On the Material Cause of Meteors.

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Its potential existence in the hyleoriginal: "hyla"; referring to the Greek concept of "hyle," the raw, unformed matter of the universe. or dark chaos was naturally a companion to potential coldness. Later, when the water actually flowed out from the darkness at the creation of the world, the air retained a greater inclination toward a certain hidden humidity. This humidity, however, is not essential to the air’s existence, since the air can be converted into an extremely dry state or condition, as is seen during the summer season. We conclude, therefore, that the air is capable of receiving any of the four aforementioned qualities The four primary qualities of Aristotelian physics: hot, cold, moist, and dry.. It habitually brings this capability into action according to the nature and condition of the wind that happens to blow. For example: the Northern winds original: "Aquilonares" make it cold and dry; the Southern winds original: "Australes" make it hot and moist; the East wind original: "Eurus" makes it hot and dry; and the Western winds make it cold and moist. Thus, the quality of the air can change at any moment according to the ordinance of GOD, who disposes it according to His will; indeed, the air itself receives whatever is poured into it, yet it nevertheless retains and preserves its spiritual and uniform essence.

CHAPTER V.

Although the air (as has already been said) is single and simple in its nature and existence, it nevertheless—through the mediation of the Word and the angelic ministers who blow and move it with various winds—is accustomed to migrate from one quality to another. Consequently, it moves from a dense substance to a thin or moderate one, or conversely from thin to dense, and this happens daily. For who, having even common experience, does not see that clouds are composed of thickened air? And who does not see that the substance of the air itself is condensed into hail, frost, and hoar-frost by the cold of the north? Sacred Scripture teaches us that this cold flows from the divine breath.

For (as Job says, chapter 37:9-10), "The mighty GOD brings forth ice by His breath; by the breath of GOD the frost is increased." And it is said elsewhere: "He sends His word to the earth; His word runs very swiftly. He gives snow like wool, and scatters the hoar-frost like ashes; He casts forth His ice like morsels; who can stand before His cold?" (Psalm 147:16-17).

From this, it is clear that the thin and invisible air thickens into dense and hard matter through the mediation of the Word of GOD, which commands the cold. This Word (witnessed by the fountain of truth in Psalm 104) is carried out by angels of greatest strength. Again, when heat is sent forth through the Word and the administration of angels, the air is reduced by contrary winds into vapors and watery clouds. Having been changed from a cold breath into snow, hail, frost, and hoar-frost, it is again dissolved into drops of water, as is evident from the conclusion of the testimony cited from the Psalmist:

For there follows in verse 18: "He sends out His word and melts them; as soon as He blows His word, the waters flow."

From this we argue that by the sending of the Word—that is, the divine light—and by the Southern wind blowing by His power through the ministry of Angels, those things which the cold Northern wind froze are dissolved by the Southern wind back into what they were before. No one familiar with common boiling can deny that watery vapor is dissolved by the action of heat into air, as if into the "prime matter" from which it first arose. Therefore, cold condenses the air, while heat makes it thin and subtle.

However, the cause of this condensation and thinning always occurs with the assistance of the winds and their qualities. By the opposition of these winds, the air between them is compressed; it is first reduced into the form of vapor, and then into a watery smoke or cloudy substance. This happens especially if a hot and moist (Southern) wind contends against a cold and dry (Northern) wind. For it is necessary that a mass of air—either watery and moist, from which rains are generated, or dry, bringing forth hail and snow—be procreated in the aerial space or medium between these opposing blasts, depending on which wind dominates.

But where the North wind original: "Aquilo" blows and the South wind original: "Auster" offers little or no opposition, there ice, frost, and hoar-frost are produced from the condensation and constriction of the air and waters. Likewise, when the South wind blows, if the North wind does not oppose it, we see that the sky is not so full of clouds, nor is the air so damp; but since the northern wind rarely rests, there are also rarely southern winds that are not associated with clouds and rain.

We say, therefore, that the uniform nature of the air is accidentally suited to take on any disposition of the winds. Thus, when the North wind blows from the Arctic, it freezes and thickens the air itself; by its dryness, it gathers and glues together the dispersed parts of the air, and by its coldness, it coagulates and thickens them, converting them (as is seen in snow, hoar-frost, and hail) into an earthy condition. But when the South wind blows from the Meridian, that wind conversely turns that portion of the air which the North wind made "earthy" back into water, since the works of cold are destroyed and dissolved by heat. Again, the hot and dry spirits of the East wind original: "Euri" convert that water into an aerial or fiery disposition, which the West wind nourishes and refreshes with its breath. Are we not taught by the testimony of all truth that winds of this kind have power over the air? For it is left written for us that by the power of the Word; which (as is witnessed...