from this [first] principle. An
d if the latter is the case, [we further have to ask] in how many ways some of t
hem are principles of the others and the first is the principle of all of them.
We say: Considering their case carefully, one will find that some of them are pr
ior in nobility to others, for evidently the moving cause of the diurnal motion
is nobler than all others, since these are altogether moved by it accidentally,
whereas it is not moved by them. Furthermore, that which has the quickest motion
and the largest body is necessarily the noblest [604]. On the other hand, if on
e considers the case of the other [movers] carefully, one will find that they ar
e disparate in this respect [605]. Now, if things are disparate in virtue withou
t being disparate in species (I mean such that they constitute a multiplicity of
species, one of which is more virtuous than the other), the difference found in
them [emerges] only from [the fact] that some of them are
wujud al-mahsus] instead of yakuna suduruha (they can emerge) in mss. H and M,
pted by uiros and Amn. Am in all Arabic manuscripts except ms. H which has an omi
ssion by homoioteleuton at the present place, and ms. M which is almost illegibl
e. uiros and Amn replace am by wa- (and), without any manuscript evidence. Bi-ma s
tafadat in all Arabic manuscripts except ms. G which reads bi-ma stafadahu (throu
gh that which it derives). Possibly, I. Mantino represents the correct reading. T
he translation per id quod acquirunt (fol. 389rb) points to bi-ma stafadathu in th
e original.
q 142
j 150
a 139
a
b
154
Translation
q 143
m 389v
a 140
j 151
prior to others with respect to one thinga shared by them. Things of this kind a
re necessarily causally dependent upon one another; and that which is prior to a
ll others in this respect is their most remote cause and the cause of the existe
nce of all others [606]. If that is the case, while it has already become plain
that the noblest of these movers is the one which causes the diurnal motion, the
n this mover must be the most remote cause of all other [movers]. This also beco
mes plain from [the fact] thatb the remaining movable [celestial entities] share
the motion of this mover and are set in motion by it, in other words they share
the conceptualization of this [mover] [607], such that each of them has a gener
al, i.e. a common, conceptualization as well as a [conceptualization] peculiar t
o it. The general [conceptualization] consists in each [movers] conceptualization
of this [first] mover, the peculiar one consists in each [movers] individual con
ceptualizations of each single mover. In the present case, this generality canno
t be related to that which is peculiar to each of them in the way genus is relat
ed [to species] because these objects of conceptualization are immaterial. Rathe
r, it is related to this as things are related to one thing which is prior to th
em and the cause of their existence. Moreover, the general is prior to the pecul
iar, for if the general is abolished, the peculiar is abolished [too] [608]. But
if this general conceptualization cannot precede [the peculiar conceptualizatio
n] by generic priority, it must be prior to all other objects of the [movers] con
ceptualization by causal priority. By analogy, this will evidently also apply to
the multiple motions of each star. For since it is evident that these motions a
re only for the sake of the motion of the star, the moving causes of these [moti
ons] must be for the sake of the motion of the star. Otherwise, the motion of th
e star would emerge from them accidentally. If all this is the case, then the
a
b
F l-shay i l-wahid in all manuscripts except ms. H and I. Mantino (fol. 389rb) wh
ich read f l-naw i l-wahid (in eadem specie). This reading has been adopted by Amn.
Reading, with the majority of the manuscripts, wa-qad yaluhu aydan hadha min ann
a. In ms. M min is omitted (thus, the meaning is Likewise, the following becomes cl
ear, [namely] that). A later scribe erroneously inserted the omitted min after ay
dan, which is why Mantinos translation reads Declaratum quoque fuit ex hoc, quod, fo
l. 389rb). uiros secludes min, Amn follows ms. H and secludes hadha min.
Chapter Four
155
movers of all stars with more than one motion must be caused by the mover of tha
t star, while the movers of the seven stars [themselves] are caused by the mover
of the greatest sphere [609]. To this degree this [method of ] discourse can es
tablish the existence of a first principle among this kind [of entities]. This d
oes not preclude that it might become plain later, when we consider the specific
properties of each of these [entities], that such a mover does not suffice to b
e a first principle. [However,] that these separate [entities] necessarily come
to an end in a first principle and that they are not independent from one anothe
r to such an extent that there would be no causal nexus between them, this might
become evident from a more general argument than the preceding one, as follows.
The term principle can only be predicated univocally, by pure equivocation, or by
order and analogy (that is the kind of terms predicated with reference to one t
hing [610]). Now it is impossible that it is predicated univocally because in wh
at is predicated univocally multiplicity is found only due to matter, whereas th
ese [entities] are without matter. Neither is it possible to predicate the term p
rinciple of these [entities] by pure equivocation, as it has become clear that th
ey are of the same kind. Consequently, the term principle must be predicated of th
em secundum prius et posterius. And things predicated secundum prius et posteriu
s are necessarily related to one thing which is the cause of existence of [what
is intended by] this meaning for the remaining things. E.g. the word heat is predi
cated of hot things inasmuch as they are related to fire as the cause of the exi
stence of heat in all other hot things. Thus, it is evident that these principle
s must go back to one [first] principle. However, [this] does not become plain i
n such a specific way [611] as in the preceding argumenta. The issue might becom
e evident from still another [argument]. We see that the activities of these cel
estial bodies emerging from their motions assist each other with regard to [thei
r influence on] the existence and preservation of each single being in the prese
nt world, such
a In ms. M and I. Mantino the last sentence is followed by what seems to be an i
nterpolated gloss or an alternative version of this sentence. The Arabic text sa
ys no matter whether they occupy one and the same level in their relation to this
or whether they are subordinated to one another. This neither becomes as eviden
t from this argument as it has become evident for some of them in the preceding
argument, cf. uiros, p. 144, l. 1719, I. Mantino fol. 389 vb 1721.
q 144
a 141
156
j 152
Translation
q 145
m 390r
that if one of these motions were abolished, the existence of [these] things wou
ld become defective and their system would be spoiled [612]. This is why the mot
ions of the moon and the erratic stars seem to serve the sun and to be subject t
o its influencesa. For they are always found to move on fixed sections of their
course (I mean with [the same] acceleration and deceleration) in fixed distances
(I mean nearness and remoteness) from the [sun], as is shown in the science of
mathematical astronomyb. They cannot have such an activity by accident; and if t
hat is the case, they must direct themselves in their motions towards one end. S
ince their existence is not for the sake of the things in the present world, thi
s common end of theirs [must] be the cause of their mutual accord and assistance
with regard to [their influence on] each single being in the present world. For
if the existence of an effect [emerges] from more than one moving cause, it is
essentially brought about jointly due to [the fact that] these moving causes sha
re one [common] end. This is indicated by the word of God (exalted and mighty): I
f there were therein gods beside Allah, then verily both [the heavens and the ea
rth] had been disordered [613]. On the whole, the world is one because [it has] o
ne principle c, otherwise its unity would be accidental or it would follow that
it does not exist [at all] [614]. In sum, the disposition of the world is simila
r to that of the city-state [ruled by] an aristocracy, for although its leadersh
ip is
a Reading, with the majority of the manuscripts, wa-tataqabbalu atharaha. On the
basis of the undotted text of ms. M, uiros reads wa-tanql athariha (and the tra
smission of its influences), whereas Amn (p. 141, note 1) pro poses to read wa-tata
qayyalu atharaha, the meaning of which he gives as and they follow its tracks. I h
ave not been able to find references for such a meaning of taqayyala (basic mean
ing: to hold siesta). However, this reading seems to be supported by ms. , and I.
Mantinos translation (eumque insequi, fol. 389vb) points to the meaning indicated
by Amn. On the other hand, the reading tataqabbalu is confirmed by a parallel pas
sage below; cf. uiros, p. 168, l. 7, Amn, p. 161, l. 17 and note 13 (again Amn pr
oposes to read ta qayyul), Jiham, p. 171, l. 2. The translation of this sentence f
ollows the edition by Amn. uiros has a slightly differing text based on ms. M. J
ihams edition is partly wrong, partly lacunose. Reading sara l- alamu wahidan li-m
abda in wahidin instead of sara l- alamu wahid al-mabda wahid (the world
s] one principle is one?) in most manuscripts. uiros and Amn follow ms. M whi
ads sara l- alamu wahidan bi-mabda in wahidin (the world is one by [having] one p
rinciple).
b
c
Chapter Four
157
multiple, it forms one leadership directed towards one end; otherwise it would n
ot be one [615]. As the continuance of the city-state depends on this [leadershi
p], so is the case with the world. For that reason household city-states are eas
ily perishable because their unity is only somehow accidental [616]. It is now p
lain what kind of existence these principles have and how they are related to th
e sensible world and to one another. Hence, we shall now consider the things pro
per to them, proceeding in what follows, as already stated, from what has become
clear in psychology [617]. We say: That each of these principles thinks itself
is clear from the following: Since this is the nature of our intellectI mean that
it happens to return [to itself ] and, thus, think itself, when it thinks intell
igible things because its essence is the intelligibles themselves, consequently, i
f the intellect in this [world] coincides with [its] intelligible, how much more
will the same apply to these separate intellects? For if this is a peculiarity
of our intellect inasmuch as it is not imprinted in, but nevertheless connected
to matter, this will all the more apply to the separate intellects which are not
at all connected to matter. Consequently, what is meant by coincidence of intel
lect and intelligible applies to them more than to us. For even though our intel
lect is the intelligible itself, there is a certain change in it due to its rela
tion to matter. As it has become plain that each of these intellects perceives i
tself, we have now to consider whether or not each of them can think anything ou
tside itself. We say: It has been shown in the book On the Soul that the [actual
] intelligible is the entelechy and form of him who is able to think [618]. Henc
e, if we assume that one of these [intellects] thinks something other than itsel
f, it reaches its entelechy through thinking this. Thus, this other [thing] must
be prior to it and the cause of its existence. Likewise, if we assume that some
of these [intellects] are caused through others, that which is caused must conc
eptualize its cause, so that these two meanings become convertible, I mean that
if these principles conceptualize something other than themselves, this other [t
hing] must be their cause, and that if these [principles] have a cause, that whi
ch is caused must conceptualize this [cause]. For that which is caused cannot co
nceptualize its own essence without conceptualizing that which constitutes its e
ssence. Having shown that each of them conceptualizes itself, it thus follows ne
cessarily that that which is caused among them conceptualizes its cause.
a 142 q146
j 153
q 147
a 143
158
Translation
j 154
m 390v
q 148
From this it becomes evident that some of these are principles for others qua fo
rmal as well as qua efficient and final [cause] (according to what has been show
n regarding how these are related to the forms of the rotating celestiala bodies
[619]), for both [causal] relations are one and the same. This is also the reas
on whyb that which is their cause is not for the sake of that which is caused, b
ecause that which is nobler cannot be for the sake of that which is less noble.
Rather their being caused by [that] cause is only something consequential to the
perfection of [this] cause, as ignition is consequential to the substance of fi
re [620]. If all this is as described, it is clear that the cause among them can
not conceptualize that which is caused by it. Otherwise, it would be possible th
at the cause became caused and that the nobler reached its entelechy through the
less noble, which is absurd. Hence, it is absolutely evident thatsupposing these
[principles] have a first and, according to what has become clear above, uncause
d principlethis [first principle] conceptualizes only itself and [that] it does no
t conceptualize that which is caused by it. This latter is not peculiar to the f
irst among these principles, but rather common to all, including the celestial b
odies. Indeed, we do not believe that they conceptualize the things below them i
n the way they exist [in the sublunar world]. For in that case the nobler would
reach its entelechy through the meaner, and their conceptualizations would be su
bject to coming-to-be and corruption, as is the case with human intelligibles. I
f things are this way, each of these separate principles, despite being one in t
he sense that subject and object of its thinking is one and the same, differs fr
om the others in rank in this [respect]. That which deserves most the [predicate
of ] oneness among them is the first simple [principle], then that which follow
s this, then that which follows that. Generally speaking, the more principles [a
principle] needs in order to conceptualize itself, the less simple it is and th
e more multiplicity there is in it, and, conversely, the fewer principles it nee
ds in order to conceptualize itself, the more simple it is, such that strictly s
peaking only the first simple is a [principle] which is not in need of anything
outside itself in order to conceptualize itself [621].
a b Al-samawiyya according to ms. H and I. Mantino, omitted in the remaining mss
. Reading, with ms. H, wa-li-dhalika aydan instead of wa-ka-dhalika aydan (And si
milarly also) of the remaining mss.
Chapter Four
159
a 144 j 155
This is the outcome of the study of the conceptualization of these principles. I
t is, however, beset with a number of unpleasant consequences and doubts, one of
which is that these principles have no knowledge of the things they are the pri
nciples of, so that these [things] must emerge from them in the way natural thin
gs emerge from one another, as ignition emerges from fire and cold from snow. Th
eir emergence thus would not be manifested by knowledge. But it is impossible th
at something emerges from the knower qua knower without being known to him. This
is indicated by [Gods] word: Should He not know what He created? And He is the Su
btle, the Aware [622]. Moreover, not-knowing is a deficiency, but that which is m
ost superior cannot have any deficiency. This is the most powerful doubt connect
ed to the above position, but we will remove it. We say: Since an agent gives to
[its] effect only something similar to what [is] in its own substance, while th
e effect is necessarily different and numerically distincta [from the agent], on
e of the [following] two things must apply. Either the difference is established
through matterthis must be the case when the effect [pertains] to the [same] spec
ies as the agent without there being a [relation of ] superiority [and inferiori
ty] regarding the form between them, or the difference between them [lies] in such
a [relation of ] superiority [and inferiority] in the same species, namely in t
hat the agent [pertaining] to this species is nobler than the effect (for the ef
fect cannot be essentially nobler than the agent because it is exactly through t
he agent that its quiddity is established). In light of this, the difference bet
ween agent and effect, and cause and being caused, in these immaterial principle
s can only be [a difference] in superiority [and inferiority] with respect to no
bility in one and the same species, but not a distinctness in species. Since the
human intellect in actuality is nothing else than the conceptualization of the
order and system present in this world and in each of its parts and the knowledg
e of all that is in this [world] through its remote and proximate causes up to a
complete [knowledge of ] the world, it follows necessarily that the quiddity of
the intellect which brings about this human intellect is not distinct from the
conceptualization of these things. For that reason one says that the active inte
llect
q 149
j 156 a 145
a
Lit. second in number.
160
m 391r
Translation
q 150
thinks the thingsa of the present world. However, its thinking of these things m
ust take place in a nobler way [than ours], for otherwise there would be no diff
erence between us and this [intellect], and how could that be? As has already be
come clear, our intellect in actuality is subject to coming-to-be and corruption
due to its connection to matter, whereas its intelligible [object] is eternal [
and] immaterial. Due to its insufficiency the human intellect depends in its thi
nking on the senses. This is why, if we are deprived of one of the senses, we ha
ve no intellection of its [objects]. Similarly, if the perception of a certain t
hing is difficult for us, we fail to grasp its intelligible and cannot establish
it other than by general assumptions. Accordingly, there might be things in the
present world whose causes are unknowable to us, but present in the essence of
the agent intellect (this may be a viable account of the causes of dreams and ot
her such forebodings). In any case this insufficiency of our [intellect] is a co
nsequence of matter. As in this [relation between the human intellect and the ag
ent intellect], so it applies also to the intelligible [object] of the intellect
which brings about the agent intellect that it is nothing else than the intelli
gible [object] of the agent intellect, since it is of the same species as this,
except that it is [the object of thought] in a nobler way. And this goes on up t
o the first principle which thinks being in the noblest of all the ways immateri
al intellects can be superior to one another. For necessarilyb its intelligible
[object] does not differ in species from the human intelligibles, and all the mo
re [does it not differ in species] from the remaining intelligibles of the other
separate [intellects] c. However, it is very much distinct from the human intel
lect in terms of nobility. What is next to its substance is the intellect which
follows it, and so on in a graduated manner until the human intellect [is reache
d].
a
b
c
The Arabic text corresponding to For that reason ... things is omitted by homoiote
leuton in ms. H and not taken into consideration in the translations by Horten a
nd Van den Bergh. Necessarily (daruratan) is omitted in some manuscripts. I. Mant
ino (fol. 391ra) reads forma (sura), but adds forma also before the following human
ntelligibles. Reading, with mss. G, H, P, , T, and I. Mantino, sa iri ma qulati
sa iri l-mufaraqat. The first sa ir (remaining) is omitted in mss. D, M, and T mar
g and secluded by uiros and Amn.
Chapter Four
161
As the most specific subject of human conceptualization consists of material thi
ngs only, while it is only by analogy that we think these principles (although o
ur thinking of them takes place only according to a [certain] graduation, for wh
at is closest to our substance is the agent intellect, which is why some deemed
it possible to conceptualize its essence properly, such that man is himself this
[agent intellect] and what is caused becomes identical with the cause [623]), s
o the subject of the agent intellects conceptualization too consists of its essen
ce only, while it is only by analogy that it thinks the principle of this. The s
ame applies to the third and the fourth [intellects] and so on, until the first
principle is reached. Therefore, it is proper to the first principle not to thin
k anything by analogy. Hence, it does not think any intelligible which is [someh
ow] deficient, but rather its thinking is the noblest one because its essence is
the noblest one. For that reason there is no superiority in nobility in its ess
ence; rather, it is the noble as such without any relativity. If what the caused
ones among these principles think about their cause were the same as that which
the cause thinks about itself, there would be no difference between cause and b
eing caused, and these separate things could have no multiplicity at all [624].
From this discussion it has become evident how these [principles] may be said to
think all things (for in this respect the matter is the same for all of them, i
ncluding the intellects of the celestial bodies), as well as how they are said n
ot to think that which is below them. Thus, the afore-mentioned doubts can be re
moved. For in this way one may say that these [principles] know what emerges fro
m them because that which emerges from a knower qua knower must be an object of
knowledge, as said [before]. Otherwise its emergence would take place in the way
natural things emerge from one another. The former doctrine is adhered to by th
ose who teach that God knows the things, the latter is adhered to by those who t
each that He does not know what is below Him. [They hold this opinion] because t
hey are not aware of the equivocality of the term knowledge and take it as denotin
g a single meaning. As a consequence of this [misconception] they [set forth] tw
o contrary statements, as happens with statements taken indefinitely [625]. Like
wise, the [other] afore-mentioned problem [626] can be solved by this [considera
tion], for deficiency consists neither in knowing something completely nor in no
t-knowing something in a deficient way. Rather, deficiency is something else. Fo
r if somebody fails to see a
j 157 a 146
q 151
m 391v
162
j 158 a147
Translation
q 152
a 148
q 153 j159
thing inaccurately, although it can be seen in a complete way, this is not truly
a [case of ] deficiency. The described [view] is what becomes evident from the
doctrine [maintained] by Aristotle and his adherents or follows from their doctr
ine, for they explain explicitly that the agent intellect knows what is in this
world, that is what is below itself, and similarly [that this holds good] for th
e intellects of the celestial bodies [627]. As has become clear from our discuss
ion, it makes no difference whether we admit this for the agent intellect or for
the principles above the [agent intellect], because these [principles] cannot t
hink that which does not constitute their substance, except in the way explained
[above] [628]. From what has been said it is thus clear how these principles th
ink themselves and that which is outside themselves. That these principles are s
ubstances is beyond doubt, as the principles of substance must be substances. An
d further, if the term substance applies to these immaterial [principles], it will
apply most appropriately to the first principle because its substance is the ca
use of their substances [629]. Likewise, it is evident that these principles are
alive, full of pleasure and delighted in themselves [630], as well as that the
first among them is the life [above which] there is no more perfect life and the
pleasure [above which] there is no greater pleasure because it is delighted in
itself only, whereas the delight and joy of anything else is only through it. Fo
r if we apply the term life for ourselves to the lowest level of apprehension, nam
ely sensory apprehension, how much more will this term apply to the objects of a
pprehension of the best apprehender through the best apprehension? And the same
applies also to pleasure because it is an inseparable companion of apprehension,
with different grades of superiority depending on the objects of apprehension t
hemselves, as well as on the duration of their apprehension [631]. Thus, how muc
h more will these principles truly enjoy their apprehension? For each of them, e
xcept the first [one], enjoys itself and the first and takes delight in itself a
nd in the first, while the first enjoys only its own essence and is delighted in
it. Since its apprehension is the noblest apprehension, its pleasure is the gre
atest pleasure; and although it shares with the other [principles] being eternal
ly full of pleasure, the latter [derive] the [eternal] duration of [their] pleas
ure only from it and [from the fact that] it enjoys its own essence. And similar
ly their remaining common properties too are found in the [first] through its es
sence and in themselves through it.
Chapter Four
163
Since it has become clear in an earlier part of our discourse that one has to se
arch in [each kind of ] substances for a single first [substance] which is the c
ause of that there are many of them (for, as has become plain there, there must
exist a single [first thing] in each multiplicity), there must be also in these
[separate] substances a single first [substance] which is the cause of their bei
ng many and numerically different [632]. This is one [reason] it is evident that
among these principles there must be one which is prior by nature to the [remai
ning] ones, inasmuch as they are many [and] superior to one another within the [
same] species. Furthermore, since the one in each genus is that which is neither
divisible nor [becomes] many through the divisibility found in that genus, and
[since] the multiplicity found in each of these separate [principles] inheres th
em only in so far as they think, in accordance with their essence, a multiplicit
y [633], as has become plain in the preceding section, it follows necessarily th
at the one in this [genus] is indivisible with respect to what it thinks in acco
rdance with its essence. Hence, [the latter] thinks only one simple thing, namel
y its essence, and is unable to think any multiplicity, no matter whether in its
essence or outside its essence. It is one and simple in its substance, while an
ything else becomes one through it. Since the meaning of oneness [applied] to each
of these separate [principles] consists exactly in [the fact] that their object
of thought is one, and this in so far as the multiplicity of intelligibles by w
hich each of them is constituted amounts to a single intelligible, it follows ne
cessarily that the meaning of oneness applies truly and primarily only to the firs
t [principle], and [only] secondarily to what follows it, then to what follows t
hat in the order [of principles]a, until [finally] the largest multiplicity of i
ntelligibles of [all] intellects is that found in this human intellect [634]. Th
is now is the one we were constantly searching for in the preceding discourse, a
nd it is the one in substance from which all other substances derive their unity
. Having clarified the special properties of the first [principle] and of each e
xistent of these separate [principles], we must now consider how the latter are
ordered from the first principle up to the lowest level of
a Reading, with mss. A, M, P, and , thumma li-ma yalhi thumma li-ma yalhi f-l-rutb
a. The first thumma li-ma yalhi (and [only] secondarily to what follows it) is omi
ted in the remaining mss. and secluded by uiros and Amn.
m 392r
a 149
q 154
j 160
164
Translation
a 150 q155
j 161
sensible being, that is the simple elements and prime matter [635]. We say: It h
as become plain from the preceding discussion that the mover of the sphere of [f
ixed] stars is the noblest among these moving causes and that it is their first
cause. Thus far this discourse was definite. However, when we compare those [afo
re-mentioned] peculiar properties of the first [principle] (I mean that it is on
e [and] simple and does not think any multiplicity in accordance with its essenc
e) with the activity of this mover, [we find that] these properties do not suit
it because necessarily there must have emerged from this mover more than one for
m. For this [mover] is what provides [both] the form of the sphere of [fixed] st
ars as well as the existence of the mover of the sphere which follows this in th
e order [of the spheres], whereas that which is consequential to the simple one
in so far it is one and simple is certainly one. How then could a multiplicity o
f different grades of nobility be consequential to it (for no doubt the mover is
nobler than the form of the sphere)? Hence, the essence to which these two exis
tents are consequential must have parts, one of which is nobler than the other.
But if this is the disposition of this essence, I mean the mover of the sphere o
f [fixed] stars, this [essence] is necessarily caused, having a cause which is t
he origin of its existence. And this principle will be that which is fitted and
suited by the afore-mentioned properties, and this is God (praised and exalted),
for the introduction of another principle prior to this is inevitably superfluo
us, but nothing in nature is superfluous. As for [the question] how these princi
ples are ordered [starting] from this first [principle], it is evident that the
closer they are to it, the simpler and nobler [their] intelligibles must be. Sin
ce there appears to be no nobler mover than the mover of the universe, this [mov
er] must be the first thing emerging from the [first principle]. However, the or
der of the [principles] following this one is a matter of dispute because, as sa
id [above], we have to assume that the nobler is prior to the less noble. Now, w
hat it is to be nobler in this [case can] become evident only by one of the [fol
lowing] four things: either the velocity of motion, or the size of the moving bo
dy and the fact that it surrounds [the next smaller sphere], or the size of the
stars, or their numbera. A
a Reading, with the majority of the manuscripts, aw kathratuha. Ms. M has wa-kat
hratuha (and their number), adopted by uiros and Amn, ms. H reads aw kuratuha (or
heir orbit).
Chapter Four
165
fifth [criterion]a is [given by] the greatest and smallest numbers of motions by
which the motion of the stars are completed. For whenever more than one mover i
s needed in order to set the stars in motion, this necessarily [implies] a certa
in deficiencyb in comparison with that which needs fewer motions or that which n
eeds no other motion at all c [636]. That nobility pertains to the mover of the
sphere of [fixed] stars in each of these respects is clear. To be more precise,
its motion is the quickest, its body is the greatest, and it moves a large numbe
r of stars with one motion, as opposed to how things are with the remaining star
s. But as regards the order of the [movers] following this one, it seems, as sai
d [above], that there are no incontestable premises at hand, but only the method
of [choosing] what is most appropriate and convenient. According to this [appro
ach], we might assume in compliance with the custom of the commentators that the
mover following this one in the order [of movers] is the mover of the sphere of
Saturn, and so on in the order of the spheres as explained in the discipline of
mathematical [astronomy]. We said that there is no incontestable method at hand
for this [problem] because if we determine the nobility of these moving [causes
] as a function of how their spheres are situated to one another, these criteria
which define nobility get into conflict with one another. For the surrounding i
s nobler than what it surrounds because it is like form for it, but in the [surr
ounding sphere] we do not find the nobility
a Reading, with mss. A, D, G, H, M, P and T, wa-l-khamisu, which has been change
d, due to Ibn Rushds announcement of four criteria, by a conceited scribe into wa
-l-rabi u (and the fourth [criterion]). This latter reading has been adopted in ms
. (where it is corrected interlinearly into wa-l-khamisu) as well as in the Vo
rlage of I. Mantino (uarta, fol. 392rb), and it is noted in the margins of mss. G
and T. Likewise, the editions by uiros and Amn read wa-l-rabi u. The reason why
the following criterion is set apart from the four preceding ones is that, as e
xplicitly stated, only the afore-mentioned four criteria lead to clear-cut resul
ts with respect to the graduation in nobility, whereas the applicability of this
fifth criterion depends on the contradictory doctrines of the astronomers; cf.
also note 604. Reading naqsun min jihatin instead of naqsun f haqqih (a deficiency
in its truth [true nature?]) in all Arabic manuscripts. I have not been able to f
ind any reference for the expression f haqqih in another work by Ibn Rushd. The re
ading naqsun min jihatin is confirmed by Mantinos translation quaedam imperfectio,
fol. 392rb. Or that which ... at all is omitted in the translations by I. Mantino
and Van den Bergh.
m 392v
a 151
q 156
b
c
166
Translation
j 162
q 157
a 152
determined by the velocity of motion, the greatest and smallest numbers [of moti
ons], or by the greatest or smallest size of the stars. For obviously the lower
the sphere, the faster is [its] motion, as [is evident from] the spheres of the
sun and the moon (admittedly, somebody might argue that this velocity is [to be
seen], not absolutely, but in relation to the dimension [of their orbits]). Like
wise, it is also evident in the case of the sun that it is the greatest star and
that it has the smallest number of motions. Hence, one cannot establish the ord
er of the [movers] in a decisive way on the basis of these criteria, as we said.
[Furthermore,] one might ask [the commentators] the following question: If we p
osit, in accordance with your order [of the movers], that from the mover of Satu
rn, for instance, the soul of its sphere as well as the mover of the following s
phere emerge, and [that] the motion of the sphere of [Saturn] is a composite of
more than one motion, then there must emerge from this [mover] more than [just]
one mover. Evidently their number must be as much as six, namely the one mover o
f the sphere which follows the [sphere of Saturn] and five [movers] which impart
together the motion of Saturn. However, according to your assumption there shou
ld not emerge more than three things from this mover because it holds the third
rank with respect to the first [mover] and the multiplicity inhering the activit
y of [a mover] necessarily adheres to the [grade of ] becoming multiple in its o
wn essence, just as there is only one activity adherent to the uniform essence.
We reply: This [argument] would be conclusive only if we posited that these thin
gs emerge from this third mover in such a way that they would occupy the same le
vel with respect to ita in the [process of ] emerging from it. But we say that o
n a first [level of ] emergence only three things emerge from this mover which h
olds the third rank [among the celestial movers] and moves the sphere of Saturn.
[These are] first the mover of the following sphere, secondly the soul of the s
tar, and thirdly one of the movers which move the star by their [own] motion. [O
nly] then the remaining three moving [causes] of Saturn emerge from this [latter
] mover, [and this] again in an ordered way, namely the second from the first an
d the third from the second.
a
Reading, with the majority of the manuscripts (including I. Mantino), f martabati
n wahidatin minhu. Minhu (with respect to it) is omitted in mss. H and M as well as
in the three previous modern translations.
Chapter Four
167
But if somebody objects that this [doctrine] entails that the movers of the moon
and the sun, for instance, being those two principles which have the greatest m
ultiplicity in their essence, should be [of such a kind] that the movers emergin
g from them are in accordance with the multiplicity inhering their essences, so
that the moon, for example, should have nine motions and the sun five (in case w
e locate it on the fourth sphere) or eight (in case we locate it, contrary to wh
at the mathematicians have shown on this [issue], on [the sphere] above the moon
and below Venus and Mercury) [637], we shall reply [as follows]. If [it is argu
ed] that the multiplicity emerging from each of the [movers] cannot be greater t
han that into which [their] essence is divisible, this is correct. For that reas
on there emerges one [mover] from the one [first mover], while it is impossible
that two [movers] emerge from it. [Likewise,] there cannot emerge three [things]
from that whose essence is divisible into two [parts], nor four [things] from t
hat whose essence is divisible into three [parts]. But if [it is argued] that th
at which emerges from a multiple essence in any case must be numerically identic
al with [the parts] into which the essence is divisible, this is not so clear. F
or as we have shown above, none of these principles can be without activity [638
]. And possibly this does not entail that the activities of each of these [mover
s] are necessarily numerically identical with [the parts] into which their essen
ce is divisible. Rather, this might depend on their superiority [or inferiority]
in nobility, so that the nobler among these [movers] with divisible essences ha
ve [a number of ] activities corresponding with their essence, while the multipl
icity of activities of the less noble [movers] is deficient in comparison with t
he multiplicity of their essence. This [assumption] does not entail the absurd [
consequences] following from [the assumptions that] a multiplicity of activities
emerges from the uniform essence or that the multiplicity emerging from a multi
ple essence is more perfect than the multiplicity inhering the essence of the ca
use. This is how one has to maintain [the doctrine of ] the order of these subst
ances with respect to their emergence from one another. Otherwise, it entails th
e preposterous [consequence] that has to be avoided, namely that the one emerges
only from that which is onea. This misa
j 163
m 393r
q 158
a 153
Reading al-wahidu laysa yasduru illa an wahidin. Mss. H, M, and I. Man tino omit
illa and read anhu instead of an. According to this version the
168
Translation
j 164
q 159
conception [was inferred] by way of inversion. To be more precise, in view of th
e truth of [the principle] that from the one only one can emerge [639] it was er
roneously surmised that this proposition is invertible and that [consequently] o
ne activity can emerge only from that which is one, and duality can emerge only
from that which is dual. However, the truth is that from the one only one can em
erge, and [that] from the dual only the dual and what is below [duality] can eme
rge. But this does not entail that any duality necessarily emerges from that whi
ch is dual [640]. The above is the doctrine of recent Islamic philosophers like
Abu Nasr [al-Farab] and others. The doctrine is also ascribed to Themistius and P
lato among the ancient philosophers [641]. The [argument] I mentioned is the str
ongest of the proofs they [adduce in] support of this doctrine, but it is faulty
. For the statement that from the one only one can emerge is a true proposition
about the agent only in so far it is agent, but not in so far it is form and end
. [This is so] because form and end are said to produce an effect only by some s
ort of similarity. The crucial question in this [context] is whether it is possi
ble to form more than one concepta of one simple thing, so that by this [concept
ualization] the entelechy of more than one thing is caused. If this is impossibl
e, the problem is correctly [solved through their doctrine], but if it is possib
le, [their approach to] the problem is false. We have discussed this [issue] els
ewhereb [642].
sentence means that that which is one does not emerge from the one, which makes no
sense firstly because it is certainly not a preposterous doctrine for Ibn Rushd
, and secondly because it is not the inversion of the principle that from the on
e only one can proceed, referred to in the following sentence. Nevertheless, thi
s reading has been adopted without any remark by uiros and Amn. The remaining ma
nuscripts read al-wahidu laysa yasduru anhu illa wahidun [or: wahidan], thus quo
ting exactly this principle. This reading, adopted by likewise makes no sense, a
s Ibn Rushd refers to the content of the Jiham, present sentence as the inversion
( aks) of this very principle. In all likelihood, the reason for this confusion
lies in the omission of illa in an early manuscript, transmitted in mss. H, M,
and in the Hebrew tradition, and in the misplaced insertion of a marginal correc
tion of this omission in a manuscript from which the remaining Arabic manuscript
s ultimately descend. Cf. also note 640. Instead of yatasawwara (to form a concep
t), ms. G marg and the origin of I. Mantinos translation (ordinetur, fol. 393rb) rea
d yasdura (to emerge/pro ceed). The present paragraph (The above ... elsewhere) is om
itted in ms. H,
a b
Chapter Four
169
So, let us assume the following order [of movers]: [(i)] From the first principl
e the mover of the sphere of the [fixed] stars emerges. [(ii)] From the mover of
the sphere of the [fixed] stars the form of the sphere of the [fixed] stars and
the mover of the sphere of Saturn emerge. [(iii)] From the mover of the sphere
of Saturna there emerge the soul of the star, the mover of the sphere of Jupiter
b, and exactly one of the movers which together impart the motion of Saturn. [(i
v)] From this [latter] mover there emerge the remaining three moving [causes] c
of the motions of this star ([and this] likewise in an ordered manner). [(v)] Th
en, from the mover of the sphere of Jupiter, there emerge again three [things],
the mover of the sphere of Mars, the soul of the sphere of [Jupiter], and a thir
d mover. [(vi)] From this [third mover] the remaining movers which impart togeth
er the motions of [Jupiter] emerge in an ordered manner, [i.e.] the second from
the first, the third from the second, and the fourth from the third. [(vii)] And
this [scheme] seems to hold good for all [remaining] movers. [However,] this or
der is not incontestable, but rather in accordance with what is most appropriate
and fits best. One might also maintain that the mover of the sun emerges from t
he mover of the sphere of the [fixed] stars, then from the mover of the sun the
mover of the sphere of Saturn emerges, and so on in an ordered manner up to the
mover of the moon. What points to such an order is, as stated [above], the obser
vable course of the stars in comparison with the sun and their holding of fixed
distances from the [sun] during their [motions of ] acceleration and deceleratio
n [643]. [This applies] especially to Venus and Mercury
secluded by Amn (cf. p. 153, note 8), and not taken into consideration in the tra
nslations by Horten and Van den Bergh. Wa-muharriku falaki zuhal in all mss. (in
cluding I. Mantino), secluded by Amn and Jiham. After Jupiter, ms. P (end of fo
3v) breaks off. Reading, with ms. M, al-muharrikat instead of al-mutaharrikat (th
ings set in motion, movable things) in the remaining manuscripts (including I. Mant
no); for the six movers of Saturn and its sphere cf. above, p. 166.
a 154
j 165 m 393v
a b c
170
Translation
q 160
a 155
j 166
q 161
because the motions of the two spheres carrying these [planets] are [always] in
accordance with the motion of the sun. Furthermore, the course of the moon appea
rs to form a straight [line with the sun]a when [the moon is] in conjunction, op
position or at quartile aspect [644]. And, upon my life, perhaps this is also th
e case with the three supra-[solar planets]. Therefore, it is not far-fetched, a
s we said, that the sun is the noblest [moving star] and that its mover follows
in the order [of the celestial movers] the mover of the sphere of the fixed star
s. As already mentioned, there are, in short, no premises at hand by means of wh
ich we can establish the order of the [movers] in an incontestable way. As for t
he agent intellect, this emerges from the last [mover] in the order of these mov
ing [causes], which should be determined as the mover of the sphere of the moon.
[Finally,] the elements are necessarily caused through the greatest motion. Thi
s has already been shown in De caelo, for it was stated there that it is the nat
ure of motion to cause heat, and [that] lightness, which is the form of fire, is
consequential to the existence of heat, while its opposite, namely gravity, is
consequential to privation of motion [645]. For that reason, fire borders the co
ncave interior of the rotating [celestial] body, while the earth, being [most] r
emote from the motion of the encompassing [bodies], stands firm in the centre, a
nd the simple [elements] which are between fire and earth, i.e. water and air, d
isplay both dispositions, being heavy and light, [i.e.] heavy in relation to wha
t is above them and light in relation to what is below them. On the whole, since
the existence of [these] simple bodies is due to their contrariety [646], while
that which brings about their contrariety is nothing other than the motion of t
he rotating body, the rotating [celestial] body must be that which brings about
and preserves these [elements]. And it is not only these two relations to them t
hat is found in the [celestial body], but this functions also as form for them t
o which they are related as matter. For the lower among them is brought into ent
elechy through the higher, so that finally each of them is brought into entelech
y through [this] rotating body. This has become plain in De caelo. Furthermore,
inasmuch as [this] ball-shaped body is rotating, there must be a body round whic
h it revolves and which is the centre [of its
a Lit. appears to be a straight course; cf. note 644.
Chapter Four
171
revolution]. The earth displays this property regarding the celestial body. And
if there is the earth, there are the remaining elements. Hence, the existence of
the celestial body entails necessarily the existence of the elements, just as t
he form of the house necessarily entails [the existence of ] adobe and baked bri
cks. This being the case, the celestial body causes the existence of the element
s as preserving, efficient, formal, and final [cause]. As for homeomeric [bodies
], it has already become clear in the natural sciences that all that is required
in order to state their proximate causes are the elements and the motions of th
e celestial bodies [647]a.
a 156 q 162
But the doctrine [unfolded] in this science forces us to introduce an extrinsic
principle for the existence of plants and animals. For evidently these have pote
ncies for certain activities performed in respect to a certain end, such as the
nutritive soul. Cona
According to Aristotle, in a similar way also some compounded bodies become enso
uled due to the celestial bodies. This is why Aristotle says that a man is gener
ated by a man and the sun [648]. In his [view], the reason for this is that an i
ndividual is
The following section (printed in columns) is transmitted in three versions. Ver

sion A comprises only the text printed in the left column and is represented by
ms. H. It ends with the words if this is as explained which mark the transition to
the following section. Version B comprises only the text printed in the right c
olumn and is represented by all other Arabic manuscripts except ms. M. It ends w
ith the same phrase as version A. In a third version C, transmitted in ms. M, th
e Hebrew tradition, and I. Mantinos translation, we read first the text of B, the
n that of version A. Since the transition at the end of both version fits neithe
r the beginning of A nor that of B, but does fit the beginning of the section fo
llowing these versions, we are quite safe in assuming that the text intended for
circulation was not a combination of the versions A and B. This rules out C as
well as the reverse sequence A-B. This assumption is corroborated by doctrinal c
ontradictions between versions A and B. All this suggests that we are faced with
two different redactions, in all probability by Ibn Rushd himself, of the prese
nt section, one of which was composed in order to replace the other (cf. note 65
4). The Arabic text of version A is printed in uiros, p. 161, l. 24 (wa-innama,
not fa-innama as printed there) p. 163, l. 6 (wasafna); Amn, p. 156, l. 1 p. 15
, l. 1. The Arabic text of version B is printed in uiros, p. 161, l. 1024; Amn, p
. 155sq., note 14; Jiham, p. 166, l. 1122.
172
Translation
sequently, these [activities] cannot be attributed to the elements. Nor is it po
ssible to attribute their existence to the generating individual because the gen
erating individuals supply only either the receptive matter or the [bodily] orga
ns for such things, e.g. semen and menstrual blood. All this has been shown in t
he natural sciences. However, when the issue is considered in this science [of m
etaphysics], it becomes evident that that through which these things become inte
lligible cannot originate from an individual material form in so far it is indiv
idual. For if it is the nature of the material forma to produce forms in matter
qua material [forms], it is impossible that this [nature] is found in separate f
orms. On the other hand, it has become clear that separate forms do produce form
s in matter. Hence these
brought into existence only by [another] individual of the same kind. Since thes
e [celestial bodies] are bodies which have life, life is passed by them to that
which is in the present world. For it is impossible that matter moves [a thing]
to an animated entelechy, unless it is a body naturally disposed to being ensoul
ed. [This is so] because one thing passes to something else only that which is [
part] of its [own] substance. Aristotle introduces the separate intellectual pri
nciple in the natural sciences only for the human intellect and for the motions
of the celestial bodies. As for the human intellect, [he does so] because in the
material intellect there is a potency which is unmixed [with matter]b [648], wh
ile there is no matter which would require [for its actualization] to be changed
by a body. As for the
m 394ra
a
b
Reading, with ms. H and I. Mantino (formae materialis, fol. 394ra), alsurati l-hay
ulaniyya instead of al-suwari l-hayulaniyya (material forms) in ms. M, adopted b
uiros and Amn. Reading, with ms. , min qibali anna l- aqla l-hayulaniyya fhi
un ghayru mukhalatin. Ms. M reads min qibali anna l- aqla l-hayulaniyya lamma ka
na ghayra mukhalatin (because the material intellect, since it is unmixed [with m
atter]) which is syntactically unsound. Mss. D, G, and T read min qibali anna laqla l-hayulaniyya bi-makani ghayri mukhalatin (because the material intellect ho
lds the position of an unmixed [thing]). Ms. A has a combination of both readings
(bi-makan fhi imkan) which makes no sense, while I. Mantino omits any of the var
iant readings. Cf. note 652.
Chapter Four
173
m 394rb
q 163
[forms] are necessarily not produced by material formsa. This must be so also fo
r the reason that the individual material thing produces only [another] individu
al thing of its kind, whereas it is evident that the intelligible form which pro
duces [something] is not an individual thing. For that reason, the active intell
ect must provide [both] the forms of simple bodies as well as [those] of other t
hings. That which essentially generates an individual [entity] is an individual
of the same kind. This is why Aristotle says that a man is generated by a man an
d the sun [649], and that it is the individual which generates essentially, wher
eas form generates accidentally [650]. Consequently, it becomes clear here [in m
etaphysics] that that which generates these [separate material forms] is somethi
ng different from the individual. Hence, the concrete man which is brought into
existence essentially is generated by the concrete sun and the
celestial bodies, [he does so] because their potencies are infinite [651].
a
Thus ms. M (fa-wajibun alla yakuna yuhdithuha l-suwaru l-hayulaniyya). Ms. H re

ds fa-wajibun alla yakuna muhdathuha uwara l-hayulaniyya l-s (hence the [f
hey [i.e. the separate forms] produce are necessarily not material forms). Be tha
t as it may, it is clear that Ibn Rushd distinguishes between separate forms pro
ducing separable forms in matter (suwar f l-mawadd) and individual material forms p
roducing inseparable material forms (suwar hayulaniyya).
174
Translation
a 157
j 167
m 394v
concrete man only, whereas that which is brought into existence in it accidental
ly, namely humanity, is generated by the [form of ] humanity which is separated
from matter [652]. This marks the difference between the doctrines of Aristotle
and Plato regarding the efficacy of forms [653]. Bear it in minda, for in this w
ay other absurdities can be removed! If this is as explained [654], If this is a
s explained [654], and it is clear that the celestial bodies are the cause of th
e existence of the elements and in how many ways they are their cause, the forms
of the elements [must] be the proximate cause of the existence of prime matter,
which is common to them, but this only qua form and end. For apart from these t
wo it is impossible to conceive any other cause of prime matter, because the eff
icient [cause] effects a thing by passing to it its substance through which it i
s what it is, that is its form. But prime matter has no form, such that there wo
uld [have to] be an efficient [cause] for it. Likewise, it is impossible to conc
eive another matter [as cause] for it, since it is the first [matter] [655]. It
is, nevertheless, possible to conceive matter as being caused in another way. Fo
r matter is predicated of this [prime matter] as well as of the matters of the cel
estial bodies secundum prius et posterius, and in things of this kind that which
is prior is the cause of existence of that which is posterior. Hence, the matte
r of the celestial bodies is also according to this [conception] the cause of th
e existence of this matter, whereas the cause of the existence of the matters of
the celestial bodies is nothing but their forms. That these [things] are ordere
d in this way by necessity becomes comprehensible as follows. Due to the perfect
existence of these separate [principles] there must emerge other beings from th
em. The
a
Reading, with I. Mantino (et retine ipsum, fol. 394rb), fa-qif alayhi instead of y
aqifu alayhi in ms. H which makes no sense. Ms. M omits the phrase.
Chapter Four
175
q 164
forms of some of these beings can exist only together with a substrate. Hence, t
his substrate necessarily must exist, and the existence of these forms in the ma
terial [things] is by necessity [656]. As for their existence as such, I mean th
e souls of the rotating [celestial] bodies, this is for the sake of the best, fo
r their existence is necessarily better than their non-existence. In this [way]
potential doubts about the existence of these forms in the present world can be
removed. For somebody might object: If [the forms] exist in that which is separa
te in the best [possible] disposition, then why do they exist subsequently in an
inferior disposition (unless one argues that the providence [implied] in this i
s only for [the sake of ] matter, but then the nobler would be for the sake of t
he inferior)? [To this] we reply: Their existence in this [inferior] mode is nec
essarily a second existence whichqua existenceis better than non-existence [657]. Fo
r that reason they have a deficient existence, but their deficient existence is
for the sake of the best in comparison with their nonexistence. That they have a
deficient existence and [that they] are forms in material [things] happens by n
ecessity, since they cannot exist in a more perfect mode. Just as it is the best
for us, once we have attained the utmost perfection, to communicate this [perfe
ction] to others as much as possible, so it is with the separate principles when
the souls of the celestial bodies emerge from them. [Likewise,] the forms of th
e four bodies, I mean the elements, exist only due to necessity, namely due to t
he existence of the forms of the rotating [celestial] bodies. Furthermore, it is
due to necessity that they exist in matter, as if two kinds of necessity came t
ogether in them, one with respect to their existence, the other with respect to
their being in matter. The reason for both necessities in them is the existence
of the rotating [celestial] bodies. For the latters existence [as such] necessita
tes their existence [as such], while the latters existence in a substrate [necess
itates] the [elements] being in matter. As for forms realized after the blending
and composition of the elements such as the forms of plants, animals and man, th
eir existence as such is only for the sake of the rational soul, while the exist
ence of the rational soul is for the sake of the best [disposition], as is the c
ase with the celestial bodies. For that reason we hold that man is that which co
mes closest in rank to the celestial bodies in this world, and [that] he is a so
rt of intermediate between eternal beings and that which is subject to coming-to
-be and corruption. [Thus] the existence of the rational
a 158
j 168
q 165
a 159
176
Translation
m 395r
j 169
q 166
soul in matter is likewise due to necessity. Furthermore, the rational soul is r
elated in the present world to the forms inferior to it as the rational [forms]
are related to the acquired intellect [658]; and the sensitive [soul] is related
to the rational [soul] like matter [to form]. The same applies to the relation
between nutritive and sensitive [souls]; and homeomeric [bodies] are likewise re
lated to the nutritive [soul] like matter to form. [Finally,] this very [relatio
n] is how the forms of homeomeric [bodies] are related to the elements of the hu
man [body]. Man is thus the link which connects sensible being and intelligible
being, which is why God perfected through this [intelligible being]a that [forme
r] being which is afflicted with deficiency due to its remoteness from [God]. As
for [the question] why there are more than one kind of plant and animal souls,
most of these seem to exist for the sake of the best. In some [cases] it seems t
o be clear that they exist only for the sake of man or for the sake of one anoth
er, in other [cases], e.g. animals hostile to man or poisonous plants, this is n
ot clear. As will become plain later, the reason for this is that [the capabilit
y of ] these beings to destroy each other is for the greatest part only a kind o
f accident and due to the necessity of matter, as [in the case of ] scorpions an
d other predatory animals by which is evidently destroyed what is, if not nobler
than these, at least not inferior, yet this is only due to necessity. From this
discussion it has become plain how the existence of some things [comes about] n
ecessarily from others, [how] things are related to one another regarding [their
] entelechy, that the entelechy of each of them is related to the entelechy of t
he firstb, and that their existence is necessarily caused by the existence of th
e first. In what follows we have to consider the question of [divine] providence
for the present world, that is for that which is below the sphere of the moon.
We will approach this [question] by presupposing the above [results] [659].
a Reading, with the majority of the manuscripts (including I. Mantino), bih inste
ad of lahu (for him, i.e. for man) as transmitted in mss. H and M, adopted by uir
os and in the three previous modern translations. Reading, with the majority of
the manuscripts, ila kamal al-awwal. Ms. A and I. Mantino (primam perfectionem, fo
l. 395ra) read ila l-kamal al-awwal (to the first entelechy), ms. originally had
the same variant reading, but the article al- in al-kamal is deleted.
a 160
b
Chapter Four
177
We say: The existence of these things which are on the earth and the continuous
preservation of their species are necessarily intended [and] cannot be produced
by chance, as many of the ancients thought [660]. This becomes evident if one in
vestigates how the motions of the celestial bodies accord with the existence and
preservation of each thing generated in the present world. This is most obvious
in [the case of ] the sun, then [also] in [the case of ] the moon. For in the c
ase of the sun it is clear that if its body were greater than it is [actually] o
r closer in space, the species of plants and animals would perish of excessive h
eat. Similarly, they would perish of excessive cold, in case its body were small
er or more remote. This is confirmed by [the fact] that that whereby the sun pro
duces heat is [both] its motions as well as the reflection of its rays [661], an
d by the places uninhabitable due to excessive cold or heat [662]. Likewise, [di
vine] providence becomes also clearly evident from the inclination of the sphere
of the [sun]. For of its sphere were not inclined, there would be no summer, wi
nter, spring, and fall here [on earth]; and clearly these seasons are necessary
for the existence of the species of plants and animals [663]. [Moreover,] provid
ence is readily apparent in the diurnal motion, for without diurnal motion there
would be no day and night, but rather day [lasting] for half a year and night [
lasting] for the other half, during which things would perish, either by day due
to heat or by night due to cold [664]. As for the moon, its effect on the comin
g-to-be of rain and the ripening of fruits is clear, too [665]. Furthermore, it
is clear that [the moon] would not have this effect, if it were greater or small
er as it [actually] is, or [if it were] more remote or closer, or [if it] would
not receive its light from the sun. In addition, if its sphere were not inclined
, it could not have different effects at different times, which is why it warms
the nights during the cold season and cools [them] during the hot season [666].
As for its warming effect during the cold season, this is due to [the fact] that
at that time its position in relation to us is comparable to the position of th
e sun during the hot season in that it is closest to the observers zenith because
its orbit [reaches] the greatest inclination [667]. But in the hot season the s
ituation is the other way round [668]. In other words, [both] the [moons full] vi
sibility as well as its invisibility [can] occur in southern direction [669], as
its [full] visibility always lies in opposite direction of the sun. Hence, if t
he sun is in the south [670], the [moon] is visible [as full moon] in the north
and invisible in the south, and if the sun is in the north [671], it is the othe
r
q 167 j 170
a 161
m 395v
178
Translation
q 168
j 171
a 162
q 169
way round, i.e. the [moon] is visible [as full moon] in the south and invisible
in the north. For that reason, it becomes cooling at this time, since its rays m
eet [the earth] at that time only in southern direction [672]. Furthermore, ther
e is no need to assume that the evidence of the [moons] mean courses [673] at fix
ed distances from the sun conflicts with [divine] providence for that which is i
n the present world. One should apply what has been said about the sun and the m
oon accordingly to the case of the other stars, their spheres, and [the fact tha
t] they have mean courses at fixed distances from the sun. In this sense Aristot
le says that their course is [in accordance with] the course of the sun [674]. H
e says so because they are evidently influenced by the motion of the [sun] and d
esire to imitate it [675]. Although we cannot discern by the senses much influen
ce [performed] by their motions, the eccentricity of their [orbits], and their p
rogression and retrogression, we are absolutely convinced that [all] this is due
to [divine] providence for that which is in the present world. It is just diffi
cult to perceive this because it requires a period of observation longer than hu
man life. Consequently, we have to take it for granted from those who practise e
mpirical astronomy, that is those of their teachings about the influences of the
se stars which are credible. To be more precise, it must be possible to establis
h this [influence] through long observation, and it must also be possible that t
he stars [actually] have such an effect. However, as stated repeatedly, in view
of the nobility of these celestial bodies we do not think that their providence
for that which is below them is by first intention [676]. Otherwise, the eternal
would be for the sake of the transient, and the superior would be for the sake
of the inferior. Furthermore, when they have providence for these [things] in th
at way, we cannot say that they fail to know things in the present world because
the effect of the knower qua knower is known to him. However, their knowledge i
s [not like this, but rather] in the way we have explained [above]a [677]. Since
these [bodies] derive the order of their motions only through what they think o
f the essence of their principles, and [since] their principles derive it [ultim
ately] only from the first principle, which is God (praised and exalted), the pr
imary
a
The Arabic text corresponding to because the effect ... explained [above] is omitt
ed in ms. H and not taken into consideration in the translations by Horten and V
an den Bergh.
Chapter Four
179
providence for us is only the providence of God (praised and exalted). He is the
cause of anything that dwells on earth, and whatever exists here [on earth] in
the state of pure good [678] [comes] from His will and His intention. The existe
nce of evils, on the other hand, is due to the necessity of matter, as in the ca
se of decay and decrepitude and the like. This is so just for [the following rea
son]: There are [679] only two potential modes for this [sublunar] existence. Ei
ther there are no such things the existence of which is afflicted with a certain
evilbut this would be an even greater evil, or [these things] exist in this very di
sposition (for there are no other possibilities for their existence) [680]. E.g.
, the benefit of fire in the world is evident, even though [fire] happens to des
troy many animals and plants by accident. But see the [divine] providence for an
imals, how they were provided with the sense of touch, as this was made possible
by their nature, in order that they be safeguarded against sensible things that
can destroy them! Similarly, each animal species is provided with what preserve
s its existence against things that can destroy it, and this again is in accorda
nce with [the capability] to receive such [properties] found in the nature of th
e animal in question. This provides further evidence that there is [divine] prov
idence for that which is here [in the sublunar world]. Consequently, if you cons
ider this for a great number of living beings, it will become evident to you tha
t they cannot exist, unless they are provided with the things through which thei
r existence is preserved. This is most evident in [the case of ] man and from [t
he fact] that if there were no intellect, [man] could not exist for [even] a [sh
ort] period of time. Therefore, we might believe that those principles know the
sublunar evils according to their way of knowledge, and that their providencea f
or us is not confined to providing only our existence but also [includes] the th
ings through which our existence is preserved against what could destroy us [681
]. Alexander [of Aphrodisias] says: To say that [divine] providence applies to a
ll particulars, as the Stoics used to hold, is also completely false. For accord
ing to what [has been established] above, the providence of those [principles] o
ccurs only inasmuch as they have knowledge. [But] it is impossible that they hav
e particular [and] generated
a Reading, with I. Mantino (eorum cura, fol. 396ra) and mss. H, M, and G marg, ina
yatuha instead of ghayatuha (their aim) in the remaining mss.
m 396r
a 163
j 172
q 170
180
Translation
a 164
j 173
knowledge, not to mention that it [would have to] be infinite [682]. Moreover, h
e who holds this [position] ascribes [implicitly] a [kind of ] necessitation [of
evil] to the deity. For if there is a [divine] guidance directed towards each i
ndividual, how [else] could the individual be afflicted with evils, the deity be
ing its guide? I mean here of the [different] species of evils those which occur
potentially. As for evils occuring in the individual by necessity, these might
[of course] be saida not [to come] from the deity [683]. However, most of those
who hold this position regarding [divine] providence believe that for the deity
everything is possible. Consequently, they have to ascribe [them] to the [deity]
. But it is absolutely evident that not everything is possible. For it is not po
ssible that the transient is eternal or that the eternal is transient, just as i
t is impossible that the angles of a triangle ever become equal to four right an
gles or that colours become audible [684]. To teach such [things] is rather detr
imental for the wisdom of mankind. Some think they [can] argue in favour of this
[doctrine] by stating that [Gods] acts do not admit injustice as [category of ]
description, but rather stand in an indifferent relation to good and evil [685].
However, such a statement is absolutely incompatible with human nature and conf
licts with the nature of that being which is supremely good. For [in that case]
there would be no essential good in the present world but [only] posited [good],
and [similarly] there would be no essential evil. Thus it would be possible tha
t the good turns into evil and the evil into good, so that there would be no tru
th at all in the present world. Even the glorification and worship of the first
would be only a posited good, [such that] the good might [just as well] consist
in lapsing from worshipping it and in renouncing ones faith in its glorification
[686]. All these are views similar to those [propounded by] Protagorasb [687]. W
e will attend to demonstrating the reprehensible consequences of these [views] i
n the chapter which follows this one, so God (exalted) will.
m 396v q171
a
b
Reading, with the majority of the manuscripts, fa-li-qa ilin an yaqula. Ms. M an
d Mantinos Vorlage read fa-laysa li-qa ilin an yaqula (these might not be said), ad
opted by uiros. Instead of Protagoras I. Mantino and the Hebrew translation by Ka
lonymos b. Kalonymos falsely read Pythagoras (cf. M. Steinschneider, Die Metaphysi
k des Aristoteles in jdischen Bearbeitungen, p. 6, note 28).
Chapter Four
181
a 165
At the present place, [our] discourse on the second part of this science [of met
aphysics], that is the fourth chapter of our book, comes to its enda [688].
a
Instead of the last sentence we read in Mantinos translation Epitomes Auerrois in
Librum Metaphysicae finis. After this sentence, Amn adds wabih tamma l-kitab (and wi
th it the book is completed) for which there is no manuscript evidence.
NOTES
[1] The basic meaning of iltaqata governing one object in the accusa tive and a s
econd one introduced by min is to gather s.th. from/pick s.th. out of [a certain
source], cf. WKAS vol. II, part 2, p. 1093. Ibn Rushd, thus, indicates right at t
he outset of his treatise that he aims not at presenting a sort of abbreviated v
ersion or Epitome (in the strict sense of the word) of the Metaphysics in its enti
rety and in the order of the Aristotelian text, but rather at discussing or expl
aining doctrines or sections selectively and arranged in a mode differing from t
hat of the authoritative work. This is not exactly the method Ibn Rushd applied
to the preceding Epitomes. However, the continuation of the present sentence sug
gests such a methodical coherence, probably in order to guarantee the unity of t
he overall project of Short Commentaries or Epitomes of the most important physi
cal and metaphysical works by Aristotle. On the structure of these Epitomes cf.
J. al- Alaw, al-Matn al-rushd. Madkhal li-qira a jadda, p. 5259.
[2] These are the so-called Jawami tab iyya or Epitomes of the Nat ural Sciences,
dealing with Aristotles Physica, De caelo, De generatione et corruptione, and Met
eorologica (in this order). The four Epitomes, completed in 554/1159, form a lit
erary unit in its own right to which Ibn Rushd attached an introduction and an e
pilogue. However, in almost all manuscripts they have been transmitted together
with the Epitome of De anima and the present work on the Metaphysics.
[3] The following Preface or sadr, as Ibn Rushd calls it below, is composed of fou
r parts which treat, following the ancient commentary tradition, (i) the aim of
metaphysics, (ii) its parts, (iii) its usefulness, and (iv) its place in the phi
losophical curriculum. The term aim (gharad) does not, in this preface, refer to a
n end lying outside of this science, but rather to the objects and tasks of meta
physics. Basically, it encompasses that which is taken into consideration (refer
red to by the root N-Z-R c. f ) and that which is stated or established (referred
to by a ta c. acc.) in this science.
184
Notes
[4] Cf. Ibn Rushd, al-Darur f usul al-fiqh (Mukhtasar al-Mustasfa), ed. J
p. 34 (N.B. If this is indeed what Ibn Rushd is referring to here, it corroborat
s al- Alaws assumption that al-Darur f usul , al-Matn al-fiqh belongs to Ibn Rushds
rly works; cf. J. al- Alaw al-rushd, p. 27sq.). The following tripartition of the
sciences does not correspond to Aristotles tripartition propounded in Metaph. E 1
and Topica VI 6, of which the third part, the productive sciences or , ar
ter Peripatetic and Neoplatonic tradition). The same phenomenon occurs in Ibn Ru
shds Middle Commentary on the Topics (cf. Talkhs Kitab al-jadal, ed. S. Salim, p.
329) on the Metaphysics, where the ulum as also in his Long Commentary sina iyya
are mentioned because they occur in the Arabic translation of Metaph. VI (E) 1,
1025 b 26 and had to be set apart from the theoretical disciplines, while it is
obvious that Ibn Rushd cannot make much sense of this term, cf. Long Commentary
on the Metaphysics, p. 704. This corresponds with the fact that he speaks indist
inctly of the productive power of (sana i ) and practical sciences in his commentary
on 1046 b 3. When Ibn Rushd employs now and then Metaph. IX () 2, the concept of
productive disciplines (sana i fa iliyya), this has not much in common with Aris
totles ; cf. also note 369.
[5] There is no explicit statement to this effect in Aristotles Posterior Analyti

