§1.11 Περὶ μὲν οὖν τῶν πρώτων αἰτίων τῆς φύσεως καὶ περὶ πάσης κινήσεως φυσικῆς, ἔτι δὲ περὶ τῶν κατὰ τὴν ἄνω φορὰν διακεκοσ μημένων ἄστρων καὶ περὶ τῶν στοιχείων τῶν σωματικῶν, πόσα τε καὶ ποῖα, καὶ τῆς εἰς ἄλληλα μεταβολῆς, καὶ περὶ γενέσεως καὶ φθορᾶς τῆς κοινῆς εἴρηται πρότερον.
\n1 We have already spoken previously about the first causes of nature and about all natural motion, and further about the stars ordered according to the upper motion, and about the corporeal elements, both how many and of what sort they are, and of their change into one another, and about common coming-to-be and passing-away.
λοιπὸν δʼ ἐστὶ μέρος τῆς μεθόδου ταύτης ἔτι θεωρητέον, ὃ πάντες οἱ πρότεροι μετεωρολογίαν ἐκάλουν·
There remains to be considered a still further part of this inquiry, which all our predecessors called meteorology.
ταῦτα δʼ ἐστὶν ὅσα συμβαίνει κατὰ φύσιν μέν, ἀτακτοτέραν μέντοι τῆς τοῦ πρώου στοιχείου τῶν σωμάτων, περὶ τὸν γειτνιῶντα μάλιστα τόπον τῇ φορᾷ τῇ τῶν ἄστρων, οἷον περί τε γάλακτος καὶ κομητῶν καὶ τῶν ἐκπυρουμένων καὶ κινουμένων φασμάτων, ὅσα τε θείημεν ἄν ἀέρος εἶναι κοινὰ πάθη καὶ ὕδατος, ἔτι δὲ γῆς ὅσα μέρη καὶ εἴδη καὶ πάθη τῶν μερῶν, ἐξ ὧν περί τε πνευμάτων καὶ σεισμῶν θεωρήσαιμεν ἄν τὰς αἰτίας καὶ περὶ πάντων τῶν γιγνομένων κατὰ τὰς κινήσεις τὰς τούτων· ἐν οἷς τὰ μὲν ἀποροῦμεν, τῶν δὲ ἐφαπτόμεθά τινα τρόπον· ἔτι δὲ περὶ κεραυνῶν πτώσεως καὶ τυφώνων καὶ πρηστήρων καὶ τῶν ἄλλων τῶν ἐγκυκλίων, ὅσα διὰ πῆξιν συμβαίνει πάθη τῶν αὐτῶν σωμάτων τούτων.
These are all things that happen indeed according to nature, yet more irregular than that of the first element of bodies, occurring about the region most closely neighboring the motion of the stars; for example, concerning the Milky Way, comets, and ignited and moving meteors, and all such things as we might place as common affections of air and water, and further all the parts and kinds of the earth and the affections of its parts, from which we might examine the causes of winds and earthquakes, and of all things that happen according to their motions.\n In these matters, some things perplex us, while of others we grasp a certain understanding; and further concerning the fall of thunderbolts, whirlwinds, fire-winds, and other cyclical phenomena, all such affections as occur to these same bodies through condensation.
διελθόντες δὲ περὶ τούτων, θεωρήσωμεν εἵ τι δυνάμεθα κατὰ τὸν ὑφηγημένον τρόπον ἀποδοῦναι περὶ ζῴων καὶ φυτῶν, καθόλου τε καὶ χωρίς· σχεδὸν γὰρ τούτων ῥηθέντων τέλος ἄν εἴη γεγονὸς τῆς ἐξ ἀρχῆς ἡμῖν προαιρέσεως πάσης.
When we have gone through these things, let us consider whether we are able, according to the guided method, to give an account of animals and plants, both generally and individually; for once these are spoken of, the end of our entire original purpose would have been pretty much reached.
