COMPENDIOSA.

distant from the circumference, that is, from the extremities of any sphere or circle described on a flat surface.

Now that the situation and order of the parts of which the machine of the entire World consists have been explained, so that we do not stray too far from our purpose, we shall briefly recount certain facts about the nature of the individual elements, so that there may be nothing to delay the plan we have initiated. We do this also for the sake of indulging those with keener minds who are more attentive to the knowledge of such things.

Each of the elements is endowed with a certain peculiar and principal nature in which it especially excels: Earth is dry, Water is cold, Air is moist, and Fire is hot.

From this, the immense wisdom of God shines forth. In order to reconcile things that are in conflict, He joined two of them together by a certain common and intermediate bond, the nature of which both would share. And so, He placed the cold between the dry and the moist, and furthermore, the moist between the cold and the hot: this, indeed, seems to be a certain reason for the placement of the elements.

Each one of the elements is affected by the nature of its neighbor. Thus, Earth is dry and cold; Water is cold and moist; Air is moist and hot; and Fire is hot and dry.

However, we leave a more copious discussion concerning the nature of the elements to those who contemplate natural things.

Vocabulary: Cosmography, elements, Earth, Water, Air, Fire, nature, wisdom of God