| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Happy Prince and Other Tales by Oscar Wilde: "You said that you would dance with me if I brought you a red
rose," cried the Student. "Here is the reddest rose in all the
world. You will wear it to-night next your heart, and as we dance
together it will tell you how I love you."
But the girl frowned.
"I am afraid it will not go with my dress," she answered; "and,
besides, the Chamberlain's nephew has sent me some real jewels, and
everybody knows that jewels cost far more than flowers."
"Well, upon my word, you are very ungrateful," said the Student
angrily; and he threw the rose into the street, where it fell into
the gutter, and a cart-wheel went over it.
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Nada the Lily by H. Rider Haggard: the wolves were opened, and they knew him for one of the brethren who
ruled over them, and slunk away at his bidding.
Now Umslopogaas sat himself down at the mouth of the cave waiting for
Galazi, and he thought. Presently Galazi came, and in few words
Umslopogaas told him all his tale.
"You have run a great risk, my brother," said Galazi. "What now?"
"This," said Umslopogaas: "these people of ours are hungry for the
flesh of men; let us feed them full on the soldiers of Chaka, who sit
yonder at the kraal seeking my life. I would take vengeance for Mopo,
my father, and all my brethren who are dead, and for my mothers, the
wives of Mopo. What say you?"
Nada the Lily |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from The Economist by Xenophon: know some things which hitherto, as I believed, I had no knowledge of.
[23] Or, "whose skill in farming is proverbial."
[24] Lit. "Is questioning after all a kind of teaching?" See Plat.
"Meno"; "Mem." IV. vi. 15.
[25] It appears, then, that the Xenophontean Socrates has {episteme}
of a sort.
[26] Or, "a series of resemblances," "close parallels," reading
{epideiknus}: or if with Breit. {apodeiknus}, transl. "by proving
such or such a thing is like some other thing known to me
already."
Isch. Do you suppose if I began to question you concerning money and
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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 Polity of Athenians and Lacedaemonians by Xenophon: "Agis," 18 (Clough, iv. 464); Cic. "de Leg." iii. 7; "de Rep." ii.
33.
But of all the many beautiful contrivances invented by Lycurgus to
kindle a willing obedience to the laws in the hearts of the citizens,
none, to my mind, was happier or more excellent than his unwillingness
to deliver his code to the people at large, until, attended by the
most powerful members of the state, he had betaken himself to
Delphi,[7] and there made inquiry of the god whether it were better
for Sparta, and conducive to her interests, to obey the laws which he
had framed. And not until the divine answer came: "Better will it be
in every way," did he deliver them, laying it down as a last ordinance
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