The earth is filled almost to the centre with Gnomes or Pharyes, a people of small stature, the guardians of treasures, of mines, and of precious stones. They are ingenious, friends of men, and easy to be commanded. They furnish the children of the Sages with as much money as they have need of, and never ask any other reward than the glory of being commanded. The Gnomides or Wives of these Gnomes or Pharyes, are little, but very handsome and their habit marvellously curious.... As for the Salamanders, the inhabitants of the region of fire, they serve the Philosophers, but they seek not for their company with any great eagerness. The wives of the Salamanders are fair, nay, rather more fair than all others, seeing they are of a purer element. You will be charmed more with the beauty of their wit than of their body, yet you cannot choose but be grieved for these poor wretches when they shall tell you that their soul is mortal, and that they have no hope of enjoying eternal happiness, and of the Supreme Being, which they acknowledge and religiously adore. They will tell us, that being composed of the most pure parts of the elements which they inhabit, and not having in them any contrary qualities, seeing they are made but of one element, they die not but after many Ages, but alas! what is such a Time, in respect of Eternity? They must eternally resolve into their nothing. This consideration does sorely afflict them; and we have trouble enough, to comfort them concerning it.
Our Fathers, the Philosophers, speaking to God face to face, complained to him of the unhappiness of these people, and God whose mercy is without bounds, revealed to them, that it was not impossible to find out a remedy for this evil. He inspired them, that by the same means as man, by the alliance which he contracted with God, has been made partaker of Divinity: the Sylphs, the Gnomes, the Nymphs, and the Salamanders by the alliance which they might contract with man, might be made partakers of immortality. So a She-Nymph or a Sylphide becomes Immortal, and capable of the blessing to which we aspire, when they shall be so happy as to be married to a Sage; a Gnome, or a Sylph ceases to be mortal, from the moment that he espouses one of our daughters.