tion of earths, and he says more in a specific way on this subject than either Plato or Aristotle, though in his attempts to explain the process he follows closely the teachings of the latter. His statement that the solidification or melting of earths is the result of opposite forces appears to be based directly on the following theories of Aristotle: "Bodies solidified by the dry-hot are dissolved by water which is the moist-cold, whereas bodies solidified by cold are dissolved by fire, which is hot. . . . For the opposite of the dry-hot is the cold-moist and what the one solidified the other will dissolve, and so opposites will have opposite effects."12 Theophrastus means, therefore, that since all earthy substances are dissolved or dispersed by water, which is the cold-moist, it necessarily follows that they must all be solidified by the opposite agent, which is fire, the dry-hot. A mechanism for the softening or dispersion of earths by water is also given by Aristotle.13 He believed that the pores of an earthy substance were large enough to admit water particles, and that die entrance of these caused the breaking up of the solid material. Solidification came about again on the expulsion of the water particles by heat, and the earthy substance then resumed its original condition.
4. some . . . can ma\e the color of water the same as their own.
The manuscripts and Aldus have έξομοιοννται followed by the participle δυνάμενοι, but the infinitive έξομοιονν is expected, i.e., "they are able to make the color the same." Turnebus felt the need of a main verb and changed the last syllable of έξομοιοννται to φαίνονται; Furlanus preferred λέγονται, and this was accepted by Wimmer. But it is not certain that a verb of this sort is necessary; it may be that the participle Βννάμβνοι is parallel to the participle εχοντβς that precedes it, and the editors have not found it necessary to change this to ζχονσι. If this is so, έχοντες . . . , evioi δε . . . δννάμεναι is similar to τηκτοι ... οι δ' αττηκτοι above. Here οι μέν is understood to correspond to oi δε. Turnebus and Schneider both think that οί μέν should be added to the text before τηκτοί, but, though this makes the meaning very clear, it is not essential, since μέν is not always expressed. As λέγονται is not in
12 Meteorologica, IV, 6, 383A-383B. 13 Meteorologica, IV, 9, 385B.