cs (rather cf. Analytica priora II 21). Ibn Rushd refers presumably to his Short
Commentary on the Posterior Analytics (no edition available) which forms part o
f his Darur f l-Mantiq (also entitled Mukhtasar al-Mantiq) composed c. 552/1157.
f. also Ibn Rushds explanations on universal and departmental sciences in the con
text of Posterior Analytics I 24 provided in his Talkhs Kitab al-burhan, p. 434436
(ed. Jiham). [6 ] Dialectic is universal not as a discipline which has a univers
al subject matter in the strict sense of the concept, but rather inasmuch as it
may deal with any kind of entities as a general technique of discourse based on
commonly accepted suppositions; cf. An. post. I 11, 77 a 2635; Ibn Rushd, Talkhs K
itab al-burhan, p. 402; id., Talkhs Kitab in the al-jadal, p. 8789. Sophistic
not mentioned in this context Posterior Analytics where we find it rather set ap
art from universal knowledge (cf. I 5, 74 a 2629). However, sophistics may be dep
icted ex negativo as a universal discipline inasmuch as it deals with the accide
ntal (cf. An. post. I 2, 71 b 911; Metaph. VI [E] 2, 1026 b 15)
Chapter One
185
which, as such, is not conjoined with any specific subject matter of this or tha
t departmental discipline; cf. Ibn Rushd, Talkhs Kitab al-burhan, p. 372 (ed. Jih
am). [7] Again, there is no corresponding passage in the Posterior Analytics, but
cf. Ibn Rushds commentaries on An. post. I 7, 75 b 1216, Sharh al-Burhan, p. 284s
q., as well as on Metaph. IV 1, 1003 a 2426, Long Commentary on the Metaphysics,
p. 299, with similar explanations on the two departmental theoretical sciences.
[8] According to Aristotle the efficient cause (or principle of change) is, unli
ke the formal cause, temporally prior to its effect (cf. Metaph. IV 5, 1010 b 37
f., XII 3, 1070 a 21). The present distinction is presumably influenced by Ibn Sn
as approach to the complementarity of final and efficient causes and his determin
ation of God as both efficient and final cause of all existence and of all essen
tial perfection (for Ibn Sna, cf. R. Wisnovsky, F inal and Efficient Causality in
Avicennas Cosmology and Theology, uaestio 2 [2002]). [9] Cf. Aristotle, Metaphysi
cs IV () 1, 1003 a 26sq. [10] The physical proof of the existence of the first mo
ver and its immateriality does not release metaphysics from dealing with general
things, being qua being and its essential concomitants (as outlined above), bec
ause it does not provide the other most remote causes. These ultimate causes are
not the subject matter of metaphysics, but rather something that is searched fo
r in this science and apprehended by the study of the general things (umur amma) w
hich form its subject matter (see below). Two Avicennian doctrines, the exclusio
n of ultimate causes as subject matter of metaphysics and the ontological concep
t of its universality, stand here side by side with Ibn Rushds famous antiAvicenn
ian theory that only natural philosophy, rather than metaphysics, proves the exi
stence of God qua first mover. The last part of the present sentence does not in
dicate an additional way of acquiring knowledge about the ultimate causes, as tr
anslated by Horten (Diese Erkenntnis wird ferner erreicht...), nor does it refer t
o the physical proof as a sort of precondition, as translated by Van den Bergh (j
edoch erst nachdem [...] in der Physik...; omitting aydan). It rather maintains t
he validity of a universal science which seeks ultimate causes despite the (part
ial) determination of such ultimate causes prior to metaphysics, i.e. in physics
(as in the translations by I. Mantino and uiros).
186
Notes
[11] Bayan [...] ala l-takhss presumably refers to the fact that such a proof has
to be based on what can be concluded from the study of the specific subject matt
er of physics, rather than on an apodictic proof (ein apodiktischer Beweis) as tra
nslated by Van den Bergh. Cf. also below, p. 155 of the translation, as well as
Ibn Rushds Commentarium magnum in Aristotelis Physica, fol. 57 ra (A): Primus aute
m Motor impossibile est vt declaretur esse nisi per signum naturale, and the tran
slation and analysis of this section in A. Bertolacci, Avicenna and Averroes on t
he Proof of Gods Existence, p. 89sq.; cf. also Ibn Rushds Long Commentary on the Me
taphysics, p. 508, l. 211. [12] Following Aristotles Topica I 10, 105 a 10sqq., Ib
n Rushd distinguishes between two kinds of dialectical speech (aqawl jadaliyya,
yllogistics (qiyas jadal) and dialectical induction (istiqra jadal). The first dra
ws conclusions on the basis of generally accepted, yet not necessarily true prem
ises, the latter transfers a judgement about particular things or circumstances
based on particular criteria onto universal things or circumstances. Both method
s are inappropriate for claiming necessary truth; cf. Ibn Rushd, Talkhs Kitab aljadal, p. 43, l. 6sqq., p. 437sq.
[13] Asl mawdu is the analytical translation of the epistemological technical te

rm , supposition, Ibn Rushd encountered in the translations of Aristotles Prior an
or Analytics, e.g. An. post. I 2, 72 a 2023; I 10, 76 b 23 77 a 4, etc. It is one
of two kinds of what Aristotle calls a posit (, wad ), i.e. a principle of syllogist
ics which cannot be proved and need not necessarily be known within a science in
order to learn that science (An. post. I 2, 72 a 1416). The supposition differs f
rom the other kind of posit, the definition (, hadd), in that it assumes either th
mething is or that something is not, whereas the definition posits what somethin
g is. Both kinds of posits, in turn, are distinct from the principle which likew
ise cannot be proved but must be known necessarily to practise any science, i.e.
the axiom or general principle of demonstration (An. post. I 2, 72 a 1623). A su
pposition can be universal or particular (An. post. I 10, 77 a 3sq.). Ibn Rushd
follows this terminology and employs the term asl mawdu in this technical sense
in various works, cf. Sharh al-Burhan, p. 192194, 314321; Talkhs Kitab al-burhan, p.
375, l. 9, p. 399sq.; Talkhs Kitab al-qiyas, p. 88, l. 12 p. 89, l. 11 (ed. Bada
; Talkhs Kitab al-maqulat, p. 3, l. 10, etc.; cf. also the following note.
Chapter One
187
[14] Wa-hiya ahadu ajza i mawdu atih does not refer to a multiplicity of subject
matters of metaphysics (as suggested in the translations by Horten, uiros, and
Van den Bergh), but rather to the fact that the specific suppositions () form part
t which is posited (mawdu ) in any science. This includes not only the genus or
subject matter, the common axioms and the attributes of the subject matter taken
into consideration, but also suppositions and postulates (cf. An. post. I 10, 7
6 b 23 77 a 4).
[15] Ibn Rushd indicates here that the segmentation of the single treatises of A
ristotles Metaphysics does not correspond with its main topics. (However, disorder
ed [Van den Bergh, p. 4] or indistinct [Horten, p. 5] as interpretations of muntash
iran are rather exaggerative.) The various topics of these treatises can be redu
ced to a more basic division of the science. Ibn Rushd emphasizes, contrary to w
hat is suggested in the two German translations, the well-structured arrangement
of the Aristotelian books in his Long Commentary on the Metaphysics, p. 1405, l
. 4sqq. But this statement has to be seen in the context of Nicolaus of Damascus
critical remarks on the structure of the Metaphysics. In any case, Ibn Rushd res
tructures in what follows the order of the Aristotelian text in a quite independ
ent manner; cf. also Arnzen, Ibn Rusd on the Structure of Aristotles Metaphysics. [
16 ] From the last part of Chapter IV of the Epitome it becomes clear that Ibn R
ushd is talking here about the attributes and powers of the celestial movers. Th
ese include common attributes such as oneness, intellectuality, life, etc. as we
ll as individual attributes such as different kinds of motion and individual pow
ers over the effects of their motion and their relation to matter. [17] Mawdu at
al- ulum al-juz iyya, translated as materias proprias by uiros, Grundstze by
n Bergh, and Postulate by Horten. I have argued elsewhere in extenso that Ibn Rush
d refers here predominantly to the subject matters of the particular sciences, p
ossibly including also the first principles of demonstration, as is suggested by
the subsequent reference to logic and to principles (mabadi ) of the sci ences.
The reference is, thus, to books IV () 38, XIII (M) and XIV (N) of Aristotles Metap
hysics. Cf. my On the Nature and Fate of Chapter V of Ibn Rushds Epitome of Aristo
tles Metaphysics, esp. p. 4452, and below, notes 685, 68788.
188
Notes
[18] Cf. Aristotle, Posterior Analytics I 910. [19] That ma in the phrase ma kana
min darurat hadha l- ilm serves as a particle of negation and not as a pronoun
as translated by uiros, p. 13, Van den Bergh, p. 5, and Horten, p. 6, is clear
from the immediately following sentence, in which Ibn Rushd states unmistakably
that only the other two parts are necessary parts of metaphysics. (I. Mantinos t
ranslation, fol. 357 ra ult., is obviously based on a corrupted text, either in
the Hebrew transmission or in the Arabic manuscript used by the Hebrew translato
r.) For Ibn Rushds use of ma as negation in similar syntactic constructions see I
bn Rushd, Tahafut al-tahafut (Lin coherence de lincoherence). Texte arabe etabli pa
r M. Bouyges, Index E [Lexique grammatical], p. 672 s.v. ma; also id., Talkhs Kit
ab al ibara, p. 78, l. 12, p. 122, l. 6; as well as Ibn Rushds Talkhs Kitab
lat, p. 44 ult.
[20] The meaning of the phrase ala jihat al-afdal is not quite clear. One might
also think about translating it through because [metaphysics] is the highest/most
excellent [discipline], thus referring to Metaph. IV () 3, 1005 a 33 b 1. uiros t
ranslation (en razon de mejora, p. 13) is rather vague. The translation zur Vervolls
tndi gung (i.e. of metaphysics) provided by Horten and Van den Bergh is in my view
not supported by the Arabic wording. Ibn Rushd often uses al-afdal in epistemolo
gical and curricular contexts (e.g., al-afdal f tart al- ilm, al-afdal f l-ta lm, an
similar phrases), and does so also b with reference to metaphysics, cf. Long Comm
entary on the Metaphysics, p. 167, l. 510, p. 168, l. 7, p. 476, l. 3, etc. In al
l likelihood, it is this epistemological context that he has in mind in the pres
ent case.
[21] The first part of this sentence cannot be interpreted as a general epistemo
logical statement as in the translations by Van den Bergh (p. 5) and Horten (p.
7), but only as a sort of historical report referring to Aristotles decisive solu
tion of any aporia and error concerning the principles and fundamentals of the s
ciences. Otherwise it would make no sense to open the following sentence with th
e adversative conjunction lakin, which as such makes explicit the relationship b
etween the fact that the solution of these problems is not a necessary part of m
etaphysics and has already been completed by Aristotle and Ibn Rushds explicit in
tention to include a separate chapter on this topic anyhow. (Such an interpretat
ion is additionally supported by the his-
Chapter One
189
torical approach Ibn Rushd displays in the general introduction to the four epit
omes of natural sciences with regard to the doubts and errors of other thinkers;
cf. J. al- Alaw, al-Matn al-rushd, p. 161sq., right column [the Cairo version].)
[22] Contrary to this statement and the testimony of all manuscripts, Horten and
Jiham separate the introduction from Chapter I and fix the beginning of the firs
t chapter before (Horten, p. 9) or after (Jiham, p. 38) the section on being (almawjud), p. 2730 of the translation. [23] Chapter V of the Epitome has not come d
own to us. It has either been lost through a codicological mishap in an early st
age of the transmission or Ibn Rushd detached the original version of this chapt
er from the remaining text, in order to revise it, but was unable to finish this
revision before his death. Cf. Arnzen, On the Nature and Fate of Chapter V of Ib
n Rushds Epitome of Aristotles Metaphysics. [24] A statement to this effect is not
found in Ibn Rushds Epitome of Aristotles De anima, the only treatise on this Aris
totelian work which chronologically precedes the present writing on the Metaphys
ics. The present reference must have been added by Ibn Rushd in a later revision
of the work. [25] Cf. above, p. 24. For the term supposition cf. notes 1314. [26 ]
Dalail or demonstrationes quia. Following Aristotle, Ibn Rushd distinguishes bas
ically between three kinds of apodictic proofs, the absolute proof (burhan mutla
q, demonstratio simpliciter) which dem onstrates simultaneously the existence and
the cause of existence of something, the proof of why something is what it is (
burhan al-sabab or burhan lima, demonstratio propter quid), and the proof that s
ome thing exists (burhan al-dall or burhan an or simply dall, demonstratio quia;
. Ibn Rushd, Sharh al-Burhan, p. 180184, 298, 354358, 374sq. The dall or demonstrat
io quia always draws conclusions from the fact that one thing exists to the fact
that something else exists; this may concern an accident-substance relation or
an effect-cause relation. In any case it goes from what is better known and prio
r to us to what is less known and farther from us, yet prior in being (cf. Ibn R
ushd, Jawami Kitab al-sama al-tab , p. 9sq.). Thus, it is also called burhan b
dafat ilayna, proof with respect to us, i.e., with respect to the natural procedur
e of human cognition from what is better known to
190
Notes
what is less known, as opposed to the proof with respect to the thing itself (bu
rhan bi-l-idafat ila l-amr f nafsih); cf. Ibn Rushd, Talkhs Kitab al-burhan,
q. Dalail are not inductive conclusions in ducing the universal from the particula
r, as interpreted by Horten (p. 8) and Van den Bergh (p. 154 ad loc.). [27] The
expression bi-tartbin wa-tanasub is a hendiadys meaning analogice. I have not bee
n able to find occurrences of this expression in other works by Ibn Rushd. Furth
er below the expression is explicitly equated with asma mushakkaka, terms predica
ted per prius et posterius (cf. uiros, p. 144, l. 3sq., Amn, p. 140, l. 11, Jiham,
p. 151, l. 10sq.). In his Middle and Long Commentaries on Posterior Analytics a
nd in the Long Commentary on the Metaphysics Ibn Rushd uses the terms tanasub an
d mutanasib in order to refer to predication per ana logiam ( ) which
predication; e.g. Sharh al-Burhan, p. 341, l. 1013, rendering An. post. I 12, 78
, Long Commentary on the Metaphysics, p. 308, l. 2, p. 1507, l. 4 on Metaph. 1070
a 32, p. 1518, l. 1016, p. 1552, l. 17 on Metaph. 1071 a 33. Cf. below, note 61,
and the remarks on analogical predication in Ibn Rushd in M. al-Misbah, Tahawwula
t f tarkh al wujud wa-l- aql, p. 163177.
[28] From the examples supplied by Ibn Rushd as well as from the immediately fol
lowing sentence it becomes clear that Ibn Rushds concept of veridical being is diff
erent from the Aristotelian one which refers to the quiddity or essence of somet
hing qua object of cognition (cf. Metaph. VI [E] 4, 1027 b 24, IX [] 10, 1051 b 1
7sqq.). The term qawl (statement, utterance) points rather to a propositional conc
ept of the type it is true that p with p referring to an existential proposition o
f the type x exists/does not exist. Thus, the correspondence between that which is
in the mind and that which is outside the mind does not refer to a single entit
y outside the mind and its representation in the mind (which is, according to Ar
istotle and Ibn Rushd, impossible in the case of the void), but rather to the re
lation between the fact of its extramental existence/non-existence and our knowl
edge of this fact; cf. also Ibn Rushd, Tahafut al-tahafut, p. 372, l. 12 p. 373,
l. 3. [29] Laysa yutasawwaru f l-mawjud al-mufrad cannot mean is not conceivable
in the individual/in the separate entity (ist in dem Einzeldinge [...] begrifflich
nicht denkbar, Horten, p. 9, kann man sich
Chapter One
191
nicht in der gesonderten Entitt vorstellen, Van den Bergh, p. 7), as this is exact
ly what accidental being applies to. F in the present phrase does not mean in or at,
t rather in the way of or as; cf. also uiros translation considerado aisladamente (p.
18). [30] There are no further references for the term al-asma al-manqula in oth
er works, where Ibn Rushd uses the first stem of the root N--L in linguistic an
d rhetorical contexts in two different ways, first in cases where one word is re
placed by a synonym (cf. Talkhs Kitab al-jadal, ed. S. Salim, p. 98, 106), second
ly and very frequently in the form manqul in the context of literal transmission
(especially together with lafz utterance and athar, tradition relating Muhammads de
eds and utterances) in his Bidayat al-mujtahid. None of these meanings seems to b
e applicable in the present case. The following sentence suggests that Ibn Rushd
refers here to the difference between the use of mawjud as adjectival passive p
articiple (present, found) in colloquial Arabic and its nominal use (the existent) i
n technical philosophical terminology, that is a semantic difference which goes
along with the transformation into another word class. Similarly, Ibn Rushd spea
ks below (p. 30 of the translation) about huwa employed as copula (harf ) in col
loquial Arabic and its transformation into a noun in philosophical terminology,
which is there again called lafz manqul. I therefore do not to which manqul refe
rs agree with Van den Berghs thesis according here either to a non-literal sense
of the word or to a paronym (cf. Van den Bergh, p. 8, p. 156sq., note 82), but r
ather adopt Hortens interpretation (i.e., transformation into technical terminolo
gy) to which one has to add the concept of change in word class. In a similar se
nse al-Farab speaks of asma or alfaz manqula as words used by the masses (al-j
ur) in a general sense and by the philosophers as a specific technical term; cf.
Kitab al-Huruf, p 160sq.; Kitab f l-mantiq: al- Ibara, ed. S. Salim, p. 19sq.,
3sq., transl. F. W. Zimmermann, p. 227sq., 230; Jawabat li-masa il su ila an
d. J. Al Yasn, p. 97. For al-Farabs distinction between equivocation, homonymy, met
aphorical speech and technical vs. colloquial terminology cf. C. Martini Bonadeos
explanations in Al-Farab, Larmonia delle opinioni dei due sa pienti il divino Plat
one e Aristotele, p. 16366.
[31] The Arabic word wujida can mean to be found as well as to be (there), to exist.
For this and other Arabic philosophical terms expressing existence cf. G. Endre
ss, Proclus Arabus, p. 79109; F. Shehadi,
192
Notes
Metaphysics in Islamic Philosophy, p. 117. The example Ibn Rushd gives is adopted
from al-Farab, Kitab al-Huruf, p. 110. [32] The word mawjud (being) is a deri
erbal form. The majority of Arabic adjectives is derived (in numerous ways) from
verbal forms. Based on the assumption that accidents are often associated with
adjectives, Ibn Rushd tries here to supply a morphological explanation for what
he conceives as erroneous philosophical doctrine, the concept of being (mawjud)
as accident. The same argument is found in his Long Commentary on the Metaphysic
s, p. 557sq. [33] Al-asma allat hiya muthulun uwal. The translations display rema
rkable differences: I. Mantino (fol. 358 ra) has nominibus abstractis; uiros (p.
20) translates los nombres primitivos; Horten (p. 11) has Ausdrcke [...] die ursprngl
ich (per se) etwas bedeuten (nicht per accidens); Van den Bergh (p. 8) Worte [...]
die primre unabgeleitete Symbole sind. In a way, all these translations hit at le
ast partially upon what Ibn Rushd seems to imply with the term al-mithal al-awwa
l. Primarily this denotes a root morpheme, an abstract noun which serves as morpho
logical root for the derivation of other nominal forms. This root morpheme is a
univocal abstract concept (such as life) as opposed to the derived forms which oft
en have equivocal meanings because they imply in addition to that univocal meani
ng of the root morpheme equivocal relations to the subject of which they are pre
dicated (such as alive which can be predicated of a subject in the sense of a pote
ntiality or habitus, but also in the sense of actual form; cf. Ibn Rushd, Long C
ommentary on the Metaphysics, p. 1620sq. This terminology evidently draws on alFarabs (meta-)linguistics which displays a similar, though slightly different conc
ept of the mithal al-awwal, cf. e.g., Kitab al-Huruf, p. 71, l. 1315, p. 73, l. 1
9 p. 74, l. 21, p. 111, l. 1316, p. 112, l. 18, p. 114, l. 27, etc. (among the exa
mples mentioned there are Persian hast, Greek [to be], and Arabic insan [man], da
ke], or shay [thing]); also al-Farab, Ihsa al- ulum, p. 60sq., Kitab f l-man
Ibara, p. 23, l. 14, p. 27, l. 1sq. Al-Farab does not define the mitha
d it is difficult to grasp the meaning of this term. According to al-Farab, the m
eanings of root morphemes are known by first imposition (f l-wad al awwal), i
y are first intentions (ma qulat uwal). However, they are not coextensive with f
irst intentions, as the latter include proper nouns referring to an individual s
ubject or object of predication (e.g. Zayd)
Chapter One
193
whereas the former do not (ma na mithalin awwala ghayru dallin ala mawdu in aslan
wa-la ala maf ulin tu uddiya ilayhi fi lu fa ilin, Kitab al-H f, p
but cf. S. Menn, Al-Farabs Kitab al-Huruf uru His Analysis of the Senses of Being,
p. 65, who seems to equate and first intentions and root morphemes). Root morphe
mes include speciesand genus-terms, but also non-generic universal terms such as
thing. Morphologically, they are non-paronymous terms, and they must be so, becau
se paronyms are somehow composed of simple words or morphemes and, thus, are ina
ppropriate for denoting simple things. The root morphemes, on the other hand, ar
e simple (bast) and prior to any paronym. As al-Farab ascribes the theory of root m
orphemes to the ancients (al-qudama , cf. Kitab al-Huruf, p. 73, l. 23), the Soc
ratic idea of (primary names) propounded and discussed in Platos
to mind. According to Socrates, all compound derivative names might be resolved
into primary names which are assigned by the name-giver as elemental components
() of all names to the essence of the simple things and elementary facts they name
mitation. Such primary names cannot be analyzed into still other names, and they
must be known prior to any derivative name. This theory is also alluded to in P
latos Theaetetus, 201 c 210 d. However, neither of the dialogues has been transla
ted into Arabic, as far as we know. The immediately following sentence suggests
that for Ibn Rushd such root morphemes have, in addition to their morphological
primacy and their lack of semantic equivocity, an epistemological primacy, as es
sence is not only the first in being, but also ; cf
. For the relationship between root morpheme and definition, cf. p. 61 of the tr
anslation and note 214. For the conception of derived and non-derived forms in e
arly Arabic linguistics cf. also C. Schck, Name (ism), Derived Name (ism mushtaqq)
and Description (wasf ) in Arabic Grammar, Muslim Dialectical Theology and Arab
ic Logic.
[34] The transmission of the present section obviously must have been somehow co
rrupted. This concerns especially the sentence law kanat ... khulfan mina l-qawl
(if ... in the substance). As transmitted in the manuscripts this would mean it wo
uld be self-contradictory to say about the substance that it is a being (or: exi
stent), which is obviously not true. At best this would be a tautology rather tha
n a contradiction,
194
Notes
as in fact translated by Horten (p. 11). Yet, Ibn Rushd never uses the term khul
f in the sense of tautology, but frequently in the sense of self-contradiction. Th
is problem leads Van den Bergh (p. 157, note 84) to a far-fetched interpretation
of the following clause which distinguishes between the use of mawjud in this s
entence and in the pre ceding section on the meaning of being qua essence and thing. T
at it is this preceding section that Ibn Rushd is referring to is clear from the
repeated reference by wa-li-hadha ... wa-li-hadha aydan... (Therefore ... and it
is for the same reason...). I therefore propose the reading qawluna innahu f l-ja
whari mawjudun instead of qawluna f l-jawhari innahu mawjudun which can be easil
explained by a simple omission of innahu and its subsequent wrong replacement f
rom a mar ginal or interlinear correction. According to this minor modification,
the argument mentioned by Ibn Rushd in fact establishes an (alleged) contradicti
on, as in the one case being is employed as a synonym of essence, whereas it refer
s in the other case to being in (or: at) a substance, i.e. something accidental. [
35] This sentence is still part of Ibn Rushds rejection of the doctrine of being
qua accident in the sense of primary intention, pointing to one of its unaccepta
ble consequences (as correctly translated by uiros, p. 21), not to Ibn Rushds ow
n doctrine (as wrongly translated by Horten [p. 12] and Van den Bergh [p. 9]). C
f. also Metaph. VII (Z) 1, 1028 a 13sqq., and Ibn Rushds Long Commentary on the M
etaphysics, p. 747, l. 7sqq. [36 ] The abstract noun huwiyya competes in the Gra
eco-Arabic translations and in early Arabic philosophy with the terms mawjud, an
niyya, and aisa as equivalents of Greek () and . In the translations o
huwiyya stands significantly more frequently for the latter than for the former
(cf. G. Endress, Proclus Arabus, p. 99sq.). Anniya and aisa are not considered i
n the Epitome because they are used in the Metaphysics only as equivalents of
inguistic (the word is) or (the expression what is). The ter
ty, occurs in the Epitome only in the present short section. For its synonymy wit
h the term mawjud cf. also the Long Commentary on the Metaphysics, p. 305, l. 3s
qq., p. 557sq. (The translations individuality, Horten [p. 12], or ipseity, Van den
Bergh [p. 9], are misleading; correctly I. Mantino: ipsum quod est, [fol. 358 vb].
)
Chapter One
195
[37] Al-alfaz al-manqula; cf. above, note 30. [38] The sentence is misleading du
e to its conciseness. The reason why the translators thought huwiyya (entity) to b
e less misleading is not that huwiyya is a derived form (as translated by uiros
, p. 22, Horten, p. 13, and Van den Bergh, p. 9). On the contrary, the reason wh
y mawjud (being) is misleading is exactly that it is a derived form and easily rec
ognizable as such to anybody acquainted with the Arabic language (cf. above, the
remark to how the masses use the term being, p. 28 of the translation). Huwiyya,
on the other hand, is a neologism, as such not recognizable as a derivative noun
, and thus less easily mistaken for a word referring to something accidental; cf
. Ibn Rushd, Long Commentary on the Metaphysics, p. 557, l. 5 p. 558, l. 6; also
above, note 32. All this is heavily indebted to al-Farabs Kitab al-Huruf, esp. p
111115. For an in depth study on al-Farabs doctrine of how to predicate being cf
Menn, Al-Farabs Kitab al-Huruf and His Analysis of the Senses of Being, esp.
[39] I follow I. Mantino and the three modern translations in taking wa-la ala m
awdu in aslan in the sense of wa-la yuqalu/yuhmalu ala mawdu in aslan. Such an
erpretation corresponds with both the doc trine and the terminology unfolded in Ib
n Rushds Talkhs Kitab al maqulat, p. 7, l. 10 p. 9, l. 6, esp. p. 9, l. 36; cf. als
Sharh al Burhan, p. 451sq. In addition, it is attested by the Epitome itself bel
ow, cf. p. 58, l. 9 of the translation (uiros, p. 43, l. 12sq., Amn, p. 40, l. 8
, Jiham, p. 65, l. 8).
[40] Cf. the preceding note. [41] This sentence makes no sense in the form trans
mitted in all manuscripts, according to which Ibn Rushd would maintain that hold
ing the opinion that substance means first substance is the cause for maintaining
that it means second substance, which is obviously absurd (and led the modern tr
anslators to very paraphrastic interpretations). What Ibn Rushd intends to point
out is presumably the tension between the fact that the primary meaning of subs
tance qua first substance is widely accepted and the fact that many of those he
calls philosophasters nevertheless prefer to understand substance in the sense of se
cond substance, which is not in a substrate but predicated of it (cf. Talkhs Kita
b al-maqulat, p. 7, l. 10 p. 8, l. 3). I therefore propose to read wa-in instea
f idh (uiros, p. 15, l. 7, Amn, p. 11, l. 15, Jiham, p. 39, l. 1).
196
Notes
[42] Cf. Metaph. II () 1, 993 b 2427. [43] I.e., that the thing which is through i
tself the cause of another thing deserves most appropriately that its effect be
predicated of it. [44] For this distinction cf. Ibn Rushd, Talkhs Kitab al-maqula
t, p. 8, l. 312. [45] Ibn Rushd refers to Aristotles distinction between discrete
and continuous quantities, Categories 6, 4 b 22sqq., or his own explanations on
this distinction, Talkhs Kitab al-maqulat, p. 38, l. 6 p. 42, l. 6. These two cl
sses are properly (bi-l-haqqa, Talkhs Kitab al maqulat, p. 42, l. 8) or essentiall
cf. the following sentence of the Epitome, corresponding with , Cat. 5 b 38) calle
tities, others are referred to by this name accidentally ( , Cat.
Talkhs Kitab al-maqulat, p. 42, l. 9). [46 ] Aristotle counts the large and the s
mall among the relatives rather than among the qualities (cf. Cat. 6, 5 b 1129),
in which he is followed by Ibn Rushd in his Talkhs Kitab al-maqulat, p. 44, l. 36,
p. 45, l. 15. Ibn Sna mentions certain wiseacres (mutahadhliqun) among the
ators of Aristotle who reckon the two accidents among the quantities; cf. Ibn Sna,
K. al-Shifa : al-Mantiq II. al-Maqulat, p. 139, l. 417.
[47] These are (i) disposition and state ( ), Cat. 8, 8 b 269 a 13; (i
(iii) affective qualities ( ), Cat. 8, 9 a 28 10 a 10; and (iv) shap
; cf. Ibn Rushd, Talkhs Kitab al-maqulat, p. 7179. [48] This doctrine, which cann
t be found in Aristotles Categories, has been proffered by Ibn Sna in his K. al-Sh
ifa : al-Mantiq II. al Maqulat, p. 207sq. [49] Ibn Rushd omits in this list an ex
ample for the relational use of the category of Having. Such examples can be found
in his Talkhs Kitab al-maqulat, p. 121, l. 79. [50] Ibn Rushd refers to Aristotl
distinction between the relation of correlatives which reciprocate ( ) and th
eciprocate, Cat. 7, 6 b 28sqq. Only the first type of correlation is properly ca
lled , and it refers, as a rule, to something essentially correlated, not to somethi
g accidental, cf. ibid. 7 a 2230.
Chapter One
197
[51] In all manuscripts al-ma qulat al-uwal ... al-ma qulat al-thawan. The trans
ations provided by Horten (p. 18) and Van den Bergh (p. 13) are misleading. [52]
I.e., it does not imply or presuppose the actual existence of this thing, as op
posed to the primary mode of terminology mentioned above. Cf. Ibn Rushds Sharh al
-Burhan, p. 317, where the term essence-of-something (dhat al-shay ) is explained
as that which is given in the Wesensdefinition without implying the existence or
nonexistence of the thing in question. N.B.: The preceding lines on essence are a
paraphrase of al-Farab, Kitab al-Huruf, p. 106, l. 28. [53] In his commentarie
n Aristotles Posterior Analytics, Ibn Rushd distinguishes between four types of e
ssential predication (haml bi-ldhat); cf. Ibn Rushd, Talkhs Kitab al-burhan, p. 3
80382, Sharh al Burhan, p. 219227, and below, note 166. N.B.: The following lin
the term essential (bi-l-dhat or ma bi-dhatih) are a summary of al Farab, Kitab
uruf, p. 107, l. 5 p. 110, l. 2. [54] All modern translations are wrong in read
ng f muqabili ma bi-l arad ([...can be predicated] in opposition/as antonym to what
is accidentally) instead of f muqabilin ma bi-l- arad (as correctly by I. Mantino
). The point of reference is An. post. I 4,73 a 36sqq., where Aristotle gives exa
mples of opposite essential accidents which are predicated of their subjects in
an essential mode such as straight and curved of the line, odd and even of the n
umber, etc. Although Aristotle does not use the term opposites in this section, th
e paraphrastic Arabic translation employed by Ibn Rushd does so four times (cf.
Ibn Rushd, Sharh al-Burhan, p. 226, l. 1416). In his commentary on this section,
Ibn Rushd deals with the accidentality of this opposition of essential accidents
and the fact that they are nevertheless predicated essentially (cf. ibid., p. 22
6229).
[55] I.e., to predicate something in an essential mode of a substantial subject,
not the immediately preceding mode of predication of opposite essential acciden
ts. [56 ] In the first case, the predicate is an essential part or constituent o
f the substance in question, in the second case, it is an essential accident or
attribute. For the distinction of the two modes of predication and Ibn Rushds exp
lanation cf. Aristotle, An. post. I 4, 73 a 34 b 5; Ibn Rushd, Sharh al-Burhan,
p. 219221.
198
Notes
[57] This mode of predication of bi-l-dhat has its origin in An. post. I 4, 73 b
2529: I call universal whatever belongs to something both of every case and in it
self and as such. It is evident, therefore, that whatever is universal belongs f
rom necessity to its objects. (To belong in itself and as such are the same thin
g [...]), transl. J. Barnes. The paraphrastic Arabic translation used by Ibn Rush
d renders this section as follows: It is said that universal is [i] that which is
predicated of the whole subject, and [ii] [that which is] essential to it, and
[iii] inasmuch as it is found in it in a primary mode of existence. If this desc
ription applies to the universal, it [belongs] necessarily to the subject. There
is no difference between saying that this predicate is found in the subject ess
entially and [saying] that it is found in it primarily; cf. Sharh alBurhan, p. 22
9, l. 810. On the basis of this section, Ibn Rushd con siders (heavily criticizing
al-Farab) the relation between [i] universal predication (al-haml ala l-kull), [ii]
essential predication (al-haml bi-l-dhat), and [iii] primary predication (al-haml
al-awwal). He states: (a) that which is predicated universally applies to the en
tire subject in all circumstances and at any time, is essential to it, and exist
s in it in a primary mode of existence. (b) That which is predicated primarily i
s neither more general than (a amm min) its subject nor predicated of its genus.
(c) That which is predicated primarily is not predicated of its subject by mean
s of an extrinsic (shared) nature, but rather by means of the cause which consti
tutes this subject (as colour is predicated of body by means of surface, which c
onstitutes body). (d) Primary predication and essential predication differ in th
at all that exists in something else in a primary mode of existence is essential
, but not all that is essential is in a primary mode of existence. (e) Primary p
redication and universal predication differ in that the first never refers to th
e genus of the subject, while the latter can refer to the genus and thus be empl
oyed in definitions requiring that the genus be stated. (f ) Primary predication
s can serve as the premise of a demonstratio quia, but not as the premise of an
absolute demonstration. Cf. Sharh al-Burhan, p. 229235. [58] Cf. the preceding no
te, final section.
[59] Ibn Rushd cites Aristotles examples of non-existents, Physics IV 1, 208 a 30
, , anzu ayyilin wa- anqa u mughrib in the Arabic translation
a, ed. A. Badaw, vol. 1, p. 271, l. 10).
Chapter One
199
[60] Ibn Rushd refers with the term untrue proposition (qadya kadhiba) to a proposi
tion which states what is not the case or that something does not exist. This ter
minology is, once again, influenced by the paraphrastic translation of the Poste
rior Analytics, where Aristotle sets forth as one of the conditions of correct d
emonstrations that the things on which they are based must be true because one ca
nnot understand what is not the case (71 b 25, transl. J. Barnes). The Arabic tra
nslation renders by the untrue [premise] provides
in other words, it is untrue because it propounds knowledge of the unknowable (
the non-existent); cf. Sharh al-Burhan, p. 184, l. 8sq. [61] The term asma mushak
kaka seems to refer to words predicated . Cf. Ibn Rushd, Tahafut al-tahafut, p. 387
. 11 p. 388, l. 2: [T]here are things which have a common term different from the
commonness of univocal or equivocal terms, but rather by the commonness of term
s predicated in different ways with reference to one thing (asma al-mansuba ila
shay wahid al-mushakkaka), and [...] the characteristic of these things is that
they lead upwards to a first term in this genus which is the first cause of ever
ything to which this term refers, like warmth, which is predicated of fire and a
ll warm things, and like the term existent which is predicated of substance and al
l other accidents, and like the term movement predicated of motion in space and al
l other movements, transl. Van den Bergh, p. 234sq. (slightly modified). Below (t
ranslation, p. 116) ism mushakkak is explained as that which is predicated secun
dum prius et posterius. From two other passages of the present work it becomes c
lear that Ibn Rushd employs this term as a synonym of what he calls predication
by analogy (bi-ltanasub) or by order and analogy (bi-tartbin wa-tanasub) (cf. p.
52 and p. 155 of the translation, also above, note 27). In his Long Commentary o
n the Metaphysics, he uses neither of the two expressions when dealing with predicat
ion, but adopts or modifies the ter minology found in the translation speaking of
terms referring to one thing (al-mansuba ila shay wahid) or to one nature (al-m
ansuba ila in relation to one (bi-l-idafat ila tiba wahid), or terms predicated
-wahid); cf. Ibn Rushd, Long Commentary on the Metaphysics, p. 300303, p. 802, 80
6. On the different modes of predication, cf. ibid., p. 303, and M. al-Misbah, T
ulat f tarkh al-wujud wa-l aql, p. 163177. For Aristotle, one belongs
200
Notes
, not to the , cf. Metaph. V () 6, and X (I) 1. Ibn Rushds
ured by al-Farab; cf. al-Farab, Jawabat li-masa il su ila anha, p. 87sq.
[62] This refers presumably to the modes of primary and per se predication (
ntal predication), of which the continuous is the first and most comprehensive c
lass, cf. Metaph. X (I) 1, 1052 a 17sqq. I therefore do not follow the translati
ons of uiros (p. 33) and Van den Bergh (p. 15), who read the following wa-ashha
ru dhalika not as the beginning of a new clause, which explains one of the modes
subsumed under the heading of primary predication, but rather as an apposition
to awwalan (in a primary mode), thus restricting primary predication of one to the c
ontinuous. [63] This sentence does not refer to the one qua continuous (as trans
lated by uiros [p. 33] and Van den Bergh [p. 15]), but rather to the one qua wh
ole, cf. Metaph. V () 6, 1016 b 13, X (I) 1, 1052 a 22, of which Aristotle says t
hat it is one in a still higher degree (transl. W. D. Ross), and which Ibn Rushd t
akes here and in his Long Commentary as referring to the whole (al-kull) and the pe
rfect (al-tamm). For the equation of the one qua whole and qua perfect, cf. Long
Commentary on the Metaphysics, p. 542, l. 11 and l. 18sq., p. 543, l. 10sq. Both
the explanation as well as the examples provided in the Long Commentary are alm
ost identical with what Ibn Rushd states here in the Epitome; cf. ibid., p. 542,
l. 17 p. 543, l. 3. [64] All manuscripts including I. Mantino read muttasilan b
i-dhatih (continuous by its essence) except ms. H which reads muttasilan bi l-wahm
ontinuous by imagination) and ms. D which reads muttasilan bi-dhatih bi-l-wahm (con
tinuous by its essence in the imagination). Obviously, the copyist of D interpola
ted a marginal or intelinear correction, either bi-l-wahm for bi-dhatih or vice v
ersa. I follow the reading of ms. H, because it is confirmed by the text of the
Epitome itself: On the following page, Ibn Rushd distinguishes between different
kinds of that which is conceived as unity or as something isolated. Among these
, he mentions that which is isolated by imagination (bi-l-wahm) and explains tha
t this concerns the way we attach number, i.e. numerical oneness, to the continu
ous. The same is reiterated in Chapter III of the Epitome; cf. below, p. 36, l.
16sq. and p. 112, l. 5sqq. of the translation.
Chapter One
201
[65] Aristotle mentions water and other fluids as examples of that which is one
both by its form () and by its substrate (), Metaph. V () 6, 1016 a 17
n, in his Long Commentary Ibn Rushd also extends Aristotles examples to the gener
al notion of homeomeric bodies (cf. Long Commentary on the Metaphysics, p. 532sq
.). Thus, the phrase by something in it (bi-ma nan fhi) refers presumably to this o
neness of form and substrate, which is constituted, as explained in the Long Com
mentary, by the fact that name, definition and material substrate are always one
and the same in all parts and in the whole of the thing in question. However, w
hile Ibn Rushd follows Aristotle in his Long Commentary in saying that this fact
yields a class of oneness in its own right, he subsumes it here under the categ
ory of oneness by continuity. This may be explained by the fact that both kinds
of one share one common feature: that which is called one in either class is divisib
le in continuous parts, cf. ibid., p. 540, l. 15sq.: the one by continuity is div
isible into parts which are [themselves] again continuous, and the same [applies
to] the numerical one with respect to homeomeric bodies (al-wahid bi-l-ittisali
yan qasimu ila ajza in hiya aydan muttasilatun wa-ka-dhalika l-wahidu bi lina l-ajsami al-mutashabihati l-ajza ). From this it is not far to the conclusio
n that not only that which is one by continuity, but also homeomeric bodies are
continuous. (In the present section, I do not follow Horten and Van den Bergh wh
o adopt the unique variant reading bi-l-wujud instead of muttasilan bi-ma nan fhi
as attested by all other mss. including I. Mantino).
[66 ] Cf. Aristotle, Physics V 3, 227 a 916; Metaph. V () 6, 1016 a 47, X (I) 1, 10
52 a 25sq. Both the translation employed by Ibn Rushd as well as the lemma of hi
s Long Commentary on the Metaphysics read instead o
529, l. 13sqq. [67] Al-ashya al-multahama stands here (as in Ibn Rushds Long Com
mentary) for things joined by organic unity or adhesion (what Aristotle calls or
uch things cf. Metaph. V () 4, 1014 b 2025, and Ibn Rushds Long Commentary ad loc.,
p. 509sq. Members with a joint have different motions, those without only one.
For the examples hand and leg cf. also Metaph. V () 6, 1016 a 11sqq., Ibn Rushd,
Long Commentary on the Metaphysics, p. 530, l. 1012, p. 540, l. 18.
202
Notes
[68] Cf. Metaph. V () 6, 1016 a 4, X (I) 1, 1052 a 23sq. [69] This is the mode of
oneness to which Aristotle refers as one by formula () and one in kind (); cf.
, 1016 a 32 b 6, X (I) 1, 1052 a 2934. Form (sura) in this context means form of
e species, cf. below, p. 40 of the translation, and Long Commentary on the Metaph
ysics, p. 540. [70] Here and in the following section I use to isolate and similar
expressions, in order to render verbal and nominal forms of the seventh stem of
the root H-W-Z. There occurs a number of closely related terms: those formed by
the root F-R-D are translated by (to) set apart or individual, those derived from t
he third and eighth stems of the root F-R- by to separate, separated, etc., those
derived from the seventh stem of the root F-S-L are rendered by discrete or expre
ssion contai ning the term discrete. [71] The following section up to p. 38 (While t
he masses do not know any further meaning of one) gives a translation of the below
Arabic text, the constitution of which is based on my examination of manuscript
s and editions. This text is supposed to replace the following lacunose and conf
used sections of the previous editions: idh laysa ... akthara min hadha p. 21, l
. 222, ed. uiros, p. 17, l. 14 p. 18, l. 9, ed. Amn, wa-min hadhihi l-jiha ... ak
thara min hadha p. 44, l. 5 p. 18, l. 6, ed. Jiham. It contains a short passage i
n two different versions, printed here in two columns. It is worth noticing that
ms. H omits both versions of the section in question, while ms. M contains only
the version printed and translated in the right column. The remaining manuscrip
ts contain both versions (at different places). I have not been able to determin
e which of these versions is the original one, and which the revised text. Their
absence from ms. H possibly points to a late date of composition and revision (
cf. Translators Introduction, p. 911).
] ^ B bR a bR !?V \V cz"R n !b/d (eR x WK[V B f^ e \Va k e*i ] ^ \B a Zx k k Kd

R Ra 8KF
d
# [V f^ V Va # eVi " z bâ bW R N V{ # [V f^ V ^ Y N xa T/WR ?R LSd _ ]
^# eV V Va &0WR fâ SW a
\> ! f^ !bVz > V d ;Zx k e*i ] ^ c?R bR F O^ \^ R a
1 ">z >
Chapter One
203
CR bR !?V TK?R "O _ ] ^ \Va (eR TK?R YyF ?R z V b^ c R K[WR \V
K[V B Zz V k
V eF Yz X_Gd Yz ix R bz k /GZ X_Gd (eR Zz ;N Ij6i > !"N yF /GZi W_F ? ix k \> T
/G[WR
LS7WRXOR
bR TK?R Ka ;Zx ?d ;SN ! .a ?R bâ Ij6 LS7WR ?R 8&b ?R
UbR_\^
] ^R \Va x TK?R Yz PRa ?R z V b^ c R CR !?WR ^ - *i ] ^ \V " Y N PR \V Nz az
^\^c R ]!"N
bR b^ PR ?R
/* x
X_
z V bR YbOda XOR ([
?R ibKWR
\V j ?R YbOd _ ] ^ \Va !Kd ;Zx ?R Y N x i eOVa G/R ]
R
Zx ?R Y N x R PR
K[WR CR >z @ 7R az F bd R k e*jR "dKR La S J \Va bR \V Nz bR !?V
R !b_W a !KWR ([a eGeOR ([ at N ^
[72] In this section Ibn Rushd deals with Metaph. V () 6, 1016 b 1731 and X (I) 1,
1052 b 15sqq., Aristotles explanation of the cognitive primacy of the concept of
the indivisible unit which is the starting point of number qua number and on wh
ich any grasp of unity and indivisibility in quantity depends. As in his Long Co
mmentary on 1052 b 1420, Ibn Rushd points here to the cognitive primacy of the co
ncept of the discrete quantity with regard to any cognition of that which is mea
surable; cf. Long Commentary on the Metaphysics, p. 12461248. Only very briefly d
oes he mention that the one qua indivisible measure is also the principle of mea
surable unities in the category of quality (cf. Metaph. X [I] 1, 1053 b 48; Ibn R
ushd, Long Commentary on the Metaphysics, p. 1266sq.). [73] Taking the following
sentence into consideration, it is clear that Ibn Rushd refers here to Metaph.
V () 6, 1016 b 35. As a matter of fact, these lines are an almost literal paraphra
se of Aristotles wording: [I]n general those things that do not admit of division
are one in so far as they do not admit of it, e.g. if something qua man does not
admit of division, it is one man; if qua animal, it is one animal (transl. W. D.
Ross). We are, thus, not dealing with the relation of one and being, but rather wit
h the relation of one and essence or essential oneness. The reading li-l-mawjud, w
hich in some manuscripts is added to the
204
Notes
phrase muradifan li-dhati l-shay i wa-mahiyyatih, and in others re places it entir
ely, is inappropriate both with respect to the syntax as well as with respect to
the contents of the sentence and either must have been inserted from a marginal
note or in order to fill a lacuna (for omitted li-dhati l-shay i wa-mahiyyatih).
[74] According to Aristotle, the

cs I 2, 185 b 10. [75] As usual,
rather wayward; cf. Ibn Sna, K.
08, l. 3 (transl. M. E. Marmura,
continuous is divisible ad infinitum; cf. Physi

