| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from On the Origin of Species by Charles Darwin: little more heat or cold, dampness or dryness, for elsewhere it ranges into
slightly hotter or colder, damper or drier districts. In this case we can
clearly see that if we wished in imagination to give the plant the power of
increasing in number, we should have to give it some advantage over its
competitors, or over the animals which preyed on it. On the confines of
its geographical range, a change of constitution with respect to climate
would clearly be an advantage to our plant; but we have reason to believe
that only a few plants or animals range so far, that they are destroyed by
the rigour of the climate alone. Not until we reach the extreme confines
of life, in the arctic regions or on the borders of an utter desert, will
competition cease. The land may be extremely cold or dry, yet there will
On the Origin of Species |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from A Voyage to Abyssinia by Father Lobo: his information. This kind of honey I have often tasted, and do not
find that it differs from the other sorts in anything but colour; it
is somewhat blacker. The great quantity of honey that is gathered,
and a prodigious number of cows that is kept here, have often made
me call Abyssinia a land of honey and butter.
Chapter III
The manner of eating in Abyssinia, their dress, their hospitality,
and traffic.
The great lords, and even the Emperor himself, maintain their tables
with no great expense. The vessels they make use of are black
earthenware, which, the older it is, they set a greater value on.
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