Χιών

"The whiteness of snow is an abstract phenomenon. For it is composed out of a cloud coagulating and freezing, happening through an excess of cold and with an accompanying wind, which out of necessity the whiteness follows. For it is the retention of the air that is in the clouds and the contact and coagulation in the freezing of the cloud, which happens on account of an excess of coldness and which precedes the precipitation, which is the cause of the color: for the air rubbing it and driving it on makes it white; foam is also white for this reason. This friction and motion happens in the freezing of the cloud of air caught up in it that is closed out into the depths and hinders the precipitation. And these are [the components] of the essence of snow. The whiteness follows upon these things: and it is an accidental condition, since it is not essential to the nature of snow. For if whiteness is not the matter or the form of snow, then it is not in the essence of snow. But [whiteness] being incidental to the matter [of snow] in its change into such a form, in this respect it is inseparable from it."¹
"Many had their eyes ravaged by the snow, and others had their toes rot off. It was a defence for the eyes against the cold if someone walked holding something black in front of his eyes, and for the feet if someone kept moving and was never quiet and if he took off [his shoes] at night. As many men as went to bed with [their shoes] fastened on, the thongs sank into their feet and the sandals froze on them."²