Ibn Rushds presentation of Avicennas doctrine is
al-Shifa : al-Ilahiyyat III.3, p. 106, l. 10 p.
p. 81sq.).
[76 ] Cf. Ibn Sna, K. al-Shifa : al-Ilahiyyat III.3, p. 108, l. 4 p. 109, l. 4 (

ransl. Marmura, p. 82sq.). [77] Cf. below, p. 11131, esp. p. 1169 of the translati
on. [78] Cf. Aristotle, Metaph. X (I) 1, 1052 a 29sq.: ...
016 a 35sq.: , , on which I
ut one and the same substrate, such as that which has increased or is diminishin
g, for that which accepts increase and diminution is part of the definitions of
increase and diminution, Long Commentary on the Metaphysics, p. 538. [80] Up to n
ow, Ibn Rushd has distinguished between two major kinds of essential predication
of one, (i) one qua numerical one, and (ii) one predicated of what is numerically mul
tiple. Under these two categories he groups together the different types of what
Aristotle indiscriminately calls essentially predicated one (Metaph. V [] 6, and X
[I] 1). Leaving aside the meanings of one in colloquial speach, the first kind in
cludes various types of the continuous, one in form, number, various types of that
which is indivisible or isolated, and separate substances. The second kind includ
es the five types just mentioned (note that one by accident is distinct from accid
ental predication of one!). The difference between one in form mentioned in the firs
t group and one in species mentioned in the second group is not clear, especially
as Aristotle refers to both together (cf. Metaph. V [] 6, 1016
Chapter One
205
a 32 b 6, X [I] 1, 1052 a 2934) and is followed in this respect by Ibn Rushd in h

is Long Commentary on the Metaphysics, p. 540. The following section deals with
accidental predication of one. [81] I.e., it requires the combination of (1) the c
oncept of the oneness or simultaneity of the existence of the two accidents in t
he substance in question and (2) the concept of the oneness of this substance. C
f. Ibn Rushd, Long Commentary on the Metaphysics, p. 526 ad Metaph. V () 6, 1015
b 3234: We say of the musician and the architect that they are one by accident in
so far as these two exist in two parts of that which is one, and in so far as th
is existence of the two in these two parts is of one and the same kind and natur
e, I mean the nature of an accident. [82] Cf. Aristotle, Metaph. X (I) 2, 1053 b
27sq.: . [83] The principle qua
nd the same way in all things pertaining to this genus. The principle qua one, o
n the other hand, coincides with the principle qua existent in being one and in
being principle of the genus. However, it does not exist in one and the same way
in all things pertaining to this genus, but rather is predicated of these by pre
ation; cf. Metaph. X (I) 2, 1054 a 512, and Ibn Rushd, Long Commentary on the Met
aphysics, p. 1276, l. 14 p. 1277, l. 14, and below (end of section [7]). [84] Fo
r this addendum on the numerical one cf. Metaph. V () 6, 1016 b 2431. [85] Section
[8] is of special interest as it deals with Chapters 9 and 10 of Metaph. V () om
itted in Ibn Rushds Long Commentary on the Metaphysics (p. 567). It confirms Bouy
ges speculation that the lacuna in the Long Commentary has not been caused by a c
orresponding omission in the Arabic translation from the Greek; cf. M. Bouyges,
NOTICE, p. clii.
[86 ] There is no need to follow the unique reading ala jihatin mu adila in ms.
H (as do Amn, p. 22, and Van den Bergh, p. 18, in analogen Bedeutungen). Mu ad in t
he meaning of mirroring or mutually corre sponding modes of predication occurs se
veral times in the Epitome and is also attested with this meaning in Ibn Rushds T
alkhs Kitab al-qiyas
206
Notes
and Talkhs Kitab al-mughalata. Cf. also Aristotle, Metaph. V () 9,

es allow one to refer to one and the same person by different types of names. Th
e types mentioned here as example are, first, the ism or proper name (here: Muham
mad), secondly, the kunya or honorific surname usually referring tothe eldest son
(father of... / mother of ..., here: father of Abdallah). In the edition by Amn (p.
22) and in the translations by Horten (p. 25) and Van den Bergh (p. 18) the kun
ya has been replaced by another type of name, the nasab, a pedigree or patronymi
c (son of... / daughter of...). Through this replacement, for which there is no
manuscript evidence, it is possible to relate both names adduced by Ibn Rushd as
example to the Islamic prophet Muhammad. In my view, this is an islamophile hyp
ercorrection. Due to the wide-spread and common Arabic naming practice, Ibn Rushds
example was clear to any Arab reader who understood the philosophical context t
o some degree. Otherwise, one would be hard pressed to explain how all copyists,
in all probability learned muslims, could have followed this incomprehensible exa
mple instead of correcting it according to what was common knowledge. (For a simil
ar example cf. Ibn Sna, K. al-Shifa : al-Ilahiyyat III.2, p. 97.)
[88] Namely, apart from metaphysics, especially Topica VII 1, and Categories 5,
4 a 10sqq. [89] Aristotle explains that statements propounding accidental samene
ss are made not universally ( ), but rather with respect to individual
, 1017 b 33 1018 a 4). This is presumably what Ibn Rushd refers to by ala jihat
al-tahdd (in a delimited context, or by way of delimitation). However, the sentence
not quite clear and may by interpreted in other ways (cf. transl. uiros, p. 41
, note 1, Horten, p. 25, and Van den Bergh, p. 19). [90] Cf. Aristotle, Metaph.
V () 15, 1021 a 11sq.: ,
s as here in the Epitome to render sameness in substance (mumathil, or yumathilu
sahibahu), in quantity (musawin, or mutasawin), in quality (shabh, or mutasha
).
Chapter One
207
[91] On the latter two modes of predication cf. Metaph. X (I) 3, 1054 b 711 and I
bn Rushds Long Commentary on the Metaphysics, p. 1291, l. 11 p. 1293, l. 12. On mo
re and less in affective and passive qualities cf. also Ibn Rushds commentary on C
ategories 8, 10 b 26sqq., Talkhs Kitab al-maqulat, p. 84sq. [92] The same meaning
of like appears also in Metaph. X (I) 3, 1054 b 1113 and Ibn Rushds Long Commentary
on the Metaphysics, p. 1293, l. 13 p. 1294, l. 5. [93] Cf. Aristotle, Cat. 1011,
and Ibn Rushd, Talkhs Kitab al maqulat, p. 93110. [94] Cf. Aristotle, Cat. 6, 6 a
17sq.; Ibn Rushd, Talkhs Kitab al maqulat, p. 47, l. 8sq., Cat. 11, 14 a 1924, and
Ibn Rushd, Talkhs Kitab al-maqulat, p. 109, l. 9sqq. [95] Cf. Aristotle, Metap
V () 10, 1018 a 25sq.:
Rushd is not quite correct in suggesting that this type of contrariety has not b
een mentioned in the Categories. As a matter of fact, Aristotle deals there with
contraries which are themselves in contrary genera, such as justice and injusti
ce, which belong, according to Aristotle, to the genera virtue and vice (cf. Ari
stotle, Cat. 11, 14 a 1923, and Ibn Rushd, Talkhs Kitab al-maqulat, p. 109, l. 9sq
q.). However, these con trary genera are of course both included in the next wide
r genus (here: ), and perhaps Ibn Rushd interprets Metaph. 1018 a 25sq. as refer ring
to contraries which have no such common genus at all. But what kind of contrari
ety could that be? [96 ] Obviously, Ibn Rushd is trying to make sense of Aristot
les tautological phrase [...]
of contrary potencies of action and reception. Taken as such, an example of the
first relation would be a medicine which, being as such healthy, causes illness,
an example of the second the physician who potentially effects health but is hi
mself potentially affected by illness. [97] Cf. Aristotle, Cat. 10, 12 a 2834, an
d Ibn Rushd, Talkhs Kitab al-maqulat, p. 97, l. 35.
208
Notes
[98] This kind of privation is not mentioned in the Categories. On the contrary,
Aristotle excludes explicitly any change from privation into possession (cf. Ca
t. 10, 13 a 3133), and is followed in this doctrine by Ibn Rushd, Talkhs Kitab almaqulat, p. 104, l. 47. Possibly, Ibn Rushd refers here to his interpretation of
Metaph. V () 22, 1022 b 35 1023 a 1, a difficult passage which he read in a rathe
r vague Arabic translation of the following content: [Privation ...] is predicate
d of the footless [1] because it has no feet at all, and [2] because [the feet]
are paralysed, and also [3] of that which has [only] small capability of walking
like somebody who is said to be without power because he suffers from some weak
ness (Long Commentary on the Metaphysics, p. 643, l. 9 p. 644, l. 2). On the basi
s of this translation, Ibn Rushd distinguishes between three modes of privation:
There are three meanings of privation of that which occurs naturally in a thing:
[1] One is pure privation, as when we predicate footless of him who is entirely d
eprived of his feet, [2] the other is when his feet are disabled so that he walk
s as if his legs were crooked, and [3] footless is also predicated of him who has
weak feet, e.g. feet wounded by a hatchet [reading al-tabar instead of al-tayr],
ibid., p. 648, l. 37. The third type of privation mentioned here is obviously a t
emporary privation which might change into possession, namely the natural abilit
y to walk. It thus fits with what Ibn Rushd describes in the Epitome as second t
ype of privation, while the second type mentioned in the Long Commentary on the
Metaphysics seems to correspond with the third type of the Epitome. [99] Cf. Met
aph. IX () 1, 1046 a 3133, and Ibn Rushds Long Commentary on the Metaphysics, p. 11
16, l. 9sq. [100] Cf. Metaph. V () 22, 1022 b 24sq., and Ibn Rushds Long Commentar
y on the Metaphysics, p. 645, l. 17. [101] According to Aristotle, this is not an
opposition of the type privation vs. possession, but a contrariety; cf. Metaph.
X (I) 9, 1058 a 29sqq. Ibn Rushd probably relies on al-Farab or Ibn Sna, K. al-Sh
ifa : al-Mantiq II. al-Maqulat, p. 247, l. 2. [102] Cf. Metaph. IX () 1, 1
133. The usual example is the beardless boy; cf. Long Commentary on the Metaphysi
cs, p. 1116, l. 11sq., p. 1313, l. 10sq., also Ibn Sna, K. al-Shifa : al-Mantiq I
I. al Maqulat, p. 246.
Chapter One
209
[103] Cf. Metaph. V () 9, 1018 a 911; X (I) 3, 1054 b 1417. [104] The present secti
on is a paraphrase of Metaph. X (I) 3, 1054 b 2427. [105] Cf. Metaph. V () 12, 101
9 a 32 b 1. For productive disci plines (sana i fa ila) cf. above, note 4, and belo
w, note 369. [106 ] To be more precise, from what is produced by art. I.e. natur
al things have the principle of change in themselves, whereas the principle of c
hange is always extrinsic to things produced by art; cf. below, p. 96sq. of the
translation. The relevant context is the beginning of Metaph. V () 12:
,
[107] These four types of potency correspond with those mentioned by Aristotle,
Metaph. V () 12, 1019 a 1532. The last clause does not refer to a certain discours
e or chapter on quality, as translated by uiros (p. 45), Horten (p. 29), and Va
n den Bergh (p. 21), but rather subsumes Aristotles examples of that which can ha
rdly be broken, crushed and bent under the heading of qualitative potencies (cf. I
bn Rushds Long Commentary on the Metaphysics, p. 584, l. 1sq.: Such potencies form
the genus of qualities to which one refers as natural potency and incapacity). [
108] Ibn Rushd refers to the terminology of commensurability coined by Euclid. I
n Elements X, def. 24 straight lines (in)commensurable in square are called
lations do not exactly display the terminology referred to by Ibn Rushd here. In
stead of verbal phrases with qawiya c. ala we find there the expression mushtara
k f l-quwwa. For the translation quoted by Ahmad ibn Umar al-Karabs, cf. S. Brent
, Ahmad al-Karabss Commen tary on Euclids Elements, p. 71; for the translation
bn al-Haytham, cf. Ibn al-Haytham, Commentary on the Premises of Euclids Elements
. Sharh Musadarat Uqldis, p. 144, l. 6sq., p. 145, l. 1sq. (p. 323, l. 11sq., p.
324, l. 46) quoting Elements X, def. 2. It is not clear whether Ibn Rushd knew an
other translation or modified the terminology of these translations for his own
purposes. As for the variant readings of the present sentence of the Epitome, on
e should read, in all
210
Notes
likelihood, muntaqan instead of munqati (segmented) which makes no sense and for t
hat reason was omitted in one branch of the transmission. Straight lines which a
re commensurable in square are rational (, cf. Euclid, Elements X, def. 3), and commen
urable squares over rational straight lines are also rational, Elements X, def.
4. This is apparently the case Ibn Rushd is referring to. Both extant Arabic tra
nslations render by muntaq; cf. Brentjes, ibid.; Ibn al-Haytham, Commentary on th
remises of Euclids Elements, p. 146, l. 18sq., p. 149, l. 8 (p. 326, l. 1, p. 328
, l. 8), also Ibn al-Haythams explanation of the term muntaq, ibid., p. 148, l. 1
1sqq. (p. 327, l. 15sqq.). (I wish to thank Gregg Young for calling my attention
to the relevant sections de of Ibn al-Haythams commentary.) [109] Cf. Metaph. IX
() 1, 1046 a 58. For predication by similarity or comparison (qawl bi-tarq al-tash
bh), which should not be mistaken predication, cf. below, note 292. for equivocal
or analogical [110] Cf. Metaph. IX () 7, 1049 a 24sq. [111] This rather enigmati
c sentence refers to the end of Metaph. VII (Z) 9 (
tween the parts of the definition or formula () on the one hand and the parts of the
definiendum on the other hand (Metaph. VII [Z] 10). Aristotle explains there tha
t if the parts are prior to the whole, and the acute angle is a part of the right
angle and the finger a part of the animal, the acute angle will be prior to the
right angle and the finger to the man. But the latter are thought to be prior;
for in formula the parts are explained by reference to them, and in virtue also
of their power of existing apart from the parts the wholes are prior. Perhaps we
should rather say that part is used in several senses. One of these is that which
measures another thing in respect of quantity (1034 b 2833, transl. W. D. Ross). Re
lating this consideration to what has been said at the end of Metaph. VII (Z) 9
on the potential pre-existence of quality and quantity, Ibn Rushd explains in hi
s Long Commentary on the Metaphysics (p. 893, l. 1619): This problem [i.e., whethe
r the definition of the whole contains that of the parts] can also be solved by
saying that parts is predicated in two ways, [namely] of qualitative parts and of
quantitative parts. The definition of quantitative parts is posterior to the def
inition of the whole and to the whole [itself ]. The
Chapter One
211
definition of qualitative parts, on the other hand, is prior to the definition o

f the whole and to the whole [itself ]. In Metaph. VII (Z) 10, 1035 b 3sqq., Aris
totle applies his above distinction to the definition. Like the whole and its pa
rts, the definition can be analysed and divided into parts prior and posterior t
o the definition. That which is posterior is part of it only with respect to its
matter, such as the acute angle which is with respect to matter or spatial divisi
bility part of the right angle, yet not with respect to its formula (the definit
ion of right angle is presupposed by the definition of acute angle). Such poster
ior parts Ibn Rushd calls, according to his distinction between quantitative and
qualitative parts, parts in terms of quantity (ajza allat min qibali l-kammiyya) (
cf. Long Commentary on the Metaphysics, p. 905, l. 15, p. 908, l. 717, p. 909, l.
10sq., p. 910, l. 35, etc.). The parts which are prior, on the other hand, are th
ose which are parts of the formula and of the substance according to its formula
(transl. W. D. Ross). Applied to the example of the soul, this means that the par
ts of the soul are prior, either all or some of them, to the concrete animal, an
d similarly in each single case ( ), Metaph. VII (Z) 10, 1035 b
s crucial for Ibn Rushds interpretation. In the Arabic translation he used, it ha
s been interpreted not as referring to each case of a concrete whole, but rather a
s referring to all particulars (wa-kadhalika f jam i l-juz iyyat, cf. Long Commentar
y, p. 903, l. 11, p. 909, l. 6). Thus the Aristotelian distinction between subst
ance qua formula and concrete whole was shifted into the distinction between part
s of the whole and particulars, which meant that the parts of the whole were descri
bed as being prior in the definition to the particulars (ajza al-kulli hiya muta
qaddimatun f l-haddi ala l-juz iyyat, ibid., p. 909, l. 68). As a consequence, the
parts of the whole must be related to the particulars as the parts in terms of q
uality to the parts in terms of quantity. What is more, since parts of the whole obvi
ously include form and matter in the case of material things (cf. Metaph. 1035 a
2527), the term parts in terms of quality has to include matter as part of the who
le prior in definition. Ibn Rushd comments on the Arabic translation of Metaph.
VII (Z) 10, 1035 b 1820: [Aristotle] says all this because this is how the right a
ngle is related to the acute angle and the circle to its sections, and in genera
l the genera to the parts in terms of quantity. In this respect, this [relation]
seems to be the same as [that] between the parts in terms of
212
Notes
quality and the parts in terms of quantity in so far as the quality is prior in
the same way as the form is prior, the parts are prior qua priority of the matte
r, and the priority of the whole with respect to the part belongs to the priorit
y of the form, Long Commentary on the Metaphysics, p. 909, l. 914. To sum up, both
parts in terms of quantity and parts in terms of quality are, according to Meta
ph. VII (Z) 9, 1034 b 19, potential parts of the whole. Parts in terms of quanti
ty are posterior to the formula of the whole and to the whole (cf. also Long Com
mentary on the Metaphysics, p. 908, l. 1018) and comprise material and quantitati
ve particulars. Parts in terms of quality are prior to the formula of the whole
and to the whole itself and comprise, at least in cases of material substances,
form and matter. [112] Ibn Rushd calls real potentiality (quwwa haqqiyya) the state
of being not necessarily false or impossible; cf. Metaph. V () 12, 1019 b 30sqq.
( [...] , also Metap
. 590593. [113] Cf. Metaph. VIII (H) 6, 1045 b 20sq. [114] Cf. Metaph. IX () 10, 1
051 a 34 b 1, XIV (N) 2, 1089 a 26sq. and Ibn Rushds Long Commentary on the Metap
hysics, p. 1220.
[115] Adam and ma dum in this sentence do not mean privation as translated by uir
os (p. 47), Horten (p. 30), and Van den Bergh (p. 22), but rather () (non-being). F
or the equation of that which is potentially and non-being cf. Metaph. XII () 2, 1
069 b 1820, 2628. [116 ] Cf. Metaph. V () 12, 1019 b 15sq., IX () 1, 1046 a 2934. [11
7] I.e., is not commensurable in square with... ( ), cf. above, p. 44
108. [118] In the first case, the contrary is necessarily true, in the second ca
se, the contrary is not necessarily false; cf. Metaph. V () 12, 1019 b 2333. [119]
Cf. Metaph. V () 16, 1021 b 12 sq. The same example is given in Ibn Rushds Long C
ommentary on the Metaphysics, p. 623, as well as in his Epitome of De caelo, cf.
Ibn Rushd, Risalat al-sama wa-l alam, p. 25, l. 15 p. 26, l. 4.
Chapter One
213
[120] Cf. Metaph. V () 6, 1016 b 16sq. [121] Cf. Aristotle, De caelo II 4, 286 b
20sq. [122] The same examples are given in Ibn Rushds Long Commentary on the Meta
physics, p. 623, l. 14 p. 624, l. 2. [123] Aristotle mentions this Pythagorean c
onception of three in De caelo I 1, 268 a 9sqq., but never calls three complete. The t
hree as complete number is discussed in the context of the notion complete by Ibn
Sna, K. al-Shifa : Ilahiyyat III.4, p. 187sq. In his Long Com mentary on the Metap
hysics, Ibn Rushd omits this example. [124] Cf. Metaph. V () 16, 1021 b 1517. [125
] Cf. Metaph. V () 16, 1021 b 1720. Kadhdhab (swindler) is what Ibn Rushd found in h
is translation for (sycophant); cf. Long Commentary on the Metaphysics, p. 621
. 624, l. 1115. [126 ] I.e., attainment of perfection is what makes such a thing
complete, this perfection being in itself good; cf. Metaph. V () 16, 1021 b 2325.
The translations by Horten (p. 31sq.) and Van den Bergh (p. 23) do not hit the p
oint. [127] This is Ibn Rushds interpretation of Metaph. V () 16, 1021 b 30 1022 a
1. The notion of that which possesses its end qua good in itself and by itself,
as described in 1021 b 2325, is most eminently predicated of God. This is what Ar
istotle refers to by , 1021 b 31sq.; and i
cause in and by itself, but also because it is the final cause for the perfecti
on of anything else. Cf. also Ibn Rushd, Long Commentary on the Metaphysics, p.
626, l. 13 p. 627, l. 4. [128] Cf. Metaph. V () 16, 1022 a 13. [129] Due to the Ar
abic translation of the Metaphysics, which misrepresents the syntax of Aristotles
wording, Ibn Rushd merges Aristotles distinction between the first two types of w
hole into one single definition. According to Aristotle whole means (i) that from w
hich none of its parts is lacking, and (ii) that which contains its parts or con
tents in such a way that they form a unity; cf. Metaph. V () 26,
214
Notes
1023 b 2628. As a consequence, Ibn Rushd is unaware of Aristotles subdivision of t
he second type of whole (1023 b 2836) and subsumes all Aristotle says there under t
he concept of the continuous (cf. 1023 b 33). [130] I.e., that outside which it
is not possible to find anything of its parts. Such a synonymy is not mentioned
by Aristotle. It is to be found, however, in Ibn Sna, K. al-Shifa : Ilahiyyat III
.4, p. 189, l. 1518. [131] Cf. Metaph. V () 26, 1023 b 33sq. [132] Cf. Metaph. V
26, 1024 a 110; also Ibn Sna, K. al-Shifa : Ilahiyyat III.4, p. 190, l. 14.
[133] This first type of part and its two subcategories correspond to the first of
altogether four types of part described by Aristotle, Metaph. V () 25, 1023 b 1217.
[134] This division of the second subcategory of the quantitative meaning of par
t is not found in the Metaphysics, nor in Ibn Rushds Long Commentary on the Metaph
ysics. The distinction between part in actuality and part in potentiality may be
borrowed from Ibn Sna, K. al-Shifa : Ilahiyyat III.4, p. 190, l. 8sq. [135] Ibn
Rushd omits Aristotles second type of part (part of genus or species, Metaph. V () 2
5, 1023 b 1719), and merges the following two Aristotelian classes of part into one
another. For a more detailed view on Aristotles division cf. his Long Commentary
on the Metaphysics, p. 664666. [136 ] Deficient (naqis) is the term Ibn Rushd foun
d in his Arabic version of the Metaphysics as translation of () (mutilated),
7. [137] In Metaph. V () 27, number is explicitly excluded from the class of thin
gs to which the term mutilated might be applied. In his Long Commentary on the Met
aphysics (p. 674, l. 19 p. 675, l. 3), Ibn Rushd corrects the present error. [13
8] This thought is absolutely un-Aristotelian. First, according to Aristotle it
is not the genus, but rather the essence () which must remain the same and complete,
in order to speak appropriately of deficiency (or mutilation). Aristotle gives t
he example of a cup which
Chapter One
215
by its essence remains a cup, even if a part of it is broken off; Metaph. V () 27
, 1024 a 15sq., 24sq. Secondly, Aristotle applies the concept mutilated exclusivel
y to that which is an individual whole (cf. Metaph. V [] 27, 1024 a 12), whereas Ib
n Rushd transfers it to the entirety of existents (sa ir al-mawjudat) as compare
d to the first prin ciple (al-mabda al-awwal) or God. Since according to what has b
een said before, the genus of that which is deficient has to remain complete, th
is presupposes (a) a concept of being qua genus of all existents, which is hardl
y consistent with what has been said about the analogical predication of being,
and (b) something in respect to which the deficiency in question occurs and whic
h is found in God, yet different from this genus which has to remain complete. I
n other words, it seems to require a concept like the Neoplatonic-Avicennian not
ion of that which is above perfection (on which see R. Wisnovsky, Avicennas Metaphy
sics in Context, p. 185195; as well as P. Adamson, The Arabic Plotinus, p. 119124,
217sq., for its origins in the Arabic Plotinus).
[139] Cf. Metaph. V () 27, 1024 a 1624, and Ibn Rushd, Long Commentary on the Meta
physics, p. 676, l. 3 p. 677, l. 10. [140] This mode of predication is not expli
citly mentioned by Aristotle, but corresponds with what Aristotle says about the
whole, Metaph. V () 26, 1023 b 35. [141] Aristotle distinguishes in Categories 12
between five meanings of prior and posterior: (i) in time, (ii) what does not recipr
ocate with respect to existence, (iii) with respect to the order in knowledge, (
iv) better (prior) or worse (posterior) by nature; and (v) priority of the cause
in that which reciprocates with respect to existence. In Metaph. V () 11, he dis
tinguishes between four meanings of prior and posterior: (a) that which is nearer so
me beginning, either absolutely or relatively, (b) prior and posterior in knowledge,
(c) priority of attributes of things which are themselves prior, and (d) prior an
d posterior with respect to nature and substance. In the present section, Ibn Rush
d follows Aristotles division in the Categories. The first type he mentions answe
rs to (i) in the Categories, the second one corresponds roughly with (iii), the
third one with (iv), the fourth one with (ii), and the fifth one with (v) in the
Categories. As in his Middle Commentary on the Categories he calls that which d
oes not reciprocate with respect to existence ([ii] in the Categories, type [4]
in the Epitome) that which
216
Notes
is prior by nature (cf. Talkhs Kitab al-maqulat, p. 111, l. 5sqq.). There is, how
ver, a certain discrepancy between type [iii] of the Categories and the Middle C
ommentary on the Categories and the related type [2] in the Epitome. In both tex
ts, Ibn Rushd calls this type prior with respect to the order (corresponding to
while his comments on this type of priority in the Middle Commentary on the Cat
egories are in accordance with Aristotles classification in the Categories, Ibn R
ushd conflates it here in the Epitome with type (a) of Metaph. V () 11, described
there, among other things, as that which is prior with respect to a certain fir
st or beginning ( , rendered here by f mabda in mahdudin), e.g. in
his type of priority no longer cor responds to what Aristotle adduces in the Cate
gories as an example for that which is prior with respect to the order, namely the
prior in knowledge (Cat. 14 a 36), which is mentioned in Metaph. V () 11 as a se
parate class of priority (type [b]). As a consequence, Ibn Rushd lists in the Ep
itome a sixth type of priority which answers to type (b) of Metaph. V () 11 and i
ntegrates this neglected aspect of type (iii) of the Categories. [142] Cf. Categ
ories 12, 14 a 36: . [143] Al-sabab ... al- illa, translated here throug
in order to catch at least approximately the meaning of the Arabic sentence. Bot
h terms are used in Graeco-Arabic translations and medieval Arabic philosophy sy
nonymously in the sense of what Aristotle calls () or (cf. M. Ullmann, WGA, p
, p. 78, for the Metaphysics cf. Ibn Rushd, Long Commentary on the Metaphysics,
vol. III, Index C,a, p. 59, 67sq.). In order to prevent misunderstandings, both te
rms are rendered by cause in the remaining part of the Epitome.
[144] Cf. Metaph. V () 2, 1013 a 24 b 3. [145] Cf. Metaph. V () 2, 1014 a 1020. [14
6 ] For the externality of the final cause with respect to that which is changed
or set in motion by this cause, cf. Aristotle, Physics II 5, 196 a 33 197 b 2;
for the externality of the efficient cause, cf. Metaph. XII () 4, 1070 b 22. A sy
stematic distinction between internal and external causes is found in Ibn Sna, K.
al-Shifa : Ilahiyyat VI.1, p. 258, l. 18.
Chapter One
217
[147] Cf. Metaph. I (A) 6, 988 a 24; V () 4, 1015 a 310; IX () 8, 1050 a 1315. [148]
In the case of the mutual change of the four simple elements into one another so
mething must remain, because that which results from this change is not generate
d from nothing. Obviously, that which remains cannot be the matter of the elemen
t as this is what changes. Thus, there must be some intermediate or transitory f
orm which remains the same in this process of change. Cf. Ibn Rushd, Talkhs Kitab
al-kawn wa-l-fasad, ed. H. Eichner, p. 2528, ad De gen. et corr. 318 b 12 319 b
5. [149] Such homeomeric parts are flesh and bone, the form of which is the nutr
itive soul, because food is transformed into flesh, bone, and blood. Contrary to
the anomeomeric organs or limbs (pace Van den Bergh, p. 172), these homeomeric
parts keep their form even when the form of that which they are parts of changes
(the dead body is still called flesh and bones rather than having a hand or having l
egs, cf. Aristotle, De gen. et corr. 321 b 2831) because the change which has occu
rred concerns only their matter, not their form (cf. Ibn Rushd, Talkhs Kitab al-k
awn wa-l-fasad, p. 42sq.). [150] Cf. Ibn Rushd, Talkhs [Epitome] Kitab al-nafs ,
p. 911, 73sq. (ed. al-Ahwan), Talkhs Kitab al-kawn wa-l-fasad, p. 4143, Jawami
6. Kitab al-sama al-tab [151] The essence or form of that which is mixed is for i
s qualities to be in a single intermediate state between the different or opposi
te qualities of the two or more things mixed together. This form cannot emerge w
ithout a corresponding quantitative form of the material substrate, which has to
be one and the same for the mixed qua mixed and for the ingredients involved in
this mixture. As long as the quantitative form of that which is mixed is differ
ent from those of the ingredients, there cannot emerge true mixture with one qua
litative form of all ingredients, but only some sort of composition in which som
e qualities of the one ingredient are adopted through the other. Cf. Ibn Rushd,
Talkhs Kitab al-kawn wa-l-fasad, p. 7884 on mixture, and Aristotle, De gen. et cor
r. I 10.
[152] Cf. Metaph. V () 1, 1013 a 16sq.
218
Notes
[153] Cf. Metaph. V () 1, 1012 b 34 1013 a 1. [154] Cf. Metaph. V () 1, 1013 a 14.
[155] Cf. Metaph. V () 1, 1013 a 1416. In addition to the three types of principle
mentioned here, Aristotle lists the following three types: (i) the part of a th
ing from which its genesis starts, (ii) the external starting point of genesis,
movement or change, and (iii) that which moves something else by will; cf. ibid.
1013 a 414. According to Ibn Rushd, all these meanings of principle are analogical
ly related to the other three types mentioned by Aristotle: (a) cause, (b) start
ing point of movement, and (c) the best starting point of coming to be, where (a
) seems to correlate with (ii), (b) with (iii), and (c) with (i). [156 ] Cf. Met
aph. V () 3, 1014 a 2635. [157] Cf. Metaph. V () 3, 1014 b 36. [158] Cf. Metaph. V ()
3, 1014 b 612. [159] The first part of this sentence is an almost literal quotat
ion of the Arabic translation of Metaph. V () 5, 1015 a 20 (cf. Ibn Rushd, Long C
ommentary on the Metaphysics, p. 515, l. 9). The second part is Ibn Rushds interp
retation of (as a joint cause; 1015 a 21), which seems to be correct in vi
ng example. Furthermore, Aristotle himself calls matter a joint cause in Physics I
9, 192 a 13, and similarly in De anima II 4, 416 a 14. However, in his Long Com
mentary on this passage, Ibn Rushd skips this note. [160] Cf. Metaph. V () 5, 101
5 a 2630. [161] Cf. Metaph. V () 5, 1015 a 3335. [162] Of the four types of necessi
ty mentioned by Aristotle, Ibn Rushd omits here the necessary without which the go
od cannot be or come to be; cf. Metaph. V () 5, 1015 a 2226, and Ibn Rushd, Long C
ommentary on the Metaphysics, p. 517, l. 13 p. 518, l. 7. [163] Cf. Metaph. V ()
4, 1015 a 713. [164] Cf. Aristotle, De anima III 1011, especially 434 a 1116. [165]
Cf. Metaph. V () 4, 1014 b 3235.
Chapter Two
219
[166 ] Ibn Rushd applies the term essential predicates (mahmulat dhatiyya) to w
Aristotle calls , Posterior Ana lytics I 4. In his commentaries on this s
nalytics he distinguishes between four kinds of essential predicates: (i) predic
ates employed in the definition of the subject of predication, that is either ge
nus or differentia specifica, or both together (cf. An. post. I 4, 73 a 3437, Ibn
Rushd, Sharh al-Burhan, p. 219). (ii) That which is predi which itself is employ
ed in the definition of cated essentially of a thing this predicate (as rectilin
earity which is predicated of line [yet not part of the definition of line], whi
le line itself serves as genus in the definition of rectilinearity). This type o
f essential predicate is predicated of essential accidents only (cf. An. post. I
4, 73 a 37 b 3, Ibn Rushd, Sharh al-Burhan, p. 220sq.). (iii) A predicate emplo
yed in the defini tion of the subject of predication, which in turn is employed in
the definition of this predicate. This mode of predication is not used in absol
ute proofs, but only in demonstrationes quia and propter quid (cf. An. post. I 4
, 73 b 1624, Ibn Rushd, Sharh al-Burhan, p. 223, p. 226sq.). (iv) Predicates whic
h are employed in the definition of the subject of predication because the latter
stands in an essential causal relation to the predicate (as with death and sacr
ifice). This mode of predication is likewise employed in demonstrationes quia an
d propter quid only (cf. An. post. I 4, 73 b 1016, Ibn Rushd, Sharh al-Burhan, p.
225sq.; for a summary of this fourfold distinction cf. Ibn Rushd, Talkhs Kitab a
l-burhan, p. 381sq.). The present statement in the Epit ome concerns types (i) an
d (ii) of this classification. On essential predicates cf. also Long Commentary on
the Metaphysics, p. 307, l. 14 p. 308, l. 8, p. 785788. [167] Cf. Ibn Rushd, Lon
g Commentary on the Metaphysics, p. 302sq., on Metaph. IV () 2, 1003 a 33sqq. [16
8] Cf. Aristotle, Physics I 23 on Melissus and Parmenides; also Ibn Rushds Long Co
mmentary on the Metaphysics, p. 760, l. 410, on Metaph. VII (Z) 1, 1028 b 4sq. [1
69] I.e., in the lost fifth chapter of the Epitome; cf. note 23. [170] Cf. Ibn R
ushd, Long Commentary on the Metaphysics, p. 302304, and Metaph. IV () 2, 1003 a 3
3 b 3.
220
Notes
[171] Cf. p. 25 of the translation. [172] The same focus on the categories and t
heir causal relations is displayed in Ibn Rushds Long Commentary on the Metaphysi
cs, p. 305sq. on Metaph. IV () 2, 1003 b 510. That which constitutes the remaining n
ine categories is there determined as the category of substance, which is consti
tutive not qua efficient or final cause, but rather qua substrate (mawdu ). [173
] According to Ibn Rushds Long Commentary on the Metaphysics, p. 315, l. 17 p. 31
6, l. 7, the inquiry about the general concomitants (al-lawahiq al- amma) of bei
ng qua being is the task of metaphysics referred to by Aristotle in Metaph. IV ()
2, 1003 b 3436. In his Prooemium to Metaph. XII (), which is presumably at least p
artly indebted to the commentary by Alexander of Aphrodisias, Ibn Rushd explains
that this task is accomplished in Metaph. IX () and X (I): Having ascertained in
these two books the principles of the sensible substance subject to generation a
nd corruption, he thinks it necessary to begin after that an inquiry about the g
eneral concomitants of being qua being. He inquires first about potentiality and
actuality and their relation to the first principles in them. He shows that act
uality precedes potentiality, and this is the book designated by the letter Ha ,
which follows Zay. Then he inquires, in the following book called by the letter
Ta , about the one and the many, the individual, the similar, the con trary and
other general concomitants of being qua being., Long Commentary on the Metaphysic
s, p. 1403, l. 1118, transl. C. Genequand (slightly modified). For the confusion
displayed in this section with respect to the designation of the Aristotelian tr
eatises cf. M. Bouyges, NOTICE, p. cliii sq.
[174] To be treated in Chapter IV of the Epitome; cf. above, p. 25sq. of the tra
nslation. [175] Musadara (postulate) is the translation of Ibn Rushd found in
c version of the Posterior Analytics. For asl mawdu (supposition) cf. above, note
13. The present section on the types of proofs employed in metaphysics refers to
the preceding consideration of the major task of metaphysics, i.e. the investig
ation of how all kinds of being qua being are related to that which is constitut
ive and being in a primary sense, i.e., substance. In order to understand what I
bn Rushd means here by logical proofs and his subsequent explanation (certain-
Chapter Two
221
ly not deductive or apodictic proofs, as suggested by Van den Bergh, p. 175), we

have to take into consideration that according to Ibn Rushd this task is primar
ily accomplished in Metaph. VII (Z). At the beginning of this book, Aristotle ex
plains: There are several senses in which a thing may be said to be, as we pointe
d out previously in our book on the various senses of words; for in one sense it
means what a thing is or a this, and in another sense it means that a thing is of a
certain quality or quantity or has some such predicate asserted of it. While bei
ng has all these senses, obviously that which is primarily is the what, which indic
ates the substance of the thing, 1028 a 1015, transl. W. D. Ross (emphasis added).
In this section, Aristotle transfers the results of his analysis of the categor
ies of predication (presented in the Categories and Metaph. V []) to a categoriza
tion of beings. The first substance of the Categories, the ultimate subject of all
possible predications, corresponds here with the or individual existent, the seco
substance qua subject of universal quidditative predication with the or quiddity, i.
., that part of a thing which most truly is. Aristotles argument is thus based on t
he application of his logical study of meanings of predicates to his ontological
study on being as such. In light of this, Ibn Rushd supplies at the end of his
Long Commentary on the passage in question a note which parallels the present se
ction of the Epitome: One should know that this argument is a logical one, and th
at most of the demonstrations [employed] in this science are logical demonstrati
ons. By [the term] logical I mean here premises adopted from the discipline of log
ic. This is due to [the fact] that the discipline of logic can be employed in tw
o [different] ways, [i.e., either] as instrument and rule employed in other [dis
ciplines], but also [in such a way that] that which has been proved in it is [it
self ] employed in another science, similar to the way what is proved in one the
oretical science is used in another science, Long Commentary on the Metaphysics,
p. 749, l. 15. The systematic foundation of this concept of logical demonstration a
nd logical premises has to be sought in Ibn Rushds analysis of the Posterior Analyt
ics. In book I, ch. 22, of this work Aristotle seeks to prove that the things pr
edicated of what something is are finite. His first, universal, proof ends with
a conclusion closely related to the beginning of Metaph. VII (Z): Neither upwards
, therefore, nor downwards will one thing be said to belong to one thing. For th
e things of which the accidentals are said are whatever is in
222
Notes
the substance of each thing; and these are not infinitely many. And upwards ther
e are both these and their accidentals, and neither are infinitely many. It is n
ecessary, therefore, for there to be something of which something is predicated
primitively, and something else of that; and for this to come to a stop, and for
there to be something which is no longer predicated of anything prior and of wh
ich nothing else prior is predicated. Now this is one way of demonstration, An. p
ost. I 22, 83 b 2532, transl. J. Barnes. In the Arabic translation used by Ibn Ru
shd, the last sentence of this section is rendered as follows: Now this is one of
the ways [of demonstration] which displays the character of logical syllogistic
s, Sharh al-Burhan, p. 460. This translation anticipates a remark by Aris totlefew
lines below (84 a 7), which characterizes the preceding mode of demonstration as
as opposed to the subsequent proof which is described as . On the basis
n Rushd distinguishes between logical syllogistics (al-qiyas al-mantiq) and what h
calls in accordance with the translation of An. post. demonstrative syllogistics (
al-qiyas al-burhan), i.e., analytical demonstra tion. Logical syllogistics is descri
bed as follows: It is evident that [Aristotle] means by logical syllogistics the pr
oof which is based on true and non-specific (ghayr munasiba) premises. [...] Logi
cal proof is predicated of a true syllogism based on general non-essential things
. [...] We speak also of logical syllogistics when the premises of the [syllogism]
are adopted from the discipline of logic; for the discipline of logic is employ
ed in two [different] ways, as stated elsewhere, [i.e.] either as instrument (th
is is the specific [mode of ] employment), or inasmuch as it is one of the scien
ces, that is, [in so far as] that which has been proved in it can be employed in
another science, Sharh al-Burhan, p. 461, for similar definitions cf. ibid., p.
445, Talkhs Kita b al-burhan, p. 429sq. What makes the logical proof suitable for
er demonstrative sciences is the fact that it is based on non-specific premises.
The distinction between specific and non-specific premises draws on An. post. I
12, where Aristotle explains that appropriate questions of a science are only t
hose which lead to proofs about the subject genus proper of this science based o
n premises specific to this science ( ... ). Such premises are
. and in Ibn Rushds commentaries muqaddimat munasiba or muqaddimat khassa, proper o
r specific premises (cf. Ibn Rushd, Sharh al-Burhan, p. 190, 309, 328330, Tal
b al-burhan, p. 389, 394, 399).
Chapter Two
223
According to An. post. I 7, one cannot establish true scientific proofs on the b
asis of non-specific premises. Thus, if logical proofs are not only suitable for m
etaphysics, but even constitute the majority of metaphysical proofs, as maintain
ed by Ibn Rushd in the Epitome as well as in his Long Commentary on the Metaphys
ics, the logical premises employed in metaphysics must have a certain property whi
ch qualifies them as premises proper of metaphysics. In Ibn Rushds view this prop
erty consists in the fact that that which is stated in such premises is found in
being as such (hiya mawjuda li-mawjud mutlaq), the subject matter proper of met
aphysics. In other words, it must comply with the two major conditions of scient
ific proof unfolded in An. post. I 10, namely (a) that that about which a scienc
e proves properly is assumed to exist, and (b) that bearing on the subject genus
of the science is a sufficient condition for the premises employed in true proo
fs of this science. Thus, Ibn Rushd states in his Long Commentary on the Metaphy
sics, p. 749, l. 69: Therefore, these [logical premises] can be employed in this sci
ence [of metaphysics] as a sort of proper premises (qarb min al-muqaddimat al-mun
asiba) since this science [of metaphysics] considers being as such and [that whi
ch is stated in] the logical premises, such as definitions, descriptions and whate
ver else is stated by them, is found in being as such. Judging from the context o
f these related notes in the Epitome and in the Long Commentary on the Metaphysi
cs (as also in the Long Commentary on the Posterior Analytics), it is predominan
tly or exclusively the doctrine of substance proffered in the Categories that Ib
n Rushd has in mind. As a general rule, he disqualifies the adoption of non-spec
ific logical premises (called nazar mantiq, logical consideration) in metaphysics a
s a dia of argumentation, because such premises cannot be em lectical form ployed
as quasi-proper premises; cf. Long Commentary on the Metaphysics, p. 1417, l. 17
p. 1418, l. 10. [176 ] The expression alladh yuqalu f mawdu in (what is called ina substrate) has to be kept apart from the expression alladh yuqalu ala mawd
at is predicated of a substrate). Ibn Rushd uses it in his Commentary on the Cate
gories as an equivalent or definition of accident (corresponding with the Aristo
telian expression ), cf. Talkhs Kitab al-maqulat, p. 15, l. 8, p.
. [177] On the modes of universal and particular predication of substance and ac
ent cf. Talkhs Kitab al-maqulat, p. 710.
224
Notes
[178] Cf. Ibn Rushd, Long Commentary on the Metaphysics, p. 637sq., 651654; Talkhs
Kitab al-maqulat, p. 53, 80, 90, 121sq. [179] Cf. Ibn Rushd, Talkhs Kitab al-kaw
n wa-l-fasad, p. 45; Metaph. V () 21, 1022 b 18sq. [180] This remark draws presum
ably on Cat. 8, 9 a 28 b 9, Aristotles theory of affective qualities which cause ac
cidental changes in the senses. An explicit equation of affective qualities and
accidents occurs in the Arabic translation of Cat. 8, 9 b 19, where
d, cf. Talkhs Kitab al-maqulat, p. 77. [181] ualities are differentiae of essenc
es and as such inseparable, cf. Metaph. V () 14, 1020 a 20 b2, XI (K) 6, 1062 a 2
628, Talkhs Kitab al-maqulat, p. 81, l. 27. The present sentence must not be mis
en as denying the existence of immaterial qualities. There are of course immater
ial qualities such as virtue or badness. However, these are affections of movabl
e physical subjects, cf. Metaph. V () 14, 1020 b 1720. [182] The argument draws on
the classification of qualities as provided in Cat. 8 (which is different from
the classification in Metaph. V [] 14). Isti dad stands here for (Cat.
to in Ibn Rushds Talkhs Kitab al-maqulat by quwwa tab iyya. [183] Cf. Metaph
3, 1020 a 1114, Long Commentary on the Metaphysics, p. 596 ad loc.
[184] Ibn Rushd clearly refers to the doctrines that numbers and the other objec
ts of mathematics are either separate immaterial substances or Ideas, ascribed b
y Aristotle to Plato, Platonists and Pythagoreans and discussed in Metaph. XIII
(M); cf. also his Long Commentary on the Metaphysics, p. 763765 ad Metaph. VII (Z
) 2, 1028 b 1527. Ibn Rushd follows Aristotle in distinguishing between incidenta
l and essential quantities. The latter are again subdivided into substantial qua
ntities (such as line) and accidental quantities which are called essential in so
far as they are accidents of such substantial quantities (such as long, short, e
tc.), cf. Metaph. V () 13, 1020 a 1723, Ibn Rushd, Long Commentary on the Metaphys
ics, p. 597sq. It goes without saying that substantial qualities in Aristotles an
d Ibn Rushds view are not themselves substances, but can only be separated in tho
ught. In
Chapter Two
225
his Long Commentary on Metaph. V () 7, 1017 b 6sq., where Aristotle calls the hal
f line substance, Ibn Rushd respectfully avoids any comments. [185] This section
is quite difficult due to its conciseness. The translations provided by Horten
(p. 44sq.), uiros (p. 63) and Van den Bergh (p. 31sq.) go far astray due to mis
interpretations of various personal pronouns. Ibn Rushds argument goes as follows
: Definitions of corporeal substances which use the concept of three-dimensional
extension as a sort of genus do not supply any information about the essence of
these substances, because the subject of predication in such (pseudo-)definitio
ns (hence, called description wasf) is not the es sence of the individual, but rath
er its material substrate, of which certain accidents are predicated. True defin
itions must state the essences or formal causes of the definiendum, i.e. somethi
ng which is prior not only to the concrete compound substance but also to its ma
terial substrate. Hence, three-dimensional extension is nothing more than proper
ties of the undetermined material substrate, but neither first nor second substa
nces. The point of reference is the important chapter 3 of Metaph. VII (Z) which
discusses substance qua substrate, essence, universal, and genus. In the passag
e 1029 a 1219, Aristotle considers the relation of matter and the three dimension
s to essence and shows that the three dimensions are quantitative properties of
matter, not of the essence of the compound substance. In the Long Commentary on
the Metaphysics (p. 774sq.), Ibn Rushd comments upon this passage as follows: The
n he says: Furthermore, length, breadth, and depth are quantities and not substan
ces; for a quantity is not a substance. He means: Furthermore, it is evident with
respect to length, breadth, and depth, which are thought to be the substance (j
awhar) of body, that they are quantities and that quantity is not a substance. T
hat is to say that supposing we accept that bodies are substances and that lengt
h, breadth, and depth, by which body is determined, are quantities and not subst
ances, nothing remains in body to be called substance but matter. For if this is
not substance with three dimensions, which are thought to be closer to substant
iality than other [things] due to the fact that if they are taken away from body
, all remaining [properties of body] are [also] taken away (hence, body must be
substance through matter), then the individual substance must be substance throu
gh something [else] in it
226
Notes
which is [its] substance or otherwise [dispersed] in all its parts. Then he says
: But the substance is that to which exactly these things belong primarily. He mea
ns: If these things [i.e. the three dimensions] which are found in matter are no
t substances, that in which they are found primarily and without intermediary mu
st be substance (jawhar), and this is matter. Then he says: But when length, brea
dth, and depth are taken away, we see nothing left except that there is a certai
n thing which is determined by these. He means: When length, breadth, and depth,
used in the definition of body, are taken away from it, nothing is left of body
except that which is determined by length, breadth, and depth, and this is matte
r. [...] If body were substance and nothing else than matter and three dimension
s, while the dimensions are not substances, it would be necessary that it is mat
ter that makes body a substance. But then that which makes the substance a subst
ance would itself be substance. [186 ] The questions raised here draw on Metaph.
VII (Z) 2, 1028 b 1621: Some think the limits of body, i.e. surface, line, point,
and unit, are substances, and more so than body or the solid. Further, some do n
ot think there is anything substantial besides sensible things, but other think
there are eternal substances which are more in number and more real, e.g. Plato
posited two kinds of substancethe Forms and the objects of mathematicsas well as a t
hird kind, viz. the substance of sensible bodies (transl. W. D. Ross); cf. also i
bid. 1028 b 2632. The reason why Ibn Rushd takes up these questions (which are cl
osely related to the fourteenth aporia, Metaph. III [B] 5) at the present place
are evident. They concern immediately what he has stated just before: [i] the po
steriority of spatial extension to corporeal substantiality, and [ii] the major
division of individual sensible substances into ensouled and natural substances.
He postpones the solution for two reasons, firstly, for the methodological reas
on that sensible substance as such has to be investigated before addressing the
question whether three-dimensional extension is posterior not only to ensouled b
ut in general to all sensible substances. Secondly, because Aristotle himself de
als in the following chapters of Metaph. VII (Z) only with the question whether
there are eternal separate substances, and not with the question whether the thr
ee dimensions or mathematical solids constitute a principle of sensible substanc
e (which is addressed in Metaph. XIII [M] 13 and XIV [N] 5). Ibn Rushd comes back
to this question below, p. 8994 of
Chapter Two
227
the translation. Cf. also below, p. 58sq. of the translation, where he explains
that the solution of this problem is a task not only for metaphysics but also, w
ith a different methodical approach, for natural sciences. In the following sect
ion, he continues his explanation of the relation between substance and substrat
um, based up to this point on Metaph. VII (Z) 13, by taking into consideration th
e closely related question (already mentioned above) whether there are separate
mathematical objects. In this context, he draws also on Metaph. XIII (M) missing
(together with book XIV [N]) in the extant version of his Long Commentary. [187
] Aristotle distinguishes in Metaph. XIII (M) 1, 1076 a 3236 between three differ
ent ways of claiming that mathematical objects exist in their own right: such ob
jects exist either (A) in sensible things, or (B) separate from sensible things,
or (C) in some other way. (A) is refuted, with a reference to (identif
III [B] 2, 998 a 719), in Metaph. XIII (M) 2 with three arguments. Ibn Rushd, who
obviously refers at the present place to (A), does not take up any of these arg
uments but introduces another argument said to be based on Aristotles Physics. Th
is argument seems to blur Aristotles distinction between potential or indetermina
te quantity and actual finite quantity, according to which it is indeterminate m
agnitude that cannot be detached from first matter, whereas it is actual limited
magnitude that is bound to form or shape (cf. Physics III 6, 206 b 1316, IV 2, 2
09 b 510). [188] Cf. Physics IV 69, esp. IV 8, 216 b 310, IV 9, 216 b 30 sqq.; and I
bn Rushd, Jawami Kitab al-sama al-tab , p. 52sq. [189] Cf. Physics IV 1014, esp. I
10, 218 b 69, IV 11, 219 b 1316, IV 14, 223 b 1824; also De caelo I 9, 279 a 1618;
and Ibn Rushd, Jawami Kitab al-sama al-tab , p. 5762. [190] Cf. Physics IV 11
22 219 a 14; Ibn Rushd, Jawami Kitab al-sama al-tab , p. 96101. [191] Cf. Cat.
b 23, Physics III 7, 207 b 7, Metaph. V () 13, 1020 a 13, XIII (M) 9, 1085 b 22.
For the (Pythagorean) theory of numbers as units existing in sensible things, t
o which Ibn Rushd refers here, cf. Metaph. XIII (M) 6, 1080 b 1sq., b 1618, 8, 10
83 b 811.
228
Notes
[192] Cf. p. 35 of the translation. [193] Cf. supra, p. 37sq. of the translation
and notes ad loc. [194] Cf. p. 112sq. and p. 118sq. of the translation. [195] C
f. Metaph. XII () 4, 1070 b 7; Physics IV 14, 223 a 2327. [196 ] The present secti
on refers to the second way (B) of ascribing separate existence to mathematical
objects mentioned in Metaph. XIII (M) 1, 1076 a 3236; cf. note 187. This view is
ascribed to Plato and Speusippus by Aristotle (Metaph. VII [Z] 2, 1028 b 20sqq.)
, to the Pythagoreans by Ibn Rushd. Since this doctrine does not immediately con
cern the relation between substance and substrate, the overall topic of the pres
ent section of the Epitome, but rather the question, whether there are separate
substantial principles of mathematics, Ibn Rushd announces that he will deal wit
h it in the context of his investigation of the principles of the departmental s
ciences envisaged as the main topic of the lost fifth chapter of the Epitome. [1
97] The argument is phrased carelessly. Obviously, what Ibn Rushd means is the f
act that quantity is not a property of body by means of something else in which
it exists prior to being attached to body, but rather the primary or fundamental
property of bodily substance which together with matter constitutes body qua bo
dy. Cf. Metaph. VII (Z) 1029 a 15sq.: [L]ength, breadth, and depth are quantities
and not substances. For a quantity is not a substance; but the substance is rat
her that to which these belong primarily (), transl. W. D. Ross. uantity is also p
r to quality in numbers; cf. Metaph. XIII (M) 8, 1083 a 11. I see no need to ado
pt the variant reading kayfiyya (quality) which raises even more problems for the
interpretation. [198] Cf. Physics IV 15 on body, space and place, also Metaph. XI
(K) 10, 1067 a 30sq.. [199] Cf. Cat. 15, 15 b 1625. [200] According to Ibn Rushds
Long Commentary, this is the major task of book VII (Z) to be continued and com
pleted in book VIII (H). In the preface to book VII (Z) he explains: This book is
the first in which [Aristotle] begins to investigate substance. Since there are
separate substances and those which are inseparable, he divides his considerati
ons on substance into two parts and investigates inseparable
Chapter Two
229
substance in this and in the following book [VIII (H)]. [...] Then, in the book
[entitled by] the letter Lam, he investigates separate substance and its mode of
existence and its number, Long Commentary on the Metaphysics, p. 744, l. 8 p. 74
5, l. 4. Similarly, Ibn Rushd comments on Aristotles statement at the beginning o
f book IX () that substance has been dealt with previously: He refers to book VII
[Z] of this work in which he discussed the principles of the sensible substance,
ibid., p. 1183, l. 2sq.; cf. also the section of Ibn Rushds preface to book XII ()
quoted above, note 173. The relation of book VIII (H) to book VII (Z) is charac
terized by Ibn Rushd by two aspects. F irst it contains a recapitulation (tadhkr)
of the preceding book, and secondly it proffers a completion of what has been s
aid there (tatmm al-qawl), cf. Ibn Rushds preface to book VIII (H), Long Commentar
y on the Metaphysics, p. 1022. Unfortunately, the following text of this preface
is lacunose (after al-jawhar al-musamma, p. 1022, l. 8, one has to assume an om
ission by homoioteleuton). However, it offers enough to recognize that for Ibn R
ushd this completion consists primarily in taking into consideration form and its
relation to substance. [201] This remark corresponds with Aristotles epistemologi
cal note at the end of Metaph. VII (Z) 3 which justifies the treatment of sensib
le substance and its principles (in book VII [Z]) before turning to the discussi
on of separate insensible substance (in XII []). It is reiterated by Ibn Rushd in
the relevant context of book XII (), Long Commentary on the Metaphysics, p. 1559
. [202] Cf. p. 30sq. of the translation. [203] This section contains a rough sum
mary of Metaph. VII (Z) 12, 1028 b 232. [204] Cf. Aristotle, Physics II 13, De cael
o III, 303 b 9 304 b 25. [205] Cf. Aristotle, De caelo III, 299 a 2 300 a 19, 30
6 b 3 307 b 18. [206 ] In this general form, Ibn Rushds polemic does not hit the
point. What Ibn Sna says in Book I, chapter 2, of the Physics of the Kitab al-Shi
fa is that there are two intrinsic principles of the body, matter and form, and
two extrinsic principles, efficient and final cause. These four principles as we
ll as the constitutive function of matter and form in the composite body are ver
y well investigated in Ibn Snas Physics (as
230
Notes
also in his metaphysics, K. al-Shifa : al-Ilahiyyat, book II). The only task exp
licitly excluded from physics is the proof of the existence of these principles
which is indeed depicted as lying in the responsibility of metaphysics, cf. K. a
l-Shifa : al-Tab iyyat I. al-Sama al-tab , p. 14, l. 10 p. 16, l. 18. On
on body cf. also Abraham D. Stone, Simplicius and Avicenna on the Essential Corp
oreity of Material Substances.
[207] This is how Ibn Rushd interprets the beginning of Metaph. VII (Z) 4:
referring to (implied by ) rather than to
Metaph. VII (Z) 10, 1034 b 2432, 1035 b 1113. [209] Cf. Metaph. VII (Z) 6, esp. 10
31 b 2228. [210] Cf. Long Commentary on the Metaphysics, p. 797, l. 5 p. 799, l.
5 (ad Metaph. VII [Z] 4, 1030 a 1014), p. 804, l. 48 (ad 1030 a 2931), p. 808810 (ad
1030 b 413), p. 814, l. 11 815, l. 14 (ad Metaph. VII [Z] 5, 1030 b 1427). [211]
Cf. p. 60sq. of the translation. [212] The questions enumerated in this section
correspond more or less with the topics of Metaph. VII (Z) 11, 1037 a 1720, and c
hapters 1213. [213] Cf. Metaph. VII (Z) 4, 1030 b 47, and its Arabic translation,
Long Commentary on the Metaphysics, p. 808, l. 811. [214] According to Metaph. VI
I (Z) 5, all definitions of things other than substances must be , i.e. they mus
itionally to the substance to which such things belong. Substance in this type o
f improper definition is related to the definiendum in two ways; it either (A) d
oes not essentially include the accident to be defined (as surface or man in the def
inition of whiteness), or (B) includes the accident to be defined by its essence (
as nose in the definition of snub nose). The latter type of accident is called per s
e attribute or . It cannot be defined without mentioning the subject with which
Chapter Two
231
forms, qua proprium, an essential union. Obviously, it is the relation of type (

B) which Ibn Rushd calls here inclusion of the substance in actuality (bi-l-fi l),
as is shown by the subsequent examples. Type (A), on the other hand, correspond
s with Ibn Rushds inclusion by proximate potentiality only in so far as both apply
to definitions of accidents which are not per se attributes. It is not quite cle
ar how this type is related to Ibn Rushds subsequent distinction between (i) acci
dents signified by abstract nouns formed by root morphemes and (ii) accidents si
gnified by paronymous denominations. This distinction seems to be rooted partly
in Aristotles considerations of paronymous names of qualities which in a way rela
te the relevant abstract denomination of a quality to the subject affected by th
e quality in question (as the predication of just, derived from justice, implies h
im who is qualified by justice) proffered in Cat. 8, 10 a 27 b 11, partly in Ari
stotles explanations on co-ordinate and inflected forms of words, presented in To
pica II 9, as well as in his doctrine of proximate and remote potentiality. In h
is Middle Commentary on the Topics Ibn Rushd explains that co-ordinate forms of
words (naza ir, translating ) include (i) mithalat uwal (root words or r
ii) derivative forms or paronymous words derived from this root morpheme, the la
tter signifying the connection of the former with a subject (muqtarana bi-mawdu
in). Both have to be kept apart from inflected forms (tasarf, translating
ikewise derived from root morphemes, yet signify the mode of existence of the pr
edicate in the subject (jihat wujud al-mahmul li-l mawdu ); cf. Talkhs Kitab al-ja
dal, p. 116118, ad Topica II 9, 114 a 26sqq., cf. also Long Commentary on the Met
aphysics, p. 1620, l. 12 p. 1621, l. 3. Definitions of accidents denoted by word
s pertaining to type (ii) thus belong to type (A) relations of substance and acc
ident, i.e. the subject, or rather the name of the subject, must be present in t
he definition, yet this without essentially including the defined accidents. Root
morphemes, on the other hand, signify exactly the same accidents, yet not qua ac
cidents belonging to this or that substance, but rather as abstract concepts det
ached from any substrate. To this distinction Ibn Rushd applies Aristotles doctri
ne of potentiality expounded in Metaph. IX () 7, in all likelihood due to the fac
t that Aristotle includes there linguistic considerations regarding how we predi
cate accidents of that which exists potentially. Aristotle explains that we have
to distinguish between remote potentiality (such as that of
232
Notes
matter as such) and proximate potentiality (such as the potentiality of a certai

n piece of wood to become a casket). Proximate potentiality is predicated by par
onymous terms (we do not predicate wood of a casket, but rather wooden, in order to
refer to the proximate matter). In the Long Commentary on the Metaphysics (p. 11
72sq.) Ibn Rushd explains on Metaph. IX () 7, 1049 a 1619: It seems that that which
underlies the proximate potentiality of a thing is that which is predicated of
the thing which has this potency through its substrate not by a term which is a
root morpheme, but rather by a paronymous term derived from this substrate. Simil
arly, we predicate accidental attributes (e.g. a colour) of that which is by pro
ximate potentiality their subject (e.g. surface) not by abstract nouns (e.g. whi
teness), but rather by paronymous terms (e.g. white); cf. Metaph. IX () 7, 1049 a
2730, and Long Commentary on the Metaphysics, p. 1175. This seems to suggest tha
t according to Ibn Rushd type (i) denominations of accidents do not admit type (
A) definitions. Their relation to substance is indeterminate and, in a way, in t
he state of remote potentiality similar to the remote potentiality of formless m
atter to have actually this or that accidental attribute. A further source of Ib
n Rushds present consideration regarding how paronymous denominations of accident
s relate to substance seems to be Ibn Sna who, according to Ibn Rushd, maintained
that predicates formed by paronymous denominations of accidents refer primarily
to substance and accident together rather than to accidents, and only secondari
ly to substances. This doctrine is rejected in Long Commentary on the Metaphysic
s, p. 558, l. 9 p. 559, l. 14. Cf. also above, note 33, and below, p. 121sq. of
the translation. [215] This is the definition of white Ibn Rushd found in his tran
slation of Metaph. X (I) 7, 1057 b 9 which, in turn, quotes Platos definition in
Tim. 67 E: , where means penetr
ting. [216 ] Ala l-tahqq, i.e. yielding knowledge simpliciter, knowledge, that is,
which includes the cause as well as the certainty that it it not possible for t
he object known to be otherwise; cf. Aristotle, An. post. I 2, 71 b 916, for the
correspondence of ala l-tahqq and Ibn Rushd, Sharh al-Burhan, p. 179183.
Chapter Two
233
[217] Cf. Metaph. VII (Z) 5, 1030 b 1625.
.
[218] A paraphrase of Metaph. VII (Z) 5, 1030 b 26sq.: [219] As discusse

