The Art of Logic, Book 1 · Part 6
The Order of Substances is to be seen in a Table, As
Substance, is either
Vncreated, infinite, and beyond our understanding, as, the most holy God.
Created, and is either
Spiritual
Absolute: as Angels, good and evil.
Determined to another: as Mans soul.
Corporal, and is either
Incompleat, and is
Passive, called, Matter, first and second.
Active, called Form, first and second.
Compleat, or perfect, and is either
Far from mixture, as the heavens, whose parts are
Orbs
without Star.
with Star▪
Fixed: The firmament.
Planets
Stars
Fixed.
Wandering, Saturn, Mars, &c.
Ordained for mixture (and therefore not existing apart and compleatly) called elements, and is
Fire.
Air
Water.
Earth.
Mixed
Imperfectly, as
Smoke,
Vapours, whereof are Meteors
Fiery, as Lightenings, Comets, &c.
Aiery, as Winds, &c.
Waterish, as clouds, rain, snow, hail, &c.
Perfectly
without life
Metals, perfect and Imperfect, as gold, silver, brasse, quicksilver, &c.
Minerals
Hard, as Sand, Stones, precious and base kinds of earth, &c.
Soft, as Salt, Al…um, Pitch, Myrrhe, Frankincense, &c.
with life
Vegetant, as
1 Trees, fruitful and unfruitful: Oke, Ash, Elm, Lawrel, &c.
2 Bushes, Rose, Bramble.
3 Herbs of all sorts, Wheat, Rie, Pease, Rise, Beets, Mallows, &c.
Sensible.
Reasonable, as Man.
Without Reason, as Beasts.
1 Of the Air, Fowls, Swans, Geese.
2 The Earth, Beasts, and creeping things, Horse, Lion, Dog, Worm.
3 The Water, Fishes of all sorts, Whales, Pikes, Eeles, Oysters, Serpents, &c.
Compounded of a created and increated Substance, in a mystery of marvellous union, Christ Iesus, the Son of God and the Virgin.
We have seen the Predicament of substance.Accident: b foreign
Now followeth Accidents.
An Accident is a thing which dependeth upon a substance, for the essence and existence thereof. The word Accident is commonly used in a large sense, for all that betideth, chanceth, or cleaveth to any thing: but here it is more properly taken for that which cleaveth to a substance, and is no part thereof, and yet cannot be without the same.
An Accident is either
Absolute, having an absolute nature, as Relation.
Quantity.
Quality.
Action.
Passion.
The Predicament of quantity, is that wherein the Generals2 Quantity and Specials of it are orderly disposed. Note that in every Predicament there is the Material, or thing it self (which Logick doth but lightly touch, as belonging to another place) and the Formal or disposing, and Table of the thing, which is chief in all Predicaments.
Quantity is that whereof the greatnesse or number of any thing is named.
And therefore quantity is either
continued, as greatnesse.
dissevered, as number.
1 Greatnesse is extension, or stretching out, and is called
Properly.1
Improperly.
Properly so called Extension is of the matter in a Natural Body, which therefore is said to be continued, and divisible.
The Rules or Notes hereof be five.
1 Greatnesse hath a certain continuance and position of parts.
2 Greatnesse hath of it self no motion, or efficacie.
3 Unto it nothing is contrary; for contrarieties are in qualities.
4 It receiveth not more or lesse. As one house is not more or lesse a house than another, though one be a greater house than another.
5 Of greatnesse, the subject is said to be equal or uneequal; greatnesse or extension properly so called, is length, breadth, deepnesse or thicknesse; the beginning of all which is a point or prick.
Length, is that which of the Mathematicks is called a line. Breadth or latitude, is called the Superficies.
Thicknesse or deepnesse is the threefold dimension, which is called also height, and of the Mathematicks, Metaphoricè, a body.
2 Number or multitude is the gathering together of Unities. And unity is the beginning of number.
Number is considered2
Abstractly. a
Concretely. b
Abstractly considered, is that which is primarily in thisa Predicament. As 2, 4, 10, &c.
The Rules hereof be five.
1. 1 Number is not coupled with any common term, neither hath its parts indued with Position. As 3 and 7 are coupled with no common Term, though they concur to the making of 10.
2. 2. Of number, things are said to be even or odd.
3. 3. Number also as it is number, hath no force, no efficacie.
4. 4. Number of it self hath nothing contrary thereto.
5. 5. Number receiveth not more and lesse.
Concretely considered Number here, is, things collective, which may be referred hither materially. As a Wood containeth many Trees, an Host many Souldiers, an heap many grains, &c.