| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Charmides by Plato: PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION.
The Text which has been mostly followed in this Translation of Plato is the
latest 8vo. edition of Stallbaum; the principal deviations are noted at the
bottom of the page.
I have to acknowledge many obligations to old friends and pupils. These
are:--Mr. John Purves, Fellow of Balliol College, with whom I have revised
about half of the entire Translation; the Rev. Professor Campbell, of St.
Andrews, who has helped me in the revision of several parts of the work,
especially of the Theaetetus, Sophist, and Politicus; Mr. Robinson Ellis,
Fellow of Trinity College, and Mr. Alfred Robinson, Fellow of New College,
who read with me the Cratylus and the Gorgias; Mr. Paravicini, Student of
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Peter Pan by James M. Barrie: With a cry of rage he raised his iron hand over Smee's head;
but he did not tear. What arrested him was this reflection:
"To claw a man because he is good form, what would that be?"
"Bad form!"
The unhappy Hook was as impotent [powerless] as he was damp,
and he fell forward like a cut flower.
His dogs thinking him out of the way for a time, discipline
instantly relaxed; and they broke into a bacchanalian [drunken]
dance, which brought him to his feet at once, all traces of human
weakness gone, as if a bucket of water had passed over him.
"Quiet, you scugs," he cried, "or I'll cast anchor in you"; and
Peter Pan |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from The Virginian by Owen Wister: plenty. Was this not the headquarters of the Bear Creek
schoolmarm?
"Why, aren't you going to do it in pencil first?" she exclaimed,
looking up from her vacant sheet. His pen was moving slowly, but
steadily.
"No, I don't reckon I need to," he answered, with his nose close
to the paper. "Oh, damnation, there's a blot!" He tore his
spoiled beginning in small bits, and threw them into the
fireplace. "You've got it too full," he commented; and taking the
inkstand, he tipped a little from it out of the window. She sat
lost among her false starts. Had she heard him swear, she would
The Virginian |
The fourth excerpt represents the element of Earth. It speaks of physical influences and the impact of the unseen on the visible world, and is drawn from The Lost Princess of Oz by L. Frank Baum: attic of his house, he discovered all the books of magical recipes and
many magical instruments which had formerly been in use in his family.
From that day, he stopped making shoes and began to study magic.
Finally, he aspired to become the greatest magician in Oz, and for
days and weeks and months he thought on a plan to render all the other
sorcerers and wizards, as well as those with fairy powers, helpless to
oppose him.
From the books of his ancestors, he learned the following facts:
(1) That Ozma of Oz was the fairy ruler of the Emerald City and the
Land of Oz and that she could not be destroyed by any magic ever
devised. Also, by means of her Magic Picture she would be able to
The Lost Princess of Oz |
