Thus have I concisely given the result of my thoughts; and my verdict is that being and space and generation, these three, existed in their three ways before the heaven; and that the nurse of generation, moistened by water and inflamed by fire, and receiving the forms of earth and air, and experiencing all the affections which accompany these, presented a strange variety of appearances; and being full of powers which were neither similar nor equally balanced, was never in any part in a state of equipoise, but swaying unevenly hither and thither, was shaken by them, and by its motion again shook them; and the elements when moved were separated and carried continually, some one way, some another; as, when rain is shaken and winnowed by fans and other instruments used in the threshing of corn, the close and heavy particles are borne away and settle in one direction, and the loose and light particles in another. In this manner, the four kinds or elements were then shaken by the receiving vessel, which, moving like a winnowing machine, scattered far away from one another the elements most unlike, and forced the most similar elements into close contact. Wherefore also the various elements had different places before they were arranged so as to form the universe. At first, they were all without reason and measure. But when the world began to get into order, fire and water and earth and air had only certain faint traces of themselves, and were altogether such as everything might be expected to be in the absence of God; this, I say, was their nature at that time, and God fashioned them by form and number. Let it be consistently maintained by us in all that we say that God made them as far as possible the fairest and best, out of things which were not fair and good. And now I will endeavour to show you the disposition and generation of them by an unaccustomed argument, which am compelled to use; but I believe that you will be able to follow me, for your education has made you familiar with the methods of science.  

[52d] Οὗτος μὲν οὖν δὴ παρὰ τῆς ἐμῆς ψήφου λογισθεὶς ἐν κεφαλαίῳ δεδόσθω λόγος͵ ὄν τε καὶ χώραν καὶ γένεσιν εἶναι͵ τρία τριχῇ͵ καὶ πρὶν οὐρανὸν γενέσθαι· τὴν δὲ δὴ γενέσεως τιθήνην ὑγραινομένην καὶ πυρουμένην καὶ τὰς γῆς τε καὶ ἀέρος μορφὰς δεχομένην͵ καὶ ὅσα ἄλλα τούτοις πάθη συνέπεται πάσχουσαν͵ [52e] παντοδαπὴν μὲν ἰδεῖν φαίνεσθαι͵ διὰ δὲ τὸ μήθ΄ ὁμοίων δυνάμεων μήτε ἰσορρόπων ἐμπίμπλασθαι κατ΄ οὐδὲν αὐτῆς ἰσορροπεῖν͵ ἀλλ΄ ἀνωμάλως πάντῃ ταλαντουμένην σείεσθαι μὲν ὑπ΄ ἐκείνων αὐτήν͵ κινουμένην δ΄ αὖ πάλιν ἐκεῖνα σείειν· τὰ δὲ κινούμενα ἄλλα ἄλλοσε ἀεὶ φέρεσθαι διακρινόμενα͵ ὥσπερ τὰ ὑπὸ τῶν πλοκάνων τε καὶ ὀργάνων τῶν περὶ τὴν τοῦ σίτου κάθαρσιν σειόμενα καὶ ἀνικμώμενα τὰ μὲν πυκνὰ καὶ βαρέα ἄλλῃ͵ [53a] τὰ δὲ μανὰ καὶ κοῦφα εἰς ἑτέραν ἵζει φερόμενα ἕδραν· τότε οὕτω τὰ τέτταρα γένη σειόμενα ὑπὸ τῆς δεξαμενῆς͵ κινουμένης αὐτῆς οἷον ὀργάνου σεισμὸν παρέχοντος͵ τὰ μὲν ἀνομοιότατα πλεῖστον αὐτὰ ἀφ΄ αὑτῶν ὁρίζειν͵ τὰ δὲ ὁμοιότατα μάλιστα εἰς ταὐτὸν συνωθεῖν͵ διὸ δὴ καὶ χώραν ταῦτα ἄλλα ἄλλην ἴσχειν͵ πρὶν καὶ τὸ πᾶν ἐξ αὐτῶν διακοσμηθὲν γενέσθαι. καὶ τὸ μὲν δὴ πρὸ τούτου πάντα ταῦτ΄ εἶχεν ἀλόγως καὶ ἀμέτρως· [53b] ὅτε δ΄ ἐπεχειρεῖτο κοσμεῖσθαι τὸ πᾶν͵ πῦρ πρῶτον καὶ ὕδωρ καὶ γῆν καὶ ἀέρα͵ ἴχνη μὲν ἔχοντα αὑτῶν ἄττα͵ παντάπασί γε μὴν διακείμενα ὥσπερ εἰκὸς ἔχειν ἅπαν ὅταν ἀπῇ τινος θεός͵ οὕτω δὴ τότε πεφυκότα ταῦτα πρῶτον διεσχηματίσατο εἴδεσί τε καὶ ἀριθμοῖς. τὸ δὲ ᾗ δυνατὸν ὡς κάλλιστα ἄριστά τε ἐξ οὐχ οὕτως ἐχόντων τὸν θεὸν αὐτὰ συνιστάναι͵ παρὰ πάντα ἡμῖν ὡς ἀεὶ τοῦτο λεγόμενον ὑπαρχέτω· νῦν δ΄ οὖν τὴν διάταξιν αὐτῶν ἐπιχειρητέον ἑκάστων καὶ γένεσιν ἀήθει λόγῳ πρὸς ὑμᾶς δηλοῦν͵ [53c] ἀλλὰ γὰρ ἐπεὶ μετέχετε τῶν κατὰ παίδευσιν ὁδῶν δι΄ ὧν ἐνδείκνυσθαι τὰ λεγόμενα ἀνάγκη͵ συνέψεσθε.