Глава L. О предметах относительных

Relative are those objects about which it is said that what they are belongs to another object or is in some other relation to it. Belongs, they say, to someone else. For example, father to son, for the father is always spoken of as the father of the son. Refers to another, for example, big - to small, much - to little, for they do not say: much is little, but much is in relation to little. It should be noted that when something is considered in itself, it is not a relative object. Relation is spoken of when something stands in relation to another. Thus, the being and hypostasis (ὑποστασις) of relative objects consists in being named in the mind of another or being in relation to this other, for it is through this mutual relation that relative objects are produced. Of the relative objects, some are called by the same name, for example, friend - each other, enemy - enemy of the enemy; others by different names, for example, father - father of a son, teacher - teacher of a student. Then, some relative objects are in a relationship of superiority to each other, for example, greater is greater than lesser; others in relation to the judge and the subject of judgment - for example, knowledge is knowledge of what can be known, for knowledge judges what is subject to knowledge; in the same way, sensation is the sensation of what is sensed, position is the position of what is placed, standing is the standing of what is placed, reclining is the reclining of the one reclining, etc. The third relative objects are in relation to each other in terms of strength and powerlessness. In relation to power - for example, when we say that vision is powerless to see the starless sky. The fourth are in relation to each other in relation to the cause and what is produced by the cause - for example, a father is the father of a son. The property of relative objects is that they can be converted. For example, one friend is called a friend of a friend, and another is also called a friend of a friend; the teacher is called the teacher of the student, and the student is the student of the teacher [The second property of relative objects is that] they by nature exist together. Existence together means that when one object is posited or eliminated, then the other is also posited and eliminated. So, if there is a father, then there will undoubtedly be a son, and if there is no father, then there will be no son, for whose son will he be if there is no father? And if there is no son, then there will be no father, for he who does not have a son will no longer be a father. Thus, with the elimination of the father, the son is also eliminated, and with the elimination of the son, the father is also eliminated. But in this case, it is not the hypostasis of both that is eliminated, but the relationship, for although the one who is called a son remains, he is no longer a son; How can one be a son who has no father? If we talk about the son of a deceased person, then we either say this not in a strict sense, but figuratively, or we mean that the father, due to the immortality of the soul, did not die and did not fade into oblivion. It should be noted that each category is the most general genus and has subordinate genera, and species, and differences, dividing for genera and forming for species, and the lowest species and individuals. But formative differences are not called essential unless they belong to one substance, and individuals are not called hypostases unless they belong to one substance alone. It should be known that substance itself, since it is a genus and has a relation to another, is elevated to the category of relation. Indeed, a genus is a genus of species, and species are species of a genus and belong to those objects that relate to something. Further, objects that are relative and capable of circulation are either independent and have a certain relationship, i.e. are substances, or not independent, i.e. accidents. If they are independent, then the relationship characteristic of them is either natural, such as the relationship of a father to his son, or unnatural. When a relationship is unnatural, it depends either on fate, such as the relationship between slave and master, or on art, such as the relationship between teacher and student, or on disposition, such as friend and friend, enemy and enemy. If relative objects are not independent, but are accidents, then the relation belonging to them is either natural, such as the relation of double and half, or unnatural, [such as, for example, the relation of large and small; the latter depends more on chance than on nature. However, chance and arrangement in non-independent objects do not take place, except in those circumstances when something appears to be related to something else independent and accidentally determined by accident]. Relative objects must first be brought under another category, considering them in themselves, and then, since they have a relation to another object, brought under the category of relative objects; for it is first necessary to establish that a known object exists without relation, and then to consider the relation inherent in it. Relation (σχεσις) is the state or property of essential or inessential predicates of one object in relation to another. Relationships are established either by nature, or fate, or art, or location. You might be interested in: