Chap. IV. ANTIENT METAPHYSICS. 27 



nor does art, which a£ts in imitation of nature : And therefore habit 

 is properly defined, in reference to fome a^ion or pajfton *. 



From habit ncccffarily xz{\.\\\.s poiver or capacity, (in Greek av^au-h), 

 which Ariftotle has dlftinguiflied into two kinds. The firft is, the mere 

 capacity of becoming any thing. The fecond is, the poiver or faculty 

 of energizing^ according to the hahit, when it is formed and acquired ; 

 or, in other words, after the thing is become^ and actually exifts, 

 which at firfl: was only in the capacity of exifing. This Ariftotle 

 illuftrates, by the example of a child, who is then only di general m 

 poiver^ {'•' ^vv^«£*,) that is, has the power of becoming a general : Bat, 

 when he is grov^^n up, and has become a general, then he has the 

 power of the fecond kind, that is, the poivcr of performing the ofHce 

 of a General t* Ariftotle, in the paflage quoted below, fays, that this 

 difference is anonymous in Greek. But, as it is fit that two things 

 fo different Ihiould be diftinguiftied by different names, I would call 

 the firft capability y and the other faculty ; and I would fay that the 

 child has the capability of being a General, but, when he is grown 

 up, and has learned the bufinefs, he has the faculty. It is to 

 be obferved, that Ariftotle, when he ufcs the word e^y»««<j, or 

 pozver^ fimply, as in Iws definition of 7noticH, means the firR- 

 kind o^ poiver, or what I call capability %. It is alfo to be obfer- 

 ved, that poiver, or capacity, is a^ive as well as paf/ive, and that 



D 2 there 



* «E|(? is defined by Ariftotle, lib. 5. Metapb. cap. 20. to be, in one feufe, tbe ftme 

 witb ^itih<r^i, which he defines, cap. 19. in this manner, Li<th<rii Myiru^ rc-j e^^vto? f^i^n 



Inxoi ii }.xh<rii : But his commentators make a dillinaion betwixt the two ; for rh-.-y 

 fay 'ilii is more permanent, ^ixHca kfs To. And I think there is the fame diilindion 

 in Englifh betwixt habit and difi>ofitlony which lait word anfwers exaclly, both in iciiie 

 and etymology, to the Greek 2.«ei«-««. 



t Ariftotle, «■'.§. -|</;»:is. lib. 2. cap. 5. in fine. 



\ See ^'urther, upon this fubje<Sl, Philoponus's commentary upon the chapter above 

 quoted of Ariftotle, ^£?* A'^yj'ii- Sec the 8th book of /Vriftotle's PhyHcs, an.! Siinpii- 

 cius's Commentary, page 281, Sec alfo Ariftctle's MetaphyCcs, hb. i- cap. 12. and 

 lib. 9. cap. I. 



