ARISTOTLE. 53 



He alleges that the heavens are incapable of decay ; 

 and that although sublunar things are subject to 

 corruption, their parts nevertheless do not perish ; 

 that they only change place ; that from the remains 

 of one thing another is made ; and that thus the 

 mass of the world always remains entire. He holds 

 that the earth is in the centre of the world ; and that 

 the First Being makes the skies revolve round the 

 earth, by intelligences which are continually occu- 

 pied with these motions. 



He asserts that all of the globe which is now covered 

 by the waters of the sea was formerly dry land ; and 

 that what is now dry land will be again converted 

 into water. The reason is this : the rivers and tor- 

 rents are continually carrying along sand and earth, 

 which causes the shores gradually to advance, and 

 the sea gradually to retire ; so that in the course of 

 innumerable ages the alleged vicissitudes necessarily 

 take place. He adds, that in several parts which 

 are considerably inland, and even of great elevation, 

 the sea, when retiring, left shells, and that, on dig- 

 ging in the ground, anchors and fragments of ships 

 are sometimes found. Ovid attributes the same 

 opinion to Pythagoras. 



Aristotle farther remarks, that these conversions of 

 sea into land, and of land into sea, which gradually 

 take place in the long lapse of ages, are in a great 

 measure the cause of our ignorance of past occur- 

 rences. He adds, that besides this other accidents 

 happen, which give rise even to the loss of the arts ; 

 and among these he enumerates pestilences, wars, 

 famines, earthquakes, burnings, and desolations, 

 which exterminate all the inhabitants of a coun- 

 try, excepting a few who escape and save them- 



