| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Philebus by Plato: deduction of the duty of benevolence from a priori principles. In politics
especially hardly any other argument can be allowed to have weight except
the happiness of a people. All parties alike profess to aim at this, which
though often used only as the disguise of self-interest has a great and
real influence on the minds of statesmen. In religion, again, nothing can
more tend to mitigate superstition than the belief that the good of man is
also the will of God. This is an easy test to which the prejudices and
superstitions of men may be brought:--whatever does not tend to the good of
men is not of God. And the ideal of the greatest happiness of mankind,
especially if believed to be the will of God, when compared with the actual
fact, will be one of the strongest motives to do good to others.
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Aeroplanes and Dirigibles of War by Frederick A. Talbot: But the most salient characteristic of this machine is its
portability. It can be dismantled and transported by wagons to
any desired spot, the suspension frame being constructed in
units, each of which is sufficiently small to be accommodated in
an ordinary vehicle. Upon arrival the parts may be put together
speedily and easily. The authorities submitted the airship to
exacting trials and were so impressed by its characteristics and
the claims of the inventor that undoubtedly it will be brought
into service during the present crisis.
At the same time the whole faith of the German military staff so
far as airship operations are concerned, is pinned to the
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| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from The Glimpses of the Moon by Edith Wharton: suddenly felt, I suppose, that he couldn't stand it," she
continued; "and instead of asking me to try--to try to live
differently, go off somewhere with him and live, like work-
people, in two rooms, without a servant, as I was ready to do;
well, instead he wrote me that it had all been a mistake from
the beginning, that we couldn't keep it up, and had better
recognize the fact; and he went off on the Hickses' yacht. The
last evening that you were in Venice--the day he didn't come
back to dinner--he had gone off to Genoa to meet them. I
suppose he intends to marry Coral."
Strefford received this in silence. "Well--it was your bargain,
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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 Letters from England by Elizabeth Davis Bancroft: the display of her voice.
On Sunday evening your father dined with Baron Brunnow, the Russian
Minister, to meet the Grand Duke Constantine. It so happened that
the Grand Duke and Duchess of Saxe-Weimar appointed an audience to
Baron and Baroness Brunnow at seven, and they had not returned at
half-past seven, when the Grand Duke and their other guests arrived.
The Baroness immediately advanced to the Grand Duke and sunk on her
knees before him, asking pardon in Russian. He begged her to rise,
but she remained in the attitude of deep humiliation, until the
Grand Duke sunk also on HIS knees and gently raised her, and then
kissed her on the cheek, a privilege, you know, of royalty.
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