That in their separation the waters were not changed in themselves; one was merely made thinner, subtler, clearer, and more powerful and effective than another.

It was said above that the elements arose and were created from water. For when the almighty and only-wise God wished to create this beautiful world from waters originally created uniform and consisting of one mass; to ordain that it should remain in continual action and motion through contraries; and to adorn and fill it with animals and plants, the splendid firmament of heaven, and its glorious lights, he first caused the coarser and heavier part of those waters to move toward the centre, while the subtle part rose upward and remained on high.

“In the beginning God created the waters and the earth,” and “the Spirit of God hovered upon the water,” says the text. Then the Most High created light, and subsequently, on the second day, the firmament, through the word Fiat, “Let it be.” Through that firmament, created—as just said—by Fiat, rather than through the word Fiat itself, he separated the waters. For the text says clearly: “And God said: Let there be a firmament between the waters, and let it make a distinction between the waters. Then God made the firmament and separated the water below the firmament from the water above the firmament,” and so forth. Hence separating is one thing, creating another.

Through this separation the waters were in no way changed in themselves, nor was one or another ordained or created as a particular nature. Just as they were originally created with a universal nature through God’s universal Word, so afterward they remained a universal nature. Although one water is better, stronger, clearer, thinner, subtler, and so forth than another, they differ only to that extent and are otherwise unchanged. Since my principal intention here is to write of rainwater, I argue thus: Whatever is neither animal, vegetable, nor mineral is a universal and catholic subject. Rainwater is neither animal, vegetable, nor mineral. Therefore it is a universal and catholic subject.

Next, to establish its universal power still further, I proceed to its proper definition and say: