§2.33.
3.
Ἐπεὶ δὲ τέτταρα τὰ στοιχεῖα, τῶν δὲ τεττάρων ἓξ αἱ συζεύξεις, τὰ δ᾿ ἐναντία οὐ πέφυκε συνδυάζεσθαι (θερμὸν γὰρ καὶ ψυχρὸν εἶναι τὸ αὐτὸ καὶ πάλιν ξηρὸν καὶ ὑγρὸν ἀδύνατα), φανερὸν ὅτι τέτταρες ἔσονται αἱ τῶν στοιχείων συζεύξεις, θερμοῦ καὶ ξηροῦ, καὶ θερμοῦ καὶ ὑγροῦ, καὶ πάλιν ψυχροῦ καὶ ὑγροῦ, καὶ ψυχροῦ καὶ ξηροῦ.
Since, then, the elements are four, and the couplings of the four are six, but contrary qualities do not by nature couple (for it is impossible for the same thing to be both hot and cold, and again dry and wet), it is manifest that the couplings of the elements will be four, of hot and dry, and of hot and wet, and again of cold and wet, and of cold and dry.
καὶ ἠκολούθηκε κατὰ λόγον τοῖς ἁπλοῖς φαινομένοις σώμασι, πυρὶ καὶ ἀέρι καὶ ὕδατι καὶ γῇ·
And this has followed in accordance with reason upon the apparently simple bodies: fire, air, water, and earth.
τὸ μὲν γὰρ πῦρ θερμὸν καὶ ξηρόν, ὁ δ᾿ ἀὴρ θερμὸν καὶ ὑγρόν (οἷον ἀτμὶς γὰρ ὁ ἀήρ), τὸ δ᾿ ὕδωρ ψυχρὸν καὶ ὑγρόν, ἡ δὲ γῆ ψυχρὸν καὶ ξηρόν, ὥστ᾿ εὐλόγως διανέμεσθαι τὰς διαφορὰς τοῖς πρώτοις σώμασι, καὶ τὸ πλῆθος αὐτῶν εἶναι κατὰ λόγον.
For fire is hot and dry, whereas air is hot and wet (for air is like vapor), water is cold and wet, and earth is cold and dry, so that the differences are reasonably distributed to the primary bodies, and their number is in accordance with reason.
ἅπαντες γὰρ οἱ τὰ ἁπλᾶ σώματα στοιχεῖα ποιοῦντες οἱ μὲν ἕν, οἱ δὲ δύο, οἱ δὲ τρία, οἱ δὲ τέτταρα ποιοῦσιν.
For all those who make the simple bodies elements make them either one, or two, or three, or four.
ὅσοι μὲν οὗν ἓν μόνον λέγουσιν, εἶτα πυκνώσει καὶ μανώσει τἆλλα γεννῶσι, τούτοις συμβαίνει δύο ποιεῖν τὰς ἀρχάς, τό τε μανὸν καὶ τὸ πυκνὸν ἢ τὸ θερμὸν καὶ τὸ ψυχρόν· ταῦτα γὰρ τὰ δημιουργοῦντα, τὸ δ᾿ ἓν ὑπόκειται καθάπερ ὕλη.
Those, then, who say there is only one, and then generate the other things by condensation and rarefaction, end up making two principles, namely the rare and the dense, or the hot and the cold; for these are the active agents, while the one underlies as matter.
οἱ δ᾿ εὐθὺς δύο ποιοῦντες, ὥσπερ Παρμενίδης πῦρ καὶ γῆν, τὰ μεταξὺ μίγματα ποιοῦσι τούτων, οἷον ἀέρα καὶ ὕδωρ.
But those who immediately make them two, as Parmenides makes fire and earth, make the intermediate things mixtures of these, such as air and water.
ὡσαύτως δὲ καὶ οἱ τρία λέγοντες, καθάπερ Πλάτων ἐν ταῖς διαιρέσεσιν· τὸ γὰρ μέσον μῖγμα ποιεῖ.
Likewise also those who say there are three, as Plato does in his 'Divisions'; for he makes the intermediate a mixture.
καὶ σχεδὸν ταὐτὰ λέγουσιν οἵ τε δύο καὶ οἱ τρία ποιοῦντες· πλὴν οἱ μὲν τέμνουσιν εἰς δύο τὸ μέσον, οἱ δ᾿ ἓν μόνον ποιοῦσιν.
