[416] Dwelling at Sāvatthī … There the Blessed One … said: "Bhikkhus, there are these four elements (dhātu). What four? The earth element, the water element, the fire element, the air element. Bhikkhus, whatever ascetics or brahmins do not understand as it really is the gratification (assāda), the danger (ādīnava), and the escape (nissaraṇa) in regard to these four elements — these, bhikkhus, are not reckoned as ascetics among ascetics, nor reckoned as brahmins among brahmins; nor do those venerable ones, having realized it for themselves with direct knowledge in this very life, enter upon and dwell in the goal of asceticism or the goal of brahminhood."
English translation from the Pali (Siam Raṭṭha edition) — under review, not for citation.