Meteorology

Aristotle. Aristotelis Meteorologicorum Libri Quattuor. Fobes, Francis H., editor. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1919

Open Greek and Latin · CC BY-SA 4.0

Cloned and adapted by Humanitext, with ongoing edits.

This work is a treatise on natural science and philosophy by Aristotle, investigating the diverse physical phenomena that occur in the region between the celestial bodies and the Earth. In the first book, based on the mutual transformation of the four elements and the theory of "twofold exhalation" (vapor and smoke), the author explains meteorological phenomena such as comets, the Milky Way, rain, and hail, as well as the formation of rivers and long-term climate cycles. The second and third books systematically examine the salinity of the sea, the nature of winds, earthquakes caused by subterranean "pneuma" (wind), and optical phenomena like rainbows and haloes using geometrical models of visual reflection. The fourth book focuses on the physical processes of solidification, liquefaction, generation, and decay through the interaction of the four primary qualities (hot, cold, dry, and wet). Throughout the text, the dynamic meteorological and physical occurrences of the cosmos are explained under unified principles, culminating in a teleological view that all natural bodies are defined by their inherent functions and ends.