Note to Twelfth Night, 2.3.9-10, "Does not our life consist of the four elements?"

Apparently, this expression of the Ancient Greek idea that earth, water, air, and fire are the four elements of which everything is made, may be the set-up for another of Sir Toby's outrageous arguments justifying staying up late and drinking, but Sir Andrew cuts his joke short by saying that our life consists of eating and drinking, which makes Sir Toby's argument about the four classical elements irrelevant.

Triangular alchemical symbols for classical elements of
Earth, Water, Air, and Fire