| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Apology by Xenophon: sacrificing goes, the rest of the world who have chanced to be present
have been in the habit of seeing me so engaged at common festivals,
and on the public altars; and so might Meletus himself, if he had
wished. And as to novel divinities, how, pray, am I supposed to
introduce them by stating that I have a voice[21] from God which
clearly signifies to me what I ought do do? Why, what else do those
who make use of the cries of birds or utterences of men draw their
conclusions from if not from voices? Who will deny that the thunder
has a voice and is a very mighty omen;[22] and the priestess on her
tripod at Pytho,[23] does not she also proclaim by voice the messages
from the god? The god, at any rate, has foreknowledge, and premonishes
The Apology |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Magic of Oz by L. Frank Baum: thirsty--Pyrzqxgl!"
In an instant there appeared, in the place of the hickory-nut, the
form of Kiki Aru, the Hyup boy. He seemed bewildered, at first, as if
trying to remember what had happened to him and why he was in this
strange place. But he was facing the fountain, and the bubbling water
reminded him that he was thirsty. Without noticing Ozma, the Wizard
and Dorothy, who were behind him, he picked up the cup, filled it with
the Water of Oblivion, and drank it to the last drop.
He was now no longer thirsty, but he felt more bewildered than ever, for
now he could remember nothing at all--not even his name or where he
came from. He looked around the beautiful garden with a pleased
The Magic of Oz |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from The Voyage of the Beagle by Charles Darwin: met with far out at sea. This small family of birds is one
of those which, from its varied relations to other families,
although at present offering only difficulties to the systematic
naturalist, ultimately may assist in revealing the
grand scheme, common to the present and past ages, on
which organized beings have been created.
The genus Furnarius contains several species, all small
birds, living on the ground, and inhabiting open dry countries.
In structure they cannot be compared to any European
form. Ornithologists have generally included them
among the creepers, although opposed to that family in every
The Voyage of the Beagle |
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 The Art of War by Sun Tzu: WEN HSIEN TUNG K`AO (13th cent.), ch. 221.
YU HAI (13th cent.), ch. 140, 141.
SAN TS`AI T`U HUI (16th cent).
KUANG PO WU CHIH (1607), ch. 31, 32.
CH`IEN CH`IO LEI SHU (1632), ch. 75.
YUAN CHIEN LEI HAN (1710), ch. 206-229.
KU CHIN T`U SHU CHI CH`ENG (1726), section XXX, esp. ch. 81-
90.
HSU WEN HSIEN T`UNG K`AO (1784), ch. 121-134.
HUANG CH`AO CHING SHIH WEN PIEN (1826), ch. 76, 77.
The bibliographical sections of certain historical works
The Art of War |
