Thus are their figures never at a stand,
But changed by Nature’s innovating hand.”[286]
THE PLATONISTS.
“Let us therefore say that the mother, or receptacle of every visible, nay of every sensible production, is neither earth, nor air, nor fire, nor water, nor any of the things which arise out of these, nor out of which these arise, but a certain invisible and formless being, the universal recipient, concerning which being, if we say that it is in a very dubious way intelligible, and something most hard to be apprehended, we shall not speak false.”[287]
The primary matter “admits of everything, but partakes of no shape nor resemblance to anything which enters into it. It is the substance of impression[288] to everything in nature, being moved and altered by those things which enter into it (the forms?), and by their means it appears sometimes one thing and sometimes another.”[289]
“In the first place, we see that which we call water, being compressed, become stones and earth. But being dissolved and expanded, it becomes breath and air. Air, by combustion, is converted into fire, which, being compressed and extinguished, assumes its original form. Fire and air meeting together, and being condensed, become cloud and vapor; and from the condensation of these, running water is formed. And from water again, earth and stones are formed.”[290]
Plato taught “that God, matter, and form, are the originals of all things:—that matter is increate and incorruptible, neither fire, nor water, nor any of the principles nor elements, but a substance capable of form and subject to fabrication: that when rude and deprived of every quality of configuration, God, the artificer, formed the universe from it. He taught, that matter is the original of all bodies, that it was stamped with the impression of forms, and hence were produced the elements, namely, fire, water, earth, and air.”[291]
“Earth contains water, and water, as some suppose, carries earth: air is formed from water, and from dense air fire is formed.”[292]
“There being four kinds of bodies, by the mutual changes of them the nature of the world is preserved. For water is formed from earth, and air from water, and ether from air: and then inversely, from ether, air; from air, water; and from water, earth, which is lowest in the scale.”[293]
“Those who have investigated matter, if they have formed any right conception of it, have agreed in considering it as the subject and receptacle of forms.”[294]