| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Black Beauty by Anna Sewell: Which way had she turned? A woman was standing at her garden gate,
shading her eyes with her hand, and looking eagerly up the road.
Scarcely drawing the rein, Blantyre shouted, "Which way?"
"To the right!" cried the woman, pointing with her hand, and away we went
up the right-hand road; then for a moment we caught sight of her;
another bend and she was hidden again. Several times we caught glimpses,
and then lost them. We scarcely seemed to gain ground upon them at all.
An old road-mender was standing near a heap of stones, his shovel dropped
and his hands raised. As we came near he made a sign to speak.
Blantyre drew the rein a little. "To the common, to the common, sir;
she has turned off there." I knew this common very well;
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Crowd by Gustave le Bon: not capable of heroism and devotion and of evincing the loftiest
virtues; they are even more capable of showing these qualities
than the isolated individual. We shall soon have occasion to
revert to this point when we come to study the morality of
crowds.
Given to exaggeration in its feelings, a crowd is only impressed
by excessive sentiments. An orator wishing to move a crowd must
make an abusive use of violent affirmations. To exaggerate, to
affirm, to resort to repetitions, and never to attempt to prove
anything by reasoning are methods of argument well known to
speakers at public meetings.
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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 Bickerstaff-Partridge Papers by Jonathan Swift: person of Mr. Partridge's wit and learning, who, if he could
possibly have raised one single objection more against the truth
of my prophecies, would hardly have spared me.
And here I must take occasion to reprove the above mention'd
writer of the relation of Mr. Partridge's death, in a letter to a
lord; who was pleased to tax me with a mistake of four whole
hours in my calculation of that event. I must confess, this
censure pronounced with an air of certainty, in a matter that so
nearly concerned me, and by a grave judicious author, moved me
not a little. But tho' I was at that time out of town, yet
several of my friends, whose curiosity had led them to be exactly
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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 On Horsemanship by Xenophon: one who observes that happening may take it as a sign and symptom
either of too much blood,[3] which calls for veterinary aid, or of
over-fatigue, for which rest is the cure, or else that an attack of
indigestion[4] or some other malady is coming on. And just as with
human beings, so with the horse, all diseases are more curable at
their commencement[5] than after they have become chronic, or been
wrongly treated.[6]
[3] "A plethoric condition of the blood."
[4] {krithiasis}. Lit. "barley surfeit"; "une fourbure." See Aristot.
"H. A." viii. 24. 4.
[5] i.e. "in the early acute stages."
On Horsemanship |
