§3.5#2πυραμίδων, ὥστʼ ἐπεὶ τῶν μὲν σωμάτων τὸ πῦρ λεπτότατον, τῶν δὲ σχημάτων ἡ πυραμὶς μικρομερέστατον καὶ πρῶτον, τὸ δὲ πρῶτον σχῆμα τοῦ πρώτου σώματος, πυραμὶς ἄν εἴη τὸ πῦρ.
of pyramids; so that, since of bodies fire is the finest, and of shapes the pyramid is composed of the smallest parts and is the first, and the first shape belongs to the first body, fire would be a pyramid.
οἱ δὲ περὶ μὲν σχήματος οὐδὲν ἀποφαίνονται, λεπτομερέστατον δὲ μόνον ποιοῦσιν, ἔπειτʼ ἐκ τούτου συντιθεμένου φασὶ γίγνεσθαι τἆλλα καθάπερ ἂν εἰ συμφυσωμένου ψήγματος.
But others declare nothing about shape, but only make fire composed of the finest parts, and then they say that other things arise from this being composed, just as if gold-dust were being fused together.
ἀμφοτέροις δὲ ταὐτὰ συμβαίνει δυσχερῆ· εἰ μὲν γὰρ ἄτομον τὸ πρῶτον σῶμα ποιοῦσι, πάλιν ἥξουσιν οἱ πρότερον εἰρημένοι λόγοι πρός ταύτην τὴν ὑπόθεσιν, ἔτι οὐκ ἐνδέχεται τοῦτο λέγειν φυσικῶς βουλομένοις θεωρεῖν.
And to both the same difficulties happen; for if on the one hand they make the first body indivisible, the arguments previously mentioned will again apply to this hypothesis, and furthermore it is not possible to say this for those who wish to investigate physically.
εἰ γὰρ ἅπαν σῶμα σώματι συμβλητὸν κατὰ τὸ ποσόν, ἔχει δʼ ἀνάλογον τὰ μεγέθη τά τε τῶν ὁμοιομερῶν πρὸς ἄλληλα καὶ τὰ τῶν στοιχείων (οἷον τὰ τοῦ παντὸς ὕδατος πρὸς τὸν ἅπαντα ἀέρα καὶ τοῦ στοιχείου πρὸς τὸ στοιχεῖον, ὁμοίως δὲ καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν ἄλλων), ὁ δʼ ἀὴρ πλείων τοῦ ὕδατος καὶ ὅλως τὸ λεπτομερέστερον τοῦ παχυμερεστέρου, φανερὸν ὅτι καὶ τὸ στοιχεῖον ἔλαττον ἔσται τὸ τοῦ ὕδατος ἢ τὸ τοῦ ἀέρος.
For if every body is comparable with body in respect of quantity, and the magnitudes of like-parted bodies have a proportion to one another, as do those of the elements (for example, that of all water to all air, and of element to element, and likewise also in the case of the others), and air is more than water, and in general the finer-parted is more than the coarser-parted, it is manifest that the element of water will also be smaller than that of air.
εἰ οὖν τὸ ἔλαττον μέγεθος ἐνυπάρχει τῷ μείζονι, διαιρετὸν ἂν εἴη τὸ τοῦ ἀέρος στοιχεῖον.
If then the smaller magnitude is present in the larger, the element of air would be divisible.
ὡσαύτως δὲ καὶ τὸ τοῦ πυρὸς καὶ ὅλως τῶν λεπτομερεστέρων.
And likewise also that of fire, and in general of the finer-parted.
εἰ δὲ διαιρετόν, τοῖς μὲν σχηματίζουσι τὸ πῦρ συμβήσεται μὴ εἶναι τὸ τοῦ πυρὸς μέρος πῦρ διὰ τὸ μὴ συγκεῖσθαι τὴν πυραμίδα ἐκ πυραμίδων, ἔτι δὲ μὴ πᾶν σῶμα εἶναι ἢ στοιχεῖον ἢ ἐκ στοιχείων (τὸ γὰρ μέρος τοῦ πυρὸς οὕτε πῦρ οὔθʼ ἕτερον στοιχεῖον οὐδέν), τοῖς δὲ τῷ μεγέθει διορίζουσι πρότερόν τι τοῦ στοιχείου στοιχεῖον εἶναι, καὶ τοῦτʼ εἰς ἄπειρον βαδίζειν, εἴπερ ἅπαν σῶμα διαιρετὸν καὶ τὸ μικρομερέστατον στοιχεῖον.
But if it is divisible, for those who shape fire it will turn out that the part of fire is not fire, because the pyramid is not composed of pyramids; and furthermore, that not every body is either an element or composed of elements (for the part of fire is neither fire nor any other element); while for those who define by magnitude, it will turn out that some element is prior to the element, and this goes on to infinity, if indeed every body is divisible and the smallest-parted is the element.
ἔτι δὲ καὶ τούτοις συμβαίνει λέγειν ὡς ταὐτὸν πρὸς μὲν τόδε πῦρ ἐστὶ πρὸς ἄλλο δʼ ἀήρ, καὶ πάλιν ὕδωρ καὶ γῆ.
And furthermore, for these too it turns out that they say that the same thing is fire in relation to this, and air in relation to another, and again water and earth.
κοινὸν δὲ πᾶσιν ἁμάρτημα τοῖς ἓν τὸ στοιχεῖον ὑποτιθεμένοις τὸ μίαν μόνην κίνησιν ποιεῖν φυσικήν, καὶ πάντων τὴν αὐτήν.
But a common error of all those who assume one element is that they make only one natural motion, and the same for all.
ὁρῶμεν γὰρ πᾶν τὸ φυσικὸν σῶμα κινήσεως ἔχον ἀρχήν.
For we see that every natural body has a principle of motion.
εἰ οὖν ἅπαντα τὰ σώματα ἕν τί ἐστι, πάντων ἂν εἴη μία κίνησις· καὶ ταύτην ἀναγκαῖον ὅσῳπερ ἂν πλείω γίγνηται, κινεῖσθαι μᾶλλον, ὥσπερ καὶ τὸ πῦρ ὅσῳ ἂν πλεῖον γίγνηται, φέρεται θᾶττον ἄνω τὴν αὑτοῦ φοράν.
If then all bodies are some one thing, there would be one motion for all; and this motion they must necessarily perform the more, the more of them there is, just as fire, the more of it there is, is carried faster upward in its own proper motion.
συμβαίνει δὲ πολλὰ κάτω φέρεσθαι θᾶττον, ὥστε διά τε ταῦτα, καὶ πρὸς τούτοις ἐπεὶ διώρισται πρότερον ὅτι πλείους αἱ φυσικαὶ κινήσεις, δῆλον ὅτι ἀδύνατον ἓν εἶναι τὸ στοιχεῖον.
But it happens that many things are carried faster downward; so that for these reasons, and in addition to these because it has been defined before that natural motions are more than one, it is clear that it is impossible for the element to be one.
ἐπεὶ δὲ οὔτε ἄπειρα οὔτε ἕν, πλείω ἀνάγκη εἶναι καὶ πεπερασμένα.
But since they are neither infinite nor one, they must be more than one and finite.