Observations Natural and Moral, Chapter 1

Observations Natural and Moral · Chapter 1

p. 1CHAP. 1. Of the foure Elements.

Proverb. 30.4. Who hath aſcended up into the heaven, or deſcended? Who hath gathered the Winds in his fiſt? Who hath bound all the Waters in a garment? Who hath eſtabliſhed all the ends of the earth?

THe Hebrewes gather out of this place the foure Elements, How the Hebrewes gather the foure Elements.three of them ſet downe here cleerely, the winde, the water, and the earth; and the fourth the fire, becauſe it is not clearely ſeene by us as the reſt of the elements, therefore it is comprehended under the word heaven; and by a contraction the Hebrewes contract the foure elements in this word armang. foreign ignis foreign pro foreign aer foreign pro foreignThe firſt letter aleph ſtandeth for eſh the fire; the ſecond letter Reſh, for Ruah the wind; p. 2the third letter men for maijn, aqua foreign pro foreign terra foreign pro foreignthe water; the fourth letter G…aijn for gnapher the duſt or earth.

Ames 9.6. It is he that hath founded his troupes [or bundles] in the earth, the Hebrewes meane by theſe troupes or bundles, the elements, the ayre, the water and the fire which the Lord hath bound together.

Reaſons proving that there are foure elements; Reaſons proving that there are foure elements.firſt there is a heaven that moveth and turneth about ſtill, Reaſon, 1 therefore of a neceſſitie there muſt be earth reſting in the midſt of the Center about the which the heavens are moved; now when we have found out, that of neceſſitie there muſt be the element of the earth, there muſt be ſome element contrarie to it which is the fire, otherwayes there ſhould be agreat defect in the vniverſe; and if the earth be cold and dry, then the fire muſt be hot and drie according to the rule of the philoſopher, ſi conſequens ſequitur antecedens, Regula Philoſopherum.conſequens cum modo ſequitur antecedens cum modo: but the earth is neceſſarily cold and drie, therefore the fire muſt be neceſſarily hot and drie; and there muſt be two middle elements betwixt theſe two which are contrary, the ayre and the water, the midſt betwixt the two cannot be one: and as there are two extremes, bote in the higheſt degree and cold in the higheſt degree, ſo there muſt be one midſt which is temperately hote, and another midſt which is temperatly cold.

Whatſoever is found in compoſed and perfectly mixed bodyes, Reaſon, 2 the ſame is found extra mixtum, without the thing mixed or compoſed; example, There are in man a body and a ſpirit, therefore there are ſome which are ſpirits onelyonly as Angels, and ſome bodyes which are no ſpirits; The ſpirits, breath, moyſture, and ſubſtance of man, reſemble the foure elements.in man there are firſt the ſpirits, and when hee dyeth they goe away, and they reſemble the fire: Secondly, there is the ayre which faileth when the body beginneth to conſume, and rot: thirdly, the p. 3moyſture flyeth out of it which is the water; and laſt of all it is reſolved into …uſt, natura in…initum renuit, & terminum quaerit, and alwayes aymeth at an end, The body reſolved into foure elements.and ſeeketh by the moſt compendious way to attaine unto the ſame, and therefore ſhe hath eſtabliſhed but foure principall elements in compoſition of things, and alſo reſolving the body into foure elements. And as there are foure Lations, one ſimply higheſt, another reſpectively higheſt, a third ſimply loweſt, and a fourth reſpectively loweſt, ſo there are foure places; the earth is ſimply loweſt, and the water is reſpectively loweſt, the fire is ſimplie higheſt, and the ayre reſpectively higheſt. Foure elements reſembled by the complection of mans body, and the foure ſeaſons of the yeare.Choler in the body of man reſembleth the fire, his blood the ayre, melancholie the earth, and petuite the water: and the foure ſeaſons of the yeare reſemble the foure elements, the Winter reſembleth the earth, the Autumne the water, the Spring the ayre, and the Summer the fire.

