Глава LI. О качественном и качестве

Quality is that by which objects are said to be of what quality they are. And again: quality is what the objects involved in it get their name from. Thus, from prudence, he who has prudence receives the name prudent; and the one who participates in warmth is called warm. It should be noted that quality has more generality than quality. In fact, qualitative means quality, as well as what is involved in it, i.e. to quality, as for example, warm means having warmth, for something that has quality is called qualitative, as for example, objects having warmth are called warm. So, warm is quality, and warmth is quality. Often the quality itself is called quality. The situation is similar with quantity and quantity. Some qualities are found in animate and rational beings, such as: knowledge and virtues, illness and health. Such qualities are called properties (εξεις) and states (διαθεσεις). Other qualities exist in both animate and inanimate bodies, such as: heat and cold, form and figure, strength and weakness. Of these qualities, some are inherent in things potentially, others – actually. If potential, then they produce strength and powerlessness; if actual, then they produce qualities that either spread to the entire object, just as warmth spreads to all fire, whiteness to all milk and all snow, and gives suffering and a passive quality; or are limited to the surface and form a figure and form. Thus there are four types of qualities: property and state, strength and powerlessness, suffering and passive quality, figure and form. A property differs from a state in that the property is slightly changeable and longer lasting, for example, prudence; for it is not quickly that anyone passes from prudence to foolishness. Also knowledge: if someone has exact knowledge, then this knowledge cannot be changed in him. The properties are also courage, moderation, and justice. States, on the contrary, are mobile and easily change, for example, warmth, cold, illness, health and the like, because according to them a person is in one state or another. A person changes easily, from warm to cold, from sick to healthy. However, these very states, such as health, illness, and the like, belong to properties if they acquire stability and become little changeable. A state has a greater generality than a property, for both are called states, since they express in what position, according to them, a person is; but the second is a state of little change, while the first is simply a state. The second type of quality is strength and powerlessness that have not received expression in action. But they represent natural disposition and strength or disposition. Thus, we say about a child that he has the ability for music, because although in reality music is not inherent in him, he nevertheless has a disposition to perceive it. On the contrary, we call an animal incapable of music because it does not master music and is not capable of perceiving it. Likewise, a solid body has the ability to be slow to separate. The third type of quality is passive quality and suffering, such as: warmth, cold, whiteness, blackness and the like. Suffering, like a condition, is easily removable, for example, if someone blushes because of shame, or turns pale because of fear, for example. On the contrary, the passive quality is motionless and little changeable. Moreover, some of the passive qualities were not formed due to suffering, i.e. they do not have their origin in another, but are essentially inherent in the object, for example, warmth belongs to fire and sweetness to honey. Indeed, heat is not an acquired quality for fire, and sweetness is not for honey. It cannot be said that before fire and honey did not have these qualities, and then they perceived warmth and sweetness. As for our feelings, these qualities have the same effect on them as they themselves experience. So fire, being warm, warms us, and honey, being sweet, gives us a feeling of sweetness. On the contrary, some passive qualities were formed due to some kind of suffering or confusion (κρασεως) and sometimes cause a passive state in our feeling, but this state and this quality are not what they themselves have. These are the colors. In fact, white color was formed as a result of some suffering or confusion, and in our vision it causes a passive state, that is, discrimination, expansion and illumination; but at the same time it does not make us white. A passive quality, if it is not acquired, belongs either to the whole species, as warmth belongs to every fire without exception, or not to the whole species, as the black color belongs to the Ethiopians, for not all people are black. All this takes place not only in relation to the body, but also in relation to the soul. The fourth type of quality is figure and form; the figure belongs to both animate and inanimate bodies, but the form belongs only to animate ones. If the name “form” is spoken about inanimate objects or if they are called beautiful in form, then in this case the word is used not in its own sense, but figuratively. A figure has a greater generality than a form, since a form is also called a figure, while the figure of inanimate objects is not called a form. Qualities also include straightness, or regularity, and crookedness, or curvature. It should be noted that objects that have qualities, for the most part, receive their name from these latter, so from heat an object is called warm. But some objects are called by the same name [as the quality itself]: for example, the art of music and the musical woman, i.e. a woman skilled in the art of music. Some objects, although very few, are called by a completely different name [than their quality]. So, for example, someone who is characterized by virtue receives the name zealous (σπουδαιτος), for a virtuous person is also called zealous. It should be borne in mind that there are two types of suffering. Suffering is either suffering that has already been suffered, and it is elevated to the category of quality - for example, clothes that have already been bleached are called white - or suffering is called suffering that is currently being endured, and it is raised to the category of suffering, for example, clothes that have not yet been bleached, but are being whitened at the present moment. It should be noted that qualities are not bodies, but are incorporeal, for if they were bodies, they would fit into the category of substance. Likewise, all accidents are incorporeal and do not exist in themselves, being contemplated only in substance. It should be noted that essential qualities belong to the category of substance, for these qualities are the parts of a substance into which it is divided, and are included in the definition of its species; and under whatever category the whole is placed, its parts must also be placed under the same category. Thus, the heavy and the light are contemplated either in heaviness (ουκοις), as is the case with everything that is subject to weighing, and are elevated to the category of quantity; or in substances, for example, in the elements, i.e. in fire, earth, and are elevated to the category of substance, as essential qualities. The situation is similar with the dense and rare, i.e. thin. These qualities are either essentially contemplated in the basic elements and belong to the category of substance, or accidentally, as if in clothes, and then belong to the category of position (κεισθαι), for they represent the order of parts. Quality has the following three features, or properties (παρακολουθηματα). Firstly, it allows for opposition: thus, warm is opposite to cold, white is opposite to black. Secondly, it accepts definitions: more or less, since where there is an opposition, there are also definitions: more or less. “More” means strengthening, and “less” means weakening. Therefore, we can say that a given species is whiter than another, or less cold than another. The third feature that constitutes the main property of quality is that it allows for similarity and dissimilarity. It should be borne in mind that the figure does not allow for opposition. [It should be taken into account that not all deprivations (στερησεις) are expressed through negation; There are also deprivations that are expressed in the affirmative, such as blindness or deafness. On the other hand, not every species is expressed affirmatively, but also negatively. For example, intemperance (ακολασια) is a species, but it received not an affirmative, but a negative name. For a positive judgment is called an affirmation, for example: he is beautiful; and the negative is a negation, for example: he is not handsome. When we say: lawless (ανομος), then α means negation, like ου.] When one white is said to be equal to another white, they are taken not as qualities, but as quantities, and equality takes place between the surface of the first object and the surface of the second. In the same way, place is spoken of as similar and dissimilar, not because it is quantity, but because it participates in quality. You might be interested in: