the six enneads-第76章

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　the　case　represented　by　the　stamping　of　a　design　upon　wax；　where　the　〃presence〃　of　the　added　pattern　causes　no　modification　in　the　substance　nor　does　its　obliteration　diminish　it。　And　there　is　the　example　of　Light　whose　presence　does　not　even　bring　change　of　pattern　to　the　object　illuminated。　A　stone　becoming　cold　does　not　change　its　nature　in　the　process；　it　remains　the　stone　it　was。　A　drawing　does　not　cease　to　be　a　drawing　for　being　coloured。　　　　　The　intermediary　mass　on　which　these　surface　changes　appear　is　certainly　not　transmuted　by　them；　but　might　there　not　be　a　modification　of　the　underlying　Matter？　　　　　No：　it　is　impossible　to　think　of　Matter　being　modified　by；　for　instance；　colour…　for；　of　course　we　must　not　talk　of　modification　when　there　is　no　more　than　a　presence；　or　at　most　a　presenting　of　shape。　　　　　Mirrors　and　transparent　objects；　even　more；　offer　a　close　parallel；　they　are　quite　unaffected　by　what　is　seen　in　or　through　them：　material　things　are　reflections；　and　the　Matter　on　which　they　appear　is　further　from　being　affected　than　is　a　mirror。　Heat　and　cold　are　present　in　Matter；　but　the　Matter　itself　suffers　no　change　of　temperature：　growing　hot　and　growing　cold　have　to　do　only　with　quality；　a　quality　enters　and　brings　the　impassible　Substance　under　a　new　state…　though；　by　the　way；　research　into　nature　may　show　that　cold　is　nothing　positive　but　an　absence；　a　mere　negation。　The　qualities　come　together　into　Matter；　but　in　most　cases　they　can　have　no　action　upon　each　other；　certainly　there　can　be　none　between　those　of　unlike　scope：　what　effect；　for　example；　could　fragrance　have　on　sweetness　or　the　colour…quality　on　the　quality　of　form；　any　quality　on　another　of　some　unrelated　order？　The　illustration　of　the　mirror　may　well　indicate　to　us　that　a　given　substratum　may　contain　something　quite　distinct　from　itself…　even　something　standing　to　it　as　a　direct　contrary…　and　yet　remain　entirely　unaffected　by　what　is　thus　present　to　it　or　merged　into　it。　　　　　A　thing　can　be　hurt　only　by　something　related　to　it；　and　similarly　things　are　not　changed　or　modified　by　any　chance　presence：　modification　comes　by　contrary　acting　upon　contrary；　things　merely　different　leave　each　other　as　they　were。　Such　modification　by　a　direct　contrary　can　obviously　not　occur　in　an　order　of　things　to　which　there　is　no　contrary：　Matter；　therefore　＇the　mere　absence　of　Reality＇　cannot　be　modified：　any　modification　that　takes　place　can　occur　only　in　some　compound　of　Matter　and　reality；　or；　speaking　generally；　in　some　agglomeration　of　actual　things。　The　Matter　itself…　isolated；　quite　apart　from　all　else；　utterly　simplex…　must　remain　immune；　untouched　in　the　midst　of　all　the　interacting　agencies；　just　as　when　people　fight　within　their　four　walls；　the　house　and　the　air　in　it　remain　without　part　in　the　turmoil。　　　　　We　may　take　it；　then；　that　while　all　the　qualities　and　entities　that　appear　upon　Matter　group　to　produce　each　the　effect　belonging　to　its　nature；　yet　Matter　itself　remains　immune；　even　more　definitely　immune　than　any　of　those　qualities　entering　into　it　which；　not　being　contraries；　are　not　affected　by　each　other。　　　　　10。　Further：　If　Matter　were　susceptible　of　modification；　it　must　acquire　something　by　the　incoming　of　the　new　state；　it　will　either　adopt　that　state；　or；　at　least；　it　will　be　in　some　way　different　from　what　it　was。　Now　upon　this　first　incoming　quality　suppose　a　second　to　supervene；　the　recipient　is　no　longer　Matter　but　a　modification　of　Matter：　this　second　quality；　perhaps；　departs；　but　it　has　acted　and　therefore　leaves　something　of　itself　after　it；　the　substratum　is　still　further　altered。　