On Generation and corruption   

'accident' in any sense of the term), it is 'coming-to-be', and the

converse change is 'passing-away'.

'Matter', in the most proper sense of the term, is to be

identified with the substratum which is receptive of coming-to-be

and passingaway: but the substratum of the remaining kinds of change

is also, in a certain sense, 'matter', because all these substrata are

receptive of 'contrarieties' of some kind. So much, then, as an answer

to the questions (i) whether coming-to-be 'is' or 'is not'-i.e. what

are the precise conditions of its occurrence and (ii) what

'alteration' is: but we have still to treat of growth.



5



We must explain (i) wherein growth differs from coming-to-be and

from 'alteration', and ii) what is the process of growing and the

sprocess of diminishing in each and all of the things that grow and

diminish.

Hence our first question is this: Do these changes differ from one

another solely because of a difference in their respective

'spheres'? In other words, do they differ because, while a change from

this to that (viz. from potential to actual substance) is

coming-to-be, a change in the sphere of magnitude is growth and one in

the sphere of quality is 'alteration'-both growth and 'alteration'

being changes from what is-potentially to what is-actually magnitude

and quality respectively? Or is there also a difference in the

manner of the change, since it is evident that, whereas neither what

is 'altering' nor what is coming-to-be necessarily changes its

place, what is growing or diminishing changes its spatial position

of necessity, though in a different manner from that in which the

moving thing does so? For that which is being moved changes its

place as a whole: but the growing thing changes its place like a metal

that is being beaten, retaining its position as a whole while its