The August Discernment (may God exalt it!) must know that every being which inhabits the Universe falls necessarily into one of two categories. Either it is a being which is self-existent, and is called ‘the Necessarily Existent,’ which is God Almighty, great is His Glory, who existeth by virtue of Himself, and who, therefore, hath existed for ever, since He dependeth not on aught else; and who was always, since He subsisteth by Himself, not by another. But that existence whose being is through another is called ‘Con­tingent Being,’ and this is such as we are, since our being is from the seed, and the seed is from the blood, and the blood is from food, and food is from the sun, the earth, the water and the air, which in turn are from something else; and all these are such as yesterday were not, and to-morrow will not be. Now when reflection is carried to the utter­most, it appeareth that this Causal Nexus reacheth upwards to a Cause which deriveth not its being from another, but existeth by itself; and that the Creator is all, and from Him all deriveth its existence and subsistence. And when this matter is somewhat pondered, it will become clear that Phenomena consist of Being tinctured with Not-being, while He IS by a continuity which reaches from Eternity Past to Eternity to come. And since the essence of Phenomena is of Not-being, they must inevitably return again to nothing; and again, as touching the basis of the human race,*

it is said, “Everything shall return unto its Origin,” more especially in this world of Becoming and Decay. Therefore we, who are contingent in our being, have our origin in Not-being; while He, who existeth necessarily, is the Essence of Being, even as He (glorious is His state) saith in the Perspicuous Word and Firm Support, “All things perish save His Countenance.”*

Now you must know that this world lies in the hollow of the Heaven of the Moon*

and within the circle of this first sphere, and is called “the World of Becoming and Decay.” And you must thus conceive it, that within the concavity of the Heaven of the Moon lies the Orb of Fire, round about which extends the Heaven of the Moon; and that within the Heaven of Fire is the Air, surrounded by the Fire, and within the Air is the Water, surrounded by the Air, while within the Water is the earth, with the Water round about it. And in the midst of the earth is an imaginary point, from which all straight lines drawn to the Heaven of the Moon are equal; and when we speak of “down,” we mean this point and what lies nearest to it; and when we speak of “up,” we mean the sphere of the remotest heaven, together with what lies nearest to it, this being a heaven*

above the Zodiacal Heaven, having naught beyond it, for with it the material world terminates, or comes to an end.

Now when God Almighty, by His effective Wisdom, desired to produce in this world minerals, plants, animals, and men, He created the stars, and in particular the sun and moon, whereon he made the growth and decay of these to depend. And the special property of the sun is this, that by its reflection it warms all things when it stands over against them, and supplies them through a medium with heat, and draws them up—that is, attracts them. So, by its juxtaposition, it warmed the water; and by means of the warmth, attracted it; until, in a long while, it laid bare one quarter or more of the earth's surface, by reason of the much vapour which ascended and rose up therefrom. Now the nature of the water is this, that it can become stone, as it is well known to do in certain places, as may be actually witnessed.*

So mountains were produced from the water and the shining of the sun; and hereby the earth became somewhat raised from what it was, while the water sank and dried up, according to that fashion which is witnessed. This portion, therefore, is called ‘the Uncovered Quarter,’ for the reason above stated; and it is also called ‘the Inhabited Quarter,’ because animals dwell therein.