Occam latino

Luigi Speranza

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"Verumtamen sciendum quod universale duplex est."

"Quoddam est universale naturaliter, quod scilicet naturaliter est signum praedicabile de pluribus, ad modum, proportionaliter, quo

fumus naturaliter significat ignem

et

gemitus infirmi dolorem

et

risus interiorem laetitiam.

Et tale universale non est nisi intentio animae, ita quod nulla substantia extra animam nec aliquod accidens extra animam est tale universale. Et de tali universali loquar in sequentibus capitulis."

"But it should be noted that there a universal is twofold."

"One sort is universal by nature; that is, naturally a sign predicable of several in the manner that

smoke is naturally a sign of fire;

weeping, a sign of grief; and

laughter, a sign of inward joy."

"And such a universal is nothing except an intention of the soul, so that no substance outside the soul, nor any accident outside the soul is such a universal. And of such a universal I shall be speaking in the following chapters."

"Aliud est universale per voluntariam institutionem. Et sic vox prolata, quae est vere una qualitas numero, est universalis, quia scilicet est signum voluntarie institutum ad significandum plura. Unde sicut vox dicitur communis, ita potest dici universalis; sed hoc non habet ex natura rei sed ex placito instituentium tantum."

"The other sort of universal is by voluntary institution. And in this way an uttered word, which is truly a single quality in number, is universal, namely because it is a sign voluntarily instituted to signify many things. Hence, just as a word is called ‘common’, so it can be said to be called ‘universal’. But this does not hold by nature, but only by the convention of those instituting it."