| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Sportsman by Xenophon: at once and strong, with pluck enough to overcome the toils imposed on
him,[2] and to take pleasure in the work.
[2] {toutous}, "by this, that, or the other good quality."
The ordinary small nets should be made of fine Phasian or
Carthaginian[3] flax, and so too should the road nets and the larger
hayes.[4] These small nets should be nine-threaded [made of three
strandes, and each strand of three threads],[5] five spans[6] in
depth,[7] and two palms[8] at the nooses or pockets.[9] There should
be no knots in the cords that run round, which should be so inserted
as to run quite smoothly.[10] The road net should be twelve-threaded,
and the larger net (or haye) sixteen. They may be of different sizes,
|
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Island of Doctor Moreau by H. G. Wells: by the luxuriant vegetation of the banks save at one point,
where I caught a triangular patch of its glittering water.
On the farther side I saw through a bluish haze a tangle of trees
and creepers, and above these again the luminous blue of the sky.
Here and there a splash of white or crimson marked the blooming of some
trailing epiphyte. I let my eyes wander over this scene for a while,
and then began to turn over in my mind again the strange peculiarities
of Montgomery's man. But it was too hot to think elaborately,
and presently I fell into a tranquil state midway between dozing
and waking.
From this I was aroused, after I know not how long, by a
The Island of Doctor Moreau |