), type (A) of (improper) definitions of accidents has to include, in addition t
o the accident defined, the definition of a subject distinct from it. But this i
s impossible in the case of per se attributes because they already imply their e
ssential combination with their subject. However, not even type (B) relations of
subject and accident admit proper definitions for the reason mentioned in the r
emaining part of this sentence. [220] Cf. Metaph. VII (Z) 5, 1030 b 28 1031 a 1,
and the commentary by W. D. Ross, Aristotles Metaphysics, vol. II, p. 173sq.
[221] Ibn Rushd now turns to the second alternative mentioned in Metaph. VII (Z)
5, 1030 b 26sq. (cf. note 218): , (scil. ), . [222] With t
finition and essence, the topic of Metaph. VII (Z) 45, to the following chapter w
hich deals with the question whether a concrete thing is the same as its essence
. A similar introduction to Metaph. VII (Z) 6 can be found in the Long Commentar
y on the Metaphysics, p. 823. [223] Up to this point, Ibn Rushd has provided a s
ummary of Metaph. VII (Z) 6, 1031 a 1929, and b 37. The following section deals wi
th Aristotles criticism of Platonic Ideas as separate class of essential predicat
es or universals, 1031 a 29 b 3. [224] The previous modern translations fail to
recognize muhtajatan aydan... (are likewise in need...) as predicate of the apodos
is and interpret instead of this are distinct [from one another]... as its predica
te. This not only violates the syntax of the Arabic sentence but also weakens (o
r even invalidates) Ibn Rushds argument. [225] The strange reference to sensible
existence at the end of this section is motivated by the Arabic translation of M
etaph. VII (Z) 6, 1031 b 15. Having explained that self-constituted things are i
dentical with their essence even if there are no Ideas, Aristotle adds:
e if there are Forms, transl. W. D. Ross). Then follows a new sentence beginning
with
234
Notes
... (At the same time it is clear that...). The Greek version translated
ave read something else instead of . In any case, the translator read these first
words of the new sentence as continuation of the preceding one and translated: This
is appropriate, even if there are Forms; and it is not clear if they [i.e., the
Forms] are simultaneously (or: at the same time, ma an, ), Ibn Rushd, Long Commenta
ry on the Metaphysics, p. 823, l. 8. Ibn Rushd tried to make sense of the enigma
tic ending of this sentence by interpreting simultaneously, both in his Long Comme
ntary and in the Epitome, as together with (or: alongside, ma a) the sensible for
ms. In the Long Commentary on the Metaphysics (p. 830) on this passage, he states
: They [i.e., the Forms] are of no use for the cognition of things. Furthermore,
it is not clear [...] whether they are together with the sensible forms as maint
ained by those who teach [the existence of ] Forms.
[226 ] The whole section is disturbed through a lacuna after ghayru mutaghayyira
(unchangeable). The passage which precedes the lacuna indicates that Ibn Rushd in
tended there to deal with Metaph. VII (Z) 6, 1031 b 1518, where Aristotle explain
s that if the Ideas are separate entities, they are either not predicable of a s
ubstrate or, if so, must exist in the substrate by participation. As Ibn Rushd s
tates in his Long Commentary on the Metaphysics, p. 832, l. 16, this would entail
that the Ideas are generated and transient (ka ina fasida) which, of course, wo
uld contradict the assumption of their eternal and unchangeable existence allude
d to in the present fragmentary thought of the Epitome. The passage which follow
s the lacuna is part of Ibn Rushds transition from Metaph. VII (Z) 6 to Metaph. V
II (Z) 79, Aristotles consideration of how coming-to-be is related to form. As bec
omes clear from the Long Commentary on the Metaphysics, Ibn Rushd conceives chap
ters 79 of book VII (Z) as a refutation of the doctrine of Ideas based not on the
superfluity of the assumption of separate Forms with respect to cognition (the
argument of Metaph. VII [Z] 6), but rather on their superfluity with respect to
a satisfactory explanation of how form comes into that which comes to be. At the
beginning of his commentary on Metaph. VII (Z) 7 he says: [Aristotles] aim in thi
s chapter consists in showing that the Forms taught by Plato are of no use for c
oming-to-be (for Plato argues that they are of use for coming-to-be, namely the
use the creator makes of the paradigma of that which he
Chapter Two
235
creates). [Aristotle proceeds] in this way, because having disproved that the [F
orms] are of any use for knowledge (providing we grant their existence), he want
s to disprove in this chapter also that they are of any use for coming-to-be (pr
oviding, again, we grant their existence), Long Commentary on the Metaphysics, p.
838, l. 914. Although at the present place of the Epitome Ibn Rushd does not spe
ak of coming-to-be, but rather of sensible existence, it is clear from what follow
s that this fragmentary sentence was part of a similar train of thought and is s
upposed to indicate the transition to the topic of Metaph. VII (Z) 79. The only m
odern translator who realized that the two clauses preceding and following the l
acuna do not fit together, was Horten (p. 56) who tried to solve the problem by
attaching the part which precedes the lacuna to the preceding sentence. The othe
r translations make no sense, as they insinuate that it is Ibn Rushds aim to prov
e the eternity and unchangeability of Platonic Forms, which is certainly not the
case. [227] A summary of Metaph. VII (Z) 7, 1032 a 1319; cf. also Metaph. VII (Z
) 8, 1033 a 2428. [228] A summary of Metaph. VII (Z) 8, 1033 b 29 1034 a 2. [229]
Cf. Metaph. VII (Z) 9, 1034 a 918. [230] Cf. Aristotle, Physics II 46, Historia a
nimalium V 1, De generatione animalium III 11. [231] The two versions mirror Ibn
Rushds change of position with respect to the question how immaterial animate fo
rms are instilled in material animate beings. This question is especially pressi
ng in the context of the problem of spontaneous generation, where there is no fa
ther who might be assumed as external cause of the generation of such an immater
ial form, i.e., soul. Ibn Rushds early position, displayed here in ms. H and in o
ther works (e.g. his commentary on De generatione animalium), drew on Ibn Snas and
Ibn Bajjas doctrines of the role of the active intellect. According to this posi
tion, the heat caused by the movement of the celestial spheres is responsible fo
r engendering natural material forms only, while the active intellect is the inc
orporeal source of the immaterial forms of living beings both those which are in
separable of matter (as the animal soul) and those which are separable (as the r
ational human soul), and this in instances
236
Notes
of both sexual as well as spontaneous reproduction. In his later, revised, posit

ion, displayed here in the version printed in the right column, Ibn Rushd reduce
d the role of the active intellect to that of the incorporeal formal cause of th
e separable human intellect, whereas it is now the celestial bodies which emanat
e through certain psychic potencies all other animate forms both in sexual and i
n spontaneous reproduction. The main argument in this theory is that the efficie
nt cause of the material substrate and the efficient cause of the immaterial for
m of this substrate must be one and the same, since otherwise the concrete subje
ct and its form would be distinct in actuality. The revised position is expounde
d in detail in the Long Commentary on Metaph. VII (Z) 9, 1034 b 46, Long Commenta
ry on the Metaphysics, p. 881886. For more comprehensive discussions cf. H. A. Da
vidson, Alfarabi, Avicenna, and Averroes on Intellect, p. 220257; D. N. Hasse, Spo
ntaneous Generation and the Ontology of Forms in Greek, Arabic and Medieval Lati
n Sources. [232] Cf. Aristotle, Topica V 5, 134 b 2833, VI 7, 146 a 16. [233] Cf.
Aristotle, Physics VIII 1, 250 b 14sq.: ...
n mutually contiguous spherical layers or shells expounded in De caelo II. Accor
ding to this model the surface of the earth is surrounded by water which is enco
mpassed by the sphere of air. Above the sphere of air there is the sphere of fir
e surrounded by the lunar sphere; cf. De caelo II 4, 287 a 33sqq. The concave cu
rve of the inner side of each sphere, which is in contact with the next lower sp
here, is called muqa ar by Ibn Rushd (cf. Jawami Kitab al-athar al- ulwiyya, p.
15: al-ard f muqa ari l-ma i wa-l-ma u f muqa ari l-hawa i wa-l-hawa u f
-nari wa-l-naru f muqa ari l-falak; also Talkhs Kitab al-sama wa-l- alam, p. 207,
l. 4, p. 271, l. 12). The natural movement of fire is directed upwards and comes
to rest in the lunar sphere which is thus what preserves the form of fire, not th
e form of fire itself which is lightness (khiffa); cf. Talkhs Kitab al-sama wa-lalam, p. 211sq., p. 271, l. 12sq., and H. A. Davidson, Alfarabi, Avicenna, and
Averroes on Intellect, p. 236, 246sq.
[235] Cf. De caelo III 8, 306 b 14sqq.
Chapter Two
237
[236 ] A paraphrase of Metaph. VII (Z) 7, 1032 b 1114. [237] Cf. Metaph. VII (Z)
7, 1032 b 1823. [238] Cf. Aristotle, Eudemian Ethics II 11, 1227 b 32; Metaph. VI
I (Z) 7, 1032 b 1517. [239] All previous modern translations fail to recognize th
e syntactical structure of this clause (fa- introducing the result or effect aft
er a preceding verb expressing a wish or hope) and, thus, offer rather farfetche
d interpretations. [240] The following section of the translation is based on my
reconstruction of the Arabic text on the basis of the manuscripts accessible to
me. All manuscripts display omissions, transpositions of passages, marginal cor
rections and doublets. The original version presumably ran as follows:
b^ & GR a \l OR F PR N PR Y N yF T> GR b Od (eR Zt be=
"Vt PR Na !b/R aa ?R B R
b^ c R kR bâ ; V N"WR b^ c R 0+R Ld"7 ix & F ia [l N B bVa !b/R f^ ; bWR a !b/R Yz
PR N PR Y N xa \V k$ f^ e \V = PR ;ZyF "eCV SW a ZbOVa & F !b/R YbN Vz 1"?R kR !b. f^
R a ;R =bWK b^ c R 0+R bâ R & GR \l OR k$ f^ e \V _KSd ;Zx "eCR YyF ;R
"Vt PR Na !b.
i eR ! +V "eCR & f^ R O^ ;R
Yb
F
; !b
f^ ;
Z N xa jF V f^ ; V{F eR ! +WR bâ "eCV

x V f^ ; = (eR RbK?V ;R YbN \OR PR N !b/R YbO
Yz g"{F !b/SR LjR PRa & [WR YbOd Vx z _SK> T T?GR b^ V _ \V kR LSd ;Zx bK?WR Y N ;Na
bbV bbl . b bWR PRa V j?F Yz = 1"> e \V az at ;R
;R \V =bWc @[/d ;Zxa KS7WR !b/R PR N
/R _?[/d i ;R Yz "_;d !b/R ]eGd Yz x [?SR ]"eC !b/WR @[/d ;Zx Zt !b/R a
[241] Cf. Metaph. VII (Z) 8, 1033 b 57: Obviously then the form [...] is not produ
ced, nor does production relate to it, i.e. the essence is not produced; and ibid
., 1033 a 28sq.: just as we do not make the substratum (transl. W. D. Ross). [242]
Cf. Metaph. VII (Z) 10, 1036 a 8sq.: . [243] Cf. Aristo
ature can be known by analogy. For as the bronze is to the statue, the wood to t
he bed, or the matter and the formless before receiving form to any thing
238
Notes
which has form, so is the underlying nature to substance (transl. R. P. Hardie an
d R. K. Gaye); and Ibn Rushd, Long Commentary on the Metaphysics, p. 1471, l. 15
p. 1472, l. 2: [P]rime matter is understood and conceived in a relative way, tha
t is to say that its relation to all actual beings is like the relation of sensi
ble matters to that of which they are matters, I mean, like the relation of the
timber to the ship. According to this interpretation, the meaning of matter is th
is thing insofar as it is seen is that prime matter is understood to be matter of
this thing by means of visible matters (transl. C. Genequand, slightly modified)
. [244] Cf. Metaph. VII (Z) 8, 1033 b 810. [245] This is, in nuce, the topic of M
etaph. VIII (H) 23. The concrete material substance and its concrete form and mat
ter are subject to coming to be and corruption, not so its actuality or form whi
ch determine its essence or definition. Cf. also Ibn Rushd, Talkhs Kitab al-burha
n, p. 391sq. ad Posterior Analytics I 6, 75 a 21sqq.: Having shown that the premi
ses of proofs must be necessary and that this necessity must be essential and un
iversal, it is clear that that which is searched for in demonstrations must be e
ssential, because accidental objects of search cannot be known by necessity [...
]. Thus it is clear that demonstrations cannot be based on transient things, exc
ept in the way of accidental [proofs], i.e. [those which hold true] at a specifi
c time [only]. [...] That which is required in this respect for demonstration is
[also] required for definition itself, I mean that the definitions are likewise
neither coming to be nor passing away, since [reading idh instead of idha] they
are either the principles or the conclusions of demonstrations [...]. [246 ] The
former is the view ascribed to Xenophanes of Colophon, the latter the view of t
he Heracliteans; cf. Metaph. IV () 5, 1010 a 1sqq., and Ibn Rushds Long Commentary
on the Metaphysics, p. 423427. [247] Ibn Rushd refers to Themistius Paraphrases o
f Metaph. XII () and De anima, as becomes clear from related passages in his Long
Commentary on the Metaphysics: It seems that Themistius, too, followed this doct
rine. As for beings generated spontaneously, there is no doubt about his positio
n. He is explicit about this in his Paraphrase on Book Lam of this science [of m
etaphysics]. As for [the question whether this] applies to all forms, he says at
the end of Chapter VI of his Paraphrase on De anima that soul is not only that
in which there are
Chapter Two
239
all forms (I mean the intelligible and the sensible) but also that which creates
and implants all forms in matter. From these words of his we can infer that he
means with this soul the separate forms (i.e. the place where such separate forms e
xist), Long Commentary on the Metaphysics, p. 882, l. 19 p. 883, l. 7; cf. also
ibid., p. 1501, l. 17 p. 1502, l. 7: Aristotle says that man begets a man like hi
mself, with the help of the sun. [...] Therefore it is the sun and the other sta
rs which are principle of life for every natural living being, and it is the hea
t of the sun and the stars which is generated in water and earth which generates
the animals generated from putrefaction and, in general, everything that is gen
erated without seed, without there being a soul in actuality resulting from the
ecliptic and the sun, as Themistius says. (transl. C. Genequand). [248] Cf. Ibn Sn
a, K. al-Shifa : al-Ilahiyyat IX.4, esp. p. 406409. The intermediary Ibn Rushd is
alluding to is the heat caused by the sun and the celestial spheres which serve
s as surrogate of the soul-heat. [249] This sentence as well as the following on
e explain Aristotles view (as conceived by Ibn Rushd). The impersonal translation
s provided by uiros, Horten and Van den Bergh are not correct. [250] In Ibn Rus
hds Tahafut al-tahafut (p. 214216), the rational order (nizam) of the forms serves
as argument for their supralunar origin: Moreover, they [i.e., the philosophers]
had already found, concerning the human intellect, that form has two modes of e
xistence, a sensible existence in matter [...] and an intelligible existence, na
mely perception and intellect, which is separate from matter and exists in the s
oul. From this they concluded that these entirely separate existences are pure i
ntellects [...]. And so, of necessity, they deduced that the objects of thought
of these intellects are the forms of the existents and of the order which exists
in the world, as is the case with the human intellect [...]. And when they comp
ared the separate intellects with the human intellect, they found that these int
ellects are superior to the human intellect, although they have it in common wit
h the human intellect that their intelligibles are the forms of existents, and t
hat the form of each of these intellects is nothing but the forms and the order
of the existents it perceives, in the way that the human intellect is nothing bu
t the forms and the order of the existents it perceives. The difference between
these two kinds of intellect is that the forms of the existents are a cause of t
he
240
Notes
human intellect, since it receives its perfection through them [...], whereas th
e intelligibles of these intellects are the cause of the forms of the existents.
For the order and arrangement in the existents of this sublunar world are only
a consequence and result of the order which exists in these separate intellects;
and the order which exists in the intellect which is in us is only a consequenc
e of the order and arrangement which it perceives in the existents [...], transl.
Van den Bergh (slightly modified). [251] Cf. Metaph. XII () 8, 1074 b 4:
taraka does not mean universals as translated by Horten (p. 65) and Van den Bergh
(p. 45), but rather that which is common to a plurality of things ( ); cf. Long Comme
ry on the Metaphysics, p. 1002 ad Metaph. VII (Z) 16, 1040 b 2226; ibid., p. 1054
ad Metaph. VIII (H) 3, 1043 a 3133, etc. All universals are common qua common fo
rms, but not all that is common is a universal. Common forms are formally one, b
ut that which is common due to abstraction of individual forms is not necessaril
y one by form. The best counterexample is prime matter which is common just beca
use it lacks formal and numerical oneness; cf. Long Commentary on the Metaphysic
s, p. 14721474. [253] Cf. Aristotle, De generatione animalium II 3, 736 b 27sq.,
Ibn Rushd, Long Commentary on the Metaphysics, p. 886, l. 1115, and H. A. Davidso
n, Alfarabi, Avicenna, and Averroes on Intellect, p. 232235. [254] Cf. Ibn Rushd,
Long Commentary on the Metaphysics, p. 866868, 881886. [255] With this sentence I
bn Rushd turns to the question how universals are related to individual things a
nd whether they can be their substance or essence, i.e. the topic of Metaph. VII
(Z) 1314. [256 ] Cf. Metaph. VII (Z) 13, 1038 b 616, 3034, 1039 a 35; 14, 1039 a 33
b 4. [257] I.e., the universal qua genus cannot exist in its subordinate specie
s as numerically one in a whole unless the differentiae by which the species are
distinct from one another are likewise part of this whole. For connected ... or
intermeshed or contiguous cf. Metaph. VII (Z) 14, 1039 b 6:
Chapter Two
241
[258] The third man argument; cf. Metaph. VII (Z) 13, 1039 a 2, also I (A) 9, 990
b 17. [259] Cf. Ibn Rushd, Talkhs [Epitome] Kitab al-nafs, ed. al-Ahwan, p. 6785
[260] This expression, ma qul al-ma qulat, obviously alludes to De anima III 8, 43
2 a 2: . [261] Cf. Metaph. VII (Z) 13, 1038 b 34 1039 a 2. [262
9 a 1519. [263] Cf. Ibn Rushds Long Commentary on the Posterior Analytics (Averroi
s sev Alvlidi Rosadis in librum Arist. de Demonstratione maxima expositio), Vene
tiis apvd Ivnctas 1562, fol. 568 v D. The same definition appears also in Long C
ommentary on the Metaphysics, p. 455, l. 4sq., and Tahafut al-tahafut, p. 103, l
. 36, p. 302, l. 13. [264] I.e., since these theologians refrain from using the ap
propriate methods of scientific demonstration, they cannot reach scientific know
ledge anyway. What they state is not scientific knowledge. Hence, it is not affe
cted by the fact that their denial of the existence of universals entails the im
possibility of knowledge proper. It is, of course, not so with respect to true s
cientific knowledge, for according to Aristotle there can be no science without
the universal (cf. Posterior Ana lytics I 11, I 23). The translations by uiros,
Horten, and Van den Bergh fail to grasp the ironical character of Ibn Rushds argu
ment. [265] Cf. above, p. 25sq. of the translation and note 23. [266 ] For forms
qua immaterial intelligibles which are not thought without matter (Aristotle do
es not use the term ), cf. Metaph. V () 24, 1023 b 2, VII (Z) 11, 1036 a 34
6, 1045 a 33sq. In his Long Commentary on the Metaphysics, Ibn Rushd distinguis
hes between (I) substantial and (II) accidental forms. (I) Substantial forms are
either (I.A) simple immaterial or (I.B) compound material forms. Compound mater
ials forms are again subdivided into (I.B.1) those which are separable from matt
er in thought, and (I.B.2) those which are inseparable. Thus, the class of insep
arable material forms (suwar hayulaniyya) includes forms of the types (II) and (
I.B.2); cf. Long Commentary on the Metaphysics, p. 921, l. 13 p. 923, l. 2, p. 1
602, l. 16 p. 1603, l. 8; also Talkhs Kitab al-nafs, p. 8sq. (ed. A.
242
Notes
Ivry). Type (I.B.2) is explained in detail in Ibn Rushds Epitome of De anima: From
the preceding [section] it becomes evident that there are [different] levels (m
aratib) of material forms, and [that] also the [psy chic] potencies and dispositi
ons are ordered according to their order. The first class of material forms incl
udes the forms of simple [bodies], namely heaviness and lightness, the substrate
of which is prime matter. Next [in this class] are the forms of homeomeric bodi
es, then the nutritive soul, then the sensitive [soul], then the imaginative [so
ul]. If you consider these forms in detail, [you will see] that for each of them
there is something which is common to them and in which they participate in so
far as they are material as such, and something which is peculiar to each of the
m or to a group of them in so far as they are material in a specific way. [...]
On a second [level, these forms] are essentially manifold and multiple through t
he diversity and multiplicity of [their] substrates. Due to these two characteri
stics we speak in a meaningful way of coming-to-be, for without them there would
be no coming-to-be at all. [...] A third aspect is found in these material form
s in so far as they are material, namely that they are composed of something whi
ch functions as form and of something which functions as matter. And a fourth as
pect applies generally to [all] material forms, namely that that which is intell
igible of them is different from the [extramental] existent (al-ma qul anha ghay
ru l-mawjud). This is all that can be predicated essentially of material forms,
[both] with respect to what is common [to them] and with respect to what is pecu
liar [to each of them], Ibn Rushd, Talkhs [Epitome] Kitab al-nafs, ed. al-Ahwan, p.
8385. [267] Cf. Ibn Rushd, Talkhs Kitab al-nafs, p. 122126 (ed. A. Ivry).
. ibid., p. 7072, 97.
[269] The equivocal character of the term false has already been explained above (
p. 75sq. of the translation). It can refer either to the non-existence of that w
hich is outside the mind as such (while that which is, without adaequatio, insid
e the mind is, in the veridical sense of existence, true) or to the non-existenc
e of the conformity between that which is in the mind and that which is outside
the mind. The same ambiguity between veridical and relational predication of exi
stence holds true for the definition of the true. [270] Cf. Ibn Rushd, Averrois
sev Alvlidi Rosadis in librum Arist. de Demonstratione maxima expositio, Venetii
s apvd Ivnctas 1562, fol.
Chapter Two
243
565v566v, Talkhs Kitab al- ibara, p. 70sq.; cf. also D. Wirmer, Der Begriff der In
ention und seine erkenntnistheoretische Funktion in den De-anima-Kommentaren des
Averroes; and K. Gyekye, The Terms prima intentio and secunda intentio in Arabic Logi
c. [271] Ibn Rushd turns now to Metaph. VII (Z) 17. According to Aristotle, askin
g why always means why does A belong to B? or why is B A?. In simple things that which
belongs to B can be nothing else than B, for otherwise it would not be simple,
but rather composed of A and B. Hence, inquiring simple things by asking why would
mean to ask why does B belong to B? or why is B B?. The example why the man is man? i
s adopted from Aristotle. It does not mean that man is simple, but is supposed t
o illustrate that questions of the type why is a thing itself? are meaningless; cf
. Metaph. VII (Z) 17, 1041 a 1022. [272] Cf. Metaph. VII (Z) 17, 1041 b 1119. [273
] The argument is very concise. Flesh must be more than its elements, because di
ssolved into its elements the actual whole will not exist, while the elements do
not perish. This problem cannot be solved by assuming that flesh is in actualit
y in the elements fire, earth, etc., and the actual piece of flesh consists of t
hese elements + something else, through which it is what it is, because this wil
l again require something else which constitutes the actual whole, and so on ad
infinitum. The train of thought is slightly different in Metaph. VII (Z) 17, 104
1 b 1926, which is paraphrased more literally in the following sentences. [274] T
he doctrine of mixture (al-qawl bi-l-khalt) alludes to Ana xagoras doctrine of an inf
inite number of principles which are in constant mixture () and cause coming-to-be an
d corruption by com bination and segregation; cf. Aristotle, Physics I 5, and Ibn
Rushd, Jawami Kitab al-sama al-tab , p. 39sq., transl. J. Puig, p. 140. [275] T
genus does not exist apart from the species and represents the matter for defini
tions of material things, whereas the differentia represents its form; cf. Metap
h. VII (Z) 12, 1038 a 57, VIII (H) 3, 1043 b 518, 6, 1045 a 33sq.; for genus qua m
atter of the definition in Aristotle and Ibn Rushd cf. M. Di Giovanni, Averroes o
n the Doctrine of Genus as Matter.
244
Notes
[276 ] Hence, neither the universal nor the genus are substance or that part of
the definition which appropriately states the essence of a thing; cf. Metaph. VI
II (H) 1, 1042 a 21sq., 3, 1043 b 10sqq. Ibn Rushd does not say that genus and d
ifferentia exist generally only in the intellect, as criticized by Van den Bergh
(p. 194, note 531), but rather that they have no extramental existence qua univ
ersals. This concerns their mode of existence qua constitutive parts of the defi
nition and does not preclude another mode of existence in the individual substan
ces. [277] Ibn Rushd refers perhaps to the doubts concerning the possibility of
definition raised by the Antistheneans, mentioned in Metaph. VIII (H) 3, 1043 b
23sqq. However, in his Long Commentary on the Metaphysics he propounds a differe
nt interpretation of this passage (cf. p. 1062sq.). [278] Provided the alia lect
io in Mantinos translation is the original reading, Ibn Rushd refers here to the
problem raised by Themistius position that the genus can be predicated of the spe
cies in a primary and essential mode of predication. The relevance of this posit
ion with respect to the above considerations on definition is immediately eviden
t. If genus is related to matter as differentia to form, it can hardly be admitt
ed that genus states the very essence of the species. Ibn Rushd rejects Themisti
us view in his Long Commentary on the Posterior Analytics as follows: Genus cannot
be predicated primarily of the species [...]. How, by God, could Themistius tea
ch this? For he did indeed accept that genus, I mean its predication of the spec
ies, falls under this [mode of ] predication, although he also accepted that pri
mary predication is as we have defined it [above], which is [obviously] in contr
adiction [to the former]. [...] The truth is that genus is not predicated primar
ily, because it cannot be predicated of any species in so far it is this species
, since it is predicated of more than one species. From this follows necessarily
that genus is predicated primarily only of a nature corresponding with it. This
nature is the substrate of the form which is the genus, for there is no differe
nce in this respect between genera and the other predicates which are not specif
ic to the substrate. This is so, because as he who knows that [the sum of the an
gles of ] an isosceles triangle is equivalent to two right angles does not know
this with respect to triangle [as such] except in an accidental way and predicat
es this description of it in a quidditative mode, so does he who knows [how] to
predicate the genus of the species not know the nature
Chapter Two
245
of which he predicates the genus in so far it is this very nature except in an a
ccidental way. [...] We thus have to exclude predicating the genus of the specie
s in demonstration, just as we exclude predicating the proprium of a genus of it
s species. If somebody asks how is the nature of the substrate [related] to the g
enus of the thing?, we state: it is its matter which is specific to the genus, fo
r each genus must have matter. Ibn Rushd, Sharh al-Burhan, p. 247. [279] The poin
t Ibn Rushd wishes to make is that it has been shown that the sensible composite
as a whole (min amri l-jam i) is definable, which is why we have to consider now
its parts, or the parts of its definition, separately. I therefore do not agree
with uiros (p. 102) and Van den Bergh (p. 53) who interpret min amri l-jam i as
referring to all sensible things, nor with Horten (p. 76) who takes it as refer
ring to all matters of sensible things. Methodologically speaking, it is entirel
y irrelevant for the subsequent investigation of form whether all or only a limi
ted number of sensible things or all their material elements are definable.
[280] A paraphrase of Metaph. VIII (H) 2, 1042 b 811.
[281] Cf. Risalat al-sama wa-l- alam, p. 3234. [282] Cf. Jawami Kitab al-sama altab , p, 1316. [283] Cf. Metaph. VIII (H) 2, 1042 b 1215.
[284] Cf. Jawami Kitab al-sama al-tab , p, 3133. [285] A paraphrase of Metaph.
(H) 2, 1043 a 1419. [286 ] Aristotle touches upon this question in the context of
his inquiry into the unity of essence and its definition in Metaph. VIII (H) 6.
According to Aristotle this unity is guaranteed by that which causes the actual
ity of what was potentially, the efficient cause through which the form is actua
lly established. This requires a principle of potentiality in all things subject
to coming-to-be, which is why in definition there must be always an element of
matter and an element of actuality or form. Hence, there must be some intelligib
le matter in things which have no sensible matter (cf. Metaph. VIII [H] 6, 1045
a 3335). At the present place, Ibn Rushd detaches this latter argument from the e
ntire train of thought and puts it into the context of the question whether the
concept of definition developed in Metaph. VIII (H) 2 applies also to immaterial
or mathematical objects.
246
Notes
[287] This refers to p. 8689 of the translation, where Ibn Rushd deals with Metap
h. VIII (H) 6; cf. also Long Commentary on the Metaphysics, p. 1095sq. [288] Cf.
Metaph. VIII (H) 3, 1043 a 37 b 4. I cannot see any contradiction or confusion with
regard to the preceding considerations, for which Van den Bergh (p. 196, note 5
72) blames Aristotle and Ibn Rushd. In Metaph. VII (Z) 6, Aristotle does not sta
te that intelligible form or essence and concrete sensible are identical in any
respect, but this only with respect to what the latter is per se. Otherwise, the
intelligible form of man (i.e., soul) would be identical with the concrete indi
vidual man including all his material accidents. This does not preclude, however
, that intelligible form and individual existence are iden tical in the cases of
mmaterial substances ( , 1043 b 2). [289] Cf. Metaph. V
hir al-mutaghayyira does not mean the ele ments of changeable substances, as to be f
ound in some translations, but rather the changeable elements of substances such a
s the individual material elements, mixture, the concrete form of the composite,
etc. as opposed to the unchangeable elements form and matter per se; cf. Metaph.
VIII (H) 3, 1043 b 516. [291] Possibly, this reference goes to the relevant secti
ons of Ibn Rushds works on Aristotles De anima dealing with the question of the se
parability of the intellect, e.g. Talkhs [Epitome] Kitab al-nafs, ed. al-Ahwan, p.
8890. [292] I.e. by descriptions or statements imitating a definition proper, no
t per analogiam, as translated by Horten (p. 82) and Van den Bergh (p. 57). The us
e of tashbh is borrowed from the hendiadys tashbh wa-hikaya Ibn Rushd found in Abu
Bishr Mattas translation of Aris totles Poetics as equivalent of ; cf. Talkh
r, ed. S. Metaph. VIII (H) 3, Salim, p. 65sq. The present section summarizes 10
43 b 2832. [293] I.e., the parts of definition are related to the definition in a
nother way than monads or disparate units are related to aggregates of monads be
cause they share a common principle of unity. If numbers are indeed essences and
definitions of things (an idea not entirely rejected by
Chapter Two
247
Aristotle, nor by Ibn Rushd), they cannot be simple assemblages of monads; cf. M
etaph. VIII (H) 3, 1043 b 32 1044 a 14; Ibn Rushd, Long Commentary on the Metaph
ysics, p. 10641068. [294] The syntagma anwa al-suwar al-mahsusa al-ula is amphibo
lous. It certainly does not mean kinds of primarily sensible forms as rendered by
Van den Bergh (p. 58). It could mean kinds of first sensible forms as translated b
y Horten (p. 83), but this would suggest disparate groups of sensible forms part
of which are first sensible forms, others second sensible forms. However, Ibn R
ushd knows only one first form (al-surat al-ula) of all sensible things, and this
is the first mover; cf. p. 25 and p. 136 of the translation, and Long Commentary
on the Metaphysics, p. 780, l. 1115, p. 1686, l. 38. In the translation proposed
here (similarly by uiros, p. 110) primary kinds does not refer to a specific clas
s of sensible forms to the exclusion of other classes, but rather to the fact th
at sensible forms might be investigated principally in different respects, namel
y in metaphysics in so far as they are essences of sensible things, and in physi
cs in so far as they are natural forms and, thus, principles of the objects of p
hysics. This interpretation is corroborated by Ibn Rushds Long Commentary on Meta
ph. VII (Z) 3, 1029 a 33sq. (It is agreed that there are some substances among se
nsible things, so that we must look first among these, transl. W. D. Ross). Ibn R
ushd explains there: You have to know that such an inquiry here [in metaphysics]
differs from the inquiry into matter and form [provided] in Book I of the Physic
s in that the inquiry in the Physics, having followed the method of physical inq
uiry, resulted in showing [the existence of ] first matter only in so far it is
matter, not in so far it is substance, and [in showing] natural forms only, not
the first form of all sensible things nor forms qua substances. This is so becau
se the consideration of natural forms qua natural [forms] cannot result in [show
ing] the first form. For it is the consideration which [investigates] form qua s
ubstance which results in [showing] the first form. [...] Only in this science [
of metaphysics] does one seek the first principle of substance. Therefore, [Aris
totle] begins his inquiry with the principles of sensible substances, Long Commen
tary on the Metaphysics, p. 779sq. This investigation of sensible forms qua prin
ciples of sensible substances has been completed, according to Ibn Rushds concept
of the structure of the Metaphysics, with Metaph. VIII (H) 3. In the following
section, he turns to the investigation of the
248
Notes
other principle of sensible things, matter, dealt with by Aristotle in a prelimi
nary way in Metaph. VIII (H) 1, 1042 a 24 b 7, then in detail in VIII (H) 45. [29
5] A paraphrase of Metaph. VIII (H) 1, 1042 a 32 b 7; cf. also De generatione et
corruptione I 57, and Physics V 1. [296 ] That which is eternal and exists by ne
cessity has no potency of coming-to-be and corruption, unlike composite, sensibl
e things. On the other hand, celestial bodies are obviously subject to the chang
e of locomotion. Thus they require some sort of matter which is the principle of
this potency to the exclusion of any other kind of change. Ibn Rushd refers her
e to a section of Metaph. IX () 8, which is closely related to the discussion of
the four kinds of change just mentioned in the context of Metaph. VIII (H) 4. In
1050 b 1822, Aristotle explains that (1) locomotion requires some sort of potenc
y, (2) this potency in the case of that which is eternally and necessarily in mo
tion is restricted to the direction of this locomotion (the whence and whither), and
(3) there is nothing which prevents celestial bodies from having matter for thi
s sort of potency. From the Long Commentary on this section it becomes clear tha
t Ibn Rushd conceives the difference between this matter and the two previously
mentioned types of matter underlying the other processes of change as follows: u
nlike the latter kinds of potency and matter, the potency in this case is not fo
r receiving form and actuality, but rather is an eternal potency (the potency of
moving into another direction) of that which is necessarily in motion anyway; c
f. Long Commentary on the Metaphysics, p. 1203sq., also p. 16291631. For Ibn Rush
ds doctrine of the matter of celestial bodies cf. also M. Di Giovanni, Averroes on
the Species of Celestial Bodies, esp. p. 440443. [297] Ibn Rushd distinguishes fr
equently between various types of scientific and non-scientific propositions. Ho
wever, the term general statements occurs only seldom. Apparently, it serves to di
stinguish between the general or fundamental statements or theorems (aqawl kulliy
ya/ amma) of a discipline and the statements propounded in and of specific or ex
clusive relevance for one of its subdisciplines. Cf. the end of his Epitome of D
e anima: Here [our] discourse on the general statements (al-aqawl al-kulliyya) of
the science of the soul according to the Peripatetic tradition comes to an end.
As for the treatment of the
Chapter Two
249
remaining particular potencies [...], this is provided in the book De sensu et s

ensibili, p. 101, ed. al-Ahwan. Among the general state ments of natural sciences, Ib
n Rushd mentions apart from Phys. VI 4: everything that changes must be divisible,
also Phys. VI 5: everything that changes changes from something to something (for
the latter cf. Epitome of De anima, p. 99), and Phys. VIII 5: in each motion the
re must be three things: the moved, the mover, and the instrument of motion (addu
ced as one of the aqawl kulliyya in Talkhs Kitab al-nafs, p. 143, ed. Ivry). [298
The difference established here reflects Aristotles distinction between common u
ltimate matter qua principle of coming-to-be and specific () proximate matter at the b
eginning of Metaph. VIII (H) 4. [299] Cf. Metaph. VIII (H) 5, 1045 a 15. [300] Cf
. Metaph. VIII (H) 4, 1044 a 27 b 5. [301] Ibn Rushd skips here the remaining pa
rt of Metaph. VIII (H) 4 and the following chapter 5, in order to turn to Metaph
. VIII (H) 6. [302] The distinction between actual and potential existence of ma
tter in artefacts and natural things is problematic. However, I would not go so
far as to call it illogical, as does Van den Bergh (p. 198, note 601). What Ibn
Rushd is referring to (without making it clear) is presumably Aristotles doctrine
according to which the concrete artefact qua artefact is produced from an actua
lly existing matter by imposing a new shape on it. In this respect, matter is in
deed in actuality in the artefact (e.g., wood remains actually wood), because it
is only qua having such and such a shape that it is an artefact (e.g., a table)
, whereas matter in natural entities receives substantial form and, thus, become
s only potentially present. However, in this respect artificial things are not s
ubstances qua substances, in which matter always takes up the position of potent
iality while form is actuality. [303] I.e., form is the actual principle of the
unity of the definiendum the matter of which is related to form as potentiality
to actuality and as genus to differentia. With respect to this unity, matter, no
matter whether sensible or intelligible matter, is detachable from form only in
potentiality. Cf. Metaph. VIII (H) 6, 1045 a 2035.
250
Notes
[304] Therefore, the essence of the definiendum is stated most properly by the l
ast or proximate differentia ( ), cf. Metaph. VII (Z) 12, 1038 a 19,
, 139 a 5; 5, 143 a 1528. [306 ] This intermediate state between the material uni
versal of the sensible individual and the pure form is called in De anima I
[307] I.e., because genera are not extrinsic to their subordinate species, but r
ather are related to the differentiae by which these species are established as
matter to form, thus always including a material, potential, and a formal, actua
l, aspect. [308] To be found by ; cf. Metaph. VII (Z) 12, 1037 b 27 1038 a 18. H
he following example goes the other way round. [309] Cf. note 292. [310] Al-ajna
s al-mushakkaka; for mushakkak cf. note 61. A close par allel to this section is
found in Ibn Rushd, Tahafut al-tahafut, p. 369, l. 48, where in addition to being a
nd thing entity (huwiyya) and essence (dhat) are adduced as examples of such quasi-gen
era. Aris totle himself mentions being and one Metaph. VIII (H) 6, 1045 b 2sq. Van de
n Berghs harsh critique of this sentence (ein Unding, p. 199, note 614) is based on
his own, wrong, translation of mushakkak as equivocal. From the following sentenc
e it becomes unmistakably clear that Ibn Rushd is fully aware of the fact that b
eing and thing, according to Aristotle, cannot be genera proper. [311] In previo
us passages, the concept of intelligible matter referred to something which exists
either in sensible individuals or in nonsensible, mathematical individuals (cf.
p. 6769, 8284). At the present place it refers not to individuals, but rather to
the generic element of definitions. The same shift is to be found in the concept
of in books VII (Z) and VIII (H) of the Metaphysics; cf. W. D. Ross, Aristotle
ysics, vol. II, p. 199sq. [312] Cf. Metaph. VIII (H) 3, 1043 b 2832; 6, 1045 a 36
b 5, 1045 b 23. The last phrase of this section (in short, their quiddity [al-ma
hiyya tu fha] is identical with [their] being [al-anniyya]), draws on 1045 b 1
secl. Bonitz) [...]
Chapter Two
251
, for which Ibn Rushd found in the Arabic translation huwa wahidun
alladh huwa bi-l-anniyyati ka-mithli lladh huwa huwiyyatun ma (Long Commentary on

the Metaphysics, p. 1096, l. 11sq.). This translation suggests the reading
[313] This question was addressed by Aristotle in Metaph. VII (Z) 10, 1035 b 3sq
q. and skipped by Ibn Rushd in his discussion of Metaph. VII (Z). The reason why
Ibn Rushd returns now, at the end of his treatment of Metaph. VIII (H) 6, to th
is topic, becomes clear from the end of the following section (p. 89). Ibn Rushd
read the relevant section of Metaph. VII (Z) 10 as the appropriate answer to th
ose who tried to solve the problem of the unity of the definition and its parts
by doctrines of composition (, tarkb) or connection (, ribat), doctri
ted in the final section of Metaph. VIII (H) 6. According to Aristotle, these do
ctrines failed because they searched for unity or a unifying concept for what is
unified anyway by its formal cause. As Ibn Rushd explains below, the adherents
of such doctrines failed to recognize the unifying formula because they did not
distinguish between what is prior and posterior in definition and what is prior
and posterior in the concrete material existent. [314] For this proviso (which i
s omitted in ms. H and in the translations by Horten and Van den Bergh) cf. Aris
totle, Historia animalium I 6, 490 b 17sq., De partibus animalium I 5, 645 b 25.
[315] Cf. Metaph. VII (Z) 10, 1035 b 412. [316 ] I.e., if the whole qua form is
prior to its parts, how can there be indivisible parts which, according to the a
tomists, exist in actuality, that is as definable entities with an essential for
m, prior to the whole? [317] They may be prior in time but not prior in being an
d definition, but rather posterior to or simultaneously with the whole, as Ibn R
ushd explains in his Long Commentary on the Metaphysics, p. 910. [318] This sent
ence is problematic. If Ibn Rushd refers here to definitions which necessarily i
nclude body (such as the definition of soul), so that the essential bodily parts
are in a sense prior to the concrete ensouled animal, then this priority concer
ns the relation between the bodily parts and the concrete whole, but not the rel
ation between the bodily parts and the definiendum, i.e. the soul, to which they
are posterior; cf. Metaph. VII (Z) 10, 1035 b 1423. If, on the other hand, he re
fers to
252
Notes
the bodily parts which, as Aristotle says, are most important and in which the fo
rmula, i.e. the substance, is immediately present (
viates from Aristotle who explains that these parts are neither prior nor poster
ior, but rather simultaneous () with the whole. From the Long Commentary on this pa
ssage it becomes clear that Ibn Rushd failed to grasp the correct meaning of the
(ambiguous) Arabic translation of 1035 b 25sq. For , ... (some [parts] a
e. those which...) he read there wat-m-a-th-l allat hiya..., which, vocalised as t
amathala, could mean and those [parts] which ... are together [i.e. simultaneous]
(as was intended by the translator), but much more likely seemed to suggest the
reading wa-tumathilu llat hiya... and these [parts, i.e. those dealt with before]
resemble those which..., which is what Ibn Rushd understood and commented upon, c
f. Long Commentary on the Metaphysics, p. 911, l. 19. [319] I.e., providing the i
dentity of definition and essence of the individual, the Platonists had to guara
ntee the unity of the definition (predicated ) by the unity of the individual qua
al with all its accidents, not by the unity of the definiendum qua unity of matt
er and form, because they failed to understand the difference between what is pr
ior and posterior in definition and what is prior and posterior in the concrete
material existent. [320] Cf. Metaph. VIII (H) 6, 1045 b 823. [321] Cf. above, p.
56 of the translation. [322] On muthul uwal cf. notes 33 and 214. These are neit
her first Platonic Ideas (cf. Horten, p. 90) nor words in their primary meaning
(cf. Van den Bergh, p. 63). [323] A possible source for Ibn Rushds report on Porp
hyrys position, which is not included in his Long Commentary on the Metaphysics,
may be sought in Philoponus De aeternitate mundi contra Proclum which was at leas
t partly translated into Arabic. Philoponus mentions Porphyry there several time
s in the context of Platos position on the coming-to-be of the cosmos and the que
stion whether matter is prior or posterior to Forms (). According to Philoponus, Por
phyry explained Platos position to the effect that Forms are neither prior nor po
sterior,
Chapter Two
253
but rather together with matter, and that the are not prime matter a
ther bodies already composed of matter and form ( );
164166 (English transl. in Philoponus: Against Proclus on the Eternity of the Wo
rld 68, p. 3941), p. 545547 (English transl. in Philoponus: Against Proclus on the
Eternity of the World 1218, p. 58sq.). Another source, which was likewise at leas
t partially accessible in Arabic, is Simplicius Commentary on Aristotles Categorie
s. The section on Cat. 1 a 24 sqq. deals with the question what it means to say
that something is/is not in a substrate ( ), and the subse quent problem t
nce cannot be in a substrate according to the definition of substance as that wh
ich is not in a substrate, whereas on the other hand that which constitutes body
qua body, such as magnitude, figure, etc., obviously is somehow in a substrate,
namely in prime matter. Simplicius reports Stoic philosophers having raised the
following objection: if [...] we say that things which complete a substance (ta
sumplerotika tes ousias) are parts of the substance, and that which simply compl
etes the being of a sensible body is colour, figure, magnitude, and simply quali
ty and quantity [...], then one of two things is necessary: either not to say th
at these things are in a substrate, or [to say that] it was not correct to deny
of things in a substrate that they are like parts. How, moreover, is it possible
for completers (ta sumplero tika), in general, to be said to be in a substrate?,
Simplicius, On Aristotles Categories 14, transl. M. Chase, p. 62. In reply to this o
bjection Simplicius refers to Porphyry as follows: Porphyry solves this difficult
y in the following way: There are, he says, two kinds of substrate, not only accord
ing to those from the Stoa, but also according to the more ancient thinkers. ua
lityless matter (he ... apoios hule), which Aristotle calls potential body, is the
first meaning of substrate, and the second is that which comes into existence as
either a commonly qualified thing or as something individually qualified. [...]
Therefore, he says, many of the things which inhere are in a substrate with regard
to the first substrate ( ); for instance, all
as their substrate, not as parts of it and incapable of existing apart from it.
In the case of second substrate, however, not all colour nor all quality is in
a substrate, but [they are so only] when they are not completers (sumplerotikai)
of substance, ibid., p. 62 (quotation in
254
Ns
G letters added, cf. p. 48 of the Greek edition, CAG 8). This twofold concep
t of the substrate as well as the discrepancy between the Stoic position and tha
t which is described by Porphyry as the position of the Stoa and the more ancien
t philosophers are closely related to the doctrines of spatial extension ascribe
d by Ibn Rushd to Porphyry and his Platonic and Stoic sources. A slightly differ
ent report of Porphyrys position is also found in Dexippus Commentary on the Categ
ories. For the discussion of this question in the context of the Aristotelian Ca
tegories in late antiquity, and especially for Porphyrys position, cf. F. De Haas
, John Philoponus New Definition of Prime Matter, p. 165 sqq., esp. p. 177sq., 19
4210. [324] Cf. Ibn Sna, K. al-Shifa : al-Ilahiyyat II.2, p. 63: From this it is
ear that, for a body to be body in actuality, it is not necessary that there sho
uld in actuality be three dimensions in body in the manner [normally] understood
by these three dimensions. [...] Rather, the meaning of the description of a bo
dy is that the body is the substance for which it is possible for you to begin b
y postulating in it a dimension in whatever manner you desire. [...] It is due t
o the bodys having this description that one refers to body as being long, wide,
and deep, just as it is said that body is that which is divisible in [terms] of
all dimensions. It is not meant by this that it is divided in actuality, as some
thing completed; rather, [it is understood] as being of a nature that this divis
ion is postulated of it. This, then, is how body should be defined namely, that
it is the substance that has this form by virtue of which it is what it is and t
hat the rest of the dimensions postulated between its limits, and also its limit
s, its shapes, and its positions, are not matters that render it subsistent but
are, rather, sequels to its substance, transl. M. E. Marmura (slightly modified);
cf. also ibid., IX.5, p. 413. [325] Cf. Ibn Rushd, Risalat al-sama wa-l- alam,
p. 25.
[326 ] For al-basa it as equivalent of the four simple elements (al ustuqussat al
-arba a) cf. Ibn Rushd, Tahafut al-tahafut, p. 127, l. 14sq., s Kitab al-kawn wal-fasad, p. 9, l. 10. At other places alTalkh basa it includes also celestial bodie
s; cf. note 519. [327] Cf. Ibn Rushd, Jawami Kitab al-sama al-tab , p. 5052.
ecause change, no matter whether in substance or in quality, always is in a subs
trate, cf. Talkhs Kitab al-kawn wa-l-fasad, p. 5, l.
Chapter Two
255
68. Alteration (istihala) is either in substance or in quality, cf. Risalat al-ka

wn wa-l-fasad, p. 98, l. 25; and alteration and substrate are mutual prerequisite
s; cf. Talkhs Kitab al-kawn wa-l-fasad, p. 5, l. 8sq., p. 89, l. 13sq. If prime m
atter has form prior to the forms of the simple elements, the coming-to-be of th
e latter must be alteration in substance. Hence, there would be no eternal cycli
cal coming-to-be of the elements from one another caused by the movement of the
heavens. But this is exactly what Aristotle teaches in De generatione et corrupt
ione according to Ibn Rushd, Talkhs Kitab al-kawn wa-l-fasad, p. 140143; cf. the M
etaphysics, p. 91, l. 314, and uiros also Long Commentary on translation of the E
pitome, p. 123sq., note (2). [329] I.e., as a sort of or habitus of prime matter; c
f. note 332. [330] Cf. Ibn Sna, K. al-Shifa : al-Ilahiyyat, V.3, p. 219. [331] C
. Ibn Rushd, Long Commentary on the Metaphysics, p. 97sq., Sharh al-Burhan, p. 2
47sq. [332] Prime matter is one for the simple elements inasmuch as they come to
be from one another and change into one another, and it is many for the simple
elements inasmuch as it constitutes the multiplicity of their potencies to recei
ve contrary forms. The dimensions qua general form of the natural impetus of the
elements thus occupy a sort of middle position between the absolute potentialit
y of prime matter as such and the actual dimensions and natural impetus of the s
imple elements in actuality, which are determined by their contrary forms; cf. I
bn Rushd, Talkhs Kitab al-kawn wa-l-fasad, p. 29, l. 59, p. 32, l. 812; also Long
ommentary on the Metaphysics, p. 500sq. [333] Two sciences can have one and the
same object of search (matlub) in two different ways. Either they investigate th
is object in disparate respects, or they complement each other in that one two s
cience investigates and proves the existence of the object of inquiry, while the
other investigates the reason of its existence; cf. Posterior Analytics I 13, 7
8 b 34 79 a 16, Ibn Rushd, Sharh al-Burhan, p. 366sq., Talkhs Kitab al-burhan, p.
408sq. Since physics proves both the existence as well as the cause of the exis
tence of the dimensions, it is evidently the first mode of one common object of
research shared by mathematics and physics that Ibn Rushd refers to here.
256
Notes
[334] As we have seen, Ibn Rushd focused in this chapter on books VII (Z) and VI
II (H) of the Metaphysics, which is what led I. Mantino to revise the present re
mark (continet ex libris attributis Arist. id, quod in Septimo, & Octauo ipsius h
abetur, fol. 374va). Similarly, Ibn Rushd refers at the beginning of Chapter III
of the present work to book X (I) as the ninth book (al-maqala al-tasi a) of the M
etaphysics. The most plausible explanation for this confusion is that Ibn Rushd,
when composing the present work, had at his disposal only the Arabic translatio
n of the Metaphysics prepared by Ustath which in all likelihood lacked a transla
tion of book I (A) or circulated in copies lacking this book; cf. M. Bouyges, NO
TICE, p. cxxviii sq., A. Bertolacci, On the Arabic Translations of Aristotles Meta
physics, p. 246. Thus books six and seven in this translation corresponded with b
ooks VII (Z) and VIII (H) of the Greek text. This assumption is corroborated by
the fact that Ibn Rushd makes no use of book I (A) in his so-called Epitome; cf.
also the note found at the end of book II () of Ibn Rushds Long Commentary on the
Metaphysics, p. 54, l. 35. [335] I.e. book X (I), cf. note 334. The concept of c
oncomitants of one and many is presumably adopted from Ibn Sna, who refers to thi
ngs like equal, same, similar, etc. and their opposites as things that follow (t
awabi ) one and many or as their concomitants (lawahiq) or concom itant accidents
( awarid lazima); cf. al-Shifa : al-Ilahiyyat, p. 27, l. 5, p. 163, l. 5, p. 303
, l. 3, and A. Bertolacci, The Reception of Aristotles Metaphysics, p. 162180. It i
s no longer employed in Ibn Rushds Long Commentary on the Metaphysics.
[336 ] Ibn Rushd thus proceeds according to the arrangement of Aristotles Metaphy
sics. Having dealt with the central topics of books VII (Z) and VIII (H) in the
preceding chapter, he turns now to potency and actuality, the topic of book IX ()
. The main subjects of books IX () and X (I) are depicted in the Epitome as conco
mitants (lawahiq) of sensible being qua being (cf. also p. 22, 25 of the transla
tion). In the Long Commentary, on the other hand, books VII-X are described as t
hat unit of the Metaphysics which studies the major species (anwa ) of being and
, as such, is subdivided into three parts: (1) the division of being into substa
nce and accident (to be studied in books VII [Z] and VIII [H]), (2) the division
of being into potentiality and actuality (to be studied in book IX []), and (3)
the division of being into one and many (to be studied in book X [I]), cf. Long
Commentary on the Metaphysics, p. 744, l. 4 p. 745, l. 3, also M. Bouyges, NOTIC
E, p. lv.
Chapter Three
257
[337] Cf. p. 44sq. of the translation. [338] Cf. Metaph. IX () 1, 1046 a 6:

. ,
potency was classified above, p. 44, as figurative rather than equivocal predicati
on; thus also in the Long Commentary on the Metaphysics, p. 1109, l. 27. [339] Fr
om the beginning of the sentence, wa-ahadu l-ashya i ... (lit. One of the things...)
, one would expect an enumeration of further classes of things of which potency is
predicated by analogy. However, a second type of analogical predication of poten
cy, namely the potentiality of the substrate to receive the form, is not mentione
d before p. 102sq. of the translation. What marks off this kind of potentiality
is the fact that it constitutes the nature of the substrate as such, whereas the
present class of potencies seems to require the actual existence of their substra
tes, while the potencies themselves correspond to the accidental categories of d
oing and being acted on.
[340] What Ibn Rushd calls active potency (quwwa fa ila) corre sponds to what Arist
otle describes in Metaph. IX () 1046 a 10sq. as starting-point of change in anothe
r thing or in the thing itself qua other ( ) (transl. W. D. Ross). The latter alterna
ive ( ) is exemplified by the self-treating physician which is of inte
ansmission of the Arabic translations of the Metaphysics, as the translation quo
ted and commented upon by Ibn Rushd in his Long Commentary on the Metaphysics (p
. 1106, l. 13, p. 1110, l. 5) translates instead of .
[341] Passive potencies (al-quwa al-munfa ila) correspond to what Aristotle descri
bes Metaph. 1046 a 1113 as potentiality for being acted on, i.e. the principle in
the very thing acted on, which makes it capable of being changed and acted on by
another thing or by itself regarded as other ( ) (transl. W. D. Ross). In
he translation employed by Ibn Rushd for the Epitome as well as the quotation in
his Long Commentary display the variant reading instead of which led Ibn Rus
hasize that this kind of potency does not admit being acted on by itself; cf. L
ng Commentary on the Metaphysics, p. 1107, l. 1, p. 1110, l. 911: He means: Theref
ore, the passive potency is that which is susceptible to
258
Notes
change in itself by another [thing] qua other, since it is [...] self-evident th

at a thing is not acted on by itself. [342] Cf. above, p. 43 of the translation.
The present sentence is a summary of Metaph. IX () 1, 1046 a 2935, which is relate
d by Ibn Rushd to the second type of potency predicated by analogy due to his in
terpretation of Metaph. 1046 a 1113, cf. the preceding note. [343] This question
is addressed in Metaph. IX () 7 where Aristotle distinguishes between (1) potenti
ality in natural things which have the principle of the actualization in themsel
ves and come to actuality when nothing external hinders, and (2) potentiality in
artefacts where the principle of the actualization is external, so that their a
ctualization depends (a) on being acted on by this external moving cause and (b)
on the fact that nothing in themselves (e.g. the material of the potential hous
e, etc.) prevents their actualization. [344] I.e., the principle of actualizatio
n of health, being a natural potency, lies in that which is potentially in healt
h. What the physician can do is transforming illness into potential health, but
not transforming potential health into health in actuality. Cf. also Ibn Sna, K.
al-Shifa : al-Ilahiyyat IX.3, p. 395, l. 1214. [345] As in his Long Commentary, I
bn Rushd uses in the present section now shawq, now shahwa as equivalents of Gre
ek , cf. Long Commentary on the Metaphysics, p. 1153, l. 14 p. 1155, l. 17. In the
nslation both terms are rendered by desire. [346 ] The preceding section is a summ
ary of Metaph. IX () 2. In the following paragraph, Ibn Rushd turns to Metaph. IX
() 5, 1047 b 35 1048 a 16. [347] uiros and Van den Bergh try to make sense of t
he reading potency of consensus (quwwat al-ijma ) in the Arabic manuscripts. Even
if ijma had the meaning of , which is not the case, the present statement has no
do with De anima III 7, 431 a 9, as argued by Van den Bergh (p. 205sq., note 693
), but rather draws on De an. III 10. Nor does quwwat al-ijma mean potencia decis
iva, as pro posed by uiros, who is furthermore wrong in ascribing to this potency
the task of deciding between two contrary possible effects (cf. uiros, p. 133,
note 1). As Ibn Rushd explicitly states, it is will and desire what decides, an
d this in the state of connection or co-operation with this
Chapter Three
259
potency, rather than the latter itself. What is still more problematic, Ibn Rush
d speaks nowhere else about such a potency of consensus. What he propounds in a ve
ry detailed manner in both his Middle as well as his Short Commentary on De anim
a is that in cases of two contrary possible movements (as well as of movement in
general) the decision depends not only on will and desire, but rather is reache
d by this potency in connection with the potency of imagination; cf. Talkhs [Epit
ome] Kitab al-nafs, p. 65, 99sq. (ed. Ahwan), Talkhs Kitab al nafs, p. 142146
vry). In the Epitome of De anima we even find an almost literal parallel to the
present phrase. Compare al-shawq [...] idha qtarana ila hadhihi l-quwwati (scil.
quwwati l-takhayyul), Talkhs [Epitome] Kitab al-nafs, p. 65, and shawqan wa-khtiy
ran idha qtarana bi-hadhihi l-quwwati quwwatu l-khayal in the present passage. I
therefore propose instead of al-ijma or al-jima the reading al-khayal which res
embles the former in handwriting to such a degree that a misreading in the trans
mission of the manuscripts cannot be ruled out per se.
[348] Ma kana jayyidu l-fi l with ma al-shartiyya rather than relative ma as ren
dered in the three previous modern translations. [349] Cf. Metaph. IX () 2, 1046 b
2428: [tabi un]
, ,
[350] Mumkin, corresponding to , Metaph. IX () 6, 1048 a 27. [351] Cf. Metaph.

