any portion of the sphere there must be an equal quan-
tity of earth, air, fire and water. The elements are thus
in union, and the sole force operative within the sphere is
Love or Harmony. Hence the sphere is called a “blessed
god.” Hate, however, exists all round the outside of the
sphere. Hate gradually penetrates from the circumference
towards the centre and introduces the process of separation
and disunion of the elements. This process continues till,
like coming together with like, the elements are wholly sep-
arated. All the water is together; all the fire is together,
and so on. When this process of disintegration is complete,
Hate is supreme and Love is entirely driven out. But Love
again begins to penetrate matter, to cause union and mix-
ture of the elements, and finally brings the world back to
the state of the original sphere. Then the same process
begins again. At what position in this circular movement
is our present world to be placed? The answer is that it is
neither in the complete union of the sphere, nor is it com-
pletely disintegrated. It is half-way between the sphere and
the stage of total {85} disintegration. It is proceeding from
the former towards the later, and Hate is gradually gain-
ing the upper hand. In the formation of the present world
from the sphere the first element to be separated off was
air, next fire, then the earth. Water is squeezed out of the
earth by the rapidity of its rotation. The sky is composed
of two halves. One is of fire, and this is the day. The other
is dark matter with masses of fire scattered about in it, and
this is the night.
Empedocles believed in the transmigration of souls. He also
put forward a theory of sense-perception, the essential of
which is that like perceives like. The fire in us perceives ex-
ternal fire, and so with the other elements. Sight is caused
by effluences of the fire and water of the eyes meeting sim-
ilar effluences from external objects.
{86}