Editing Paracelsus (section)

==== Classical elements ====
Paracelsus largely rejected the philosophies of [[Aristotle]] and [[Galen]], as well as the [[Humorism|theory of humours]]. Although he did accept the concept of [[the four elements]]—water, air, fire, and earth; he saw them as a foundation for other properties on which to build.<ref name="Pagel, Walter 1958">Pagel, Walter. ''Paracelsus; an Introduction to Philosophical Medicine in the Era of the Renaissance''. Basel: Karger, 1958. Print.</ref> In a posthumously published book entitled, ''[[A Book on Nymphs, Sylphs, Pygmies, and Salamanders, and on the Other Spirits]]'', Paracelsus also described four [[elemental]] beings, each corresponding to one of the [[Classical elements|four elements]]: [[Salamanders in folklore and legend|Salamanders]], which correspond to fire; [[Gnomes]], corresponding to earth; [[Undines]], corresponding to water; and [[Sylphs]], corresponding to air.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Silver |first=Carole B. |title=Strange and Secret Peoples: Fairies and Victorian Consciousness |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=1999 |isbn=0-19-512199-6 |pages=38}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Paracelsus |title=''Four Treatises of Theophrastus Von Hohenheim Called Paracelsus'' |publisher=JHU Press |year=1996 |pages=222}}</ref>