De Mundo

De mundo (Greek: Περὶ Κόσμου), known in English as On the Universe, is the work of an unknown author who wrote under the name of Aristotle. Because of this, the author is referred to as a Pseudo-Aristotle. The date of the work is uncertain; it has been argued that it was composed before 250 BC or between 350 and 200 BC. It is found under the Bekker numbers 391–401. It should not be confused with On the Heavens.

After its original publication in Greek, the work was translated to Latin by Apuleius, into Syriac by Sergius of Reshaina and three distinct Arabic versions.

Wilhelm Capelle () (Neue Jahrbücher, 1905), traced most of the doctrines to Posidonius.

The book De Mundo (1914 translation) begins on chapter 2, with outlining the cosmology:

The book De Mundo chapter 4, is dedicated to the study of meteorology, i.e. on clouds

Cloud is a vaporous mass, concentrated and producing water. Rain is produced from the compression of a closely condensed cloud, varying according to the pressure exerted on the cloud; when the pressure is slight it scatters gentle drops; when it is great it produces a more violent fall, and we call this a shower, being heavier than ordinary rain, and forming continuous masses of water falling over earth. Snow is produced by the breaking up of condensed clouds, the cleavage taking place before the change into water; it is the process of cleavage which causes its resemblance to foam and its intense whiteness, while the cause of its coldness is the congelation of the moisture in it before it is dispersed or rarefied. When snow is violent and falls heavily we call it a blizzard. Hail is produced when snow becomes densified and acquires impetus for a swifter fall from its close mass; the weight becomes greater and the fall more violent in proportion to the size of the broken fragments of cloud. Such then are the phenomena which occur as the result of moist exhalation.

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