| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from At the Sign of the Cat & Racket by Honore de Balzac: to take you into partnership.--'Guillaume and Lebas;' will not that
make a good business name? We might add, 'and Co.' to round off the
firm's signature."
Tears rose to the eyes of Joseph Lebas, who tried to hide them.
"Oh, Monsieur Guillaume, how have I deserved such kindness? I only do
my duty. It was so much already that you should take an interest in a
poor orph----"
He was brushing the cuff of his left sleeve with his right hand, and
dared not look at the old man, who smiled as he thought that this
modest young fellow no doubt needed, as he had needed once on a time,
some encouragement to complete his explanation.
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from A Collection of Beatrix Potter by Beatrix Potter: leisure, Pigling had a look round
the cottage; everything was locked
up. He found some potato peelings
in a bucket in the back kitchen.
Pigling ate the peel, and washed
up the porridge plates in the bucket.
He sang while he worked--
"Tom with his pipe made such a noise,
He called up all the girls and boys--
"And they all ran to hear him play
" 'Over the hills and far away!' "
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| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Dreams by Olive Schreiner: And I said, "Why does she lie here motionless with the sand piled round
her?"
And he answered, "Listen, I will tell you! Ages and ages long she has lain
here, and the wind has blown over her. The oldest, oldest, oldest man
living has never seen her move: the oldest, oldest book records that she
lay here then, as she lies here now, with the sand about her. But listen!
Older than the oldest book, older than the oldest recorded memory of man,
on the Rocks of Language, on the hard-baked clay of Ancient Customs, now
crumbling to decay, are found the marks of her footsteps! Side by side
with his who stands beside her you may trace them; and you know that she
who now lies there once wandered free over the rocks with him."
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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 Hiero by Xenophon: he feels, he must maintain the strictist watch.[7] Again, to the
private citizen there will come eventually, either through truce or
terms of peace, respite from war; but for the tyrant, the day of peace
will never dawn. What peace can he have with those over whom he
exercises his despotic sway?[8] Nor have the terms of truce been yet
devised, on which the despotic ruler may rely with confidence.[9]
[5] {koinon}, i.e. making demands upon the eneriges of all the
citizens in common, as opposed to the personal character of war as
conducted by a despot = "public," "patriotic," "national" war. Al.
borne by the particular {polis} as member of a league, whether of
states united for the time being in a {summakhia}, or permanently
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