The Summary of Physics Restored

57Venerable antiquity imagined that the empire of the whole world was divided among three brothers, Saturn's sons and coheirs, because it recognised only three elemental natures, or more truly three parts of the universe. By omnipotent Jupiter, who received dominion over heaven, armed with the three-forked thunderbolt and superior to his brothers, those initiates into secrets understood the ethereal region of celestial bodies, claiming authority over these lower things. Over the lowest region of heaven, or our air, they set Jupiter's wife Juno, because that region is tainted with vapours, moist and cold, in a way impure, and close to a female temperament. It is also subject to the decrees of higher things, receives their influences and communicates them to us, mingling with grosser natures and bending them to the purposes of the heavenly ones. Since male and female differ only in sex, not in species, they did not regard air or the lower heaven as an entirely different element, distinct in essence and species from the upper heaven, but as differing only in place and accidents. To Neptune, divinity of the sea, they assigned authority over the waters. By Pluto, the wealthy tyrant of the underworld, they signified the globe of earth, filled with riches. The desire for these, and for honours, and the heat of every craving bitterly torment human minds. Those wise men therefore admitted only three parts of the universe, or, if one wishes, three elements, because they intended the element fire to be included within ethereal nature. For that reason they depicted Jupiter armed with the thunderbolt.