Book XII Chapter 1

The subject of our inquiry¹ is substance; for the principles and the causes we are seeking are those of substances. For if the universe is of the nature of a whole, substance is its first part; and if it coheres² merely by virtue³ of serial⁴ succession, on this view also substance is first, and is succeeded by quality, and then by quantity. At the same time these latter are not even being in the full sense, but are qualities and movements of it,-or else even the not-white and the not-straight would be being; at least we say even these are, e.g. ‘there is a not-white’. Further, none of the categories other than substance can exist apart. And the early philosophers also in practice testify to the primacy of substance; for it was of substance that they sought the principles and elements and causes. The thinkers of the present day tend to rank universals as substances (for genera are universals, and these they tend to describe as principles and substances, owing to the abstract nature of their inquiry); but the thinkers of old ranked particular things as substances, e.g. fire and earth, not what is common to both, body.

There are three kinds of substance-one that is sensible (of which one subdivision is eternal and another is perishable⁵; the latter is recognized by all men, and includes e.g. plants and animals), of which we must grasp the elements, whether one or many; and another that is immovable, and this certain thinkers assert to be capable of existing apart, some dividing it into two, others identifying the Forms and the objects of mathematics, and others positing⁶, of these two, only the objects of mathematics. The former two kinds of substance are the subject of physics (for they imply movement); but the third kind belongs to another science, if there is no principle common to it and to the other kinds.

1 inquiry   

n.打听，询问，调查，查问

参考例句：

• Many parents have been pressing for an inquiry into the problem.许多家长迫切要求调查这个问题。
• The field of inquiry has narrowed down to five persons.调查的范围已经缩小到只剩5个人了。

2 coheres   

v.黏合( cohere的第三人称单数 )；联合；结合；（指看法、推理等）前后一致

参考例句：

• There are moral principles by which society coheres. 有些道德法则使社会得以团结一致。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• The perfect technical design coheres the plan of Silver Star person,full of elaboration to every detail. 完美的设计技术，凝聚着银星人的精心策划，饱含着对每个细节的推敲。 来自互联网

3 virtue   

n.德行，美德；贞操；优点；功效，效力

参考例句：

• He was considered to be a paragon of virtue.他被认为是品德尽善尽美的典范。
• You need to decorate your mind with virtue.你应该用德行美化心灵。

4 serial   

n.连本影片，连本电视节目；adj.连续的

参考例句：

• A new serial is starting on television tonight.今晚电视开播一部新的电视连续剧。
• Can you account for the serial failures in our experiment?你能解释我们实验屡屡失败的原因吗？

5 perishable   

adj.（尤指食物）易腐的，易坏的

参考例句：

• Many fresh foods are highly perishable.许多新鲜食物都极易腐败。
• Fruits are perishable in transit.水果在运送时容易腐烂。

6 positing   

v.假定，设想，假设( posit的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Involves a contrast-a positing of walks that are opposites. 给我们看见强烈的对照﹕两种完全相反的生活样式。 来自互联网
• Global Positing System (GPS) technology has been widely used in many field. 全球定位系统(GPS)技术已经在许多领域得到广泛的应用。 来自互联网