| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Mountains by Stewart Edward White: develop their self-reliance. They learn to think for
themselves.
To begin with two misconceptions, merely by way
of clearing the ground: the Western horse is generally
designated as a "bronco." The term is considered
synonymous of horse or pony. This is not so.
A horse is "bronco" when he is ugly or mean or
vicious or unbroken. So is a cow "bronco" in the
same condition, or a mule, or a burro. Again, from
certain Western illustrators and from a few samples,
our notion of the cow-pony has become that of a lean,
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Eve and David by Honore de Balzac: will have all to-morrow morning in which to think it over. To-morrow
afternoon at four o'clock, when the court rises, you will sign the
agreement. You, gentlemen, will withdraw Metivier's suit, and I, for
my part, will write to stop proceedings in the Court-Royal; we will
give notice on either side that the affair has been settled out of
court."
David Sechard's undertakings were thus worded in the deed:--
"M. David Sechard, printer of Angouleme, affirming that he has
discovered a method of sizing paper-pulp in the vat, and also a
method of affecting a reduction of fifty per cent in the price of
all kinds of manufactured papers, by introducing certain vegetable
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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 The Art of War by Sun Tzu: Chang Yu, used for the attack; the "heavy chariots" were heavier,
and designed for purposes of defense. Li Ch`uan, it is true,
says that the latter were light, but this seems hardly probable.
It is interesting to note the analogies between early Chinese
warfare and that of the Homeric Greeks. In each case, the war-
chariot was the important factor, forming as it did the nucleus
round which was grouped a certain number of foot-soldiers. With
regard to the numbers given here, we are informed that each swift
chariot was accompanied by 75 footmen, and each heavy chariot by
25 footmen, so that the whole army would be divided up into a
thousand battalions, each consisting of two chariots and a
The Art of War |
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 St. Ives by Robert Louis Stevenson: all things to all men, like the apostle! I dare to say I have
travelled with heavier fellows than you in my time, and done
famously well with them. Are you going home?'
'Yes, I'm a goin' home, I am,' he said.
'A very fortunate circumstance for me!' said I. 'At this rate we
shall see a good deal of each other, going the same way; and, now I
come to think of it, why should you not give me a cast? There is
room beside you on the bench.'
With a sudden snatch, he carried the cart two yards into the
roadway. The horses plunged and came to a stop. 'No, you don't!'
he said, menacing me with the whip. 'None o' that with me.'
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