For none of these attributes can possibly belong
or not belong in part; they must either belong or not belong
absolutely. In the case of accidents, on the other hand, there is
nothing to prevent an attribute (e.g. whiteness or justice)
belonging in part, so that it is not enough to show that whiteness
or justice is an attribute of a man in order to show that he is
white or just; for it is open to dispute it and say that he is white
or just in part only. Conversion, then, is not a necessary process
in the case of accidents.
We must also define the errors that occur in problems. They are of
two kinds, caused either by false statement or by transgression of the
established diction. For those who make false statements, and say that
an attribute belongs to thing which does not belong to it, commit
error; and those who call objects by the names of other objects
(e.g. calling a planetree a 'man') transgress the established
terminology.
2
Now one commonplace rule is to look and see if a man has ascribed as
an accident what belongs in some other way. This mistake is most
commonly made in regard to the genera of things, e.
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