This　process　proceeding；　the　substratum　ends　by　becoming　something　quite　different　from　Matter；　it　becomes　a　thing　settled　in　many　modes　and　many　shapes；　at　once　it　is　debarred　from　being　the　all…recipient；　it　will　have　closed　the　entry　against　many　incomers。　In　other　words；　the　Matter　is　no　longer　there：　Matter　is　destructible。　　　　　No：　if　there　is　to　be　a　Matter　at　all；　it　must　be　always　identically　as　it　has　been　from　the　beginning：　to　speak　of　Matter　as　changing　is　to　speak　of　it　as　not　being　Matter。　　　　　Another　consideration：　it　is　a　general　principle　that　a　thing　changing　must　remain　within　its　constitutive　Idea　so　that　the　alteration　is　only　in　the　accidents　and　not　in　the　essential　thing；　the　changing　object　must　retain　this　fundamental　permanence；　and　the　permanent　substance　cannot　be　the　member　of　it　which　accepts　modification。　　　　　Therefore　there　are　only　two　possibilities：　the　first；　that　Matter　itself　changes　and　so　ceases　to　be　itself；　the　second　that　it　never　ceases　to　be　itself　and　therefore　never　changes。　　　　　We　may　be　answered　that　it　does　not　change　in　its　character　as　Matter：　but　no　one　could　tell　us　in　what　other　character　it　changes；　and　we　have　the　admission　that　the　Matter　in　itself　is　not　subject　to　change。　　　　　Just　as　the　Ideal　Principles　stand　immutably　in　their　essence…　which　consists　precisely　in　their　permanence…　so；　since　the　essence　of　Matter　consists　in　its　being　Matter　＇the　substratum　to　all　material　things＇　it　must　be　permanent　in　this　character；　because　it　is　Matter；　it　is　immutable。　In　the　Intellectual　realm　we　have　the　immutable　Idea；　here　we　have　Matter；　itself　similarly　immutable。　　　　　11。　I　think；　in　fact；　that　Plato　had　this　in　mind　where　he　justly　speaks　of　the　Images　of　Real　Existents　〃entering　and　passing　out〃：　these　particular　words　are　not　used　idly：　he　wishes　us　to　grasp　the　precise　nature　of　the　relation　between　Matter　and　the　Ideas。　　　　　The　difficulty　on　this　point　is　not　really　that　which　presented　itself　to　most　of　our　predecessors…　how　the　Ideas　enter　into　Matter…　it　is　rather　the　mode　of　their　presence　in　it。　　　　　It　is　in　fact　strange　at　sight　that　Matter　should　remain　itself　intact；　unaffected　by　Ideal…forms　present　within　it；　especially　seeing　that　these　are　affected　by　each　other。　It　is　surprising；　too；　that　the　entrant　Forms　should　regularly　expel　preceding　shapes　and　qualities；　and　that　the　modification　＇which　cannot　touch　Matter＇　should　affect　what　is　a　compound　＇of　Idea　with　Matter＇　and　this；　again；　not　a　haphazard　but　precisely　where　there　is　need　of　the　incoming　or　outgoing　of　some　certain　Ideal…form；　the　compound　being　deficient　through　the　absence　of　a　particular　principle　whose　presence　will　complete　it。　　　　　But　the　reason　is　that　the　fundamental　nature　of　Matter　can　take　no　increase　by　anything　entering　it；　and　no　decrease　by　any　withdrawal：　what　from　the　beginning　it　was；　it　remains。　It　is　not　like　those　things　whose　lack　is　merely　that　of　arrangement　and　order　which　can　be　supplied　without　change　of　substance　as　when　we　dress　or　decorate　something　bare　or　ugly。　　　　　But　where　the　bringing　to　order　must　cut　through　to　the　very　nature；　the　base　original　must　be　transmuted：　it　can　leave　ugliness　for　beauty　only　by　a　change　of　substance。　Matter；　then；　thus　brought　to　order　must　lose　its　own　nature　in　the　supreme　degree　unless　its　baseness　is　an　accidental：　if　it　is　base　in　the　sense　of　being　Baseness　the　Absolute；　it　could　never　participate　in　order；　and；　if　evil　in　the　sense　of　being　Evil　the　Absolute；　it　could　never　participate　in　good。　　　　　We　conclude　that　Matter's　participation　in　Idea　is　not