| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Eryxias by Platonic Imitator: ERASISTRATUS: Yes.
SOCRATES: And in the same way among the Scythians a house has no value
because they have no use for a house, nor would a Scythian set so much
store on the finest house in the world as on a leather coat, because he
could use the one and not the other. Or again, the Carthaginian coinage is
not wealth in our eyes, for we could not employ it, as we can silver, to
procure what we need, and therefore it is of no use to us.
ERASISTRATUS: True.
SOCRATES: What is useful to us, then, is wealth, and what is useless to us
is not wealth?
But how do you mean, Socrates? said Eryxias, interrupting. Do we not
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Republic by Plato: ordinary occupation, and yet consistent with that practice of virtue which
Phocylides inculcates? When a student imagines that philosophy gives him a
headache, he never does anything; he is always unwell. This was the reason
why Asclepius and his sons practised no such art. They were acting in the
interest of the public, and did not wish to preserve useless lives, or
raise up a puny offspring to wretched sires. Honest diseases they honestly
cured; and if a man was wounded, they applied the proper remedies, and then
let him eat and drink what he liked. But they declined to treat
intemperate and worthless subjects, even though they might have made large
fortunes out of them. As to the story of Pindar, that Asclepius was slain
by a thunderbolt for restoring a rich man to life, that is a lie--following
The Republic |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from The American by Henry James: on the contrary, I tell you plainly that it is the use I want
to make of your secret."
Mrs. Bread seemed to hold her breath. "You want to publish them--
you want to shame them?"
"I want to bring them down,--down, down, down! I want to turn
the tables upon them--I want to mortify them as they mortified me.
They took me up into a high place and made me stand there for all
the world to see me, and then they stole behind me and pushed me
into this bottomless pit, where I lie howling and gnashing my teeth!
I made a fool of myself before all their friends; but I shall make
something worse of them."
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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 The Cavalry General by Xenophon: at the halt or are deploying to increase front; in either case,
obviously the bulk and volume of the force, whatever your formation,
will appear increased. Conversely, if the problem be to make large
numbers appear small, supposing you have ground at command adapted to
concealment, the thing is simple: by leaving a portion of your men
exposed and hiding away a portion in obscurity, you may effect your
object.[4] But if the ground nowhere admits of cover, your best course
is to form your files[5] into ranks one behind the other, and wheel
them round so as to leave intervals between each file; the troopers
nearest the enemy in each file will keep their lances erect, and the
rest low enough not to show above.
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