Hellenistic Philosophy Introductory

(Marvins-Underground-K-12) #1

Logic and Theory of Knowledge 117
of lekta [things said], complete ones and propositions and syllogisms,
and the account of incomplete [lekta] and predicates both active and
passive. And they say that a lekton is what subsists in accordance with a
rational presentation. And of lekta the Stoics say that some are complete
and some are incomplete. Incomplete are those which are unfinished in
their expression, such as 'writes'; for we go on to ask 'Who?' Complete
are those which are finished in their expression, such as 'Socrates writes'.
So predicates are placed among the incomplete lekta, and propositions
and syllogisms and questions and enquiries are placed among the com-
plete.



  1. A predicate is what is said of something, or a thing put together
    with [lit. about] some thing or things, as Apollodorus says; or an incom-
    plete lekton put together with a nominative case to generate a proposition.
    Of predicates, some are events, such as 'to sail through the rocks' ...
    [There is a lacuna here.] And some predicates are active, some passive,
    some neither. Active are those put together with one of the oblique cases
    to generate a predicate, such as 'hears', 'sees', 'discusses'. Passive are
    those put together with the passive form, such as 'am heard', 'am seen'.
    Neither are those which fit in neither group, such as 'to be prudent', 'to
    walk'. Reflexive passives are those which, being passive, are [nevertheless]
    actions, such as 'gets his hair cut'. For the man getting his hair cut
    includes himself [in his action]. 65. The oblique cases are the genitive,
    the dative and the accusative.
    A proposition is that which is true or false; or a complete object which
    can be asserted on its own, as Chrysippus says in his Dialectical Definitions:
    "a proposition is what can be asserted or denied on its own, for example,
    'It is day' or 'Dion is walking'." The proposition gets its name [axioma]
    from being accepted;^10 for he who says 'It is day' seems to accept [axioun]
    that it is day. So when it is day, the present proposition becomes true,
    and when it is not [day], it becomes false. 66. There are differences among
    propositions, questions, enquiries, imperatives, oaths, curses, hypotheses,
    addresses, and objects similar to a proposition. For a proposition is what
    we say when we reveal something and it is this which is true or false. A
    question is a complete object, like the proposition, which asks for an
    answer; for example, 'Is it day?' This is neither true nor false, so that
    'it is day' is a proposition and 'Is it day?' is a question. An enquiry is
    an object to which one cannot give an answer with a gesture, as one can
    to a question [by indicating] 'Yes', but [in response to which one must]
    say [for example,] 'He lives in this place'.

  2. The words which follow "or rejected" seem wrong and we omit them at the suggestion
    of Michael Frede.

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