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.