| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Cratylus by Plato: you give, in my opinion, is the right one, and if you change that and give
another, the new name is as correct as the old--we frequently change the
names of our slaves, and the newly-imposed name is as good as the old: for
there is no name given to anything by nature; all is convention and habit
of the users;--such is my view. But if I am mistaken I shall be happy to
hear and learn of Cratylus, or of any one else.
SOCRATES: I dare say that you may be right, Hermogenes: let us see;--Your
meaning is, that the name of each thing is only that which anybody agrees
to call it?
HERMOGENES: That is my notion.
SOCRATES: Whether the giver of the name be an individual or a city?
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Aeroplanes and Dirigibles of War by Frederick A. Talbot: This vessel was regarded as a distinct improvement upon the
"L-I," although the latter could boast some great achievements.
But her glory was short-lived. In the course of the Government
trials, while some 900 feet aloft, the huge vessel suddenly
exploded and was burned in the air, a mass of broken and twisted
metal-work falling to the ground. Of the 28 officers and men,
including members of the Admiralty Board who were conducting the
official trials, all but one were killed outright, and the
solitary exception was so terribly burned as to survive the fall
for only a few hours.
The accident was remarkable and demonstrated very convincingly
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