| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from King Henry VI by William Shakespeare: A napkin steeped in the harmless blood
Of sweet young Rutland, by rough Clifford slain.
And, after many scorns, many foul taunts,
They took his head, and on the gates of York
They set the same; and there it doth remain,
The saddest spectacle that e'er I view'd.
EDWARD.
Sweet Duke of York! our prop to lean upon,
Now thou art gone, we have no staff, no stay.
O Clifford! boisterous Clifford! thou hast slain
The flower of Europe for his chivalry;
|
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Light of Western Stars by Zane Grey: regained control of herself.
"You are Majesty Hammond," he replied; and this time he affirmed
wonderingly rather than questioned.
Madeline rose and faced him.
"Yes, I am."
He slammed his gun back into its holster.
"Well, I reckon we won't go on with it, then."
"With what, sir? And why did you force me to say Si to this
priest?"
"I reckon that was a way I took to show him you'd be willing to
get married."
The Light of Western Stars |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from The Secret Agent by Joseph Conrad: think I met anyone till then."
"So easy as that!" marvelled the voice of Chief Inspector Heat.
"The bang startled you, eh?"
"Yes; it came too soon," confessed the gloomy, husky voice of Mr
Verloc.
Mrs Verloc pressed her ear to the keyhole; her lips were blue, her
hands cold as ice, and her pale face, in which the two eyes seemed
like two black holes, felt to her as if it were enveloped in
flames.
On the other side of the door the voices sank very low. She caught
words now and then, sometimes in her husband's voice, sometimes in
The Secret Agent |
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 Lysis by Plato: what a man wants and of what is congenial to him. But then the congenial
cannot be the same as the like; for like, as has been already shown, cannot
be the friend of like. Nor can the congenial be the good; for good is not
the friend of good, as has been also shown. The problem is unsolved, and
the three friends, Socrates, Lysis, and Menexenus, are still unable to find
out what a friend is.
Thus, as in the Charmides and Laches, and several of the other Dialogues of
Plato (compare especially the Protagoras and Theaetetus), no conclusion is
arrived at. Socrates maintains his character of a 'know nothing;' but the
boys have already learned the lesson which he is unable to teach them, and
they are free from the conceit of knowledge. (Compare Chrm.) The dialogue
Lysis |
