Cosmic justice acts as a natural law that limits elemental expansion.

Evidence

The thought which Anaximander is expressing seems to be this: there should be a certain proportion of fire, of earth, and of water in the world, but each element (conceived as a god) is perpetually attempting to enlarge its empire. But there is a kind of necessity or natural law which perpetually redresses the balance; where there has been fire, for example, there are ashes, which are earth. — Bertrand Russell, History of Western Philosophy, 166

Categorization

• XREF: XREF connects to the concept of natural law and hubris in Greek tragedy.
• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — Bertrand Russell, History of Western Philosophy, 166