48 a 2532. The problem is not so much that this meaning of potency cannot be deduce
d from potency relative to movement, as suggested in the translations by Horten
(p. 98) and Van den Bergh (p. 70), but rather that we are dealing with another k
ind of potency whose priority over to the other meanings can only be understood
by taking actuality into consideration; cf. also Long Commentary on the Metaphys
ics, p. 1158, l. 13 p. 1159, l. 3. [352] Cf. Metaph. IX () 6, 1048 a 36sq. Like o
ne and being, potency and actuality are each one only by analogy. Hence, they ca
nnot be defined in the strict sense of definition by stating genus and different
ia. (N.B.: A literal quotation of the present sentence is found in Long
260
Notes
Commentary on the Metaphysics, p. 1160, l. 3sq. The Epitome confirms the doubtfu
l reading of watra there.) [353] Unfortunately, Ibn Rushd does not elaborate on t
his interesting thought which is closely related to the medieval Latin discussio
n on how to determine the transcendentals. Van den Berghs critique of this passag
e (p. 206sq., note 702) is pedantic and, to quote W. D. Ross, beside the mark (Ari
stotles Metaphysics, vol. II, p. 251). [354] Cf. Ibn Sna, al-Shifa : al-Ilahiyyat
I.5, p. 30, 35sq. (transl. Mar mura, p. 23, 27sq.) [355] Cf. Aristotle, Cat. 7, 7
b 15sqq., 13, 14 b 2733; for actuality and potentiality especially De anima III
2, 425 b 25 426 a 25. [356 ] Literally something the soul makes in the existents (
shay un taf aluhu l-nafsu f l-mawjudat). The locus classicus in this context is C
at. 7, 8 a 13sqq.: It is a problem whether (as one would think) no substance is s
poken of as a relative, or whether this is possible with regard to some secondar
y substances. In the case of primary substances it is true; neither wholes nor p
arts are spoken of in relation to anything. [...] With such cases, then, it is o
bvious that they are not relatives, but with some secondary substances there is
room for dispute. For example, a head is called someones head and a hand is calle
d someones hand, and so on; so that these would seem to be relatives, transl. J. L
. Ackrill. I.e., the question is whether there are substances the essential bein
g of which consists in being-related-to-something, or whether being-related-to-s
omething is in all cases, no matter whether first or second substances, a mental
concept applied to such substances yet distinct from their essential being. The
following lines, Cat. 7, 8 a 2834, do not really clarify the problem. Likewise,
Ibn Rushds explanations of this passage in his Middle Commentary are quite enigma
tic. He appears to be saying there almost the opposite of what Aristotle seems t
o hold, namely that in the case of relatives such as head and hand the relation
is purely accidental (cf. Talkhs Kitab al-maqulat, p. 66, l. 1114), whereas it is
in cases of correlative accidents whose relationality is immediately evident (f b
adi al-ra y), such as few and many (al-qall wa-l-kathr), that we are faced with a
real or essential relation (al-idafat al-haqqiyya) (cf. ibid., p. 66, l. 14 p. 67
, l. 1). This would entail that there is indeed no essential being-related-to-so
mething at all. Hence, the present sentence might be interpreted as saying
Chapter Three
261
that being-related-to-something is either accidental, and thus connected with su

bstantial extramental entities in thought, or if it is substantial, this only in
secondary substances which exist in the mind. This interpretation seems to be c
onfirmed by a note in Ibn Rushds Tahafut al-tahafut which says: In truth, relation
is an attribute added to that which is correlative in the existents outside the
soul. Relations occurring between intelligibles, on the other hand, constitute
a disposition (halan) which is even more appropriately than to the latter [descr
ibed by the fact] that it is an attribute added to that which is correlative, Tah
afut al-tahafut, p. 350, l. 13sqq. [357] Idafa (relation) translates in the Arabic
version of Cat. used by the category , nisba (relationship [in general]) any Ib
kind of relation to something else, e.g. , Cat. 6 a 37. [358] Cf. Metaph. I
3032:

[359] A paraphrase of Metaph. IX () 6, 1048 b 1417. Another particular meaning of

potentiality is that applied to the void, mentioned by Aristotle in the same con
text (1048 b 10) but skipped here by Ibn Rushd. [360] Cf. Aristotle, Physics III
48, Ibn Rushd, Jawami Kitab al-sama al-tab , p. 3445. [361] I.e., that potent
is in a primary mode in substance, and only secondarily in accidents, not that a
cting is either acting on itself or acting on another thing, as suggested in the
translations by uiros (p. 137) and Van den Bergh (p. 71).
[362] All previous modern translations are wrong in interpreting li-l shay i l-mu
mkini in wujuda l-imkani mutaqaddiman li-l-shay i l-mum kini as governed by mutaq
addiman (cf. uiros, p. 138, Horten, p. 101, Van den Bergh, p. 72). Transitive t
aqaddama/mutaqaddimun is construed either with f or bi in the sense of being prio
r in a certain respect, e.g. being, knowledge etc., or with ala or accusative in
the sense of being prior to s.th. (or in a combination of the two modes of gove
rnment). The question addressed here is not whether potentiality is prior to the
potential thing, but rather whether the potentiality of that which is in potent
iality is prior to its actuality, in other words, whether there is potentiality
only when there actually is a co-ordinate actuality.
262
Notes
The latter was the position of the Megaric school dismissed by Aristotle in Meta
ph. IX () 3. Ibn Rushds reference to contemporary thinkers alludes to the Ash arit
es, cf. Tahafut al-tahafut, p. 93, l. 8sqq., and Van den Berghs note on p. 52.6 o
f his translation of the Tahafut altahafut, vol. II, p. 3740. [363] I.e., they ne
glected or denied possibility on the part of the recipient; cf. Ibn Rushd, Tahaf
ut al-tahafut, p. 100102. [364] Cf. above, note 23. [365] I.e., the principle of
the temporal priority of possibility in the individual. [366 ] Cf. Ibn Rushd, Ta
hafut al-tahafut, p. 103, l. 79. [367] Istita a wa-qudra does not mean liberty and
free will (or vice translated by uiros (p. 139) and Van den Bergh (p. 72). For
versa), as the difference between qudra (the power to act) and will (irada), cf. T
ahafut al-tahafut, p. 150152, p. 315, l. 15.
[368] For Ibn Rushds distinction between irada and ikhtiyar cf. Ibn Rushd, Tahafu
t al-tahafut, p. 148, idem, al-Kashf an manahij al-adilla f aqa id al-milla, p. 2
26 (ed. M. asim, Cairo 1955).
[369] Al-sana i al-fa ila. These are, for example, medicine, the techne of civil
ization (sina at al-tamaddun), or agriculture; cf. Long Commen tary on the Metaph
ysics, p. 783, l. 69, p. 876, l. 14sqq., al-Kulliyyat f l-tibb [Colliget], p. 19sq
. (ed. S. Shayban, A. al-Talib, Cairo 1989); cf. also above, note 4.
[370] Cf. the beginning of Metaph. IX () 7, 1048 b 3537:
[...] .
[371] This clearly refers to the continuation of Metaph. IX () 7, 1048 b 3537 (cf.
preceding note): (for it [i.e. the poten tial] is not at any and eve
oss). One is tempted to read ayya waqtin (at any time) instead of ayya shay in (any
thing). However, a look at Ibn Rushds Long Commentary reveals that the Arabic tran
slation employed by Ibn Rushd there is based on a variant Greek reading. Instead
of . [...] (where marks the beginning of a new sentence
Chapter Three
263
shabhun (sic ms. pro shabhan) (for it is not always nor similar); cf. Long Commentar
y on the Metaphysics, p. 1165, l. 4; also GALex I p. 8 ( 2.1). In his Long Commen
tary Ibn Rushd takes nor similar as referring to a dissimilarity of the potential
recipient and the actual act received by it (al-maqbul), cf. Long Commentary on
the Metaphysics, p. 1168, l. 1214, for the terms qabil and maqbul in the context
of potentiality cf. also Tahafut al-tahafut, p. 376sq. Neither the variant readi
ng of the Aristotelian text nor Ibn Rushds commentary justifies any emendation of
the present sentence of the Epitome. On the other hand, we cannot preclude that
Ibn Rushd used for the Epitome a version different from that quoted in the Long
Commentary (on this point cf. also note 374). [372] From what follows it become
s clear that this distinction correlates with Ibn Rushds explanation on the relat
ionship between remote and proximate matter and the individual material thing (o
n Metaph. VIII [H] 4), above p. 87sq. of the translation. What a specific potent
iality is, is determined by the proximate substrate. Any remote potentiality req
uires prior to its actualization change in substrate. The distinction is motivat
ed by Metaph. IX () 7, 1049 a 1sq., and found in Ibn Rushds Long Commentary ad loc
., too. [373] Bi-tajawwuz. Naming s.th. bi-tajawwuz means to refer to it by some
thing similar (shabhuhu) or by its cause (sababuhu) or by a con comitant (lahiquhu
) or by what is associated with it (muqaranuhu); cf. Ibn Rushd, l al-maqal, p. 3
4, l. 1214. Fas [374] This is an almost literal paraphrase of Metaph. IX () 7, 104
9 a 1sq.: ; ,
hich is based on a variant reading of the beginning of this sentence (cf. note 3
71). Not only that, the Arabic translation quoted in the textus of the Long Comm
entary suggests the reading instead of (cf. Bouy ges, NOTICE, p. clxx) and ce
either the translation nor Ibn Rushds Long Commentary touch upon (earth). Commenting
on the passage in question, Ibn Rushd even turns to a second translation becaus
e he cannot make much sense of it. This second translation is more lucid, yet li
ke the first one it says nothing about earth: This
, rendered by fa-innahu la yakunu abadan wa-la
264
Notes
meaning is more transparent in another translation which says: Man was not man in
potentiality when he was not, but rather when he was semen, Long Commentary on th
e Metaphysics, p. 1169, l. 3sq. The present sentence of the Epitome, on the othe
r hand, refers with al-barr in all likelihood to , which raises the questions what
source Ibn Rushd was relying on in his Epitome and why he did not consult this
source when composing the Long Commentary. N.B.: Van den Bergh reads, like I. Ma
ntino (in frumento, fol. 376ra-b) al-burr (wheat corn) instead of al-barr (earth) and
points to Metaph. IX () 8, 1049 b 21sq. (cf. Van den Bergh, p. 210sq., note 731).
However, what Aristotle says there is not that corn is in potentiality man, but
rather that matter and seed () and being capable of seeing, which are in potentialit
man and corn () and seeing in actuality, are temporally prior to the concrete man, c
orn and act of seeing in actuality. Both doctrinal context and examples are diff
erent from the present section of the Epitome. For barr rendering in other Graeco
-Arabic translations, cf. GALex, fasc. 9, s. radice B-R-R (I am grateful to Gerh
ard Endress for having put at my disposal a preprint version of this lexicon ent
ry); for examples in Ibn Rushds works cf. [Epitome] Kitab al-athar al ulwiyya, p.
31, l. 2124; Talkhs Kitab al-mughalata, p. 679, l. 7. For burr as equivalent of
Ullmann, WGA Suppl. II, p. 285. For another passage (namely Metaph. IX [] 7, 1049
a 1215) which might be interpreted in the sense applied by Van den Bergh and Man
tino to the present section, cf. the following note. [375] Ibn Rushds point of re
ference is Metaph. IX () 7, 1049 a 1215, the Greek version of which says the follo
wing: And in the cases in which the source of the becoming is in the very thing [
which suffers change], all those things [are said to be potentially something el
se,] which will be it of themselves if nothing external hinders them. E.g. the s
eed is not yet [potentially a man]; for it must further undergo a change in a fo
reign [medium] (transl. W. D. Ross, square brackets added in order to indicate Ro
ss insertions). However, the Arabic version quoted in Ibn Rushds Long Commentary r
uns as follows: Furthermore, all that has the principle of becoming in itself [is
] all that through which none of those [things] comes to be which are hindered f
rom outside [based on ... instead of
Chapter Three
265
instead of ?],
Long Commentary on the Metaphysics, p. 1166, l. 35, cf. the lemmata, p. 1171, l.
8sq., l. 13. While the Greek text asks how that which has the principle of becom
ing in itself becomes something else, the Arabic translation determines that whi
ch has the principle of becoming in itself as that which does not become somethi
ng that might be hindered from outside and which is not subject to change when i
t is in something else. From this, Ibn Rushd infers that no part of that which c
omes to be from that which has the principle of becoming in itself is in need of
an extrinsic moving cause in order to become what it potentially is; cf. ibid.,
p. 1171, l. 912. This seemed to correspond with the statement that semen is not
subject to change propounded in the Arabic translation. The only additional cond
ition which, according to the translation, had to be met in order that semen be
in potentiality man consisted in its being in something else. It is on this basi
s that we have to understand the present remark in the Epitome. ua potentiality
which has the principle of becoming in itself semen is potentially man without
any change through an extrinsic moving cause, that is, provided it is not change
d from outside, as the Epitome takes it, i.e. when it is placed into the uterus
so that any contact with and change through the ambient air is kept off. [376 ]
For hna idhin (lit. at that time) cf. Long Commentary on the Metaphysics, p. 1171,
l. 16sq. (where la yuqalu, transmitted in the Arabic ms. and rejected by Bouyges
, is the correct reading).
[377] The phrase yakunu abadan min naw in wahidin wa-muharrikun wahidun bi-l- ad
adi is ambiguous. I very much doubt that Ibn Rushd intends to say that that whic
h moves the potential into actuality is one in species and one in number, as tra
nslated by uiros (p. 141) and Horten (p. 103). Nor does he say that that which
moves and the potential belong to one and the same genus of being, as translated
and subsequently refuted by Van den Bergh (p. 73, and p. 211, note 734). The re
mark, rather, refers to different classes of potentialities and their movers or
principles of change. Above all, there is the distinction between movers which a
re themselves in motion and unmoved movers; e.g. Talkhs [Epitome] Kitab al-nafs,
p. 99 (ed. Ahwan), Talkhs Kitab al-nafs, p. 66 (ed. Ivry), Long Commentary
Metaphysics, p. 1573. Secondly, Ibn Rushd distinguishes between movers which mov
e constantly and those which move from time to time; cf. Jawami Kitab
266
Notes
al-sama al-tab , p. 145, below, p. 139sq. of the present translation. Thirdly, he di

stinguishes between technical or artifical movers (mu harrikat sina iyya) and poten
tialities vs. natural movers (muharrikat ab iyya) and potentialities, cf. above, p
101, and what follows below; t also Long Commentary on the Metaphysics, p. 1179,
l. 11sq. This latter distinction corresponds with Aristotles distinction between
artistic actualization of a potentiality by an external artist and natural actu
alization of that which has the principle of movement or actualization in itself
. In the latter the proximate potentiality is of such a kind that the principle
of change is in the potential thing itself, no matter whether this is conceived
as nature (qua principle of change in the thing qua that very thing) or as the i
ndividual potentiality to become something else (which is in the thing qua other
), cf. above, p. 96sq. of the translation. There is thus a species of principles
of change in natural things distinct from a species of principles of change in
artifical things through their property of being necessarily inherent in the thi
ng in proximate potentiality. This is indicated by Aristotle himself in Metaph.
IX () 8, 1049 b 8sq.: nature also is in the same genus as potentiality; for it is
a principle of movementnot, however, in something else but in the thing itself qua
itself (transl. W. D. Ross). It is this species of principles of movement under
which Ibn Rushd here subsumes all individual moving causes (qua principles of ch
ange) of proximate natural potentialities.
[378] On blood as ultimate nourishment and proximate potentiality of flesh, cf.

Aristotle, De partibus animalium II 36, 650 a 652 a; De generatione animalium II
4, etc. [379] Cf. Metaph. IX () 7, 1049 a 1824, and above, note 214. [380] Cf. bel
ow, p. 13234 of the translation; Metaph. XII () 3, 1069 b 35 1070 a 3; Physics I 9
, 192 a 2533; Meteorologica IV 12, 390 a 5sq. [381] Wa-bi-l-jumlati fa-yujadu likulli fi layni min hadhih nisbat al surati l-basti ila l-hayula l-ula. The sen
is not quite clear. The question is whether to read the entire phrase min hadhih n
isbat al surati... as the subject of the sentence (as proposed in my translation a
nd interpreted by I. Mantino, fol. 376vb, inuenietur inter omnes has duas operati
ones quedam proportio...), or whether to read nisbat al surati... as subject and m
in hadhih as an apposition to li-kulli fi layn
Chapter Three
267
(as proposed by Horten, p. 106, Van den Bergh, p. 75), thus changing its meaning
into In short, in each of these [above-mentioned correlate] pairs of actuality t
here is present the relation between simple form and prime matter (uiros translat
ion, p. 144, circumvents the difficulty by simply neglecting min). The former se
ems to be preferable in view of the fact that Ibn Rushd shortly before pointed t
o the analogical mode of relating ultimate actuality (form) and prime matter to
the individual substance. The present remark would thus anticipate Metaph. XII ()
4 (cf. also note 382). On the other hand, Ibn Rushd speaks a few lines below si
mply of this relation (hadhihi l-nisba) which rather supports the latter interpret
ation. [382] Of course, this is true, according to Aristotle, only of potentiali
ty other than the potentiality of prime matter and of actuality other than the a
ctuality of the ultimate form or entelechy. As Aristotle states repeatedly, prim
e matter is not distinct from pure potentiality (for a list of references cf. Bo
nitz, Index Aristotelicus, p. 785, s.v. 3), while actuality and entelechy a
tified with and (cf. ibid., p. 251a, 254a). A similar description of pot
tant shadow (zill musahib) of matter is found in Ibn Rushds Epitome of De anima, p
. 4, l. 4 (ed. al-Ahwan). [383] This remark clearly alludes to Ibn Rushds thoughts
on Metaph. XII () 7. As explained there, the forms existing in pure actuality free
from any admixed potentiality mentioned here are the forms of the celestial bodi
es. These are free from any potentiality bound to matter or to substances compou
nd of matter and form, with the single exception of the potentiality of locomoti
on (resp. of rest) which, however, is eternal, infinite and not rooted in the po
tentiality of matter but solely in the moving power of the prime mover; cf. Long
Commentary on the Metaphysics, p. 16291639. [384] Ibn Rushds diction is quite car
eless. Of course genus is not to be taken in the strict sense of the logical termi
nus technicus. As stated repeatedly, there is no genus of actuality which is pre
dicated analogically; cf. p. 98 of the translation and note 352. [385] A paraphr
ase of Metaph. II () 1, 993 b 2426: a thing has a quality in a higher degree than o
ther things if in virtue of it the similar quality belongs to the other things (
e.g. fire is the hottest of things; for it is the cause of the heat of all other
things) (transl. W. D. Ross).
268
Notes
(N.B.: The paraphrase points again to what has been assumed earlier, i.e. that I
bn Rushd relied for his Epitome at least partly on the translation by Ustath. In
Ishaqs translation quoted in the Long Commentary 12, l. 12 p. 13, l. 1] the last
part of this section on the Metaphysics [p. [for it is the cause of the heat of
all other things] is omitted.) [386 ] Irtada c. f means here to be well acquainted
with rather than to exercise o.s. in s.th., as translated by Horten (p. 107), uiro
s (p. 145), and Van den Bergh (p. 76); for irtada c. f or bi- in this meaning cf.
Ibn Rushd, Tahafut al-tahafut, p. 256,l. 16, p. 329, l. 2, p. 373, l. 9. [387] I
.e., although this principle is self-evident, it has to be considered carefully
in order that our knowledge of it reaches the state of absolute certainty (hatta
yaqa a bihi l-yaqn). As the principle is not an axiom, but rather a postulate (cf.
the following note), its truth can be proved. The metaphysician has to realize
its fundamental truth because all truth depends on it, as Aristotle explains in
the very same section, Metaph. II () 1, 993 b 26sq.: that which causes derivative
truths to be true is most true (transl. W. D. Ross). For similar constructions wi
th tasdq and tasdq yaqn governing waqa a c. bi- cf. Ibn Rushd, Sharh al Burhan
2, l. 6, p. 195, l. 16, p. 200, l. 21, etc.
[388] Ibn Rushd uses sadara c. ala in the technical sense of (hence, musada
the translation of Posterior Analytics; Ibn Rushd, Sharh al-Burhan, p. 212, l.
14, p. 214, l. 7, p. cf. 315, l. 23, p. 316, l. 12, p. 462, l. 23, etc. Yahya ibn
Ad, in his Commentary on Metaph. II (), depicts the present principle not as post
ulate, but rather as an axiom (hadhihi l-qadya [...] min al- ulumi l-muta arifati
l-wajibu qabuluha), cf. Maqalat Yahya ibn Ad al falsafiyya, p. 231, l. 17sq.
Khalfat). Needless to say, both in terpretations, standing in the Euclidean tradit
ion of how to propose axioms and postulates, imply that Aristotle laid this out
at the beginning of the Metaphysics, because it is so important; cf. also notes
175 and 448.
[389] The central topic of Metaph. IX () 8. [390] Cf. Chapter I, 11, p. 48 of the
translation. [391] An exception to this common topos of early Arabic philosophy
is noted by Ibn Sna, al-Shifa : al-Ilahiyyat IV.2, p. 176sq., possibly re ferring
to the Megarians, cf. G. C. Anawati, La metaphysique du Shifa, vol. I, p. 362, n
ote ad p. 176, 14.
Chapter Three
269
[392] Cf. above, note 274. [393] According to Aristotles teleological conception
of nature, any transition from potentiality to actuality, no matter whether by n
ature of by external force, is an ordered process or movement. Aristotle therefo
re rejects the idea of an unordered or chaotic movement of the elements prior to
the existence of an ordered cosmos as unfolded in Platos Timaeus; cf. De caelo I
II 2, 300 b 16 301 a 11, and Ibn Rushds commentary on this section, which explici
tly identifies Plato as the pre-Aristotelian philosopher referred to here, Talkhs
al-Sama wa-l- alam, p. 296, l. 21sqq.
[394] Cf. Ibn Rushd, Jawami Kitab al-sama al-tab , p. 19sq., 75. [395] The indiv
al is potential before it is actual. However, there has to be something in actua
lity in it, namely its formal, efficient and final cause without which the poten
tial cannot be actualized. Cf. Metaph. IX () 8, 1049 b 1725, Physics VI 6.
[396 ] Cf. p. 134 of the translation, and Metaph. II () 2, 994 a 19 sqq. [397] Al
-sababu l-gha iyyu huwa sababu l-asbabi idh kanat tilka innama tujadu min ajlih.
It is not clear whether tilka (those) refers only to the other causes (as translat
ed by Horten, p. 109, Van den Bergh, p. 77) or to all that is mentioned before,
i.e. to the other causes and also to the process of change as well as the potent
iality as such. I took it here in this wider sense (rendered by those [things]) be
cause the point of reference is Metaph. IX () 8, 1050 a 810, which mentions becomi
ng () and potentiality () as that which is for the sake of the aim: For th
ich a thing is, is its principle, and the becoming is for the sake of the end; a
nd the actuality is the end, and it is for the sake of this that the potentialit
y is acquired (transl. W. D. Ross). However, in his Long Commentary on Metaph. II
() 2, 994 b 9sq. (the final cause is an end, and that sort of end which is not fo
r the sake of something else, but for whose sake everything else is, transl. W. D
. Ross), Ibn Rushd refers to the final cause as that for whose sake the other ca
uses are: He means: Furthermore, it is selfevident that there is a cause called en
d [...], and this is what is found in a thing not for the sake of any other cause
in the thing whose end it is, but rather all causes which are in that thing, I
mean efficient, material, and formal [cause], are for the sake of this cause [..
.], Long Commentary on the Metaphysics, p. 31, l. 913.
270
Notes
[398] This theorem is an important element of Ibn Rushds theory of the atemporal
eternity of the creator and his refutation of the idea that God is either simult
aneously with or prior in time to the world. Temporal priority of the creator is
nothing that belongs essentially to the creator, but rather an accidental pheno
menon in that which is created; cf. Ibn Rushd, Tahafut al-tahafut, p. 5769.
[399] Cf. Ibn Rushd, Jawami Kitab al-sama al-tab , p. 129131; also Metaph. IX (
050 b 18sq. [400] This seems to be an attempt at determining cause in its most gen
eral sense, despite the fact that it has been conceived previously as an equivoc
al concept applied to any kind of beginning (), to the four Aristotelian causes, as
well as to proximate and remote, potential and actual, internal and external cau
ses, Metaph. V () 2, Physics II 3, above, p. 48 of the translation. Obviously, th
e expression essence of that which is caused does not imply here that any kind of
cause constitutes the essence of the individual effect, but rather refers to the
essence of the effect qua effect. The point Ibn Rushd wishes to make is evident
: it is the nature of causes to be prior to the effect, yet this priority consis
ts essentially in nothing else than the fact of being constitutive for the effec
t qua effect and does not imply temporal priority. [401] The same argument, in g
reater detail, in Ibn Rushd, Tahafut al tahafut, p. 8591. For Aristotles rejection
of the possibility of the existence of another world cf. De Caelo I 89; Ibn Rushd
, Talkhs al-Sama wa-l- alam, p. 122125.
[402] Cf. above, p. 25sq. of the translation. [403] Aristotle nowhere explicitly
states that potentiality does not exist separately or independent of actuality.
However, this is strongly suggested by Physics III 23. [404] The proximate point
of reference of the present passage is Metaph. IX () 8, 1049 b 34 1050 a 2: But s
ince, of that which is coming to be, some part must have come to be, and, of tha
t which, in general, is changing, some part must have changed (this is shown in
the treatise on movement), he who is learning must, it would seem, know some par
t of the science (transl. W. D. Ross). The context is, as in Ibn Rushds Epitome, t
he doctrine that actuality is prior to potentiality. While this doctrine, in the
preceding section of Metaph. IX () 8, has
Chapter Three
271
been applied to actuality as condition of the actualization of potentiality, the

present section seems to point out that potentiality presupposes actuality also
as a condition of its existence, and evidently was read in this way by Ibn Rush
d. This interpretation is corroborated by Aristotles reference to the Treatise on
movement, which generally refers to books V-VIII of the Physics (for similar refe
rences cf. W. D. Ross, Aristotles Metaphysics, vol. II, p. 261), and here especia
lly to Phys. VI 6. In this chapter Aristotle shows first that, according to his
concept of time as an infinitely divisible continuum, whatever changes must have
changed previously. He then applies this doctrine to change in terms of comingto-be, showing that not only what has become must have been becoming previously,
but also that a part of that which is actually becoming must have been coming i
nto being previously (Phys. 237 b 913). Applied to cognition as a process of comi
ng-to-be of knowledge, this doctrine of change raises the problem that, if the p
recedence of actual knowledge is a condition for the potentiality of knowing som
ething, the learner (or potential knower) must already have acquired actual know
ledge in order to actualize his potential knowledge, mentioned by Aristotle in M
etaph. IX () 8, 1049 b 33sq.: And thence arose the sophistical quibble, that one w
ho does not know a science will be doing that which is the object of the science
; for he who is learning it does not know it (transl. W. D. Ross). Ibn Rushd reco
gnizes that this aporia is what is referred to in An. post. I 1, 71 a 29 as the
conundrum of the Meno, i.e. the famous section 80 d-e of Platos dialogue Meno, ac
cording to which learning is either superfluous or impossible (for a formalized
presentation and discussion of Menos argument cf. Robert Nola, Grol Irzik, Philoso
phy, Science, Education and Culture, p. 102109, and the literature referred to th
ere). Aristotles solution of the problem is based on his theory of change propoun
ded in Physics VI 6: a certain part of the actual knowledge ( ) must already
rner. This part consists, ac cording to An. post. I 1, 71 a 28 and 71 b 6, in a gen
eral knowledge ( ) or vague understanding ( ) of what the le
dopted by Ibn Rushd in his Long Commentary on An. post., cf. Sharh al-Burhan, p.
177, while the Long Commentary on the Metaphysics points into another direction.
Ibn Rushd explains there that some part of that which is coming to be must alre
ady exist by nature (bi-l-tab ) in that which is coming-to-be, and illustrates t
his by the incapability of the donkey to learn to play
272
Notes
oud. In other words, the part of knowledge which must precede the potentiality of
acquiring actual knowledge is conceived not as a sort of universal knowledge or
knowledge in , but rather as a sort of innate apriori knowledge; cf. Long Commentary
on the Metaphysics, p. 1185, l. 510. For Ibn Rushds sources, especially al-Farab,
cf. Deborah L. Black, Al-Farab on Menos Paradox. [405] Cf. Metaph. IX () 8,
[406 ] Absolute potentiality (al-quwwatu l-mutlaqatu) is the funda mental potentia
lity of coming-to-be and corruption inherent in all substances composed of matte
r and form due to the potentiality of matter. In Tahafut al-tahafut (p. 271) it
is called potentiality of substance (quwwat al-jawhar), in the Middle Commentary o
n De Caelo it is called potentiality in the substance (quwwa f l-jawhar) and poten ti
ality of existence and non-existence (quwwat al-wujud wa-l- adam); cf. Ibn Rushd,
Talkhs al-Sama wa-l- alam, p. 168sqq., p. 183. The present terminology draws on
Metaph. IX () 8, 1050 b 13sqq. ( [...] [...]
[407] Cf. De caelo I 12, Ibn Rushd, Talkhs al-Sama wa-l- alam, p. 170176; Ris
al-Sama wa-l- alam, p. 5155.
[408] Alla yakuna daruriyyan does not mean that there is no necessary [being] (as
translated by uiros, p. 152, and Van den Bergh, p. 79). The argument is a reduc
tio ad absurdum, not an ontological statement. The point of reference is Ibn Snas
distinction between necessary-by virtue-of-itself and necessary-by-virtue-of-another
(yet possible in itself ). For a more comprehensive critique of this conception
cf. Tahafut al-tahafut, p. 153, 245sq., 394sq. (as in the present section of the
Epitome, Ibn Rushd uses there the concept of the nature [tab a or haqqa] of the ne
essary and the possible); cf. also E. Gilson, Being and Some Philosophers, p. 57
sq. [409] The present section deals with Metaph. IX () 8, 1050 b 1121. The argumen
t is incomplete, as here stated: premise [i] states that the potential does not
exist of necessity. Premise [ii] states that things existing of necessity do not
contain any potentiality. [iii] is a mere anti-Avicennian corollary of [ii]. Wh
at is missing in order to conclude that actuality is prior to potentiality is a
term which identifies necessary existence with primary existence.
Chapter Three
273
[410] For Ibn Rushds doctrine of the eternal potentiality of change in place and
direction inherent in celestial bodies as an intermediate state between the pure
actuality of the first mover and the material potentiality of change in non-ete
rnal bodies cf. Long Commentary on the Metaphysics, p. 12011206, 16291639, also ab
ove, note 296. [411] Cf. Metaph. IX () 8, 1050 b 2226. Ibn Rushds Long Commentary o
n this section is extant in two versions. The Arabic version is very scant. A se
cond version, preserved in Latin and re-translated by Bouyges (Long Commentary o
n the Metaphysics, p. 1204, l. 6* p. 1205, l. 5*), is slightly more comprehensiv
e. Neither of the versions makes an attempt at identifying the philosopher(s) re
ferred to (cf. W. D. Ross, Aristotles Metaphysics ad loc., and Van den Bergh, p.
217, note 802). As for the reason why the motion of the celestial bodies cannot
come to a halt, both versions of the commentary as well as Aristotle himself ref
er to the specific kind of potentiality inherent in celestial bodies rather than
to the fact that there is no potentiality in the first mover. Hence, the readin
g of ms. H is most likely the original reading, while the other variant readings
provide attempts to compensate the omission of ala dhalika. [412] This is certa
inly not the argument proffered by Kant in the antithesis to the first antinomy,
as claimed by Van den Bergh (p. 217, note 803). It neither proves the inconsist
ency of the assumption of the temporal or spatial finiteness of the world, nor i
s it based on any concept of time and space whatsoever. What the argument aims a
t is to reduce ad absurdum the assumption that there is an eternal moving cause
of the world which is not always moving in actuality (the doctrine ascribed to E
mpedocles in Physics VIII 1) by showing that this assumption is unsound because
the concept of non-eternal movement implies the distinction between moving-in-ac
tuality and moving-in-potentiality which, in turn, requires a moving cause in ac
tuality. Provided that there is nothing prior to the creator of the world, this
moving cause can be none other than the eternal creator himself. Thus the concep
t of non-eternal movement implies an eternal moving cause in actuality which is
obviously self-contradictory. [413] In this section Ibn Rushd turns to Metaph. I
X () 9. The present sentence draws on 1051 a 4sq.:
274
Notes
variant readings bi-l-fi li and bi-l-fadli encountered in the Epitome re occurs i

n the Long Commentary, where the first hand of the Arabic manuscript displays mi
na l-quwwati l-fadila for l-quwwati l-fa ila. The latter , whi
is confirmed twice, first by the relevant lemma of Ibn Rushds commentary, second
ly by Ibn Rushds explanation of the passage which refers likewise to the potentia
lity of acting (al-fi l) rather than to the potentiality of excellence or good d
eeds. cf. Long Commentary on the Metaphysics, p. 1210, l. 2, p. 1211, l. 4sq., a
nd Bouyges notes ad loc.
[414] The same loose terminology occurs in Ibn Rushds Long Commentary on the Meta
physics, p. 1212, l. 6. Ibn Rushd means to say that being potentially good and b
eing potentially bad occur simultaneously because they are neutral with respect
to their actualization. Hence, the potentiality for the opposites good and bad m
ust be either good and bad, or neither; cf. Metaph. IX () 9, 1051 a 13sq. [415] T
he last thought obviously draws on Metaph. IX () 9, 1051 a 1720: Clearly, then, the
bad does not exist apart from bad things; for the bad is in its nature posterio
r to the potentiality. And therefore we may also say that in the things which ar
e from the beginning, i.e. in eternal things, there is nothing bad [...]. (transl
. W. D. Ross). However, the train of thought is not exactly the same. Aristotle
says that evil is posterior to potentiality, because it exists only in particula
r actualizations of the potentiality. Ibn Rushd does not say that evil is poster
ior, but rather that potentiality is the cause of evil, which points to Neoplato
nic conceptions and especially to Ibn Snas identification of mat ter and potentiali
ty as cause of evil (cf. C. Steel, Avicenna and Thomas Aquinas on Evil, esp. p. 17
8181; S. C. Inati, An Examination of Ibn Snas Theodicy: Dissolving the Problem of Ev
il, esp. p. 181sq.). Aristotles argument results in the conclusion that eternal th
ings cannot be bad because they are actually prior to anything bad in actuality,
which does not necessarily preclude them from being somehow involved in causing
evil. Yet this is exactly what Ibn Rushds argument excludes absolutely. From the
Long Commentary it becomes additionally clear that Ibn Rushd does not refer sol
ely to the first mover but also to the celestial bodies, all of which are good,
though in different degrees depending on whether or not they contain the (interm
ediate) potentiality of locomotion; cf. Long Commentary on the Metaphysics, p. 1
213, l. 411.
Chapter Three
275
[416 ] Ibn Rushd skips Aristotles intricate consideration of potentiality and act
uality in geometrical reasoning in the second half of Metaph. IX () 9 and moves o
n with truth and falsity, the topic of Metaph. IX () 10. The smooth transition to
this topic suggests that Ibn Rushd conceived the discussion of truth and falsit
y as closely related to that of potentiality and actuality. This is confirmed by
his introductory note to the Long Commentary on Metaph. IX () 10: Aristotles aim i
n this chapter consists in showing that actuality is more valuable than potentia
lity due to [the fact] that knowledge in which there is no potentiality of trans
ition into falsehood is more valuable than [knowledge] in which there is the pot
entiality of possible change, so that it turns out to be false after having been
true, just as eternal being is more valuable than the transient, Long Commentary
on the Metaphysics, p. 1220, l. 710. The following section of the Epitome on Met
aph. IX () 9 is quite difficult and occasionally hard to follow. [417] The proble
m raised here is not addressed in Metaph. IX () 10 (nor in Ibn Rushds Long Comment
ary). One might assume that it has been stimulated by the question raised by Ari
stotle in 1051 b 5sq.: when is what is called truth or falsity present, and when
is it not? (transl. W. D. Ross). However, exactly this line is omitted in both Ar
abic versions quoted in the Long Commentary on the Metaphysics, p. 1219, ll. 2 a
nd 8. Another potential point of reference could be the question raised in 1051
b 17sq.: With regard to incomposites, what is being or not being, and truth and f
alsity? (transl. W. D. Ross). But again, this can be ruled out because the Arabic
translation, being based on a different Greek text, displays here no question a
t all and was not conceived by Ibn Rushd as raising any question (cf. ibid., p.
1225, l. 812). We thus may take this aporia as Ibn Rushds original contribution to
the present chapter of book IX (). It is based on the following fundamental elem
ents of Aristotelian epistemology: [i] being and truth are necessarily linked or
convertible (cf. An. post. I 2, 71 b 25; Metaph. IX () 10, 1051 b 1; etc.). [ii]
True knowledge is knowledge of what is necessary, i.e. of what cannot be otherw
ise (cf. An. post. I 2, I 4). [iii] Demonstration depends on necessary principle
s (cf. An. post. I 6). [iv] Demonstrations, in the strict sense, must hold primi
tively and universally (cf. An. post. I 5). [v] Cognition proceeds from what is
better known to us, particulars, objects of sense perception, etc., to what is l
ess known to us (cf. An. post. I 2, and often). The argument may be
276
Notes
explained as follows: 1. According to [i] potential being is potentially true (a

nd potentially false]. Hence, (A) eternal necessary truth is restricted to etern
al being. 2. If (A) is true, then (B) there can be no demonstration of what is n
ot eternal, because demonstration must hold true universally and eternally (acco
rding to [iv]), but no demonstration can hold eternally for what is not eternal.
3. According to [v], we attain knowledge of (A) through inductive reasoning bas
ed on our knowledge of the particulars. Yet if (B) is true, then (C) there will
be no way to demonstrate (A), because demonstration depends on necessary princip
les (according to [iii]). 4. Therefore, (D) there will be no true knowledge of (
A) complying with condition [ii]. [418] Obviously, Ibn Rushd bases the solution
of the above aporia on the difficult passage Metaph. IX () 10, 1051 b 917: If, then
, some things are always combined and cannot be separated, and others are always
separated and cannot be combined, while others are capable either of combinatio
n or of separation, being is being combined and one, and not being is being not
combined but more than one; regarding contingent facts, then, the same opinion o
r the same statement comes to be false and true, and it is possible at one time
to have the truth and at another to be in error; but regarding things that canno
t be otherwise opinions are not at one time true and at another false, but the s
ame opinions are always true or always false. (transl. W. D. Ross). In this passa
ge, Aristotle distinguishes between three groups of four associated items: (i) B
eing always combinedbeingbeing one ( )ys true (or always false). (ii) Be
tednot beingbeing many ( ) always true (or always false). (iii) Being now
d [now being, now being not][being now one, now many]sometimes true, sometimes false.
In each of these quadruplets, the first part seems to be located on the ontologi
cal level, i.e. being-always-combined/separated, etc. refers to what exists in rea
lity or by its essence as a composite/incomposite, etc. (in [i] and [ii] in actu
ality, in [iii] in potentiality). The second part, being/not-being, etc., refers t
o the correlate level of reasoning and judging, i.e. being means affirmation of th
e combination in question (e.g., A is combined with X), not being means negation of
combination (A is not combined with X), and now being, now being not
Chapter Three
277
(which is not made explicit by Aristotle, but certainly intended) means analogic
ally now affirmation, now negation. What the third part is meant to state is not
easy to understand. Evidently it cannot refer to the ontological level, as in A
ristotles cosmos both composites as well as simple incomposites unquestionably do
exist. Rather Aristotle seems to say that being qua affirmation of combination
is one inasmuch as A and X, the combination of which is affirmed, form in thought
an essential unity, whereas not-being qua negation of combination is many inasmuch
as A and X form in thought a plurality of distinct existents. This has to be ke
pt apart from the fourth part of each quadruplet, the truth value, where (i) and
(ii) are always either true or false, while (iii) is at different times true an
d false. Thus, Ibn Rushds description of affirmation as combination and negation
as separation refers not to the propositional or linguistic levels (on which bot
h affirmative as well as negative judgements are combinations of terms or syntag
mata of nouns and predicates; cf. Cat. 10 and De an. III 6, according to which s
imple concepts are neither true nor false, whereas truth and falsity occur only
where there is combination of terms, either in affirmative or in negative statem
ents), but rather to the correlation of parts one and two of the Aristotelian qu
adruplets. Both negation in the case of what is always separated and affirmation
in the case of what is always combined are necessarily always true. [419] The q
uestion is not whether the particular triangle exists or does not exist, or whet
her the triangle is divided, as suggested in the translations and explanations b
y Horten (p. 116) and Van den Bergh (p. 82, p. 220, note 825). Rather the point
is that, as far as concrete triangles are concerned, neither the combination (af
firmation) of triangle and having-angles-equal-to-two-right-angles nor the separ
ation (negation) of this are eternal combinations/separations (universal affirma
tions/ negations), and thus are not eternally/universally true or false; cf. An.
post. I 5, 74 a 2529: [E]ven if you prove of each triangle either by one or by di
fferent demonstrations that each has two right angles separately of the equilatera
l and the scalene and the isoscelesyou do not yet know of the triangle that it has
two right angles, except in the sophistic fashion, nor do you know it of triang
le universally (transl. J. Barnes). Eternal combination requires knowing that tri
angle qua triangle and having-angles-equal-to-two-right-angles are one and the s
ame thing, their (in the sense explained in note 418); cf. An. post. I 5, 74 a 3
278
Notes
[420] I.e., that which is false at a given moment might be true at another. For
the distinction between possible false (kadhib mumkin) and excluded or impossibl
e false (kadhib mustahl) cf. Long Commen tary on the Metaphysics, p. 686, l. 412, p
. 690, l. 14sqq. [421] Cf. An. post. I 11. [422] I.e., the combination is eterna
l and necessary not with respect to this concrete triangle or a certain species
of triangles, but rather with respect to triangle primitively and universally, q
ua figure; cf. An. post. I 4, 73 b 2531. [423] I.e., while there is falsehood in
that which is now in combination, now in separation in the form of possible falsi
ty (cf. note 420) due to the potentiality of change, there is no falsity in what
is eternally and necessarily in combination or separation, except when humans ma
ke mistakes in reasoning and judging. This seems to be what Ibn Rushd makes out
of Metaph. IX () 10, 1051 b 25: For it is not possible to be in error regarding th
e question what a thing is, save in an accidental sense (
tatement refers to both eternal incomposites as well as eternal composites (as m
ost extant Greek manuscripts, the Arab translator read in the following line
n editions; cf. Long Commentary on the Metaphysics, p. 1223, l. 11sq., p. 1227,
l. 14). In other words, Ibn Rushd contrasts essential necessary truth on the ont
ological level, i.e. the being of what is eternally in combination or separation
, with accidental falsity on the level of human cognition, i.e. error. He does n
ot follow Aristotle in associating truth in the case of what is eternally separa
ted with the metaphor of touch (, 1051 b 24) which leaves no room for error at all, o
ly ignorance. As in the case of what is eternally combined he locates truth in t
his case, too, primarily on the ontological level, while falsity is not restrict
ed to not-touching, i.e. ignorance to the exclusion of error, but rather conceiv
ed as accidental falsehood qua error. The reason for this lies primarily in the
Arabic translation which has for (1051 b 24) some of it is tru
laysa bi-annahu yuqalu) and renders the following distinction between and
een affirmation and definition (hadd) thus transferring the
Chapter Three
279
metaphor of touch and mere saying of that which is eternally in separation into th
e realm of propositional truth. This doctrine, merely alluded to in the Epitome,
is elaborated on in the Long Commentary, where Ibn Rushd distinguishes between
two modes of accidental error on the basis of this translation of . Erro
sites is described there as error regarding affirmation (i.e. affirmation of com
bination where there is separation), and this kind of error is ignorance in the
state of (jahl ala tarq al-malaka). Error regarding incomposites, on the other hand,
is privation of knowledge or of conceptualization ( adam al- ilm, adam al-tasaw
wur). It is accidental to the incomposite because it occurs likewise on the propo
sitional level due to the nature of definition as such (min qibali l-hudud bi-ma
hiya hudud), i.e. because definition estab is no combination. This kind of error
lishes a combination where there is thus ignorance with respect to (jahl ala tarq
lb). By relating the two types of error to and privation Ibn Rushd keeps fals
rt from that which is eternally in separation or combination, not only by associ
ating it exclusively with propositional truth and falsity, but also by contrasti
ng it with the pure actuality of these things (thus taking into account Metaph.
IX () 10, 1051 b 28: , ,
which is eternally in separation or combination with universals, this actuality
of theirs consists in nothing else than being objects of (eternal) knowledge, as
becomes clear from the following sentence of the Epitome.
[424] Lit. the potentiality for that (quwwatun ala dhalika), where that neither mean
s to be related to the extramental world (as suggested by Van den Bergh, p. 82) no
r to have an existence outside the mind (as suggested by uiros, p. 158), but cert
ainly refers to the preceding hiya ma qula (i.e. the things becoming objects of tho
ught), as becomes clear from the following sentence.
[425] In other words, the truth of universals is analogical truth, implying the
potentiality of being practised or actualized in our knowledge of the particular
s. The cause of their truth, with respect to which they are true secundum prius
et posterius, is the truth of that which is in eternal actuality outside the min
d which, in the sentence to follow, is identified with the Good (cf. Plato, Resp
ublica 508d 509a). The entire
280
Notes
section is misrepresented in various ways in the three previous modern translati

ons. [426 ] This sentence introduces Ibn Rushds reflexions on Metaph. X (I) which
discusses in his view one and many qua concomitants of the principles of sensib
le being; cf. the introduction to Chapter III, p. 74 of the translation, and not
es 334 and 335. Ibn Rushd deals with the topics of the ten chapters of this book
in the following order: chapters 14 (one and many, contrariety), 710 (intermediat
es in contrariety, contrariety in species and genus), 6 (aporia regarding the op
position of one and many), 5 (aporia regarding the opposition of small, great an
d equal). [427] Cf. p. 3541 of the translation. [428] Al-kalima wa-l-hadd stands
here, as often, for , Metaph. X further examples cf. Long Commentary on the (I) 1, 1
52 a 29, b 1. For Metaphysics, p. 484, l. 2 (ad Metaph. V [] 2, 1013 a 29), p. 53
8, l. 5sq. (ad Metaph. V [] 6, 1016 a 33), p. 851, l. 14 (ad Metaph. VII [Z] 7, 1
033 a 1), etc. [429] Bi-aghshiyatiha, lit. what things are wrapped in/ coated by,
but not by their individualities or by their utmost points, as in Horten (p. 119) an
d Van den Bergh (p. 83); cf. isolated by the places which encompass them (bi-amaki
niha llat tahwha) in the parallel section on the one, above p. 36. The two wa
nsual isolation simply reflect the two rival accounts of place as space occupied
by something and that which contains or encompasses something. [430] In all like
lihood, the following section has been revised by Ibn Rushd. The manuscript tran
smission splits into three branches. One branch, ms. H, contains presumably the
first recension. The bulk of the manuscripts display an almost entirely differen
t text, which represents for large parts the second recension, yet omits certain
parts of the first recension which were supposed to be kept in the revised vers
ion. Ms. M and I. Mantino, finally, display a hybrid text including passages of
both versions. In other words, there is no straight transmission of the second r
ecension which thus has to be reconstructed. The below table gives in the left c
olumn the text of ms. H, in the right column the reconstructed text of the secon
d recension, based on the remaining Arabic mss. and I. Mantinos translation. The
corresponding sections of
Chapter Three
281
the editions taken into consideration are: p. 99, l. 22 p. 100, l. 23 ed. uiros
, p. 98, l. 12 p. 99, l. 9 ed. Amn, p. 113, l. 24 p. 114, l. 12 ed. Jiham.
] ^ "_: TV{R L "Vt TVq
x \OR bR S> Kd R ?WSR WKR
?R ibKWR > Kd Zz bSd [^ \Va
Y GS[ ;Zxa bbR ~i E "V Zza \V e^;R z "V Zz PRa 8KF _ xa
Z N WK[V B f^ V _ ~
eE 8KF e^ V f^ V _ \V z
bbV b^ V c"?*
eSF [SJ ;N SN ^ Y N xa ]ba ba cza ?R z V b^ c R
bR x ?R e^ V [R
[e
b^ V [R \e
Ux;Zx
Y N ! +WR kR b^ ?R
ZyF?R]"d"O
bR Yx bK[F \^ R
eR [431] Bi-ma nan haqqiyyin bastin.
Ja !b/R bR ~ eS> Kd c R bâ c R bâ 8e eK !?l bR Kd 4e i YbSR

a Y ai
e[7R ? R a Y bRi TVa 9 GRi
b/WR Ba b/WR F K[d i c R
\V a TNa c R ?R a > ~3dz eF PR N az a yR ?R . eF ";[d c R b^
[^ \Va Y GS[ ;Zxa bbR ~i E "V Zza ?R e^;R z "V Zz PRa 8KF _
xa
TV ([ ([
K[d i E"a
bâ eDR
bR eF Yz ;O
eDR
ibKWR > Kd bR
a
Z N WK[V B f^ V _ \V
eE 8KF e^ V f^ V _ \V z bbV ~
S/G[WR eDR z V b^ c R bR (eRa @e? > {
a sK bKWR bR b^ ?R b^ eDR c R ?R ia % [i ? "_;e& V > ([ ([
b[ K[V B Zxa ?R eOV V KZi \^ R eR ! +WR b^ c?R bR a
bbWR Zx eF Kd Yz b^ LS7
In Metaph. VII (Z) 17, Aristotle differentiates between predicating something of

another thing, e.g. an attribute of a subject, by taking into consideration the
Why, and stating or asking for the What of something in an undistinguished and
simple manner, that is without keeping apart or analysing subject and attribute
(the latter is , 1041 b 1). What is expressed in the latter mode of
Ibn Rushd absolutely simple meaning (ma nan bast bi-l-haqqa), i.e. something that ha
s no defi with respect to the question why; cf. nition and is not considered Long C
ommentary on the Metaphysics, p. 1012, l. 16. In Metaph. X (I) 2, 1053 b 24sqq.,
Aristotle argues against the doctrine of the one as
282
Notes
separate self-constituted entity by pointing out that the one in each category i
s always the attribute of some underlying nature. This is where Ibn Rushds presen
t classification comes in. Predicating one of the member of an accidental category
without taking into consideration its attributive character, and hence the unde
rlying nature, is predicating an absolutely simple meaning in the sense describe
d above. In this way we predicate one of a colour (e.g. white) without taking into
account that its unity is attributive to the category of quality, etc. [432] Th
e examples are taken from the Arabic translation of Metaph. X (I) 2, 1053 b 29 1
054 a 2; cf. also Metaph. V () 1016 b 21sqq. and Ibn Rushds Long Commentary on bot
h passages. For as the one in ... quantity cf. ibid., 1053 b 26sq.:
4 a 512. [434] Cf. Metaph. X (I) 1, 1053 b 48. [435] I.e., the point cannot be pri
nciple of number because it has position, whereas the principle of number is ind
ivisible oneness without position; cf. Metaph. V () 1016 b 2331. [436 ] Wa-hiya ll
at addadna refers presumably to the units in each category, thus pointing out tha
t these are countable due to the fact that they are the substrates of one or uni
ty as such. Another possible translation, preferred by Horten (p. 121) and uiro
s (p. 163), is: which have been enumerated (referring to the ten categories). The
phrase is omitted in the translation by Van den Bergh. [437] In the Long Comment
ary Ibn Rushd discusses positions [i] and [ii] in the context of Metaph. X (I) 2
, 1054 a 13sqq., Long Commentary on the Metaphysics, p. 12791282. Position [iii]
is there touched upon only briefly in the context of Metaph. X (I) 2, 1053 b 10s
q. [438] Cf. Ibn Sna, K. al-Shifa : al-Ilahiyyat III.23, esp. p. 106110.
[439] I.e., if the one is accidental and extrinsic to each category and predicat
ed of them by analogy, that by which this analogy is established must be either
the fact that the categories are categories and as such related analogically to
one another. But then predicating one analogically would be nothing else than pred
icating category in analogy to category. Or else, the analogy must be establishe
d by an additional category within these categories with respect to which the on
e
Chapter Three
283
can be predicated of all categories analogically which entails an infinite regre
ss. Ibn Rushd refers in his Long Commentary on the Metaphysics, p. 1279, l. 15sq
., to the present refutation of Ibn Snas position. [440] I.e., unlike the one qua
measure of number these can be conceived as individuals without being separated
from matter. One qua number and one qua quantitative unit are distinct in this r
espect, and both are different from the transcategorial concept of oneness appli
ed to them analogically. [441] In his Long Commentary Ibn Rushd accuses Ibn Sna l
ikewise of two errors which led to his doctrine of the one. However, only the fi
rst error adduced there has an exact correspondence in the Epitome. The second r
eproach is phrased differently: it is no longer based on the alleged failure to
distinguish between the different relations of the transcategorial one with resp
ect to numerical oneness and oneness of concrete quantitative individuals, but r
ather points to the confusion of the accidentality of veridical being (which thu
s is correlated with the transcategorial one) with the non-accidental, analogica
l predication of oneness qua unity in each of the ten categories: The man [i.e. I
bn Sna] erred in two points: first, he thought that the one which is the principl
e of quantity is the one which is coextensive with the term being. As a consequenc
e, he held, instead of [conceiving] this one as being countable in the accidenta
l [categories], that the one which signifies all categories is an accident. Seco
ndly, he confused the term being which signifies the genus with the [term being] whi
ch signifies that which is true; for the latter is [indeed] an accident, while t
he one which signifies the genus signifies each single of the ten categories by
analogical signification, Long Commentary on the Metaphysics, p. 1280, l. 511; cf.
also ibid., p. 1282, l. 712. [442] There is no marker at the beginning of this s
ection signalling the end of the critical notes on Ibn Sna and the resumption of
Ibn Rushds own reflexions. Such a transition can only be reconstructed from what
follows. Furthermore, it is not clear why Ibn Rushd speaks here of muntaqat inst
ead of measures as in the related section of his Long Commentary (on Metaph. X [
I] 1, 1052 b 31sqq.), and what he exactly means by this term. I have not been ab
le to find evidence for this form in other works by Ibn Rushd. The proposed tran
slation, conceptions (cf. Begriffe in Horten, p. 124), is based on the assumption th
at the
284
Notes
term corresponds semantically with the form manatiqa which occurs at a number of
places in the Long Commentary on the Metaphysics in the meaning of as distinguished
from (e.g., p. 360, l. 9, p. 362, l. 11, on Metaph. IV [] 4, 1006 b7; p. 462, l.
on Metaph. IV [] 7, 1012 a 23, etc.). In any case, the word cannot mean measures, a
s translated by I. Mantino and adopted from there by Van den Bergh and uiros. A
scribal error can be excluded as the word occurs no less than four times in the
following lines. Apparently, Ibn Rushd wishes to distinguish between a primary
concept of unity in itself which, as we have learnt above, exists only in the so
ul, and conceptions of other genera of unity (sa ir muntaqat al-ajnas al-ukhar).
The latter concep tions are merely posited (bi-l-wad ) inasmuch as they are not in
divi sible in all respects, but rather conceived and employed as indivisible meas
ures. The distinction thus seems to correspond to the one drawn regarding things
counted and measured, between measure by nature (miqdar/mikyal bi-l-tab ) and m
easure by position (miqdar/mikyal bi l-wad ), provided in the Long Commentary on t
he Metaphysics, p. 1252, l. 1 p. 1253, l. 8. On the other hand, the idea of onen
ess as primary conceptabandoned in the Long Commentaryis presumably owed to Ibn Sna,
K. al-Shifa : al-Ilahiyyat III.3.
[443] Cf. Metaph. X (I) 1, 1053 a 1sq. [444] Cf. ibid., 1053 a 812, and Ibn Rushd
, Long Commentary on the Metaphysics, p. 1257sq. [445] Cf. Ibn Sna, K. al-Shifa :
al-Ilahiyyat III.3, p. 105, l. 1114: One is astounded by those who define number
and say, Number is a multiplicity composed of units or of ones, when multiplicity
is the same as numbernot as a genus of numberand the reality of multiplicity consist
s in that it is composed of units. Hence, their statement, Multiplicity is compos
ed of units, is like their saying, Multiplicity is multiplicity. For multiplicity i
s nothing but a name for that which is composed of units, transl. M. E. Marmura,
p. 80. [446 ] The following argument refers to what is only implied in the prece
ding paraphrase of Ibn Snas position (cf. note 445) and stated explicitly in the s
ection of the Ilahiyyat which precedes the lines para phrased. Ibn Sna explains th
ere that oneness belongs to the primary concepts of intellection, while multipli
city is what is apprehended first by imagination (takhayyul). Explaining numeric
al oneness in terms of
Chapter Three
285
multiplicity is thus a mere process of directing attention to what is already kn

