Full Idea
Don't you think that just as each thing has a colour or some of those other qualities we mentioned, it also has a being or essence?
Gist of Idea
Doesn't each thing have an essence, just as it has other qualities?
Source
Plato (Cratylus [c.375 BCE], 423e)
Book Reference
Plato: 'Complete Works', ed/tr. Cooper,John M. [Hackett 1997], p.140
A Reaction
The Greek here seems to be 'ousia', which I increasingly think should be translated as 'distinct identity', rather than as 'existence' or as 'essence'. Maybe the philosophical term 'haecceity' captures it best.