God hath ſituated and placed theſe elements that they may have a muſicall proportion one to another, The elements keepe a muſicall proportion one to another.the earth loweſt as the baſſe, the fire higheſt as the triple carying a diapaſon or eight to the earth: he hath ſet the water next the earth that it might carry a diapente to the fire, and a diateſſeron or tenor to the earth; And the ayre next the fire that it may have a diapente or counter tenor to the earth, and a diateſſeron to the fire; this perfect harmonie ariſeth from the proportionable temperature of the foure firſt qualities in the elements, dry, hot, cold, moyſt, The foure qualities of the elements.for the chiefe qualitie of the earth is drineſſe, and by participation of cold from the water; the chiefe qualitie of the fire is heat and partaketh of the earths dryneſſe: the water is exterame cold and partaketh of the moyſture of the ayre; the ayre is extreame moyſt and partaketh of the heat of the fire, ſo that there are eight qualities here to make up a diapaſon, p. 4foure extreame and chiefe, and foure remiſſe and by participation, and their harmonie may be taken up thus:

As natures perfection is to imitate God in his firſt creation, The perfection of nature, is to imitate God, and of Art to imitate nature.ſo the greateſt perfection of art is to imitate nature. Phythagoras did find out the concent of muſicke by hearing a ſmith beating upon his Anvell with foure hammers being of unequall weight, How Phythagoras found out the proportion in Muſicke.and that he might find out the difference of the ſound, hee weighed the hammers, and hee found the heavieſt to bee twelve pound weight, the lighteſt ſix and the third eight and the fourth nine according to arithmeticall proportion, the firſt being twice as heavie as the ſecond, the fourth carrying a triple proportion to the firſt, and the third a double proportion and a halfe to the firſt; and according to muſicall proportion the fourth to the firſt was diapaſon, reſembling the water and the fire; the third to the firſt, and the ſecond to the fourth, are diapente; the firſt to the ſecond, and the third to the fourth are diataſſaron, reſpecting the weight of the hāmers. Pythagoras that he might make Art to imitate nature ſtretched out foure Luteſtrings betweene two roots of trees, and making a bridge betwixt the two juſt in the midſt, p. 5ſtrucke upon the fourth ſtring it maketh a diapaſon, ſo to the firſt; then he made a bridge in the ſecond roome, the third ſtring made a diapente to the firſt: then hee ſet a bridge betwixt theſe two bridges, ſtrucke upon the ſecond ſtring, it maketh a diateſſaron to the firſt in reſpect of the ſtretching out of the ſtrings, as may be ſeene here.

Terra. 1.

aqua, diateſſaron

aer diapente

ignis diapaſon.

The contrarietie betwixt the fire and the earth, What elements ſymbolize and what not.the fire is hot and drie, the earth is cold and drie, yet they ſymbolize in drineſſe; the water is cold and moyſt, the earth is cold and drie, they ſymbolize here in coldneſſe: the fire is hot and drie, the water is cold and moyſt, therefore they ſymbolize in nothing.

There were three great miracles which the Lord wrought, Three great miracles in reſpect of the elements which ſymbolize not.firſt when he made the water to come out of the rocke in the wilderneſſe, Num. 20.8. Secondly, when the Angel touched the rocke, and the fire came out of it to burne the ſacrifice, Iudg. 6.24. The third when Elias poured water upon the ſacrifice, and then made it burne, 1 King 18.33. this was a greater miracle than any of the other two, for there is no concord betwixt the water and the fire, as in the other two miracles; for the water and the rocke ſymbolize in coldneſſe although not in drineſſe, and the fire and the rocke ſymbolize in dryneſſe, although not in coldneſſe.

The Lord hath tempered the body of man, The wonderfull temperature of the bodie of man.of moyſt and heate, cold and drie; and that the heate prevaile p. 6not and breed fevers, he tempered it with cold to make up the harmonie, and that the cold prevaile not and breed lethargies, hee tempered it with heate; and that the moyſture prevaile not and breed hydropſies, The wonderfull temperature of the bodie of the world.he tempered it with dryneſſe. So the Lord tempered the great body of the world at the firſt, and ſet this contrary to that: when the Lord deſtroyed the firſt world with water, this great body dyed of the hydropſie; and when he ſhall conſume it at the latter day with fire, then hee ſhall burne it as it were with a feaver.

The concluſion of this is, Concluſion.wee muſt admire the wiſedome of God who hath made all things in weight, number and meaſure, God made all things in weight number and meaſure.Wiſd. 11.17. Who hath made all things in weight that the earth and the water ſhould be heavieſt, and the ayre and the fire lighteſt; in number that he hath made two extreame elements and two middle elements; in meaſure that he hath tempered the hot fire by the ayre and not by the water, for that would have extinguiſhed it, and he hath made the drye earth moyſt by the water, and not by the ayre for that would not have moyſtned it.