| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Democracy In America, Volume 2 by Alexis de Toqueville: but it must invariably and immeasurably increase the powers of
civil government; it must almost compulsorily concentrate the
direction of all men and the management of all things in the
hands of the administration. If it lead not to despotism by
sudden violence, it prepares men for it more gently by their
habits. All those who seek to destroy the liberties of a
democratic nation ought to know that war is the surest and the
shortest means to accomplish it. This is the first axiom of the
science.
One remedy, which appears to be obvious when the ambition of
soldiers and officers becomes the subject of alarm, is to augment
|
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe: needful to take in-fresh water, but made the best of our way for
the coast of Coromandel. We were, indeed, informed that a French
man-of-war, of fifty guns, and two large merchant ships, were gone
for the Indies; and as I knew we were at war with France, I had
some apprehensions of them; but they went their own way, and we
heard no more of them.
I shall not pester the reader with a tedious description of places,
journals of our voyage, variations of the compass, latitudes,
trade-winds, &c.; it is enough to name the ports and places which
we touched at, and what occurred to us upon our passages from one
to another. We touched first at the island of Madagascar, where,
Robinson Crusoe |
