  But of course, all of this raises a question. How is it that medieval philosophers maintain a form of realism about relations while at the time rejecting the existence of polyadic properties? In particular, what do they say about arguments such as Auriol’s, which in effect deny the coherence of realism without polyadic properties? Here it is useful to consider the work of Albert the Great. Although he writes a generation before Auriol, he explicitly addresses his sort of argument, and the reply he offers appears to be perfectly standard.