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Jfour " Do not our lives consist of the four elements ?" Twelfth Night. What is the world made of ? According to the ancient doctrine of the Four Elements, all things are formed of fire, air, earth, and water ; and the varieties and differences in the properties of bodies depend entirely on the proportion in which these great principles are mingled. While we confine our observations to the external properties of matter, this beautiful doctrine seems incontestable. If we kindle a few dry sticks on a cool hearth, we may remark that while the wood burns there rises smoke or air ; the smoke is followed by flame or fire; moisture or water is deposited on the hearth; and ash or earth remains. Everywhere can we detect the presence of the mighty elements. Fire can be set free from innumerable substances ; air penetrates the pores of all bodies, and covers the world like a mantle ; water forms the all-embracing sea, and nourishes every plant and animal : while earth enters into the composition of all solids, and gives form and stability to the universe. Man himself seems to be built up of the four elements, and according to the first theoretical system of medicine, health indicates their perfect balance, and disease the preponderance of one of them. Such is the old doctrine of the Four Elements, simple and concise enough, but unfortunately false. Modern science has satisfactorily demonstrated the compound nature of fire, air, earth, and water, and they can no longer be regarded as elements. By the term element, we understand any kind of matter which up to the present time has never been decomposed into constituents, and which consequently appears to have a simple nature. The trueelementary bodies may be compared to the letters of the alphabet, and the diversified c...
