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We seem to be carried away by our enthusiasm. What we have proposed is also clear, that they could not be teachers about the genesis of the cosmos who do not even allow it a beginning of genesis." And indeed, concerning the fifth substance of bodies, which Aristotle introduced, these things must be set forth:

15.7.1 7. FROM THE SAME TO THE SAME, CONCERNING HIM WHO POSTULATES A FIFTH SUBSTANCE OF BODIES, WHICH NEITHER MOSES NOR PLATO KNOWS

"Concerning, then, the so-called elements, the primary bodies, from which all other bodies are constituted, Plato, following the clear evidence concerning them, just as those before him, said that these are admittedly four, fire and earth and air and water, and that from these being combined and changed all other things are generated; but Aristotle, as it seems, hoping to appear more exceptional in his thinking if he added some body from the superfluous, added to the four apparent bodies the fifth substance, treating nature quite splendidly and generously, but not understanding that 15.7.2 one who studies nature must not legislate, but rather relate the things of nature itself. Therefore, for the proof that the primary natures of bodies are four, which the Platonists need, not only would the Peripatetic contribute nothing, but he would almost be the only one to oppose it. For when we say that every body is either hot or cold, or dry or moist, or soft or hard, or light or heavy, or rare or dense and find that there could be nothing else that partakes of any of these besides the four—for if it is hot, it is either fire or air; if cold, water or earth; and if dry, fire or earth; if moist, water or air; and if soft, air or fire; if hard, water or earth; and light and rare, such as fire and air; but heavy and dense, water and earth—and when from all the other simple powers we understand that there could be no other body besides these; this one alone resists, asserting that it is possible for a body to be without a share in these things, a body neither heavy nor light, neither soft nor hard, neither moist, but also not dry, all but saying a body that is not a body. For he has left it the name, but all the powers through which a body is naturally constituted he has 15.7.3 taken away. Therefore, either by persuading us of the things he himself says he will take us away from Plato's opinion, or by confirming the things of Plato he will depart from his own opinions; 15.7.4 so that he is in no way useful for the things of Plato. Further, Plato wishes all bodies, since they are observed to be of one similar matter, to turn and change into one another; but he, regarding the other † substance, deems it entirely impassive and incorruptible and unchangeable, so that he might not seem to be the originator of some contemptible thing, saying nothing at all superfluous and particular, but transferring well what was observed by Plato in other cases to things to which it does not belong, just like some of the later sculptors. 15.7.5 For they, having imitated the head of this statue, the chest of another, and the belt of a third, by putting them together sometimes convinced themselves that they had made something of their own, things not belonging to one another; and in reality the whole, which one might accuse of being asymmetrical, is their own, but the parts in it 15.7.6 which have been collected and have some beauty are not their own. In the same way also Aristotle, hearing from Plato that there is a certain intelligible substance in itself, both bodiless and colorless and intangible, neither coming into being nor perishing nor turning nor changing, but always being in the same state and in the same way, and hearing again on the other hand concerning the things in heaven, that being divine and incorruptible they are impassive bodies, he put together and glued together from both things not

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ἐοίκαμεν ὑπὸ προθυμίας ἐκφέρεσθαι. δῆλον μὲν καὶ ὃ προὐθέμεθα, ὡς οὐκ ἂν εἶεν διδάσκαλοι περὶ κόσμου γενέσεως οἱ μηδὲ τὴν ἀρχὴν γένεσιν ἀπολιπόντες αὐτῷ.» Καὶ μὴν καὶ περὶ τῆς τῶν σωμάτων πέμπτης οὐσίας, ἣν εἰσηγήσατο Ἀριστοτέλης, ταῦτα παραθετέον·

