1. Arguments of the superior usefulness of Water: We need it at all
times and in all places; it is not so with fire. Water was given to
man at his first creation; fire was introduced by Prometheus. Some
men and all brute animals can live without fire, but not without
water. Fire is often pernicious; water never. Fire cannot be kept up
without expense; water requires no expense. Water, or the sea, is the
great civilizer of man, 331-334. 2. Arguments in behalf of Fire: Heat
is the exciting cause of vegetation; water becomes putrid when fire
leaves it; animals perish without heat; death is only the absence
of heat; water is made more useful by fire; the arts cannot exist
without fire, 334-337.