Man hath of urthe al his bodi, of water he haveth wete, Of eyr he haveth wynd, of fur he haveth hete. Ech quic thing of alle this foure, of some hath more other lasse; Ho so haveth of urthe most, he is slou as an asse; Of vad colour, of hard hide, boustes forme, and ded strong, Of moche thoght, of lute speche, of stille grounynge, and wraththe long, A slough wrecche and ferblet, fast and loth to geve his god, Sone old, and noght wilful, stable and stedefast of mode.
And so on with the other elements. This doctrine of the composition of man from the four elements became a very popular one in the sixteenth century, when the poets frequently allude to it, as may be seen in the examples given by Nares (_v._ ELEMENTS). In the _Mirror for Magistrates_ (_King Forrex_, page 76), it is said:--
If we behold the substance of a man, How he is made of _elements_ by kind, Of earth, of water, aire, and fire, than We would full often call unto our mind, That all our earthly joys we leave behind.
----I've heard Schoolmen affirm, man's body is compos'd Of _the four elements_.
In Shakespeare (_Twel. N._ ii, 3), Sir Toby Belch inquires, "Does not our life consist of _the four elements_?" and Brutus is commended for possessing these elements properly blended, in which the perfection of a man's nature was supposed to consist:--
His life was gentle; and the _elements_ So mix'd in him, that Nature might stand up And say to all the world, This _was a man_. _Jul. Cæs._ v, 5.
On the other hand, the ill mixing of these elements was supposed to be accompanied with a corresponding derangement of the intellectual faculties. Thus, in one of the plays of Beaumont and Fletcher, a madman is addressed:--
I prithee, thou _four elements_ ill brew'd Torment none but thyself: Away, I say, Thou beast of passion. _B. and Fl. Nice Valour_, act i, p. 312.