It is therefore an "eclipse of existence" which renders an object
more corporeal. While studying those psychoses called affections, we
discover that the more corporeal an object is, the more is it likely
to be affected; the earth is more so than other elements, and so on.
Indeed, when other elements are divided, they immediately reunite their
parts, unless there be some opposition; but when we separate parts
of earth, they do not come together again. They thus seem to have no
natural earth; since, after a light blow, they remain in the state
where they are left by the blow that struck or broke them. Therefore
the more corporeal a thing is, the more it approaches nonentity,
returning to unity with the greater difficulty. The heavy and violent
blows by which bodies act on each other are followed by destruction.
When even a weak thing falls on something weak, it may still be
relatively powerful; as is nonentity hitting nonentity.