Against the Physicists, Books IX-X of Against the Learned Section 319

ἀπὸ μὲν οὖν μενούσης τῆς δεκάδος αὐτόθεν φαίνεται μὴ ἀφαιρεῖσθαι ἡ μονάς· ἐφ’ ὅσον γὰρ μένει δεκάς, οὐδὲν ἀφαιρεῖται ἀπ’ αὐτῆς. ἀπὸ δὲ μὴ μενούσης πάλιν ἀφαιρεῖσθαι ἄτοπον· ἀπὸ γὰρ τοῦ μὴ ὄντος οὐδὲ ἀφαιρεθῆναί τι δύναται. οὐκ ἄρα ἀφαιρεῖταί τι τινός.

It is immediately evident that the unit is not subtracted while the decad remains, for insofar as it remains a decad, nothing is subtracted from it. But it is again absurd for something to be subtracted from it while it does not remain, since nothing can be subtracted from what does not exist. Therefore nothing is subtracted from anything.

Il est d’emblée manifeste que l’unité n’est pas retranchée de la dizaine qui demeure ; car tant que celle-ci demeure une dizaine, rien ne lui est retranché. Mais il est encore absurde de la retrancher de celle qui ne demeure plus, car rien ne peut être retranché de ce qui n’est pas. Rien n’est donc retranché de rien.