Dialogue on Divine and Human Love

to Earth their mother, and their generator, so that they never wish to depart from her without corruption corruption: in this philosophical context, "corruption" refers to the decay or dissolution of a physical body back into its basic elements., but rather embrace her with the affection of their roots, as children do to their mothers; and this Earth, like a merciful mother with no small charity and love, not only generates them, but always takes care to nourish them from her own vitals and humors, drawing them from her interior to the surface to maintain them with these, just as a mother does, who draws milk from her vitals to her breasts to nurse her children; furthermore, when the Earth lacks the moisture to give to them, with prayers and supplications she asks it of the Heaven and the Air, and buys and barters it with her ascending vapors, from which rainwater is generated original: "gña" (genera). The text uses a common scribal abbreviation. to nourish her plants and her animals. What mother could be more full of mercy and charity toward her children?

SO. Certainly such care is wonderful in a body without a soul, such as the Earth, and much more wonderful is the care of Him who was able to make it so curious curious: meaning skillfully or intricately fashioned, reflecting the ingenuity of the Creator.. It only remains for me now to understand how the first cause of love in animals—which is the desire and delight of generation—is found in the Elements, and in the Matter of all things, and in bodies without a sensitive soul.

PH. Generative love is found in the Elements and in the Matter of all inferior things beyond these four Elements. We indeed see that from these, all generated things are produced.

SO. It is indeed so, but the Elements themselves are also generable; therefore you must tell me from what things they are generated.

PH. From what? From one another. We see that from Water, Air is made; and from Air, Water is made; from Fire, Air [is made]; and from Air, Fire; and so also the Earth.

SO. This too that you say is true; but what of those things that are generated from the Elements? These Elements are the matter and foundation that remain in the thing generated by all four of them united virtually virtually: meaning that the "virtue" or essential power of the elements remains present in a compound, even if their outward form has changed.; whereas when one element is generated from another, it cannot be so, for when Fire is converted into Water, Fire does not remain in the Water; rather, Fire is corrupted and Water is generated. And because it is so, it is necessary to assign some matter common to all the Elements, in which these transmutations transmutations: the process by which one substance changes into another by losing one form and taking on another. of theirs can take place; which, being once informed in the form of Air through sufficient alteration, and leaving that form of Air, takes the form of Water, and so of the others.

PH. This is what the Philosophers call Prime Matter, and the most ancient call it Chaos original: "Caos", which in Greek means confusion original: "confusione", because all things are potentially and genuinely within...