His original system consisted of seven elements, which included the five classical elements (aether, air, earth, fire, and water) in addition to two chemical elements representing the metals: sulphur, "the stone which burns", which characterized the principle of combustibility, and mercury, which contained the idealized principle of metallic properties.
hɪz ɚɹˈɪdʒɪnəl sˈɪstəm kənsˈɪstᵻd ʌv sˈɛvən ˈɛlɪmənts, wˌɪtʃ ɪŋklˈuːdᵻd ðə fˈaɪv klˈæsɪkəl ˈɛlɪmənts ˈiːθə, ˈɛɹ, ˈɜːθ, fˈaɪɚ, ænd wˈɔːɾɚ ɪn ɐdˈɪʃən tə tˈuː kˈɛmɪkəl ˈɛlɪmənts ɹˌɛpɹᵻzˈɛntɪŋ ðə mˈɛɾəlz: sˈʌlfɚ, "ðə stˈoʊn wˌɪtʃ bˈɜːnz", wˌɪtʃ kˈæɹɪktɚɹˌaɪzd ðə pɹˈɪnsɪpəl ʌv kəmbˌʌstəbˈɪlᵻɾi, ænd mˈɜːkjʊɹi, wˌɪtʃ kəntˈeɪnd ðɪ aɪdˈiəlaɪzd pɹˈɪnsɪpəl ʌv mətˈælɪk pɹˈɑːpɚɾiz.