—ὅσα δὲ τῶν ἐναντίων τοιαῦτά ἐστιν (12a1) ὥστε ἐν οἷς πέφυκε γίγνεσθαι ἢ ὧν κατηγορεῖται ἀναγκαῖον (2) αὐτῶν θάτερον ὑπάρχειν, τούτων οὐδέν ἐστιν ἀνὰ μέσον·
[ὧν δέ (3) γε μὴ ἀναγκαῖον θάτερον ὑπάρχειν, τούτων ἔστι τι ἀνὰ μέσον (4) πάντως.]
οἷον νόσος καὶ ὑγίεια ἐν σώματι ζῴου πέφυκε (5) γίγνεσθαι, καὶ ἀναγκαῖόν γε θάτερον ὑπάρχειν τῷ τοῦ ζῴου (6) σώματι ἢ νόσον ἢ ὑγίειαν·
καὶ περιττὸν δὲ καὶ ἄρτιον ἀριθ(7)μοῦ κατηγορεῖται, καὶ ἀναγκαῖόν γε θάτερον τῷ ἀριθμῷ (8) ὑπάρχειν ἢ περιττὸν ἢ ἄρτιον·
καὶ οὐκ ἔστι γε τούτων οὐδὲν (9) ἀνὰ μέσον, οὔτε νόσου καὶ ὑγιείας οὔτε περιττοῦ καὶ ἀρτίου.
ὧν (10) δέ γε μὴ ἀναγκαῖον θάτερον ὑπάρχειν, τούτων ἔστι τι ἀνὰ (11) μέσον·
οἷον μέλαν καὶ λευκὸν ἐν σώματι πέφυκε γίγνεσθαι, (12) καὶ οὐκ ἀναγκαῖόν γε θάτερον αὐτῶν ὑπάρχειν τῷ σώματι, — (13) οὐ γὰρ πᾶν ἤτοι λευκὸν ἢ μέλαν ἐστίν·—
καὶ φαῦλον δὲ καὶ (14) σπουδαῖον κατηγορεῖται μὲν καὶ κατ’ ἀνθρώπου καὶ κατ’ (15) ἄλλων πολλῶν,
οὐκ ἀναγκαῖον δὲ θάτερον αὐτῶν ὑπάρχειν (16) ἐκείνοις ὧν κατηγορεῖται·
οὐ γὰρ πάντα ἤτοι φαῦλα ἢ σπου(17)δαῖά ἐστιν.
καὶ ἔστι γέ τι τούτων ἀνὰ μέσον, οἷον τοῦ μὲν (18) λευκοῦ καὶ τοῦ μέλανος τὸ φαιὸν καὶ ὠχρὸν καὶ ὅσα ἄλλα (19) χρώματα,
τοῦ δὲ φαύλου καὶ τοῦ σπουδαίου τὸ οὔτε φαῦλον οὔτε (20) σπουδαῖον.
ἐπ’ ἐνίων μὲν οὖν ὀνόματα κεῖται τοῖς ἀνὰ μέσον, (21) οἷον λευκοῦ καὶ μέλανος τὸ φαιὸν καὶ ὠχρόν·
ἐπ’ ἐνίων δὲ (22) ὀνόματι μὲν οὐκ εὔπορον τὸ ἀνὰ μέσον ἀποδοῦναι, τῇ δὲ (23) ἑκατέρου τῶν ἄκρων ἀποφάσει τὸ ἀνὰ μέσον ὁρίζεται, (24) οἷον τὸ οὔτε ἀγαθὸν οὔτε κακὸν καὶ οὔτε δίκαιον οὔτε (25) ἄδικον.
(26) Στέρησις δὲ καὶ ἕξις λέγεται μὲν περὶ ταὐτόν τι, οἷον (27) ἡ ὄψις καὶ ἡ τυφλότης περὶ ὀφθαλμόν·
καθόλου δὲ εἰπεῖν, ἐν (28) ᾧ πέφυκεν ἡ ἕξις γίγνεσθαι, περὶ τοῦτο λέγεται ἑκάτερον (29) αὐτῶν.
ἐστερῆσθαι δὲ τότε λέγομεν ἕκαστον τῶν τῆς ἕξεως (30) δεκτικῶν, ὅταν ἐν ᾧ πέφυκεν ὑπάρχειν καὶ ὅτε πέφυκεν (31) ἔχειν μηδαμῶς ὑπάρχῃ·
νωδόν τε γὰρ λέγομεν οὐ τὸ μὴ (32) ἔχον ὀδόντας, καὶ τυφλὸν οὐ τὸ μὴ ἔχον ὄψιν, ἀλλὰ τὸ μὴ (33) ἔχον ὅτε πέφυκεν ἔχειν·
τινὰ γὰρ ἐκ γενετῆς οὔτε ὄψιν (34) οὔτε ὀδόντας ἔχει, ἀλλ’ οὐ λέγεται νωδὰ οὐδὲ τυφλά.
