6. Now having brought together the teachings of all the sages among [the] Greeks in four books,[5] and those of the heresiarchs in five, we shall point out the Doctrine concerning the Truth in one, after having first made a summary of what has been the opinions of all. For the teachers of the Greeks, dividing philosophy into three parts, so philosophize, some preaching Physics, some Ethics and some Dialectic.[6] And those who preached Physics thus declared, some that all things were born from one, others from many. And of those who said [they came] from one, some [said they came] from what had no Quality, and others from that which had Quality. And of those who [said they came] from that which had Quality, some [said that they came] [Sidenote: p. 476.] from fire, others from air, others from water and yet others from earth. And of those who [said they came forth] from many things, some [said that they came] from numerable things [others from boundless ones. And of those who said they came from numerable things], some [say that they came] from two, others from four, others from five, and others from six. And of those [who say] that they came from the boundless things, some [say that they came] from things like generated things, others from those unlike. And some of them say that they came from things impassible, others from things passible. The Stoics indeed would establish the birth of the universals from that which has no Quality and one body. For according to them, matter unqualified and capable of change by means of the universals is their source. And when it is transformed, fire, air, water and earth come into being. And those who will have all things to come into being from that which has Quality are the followers of Hippasus and Anaximander and Thales the Milesian. Hippasus the Metapontian[7] and Heraclitus the Ephesian declared the genesis of things to be from fire, but Anaximander from air, Thales from water, and Xenophanes from earth. “For all things [came forth] from earth and all end in earth.”[8] [Sidenote: p. 477.] 7. Of those who would derive the universals from [the] many and [the] numerable, the poet Homer declares that the universals have been composed of earth and water when he says:-- “Ocean source of Gods and mother Tethys.”[9] and again:-- “But turn ye all to water and earth.”[10] And Xenophanes the Colophonian seems to agree with him, for he says:-- “All we are sprung from earth and water.”[11] But Euripides says from earth and aether, as he lets us see from his saying:-- “I sing aether and earth, mother of all.”[12] But Empedocles from four, saying thus:-- [Sidenote: p. 478.] “Hear first the four roots of all things; Shining Zeus and life-bearing Here and Aïdoneus And Nestis who wets with tears the human source.”