o man can deny that Aire gives life to all things, bodies, and substances, that are produced, and generated of the Earth. Now you must know what, and what manner of thing the life of every thing in particular is; What the life of things is.and it is nothing else then a spirituall essence, a thing that is invisible, impalpable, a spirit, and spirituall. What things have life.Wherefore there is no corporeall thing, which hath not a spirit lying hid in it, as also a life, which, as I said before, is nothing but a spirituall thing. For not only that hath life which moves, and stirres, as Men, Animalls, Vermine of the earth, Birds in the Aire, Fish in the sea, but also all corporeall, and substantiall things. For here wee must know that God in the beginning of the Creation of all things, created no body at all without its spirit, which it secretly contains in it.
What is the difference betwixt the Spirit and the Body.
For what is the body without a spirit? Nothing at all. Wherefore the spirit contains in it secretly the vertue, and power of the thing, and not the body. For in the body there is death, and the body is the subject of death, neither is any else to be sought for in the body, but death.
The Spirit never dyes.
For that may severall wayes bee destroyed, and corrupted, but the spirit cannot. For the living spirit remains for ever, and also is the subject of life: and preserves the body alive; but in the ruine of the body it is separated from it, and leaves behind it a dead body, and returnes to its place, from whence it came, viz. into the Chaos, and the Aire of the upper and lower Firmament. Hence it appears that there are divers spirits, as well as divers bodies.
The division of the Spirit according to the variety of bodies.
For there are spirits Celestiall, Infernall, Humane, Metalline, Minerall, of Salts, of Gemmes, of Marcasites, of Arsenicks, of Potable things, of Rootes, of Juices, of Flesh, of Blood, of Bones, &c. The Spirit is the life of all Corporeall things.Wherefore also know that the spirit is most truly the life, and balsome of all Corporeall things. But now wee will proceed to the species, and briefly describe to you in this place the life of every naturall thing in particular.
What the life of man is.