bodies of the worlds are believed to be composed of these elements in varying proportions.
In Greek and Roman classics we find much about these four elements; but the development of four elements out of four worlds belongs largely to barbarism, though perhaps it is not fully completed until the stage of monarchy is reached.
Necromancy—In the monarchical stage of society the four elements—earth, air, fire, and water—play a very important role. It is now the theory that bodies are composed of these elements, and it is a theory that the difference between bodies depends on the different proportions of these elements which they severally present. The cardinal worlds thus become cardinal elements, and a birthmark remains when they are put in antithetic pairs. Earth is opposed to air, and fire is opposed to water. This stage of society is the stage of alchemy in the philosophy of bodies. The wondrous transmutations that appear in nature are explained as alchemical changes in combining or freeing the elements. The stories now invented are stories of necromancy in which theories of ghosts and theories of alchemy are compounded. This is also the age of chivalry, and the stories told are tales of wars and wiles, and the heroes are kings, warriors, wizards, dwarfs, giants, and demons. They often wander about the world for the purpose of adventure or because they are engaged in wonderful enterprises. Thaumaturgy—not natural wonders, but invented wonders—now constitutes the principal theme of romance. Myth is transmuted into romance.
The three worlds remain as earth, hell, and heaven. We cannot stop to catalogue these medieval romances, but they constitute an extensive literature in themselves and there is an extensive body of literature about them. Often in the next stage they become the themes of poetry. The Victorian bard has used some of these medieval themes in the Idylls of the King.
Novels—It must constantly be borne in mind that romance in
