The moon's sluggishness and slackness of speed and the feebleness and faintness of her heat which, in the words of Ion,įixing her glance forever on the sun. 123
Not to mention her other irregularities and divergencies, this very face which she displays is the result of some alteration of her substance or of the admixture somehow of another substance. 119 That which is subjected to mixture, however, is the subject of some affection too, for it loses its purity, since it is perforce infected by what is inferior to it. P99 moving in a circle whereby it is possible to have the nature of endless revolution too but let this doctrine descend and touch the moon, and in her it no longer preserves the impassivity and beauty of that body. Whether there is anyone, however, who says 117 that the stars move naturally in a circle and are of a substance far superior to the four substances here 118 did not even accidentally come to your notice, so that I at any rate have been spared trouble." And Lucius broke in and said: ". . . good friend, probably one would not for the moment quarrel with you and your friends, dispute the countless difficulties involved, when you ascribe to the other stars and the whole heaven a nature pure and undefiled and free from qualitative change and 18 1 With these remarks I was about to yield the floor to Lucius, 116 since the proofs of our position were next in order but Aristotle smiled and said: "The company is my witness that you have directed your entire refutation against those who suppose that the moon is for her part semi-igneous and yet assert of all bodies in common that of themselves they incline either upwards or downwards.
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