PROCLUS ON THE TIMAEUS BOOK III [Tim. 31 B] 9

And one should not wonder how fire, being in water, is not extinguished; for all things permeate through one another, and one element is dominant in some things and another in others, and light itself is a fire that passes through all things. Now, Numenius A 2nd-century Neopythagorean philosopher who influenced Neoplatonism [frg. 40 Thed.], thinking that all things are mixed together, believes that nothing is truly simple. But Plato 5 recognizes both their mixture and hands down the specific nature of each individually, fashioning the elements out of geometric shapes. Perhaps, however, the admirable Aristotle will oppose our argument, F since he posits that not everything visible is such by a participation in fire; 10 for he claims that the choir of the stars and the great sun itself, though not made of fire, are nevertheless visible. But if one were to say to him that there is one kind of fire that is material enylon: "in matter" and another that is immaterial aylon: "without matter"—being immaterial in comparison to the matter of the sublunary realm—and one kind that is perishable and another imperishable, and one kind mixed with air 15 and another pure, and in general, that there are many species of fire, perhaps he would yield to the argument, especially when hearing the theologians Proclus often refers to the authors of the Chaldean Oracles as "the theologians" calling the sun a "conduit of fire from fire" and the "steward of fire" and all such names. For to what else did he Plato attribute 142 visibility? Was it to anything other than the generator of light? And 20 what else is of such a nature but fire? For earth is the producer of the total opposite; it is the cause of darkness, and that which is more earthy participates less in light. Air and water are transparent and not visible in themselves; therefore, each of these is a medium between that which is primarily visible fire and that which obstructs the visible earth, as it is the cause of seeing for other things 25 but not for itself, insofar as each is transparent; rather, other things are seen through them. It remains, then, that only fire illuminates and makes visible those things in which it is present. But if someone should say that the celestial element, being visible and illuminating, is not...

The following are critical apparatus notes comparing different medieval manuscripts (M, P, and Q) of Proclus's text.
1 regarding oun (therefore) cf. p. 10, l. 11, 25s in Republic I 202, 10 — 3 en allois allo (one in others) P — 4 men oun (now/therefore) MQ: de (but) P — 7 Platon PQ — 8 ff. cf. Aristotle Meteorology a 3. 341a 35 — 13 allo men (one indeed)—14 kai (and) omitted by P — aerion (airy) MP — 15 holos (in general) MQ: allos (otherwise) P — 16s cf. Chaldean Oracles 33 and regarding the oracle of Empedocles frg. 35, 2 D. "channeling word from word" — 17 pyros pyr (fire of fire) M — 19 ara (then) omitted by Q in a gap — 20 cf. Parmenides frg. 8, 56ff D. — 21 apechei (is distant) M — 23 touton (of these) PQ: touto (this) M — 26 alla (but/rather) MQ: all' ou (but not) P — possible reading alla (other visible things) or (is seen) — 28 hoti (that) PQ: ho (the) M