HEIDEL. — IIspl <j>vcr€ws. 



97 



(f>i;crts : 



primary 



meaning, 



growth. 



4>v(Tts as a 

 process. 



II. 4>6<ns as 

 the begin-" 

 ning of Q ' 

 process. 



III. (pv<n$ as 

 the end or 

 result of a 

 process. 



(Aristotle's 

 " final 



cause, 

 which, in 

 the com- 

 plete circle 

 is identified 

 with the 

 "efficient 

 cause.") 



Synopsis of the Uses of <pvui%. 



/-A. in the concrete : growth as a phenomenon or fact 

 (<pu<ris = yeveais) 



1 B. in the abstract : growth as a law, principle or ' force ' 

 L. of nature. 



^A. the starting point of the process considered imperson- 

 ally as physical element, original condition, or place 

 of origin. (Aristotle's " material cause.") 



B. regarded as a person or originator. Natura creatrix. 

 (Aristotle's "efficient cause.") 



, individual, = <pv-q, aKfiri, (Aris- 

 totle's epreX^eta). 



. specific or generic, = iota, ytwa, 

 yivos. 



, universal, = koct/jlos. 



. physical: 'chemically' defined 

 or analyzed into its constituent 

 elements in pre-Socratic times, 

 regarded with reference to its 

 origin ; (by the Socraties defined 

 teleologically, with reference to 

 its meaning or end). 



-a. regarded positively, 

 as power, talent, in- 

 stinct, native endow- 

 2. mentaH nient - 



A. regarded from 

 without, as the 

 external frame 

 or constitution. 



B. regarded from 

 within, as char- 

 acter or consti- 

 tution. 



. regarded negatively, 

 as natural limita- 

 tions. 



Let us now turn to the uses of ^vo-t?, following the order of the syn- 

 opsis and noting the implications involved in them. Etymologically 

 <£uo-is means "growth : " as an abstract verbal its first suggestion (I.) 

 is that of a process. The process of growth may be regarded concretely 



Anciens, Paris, 1901, pp. 65-69. Somewhat fuller is Wood bridge, The Dominant 

 Conception of the Earliest Greek Philosophy, Philos. Rev., 1901, pp. 359-374, wdiich 

 was brought to my attention, after this article was in the hands of the printer, by 

 Lovejoy, The Meaning of (pv<ris in the Greek Physiologers, Philos. Rev. (July), 

 1909, pp. 369-383. Professor W. A. Merrill's study of The Signification and Use 

 of the Word Natura. by Lucretius (Proceedings of the American Philol. Ass'n, 

 July, 1891, vol. 22, pp. xxxii-xxxiv) will serve as an interesting illustration of the 

 influence of pre-Socratic usage. The same may be said of the articles nature, kind, 

 and kin, in the Oxford English Dictionary. One cannot overlook the lexicographical 

 studies of <f>ijais found in Aristotle's Phys. B, 1 (and in briefer form, Met. A, 4). 

 Reference will be made to his distinctions at the proper points in the survey. There 

 are several words of similar origin and meaning which should be studied in connex- 

 ion with (pvtris if a really exhaustive account of the word is to be given from a lexi- 

 cographical point of view. Among them may be mentioned <pvr\ and yivva. Of 

 course (pfciv in all its uses is of the utmost importance ; but, for our present purpose, 

 these mny be disregarded, except for occasional illustration. 

 vol. xlv. — 7 