own, and this should not be confused with providing a definition in the strict s
ense. Although the imagination of multiplicity seems to be prior to the concepti
on of oneness this does not qualify multiplicity to serve as a genus of number i
n defining numerical oneness; cf. Ibn Sna, K. al-Shifa : al-Ilahiyyat III.3, p. 1
04, l. 4 p. 105, l. 10 (transl. M. E. Marmura, p. 79sq.). [447] I.e., Ibn Snas
ument is correct as far as numerical oneness and numerical multiplicity are conc
erned. In this case it makes no sense to employ multiplicity as genus in order t
o make known what numerical oneness is, since [i] the latter is prior to and bet
ter known than (the imaginative concept of ) numerical multiplicity, and [ii] nu
merical multiplicity is not distinct from number. However, this does not hold go
od for the universal concepts of oneness and multiplicity as such which are, acc
ording to Ibn Rushd, prior to the concepts of numerical oneness and multiplicity
. Thus, it does make sense to employ the universal a priori concept of multiplic
ity as a genus in order to determine numerical oneness or number. [448] The last
thought is only implicit in Ibn Sna who merely points out the difficulty of defi
ning oneness and multiplicity without including either in the definition of the
other, K. al-Shifa : al-Ilahiyyat III.3, p. 104, l. 49. At the present place, Ibn
Rushd uses the term musadara as as he an equivalent of wad al-matlub al-awwal o
r petitio principii, does frequently in his Middle Commentary on the Prior Analy
tics; cf. Talkhs Kitab al-qiyas, p. 328331, ed. Jihami (for musadara = pos tula
notes 175 and 388).
[449] Cf. p. 98sq. of the translation. [450] Waqafa l-qudama u ... ala hadha l-m
a na cannot mean that the ancients agreed upon this meaning, as translated by Ho
rten (p. 126) and Van den Bergh (p. 88), which not only conflicts with the meani
ng of the verb waqafa c. ala but also with Aristotles reports on the relevant pos
itions of previous philosophers and Ibn Rushds reception of such reports. Taken n
eutrally it means that the ancients inquired about this issue or propounded thei
r views on it (instead of being unaware of it), stressing the contrastive aspect
it can also mean that the ancients opposed to the doctrine in question.
286
Notes
[451] Cf. Metaph. X (I) 2, 1053 b 15: , i.e. Empedocles, Anaximander, and
] Cf. Metaph. X (I) 1, 1053 a 24sq. [453] Ibn Rushd presents here a very Aristot
elianized version of the doctrine of the one provided by pre-Aristotelian natura
l philosophers. In doing so, he follows Aristotle who unfolds in Metaph. III (B)
4 the eleventh aporia based on the framework of his own terminology and doctrin
e, then ascribes to previous natural philosophers the doctrine of predicating on
e and being by reference to a more intelligible one; cf. Metaph. III (B) 4, 1001
a 419. [454] Aristotle mentions in Metaph. X (I) 2, 1053 b 15sq., the authoritat
ive passage dealt with here, love (Empedocles), air (Anaximenes), and the infini
te (Anaximander). In book I (A) 3, 984 a 2sqq., Aristotle mentions Thales of Mil
etus and Hippo having determined water as the primary principle and Hippasus and
Heraclitus for the correlate doctrine on fire. However, that Ibn Rushd replaces
in the present section air and love by water and fire does not disprove our pre
vious assumption (cf. note 334) that he had no access to book I (A) of the Metap
hysics when composing the Epitome. The doctrines attributed to Thales and Heracl
itus enjoyed a wide circulation in ancient commentaries on Aristotle and doxogra
phies (cf. the references given by W. D. Ross, Aristotles Metaphysics vol. I, p.
130, to which one might add Aetius Placita philosophorum). Besides, Aristotle him
self referred to them in other works well known to Ibn Rushd, e.g. De caelo III
5, 303 b 11sqq., on water, air and fire as first cause, Physics III 5, 204 b 22
sqq., on water, fire, and the infinite, etc. [455] Cf. Metaph. X (I) 2, 1053 b 1
2sq.: ... . [456 ] For the change in diction
otle, now we are referred to what had already become evident (before Aristotle)cf. n
ote 453. [457] Cord (sabab) and peg (watid) are constituents of metres in Arabic pro
sody, mentioned also in Ibn Rushds Long Commentary on Metaph. X (I) 1, 1053 a 21s
q.
Chapter Three
287
[458] Reading wa-bu d al-irkha instead of wa-l-bu d al-irkha . For this term cf.
Ibn Sna, K. al-Shifa : al-Riyadiyyat. Jawami ilm al-musq, p. 50.
[459] For these examples cf. note 432. [460] The reference is to Chapter II, p.
5356 of the translation, which draws on various sections of the Metaphysics, the
Categories and the Physics. [461] I.e., (i) Is there a first one in each genus/c
ategory predicated of all members of this genus secundum prius et posterius?, an
d (ii) Is there a separate substance which is the principle of all sensible subs
tances? [462] In a similar way, books VII-X of the Metaphysics are depicted in I
bn Rushds Long Commentary as preparation (tawti a) and premises (muqaddimat) for
book XII (), the central element the second part of of this science; cf. Long Comme
ntary on the Metaphysics, p. 745, l. 610; cf. also Arnzen, Ibn Rusd on the Structu
re of Aristotles Metaphysics.
[463] Ibn Rushd turns now to Metaph. X (I) 3. [464] A paraphrase of Metaph. X (I
) 3, 1054 a 2023. [465] After wa-aydan fa-inna the transmission of the Arabic tex
t splits up for several lines into two branches represented by mss. H, M, and
on the one hand, and the remaining manuscriptspartly in textu, partly in margineon t
he other hand. The two branches seem to complement each other rather than to tra
nsmit two distinct versions or recensions. The original text can be reconstructe
d on the basis of Mantinos translation (while mistakes of the Latin edition, in t
urn, can be emended through the Arabic text). The above translation is based on
the following text which is supposed to replace the section wa-aydan ... bi dtirar
in in uiros, p. 109, l. 1216, Amn, p. 108, l. 810, and Jiham, 121, l. 81
"^b
b^b= fâ - b bSR YyF . b _ \V OR T Kd bR YyF ~3dza XOR a e * HeOR a b^b^ "^b
yF eDR ca WR a HeOR e +R a c R Yz ix ca WR Ba e +R Ba CR fâ bR - bb S KV - b OS
a V TN Yz PRa Yj KV CR a b^b= YyF dCR f^ b^b^ V _
bSR ] ^ \V T Kd ! "72 "^b
k
288
Notes
[466 ] The following lines deal with Metaph. X (I) 3, 1054 a 30sqq., the contrar
ies of the properties of one and many. Having mentioned that one is opposed to m
any in terms of privation vs. having, Aristotle states that they are not opposed
to each other by contradiction or relation (1054 a 2326). In Topics V 67, these t
hree kinds of opposition are explained as those which do not concern the specifi
c properties ( ) of that which is opposed to each other. Only the fourth kind of o
tion, contrariety, can be an opposition of the specific properties of either opp
osite (cf. Topica, 135 b 1216). Accordingly, Ibn Rushd speaks in the present sect
ion (as in the related section of his Long Commentary on the Metaphysics, p. 128
7, l. 2) of the opposition of one and many in terms of their specific properties
(khawass). [467] Cf. p. 4143 of the translation. [468] Cf. above, Chapter I, sect
ion 8[a], last third. [469] This proviso anticipates the aporiae resulting from
conceiving one and many as absolute contraries discussed in Metaph. X (I) 6. As
will become clear from the following section the opposition of one and many is n
ot the pure contrariety of the same and the other, but rather opposition qua max
imum difference (khilaf ). [470] I.e. this is the reason why difference admits m
ore and less which, in turn, is the reason why there is a greatest and a smalles
t difference; cf. Metaph. X (I) 3, 1054 b 31sqq. and the beginning of Metaph. X
(I) 4. [471] Prima facie the distinction unfolded here seems to correspond with
the first two kinds of contrariety mentioned in Metaph. V () 10, (1) things that d
iffer in genus, which cannot belong at the same time to the same subject, and (2)
the most different of the things in the same genus (1018 a 2527, transl. W. D. Ros
s). Thus, things which are mutually other (al-ashya u l-mutaghayira) would corresp
ond to , while one and many are contraries of the second ty
tion is falsified by the following lines of the Epitome which contrast contrarie
s with different things belonging to different genera; cf. also Metaph. X (I) 4,
1055 a 25sq., where (1) is explicitly excluded, for it has been shown that there
is no difference between anything and the things outside its genus (transl. W. D
. Ross). Thus it seems to be more appropriate to relate Ibn
Chapter Three
289
Rushds expression of things which are mutually other by pure otherness to what Aris
totle adduces in Metaph. V () 10 as third class of things other in species (
hich are contraries in their essence ( ). This kind
y to the opposition of one and many, since the latter, as has been discussed abo
ve, do not exist as separate self-constituted substances, but only in some under
lying nature depending on the genus to which they belong. Such an interpretation
is corroborated by Ibn Rushds use of the term things which are mutually other in c
onnection with otherness in form (qua species); cf. Long Commentary on the Metap
hysics, p. 1365, l. 1016; also applied to sensibles belonging to different specie
s of sense perception in the Epitome of De anima, cf. Talkhs [Epitome] Kitab al na
fs, p. 54 (ed. al-Ahwan). [472] This section is a summary of Metaph. X (I) 4, 105
5 a 319. (It might be worth noticing that Ibn Rushd uses here the term nihaya [end]
as an equivalent of . The latter occurs four times in the Greek text of the relevant
section, but not even once in the Arabic translation quoted in the Long Comment
ary on the Metaphysics, p. 1300sq.) [473] A summary of Metaph. X (I) 4, 1055 a 1
923. [474] This seems to stand in blunt contradiction to Metaph. X (I) 4, 1055 a
33sqq.: The primary contrariety is that between state and privation [...]. And th
e other contraries must be called so with reference to these, some because they
possess these, others because they produce or tend to produce them, others becau
se they are acquisitions or losses of these or of other contraries (transl. W. D.
Ross). However, from other sections of the Metaphysics and other works dealing
with opposites and contraries it is clear that Aristotle does not speak of contra
ries in the strict sense at this place, but rather refers to privation and posses
sion as a sort of principle of opposition in general. This is also how Ibn Rushd
interpreted this statement in his Long Commentary on the Metaphysics, p. 1310,
l. 10 p. 1311, l. 3. The argument of the first part of the present statement is
thus quite simple: (i) contrariety is predicated secundum prius et posterius (th
is is how Ibn Rushd interprets Metaph. X [I] 4, 1055 a 35:
erius is predicated in analogy to
290
Notes
what is first or complete in the genus in question; (iii) what is complete in an

y genus is the greatest (cf. Metaph. X [I] 4, 1055 a 10:
st distance (cf. Metaph. X [I] 4, 1055 a 9: ,
2, IV 1, 209 a 4, etc.); therefore (vi) the first and fundamental contrariety is
contrariety (= greatest distance) in place. However, this is not the whole stor
y. From the end of this section it becomes clear that the doctrine of analogical
predication is only a corollary of what follows. This first contrariety is not
only the cause of existence for other contrarieties but also the cause for their
occurrence in substances (al-sabab f wujud sa ir al-mutadaddat f l-jawhar). What
is behind this enigmatic statement, which is hardly derivable from the doctrine
of analogical predication, becomes clear from what follows: contrariety in place
is the primary contrariety because spatial extension or three-dimensionality is
the prerequisite for the reception of opposites in prime matter. Aristotle had
shown in Physics I 7 and De generatione et corruptione II 1 that prime matter, a
nd only prime matter, is the primary unqualified substrate of contraries (like I
bn Rushd he gives hot and cold as an example). This doctrine underwent in late a
ntiquity significant modifications, first with respect to the question whether t
here are contraries prior to or independent of matter (e.g., Sameness Otherness, L
imitUnlimited, etc. in the philosophy of Proclus), then also with respect to the q
uestion whether three-dimensional extension might be an additional prerequisite
of the reception of contraries, and if so, how it is related to (prime) matter.
Having discussed the latter question above, p. 8993 of the translation, Ibn Rushd
indicates here an answer to the question whether three-dimensional extension is
prior to the reception of contraries in matter. Although he is very brief, we c
an infer from his words that prime matter alone, in his view, is not sufficient
to serve as the substrate of contraries existing in substances. Since contraries
(such as hot and cold) require substances in which or as the form of which they
occur, it is not the entirely formless and unextended prime matter, but some so
rt of informed matter what serves as substrate of contraries. But matter cannot
be informed, unless it is potentially three-dimensional, as explained above (p.
91sq.). Hence, spatial extension and three-dimensionality are the immediate prer
equisites of contrariety in form or substance. As soon as the potentiality of
Chapter Three
291
three-dimensional extension is actualized through any form whatsoever, there are

by necessity the contraries of the extremes of these dimensions, which is why t
he contrariety of spatial distance is the primary contrariety. Such a doctrine,
which is not further elaborated in the Long Commentary on the Metaphysics, is ap
parently closely related to John Philoponus view of three-dimensionality as commo
n matter of the simple elements and ultimate receptacle of contraries expounded
(possibly under the influence of Alexander of Aphrodisias) in his Commentary on
De generatione et corruptione; cf. F. De Haas, John Philoponus New Definition of
Prime Matter, p. 104120, 156164. [475] With the present section Ibn Rushd turns to
Metaph. X (I) 7. [476 ] Cf. Aristotle, Physics V 3, 227 a 7sq., VI 10, 241 a 27
sq., VIII 7, 261 a 33sq.; Ibn Rushd, Jawami Kitab al-sama al-tab , p. 72, 110, f
the source of the present reference Metaph. X (I) 7, 1057 a 32sq.
[477] A paraphrase of Metaph. X (I) 7, 1057 a 1822. Note that the Arabic translat
ion of 1057 a 19 quoted in the Long Commentary on the Metaphysics (p. 1349, l. 2
sq., p. 1350, l. 11sq.) is based on the reading
y all intermediates are compounded of contraries but that the reverse (all that
is compounded of contraries must be an intermediate) is likewise true, which is
exactly what Ibn Rushd states in his Long Commentary on Metaph. X (I) 7, 1057 b
26sq., p. 1361, l. 36. [480] Cf. Ibn Rushds definition supplied in al-Kulliyyat f l
-tibb, p. 94: The definiton of sickness is conceivable from that of health as it
is its opposite. Since health is the state of the organs in which they perform t
heir natural active or passive functions, sickness is necessarily the state in w
hich the organs do not perform their active or passive functions in the way they
naturally do. [481] In his Long Commentary on Metaph. X (I) 7, 1057 b26sq., Ibn
Rushd rejects Galens position explicitly: It is not possible that in that which is
combined of contraries there exist two equal parts, but rather one of the two [
parts] has to be predominant. This is the one to which
292
Notes
the form [of the intermediate] is attributed. This shows you that there is no [s
uch thing] compounded of contrary extremes in the state of equilibrium as has be
en admitted by Galen in medicine. For if that were possible, things combined of
extremes could exist by themselves without being attached to change or to having
less [of one of the extremes]. We have composed a treatise on the refutation of
Galen [dealing] with this issue, Long Commentary on the Metaphysics, p. 1361, l.
813. The treatise Ibn Rushd is referring to is presumably either his Talkhs on Gal
ens or the short essay on the kinds of mixture (F asnaf al-mizaj). In both
d refutations of the theory that there is an intermediate state between health a
nd sickness which draw on Aristotles doctrine of contraries and more and less; cf
. Commentaria Averrois in Galenum, p. 66, l. 1723; p. 241, l. 28 p. 242, l. 26 (t
he latter section supports the reading proposed for the above translation by sta
ting that if it is called intermediate, then because it is similar (shabh) [to a t
rue intermediate], p. 242, l. 23). For Ibn Rushds Treatise on Mixture and related
works, cf. H. Eichner, Averroes Mittlerer Kommentar zu Aristoteles De generatione
et corruptione, p. 144157. [482] Cf. Metaph. X (I) 7, 1057 a 33sqq. [483] For pri
vation and possession as a particular case of contradiction cf. Metaph. X (I) 4,
1055 b 2sqq., also V () 22, 1022 b 2431, and Ibn Rushds Long Commentary on these s
ections. [484] Cf. p. 43 of the translation; cf. also Ibn Rushd, Talkhs Kitab almaqulat, p. 100104. [485] Cf. Metaph. X (I) 7, 1057 a 37sq., also 6, 1056 b 35. [
486 ] Cf. Metaph. X (I) 4, 1055 a 33sq., also IX () 2, 1046 b 14, and note 474. [
487] Cf. Metaph. X (I) 4, 1055 b 1119. [488] The last sentence, which is omitted
in ms. H, supplies a further proof for the primacy of privation and possession i
n opposites. It seems to draw on Metaph. IX () 2, 1046 b 14sq.: [T]he contrary is
the primary privation, and this is the entire removal of the positive term, (tran
sl. W. D. Ross), yet cf. the Arabic translation quoted in Long Commentary on the
Metaphysics, p. 1115, l. 79.
Chapter Three
293
[489] This question is raised, in a slightly different way, by Aristotle in Meta
ph. X (I) 9, 1058 a 29/34: One might raise the question, why woman does not diffe
r from man in species, female and man being contrary [...]. This question is alm
ost the same as the other, why one contrariety makes things different in species
and another does not, (transl. W. D. Ross). [490] Cf. Metaph. X (I) 10. The term
tabi , pl. tawabi (necessary concomitant), one of Ibn Snas favourite terms, but onl
y seldom used by Ibn Rushd, corresponds here with .
[491] The first type of contraries, such as transient and eternal, are per se ( or
es, the second type are accidental con traries arising from the association of fo
m with matter ( ); cf. Metaph. X (I) 9, 1058 a 36 b 3, b 2124.
965) conceives the second half of this sentence as a gloss on the grounds that
this has never been shown by Ibn Rushd. As a matter of fact, it is exactly what
has been shown at the beginning of Ibn Rushds discussion of Metaph. X (I) 3, p. 1
2224 of the translation, where the specific properties or concomitants of one and
many, the samethe other, likeunlike, etc. are established as principles of the diff
erent types of opposition. [493] Aristotle discusses this question as a particul
ar case of another problem, i.e. the question why in some cases there seem to be
two opposites to one thing, although it has been established as a rule of contr
ariety that one thing has only one contrary. As far as one and many is concerned
, this problem is raised by much () and few () which seem to form second contrari
ition to the mutual contrariety of one and many. This particular case is treated
in chapter 6 of Metaph. X (I). Another particular case, equal and its seeming t
wo opposites smaller and greater, is treated in chapter 5. However, Ibn Rushd co
nceives the topic of chapter 6 not in the context of this problem, but rather as
Aristotles answer to the question in what way one is opposed to many. The same a
pproach is displayed in his Long Commentary on the Metaphysics at the beginning
of this chapter (p. 1336, l. 811). For this reason, Ibn Rushd makes a transition
in the Epitome, having discussed chapters 14 of Metaph. X (I), immediately to cha
pters 710 aiming at completing the systematic consideration of opposites in gener
al and contrariety in particular before turning to this ques-
294
Notes
tion. Apart from his efforts to present the topics of Metaph. X (I) in a systema
tic arrangement, this transposition of chapters 5 and 6 was additionally support
ed by Aristotles unclear diction at the beginning of chapter 5. Instead of statin
g clearly that he intends to investigate the question whether the rule that one
thing has only one contrary applies to one and many and to the relation of equal
, great and small, he says there: Since one thing has one contrary, we might rais
e the question how the one is opposed to the many and the equal to the great and
the small (transl. W. D. Ross), the first part of which Ibn Rushd took as raisin
g the question which type of opposition applies to one and many. [494] Cf. the A
rabic translation of
kathran in lam yudaf ila l-wahidi aw ila l-qall, Ibn Rushd, Long Commentary
Metaphysics, p. 1334, l. 9sq. [495] I.e., if the few and the many are related t
o one another in terms of plurality, the few must be a plurality. But then the o
ne, supposing it were few, must be a plurality too; cf. Metaph. X (I) 6, 1056 b
1113. [496 ] This section is a summary of Metaph. X (I) 6, 1056 b 314. [497] This
position is in fact shared by Aristotle (cf. Metaph. X [I] 3, 1054 a 2025; 6, 105
7 a 15) and by Ibn Rushd (cf. p. 122 of the translation). [498] Cf. Metaph. XII
() 9, 1074 b 32sq.: . [499] Cf. Metap
tion of knowledge and object of knowledge. The former is relative to the latter
only in so far as the latter is relative to the former, but not in itself, as wi
th essentially mutual relative terms like double and half; cf. Metaph. X (I) 6,
1056 b 35sq., 1057 a 16. [501] This sentence is difficult due to its conciseness
, yet by no means self-contradictory as judged by Van den Bergh. As has been exp
lained, the relativity of the one and the many is one-sided. The many is relativ
e to the one not as part of a mutual essential relation, but rather in so far as
there can be no many without there being one. Nevertheless the
Chapter Three
295
many qua measurable number or quantity is also part of an essential reciprocal r

elation, namely with the few. [502] This corresponds to Aristotles resume at the
end of Metaph. X (I) 6. [503] This question forms the sole topic of Metaph. X (I
) 5. Ibn Rushd does not pay too much attention to it and ignores its systematic
connection with the preceding problem; cf. note 493. [504] I.e., the great and t
he small are not contraries of the equal, but rather opposed to it qua privation
of equal. This opposition is contradictory inasmuch as one of both opposites (e
ither equal, or great-orsmall) must be true, while both together cannot be true,
which is why Aristotle calls it privative negation ( ), Metaph. X (I)
emark on Book suggests that Ibn Rushd had at his disposal the commentary by Alex
ander of Aphrodisias already when working on the Epitome. That Book deals primar
ily with the finiteness of the causes and principles ( )
(cf. In Aristotelis Metaphysica commentaria, p. 137sq., esp. p. 137, l. 912, 138,
l. 2123) and reiterated in Ibn Rushds summary of Alexanders exposition of the topi
c of each book in the Long Commentary on the Metaphysics, p. 1397, l. 810. That i
t is prefixed to the remaining treatises as a kind of postulate (sadara alayhi Ar
istu...) is based on the assump tion that showing the finiteness of the causes is t
he task of physics rather than of metaphysics and taken for granted in the latte
r (cf. Alexander, In Aristotelis Metaphysica commentaria, p. 137, l. 12sqq., Ari
stotle, Physics I 12; Ibn Rushd, Long Commentary on the Metaphysics, p. 22, l. 211
); on this point cf. also C. Martini, La tradizione araba della Metafisica di Ari
stotele Libri , p. 83sq.; and P. Adamson, Yahya ibn Ad and Averroes on Metaphysics
lpha Elatton, forth in Documenti e Studi sulla Tradizione Filosofica Medievale 21
coming (2010) (I wish to thank Peter Adamson for having put a preliminary versio
n of this paper at my disposal).
[506 ] The reading attested in all manuscripts at my disposal (and adopted in al
l editions) turns the train of Ibn Rushds argument into a petitio principii, as i
t is exactly the finiteness of the effects that Ibn
296
Notes
Rushd is going to prove here. In showing the impossibility of an infinite chain

of causes Ibn Rushd follows the method displayed in Metaph. II () 2, where Aristo
tle treats this question in two separate trains of thought, the one [i] proving
that there is no such chain infinite in the downward direction, the other [ii] p
roving that this is likewise impossible in the upward direction. Ibn Rushds argum
ent corresponding to [ii] begins with the words But if we assume an infinite [cha
in] of causes... (cf. p. 132). It is thus nearly certain that he began his argume
nt in support of [i] with the presupposition of a finite causal chain in the upw
ard direction. The mistake in the manuscripts is easily explained by the close r
esemblance, especially in the Maghrib ductus with its sweeping strokes for the le
tter Dal, of the words TS?R (causes) and ?R (number). [507] Ibn Rushd omits the conclu
sion: If there is a last effect, while the series of intermediates is finite, th
e chain of causes in the upward direction must be finite. [508] Cf. Ibn Rushd, T
alkhs Kitab al-mughalata, p. 704, on Aristotle, Sophistici elenchi 15, 174 b 3040.
Cf. also Aristotle, Topica VIII 1314. [509] Ibn Rushd draws here on Metaph. II () 2
, 994 a 2225: For one thing comes from another in two ways [...], (a) as the man c
omes from the boy, by the boys changing, or (b) as air comes from water (transl. W
. D. Ross), where the first type is or , the second proper.
and takes on a new form (water or air) or a new accidental quality (white or bl
ack). That which is generated is after that from which it is generated only in so
far as the previous form or accident is replaced by the new form or accident, no
t in so far as the new form or accident as such is later than the previous one o
r generated from it. Wa-min hahuna f l-haqqati hiya cannot be the bi-ma na ba d, a
s the majority of the manuscripts read, correct reading, first because it is exa
ctly the opposite what Ibn Rushd explains here, secondly because the adversative
continuation of the thought by bal dhalika ala ma na anna... (It rather has this
meaning [only] in the sense that...) requires a preceding negation (that some so
rt of restriction is required was recognized by the copyist whoerroneouslyinserted t
he word innama transmitted in mss. H and M).
Chapter Three
297
Thirdly, the preposition bi- before ma na ba d suggests a preceding laysa. F ina
lly, the proposed reading is supported by the Aristotelian text itself. In Metap
h. II () 2, 994 a 22sq., Aristotle explains that in neither of the two distinct m
odes of coming-to-be from another thing does from mean after (
[511] Cf. Metaph. II () 2, 994 b 3. Ms. H, I. Mantino, and ms. M (in the margin),
add bi-l-dhat, per se, which is supported neither by Ibn Rushds Long Commentary on
the Metaphysics ad loc. (p. 28, l. 1315), nor by the Aristotelian text or its Ar
abic translations. [512] I follow I. Mantino and uiros (p. 190) in relating alwujudu lahu bi-l-fi l (exists actually) to that from which the process of change b
egins. Horten (p. 142) and Van den Bergh (p. 100) translate it as apposition to
kadha (hence: [from which] the other thing actually comes to be) which, in my view
, is untenable for reasons of syntax as well as philosophical consistency. The p
oint of reference is the difficult sentence Metaph. II () 2, 994 a 32sq.,
hysics, vol. I, p. 217sq.). The two Arabic translations transmitted in Ibn Rushds
Long Commentary render the sentence differently. Ustaths translation has for that
which comes to be does not come to be from the process of coming-to-be, but rath
er it comes to be only after the process of coming to be. Ishaqs is translation ha
s for that which will be does not come to be from what in the process of coming-t
o-be, but rather that of which it is said that it will be comes to be after that
which is in the process of coming-to-be, Long Commentary on the Metaphysics, p.
24, l. 24, and apparatus, l. 2. The latter translation supports the emendation by
Christ and Ross, the former does not. [513] Cf. Metaph. II () 2, 994 a 32 b 3.
[514] I.e., prime matter, cf. Ibn Rushd, Jawami Kitab al-sama al tab , p. 16, 50.
15] Cf. Metaph. II () 2, 994 b 913, and the following note. [516 ] Therefore, post
ulating that the series of ends is infinite in such a way that the word end is mea
ningful requires as presupposition that this series is finite; cf. also transl.
uiros, p. 191sq., note 1.
298
Notes
[517] , Metaph. II () 2, 994 b 17; cf. Ibn Rushd, Long Commentary on

, l. 13 p. 35, l. 5. [518] Van den Bergh (p. 235sq., note 1021) brackets the las
t part of this sentence as an ignorant later gloss. But he neglects that Ibn Rus
hd is not talking about form qua , but rather about material forms. [51
Risalat al-kawn wa-l-fasad, p. 108sq., 114sq., also Talkhs Kitab al-sama wa-l- a
lam, p. 110sq., on the finiteness of simple bodies and their forms. Simple parts (
basa it) include here, in addition to the four elements, also the celestial bodi
es; similarly ibid., p. 132, and Jawami Kitab al-athar al- ulwiyya, p. 15. For al
-basa it = al-ustuqussat al-arba a (the four elements) cf. note 326. [520]
sics I 67, esp. 190 b 24 191 a 14; Ibn Rushd, Jawami Kitab al-sama al-tab , p. 14sq
, Long Commentary on the Metaphys ics, p. 1450, l. 1sq.
[521] Cf. p. 79 of the translation, and note 275.
[522] Cf. Physics VIII 10; Ibn Rushd, Jawami Kitab al-sama al-tab , p. 119sq., 1
q. [523] This question, which is not addressed in Metaph. II (), leads into the h
eart of Metaph. XII () 7 and its interpretation, that is to the question whether
the acting of the first unmoved mover is pure final causation or involves any ot
her kind of causality. Systematic discussions of all four kinds of causes and th
eir correlations are found in Physics II 3, and in Metaph. V () 2, but there the
question of ultimate causes and their relationship is left out of consideration.
In De partibus animalium I 1, 639 b 12sqq. Aristotle argues for the explanatory
priority of the final over the efficient cause and emphasizes the importance of
knowing the hierarchy of the causes, but, again, he does not do this systematic
ally for all four ultimate causes. That Ibn Rushd addresses this question here,
at the end of what he calls the first part of metaphysics, shows (once more) the
independence of the Epitome with respect to the Aristotelian text in terms of h
ow metaphysics is structured, and how its tasks and questions interrelate. As ex
plained in Ibn Rushds introduction (cf. p. 23sq. of the translation) it is the ta
sk of metaphysics to study the ultimate formal and final causes (i) because phys
ics has investigated the ultimate material and efficient causes only,
Chapter Three
299
and (ii) because it is by general or universal things (umur amma) that we come t
o apprehend ultimate causes. This task has to be accomplished (relying, as far a
s possible, on the results established by physics) in the first part of metaphys
ics, which studies being qua sensible being and its concomitants and principles,
because the four ultimate causes are the principles of sensible being, whereas
the second part of metaphysics is restricted to the study of separate substances
and their principles. [524] This seems to be consistent with Aristotles teleolog
ical model of nature. Having shown in Physics II 8 that material processes in na
ture require final causes, Aristotle explains in Physics II 9 that matter, qua h
ypothetical necessity ( ), is conjoined with the end of all proce
al way. For form qua end of matter, cf. Physics II 8, 199 a 30sq. [525] Wa-idha,
cum ergo in I. Mantinos translation (fol. 384vb); for the use of wa-idha as causal
conjunction in Ibn Rushd cf. Averroes, Commentvm medivm svper libro Peri Hermen
eias Aristotelis, ed. R. Hissette, p. 113, 149 (s.v. cum), 176 (s.v. postquam); Talk
hs Kitab al- ibara, ed. M. asim, p. 72, l. 10; Talkhs [Epitome] Kitab al-nafs,
al-Ahwan, p. 11, l. 4, p. 42, l. 4, p. 57, ll. 4, 12, p. 97, l. 5; Talkhs Kitab a
l-qiyas, ed. J. Jiham, p. 181, l. 16, p. 198, l. 18; Sharh al Burhan, p. 168, l. 3
, p. 174, l. 17, p. 276, l. 7.
[526 ] The last part of this section dealing with the question how the ultimate
efficient cause is related to the ultimate final cause is quite dense and diffic
ult. In some cases it may admit of other interpretations, but there occur, in my
view, also a number of definite errors in the three previous modern translation
s. For the sake of convenience I quote below the text on which my translation is
based:
What Ibn Rushd tries to prove, as far as I understand, is that God or the ultima
te efficient cause is not causa sui, but rather an uncaused cause. Any distincti
on between final and efficient causality would imply selfcausation and thus fall
short of the absolute identity of the uncaused
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(eR Zta T> GR \V Ez d CR
Z N eZibe= !bVt
^ U$Sd (eRa
R & b^ YbOeF & = x b_F d CSR T> F Zz [R$Z d B
& b^ ;Zx T> GR YyF
d B YbO
Yz ix L d XSF ?[J ^ Y N xa
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az ZbOV z _ \V d CSR
300
Notes
cause or unmoved mover. This interpretation is corroborated by the Long Commenta
ry on Metaph. XII () 6, 1072 a 1315, where the first self-caused cause is identifi
ed with the first heaven; cf. Long Commentary on the Metaphysics, p. 1584sq. [52
7] Mutaqaddimata l-wujudi inda l-fa il in all Arabic manuscripts. The translatio
ns provided by I. Mantino (fol. 384vb) and Van den Bergh (p. 103) seem to be bas
ed on the reading mutaqaddimata lwujudi ani l-fa il.
[528] A similar introduction to Metaph. XII () is found in Ibn Rushds summary of A
lexanders exposition in the Long Commentary on the Metaphysics, p. 1404, l. 1216.
[529] According to the Long Commentary, the latter questions are addressed in Me
taph. XII () 35; cf. Long Commentary on the Metaphysics, p. 1425, l. 46; p. 1467, l
. 48. They pertain to what Ibn Rushd conceives as first part of Book XII (), namely
the investigation of the principles of non-eternal substance, as opposed to the
second part of this book, beginning with ch. 6, which deals with eternal substan
ce and its principles; cf. ibid., p. 1425, l. 6sqq., p. 1558, l. 9 p. 1559, l. 5
; also Arnzen, Ibn Rusd on the Structure of Aristotles Metaphysics. [530] The same
formula is found in the Long Commentary: [T]he metaphysician is he who seeks what
the principles of substance qua substance are and shows that the separate subst
ance is the principle of the natural substance. But in explaining this problem,
he employs as a postulate (yusadiru ala) what has been explained in natural phil
oso phy; as for the substance subject to generation and corruption, he [postulate
s] what has been explained in the first book of the Physics, namely that it is c
omposed of form and matter; as for eternal substance, he takes over what has bee
n explained at the end of the eighth book, namely that the mover of the eternal
substance is something free from matter, Long Commentary on the Metaphysics, p. 1
424, l. 11 p. 1425, l. 1, transl. C. Genequand, p. 74sq. (slightly modified). Th
is makes, in Ibn Rushds view, the first six or seven chapters of Book XII () a met
aphysical recapitulation and elaboration of what has been proved in physics, whi
ch is why, in the present work, much more attention is paid to the chapters foll
owing this section of Book XII (). For Ibn Rushds position on the question whether
it is the task of physics or of metaphysics to prove the existence of the first
mover, cf.
Chapter Four
301
H. A. Davidson, Proofs for Eternity, Creation and the Existence of God in Mediev
al Islamic and Jewish Philosophy, p. 311335; A. Bertolacci, Avicenna and Averroes
on the Proof of Gods Existence and the Subject-matter of Metaphysics. [531] Cf. Ar
istotle, Physics VIII 1. [532] That there must be eternal motion caused by the f
irst mover, apart from many non-eternal motions, is demonstrated by Aristotle in
Physics VIII 6. [533] Books XV-XIX of the Syro-Arabic Book of Animals comprise
the five books of Aristotles De generatione animalium; cf. Dictionnaire des philo
sophes antiques. Supplement, p. 329sqq. In Ch. 1 of the sec ond book of De genera
tione animalium (the sixteenth book of this compilation), Aristotle identifies h
eat as the fundamental motive force of living beings (731 a 320). This first movi
ng cause comes from outside ( , 735 a 12sq., cf. also 737 a 711),
e caelo, is the celestial sphere. In De generatione animalium II 6, 742 b 3335, t
his principle of movement is explicitly distinguished from the first immovable p
rinciple. The reason for this distiction, briefly referred to at the present pla
ce, is that anything capable of motion that is not eternally and necessarily set
in motion has in itself the potency of motion and rest. To move, it thus requir
es a moving cause which does not eternally cause motion. This cannot be the firs
t eternal mover, since it requires change in that which does not eternally cause
motion. This applies even to the celestial spheres which are, according to De c
aelo II, finite in power and in Ibn Rushds view potentially at rest; cf. Long Com
mentary on the Metaphysics, p. 16291634, and H. A. Davidson, Proofs for Eternity,
Creation and the Existence of God, p. 321335. [534] That rectilinear motion must
be finite and only circular motion can be infinite is shown in Aristotle, Physi
cs VIII 8; cf. Ibn Rushd, Jawami Kitab al-sama al-tab , p. 149151. [535] Up to
point, Ibn Rushds train of thought clearly draws on Aristotles proof for the exist
ence of a first mover propounded in the Physics. The two basic principles on whi
ch this proof builds are [i] that each moved thing has a cause of its motion (su
staining it in motion), and [ii] the impossibility of an infinite regress. This
proof is slightly
302
Notes
different from Aristotles argumentation in Metaph. XII () 6 which is based on the
assumption that there must be eternal motion (proved in physics). Both trains of
thought end up in identifying eternal motion with eternal circular locomotion,
thus laying down the fundament of astronomy; cf. Metaph. XII () 6, 1071 b 11sq. I
n the following lines, Ibn Rushd recapitulates also the argument proffered in th
e Metaphysics. On the relation of the two proofs the one of which is a demonstra
tio quia or dall, the other a demonstratio propter quid or burhan li-ma, cf. Ibn
Rushd, Maqala ala l-maqala al-sabi a wa-l-thamina min al-Sama al-tab li-Aristu,
. 239sq. (English transl. from the Hebrew in H. T. Goldstein, Averroes uestions i
n Physics, p. 25).
[536 ] A paraphrase of Aristotle, Physics VIII 1, 251 b 1015. [537] Cf. ibid., 25
1 b 1926. [538] Cf. the end of Aristotles consideration of Zenos dichotomy paradox,
Physics VIII 8, 263 b 36. [539] In Sophistical Refutations, Aristotle distinguis
hes between sophistic refutations or fallacies that depend on language (
of language ( ); cf. Sophistici elenchi I 47. Ibn Rushd calls
lse] conceptions (aghalt /mawadi mughlita min al-ma an). While Aristotle me
ly seven kinds of fallacies independent of language (cf. ibid., 166 b 2127), Ibn
Rushd mentions that al-Farab added to these an eighth kind, exactly the one refer
red to at the present place (wa-nahnu najidu Aba Nasr f kitabih qad zada f hadhihi
-mawadi i mawdi an thaminan wa-huwa mawdi u l-ibdali wa-l-nuqla, Ibn Rushd, Talkh
Kitab al-mughalata, p. 686, l. 9sq.). According to Ibn Rushd, this fallacy consi
sts in replacing one concept by its analogon (shabhuhu), its concomitant (lahiquh
u), or something comparable to it (muqarinun lahu) which, in the present case, a
pplies to the con cepts of time and straight line. As shown by M. Rashed, Al-Farabs
Lost Treatise On Changing Beings and the Possibility of a Demonstration of the E
ternity of the World, p. 3336., this type of sophistic fallacy is discussed in det
ail (including the examples of time, void, and infinite body) in al-Farabs treatis
e on Aristotles Sophistici elenchi and must have been incorporated in the same au
thors lost work The Changeable Beings referred to in the following sentence (cf.
note 540). In Ibn Rushds view, al-Farab is wrong in adducing this type of fallacy
Chapter Four
303
in the context of sophistic refutations, because it is neither an essential nor

a common-place fallacy, but rather a poetical or rhetorical fallacy; cf. Ibn Rus
hd, Talkhs Kitab al-mughalata, p. 686, l. 11 p. 688, l. 16, concept of substituti
on in Ibn Rushds writings p. 730, l. 410. For the on Aristotles Rhetoric and Poetic
s cf. Ibn Rushd, Talkhs Kitab al shi r, ed. C. E. Butterworth, A. Hard, p. 54sq.; I
n Rushd, Averroes Three Short Commentaries on Aristotles Topics, Rhetoric, and Poe
ed. C. E. Butterworth, p. 132sq., note 2, and the references given there. [540]
This treatise by Abu Nasr al-Farab is apparently not extant. Ibn Rushd refers to
it in various works, always in the context of creation versus eternity/infinity
of time and/or motion; cf. Long Commentary on the Metaphysics, p. 1498, l. 6sq.;
Jawami Kitab al-sama al-tab , p. 134, l. 10; Commentarium magnum in Aristotelis Ph
ysica, fol. 339ra (B), 345rb (D-E), 360rb (E), 424vb (M); Maqala ala l-maqala al sa
bi a wa-l-thamina min al-Sama al-tab li-Aristu, p. 231sq., 242 (English transl
on in Goldstein, Averroes uestions in Physics, p. 18sq., p. 28). An attempt at r
econstructing al-Farabs main arguments for the eternity of motion and infinity of
time in this treatise has been provided by M. Rashed, Al-Farabs Lost Treatise On Ch
anging Beings and the Possibility of a Demonstration of the Eternity of the Worl
d. For testimonies of al-Farabs work in writings by Maimoni des, Moses of Narbonne a
nd Ibn Bajja cf., in addition to what is men tioned by M. Rashed, Ibn Rushd, Epit
ome de Fsica, traduccion y estu dio J. Puig, p. 235237, note (148). The treatise is
mentioned in Ibn Ab Usaybi as Uyun al-anba , but not in any of the earlier biblio
raphies; cf. H. A. Mahfuz, J. Al Yasn, Mu allafat al-Farab, p. 2528.
[541] That the continuity of time is bound to the continuity of motion, and that
there is only one truly continuous motion, namely eternal circular motion, is s
hown in Physics VIII 8. [542] The continuity of the eternal motion is also Arist
otles chief physical argument for the unity of the eternal mover, cf. Physics VII
I 6, 259 a 1419: The following argument also makes it evident that the first mover
must be something that is one and eternal. We have shown that there must always
be motion. That being so, motion must be continuous, because what is always is
continuous, whereas what is in suc-
304
Notes
cession is not continuous. But further, if motion is continuous, it is one; and
it is one only if the mover and the moved are each of them one, since in the eve
nt of a things being moved now by one thing and now by another the whole motion w
ill not be continuous but successive, transl. R. P. Hardie, R. K. Gaye. Again, Ib
n Rushd follows this argumentation, not the alternative one provided in Metaph.
XII () 8, 1074 a 33sqq.; cf. also Ibn Rushd, Jawami Kitab al-sama al-tab , p. 150, l
. 517.
[543] Namely in Aristotle, Physics VIII 10, 266 a 25 b 24, applied to the celest
ial spheres in De caelo II 12, 293 a 10sqq. The point of reference in the Metaph
ysics is XII () 7, 1073 a 310. Ibn Rushd deals with this proof, apart from the Lon
g Commentary on the Physics VIII, comm. 79, in the Long Commentary on the Metaph
ysics, p. 1633sq., and, more comprehensively, in uestion VIII of Averroes uesti
ons in Physics, transl. H. T. Goldstein, p. 2833. The following proviso anticipat
es a counter-argument mentioned by Themistius according to which the celestial b
odies, although finite qua bodies, may impart infinite power in so far as this i
nfinite power is independent of their bodily finiteness and distinct from their
finite bodily powers, because it either resides in their immaterial souls or dep
ends solely on the first mover; cf. Long Commentary on the Metaphysics, p. 1635,
l. 4sqq. [544] In all likelihood, Ibn Rushd refers to Aristotle, Physics III 5,
where it is shown that infinity in magnitude is neither substance nor form or p
rinciple. [545] The main source of this distinction and the following train of t
hought is not Aristotles Metaphysics, but rather the Arabic treatise On the Princ
iples of the Cosmos (F Mabadi al-kull) ascribed to Alexan der of Aphrodisias. Righ
t at the beginning of this treatise, the question of the nature of the celestial
body and its mover is approached by the subdivision of natural bodies capable o
f natural (i.e. non-forced) motion into those moving by psychic faculties and no
n-animated bodies moved by natural disposition or impetus (mayl); cf. C. Genequa
nd, Alexander of Aphrodisias on the Cosmos, p. 44, l. 4 p. 46, l. 3. For the rol
e of this and related treatises ascribed to Alexander of Aphrodisias in the Arab
ic exegetical tradition related to Metaph. XII () cf. ibid., p. 2026, and G. Endre
ss, Alexander Arabus on the F irst Cause: Aristotles First Mover in an Arabic Trea
tise Attributed to Alexander of
Chapter Four
305
Aphrodisias; for the present distinction and its counterparts in other Alexandria
n treatises ibid., p. 49sq. [546 ] Cf. Ibn Sna, K. al-Shifa : al-Ilahiyyat IX.2,
p. 382, l. 8 p. 383, l. 13 (transl. M. E. Marmura, p. 308); also K. al-Shifa
l-Tab iyyat I. al-Sama al-tab , p. 302304, 313319. [547] Mutashabih min j
es not mean homogeneous in any relation, as translated by Horten and Van den Bergh
, but rather points to the fact that this alleged impetus must be indifferent wi
th respect to any spatial direction as opposed to the natural upward or downward
inclinations of other bodies.
[548] Up to this point, hypothesis [ii] has been explored and defended against i
nsufficient counter-arguments. In what follows, Ibn Rushd turns to its refutatio
n. The three previous modern translations failed to recognize this structure. [5
49] The source referred to is again [Pseudo?]Alexander, F Mabadi al-kull; Ibn Rush
d paraphrases p. 46, l. 816 (ed. Genequand); cf. also Alexander of Aphrodisias,
uaestiones I 1.3.11; idem, Traite De la providence, ed. P. Thillet, p. 19, l. 1s
q., and Endress, Alexander Arabus on the First Cause, p. 53sq. The same train of
thought appears in Ibn Rushds Risalat al-sama wa-l- alam, p. 58.
[550] Cf. Aristotle, Metaph. XII () 8, 1074 b 13. [551] Cf. Aristotle, De sensu et
sensibili I, 436 b 20, ; cf. also Aristotle
2227. For the term salama cf. also Ibn Rushd, Talkhs [Epitome] Kitab in [Pseudo?]
l-nafs, p. 68, l. 711. The same argument occurs Alexander, F Mabadi al-kull, p. 48
sq., 54. [552] Cf. Aristotle, De anima III 3, 428 b 11sq.
[553] The same chain of thought is found in the Long Commentary on the Metaphysi
cs, p. 1592sq., comm. 36 ad Metaph. XII () 7, 1072 a 2629. [554] This was the gene
ral assumption to be refuted, cf. p. 141 of the translation. [555] Strictly spea
king, this proves only that the celestial body is not moved by intellectual desi
re for any inferior body. Drawing from this
306
Notes
the conclusion that its object of desire must be incorporeal requires implicitly
the assumption that the celestial body is the noblest or most superior body abo
ve which there is no superior body. The argument is, thus, a petitio principii.
Exactly the same train of thought is found in [Pseudo?] Alexander, F Mabadi al-kul
l, p. 56, l. 212. In the Long Commentary on the Metaphysics, p. 1567, l. 8sqq., t
he argument is explicitly ascribed to Alexander of Aphrodisias, but restricted t
o the former of the above-mentioned conclusions. [556 ] Another argument borrowe
d from [Pseudo?] Alexander, F Mabadi al-kull, p. 56, l. 15 p. 58, l. 5. Again, thi
s proves only that there is no superior celestial body as motive cause and, by i
mplication, that the first mover is not a celestial body, but not that it is not
body.
[557] Cf. Aristotle, Metaph. XII () 7, 1072 b 1520.
[558] Cf. Ibn Rushd, Risalat al-sama wa-lab , pp. 138140. Its psychic motion and its
her living beings, cf. Talkhs al-sama wa
[Pseudo?] Alexander, F Mabadi al-kull, p.
alam, p. 29; Jawami Kitab al-sama alnatural mo tion are not distinct as in ot
l- alam, pp. 189sq. The same argument in
50, l. 5 p. 54, l. 15.
[559] At this point, Ibn Rushds treatment of Metaph. XII () 17 ends. As we have see
n, chapters 15 of this book are touched upon only very concisely, while chapters
67 are dealt with on the basis of Aristotles Physics VIII and the treatise F Mabadi
al-kull attributed to Alexander of Aphrodisias. The entire remaining part of th
e present chapter of the Epitome is devoted to chapters 810 of Metaph. XII () and
is set apart by an introduction in its own right. The same tripartite conception
of Book XII () and of how its parts are related to physics is found in the Long
Commentary on the Metaphysics. Ibn Rushd explains there: Since this science [of m
etaphysics] proceeds by considering the principles of substance qua substance, n
o matter whether eternal or noneternal, [Aristotle] begins in this treatise [i.e
. XII ()] with [i] the principles of non-eternal substance, and mentions what has
been shown about them in physics and in the preceding treatises, while the meth
od of their consideration is peculiar to this science. [ii] Then, after this, he
begins to show the principles of eternal substance. And [here] again he posits
(wada a) what has been shown about this in physics, and con siders it in the way
peculiar to this science [of metaphysics], for instance [by considering it] as b
eing substance and first form and first
Chapter Four
307
end. [iii] Then, he considers [the following questions] regarding this immovable
substance: Is it one or many? If they are many, what is the one to which they a
scend? How is this plurality ordered with respect to it? Long Commentary on the M
etaphysics, p. 1425, l. 615, where section [i] corresponds with ch. 15, [ii] with
ch. 67, and [iii] with ch. 810 of Metaph. XII (). Cf. also Arnzen, Ibn Rusd on the S
tructure of Aristotles Metaphysics. [560] Cf. Aristotle, Metaph. XII () 8, 1073 a 1
4sq.: We must not ignore the question whether we have to suppose one such substan
ce or more than one, and if the latter, how many, transl. W. D. Ross. [561] This
concerns especially the question how the animated eternal substances think and w
hether they know particular sensible substances which, according to Ibn Rushds in
terpretation, is the major question of Metaph. XII () 9. [562] This is what Ibn R
ushd considers to be the main topic of Metaph. XII () 10. Cf. the first commentar
y on this chapter in the Long Commentary on the Metaphysics (p. 1710, l. 36) acco
rding to which this chapter inquires whether the things which exist are because o
f one another and all because of the first, like the limbs of man with regard to
the first principle, by virtue of which it becomes a man, or whether there is n
o link between them and they only exist next to one another by chance and all be
cause of something outside them, transl. C. Genequand, p. 198. Cf. also the list
of questions prefixed to the treatise F Mabadi al-kull attributed to Alexander of
Aphrodisias, and G. Endress, Alexander Arabus on the F irst Cause, p. 41. [563] F
or a parallel to this parentheses, cf. Long Commentary on the Metaphysics, p. 31
9, l. 1116: The first [part of metaphysics] considers separate substance, I mean,
not the first [part] in teaching, but rather the first in existence. Its second
[part] is the one which considers sensible substance, and this by taking into ac
count the first in existence. The first in knowledge is sensible substance [...]
, while the consideration of the separate substance is the last in knowledge, bu
t the first in existence. [564] Having dealt with Book XII () 17 as a sort of recap
itulation of physical doctrines required as postulates of what follows, Ibn Rush
d thus reduces the metaphysical doctrines proper to be found XII () to
308
Notes
ch. 810 of this book. Cf. also above, note 530, and Arnzen, Ibn Rusd on the Struct
ure of Aristotles Metaphysics. [565] Cf. above, p. 139 of the translation and note
533. [566 ] According to Ibn Rushd, the celestial body acts on the sublunar wor
ld by its form and specific matter together. This kind of acting is finite and d
istinct from its infinite continuous motion which depends on the first mover. Th
e first mover is form of the celestial body, but form only qua infinite continuo
us motion, not qua material form or form in matter. The substrate of the moving
force of the celestial body are the simple bodies or elements. However, the cele
stial body is not a composite of form and substrate like the transient composite
s of matter and form, but rather a body without substrate (jirm la mawdu a lahu)
. That the substrate on which it acts as motive force is disposed for receiving
this force depends solely on the first mover. Cf. Talkhs al-sama wa l- alam, pp. 1
77184, Long Commentary on the Physics VIII, comm. 79.
[567] Cf. Ibn Rushd, Talkhs al-sama wa-l- alam, pp. 7783, on Aris totle, De caelo I
34.
[568] A paraphrase of Metaph. XII () 8, 1073 b 35. [569] Cf. ibid., 1074 a 16sq. [
570] For the role of generally accepted premises (muqaddimat mash hura) in empiri
cal sciences cf. Ibn Rushd, Talkhs Kitab al-jadal, p. 509sq., 515sq.; Sharh al-Bu
rhan, pp. 420422. [571] This number corresponds neither to the Ptolemaic model no
r to the result reached by Aristotle, who estimates the number of spheres and th
eir correlate movers at fifty-five; cf. Metaph. XII () 8, 1074 a 10sq. The presen
t statement and the following explanation are important inasmuch as Ibn Rushd re
stricts himself in the Long Commentary on the Metaphysics, p. 1676sq., 1679sq.,
and in his Commentum magnum super libro De celo et mundo Aristotelis II, comm. 6
2, to summarizing and explaining the theories of the number of celestial motions
provided by Aristotle and Ptolemy. However, what is depicted here as the consen
sus of contemporary astronomers is likewise not quite in accord with Ibn Rushds o
wn position, as becomes clear below.
Chapter Four
309
[572] In the latter case, one has to suppose at least one further motion, in ord
er to explain the suns changing speed at the apogee and perigee, cf. Long Comment
ary on the Metaphysics, p. 1680, l. 3. Already Hipparchus accounted for this fac
t by assuming an eccentric orbit (followed in this by Ptolemy), cf. H. Thurston,
Early Astronomy, p. 128131, 141sqq. For planetary models including eccentrics an
d epicycles (tadwr) in Arabic astronomy, cf. G. Saliba, A History of Arabic Astro
nomy. Planetary Theories during the Golden Age of Islam, p. 2226; cf. also below,
note 587. (N.B.: a further motion of the sun, its rotation, was explicitly reje
cted by Ibn Rushd, cf. Talkhs al-sama a 1423.) wa-l- alam, p. 237, as well as by A
ristotle, De caelo II 7, 289
[573] The total of these motions is thirty-seven. The thirty-eighth celestial mo
tion, in Ibn Rushds calculation, must be that of the zodiac, caused by the preces
sion of the celestial pole. The existence of the zodiacal sphere was disputed am
ong Arab astronomers; cf. M. Ullmann, Die Natur- und Geheimwissenschaften im Isl
am, p. 347. Although Ibn Rushd expresses severe doubts about the existence of th
e ninth sphere (see the immediately following section), he seems to keep to this n
umber (i.e. thirty-eight) of celestial motions. [574] For the astronomical doctr
ines of Ibrahm b. Yahya al-Naqqash b. al-Zarqala (d. 480/1087 or 493/1100, known
also by his Latinized name Arzachel or Azarquiel) cf. J. M. Millas Vallicrosa, Es
tudios sobre Azarquiel; G. J. Toomer, The Solar Theory of az-Zarqal: A History of
Errors, and idem, The Solar Theory of az-Zarqal: An Epilogue. The transliteration
of the name given in the translation follows mss. H and M ( R J!$R ) which is co
nfirmed by I. Mantino (Alzarcala). The remaining mss. read al-Zarqal. For the th
eory of the oscillating accession and recession (iqbal wa-idbar) of the equinoxe
s, the so-called motion of trepidation, in early Arabic astronomy cf. J. Ragep, AlBattani, Cosmology, and the Early History of Trepidation in Islam. [575] Due to t
he motion of precession, the positions of solstice and equinox relative to the s
tars change. It takes another twenty minutes or so (the sidereal year), until th
e sun reaches the position on the ecliptic it occupied one tropical year before.
This phenomenon has been known since Hipparchus. [576 ] The former is the posit
ion of Hipparchus, the latter that of Eudoxus, who did not know about precession
as such, but rather tried to
310
Notes
cope with irregularities of the velocity of the suns motion along the ecliptic. [
577] This may be a reference to the work of al-Battan; cf. Van den Berghs translat
ion, p. 245, note 1132.
[578] Cf. Ibn Rushd, Talkhs al-sama wa-l- alam, p. 245249, on De rejection of a ni
nth, starless sphere cf. also caelo II 12. For Ibn Rushds G. Endress, Averroes De C
aelo. Ibn Rushds Cosmology in His Commentaries on Aristotles On the Heavens, p. 43s
q. [579] The argument draws on Aristotle, Metaph. XII () 8, 1073 a 2331, but repla
ces Aristotles and by the concept of desire. The equation of the moving cause of
re and the peculiar object of desire (mutashawwaq) is also found in [Pseudo?] Ale
xanders F Mabadi al-kull, p. 82, l. 5sq., p. 88, l. 1, p. 94, l. 1012; for a differ
ent interpretation cf. G. Endress, Alexander Arabus on the First Cause, p. 46. [58
0] All celestial bodies except the sun perform more than one motion, as stated a
bove. This raises the question whether the overall diurnal motion of the seven s
pheres below the sphere of the fixed stars, which is moved by the first mover, r
equires additionally a kind of diurnal mover (plus corresponding sphere). If tha
t is the case, the number of movers increases from thirty-eight to forty-five. A
ristotle is not explicit about this question. However, Ibn Rushd may be right in
ascribing to Aristotle such a position, for Aristotle assumes [i] in Physics VI
II 6 (259 b 2831) as well as in Metaph. XII 8 (1074 a 3138) a plurality of spheremovers, [ii] a numerical correspondence between celestial motions/spheres and th
eir principles (ibid., 1074 a 15sq.); and [iii] he excludes that movement is for
the sake of itself or of another movement (ibid., 1074 a 26sq.). Hence, the diu
rnal motion cannot be for the sake of itself or due to the movement of another,
e.g. the proximate higher, sphere. If it is distinct from the various orbital an
d epicyclical motions of the celestial bodies, it seems to require its own spher
e and mover. [581] Cf. [Pseudo?] Alexander, F Mabadi al-kull, p. 8694, also section
s 12 and 13 of the treatise On the First Cause, and the Causatum and Its Movemen
t, likewise attributed to Alexander of Aphrodisias, edited in G. Endress, Alexand
er Arabus on the First Cause, p. 62sqq.
Chapter Four
311
Alexanders position is quoted and discussed by Ibn Sna in al-Shifa : al-Ilahiyyat

