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Thus we must say that Place indeed is a quantity, or some extension, that is the space or volume (interval) of three dimensions, length, width and depth, in which a body is contained or through which it can pass. But likewise we must say that its dimensions are incorporeal and thus that place is an incorporeal volume or space, or in other words, an incorporeal quantity. And from the beginning we must distinguish these two sorts of dimensions, of which one may be called corporeal and the others spatial. For the corporeal, for example, are the length, width and depth of water contained in some vessel; but the spatial we conceive as the length, width and depth which would exist within the sides of this vessel, were the water removed and any other body kept out. Evidently, Aristotle denies that there are other than the corporeal ones, or that there is any volume or διάστŋνα as he calls it, other than that of the body contained in the vessel or place. Yet very many of the Ancients thought that there were incorporeal dimensions, namely those of volume, or space, from which we take the term 'spatial". Indeed, rather than cite Epicurus and the others, I will let the following from Nemesius stand for them all: "Every body is endowed with three dimensions. But not everything endowed with three dimensions is a body. For of this sort are Place and Quality, which are incorporeal entities."

DOI: 10.1007/978-94-010-1727-5_17

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