"Jehovah created all things by his "word, saying: "Be," 

 and they were made ; together with the four elements, earth, 

 water, air and fire, which He coagulated, and contrary things 

 were commingled, for we see that fire is hostile to water, and 

 water hostile to fire, and both are hostile to earth and air. 

 Yet Jehovah united them peacefully and out of them all things 

 are created heaven and the throne thereof; the angels; the 

 sun, moon and stars ; earth and sea, with all things that are 

 in the sea, which indeed are various, for their natures have 

 been made diverse by Jehovah. Now this diversity exists in 

 all creatures, because they were made out of different ele- 

 ments ; had they been created out of one element, they would 

 have been agreeing natures. But diverse elements being here 

 mingled, they lose their own natures, because the dry being 

 mixed with the humid and the cold combined with the hot 

 become neither cold nor hot; so also the humid being mixed 

 with the dry becomes neither dry nor humid. When the four 

 elements are comingled they agree, and thence proceed crea- 

 tures that never reach perfection except they be left by night 

 to putrefy and become visibly corrupt; Jehovah further com- 

 pleted His work by imparting life and government." 



Rabbi Loew paused long enough to drain a glass of wine 

 and preceded : 



"In the disposition of these four elements is a secret ar- 

 canum; two of them are perceptible to the sense of touch and 

 vision viz: earth and water the virtue of which is well know; 

 but the other two are neither visible nor tangible, which 

 yield naught, whereof the place is never seen, nor are their 

 operations and value known." 



Dr. Maier replying to his friend said: "Your character- 

 ization of the genesis and nature of the four elements is 

 plausible, but we must remember that our great master 

 Paracelsus taught us otherwise." "When creation tools; 



162 



