Dialogue on Divine and Human Love

...which fills the entire concavity of the Sphere of the Moon; and that first part of this globe Referring to the "sublunary" world—everything below the moon which is closest to Heaven, being heated, becomes more purified and greatly thinned, becoming light. Its heat is so intense that it consumes all the moisture that remains, so that it dries it out, and this is Fire. Then, as this celestial heat spreads further into that part of this globe that follows the fire, it makes it also hot, but not so much that it consumes the moisture; and this is Air, which is hot and moist. Through this heat, it is also purified and thinned, and remains light—only a little less so than fire, for being less hot. This Celestial heat spreads further in this globe, beyond the Air, but it is not so much that it creates a hot element; rather, by its distance from Heaven it remains cold, but not so much that moisture cannot exist there. It remains heavy due to the density caused by the cold, and seeks the bottom; and this is the element of Water, cold and moist. Beyond this, the coldness in the remaining center of this globe, beneath the Water, is so great that it constricts the moisture, and it remains a very heavy body, cold and dry: this is the Earth.

So it is that Air and Fire—which by their proximity receive more of the heat and celestial benefit, which is the life of the inferior bodies—love heaven more; wherever they are found, they approach it and move with it in its continuous circular motion. The Earth and the Water, because they receive little of the celestial heat and life, do not love it so, nor do they approach it; rather, they flee from it so as to be able to rest quietly without moving with it continually and circularly.

SO. Since the Earth is the lowest and most vile original: "uile," meaning lowly or least noble in the cosmic hierarchy of all the other Elements as you say, and is furthest from the source of life which is heaven, how is it that so many diverse things are generated within it—more than in any other Element? Such as Stones of so many kinds, some large, clean, and beautiful, others clear and very precious; and Metals, not only the common ones like Iron, Lead, Copper, Tin, and Quicksilver original: "Argento uiuo" but others rich and lustrous like Silver and Gold. Then there is such a diversity of Herbs, Flowers, Trees, and Fruits as the Earth produces; and further, it has such a multitude and variety of animals, all of which are bound to the earth. For although some plants and a great abundance of different animals are found in the Sea, and likewise those that fly in the Air, they all nevertheless have an acknowledgement to the earth, and it is there that they principally remain. Above all, in the earth is generated the human race original: "humana generatione" of miraculous perfection among all the bodies that are under Heaven, which is not generated nor placed in any other sphere of the elements; how...