Explanation of Expressions

Necessity is a cause of violence. In general, an element is that first thing from which something is made and to which it is ultimately reducible. In particular, however, an element is that of which a body is made and to which it is reducible—and such are fire, water, air, and earth. Fire is a body which is very rare, hot, and dry. Earth is a body which is very dry and heavy. Water is a body which is wet and very cold. Air is a body which is very wet and soft. Origination is a substantial motion from non-being to being. (Destruction and corruption is a motion from being to non-being.) Increase is a motion in quantity by enlargement. Decrease is a motion in quantity by diminution. Alteration is a motion in quality by change. Motion is a motion from place to place. Rotation is a motion in the same place. Self-motion is the motion of the soul and it is also to be found in animals. Time is a measure of motion and a number of the prior and posterior in motion. Day is the passage of the sun over the earth, or the period of time during which the sun passes over the earth. Night is the shadow of the mass of the earth, or the time during which the sun is passing under the earth. A space of a night and a day is a revolution of the universe. A month is the space of time between one conjunction of the moon with the sun and the next conjunction. A year is the time it takes for the sun to pass through the cycle of the zodiac. A seasonable time is a time when things may be done successfully. Unseasonableness is the absence of a seasonable time for the successful prosecution of the thing required. An hour is either the fourth part of a year, or the twelfth part of the day, or the zenith of the spirit, or the prime of the body. Spring is the time during which wetness prevails. Summer is the time during which heat prevails. Autumn is the time during which dryness prevails. Winter is the time during which cold prevails. A barbed star is a starlike mass of fire having rays in front. A comet is a fiery mass of stars sending out rays round about like a long head of hair. A meteor is a starry shaft, that is to say, a beam sending rays upward. A fireball is an incandescent mass of fire. An iris is a majestic reflection of the sun in a hollow moist cloud. It appears circular like a ring, giving the impression of a star reflected in a mirror and it is caused by condensation of the air. A parhelion is a dense circular cloud resembling the sun, or it is a reflection of the sun in a dense and smooth cloud. A thunderbolt is a spiral blast which makes a fiery motion and is borne down from above in a flame of fire setting fire all around. A typhoon is a spiral movement of dark air drawn down to the earth from above. A waterspout is a spiral movement of radiant air borne down from above. A bolt of lightning is a thunderbolt apart from clouds. Hail is completely frozen water which has been frozen up above the earth. Ice is water which has been frozen on the earth. Snow is half-frozen water that comes down through the clouds onto the earth. Frost is entirely frozen water which has been frozen on the earth through the agency of another wet material. A rainstorm is a continuous fall of water excreted by clouds. A shower is a quantity of dew. Dew is moisture gathered into drops. Mist is the density which precedes the cloud. Vapor is a quantity of emanations on the earth. A lake is a large body of fresh water formed in hollows and low places. A sea is salty bitter water filling the cavities of the gulfs of the lowest part of the earth. A fountain is the gushing source of a spring, or outflowing water produced by a disturbance in the earth. An earthquake is a violent motion of wind entering in under the earth and forcing it to shake. A volcanic crater is an aperture, or vent, out of which flows subterranean fire. A lyre is a frame fitted with strings.

With the help of God, the philosophies of the most holy John of Damascus have been brought to completion.

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