61v

[rubric: Aria]

¶ La sua parte di sopra tocha il fuoco
Che caldo e secco e fasse a lui simile
Poi questa e quella de secondo luco
E ogni una e purissima e sottile
Quella seconda ne molto ne puoco
Sente di caldo ma ten freddo hostille
La tercia poi cum l’acqua e cum la terra
Confina e sempre sta cum loro in guerra

[rubric: Aqua.]

¶ L’acqua -e- humida e freda e l’aria prhende
L’umido quindi e dal fuoco el calore
E poi calda e humida s’intende
La complesion del’aria e suo vigore
Perche nel meço d’amendua distende
E da l’uno e da l’altro piglia humore
Cusi participando l’acqua e’l fuoco
La terra e fredda e secca nel suo luoco

[rubric: Terra]

¶ La terra -e- corpo solido e pesante
E grave piu ch'alcun altro elemento
Posta nel centro dentro a tute quante
Le spere e piu di lungi al firmamento
Da ogne parte egualmente distante
Fra l’aria e lei e l’acqua in suo contento
Benche in alcun'altra se discopra
La terra in alto e par che sia di sopra

[image, left margin at ¶3 : Diagram of four concentric circles, the outermost tinted blue with a crescent moon at 10 o'clock (label: Cielo de la luna); the next, red (label: Fuocho); the next blue (label: Aria), with the centre in aquamarine with waves in grey (label: Aqua). The centre circle contains a gray landmass that represents earth, with Asia uppermost, Europe at the lower left, and Africa at the lower right (label: terra).]

Air

Its upper section touches the fire,
which is hot and dry, and makes [the air] similar to [the fire].
After this comes the second [section],
and both are extremely pure and thin.
This second section receives neither too little nor too much heat,
but it retains a chilly quality.
The third, then, confines the water and the earth,
and is always at war with them.

Water

Water is moist and cold; air
takes moisture from it and heat from fire.
Thus heat and moisture define
the complexion of the air, as well as its strength.
Because [air] stands between those two [spheres],
it adopts qualities from each of them,
interacting with both water and fire.
Earth is cold and dry, given its location.

Earth

Earth is a solid and heavy body^{*I.e., substance. "Body" is used here in the sense of planetary or astral bodies.}
and it is heavier than any other element.
Placed at the center, inside all the other
spheres, it is furthest from the firmament
and equally distant from every other part.
The water is contained in between the air and the earth,
although sometimes we find
higher ground, which seems like it is above [the water].^{*Here Dati is trying to explain the apparent inconsistency between the Platonic spheres (in which the sphere of earth is always under the sphere of water) with empirical reality, where land frequently rises above sea level.}

[rubric: Aria]

¶ La sua parte di sopra tocha il fuoco
Che caldo e secco e fasse a lui simile
Poi questa e quella de secondo luco
E ogni una e purissima e sottile
Quella seconda ne molto ne puoco
Sente di caldo ma ten freddo hostille
La tercia poi cum l’acqua e cum la terra
Confina e sempre sta cum loro in guerra

[rubric: Aqua.]

¶ L’acqua -e- humida e freda e l’aria prhende
L’umido quindi e dal fuoco el calore
E poi calda e humida s’intende
La complesion del’aria e suo vigore
Perche nel meço d’amendua distende
E da l’uno e da l’altro piglia humore
Cusi participando l’acqua e’l fuoco
La terra e fredda e secca nel suo luoco

[rubric: Terra]

¶ La terra -e- corpo solido e pesante
E grave piu ch'alcun altro elemento
Posta nel centro dentro a tute quante
Le spere e piu di lungi al firmamento
Da ogne parte egualmente distante
Fra l’aria e lei e l’acqua in suo contento
Benche in alcun'altra se discopra
La terra in alto e par che sia di sopra

[image, left margin at ¶3 : Diagram of four concentric circles, the outermost tinted blue with a crescent moon at 10 o'clock (label: Cielo de la luna); the next, red (label: Fuocho); the next blue (label: Aria), with the centre in aquamarine with waves in grey (label: Aqua). The centre circle contains a gray landmass that represents earth, with Asia uppermost, Europe at the lower left, and Africa at the lower right (label: terra).]

Air

Its upper section touches the fire,
which is hot and dry, and makes [the air] similar to [the fire].
After this comes the second [section],
and both are extremely pure and thin.
This second section receives neither too little nor too much heat,
but it retains a chilly quality.
The third, then, confines the water and the earth,
and is always at war with them.

Water

Water is moist and cold; air
takes moisture from it and heat from fire.
Thus heat and moisture define
the complexion of the air, as well as its strength.
Because [air] stands between those two [spheres],
it adopts qualities from each of them,
interacting with both water and fire.
Earth is cold and dry, given its location.

Earth

Earth is a solid and heavy body^{*I.e., substance. "Body" is used here in the sense of planetary or astral bodies.}
and it is heavier than any other element.
Placed at the center, inside all the other
spheres, it is furthest from the firmament
and equally distant from every other part.
The water is contained in between the air and the earth,
although sometimes we find
higher ground, which seems like it is above [the water].^{*Here Dati is trying to explain the apparent inconsistency between the Platonic spheres (in which the sphere of earth is always under the sphere of water) with empirical reality, where the land people live on is frequently above sea level.}