(19) Quaecumque uero contrariorum talia sunt ut in quibus nata sunt fieri (20) et de quibus praedicantur, necessarium sit alterum ipsorum inesse, (21) nihil eorum medium est
(quorum autem non est necessarium alterum (22) inesse, horum omnium est aliquid medium);
ut aegritudo et sanitas in (23) corpore animalis nata est fieri, et necesse est alterum ipsorum inesse (24) animalis corpori, aut aegritudinem aut sanitatem;
et par quidem et (25) impar de numero praedicatur, et necesse est horum alterum numero (26) inesse, uel par uel impar;
et non est horum aliquid medium, neque (27) aegritudinis neque sanitatis, neque imparis neque paris.
Quorum autem (28) nor est necessarium alterum inesse, horum est aliquid medium;
ut album (29) et nigrum in corpore natum est fieri, et non est necesse alterum eorum (30) inesse corpori (non enim omne corpus uel album uel nigrum est);
et (31) probum et improbum dicitur quidem de homine et de aliis pluribus,
non (32) est autem necesse alterum inesse his de quibus praedicatur;
non enim (33) omnia aut proba sunt aut improba.
Et est aliquid horum medium, ut albi (34) et nigri uenetum uel pallidum uel quicumque alii colores sunt,
foedi (35) uero et pulchri quod neque pulchrum est neque foedum.
In aliquibus (36) quidem medietatibus posita sunt nomina, ut albi et nigri uenetum et (37) pallidum;
in aliquibus uero non est nomine assignare medietatem, (38) utriusque uero negatione definitur, ut nec bonum nec malum, nec iustum (39) nec iniustum.
(40) Priuatio uero et habitus dicuntur quidem circa idem aliquid, ut uisio (41) et caecitas circa oculum;
uniuersaliter autem dicere est in quo (42) nascitur habitus fieri, circa hoc dicitur utrumque eorum.
(43) Priuari uero tunc dicimus unumquodque habitus susceptibilium, quando (44) in quo natum est inesse uel quando natum est habere nullo modo habet.
(45) Edentulum enim dicimus non qui non habet dentes, nec caecum qui non (46) habet uisionem sed qui, quando contigit habere, non habet
(multa enim (47) ex natiuitate neque dentes habent neque uisionem sed non dicuntur (48) edentula neque caeca).
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Those contraries which are such that the subjects in which they are naturally present, or of which they are predicated, must necessarily contain either the one or the other of them, have no intermediate,
but those in the case of which no such necessity obtains, always have an intermediate.
Thus disease and health are naturally present in the body of an animal, and it is necessary that either the one or the other should be present in the body of an animal.
Odd and even, again, are predicated of number, and it is necessary that the one or the other should be present in numbers.
Now there is no intermediate between the terms of either of these two pairs.
On the other hand, in those contraries with regard to which no such necessity obtains, we find an intermediate.
Blackness and whiteness are naturally present in the body, but it is not necessary that either the one or the other should be present in the body, inasmuch as it is not true to say that everybody must be white or black.
Badness and goodness, again, are predicated of man, and of many other things,
but it is not necessary that either the one quality or the other should be present in that of which they are predicated:
it is not true to say that everything that may be good or bad must be either good or bad.
These pairs of contraries have intermediates: the intermediates between white and black are grey, sallow, and all the other colours that come between;
the intermediate between good and bad is that which is neither the one nor the other.
Some intermediate qualities have names, such as grey and sallow and all the other colours that come between white and black;
in other cases, however, it is not easy to name the intermediate, but we must define it as that which is not either extreme, as in the case of that which is neither good nor bad, neither just nor unjust.
(iii) ’privatives’ and ’Positives’ have reference to the same subject. Thus, sight and blindness have reference to the eye.
It is a universal rule that each of a pair of opposites of this type has reference to that to which the particular ’positive’ is natural.
We say that that is capable of some particular faculty or possession has suffered privation when the faculty or possession in question is in no way present in that in which, and at the time at which, it should naturally be present.
We do not call that toothless which has not teeth, or that blind which has not sight, but rather that which has not teeth or sight at the time when by nature it should.
For there are some creatures which from birth are without sight, or without teeth, but these are not called toothless or blind.
Complete text