| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Faraday as a Discoverer by John Tyndall: In the former case the heat is generated in the moving conductor,
in the latter it is in part generated in the medium.
Chapter 15.
Summary.
When from an Alpine height the eye of the climber ranges over the
mountains, he finds that for the most part they resolve themselves
into distinct groups, each consisting of a dominant mass surrounded
by peaks of lesser elevation. The power which lifted the mightier
eminences, in nearly all cases lifted others to an almost equal
height. And so it is with the discoveries of Faraday. As a general
rule, the dominant result does not stand alone, but forms the
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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 Modest Proposal by Jonathan Swift: I am assured by our merchants, that a boy or a girl before twelve
years old, is no saleable commodity, and even when they come to
this age, they will not yield above three pounds, or three pounds
and half a crown at most, on the exchange; which cannot turn to
account either to the parents or kingdom, the charge of
nutriments and rags having been at least four times that value.
I shall now therefore humbly propose my own thoughts, which I
hope will not be liable to the least objection.
I have been assured by a very knowing American of my acquaintance
in London, that a young healthy child well nursed, is, at a year
old, a most delicious nourishing and wholesome food, whether
A Modest Proposal |