IX.2, 392, l. 17sqq. (corresponding with al-Mabda wa-l ma ad, p. 62, l. 5sqq., an
d al-Najat, p. 266, l. 19sqq. [al-Kurd] / p. 635, l. 6sqq. [Danish-Pazuh]). For I
bn Snas discussion cf. G. Endress, Alexander Arabus on the First Cause, p. 5861
[582] This concerns not only the contradictory positions of different philosophe
rs but also problematic and often vague propositions by Aristotle himself, who s
peaks sometimes of the unity of the unmoved mover, and at other times of the pos
sibility or probability of a multiplicity of unmoved movers; for an introduction
to the problem and its reception in Ibn Sna and Ibn Rushd cf. H. A. Wolfson, The
Plurality of Immovable Movers in Aristotle and Averroes. The relevant Aris totelia
n texts are studied by B. Manuwald, Studien zum unbewegten Beweger in der Naturp
hilosophie des Aristoteles. [583] Aristotle considers whether the motion caused
by the individual sphere-movers is a kind of accidental motion in Physics VIII 6
, 259 b 2831, but not in Metaph. XII (). [584] On the fiery sphere and its contigu
ity with the embracing lunar sphere cf. Aristotle, De caelo II 4, 287 a 30sqq.,
Ibn Rushd, Risalat al-sama wa-l- alam, p. 34sq.
[585] This attempt at solving the conundrum is clearly distinct from the solutio
n offered in the Long Commentary on the Metaphysics. In the latter work, Ibn Rus
hd explains the difference between the one overall diurnal motion and the indivi
dual spherical motions in terms of priority and posteriority in nobility and sub
stance (bi-l-sharaf wa-l-jawhar) of the different spheres in question, which in
turn is based on priority in position, magnitude and velocity of motion; cf. Lon
g Commentary on the Metaphysics, p. 1646sq., and H. A. Wolfson, The Plurality of
Immovable Movers, p. 244251. The present solution, on the other hand, is based on
the distinction between accidental (relative) motions of the parts of a whole an
d the essential (absolute) and uniform motion of the whole. As a byproduct, this
solution provides an explanation for the irregularities of many of the planetar
y motions. ua relative accidental motions, such motions are not necessarily bou
nd to the centre of the motion of the whole but may have eccentric orbits (simil
ar to the eccentricity of the limbs of the moving living being).
312
Notes
[586 ] This does not mean that their orbits can dispense absolutely with any cen
tre, as interpreted in the previous modern translations; cf. the preceding note
and the immediately following section of the Epitome. [587] The rationale for th
is doctrine is complex. F irst, it was a physical impossibility for Aristotle to
assume a void or vacuum between the spheres. Besides, it would be difficult to
maintain the idea of the sphere-movers as accidental partial moving causes of an
essentially moved whole, if the moving parts are discrete and do not form a con
tinuous whole. According to Aristotle, it is the fifth element or celestial ethe
r what guarantees the continuous contact of the celestial spheres and bodies; cf
. De caelo II 78. At the present place, Ibn Rushd speaks about bodies between the
planetary spheres. A few lines below, he refers to these bodies as those on whi
ch the planets perform their daily motion ( ala hadhihi l-ajsami tataharraku l-ka
wakibu l-harakata l-yawmiyya), which points to the assumption that both the spher
es and the space between them are made of or filled with one and the same type o
f matter or bodies (this position was adopted by Albertus Magnus who refers to T
habit ibn urra as his source; cf. E. Grant, Planets, Stars, and Orbs. The Medie
val Cosmos, 12001687, p. 293296; also M. Rashed, Thabit ibn urra, la Physique dAris
tote et le meilleur des mondes, p. 709). However, it is not only Aristotles reject
ion of the void and the theory of the continuity of motion that led Ibn Rushd to
this doctrine. From what follows it becomes clear that the assumption of matter
or bodies intervening between the planetary spheres serves also as a key for th
e explanation of the discrepancy between the overall daily motion from east to w
est and the individual motions of the stars. According to the principle that no
sphere could move with multiple motions, one way to take account of this discrep
ancy consisted in the assumption of an additional ninth sphere. Ibn Rushd who, a
s we have seen above, did not like this solution, offers another solution by asc
ribing the diurnal motion to the eighth sphere of the fixed stars and the said b
odies between the planetary spheres together. Furthermore, it is worth noticing
that Ibn Rushd, at the present place, despite rejecting the epicycle theory (cf.
above, note 572), seems to accept the doctrine of eccentric planetary orbits, a
doctrine he vehemently opposed in his later commentaries; cf. Long Commentary o
n De caelo II 6, comm. 35, etc., Long Commentary on the Metaphysics, p. 1661sq.
For the discussion of this doctrine in the philosophy of Maimonides and Ibn Tibb
on, cf. C.
Chapter Four
313
Fraenkel, Maimonides, Averroes, and Samuel Ibn Tibbon on a Skandalon of Medieval
Science, and the literature referred to there. [588] The first question seems to
point to the last section of De caelo II 12 (293 a 4sqq.) which is discussed in
Ibn Rushds Risalat al-sama wa-l- alam, p. 7375, and Talkhs al-sama wa-l- alam, p.
43251. The second question is, as far as I see, not addressed in De caelo, nor in
any of Ibn Rushds works dealing with this text (cf. also Van den Berghs translati
on, p. 248, note 1152). Provided the reading of mss. M, P, and I. Mantino is the
correct one, Ibn Rushd points here to the problem of how, in a model of continu
ous spheres of diurnal motion, the motion of the spheres could be prevented from
interfering with one another, since not all planets always move in the directio
n of the diurnal motion, in which case their spheres may prevent the diurnal mot
ion from being carried down from the outermost sphere to the lowest sphere. Aris
totle was aware of this problem and attempted a mechanical solution by postulati
ng twenty-two counteracting spheres each of which cancels out the motions of all
but the first sphere, in Metaph. XII () 8, 1073 b 38 1074 a 5, discussed in D. R
. Dicks, Early Greek Astronomy to Aristotle, p. 200202. Ibn Rushd accepts this id
ea as a hypothesis which fits in the overall system of theory and observation in
the Long Commentary on the Metaphysics, p. 1672 1675.
[589] This is the position anticipated by al-Farab and developed by Ibn Sna, cf.
specially al-Shifa : al-Ilahiyyat IX.3, p. 401, l. 14, 912: This, then, is the mean
ing of the saying of the Ancients that the whole has one mover that is the objec
t of love and that each sphere has a particular mover and a particular object of
love. Therefore, each of the spheres would have a soul imparting motion that in
tellectually apprehends the good. [...] What the [sphere] had intellectually app
rehended of the First and what it apprehends of the principle proper and proxima
te to it become the principle of its desire to be in motion. [...] Thus, the num
ber of the separate intellects after the F irst Principle would be the same as t
he number of movements. But if, in the case of the spheres of the wanderers, the
principle of the movement of the sphere of each star therein is a power emanati
ng from the stars, then it would not be unlikely that the separate [intellects]
would have the same number as the number of [these] starsnot the number of the sph
eresand their number would be ten, after the F irst., transl. M. E. Marmura, p. 325
(slightly modified).
314
Notes
[590] The same argument, attributed to Aristotle, occurs in Ibn Rushds Long Comme
ntary on the Metaphysics, p. 1648, l. 48. [591] The present distinction between p
rimary and secondary purposes or intentions (al-qasd al-awwal/al-than) of the act
ivities of celestial bodies takes into account the relevant doctrine by Ibn Sna,
briefly indicated in al-Shifa : al-Ilahiyyat IX.2 and fully presented in al Ilahi
yyat IX.3. Ibn Sna distinguishes there between first and second intentions of the
motions of the celestial bodies. Roughly speaking, the first intention is direc
ted upwards and consists in imitating the essence of the first cause in order to
become a self-sufficient essence, while the second intention is directed downwa
rds and consists in imitating the essence of the first cause in its consequences
, that is inasmuch as existence and good things emanate from the first cause. Th
e two kinds of activities of the celestial bodies produce different motions, the
former perpetual circular motion, the latter movement toward particular positio
ns, in varying directions and with differences in velocity; cf. al Shifa : al-Ila
hiyyat, p. 390398. (In the philosophical literature before Ibn Sna, the distinctio
n between primary and secondary heavenly in tentions occurs in the context of div
ine creation, e.g. Ikhwan al-Safa , Rasa il Ikhwan al-Safa wa-Khillan al-Wafa ,
vol. 3, p. 47679, etc.) Ibn Rushds point is that even if the celestial bodies exis
ed only for the sake of motions performed by second intention, which are accordi
ng to Ibn Sna not for the sake of the celestial bodies and their perfection, but
rather for the sake of a perfection external to them (kamal kharij anha, Ibn Sna
l-Shifa : al-Ilahiyyat IX.3, p. 398), at least this activity must be present in
them, lest nature act in vain. The same argument occurs in Ibn Rushds Tahafut altahafut, p. 484sq. The basics of this doctrine are found in Alexander of Aphrodi
sias; cf. Genequands commentary in [Pseudo?] Alexander, F Mabadi al-kull, p. 150, a
nd the references given there.
[592] According to Aristotle, psychology contributes greatly to the advance of tr
uth in general, and, above all, to our understanding of nature, De anima I 1, 402
a 46. For Ibn Rushd it provides principles of metaphysics by establishing that t
here are separate forms and that these forms are separate intellects, to be iden
tified with the movers of the celestial spheres. All this is necessary (cf. Ibn Ru
shds Long Commentary on De anima III, comm. 5, p. 410) for the science of metaphy
sics. The relevant sections of Ibn Rushds Long Commentaries on
Chapter Four
315
De anima and the Metaphysics dealing with the epistemological relation of psycho
logy and metaphysics have been gathered and discussed by R. C. Taylor, Averroes o
n Psychology and the Principles of Metaphysics; idem, Separate Material Intellect
in Averroes Mature Philosophy, esp. p. 304309. [593] For this pseudo-hadth and the t
opos of gnothi seauton in Islamic tradition cf. F. Rosenthal, Knowledge Triumpha
nt, p. 137sq.; M. M. Sharif, Self-realization in the Domain of Islamic Gnosis; f
or its connection with Aristotelian psychology also Arnzen, Aristoteles De Anima,
p. 195, 361363. [594] The equation of separate intellectual forms and separate i
ntellects implicit in the present train of thought is deduced at length in Ibn R
ushds Long Commentary on the Metaphysics, p. 16001603; cf. also R. C. Taylor, Averr
oes on Psychology and the Principles of Metaphysics, p. 519521. [595] The model fo
r this concept of the celestial bodies as intellects moving the spheres through
desire aroused by intellectual conceptualization is found, not in Aristotle, but
rather in [Pseudo?]Alexanders F Mabadi al-kull, as has been shown by G. Endress, Av
erroes De Caelo. Ibn Rushds Cosmology in His Commentaries on Aristotles On the Heav
ens, p. 2830. Cf. also [Pseudo?]Alexander, F Mabadi al-kull, p. 94, l. 9 p. 98, l.
6.
[596 ] I.e., a demonstratio quia and a demonstratio propter quid in the Latin te
rminology (cf. I. Mantino, fol. 388va). Prima facie, this remark refers to the c
oncept of celestial bodies qua intellects. However, since the cause adduced, i.e.
desire aroused by intellectual conceptualization, presupposes the object of desi
re, one might ask whether Ibn Rushd intends implicitly to state that the present
train of thought is a demonstratio quia et propter quid of the existence of thi
s object of desire, i.e. God, thus establishing another physical proof of Gods exis
tence, not qua final cause, but qua efficient mover. Cf. also D. B. Twetten, Aver
roes on the Prime Mover Proved in the Physics, esp. p. 133sq. On the other hand,
Van den Bergh (p. 251, note 1174) may be right in seeing the present remark as a
n interpolated gloss. [597] Cf. above, p. 142 of the translation, and notes 551,
552. For Ibn Rushds rejection of the Neoplatonic doctrine of celestial souls hav
ing
316
Notes
sense perception and imagination and its reception in Ibn Sna cf. G. Endress, Aver
roes De Caelo. Ibn Rushds Cosmology in His Commentaries on Aristotles On the Heaven
s, p. 3033. For the reception of this doctrine in the context of Aristotelian psyc
hology cf. also Arnzen, Aristoteles De Anima, p. 347351, 460463. [598] Cf. Ibn Sna,
al-Shifa : al-Ilahiyyat IX.2, p. 391; al-Najat, p. 241 (al-Kurd)/p. 580sq. (Danis
h-Pazuh). [599] Cf. note 233. [600] A summary of [Pseudo?]Alexander, F Mabadi al-ku
ll, p. 82, l. 316.
[601] Thus, Ibn Rushd follows Ibn Snas basic distinction between motions of the ce
lestial bodies by first and by second intentions (cf. note 591), yet associates
both kinds of motion with intellectual conceptualization instead of relating mot
ion by first intention to the intellect and motion by second intention to the fa
culty of imagination. [602] Cf. Ibn Sna, al-Shifa : al-Ilahiyyat IX.2, p. 390, l.
516 (transl. M. E. Marmura, p. 315). [603] This is how acting by choice and will
in the human intellect is distinct from acting by choice and will, i.e. motion
by the second intention, in the celestial active intellect and the celestial mov
ers in general. Cf. Ibn Sna, al-Shifa : al-Ilahiyyat IX.2, p. 388, l. 6 p. 389,
. 3 (transl. M. E. Marmura, p. 313). The idea is only briefly touched upon like
a reading note from Ibn Sna.
[604] In other works, Ibn Rushd considers four criteria for the determination of
the nobility (sharaf ) of the movers: (1) position (wad ), (2) size ( izam) of
the sphere, (3) number of the stars of the sphere, (4) velocity in motion (sur a
t al-haraka). A fifth criterion, the number of motions performed by the stars of
each sphere, is considered in the commentaries on De caelo, but in view of its
irreconcilability with the other criteria either reduced to a criterion of virtu
e (fadla, i.e. the good distinct from noeffect of celestial movers on the sublunar
world, as bility in general) or discarded as an impracticable criterion; cf. Ta
lkhs al-sama wa-l- alam, p. 245248; Long Commentary on De caelo II 12, comm. 62; c
f. also p. 165, footnote (a). The Long Commentary on the Metaphysics refers to t
he first mover as being prior in nobility with
Chapter Four
317
respect to all four criteria (cf. p. 1646, l. 16 p. 1647, l. 3). However, with r
espect to the order of all spheres in their entirety, the criteria can be reduce
d to a single one. F irst, criterion (2) can be reduced to (1), as all spheres a
re nested within each other in the order of their size. Secondly, only the outer
most sphere contains more than one celestial body. Hence, criterion (3) is impra
cticable for the purpose of establishing a hierarchy of the planetary spheres. T
hirdly, criterion (4) does not work for both the first mover and the movers of t
he subsequent spheres, as the order of velocity in the seven planetary spheres i
s turned upside down (cf. Long Commentary on the Metaphysics, p. 1647, l. 311.).
Ibn Rushd, thus, comes to the conclusion that criterion (1) is presumably the mos
t appropriate one (la alla l-akhlaq) for the task in question; cf. ibid., p. 1648
, l. 2sq. Cf. also F. J. Carmody, The Planetary Theory of Ibn Rushd, p. 573575. The
idea of a hierarchical order of the celestial movers in terms of nobility trace
s back to Alexander Arabus; cf. F Mabadi al-kull, p. 56, p. 9092. For its receptio
n in Latin philosophy cf. E. Grant, Planets, Stars, and Orbs, p. 220235.
[605] I.e., that their velocity is not proportionate to the size of their sphere
; cf. the preceding note. [606 ] Unlike Ibn Sna, Ibn Rushd conceives the celestia
l movers as pertaining to one species. This agreement in species does not apply
to them univocally, but rather per prius et posterius; cf. Long Commen tary on De
caelo II 8, comm. 49; Risalat al-sama wa-l- alam, p. 59. In what follows, Ibn R
ushd applies to this conception the rule according to which, in focal or pros-he
n relations, the first in any order is the cause of all that is in the order. In
doing so, he tries to replace Ibn Snas conception of emanative causality through
causality in substance; cf. H. A. Wolfson, The Plurality of Immovable Movers in A
ristotle and Averroes, p. 244248. The question whether many celestial movers can b
e distinct in species is also addressed by [Pseudo?]Alexander in the context of t
he overall question whether there can be a multiplicity of movers at all, F Mabad
i al-kull, p. 86, l. 16 p. 88, l. 17. In this context, [Pseudo?]Alexander conside
rs also the possibility that the movers differ from one another according to pri
ority and posteriority or more and less, but nowhere elaborates on this idea in
terms of pros-hen or one-over-many relations. However, in the parallel section o
f the second [Pseudo?]Alexander text on this topic, On the First Cause and the Ca
usatum and Its Movement, the concept of priority and posteri-
318
Notes
ority is exactly replaced by that of nobility and inferiority; cf. G. Endress, Al
exander Arabus on the F irst Cause, p. 69, l. 8 p. 70, l. 11. Priority is here take
n in the sense of more honorable (as prefigured by Aristotle, Cat. 12, 14 b 7sq.),
which may have paved the way for a conception of the diversity of the celestial
movers within one species as diversity in nobility according to prior and poste
rior. [607] The latter being the object of intellectual desire of the celestial
movers and the object of its self-thinking activity. [608] Cf. Ibn Rushd, Talkhs
Kitab al- ibara, p. 88, l. 15 p. 89, l. 2: (al- amm) does not necessarily entail
the The existence of the general existence of the peculiar (al-khass), as the ex
istence of the peculiar necessitates the existence of the general. Take, for exa
mple, living being and man: if man exists, living being exists; but the existenc
e of living being does not necessitate the existence of man. Similarly ibid., p.
122, l. 12sq.
[609] I.e., as the general conceptualization of all the movers of the stars and
the outermost sphere (which has the first mover as its object) is related to the
particular conceptualizations of the movers of the seven planets (which have th
e entirety of the revolution of these planets as their objects), so is each move
r of the seven planets related to the movers of the particular motions (no matte
r whether epicycles, spiral motions, or motions by trepidation). Both are pros-h
en relations, the former with the first mover as the first in nobility and in co
nceptualization as well as as cause of existence of the movers of the seven plan
ets, the latter with the movers of the seven planets as the first qua final caus
e of the particular motions of the planets and as cause of existence of the move
rs of these particular motions. [610] Cf. above, notes 27 and 61. [611] Cf. abov
e, p. 24 of the translation and note 11. [612] The same argument in [Pseudo?]Alex
ander, F Mabadi al-kull, p. 84, l. 11 p. 86, l. 4.
[613] Al-ur an 21:22, transl. M. Pickthal. [614] I.e., if the world is neither
essentially nor accidentally one, it must be many. The idea of a plurality or in
finity of worlds is reduced ad absurdum in De caelo I 89 and, with different argu
ments, in Metaph. XII () 8, 1073 a 3138.
Chapter Four
319
[615] The city-state as simile of the heavens originates presumably from the pse
udo-Aristotelian De mundo from where it has been adopted in [Pseudo?]Alexanders F M
abadi al-kull (cf. p. 112, l. 8sqq., p. 116, l. 9sqq., and Genequands introductio
n, p. 1719). However, while [Pseudo?]Alexander speaks about one authority (mudabbi
r) formed either by the leader (al-ra s) or by the law (al-shar a), Ibn Rushd appl
ies to it Aristotles ideal form of government, the aristocracy, which seems to ac
count much better than the monarchy for the fact that the unity of the heavens i
s constituted and preserved by a multiplicity of movers.
[616 ] The term household cities (mudun manziliyya) refers to democratic cities. I
n his commentary on Platos Republic, Ibn Rushd describes democracy as a mere asse
mblage of different households which lack a common conception of the highest goo
d. In this form of government the parts did not exist for the sake of the whole,
but rather the other way round; cf. C. E. Butterworth, Philosophy, Ethics and V
irtuos Rule. A Study of Averroes Commentary on Platos Republic, p. 76; P. Crone, M
edieval Islamic Political Thought, p. 189sq. [617] Ibn Rushd turns now to Metaph
. XII () 9 and the question what it is that the celestial movers think. [618] Cf.
Ibn Rushd, Talkhs [Epitome] Kitab al-nafs, p. 8690; Talkhs Kitab al-nafs, p. 69
, 126130 (ed. Ivry). [619] Cf. above, p. 15052 of the translation. [620] For the N
eoplatonic roots of this conception of causation as a consequence of the perfect
ion of its principle cf. Plotinus, Enneas V.4.2, 2737: In each and every thing the
re is an activity () which belongs to the substance and one which goes out from s
e; and that which belongs to substance is the active actuality which is each par
ticular thing, and the other activity derives from the first one, and must in ev
erything be a consequence of it, different from the thing itself: as in fire the
re is a heat which is the content of its substance, and another which comes into
being from that primary heat when fire exercises the activity which is native t
o its substance in abiding unchanged as fire. So it is also in the higher world;
and much more so there, while the Principle abides in its own proper way of life
[Plato, Timaeus 42 E 56], the activity generated from the perfection (
320
Notes
) in it and its coexistent activity acquires substantial exist ence, since it com
reat power, the greatest indeed of all, and arrives at being and substance, trans
l. A. H. Armstrong (Greek quotations added). For Plotinus twofold theory of cf. D.
haw, Aristotle East and West, p. 7396. For its reception and transformation in th
e Arabic Neoplatonica cf. P. Adamson, The Arabic Plotinus, p. 5054, 63sq.; Arnzen
, Aristoteles De Anima, p. 217, l. 1315 (apparatus), p. 378380.
[621] The same train of thought is found in Ibn Rushds Tahafut al tahafut, p. 204s
q. [622] Al-ur an 67:14, transl. M. Pickthal. [623] The most influential philos
opher with respect to Ibn Rushds own doctrine of the intellect who held this posi
tion was Ibn Bajja; cf. his Tadbr al-Mutawahhid, ed. Fakhr, p. 79sq. [624] The sam
argument is found in Ibn Rushds Tahafut al-tahafut, p. 203sq. [625] Al-aqawl alla
t tu khadhu akhdhan muhmalan (lit. statements taken as being obsolete, or as indiff
rent [with respect to truth]) are what Ibn Rushd calls elsewhere aqawl muhmala or,
in short, muhmalat, a technical term referring to what Aristotle calls stating o
f a universal not universally (
nd a man is white, a man is not white, which are about a universal not taken univers
ally and thus capable of being true and false at the same time. Cf. Ibn Rushd, T
alkhs Kitab al- ibara, p. 71sq.
[626 ] I.e., the irreconcilability of ignorance qua deficiency with God qua most
superior being; cf. above, p. 159 of the translation. [627] This doctrine is ge
nerally ascribed to the philosophers (alfalasifa) in Ibn Rushds Tahafut al-tahafut,
p. 214216. [628] I.e., inasmuch as it belongs to the same species as this substa
nce, but differsqua effectin terms of superiority and inferiority in nobility from i
ts agent; cf. above, p. 158.
Chapter Four
321
[629] Cf. Ibn Rushd, Long Commentary on the Metaphysics, p. 1404, 1424sq., 1558s
q.
[630] Aristotle identifies the first movers activity with life () and pleasure ();
. XII () 7, 1072 b 1430. The hendiadys pleasure and delight (ladhdha wa-ghibta) as w
ell as its application to the celestial principles in general stem from Ibn Sna,
al-Shifa : al Ilahiyyat IX.7, p. 424sq.
[631] A paraphrase of Ibn Sna, al-Shifa : al-Ilahiyyat VIII.7, p. 369, l. 68: Fo

leasure is nothing other than the apprehension of the suitable inasmuch as it is
suitable. Thus, sensory pleasure is the sensing of the suitable, and the intell
ectual [pleasure] is the intellectual apprehension of the suitable. Similarly, t
he First is, hence, the best apprehender through the best apprehension of the be
st object of apprehension, transl. M. E. Marmura, p. 297 (slightly modified). [63
2] Cf. above, p. 112sqq., 12022, 155 of the translation. [633] Namely their own e
ssence as being inferior to that of the higher sphere(s) as well as these higher
sphere(s) and the first mover as their principles and objects of intellectual d
esire; cf. p. 15355 of the translation. [634] [eF c R TK?R ^ ibK?V N bK?R Nz YbOd
" in the Arabic manuscripts except ms. H which reads al-ma qul instead of al- uqu
l. Horten and Van den Bergh follow this latter reading (Horten, p. 186, translat
es: bis schlielich die grte Vielheit (und Unvollkommenheit) des Gedachten (d.h. der
emanierten Geister) die Vielheit der Begriffe (der gedachten Inhalte) dieses Geist
es ist, der in uns ist). The translation provided by I. Mantino, fol. 392ra, seem
s to be the correct one: adeo quod huic intellectui, qui est in nobis, insit maio
r pluralitas intelligibilium quam in omnibus intellectibus (similarly uiros, p.
246, hasta el punto de que la inteligencia con mayor numero de inteligibles sea e
l entendimiento existente en nosotros). For another, rather improbable, interpret
ation one might think about reading hatta yukawwina instead of hatta yakuna whic
h entails a significant change of meaning. Thus the clause would say until [finall
y] the largest number of [separate] intellects brings about the multiplicity of
intelligibles of this human intellect.
322
Notes
[635] With this section, Ibn Rushd turns to Metaph. XII () 10. The central questi
on of this chapter of Aristotles Metaphysics is whether the Good is a transcenden
t principle of the universe or a structural element immanent in the order of the
parts of the universe (cf. Metaph. XII 10, 1075 a 1113). For the time being Ibn
Rushd separates the two limbs of this question and makes the order of the univer
se as such, independent of its relation to the Good or any final cause, the sole
object of inquiry in the first part of the present section. The order (tartb) an
d connection (irtibat) of the parts of the universe rather than the Good are als
o the main topics of Ibn Rushds introduction to this chapter in his Long Commenta
ry on the Metaphysics, p. 17101713. In this introduction Chapter 10 is depicted a
s a separate third part of Metaph. XII (); cf. Arnzen, Ibn Rusd on the Structure of
Aristotles Metaphysics. The question of the immanence or transcendence of the Good
, on the other hand, is discussed in the Epitome only in the context of divine p
rovidence and theodicy at the end of the present chapter.
[636 ] In his Talkhs al-sama wa-l- alam, p. 249, Ibn Rushd depicts the inverse pr
oportionality between the number of stars of a sphere and the number of motions
performed by one star as a kind of retributive justice of nature, providing each
celestial body with the greatest possible adequate perfection. [637] For the an
cient and medieval disputes on whether Mercury and Venus are to be located above
or below the sphere of the sun cf. E. Grant, Planets, Stars, and Orbs, p. 311314
, and the literature mentioned there. Most Arabic-writing astronomers held the l
atter position which is also preferred by Ibn Rushd, cf. M.-P. Lerner, Le monde
des spheres. Tome I. Genese et triomphe dune representation cosmique, p. 95sq
., 105; G. Saliba, The Role of the Almagest Commentaries in Medieval Arabic Astro
nomy: A Preliminary Survey of Tuss Redac tion of Ptolemys Almagest, esp. p. 9sq. [638
] Cf. above, p. 149 of the translation. [639] For the formalization and relevanc
e of this Neoplatonic principle in the philosophy of Ibn Sna cf. H. A. Davidson,
Alfarabi, Avicenna, and Averroes on Intellect, p. 7483. The principle is intensiv
ely discussed in medieval Arabic and Latin philosophy. For examples cf. Bahmanya
r ibn al-Marzuban, Kitab al-Tahsl, p. 580; al-Ghazal, Tahafut al-falasifa,
75, 183, etc.; Abu l-Barakat al-Baghdad, Kitab
Chapter Four
323
al-Mu tabar, III, p. 148151, 156sq.; Shihab al-Dn al-Suhraward, Kitab al-Mashari wa
-l-mutarahat, III, p. 450; Ibn Rushd, Tahafut al tahafut, p. 173182, 230sq., 23
245sq, 249251; Albertus Magnus, De Causis et processu universitatis a prima causa
, p. 40, 5961; idem, Metaphysica, p. 542; idem, Super Dionysium De caelesti hiera
rchia, p. 10; Henry of Ghent, uodlibet IX, q. 2, p. 44; John Duns Scotus, Lectu
ra I, dist. 1, p. 1, q. 1, p. 65; idem, Ordinatio II, dist. 3, p. 1, q. 7, p. 50
8; Thomas Aquinas, Sententia libri Metaphysicae, XII, lec. 9; idem, Summa theolo
giae, I, q. 45, art. 5, q. 47, art. 1; etc.
[640] This section touches upon the crucial question whether and how multiplicit
y proceeds from the one, whether it is the absolutely unitary first cause or rat
her a second subordinate entity which produces multiplicity. Ibn Rushd argues th
at the Avicennian rule that from the one only one can proceed is true, but the r
everse is not true; i.e. it is not the case that any unity proceeds from or is c
aused by the one, any duality proceeds from a duality, and so on. Hence, what is
one may be caused by a multiplicity, and what is three may be caused by a duali
ty. But not only this, even a multiplicityand this is the critical point Ibn Rushd
is aiming atmay be caused by the one. Of course, this raises the question whether
this view does not violate the very principle that from the one only one can pr
oceed. What is needed in order to reconcile the two doctrines is a sort of diffe
rentiation between the points of view or the directionality of this process of c
ausation or emanation. In other words, if a duality or multiplicity may be cause
d by the one, while the one can cause only what is one, this multiplicity can be
multiplicity only qua being caused, that is as product of the process of emanatio
n, but it must be one from the point of view of its cause, that is of the one wh
ich initiates the process of emanation. Thus the Avicennian principle is correct
from the point of view of the first cause of emanation, but its reverse is inco
rrect from the point of view of the effect of this emanation. This is exactly th
e rationale given in the following section. [641] Cf. Ibn Rushd, Tahafut al-taha
fut where the doctrine is associated with Anaxagoras and Plato (p. 177), and, by
means of the doctrine that multiplicity requires matter, with Themistius (p. 27
1). Cf. also Ibn Sna, al-Najat, p. 635, note 6 (ed. Danish-Pazuh). [642] As alrea
y indicated by H. A. Davidson, Averroes on the Active Intellect as a Cause of Exi
stence, p. 193sq., note 11, the present para-
324
Notes
graph is a later addition by Ibn Rushd not transmitted in ms. H. This is clear b
oth from the Hebrew transmission of the text as well as from the fact that Ibn R
ushd refers at the end of the paragraph to a work composed after the original ve
rsion of the Epitome. There is, however, some confusion in Davidsons remarks on t
he transmission. F irst, it is not correct that the second Cairo manuscript (ms.
) also lacks this paragraph (it is found there on fol. 214 v 1319). Secondly, A
mn does not mention any third Cairo manuscript, as stated by Davidson; and to my
knowledge there is none such. More important, Davidsons statements on how this pa
ragraph is related to the preceding section are not quite supported by a careful
reading of the text itself. Davidson claims to find a significant change of mind
, and explains that in the present paragraph Ibn Rushd repudiates much of what has
preceded and characterizes the [preceding] argument ... in the original text not
as his own (ibid., p. 198). According to Davidsons interpretation Ibn Rushd defend
s in the original version a system wherein the wholly unitary first cause is not
associated with a celestial sphere, continually engenders a single incorporeal ent
ity, and transcends the incorporeal movers of the spheres, whereas in his new approa
ch ... the ultimate, absolutely unitary being is not an efficient cause, does no
t act through a process of emanation, and does have multiple effects (ibid., p. 1
97199). This interpretation imposes the approach provided in Ibn Rushds late Long
Commentary on the Metaphysics upon the present section. Contrary to Davidsons des
cription, Ibn Rushd sticks in both the preceding section as well as the present
addition to the principle that from the one only one can proceed, which in both
sections is qualified as being a correct (sahha) or true proposition (qadya sadiq
a). Fur thermore, Ibn Rushd does not exclude, as intimated by Davidson, efficient
causality from the first principle (as he indeed does in the Long Commentary on
the Metaphysics, p. 1652). What he says is that this principle of emanation is t
rue only for efficient causality, but that this does not exclude the emergence o
f multiplicity from the first principle in terms of formal or final causality. N
or is it true that Ibn Rushd in the original version rejects the possibility of
a multiplicity of effects of a unitary cause, while this is accepted in the late
r addition. On the contrary, this possibility is exactly what is envisaged throu
gh the rejection of the invertibility of this emanative principle at the end of
the preceding section (as explained in note 640) which pertains to the orig-
Chapter Four
325
inal version of this work. On the other hand, Davidson is right inasmuch as this
indeed implies a significant change with respect to what has been stated only f
ive pages before, where the emergence of the first multiplicity is excluded from
the transcendent deity and located in the mover of the outermost sphere (cf. p.
163sq. of the translation). But this incoherence is already part of the origina
l version, in other words, the idea of one-track emanation was at stake already
at this stage of Ibn Rushds thinking. This brings us to Davidsons depiction of the
present paragraph as repudiating what has been stated in the preceding section.
This is based on a misinterpretation of Ibn Rushds references to this section. O
bviously, Davidson interprets these references (the above, hadha, the [argument] I
mentioned, hadha lladh dhakartuhu) as referring to the preceding section in its en
tirety, thus conceiving this section as presenting one coherent doctrine, namely
Ibn Rushds original view borrowed from al-Farab and Ibn Sna. But this simply does
not apply to what we read there. As a matter of fact, the preceding section does
not consist in presenting anybodys doctrine coherently, but rather in dealing in
a controversial manner with three doctrinal elements, (i) the emanation princip
le said, (ii) its inversion, and (iii) the question whether the truth of this pr
inciple entails the truth of its inversion, and this because proposition (ii) co
ntradicts the preceding theory of the order of celestial principles. The referen
ces in the present addition (as well as the ascription to al-Farab and others, i.e.
Ibn Sna) are to the doctrine which applies (i) and (ii) to the process of causat
ion or emanation from the first principle, which is rejected in (iii). Thus, the
present addition is not at all a repudiation of the contents of the preceding s
ection, but rather a continuation and explication of an idea already touched upo
n in the early version of the Epitome by indicating that this rule of emanation
should not be taken in an absolute and invertible sense, and that there after al
l might be some kind of multiplicity in the activity emerging from the first pri
nciple. In the present addition, Ibn Rushd draws on this rudimentary idea of the
original version and indicates briefly that this multiplicity might consist in
the formal and final causality of the unitary principle in so far as this princi
ple is intelligible through a multiplicity of concepts and thereby causes the pe
rfection of the entities which, being identical with their intelligible objects,
think these concepts. In all probability, the reference to another work at the
end of this explicative addition is to the
326
Notes
Tahafut al-tahafut where this doctrine is set out in a more detailed manner. In
this work, we find again the restriction of the principle of emanation to effici
ent causality (p. 178180, 230), the rejection of the invertibility of this princi
ple (p. 245, 249sq.), as well as a full exposition of the idea that this does no
t exclude the emergence of a multiplicity of effects qua forms or concepts of ce
lestial intellects (p. 231234). But it is only in this later work that Ibn Rushd
explicitly draws the conclusion that the first unitary cause cannot be different
from the mover of the outermost sphere (p. 179, 181sq.), thus definitely abando
ning the competing view still prevailing in the present Epitome. [643] Cf. above
, p. 156 of the translation. [644] Ibn Rushd draws here on Ptolemys attempt to ex
plain the rather complicated motions of the moon as observed from the earth. Acc
ording to Ptolemys theory the moon moves clockwise round an epicycle. The centre
of this epicycle (say E) moves on a circle, the so-called deferent. The centre o
f this deferent-circle is not the earth (T) but a point (say D) which itself rev
olves with a certain velocity in a close distance round T. Much farther away fro
m the earth than the deferent of the moon there is another deferent-circle on wh
ich the sun (S) moves. There are, thus, three points (E, D, and S) moving on cir
cles with different centres and radii more or less round the earth (T). If we dr
aw lines from T to any of these points, the three lines TE, TD, and TS will poin
t into different directions in almost all positions of the sun and the moon, dep
ending on their positions relative to the earth. But there are exactly two posit
ions of the moon where TD and TS fall on one straight line, namely the positions
of half moon (or quartile aspect, tarb ), and two positions where all three line
s form together one straight line, namely when the moon is in conjunction (new m
oon) and when it is in opposition (full moon). These four positions of the lunar
orbit in which the earth, the sun and the centre of the deferent of the moon st
and in a rectilinear position to each other indicate for Ibn Rushd a close inter
dependence of the motions of the moon and the sun. For an illustrative diagram a
nd more detailed explanations cf. H. Thurston, Early Astronomy, p. 144146. [645]
Cf. Ibn Rushd, Talkhs al-sama wa-l- alam, p. 211215, 271, 294305.
Chapter Four
327
[646 ] Because contrariety pertains to the realm of coming-to-be and corruption

and transient things come to be from and fade away into their contraries; cf. Ar
istotle, De caelo I 4, Ibn Rushd, Risalat al-sama wa-l- alam, p. 31, Talkhs al-s
ma wa-l- alam, p. 83sq. [647] Cf. Ibn Rushd, Talkhs al-sama wa-l- alam, p. 306308;
Talkhs al-kawn wa-l-fasad, p. 8689; Talkhs al-athar al- ulwiyya, p. 206;
uqussat Jalnus, in Commentaria Averrois in Galenum, p. 24. H. A. Davidson, Averr
on the Actice Intellect as a Cause Cf. also of Existence, p. 207209.
[648] Namely the ability of the material intellect to think all separate forms,
that is to be identical with all universal intelligibles, which is actualized by
the agent intellect. That this potency is an immaterial potency not to be confu
sed with the material potency of composed things is explained at length in comme
nt 5 of Ibn Rushds Long Commentary on De anima III; cf. also R. C. Taylor, Separat
e Material Intellect in Averroes Mature Philosophy. [649] Cf. Aristotle, Physics I
I 2, 194 b 13sq.; Ibn Rushd, Long Commentary on the Metaphysics, p. 1465, l. 1sq
., p. 1501, l. 18 p. 1502, l. 4, p. 1540, l. 912, p. 1625, l. 69. [650] Cf. Aristo
tle, Metaphysics VII (Z) 9, 1034 a 2125; 15, 1039 b 2026; Ibn Rushd, Long Commenta
ry on the Metaphysics, p. 866870, and above, p. 71sq. of the translation. [651] I
bn Rushd explains in his Long Commentary on the Metaphysics, p. 16281631, that wh
at he calls potency in space or potency of locomotion is infinite in the celestial
bodies which are continuously and eternally in motion. On the other hand, as th
is motion occurs in time and is performed in an ordered manner, involving accele
ration and deceleration, as well as a certain coordination between the moving bo
dies, it requires another, finite power which, in a way, controls this infinite
potency. This finite power is exerted by the celestial souls or intelligences. [
652] From what follows it becomes clear that Ibn Rushd does not intend to say th
at humanity as such is accidental to the matter of which the man is made, but ra
ther that the generation of humanity qua separate form in the man is accidental
with regard to mans essential generation through the concrete man and the sun.
328
Notes
[653] Cf. above, p. 72sq. of the translation. [654] The version printed in the l
eft column, in all likelihood the earlier version, restricts the efficacy of the
celestial bodies and their motions with respect to the sublunar world to the es
sential generation of the forms of the elements and the homeomeric bodies. But t
here are other things in the sublunar world that cannot be accounted for by such
physical factors, e.g. souls with potencies aiming at immaterial ends as well a
s immaterial universal forms. These cannot be generated by the individual forms
of the celestial bodies because individual forms generate essentially nothing bu
t individual entities. Hence, from a metaphysical point of view, the active inte
llect must be assumed as the giver of the immaterial forms of animated beings as
well as the accidental giver of universal forms. Plato and Aristotle disagree i
n the case of the latter inasmuch as Plato maintains an essential emanation of s
uch forms, whereas this is an accidental process in Aristotles view. The second,
much shorter, version displays another position with regard to the generation of
sublunar life or the immaterial form of the soul. This generation is no longer
attributed to the agent intellect, but rather depicted as an effect of the celes
tial bodies as that which supplies the form of sublunar life, no less than that
of the elements and homeomeric bodies. The question of the emergence of universa
l intelligible forms is not touched upon in this version. As shown at length by
H. A. Davidson, Alfarabi, Avicenna, and Averroes on Intellect, p. 220254, the pos
ition unfolded in this version corresponds more or less with Ibn Rushds late Long
Commentary on the Metaphysics. A major reason, though not the only one, for thi
s change of positions lies in Ibn Rushd changing approach to the material human
intellect and the possibility of its conjunction with the celestial agent intell
ect, cf. R. C. Taylor, Separate Material Intellect in Averroes Mature Philosophy. T
he link that provided Ibn Rushd with the means to develop his new position was t
he concept of soul-heat (harara nafsiyya), an entity that shares both the nature
of celestial forms as well as of psychic sublunar forms and, thus, paves the wa
y for conceiving the generation of sublunar souls as effect of the celestial bod
ies and their heat-producing motions, cf. H. A. Davidson, Alfarabi, Avicenna, an
d Averroes on Intellect, p. 242245, 351356. [655] I.e., matter is ungenerated inas
much as it cannot come to be from another matter as a primary substratum, cf. Ar
istotle, Physics I 9, 192 a
Chapter Four
329
2534. As is well-known, this doctrine has far-reaching implications with respect

to ancient and medieval discussions of the eternity of the world (for Greek phil
osophy of late antiquity cf. F. De Haas, John Philoponus New Definition of Prime
Matter; for Arabic philosophy cf. H. A. Davidson, Proofs for Eternity, Creation
and the Existence of God, p. 948). [656 ] Aristotle points to decreasing grades o
f necessity in the order of the world from the divine principles down to the sub
lunar beings in Metaph. XII () 10, 1075 a 1824; cf. also Ibn Rushds Long Commentary
on the Metaphysics, p. 1712sq. [Pseudo-?]Alexander, F Mabadi al-kull, emphasizes
the goodness and incorruptibility of this order (p. 114118) and denies its arbit
rariness (p. 120), but nowhere touches upon its necessity. The consideration of
necessity here and in what follows is mainly stimulated by Ibn Snas conception of
necessity and al-Ghazals reaction, on which cf. A. Bck, Avicenna and Aver roes: Mod
ty and Theology. [657] The concept of second existence (wujud thanin) originates fr
om Ibn Snas doctrine of necessity and its relation to existence and quid dity. For
Ibn Rushd there is necessity on the level of the existence of the souls or separ
ate forms of the celestial bodies as well as on the level of second existence, the
concrete realization of these forms in the sublunar world. To both levels appli
es the general rule that existence is better than non-existence. In addition, th
e existence of the celestial forms implies necessity inasmuch as its perfection
necessitates their generation of the forms of the elements. For Ibn Sna, the quid
dity of necessity is distinct from existence, except for the Necessary Being. Ne
cessity joins existence only on the level of second existence through the realizat
ion of specific properties or differentiae. In alShifa : al-Ilahiyyat VIII.5, p.
353, Ibn Sna explains: [N]ecessary existence is established existence; indeed, i
is the establishment of existence [...]. In the case of color, however, existen
ce is an adherent that attaches to a quiddity which is color, whereby the quiddi
ty which is in itself color comes to be through existence as an existent in the
concrete. [Now,] if the special property were not a cause in establishing the qu
iddity of necessary existence but [were] for the realization of existence for it
, and if existence were something external to that quiddity in the way it is ext
ernal to the quiddity of color, then the state of affairs would proceed analogou
sly to the rest of the general things that
330
Notes
are separated by differentiae [...]. But [in the case of necessary existence,] e
xistence must be realized for its necessity to obtain. [...] necessity does not
have existence as a second thing that it needs [in the way] that being color has
a second existence [wujud thanin]. In short, how can something extraneous to ne
cessary existence be a condition for necessary existence?, transl. M. E. Marmura,
p. 281sq. Similarly, we read in Ibn Snas al-Najat, p. 234 (al-Kurd)/p. 565 (Danish
-Pazuh): You have to know that the reality of the necessary existence is not li
the nature of colour and living being, being genera in need of specific differen
tiae in order that their existence becomes established because these natures are
caused. They are not in need of differentiae [ila l-fusul, ed. al-Kurd, omitted
by Danish-Pazuh] with respect to [the fact that] being colour and being living be
ing inheres in them, but rather with respect to existence. [...] As these two ar
e not in need of differentiae, in order to be colour or living being, so is [the
necessity of existence] not in need of differentiae in order to be something ne
cessary of existence. Moreover, necessity of existence has no second existence [
wujud thanin], for which it would require these [differentiae] [yahtaju fhi ilayh
a, ed. al-Kurd, yahtaju ilayhi ed. Danish-Pazuh], but [con crete] colour in t
ent world (hunaka) is in need, subsequently to being colour, of the [second] exi
stence and its causes, so that it is established as a concomitant of being colou
r. [658] GWR TK?R x K6 [R Z f^ !b/R \V a V x [^ K6 [R (G[R [F. The Arabic text is n
ot quite clear. Horten (p. 200), Van den Bergh (p. 141), and uiros (p. 263) tak
e the second al-natiqa as referring to the rational soul, thus establishing the
following proportion: the rational soul is related to the inferior forms as it i
s related to the acquired intellect. It is hard to believe that this is what Ibn
Rushd intends to say, as the acquired intellect in his doctrine is the state of
the human intellects conjoining with the separate intellect and the attainment o
f its ultimate form; cf. Talkhs [Epitome] Kitab al-nafs, p. 89; Long Com mentary o
n De anima III, comment 36. Rather al-natiqa seems to refer here to the theoreti
cal intelligibles or rational forms which are always in actuality in the separat
e intellect. Conjoining with these intelligibles in the state of acquired intell
ect brings about the final form of human intellection just as the actual activit
y of the theoretical intellect brings about the actuality and perfection of the
material forms acquired by abstraction. Consequently, I render al-natiqa as rati
onal [forms], i.e.
Chapter Four
331
forms in the separate intellect qua actuality and perfection of human intellect
(a similar interpretation has been offered by M. Misbah, Mushkil al-ittisal: al-in
san bayna l-biyulujiya wa-l-mtafzqa inda bn Rushd, esp. p. 95sq.).
ight indeed think about taking al-natiqa as referring to the rational human soul
, but this in connection with an inverted interpretation of the second limb of t
he proportion established (i.e. the rational soul is related to the inferior for
ms as the acquired intellect is related to the rational soul). However, this int
erpretation not only violates the actual wording of the manuscripts but also is
lame inasmuch as the acquired intellect, strictly speaking, does not actualize t
he intelligibles of the theoretical intellect, but rather is the state of the hu
man intellect attained when these intelligibles are actualized through the separ
ate intellect. [659] In the following discourse on divine providence, Ibn Rushd
draws heavily on Alexander of Aphrodisias treatise On Providence ( ) which is
bic versions. A critical edi tion and German translation of both versions is foun
d in H.-J. Ruland, Die arabischen Fassungen von zwei Schriften des Alexander von
Aphrodisias: ber die Vorsehung und ber das liberum arbitrium. An annotated Italia
n translation by M. Zonta is accessible in S. Fazzo (ed.), Alessandro di Afrodis
ia, La Provvidenza. uestioni sulla provvidenza. A new critical edition and Fren
ch translation of the version prepared by Abu Bishr Matta ibn Yunus was publishe
d by P. Thillet, Alexandre dAphrodise. Traite De la providence. [660] It is not c
lear to whom Ibn Rushd refers here. The same anonymous ascription of this doctri
ne is found in his Jawami Kitab al-sama al-tab , p. 26. Probably, he has in mind t
he atomists in general and Democritus in particular who were associated with this
doctrine in late antiquity; cf. C. C. W. Taylor, The Atomists: Leucippus and De
mocritus. Fragments. A text and translation with commentary, p. 91sq.
[661] The heating effect of reflected sunrays proves for Ibn Rushd that the warm
ing of the earth through the sun is not due to the essence of the sun as such, b
ut is rather constituted essentially by the sunrays emitted to the earth. If thi
s heat were an essential constituent, not of the sunrays, but of the substance o
f the sun independently from its relation to the earth, the heat would no longer
belong to reflected sunrays. Hence this nature of the sunrays must be a deliber
ately intended effect
332
Notes
of divine providence for the sake of the earth. A similar theory of the heat of
the sun and the nature of the sunrays is found in Ibn Sna, there detached from th
e doctrine of divine providence: The things subject to coming-to-be and corruptio
n are generated through the effect of these [celestial bodies] which they obey.
Although the sphere is itself neither hot nor cold, heat and cold is emitted fro
m it to the sub[-lunar] bodies through powers emanating from it onto them. This
can be observed from the heating effect of its rays reflected by mirrors. For if
the cause of this heating were the heat of the sun to the exclusion of its rays
, then the higher something is the hotter it should be. However, often a thing o
n which the [sun-]rays fall is warmed up, while that which is above this [thing]
is not warmed up, but rather very cold. Hence, the cause of the warming effect
is the gathering of the sunrays warming up (reading al-musakhkhin with the major
ity of the manuscripts and al-Kurd, in stead of li-l-musakhkhin, ed. Danish-Pazuh)
that in which they come together, Ibn Sna, al-Najat, p. 153 (al-Kurd) / p. 307sq. (
Danish Pazuh). [662] A paraphrase of Alexander of Aphrodisias, On Providence, p.
7 (Ruland), p. 11, l. 1118 (Thillet). [663] A paraphrase of Alexander of Aphrodis
ias, On Providence, p. 43 (Ruland), p. 12, l. 1020 (Thillet). [664] A paraphrase
of Alexander of Aphrodisias, On Providence, p. 45, l. 17 (Ruland), p. 12, l. 2025
(Thillet). The same argument is found in al-Kinds The Determination of the Proximat
e Agent Cause of Coming-to-be and Corruption (Al-Ibana an al- illa al-fa ila al-q
arba li-l-kawn wa-l-fasad), p. 229sq., ed. M. Abu Rda (I am grateful to Peter Ada
son for having brought this to my attention).
[665] Cf. Alexander of Aphrodisias, On Providence, p. 47, l. 110, p. 49, l. 6sq.

(Ruland), p. 13, l. 411, 18sq. (Thillet). This doctrine is not quite coherent wit
h Aristotles Meteorology (and Ibn Rushds commentaries), according to which there a
re two major causes or signals of of rain which have to come together, namely wi
nds and the cooling of a great amount of vapour; cf. Aristotle, Meteorologica I
11, III 3. For Theophrastus, a pupil of Aristotle, the full moon signals rain wh
en it is rising from or setting into clouds, or when it is darkish or cloudy (); cf. T
eophrastus of Ephesus, On Weather Signs, p. 66, 74. Ibn Sna, on the other hand, s
aw a close connection between rain and
Chapter Four
333
the lunar halo; cf. K. al-Shifa : al-Tab iyyat V. Al-Ma adin wa-l-athar al- ul
ya, p. 48sq. Necessity and chance in the relation between rain and the ripening
of fruits are addressed by Aristotle in Physics II 8, 198 b 10sqq. For the moons
influence on the latter cf. also Aristotle, De generatione animalium IV 10, 777
b 25sqq. and, in general, Paul Lettinck, Aristotles Meteorology and Its Reception
in the Arab World.
[666 ] A paraphrase of Alexander of Aphrodisias, On Providence, p. 47, l. 11 p.
49, l. 5 (Ruland), p. 13, l. 1218 (Thillet). [667] I.e. at the highest point in t
he moons daily circle round the pole and at its greatest northerly declination. O
bserved from the latitude of Alexandria this position is close to the vertical.
[668] During the summer of the northern hemisphere the orbit of the moon has onl
y a small inclination against the ecliptic plane. The full moon has a southern d
eclination and lies low in the south. [669] Ibn Rushd uses here and in the follo
wing section forms of the root Z-H-R (to be visible, visibility) and, depending on w
hich group of manuscripts we follow, either of the eighth stem of S-T-R or of th
e tenth stem of S-R-R (both meaning to be concealed, invisibility) in order to denot
e full moon and new moon. The translations provided by Horten and Van den Bergh
are partly lacunose, partly wrong. [670] I.e., around noon. Here and in the foll
owing, Ibn Rushd deals with the situation during summer. [671] I.e., around midn
ight. [672] The rationale seems to be as follows: Since the full moon in summer
nights occurs at the smallest declination of the orbit low in the south, the moo
ns rays approach the earth with a narrow angle and hit primarily its southern par
ts, which brings about the moons cooling effect on the northern hemisphere. The a
ction of rays is taken into consideration in the same context by al-Kind; cf. Pet
er Adamson, Al Kind, p. 18191. [673] Al-masrat al-mu tadila. The mean course of the
moon (or any other planet) is the rotation of the centre of the revolving epicyc
le on the deferent circle irrespective of any epicyclical anomaly.
334
Notes
[674] Cf. Metaph. XII () 8, 1073 b 2227, where Aristotle reports (and obviously ac
cepts) Eudoxus view that all planets share both the diurnal as well as the eclipt
ical motions of the sun and the moon. The same argument in the context of divine
providence is adduced by Alexander of Aphrodisias, On Providence, p. 33, l. 36 (
Ruland), p. 10, l. 25 p. 11, l. 1 (Thillet). [675] Cf. above, p. 156 of the tran
slation. [676 ] Cf. p. 149sq. of the translation and notes 591 and 601. [677] Cf
. p. 15661 of the translation. [678] Wa-kullu ma huwa mawjudun hahuna mimma huwa
khayrun mahd is the subject of this clause with kullu ma huwa mawjudun ha
g in a partitive relation to ma huwa khayrun mahd. This huna does not admit the
identification of ma huwa khayrun mahd the with first principle of the Liber de
causis proposed by P. Thillet, Alexandre dAphrodise. Traite de la Providence, p. 7
2. [679] This is the beginning of a rather long protasis. The apodosis begins wi
th Consequently, below. The structure has not been recognized as such in the three
previous modern translations. [680] A similar distinction is found in Ibn Sna, a
l-Shifa : al-Ilahiyyat IX.6, p. 417sq. (transl. M. E. Marmura, p. 341sq.), likew
ise the following example of fire. [681] A paraphrase of Alexander of Aphrodisia
s, On Providence, p. 95, l. 1619 (Ruland), p. 22, l. 12sq. (Thillet). [682] Cf. A
lexander of Aphrodisias, On Providence, p. 13, l. 1416, and p. 17, l. 212, 1519 (Ru
land): Furthermore, those who say that God (exalted and mighty) pays attention to
all particulars and individuals and that these are constantly and without excep
tion under his monitoring and providence are faced with absurd consequences. [..
.] Divine providence cannot apply to each single individual. For if [Gods] provid
ence worked this way, this would necessarily entail that his attention for them
and [his] examination of all of them were incomplete and [that] his thinking of
them in their entirety had to change according to the fact that they are infinit
e and that there is an infinite [number] of differences between them, which is i
mpossible. For to know a plurality of things simultaneously is not impossible. [
...] But to
Chapter Four
335
take care of a plurality of things in a primary way simultaneously and to think
them such that each of them is examined in thought and made an individual object
of care, this is impossible. [...] If somebody says that the providence for the
things in the present world might not occur simultaneously, but rather successi
vely, [we reply that] this does not comply with the hypothetical assumption. For
it had been posited that no thing at all, no matter whether it is said to exist
are to come to be at a certain time, is devoid of [divine] providence. For the r
eference to the Stoics cf. ibid., p. 9, l. 2, p. 234sq.; Genequand, Alexander of
Aphrodisias on the Cosmos, p. 18sq.; and Thillet, Traite De la provi dence, p. 1
5, 3042. For parallels in other works by Ibn Rushd cf. ibid., p. 6876. [683] I do
not see any reason for conceiving the last two sentences as an interpolated glos
s, as proposed by Van den Bergh (p. 271, note 1453). A similar distinction betwe
en [a] necessary evil required by the nature of the possible thing in which it o
ccurs and [b] potential evil necessitated by something extrinsic to the nature o
f the evil in which it occurs is found in Ibn Sna, al-Shifa : al-Ilahiyyat IX.6,
p. 417. [a] is possible only inasmuch as the thing the nature of which requires
the evil is possible, but not in such a way that there is an extrinsic cause nec
essitating the evil as such. [684] Cf. Alexander of Aphrodisias, On Providence,
p. 13, l. 18 p. 15, l. 14 (Ruland): As there are things whose existence is necess
ary, such that it is impossible that they do not exist at any point of time, so
there are [reading minha instead of fha] things which necessarily do not exist an
d the existence of which is impossible at any point of time. [...] For the diago
nal cannot be [commensurable with] the side of the square, eight cannot be small
er than one, three cannot equal four, colours cannot become audible nor sounds v
isible, and gods cannot be non-existent nor transient [...]. Indeed, those who p
osit that Gods providence works this way negate his [existence] generally. For th
ey judge things to be possible which are by their nature impossible, although th
e doctrine that the gods bring about only those things which are possible is muc
h more cogent than the doctrine that the impossible is possible to the gods. For
according to the first doctrine each possible [thing] is something in the will
of God, and that which is in Gods will is solely and without exception that which
can exist or come into being, since God knows best the nature of that which is
impossible and of that
336
Notes
which is possible in each single case. Cf. also Alexander of Aphrodisias, De fato
. [CAG, Suppl. Arist. II.2], p. 200, l. 1922, English translation by R. W. Sharpl
es, Alexander of Aphrodisias On Fate, p. 80. [685] It is not clear whether Ibn R
ushd is still summarizing Alexander of Aphrodisias or resumes his own considerat
ions on Metaph. XII () 10. In support of the former one might refer to Alexanders
De fato [CAG, Suppl. Arist. II.2], p. 204, l. 1517, where Alexander possibly touc
hes upon the idea that the gods nature admits neither good nor bad (however, both
the transmission of the text as well as its interpretation are problematic; cf.
R. W. Sharples, Alexander of Aphrodisias On Fate, p. 84 [translation], p. 168 [
commentary], p. 264 [variant readings]). The latter is suggested by the subseque
nt reference to Protagoras which, in all likelihood, takes into account Aristotl
es reference to Protagoras relativism in Metaph. IV () 4, 1007 b 2023 (cf. the follo
wing note). On the whole, the entire section is in accord with Alexanders rejecti
on of any choice between good and evil in the Gods acting unfolded in De Fato. Th
e Gods cannot not be good, which is why praise in this respect is inappropriate. A
nd they are essentially and by their nature good (cf. tab at al-mawjud alladh f ghay
at al-khayr in the follow ing sentence), which is why, not their acts, but the ef
ects of their acting are good. For the relevant sections of De Fato and Alexande
rs sources cf. J. Mansfeld, An Echo of Middle Platonist Theology in Alexanders De Fa
to ch. 34. [686 ] Ibn Rushd seems to distinguish here between good and evil as suc
h or natural good and evil (khayr/sharr bi-l-dhat) and good or bad by (social/mo
ral) convention, which he calls posited good (khayr bi-l-wad ). The same distincti
on is found in his Epitome of Platos Respublica; cf. Ralph Lerner, Averroes on Pl
atos Republic, p. 81 (Arabic translation from the Hebrew by Ahmad Shahlan, Bayrut 1
998, p. 144).
[687] The first that comes to the mind in view of this reference is the famous b
eginning of Protagoras treatise On the Gods: Concerning the gods, I have no means
of knowing whether they exist or not or of what sort they may be. For many are t
he things that prevent knowledge: the obscurity of the subject and the brevity o
f human life. (Diels-Kranz, Die Fragmente der Vorsokratiker, 80B4); cf. also Plat
o, Protagoras,
Chapter Four
337
341 D-E, Nomoi, 716 C-D (for the Greek transmission of this dictum and Protagora
s agnosticism cf. E. Schiappa, Protagoras and Logos. A Study in Greek Philosophy
and Rhetoric, p. 141154). However, it seems to be rather Protagoras homo mensura d
octrine and especially his relativism or sensationalism what Ibn Rushd is referr
ing to at the present place. Both doctrines were known to him through Aristotles
Metaphysics (cf. IV [] 4, 1007 b 2023, and X [I] 1, 1053 a 35 b 1), and especially
the latter is discussed extensively in his Long Commentary on the Metaphysics,
p. 382385. This explains why Ibn Rushd promises in the next sentence to deal with
Protagoras views in the following chapter. The context of this discussion is not
the present, theological question of divine providence and theodicy, but rather
the law of contradiction which, together with other topics of Metaph. IV () 48, f
orms the main subject of the unpreserved fifth chapter of the Epitome (cf. note
23). [688] At the present place, the text breaks off in all chains of transmissi
on, Arabic, Hebrew and Latin. All Arabic manuscripts close, as usual, with the h
amdalah. The announcement of a fifth chapter in the introduction of the work (cf.
p. 26 of the translation) as well as the repeated references to this chapter at
various places in the work suggest that the absence of this chapter is due eith
er to its omission or physical separation (as result of a codicological mishap)
in an early stage of the transmission or to Ibn Rushds (unrealized) plan for a re
vision of this part of his work. While most Arabic manuscripts end after the ham
da lah (or the following colophon), three manuscripts transmit an additional stat
ement on the absence of the fifth chapter. In ms. we read: Somebody who persona
lly talked to the author reported that he [i.e. the author] did not attend to co
mpleting the book by [adding] the promised fifth chapterbecause it would contain p
redominantly irrelevant things such as the verification of the principles of the
sciences and the indisputable premisesbut considered what he had pointed out [in
the previous chapters] to be sufficient. In mss. A and R we read: In the manuscrip
t from which this manuscript was copied [the following] was [written:] This four
th chapter is the last one of this book. [The author] decided not to add what he
had promised to discuss in the fifth [chapter], because he considered that [par
t] of this science which remains to be treated to be irrelevant, for most of it
consists only in providing the principles of the sciences and verifying the indi
sputable premises
338
Notes
through generally acceptedi.e. dialecticalarguments. Since this is not necessary, he
broke off his teaching at the end of Chapter IV. This was reported by somebody
who personally talked to the author (may God be pleased with him). However, both
the rather limited circulation as well as the late date at which such statements
entered the manuscript transmission and their absence from the early Arabic man
uscripts as well as from the Hebrew transmission indicate that we have here a fo
rgery of a copyist who tried to hide the fragmentary character of his Vorlage. B
esides, the remark, found in both versions of the statement, to the effect that
Ibn Rushd judged the finding and verification of the first principles of the sci
ences as being irrelevant is certainly disproved by the immense comprehensiveness
of his Long Commentaries on the relevant sections of Aristotles Analytica posteri
ora and Metaphysics. As for the possible reasons for the absence of Chapter V fr
om the manuscript transmission as well as the question which sections of the Met
aphysics Ibn Rushd might have treated therein, cf. above, Translators Introduction
, and more detailed Arnzen, On the Nature and Fate of Chapter V of Ibn Rushds Epito
me of Aristotles Metaphysics.
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INDEX OF
NAMES
Abu lBarakat Hibat Allah alBaghdad 322.37 Abu Bishr Matta b. Yunus 246.29, 331.2
ckrill, J. L. 260.22 Adamson, P. 215.15, 295.29, 320.6, 332.27, 333.30 Aetius (d
oxographer) 286.23 Ahwan, A. F. al 217.21, 241.3, 242.25, 246.25, 249.2, 259.8, 26
5.35, 267.20, 289.14, 299.20 Alaw, J. al 22, 35, 468, 9.20, 1019, 183.15, 184.25, 18
9.3 Albertus Magnus 312.17, 323.3 Alexander of Aphrodisias 6.32, 811, 17.11, 142
.16, 147.13, 179.31, 220.13, 291.8, 295.1525, 300.10, 304.2737, 305.2307.25, 310.123
11.5, 314.28319.5, 329.10, 331.15336.24 Alexandria 333.12 Allah. See God Alonso, M
. 914, 1124 AlYasn, J. 191.31, 303.27 Amn, U. 12.2613.6, 23b, 28a,c, 29c, 30a,b, 3
36b,c, 38c, 39a,c, 40b, 41a, 45a, 47a, 52a, 57b,d, 59a, 60a,b, 61a, 62ac, 63a, 6
5b, 68ac, 72c,d, 73b,d, 74a, 80a, 83a, 86a, 89a, 90c, 91b, 92b, 94b, 103d, 112a,
113a, 115b,e, 116a, 118a, 119b, 123a, 124a,c, 125b, 126b, 127a,c,e, 128a, 130a,
133b, 135a,b, 136b, 138e, 139b, 140a,b, 142b, 144a,c, 145c, 149b, 150ac, 152a,b,
153a, 154a,b, 156ac, 160c, 163a, 164a, 165a, 167a, 168b, 169a, 171a, 172a, 181a,
190.10, 195.37, 202.21, 281.2, 287.29, 324.7 Anawati, G. C. 268.36 Anaxagoras 24
3.25, 323.33 Anaximander 286.2 13 Anaximenes 286.2 12 Ancients 25.17 36, 52.18,
58.2 1226, 70.15, 79.2230, 80.13, 81.7, 89.22, 91.24, 92.3, 100.5, 104.23, 116.2,
120.5121.8, 129.33, 142.24, 168.12, 177.3, 193.12, 253.29, 254.4, 285.2936, 313.25
. See also Commentators, Greeks Andalusia 146.24 Antistheneans 244.10 Aristotle
1.43.27, 5.326, 21.6, 23.23 29, 24.27, 25.115 36, 31.28, 44.27, 52.21, 59.7, 61.32,
65.1766.3, 70.33, 71.173.10, 81.7, 94.26, 95.13, 104.11 23, 116.4, 121.1024, 131.1
8, 139.29, 143.25, 144.20, 146.37, 147.12, 162.4, 171.12173.17, 174.8, 178.10, 18
3.8211.36, 213.2229.29, 231.10237.32, 239.6243.34,
362
Index of Names
245.24258.7, 260.7264.10, 266.6271.28, 273.12278.27, 281.28 38, 285.31 286.31, 287.16

