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What could anyone find to say on the other side
from this point on ? This, that God, the master workman, had as material four elements from which to
construct the universe. Among these, again, there
is a simple mutual distinction, namely, that earth
and water are a foundation at the bottom of the
universe, being, like raw material, the substance of
which things are constructed and moulded, having
just so much form and organization, and indeed of
capacity for growth and procreation, as is imparted
to them by the other elements, air and fire, which
are makers and artisans and rouse them, lying lifeless
as they were until then, to the act of creation. Between these two, again, fire and air, there is the distinction that fire assumes the rule and leadership.
This is clear by induction1: earth without warmth
[p. 301]
is barren and unfruitful, but fire, when it takes
possession and inflames, causes it to swell to the
point of generation ; and it is impossible to find anyother reason why rocks and the bare bones of mountains are barren except that they have either no part
at all, or very little share, in fire.
1 Possibly; but the argument hardly demonstrates this. The text is corrupt and a different solution than that adopted here is proposed by M. Adler (Wien. Stud. xxxi. 308).