Stephanus 60

60a strained through the plants of the earth and called juices — each kind, taking on an unlikeness through its mixtures — most of the rest have provided many nameless kinds; but as many as were four fiery kinds, becoming the most translucent, have taken names: that which warms the soul along with the body, wine; that which is smooth and sorts out sight, and therefore shows bright and gleaming and richly oily to behold — the oily kind: pitch, and castor, and oil itself, and whatever else has the same power; 60b and insofar as its diffusion reaches all the way into the nature of the gatherings about the mouth, providing sweetness by that power, honey took the name most universal of all; while the kind that dissolves flesh by burning, the frothy kind, separated off from all the juices, was named opos.

The kinds of earth: that which is filtered through water becomes a stony body in this way. When the water mingled with it is cut away in the mingling, it has changed into the form of air; and becoming 60c air, it streams up to its own place. Now none of it left a void behind; so it pushed the air beside it. And that air, heavy as it is, pressed and poured around the mass of earth, squeezed it hard and packed it together into the seats from which the new air had risen; and earth, squeezed by the air together with the water into an unbreakable union, comes to be rock — the finer when its parts are equal, uniform, and translucent, the meaner when the opposite. And when all the moisture has been snatched out by the speed of fire 60d and it has compacted more crumbly than that, the kind arose to which we have given the name earthenware. But sometimes, when some moisture is left behind, the earth becomes fusible, and when it is cooled after passing through the fire it turns into a stone of black color. Two others, again, formed alike in these ways — out of a mingling in which much water was set apart, and out of the finer parts of earth, both briny — when they had become half-congealed and were loosened again by water: the one, the kind that cleanses oil and earth, became natron; the other, well fitted in the unions 60e that belong to the sense of taste about the mouth, became the body of salt, dear to the gods, in due measure [by law]. The common compounds made from both are not dissolved by water, but by fire; in such a way do they compact. Fire and air do not melt the masses of earth: for the parts of these are by nature smaller than the gaps of its structure, and passing through its wide open spaces without forcing, they leave it undissolved and so present it unmelted; but the parts of water, since they are by nature larger, force their passage through, and dissolving it, melt it.

Timaeus: Earth

60a strained through the plants that grow out of the earth, and called juices—because of the mixtures each of them has its own unlikeness; they have produced many other kinds without names, but four of them, the kinds with fire in them, being the most distinct, have taken names. The one that warms the soul along with the body is wine. The one that is smooth and divides up the sight, and so looks bright and gleaming and oily, is the oily kind: pitch, castor oil, and olive oil itself, and everything else with the same power. Whatever spreads out 60b as far as the natural unions around the mouth, and by this power provides sweetness, has the name 'honey' above all the rest. And the kind that breaks down flesh by burning, a foamy kind, set apart from all the juices, was named 'sap'.

Of the kinds of earth, the kind that is strained through water becomes a stony body in the following way. When the mixed water is beaten in the mixing, it changes into the form of air; and becoming 60c air, it runs up to its own place. But no empty space lay above them. So it pushed the air next to it. And this air, being heavy, was pushed and poured around the mass of earth; it squeezed it hard and packed it into the seats from which the new air had risen. And earth, packed together by air and bound fast with water, becomes rock; the kind with equal and even parts is more beautiful and translucent, the opposite kind is uglier. But when all the moisture is snatched away by the speed of fire and what forms is drier than that, 60d the kind we have named 'pottery', that is how it comes to be. And sometimes, when a little moisture is left behind and earth that has become fluid through fire is cooled, it becomes a stone with a black color. Two more kinds, formed in the same way as these, but out of a mixture with much water, and of finer parts of earth and salty: they half-solidify, and are dissolved again by water. The one that cleans oil and earth is 'lye'. The other, which fits well into the mixtures 60e around the sense of the mouth, became salt, a body loved by the gods by the reckoning of [law]. The things common to both, which water cannot dissolve but fire can, solidify in the following way. Fire and air do not melt masses of earth. For being made of smaller parts than the gaps in its structure, they pass through plenty of room without forcing it; they leave it undissolved and so keep it from melting. But since the parts of water are larger by nature, they make their way through by force, dissolving it and melting it.

Timaeus: Earth,

60a is called sap; but inasmuch as the several sorts have become dissimilar owing to intermixture, most of the kinds thus produced are unnamed. Four of these kinds, however, being fiery and specially conspicuous, have received names. Of these, that which is heating to the soul as well as the body is called wine; that which is smooth and divisive of the vision, and therefore bright to look upon and gleaming and glistening in appearance, is the species oil, including pitch and castor oil and olive oil itself and all the others that are of the same character; 60b and all that kind which tends to expand the contracted parts of the mouth, so far as their nature allows, and by this property produces sweetness, has received as a general designation the name of honey; and the foamy kind, which tends to dissolve the flesh by burning, and is secreted from all the saps, is named verjuice.

Of the species of earth, that which is strained through water becomes a stony substance in the following way. When the water commingled therewith is divided in the process of mingling, it changes into the form of air; and when it has become air it rushes up to its own region; 60c but because there was no void space above them, therefore it pressed against the adjacent air; and it, being heavy, when pressed and poured round the mass of earth, crushed it forcibly and compressed it into the spaces from which the new air was ascending. But when earth is thus compressed by the air so as to be indissoluble by water it forms stone; of which the fairer sort is that composed of equal and uniform parts and transparent, and the coarser sort the opposite. That kind from which all the moisture has been carried off by the rapidity of fire, and which is more brittle 60d in its composition than the first kind, is the kind to which we have given the name of earthenware. But sometimes, when moisture is still left in the earth and it has been fused by fire and has cooled again, it forms the species which is black in hue. On the other hand there are two kinds, which, in exactly the same manner, are isolated after the mixture from much of their water, but are composed of finer parts of earth, and are saline: when these have become semi-solid and soluble again by water, one of them is purgative of oil and earth and forms the species called lye; and the other, which blends well with the combinations which affect the sensation of the mouth, 60e is that substance which is customarily termed beloved of the gods, namely salt.

As regards the kinds which are a blend of these two, and are dissoluble by fire and not by water, their composition is due to the following cause. Fire and air do not melt masses of earth; for, inasmuch as their particles are smaller then the interstices of its structure, they have room to pass through without forcible effort and leave the earth undissolved, with the result that it remains unmelted; whereas the particles of water, being larger, must use force to make their way out, and consequently dissolve and melt the earth.