15.7.1 ζʹ. ΤΟΥ ΑΥΤΟΥ ΠΡΟΣ ΤΟΝ ΑΥΤΟΝ ΠΕΜΠΤΗΝ ΣΩΜΑΤΩΝ ΥΠΟΤΙΘΕΜΕΝΟΝ ΟΥΣΙΑΝ ΗΝ ΟΥΤΕ ΜΩΣΗΣ ΟΥΤΕ ΠΛΑΤΩΝ ΓΙΝΩΣΚΕΙ

«Περὶ γοῦν τῶν καλουμένων στοιχείων, τῶν πρώτων σωμάτων, ἐξ ὧν τὰ λοιπὰ πάντα σώματα συνέστηκε, Πλάτων μὲν ἑπόμενος τῇ περὶ αὐτὰ ἐναργείᾳ, καθάπερ καὶ οἱ πρὸ αὐτοῦ, τέσσαρά τε ἔφησεν εἶναι ταῦτα ὁμολογούμενα, πῦρ καὶ γῆν καὶ ἀέρα καὶ ὕδωρ, καὶ ἐκ τούτων συγκρινομένων καὶ τρεπομένων τὰ λοιπὰ πάντα γεννᾶσθαι· Ἀριστοτέλης δέ, ὡς ἔοικεν, ἐλπίσας περιττότερος φανεῖσθαι τῷ φρονεῖν, εἴ τι σῶμα ἐκ περιττοῦ προσθείη, προσκατηρίθμησε τοῖς φαινομένοις τέσσαρσι σώμασι τὴν πέμπτην οὐσίαν, πάνυ μὲν λαμπρῶς καὶ φιλοδώρως τῇ φύσει χρησάμενος, μὴ συνιδὼν δὲ ὅτι οὐ νο15.7.2 μοθετεῖν δεῖ φυσιολογοῦντα, τὰ δὲ τῆς φύσεως αὐτῆς ἐξιστορεῖν. εἰς τοίνυν τὴν ἀπόδειξιν τοῦ τέσσαρας εἶναι τὰς πρώτας τῶν σωμάτων φύσεις, ἧς δὴ χρεία τοῖς Πλατωνικοῖς, οὐ μόνον οὐκ ἂν συντελοῖ τι ὁ Περιπατητικός, ἀλλὰ σχεδὸν καὶ μόνος ἐναντιοῖτ' ἄν. λεγόντων γοῦν ἡμῶν ὅτι πᾶν σῶμα ἢ θερμὸν ἢ ψυχρόν, ἢ ξηρὸν ἢ ὑγρόν, ἢ μαλακὸν ἢ σκληρόν, ἢ κοῦφον ἢ βαρύ, ἢ ἀραιὸν ἢ πυκνὸν καὶ εὑρισκόντων ὅτι οὐκ ἂν ἕτερον εἴη τι τὸ μεθέξον τούτων τινὸς παρὰ τὰ τέσσαρα εἰ μὲν γὰρ θερμόν, ἢ πῦρ ἢ ἀήρ· εἰ δὲ ψυχρόν, ὕδωρ ἢ γῆ· καὶ εἰ μὲν ξηρόν, πῦρ ἢ γῆ· εἰ δὲ ὑγρόν, ὕδωρ ἢ ἀήρ· καὶ εἰ μὲν μαλακόν, ἀὴρ ἢ πῦρ· εἰ δὲ σκληρόν, ὕδωρ ἢ γῆ· καὶ κοῦφον μὲν καὶ ἀραιόν, οἷον πῦρ καὶ ἀήρ· βαρὺ δὲ καὶ πυκνόν, ὕδωρ καὶ γῆ καὶ ἐκ τῶν ἄλλων δὲ ἁπασῶν τῶν ἁπλῶν δυνάμεων κατανοούντων ὡς οὐκ ἂν εἴη τι παρὰ ταῦτα σῶμα ἕτερον· οὗτος ἀνθίσταται μόνος, φάσκων δύνασθαι σῶμα εἶναι τούτων ἄμοιρον, σῶμα μήτε βαρὺ μήτε κοῦφον, μήτε μαλακὸν μήτε σκληρόν, μήτε ὑγρόν, ἀλλὰ μήτε ξηρόν, μονονουχὶ λέγων σῶμα οὐ σῶμα. τὸ μὲν γὰρ ὄνομα καταλέλοιπεν αὐτῷ, τὰς δὲ δυνάμεις, δι' ὧν σῶμα πέφυκε γίνεσθαι, πάσας 15.7.3 ἀφῄρηκεν. ἢ τοίνυν ἡμᾶς ἅπερ αὐτὸς λέγει πείθων ἀφαιρήσεται τῆς Πλάτωνος γνώμης, ἢ τὰ Πλάτωνος βεβαιούμενος τῶν αὐτῷ δοκούντων ἀπο15.7.4 στήσεται· ὥστε οὐδαμῇ χρήσιμος πρὸς τὰ τοῦ Πλάτωνος. ἔτι ὁ μὲν Πλάτων πάντα τὰ σώματα, ἅτε ἐπὶ μιᾶς ὁμοίας ὕλης θεωρούμενα, βούλεται τρέπεσθαι μεταβάλλειν τ' εἰς ἄλληλα· ὁ δὲ ἐπὶ μὲν τῶν ἄλλων † οὐσίαν ἀπαθῆ τε καὶ ἄφθαρτον καὶ ἄτρεπτον πάντως ἀξιοῖ, ἵνα δὴ μὴ εὐκαταφρονήτου τινὸς πράγματος γεννητὴς εἶναι δοκῇ, περιττὸν μὲν καὶ ἴδιον παντάπασι λέγων οὐδέν, τὰ δὲ ὑπὸ Πλάτωνος ἐπ' ἄλλων ἑωραμένα καλῶς μεταφέρων ἐπὶ τὰ μὴ προσήκοντα, καθάπερ τινὲς τῶν ὕστερον γενομένων ἀνδριαντοποιῶν. 15.7.5 ἐκεῖνοί τε γὰρ ἀπομιμησάμενοι τοῦδε τοῦ ἀνδριάντος κεφαλήν, ἄλλου δὲ τὸ στέρνον, ἑτέρου δὲ τὴν ζώνην, εἰς ταὐτὸν συνθέντες ἐνίοτε μὴ προσήκοντα πράγματα ἀλλήλοις ἔπεισαν αὑτοὺς ὥς τι πεποιηκότες ἴδιον· καὶ ὄντως τὸ μὲν ὅλον, ὃ δή τις ἂν ἀσυμμέτρως ἔχειν αἰτιάσαιτο, ἐστὶν αὐτῶν, τὰ δ' ἐν αὐτῷ 15.7.6 συνηρανισμένα καί τι καλὸν ἔχοντα οὐκ αὐτῶν. ὡσαύτως δὲ καὶ Ἀριστοτέλης ἀκούων Πλάτωνος ὅτι ἔστι τις οὐσία νοητὴ καθ' αὑτὴν ἀσώματός τε καὶ ἀχρώματος καὶ ἀναφής, οὔτε γινομένη οὔτε φθειρομένη οὔτε τρεπομένη οὔτε μεταβαλλομένη, ἀεὶ δὲ κατὰ τὰ αὐτὰ καὶ ὡσαύτως ἔχουσα, πάλιν δ' αὖ περὶ τῶν κατ' οὐρανὸν ἀκούων, ὡς ὄντα θεῖα καὶ ἄφθαρτα ἀπαθῆ ἐστι σώματα, συνέθηκε καὶ συνεκόλλησεν ἐξ ἀμφοῖν πράγματα μὴ