STEPHANUS ON THE BOOK "ON INTERPRETATION" [Aristotle pages 16a27, 31, 33]

...for "the tongue of others [is diverse]," as the poet says original: "allōn glōssa"; referring to Homer, Iliad 2.804, describing the various languages of the Trojan allies. Furthermore, those who are deaf from birth prove this point gap in text? just as they possess a simple and natural voice, so too would they possess names and verbs The argument here is that if language were natural/innate like a heartbeat or a cry, people born deaf would still spontaneously produce specific Greek or Latin words. Since they do not, language must be learned/conventional.. From all of this, it has become clear that names do not exist by nature [it would have been necessary for those deaf from birth, since they have a simple and natural voice, to also have names and verbs in the same way] The brackets here indicate a repetitive section in the original manuscript that was likely a scribe's error according to the first meaning of "by nature."

However, it is also not possible for these names to exist according to the second meaning of "by convention"—that is, simply and at random. This is clear from the "name-givers" original: "onomatothetai"; legendary figures or ancestors believed to have first assigned words to things. folio 42r For if the name-givers did not assign names in vain, they certainly did so according to some logic and harmony. 5 Why, for instance, did they call a "man" a "man" original: "anthrōpos" and not a "camel," and a "camel" a "camel" and not a "man"? There are certainly reasons why the name-givers used names in this way, even if we do not understand the etymologies etymologia: the study of the "true meaning" or origin of words of all things.

page 16a31 For it is neither a statement nor a denial. Aristotle says that a term like "not-man" is neither a denial original: "apophasis"; a negative statement nor a statement original: "logos". It is not a "statement" because, at the very least, a statement is composed of two words. 15 Furthermore, it is not a "denial," because every denial or affirmation original: "kataphasis" must signify either truth or falsehood; however, this term signifies neither of these. In these matters lies the practical application.

Lesson 3, with God's help.

20 page 16a33 But "of Philo" or "to Philo" and such like, are not names but inflections of a name.

It is customary for commentators to investigate here what the grammarians call "inflections" ptōseis: literally "fallings," commonly translated as grammatical "cases", and whether there are four or five of them. Those from the Stoa the Stoic philosophers and almost all those who pursue the grammatical art believe there are five cases, and they even give a name to the so-called "direct" case original: "eutheia ptōsis"; the Nominative case. If someone were to ask them why the "direct" form is called a "falling" (case), they reply by saying it is "direct" because it makes the sentence straight and upright, such as "Socrates walks." 30 They call it a "falling" because it has "fallen" from the internal thought into speech. This is like a stylus original: "graphion"; a writing tool that has fallen from the hand and landed upright; for it is said both to have "fallen" and to "stand upright."

But against this, the followers of the Peripatos the Peripatetics, or followers of Aristotle say: "By this logic, not only names have 'fallen' from the simple thought, but also verbs and all the parts of speech. Therefore, all parts of speech would be 'cases,' which is both ridiculous and conflicts with your own starting assumptions."