The Consolation of Philosophy

Discordant war is exiled from these shores.
This harmonyoriginal: "concordia" regulates the elementss by fair
Measures, so that opposing20
Moist things yield in turn to dry,
And cold joins faith with flames;
Hanging fire rises on high,
And heavy earths settle by their weight.
For the same causest in the tepid spring25

The flower-bearing year breathes forth odors,
Burning summer dries the grain,
Autumn heavy with fruit returns,
Falling rain waters the winter.
This temperingu nourishes and brings forth30

Whatever breathes life in the world:

...starry heavens. This harmony regulates the elements by just laws, so that opposing moist things yield to dry, and cold ones enter into peace with the hot; fire suspended flies upwards, and ponderous earth settles downwards by its own gravity. By these laws, the flower-bearing year emits odors in the tepid season of Spring, burning summer cooks the harvest, autumn returns laden with fruit, falling rain sprinkles the winter. This tempering nourishes and produces every body that leads a life in the world; but the same...

s This harmony, etc. II. The same laws of Providence are preserved in the elements. An element is said to be an individual body, which is so formed that other things are composed from it. Commonly, four elements are admitted, namely fire, air, water, and earth; which are said to fight among themselves both by the qualities which they call ‘altering,’ and by the qualities which they call ‘motive.’ The altering qualities, they say, are heat, cold, moisture, and dryness. The motive qualities, however, are lightness and weight. Here, there is no discussion except about the harmony of such elements, whether by reason of the altering qualities, which is expressed thus: ‘let moist things yield to dry, and cold join faith with flames;’ or by reason of the motive qualities, which is noted thus: ‘hanging fire rises on high, and heavy earths settle by their weight.’

t For the same causes, etc. III. By these same laws of Providence, the four seasons of the year, namely spring, summer, autumn, and winter, succeed one another. Spring emits flowers and odors with its tepidity. Summer dries harvests with its heat. Autumn, laden with fruit, follows; and finally Winter, named from the rains, or ἀπὸ τοῦ ὕειν from raining, waters the fields with its rains: all of which are most evidently proposed here.

u This tempering, etc. IV. By these laws of divine Providence also, living bodies, first formed in the womb, are nourished, then come forth into the breezes, and finally, after the course of life is finished, they die: which is indeed admirable generally, but far more admirable when viewed specifically.