created; of that which is less pure the atmospheric air was formed;
that which is simply pure remains in its proper sphere where ... it is
guardian of all subtle substances here below."

Concerning the element _Air_, he writes:--"The most noble Element of
Air ... is volatile, but may be fixed, and when fixed renders all
bodies penetrable.... It is nobler than Earth or Water.... It
nourishes, impregnates, conserves the other elements."

Finally, of the element _Fire_:--"Fire is the purest and noblest of
all Elements, full of adhesive unctuous corrosiveness, penetrant,
digestive, inwardly fixed, hot and dry, outwardly visible, and
tempered by the earth.... This Element is the most passive of all, and
resembles a chariot; when it is drawn, it moves; when it is not drawn,
it stands still."

Basil Valentine then tells his readers that Adam was compounded of the
four pure Elements, but after his expulsion from Paradise he became
subject to the various impurities of the animal creation. "The pure
Elements of his creation were gradually mingled and infected with the
corruptible elements of the outer world, and thus his body became more
and more gross, and liable, through its grossness, to natural decay
and death." The process of degeneration was slow at first, but "as
time went on, the seed out of which men were generated became more and
more infected with perishable elements. The continued use of
corruptible food rendered their bodies more and more gross; and human
life was soon reduced to a very brief span."

Basil Valentine then deals with the formation of the three
_Principles_ of things, by the mutual action of the four Elements.