1p12d.md (912B)
1 The parts into which substance as thus conceived would 2 be divided either will retain the nature of substance, or they 3 will not. If the former, then (by Prop. viii.) each part will 4 necessarily be infinite, and (by Prop. vi.) self–caused, and (by 5 Prop. v.) will perforce consist of a different attribute, so 6 that, in that case, several substances could be formed out of one 7 substance, which (by Prop. vi.) is absurd. Moreover, the parts 8 (by Prop. ii.) would have nothing in common with their whole, and 9 the whole (by Def. iv. and Prop. x.) could both exist and be 10 conceived without its parts, which everyone will admit to be 11 absurd. If we adopt the second alternative–namely, that the 12 parts will not retain the nature of substance–then, if the whole 13 substance were divided into equal parts, it would lose the nature 14 of substance, and would cease to exist, which (by Prop. vii.) is 15 absurd. 16 17