Metaphysics and Ethics

Thales milesius

coming to the truth, philosophizing on those few things that they call the four principles, they now announce them, and some method is possible to them, which is thus: either it is in some living thing the same, or it will not come to nothing, or in the way you might say things are more evident through first philosophy; by much, he who has thought it against what is in himself to be the principles of all things; for out of which all entities are, and out of which they are made at first, and in which they are corrupted at the end, while the substance remaining, but is changed in the way. And into what it is first said it is corrupted. And because by the way he now thinks it is not to be corrupted as a whole; for this is of the nature, now as they are things, if because now over which it is thus. It is not less standing nor to be corrupted as it is said of these things in which, because if it remains always. This of this kind is nothing but the way which is nature. But one or several ways, and they are, or by the way, latitude; for on account of what they began: not all say: Thales, who is the prince of this kind of philosophy, says it is water; whence also he asserted the earth to be upon the water, taking this opinion from the author, seeing the moist to be, and it itself with it to be. And from this life. And that which is nature proper in all: because this which is, they take it as established. And that of each the generated nature has the moist. Water, truly, is not the principle of the moist.

S (Some), however, there are who [consider] the ancients and much before those things that now are of generation, who first theologizing, think this about the nature of things. They made the ocean and Tethys to be the predecessors of generation; they never swore by the gods: water, to which they were accustomed to call honorable, the ancient sacrament. But then, because that which is most substantive is, from which was the generation, they had that opinion that water was the principle of all things. Perhaps, therefore, they

might also err, and Thales, that not in this way. On account of which truly, the preposition affirms what in it is the cause of generation, which is not in act in all as they think, to see the truth.

(A cross) Anaximenes, however, and Diogenes [prior to] water, air, from the sea, they premise, the principle of simple [things], they corrupt. Methapontius says that from which, just as the Ephesian, fire. Empedocles, however, four, when he says, besides them he adds as much as [the] nature, for that which he says they remain, not to be made unless in many, from few, they are separated or congregated. And Anaxagoras, however, of Clazomenae, in this indeed elder in age, but in action later, says there are infinite principles; for almost all things were together, as fire or water, or what they did not know, or were not congregated; only he says so, not to be made or to be corrupted, remaining in the same.

Q (Whoever), therefore, only of natural [things] they needed to use the cause, only that which is said. Proceeding, however, in such a way: where there is one thing which is said to be corrupted. If there is that which is remaining, all generation and composition from another one must be, after the reason of that which is accepted from some cause. It is not, therefore, to make the substance itself changed and separated. I say, however, as if wood is not the statue; which is the cause of the change. This, however, is another principle, how, from where all things in one, the principle of movement. But altogether what the apostle [author] in principle says, matter they seek. And what they are, they must say: they subject difficulty to me, from where what is moved is said: because from that question they were connected in that principle, they say there is an immovable [mover], which truly not only in generation: which for the composition of this thing, and from which all was one, which was another.