§2.2.12#1Τὸ δʼ αὐτὸ αἴτιόν ἐστι τοῖς γινομένοις καὶ τοῖς γεγεντημένοις καὶ τοῖς ἐσομένοις ὅπερ καὶ τοῖς οὖσι (τὸ γὰρ μέσον αἴτιον), πλὴν τοῖς μὲν οὖσιν ὅν, τοῖς δὲ γινομένοις γινόμενον, τοῖς δὲ γεγεντημένοις γεγενημένον καὶ ἐσομένοις ἐσόμενον.
And the cause of things that are coming to be, and of things that have come to be, and of things that will be is the same as the cause of things that are (for the middle term is the cause), except that for things that are it is something that is, for things coming to be it is something coming to be, for things that have come to be it is something that has come to be, and for things that will be it is something that will be.
οἷον διὰ τί γέγονεν ἕκλειφις;
For example, why did an eclipse happen?
διότι ἐν μέσῳ γέγονεν ἡ γῇ· γίνεται δὲ διότι γίνεται, ἔσται δὲ διότι ἔσται ἐν καὶ ἔστι διότι ἔστιν.
Because the earth came to be in the middle; and it comes to be because it comes to be in the middle, and it will be because it will be in the middle, and it is because it is in the middle.
τί ἐστι κρύσταλλος;
What is ice?
εἰλήφθω δὴ ὅτι ὕδωρ πεπηγός.
Let it be assumed that it is frozen water.
ὕδωρ ἐφʼ οὗ Γ, πεπηγὸς ἐφʼ οὗ Α, αἴτιον τὸ μέσον ἐφʼ οὗ Β, ἔκλειψις θερμοῦ παντελής.
Let water be Γ, frozen be A, and the cause, the middle term, be B, namely, a complete absence of heat.
ὑπάρχει δὴ τῷ Γ τὸ Β, τούτῳ δὲ τὸ πεπηγέναι τὸ ἐφʼ οὗ.
Now B belongs to Γ, and to B belongs being frozen, which is A.
Α γίνεται δὲ κρύσταλλος γινομένου τοῦ Β, γεγέντηται δὲ γεγεντημένου, ἔσται δʼ ἐσομένου.
And ice comes to be when B comes to be, and has come to be when B has come to be, and will be when B will be.
Τὸ μὲν οὖν οὕτως αἴτιον καὶ οὗ αἴτιον ἅμα γίνεται, ὅταν γίνηται, καὶ ἔστιν, ὅταν ᾖ· καὶ ἐπὶ τοῦ γεγονέναι καὶ ἔσεσθαι ὐσαύτως.
Thus, on the one hand, a cause of this sort and that of which it is the cause come to be simultaneously when they come to be, and exist simultaneously when they exist; and likewise for having come to be and being about to be.
ἐπὶ δὲ τῶν μὴ ἅμα ἆρʼ ἔστιν ἐν τῷ συνεχεῖ χρόνῳ, ὥσπερ δοκεῖ ἡμῖν, ἄλλα ἄλλων αἴτια εἶναι, τοῦ τόδε γενέσθαι ἕτερον γενόμενον, καὶ τοῦ ἔσεσθαι ἕτερον ἐσόμενον, καὶ τοῦ γίνεσθαι δέ, εἴ τι ἔμπροσθεν ἐγένετο;
On the other hand, in the case of those that are not simultaneous, is it possible in continuous time, as it seems to us, for some things to be the causes of others, so that of this having come to be, some other thing having come to be is the cause, and of this being about to be, some other thing being about to be is the cause, and of this coming to be, if something came to be before?
ἔστι δὴ ἀπὸ τοῦ ὕστερον γεγονότος ὁ συλλογισμός (ἀρχὴ δὲ καὶ τούτων τὰ γεγονότα)· διὸ καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν γινομένων ὡσαύτως.
Indeed, the deduction is from the later thing that has come to be (and the principle of these is what has come to be); wherefore it is the same for things coming to be.
ἀπὸ δὲ τοῦ προτέρου οὐκ ἕστιν, οἷον ἐπεὶ τόδε γέγονεν, ὅτι τόδʼ ὕστερον γέγονεν· καὶ ἐπὶ τοῦ ἔσεσθαι ὡσαύτως.
