The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from The Happy Prince and Other Tales by Oscar Wilde: "Yes, that is just what I want to know," said the Duck; and she
swam away to the end of the pond, and stood upon her head, in order
to give her children a good example.
"What a silly question!" cried the Water-rat. "I should expect my
devoted friend to be devoted to me, of course."
"And what would you do in return?" said the little bird, swinging
upon a silver spray, and flapping his tiny wings.
"I don't understand you," answered the Water-rat.
"Let me tell you a story on the subject," said the Linnet.
"Is the story about me?" asked the Water-rat. "If so, I will
listen to it, for I am extremely fond of fiction."
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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 On Horsemanship by Xenophon: sheer force."
A spirited horse should be kept in check, so that he does not dash off
at full speed; and on the same principle, you should absolutely
abstain from setting him to race against another; as a general rule,
your fiery-spirited horse is only too fond of contention.[6]
[6] Reading {skhedon gar kai phil oi thum}, or if {. . . oi thil kai
th.} transl. "the more eager and ambitious a horse is, the more
mettlesome he will tend to become."
Smooth bits are better and more serviceable than rough; if a rough bit
be inserted at all, it must be made to resemble a smooth one as much
as possible by lightness of hand.
 On Horsemanship |