Глава IV. О сущем, субстанции и акциденции

Existing (το ον) is a common name for everything that exists. It is divided into substance and accident. Substance (ουσια) is something most important, since it has existence in itself, and not in another. Accident (συμβεβηκος) is that which cannot exist in itself, but is contemplated in substance. Substance is the subject (υποκειμενον), as if the matter of things. An accident is what is contemplated in a substance as a subject, for example: copper and wax are substances, and figure, form, color are accidents, and the body is a substance, and its color is an accident. The body is not in color, but the color is in the body, and not the soul is in knowledge, but knowledge is in the soul, and not copper and wax are in the figure, but the figure is in wax and copper. They don't say; body color, but body color; not the soul of knowledge, but the knowledge of the soul; not a wax figure, but a wax figure. And color, and knowledge, and figure change, but the body, soul and wax remain the same, since the substance does not change. In addition, the substance and matter of the body is one: there are many colors. The situation is similar with everything else: the subject is the substance; the same thing that is contemplated in the subject, i.e. substance is an accident. Substance is defined in this way: substance is a self-existent thing that does not need another thing for its existence. Accident, on the contrary, is that which cannot exist in itself, but has its existence in another. Thus, the substance will be God and every creation, although God is an “essential substance.” There are also essential qualities that we will talk about. You might be interested in: