Book 1, Chapter 18

“But let us leave aside Dicaearchus and his contemporary and fellow student Aristoxenus, learned men, certainly. One seems never even to have felt pain, since he is unaware that he has a soul; the other delights so much in his music that he tries to transfer it to these questions too. We can recognize harmony from the intervals between sounds, whose varied arrangement produces many harmonies as well; but I do not see what harmony the arrangement of limbs and shape of a body can produce when it is without a soul. Learned as he is—and he is learned—let him yield these matters to his teacher Aristotle, and himself teach music. That Greek proverb gives good advice: ‘Let each practice the art he knows.’

42 “And let us utterly reject that chance collision of smooth, round, indivisible particles, which Democritus nevertheless wants to be warmed and breathable—that is, made of breath. But the soul, if it belongs to the four kinds of which all things are said to consist, is made of fiery breath, as I see Panaetius especially favors believing, and must necessarily seek the heights. Neither of these two elements has any downward tendency; both always seek the regions above. So if souls disperse, that happens far from earth; if they endure and preserve their form, it is all the more necessary that they be carried toward heaven and burst through and divide this thick, condensed air nearest the earth. For the soul is warmer, or rather more fiery, than the air I have just called thick and condensed. This can be known from the fact that our bodies, though made of the earthy kind of element, are warmed by the soul’s heat.”

“Let’s leave out Dicaearchus and Aristoxenus, his contemporary and fellow student—both certainly learned men. One seems never even to have felt pain, if he can’t feel that he has a soul. The other is so delighted with his songs that he tries to carry them over into this subject too. We can recognize harmony from the intervals between notes; different arrangements of those intervals produce several harmonies. But I don’t see what harmony the positions of limbs and the shape of a body without a soul could produce. Learned as he admittedly is, let him leave these questions to his teacher Aristotle and teach singing himself. The Greek proverb gives good advice: ‘Let everyone practice the art they know.’

42 “And let’s throw out altogether that chance collision of tiny, smooth, round, indivisible bodies, though Democritus wants it to be warmed up and breathable—that is, alive. But if the soul is made from the four kinds of substance which are said to make up everything, it consists of burning breath. I see that Panaetius especially favors that view. Such a soul must head upward. Neither of those two substances has any downward tendency; both always seek the heights. So if souls scatter, that happens far from earth. If they last and keep their form, it’s all the more necessary for them to rise toward the sky and break and cut through this thick, dense air nearest the earth. The soul is hotter, or rather more fiery, than the air I just called thick and dense. We can tell because our bodies, which are made from the earthy kind of basic matter, are warmed by the soul’s heat.”