The Birth of Science

Matter is continuous.

All matter is somehow made up of the four elements, Earth, Air, Fire, and Water, which in their turn contain the four "qualities," hotness, coldness, dryness, and moisture, in binary combination.

The earth is a sphere. It is fixed as the centre of the universe, which is itself spherical.

The stars and planets move with uniform velocity in concentric circles, or in circles within circles, round the earth. They are not composed to the four terrestrial elements but of a fifth element, the quintessence or aether.

Circular movement is the most perfect conceivable and represents the changeless, eternal, and perfect order of the Heavens as contrasted with the mutable, mortal, and imperfect order that prevails on this our earth.

The universe is finite.

This system lasted unshaken for 2000 years, roughly from 350 B.C. to A.D. 1600.