Stephanus 63

63a whole, evenly balanced, it would never be carried toward any of the extremities, because of their perfect likeness in every direction; and even if someone walked about it in a circle, he would often stand at its antipodes and call the same part of it now down, now up. For the whole, being spherical — as was just now said — for a man of sense to speak of one region of it as down and another as up is not the act of a sound mind. But from what these things were named, and in what circumstances we are accustomed, because of them, to divide the whole heaven in this way 63b and speak so — this must be settled by agreement among those who accept these premises of ours. If someone were to step into that region of the whole in which the nature of fire had its lot, where the greatest part of it would be gathered and toward which it is carried, and, standing upon it with power over it, were to lift out portions of the fire, setting them in scales, raising the beam and dragging the fire into the alien air by force — it is clear 63c that the lesser would be forced more easily than the greater; for when two things are raised at once by a single strength, the smaller follows the force more, the larger less, as it is necessarily stretched and pulled along; and the much was to be called heavy and borne downward, the small light and borne up. This very thing, then, we ourselves must be caught doing in this region. For standing on the earth, we pry apart the earthy kinds — sometimes the very earth itself — and drag them by force into the alien air, against nature, both of them held fast by their 63d kindred; and when we force them into the unlike, the smaller follows sooner than the larger; so we have called it light, and the place into which we force it, up; and the affection opposite to these, heavy and down. These things, then, must of necessity stand in this varied relation to one another, because the multitudes of the kinds occupy places opposite to one another — for what is heavy in one place will be found light 63e in the opposite place, and heavy against the heavy, down against the down, and up against the up — all of them opposed and oblique and in every way different from one another, both in coming to be and in being — but this one thing must be conceived about all of them: that the road toward the kindred, being the road each thing takes, makes what is carried heavy, and the place toward which such a thing is carried, down; while the things standing otherwise than these stand each as the other of the two. About these affections, then, let these be the causes that have been spoken.

Timaeus: And the cause of the affection of smooth and rough anyone at all could discern and be able to tell to another; for hardness mixed with unevenness, and the

63a whole, evenly balanced, it would never be carried to any of the extremes, because they are alike all around. But if someone walked around it in a circle, he could often stand with his feet opposite it and call the same part of it both 'down' and 'up'. For the whole, as has just been said, being spherical, it would not be the mark of a sensible person to say that it has some place 'down' and another 'up'. But the places these names come from, and the things among which we are used to having them, are the reason we divide up the whole heaven in this way 63b and speak of 'up' and 'down'; this we must agree on, starting from the following assumptions. If someone stood in the place of the universe where the nature of fire has its lot, where most of it would have gathered, since that is where it travels, and had the power to do so, and took away parts of the fire and put them on a scale, lifting the beam and dragging the fire by force into air that is unlike it, 63c clearly the smaller amount is moved by force more easily than the larger. For with one force lifting two things at once, the lesser must follow the force more, and the greater, being stretched down, must follow it less. And the large amount was called 'heavy' and 'carried down', and the small amount 'light' and 'up'. We must notice that we do this very same thing around this place of ours. For standing on the earth, we lift earthy kinds, and sometimes earth itself, and drag them by force and against their nature into air that is unlike them, while both 63d hold on to what is related to them; and as we force them into what is unlike them, the smaller follows more easily than the larger. So we have called that 'light', and the place we force it to, 'up'; and the opposite experience is 'heavy' and 'down'. These things must therefore stand in different relations to one another, because the masses of the different kinds occupy places opposite to one another. For what is light in one place will turn out to be opposite to what is light 63e in the opposite place, and heavy to heavy, down to down, and up to up; everything will be found to be opposite and sideways and different in every way, both in coming to be and in being. But one thing we must understand about all of them: the path each takes toward what is related to it is what makes the thing being carried 'heavy', and makes the place such a thing travels to 'down'; and the opposite names belong to things related in the opposite way. So let these be given as the causes of these experiences.

Timaeus: As for the experience of smooth and rough, anyone who sees the cause could no doubt tell it to another person; for hardness mixed with unevenness, while the

63a it would never be carried away to the extremities because of their uniformity in all respects; nay, even were a man to travel round it in a circle he would often call the same part of it both above and below, according as he stood now at one pole, now at the opposite. For seeing that the Whole is, as we said just now, spherical, the assertion that it has one region above and one below does not become a man of sense.

Now the origin of these names and their true meaning which accounts for our habit of making these verbal distinctions even about the whole Heaven, 63b we must determine on the basis of the following principles. Suppose that a man were to take his stand in that region of the Universe in which the substance of fire has its special abode, and where also that substance to which it flies is collected in largest bulk; and suppose that, having the power to do so, he were to separate portions of the fire and weigh them, putting them on scales and lifting the balance and pulling the fire by force into the dissimilar air, it is obvious that he will force the smaller mass more easily than the larger. 63c For if two masses are lifted up simultaneously by a single effort, the smaller will necessarily yield more and the larger less, owing to its resistance, to the force exerted; and the large mass will be said to be heavy and moving down, the small light and moving up. Now this is just what we ought to detect ourselves doing in our region here. Standing on the earth and detaching various earthy substances, and sometimes pure earth, we pull them into the dissimilar air by force and against nature, since both these kinds cleave to their own kindred; 63d and the smaller mass yields more easily, and follows first, as we force it into the dissimilar kind; wherefore we name it light, and the region to which we force it above; and the conditions opposite thereto we name heavy and below. Thus, these must necessarily differ in their mutual relations, because the main masses of the Kinds occupy regions opposite to one another; for when we compare what is light in one region with what is light in the opposite region, and the heavy with the heavy, the below with the below, 63e and the” above with the above, we shall discover that these all become and are opposite and oblique and in every way different in their mutual relations. There is, however, this one fact to be noticed about them all, that it is the passage of each kind to its kindred mass which makes the moving body heavy, and the region to which such a body moves below; while the opposite conditions produce the contrary results. Let this, then, stand as our account of the causes of these conditions.

Timaeus: Of smoothness and roughness anyone might be able to discern the causes and explain them also to others. For the cause of the latter is hardness combined with irregularity, and of the former