Book 7
12
And this is the substance of each thing, for it is the primary cause of its existence. And since, although some things are not substances, all substances are constituted in accordance with and by nature, substance would seem to be this nature, which is not an element but a principle.i.e. the formal cause. Cf. Aristot. Met. 5.4.4-6. An element is that which is present as matter in a thing, and into which the thing is divided; e.g., A and B are the elements of the syllable.
