Now there are, it should be known, four
elements: earth which is dry and cold: water which is cold
and wet: air which is wet and warm: fire which is warm and
dry. In like manner there are also four humours, analogous to the
four elements: black bile, which bears an analogy to earth, for
it is dry and cold: phlegm, analogous to water, for it is cold
and wet: blood, analogous to air Supplying the
words, τῷ
ὕδατι, ψυχρὸν
γὰρ καὶ
ὑγρόν· αἷμα,
ἀναλογοῦν., for it is wet and warm: yellow
bile, the analogue to fire, for it is warm and dry. Now, fruits
are composed of the elements, and the humours are composed of the
fruits, and the bodies of living creatures consist of the humours and
dissolve back into them. For every thing that is compound
dissolves back into its elements.