Athenian
Ath. The way I am describing is, I believe, that in which supervision of all things is most easy for the gods. For if one were to shape all things, without a constant view to the Whole, by transforming them (as, for instance, fire into water), instead of merely converting one into many or many into one, then when things had shared in a first, or second, or even third generation,This seems to refer to three stages of the soul’s incarnation; see p. 367, n. 2. they would be countless in number in such a system of transformations; but as things are, the task before the Supervisor of the All is wondrous easy.