| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Polity of Athenians and Lacedaemonians by Xenophon: Newman, "Pol. Arist." i. 202.
[3] See Herod. vii. 234; Aristot. "Pol." ii. 9, 14 foll.; Muller,
"Dorians," iii. 10 (vol. i. p. 203, Eng. tr.)
Take for example--and it is well to begin at the beginning[4]--the
whole topic of the begetting and rearing of children. Throughout the
rest of the world the young girl, who will one day become a mother
(and I speak of those who may be held to be well brought up), is
nurtured on the plainest food attainable, with the scantiest addition
of meat or other condiments; whilst as to wine they train them either
to total abstinence or to take it highly diluted with water. And in
imitation, as it were, of the handicraft type, since the majority of
|
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 Confessio Amantis by John Gower: Of rihtwisnesse he dede so:
For after that he was ago,
He schop him nevere to be founde;
So that Athenis, which was bounde,
Nevere after scholde be relessed,
Ne thilke goode lawe cessed,
Which was for comun profit set.
And in this wise he hath it knet;
He, which the comun profit soghte,
The king, his oghne astat ne roghte; 3010
To do profit to the comune,
Confessio Amantis |
