§1.5#2Φαίνεται δὴ τοῦ αὐξανομένου ὁτιοῦν μέρος ηὐξῆσθαι, ὁμοίως δὲ καὶ ἐν τῷ φθίνειν ἔλαττον γεγονέναι, ἔτι δὲ προσιόντος τινὸς αὐξάνεσθαι καὶ ἀπιόντος φθίνειν.
It appears, indeed, that any part of that which grows has grown, and likewise in decaying has become smaller, and further, that it grows by something coming to it and decays by something departing.
ἀναγκαῖον δὴ ἢ ἀσωμάτῳ αὐξάνεσθαι ἢ σώματι.
It is necessary, then, that it grows either by an incorporeal thing or by a body.
εἰ μὲν οὖν ἀσωμάτῳ, ἔσται χωριστὸν τὸ κενόν· ἀδύνατον δὲ μεγέθους ὕλην εἶναι χωριστήν, ὥσπερ εἴρηται πρότερον·
If, on the one hand, by an incorporeal thing, the void will be separable; but it is impossible for the matter of magnitude to be separable, as was said before.
εἰ δὲ σώματι, δύο ἐν τῷ αὐτῷ σώματα τόπῳ ἔσται, τό τε αὐξόμενον καὶ τὸ αὖξον· ἔστι δὲ καὶ τοῦτο ἀδύνατον.
If, on the other hand, by a body, there will be two bodies in the same place, namely that which grows and that which causes growth; and this too is impossible.
ἀλλὰ μὴν οὐδ᾿ οὕτως ἐνδέχεται λέγειν γίνεσθαι τὴν αὔξησιν καὶ τὴν φθίσιν, ὥσπερ ὅταν ἐξ ὕδατος ἀήρ· τότε γὰρ μείζων ὁ ὄγκος γέγονεν· οὐ γὰρ αὔξησις τοῦτο ἀλλὰ γένεσις μὲν τοῦ εἰς A μετέβαλεν ἔσται, φθορὰ δὲ τοῦ ἐναντίου· αὔξησις δὲ οὐδετέρου, ἀλλ᾿ ἢ οὐδενὸς ἢ εἴ τι κοινὸν ἀμφοῖν ὑπάρχει, τῷ γινομένῳ καὶ τῷ φθαρέντι, οἷον εἰ σῶμα.
But indeed, neither is it possible to say that growth and decay occur in the way they do when air comes to be from water; for then the volume has become larger; for this is not growth but a generation of that into which it changed, and a destruction of its contrary; and it is a growth of neither, but either of nothing, or of whatever is common to both, to that which comes to be and that which is destroyed, such as if it is a body.
τὸ δ᾿ ὕδωρ οὐκ ηὔξηται οὐδ᾿ ὁ ἀήρ, ἀλλὰ τὸ μὲν ἀπόλωλε τὸ δὲ γέγονεν· τὸ σῶμα δέ, εἴπερ, ηὔξηται.
But the water has not grown, nor has the air, but the former has perished and the latter has come to be; but the body, if indeed anything, has grown.
ἀλλὰ καὶ τοῦτ᾿ ἀδύνατον.
But this too is impossible.
δεῖ γὰρ σώζειν τῷ λόγῳ τὰ ὑπάρχοντα τῷ αὐξανομένῳ καὶ φθίνοντι.
For we must preserve in our account the characteristics belonging to that which grows and decays.
ταῦτα δὲ τρία εστίν, ὧν ἓν μέν ἐστι τὸ ὁτιοῦν μέρος μεῖζον γίγνεσθαι τοῦ αὐξανομένου μεγέθους, οἷον εἰ σὰρξ τῆς σαρκός, καὶ προσιόντος τινός, καὶ τρίτον σωζομένου τοῦ αὐξανομένου καὶ ὑπομένοντος·
And these are three, of which one is that any part of the growing magnitude becomes larger (such as flesh of flesh), [secondly] by something coming to it, and thirdly, that that which grows is preserved and persists.
ἐν μὲν γὰρ τῷ γίνεσθαί τι ἀπλῶς ἢ φθείρεσθαι οὐχ ὑπομένει, ἐν δὲ τῷ ἀλλοιοῦσθαι ἢ αὐξάνεσθαι ἢ φθίνειν ὑπομένει τὸ αὐτὸ τὸ αὐξανόμενον ἢ ἀλλοιούμενον· ἀλλ᾿ ἔνθα μὲν τὸ πάθος ἔνθα δὲ τὸ μέγεθος τὸ αὐτὸ οὐ μένει.
