Whether water or fire be most useful. (1)

Water is the best of things, but gold is like burning fire, says Pindar.[*] Therefore he positively assigns the second place to fire; with whom Hesiod agrees, where he says,

First of all Chaos being had.

[*]

For most believe that by the word chaos he meant water, from χύσις, signifying diffusion. But the balance of argument as to this point seems to be equal. For there are some who will have it that fire is the principle of all things, and that like sperm it begets all things out of itself, and resolves all things again by conflagration. Therefore, not to mention the persons, let us consider the arguments on both sides, which are to us the most convincing.