§3.6.21viderimus tamen, utrum id sit status an in eo status.
Yet let us consider whether that is the state, or whether the state is in it.
Hermagoras statum vocat, per quem subiecta res intelligatur et ad quem probationes etiam partium referantur.
Hermagoras calls the state that through which the matter under consideration is understood and to which the proofs of both parties are referred.
nostra opinio semper haec fuit: cum essent frequenter in causa diversi quaestionum status, in eo credere status causae, quod esset in ea potentissimum et in quo maxime res verteretur.
Our opinion has always been this: since there are frequently in a cause various states of questions, to believe that the state of the cause lies in that which is most powerful in it and on which the matter chiefly turns.
id si quis generalem quaestionem vel caput generale dicere malet cum hoc mihi non erit pugna, non magis, quam si aliud adhuc, quo idem intelligatur, eius rei nomen invenerit, quanquam tota volumina in hanc disputationem impendisse multos sciam; nobis statum dici placet. §3.6.22sed cum in aliis omnibus inter scriptores summa dissensio est, tum in hoc praecipue videtur mihi studium quoque diversa tradendi fuisse; adeo, nec qui sit numerus nec quae nomina nec qui generales quive speciales sint status, convenit.
If anyone prefers to call this a general question or a general head, I shall have no dispute with him, no more than if he finds another name for it by which the same thing is understood, though I know that many have spent whole volumes on this dispute; for us, it is pleasing that it be called "state." But while there is the greatest disagreement among writers on all other matters, in this especially it seems to me that there was even a zeal for delivering different views; so much so, that neither what the number is, nor what the names are, nor which states are general or special, is agreed upon.
§3.6.23ac primum Aristoteles elementa decem constituit, circa quae versari videatur omnis quaestio. οὐσίαν, quam Plautus essentiam vocat, neque sane aliud est eius nomen Latinum; sed ea quaeritur, an sit. qualitatem, cuius apertus intellectus est. quantitatem, quae dupliciter a posterioribus divisa est, quam magnum et quam multum sit? ad aliquid, unde ducta est translatio et comparatio.
And first, Aristotle established ten elements around which every question seems to turn: substance, which Plautus calls "essentia", nor indeed is there any other Latin name for it; but by it, it is asked whether it exists; quality, the understanding of which is clear; quantity, which has been divided in two ways by later writers, as to how great and how much it is; relation, from which are derived transfer and comparison.
§3.6.24post haec
"ubi"
et
"quando"
; deinde
"facere"
,
"pati"
,
"habere"
, quod est quasi armatum esse, vestitum esse.
After these, "where" and "when"; then "to do", "to suffer", "to have", which is like being armed or being clothed.
novissime κεῖσθαι, quod est compositum esse quodam modo, ut calere, stare, irasci.
Lastly, disposition, which is being in some way disposed, like being warm, standing, being angry.
sed ex iis omnibus prima quattuor ad status pertinere, cetera ad quosdam locos argumentorum videntur.
But of all these, the first four seem to pertain to states, and the rest to certain topics of arguments.
§3.6.25alii novem elementa posuerunt, Personam, in qua de animo, corpore, extra positis quaeratur, quod pertinere ad coniecturae et qualitatis instrumenta video. tempus, quod χρόνον vocant, ex quo quaestio, an is quem, dum addicta est, mater peperit, servus sit natus. locum, unde controversia videtur, an fas fuerit tyrannum in templo occidere. an exulaverit, qui domi latuit. tempus iterum, quod καιρόν appellant; §3.6.26hanc autem videri volunt speciem illius temporis, ut aestatem vel hiemem; huic subiicitur ille in pestilentia comissator. actum, id est πρῆξιν, quod eo referunt, sciens commiserit an insciens? necessitate an casu? et talia. numerum, qui cadit in speciem quantitatis, an Thrasybulo triginta praemia debeantur, quia tot tyrannos sustulerit? §3.6.27causam, cui plurimae subiacent lites, quotiens factum non negatur, sed quia iusta ratione sit factum, defenditur. τρόπον, cum id, quod alio modo fieri licet, alio dicitur factum; hinc est adulter loris caesus vel fame necatus. occasionem factorum, quod est apertius, quam ut vel interpretandum vel exemplo sit demonstrandum, tamen ἀφορμὰς ἔργων vocant.
Others have posited nine elements: Person, in which inquiry is made concerning mind, body, and external things, which I see pertains to the instruments of conjecture and quality; time, which they call chronos, from which arises the question whether a child born to a mother while she was assigned for debt was born a slave; place, from which there seems to arise controversy whether it was lawful to kill a tyrant in a temple, or whether he who lay hid at home has gone into exile; time again, which they call kairos; now they wish this to appear as a species of that former time, such as summer or winter; to this is subordinated that reveller in the time of pestilence; action, that is praxis, to which they refer whether one committed it knowingly or unknowingly, by necessity or by chance, and the like; number, which falls under the species of quantity, as whether thirty rewards are due to Thrasybulus because he removed so many tyrants; cause, under which very many lawsuits lie, whenever the deed is not denied, but is defended as done with just reason; manner, when that which is permitted to be done in one way is said to have been done in another; hence comes the case of the adulterer flogged with thongs or starved to death; occasion of deeds, which is too clear to need either interpretation or demonstration by example, yet they call it the starting points of actions.
§3.6.28hi quoque nullam quaestionem extra haec putant.
These writers also think that there is no question outside of these.
quidam detrahunt duas partes, numerum et occasionem, et pro illo quod dixi actum subiiciunt res, id est πράγματα.
Some remove two parts, number and occasion, and instead of what I called action, they substitute things, that is, pragmata.
quae ne praeterisse viderer, satis habui attingere.
Lest I should seem to have passed these by, I thought it sufficient to touch upon them.
ceterum his nec status satis ostendi nec omnes contineri locos credo, quod apparebit diligentius legentibus, quae de utraque re dicam.
But I believe that by these neither are states sufficiently shown nor are all topics contained, which will be apparent to those who read more diligently what I shall say on both subjects.
erunt enim plura multo, quam quae his elementis comprehenduntur.
For there will be many more things than are comprehended in these elements.
§3.6.29apud plures auctores legi, placuisse quibusdam, unum omnino statum esse coniecturalem.
I have read in many authors that it pleased some that there is absolutely only one state, the conjectural.
sed quibus placuerit, neque illi tradiderunt neque ego usquam reperire potui.
But who those were that pleased, neither those authors have handed down nor have I been able to find anywhere.
rationem tamen hanc secuti dicuntur, quod res omnis signis colligeretur.
Yet they are said to have followed this reason, that every matter is inferred by signs.
quo modo licet qualitatis quoque solum statum faciant, quia ubique, qualis sit cuiusque rei natura, quaeri potest.
By which method they may also make the state of quality the only one, because everywhere it can be asked what is the nature of each thing.
sed utrocunque modo sequetur summa confusio.
But in whichever way, the greatest confusion will follow.