| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Protagoras by Plato: political virtue, even if they know that he is dishonest, yet, if the man
comes publicly forward and tells the truth about his dishonesty, then, what
in the other case was held by them to be good sense, they now deem to be
madness. They say that all men ought to profess honesty whether they are
honest or not, and that a man is out of his mind who says anything else.
Their notion is, that a man must have some degree of honesty; and that if
he has none at all he ought not to be in the world.
I have been showing that they are right in admitting every man as a
counsellor about this sort of virtue, as they are of opinion that every man
is a partaker of it. And I will now endeavour to show further that they do
not conceive this virtue to be given by nature, or to grow spontaneously,
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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 Book of Remarkable Criminals by H. B. Irving: This had become the serious business of Peace's life, to be
pursued, should necessity arise, even to the peril of men's
lives. His operations extended beyond the bounds of his native
town. The house of a lady living in Manchester was broken into
on the night of August 11, 1859, and a substantial booty carried
away. This was found the following day concealed in a hole in a
field. The police left it undisturbed and awaited the return of
the robber. When Peace and another man arrived to carry it away,
the officers sprang out on them. Peace, after nearly killing the
officer who was trying to arrest him, would have made his escape,
had not other policemen come to the rescue. For this crime Peace
A Book of Remarkable Criminals |