And those who make them two and those who make them three say almost the same things; except that the former cut the intermediate into two, while the latter make it only one.
ἔνιοι δ᾿ εὐθὺς τέτταρα λέγουσιν, οἷον Ἐμπεδοκλῆς. συνάγει δὲ καὶ οὗτος εἰς τὰ δύο· τῷ γὰρ πυρὶ τἆλλα πάντα ἀντιτίθησιν.
And some immediately say there are four, such as Empedocles; but he too brings them together into two, for he opposes all the other things to fire.
Οὐκ ἔστι δὲ τὸ πῦρ καὶ ὁ ἀὴρ καὶ ἕκαστον τῶν εἰρημένων ἁπλοῦν, ἀλλὰ μικτόν.
But fire, air, and each of the mentioned things are not simple, but mixed.
τὰ δ᾿ ἁπλᾶ τοιαῦτα μέν ἐστιν, οὐ μέντοι ταὐτά, οἷον εἴ τι τῷ πυρὶ ὅμοιον, πυροειδές, οὐ πῦρ, καὶ τὸ τῷ ἀέρι ἀεροειδές· ὁμοίως δὲ κἀπὶ τῶν ἄλλων.
And the simple bodies are indeed of such a kind, yet not identical to them, for instance, that which is similar to fire is fire-like, not fire, and that similar to air is air-like; and likewise also for the others.
τὸ δὲ πῦρ ἐστὶν ὑπερβολὴ θερμότητος, ὥσπερ καὶ κρύσταλλος ψυχρότητος· ἡ γὰρ πῆξις καὶ ἡ ζέσις ὑπερβολαί τινές εἰσιν, ἡ μὲν ψυχρότητος, ἡ δὲ θερμότητος.
And fire is an excess of heat, just as ice is of cold; for solidification and boiling are certain excesses, the former of cold, the latter of heat.
εἰ οὖν ὁ κρύσταλλός ἐστι πῆξις ὑγροῦ ψυχροῦ, καὶ τὸ πῦρ ἔσται ζέσις ξηροῦ θερμοῦ.
If, then, ice is a solidification of cold-wet, fire also will be a boiling of hot-dry.
διὸ καὶ οὐδὲν οὔτ᾿ ἐκ κρυστάλλου γίνεται οὔτ᾿ ἐκ πυρός.
Wherefore also nothing is generated either from ice or from fire.
Ὄντων δὲ τεττάρων τῶν ἁπλῶν σωμάτων, ἑκάτερον τοῖν δυοῖν ἑκατέρου τῶν τόπων ἐστίν· πῦρ μὲν γὰρ καὶ ἀὴρ τοῦ πρὸς τὸν ὅρον φερομένου, γῆ δὲ καὶ ὕδωρ τοῦ πρὸς τὸ μέσον.
And there being four simple bodies, each of the two pairs belongs to each of the two places; for fire and air belong to the place carried toward the limit, while earth and water belong to the place carried toward the center.
καὶ ἄκρα μὲν καὶ εἰλικρινέστατα πῦρ καὶ γῆ, μέσα δὲ καὶ με μιγμένα μᾶλλον ὕδωρ καὶ ἀήρ.
And fire and earth are extremes and most pure, while water and air are intermediate and more mixed.
καὶ ἑκάτερα ἑκατέροις ἐναντία· πυρὶ μὲν γὰρ ἐναντίον ὕδωρ, ἀέρι δὲ γῆ· ταῦτα γὰρ ἐκ τῶν ἐναντίων παθημάτων συνέστηκεν.
And each pair is contrary to each: for water is contrary to fire, and earth to air; for these are constituted from contrary affections.
οὐ μὴν ἀλλ᾿ ἁπλῶς γε τέτταρα ὄντα ἑνὸς ἕκαστόν ἐστι, γῆ μὲν ξηροῦ μᾶλλον ἢ ψυχροῦ, ὕδωρ δὲ ψυχροῦ μᾶλλον ἢ ὑγροῦ, ἀὴρ δ᾿ ὑγροῦ μᾶλλον ἢ θερμοῦ, πῦρ δὲ θερμοῦ μᾶλλον ἢ ξηροῦ.
Nevertheless, being simply four, each of them belongs preeminently to one quality: earth to the dry rather than to the cold, water to the cold rather than to the wet, air to the wet rather than to the hot, and fire to the hot rather than to the dry.