Book 1, Chapter 17

“But I return to the early thinkers. They did not generally give a rational account of their view, except where something could be explained through numbers or diagrams.

39 “Plato is said to have come to Italy to acquaint himself with the Pythagoreans, to have learned all their doctrines, and to have been the first not only to share Pythagoras’s view of the eternity of souls but also to offer a reason for it. Unless you have something to say, let us pass over that reason and abandon this whole hope of immortality.”

“After bringing me to the height of expectation, do you desert me? By Hercules, I would rather be wrong with Plato, whose worth in your eyes I know, and whom I admire on your testimony, than hold the truth with those other thinkers.”

40 “Bravo for your courage! I myself would not be unwilling to be wrong with that very man. Do we doubt, then—? Or is this like most questions? Though certainly not in this case. For mathematicians convince us that the earth, set in the middle of the universe, occupies, in relation to the whole circuit of heaven, something like a point, which they call κέντρον, the center. Further, the four bodies that give birth to everything have this nature: as though they had divided their directions of movement among themselves, earthy and watery things are carried by their own tendency and weight at right angles toward land and sea. The remaining two elements, one fiery and the other airy, in contrast to those first two which are borne by gravity and weight toward the center of the universe, fly upward in straight lines into the heavens, either because their own nature seeks the heights or because lighter things are naturally driven back by heavier ones. These things being established, it should be clear that souls, when they leave the body, are carried aloft, whether they are made of air—that is, of breath—or of fire.

41 “But if the soul is either some kind of number, a statement more subtle than clear, or that fifth substance, which lacks a name rather than an intelligible nature, these are still more unadulterated and pure, so that they rise farthest from the earth. The soul, then, is something of this kind […] so that a mind of such vigor should not lie submerged in the heart or brain, or in Empedocles’s blood.”

“But back to those early thinkers. They generally didn’t give reasons for their view, except when something needed explaining with numbers or diagrams:

39 “Plato is said to have gone to Italy to get to know the Pythagoreans and to have learned all their teachings. He was the first not just to agree with Pythagoras that souls last forever, but to give a reason for it too. Unless you have something to say, let’s skip that reason and give up this whole hope of immortality.”

“You’ve made me expect so much, and now you’re leaving me stranded? By Hercules, I’d rather be wrong with Plato—I know how highly you value him, and your words have made me admire him—than right with those other people.”

40 “Well done! I’d gladly be wrong with that very man myself. So do we doubt—? Or is it like most things? Though in this case, certainly not. Mathematicians convince us that the earth is situated in the middle of the universe. Compared with the whole sweep of the sky, it takes up something like a point, what they call the center. The four substances that produce everything have a nature like this: they seem to have divided the tendencies to move between them. Earth and water move of their own inclination and weight, at right angles, toward land and sea. The other two parts are fire and air. Just as the first two are carried by heaviness and weight toward the universe’s center, these two fly upward in straight lines to the region of the sky. Either their own nature seeks the heights, or the heavier substances naturally push the lighter ones away. Once these points are established, it ought to be clear that souls rise when they leave the body, whether they’re made of air—that is, something we can breathe—or of fire.

41 “If the soul is a kind of number, a statement more subtle than clear, or that fifth substance which lacks a name rather than an explanation, these are much more whole and pure still. They rise as far as possible from the earth. So the soul […] is something of these kinds. Let’s not have such an active mind lying submerged in a heart or brain, or in Empedocles’ blood.”