Meteorology
Four books investigate atmospheric phenomena, waters, earthquakes, minerals and material transformations. The scope greatly exceeds modern weather studies, connecting terrestrial events to a general theory of elements and exhalations.
Understanding the text
The status and unity of book IV have been debated; its investigation of materials follows a distinctive direction.
Key points
- 01
Exhalations
Moist vapor and dry exhalation explain diverse phenomena through one shared physical framework.
- 02
Terrestrial cycles
Seas, rivers and inhabited regions change over long periods, introducing historical scale into natural investigation.
- 03
Materials
The final book classifies hardening, melting and cooking through relations among hot, cold, dry and wet.
How to read it
Separate sometimes careful descriptions from explanatory mechanisms that modern science has superseded.
Editions & sources
- Consult the reference 1classics.mit.edunew tab
- Consult the reference 2plato.stanford.edunew tab
- Consult the reference 3classics.mit.edunew tab
Summaries and key points are original editorial interpretations. They accompany reading the work and do not replace an edition of the text. Editorial method ↗