form of motion. In this way becoming
white is the contrary of becoming black; there is alteration in the
contrary direction, since a change of a qualitative nature takes
place.
15
The term ‘to have’ is used in various senses. In the first place
it is used with reference to habit or disposition or any other
quality, for we are said to ‘have’ a piece of knowledge or a
virtue. Then, again, it has reference to quantity, as, for
instance, in the case of a man’s height; for he is said to ‘have’ a
height of three or four cubits. It is used, moreover, with regard
to apparel, a man being said to ‘have’ a coat or tunic; or in
respect of something which we have on a part of ourselves, as a
ring on the hand: or in respect of something which is a part of us,
as hand or foot. The term refers also to content, as in the case of
a vessel and wheat, or of a jar and wine; a jar is said to ‘have’
wine, and a corn-measure wheat. The expression in such cases has
reference to content. Or it refers to that which has been acquired;
we are said to ‘have’ a house or a field. A man is also said to
‘have’ a wife, and a wife a husband, and this appears to be the
most remote meaning of the term, for by the use of it we mean
simply that the husband lives with the wife.
Other senses of the word might perhaps be found, but the most
ordinary ones have all been enumerated.
On Interpretation
Translated by E. M. Edghill
1
First we must define the terms ‘noun’ and ‘verb’, then the terms
‘denial’ and ‘affirmation’, then ‘proposition’ and ‘sentence.’
Spoken words are the symbols of mental experience and written
words are the symbols of spoken words. Just as all men have not the
same writing, so all men have not the same speech sounds, but the
mental experiences, which these directly symbolize, are the same
for all, as also are those things of which our experiences are the
images. This matter has, however, been discussed in my treatise
about the soul, for it belongs to an investigation distinct from
that which lies before us.
As there are in the mind thoughts which do not involve truth or
falsity, and also those which must be either true or false, so it
is in speech. For truth and falsity imply combination and
separation. Nouns and verbs, provided nothing is added, are like
thoughts without combination or separation; ‘man’ and ‘white’, as
isolated terms, are not yet either true or false. In proof of this,
consider the word ‘goat-stag.’ It has significance, but there is no
truth or falsity about it, unless ‘is’ or ‘is not’ is added, either
in the present or in some other tense.
2
By a noun we mean a sound significant by convention, which has
no reference to time, and of which no part is significant apart
from the rest. In the noun ‘Fairsteed,’ the part ‘steed’ has no
significance in and by itself, as in the phrase ‘fair steed.’ Yet
there is a difference between simple and composite nouns; for in
the former the part is in no way significant, in the latter it
contributes to the meaning of the whole, although it has not an
independent meaning. Thus in the word ‘pirate-boat’ the word ‘boat’
has no meaning except as part of the whole word.
The limitation ‘by convention’ was introduced because nothing is
by nature a noun or name-it is only so when it becomes a symbol;
inarticulate sounds, such as those which brutes produce, are
significant, yet none of these constitutes a noun.
The expression ‘not-man’ is not a noun. There is indeed no
recognized term by which we may denote such an expression, for it
is not a sentence or a denial. Let it then be called an indefinite
noun.
The expressions ‘of Philo’, ‘to Philo’, and so on, constitute
not nouns, but cases of a noun. The definition of these cases of a
noun is in other respects the same as that of the noun proper, but,
when coupled with ‘is’, ‘was’, or will be’, they do not, as they
are, form a
white is the contrary of becoming black; there is alteration in the
contrary direction, since a change of a qualitative nature takes
place.
15
The term ‘to have’ is used in various senses. In the first place
it is used with reference to habit or disposition or any other
quality, for we are said to ‘have’ a piece of knowledge or a
virtue. Then, again, it has reference to quantity, as, for
instance, in the case of a man’s height; for he is said to ‘have’ a
height of three or four cubits. It is used, moreover, with regard
to apparel, a man being said to ‘have’ a coat or tunic; or in
respect of something which we have on a part of ourselves, as a
ring on the hand: or in respect of something which is a part of us,
as hand or foot. The term refers also to content, as in the case of
a vessel and wheat, or of a jar and wine; a jar is said to ‘have’
wine, and a corn-measure wheat. The expression in such cases has
reference to content. Or it refers to that which has been acquired;
we are said to ‘have’ a house or a field. A man is also said to
‘have’ a wife, and a wife a husband, and this appears to be the
most remote meaning of the term, for by the use of it we mean
simply that the husband lives with the wife.
Other senses of the word might perhaps be found, but the most
ordinary ones have all been enumerated.
On Interpretation
Translated by E. M. Edghill
1
First we must define the terms ‘noun’ and ‘verb’, then the terms
‘denial’ and ‘affirmation’, then ‘proposition’ and ‘sentence.’
Spoken words are the symbols of mental experience and written
words are the symbols of spoken words. Just as all men have not the
same writing, so all men have not the same speech sounds, but the
mental experiences, which these directly symbolize, are the same
for all, as also are those things of which our experiences are the
images. This matter has, however, been discussed in my treatise
about the soul, for it belongs to an investigation distinct from
that which lies before us.
As there are in the mind thoughts which do not involve truth or
falsity, and also those which must be either true or false, so it
is in speech. For truth and falsity imply combination and
separation. Nouns and verbs, provided nothing is added, are like
thoughts without combination or separation; ‘man’ and ‘white’, as
isolated terms, are not yet either true or false. In proof of this,
consider the word ‘goat-stag.’ It has significance, but there is no
truth or falsity about it, unless ‘is’ or ‘is not’ is added, either
in the present or in some other tense.
2
By a noun we mean a sound significant by convention, which has
no reference to time, and of which no part is significant apart
from the rest. In the noun ‘Fairsteed,’ the part ‘steed’ has no
significance in and by itself, as in the phrase ‘fair steed.’ Yet
there is a difference between simple and composite nouns; for in
the former the part is in no way significant, in the latter it
contributes to the meaning of the whole, although it has not an
independent meaning. Thus in the word ‘pirate-boat’ the word ‘boat’
has no meaning except as part of the whole word.
The limitation ‘by convention’ was introduced because nothing is
by nature a noun or name-it is only so when it becomes a symbol;
inarticulate sounds, such as those which brutes produce, are
significant, yet none of these constitutes a noun.
The expression ‘not-man’ is not a noun. There is indeed no
recognized term by which we may denote such an expression, for it
is not a sentence or a denial. Let it then be called an indefinite
noun.
The expressions ‘of Philo’, ‘to Philo’, and so on, constitute
not nouns, but cases of a noun. The definition of these cases of a
noun is in other respects the same as that of the noun proper, but,
when coupled with ‘is’, ‘was’, or will be’, they do not, as they
are, form a
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