δʼ οὖν ἀρξάμενοι λέγωμεν περὶ αὐτῶν πρῶτον. §1.22 ἐπειδὴ γὰρ διώρισται πρότερον ἡμῖν μία μὲν ἀρχὴ τῶν σωμάτων, ἐξ ὧν συνέστηκεν ἡ τῶν ἐγκυκλίως φερομένων σωμάτων φύσις, ἄλλα δὲ τέτταρα σώματα διὰ τὰς τέτταρας ἀρχάς, ὧν διπλῆν εἶναί φαμεν τὴν κίνησιν, τὴν μὲν ἀπὸ τοῦ μέσου τὴν δʼ ἐπὶ τὸ μέσον· τεττάρων δʼ ὄντων τούτων, πυρὸς καὶ ἀέρος καὶ ὕδατος καὶ γῆς, τὸ μὲν τούτοις πᾶσιν ἐπιπολάζον εἶναι πῦρ, τὸ δʼ ὑφιστάμενον γῆν· δύο δὲ ἃ πρὸς αὐτὰ τούτοις ἀνάλογον ἔχει (ἀὴρ μὲν γὰρ πυρὸς ἐγγυτάτω τῶν ἄλλων, ὕδωρ δὲ γῆς)· ὁ δὴ περὶ τὴν γῆν ὅλος κόσμος ἐκ τούτων συνέστηκε τῶν σωμάτων· περὶ οὗ τὰ συμβαίνοντα πάθη φαμὲν εἶναι ληπτέον.
Let us then begin and speak of them first.\n\n2 For since it has been determined by us beforehand that there is one principle of bodies, from which the nature of the circularly moving bodies is constituted, and four other bodies owing to the four principles, of which we say the motion is twofold, the one away from the center, the other toward the center; and as these are four—fire, air, water, and earth—the one rising to the top of all these is fire, and the one sinking to the bottom is earth; while the two others hold an analogous relation to these (for air is closest of all to fire, and water to earth); the whole world, therefore, around the earth is constituted of these bodies; and it is concerning this world that we say we must grasp the occurring affections.
ἔστιν δʼ ἐξ ἀνάγκης συνεχὴς οὗτος ταῖς ἄνω φοραῖς, ὥστε πᾶσαν αὐτοῦ τὴν δύναμιν κυβερνᾶσθαι ἐκεῖθεν· ὅθεν γὰρ ἡ τῆς κινήσεως ἀρχὴ πᾶσιν, ἐκείνην αἰτίαν νομιστέον πρώτην.
This world is of necessity continuous with the upper motions, so that all its power is governed from there; for whence the principle of motion is for all, that must be considered the first cause.
πρὸς δὲ τούτοις ἡ μὲν ἀίδιος καὶ τέλος οὐκ ἔχουσα τῷ τόπῳ τῆς κινήσεως, ἀλλʼ ἀεὶ ἐν τέλει· ταῦτα δὲ τὰ σώματα πάντα πεπερασμένους διέστηκε τόπους ἀλλήλων.
And in addition to these, the one is eternal and has no end in the place of its motion, but is always at its end; while all these other bodies stand apart from one another in limited places.
ὥστε τῶν συμβαινόντων περὶ αὐτὸν πῦρ μὲν καὶ γῆν καὶ τὰ συγγενῇ τούτοις ὡς ἐν ὕλης εἴδει τῶν γιγνομένων αἴτια χρὴ νομίζ ειν (τὸ γὰρ ὑποκείμενον καὶ πάσχον τοῦτον προσαγορεύομεν τὸν τρόπον), τὸ δʼ οὕτως αἴτιον ὅθεν ἡ τῆς κινήσεως ἀρχή, τὴν τῶν ἀεὶ κινουμένων αἰτιατέον δύναμιν.
So that, of the things occurring about this world, we must consider fire and earth and their kindred bodies as causes in the form of matter of what comes to be (for that which is underlying and passive we address in this manner), while the cause in the sense of whence the principle of motion is, must be attributed to the power of those things which are eternally in motion.