Philosophical consensus claims

Meaning

II.2.7 appeals to what philosophers agree in teaching about first and last matter and true earth. The ice-and-water comparison gives the proposition a visible analogy: different states or appearances can return to a shared source. Consensus is therefore part of the argument's persuasive support, not a substitute for the distinction the author is trying to make. The alleged infallible maxim is that first and last matter are the same in principle, just as ice or snow can return to water; the appeal to all philosophers is the author’s warrant for that inference.

The reference should be reported as a claim of agreement by the author. It does not establish that every historical philosopher used earth, matter or salt identically, nor does it identify the sought subject. The passage's contrast between true earth and ordinary ground remains more informative than a generalized appeal to an undifferentiated ancient tradition.