Page - 144 - in The Priority of Locomotion in Aristotle’s Physics

6. Locomotion has temporal priority 6.1 Overview The presentation of the fourth argument for locomotion’s priority follows directly after that of the third one and is stated in this passage: ἔτι χρόνῳ πρώτην· τοῖς γὰρ ἀϊδίοις μόνον ἐνδέχεται κινεῖσθαι ταύ- την. ἀλλ᾽ ἐφ᾽ ἑνὸς μὲν ὁτουοῦν τῶν ἐχόντων γένεσιν τὴν φορὰν ἀνα- γκαῖον ὑστάτην εἶναι τῶν κινήσεων· μετὰ γὰρ τὸ γενέσθαι πρῶτον ἀλλοίωσις καὶ αὔξησις, φορὰ δ᾽ ἤδη τετελειωμένων κίνησίς ἐστιν. ἀλλ᾽ ἕτερον ἀνάγκη κινούμενον εἶναι κατὰ φορὰν πρότερον, ὃ καὶ τῆς γενέσεως αἴτιον ἔσται τοῖς γιγνομένοις, οὐ γιγνόμενον, οἷον τὸ γεννῆσαν τοῦ γεννηθέντος, ἐπεὶ δόξειέ γ᾽ ἂν ἡ γένεσις εἶναι πρώτη τῶν κινήσεων διὰ τοῦτο, ὅτι γενέσθαι δεῖ τὸ πρᾶγμα πρῶτον. τὸ δ᾽ ἐφ᾽ ἑνὸς μὲν ὁτουοῦν τῶν γιγνομένων οὕτως ἔχει, ἀλλ᾽ ἕτερον ἀνα- γκαῖον πρότερόν τι κινεῖσθαι τῶν γιγνομένων ὂν αὐτὸ καὶ μὴ γιγνόμενον, καὶ τούτου ἕτερον πρότερον. ἐπεὶ δὲ γένεσιν ἀδύνα- τον εἶναι πρώτην (πάντα γὰρ ἂν εἴη τὰ κινούμενα φθαρτά), δῆλον ὡς οὐδὲ τῶν ἐφεξῆς κινήσεων οὐδεμία προτέρα· λέγω δ᾽ ἐφεξῆς αὔξησιν, εἶτ᾽ ἀλλοίωσιν καὶ φθίσιν καὶ φθοράν· πᾶσαι γὰρ ὕστεραι γενέσεως, ὥστ᾽ εἰ μηδὲ γένεσις προτέρα φορᾶς, οὐδὲ τῶν ἄλλων οὐδεμία μεταβολῶν. (260b29–a12) Furthermore, it [i.e. locomotion] is primary in time, because for eternal things it is only possible to undergo this change. But in any single thing of those which have coming to be locomotion must be the last of the changes. For after coming to be first alteration and growth [come to the thing], while locomotion is a change of things that already have achieved completion. Yet, it is necessary that there is something else which is undergoing locomotion before and that will be responsible for the com- ing to be of the things that are coming to be, but which [itself] is not coming to be, as for instance that which begets for what is begotten, since otherwise coming to be might seem to be primary among the changes for the reason that the thing [which undergoes a change] needs to come to be first. And in any single thing of those which are coming to be it is this way, but it is necessary that some other thing is changing prior to the things that are coming to be that itself is and is not coming to be, and another thing prior to this. But as it is impossible that generation is pri- ISBN Print: 9783525253069 — ISBN E-Book: 9783647253060 © 2014, Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht GmbH & Co. KG, Göttingen