, 288.3, 289.2 29, 290.18, 291.12, 292.12322.13, 327.3329.7, 332.30333.6, 334.1, 33
6.214, 337.6, 338.13 19 Armstrong, A. H. 320.3 Arnzen, R. 812, 187.21 35, 189.13,
287.16, 300.19, 307.6, 308.1, 315.9, 316.5, 320.7, 322.13, 338.17 Arzachel. See
Ibn alZarqala Ash arites 262.3 Atomists 31.5, 45.18, 49.6 34, 58.1437, 89.4, 251.
25, 331.27 Avicenna. See Ibn Sna Azarquiel. See Ibn alZarqala Bck, A. 329.15 Badaw,
A. 186.37, 198.37 Bahmanyar b. alMarzuban 322.35 Barnes, J. 198.5, 199.7, 222.8,
277.36 Battan, Abu Abdallah M. b. Jabir al 309.29, 310.3 Bertolacci, A. 812, 186.
, 256.11 23, 301.2 Black, D. L. 272.6 Bonitz, H. 250.35, 267.16 Bouyges, M. 23,
1019, 123c, 188.11, 205.2831, 206.27, 220.26, 256.11 39, 263.32, 265.24, 273.9, 2
74.9 Bradshaw, D. 320.4 Brentjes, S. 209.29, 210.7 Butterworth, C. E. 303.59, 319
.16 Carmody, F. J. 317.13 Chase, M. 253.25 Christ, W. 297.18 28 Commentators [of
Aristotle] (almufassirun) 165.14, 166.10, 196.18. See also Ancients, Greeks Cont
emporaries (ahl zamanina, almuta akhkhirun) 31.6, 65.19, 66.2, 75.21, 100.5 25, 10
2.10, 168.10 Cranz, F. E. 1428 Crone, P. 319.18 Cruz Hernandez, M. 22 DanishPazuh
, M. T. 311.4, 316.7, 323.35, 330.7 12 19, 332.15 Davidson, H. A. 236.13 34, 240.
23, 301.1 27, 322.33, 323.36326.10, 327.8, 328.23 35, 329.5 De Haas, F. A. J. 254
.10, 291.9, 329.3 De Young, G. 210.11 Democritus 81.8 23, 331.28 Dexippus 254.7
Di Giovanni, M. 243.34, 248.27
Index of Names
363
Dicks, D. R. 313.18 Diels, H. 336.36 Druart, T.A. 22 Duns Scotus 323.6 Eichner, H
. 217.9, 292.17 Empedocles 273.27, 286.1 12 Endress, G. 191.38, 194.29, 263.3, 2
64.17, 304.36, 305.18, 307.24, 310.7 14 36, 311.4, 315.19, 316.2, 318.2 Euclid 2
09.24210.12, 268.28 Eudoxus 309.36, 334.2 Fakhri, M. 320.14 Farab, Abu Nasr al 6.3
, 17.5, 140.25, 168.11, 191.27193.11, 195.1315, 197.10198.14, 200.23, 208.32, 272.5s
q., 302.22303.27, 313.23, 325.16 24 Fraenkel, C. 313.1 Galen(us), Claudius 127.12
, 291.33, 292.319, 327.7 Genequand, C. 220.24, 238.9, 239.13, 300.31, 304.32, 305
.16, 307.22, 314.28, 319.4, 335.9 Ghazal, Abu Hamid al 24.14, 322.36, 329.15 Gilso
, E. 272.28 God, gods 21.3 31, 25.8, 43.17, 128.1, 142.25, 150.12, 156.16sq., 15
9.9, 161.29, 164.22, 176.12, 178.34, 179.1, 180.317, 185.13 29, 213.22, 215.6 11,
270.3, 299.34, 315.30, 320.27, 325.4, 334.26 30, 335.2938, 336.918 33 Goldstein,
H. T. 302.11, 303.17, 304.15 Goulet, R. 301.10 Grant, E. 312.19, 317.17, 322.24
Greeks 50.7, 102.1 4. See also Ancients, Commentators Gutas, D. 263.3, 264.17 Gy
ekye, K. 243.3 Hasse, D. N. 22, 236.14 Henry of Ghent 323.6 Heracliteans 238.28
Heraclitus 286.15 20 Hipparchus 309.3 35 Hippasus 286.15 Hippo 286.14 Hissette,
R. 299.18 Horten, M. 14.6 13, 30a, 36a, 39a,b, 40c, 41b, 45a, 57b, 59a, 60a,b, 6
1a, 62ad, 63a, 65b, 66b, 67a, 68b, 71b, 73a, 76a, 81a, 84b, 85b, 86b, 91d, 92b, 9
3a,c, 100a, 101a, 111c,d, 118a, 119b, 124a,c, 126b, 127a,c,e, 128a, 130a, 135c,
141a, 160a, 168b, 178a, 185.31, 187.3189.7, 190.4 37, 191.24, 192.12, 194.1 21 36
, 195.4, 197.2, 201.23, 206.8 29, 209.17, 212.22, 213.17, 225.5, 235.12, 239.19,
240.11, 241.21, 245.13, 246.27, 247.7,
364
Index of Names
251.21, 252.27, 259.28, 261.28, 265.29, 267.1, 268.7, 269.19, 277.25, 280.19, 28
2.21, 283.37, 285.29, 297.13, 305.7, 321.22, 330.24, 333.21 Ibn Ab Usaybi a 4.12,
303.26 Ibn Ad, Yahya 268.2327, 295.30 Ibn Bajja, Abu Bakr M. 235.30, 303.23, 32
3 Ibn Falaquera 9.1 Ibn alHaytham, Abu Al alHasan 209.31, 210.712 Ibn urra. See
bit b. urra Ibn Sna, Abu Al alHusayn 6.33, 8.20, 24.10 22, 29.12, 38.27, 39.7 12 1
8, 59.914, 71.13, 90.13, 92.13, 98.14 22, 115.20, 116.6, 118.122, 119.1326, 141.
151.12 17, 185.12186.8, 196.19 27, 204.812, 206.20, 208.33 37, 213.8, 214.7 9 17,
215.14, 216.ult., 229.32230.6, 235.30, 236.13 34, 239.14, 240.23, 254.12, 255.13
, 256.1923, 258.18, 260.8, 268.35, 272.23 34, 274.27, 282.28, 283.3 930, 284.20 285
.26, 287.2, 293.8, 301.3, 305.35, 311.15 11, 313.24sqq., 314.526, 316.6 22, 321.614,
322.33, 323.1331, 325.24, 328.23 36, 329.14330.22, 332.217 36, 334.19, 335.18 Ibn T
ibbon. See Moses ibn Tibbon; Samuel ibn Tibbon Ibn alZarqala, Ibrahm b. Yahya alNaq
qash 146.25, 309.2029 Ikhwan alSafa 314.19 Inati, S. C. 274.28 Irzik, G.
haq b. Hunayn 268.3, 297.23 Ivry, A. L. 242.1 26, 249.9, 259.9, 265.36, 319.22 J
acob Mantino ben Samuel 9.3, 13.1416.20, 22a,c, 24a,b, 27a,b, 28b, 29a, 30b, 33a,
35a, 36a, 37ad, 38b,c, 39c, 40a,b, 42a,b, 43a, 44b, 47c, 48a, 53a, 54a, 55a,b, 5
7a,c, 59a, 60c, 62a,e, 63a,b, 64a, 65b, 66a, 69d, 70a,b, 71a,c, 72bd, 73ad, 74a, 7
9a,b, 80b,c, 82a,b, 85ac, 86a, 87a, 88a, 90a,c, 91a, 93b, 94a, 95b,c, 96a, 97a, 9
8a,b,d, 99a, 100b, 102a,b, 103a,b, 105a, 106b, 108b, 109b, 111af, 114ad, 115ac,eg, 1
16b,d, 117b,d,e, 119a,c, 120a, 122a, 123a, 124a,d,e, 126a, 127b, 129a, 131a, 133
a, 136a, 138a,b,d,e, 139b, 140a, 141a, 142a,b, 144a,c, 145ac, 147a, 148a,b, 149a,
b, 150ac, 153b, 154a,b, 155a, 156a, 158a, 160b,c, 165ac, 166a, 167a, 168a, 169a,c,
171a, 172a,b, 174a, 176a,b, 179a, 180a,b, 181a, 185.37, 188.6, 192.11, 194.37,
195.17, 197.20, 200.25, 201.25, 244.14, 256.2, 264.8 23, 266.35, 280.31 36, 284.
6, 287.25, 297.7 11, 299.15, 300.6, 309.26, 313.9, 315.24, 321.26 Jalnus. See Gal
en Jiham, J. 13.7, 23c, 27a,b, 30b, 34a, 36b,c, 38c, 39a,c, 40b, 52a, 60a, 62a, 65
b, 68a,c, 72d, 73b, 86a, 90c, 93d, 94b, 113a, 116a, 123a, 135b, 138b, 139b, 140b
, 144b, 145a, 150c, 156a,b, 167a, 169b, 171a, 184.28, 189.6 7, 190.10, 195.24 38
, 202.22, 281.3, 285.25, 287.29, 299.21 John Philoponus 252.31253.6, 291.6 Jupite
r 146.16, 169.1319, 169b Kalonymos ben Kalonymos 180b Kant, I. 273.20
Index of Names
365
Karabs, Ahmad b. Umar al 209.29 Khalfat, S. 268.27 Kind, Ya qub b. Ishaq a

30sq. Kranz, W. 336.36 Kurd, M. S. al 311.3, 316.7, 330.7 12 19, 332.14 16 Lerner,
MichelPierre 322.26 Lerner, Ralph 336.29 Lettinck, P. 333.6 Leucippus 331.29 Mah
fuz, H. A. 303.27 Maimonides 303.22, 312.38, 313.1 Mansfeld, J. 336.23 Mantino.
See Jacob Mantino Manuwald, B. 311.13 Marmura, M. E. 204.10 12, 254.28, 260.8, 2
84.31, 285.7, 305.4, 313.38, 316.17 22, 321.14, 330.6, 334.20 Mars 146.16, 169.1
4 Martini Bonadeo, C. 191.33, 295.28 Megarians 6.18, 262.1, 268.36 Melissus 219.
30 Menn, S. 193.3, 195.15 Meno, Menos paradox 106.29, 106b, 271.24272.6 Mercury 14
6.17, 167.9, 169.30, 322.22 Millas Vallicrosa, J. M. 309.22 Misbah, M. al 190.19,
199.37, 331.2 Mosesibn Tibbon 8.28, 9.2, 13.8 Moses of Narbonne 303.23 Muhammad 1
91.11, 206.13 Nicolaus of Damascus 812, 187.18 Nola, R. 271.27 Parmenides 219.30
Pickthal, M. 318.32, 320.11 Plato 70.12 31, 72.18, 73.1, 90.5, 90a, 168.12, 174
.9, 193.14 20, 224.26, 226.21, 228.7, 232.29, 233.23, 234.36, 235.15, 252.18 27
33 36, 254.6, 269.7sq., 271.24, 279.38, 286.28, 319.1217 35, 323.33, 328.13sq., 3
36.28337.1 Platonists 60.18, 63.16, 70.10, 71.24, 83.19, 88.18, 110.35, 224.26, 2
52.18, 336.23 Plotinus 215.16, 319.25, 320.4 Porphyry 90.3, 252.2935, 253.26254.9
Proclus 290.24 Protagoras 180.18, 180b, 336.13337.10 Ptolemy (Claudius Ptolemaeus
) 146.5 21, 308.24309.9, 322.30, 326.12sqq. Puig Montada, J. 12.10, 243.29, 303.2
5
366
Index of Names
Pythagoras 180b Pythagoreans 57.4, 213.5, 224.26, 227.33, 228.9, 286.27 abban, M
. al 11.1620, 12.5 34, 72d, 100a asim, M. 262.18, 299.19 uiros Rodrguez, C. 12.21
, 14.17, 23b, 26c, 27a, 28c, 29a,c, 30b, 33a, 36ac, 37c, 38c, 39a, 45c, 52a, 57d,
59a, 60a, 62a,d, 64a, 65b, 67a, 68a,c, 72c, 73b,d, 80ac, 83a, 86a, 91a,b, 92b, 9
3b,d, 102b, 103d, 112a, 113a, 115e, 116a, 125a,b, 127d, 133b, 135b, 140b, 142b,
144b,c, 145a,c, 149b, 150b,c, 152a,b, 153a, 154b, 155a, 156ac, 160c, 163a, 164a,
165a, 167a, 171a, 172a, 176a, 180a, 185.37, 187.3 29, 188.3 18, 190.10, 191.4, 1
92.12, 194.20, 195.4 23 37, 200.8 15, 202.20, 206.29, 209.16, 212.22, 225.5, 239
.19, 241.21, 245.11, 247.13, 255.10, 258.27 33 34, 261.24 28, 262.13, 265.28, 26
7.4, 268.7, 272.21, 279.30, 281.2, 282.21, 284.7, 287.29, 297.11 36, 321.28, 330
.25 Ragep, J. 309.29 Rashed, M. 302.30, 303.20 24, 312.20 Rosenthal, F. 315.7 Ro
ss, W. D. 200.18, 203.39, 210.30, 211.16, 221.11, 226.23, 227.15, 228.23, 233.12
35, 237.29, 247.22, 250.30, 252.4, 257.21 31, 260.6, 262.29, 264.31, 266.20, 26
7.37, 268.17, 269.28 31, 270.34, 271.7 22, 273.12, 274.21, 275.20 24, 276.22, 27
8.18, 286.22, 288.28 36, 289.27, 292.34, 293.6, 294.9, 296.23, 297.18 28, 307.10
Ruland, H.J. 331.17, 332.1929, 333.9, 334.5 23, 335.23 Saliba, G. 309.7, 322.28 S
alim, M. S. 184.10, 191.9 30, 246.31 Samuel ibn Tibbon 312.ult.313.2 Saturn 146.1
6, 165.15, 166.1232, 169.59 26, 169c Schiappa, E. 337.2 Schck, C. 193.30 Sezgin, F.
12.13 Shahlan, A. 336.30 Sharif, M. M. 315.8 Sharples, R. W. 336.3 11 Shayban,
S. 262.22 Shehadi, F. 191.38 Simplicius 253.9254.1 Socrates 70.21, 193.12 14 Speu
sippus 228.8 Steel, C. 274.27 Steinschneider, M. 180b Stoa 90.7, 179.32, 253.16
28, 254.3, 335.9 Stone, A. D. 230.6 Suhraward, Shihab alDn Yahya 323.1 Talib, A
62.22 Taylor, Christopher C. W. 331.29
Index of Names
367
Taylor, Richard C. 315.3 14, 327.15, 328.29 Thabit b. urra 312.18 20 Thales of
Miletus 286.14 20 Themistius 70.31, 168.11, 238.30, 239.12, 244.1523, 304.16, 323
.34 Theophrastus 332.34 Thillet, P. 305.18, 331.23, 332.1929, 333.9, 334.6 14 23,
335.10 Thomas Aquinas 274.28, 323.8 Thurston, H. 309.5, 326.33 Toomer, G. J. 30
9.23 Twetten, D. B. 315.32 Ullmann, M. 45b, 183.4, 216.25, 264.21, 309.16 Ustath
(Eustathios) 268.3, 297.21 den Bergh, S. 13.2, 14.10 20, 17.1, 26a,c, 28a, 30a,
36a, 39a,b, 40c, 41b, 45a,c, 59a, Van 60a,b, 61a, 62ad, 63a, 64a, 65b, 66b, 67a,
68b, 71b, 73a, 76a, 81a, 84b, 85b, 86b, 90b, 91d, 92a, 93ac, 100a, 101a, 111c,d,
118a, 119b, 124a,c, 126b, 127a,c,e, 128a, 130a, 135c, 141a, 150a, 160a, 165c, 1
68b, 178a, 185.33, 186.4, 187.3188.28, 190.5, 191.1 22, 192.14, 194.3 22 37, 195.
5, 197.2, 199.23, 200.8 15, 201.23, 205.33, 206.9 29, 209.17, 212.22, 213.17, 21
7.13, 221.1, 225.5, 239.19, 240.7 11, 241.21, 244.5, 245.12, 246.6 27, 247.6, 24
9.20, 250.20, 251.21, 252.28, 258.27 31, 259.29, 260.5, 261.25 29, 262.4 13, 264
.7 10 23, 265.31, 267.1, 268.8, 269.19, 272.21, 273.12 21, 277.25, 279.29, 280.2
0, 282.23, 284.6, 285.30, 293.14, 294.32, 297.13, 298.3, 300.6, 305.7, 310.3, 31
3.7, 315.33, 321.22, 330.24, 333.21, 335.14 Venus 146.17, 167.9, 169.30, 322.23
Wirmer, D. 243.1 Wisnovsky, R. 185.15, 215.14 Wolfson, H. A. 311.11 28, 317.28 X
enophanes 238.27 Zeno 302.14 Zimmermann, F. W. 191.30 Zonta, M. 23, 331.20
INDEX OF WORKS
Alexander of Aphrodisias De fato 200.1922: 336.2; 204.1517: 336.7 F Maba di al-kull
(in general): 147.14 44.446.3: 304.33; 46.816: 305.16; 48sq.: 305.26; 50.554.15: 3
06.18; 56.212: 306.5, 317.16; 56.1558.5: 306.10; 82.316: 316.9; 82.5sq.: 310.13; 84
.1186.4: 318.30; 8694: 310.33; 86.1688.17: 317.32; 9092: 317.16; 94.998.16: 315.21; 9
4.1012: 310.13; 112.8sqq.: 319.3; 1148: 329.11; 116.9sqq.: 319.3; 150: 314.29 In A
rist. Metaphysica commentaria 137.912, 138.2123: 295.16 On the First Cause 69.870.1
1: 317.36; 70: 310.34 On the Principles of the Cosmos. See F Mabadi al-kull On Pr
ovidence (in general): [179.31] 5.3sq. (Th.)/13.1416 (Ru.): 334.25; 5.620 (Th.)/13
.1815.14 (Ru.): 335.22; 6.113 (Th.)/17.219 (Ru.): 334.25; 10.2511.1 (Th.)/33 (Ru.):
334.5; 11.1118 (Th.)/37 (Ru.): 332.18; 12.1020 (Th.)/43 (Ru.): 332.21; 12.2025 (Th.
)/45 (Ru.): 332.23; 13.411 (Th.)/4749 (Ru.): 332.28; 13.1218 (Th.)/49 (Ru.): 333.8;
19.1 (Th.)/77.6 (Ru.): 305.18; 22.12sq. (Th.)/95 (Ru.): 334.23, 335.10 23
Aristotle Analytica posteriora (in general): 21.18, 22.8, 25.21, 34.25, 75.19, 9
4.32, 184.35 Bk. I (in general): 106.30; 1, 71a29: 106 b, 271.23; 2, 71b911: 184.
38, 232.36; 71b25: 199.7, 275.31; 72a1423: 186.2232; 4, 73a34b5: 197.20 36, 219.115;
73b1024: 219.1524; 73b2529: 198.1, 278.9; 5, 74a2629: 184.36, 277.31; 7, 75b1216: 18
5.5; I 911: 188.1; 10, 76b2377a4: 186.2333, 187.7; 11, 77a2635: 184.33; 13, 78b3479a1
6: 255.31; 22, 83b2532: 221.35; I 24: 184.27 Analytica priora II 21: 184.22 Book o
f Animals (in general): 71.2 Bk. XVI (= De generatione animalium II): 139.29, 145
.7
Index of Works
369
Book of Demonstration. See Analytica posteriora Categoriae (in general): 32.11 16
32, 42.18, 43.5, 48.11, 53.25, 54.3 6, 4b22sqq.: 196.7, 227.32; 5b1129: 196.15; 6
a17sq.: 207.11; 7, 6b28sqq., 7a2230: 196.3236; 7b15sqq.: 260.10; 8a13sqq.: 260.14;
8a2834: 260.26; 8, 8b2610a24: 196.2125; 9a1428: 224.19; 9a28b9: 224.5; 10a27b11: 230.
14; 10, 12a2834: 207.35; 13a3133: 208.3; 11, 14a1924: 207.1225; 12, 14a26b23: 215.22;
14a36: 216.20; 14b7sq.: 318.4; 15, 15b1625: 228.29 De anima (in general): 26.11,
75.3, 77.2, 97.27, 157.24 I 1, 402a46: 314.33 II 4, 416a14: 218.21; III 2, 425b2
6426a25: 260.11; 3, 428b11sq.: 305.27; 8, 432a2: 241.5; 11, 434a1116: 218.30; 12,
434b2227: 305.23 De caelo (in general): 107.6, 170.15 34 I 1, 268a9sqq.: 213.6; 9
, 279a1618: 227.28 II 4, 286b20sq.: 213.2; 287a30sqq.: 236.23, 311.19; 7, 289a1423
: 309.11; 12, 293a10sqq.: 304.10, 313.4 Bk. III (in general): 59.7; 1, 299a2300a1
9: 229.29; 2, 300b16301a11: 269.7; 5, 303b9304b25: 229.28; 8, 306b3307b18: 229.29;
306b14sq.: 236.34 De generatione animalium II 1, 731a320: 301.12; 3, 735a12sq.: 3
01.15; 736b27sq.: 240.21; II 4: 266.25; 6, 742b3335: 301.17. See also Book of Anim
als III 11: 235.23 IV 10, 777b25sqq.: 333.6 De generatione et corruptione (in gen
eral): 48.33 I 3, 318b12319b5: 217.9; 5, 321b2831: 217.17; 10, 327a30sqq.: 217.34
De interpretatione 7, 17b9, 2934: 320.22 De partibus animalium I 1, 639b12sqq.: 2
98.25; 5, 645b25: 251.22 II 36, 650a652a : 266.25 De sensu et sensibili (in genera
l): 249.1 I 436b20: 305.22 Ethica Eudemia II 11, 1227b32: 237.3 Historia animali
um I 6, 490b17sq.: 251.22 V 1: 235.22 Metaphysica (in general): 1.43.10, 5.6 20,
6.36, 8.18, 24.27, 183.7 23, 187.10 I (A) 6, 988a24: 217.1 II () (in general): 104
.12, 131.20; 1, 993b2331: 6.19; 993b2427: 196.1, 267.34; 993b26sq.: 268.14; II () 2
: 6.27, 296.3; 994a19sqq.: 269.16; 994a22 25: 296.20297.6; 994a32sq.: 297.17 30; 9
94b3: 297.7; 994b913: 269.28,
370
Index of Works 297.33; 994b17: 298.1 III (B) 4, 1001a419: 286.10 IV () 1: 7.24, 8.
13; 1003a26sq.: 185.17; IV () 2: 7.26, 8.13; 1003a33b3: 219.35; 1003b1518: 193.27;
1003b3436: 220.11; IV () 3: 7.29, 8.13; 1005a33b1: 188.18; IV () 48: 7.1; 4, 1010b37s
q.: 185.10; 5, 1010a1sqq.: 238.28 V () (in general): 8.5 13; 1, 1012b341013a1: 218
.1sq.; 1013a1416: 218.3; 1013a16sq.: 217.35; 2, 1013a24b3: 216.30; 1014a1020: 216.3
1; 3, 1014b3 12: 218.13sq.; 4, 1014b2025: 201.35; 1014b3235: 218.31; 1015a310: 217.1
; 1015a713: 218.29; 5, 1015a20: 218.16; 1015a2235: 218.2327; 6, 1016b16sq.: 213.1;
1016b2431: 205.24, 282.17; 9, 1017b331018a4: 206.25; 1018a5: 206.1; 1018a911: 209.1
; 10, 1018a2527: 288.24; 1018a3134: 42 b, 207.28; 12, 1019a1518: 209.10; 1019a2628:
44 a ; 1019a32b1: 209.4; 1019b15sq.: 212.25; 1019b2333: 212.29; 1019b30sqq.: 212.1
4; 13, 1020a1114: 224.21; 1020a13: 227.32; 1020a1723: 224.32; 15, 1021a11sq.: 206.
30; 16, 1021b12sq.: 212.30; 1021b1520: 213.10sq.; 1021b2325: 213.16; 1021b301022a1:
213.19; 1022a13: 213.28; 21, 1022b18sq.: 224.4; 22, 1022b24sq.: 208.28; 1022b3510
23a1: 208.5; 24, 1023b2: 241.26; 25, 1023b1217: 214.13; 1023b1719: 214.20; 26, 102
3b2628: 213.34; 1023b33sq.: 214.8; 1023b35: 215.20; 1024a110: 214.9; 27, 1024a15sq
.: 215.2; 1024a1624: 215.17 VI (E) 1: 7.25, 8.1, 184.6; 1025b26: 184.13; VI (E) 24
: 8.9; 2, 1026b15: 184.38; 4, 1027b24: 190.25 VII-X (in general): 287.12 VII (Z)
(in general): 6.7, 94.25, 228.30229.24; 1, 1028a1015: 221.410; 1028a13sqq.: 194.22
; 1028a2933: 193.27; 1028b232: 229.26; 2, 1028b1621: 226.1623; VII (Z) 3: 225.19; 10
29a1416: 228.2024; 1029a33sq.: 247.20; 4, 1029b1sq.: 230.8; 1030b47: 230.25; 5, 103
0b1625: 233.1; 1030b26sq.: 233.2sq. 14; 1030b281031a1: 233.11; VII (Z) 69: 234.16 23
5.17; 6, 1031a19b27: 233.2124; 1031a30sq.: 62 d ; 1031b15: 233.31; 1031b2228: 230.1
6; 7, 1032a1319: 235.18; 1032b1114: 237.1; 1032b1823: 237.2; 8, 1033b57: 237.26; 103
3b810: 238.11; 1033b291034a2: 235.20; 9, 1034a918: 235.21; 1034a2125: 327.20; 1034b46
: 236.12; 1034b18sq.: 210.18; 10, 1034b2432: 230.14; 1035a2527: 211.32; 1035b3sqq.
: 211.3, 251.5; 1035b412: 251.23; 1035b1423: 251.36; 1035b1820: 211.19 35; 1036a8sq
.: 237.30; 11, 1036a34b7: 241.26; 1037a1720: 230.23; 12, 1037b27 1038a18: 250.12; 1
038a57: 243.32; 1038a19, 29sq.: 250.3; 13, 1038b634: 240.30; 1038b341039a2: 241.7;
1039a1519: 241.8; 1039b2: 241.1; 17, 1041b1119: 243.14; 1041b1926: 243.22 VIII (H)
(in general): 6.8, 94.25, 228.30229.24, 247.35248.3; 1, 1042a21sq.: 244.3; 1042a32b
7: 248.4; 2, 1042b811: 245.18; 1042b1215: 245.21; 1043a1419: 245.23; 3, 1043a29sq.:
82 b ; 1043a37b4: 246.4; 1043b518:
Index of Works
371
243.33, 246.21; 1043b1618: 246.15; 1043b23sqq.: 244.10; 1043b2832: 246.30, 250.32;
1043b321044a14: 247.2; 4, 1044a18sq.: 85 d ; 1044a27b5: 249.15; 5, 1045a15: 249.14
; 6, 1045a2035: 249.35; 1045a3335: 245.32; 1045a36b5: 250.32; 1045b1: 250.34251.4; 1
045b2: 250.19; 1045b823: 252.24; 1045b20sq.: 212.18 IX () (in general): 6.1520; 1,
1046a58: 210.14, 257.2; 1046a1013: 257.19 258.2; 1046a2934: 212.25, 258.4; 1046a3133:
208.26 34; 2, 1046b3: 184.18; 1046b14sq.: 292.32; 1046b2428: 259.20; 5, 1047b3510
48a16: 258.25; 6, 1048a2532: 259.2431; 1048a3032: 261.14; 1048a36sq.: 259.32; 1048b
1417: 261.17; 7, 1048b3537: 262.24263.12; 1049a1824: 266.27; 1049a24sq.: 210.17; 104
9a2730: 232.13; 8, 1050b68: 272.7; 1050b1121: 272.30; 1050b13sqq.: 272.16; 1050b2226
: 273.6; 9, 1051a4sq.: 273.36; 1051a13sq.: 274.16; 1051a1720: 274.17; 10, 1051a34b
1: 212.19; 1051b5sq.: 275.18; 1051b917: 276.12277.22; 1051b17sqq.: 190.25, 275.23;
1051b24sq.: 278.15279.2; 1051b28: 279.20 X ( ) (in general): 6.2226, 95.15; 1, 10
52a17sqq.: 200.7; 1052a23sq.: 202.1; 1052a25sqq.: 201.27; 1052a29sq.: 204.14; 10
52a2934 202.4, 205.1; 1052b15sqq.: 203.16; 1053a1sq.: 284.21; 1053a812: 284.22; 10
53a24sq.: 286.3; 1053b48: 203.25, 282.14; 2, 1053b12sq.: 286.27; 1053b15sq.: 286.
1 11; 1053b24sqq.: 281.37; 1053b27sq.: 205.13; 1053b291054a2: 282.9; 1054a512: 205
.21, 282.13; 3, 1054a2023: 287.19, 294.20; 1054a30sqq.: 288.1 22; 1054b711: 207.1;
1054b1113: 207.6; 1054b1417: 209.1; 1054b2427: 209.2; 4, 1055a319: 289.15; 1055a1923
: 289.21; 1055a25sq.: 288.33; 1055a33sqq.: 289.22291.10, 292.27; 1055b2sqq.: 292.
22; 1055b1119: 292.29; 5, 1056a24: 295.12; 6, 1056b314: 294.1619; 1056b3236: 294.2530
; 7, 1057a1830: 291.1520; 1057a33: 292.20; 1057a37sq.: 292.26; 1057b9: 232.20; 9,
1058a29sqq.: 208.31, 293.2; 1058a36b3: 293.13 XI () 47: 7.2; 6, 1062a2628: 224.11 XI
I () (in general): 6.2833, 144.21, 306.18307.7, 307.34; 2, 1069b1820, 2628: 212.24; 3
, 1069b351070a3: 266.26; 1070a21: 185.11; 4, 1070b7: 228.4; 1070b22: 216.34; 6, 1
071b11sq.: 302.5; 7, 1072a2629: 305.29; 1072b1430: 321.4; 1072b1520: 306.13; 1073a31
0: 304.11; 8, 1073a14sq.: 307.8; 1073a2331: 310.9; 1073a3138: 318.36; 1073b35: 308.
19; 1073b22 27: 334.1; 1073b381074a5: 313.18; 1074a10: 308.26; 1074a3138: 310.24; 1
074b13: 305.21; 1074b4: 240.9; 9, 1074b32sq.: 294.23; 10, 1075a1113: 322.5; 1075a1
824: 329.9 XIII () XIV () (in general): 7.3sq., 187.34, 227.8 XIII () 13: 226.37; 1,
1076a3236: 227.11; 6, 1080b1sqq.: 227.35; 8, 1083a11: 228.25; 9, 1085b22: 227.33
XIV () 2, 1089a26sq.: 212.19 Meteorologica I 11, III 3: 332.33
372
Index of Works
IV 12, 390a5sq.: 266.30 Physica (in general): 56.12 16 23, 57.18, 99.22, 105.1 2
8, 126.13, 133.30 134.38 135.7 21, Bk. I (in general): 52.22; 2, 185b10: 204.7;
7, 190b24191a14: 298.13; 191a8 11: 237.32; 9, 192a13: 218.20; 192a2533: 266.29, 328
.ult. II 13: 229.28; II 2, 194b13sq.: 327.17; II 46: 235.22; 5, 196a197b2: 216.33;
8, 198b10sqq.: 333.4; 199a30sq.: 299.14 III 6, 206b1316: 227.23; 7, 207b7: 227.32
IV 15: 228.27; 1, 208a30: 198.34; 2, 209b510: 227.24; 8, 216b310; 9, 216b30sqq.: 2
27.25; 10, 218b69: 227.27; 11, 218b22219a14: 227.30; 219b1316: 227.27; 14, 223a2327:
228.4; 223b1824: 227.27 V 3, 227a916: 201.26 VI 6, 237b913: 271.8 Bk. VII (in gene
ral): 105.9 Bk. VIII (in general): 105.9; 1, 250b14sq.: 236.16; 251b1015: 302.12;
6, 259a1419: 303.33; 259b2831: 310.24, 311.16; 8, 263b36: 302.15; 10, 266a25b24: 30
4.9 Sophistici elenchi (in general): 132.13 I 47: 302.19; 4, 166b2127: 302.22; 15,
174b3040: 296.18 Topica I 10, 105a10sqq.: 186.11 V 5: 134b2833: 236.15; 6, 135b121
6: 288.9 VI 1, 139a5: 250.4; 5, 143a1528: 250.4; VI 6: 184.7; 7, 146a16: 236.15 V
III 1314: 296.18 Averroes. See Ibn Rushd Avicenna. See Ibn Sna Euclid Elementa X,
def. 24: 209.23210.13 al-Farab Ihsa al- ulum 60sq.: 192.32 Jawa ba t li-mas
la anha 87sq.: 200.3; 97: 191.31 K. f l-Mantiq: al- Ibara 19sq., 23sq.: 191.29;
3.47: 192.32 K. al-Huruf (in general): 17.5 71.1315, 73.1974.21: 192.28; 106.28: 197
.10; 107.5110.2: 197.16; 110: 192.2; 111115: 195.13; 111.1316, 114.27: 192.29, 193.3
; 160sq.: 191.29 Al-Mawjudat al-mutaghayyira ([On] Changeable Beings): 140.26, 302
.36, 303.10sqq.
Index of Works
373
al-Ghazal Tahafut al-falasifa (in general): 24.14 Ibn Ad Tafsr al-Alif al-sug
.17sq.: 268.22 Ibn Bajja Tadbr al-mutawahhid 79sq.: 320.13 Ibn al-Haytham Sharh M
usadarat Uqldis 144sq./324sq.: 209.31; 14649/32628: 210.712 Ibn Rushd Averrois
in librum Arist. de Demonstratione maxima expositio fol. 565v566v: 242.36; fol.
568v (D): 241.10 Commentaria Averrois in Galenum 24: 327.7; 66.1723, 241.28242.26:
292.13; 281, 283: 4 8 Commentarium magnum in Arist. De anima III, comm. 5: 314.
36, 327.14; III, comm. 36: 330.31 Commentarium magnum in Arist. Physica fol. 57r
a: 186.6; VIII, comm. 79: 308.15 Commentum magnum super libro De celo et mundo I
I, comm. 35: 312.36; II, comm. 49: 317.22; II, comm. 62: 308.30, 316.33 al-Darur
f l-mantiq (in general): 3 5, 184.24 al-Darur f usul al-fiqh 184.1 3
atural philosophy (in general): 1.25, 3.164.27, 16 33, 183.11 23 Fasl al-maqal... 34
.1214: 263.25 Jawami K. al-athar al- ulwiyya 15: 236.25, 298.11 Jawami K. al-sama
al-tab (in general): 10 22 9sq.: 189.34; 1316: 245.20, 297.31, 298.14; 19sq.: 269.
2; 2226: 217.22; 26: 331.26; 3133: 245.22; 3445: 261.20; 39sq.: 243.29; 5052: 254.34
, 297.31; 5762: 227.29; 96101: 227.30; 119sq.: 298.18; 12931: 270.7; 13840: 306.15;
145: 265.38; 147sq.: 298.18; 14951: 301.31; 150.517: 304.7 al-Kashf an manahij aladilla... 226: 262.17 K. al-Kulliyyat f l-tibb (Colliget) 19sq.: 262.22; 94: 291.
26 Long Commentary on the Metaphysics. See Tafsr Ma ba d al-tab a
374
Index of Works
Maqala ala l-maqala al-sabi a wa-l-thamina... 231sq.: 303.16; 239sq.: 302.10 ues
tions in Physics 25: 302.11; 2833: 303.18, 304.15 Risalat al-kawn wa-l-fasad 98.25:
255.2; 108sq., 114sq.: 298.7 Risalat al-sama wa-l- alam (in general): 149.4 25:
254.29; 25.1526.4: 212.34; 29: 306.14; 31: 327.3; 324: 245.19, 311.20; 5155: 272.1
9; 58: 305.20; 59: 317.23; 7375: 313.4 Sharh K. al-burhan 168: 106 b ; 173: 106 b
; 176: 106 b ; 177: 271.35; 1804: 189.28, 232.37; 184.8sq.: 199.11; 19294: 186.36
; 21927: 197.14 37, 219.123; 226.14 16: 197.26; 22935: 198.32; 229.810: 198.12; 247sq
.: 244.21245.7, 255.15; 284sq.: 185.6; 31421: 186.36, 268.22; 317: 197.6; 341.1013:
190.15; 35458: 189.28; 366sq.: 255.31; 374sq.: 189.29; 42022: 308.23; 451sq.: 195
.22; 460sq.: 222.930 Tafsr Ma ba d al-tab a (in general): 2 3, 6.36, 8 11, 9.21, 10
.6, 11.6, 17.9 Vol. I, 12.1213.1: 268.4; 22.211: 295.27; 24.24: 297.27; 28.1315: 29
.9; 31.913: 269.37; 34.1335.5: 298.2; 54.35: 256.16; 91.314: 255.10; 97sq.: 255.14;
154.14sq.: 23 c ; 167.510: 188.25; 168.7: 188.25; 270.13: 29 a ; 299: 185.7; 3002:
199.35; 3024: 219.34; 305sq.: 220.3; 305.3sqq.: 194.36; 307.14308.8: 219.26; 308.
2: 190.16; 315.17316.7: 220.9; 319.1116: 307.26; 38285: 337.8; 42327: 238.29; 455.4s
q.: 241.13 Vol. II, 476.3: 188.25; 500sq.: 255.25; 508.211: 186.10; 509sq.: 201.3
6; 514.17515.4: 50 a ; 515.9: 218.17; 517.13518.7: 218.27; 526: 205.7; 527.8sq.: 2
01.30; 529.13sqq.: 201.31; 530.1012: 201.39; 532sq.: 201.5; 538: 204.22; 540.15sq
.: 201.16; 540.18: 201.39; 542.1119: 200.21; 543.10sq.: 200.21; 557sq.: 192.9, 19
4.37; 557.5558.6: 195.12; 558.9 559.14: 232.27; 583.914: 44 a ; 584.1sq.: 209.20; 5
9093: 212.17; 597sq.: 224.33; 621.15sq.: 213.13; 623.14624.2: 213.4; 624.1115: 213.
13; 626.13627.4: 213.26; 637sq.: 224.1; 643.9644.2: 208.12; 645.17: 208.29; 648.37:
208.18; 65154: 224.2; 66466: 214.22; 674.19675.3: 214.29; 676.3677.10: 215.17; 686.41
2: 278.4; 690.14sqq.: 278.4; 704: 184.15; 707.4sqq.: 23 c ; 744.4745.4: 229.4, 25
6.38; 745.610: 287.15; 747.7sqq.: 194.24; 749.15: 221.32; 749.69: 223.16; 760.410: 2
19.31; 774sq.: 225.25; 779sq.: 247.34; 780.1115: 247.12; 782.610: 230.11; 783.69: 2
62.21; 78588: 219.27; 797.5 799.5: 230.17; 802: 199.36; 804.48: 230.18; 806: 199.36
; 808.811: 230.26; 814.11815.14: 230.19; 823: 233.20; 823.8: 234.4; 823.14sq.: 62
d ; 830.1sq.: 234.11; 832.16: 234.22; 838.914: 235.5; 86668: 240.26; 86670: 327.21;
876.14sqq.: 262.21; 88186: 236.12, 240.26;
Index of Works
375
882.19883.7: 238.32239.5; 893.1619: 210.34; 903.11: 211.23; 905.15: 211.13; 908.717:
211.13; 909.614: 211.13212.12; 909.914: 211.13, 212.5; 910: 251.29; 911.19: 252.15;
921.13923.2: 241.34; 1012.16: 281.37; 1028.1016: 80 c ; 1062sq.: 244.13; 106468: 2
47.3; 1095sq.: 246.3; 1106.13: 257.25; 1107.1: 257.36; 1109.27: 257.6; 1110.6sq.:
95 c ; 1110.911: 257.36; 1116.9sq.: 208.27; 1116.11sq.: 208.36; 1153.141155.17: 2
58.22; 1158.131159.3: 259.31; 1160.3sq.: 260.1; 1165.4: 263.3; 1166.35: 265.2; 116
8.1214: 263.7; 1169.3sq.: 264.3; 1171.912: 265.11; 1172sq.: 232.5; 1175: 232.14; 1
179.11sq.: 266.5; 1183.2sq.: 229.8; 1185.5: 106 b ; 1185.510: 272.4; 12016: 273.5;
1203sq.: 248.25; 1204.6*1205.5*: 273.9; 1210.2: 274.8; 1213.411: 274.38; 1220.710:
275.13; 1223.11sq.: 278.22; 1226.131228.3: 279.22; 1231.6: 110 a Vol. III, 1241.
913: 41 b ; 124648: 203.22; 1252.11253.8: 284.18; 1257sq.: 284.23; 1266sq.: 203.26;
1267.57: 37 c,d ; 1267.16: 117 b ; 1268.1: 116 d ; 1276.141277.14: 205.22; 127982:
282.26; 1279.15sq.: 9 17 ; 283.3; 1280.511: 283.28; 1287.2: 288.11; 1291.111293.1
2: 207.2; 1293.13 1294.5: 207.8; 1297.10, 1298.8: 123 c ; 1310.101311.3: 289.32; 1
313.10sq.: 208.37; 1334.9sq.: 294.14; 1349.2sq.: 291.17; 1361.36: 291.25; 1361.813
: 292.7; 1365.1016: 289.11; 1397.810: 295.22; 1403.1118: 220.24; 1404: 321.1; 1404.
1216: 300.10; 1405.4sqq.: 187.16; 1417.171418.10: 223.30; 142126: 23 c ; 1424sq.: 3
21.2; 1424.111425.1: 300.30; 1425.46: 300.14; 1425.615: 307.4; 1450.1sq.: 298.14; 1
465.1sq.: 327.18; 1467.48: 300.14; 1471.151472.2: 238.3; 147274: 240.20; 1501.171502
.7: 239.5, 327.18; 1507.4: 190.17; 1540.912: 327.19; 1558sq.: 321.2; 1558.91559.5:
300.18; 1559: 229.24; 1567.8sqq.: 306.6; 1573: 265.36; 1584sq.: 300.4; 1592sq.:
305.28; 16003: 315.13; 1602.161603.8: 241.35; 1620sq.: 192.25; 1620.12 1621.3: 231
.27; 1625.69: 327.19; 162831: 327.24; 162931: 248.25; 162934: 301.26; 162939: 267.29,
273.5; 1635.4sqq.: 304.21; 1646sq.: 311.27; 1646.161647.3: 317.1; 1647.311: 317.1
0; 1648.48: 314.2; 1653.1214: 24 a ; 1661sq.: 312.37; 167275: 313.21; 1676sq.: 308.
29; 1680.3: 309.3; 1686.38: 247.12; 1688sq.: 72 a ; 171013: 322.11; 1710.3 6: 307.1
6 Tahafut al-tahafut (in general): 10.4, 10 23, 17.8 5769: 270.6; 8591: 270.21; 93
.8sqq.: 262.3; 1002: 262.7; 103.36: 241.13; 103.79: 262.11; 148: 262.17; 15052: 262.
15; 153: 272.25; 177: 323.33; 17880: 326.3; 203sq.: 320.15; 204sq.: 320.9; 21416:
239.20, 320.30; 23134: 326.7; 245sq.: 272.25, 326.4; 271: 323.34; 302.13: 241.13;
350.13sqq.: 261.4; 369.48: 250.16; 372.12373.3: 190.34; 376sq.: 263.8; 387.11388.2:
199.13; 394sq.: 272.25; 433.46: 95 c ; 484sq.: 314.27
376
Index of Works
Talkhs al-athar al- ulwiyya 206: 327.6 Talkhs [Epitome] K. al-nafs (in general): 5
9, 10 22, 183.23, 189.15 8sq.: 241.35; 911: 217.21; 54: 289.14; 65: 259.8; 6785:
241.3; 68.7 11: 305.24; 73sq.: 217.21; 835: 242.25; 8890: 246.25, 319.21; 89: 330.3
1; 99sq.: 259.8, 265.35; 101: 248.35249.2 Talkhs K. al-burhan b 370sq.: 106 ; 372:
185.2; 375.9: 186.36; 378sq.: 190.3; 38082: 197.13, 219.24; 391sq.: 238.15; 402:
184.33; 408sq.: 255.32; 429sq.: 222.30; 434 36: 184.27 Talkhs K. al- ibara 70sq.:
243.1; 71sq.: 320.25; 78.12: 188.13; 88.1589.2: 318.9; 98: 191.8; 106: 191.8; 12
2.6: 188.13 Talkhs K. al-jadal 43.6sqq.: 186.19; 8789: 184.33; 11618: 231.26; 329:
184.10; 437sq.: 186.19; 509sq., 515sq.: 308.22 Talkhs K. al-kawn wa-l-fasad 5.68:
254.36; 5.8sq.: 255.3; 22.11: 150 c ; 2528: 217.9; 29.59: 255.24; 32.812: 255.24; 4
143: 217.1122; 45: 224.3; 7884: 217.33; 8689: 327.6; 89.13sq.: 255.4; 14043: 255.9 Ta
lkhs K. al-maqulat 3.10: 186.38; 4.4sq.: 3 b ; 710: 223.38; 7.108.3: 195.36; 7.10
: 195.20; 8.312: 196.4; 38.642.9: 196.8; 44.36: 196.16; 44.ult.: 188.14; 45.15: 196.
17; 47.8sq.: 207.11; 53: 224.2; 66.1167.1: 260.31; 7179: 196.25; 77: 224.9; 81.27:
224.12; 84sq.: 207.5; 90: 224.2; 97.35: 207.36; 1004: 292.25; 104.47: 208.4; 109.9s
qq.: 207.13 21; 111.5sqq.: 216.1; 121sq.: 224.2; 121.79: 196.30 Talkhs K. al-mugha
lata (in general): 206.1 686.9sqq.: 302.26303.3; 704: 296.17 Talkhs K. al-nafs
265.35; 69sq.: 319.22; 7072: 242.27; 12226: 242.26; 12630: 319.22; 14246: 259.8; 14
3: 249.9 Talkhs K. al-qiyas 88.1289.11(Bad.): 186.37; 32831(Jih.): 285.25 Talkhs K.
al-shi r 65sq.: 246.29 Talkhs al-sama wa-l- alam (in general): 10.2, 149.4(?) 77
: 308.17; 83sq.: 327.4; 110sq.: 298.8; 12225: 270.23; 17076: 272.18; 17784: 308.15;
207.4: 236.28; 21114: 326.35; 237: 309.11; 24549: 310.5, 313.5, 316.33; 249: 322.
17; 270.12: 236.28; 294305: 326.35; 296.21sqq.: 269.8; 3068: 327.5
Index of Works
377
Ibn Sna K. al-Mabda wa-l-ma ad 62.5sq.: 311.2 K. al-Najat 153 (Kurd )/307 (Dan.):
332.16; 234 (Kurd )/565 (Dan.): 330.7; 241 (Kur d )/580 (Dan.): 316.7; 266.19sqq. (
Kurd )/635.6sqq. (Dan.): 311.4 K. al-Shifa : al-Ilahiyyat 30, 35sq.: 260.8; 63
54.12; 97: 206.20; 104.4105.10: 284.33285.7, 285.21; 105.1114: 284.24; 106.10108.3:
204.9, 282.28, 284.20; 108.4 109.4: 204.11, 282.28; 176sq.: 268.35; 187sq.: 213.8
; 189.1518: 214.7; 190.14: 214.10; 190.8sq.: 214.18; 219: 255.13; 258.18: 216.36; 3
53: 329.29; 369.68: 321.8; 382.8383.13: 305.3; 388.6389.3: 316.21; 390 98: 395.1214:
258.19; 401.14,912: 313.24; 4069: 239.14; 417sq.: 334.19, 335.18; 424sq.: 321.6 K.
al-Shifa : al-Mantiq II. al-Maqulat 139.417: 196.19; 207sq.: 196.27; 246: 208.37;
247.2: 208.32 K. al-Shifa : al-Riyadiyyat. Ilm al-musq 50: 287.2 K. al-S
-Tab iyyat I. al-Sama al-tab 14.1016.18: 230.4; 3024, 31319: 305.4 K. a
b iyyat V. al-Ma adin wa-l-athar al- ulwiyya 48sq.: 333.1 Ikhwan al-Safa Rasa
khwan al-Safa III, 47679: 314.20 John Philoponus De aeternitate mundi contra Proc
lum 16466: 252.31253.7 al-Kind al-Ibana an al- illa al-fa ila al-qarba... 229sq.:
2.25 Plato Cratylos 422a427d: 193.14 Meno 80de: 271.24 Leges 716cd: 337.1 Protagora
s 341de: 336.ult. Respublica 508d509a : 279.38
378
Index of Works
Theaetetus 201c210d: 193.20 Timaeus 42e: 319.36; 67e: 232.30 Plotinus Enneas V.4.
2, 2737: 319.25 al-ur an (in general): 156.16, 159.9 XXI.22: 318.32; LXVII.14: 3
20.11 Simplicius In Aristotelis Categorias commentarium 48sq.: 253.8254.6

Averroes On Aristotles Metaphysics

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Averroes On Aristotles Metaphysics

Furthermore, it is certainly not an inquiry into a particular topic or problem o

Section of Aristotles Metaphysics

ied and verified by metaphysics). 5. Book VI (E) 1 (metaphysics is the supreme s

Ibn Falaqueras De ot ha-filosofim, of which we have two manuscripts. The Hebrew v

1. Kitab Ma ba d al-tab a. [Edited by] Mustafa al-abban. Cairo: al Matba a

2. Compendio de Metafsica. Texto arabe con traduccion y notas de Carlos uiros Ro

3. Kitab Ma ba d al-tab a li-l-Faqh al-ad al- Allama Ab l-Wald

4. Talkhs Ma ba d al-tab a. Haqqaqahu wa-qaddama lahu Uthman Amn. Ca

SIGLA AND ABBREVIATIONS

Sigla and Abbreviations

[Abu l-Wald Muhammad ibn Rushds So-called Epitome of the Metaphysics]

Reading, with mss. , D, T and I. Mantino, al-muntaliq ala instead of al-mutlaq

Reading muradifan li-dhati l-shay i wa-mahiyyatih. Mss. H and have muradifan li

One is predicated of that which is numerically multiplea in five ways: F irstly, on

as ashya ghayru qabilatin li-l-infi ali wa-l-taghyri wa-la bi-l-jumlati tashulu h

Reading, with mss. A, G, H, R, and T, alladh yuqalu la ala mawdu . Mss. D,

that, according to what he believed to be [Aristotles doctrine] in the Book of An

Having clarified what sort of potency is predicated of things moving or set in m

this distinction. However, if one attributes to them such an existence outside t

Correspondingly, it is due to numerical multiplicity that one predicates multipli

serves to signify a common accident, as maintained by Ibn Snaa, or else [(iii)] i

The following section (printed in columns) is transmitted in three versions. Ver

Thus ms. M (fa-wajibun alla yakuna yuhdithuha l-suwaru l-hayulaniyya). Ms. H re

[5] There is no explicit statement to this effect in Aristotles Posterior Analyti

[13] Asl mawdu is the analytical translation of the epistemological technical te

] ^ B bR a bR !?V \V cz"R n !b/d (eR x WK[V B f^ e \Va k e*i ] ^ \B a Zx k k Kd

[74] According to Aristotle, the

continuous is divisible ad infinitum; cf. Physi

[76 ] Cf. Ibn Sna, K. al-Shifa : al-Ilahiyyat III.3, p. 108, l. 4 p. 109, l. 4 (

a 32 b 6, X [I] 1, 1052 a 2934) and is followed in this respect by Ibn Rushd in h

and Talkhs Kitab al-mughalata. Cf. also Aristotle, Metaph. V () 9,

definition of qualitative parts, on the other hand, is prior to the definition o

ly not deductive or apodictic proofs, as suggested by Van den Bergh, p. 175), we

forms, qua proprium, an essential union. Obviously, it is the relation of type (

matter as such) and proximate potentiality (such as the potentiality of a certai

[218] A paraphrase of Metaph. VII (Z) 5, 1030 b 26sq.: [219] As discusse

of both sexual as well as spontaneous reproduction. In his later, revised, posit

Z N xa jF V f^ ; V{F eR ! +WR b^a "eCV

remaining particular potencies [...], this is provided in the book De sensu et s

alladh huwa bi-l-anniyyati ka-mithli lladh huwa huwiyyatun ma (Long Commentary on

68. Alteration (istihala) is either in substance or in quality, cf. Risalat al-ka

[337] Cf. p. 44sq. of the translation. [338] Cf. Metaph. IX () 1, 1046 a 6:

change in itself by another [thing] qua other, since it is [...] self-evident th

[350] Mumkin, corresponding to , Metaph. IX () 6, 1048 a 27. [351] Cf. Metaph.

that being-related-to-something is either accidental, and thus connected with su

[359] A paraphrase of Metaph. IX () 6, 1048 b 1417. Another particular meaning of

al-sama al-tab , p. 145, below, p. 139sq. of the present translation. Thirdly, he di

[378] On blood as ultimate nourishment and proximate potentiality of flesh, cf.

been applied to actuality as condition of the actualization of potentiality, the

variant readings bi-l-fi li and bi-l-fadli encountered in the Epitome re occurs i

explained as follows: 1. According to [i] potential being is potentially true (a

section is misrepresented in various ways in the three previous modern translati

Y GS[ ;Zxa bbR ~i E "V Zza \V e^;R z "V Zz PRa 8KF _ xa

eSF [SJ ;N SN ^ Y N xa ]ba ba cza ?R z V b^ c R

eR [431] Bi-ma nan haqqiyyin bastin.

Ja !b/R bR ~ eS> Kd c R b^a c R b^a 8e eK !?l bR Kd 4e i YbSR

In Metaph. VII (Z) 17, Aristotle differentiates between predicating something of

multiplicity is thus a mere process of directing attention to what is already kn

what is first or complete in the genus in question; (iii) what is complete in an

three-dimensional extension is actualized through any form whatsoever, there are

many qua measurable number or quantity is also part of an essential reciprocal r

Rushd is going to prove here. In showing the impossibility of an infinite chain