But it is not from the prior thing, for example, "since this has come to be, therefore this later thing has come to be"; and likewise for what will be.
οὔτε γὰρ ἀορίστου οὔθʼ ὁρισθέντος ἔσται τοῦ χρόνου ὥστʼ ἐπεὶ τοῦτʼ ἀληθὲς εἰπεῖν γεγονέναι, τόδʼ ἀληθὲς εὐπεῖν γεγονέναι τὸ ὕστερον. ἐν γὰρ τῷ μεταξύ φεῦδος ἔσται τὸ εἰπεῖν τοῦτο, ἤδη θατέρου γεγονότος.
For whether the time is indefinite or definite, it will not be the case that "since it is true to say that this has come to be, it is true to say that this later thing has come to be." For in the interval, it will be false to say this, even though the other has already come to be.
ὁ δʼ αὐτὸς λόγος καὶ ἐπὶ τοῦ ἐσομένου, οὐδʼ ἐπεὶ τόδε γέγονε, τόδʼ ἔσται. τὸ γὰρ μέσον ὁμόγονον δεῖ εἶναι, τῶν γενομένων γενόμενον, τῶν ἐσομένων ἐσόμενον, τῶν γινομένων γινόμενον, τῶν ὄντων ὅν· τοῦ δὲ γέγονε καὶ τοῦ ἔσται οὐκ ἐνδέχεται εἶναι ὁμόγονον.
And the same account applies to what will be, nor "since this has come to be, that will be." For the middle term must be of the same kind: for things that have come to be, something that has come to be; for things that will be, something that will be; for things coming to be, something coming to be; for things that are, something that is; but of what has come to be and of what will be it is not possible to be of the same kind.
ἔτι οὔτε ἀόριστον ἐνδέχεται εἶναι τὸν χρόνον τὸν μεταξύ οὔθ’ ὡρισμένον· ψεῦδος γὰρ ἔσται τὸ εἰπεῖν ἐν τῷ μεταξύ.
Furthermore, the time in between can neither be indefinite nor definite; for in the interval it will be false to say this.
ἐπισκεττέον δὲ τί τὸ συνέχον ὥστε μετὰ τὸ γεγονέναι τὸ γίνεσθαι ὑπάρχειν ἐν τοῖς πράγμασιν.
We must examine what it is that holds things together, so that in actual matters coming to be belongs after having come to be.
ἢ δξλον ὅτι οὐκ ἔστιν ἐχόμενον γεγονότος γινόμενον;
Or is it clear that what is coming to be is not next to what has come to be?
οὐδὲ γὰρ γενόμενον γενομένου· πέρατα γὰρ καὶ ἄτομα·
For neither is what has come to be next to what has come to be; for they are limits and indivisibles.
ὥσπερ οὖν οὐδὲ στιγμαί εἰσιν ἀλλήλων ἐχόμεναι, οὐδὲ γενόμενα· ἄμφω γὰρ ἀδιαίρετα.
Just as, then, points are not next to each other, neither are things that have come to be; for both are indivisible.
οὐδὲ δὴ γινόμενον γεγεντημένουο διὰ τὸ αὐτό· τὸ μὲν γὰρ γινόμενον διαιρετόν, τὸ δὲ γεγονὸς ἀδιαίρετον.
Nor indeed is what is coming to be next to what has come to be, for the same reason; for what is coming to be is divisible, whereas what has come to be is indivisible.
ὥσπερ οὖν γραμμὴ τπρὸς στιγμὴν ἔχει, οὕτω τὸ γινόμενον πρός τὸ γεγονός· ἐνυπάρχει γὰρ ἄπειρα γεγονότα ἐν τῷ γινομένῳ: μᾶλλον δὲ φανερῶς ἐν τοῖς καθόλου περὶ κινήσεως δεῖ λεχθῆναι περὶ τούταν·
Just as a line is to a point, so is what is coming to be to what has come to be; for infinitely many things that have come to be are present in what is coming to be.
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But these matters must be stated more clearly in our general discussions about motion.