Universa Philosophia

First, supposition is divided into material and formal. They say formal is the use of a term for the thing which it signifies, as man is an animal, the word man is taken for true man: it is so called because the term there is taken formally in the formal character of a sign for the thing of which it is a sign. They say material is the use of a term for itself, as blytiri does not signify, for it is taken there materially, namely, for the vocal matter itself, and not for another thing signified. But according to what was said above, formal supposition will be the substitution of a significative term in place of a mental term signifying the same thing. The word significative is taken formally as signifying the thing: as man runs, man is taken to signify true man, otherwise it will be material supposition: and so both the mental and the vocal term must signify the same object in the proposition. But material supposition [will be] the substitution of a sensible term in place of a mental term terminated at the sensible itself. For then the supposited term is not placed to signify an object distinct from itself, for example, the mind apprehends that this word blytiri is not significative, and affirms it within itself, and expresses that affirmation in these words: Blytiri does not signify, there blytiri is placed in place of a mental term, and does not signify something distinct from itself. Likewise a name is a word: the word name is supposited materially for itself, because the mental term signifies it.