For in the case of something coming to be simply or being destroyed, it does not persist, but in the case of being altered or growing or decaying, the same thing, namely that which grows or is altered, persists; but in the one case the property, and in the other the magnitude itself does not remain the same.
εἰ δὴ ἔσται ἡ εἰρημένη αὔξησις, ἐνδέχοιτ᾿ ἂν μηδενός γε προσιόντος μηδὲ ὑπομένοντος αὐξάνεσθαι καὶ μηδενὸς ἀπιόντος φθίνειν καὶ μὴ ὑπομένειν τὸ αὐξανόμενον.
If, then, there is to be the aforementioned growth, it would be possible for something to grow even though nothing comes to it and it does not persist, and to decay though nothing departs, and for that which grows not to persist.
ἀλλὰ δεῖ τοῦτο σώζειν· ὑπόκειται γὰρ ἡ αὔξησις τοιοῦτον.
But we must preserve this; for growth is assumed to be of this kind.
Ἀπορήσειε δ᾿ ἄν τις καὶ τί ἐστι τὸ αὐξανόμενον, πότερον ᾧ προστίθεταί τι, οἷον εἰ τὴν κνήμην αὐξάνει, αὕτη μείζων, ᾧ δὲ αὐξάνει, ἡ τροφή, οὔ.
One might also raise the question of what that which grows is: is it that to which something is added (for example, if it grows the shin, this is larger), while that by which it grows, namely the food, is not?
διὰ τί δὴ οὖν οὐκ ἄμφω ηὔξηται;
Why then have both not grown?
μεῖζον γὰρ καὶ ὃ καὶ ᾧ, ὥσπερ ὅταν μίξῃς οἷνον ὕδατι· ὁμοίως γὰρ πλεῖον ἑκάτερον.
For both that which grows (ὃ) and that by which it grows (ᾧ) are larger, just as when you mix wine with water; for likewise each is more.
ἢ ὅτι τοῦ μὲν μένει ἡ οὐσία, τοῦ δ᾿ οὔ, οἷον τῆς τροφῆς, ἐπεὶ καὶ ἐνταῦθα τὸ ἐπικρατοῦν λέγεται ἐν τῇ μίξει, οἷον ὅτι οἶνος·
Or is it because the substance of the one remains, but of the other it does not, for example of the food?
ποιεῖ γὰρ τὸ τοῦ οἴνου ἔργον ἀλλ᾿ οὐ τὸ τοῦ ὕδατος τὸ σύνολον μῖγμα.
Since in this case too, the dominant element in the mixture is what it is called, for example, that it is wine; for the whole mixture performs the function of wine, but not at all that of water.
ὁμοίως δὲ καὶ ἐπ᾿ ἀλλοιώσεως, εἰ μένει σὰρξ οὗσα καὶ τὸ τί ἐστι, πάθος δέ τι ὑπάρχει τῶν καθ᾿ αὑτό, ὅ πρότερον οὐχ ὑπῆρχεν. ἠλλοίωται τοῦτο· ᾧ δ᾿ ἠλλοίωται, ὁτὲ μὲν οὐδὲν πέπονθεν, ὁτὲ δὲ κἀκεῖνο.
And likewise also in the case of alteration, if it remains being flesh and what it is, but some property belongs to it of those essential to it, which did not belong to it before, this has been altered; but that by which it was altered sometimes has suffered nothing, and sometimes it too has.
ἀλλὰ τὸ ἀλλοιοῦν καὶ ἡ ἀρχὴ τῆς κινήσεως ἐν τῷ αὐξανομένῳ καὶ τῷ ἀλλοιουμένῳ·
But that which alters and the principle of motion are in that which grows and that which is altered; for the moving principle is in these.
ἐν τούτοις γὰρ τὸ κινοῦν, ἐπεὶ καὶ τὸ εἰσελθὸν γένοιτ᾿ ἄν ποτε μεῖζον, καὶ τὸ ἀπολαῦσαν αὐτοῦ σῶμα, οἷον εἰ εἰσελθὸν γένοιτο πνεῦμα.
For even that which has entered might sometimes become larger, as well as the body which received it, for example, if wind, having entered, should become [larger].
ἀλλ᾿ ἔφθαρταί γε τοῦτο παθόν, καὶ τὸ κινοῦν οὐκ ἐν τούτῳ.
But this at any rate has perished, having suffered, and the moving principle is not in this.